Does digital transformation of enterprises help reduce the cost of equity capital.

Digital economy is regarded as the main economic form following agricultural economy and industrial economy. And the digital transformation has given enterprises new development momentum. Can it reduce the equity capital cost? This paper uses text analysis obtained by crawling the annual reports from 2010 to 2021 and investigates the impact of digital transformation on the corporate equity capital cost. The results show that: 1) Digital transformation will reduce the equity capital cost; 2) The digital transformation has a heterogeneous impact on the equity capital cost of enterprises with different scales, natures and levels of leverage, which is more significant for large-scale enterprises, state-owned enterprises and highly leveraged enterprises; 3) Digital transformation mainly affects the equity capital cost by improving enterprise value, rather than by increasing analysts' attention and influencing the level of corporate risk bearing.

The prognostic value of comprehensive geriatric assessment on the management of older patients with small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prognostic value of a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) for the management of older small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients remains to be established. METHODS: A retrospective cohort enrolled 21 SCLC patients over 65 years from March 2018 to 2019 at the Yonsei Cancer Center. The CGA included the following instruments: frailty, body mass index, sarcopenia (circumference of arm and calf, Timed Up and Go test, grip strength), comorbidity, polypharmacy, activities of daily living (ADL), Instrumental ADL, nutrition, depression, and cognitive function. The correlations of oncological and geriatric variables with overall survival (OS) were determined. The log-rank test with Cox model and Kaplan-Meier method were used for the analysis. RESULTS: The median age was 75 years (range, 67 to 85). All patients had the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2. The median survival was 9.93 months (range, 1.53 to 36.30). Among CGA parameters, ADL and nutritional status had significant differences in OS in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, only nutritional status was independently associated with survival (hazard ratio, 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.05 to 0.57). Median OS for low nutritional status was 5.63 months and the normal nutrition group was 15.5 months (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Pre-treatment nutritional status measured by CGA appears to be a predictor of OS in older SCLC patients. However, for further generalization of the implication of CGA in SCLC, a larger scale study with prospective design is strongly needed.

Are high medical costs incurred by people with disabilities excessive?: An empirical analysis of Korean National Health Insurance Data.

A crude comparison of medical costs between people with disabilities (PWD) and without disabilities (PWoD) shows a much higher expenditure among PWD and such results have been a cause for further stigmatization. This study aims to empirically analyze whether the medical costs for PWD are actually high when characteristics related to medical costs are adjusted. Ten percent of the total population was randomly selected from the Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) Database in 2016. A crude comparative analysis was performed to calculate the medical cost of PWD and PWoD. A subsequent multiple regression analysis was conducted to adjust factors affecting the medical costs such as socioeconomic status, disease, and health behavior-related characteristics. The medical cost for PWD was 3.6 times higher than that for PWoD by crude comparison. However, after multiple regression analysis, margin of difference decreased to 1.5 times although the cost for PWD remained higher. Substantial decrease in higher medical costs for PWD after multiple analyses compared to crude analysis implies that additional adjustment using variables such as disease severity, not available in the NHI database, may predict a further reduction in differences. Thus, it is difficult to determine that the medical expenditure for PWD is excessive.

Discretionary Effort on Green Technology Innovation: How Chinese Enterprises Act when Facing Financing Constraints.

Firm's effort on Green technology innovation (hereafter, called G-innovation) is affected by financing constraints, and firm will make a discretionary choice according to its own situation, to achieve the maximization of self-interests. Based on the data of Chinese micro enterprises, firstly, we empirically analyze firms' decision-making towards G-innovation when faced with financing constraints. It supports the view that financing constraints can hinder enterprise technological innovation. And we also make an explanation that the social benefits of green technology innovation are greater than personal benefits, which makes enterprises tend to reduce green technology innovation when facing financing constraints. Then we examine firms' heterogonous behaviors under different internal attributes and external environments. The results reveal that: First, firms are reluctant to pay more efforts to G-innovation when faced with increased financing constraints. Second, firms with different attributes exhibit heterogeneous G-innovation. Political connections will change firms' willingness to innovate, while the structure of property rights and the pollution degree will not. Third, firms under different external environment also exhibit heterogeneous G-innovation. When economic policy uncertainty increases, firms' willingness to innovate weakens. The development of shadow banks fail to improve firm's willingness to innovate.

A 90-day Sub-chronic Oral Toxicity Assessment of Mulberry Extract in Sprague Dawley Rats.

