bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Life-course socio-economic factors, skin colour and abdominal obesity in adulthood in a Brazilian birth cohort
Authors: González David A , Nazmi Aydin , Yudkin John S , Victora Cesar G 
Published: August 2009

AbstractObjectiveObesity is an increasingly prevalent nutritional disorder throughout the world. In particular, abdominal obesity is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic risk. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of skin colour and life-course socio-economic indicators on waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) and waist:hip ratio (WHR) in young adults.DesignPopulation-based birth cohort study. Individuals born in 1982 in Pelotas (southern Brazil) were visited on a number of occasions from birth to age 23–24 years. A sample of the cohort was sought in 2006 and 972 individuals were located. The analysis was restricted to individuals with complete data available (442 males, 414 females).ResultsIn men, family income at birth and in 2004–5 were positively associated with WC and HC, but not with WHR. Regardless of current income, men born to wealthier families had larger WC and HC as adults. Skin colour was not associated with any of the outcomes. In women, early poverty was associated with smaller HC, and current poverty with larger WC. Poverty at any age thus led to higher WHR. Black women had larger WC and HC than white women, but there were no differences in WHR. All the associations were partially mediated by education and behavioural variables.ConclusionsThe effects of early socio-economic position on WC and HC persist even after adjustment for adult socio-economic position, highlighting the importance of interventions during the first years of life.
Individual preferences for diet and exercise programmes: changes over a lifestyle intervention and their link with outcomes
Authors: Owen Kate , Pettman Tahna , Haas Marion , Viney Rosalie , Misan Gary 
Published: August 2009

AbstractObjectiveTo investigate the influence of a trial lifestyle intervention on participants’ preferences for a range of exercise and diet programmes and whether these differ between successful and unsuccessful participants.DesignHypothetical scenarios that describe attributes of diet and exercise programmes were developed using an experimental design. Participants completed an online questionnaire at baseline, 16 weeks and 12 months where they chose their most preferred of three programmes in each of sixteen scenarios. Discrete choice modelling was used to identify which attributes participants emphasised at each time point.SubjectsFifty-five individuals who exhibited symptoms of metabolic syndrome and who participated in a 16-week trial lifestyle intervention.ResultsThere was a clear shift in programme preferences from structure to flexibility over the intervention. At baseline, emphasis was on individually designed and supervised exercise, structured diets and high levels of support, with Gainers focusing almost exclusively on support and supervision. Losers tended to consider a wider range of programme attributes. After 16 weeks preferences shifted towards self-directed rather than organised/supervised exercise and support was less important (this depended on the type of participant and whether they were in the follow-up group). Cost became significant for Gainers following the end of the primary intervention.ConclusionsThe stated preference method could be a useful tool in identifying potential for success and specific needs. Gainers’ relinquishment of responsibility for lifestyle change to programme staff may be a factor in their failure and in their greater cost sensitivity, since they focus on external rather than internal resources.
Stunting and ‘overweight’ in the WHO Child Growth Standards – malnutrition among children in a poor area of China
Authors: Wang Xiaoli , Höjer Bengt , Guo Sufang , Luo Shusheng , Zhou Wenyuan , Wang Yan 
Published: August 2009

