Weight Gain in Early Infancy Impacts Appetite Regulation in the First Year of Life. A Prospective Study of Infants Living in Cyprus.

BACKGROUND: Eating behavior is associated with weight gain in infancy and childhood. Few studies found a bidirectional association between weight gain and eating behavior development in childhood, but there is little data on the association in early infancy, a period critical for the programming of obesity risk. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the bidirectional association between appetite traits and weight gain during the first year of life. METHODS: Participants were part of a cohort of 432 infants born in Cyprus. Appetite traits were measured using the Baby Eating Behavior Questionnaire or the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire at age 2 to 4 wk, 6 mo, and 12 mo. Weight and length were collected at birth, 4 wk, 6 mo, and 12 mo. Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze associations between appetite traits at 2 to 4 wk and 6 mo and weight for age z-score change (WFAZC) between 4 wk and 6 mo and 6 and 12 mo. Associations were also analyzed in the opposite direction, between WFAZC from birth to 4 wk, 4 wk to 6 mo, and 6 mo to 12 mo and appetite traits at 4 wk, 6 mo, and 12 mo. RESULTS: Satiety responsiveness (SR) at 2 to 4 wk was associated with lower WFAZC from 4 wk to 6 mo (ß: -0.17; 95% CI: -0.30, -0.04) and SR at age 6 mo was associated with lower WFAZC from 6 to 12 mo (ß: -0.09; 95% CI: -0.17, -0.02). WFAZC from 4 wk to 6 mo was associated with higher enjoyment of food at 12 mo (ß: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.20), higher food responsiveness at 12 mo (ß: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.30), and lower SR at both 6 mo (ß: -0.11; 95% CI: -0.21, -0.01) and 12 mo (ß: -0.14; 95% CI: -0.24, -0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We found a bidirectional association between weight gain and appetite traits in infancy, suggesting that the effect of postnatal weight gain on obesity development is partly mediated by programming of appetite traits.

Only Sunda and Chinese pangolin (Pholidota) are naturally distributed in China.

Actually, only two pangolin species occur naturally in China, namely the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica). The Sunda pangolin was found to occur naturally in Yunnan, China, but only with a narrow distribution in the Xishuangbanna and Pu'er City. The Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) did not occur in China. The previous claim that this species is naturally distributed in China was found to originate from a mistake in the book "The Mammals of China and Mongolia" written by Allen in 1938.

Body temperatures of Manis pentadactyla and Manis javanica.

Body temperature is an important parameter for assessing animal health and physiological function. An iButton thermometer was used to measure the body temperatures of three Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadacyla) and three Sunda pangolins (M. javanica). The body temperature of Chinese pangolins was 33.2 ± 0.95°C (30.6-34.2°C, n = 3) and that of Sunda pangolins was 32.8 ± 0.48°C (31.7-34.2°C, n = 3). The daily variation in body temperature was 1.0-2.9°C in three Chinese pangolins and 1.2-1.9°C in three Sunda pangolins. The body temperature of Sunda pangolins tended to rise at night, with the highest body temperatures occurring mostly at night. This study provides valuable body temperature data for Chinese and Sunda pangolins and lays the foundation for future research on their mechanisms of body temperature regulation.

Association study of interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase 1 rs3027898 A/C gene polymorphism and preeclampsia in Pakistani population.

OBJECTIVES: To find the association between interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 rs3027898 gene polymorphism and preeclampsia. METHODS: The case-control study was conducted from October, 2018 to September, 2019 at the Railway General Hospital and the Department of Biochemistry, Islamic International Medical College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and comprised patients diagnosed with preeclampsia and healthy controls. The interleukin receptor-associated kinase-1 polymorphism was determined using multiplex tetra primer amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction. Outcomes were determined in terms of association of interleukin receptor-associated kinase-1 with preeclampsia. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: Of the 160 subjects, 80(50% were cases with a mean age of 30±5.3 years and 80(50%) were controls with a mean age of 27±3.7 years. AC genotype was seen in 45(56.25%) cases and 30(37.5%) controls, AA genotype in 25(31.25%) cases and 30(37.5%) controls, while CC genotype was seen in 10(12.5%) cases and 20(25%) controls (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant association of interleukin receptor-associated kinase-1 genotypes with preeclampsia.

