Income and Physical Activity among Adults: Evidence from Self-Reported and Pedometer-Based Physical Activity Measurements

This study examined the relationship between income and physical activity by using three measures to illustrate daily physical activity: the self-reported physical activity index for leisure-time physical activity, pedometer-based total steps for overall daily physical activity, and pedometer-based aerobic steps that reflect continuous steps for more than 10 min at a time. The study population consisted of 753 adults from Finland (mean age 41.7 years; 64% women) who participated in 2011 in the follow-up of the ongoing Young Finns study. Ordinary least squares models were used to evaluate the associations between income and physical activity. The consistency of the results was explored by using register-based income information from Statistics Finland, employing the instrumental variable approach, and dividing the pedometer-based physical activity according to weekdays and weekend days. The results indicated that higher income was associated with higher self-reported physical activity for both genders. The results were robust to the inclusion of the control variables and the use of register-based income information. However, the pedometer-based results were gender-specific and depended on the measurement day (weekday vs. weekend day). In more detail, the association was positive for women and negative or non-existing for men. According to the measurement day, among women, income was positively associated with aerobic steps despite the measurement day and with totals steps measured on the weekend. Among men, income was negatively associated with aerobic steps measured on weekdays. The results indicate that there is an association between income and physical activity, but the association is gender-specific and depends on the measurement type of physical activity.     

Accumulation of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Medication among Apparently Healthy Statin Initiators

PurposeTo characterize accumulation of drug-modifiable cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in statin initiators who had no prior medication or hospitalizations for CV disease or diabetes.MethodsA cohort of 45-75-year-old statin initiators in Finland with no prior CV diseases, diabetes or medication for these conditions was followed up for 24 months after statin initiation for accumulation of CV and diabetes drugs. The number of drugs was measured semi-annually since the first statin purchase and analyzed by growth mixture modeling.ResultsOf the 11 948 apparently healthy statin initiators, 34% purchased at least one additional CV or diabetes drug during the subsequent 24 months. Of those, 20% redeemed no other CV or diabetes drugs at statin initiation but started to accumulate them after 18 months of follow-up, receiving on average 1.3 other drugs at 24 months. The majority, 59%, redeemed on average 0.5 drugs at statin initiation and accumulated 1.5 drugs by the end of 24-month follow-up. Seventeen percent received 1 additional drug at statin initiation, accumulating on average 3 drugs. The remaining 4% with an average of 2 CV or diabetes drugs at statin initiation redeemed 3.5 additional drugs during the follow-up.ConclusionsTwo years after statin initiation, 2 in 3 apparently healthy initiators could still be defined as such as reflected by CV and diabetes medication use.     

Mitochondrial Genome of Phlebia radiata Is the Second Largest (156 kbp) among Fungi and Features Signs of Genome Flexibility and Recent Recombination Events

Mitochondria are eukaryotic organelles supporting individual life-style via generation of proton motive force and cellular energy, and indispensable metabolic pathways. As part of genome sequencing of the white rot Basidiomycota species Phlebia radiata, we first assembled its mitochondrial genome (mtDNA). So far, the 156 348 bp mtDNA is the second largest described for fungi, and of considerable size among eukaryotes. The P. radiata mtDNA assembled as single circular dsDNA molecule containing genes for the large and small ribosomal RNAs, 28 transfer RNAs, and over 100 open reading frames encoding the 14 fungal conserved protein subunits of the mitochondrial complexes I, III, IV, and V. Two genes (atp6 and tRNA-Ile^GAU) were duplicated within 6.1 kbp inverted region, which is a unique feature of the genome. The large mtDNA size, however, is explained by the dominance of intronic and intergenic regions (sum 80% of mtDNA sequence). The intergenic DNA stretches harness short (≤200 nt) repetitive, dispersed and overlapping sequence elements in abundance. Long self-splicing introns of types I and II interrupt eleven of the conserved genes (cox1,2,3; cob; nad1,2,4,4L,5; rnl; rns). The introns embrace a total of 57 homing endonucleases with LAGLIDADGD and GYI-YIG core motifs, which makes P. radiata mtDNA to one of the largest known reservoirs of intron-homing endonucleases. The inverted duplication, intergenic stretches, and intronic features are indications of dynamics and genetic flexibility of the mtDNA, not fully recognized to this extent in fungal mitochondrial genomes previously, thus giving new insights for the evolution of organelle genomes in eukaryotes.     

