Do Energy Density and Dietary Fiber Influence Subsequent 5‐Year Weight Changes in Adult Men and Women?

Objective: We examined whether associations between dietary components and, in particular, energy density (ED) predicted subsequent 5‐year weight changes. Research Methods and Procedures: The present longitudinal population study was part of the Danish World Health Organization Multinational Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA) and the 1936 cohort dietary studies. Effects of components were studied in relation to subsequent 5‐year weight changes in 862 men and 900 women, 30 to 60 years old. Linear multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results: Mean 5‐year changes in body weight (BW) were 1.2 ± 3.9 and 1.3 ± 4.6 kg for men and women, respectively. In general, neither ED nor any of the dietary components was associated with subsequent change in BW. In women, ED was positively associated with weight gain among the obese (BMI > 30 kg/m²) and inversely associated with weight gain in normal‐weight women (BMI < 25 kg/m²) (p = 0.01). However, in men there was a non‐ significant inverse trend between ED and weight gain in the obese and no significant interaction. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first prospective study to examine the associations between ED and subsequent changes in BW, and despite a general belief that ED is a major determinant of obesity, the present study did not generally lend support for an association. However, among certain subgroups, an energy‐dense diet may be a risk factor for weight development.     

The height of Tennessee convicts: another piece of the “antebellum puzzle”

Average height of the free population in the United States born in the mid-1830s began to decline despite growing per capita incomes. Explanations for this "antebellum puzzle" revolve around a possibly deteriorating disease environment promoted by urban agglomeration and increases in the relative price of protein-rich foods. However, several groups were immune to the effect, including members of the middle class, whose income was high enough, and increased enough to overcome the adverse developments and maintain their nutritional status. Although at the opposite end of the social spectrum, the height of male slaves also increased, as it was in their owners' interest to raise their slaves' food allotments. The height of Tennessee convicts, analyzed in this article, also increased in the late-1830s, being the third exception to the "antebellum puzzle." Mid-19th century Tennessee was integrated into interstate commerce in cotton and tobacco and experienced considerable movement of people who would have brought with them diseases from elsewhere, hence, it would have been integrated into the US disease pool, and the fact that heights did not decline in the 1830s is therefore an indication that the antebellum puzzle cannot be explained exclusively by the spread of diseases. Yet, Tennessee's economy was quite different to that of the rest of the country. Although it did export live swine to the South, these exports did not increase during the antebellum decades. Hence, Tennessee remained self-sufficient in pork, and consumption of pork did not decline. Thus, the evidence presented here is consistent with the economic interpretation of the "antebellum puzzle": self-sufficiency in protein production protected even the members of the lower-classes of Tennessee from the negative externalities associated with the onset of industrialization.     

布氏田鼠肥满度分析和小型兽类肥满度指标K与KWL（重长指标）的比较

通过对两个肥满度指标的理论和生物学意义分析,以及对布氏田鼠肥满度的研究和实际应用的讨论,认为描述动物的肥满度时,重长指标ＫＷＬ优于指标Ｋ。两指标的最大差别是成体的ＫＷＬ值大于幼体,而成体的Ｋ值小于幼体。布氏田鼠肥满度没有性别差异;有异著的年龄差异,成体鼠的肥满度高于幼鼠;有显著的季节变化,鼠种群春季肥满度最高,夏季降低,秋季回升;有显著的年际变化,高数量年的肥满度高于低数量年。     

High Temperature Stress Resistance of Escherichia coli Induced by a Tobacco Class I Low Molecular Weight Heat-Shock Protein

