In a longitudinal population-based study of the relationship between body mass index (BMI) in early adulthood and marital status at 40 years of age, obese men were half as likely to be married compared with men of normal weight. Significant associations between obesity and marital status among men in a ...

An analysis of radiological images of the spongious substance of the tibiotarsal bones in domestic goose (120 individuals) was performed for the first time. Based on radiographs obtained from radiological examinations conducted in the region of interest (80 x 90 mm2) of the proximal metaphysis, an analysis of the spongious ...

Molecular sexing revealed an unexpectedly strong female bias in the sex ratio of pre-breeding European Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus), attracted to playback of conspecific calls during their northwards migration past SW Europe. This bias was consistent across seven years, ranging from 80.8% to 89.7% female (mean annual sex ratio ± ...

The accumulation of excess body weight may have important health and disease consequences for persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study examined the effect of weight status on mobility using a comprehensive set of mobility outcomes including ambulatory performance (timed 25-foot walk, T25FW; 6-minute walk, 6MW; oxygen cost of walking, ...

Competition is one of the most cited mechanisms to explain secondary sexual dimorphism in animals. Nonetheless, it has been proposed that sexual dimorphism in bat wings is also a result of adaptive pressures to compensate additional weight caused by fetus or pup carrying during the reproductive period of females. The ...

Most resting energy expenditure (REE) predictive equations for adults were derived from research conducted in western populations; whether they can also be used in Chinese young people is still unclear. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the best REE predictive equation in Chinese normal weight young adults. Forty-three (21 ...

Reduced handgrip strength is an aging process that significantly influences the living activities of elderly. It is linked to premature mortality, disability and other health complications among elderly. Therefore, we aim to determine the associated predictors with handgrip strength among the free living elderly in Malaysia. This was a cross ...

OBJECTIVES:Population-based data on chronic pancreatitis (CP) in the United States are scarce. We determined incidence, prevalence, and survival of CP in Olmsted County, MN.METHODS:Using Mayo Clinic Rochester's Medical Diagnostic Index followed by a detailed chart review, we identified 106 incident CP cases from 1977 to 2006 (89 clinical cases, 17 ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the association between patterns of past and current alcohol consumption and elevations in serum hepatic enzymes among a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. METHODS: We estimated the age-adjusted prevalence of elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase ...

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the effectiveness of variable resistance as provided through elastic plus free weight techniques in college aged males and females. Twenty novice lifters were randomly assigned to a traditional free weight only (6 males and 5 females) or elastic band plus free weight ...

Chronic liver diseases are a major burden in China. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) can be used as an indicator of hepatocyte damage. In this study, we determined the prevalence and etiologies of elevated ALT in an adult population in Jilin, China. A total of 4072 individuals aged between 18 and 79 ...

There is a worldwide tendency of an increasing prevalence of obesity. Therefore, this study aimed at determining whether such a trend exists among cerebral palsy (CP) patients. We also tried to compare this trend with the trend in the general population. We also discuss the importance of obesity trends in ...

Aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) has good correlation with liver fibrosis progression in the infant and toddler short-gut population. This study applies laboratory liver function testing, including APRI, to monitor liver dysfunction over time for short-gut infants, with further analysis of at-risk subpopulations. Study inclusion criteria included infants younger than ...

Research carried out up to 3 decades ago by Gracy and co-workers revealed that the activity of the glycolytic enzyme triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), which converts dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P), gradually declines whilst carrying out its catalytic function, primarily due to deamidation of certain asparagine residues. It is suggested ...

X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is caused by inactivating mutations in the phosphate-regulating gene with homologies to endopeptidases on the X chromosome (PHEX) gene. Deletion of Phex leads to increased serum fibroblast growth factor23 (FGF23) levels in mouse. The aim is to assure the clinical usefulness of FGF23 determination in the ...

To investigate how estrogen and androgen affect each other in inducing sex reversal in the medaka, O. Iatipes, 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-methyldihydrotestosterone (MDHT) were co-administered by a convenient method for hormonal treatment, in which freshly fertilized eggs were immersed for 24 h in saline containing either or both of the ...

Endocrine disrupting chemicals that activate the estrogen receptor are routinely detected in the environment and are a concern for the health of both exposed humans and indigenous wildlife. We exposed the western clawed frog (Xenopus tropicalis) to the weak estrogen octylphenol from Nieuwkoop-Faber (NF) stage 46 tadpoles through adulthood in ...

