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Small intestinal satiation pathways involve nutrient-induced stimulation of chemoreceptors leading to release of satiety hormones from intestinal enteroendocrine cells (ECCs). Whether adaptations in these pathways contribute to increased maternal food intake during pregnancy is unknown. To determine the expression of intestinal nutrient-sensors and satiety hormone transcripts and proteins across pregnancy in mice. Female C57BL/6J mice (10–12 weeks old) were randomized to mating and then tissue collection at early- (6.5 d), mid- (12.5 d) or late-pregnancy (17.5 d), or to an unmated age matched control group. Relative transcript expression of intestinal fatty acid, peptide and amino acid and carbohydrate chemoreceptors, as well as gut hormones was determined across pregnancy. The density of G-protein coupled receptor 93 (GPR93), free fatty acid receptor (FFAR) 4, cholecystokinin (CCK) and glucagon-like peptide1 (GLP-1) immunopositive cells was then compared between non-pregnant and late-pregnant mice. Duodenal GPR93 expression was lower in late pregnant than non-pregnant mice (P < 0.05). Ileal FFAR1 expression was higher at mid- than at early- or late-pregnancy. Ileal FFAR2 expression was higher at mid-pregnancy than in early pregnancy. Although FFAR4 expression was consistently lower in late-pregnant than non-pregnant mice (P < 0.001), the density of FFAR4 immunopositive cells was higher in the jejunum of late-pregnant than non-pregnant mice. A subset of protein and fatty acid chemoreceptor transcripts undergo region-specific change during murine pregnancy, which could augment hormone release and contribute to increased food intake. Further investigations are needed to determine the functional relevance of these changes. • Adaptations in intestinal chemoreceptors and hormones during pregnancy is unknown. • Duodenal GPR93 and intestinal FFAR4 expression was lower in late-pregnant mice. • FFAR4 positive cells were greater in the jejunum of late- vs. non-pregnant mice. • Gut hormone (CCK & GLP-1) expression and cell density was unchanged in pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea level rise and intensifying storms cause salinization and freshwater inundation of coastal forest soils which can result in tree mortality and altered ecosystem carbon (C) cycling. However, it is not yet clear if increased salinity and inundation will affect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to feed back with climate change. To assess the impacts of in situ chronic and pulsed salinity on GHG fluxes from coastal forests, we made continuous measurements of carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from intact soil cores collected in 1) an upland forest dominated by loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) and a freshwater swamp dominated by baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) 2) adjacent forest stands within forest types experiencing high versus low salinization and associated tree mortality and 3) before and after pulsed salinity from a hurricane related storm surge. In lab mesocosms, all soil cores were exposed to three levels of rainwater addition to assess potential interactive effects between salinization and inundation. We found that chronic salinization and associated tree mortality decreased soil CO 2 fluxes in loblolly, but not baldcypress forest with in situ soil inundation patterns potentially driving the site effect. Additionally, in an upland loblolly forest, pulsed salinity from a storm surge exhibited the potential to increase CH 4 fluxes. Finally, the effect of rainwater inundation on CH 4 fluxes was greater in low compared to high salinity stands suggesting that salinization may have suppressed the effects of rainwater inundation on CH 4 fluxes. Overall, we show that complex interactions between biotic and abiotic conditions in stressed coastal forests can alter GHG emissions, highlighting a need for future research focused on understanding the mechanisms driving GHG fluxes from coastal forests under changing environmental conditions. • Can salinization and tree mortality effect C cycling to influence climate change? • Soil inundation, pH, and salinity, not substrate availability, drive CO 2 fluxes. • CH 4 can increase in response to pulsed and chronic salinization. • In situ salinity mediates the response of GHG fluxes to water addition in mesocosms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prediction of disease progression using saliva as a diagnostic medium has roused the interest of scientific researchers in the 10 last past years. Potentially important biomarkers are increased in saliva during local and systemic inflammation. In the present study we have developed a highly sensitive biosensor for TNF-α detection in human saliva of patients suffering from heart failure. Therefore, a fully integrated electrochemical BioMEMS was developed in order to increase the sensitivity of detection, decrease the time of analysis, and to simultaneously detect varying cytokine biomarkers using eight gold working microelectrodes (WE). The monoclonal antibodies (mAb) anti-human Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (anti-TNF-α) were immobilized onto gold microelectrodes through functionalization with carboxyl diazonium. