Correlation of Proteinuria with Podocyte Foot Process Effacement in IgA Nephropathy: An Ultrastructural Study

Background: Proteinuria is an uncommon clinical manifestation of IgA nephropathy and is usually seen in cases with severe lesions like endocapillary proliferation. However, it is occasionally seen even with cases with mild glomerular manifestations and may even be of nephrotic range.

Predictor: Podocyte foot process effacement.

Outcome: Severity of proteinuria.

Measurements: Podocyte foot process effacement was measured. Morphometric analysis was performed on transmission electron microscope images using a computerized digital photomicrograph system (BioWizard 4.2 Image analysis software, New Delhi, India). Proteinuria was measured quantitatively assigned into five grades.

Results: It was found that as the extent of proteinuria increased, the effacement ratio also increased, and this was most significant between “no” proteinuria and the rest of the categories.

Conclusion: Nephrotic presentation in IgA nephropathy is a known phenomenon and in certain cases may show near normal glomerular morphology with severe foot process effacement on EM being the only significant finding to explain the proteinuria. Proteinuria in these cases shows a significant correlation with degree of foot process effacement. Renal biopsy is important in these cases because they are known to have a better prognosis and are usually steroid responsive.     

Secular trends in cranial morphological traits: a socioeconomic perspective of change and sexual dimorphism in North Americans 1849–1960

Background: The human body has undergone significant changes in stature and other areas, which reflect secular trends associated with socioeconomics.

Aim: To analyse cranial morphological traits for deciphering if they are subject to secular trends.

Subjects and methods: Two documented skeletal collections were sampled for a total of 525 individuals from 1849–1960. Cranial morphological traits were scored and input into time series statistics (logistic regression).

Results: In females, nuchal crests have enlarged, while glabella has decreased. In males, supraorbital margins have dulled, while glabella decreased. Sexual dimorphism increased in supraorbital margins.

Conclusion: The patterns in the data here reflect those found in other areas of the skeleton, namely height, as regards to secular trends. These findings can be extended to stature and cranial changes that parallel socioeconomic trends during the Industrial Revolution, antebellum period and after.     

Isometric torso muscle endurance profiles in adolescents aged 15–18: normative values for age and gender differences

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish normative values for torso muscle endurance in adolescents aged 15–18 years. It was hypothesized that torso endurance profiles of adolescents differs between males and females and between adolescents and adults.

Background: Decreased torso muscle endurance has been identified as a potential personal risk factor for low back pain development in both adolescents and later years together with being detrimental for athletic performance.

Design: Measurement of torso muscle endurance, established through four tests performed in random order in a healthy adolescent population.

Setting: High school in Novi Sad, Province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia.

Methods: Two hundred and ninety-four adolescents from one high school (178 males and 116 females) were grouped into four age strata. Selected isometric torso muscle endurance tests were: Biering-Sørensen test for extensor endurance; Flexor endurance test; right and left Side Bridge tests. The mean, ratio, standard deviation and 25th, 50th and 75th percentile scores were determined for each gender/age strata.

Results and conclusion: Males had higher lateral torso endurance than females. Adolescents in general demonstrate their peak lifetime endurance as they appear more endurable than children and comparable adult groups. These data of endurance times, their ratios and percentiles in healthy normal subjects form a database bridging existing data for children and adults that may be useful for guiding training and rehabilitation.     

Body image,body dissatisfaction and weight status in children from Emilia-Romagna (Italy): comparison between immigrant and native-born

Background: Cross-sectional study among immigrant and native children from Emilia-Romagna (Italy).

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to examine the relative contribution of weight status, ethnicity and sex on body dissatisfaction in a sample of children from Emilia-Romagna (Italy).

Subjects and methods: Primary school children (226 immigrants and 1206 Italians) aged 6–11 years were measured: immigrant children were divided into Asians, Africans, Latin Americans and East Europeans. Height and weight were measured and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Body image perception was assessed using Body Silhouette Charts. A body dissatisfaction score (BDS) was derived by subtracting the "ideal self" from the "self" score.