Mulberry extract from Fructus Mori contains an anthocyanin pigment and has been widely used as a food additive in China and other Eastern Asian countries. Only few research has been done on toxicological profiling of mulberry extract for its safety evaluation; however, the data is inconclusive. In the current study, mulberry extract of 4200, 1400, or 466 mg/kg were orally administrated to Sprague Dawley rats for 90 consecutive days followed by a recovery period of 28 days. No abnormalities were detected in body weights, food intake, ophthalmological, hematological, coagulation, clinical chemistry, and organ weights parameters. Discoloration of urine (red, purple, and brown) and feces (black), along with bedding material (purple) were observed in the 4200 mg/kg group. Further, microscopic examination revealed brown granules in the renal tubular cells for rats in 4200 and 1400 mg/kg groups. Since these changes were associated with excretory effect of the extract, the No Observed Adverse Effect Level was determined to be 4200 mg/kg, which was equivalent to the 1058.5 mg/kg of anthocyanin.

Comparison of Cost-Effectiveness between Inpatient and Home-Based Post-Acute Care Models for Stroke Rehabilitation in Taiwan.

Stroke rehabilitation focuses on alleviating post-stroke disability. Post-acute care (PAC) offers an intensive rehabilitative program as transitional care following acute stroke. A novel home-based PAC program has been initiated in Taiwan since 2019. Our study aimed to compare the current inpatient PAC model with a novel home-based PAC model in cost-effectiveness and functional recovery for stroke patients in Taiwan. One hundred ninety-seven stroke patients eligible for the PAC program were divided into two different health interventional groups. One received rehabilitation during hospitalization, and the other received rehabilitation by therapists at home. To evaluate the health economics, we assessed the total medical expenditure on rehabilitation using the health system of Taiwan national health insurance and performed cost-effectiveness analyses using improvements of daily activity in stroke patients based on the Barthel index (BI). Total rehabilitative duration and functional recovery were also documented. The total rehabilitative cost was cheaper in the home-based PAC group (p < 0.001), and the cost-effectiveness is USD 152.474 ± USD 164.661 in the inpatient group, and USD 48.184 ± USD 35.018 in the home group (p < 0.001). Lesser rehabilitative hours per 1-point increase of BI score was noted in the home-PAC group with similar improvements in daily activities, life quality and nutrition in both groups. Home-based PAC is more cost-effective than inpatient PAC for stroke rehabilitation.

Do the Green Credit Guidelines Affect Corporate Green Technology Innovation? Empirical Research from China.

Green technology innovation is regarded as an important means to achieve sustainable development. Countries all over the world mainly implement green technology innovation policies from the aspects of environmental regulation and financing constraints. The effect of financing constraint policy on enterprise green technology innovation remains to be investigated. Based on the event of "green credit guidelines" issued by China Banking Regulatory Commission in 2012, this paper collects the panel data of China's 2825 listed companies from 2007 to 2018, constructs a difference-in-difference model, and studies the impact of green credit guidelines on corporate green technology innovation and its mechanism. The empirical results show: First, green credit guidelines can promote corporate green technology innovation on the whole. Second, the mechanism of green credit on enterprise green technology innovation is identified. Green credit guidelines mainly limited green technology innovation through reducing debt financing, rather than through financing constraints. Third, the impact of green credit guidelines on green technology innovation is heterogeneous. Green credit guidelines have a significant effect on the green technology innovation of state-owned and large enterprises, but have no effect on the green technology innovation of non-state-owned and small ones.

The Attitude towards Preventive Measures and Knowledge of COVID-19 Inpatients with Severe Mental Illness in Economically Underdeveloped Areas of China.

Patients with severe mental illnesses (SMI) were at high risk of infection during Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study examined hospitalized SMI patients' attitude and knowledge towards the COVID-19 infection. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in five psychiatric hospitals located in Gansu province, the most economically underdeveloped area in China. Patients' attitude towards preventive measures and knowledge of COVID-19 were measured by a self-report questionnaire. A total of 925 hospitalized patients with SMI were recruited. Of them, 84.8% (95%CI: 82.4%-87.1%) had positive attitudes towards preventive measures of the COVID-19 outbreak. Being married (OR: 1.55, 95%CI: 1.05-2.30) and a higher educational level (OR: 1.63, 95%CI: 1.12-2.38) were independently associated with positive attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures, whereas higher educational level was associated with better knowledge of the COVID-19 outbreak (ß: 0.231, P < 0.001). Patients mainly received COVID-19 relevant knowledge from public media (58.9%), followed by their clinicians (33.2%). Most hospitalized SMI patients in economically underdeveloped areas in China showed positive attitudes towards COVID-19 preventive measures. However, public health education on COVID-19 relevant knowledge by mental health professionals was inadequate to reduce the risk of transmission and infection.

