Even transient rapid infancy weight gain is associated with higher BMI in young adults and earlier menarche.

BACKGROUND: Early postnatal rapid 'catch-up' weight gain has been consistently associated with subsequent higher obesity risk and earlier pubertal development. In many low- and middle-income countries, infancy catch-up weight gain is transient and often followed by growth faltering. We explored the hypothesis that even transient catch-up weight gain during infancy is associated with later obesity risk and earlier puberty. METHODS: A total of 2352 (1151 male, 1201 female) black South African children in the birth to twenty prospective birth cohort study (Johannesburg-Soweto) underwent serial measurements of body size and composition from birth to 18 years of age. At the age of 18 years, whole-body fat mass and fat-free mass were determined using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Pubertal development was assessed by the research team between ages 9 and 10 years, and it was recorded annually from the age of 11 years using a validated self-assessment protocol. RESULTS: Catch-up weight gain from birth to the age of 1 year, despite being followed by growth faltering between ages 1 and 2 years, was associated with greater mid-upper arm circumference (P=0.04) and skinfold thickness (P=0.048) at 8 years of age, and with higher weight (P<0.001) and body mass index (P=0.001) at 18 years of age after adjustment for sex, age, smoking during pregnancy, birth order, gestational age, formula-milk feeding and household socio-economic status. Infancy catch-up weight gain was also associated with younger age at menarche in girls (P<0.001). This association persisted after adjustment for smoking during pregnancy, birth order, gestational age, formula-milk feeding and household socio-economic status (P=0.005). CONCLUSION: Transient catch-up weight gain from birth to the age of 1 year among children born in a low-income area of South Africa was associated with earlier menarche and greater adiposity in early adulthood. This observation suggests that modifiable determinants of rapid infancy weight gain may be targeted in order to prevent later obesity and consequences of earlier puberty in girls.We are grateful to all study participants, their families and research assistants. Birth to twenty has been supported by The Wellcome Trust, Human Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, University of the Witwatersrand, the South African-Netherlands Programme on Alternative Development and the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available via NPG at http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ijo201525a.html

Dating of the oldest continental sediments from the Himalayan foreland basin

A detailed knowledge of Himalayan development is important for our wider understanding of several global processes, ranging from models of plateau uplift to changes in oceanic chemistry and climate(1-4). Continental sediments 55 Myr old found in a foreland basin in Pakistan(5) are, by more than 20 Myr, the oldest deposits thought to have been eroded from the Himalayan metamorphic mountain belt. This constraint on when erosion began has influenced models of the timing and diachrony of the India-Eurasia collision(6-8), timing and mechanisms of exhumation(9,10) and uplift(11), as well as our general understanding of foreland basin dynamics(12). But the depositional age of these basin sediments was based on biostratigraphy from four intercalated marl units(5). Here we present dates of 257 detrital grains of white mica from this succession, using the Ar-40-(39) Ar method, and find that the largest concentration of ages are at 36-40 Myr. These dates are incompatible with the biostratigraphy unless the mineral ages have been reset, a possibility that we reject on the basis of a number of lines of evidence. A more detailed mapping of this formation suggests that the marl units are structurally intercalated with the continental sediments and accordingly that biostratigraphy cannot be used to date the clastic succession. The oldest continental foreland basin sediments containing metamorphic detritus eroded from the Himalaya orogeny therefore seem to be at least 15-20 Myr younger than previously believed, and models based on the older age must be re-evaluated

Association of the 894G>T polymorphism in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene with risk of acute myocardial infarction

Background: This study was designed to investigate the association of the 894G>T polymorphism in the eNOS gene with risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) on coronary angiography, and in-hospital mortality after AMI. Methods: We studied 1602 consecutive patients who were enrolled in the GEMIG study. The control group was comprised by 727 individuals, who were randomly selected from the general adult population. Results: The prevalence of the Asp298 variant of eNOS was not found to be significantly and independently associated with risk of AMI (RR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.77–1.51, P = 0.663), extent of CAD on angiography (OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 0.63–2.23, P = 0.605) and in-hospital mortality (RR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.29–4.04, P = 0.908). Conclusion: In contrast to previous reports, homozygosity for the Asp298 variant of the 894G>T polymorphism in the eNOS gene was not found to be associated with risk of AMI, extent of CAD and in-hospital mortality after AM

Lymphocyte subsets and the role of Th1/Th2 balance in stressed chronic pain patients