AbstractObjectiveThe aims of the present paper were to assess the nutritional status of children under 5 years old using the 2006 WHO Child Growth Standards (‘the WHO standards’) and to compare the results with those obtained using the National Center for Health Statistics/WHO international growth reference (‘the NCHS reference’).DesignThis was a community-based cross-sectional survey. The WHO standards were used to calculate Z-scores of height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), weight-for-height (WHZ) and BMI-for-age (BMIZ).SettingFifty counties of thirteen mid-western provinces, China.SubjectsA total 8041 children aged <5 years were measured during a 2-month period from August to October 2006.ResultsThe prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting were 30·2 %, 10·2 % and 2·9 %, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and the possible risk of overweight were as high as 4·1 % and 16·8 %. Further analysis among the children with possible risk of overweight found that the percentage of stunting (HAZ < −2) was 57·6 %, the percentage with −2 ≤ HAZ ≤ 2 was 41·0 % and the percentage with HAZ > 2 was only 1·4 %. The prevalence of stunting was 21·9 % and of underweight was 12·7 % by the NCHS reference.ConclusionsStunting was the most serious problem that was impeding child growth and development. The high rate of ‘overweight’ was a false impression, the truth being ‘stunting overweight’, and the way to solve it should be to increase protein and other nutrients in the diet at an early age.
Obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in a representative population of Iranian adolescents and adults in comparison to a Western population: the Isfahan Healthy Heart Programme
Authors: Sarrafzadegan Nizal , Kelishadi Roya , Dana Siadat Zahra , Esmaillzadeh Ahmad , Solhpour Amirreza , Shirani Shahin , Naderi Gholamali , Asgary Sedigheh , Sadri Gholamhossein , Khosravi Alireza , Bahonar Ahmad 
Published: August 2009

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to develop reference data for the Iranian population for anthropometric values and cardiometabolic data in comparison with those in Americans, as representative of a Western population.DesignThe present cross-sectional survey, conducted as part of the baseline survey of a community-based interventional study (the Isfahan Healthy Heart Programme), used a two-stage clustering design and was conducted in 12 600 randomly selected adults (≥19 years of age) and 2000 adolescents (aged 11–18 years) living in three cities in the central part of Iran. For comparison with a Western population, comparable data for Americans were derived from the data sets of the Second and Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES II and NHANES III).ResultsIranian women had significantly higher mean BMI, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) and waist:hip ratio (WHR) than Iranian men and American women; but the mean BMI of Iranian men was lower than that of American men. The mean serum TAG level of Iranian men was significantly higher than that of Iranian women, whereas the mean serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were significantly higher in Iranian women than in men. The Iranian population had lower mean TC, LDL-C and TAG levels than the Americans, but such difference was not documented for HDL-C. Iranian adolescents had significantly lower mean BMI and higher mean TAG than did American adolescents.ConclusionsOur findings provide serious evidence for health professionals and policy makers about the very high prevalence of generalized and abdominal obesity in Iran. Controlling this emerging health problem, notably in women, should become a national priority in Iran and necessitates comprehensive public health programmes.
Food intake of young people with a migration background living in Germany
Authors: Kleiser Christina , Mensink Gert BM , Neuhauser Hannelore , Schenk Liane , Kurth Bärbel-Maria 
Published: August 2009

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the food intake of young migrants living in Germany.DesignChildren and adolescents aged 0 to 17 years living in Germany, including 17·1 % with a migration background, were examined in a representative health survey. Food frequency data of 7186 boys and 6919 girls, aged 3 to 17 years, were analysed separately for Turkish, Russian Germans, other migrants and non-migrants. Daily food intake was calculated and a healthy diet score was used to allow an overall interpretation of the diet. Using stepwise linear regression, the association between migrant status and healthy diet score was analysed.ResultsTurkish participants (4·8 %) consumed significantly more soft drinks, fried potatoes, chocolate cream and snacks than all other groups and significantly less meat than other migrants and non-migrants. Turkish as well as other migrants (8·8 %) ate more poultry, fish and pasta/rice, and less sausage/bacon and cooked potatoes, than Russian Germans and non-migrants. Russian Germans (3·5 %) consumed less cooked vegetables than non-migrants and other migrants. Non-migrants had a better mean dietary score than Russian Germans and other migrants. A less preferable diet score was associated with higher age, male sex, being a migrant from Russia, low or middle socio-economic status, and living in rural or provincial areas.ConclusionsThe study showed considerable differences in dietary habits between young persons of different origin. This underlines the importance of focusing on ethnic groups in dietary interventions.
Becoming persons, becoming ancestors. Personhood, memory and the corpse in Roman rituals of social remembrance
Authors: Graham Emma-Jayne 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThis article examines the role of social memory and the treatment of the corpse within the reconfiguration of personhood in the Roman world. Exploring the significance of ‘remembering and forgetting’, it emphasizes the importance of memory and the body as a context for the manipulation of post-mortem personhood and identity. An extraordinarily rich collection of archaeological and epigraphic evidence associated with the Augustan-period senator Marcus Nonius Balbus provides an almost unparalleled context in which to explore the significance of these observations. This particular example from Herculaneum demonstrates that the realignment of relationships during mortuary activities could produce a new sense of personhood for both the deceased and mourners that was constructed in the context of communal remembrance. Subsequent commemorative activities, focused on the material manifestation of these relationships and the ‘dividuality’ of the dead within the urban fabric, may consequently have acted to promote a new civic ancestor for the community of Herculaneum.
Acts of estrangement. The post-mortem making of self and other
Authors: Crossland Zoe 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThe histories of post-mortem intervention in 18th- and 19th-century Britain illustrate how the relationships within which the dead were located affected their post-mortem treatment and were reproduced through it. This paper explores how traditions of marking social distinctions among the dead have been incorporated into archaeological practice, tracing some of the ways in which relationships between the dead and the living define the nature and tone of post-mortem interventions. This history suggests that the conditions within which people are produced as dead bodies through archaeological practice are at present poorly understood, and, as such, I contribute some notes towards a relational understanding of this production.
The impact of changing demographics and pensions on the demand for housing and financial assets
Authors: ČERNÝ ALEŠ , MILES DAVID , SCHMIDT L'UBOMÍR 
Published: August 2009

