Self-perceived body weight status and weight-control behaviors of high school students in a southern city of Turkey

Defining "healthy weight" is not easy and for an adolescent with all concerns about newly developing physiognomy it is even harder. The aim of this study was to find out the frequency of obesity and the association between the body mass index (BMI), weight-control behaviors and self-perceived body weight status in high school students of a southern city of Turkey. The students from 10 schools were randomly selected among 46,271 students of 72 high schools in Adana from 1999 to 2000. The response rate was 94.8% (2352/2480). The Turkish version of Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questionnaire (YRBSQ) was completed by the students. The students' weights and heights were measured. The mean age was 16.5 +/- 1.0 years of age (range = 14-21 years). The mean BMI was 21.0 +/- 3.1, 25.5% of students were underweight, 65.7% were normal, 6.4% were overweight and 2.3% were obese (p = 0.0001). Of all students, 24.3% defined themselves as thin, 45.3% as normal, 24.9% as overweight and 5.5% as obese (p = 0.0001). The percentage of girls defining their body weight as overweight and obese was significantly higher than the boys (p = 0.0001). Of all students, 35.5% wanted to lose weight, 22.3% wanted to gain weight, 27.8% wanted to keep their current weight. Intention (p = 0.0001) and interventions to lose weight such as going on a diet (p = 0.0001), provocative vomiting (p = 0.0001) and 24-hours starving (p = 0.0001) were significantly higher in girls than boys. Of students, 26.8% (n=620) were on a diet program either to lose or to keep their body weight. There was significant relationship between being on a diet program and intention to change body weight (p = 0.047). We concluded that adolescents living in Adana have relatively higher risk of being underweight than being obese and have unhealthy weight changing plans due to their misperception of their body images. Adolescents may be unconscious on plans and attempts to change their body weights and nutrition and we suggest that education on nutrition and health is required for adolescents.     

Biological activity of 1-aryl-3-phenethylamino-1-propanone hydrochlorides and 3-aroyl-4-aryl-1-phenethyl-4-piperidinols on PC-3 cells and DNA topoisomerase I enzyme

A number of studies reported Mannich bases to manifest antimicrobial, cytotoxic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and anticonvulsant activities. A considerable number of therapeutically important cytotoxic compounds are active on DNA topoisomerases that regulate the DNA topology. In the present study we evaluated the biological activity of mono-Mannich bases, 1-aryl-3-phenethylamino-1-propanone hydrochlorides (1a-10a), and semicyclic mono-Mannich bases, 3-aroyl-4-aryl-1-phenethyl-4-piperidinols (1b-9b), synthesized in our laboratory. We employed androgen-independent human prostate cancer cells (PC-3) to assess the cytotoxicity of the compounds and extended the biological activity evaluation to cover supercoil relaxation assays of mammalian type I topoisomerases. Our results showed that the compounds had cytotoxicity within the 8.2-32.1 microM range, while two compounds gave rise to a comparable average value in topo I interference of 42% and 40% for 10a (with a hydroxy substituent on the phenyl ring from mono-Mannich bases) and 5b (with a fluoro substituent on the phenyl ring from the semicyclic mono-Mannich base series, piperidinols), respectively.     

Transferrin-Mediated Glioblastoma Cell Targeting of Hexagonal Boron Nitrides

Plasmonics - Hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs) are promising nanomaterials with their high boron content, non-toxic nature in inactive form, high chemical stability, and mechanical strength. However,...     

Influence of dietary vitamin E (DL-alpha-tocopheryl acetate) and diludine (diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-3,5-pyridinedicarboxylate) levels on growth and lipid peroxidation in rainbow trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss

We aimed to investigate the influence of dietary vitamin E and diludine on growth and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde; MDA) in rainbow trout. Fish (1.5 g) were fed different dietary levels of vitamin E (0, 50 and 100 mg/kg) and diludine (0, 0.5 and 1 g/kg) for 10 weeks. Growth performance and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly affected by dietary vitamin E (p < .05) but not diludine. Fish fed 50 mg/kg dietary vitamin E with no diludine had significantly better growth and lower FCR than those fed vitamin E free diets. Liver vitamin E content was significantly influenced by dietary vitamin E and diludine (p < .05). The highest hepatic vitamin E was in fish fed the highest dietary vitamin E and diludine levels. Hepatic MDA level was significantly affected by dietary vitamin E and diludine (p < .05), decreasing with the increase in both dietary vitamin E and diludine. According to our results, diludine had no significant effect on growth; however, decreased hepatic lipid peroxidation independent of vitamin E. Our results reveal that 50 mg/kg vitamin E content is suitable for optimal growth and FCR in rainbow trout juveniles. However, dose dependent effects of dietary diludine remain uncertain and need further researches.     

