Israeli jewish infants of different descent: growth patterns, likeness and differences. Longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Due to increasing migration process and intermarriages among individuals belonging to different ethnic groups, it is important to examine whether intermixing of populations effects child growth rate. AIMS: To compare growth patterns of Jewish infants from distinct descent. SUBJECTS: 1300 Israeli children were divided into 7 groups: 4 groups of babies with both parents from the same geographic origin (Europe, Yemen, Middle East or North Africa) and 3 inter-mixed groups according to genetic distances between the parents' derivation. STUDY DESIGN: The studied infants were monitored longitudinally for both body length. weight and head circumference from birth until 20 months of life. Using the curve fitting technique the follow-up data were fitted to the 3-parameter Count model. Outcome measurements: Three sets of maximal likelihood estimates of the model parameters were obtained to test the growth patterns of different groups of Jewish children: individually-specific for every child, group specific for each individual within the group, and general for all individuals from all studied groups. Likelihood ratio test was used to examine whether the chosen function of trait dependence on age is uniformly reliable for all individuals from all the considered groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences were indicated between all studied growth curves for all three studied traits. Moreover, distances calculated between the studied cohorts demonstrated a clear distinction between the clusters of "non-mixed" and "mixed" groups for length and weight. Since the studied children were born and developed in similar environments, these results may serve as important evidence for the existence of a genetic effect on the growth process.     

Relationship between fluctuating asymmetry,morphological modality and heterozygosity in an elderly Israeli population

We have been checking the following working hypotheses: 1) There is a negative correlation between genetic heterozygosity and fluctuating asymmetry (FA); 2) FA is a measure of developmental stability/instability of the whole organism, i.e. we expect negative correlation between FA and morphological proximity of a set of mass-size variables of an individual to a population centroid; and 3) FA is a measure of character-specific stability in a population, i.e. we expect correlation between magnitude of FA and deviation of an individual from the population centroid of the bilateral characters themselves. For this purpose each individual in a sample of about 200 elderly individuals was assessed for 11 polymorphic blood systems (14 genetic loci) as well as for a set of 26 anthropometric traits: 1) a set of ten mass size variables; and 2) a set of eight pairs of bilateral measurements. Four multivariate measures of morphological centrality were computed, two measures for size and two measures of shape distances from the i^th individual to the population centroid for mass-size variables and also for the bilateral variables. A multivariate measure of FA for 8 bilateral pairs was also computed. No relationship was detected between FA and heterozygosity, or between FA and any of the four multivariate deviations. Thus, we concluded that our data do not support the listed hypotheses.     

Relationship between rheovasographic parameters and double product

The relationship between the leg rheovasographic parameters and double product (DP) has been studied in apparently healthy subjects, skilled athletes, and subjects with increased arterial blood pressure. It has been found that changes in DP are associated with changes in the parameters of venous return. The pattern of DP changes is mainly determined by the heart rate. Apparently, the time factor is the main characteristic of many properties of the myocardium, the heart, and the entire circulatory system determined by rhythm.     

Relationship between energy metabolism and growth

Summary A biphasic dependence of the exponential growth rate on the glucose concentration of the medium was observed in batch culture experiments for a strain of S. cerevisiae and one of its petit mutants. The data can be fitted to an equation of the Michaelis-Menten type with two sets of values of the growth parameters; the switch-over occurs at a glucose concentration of 4 mM. Another petit mutant did not show the biphasic character.Regulation of the energy metabolism in relation to the cell cycle is discussed. It is suggested that the observed shift in the growth parameters may be due to a change in the control point of glycolysis from phosphofructokinase to pyruvate kinase at higher glucose concentrations. This could reduce the duration of the G₁ phase by permitting a faster synthesis of reserve carbohydrates required as intracellular energy reservoirs for DNA synthesis.Nonstandard Abbreviations Used F6P fructose-6-phosphate - FDP fructose-1,6-diphosphate - G1P glucose-6-phosphate - PEP Phosphoenolpyruvate - PYR pyruvate Enzymes PFK phosphofructokinase (EC 2.7.1.11) - PK phosphoenolpyruvate kinase (EC 2.7.1.40)     

Relationship between milk composition and pup's growth in mice

The effect of lactation numbers (first, second, and third) on milk composition and the relationship between milk composition and pup's growth were examined in four strains of mice (SHN, SLN, C3H/He, and GR/A). Although the percentage of milk fat and moisture increased and decreased, respectively, through the first to third lactations in C3H/He mice, no differences in milk composition among lactation numbers were observed in the other mouse strains. In pooled data derived from the four strains of mice, there was no significant correlation between milk composition and body weight or growth rate of pups on Day 12 or 20 of the first lactation. In contrast, the amount of milk fat and moisture was the positively and negatively, respectively, correlated with the pup's growth parameters during the second and third lactations. This was reflected by a lower fat content and a higher moisture content in the milk of GR/A mice, especially evident during the second and third lactations and reduced pup's growth, when compared with the other mouse strains. Milk lactose and ash content was not correlated with pup's growth parameters. The results of our study stress the importance of milk fat for the growth of mouse pups.     