Background: The complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are chronic pain syndromes occurring in highly stressed individuals. Despite the known connection between the nervous system and immune cells, information on distribution of lymphocyte subsets under stress and pain conditions is limited. Methods: We performed a comparative study in 15 patients with CRPS type I, 22 patients with FM and 37 age- and sex-matched healthy controls and investigated the influence of pain and stress on lymphocyte number, subpopulations and the Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio in T lymphocytes. Results: Lymphocyte numbers did not differ between groups. Quantitative analyses of lymphocyte subpopulations showed a significant reduction of cytotoxic CD8+ lymphocytes in both CRPS (p < 0.01) and FM (p < 0.05) patients as compared with healthy controls. Additionally, CRPS patients were characterized by a lower percentage of IL-2-producing T cell subpopulations reflecting a diminished Th1 response in contrast to no changes in the Th2 cytokine profile. Conclusions: Future studies are warranted to answer whether such immunological changes play a pathogenetic role in CRPS and FM or merely reflect the consequences of a pain-induced neurohumoral stress response, and whether they contribute to immunosuppression in stressed chronic pain patients. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Effect of religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence on depression within a rural population in Greece: the Spili III project

Background: Recent research has addressed the hypothesis that religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence buffer the negative effects of stress on numerous health issues. The aim of the current study was to further this work by exploring potential links between psycho-social factors such as religiosity/ spirituality and sense of coherence with depression. Methods: A total of 220 subjects of the SPILI III cohort (1988-2012) attending a primary care setting in the town of Spili on rural Crete represented the target group. All participants underwent a standardized procedure. Validated questionnaires were used to evaluate sense of coherence, depression levels and religious and spiritual beliefs. A multiple linear regression analysis of the Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI) in relation to demographic characteristics, scores on the Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs scale (RFI-SRB) and Sense of Coherence scale (SOC) was used. Results: A significant inverse association was found between BDI and RFI-SRB scale (B-coef=-0.6999, p<0.001), as well as among BDI and SOC scale (B-coef=-0.556, p<0.001). Conclusions: The findings of the current observational study indicate that highly religious participants are less likely to score high in the depression scale. Furthermore, participants with high SOC scored significantly low in the BDI scale. Further research is required in order to explore the potential effect of SOC and religiosity/spirituality in mental health

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

iPrevent

Curso de Especial InterésLa siguiente propuesta, contiene la información necesaria para poder asesorar y brindar una mejor atención a los procesos que son inherentes a la sexualidad del ser humano. El diseño de la creación de una aplicación llamada iPrevent, usada en aparatos tecnológicos como los móviles con sistema Android y Apple. Esta aplicación está encaminada a presentar y a exponer los distintos métodos anticonceptivos que se encuentran en el mercado, así mismo brindar un marco de conocimiento de cada uno, para facilitar la toma de decisiones de los adolescentes; de esta manera teniendo una correlación con la salud pública y mitigar los embarazos no deseados y posibles interrupciones voluntarias del embarazo (IVE) y uso de Métodos Anticonceptivos de emergencia en esta población.101 p.1. Resumen 2. Justificación 3. Marco teórico 4. Objetivos 5. Metodología 6. Estudio de mercadeo 7. Resultados 8. Discusión 9. Conclusiones y recomendaciones 10. Referencias 11. ApéndicesPregradoPsicólog

Applying refinement to the use of mice and rats in rheumatoid arthritis research

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful, chronic disorder and there is currently an unmet need for effective therapies that will benefit a wide range of patients. The research and development process for therapies and treatments currently involves in vivo studies, which have the potential to cause discomfort, pain or distress. This Working Group report focuses on identifying causes of suffering within commonly used mouse and rat ‘models’ of RA, describing practical refinements to help reduce suffering and improve welfare without compromising the scientific objectives. The report also discusses other, relevant topics including identifying and minimising sources of variation within in vivo RA studies, the potential to provide pain relief including analgesia, welfare assessment, humane endpoints, reporting standards and the potential to replace animals in RA research

Histone H4K20 methylation mediated chromatin compaction threshold ensures genome integrity by limiting DNA replication licensing

Cell cycle and replication need to be tightly regulated to ensure genome stability in mammalian cells. Here the authors provide a link between chromatin structure and DNA replication regulation by showing that chromatin compaction limits replication licensing thereby promoting genome integrity