Stability of the Associations between Early Life Risk Indicators and Adolescent Overweight over the Evolving Obesity Epidemic

Background

Pre- and perinatal factors and preschool body size may help identify children developing overweight, but these factors might have changed during the development of the obesity epidemic.

Objective

We aimed to assess the associations between early life risk indicators and overweight at the age of 9 and 15 years at different stages of the obesity epidemic.

Methods

We used two population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohorts including 4111 children born in 1966 (NFBC1966) and 5414 children born in 1985–1986 (NFBC1986). In both cohorts, we used the same a priori defined prenatal factors, maternal body mass index (BMI), birth weight, infant weight (age 5 months and 1 year), and preschool BMI (age 2–5 years). We used internal references in early childhood to define percentiles of body size (<50, 50–75, 75–90 and >90) and generalized linear models to study the association with overweight, according to the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) definitions, at the ages of 9 and 15 years.

Results

The prevalence of overweight at the age of 15 was 9% for children born in 1966 and 16% for children born in 1986. However, medians of infant weight and preschool BMI changed little between the cohorts, and we found similar associations between maternal BMI, infant weight, preschool BMI, and later overweight in the two cohorts. At 5 years, children above the 90^th percentile had approximately a 12 times higher risk of being overweight at the age of 15 years compared to children below the 50^th percentile in both cohorts.

Conclusions

The associations between early body size and adolescent overweight showed remarkable stability, despite the increase in prevalence of overweight over the 20 years between the cohorts. Using consequently defined internal percentiles may be a valuable tool in clinical practice.     

Association between common variation at the FTO locus and changes in body mass index from infancy to late childhood: the complex nature of genetic association through growth and development

An age-dependent association between variation at the FTO locus and BMI in children has been suggested. We meta-analyzed associations between the FTO locus (rs9939609) and BMI in samples, aged from early infancy to 13 years, from 8 cohorts of European ancestry. We found a positive association between additional minor (A) alleles and BMI from 5.5 years onwards, but an inverse association below age 2.5 years. Modelling median BMI curves for each genotype using the LMS method, we found that carriers of minor alleles showed lower BMI in infancy, earlier adiposity rebound (AR), and higher BMI later in childhood. Differences by allele were consistent with two independent processes: earlier AR equivalent to accelerating developmental age by 2.37% (95% CI 1.87, 2.87, p?=?10(-20)) per A allele and a positive age by genotype interaction such that BMI increased faster with age (p?=?10(-23)). We also fitted a linear mixed effects model to relate genotype to the BMI curve inflection points adiposity peak (AP) in infancy and AR. Carriage of two minor alleles at rs9939609 was associated with lower BMI at AP (-0.40% (95% CI: -0.74, -0.06), p?=?0.02), higher BMI at AR (0.93% (95% CI: 0.22, 1.64), p?=?0.01), and earlier AR (-4.72% (-5.81, -3.63), p?=?10(-17)), supporting cross-sectional results. Overall, we confirm the expected association between variation at rs9939609 and BMI in childhood, but only after an inverse association between the same variant and BMI in infancy. Patterns are consistent with a shift on the developmental scale, which is reflected in association with the timing of AR rather than just a global increase in BMI. Results provide important information about longitudinal gene effects and about the role of FTO in adiposity. The associated shifts in developmental timing have clinical importance with respect to known relationships between AR and both later-life BMI and metabolic disease risk.     

High plasma level of long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is associated with fatal disease in bacteremic patients: a prospective cohort study

Introduction

Long pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is an acute-phase protein secreted by various cells, including leukocytes and endothelial cells. Like C-reactive protein (CRP), it belongs to the pentraxin superfamily. Recent studies indicate that high levels of PTX3 may be associated with mortality in sepsis. The prognostic value of plasma PTX3 in bacteremic patients is unknown.

Methods

Plasma PTX3 levels were measured in 132 patients with bacteremia caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, β-hemolytic streptococcae and Escherichia coli, using a commercial solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Values were measured on days 1–4 after positive blood culture, on day 13–18 and on recovery.

