Automatic counting of fungiform papillae by shape using cross-correlation.

The determination of the number of fungiform papillae (FP) on the human tongue is important for taste sensitivity studies. Most of the time, the counting of the FP is done manually. In this paper we propose a novel algorithm to count the FP using shape characteristics measured by cross-correlation. The accuracy of the algorithm is evaluated by counting the FP manually on the same images and then doing a statistical analysis. A Poisson regression model is fitted using maximum likelihood. The result is that the algorithm counts are very similar to the human experts. Another advantage of the algorithm is its facility of use, velocity and that it can work on a plain tongue image, without the need to stain the tongue as is usual in manual counting.

[Effect of food intake habits and dietary behavior of teenager students related with their nutritional status]. / Efecto de los hábitos alimentarios y comportamiento dietario en estudiantes adolescentes.

OBJECTIVE: To assessment the nutrition condition and alimentary behavior in adolescents. METHODS: A sample of 616 adolescents of high school system financed by the government was studied. The number of the meals having at home on a weekly basis diet. Body Mass Index (BMI), anemia and vitamin were measured. They were divide by region of residence: north (Nogales), center (Hermosillo) and south (Navojoa) differenced by human development index (HDI) and its components. RESULTS: The average age was 16 year with a range from 15 to 19 years. Teenagers whose dietary behavior was eating at home between five to seven times on a weekly basis, their consumption of kilocalories, proteins, iron and calcium is either adequate or very close to be, and the same for A serum vitamin. The lowest nutritional condition was registered in Navojoa which is placed in the south region of the Sonora state. CONCLUSIONS: To understand the nutritional problem in the adolescence is necessary to study the alimentary behavior. We observed differences by regions in the alimentary behavior in the Sonora state in Mexico.

Obesity and socioeconomic status in children of Tijuana.

BACKGROUND: Although obesity has been associated with socioeconomic status among Hispanics living in the United States, little is known about whether a similar association exists among Hispanics living in Mexico, particularly among those living along the U.S.-Mexico border. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of obesity and its association with socioeconomic status in Mexican schoolchildren attending public and private schools in Tijuana, Baja California. METHODS: Anthropometric measurements and socioeconomic status were assessed in a cross-sectional study of 1172 school children, aged 6 to 13 years from 55 schools in Tijuana in 2001-2002. Underweight (body mass index [BMI] for age 5th percentile or lower), risk of overweight (BMI at 85th percentile or higher), and overweight (BMI greater than 95th percentile) were assessed using charts published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: Abnormalities in weight were found in 46.3% of 587 boys and 43.7% of 585 girls in the study. Undernutrition was found in 3.7% of the boys and 3.8% of the girls. The general prevalence of overweight was 23.2% for boys and 21.7% for girls. Children living in low-income neighborhoods had the thickest biceps skinfolds (p<0.01), while children living in moderate-income neighborhoods and attending public schools had the thickest triceps skinfolds (p<0.001). Although boys living in high socioeconomic status neighborhoods were at decreased risk for being overweight, boys and girls attending private schools had a 75% increased risk (odds ratio, 1.75; confidence interval, 1.22-2.52) of being overweight than children attending public schools. CONCLUSIONS: Adiposity varies by type of school and neighborhood socioeconomic status. The biphasic curve in risk for being overweight associated with neighborhood socioeconomic status suggests that Mexican children living along the U.S. border may be experiencing a nutrition transition with respect to an increased risk of obesity and related chronic disease.