Results: Weight status disorders were higher in immigrants than in native-born males; Italian females had higher prevalence of underweight and overweight and lower prevalence of obesity than immigrants peers. BDS rose with the increase of weight status categories.

Conclusions: Awareness of body image size and increasing body dissatisfaction with higher weight status is established in childhood, regardless of ethnicity and gender.     

Systematic overview of neuroanatomical differences in ADHD: Definitive evidence

Objectives: This article seeks to identify neuroanatomical differences in ADHD through an overview of systematic reviews that report encephalic differences compared to a control group in volume, area, activation likelihood or chemical composition.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search using Cochrane guidelines and PRISMA criteria in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects.

Results: Results revealed broad encephalic involvement that includes a functional frontal and cingulate hypoactivation and structural differences in corpus callosum, cerebellum and basal nuclei.

Conclusions: ADHD symptoms might be due to a multi-network unbalanced functioning hypothesis.     

Modelling foetal growth in a bi-ethnic sample: results from the Born in Bradford (BiB) birth cohort

Background: Attempts to explain the increased risk for metabolic disorders observed in South Asians have focused on the “South Asian” phenotype at birth and subsequent post-natal growth, with little research on pre-natal growth.

Aim: To identify whether divergent growth patterns exist for foetal weight, head (HC) and abdominal circumferences (AC) in a sample of Pakistani and White British foetuses.

Subjects and methods: Models were based on 5553 (weight), 5154 (HC) and 5099 (AC) foetuses from the Born in Bradford birth cohort. Fractional polynomials and mixed effects models were employed to determine growth patterns from ～15 weeks of gestation-birth.

Results: Pakistani foetuses were significantly smaller and lighter as early as 20 weeks. However, there was no ethnic difference in the growth patterns of weight and HC. For AC, Pakistani foetuses displayed a trend for reduced growth in the final trimester.

Conclusion: As the pattern of weight and HC growth was not significantly different during the period under investigation, the mechanism culminating in the reduced Pakistani size at birth may act earlier in gestation. Reduced AC growth in Pakistanis may represent reduced growth of the visceral organs, with consequences for post-natal liver metabolism and renal function.     

Parturition lines in modern human wisdom tooth roots: do they exist,can they be characterized and are they useful for retrospective determination of age at first reproduction and/or inter-birth intervals?

Background: Parturition lines have been described in the teeth of a number of animals, including primates, but never in modern humans. These accentuated lines in dentine are comprised of characteristic dark and light component zones.

Aim: The aim of this study was to review the physiology underlying these lines and to ask if parturition lines exist in the third molar tooth roots of mothers known to have had one or more children during their teenage years.

Methods: Brief retrospective oral medical obstetric histories were taken from four mothers and compared with histological estimates for the timing of accentuated markings visible in longitudinal ground sections of their wisdom teeth.

Results: Evidence of accentuated markings in M3 root dentine matched the age of the mother at the time their first child was born reasonably well. However, the dates calculated for inter-birth intervals did not match well.

Conclusions: Parturition lines corresponding to childbirth during the teenage years can exist in human M3 roots, but may not always do so. Without a written medical history it would not be possible to say with confidence that an accentuated line in M3 root dentine was caused by stress, illness or was a parturition line.     

The role of physical activity,body mass index and maturity status in body-related perceptions and self-esteem of adolescents

Background: Adolescence represents a transitional period which is marked by physical, social and psychological changes. Changes in body shape and physical activity especially alter and shape the psychological well-being of adolescents.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the role of physical activity level, body mass index and maturity status in body-related perception and self-esteem of 11–18 years old adolescents.

Subjects and methods: A total of 1012 adolescents participated in this study. The “Social Physique Anxiety Scale”, “Body Image Satisfaction Scale”, “Physical Self-Perception Profile for Children” and “Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory” were administered. Physical activity level and body mass index were assessed using the “Physical Activity Questionnaire” and “Bioelectrical Impedance Analyzer”, respectively.