Optimization of citric acid treatment for the sequential extraction of fucoidan and alginate from Sargassum latifolium and their potential antioxidant and Fe(III) chelation properties

In this study, citric acid was applied as a safe organic acid for the treatment of the brown macroalga Sargassum latifolium to facilitate the sequential extraction of fucoidan and alginate without cross contamination. Box-Behnken experimental design was used to investigate the effects of citric acid concentration, temperature, and time on fucoidan yield, its fucose and sulfate contents, and molecular weight (MW), while the investigated responses of the sequentially extracted alginate were yield, mannuronic/guluronic acid ratio (M/G) and MW. Under the optimized conditions, the fucoidan yield, fucose content, sulfate content, and MW were 6.55%, 21.01%, 30.92% and 7.12 × 10³ Da, respectively, while alginate yield, M/G, and MW were 28.81%, 0.36, and 1.50 × 10⁵ Da, respectively. The optimized products showed good Fe(III) chelating properties and the iron contents were 509.82 mg g^?1 for fucoidan-Fe and 406.71 ± 5.18 mg g^?1 for alginate-Fe. Under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, fucoidan-Fe and alginate-Fe complexes released 46 and 57% iron, respectively, which are nutritionally relevant amounts. Both fucoidan and alginate showed potent antioxidant properties, but their Fe complexes exhibited a reduced activity. The results of the present study indicated that citric acid could support the basis for an economical biorefinery process for the sequential extraction of fucoidan and alginate. Additionally, these polysaccharides could be good candidates for the preparations of iron supplements.

     

Ratio of Pro-Resolving and Pro-Inflammatory Lipid Mediator Precursors as Potential Markers for Aggressive Periodontitis

Aggressive periodontitis (AgP) is a rapidly progressing type of periodontal disease in otherwise healthy individuals which causes destruction of the supporting tissues of the teeth. The disease is initiated by pathogenic bacteria in the dental biofilm, and the severity of inflammation and attachment loss varies with the host response. Recently, there has been an increased interest in determining the role of lipid mediators in inflammatory events and the concept of pro-inflammatory and pro-resolution lipid mediators has been brought into focus also in periodontal disease. The present study aimed to determine the profile of omega-3 or n3- as well as omega-6 or n6- polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and PUFA-metabolites of linoleic acid, arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF), saliva and serum in AgP patients and healthy controls. In total, 60 selected n3- and n6-PUFAs and various PUFA metabolites were measured using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS-MS). Of these, 51 could be quantified in this study. The concentrations of the majority were low in saliva samples compared with serum and GCF, but were mainly higher in AgP patients compared with healthy controls in all three kinds of sample. Ratios of n3- to n6-PUFAs (DHA + EPA)/AA were significantly lower in the GCF of AgP patients than in the healthy controls. Furthermore, various ratios of the direct precursors of the pro-resolution lipid mediators (precursors of resolvins and protectins) were calculated against the precursors of mainly pro-inflammatory lipid mediators. These ratios were mainly lower in GCF and saliva of AgP patients, compared with healthy controls, but only reached significance in GCF (P<0.05). To conclude, the ratios of precursors of pro-resolution/pro-inflammatory lipid mediators seem to be more relevant for describing the disease status of AgP than the concentration of specific lipid mediators.     

New Findings in a Global Approach to Dissect the Whole Phenotype of PLA2G6 Gene Mutations

Mutations in PLA2G6 gene have variable phenotypic outcome including infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy, atypical neuroaxonal dystrophy, idiopathic neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation and Karak syndrome. The cause of this phenotypic variation is so far unknown which impairs both genetic diagnosis and appropriate family counseling. We report detailed clinical, electrophysiological, neuroimaging, histologic, biochemical and genetic characterization of 11 patients, from 6 consanguineous families, who were followed for a period of up to 17 years. Cerebellar atrophy was constant and the earliest feature of the disease preceding brain iron accumulation, leading to the provisional diagnosis of a recessive progressive ataxia in these patients. Ultrastructural characterization of patients’ muscle biopsies revealed focal accumulation of granular and membranous material possibly resulting from defective membrane homeostasis caused by disrupted PLA2G6 function. Enzyme studies in one of these muscle biopsies provided evidence for a relatively low mitochondrial content, which is compatible with the structural mitochondrial alterations seen by electron microscopy. Genetic characterization of 11 patients led to the identification of six underlying PLA2G6 gene mutations, five of which are novel. Importantly, by combining clinical and genetic data we have observed that while the phenotype of neurodegeneration associated with PLA2G6 mutations is variable in this cohort of patients belonging to the same ethnic background, it is partially influenced by the genotype, considering the age at onset and the functional disability criteria. Molecular testing for PLA2G6 mutations is, therefore, indicated in childhood-onset ataxia syndromes, if neuroimaging shows cerebellar atrophy with or without evidence of iron accumulation.