TLHS1 is a class I low molecular weight heat-shock protein (LMW HSP) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). For a functional study of TLHS1, a recombinant DNA coding for TLHS1 with a hexahistidine tag at the aminoterminus was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. An expressed fusion protein, H₆TLHS1, was purified using a Ni²⁺ affinity column and a Sephacryl S400 HR column. A polyclonal antibody against H₆TLHS1 was produced to follow the fate of H₆TLHS1 in E. coli. The fusion protein in E. coli maintained its solubility at a temperature of up to 90°C and most of the proteins in the E. coli cell lysate with H₆TLHS1 were prevented from thermally induced aggregation at up to 90°C. We compared the viability of E. coli cells expressing H₆TLHS1 to the E. coli cells without H₆TLHS1 at a temperature of 50°C. After 8 h of high temperature treatment, E. coli cells with H₆TLHS1 survived about three thousand times more than the bacterial cells without H₆TLHS1. These results showed that a plant class I LMW HSP, TLHS1, can protect proteins of E. coli from heat denaturation, which could lead to a higher survival rate of the bacterial cells at high temperature.     

Population structure and biology of alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis) in the Saint John River,New Brunswick

Synopsis Examination of more than 2,000 alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis) from various areas in the Saint John River, N.B., showed differences in their morphometric and meristic characters. They differed also in length and age, compositions, spawning time, length and age at maturity, back-calculated lengths, and growth parameters. Within each species, between-area comparisons showed significant differences in some of their meristic characteristics.To test a homing hypothesis for alewives, a multivariate analysis was performed on eight meristic characters. Two discriminant function programs, discriminant analysis for two groups and a multiple group stepwise discriminant analyses were used. Values of the generalized Mahalanobis D² and percent overlap in frequency distributions of meristic characters suggest that considerable straying of fish, especially between adjacent areas occurs during upstream spawning migration.This article is one of several papers presented at the Second European Ichthyological Congress, Paris, 8–15 September 1976, to be published in Environmental Biology of Fishes.     

基于分组重量编码的蛋白质功能预测

从蛋白质序列出发,采用分组重量编码(Encoding Based on Grouped Weight,简记EBGW),并结合最近邻居算法对蛋白质功能进行预测。对酵母(Saccharomyces cerevisiae)蛋白质的1826条序列进行预测,整体预测准确率与其他基于序列信息的蛋白质功能预测方法相当。实验结果表明基于EBGW编码方案的新方法可有效地应用于蛋白质功能预测。     

子代身高性别对父母身高的回归分析

对抽样调查的身高数据进行计量分析,建立了子代对亲代身高的回归分析模型,揭示了子代身高与亲代身高的遗传率;研究结果表明,父母身高对下一代的遗传率强度不同,母亲要强于父亲;子女接受遗传的效应也不一样,女儿要强于儿子;建立了性别遗传模型,深入研究了亲代父母之间的身高差对子代性别的影响,亲代身高差越大,则生女孩的几率就越大,反之生男孩的几率就越大．     

Determining minimum ultimate size, setting size limits, and developing trophy standards and indices of comparable size for maintaining quality muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) populations and sports fisheries

Growth and ultimate size can provide important population insights and a sound biological basis for setting length limits, which can be the best single regulation for preventing overexploitation of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) populations. A system was developed, using cleithral age and total length at age confidence limits (CL) data, to determine reproductive and growth potential (ultimate size) for calculating and setting increased size limits based on minimum reproductive size (upper 99% CL at age at first maturity + 2 year) and minimum ultimate size (MUS) calculated from the lower 99% CL—minimum ultimate size limit (MUSL). MUS also provides a trophy standard and an index of relative size for comparing trophy potential of individuals within and among populations. Guidelines are provided for determining minimum sample size (mean ± 95% confidence interval = 12 ± 4) and minimum age (8–10 ± 2.0 year) required to produce valid von Bertalanffy growth trajectories. MUS, MUSL, and trophy standards for both length and estimated weight are provided for female and male muskellunge from 14 Ontario sources. Mean MUS, or trophy standard, for females was 115 ± 10.3 cm (MUSL range 75–135) and 11.1 ± 2.6 kg (2.5–17.5) and for males was 95 ± 7.5 cm (66–110) and 6.1 ± 1.3 kg (1.9–9.2). These indices can precisely define growth and growth potential for muskellunge populations and individuals and can be used to better manage and maintain or improve the quality of muskellunge populations and fisheries. Dedicated to the late Dr. E.J. Crossman.