Glutathione S-Transferase Theta 1 / Mu 1 Null Genotype and Risk of Development of Actinic Keratosis in Pakistani Population.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency and association of Glutathione S-Transferase Theta 1 and Glutathione S-Transferase Mu 1 null genotypes in development of actinic keratosis (AK) in a group of Pakistani population. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control analytical study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Biochemistry, Islamic International Medical College, Rawalpindi in collaboration with Department of Dermatology, Railway Hospital and Rural Health Center, District Health Office, Rawalpindi from September 2018 to September 2019.  Methodology: A total of 86 participants were included in this study with 27 biopsy proven cases of AK and 59 matched controls. Blood samples were collected after obtaining written informed consent; and DNA was extracted by Chelex™ method. Multiplex PCR (M-PCR) was done to find respective allelic frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes in both cases and controls.  Results: Mean age of participants in cases and controls was 62.93 ±10.29 years and was 61.42 ±9.96 years, respectively. There were 18 males (66.7%) and 9 females (33.3%); and 43 males (72.9%) and 16 females (27.1%) in cases and controls, respectively. There was a significant association of GSTT1 null genotype with AK (OR: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.05-7.05, p = 0.037). There was a positive correlation between GSTT1 null genotype and AK (r = 0.225, p = 0.037). CONCLUSION: GSTT1 null genotype has a significant association for AK development in the studied Pakistani population. Key Words: Actinic keratosis, Glutathione S-Transferase Mu 1, Glutathione S-Transferase Theta 1, Polymerase chain reaction, Squamous cell carcinoma.

Determination of potential role of antioxidative status and circulating biochemical markers in the pathogenesis of ethambutol induced toxic optic neuropathy among diabetic and non-diabetic patients.

The present study was designed to explore the antioxidative status and circulating biochemical markers having a potential role in the pathogenesis of ethambutol (EMB) induced toxic optic neuropathy (TON) among diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Fifty patients under complete therapy of EMB for tuberculosis were included in the present study. Inclusion criteria for patients were to receive EMB everyday during treatment, a dose of 25 mg/kg for initial 2 months and 15 mg/kg during the rest of therapy period. We conducted color vision and visual acuity test for all patients. Fifteen out of fifty EMB induced TON patients, were found to be diabetic. Color vision and visual acuity test results were evaluated for diabetic and non-diabetic as well as twenty age matched controls. The results demonstrated a significant pattern of circulating biochemical markers between the studied groups. Data regarding hematological (RBC, p value = 0.02; Hemoglobin, p value = 0.02), hepatic (total bilirubin, p value = 0.01), renal (urea, p value = 0.03; creatinine, p value = 0.007), lipid (total cholesterol, p value = 0.01; total triglycerides, p value = 0.03) and antioxidative (superoxide dismutase, p value = 0.005; glutathione, p value = 0.02; catalase, p value = 0.02) profile showed a highly significant difference among the studied groups specially patients with diabetes. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level had gone significantly up in diabetic TON patients (p value = 0.02), in comparison to other antioxidants and vitamins (Vit). Vit-A, E, B1, B12 and Zinc seem to be playing a major role in the pathogenesis of TON, specially Vit-E and B1 surpassed all the antioxidants as having highly significant inverse relationships with MDA (MDA vs Vit-E, r = -0.676(**) and MDA vs Vit-B1, r = -0.724(**) respectively). We conclude that during the ethambutol therapy the decreased levels of Vit-E and Vit-B1 possibly play a role in the development of TON and may be used as therapeutic agents to lessen the deleterious effects of ethambutol.