[Distribution and Risk Assessment of OCPs in Surface Water, Sediments, and Fish from Lake Gucheng and Inflow and Outflow Rivers].

To investigate the distribution, source, and ecological risk of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) residues in Lake Gucheng, surface water, sediment, and biological samples were collected from 12 sampling sites of Lake Gucheng and its inlets and outlets during summer and winter, and the concentrations of 19 OCPs were analyzed. The results showed that the concentration (dry weight) of OCPs in Lake Gucheng ranged from 26.74 to 48.12 ng·L-1 in surface water, 9.01 to 35.34 ng·g-1 in sediment, and 13.39 to 124.29 ng·g-1 in organisms. The pollution characteristics of OCPs in surface water showed that the concentration was much higher in summer than in winter, and much higher at inflow and outflow rivers than in farming ponds and the central region of Lake Gucheng; the seasonal pollution characteristics in sediment were not obvious. All 19 kinds of OCPs in water, sediment, and organisms were detected in different degrees, and the dominant contaminants were HCHs and DDTs. α-HCH was the main pollutant at all sites in both surface water and sediment, with 21% to 42% of total HCHs in two seasons. p,p'-DDD was the main pollutant in surface water with 30% to 76% of total DDTs, whereas p,p'-DDT was the main pollutant in sediment with 68% to 93% of total DDTs in two seasons. Source analysis based on ratios of HCHs isomers and DDTs isomers indicated that there was a new input of OCPs under anaerobic conditions in the study area. The ecological risk assessment showed that the OCPs in surface water did not lead to significant health risks, but the OCPs in sediments might pose ecological risks to the Lake Gucheng ecosystem. The organisms were within the acceptable potential carcinogenic risk range.

Rice bran protein hydrolysates attenuate diabetic nephropathy in diabetic animal model.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is an important microvascular complication of uncontrolled diabetes. The features of DN include albuminuria, extracellular matrix alterations, and progressive renal insufficiency. Rice bran protein hydrolysates (RBPs) have been reported to have antihyperglycemic, lipid-lowering, and anti-inflammatory effects in diabetic rats. Our study was to investigate the renoprotective effects of RBP in diabetic animals and mesangial cultured cells. METHODS: Eight-week-old male db/m and db/db mice were orally treated with tap water or RBP (100 or 500 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, diabetic nephropathy in kidney tissues was investigated for histological, ultrastructural, and clinical chemistry changes, and biomarkers of angiogenesis, fibrosis, inflammation, and antioxidant in kidney were analyzed by Western blotting. Protection against proangiogenic proteins and induction of cytoprotection by RBP in cultured mesangial cells was evaluated. RESULTS: RBP treatment improved insulin sensitivity, decreased elevated fasting serum glucose levels, and improved serum lipid levels and urinary albumin/creatinine ratios in diabetic mice. RBP ameliorated the decreases in podocyte slit pore numbers, thickening of glomerular basement membranes, and mesangial matrix expansion and suppressed elevation of MCP-1, ICAM-1, HIF-1α, VEGF, TGF-ß, p-Smad2/3, and type IV collagen expression. Moreover, RBP restored suppressed antioxidant Nrf2 and HO-1 expression. In cultured mesangial cells, RBP inhibited high glucose-induced angiogenic protein expression and induced the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1. CONCLUSION: RBP attenuates the progression of diabetic nephropathy and restored renal function by suppressing the expression of proangiogenic and profibrotic proteins, inhibiting proinflammatory mediators, and restoring the antioxidant and cytoprotective system.

Development of large-scale and economic pH control system for outdoor cultivation of microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis using industrial flue gas.

The aim of this study was to develop the economic and effective buffer system for microalgae mass cultivation using industrial flue gas. Due to the continuous flue gas supplement, culture media acidified, therefore cell growth inhibited. Although buffering agent was added, this result increase in cost for overall culture process. Therefore combined buffer system of bicarbonate and phosphate (BP) for large-scale use was investigated. The bicarbonate buffer system generated from CO2 dissolution, additionally phosphate buffer system improves the buffer performance under the continuous CO2 supplementation from flue gas. The microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis was cultivated under autotrophic outdoor conditions using these buffer solutions. As a result, the autotrophic BP buffer system enhanced the biomass and astaxanthin productivity of H. pluvialis to 105% and 103%, respectively. The results confirm that the BP buffer system reduces the cost of microalgal CO2 conversion process, particularly for the outdoor mass cultivation.