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was applied during the microelectrode functionalization process to characterize the gold microelectrode surface properties. Finally, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) characterized the modified gold microelectrodes, and the detection range of TNF-α cytokines was from 1pg/mL to 15 pg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preschool period is an influential time for the establishment of children's lifelong dietary habits. As in other places, in urbanized and partially westernized Hong Kong, fostering preschoolers' balanced diets relies heavily on parents' influence. The current research objective was to get a glimpse of parental views of young child feeding patterns to explore parents' difficulties and misconceptions in meeting their children's health needs with respect to establishing balanced diets. Three focus groups were held with 35 mothers of 3- to 6-year-old children selected from 3 low-income kindergartens. The question guide was structured to understand the mothers' perceptions of health, children's eating habits and food-related behaviors, and parenting practices. Content analysis of transcripts revealed that 'balanced diets' and 'regular mealtime' received parental consensus for being key factors shaping children's good health. But, in practice, unsupportive family environments, low self-confidence in modeling, and managing children's picky eating and food jags were found to be forces hindering their successful encouragement of the consumption of various types of healthful foods in a balanced diet. Although mothers exerted the greatest control in food provision, children still made known their preferences for sweet and oily snacks. These focus group results indicate that nutrition education should be started at least as young as during the preschool years, and the cooperation between schools and families should form a bridge supporting preschoolers' practicing healthful food choices. The research was funded by the Food and Nutritional Sciences Programme of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in China.

Abstract: The response of 185 infants to their mothers’ departure was assessed in a rural area of Bangladesh. Despite their poor health and nutritional status, this group of infants showed the same peak in separation protest around the end of the first year that has been documented for healthier samples in several cultural contexts; correlational analysis suggests that the healthier infants were more likely to display protest. In addition, there was an earlier rise and decline in distress at maternal departure in the first half year of life, not seen in other reports. In this case, poor health appeared to dispose toward upset, indicating that the most fragile infants were least able to cope with the regulatory demands imposed by maternal departure. Overall, the results are evidence for a very strongly canalized transformation of cognitive and emotional functioning toward the end of the first year of life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background and Objectives: Infected cutaneous ulcers are major health problems for children living in rural areas of Papua New Guinea. The inaccessibility of affected populations and lack of access to basic healthcare, make a local plant-based therapy an attractive treatment option. We assessed Ficus septica exudate in biological assays relevant to wound healing. We then carried out a clinical trial to determine the exudate's efficacy in healing small cutaneous ulcers compared with Savlon antiseptic cream, and soap and water washing.Methods: Pre-clinical in vitro assessment of the exudate was carried out using assays to monitor the pro-inflammatory responses of M1 macrophages and neutrophils, antibacterial assays using known ulcer pathogens, an Ames test for mutagenicity and LC-MS chemical analysis of the exudate. An open label cluster-randomised clinical trial was performed, enrolling participants from three different clusters with skin lesions less than 1 cm in diameter. Each cluster comprising 50 participants was randomly assigned to one of three treatment arms namely topical exudate, topical Savlon antiseptic cream, and standard care (soap and water treatment), all administered daily for 2 days. The primary outcome was clinical healing/improvement measured at days 7 and 14, assessed by three dermatologists using blinded photographs. The primary analysis was assessed as non-inferiority of F. septica treatment based on the risk difference for healing/improvement.Results: In vitro, the exudate which is rich in the alkaloid ficuseptine, was found to be non-mutagenic whilst also inhibiting pro-inflammatory responses and exhibiting antibacterial activity. When administered to participants enrolled in the clinical trial, no significant differences were observed between the healing efficacy of F. septica exudate and the two comparator treatments (Savlon antiseptic cream and soap/water treatment). At day 14, but not at day 7, the efficacy of F. septica exudate for healing/improving the ulcers was non-inferior to Savlon antiseptic cream or water/soap treatment.Conclusions: F. septica exudate is non-mutagenic and has both bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties. When applied topically to small cutaneous ulcers, the exudate has a healing effect that is non-inferior to Savlon antiseptic cream and standard treatment with soap and water at day 14. Our findings, which should be confirmed in larger clinical trials, have important public health implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese studies indicate that the growth of rural infants and children lags behind that of their urban counterparts after 4 mo of age and that the gap is widening. However, the rural areas are home to >85% of China's 300 million children. Clearly, culturally appropriate rural complementary feeding interventions are needed to close the growth and health gaps. After a 1990 survey of infants in rural Sichuan confirmed that poor infant feeding practices rather than inadequate household food resources were responsible for the growth faltering, a year-long community-based pilot nutrition education intervention (n congruent with 250 infants each in Education and Control groups) was undertaken in four townships. The goal was to improve infant growth by improving infant feeding practices. Features of the intervention included the training and mobilizing of village nutrition educators who made monthly growth monitoring and complementary feeding counseling visits to all pregnant women and families with infants born during the intervention in the study villages. After 1 y, the Education group mothers showed significantly higher nutrition knowledge and better reported infant feeding practices than their Control group counterparts. Also, the Education group infants were significantly heavier and longer, but only at 12 mo (weight-for-age -1.17 vs. -1.93; P = 0.004; height-for-age -1.32 vs. -1.96; P = 0.022), had higher breast-feeding rates overall (83% vs. 75%; P = 0.034) and lower anemia rates (22% vs. 32%; P = 0.008) than the Control group infants. We conclude that these methods have potential for adaptation and development to other rural areas in the county, province and nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large portion of terrestrial carbon (C) is stored as soil organic matter (SOM) so the balance between C inputs to SOM and soil C loss through respiration has important implications for global climate change. Tree-mycorrhizal association is a promising predictor of SOM dynamics, with the effect of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) trees and associated fungi scaling with the percent basal area of ECM-associated trees in a forest stand. However, uncertainty remains in the generality of ECM effects across the different spatial scales at which soil properties are known to vary. To determine the spatial variability of ECM effects on SOM pools within a forest stand, we used likelihood modelling techniques to compare non-spatial models, which average out ECM effects at the stand scale, against spatial models, which account for the size and spatial distribution of ECM-associated trees within a stand (i.e., the tree neighborhood). To investigate how watershed-scale variability in soil fertility and pH mediate ECM effects, we quantified forest floor leaf litter and soil properties in forest stands along mycorrhizal gradients within four adjacent watersheds that varied in parent material and rainfall. We found that ECM effects on SOM pools scaled with stand-level ECM dominance rather than varying based on individual trees at the neighborhood scale. Although forest floor leaf litter and mineral C:N ratios consistently increased with ECM dominance across watersheds, ECM effects on O horizon formation and the composition of SOM at depth differed among watersheds. Specifically, watersheds with lower soil pH and fertility exhibited greater changes along mycorrhizal gradients in O horizon depth, leaf litter δ15N and in the difference between δ15N of leaf litter and mineral soil fractions. Overall, this study shows the potential for intrinsic soil properties to mediate the effects of ECM trees and associated fungi on SOM formation and persistence in the tropics. • Size and distribution of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) trees predicted organic horizon depth. • Stand-level ECM dominance predicted most soil organic matter (SOM) properties. • ECM trees relied more on N from ECM fungi in lower pH, lower fertility watersheds. • ECM biomass contributed more to SOM pools in lower pH, lower fertility watersheds. • Mycorrhizal type effects cannot necessarily be generalized across forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the obstacles to community health promotions. Reorientation of traditional health services; Management of causes of morbidity and mortality; Concerns of disease prevention and health promotion.

Reviews the computer software 'Topics in International Health: Nutrition.'

