Feasibility of a Clinic-Based Hypocaloric Dietary Intervention Implemented in a School Setting for Obese Children

At 6 months the 12 superobese children on protein-sparing modified fast diet had a significant weight loss from baseline (-5.6 ± 7.1 kg, ANOVA p < 0.02); a significant decrease in percentage IBW (-24.3 ± 20%, ANOVA p < 0.002); and had positive growth velocity Z-score (1.3 ± 1.6, ANOVA p < 0.05). Six children were not superobese at 6 months. At 6 months eight of 12 children were active participants and 11 of 12 children were followed. Decrease in blood pressure, as well as, downward trends in serum lipids were observed at 6 months. No clinical complications were observed. At 6 months, the 7 control superobese children, when compared with baseline had gained weight (2.8 ± 3.1 kg, ANOVA p < 0.008); but had no significant change in percentage IBW (-0.3 ± 5.9%, ANOVA p = 0.61); and had no changes in growth velocity Z-score (0.1 ± 1.3, ANOVA p = 0.83). These children did not have any change in blood pressure and an upward trend in serum lipids were observed at 6 months. Protein-sparing modified fast diet and a hypocaloric balanced diet appear to be effective in a group of superobese-school-age children in a medically supervised clinic-based program implemented in a school setting over a 6-month period. The efforts of committed clinic staffs, school officials, peers, and family involvement were crucial to the success of this intervention program in promoting and maintaining weight loss over a 6-month period. Further research with a specific comparison of the hypocaloric diets with longer follow-up periods in the school setting is necessary. In the meantime, these diets should be used only with close medical supervision.     

Maternal behaviour of undernourished mother rats

Undernourished mother rats were given daily meals throughout most or all of pregnancy and lactation, comprising about half the amount of a good quality diet taken by controls. Their daily pattern of nest occupation and desertion during lactation was quite different from that of controls. Retrieving tests were carried out at 4, 6, 8 and 10 days after parturition. Underfed mothers were less efficient than controls in retrieving their young on days 8 and 10, and were less likely to lick their young during the test period. They also spent much more time rearing on their hind legs. Among undernourished females the number of young retrieved was negatively correlated with duration of rearing. The significance of the differences in maternal behaviour for offspring development is discussed.     

Dispersal and establishment traits provide a colonization advantage for a polyploid apomictic plant

Premise

Apomictic plants (reproducing asexually through seed) often have larger ranges and occur at higher latitudes than closely related sexuals, a pattern known as geographical parthenogenesis (GP). Explanations for GP include differences in colonizing ability due to reproductive assurance and direct/indirect effects of polyploidy (most apomicts are polyploid) on ecological tolerances. While life history traits associated with dispersal and establishment also contribute to the potential for range expansion, few studies compare these traits in related apomicts and sexuals.

Methods

We investigated differences in early life history traits between diploid-sexual and polyploid-apomictic Townsendia hookeri (Asteraceae), which displays a classic pattern of GP. Using lab and greenhouse experiments, we measured seed dispersal traits, germination success, and seedling size and survival in sexual and apomictic populations from across the range of the species.

Results

While theory predicts that trade-offs between dispersal and establishment traits should be common, this was largely not the case in T. hookeri. Apomictic seeds had both lower terminal velocity (staying aloft longer when dropped) and higher germination success than sexual seeds. While there were no differences in seedling size between reproductive types, apomicts did, however, have slightly lower seedling survival than sexuals.

Conclusions

These differences in early life history traits, combined with reproductive assurance conferred by apomixis, suggest that apomicts achieve a greater range through advantages in their ability to both spread and establish.

     

SciDBMaker: new software for computer-aided design of specialized biological databases

Background  

The exponential growth of research in molecular biology has brought concomitant proliferation of databases for stocking its findings. A variety of protein sequence databases exist. While all of these strive for completeness, the range of user interests is often beyond their scope. Large databases covering a broad range of domains tend to offer less detailed information than smaller, more specialized resources, often creating a need to combine data from many sources in order to obtain a complete picture. Scientific researchers are continually developing new specific databases to enhance their understanding of biological processes.