Investigating polymorphisms by bioinformatics is a potential cost-effective method to screen for germline mutations in Chinese familial adenomatous polyposis patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate germline mutations of the APC, MUTYH and AXIN2 genes in Chinese patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), and further assess the value of bioinformatics in screening the pathogenic changes predisposing to FAP. APC genes from 11 unrelated FAP patients in Yunnan province in China were firstly examined by exon-specific DNA sequencing. For samples without already known pathogenic changes predisposing to FAP in the APC gene, whole-gene sequencing of MUTYH and AXIN2 was performed. Mutational analysis of each gene was performed by bioinformatics. Eleven different types of APC polymorphisms were observed in the cohort of families analyzed. Of these polymorphisms, four were missense substitutions (V1822D, V1173G, P1760H and K2057), one was a nonsense substitution (S1196X), and six were silent substitutions (Y486Y, T449T, T1493T, G1678G, S1756S and P1960P). One missense mutation (Q335H) and two intronic substitutions (c.264+11G>A and c.420+35A>G) were detected in the MUTYH gene, and four synonymous mutations (I144I, P455P, P462P and L688L) and three intonic mutations (c.1060-77G>T, c.1060-287A>G and c.1060-282 A>G) of the AXIN2 gene were observed. In addition to the already reported pathogenic mutations, by using function assessment tools and databases, the synonymous substitutions observed in the APC gene of our samples were predicted to affect splicing regulation in the translation of mRNA, while the missense mutations observed in the APC gene and MUTYH gene were predicted to be disease-related polymorphisms; however, no functional effect of the mutations was observed in the AXIN2 gene. Comprehensive screening for germline mutations in APC, MUTYH and AXIN2 genes followed by prediction of pathogenicity using bioinformatic tools contributes to a cost-effective way of screening germline mutations in Chinese familial adenomatous polyposis patients.

Detection and adequacy assessment of erythrocyte glutathione transferase on the cycle toxin level of hemodialysis patient.

To explore detection and adequacy evaluation of erythrocyte glutathione S transferase (GST) in hemodialysis patients on circular toxin levels, this paper divided 84 cases of long-term hemodialysis end-stage patients into 33 cases of adequate hemodialysis group (spKt/V ≥ 1.3) and 51 cases of inadequate hemodialysis group (spKt/V<1.3) according to urea index value of unit chamber model (spKt/V). Take the other 50 cases of healthy physical examination people for control group, compare and analyze related clinical and biochemical indexes differences of three groups. The level of hemodialysis group GST, creatinine, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), transferrin saturation (TSAT), parathyroid hormone (PTH), interleukin-2,6,8 (IL-2,6,8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) was significantly higher than the control group (P<0.05), and GST, IL-2, 6, 8, TNF-α level of inadequate hemodialysis group was significantly higher than adequate hemodialysis group (P<0.05). Pearson's relevant analysis showed that GST and spKt/V, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α have positive correlation (P<0.05) and had no correlation with creatinine, hs-CRP, TSAT, PHT (P>0.05). There was 23 patients spKt/V>1.3 after adjusting the dialysis solution for 51 cases of inadequate hemodialysis patients, GST level after the adjustment was significantly lower than before the adjustment, but still higher than adequate dialysis group. It concludes that the maintenance of hemodialysis patients' level has certain relevance on spKt/V and associated inflammatory factors. Through the determination, GST can effectively response the adequate hemodialysis, which has a guiding significance on adjusting blood dialysis solution in clinic.

