Adiposity, physical activity, and physical fitness among children from Aragón, Spain

Objective: The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between physical activity (PA) levels and adiposity. The secondary purpose was to assess the effect of physical fitness and living area on adiposity. Research Methods and Procedures: A cross‐sectional study was carried out in a regional representative sample of 1068 children 7 to 12 years of age. Anthropometric and physical fitness values (including BMI, aerobic capacity, strength levels, velocity assessment, and flexibility) were measured in all children. Results: The prevalence of being overweight and obese in the entire sample was 31% and 6%, respectively. No difference between urban and rural children was found. The proportion of boys who were classified as overweight and obese was similar in physically active and sedentary (non‐physically active) groups. However, physically active girls tended to show lower obesity prevalence compared with their sedentary counterparts (p = 0.06). In girls, the sum of the 6 skinfolds thickness (SSF) measurements was lower in the physically active group when compared with the non‐physically active group (p < 0.05); however, this effect was not observed in boys. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the level of physical activity (PA) had a significant effect on BMI and SSF in boys but not in girls, while maximal oxygen uptake (Vo _2max) was significantly related to adiposity in both sexes. Discussion: Regular participation in at least 2 hours per week of sports activities on top of the compulsory education program is associated with better physical fitness and lower whole body adiposity. In the children included in our study, among all physical fitness variables, Vo _2max showed the strongest relationship with BMI and fat mass assessed by means of skinfold measurements.     

Isolation of eight microsatellites loci from the saddled bream, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oblada melanura</Emphasis> and cross-species amplification in two sea bream species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diplodus</Emphasis>

We have developed eight new microsatellite markers for the saddled bream (Oblada melanura) from an enriched genome library protocol. All these loci are polymorphic, with mean allelic diversity of 14.75 (range 3–22), and expected and observed heterozygosities from 0.233 to 0.918 and 0.212 to 0.913, respectively. Cross-species tests in two close relatives of the genus Diplodus (D. sargus and D. vulgaris) revealed successful amplifications at 6 out of 8 loci, with means allele number of 6.67 (range 4–10) and 6.50 (range 4–10), respectively. These results are consistent with the close phylogenetic relationships between the three species, indicating this set of primers might proved useful for studying the levels of genetic diversity and population differentiation in these three species and in other phylogenetically close species of the genus Diplodus and Sparus.     

Competition for alfalfa nodulation under metal stress by the metal‐tolerant strain Ochrobactrum cytisi Azn6.2

Legume plants, in association with rhizobia, are gaining increasing interest for heavy metal rhizoremediation. This symbiotic interaction combines the advantages of rhizoremediation and soil nitrogen enrichment. In metal polluted soils, Ochrobactrum cytisi can elicit non‐fixing nodules on legumes, including Medicago sativa. Nodulation kinetics was much slower when M. sativa plants were inoculated with O. cytisi Azn6.2 compared with the natural symbiont Ensifer meliloti 1021 and nodules were ineffective in nitrogen fixation. A competition experiment was performed using alfalfa grown on heavy metals, and co‐inoculated with equal amounts of the metal‐sensitive E. meliloti 1021 and the metal‐resistant O. cytisi Azn6.2. When plants were inoculated in non‐polluted substrates, all nodules were formed by E. meliloti 1021. Nevertheless, under increasing metal concentrations, the number of nodules occupied by O. cytisi grew. At the highest metal concentration, all nodules were elicited by O. cytisi, suggesting that the resistant species can take the place of the natural symbiont. This fact has important ecological and environmental implications when proposing legume–rhizobia symbioses for rhizoremediation and highlights the need of selecting highly resistant rhizobia in order to be competitive in polluted soils.     

Molecular Insights on the Release of Avibactam from the Acyl-Enzyme Complex

Avibactam is a non-β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor for treating complicated urinary tract and respiratory infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens, a serious public health threat. Despite its importance, the release mechanism of avibactam from the enzyme-inhibitor complex has been scarcely studied from first principles, considering the total protein environment. This information at the molecular level is essential for the rational design of new antibiotics and inhibitors. In this article, we addressed the release of avibactam from the complex CTX-M-15 by means of molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics calculations. This study provides molecular information not available earlier, including exploration of the potential energy surfaces, characterization of the observed intermediate, and their critical points, as well. Our results show that unlike that observed in the acylation reaction, the residues Glu166 and Lys73 would be in their neutral forms. Release of avibactam follows a stepwise mechanism in which the first stage corresponds to the formation of a tetrahedral intermediate, whereas the second stage corresponds to the cleavage of the Ser70-C7 bond, mediated by Lys73, either directly or through Ser130.     