Objective: To determine if rural status was associated with kidney and renal pelvis cancer (KCa) incidence and mortality in Illinois while controlling for known KCa risk factors and access to care variables.Materials and Methods: Age-adjusted KCa incidence rates from 1991 to 2010 were calculated from Illinois State Cancer Registry data. Age-adjusted KCa mortality rates were obtained from health statistics embedded within SEER*Stat. Rural Urban Continuum Codes designated Illinois' 102 counties as urban, rural adjacent to, and rural non-adjacent to a metropolitan area. County-level demographics and physician density were obtained from the Area Health Resource File. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data were used for smoking, obesity, and hypertension prevalence. Analysis of variance, correlation, and regression analyses were used.Results: The incidence of KCa was found to be higher among urban compared to rural counties after controlling for known risk factors (P < .01). A larger proportion of cases were diagnosed at a localized stage in urban counties (<0.01). Mortality rates were significantly higher in rural counties (P = .02). The final regression model found rural status, higher incidence rate, fewer with localized stage at diagnosis, and lower urologist density to be variables significantly associated with higher KCa mortality.Conclusion: KCa incidence was higher in urban counties whereas mortality was higher in rural counties. The higher number of KCa cases diagnosed at a localized stage in urban counties and lower urologist density in rural counties suggest that poorer access to care may contribute to higher KCa mortality in rural Illinois. Telemedicine may be an opportunity to improve this disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The brain mechanisms that underlie the psychological effects of auditory stimuli during physical activity are hitherto under-researched; particularly so in ecologically valid settings. The objective of the present experiment was to investigate the effects of two contrasting auditory stimuli conditions on psychological responses and brain activity during an outdoor walking task. Methods Twenty-four participants were required to walk 400 m at a pace of their choosing and report perceptual (state attention and perceived exertion) and affective (valence, arousal, and perceived enjoyment) outcomes immediately after each exercise bout. Three conditions were administered in a randomised and fully counterbalanced order (control, podcast, and music). State-of-the-art, portable EEG technology was used to facilitate measurement during the walking task. Fast Fourier Transform was used to decompose the brain's electrical activity into different band waves (lower-alpha, upper-alpha, sensorimotor rhythm, and beta). Results The results indicated that music up-regulated beta waves, led to more dissociative thoughts, induced more positive affective responses, up-regulated arousal, and enhanced perceived enjoyment to a greater degree when compared to control and podcast. Conclusions Rearrangement of beta frequencies in the brain appears to elicit a more positive emotional state wherein participants are more likely to dissociate from internal sensory signals and focus on task-irrelevant factors. The portable EEG system used in the present study appears to accurately measure electrical activity in the brain during light-intensity physical activities and is effective in reducing electrical artefacts caused by body and cable movements. Highlights • State-of-the-art portable EEG technology was used in the present study. • Cerebral mechanisms underlying the effects of music on exercise were investigated. • The technology facilitated measurement during an ecologically-valid outdoor task. • Music reallocated attention externally and elicited positive affective responses. • Music up-regulated beta waves during a self-paced walking task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Western culture has great influences on body dissatisfaction and related eating behaviors in adolescents. This study aimed to assess the sociocultural influences on eating attitudes and motivations among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. Methods: In 2007, 909 adolescents (mean age=14.7years, 55.3% boys) completed a survey with Stunkard's Figure Rating Scale (FRS), Motivation for Eating Scale (MFES), Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Revised Restraint Scale (RRS), and Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale (SATAQ). In addition, their body mass index (BMI) was objectively measured. Results: Our results indicated that Hong Kong adolescents, particularly girls exhibited a remarked level of body dissatisfaction, external, emotional, restrained and disordered eating behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that age, sex and BMI were the most common contributing factors to individual eating styles. SATAQ significantly accounted for an additional variance of body dissatisfaction (2%), physical eating (2%), external eating (1%), emotional eating (3%), restrained eating (5%), and disordered eating (5%). Conclusions: In Hong Kong, the sociocultural influences on body image and eating disturbance were supported. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Two male adolescents were admitted due to chest pain influenced by the respiratory movements. A lobar pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, was radiographically and serologically diagnosed in the first patient (a 15-year-old boy) and a febrile diarrhea of unidentified etiology, despite repetitive stool cultures and serological assessments in the second one (a 19-year-old male). Both patients combined the aforementioned infectious conditions with outstanding thoracic pain the previous hours before admission, markedly elevated cardiac enzymes and ST-segment elevation in the inferior and left precordial leads with a normal coronary angiogram, thus composing a clinical setting highly indicative of acute myocarditis. Surprisingly however, the echocardiogram performed in both patients failed to reveal any regional or global wall motion abnormalities or even diastolic dysfunction and remained absolutely normal throughout their 3-month follow-up period. Cardiac MRI within 7 days, using T2-weighted and gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images demonstrated extensive focal contrast enhancement, consistent with acute inflammatory myocardial involvement. It can therefore be concluded that contrast MRI is a more sensitive method than the echocardiogram for the diagnosis of acute focal myocarditis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]