Investigating children's physical activity and sedentary behavior using ecological momentary assessment with mobile phones

The risk of obesity during childhood can be significantly reduced through increased physical activity and decreased sedentary behavior. Recent technological advances have created opportunities for the real-time measurement of these behaviors. Mobile phones are ubiquitous and easy to use, and thus have the capacity to collect data from large numbers of people. The present study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and validity of an electronic ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol using electronic surveys administered on the display screen of mobile phones to assess children's physical activity and sedentary behaviors. A total of 121 children (ages 9-13, 51% male, 38% at risk for overweight/overweight) participated in EMA monitoring from Friday afternoon to Monday evening during children's nonschool time, with 3-7 surveys/day. Items assessed current activity (e.g., watching TV/movies, playing video games, active play/sports/exercising). Children simultaneously wore an Actigraph GT2M accelerometer. EMA survey responses were time-matched to total step counts and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) occurring in the 30 min before each EMA survey prompt. No significant differences between answered and unanswered EMA surveys were found for total steps or MVPA. Step counts and the likelihood of 5+ min of MVPA were significantly higher during EMA-reported physical activity (active play/sports/exercising) vs. sedentary behaviors (reading/computer/homework, watching TV/movies, playing video games, riding in a car) (P < 0.001). Findings generally support the acceptability and validity of a 4-day EMA protocol using mobile phones to measure physical activity and sedentary behavior in children during leisure time.     

Comparing and combining predictors of mostly disordered proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins and regions carry out varied and vital cellular functions. Proteins with disordered regions are especially common in eukaryotic cells, with a subset of these proteins being mostly disordered, e.g., with more disordered than ordered residues. Two distinct methods have been previously described for using amino acid sequences to predict which proteins are likely to be mostly disordered. These methods are based on the net charge-hydropathy distribution and disorder prediction score distribution. Each of these methods is reexamined, and the prediction results are compared herein. A new prediction method based on consensus is described. Application of the consensus method to whole genomes reveals that approximately 4.5% of Yersinia pestis, 5% of Escherichia coli K12, 6% of Archaeoglobus fulgidus, 8% of Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, 23% of Arabidopsis thaliana, and 28% of Mus musculus proteins are mostly disordered. The unexpectedly high frequency of mostly disordered proteins in eukaryotes has important implications both for large-scale, high-throughput projects and also for focused experiments aimed at determination of protein structure and function.     

基于RS和GIS的杭州城市生态环境质量综合评价技术

针对生态环境质量传统评价技术的不足,开展中小尺度区域RS和GIS相结合的评价技术研究.将研究区域和评价单元网格化,由RS和GIS技术获取生态环境空间数据,选取自然环境条件、环境质量、自然景观格局和城市化影响4大类共11个指标为评价指标,并利用GIS空间分析技术,将环境污染常规监测数据和社会经济统计数据同化到小网格评价单元进行综合评价,并与城市热岛效应对比,分级评价结果基本符合杭州市区生态环境质量现状.     

A life cycle assessment framework combining nutritional and environmental health impacts of diet: a case study on milk

Purpose

While there has been considerable effort to understand the environmental impact of a food or diet, nutritional effects are not usually included in food-related life cycle assessment (LCA).

Methods

We developed a novel Combined Nutritional and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (CONE-LCA) framework that evaluates and compares in parallel the environmental and nutritional effects of foods or diets. We applied this framework to assess human health impacts, expressed in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), in a proof-of-concept case study that investigated the environmental and nutritional human health effects associated with the addition of one serving of fluid milk to the present average adult US diet. Epidemiology-based nutritional impacts and benefits linked to milk intake, such as colorectal cancer, stroke, and prostate cancer, were compared to selected environmental impacts traditionally considered in LCA (global warming and particulate matter) carried to a human health endpoint.

Results and discussion

Considering potential human health effects related to global warming, particulate matter, and nutrition, within the context of this study, findings suggest that adding one serving of milk to the current average diet could result in a health benefit for American adults, assuming that existing foods associated with substantial health benefits are not substituted, such as fruits and vegetables. The net health benefit is further increased when considering an iso-caloric substitution of less healthy foods (sugar-sweetened beverages). Further studies are needed to test whether this conclusion holds within a more comprehensive assessment of environmental and nutritional health impacts.

Conclusions

This case study provides the first quantitative epidemiology-based estimate of the complements and trade-offs between nutrition and environment human health burden expressed in DALYs, pioneering the infancy of a new approach in LCA. We recommend further testing of this CONE-LCA approach for other food items and diets, especially when making recommendations about sustainable diets and food choices.