Relationships between growth parameters and scrotal circumference in young beef bulls

Scrotal circumferences of 119 young bulls of four distinct breeding groups were measured at the end of a feedlot performance test and at the beginning of the breeding season when the bulls were approximately 14 months old, to study the relationships of weight and growth parameters with testes size. Scrotal circumference was positively correlated with body weight at the end of feedlot test in the four breeding groups. The association between scrotal circumference and body weight was much stronger in the breeding group which had been selected for low yeariing weight than in the other three breeding groups which had been selected for high growth rate. The relationships between scrotal circumference and preweaning and postweaning gain differed among the four breeding groups. Preweaning gain was the most important factor in the association between body weight and scrotal circumference among the three beef breeding groups. The results indicated that the preweaning stage was a critical period for testicular development and that the probability of finding beef bulls with smaller than average testes among the bulls selected for weaning weight would be relatively small. Scrotal circumference was reduced $\text{(2.5–11\%)}$ from the end of feedlot test until the beginning of the breeding season.     

Relationship between pituitary-thyroid axis hormones and anthropometric parameters in Czech adult population

Although the relationships between thyroid function and anthropometric parameters were studied in patients with thyroid disorders and in morbidly obese subjects, such data in normal healthy population are scarce. In our study, relationships between factors of body composition, fat distribution and age with hormones of the pituitary-thyroid axis were evaluated in a large, randomly selected sample of normal adult Czech population comprising of 1012 men and 1625 women. Our results exhibited weak, but significant relationships between body composition, body fat distribution and the parameters of pituitary-thyroid axis. Some of these associations were gender-specific. As shown by backward stepwise regression model, body fat distribution evaluated by centrality index (subscapular/triceps skinfold ratio) was negatively associated with free triiodothyronine (fT3) serum levels only in women, while a positive correlation of fT3 with BMI was specific for men. BMI was inversely related to free thyroxine (fT4) concentrations in women but not in men. The centrality index (CI) was positively related to TSH levels in both genders. The fT3/fT4 ratio, reflecting deiodinase activity, was inversely related to age and positively related to BMI in both genders, while the highly significant negative correlation between CI and fT3/fT4 ratio was specific for women.     

早产儿喂养不耐受与肠道菌群关系的研究进展

喂养不耐受是指无法实现肠内营养的目标摄入量的同时出现了胃肠道功能障碍的症状,如大量胃潴留、腹胀、腹泻及呕吐等。菌群与宿主之间的动态平衡是维持机体健康的重要保证,对消化道营养吸收、内脏感知及运动、黏膜免疫以及量代谢调节等起关键作用。随着新一代测序技术的发展,关于早产儿喂养不耐受与肠道菌群的关系有了更深刻的认识,最新研究发现喂养不耐受早产儿的肠道菌群具有致病菌的相对丰度增加而有益菌的相对丰度减少的特点,本文就喂养不耐受与肠道菌群的关系相关的研究进展作一综述。     

Relationship between latex yield of Hevea brasiliensis and antecedent environmental parameters

A study on the relationship between latex yield and antecedent environmental data was undertaken for five clones (RRII203, RRII118, RRIM600, RRII105 and GT1) of Hevea brasiliensis (rubber) in Agartala, northeast India, a region in which rubber is not traditionally cultivated. The explained variance for the regression equations based on parameters determined on the day of tapping and up to 3 days prior to it, varied from 72% to 37% during the NWT period and 94-83% during the WT period. Soil moisture storage, 1 and 3 days prior to tapping, was found to be the primary parameter affecting yield for the NWT and WT periods, respectively. It was observed that the clone RRII105, with a comparatively lower yield to that of RRIM600, was more susceptible to daily WD conditions during the non-winter season. RRIM600 and RRII105 being high-yielding clones were also found to be fairly dependent on the AT of the day prior to tapping. The mean lag period correlation of this parameter with yield was also found to be higher during the WT period than during the NWT period. As a whole, the mean lag period based on prior measurements of environmental variables showed optimum correlation with yield at 15-20 days prior to the day of tapping. The study also confirms that varied responses of yield with environmental factors in this non-traditional region of rubber cultivation depend on clonal character.     

Relationship between glucose utilization and growth rate in Bacillus subtilis

The effect of growth rate on the rate of glucose utilization has been examined with a sporogenic and a weakly sporogenic strain of Bacillus subtilis by means of the continuous culture technique. Cultures were grown aerobically on a mineral salts medium with glucose as the carbon and energy source. During both nitrogen and l-tryptophan limitation, the rate of glucose consumption (milligrams of glucose per hour per milligrams of cells) decreased when the growth rate was decreased. The coupling between the rate of glucose disappearance and the growth rate was estimated as 76 to 86% during nitrogen limitation and as 60 to 78% during tryptophan limitation. Sporulation had no detectable influence on the coupling.     

Relationship between cytoagglutination and saturation density of cell growth

The agglutination with concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin of the established malignant cells, HEp 2, KB, HeLa, TDB-3, HTC and RV 3T3, and of the putatively normal cells, BHK 21, 3T3 and Wi-38 was examined as a function of their saturation densities in culture. A positive correlation between the saturation density of the cell lines and the capacity to agglutinate was demonstrated. Incubation for 15 minutes with 1.25 mg/ml of trypsin converted non-agglutinating and poorly agglutinating cells into agglutinable ones, while leaving the highly agglutinating lines largely unchanged. The magnitude of change in agglutination after trypsin treatment correlated inversely with saturation density. Although the extent of agglutination varied with the saturation density, the agglutinability of a particular line remained relatively unchanged at different cell densities.