Results: Regression analysis indicated that body mass index was the only predictor of perceived body attractiveness, social physique anxiety, body image satisfaction and self-esteem for female adolescents. For male adolescents, both physical activity and body mass index were correlated with perceived body attractiveness and social physique anxiety. Pubertal status were not correlated with self-esteem and body-related perceptions for both males and females adolescents.

Conclusion: In summary, body mass index and physical activity plays an important role in body-related perceptions and self-esteem of adolescents.     

Geographical and social influences on genetic diversity within the Egyptian population: analyses of Alu insertion polymorphisms

Background: The geographical location of Egypt at the crossroads of several major cultural areas between North Africa and the Middle East has contributed to its population history.

Aim: To analyse the genetic structure of the population living in two geographical parts of Egypt.

Subjects and methods: A sample of 112 Egyptians from the North African part of Egypt (Ismailia sample) and a sample of 52 Egyptians from the Asian part Sinai, have been analysed using 10 Alu insertion polymorphisms.

Results: The results of the present study showed a significant genetic difference between the Sinai and Ismailia samples. The latter showed an evident genetic affinity with North African populations; whereas the Sinai sample was found to be genetically closer to the Middle East populations. The Sinai sample showed a low average heterozygosity, unlike that found in the Ismailia sample.

Conclusion: This study provides new insights into the genetic structure of the Egyptian population living in a land bridge between Africa and Asia. Results suggest a genetic discontinuity between the Sinai population and that of the North African part of Egypt. This discontinuity would have been maintained thanks to geo-climatic and social factors.     

IgA directly inhibits antigen-dependent B cell activation following distinctive distribution of the antigen in mice

Context: Serum IgA suppresses immune responses when exposed to antigens recognized by the antibody; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear.

Objective: We herein clarified the relationships between changes in antigen distribution and antigen-dependent B cell activation in the presence or absence of IgA against the antigen in mice.

Materials and methods: DBA/1J and HR-1 mice were intravenously injected with ovalbumin (OVA) and anti-OVA monoclonal IgA OA-4. The distribution of the antigen and B cell responses were measured.

Results: B cell activation by injected OVA, namely, increases in anti-OVA IgG production and the populations of B220⁺GL7⁺ and B220⁺CD69^high splenocytes, was diminished by the co-injection of OA-4. Co-injected OA-4 increased OVA in the serum as well as in the bile and gut. This was coincident with its decrease in the urine due to the inhibition of OVA monomer secretion through the formation of immune complexes. The apparent similarities in the association between fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-OVA and splenic B cells in the presence and absence of OA-4 in vivo appeared to be attributed to compensation between the two effects of OA-4; an increase in serum OVA in vivo and inhibition of the association between OVA and B cells, as suggested by in vitro experiments.

Discussion: Based on these results, the stimulation of B cells by OVA may be directly reduced, at least partly, by the neutralization of OVA by OA-4.

Conclusion: IgA may be an effective drug for the treatment of immune disorders due to its ability to blunt antigen-specific B cell activation.     

Humans are not cooperative breeders but practice biocultural reproduction

Context: Alloparental care and feeding of young is often called “cooperative breeding” and humans are increasingly described as being a cooperative breeding species.

Objective: To critically evaluate whether the human offspring care system is best grouped with that of other cooperative breeders.

Methods: (1) Review of the human system of offspring care in the light of definitions of cooperative, communal and social breeding; (2) re-analysis of human lifetime reproductive effort.

Results: Human reproduction and offspring care are distinct from other species because alloparental behaviour is defined culturally rather than by genetic kinship alone. This system allows local flexibility in provisioning strategies and ensures that care and resources often flow between unrelated individuals. This review proposes the term “biocultural reproduction” to describe this unique human reproductive system. In a re-analysis of human life history data, it is estimated that the intense alloparenting typical of human societies lowers the lifetime reproductive effort of individual women by 14–29% compared to expectations based upon other mammals.