First proposal of quality indicators and standards and recommendations to improve the healthcare in the Spanish National Registry of Hip Fracture

BackgroundThe Spanish National Hip Fracture Registry (or Registro Nacional de Fractura de Cadera, RNFC) is a database of hip fracture patients admitted to Spanish hospitals. Its goals include assessment and continuous improvement of the care process.ObjectivesTo (1) establish a series of indicators, (2) evaluate their initial fulfillment, (3) propose quality standards, (4) suggest recommendations to facilitate standards compliance, and (5) monitor the indicators.MethodThe indicators fulfilled the criteria of (1) evaluating the process or outcome, (2) being clinically relevant for patients, (3) being modifiable through changes in healthcare practice, and (4) being considered important by the RNFC participants. The first quartile obtained by the group of hospitals in each of the respective variables was proposed as the standard. The Indicators Advisory Committee (IAC) elaborated a list of recommendations for each indicator, based on the available evidence.ResultsSeven indicators were chosen. These indicators (its baseline compliance vs. the standard to be reached, respectively) were: the proportion of patients receiving surgery within 48 h (44% vs. 63%), mobilized the first postoperative day (56% vs. 86%), with antiosteoporotic medication at discharge (32% vs. 61%), with calcium supplements at discharge (46% vs. 77%), with vitamin D supplements at discharge (67% vs. 92%), who developed pressure ulcers during hospitalization (7.2% vs. 2.1%) and with independent mobility at 30 days (58% vs. 70%). The IAC has established 25 recommendations for improving care.ConclusionThe indicators and standards chosen are presented, as well as the list of recommendations. This process completes the first step to improve quality of care. The results will be evaluated 6 months after implementing the recommendations.     

Genetic control of duration of pre-anthesis phases in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and relationships to leaf appearance, tillering, and dry matter accumulation

The duration of pre-anthesis developmental phases is of interest in breeding for improved adaptation and yield potential in temperate cereals. Yet despite numerous studies on the genetic control of anthesis (flowering) time and floral initiation, little is known about the genetic control of other pre-anthesis phases. Furthermore, little is known about the effect that changes in the duration of pre-anthesis phases could have on traits related to leaf appearance and tillering, or dry matter accumulation before terminal spikelet initiation (TS). The genetic control of the leaf and spikelet initiation phase (LS; from sowing to TS), the stem elongation phase (SE; from TS to anthesis), and, within the latter, from TS to flag leaf appearance and from then to anthesis, was studied in two doubled-haploid, mapping bread wheat populations, Cranbrook × Halberd and CD87 × Katepwa, in two field experiments (ACT and NSW, Australia). The lengths of phases were estimated from measurements of both TS and the onset of stem elongation. Dry weight per plant before TS, rate of leaf appearance, tillering rate, maximum number of tillers and number of leaves, and dry weight per plant at TS were also estimated in the Cranbrook × Halberd population. More genomic regions were identified for the length of the different pre-anthesis phases than for total time to anthesis. Although overall genetic correlations between LS and SE were significant and positive, independent genetic variability between LS and SE, and several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with different effects on both phases were found in the two populations. Several of these QTLs (which did not seem to coincide with reported major genes) could be of interest for breeding purposes since they were only significant for either LS or SE. There was no relationship between LS and the rate of leaf appearance. LS was strongly and positively correlated with dry weight at TS but only slightly negatively correlated with early vigour (dry weight before TS). Despite significant genetic correlations between LS and some tillering traits, shortening LS so as to lengthen SE without modifying total time to anthesis would not necessarily reduce tillering capacity, as QTLs for tillering traits did not coincide with those QTLs significant only for LS or SE. Therefore, the study of different pre-anthesis phases is relevant for a better understanding of genetic factors regulating developmental time and may offer new tools for fine-tuning it in breeding for both adaptability and yield potential.