A Swiss study attempted to establish normal values for the uterine involution expected during the first 5 days postpartum. Two methods were used, apparently independently and without validation. One, named the finger method, consisted of estimating the height of the uterine fundus in finger breadths above or below the umbilicus. The ...

Laboratory studies of adult male fathead minnows have shown that when they are exposed to estrogens, they lose their ability to compete for access to females and sire young, suggesting that estrogenic effluents may reduce the genetic fitness of populations of wild fishes. However, it is unknown whether wild fish ...

The seroprevalence rate of Helicobacter pylori in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was reported to be in the range of 50-80% among mostly symptomatic patients in non-community-based studies. However, the seroprevalence of viral hepatitis A (HAV) underwent a marked decline in the last two decades from over 50% in ...

The age distribution of female mosquitoes in the field is a critical component of vectorial capacity because of the extrinsic incubation period of mosquito-borne pathogens. However this parameter has not been well characterized in malaria vectors because of methodological difficulties; transcriptional profiling provides a potential new approach for age determination. ...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox and herpes zoster. Korea is assumed to have a high seroprevalence of VZV, although data are scant. A cross-sectional and age-stratified study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of VZV in different ages in the South Korean population. Four medical institutions were chosen in the ...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox and herpes zoster. Korea is assumed to have a high seroprevalence of VZV, although data are scant. A cross-sectional and age-stratified study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of VZV in different ages in the South Korean population. Four medical institutions were chosen in the ...

The objective of this study was to obtain representative seroprevalence data for the Indigenous population of Far North Queensland by measuring the age- and sex-specific seroprevalence of the herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) in Cape York. A cross-sectional seroprevalence study was conducted using de-identified serum samples collected from Indigenous ...

Older individuals (≥50 years of age) are increasingly becoming a new at-risk group for HIV-1 infection and, together with those surviving longer due to the introduction of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), it is predicted that more than half of all HIV-1-infected individuals in the United States will be greater than 50 ...

Cryptosporidium and Giardia are two of the most common enteric pathogens of domestic and wild animals and humans. However, little is known on the prevalence, clinical manifestations and economic and zoonotic significance of these infections in horses. This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence, excretion patterns and risk factors ...

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8, or Kaposi sarcoma [KS]-associated herpesvirus, KSHV) is a necessary but insufficient cause of KS, as KS develops in few HHV-8-infected persons. In sub-Saharan Africa, marked differences in the geographic distribution of HHV-8 and KS suggest that environmental cofactors influence HHV-8 transmission, control, and progression to KS. ...

Body mass index (BMI) is a commonly used anthropometric measurement to estimate the level of nutritional indices (underweight/overweight) of adolescents and adults. Knowledge of the factors affecting BMI is essential for developing intervention programs. This study was conducted to measure BMI and determine the socioeconomic and demographic factors affecting the ...

Serial cross-sectional data on antibody levels to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus from a population can be used to estimate the infection attack rates and immunity against future infection in the community. From April through December 2009, we obtained 12,217 serum specimens from blood donors (aged 16-59 years), ...

Equatorial Africa has among the highest incidences of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in the world, thus earning the name "KS Belt." This was the case even before the HIV epidemic. To date, there is no clear evidence that HHV-8 seroprevalence is higher in this region but interpretation of the available literature ...

The seroprevalence of syphilis in students from a tertiary institution in Benin City, Nigeria was investigated. Venous blood samples (5 mL) were collected from 214 apparently healthy students aged 19-38 years (118 males and 96 females) between February and October 2009 and the serostatus of syphilis determined qualitatively using the ...

From January to June 2008, a rubella outbreak involving 111 laboratory confirmed cases occurred in the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) region of North-Eastern Italy. The outbreak occurred initially in two residential homes for young adults disabled mentally and physically. Subsequently, the epidemic spread to the general population. Young adult cohorts ...

Studies on gastric mucosal histological findings among first degree relatives (FDR) of gastric cancer (GC) patients are scarce. The aim is to evaluate the topography and the severity of gastritis among FDR of GC patients. A total of 989 subjects who were FDR of GC patients, ages 40-65 years underwent ...

In this study, a clinical and serological follow-up of 8-10 years was performed in relatives of celiac disease (CD) patients from southern Brazil. The occurrence of new CD cases in the families and the use of two different IgA-tTG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were also evaluated. Serum samples of ...