Conclusion: Humans are not cooperative breeders as classically defined; one effect of the unique strategy of human biocultural reproduction is a lowering of human lifetime reproductive effort, which could help explain lifespan extension.     

Isotopic and trace element evidence of dietary transitions in early life

Context: Nursing behaviour has significant implications for individual health and population dynamics. Reconstruction of infant and early childhood diet has become a key focus in studies of past populations.

Objective: This paper reviews knowledge about how trace element and stable isotope composition of bone and dental tissues changes during development and how this may influence interpretation of biology and behaviour in past populations.

Methods: Studies of recent populations and osteological samples were reviewed.

Results: Four distinct stages of nutritional intake are recognized: gestation, exclusive breastfeeding, a transitional or weaning stage and fully weaned. The trace element and stable isotope composition of developing foetal and infant tissues differs during each of these stages due to differences in the source of nutrients and changes in metabolic parameters.

Conclusion: Interpretation of early lifetime diet from trace element or stable isotope values requires a comprehensive and validated physiological model for changes during and at the transition between dietary stages. Micro-sampling of dental tissues offers the potential to reconstruct an individual record of early lifetime diet within a chronological framework and has several advantages over traditional cross-sectional techniques. Further research is necessary to understand the factors influencing intra-tooth variability in recovered signals and their chronological interpretation.     

Indigenous populations in transition: An evaluation of metabolic syndrome and its associated factors among the Toba of northern Argentina

Background: The health problems associated with rapidly changing lifestyles in indigenous populations, e.g. cardiovascular disease, are becoming a public health concern.

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and analyse the metabolic conditions that define this syndrome, in an indigenous Toba community of northern Argentina.

Subjects and methods: A total of 275 adults participated in this study. Anthropometric (BMI, body fat percentage, waist circumference) and clinical measures (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and triglycerides) were taken. Pearson and logistic regressions were used in the statistical analysis of risk factors for metabolic syndrome by sex and by reproductive status in women.

Results: The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 38%. Nearly a third (31%) of the population was overweight and 45% obese. Men had significantly higher blood pressure and levels of triglycerides than women, while women had higher percentages of body fat. BMI was significantly associated with most of the risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Menopausal women had a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome than women of reproductive age.

Conclusion: Metabolic syndrome was highly prevalent in this indigenous community, which places them at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.     

Body shape indices and cardiometabolic risk in adolescents

Background: “A Body Shape Index” (ABSI) is a recently proposed index that standardizes waist circumference for body mass index (BMI) and height using the scaling exponents 2/3 and 1/2, respectively, estimated from adults. Incidentally, waist-to-height ratio has been suggested as an indicator of cardiometabolic risk in adolescents.

Aims: This study aims to estimate the scaling exponents for standardizing waist circumference for BMI and height in Chinese adolescents and to estimate and compare the ability of various body shape indices in predicting cardiometabolic risk in adolescents.

Subjects and methods: Participants aged 10–17 years in the 2009 China Health and Nutrition Survey were analysed.

Results: The appropriate scaling exponents for standardizing waist circumference for BMI and height in this adolescent sample were 0.45 and 0.55, respectively. A new ABSI-adolescents was defined accordingly. Ignoring the age dependence in the scaling exponents would lead to confounded associations. The ABSI-adolescents and the waist-to-height ratio were more associated with glycated haemoglobin and pre-diabetes, but not blood pressure, than the BMI was.

Conclusion: The scaling exponent for standardizing waist circumference for BMI is age-dependent. Indices based on waist circumference adjusted for BMI are more associated with glycated haemoglobin than BMI in adolescents.     

Associations among facial masculinity,physical strength,fluctuating asymmetry and attractiveness in young men and women

Background: Studies of the process of human mate selection and attractiveness have assumed that selection favours morphological features that correlate with (genetic) quality. Degree of masculinity/femininity and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) may signal (genetic) quality, but what information they harboured and how they relate to fitness is still debated.

Aim: To study strength of associations between facial masculinity/femininity, facial FA, attractiveness and physical strength in humans.

