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OBJECTIVE--The Old Order Amish (OOA) is a conservative Christian sect of European origin living in Pennsylvania. Diabetes is rare in adult OOA despite a mean BMI rivaling that in the general U.S. non-Hispanic white population. The current study examines childhood factors that may contribute to the low prevalence of diabetes in the OOA by comparing OOA children aged 8-19 years with National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and children from Maryland's Eastern Shore (ES), a nearby, non-Amish, rural community. We hypothesized that pediatric overweight is less common in OOA children, that physical activity (PA) and BMI are inversely correlated, and that OOA children are more physically active than ES children. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS--We obtained anthropometric data in 270OOA children and 229 ES children (166 non-Hispanic white, 60 non-Hispanic black, 3 Hispanic). PA was measured by hip-worn accelerometers in all ES children and in 198 OOA children. Instrumentation in 43 OOA children was identical to ES children. RESULTS--OOA children were approximately 3.3 times less likely than non-Hispanic white ES children and NHANES estimates to be overweight (BMI$85th percentile, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Time spent in moderate/vigorous PA (MVPA) was inversely correlated to BMI z-score (r = 20.24, P = 0.0006). PA levels did not differ by ethnicity within the ES group, but OOA children spent an additional 34 min/day in light activity (442 ± 56 vs. 408 ± 75, P = 0.005) and, impressively, an additional 53min/day inMVPA (106 ± 54 vs. 53 ± 32, P<0.0001) compared with ES children. In both groups, boys were more active than girls but OOA girls were easily more active than ES boys. CONCLUSIONS--We confirmed all three hypotheses. Together with our previous data, the study implies that the OOA tend to gain their excess weight relatively late in life and that OOA children are very physically active, both of which may provide some long-term protection against diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the effects of age and passage difficulty on listening-rate preference for time-altered speech. Use of rate adjustment technique; Effects of age on selection of preferred speech rates; Difference between younger and older adults speech rate preferences; Validity test by examining recall accuracy for passage presented at several speech rate.

A rapid and simple method for the determination of morphine (M), normorphine (NM), morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatographic separation with mass spectrometric detection (HPLC–MS) has been developed. Samples (40 μl) were cleaned-up by protein precipitation with two volumes (80 μl) of acetonitrile and reconstituted in formic acid 0.1% in water. Naloxone was used as internal standard. Analytes were separated on a phenyl–hexyl column using a step-gradient (1 ml/min) of acetonitrile and formic acid in water. Acetonitrile was added post-column (0.3 ml/min). Quantification of morphine and its metabolites was achieved with an Agilent 1100 series HPLC–MS system equipped with electrospray interface set to selected ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. Calibration curves covered a wide range of concentrations (2.44–10 000 nM) and were best fitted with a weighed quadratic equation. The limits of quantification achieved with this method were 2.44 nM for M and 4.88 nM for NM, M3G and M6G. The method proved accurate (85–98%), precise (C.V.<10%) and was successfully applied to a wide range of in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies in rodents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Physical activity has been recommended as a preventive measure against type 2 diabetes. To improve physical activity programs, it is important to understand the determinants of physical activity. To examine to which extent physical activity is determined by genetics, we sought to estimate the heritability of physical activity in 701 Old Order Amish (372 men and 329 women) of Lancaster, PA, linked within a single 13-generation pedigree. Subjects were aged 43.3 ± 14.0 yr (mean ± SD); BMI was 25.6 ± 3.2 (men) and 27.7 ± 5.4 kg/m² (women). Physical activity was measured with Actical accelerometers (firmware versions 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4; Mini Mitter, Bend, OR) worn on the hip for 7 consecutive days, capturing activity in 0.25 min epochs. Activity was expressed as mean daily total activity counts (a raw measure of body movement independent of body size) and, With the use of algorithms incorporating body size applied on a per-epoch basis, total energy expenditure and time in sedentary (including sleep) and moderate/vigorous activity (> 3 METs). Heritability was estimated by a variance component method. Mean daily total activity counts were higher in men than in women (465 ± 194 vs. 346 ± 183 x 10³, p < 0.0001) and diminished with age (p < 0.0001). The same pattern was observed for total energy expenditure and moderate/vigorous activity; conversely, sedentary activity was lower in men (797 ± 113 vs. 823 ± 131 min/d, p = 0.03). After adjustment for sex-specific age and age², occupation, season of measurement, and firmware version, the following heritabilities (h²) ± SE were determined: total activity counts, 0.31 ± 0.13 (p = 0.005); total energy expenditure, 0.36 ± 0.12 (p = 0.0003); time in sedentary activity, 0.41 ± 0.13 (p = 0.0006); time in moderate/vigorous activity, 0.29 ± 0.13 (p = 0.008). Physical activity level is a heritable trait in the Old Order Amish. Discovery of the underlying coding variants will inform strategies to increase physical activity in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study regarding the impact of lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, on the management of weight gain and obesity among individuals with underlying fat mass and obesity (FTO) genetic predisposition. Around 700 Old Order Amish (OOA) adults from the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention (HAPI) Heart Study were selected for the study. The phenotypic assessment, genotyping and statistical analyses are taken into account. Information on the association of FTO single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with obesity is presented.

The sensory neuron-specific G protein coupled receptors (SNSRs) have been described as a family of receptors whose expression in small diameter sensory neurons in the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia suggests an implication in nociception. To date, the physiological function(s) of SNSRs remain unknown. Hence, the aim of the present study was to determine the effects of rat SNSR1 activation on nociception in rats. The pharmacological characterization of rat SNSR1 was initially performed in vitro to identify a specific ligand, which could be used subsequently in the rat for physiological testing. Among all ligands tested, γ2-MSH was the most potent at activating rat SNSR1. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that the active moiety recognized by rat SNSR1 was the C-terminal part of γ2-MSH. The radiolabeled C-terminal part of γ2-MSH, γ2-MSH-6-12, bound with high affinity to membranes derived from rat skin and spinal cord, demonstrating the presence of receptor protein at both the proximal and distal terminals of dorsal root ganglia. To investigate the physiological role of SNSR, specific ligands to rat SNSR1 were tested in behavioral assays of pain sensitivity in rats. Selective rat SNSR1 agonist produced spontaneous pain behavior, enhanced heat and mechanical sensitivity when injected intradermally, and heat hypersensitivity when injected centrally, consistent with the localization of rat SNSRI protein at central and peripheral sites. Together, these results clearly indicate that the SNSR1 plays a role in nociception and may provide novel therapeutic opportunities for analgesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several novel racemic aminotetralin derivatives have been prepared using a stereoselective aziridine ring opening reactions and were evaluated for their μ-opioid receptor binding affinity. Selectivity index towards other opioid receptors and antinociceptive activity in mice have been evaluated for the most potent derivatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]