AbstractThe main aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of shifting demographics and changes in pension arrangements in a model that includes housing as both an investment asset and a consumption good. We consider the impact on welfare, and on macroeconomic aggregates, of some specific pension reforms. Using a calibrated OLG model with several sources of uncertainty, we find that the impact of ageing and of reform of social security upon the demand for housing and the level of owner occupation is substantial. We find that pension reform has a very significant impact on the demand for, and price of, housing. The interaction between pension reform and housing is a neglected subject and one which the results we present suggest is important.
A Dehalococcoides-containing co-culture that dechlorinates tetrachloroethene to trans-1,2-dichloroethene
Authors: Cheng Dan , Chow Wai Ling , He Jianzhong 
Published: August 2009

Abstract
In the microbial reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE), dechlorinators usually produce cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) as the predominant product or an intermediate. This study shows that dechlorination of PCE and TCE can also lead to the generation of trans-1,2-dichloroethene (trans-DCE) by a co-culture MB. During its enrichment process, the ratio of trans- to cis-DCE increased from 1.4 (±0.1):1–3.7 (±0.4):1, whereas the TCE reductive dechlorination rate went up from ∼26.2 to ∼68.8 μmol l−1 day−1. PCR–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) revealed that the increased ratio of trans- /cis-DCE was well correlated with the increased proportions of Dehalococcoides and the disappearance of Desulfuromonas during the enrichment process. As shown by PCR-DGGE, similar Dehalococcoides species were consistently present in another three sediment-free cultures with various trans- /cis-DCE ratios. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of this Dehalococcoides sp. in co-culture MB is 100% identical (over 1489 bp) to that of Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195 (CP000027), which belongs to the Cornell subgroup of the Dehalococcoides cluster. The other bacterium in this co-culture MB was a Sedimentibacter species, which showed no PCE or TCE dechlorination activity. Results from this study show that microbial dechlorination of chloroethenes by this particular subgroup of Dehalococcoides could result in significant accumulation of trans-DCE in the environment if no trans-DCE dechlorinators coexist in the contaminated sites.
Using the Gene Ontology to Annotate Biomedical Journal Articles
Authors: Bada Michael , Hunter Lawrence 
Published: August 2009