     

Evaluating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder using ecological momentary assessment: a systematic review

Ecological momentary assessment is an excellent tool for the measurement of different day-to-day domains in patients and capturing real-world and real-time data. The purpose of this review is to evaluate feasibility in current ecological momentary assessment studies on emotional and behavioral functioning, functional impairments, and quality of life patients with an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis. This systematic review follows the recommendation of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines selecting articles published from January 1, 1990, up to the latest access on May 2018, identifying a pool of 23 eligible studies. Twenty-three studies demonstrate the validity of ecological momentary assessment methodology in evaluating different aspects of patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Fifteen studies focus on the child’s or adolescent’s daily behavior, while eight studies only focus on adults. The studies presented in this review monitored patients and their families over a maximum period of 28 days. We can conclude that ecological momentary assessment can be successfully implemented with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder patients to evaluate diverse backgrounds. However, more studies are needed with a longer monitoring period, especially in adolescents, to determine the effectiveness of ecological momentary assessment on patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.     

Habitual Snoring in school-aged children: environmental and biological predictors

Background

Habitual snoring, a prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, is an important indicator for a number of health problems in children. Compared to adults, large epidemiological studies on childhood habitual snoring and associated predisposing factors are extremely scarce. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of habitual snoring among Chinese school-aged children.

Methods

A random sample of 20,152 children aged 5.08 to 11.99 years old participated in a cross-sectional survey, which was conducted in eight cities of China. Parent-administrated questionnaires were used to collect information on children''s snoring frequency and the possible correlates.

Results

The prevalence of habitual snoring was 12.0% (14.5% for boys vs. 9.5% for girls) in our sampled children. Following factors were associated with an increased risk for habitual snoring: lower family income (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.46), lower father''s education (OR = 1.38 and 1.14 for middle school or under and high school of educational level, respectively), breastfeeding duration < 6 months (OR = 1.17), pregnancy maternal smoking (OR = 1.51), obesity (OR = 1.50), overweight (OR = 1.35), several respiratory problems associated with atopy and infection, such as chronic/allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.94), asthma (OR = 1.43), adenotonsillar hypertrophy (OR = 2.17), and chronic otitis media (OR = 1.31), and family history of habitual snoring (OR = 1.70).

Conclusion

The prevalence of habitual snoring in Chinese children was similar to that observed in other countries. The potential predisposing factors covered socioeconomic characteristics, environmental exposures, chronic health problems, and family susceptibility. Compared to socioeconomic status and family susceptibility, environmental exposures and chronic health problems had greater impact, indicating childhood habitual snoring could be partly prevented by health promotion and environmental intervention.     

东莞市东部工业园水生态环境质量评价

对东莞市东部工业园水系的浮游藻类、浮游动物、底栖生物和水质物理化学指标进行调查和评价.3个断面共监测到浮游藻类6门56属71种;浮游动物3个门共14种;底栖动物5种.利用叶绿素a、藻类数量单项指标、生物多样性指数和水质的理化指标对水系各断面水质进行综合评价,结果显示:东引运河横沥断面和企石排污口断面水体属于中度污染,而常平排污口断面污染严重且存在较强的非营养型污染:河流沉积物污染较水体污染严重;对水体的理化污染监测分析结果与生态评价相吻合,生态评价具有较好的准确性和灵敏性.因此,工业园区的建设与运营应严格做好废水的处理工作,有效保护工业园区水系的生态环境.     

Diurnal variation of tension-type headache intensity and exacerbation: An investigation using computerized ecological momentary assessment

ABSTRACT: BackgroundsTension-type headache is a common psychosomatic disease. However, diurnal variation of headache is yet to be clarified, perhaps due to the lack of an appropriate method to investigate it. Like other painful diseases, it would be helpful to know if there is diurnal variation in tension-type headaches, both for managing headaches and understanding their pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to determine if there is diurnal variation in the intensity and exacerbation of tension-type headache. METHODS: Patients (N = 31) with tension-type headache recorded for one week their momentary headache intensity several times a day and their acute headache exacerbations using a watch-type computer as an electronic diary (computerized ecological momentary assessment). Multilevel modeling was used to test the effects of time of day on momentary headache intensity and on the occurrence of acute exacerbations. RESULTS: A significant diurnal variation in momentary headache intensity was shown (P = 0.0005), with the weakest headaches in the morning and a peak in the late afternoon. A between-individual difference in the diurnal pattern was suggested. On-demand medication use was associated with a different diurnal pattern (P = 0.025), suggesting that headache intensity decreases earlier in the evening in subjects who used on-demand medication, while headache subtype, prophylactic medication use, and sex were not associated with the difference. The occurrence of acute headache exacerbation also showed a significant diurnal variation, with a peak after noon (P = 0.0015). CONCLUSIONS: Tension-type headache was shown to have a significant diurnal variation. The relation to pathophysiology and psychosocial aspects needs to be further explored.     