Results

The maximum PTX3 values on days 1–4 were markedly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (44.8 vs 6.4 ng/ml, p<0.001) and the AUC^ROC in the prediction of case fatality was 0.82 (95% CI 0.73–0.91). PTX3 at a cut-off level of 15 ng/ml showed 72% sensitivity and 81% specificity for fatal disease. High PTX3 (>15 ng/ml) was associated with hypotension (MAP <70 mmHg)(OR 7.9;95% CI 3.3–19.0) and high SOFA score (≥4)(OR 13.2; 95% CI 4.9–35.4). The CRP level (maximum value on days 1 to 4) did not predict case fatality at any cut-off level in the ROC curve (p = 0.132). High PTX3 (>15 ng/ml) remained an independent risk factor for case fatality in a logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders.

Conclusions

PTX3 proved to be a specific independent prognostic biomarker in bacteremia. PTX3 during the first days after diagnosis showed better prognostic value as compared to CRP, a widely used biomarker in clinical settings. PTX3 measurement offers a novel opportunity for the prognostic stratification of bacteremia patients.     

The higher expression and distribution of 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase1 (AhNCED1) from Arachis hyopgaea L. contribute to tolerance to water stress in a drought-tolerant cultivar

The 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) is thought to be the rate-limiting enzyme in the abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthetic pathway. In this study, transient expression of AhNCED1 and ABA distribution were detected in the vascular cambium of a drought-tolerant peanut cultivar (Yueyou 7) under a water stress treatment. It caused increases in ABA content in this region. The synthesis of ABA and AhNCED1 in the leaves of Yueyou 7 took place more quickly than in the control cultivar (Shanyou 523). Furthermore, AhNCED1 mRNA and proteins were induced in Yueyou 7 than in Shanyou 523, coinciding with greater ABA accumulation. During the seedling, blooming, and fruiting stages, AhNCED1 protein expression was higher in Yueyou 7 than in Shanyou 523, and it was induced more quickly when the plants were under water stress. These data suggest that the drought-tolerant cultivar can synthesize and distribute ABA more rapidly than does the control cultivar because of a high level of AhNCED1 expression, which then modulates physiological responses under water stress conditions.     

Concomitant Tumor Expression of EGFR and TATI/SPINK1 Associates with Better Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer

Background

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation plays a role in colorectal cancer (CRC) carcinogenesis, and anti-EGFR drugs are used in treatment of advanced CRC. One of the EGFR ligands is tumor-associated trypsinogen inhibitor TATI, also called serine protease inhibitor Kazal type1 (SPINK 1), which we recently showed to be an independent prognostic marker in CRC.

Methods

We studied the prognostic value of immunohistochemical expression of EGFR and concomitant expression of EGFR and TATI/SPINK1 in a series of 619 colorectal cancer patients.

Results

Of the samples, 92% were positive for EGFR. EGFR+/TATI+ was seen in 62.8%, EGFR+/TATI− in 29.5%, EGFR−/TATI+ in 4.9%, and EGFR−/TATI− in 2.7% of patients. EGFR expression correlated with WHO grade (p = 0.040). In univariate analysis, EGFR expression correlated with favourable survival (p = 0.006). EGFR+/TATI+ patients showed better survival than did those with other combinations (p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, EGFR+/TATI+ was an independent prognostic factor of favourable prognosis (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Concomitant positivity of EGFR and TATI/SPINK1 predicts favourable prognosis in CRC.     

A molecular specificity code for the three mammalian KDEL receptors

AC-terminal KDEL-like motif prevents secretion of soluble endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–resident proteins. This motif interacts with KDEL receptors localized in the intermediate compartment and Golgi apparatus. Such binding triggers retrieval back to the ER via a coat protein I–dependent pathway. To date, two human KDEL receptors have been reported. Here, we report the Golgi localization of a third human KDEL receptor. Using a reporter construct system from a screen of 152 variants, we identified 35 KDEL-like variants that result in efficient ER localization but do not match the current Prosite motif for ER localization ([KRHQSA]-[DENQ]-E-L). We cloned 16 human proteins with one of these motifs and all were found in the ER. A subsequent screen by bimolecular fluorescence complementation determined the specificities of the three human KDEL receptors. Each KDEL receptor has a unique pattern of motifs with which it interacts. This suggests a specificity in the retrieval of human proteins that contain different KDEL variants.