Body size of young Australians aged five to 16 years

In 1983-1984, 4578 Perth primary and secondary schoolchildren were studied. The selected sample was broadly representative of the ethnic groups that make up the Perth population and of the different social ranks within that population. The age, sex, weight, height, country of birth of the child and the parents, and occupation of the father were recorded for each subject. Weight, height and body mass index (BMI) increased with age. Age and sex were the most important determinants of body size. However, children of lower social rank and those with a southern European background were over-represented among the overweight children (greater than the 90th centile for BMI), particularly in adolescence. Children with an Asian background who were 11 years of age and younger were over-represented among the underweight children (less than or equal to the 10th centile for BMI). Results from this study indicate a continuing, though small (1.5 cm to 1.6 cm), secular increase in height over the past 13 to 14 years.     

Serum antibody responses in mice to intermittent inhalation of ovalbumin dust

Serum antibody production and induction of antibody tolerance were monitored in mice following intermittent inhalation of ovalbumin dust (mass concentration = 4.2 mg m-3; diameter of 80% of particles less than 2.6 microns). Repeated inhalation of microgram quantities of dust stimulated serum antibody production and development of tolerance. The sequence of these responses is analogous to that following oral presentation of antigen, but is produced by a much lower dose when antigen is presented via the respiratory tract.     

Using intervention time series analyses to assess the effects of imperfectly identifiable natural events: a general method and example

Background  

Intervention time series analysis (ITSA) is an important method for analysing the effect of sudden events on time series data. ITSA methods are quasi-experimental in nature and the validity of modelling with these methods depends upon assumptions about the timing of the intervention and the response of the process to it.     

The impact of telomere erosion on memory CD8+ T cells in patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome

Patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP) experience excessive T cell proliferation after primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, due to mutations in the signalling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) associated protein (SAP) molecule. We examined the impact of dysfunctional proliferative control on the extent of CD8+ T cell differentiation in XLP patients who recovered from primary EBV infection. Although these young patients have normal numbers of lytic and latent EBV-epitope-specific CD8+ T cells, they were extremely differentiated as defined by loss of CCR7 and CD27, low telomerase activity and very short telomeres. This was not a direct effect arising from the loss of SAP, but was due to excessive T cell stimulation due to this defect. Thus, transduction of XLP CD8+ T cells with the catalytic component of telomerase (hTERT), but not SAP, prevented telomere loss and considerably extended proliferative lifespan in vitro. These results indicate that excessive proliferation in CD8+ T cells in XLP patients may lead to end-stage differentiation and loss of functional EBV-specific CD8+ T cells through replicative senescence. This may contribute to the defective immunity found in XLP patients who survive acute EBV infection who develop EBV-related B cell lymphomas before the fourth decade of life.     

Prediction of outcome following necrotizing enterocolitis in a neonatal surgical unit

Retrospective analysis of 27 factors in 80 neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis has enabled us to identify three factors that appear to be of prognostic statistical significance, namely blood pH, platelet count, and the presence of congenital defects. All three factors may be assessed objectively at the time of admission of the patient. Using these factors we have estimated a "probability of death" score for each patient and a high-risk group of neonates has been identified.