Ant eating behavior of mountain gorillas

Eleven cases of feeding on driver ants (Dorylus sp.) by mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are described. Ant eating provides the gorillas with more animal protein and other nutrients per unit feeding time than do other forms of insectivory that contribute to their diet, but it is so rare that it is unlikely to be of real nutritional significance. Gorillas obtain ants with their hands and do not use tools. Immature individuals (except infants) ate more ants than did adult females, and silverbacks were not seen to eat ants. These differences are more likely to reflect differences in individual taste and interest in novelty than differences in nutritional strategy. Not all gorillas in the Virungas population eat ants. Intra-population variability may be ecologically contingent, but ant eating appears to be a socially acquired and transmitted taste.     

Brain monoamines and peptides: role in the control of eating behavior

Studies of brain monoamines and neuropeptides have provided extensive evidence in support of their role in the control of normal eating behavior. In this process, the medial and lateral portions of the hypothalamus, working in conjunction with forebrain and hindbrain sites and with peripheral autonomic-endocrine systems, have a critical responsibility in balancing signals for hunger and satiety. Via its rich and biologically active neurotransmitter substances, the hypothalamus monitors and integrates the complex sensory and metabolic input concerning the nutritional status of the organism and transduces this information into appropriate quantitative and qualitative adjustments in food intake. The specific neurotransmitters for which there is the most extensive evidence for a physiological function include the eating-stimulatory substances norepinephrine (alpha 2), opioid peptides, pancreatic polypeptides, growth hormone-releasing factor, and gamma-aminobutyric acid; the eating-inhibitory substances dopamine, epinephrine, serotonin, cholecystokinin, neurotensin, calcitonin, glucagon, and corticotropin-releasing factor; and possibly other gut-brain peptides. From biochemical, pharmacological, and anatomical studies, hypotheses have been generated to explain the role of these various monoamines and neuropeptides in controlling total energy intake, in determining the amount and pattern of macronutrient selection, and in maintaining normal energy and nutrient stores under fluctuating conditions within the external environment.     

Molecular regulation of eating behavior: new insights and prospects for therapeutic strategies

Obesity is highly prevalent in industralized countries and is increasing worldwide. It is also a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease and certain cancers. An understanding of the regulation of eating behavior is pertinent to obesity, as the latter results from an imbalance between food consumption and energy expenditure. Leptin and other hormones regulate feeding and energy balance by modulating the expression of neuropeptides in the brain. Major efforts are underway to determine whether the peripheral and central pathways involved in the regulation of feeding behavior and energy balance could be targeted for the treatment of obesity.     

Nonfouling behavior of polycarboxybetaine-grafted surfaces: structural and environmental effects

Zwitterionic carboxybetaine (CB) has unique dual functionality for ligand immobilization on a nonfouling background. The properties of CB groups depend on their spacer groups between the positive quaternary amine groups and the negative carboxyl groups and environmental factors (e.g., ionic strengths and pH values). In this work, five polycarboxybetaines were prepared, including one polycarboxybetaine methacrylate (polyCBMA) and four polycarboxybetaine acrylamides (polyCBAAs) with different spacer groups. The polymers were grafted from a gold surface covered with initiators using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Fibrinogen adsorption was measured as a function of ionic strengths and pH values using surface plasmon resonance sensors. The responsive protein adsorption on four polyCBAAs was mapped out. Results show that most of these surfaces exhibit high protein resistance in a wide range of ionic strengths and are more effective than zwitterionic self-assembled monolayers. Although protein adsorption tends to increase at low ionic strength and low pH value, it is still very low for polycarboxybetaines with a methylene, an ethylene, or a propylene spacer group but is more evident for polyCBAA with a longer spacer group (i.e., a pentene group). The response to ionic strengths and pH values can be attributed to the antipolyelectrolyte and protonation/deprotonation properties of polycarboxybetaines, respectively. Both of these properties are related to the spacer groups of CBs.     

BDNF regulates eating behavior and locomotor activity in mice

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was studied initially for its role in sensory neuron development. Ablation of this gene in mice leads to death shortly after birth, and abnormalities have been found in both the peripheral and central nervous systems. BDNF and its tyrosine kinase receptor, TrkB, are expressed in hypothalamic nuclei associated with satiety and locomotor activity. In heterozygous mice, BDNF gene expression is reduced and we find that all heterozygous mice exhibit abnormalities in eating behavior or locomotor activity. We also observe this phenotype in independently derived inbred and hybrid BDNF mutant strains. Infusion with BDNF or NT4/5 can transiently reverse the eating behavior and obesity. Thus, we identify a novel non-neurotrophic function for neurotrophins and indicate a role in behavior that is remarkably sensitive to alterations in BDNF activity.