AbstractWe are creating a gold-standard corpus of manually annotated full-text biomedical journal articles toward natural-language-processing applications. Central to this is our use of entire ontologies of the Open Biomedical Ontologies initiative as well as other terminologies as term sources, in contrast to most other such annotation projects, which have used small, ad hoc schemas. In addition to the standard difficulties in such annotation projects, each of the terminologies we have used has idiosyncrasies and ambiguities that present further challenges to consistent, high-quality annotation of these articles. In this paper we present and discuss the most salient of these with regard to the Gene Ontology that we have encountered and addressed in our annotation guidelines and training. The utility of these guidelines can be seen in the high and still-increasing interannotator-agreement statistics that we continually monitor.
Enhanced circulating retinol and non-esterified fatty acids in pregnancies complicated with intrauterine growth restriction
Authors: Ortega-Senovilla Henar , Alvino Gioia , Taricco Emanuela , Cetin Irene , Herrera Emilio 
Published: August 2009

IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) increases the incidence of perinatal complications and, although several placental transport functions have been shown to be altered in pregnancies complicated by IUGR, the mechanism behind it is not well understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate factors in maternal and cord blood plasma from normal and IUGR-complicated pregnancies associated with the body weight of newborns. At the time of Caesarean section, 24 women with IUGR pregnancies were compared with a group of 30 normal controls with AGA (appropriate gestational age) fetuses who were studied at Caesarean section, which took place 5 weeks later than IUGR pregnancies, and also to a group of 25 non-delivered gestational age-matched control pregnant women (AGA-35wk). Maternal plasma retinol, γ- and α-tocopherol, NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids), and palmitic, palmitoleic, γ-linolenic and arachidonic acids were higher in women with IUGR pregnancies than in AGA-35wk controls, whereas stearic and α-linolenic acids were lower. Smaller differences were found when comparing these variables for IUGR and AGA women. However, umbilical vein plasma γ-tocopherol, cholesterol, triacylglycerols and NEFAs were higher in the IUGR group than in the AGA group, whereas arachidonic acid was lower. Maternal plasma retinol and NEFAs were the only variables negatively correlated with birthweight when multiple linear regressions were analysed. In conclusion, the increased levels of circulating retinol and NEFAs in maternal plasma are negatively associated with birth and placental weights, which may reflect an impaired placental transfer in IUGR pregnancies. As retinoids are involved in the control of gene transcription, it is proposed that a decrease in placental transfer of retinol could underlie the metabolic dysfunction of IUGR pregnancies.
Multi‐centre experience on the use of perhexiline in chronic heart failure and refractory angina: old drug, new hope
Authors: Phan Thanh Trung , Shivu Ganesh Nallur , Choudhury Anirban , Abozguia Khalid , Davies Chris , Naidoo Ulasini , Ahmed Ibrar , Yousef Zaheer , Horowitz John , Frenneaux Michael 
Published: August 2009

AimsThe objective of this study is to report on our 5‐year collective experience on the use of perhexiline in the UK, in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and/or refractory angina with respect to ‘real‐life’ drug side effects and toxicity, therapeutic drug level monitoring, 5 year mortality outcomes and predictors of response to perhexiline therapy.Methods and resultsData on clinical history, perhexiline monitoring, follow‐up, and mortality were retrospectively collated from centralized perhexiline databases from two tertiary referral centres. A total of 151 patients were on perhexiline therapy at two UK tertiary referral centres. At 3–4 months, 68.8% of patients had drug level within the therapeutic range and 20.8% were above the therapeutic range. A total of 58.9% of patients reported to have felt better on the perhexiline (responders). The presence of refractory angina was an independent predictor of response to perhexiline therapy (odds ratio 2.84, 95% confidence interval 1.28–6.32, P = 0.01). Five‐year mortality was non‐significantly different between patients with refractory angina, CHF, or both (20.5, 31.0, and 38.4%, P = 0.20, respectively).ConclusionPerhexiline therapy provides symptomatic relief in the majority of patients with minimal side effects or toxicity. Careful therapeutic level monitoring for dose titration is important to prevent acute and chronic toxicity. Patients with refractory angina were more likely to be responders.
First Report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae Associated with Stem Blight of Southern Highbush Blueberries in Florida
Authors: Wright A. F. , Harmon P. F. 
Published: August 2009