The O-antigen (O-Ag), the polysaccharide part of the lipopolysaccharide, is the major target of the serotype-specific protective humoral response elicited upon host infection by Shigella flexneri, the main causal agent of the endemic form of bacillary dysentery. The O-Ag repeat units (RUs) of 12 S. flexneri serotypes share the tetrasaccharide ...

SUMMARYThe annual number of episodes of clinical gastroenteritis caused by Campylobacter spp. in The Netherlands is estimated to be 75 000, i.e. once per 200 person life-years. This number is based on extrapolation of culture results from population-based studies. The number of culture-confirmed cases of Campylobacter infection peaks in the ...

Before pandemic (H1N1) 2009, less than 10% of serum samples collected from all age groups in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, showed seroprotection against the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, except those from very elderly people. We reassessed this profile of seroprotection by age in the same region six ...

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a leading cause of disability, including sensorineural hearing loss, developmental delay, and mental retardation. Although the seroprevalence of CMV and associated exposure and behavioral risk factors have been reported in adolescent females, few data exist about males. Serum samples were obtained from males aged 12-17 years ...

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of parvovirus B19 antibodies in children and young adults aged=30 years old in Taiwan. METHODS: Stored serum samples from healthy volunteers aged 1-29 years in Taipei were randomly selected and tested for antiparvovirus B19 immunoglobulin G by enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: A total ...

The implications of recent weight gain trends for widening social disparities in body weight in the United States are unclear. Using an intersectional approach to studying inequality, and the longitudinal and nationally representative American's Changing Lives study (19862001/2002), we examine social disparities in body mass index trajectories during a time ...

Nosocomial infections caused by multi-drug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria are on the increase, often with few or no therapeutic options for treatment. Historically, a successful approach to generate novel antibiotics has been the chemical modification of existing classes, addressing deficiencies such as resistance mechanisms, safety profile or pharmacokinetic parameters. Aminoglycosides ...

Rates of weight gain in infancy and early childhood can influence later neurocognitive, metabolic, and cardiovascular health. We studied the relationship of weight gain during infancy and early childhood to intelligence quotient (IQ), blood pressure (BP), and body mass index (BMI) at age 9 in children born with very low ...

Equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) infection was detected in a farm in Italy by the use of a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting glycoprotein B of EHV-5 on nasal swabs and blood samples of clinically healthy and randomly selected Lipizzaner horses (n = 55). Twenty-five horses at the age of 4-17 years and ...

To determine the prevalence of invasive nontyphoid salmonellosis and typhoid fever in Malawi and South Africa, we compared case frequency and patient age distribution. Invasive nontyphoid salmonellosis showed a clear bimodal age distribution; the infection developed in women at a younger age than in men. Case frequency for typhoid fever ...

The effect of the age of RBCs on anti-RBC alloimmunization has not been investigated in previous studies of the RBC storage lesion. D-negative recipients of at least 1 D-positive RBC unit were identified. Responders produced an anti-D, while nonresponders had not made anti-D when the database was searched. The 2 ...

This population-based, retrospective study examined the susceptibility of a prosimian primate, Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli), to Cryptosporidium spp. over a 9-yr period from 1999 to 2007 at the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) located in Durham, North Carolina. The investigation examined potential epidemiologic risk factors that could be correlated to infectious ...

Our objective was to determine age-specific rubella susceptibility among Egyptian females. This was a cross-sectional survey in eight randomly selected communities, with the largest number of reported rubella cases in the 2007 Rubella surveillance. A sample of 5672 females between the ages of 6 and 45 years were interviewed. Of ...

To estimate current age-specific rates of immunity to hepatitis A virus (HAV) in world regions by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of published data. The estimation of the global burden of hepatitis A and policies for public health control are dependent on an understanding of the changing epidemiology of ...

Parasites are characteristically aggregated within hosts, but identifying the mechanisms underlying such aggregation can be difficult in wildlife populations. We examined the influence of host age and sex over an annual cycle on the eggs per gram of feces (EPG) of nematode parasites infecting wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui) ...

To obtain sero-epidemiological profile and develop optimal strategies to promote measles elimination, we conducted a measles seroprevalence study using stratified sampling method in Guangzhou, southern China in 2008. 4036 samples were analyzed by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and the overall sero-positive rate of measles antibody was 70.6% (95% CI ...