Prospective study of serum uric acid levels and incident metabolic syndrome in a Korean rural cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have demonstrated an association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, paucity of available data regarding the cause and effect relationship between SUA and MetS in healthy adults is still a big challenge which remains to be studied. Therefore, we investigated whether SUA predicts new onset of MetS in a population-based cohort study. METHODS: The study included 1590 adults (661 men and 929 women) aged 40-70 years without MetS at baseline (2005-2008) and subjects were prospectively followed for 2.6 years. To evaluate the relationship between SUA and MetS, we divided the aforementioned subjects into quintiles (SUA-I to SUA-V) from the lowest to the highest values of SUA. SUA was measured by the enzymatic colorimetric method. We used category-free net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) to characterize the performance of predicted model. RESULTS: During a mean of 2.6 years of follow-up, 261(16.4%) adults developed MetS. MetS variables were significantly related to the baseline SUA level. Waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), and serum triglyceride (TG) were significantly higher in the highest quintile of SUA compared to the lowest SUA quintile in men and women. After adjustment for age, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in men and women, subjects in the fifth quintiles of SUA showed significantly higher ORs for incident MetS. The association between hyperuricemia and new onset of MetS were consistently stronger in women than men. Additionally, among women, we found an improvement in the area under the ROC curve in the models that added SUA to core components of MetS. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that SUA is significantly correlated with future risk of WC, BP, TG and may predicted as a risk factor for developing MetS. SUA may have a clinical role in predicting new-onset metabolic syndrome among women. Large prospective study is needed to reveal the clinical significance of SUA in metabolic disease.

Integrated cardiopulmonary sonography: a useful tool for assessment of acute pulmonary edema in the intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVES: Bedside sonography has become a popular method of assessment of critically ill patients with shock and dyspnea. This study evaluated the usefulness of integrated cardiopulmonary sonography for assessment of acute pulmonary edema. METHODS: A total of 128 intensive care unit (ICU) patients with acute pulmonary edema were randomly divided into 2 groups: a sonography group, which received standard treatment as well as cardiopulmonary sonography, and a control group, which received standard treatment only. All patients were treated according to the same therapeutic strategies and underwent chest radiography and central venous catheter placement. Serum myocardial injury marker levels and central venous/arterial blood gas parameters were measured 0, 24, and 72 hours after enrollment. The cumulative fluid infusion volume at 6, 12, 24, and 72 hours, the time to diagnosis of the pulmonary edema etiology by the attending physician, the lengths of ICU and hospital stays, and ICU mortality were recorded. RESULTS: The sonography group had a shorter time to diagnosis and received a smaller fluid infusion volume than the control group. There were no significant differences in ICU mortality and lengths of ICU and hospital stays between the sonography and control groups. In patients with cardiogenic pulmonary edema, the sonography group had a significantly shorter ICU stay and a faster return to normal myocardial injury marker levels and perfusion parameters than the control group (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Integrated cardiopulmonary sonography resulted in faster and better-informed clinical decision making, shortened the time to diagnosis of the pulmonary edema etiology, and decreased fluid use. However, the impact of this examination on prognoses requires further study. We propose that integrated cardiopulmonary sonography may be a useful bedside tool for treatment of ICU patients with acute pulmonary edema.

Assessment of the appropriateness of hand surface coverage for health care workers according to World Health Organization hand hygiene guidelines.

We monitored hand surface coverage technique in health care workers in a tertiary care hospital using a 5-item hand hygiene assessment tool based on World Health Organization guidelines. Overall hand hygiene compliance was 86.7% (4,300/4,960). Appropriate hand surface coverage was observed in only 7.9% (182/2,297) of hand hygiene procedures.

[Molluscicidal effect and cost-effectiveness of suspension concentrate of metaldehyde and niclosamide in the field in Honghu City].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the molluscicidal effect and cost-effectiveness of suspension concentrate of metaldehyde and niclosamide (MNSC) in the field, so as to evaluate the possibility of popularization and application value. METHODS: 26% MNSC and 50% wettable powder of niclosamide (WPN) were used for Oncomelania snail control with the spraying method in the field, and the 15-d molluscicidal effects and costs were investigated. RESULTS: Fifteen days after the spraying, in the beach of Dongjing River, the snail death rates of MNSC and WPN were 89.40% and 88.08%, respectively, and the density reduction rates of MNSC and WPN were 92.35% and 91.67%, respectively. In the marshland of Honghu Lake, the snail death rates of MNSC and WPN were 86.59% and 87.01%, respectively, and the density reduction rates of MNSC and WPN were 90.05% and 91.71%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the molluscicidal effect between two drugs (P > 0.05). The cost of MNSC used in 100 m2 was 15.03 Yuan, while the cost of WPN used in 100 m2 was 16.29 Yuan. CONCLUSION: MNSC has high molluscicidal efficacy, low cost and low impact on environments, which possesses of popularization and application value in the field.