Stem blight of southern highbush blueberries has been attributed to Botryosphaeria dothidea (2). Symptoms include necrotic branches with attached leaves and brown discoloration of the vasculature extending the length of the affected branch. A 2007 field survey of stem blight in Florida resulted in isolates of the previously reported B. dothidea and Neofusicoccum ribis and isolates of unreported Lasiodiplodia theobromae (2). Isolates of L. theobromae were identified to species level by morphological characterization (3). Identity was confirmed by comparison of rDNA sequences of representative isolates (GenBank Accession No. FJ882072) to reference sequences (99% similarity to Accession No. EF622074) (1). Seven, fresh, pruning wounds on southern highbush blueberries cv. Misty were inoculated with a 10-mm V8 juice agar plug of isolate MixFC-6 taken from the margin of a 3-day-old colony. Seven wounds were inoculated with a sterile agar plug. All plugs were attached to the wounds with Parafilm. Mean lesion length 14 days after inoculation was 8.6 ± 2.4 cm. The pathogen was reisolated from the margin of lesions and identified by colony growth characteristics on potato dextrose agar. No lesions were observed on control plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report that stem blight of southern highbush blueberries in Florida can be caused by L. theobromae. References: (1) A. Alves et al. Fungal Divers. 28:1, 2008. (2) F. L. Caruso and D. C. Ramsdell. Compendium of Blueberry and Cranberry Diseases. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1995. (3) P. W. Crous et al. Stud. Mycol. 55:235, 2006.
First Report of Chalara elegans on Roots of Black Elderberry
Authors: Michel V. V. 
Published: August 2009

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is organically grown in Switzerland primarily for the flowers, which are used for the production of candies. In June of 2006 in a commercial orchard in Knonau, Switzerland, leaves prematurely turned yellow and dropped off. Other symptoms included weak growth of new twigs in the spring and wilting of leaves during the hotter temperatures of summer. Chlamydospores of Chalara elegans Nag Raj & Kendrick (synonym Thielaviopsis basicola (Berk. & Broome) Ferr.) (1) were found on fine roots of 4-year-old trees. In 2004, similar aboveground symptoms had been observed in two elderberry orchards in Emmental, Switzerland, but no causal organism was detected at that time. All three orchards were planted during 2002 with plants obtained from the same nursery. The pathogenicity of C. elegans on black elderberry was confirmed at the Agroscope Changins Wädenswil ACW Research Center in Conthey. Black elderberry seedlings were produced from seeds collected from a healthy plant in the fall of 2007. Seeds were placed on wet filter paper in petri dishes and incubated at 1°C for 6 months. Germinated seeds were transplanted in seed trays filled with steam-sterilized peat substrate and maintained in a greenhouse at 16 to 22°C. In the spring of 2008, a strain of C. elegans was recovered from carrot on potato dextrose agar (PDA) for artificial inoculation of elderberry. Mycelium edges of the isolate were transferred on two pieces of PDA to a clay/V8 medium. The medium consisted of 50 ml of expanded clay granules and 20 ml of clarified V8 juice in 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks that had been autoclaved for 30 min. C. elegans cultures were incubated in darkness at 24°C for 1 month. Sandy loam soil with a pH of 7.4 (soil/water; 1:1 (wt/vol)) was autoclaved twice for 45 min with a 1-day interval. Plastic pots (0.5 liter) were first filled with 300 ml of sterile soil. Twenty milliliters of C. elegans inoculum were then added and covered with 100 ml of sterile soil. One black elderberry seedling with two true leaves fully expanded (3 to 5 cm high) was transplanted into each of five pots with inoculated clay granules and noninoculated clay granules. Plants were maintained in a greenhouse at 18 to 25°C and watered with tap water. Inoculated and control pots were kept in two separate trays to avoid cross contamination by drainage water. After 2 months, inoculated plants were approximately half the size of control plants. Approximately 75% of the inoculated roots were brown because of the occurrence of chlamydospores of C. elegans, which was reisolated on PDA. To my knowledge, this is the first report of C. elegans on roots of black elderberry. References: (1) K. H. Domsch et al. Compendium of Soil Fungi. Vol. 1. IHW-Verlag, Eching, Germany, 1993.