Subjects and methods: Two-hundred young males and females were studied by measuring facial asymmetry and masculinity on the basis of frontal photographs. Attractiveness was determined on the basis of scores given by an anonymous panel, and physical strength using hand grip strength.

Results: Patterns differed markedly between males and females and analysis method used (univariate vs multivariate). Overall, no associations between FA and attractiveness, masculinity and physical strength were found. In females, but not males, masculinity and attractiveness correlated negatively and masculinity and physical strength correlated positively.

Conclusion: Further research into the differences between males and females in associations between facial morphology, attractiveness and physical strength is clearly needed. The use of a multivariate approach can increase our understanding of which regions of the face harbour specific information of hormone levels and perhaps behavioural traits.     

Methodological strategies to assess the degree of bone preservation for ancient DNA studies

Background: Archaeological bones contain only small amounts of DNA due to post-mortem DNA degradation and the changes endogenous DNA is subjected to during diagenesis. An important step before undertaking such time-consuming and costly analyses as ancient DNA investigation is to predict the presence of DNA in ancient samples. To date, the leading screening method has been amino acid racemization; however, other analytical techniques can also be used to assess the degree of bone preservation.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to relate the presence of DNA with bone preservation in order to select samples potentially suitable for ancient DNA analysis.

Subjects and methods: Bones collected from several archaeological sites, different locations (cave, rockshelter or sub divo) and diachronic periods were selected for analytical and spectroscopic analysis in order to correlate bone tissue preservation with the presence of DNA. Different techniques were combined to assess the degree of preservation of organic and inorganic components.

Results: As determined by different analytical methods, preservation of the inorganic component was best associated with the presence of DNA.

Conclusion: Evaluation of the bone preservation state may be an efficient step to predict the presence of DNA in ancient samples prior to aDNA analysis.     

Trends in thin body stature among Japanese male adolescents, 2003–2012

Background: The desire for thin body stature and unhealthy eating behaviours have spread among Japanese boys. The prevalence of thinness in boys is expected to increase; however, recent trends have not been reported.

Aim: To describe changes in the distribution of body mass index (BMI) of Japanese boys, from 2003 to 2012.

Subjects and methods: BMI distribution changes were studied in 2599 relatively affluent Japanese children and adolescents, aged 12.5–17.5 years, during 2003–2012. The 2003 and 2004 data were combined and compared to the combined 2011 and 2012 data. Tukey mean-difference plots were used to study the direction and magnitude of shifts in BMI distributions.

Results: Prevalence of thinness has progressively increased from 2.8–4.7% in 2003–2004 to 5.1–7.6% in 2011–2012 in Japanese boys. Tukey plots showed that the increases in the prevalence of thinness are related to shifts in the entire distribution of BMI in the sample.

Conclusion: Thin body stature was documented in increasing proportion of Japanese male adolescents. BMI z-scores decreased across the entire BMI centile spectrums, indicating that the whole school population may be at risk of thinness.     

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 rs17576 Gene Polymorphism and Behçet’s Disease: Is There an Association?

Background: Clinical studies have reported a significant association between matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), particularly (MMP-9), and inflammatory diseases including Behçet’s disease (BD).

Purpose: To study the relationship between MMP-9 rs17576 gene polymorphism and the development of BD, and its relation to disease activity among Egyptian patients.

Methods: A total of 100 BD patients and 100 healthy control volunteers were genotyped for MMP-9 rs17576 polymorphism with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), followed by the confirmation of our results in random subgroups using direct DNA sequencing technique.

Results: The frequency of the GG genotype and G allele was significantly higher in BD patients as compared to the normal controls (p = 0.011, OR 8.61; p = 0.03, OR 1.65, respectively). There was no significant association between the MMP-9 rs17576 polymorphism and the clinical outcomes of BD.

Conclusion: our study suggests a significant association of the MMP-9 rs17576 A/G polymorphism with increased risk of BD development in Egyptian patients.