[The value of bedside lung ultrasound in emergency-plus protocol for the assessment of lung consolidation and atelectasis in critical patients].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the bedside lung ultrasound in emergency(BLUE)-plus lung ultrasound protocol on lung consolidation and atelectasis of critical patients. METHODS: All patients who need to receive mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours in ICU from June 2010 to December 2011 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were included in the study. BLUE-plus and BLUE lung ultrasound, bedside X-ray, lung CT examination were performed on all patients at the same time. The condition of lung consolidation and atelectasis discovered by BLUE-plus lung ultrasound protocol was recorded and compared with bedside X-ray or lung CT. The difference in assessment of lung consolidation and atelectasis between BLUE-plus lung ultrasound protocol and BLUE protocol was compared. RESULTS: A total of 78 patients were finally enrolled in the study. The lung CT found 70 cases (89.74%) had different degrees of lung consolidation and atelectasis. The sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of lung consolidation and atelectasis by the bedside chest X-ray were 31.29%, 75.00% and 38.46%, respectively. BLUE-plus lung ultrasound protocol found 68 cases with lung consolidation and atelectasis, and its sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were 95.71%, 87.50% and 94.87%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of lung CT. BLUE protocol found 48 cases of lung consolidation and atelectasis, and its sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were 65.71%, 75.00% and 66.67%, respectively. The position of lung consolidation and atelectasis which hadn't been found by BLUE protocol was mainly proved to be located in the basement of lung by lung CT. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of lung consolidation and atelectasis in critical patients who received mechanical ventilation is high. The BLUE-plus lung ultrasound protocol has a relatively higher sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy for consolidation and atelectasis, which can find majority of consolidation and atelectasis. As BLUE-plus lung ultrasound is a bedside noninvasive method allowing immediate assessment of most lung consolidation and atelectasis, it will be likely the alternative of the CT and play a key role in assessment of lung consolidation and atelectasis.

The School Breakfast Program strengthens household food security among low-income households with elementary school children.

The School Breakfast Program is an important component of the nutritional safety net and has been linked to positive changes in meal patterns and nutritional outcomes. By offering a breakfast, which for low-income children is available either at no cost or reduced price, the program also has the potential to increase household food security. This study examined the relationship between availability of the School Breakfast Program and household food security among low-income third-grade students by using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Cohort. The primary sample included 3010 students. Availability of school breakfast was assessed by surveys of school administrators. Food security was assessed by parents' reports by using the standard 18-item food security scale and considering 2 different food security thresholds. A probit model was estimated to measure the relationship between school breakfast availability and household food security while controlling for a range of other characteristics. Access to school breakfast reduced the risk of marginal food insecurity but not the risk of food insecurity at the standard threshold. That is, the program appeared beneficial in offsetting food-related concerns among at-risk families, although not necessarily in alleviating food insecurity once hardships had crossed the food insecurity threshold. Increasing the availability of school breakfast may be an effective strategy to maintain food security among low-income households with elementary school children.

Development and functional assessment of EST-derived 2RL-specific markers for 2BS.2RL translocations.

ESTs-derived markers are useful for comparative genomic analysis and can also serve as phenotype-linked functional markers. Here, we report the development of EST-derived 2RL-specific markers and the evaluation of the possibility of functional assessment of markers tagging 2RL, which carries Hessian fly resistance genes (loci). To identify transcripts specific to 2RL, unigene sequences in combination with wheat progenitor genomes were used. Total 275 contigs mapped to the long arms of homoeologous group 2 chromosomes were downloaded. To obtain a cluster corresponding to each of the wheat 275 contigs, unigene sequences of wheat, rice, barley, and rye were pooled for cross-species clusters. Out of 275 clusters examined, it was possible to design 112 cross-species primer pairs for genome-specific amplifications. Out of 112 cross-species primer pairs, 45 primer pairs (40%) produced amplicons from at least one species (three wheat progenitors or rye). Among the 45 contigs, 73% were associated with one of known functions and 82% of the contigs associated with known functions were also associated with one of the GO categories. On the basis of the oligonucleotide sequence alignment of each of 45 genome-specific amplifications, 21 amplifications (47%) were suitable for designing RR genome-specific primers, which are specific to translocated rye chromatin 2RL. Six primer pairs (13%) successfully produced amplicons in the 2BS.2RL translocation lines and not in the non-2RLs. Functional assessment of one of the 2RL-specific markers, NSFT03P2_Contig4445, was performed on Hessian fly infested NILs. Under Hessian fly infestation, significantly high expression of a gene tagged by a 2RL-specific marker (NSFT03P2_Contig4445) was observed 1 day after infestation. EST-derived 2RL-specific marker development from this study provides a basis for the development of ESTs-derived markers for detecting wheat-rye translocations. In addition, these markers could be employed in elucidating functional analysis of genes on 2RL.