Processes with Block-Associated Increments

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This study aimed to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between dietary intake and educational outcomes (EO) in Australian first-year university students. This cross-sectional and longitudinal study measured outcomes of interest at three points over 1 year. Measures included self-reported dietary patterns and dietary intake via a three-day estimated food record. Objective EO (corresponding semester grade point average (GPA), overall GPA and graduation status) variables were extracted from academic records. Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were examined using regression models and generalised estimating equations, respectively. A large university in Queensland, Australia. Participants (n 80) were first-year students who had completed high school in the previous year. Some significant associations were found with semester GPA, including: (a) moderate positive associations between serves of vegetables and semester GPA at time point 2 and over time; and (b) a weak negative association between Na intake and semester GPA at time point 2. Although insignificant, meaningful negative associations were found between alcohol consumption and semester GPA at time point 1 and over time. Some significant associations were also found with graduation status, including: (a) a positive association between meeting Australian carbohydrate recommendations and graduation status; and (b) a negative association between Fe intake and graduation status, both at time point 1. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal findings highlight positive associations between vegetable intake and EO and negative associations between alcohol consumption and EO. Further relevant work is needed with larger, more variable samples in demographic, dietary and EO characteristics.

Cord Blood Bisphenol A Levels and Reproductive and Thyroid Hormone Levels of Neonates: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health.

A genetic predisposition has been suggested in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). The aim of the study was to evaluate human leukocyte antigen (HLA) frequencies and HLA associations in Finnish PSC and PBC patients. The relative frequencies of HLA-A,-B, and-DR antigens were compared between patients with PSC (n=50), or PBC (n=89), transplanted due to end-stage liver disease, and healthy members in the Finnish bone marrow donor registry (n=10000). Prevalence differences, prevalence ratios and the associated large-sample significance probabilities (2-sided P-values) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. We found a strong positive association between PSC and HLA-B8 and-DR3, and a weak positive association between HLA-A1 and PSC. HLA-DR3 also had a weak positive association with PBC, and a weak negative association between HLA-DR5 and PBC was found. In conclusion, HLA-B8, and-DR3 are susceptible for progressive liver disease in PSC, and HLA-DR3 may also be susceptible for disease progression in PBC. HLA-DR5 may be protective against severe PBC.

Relationships between childhood experience of nature and green/blue space use, landscape preferences, connection with nature and pro-environmental behavior

ObjectivesEvaluate the impact of animal and food characteristics on apparent digestibility and stool quality in dogs and cats.MethodsHealthy dogs and cats were housed in environments promoting social interaction, having access to natural light that varied with season and opportunity to exercise. Animals were fed to maintain healthy body weight and health was monitored through regular clinical and physical checkups. Across two decades, 11,963 studies examining apparent nutrient digestibility were conducted using dry and canned foods. Studies were carried out under IACUC approved protocols. Proportional digestibility for dry matter, fat, nitrogen‐free extract, and fiber was calculated as difference between analyzed amounts in the food versus feces. Stool quality was evaluated using a standardized 5‐point system. Relations between animal characteristics (age, stool quality) and digestibility, as well as interactions between macronutrients that bypassed digestion, were evaluated with linear mixed models. Results significant at p≤0.05 are reported.ResultsIn dogs, there was a negative association between age and linear coefficients for fiber, dry matter, carbohydrate, and fat digestibility but a positive association between age and quadratic coefficients for carbohydrate and dry matter digestibility. In cats, there was positive association between age and linear coefficients for protein and energy while there were negative associations between age and the linear coefficient for fiber and the quadratic coefficient for protein. Maximum protein digestibility occurred at approximately 14 years in dogs and at 8 years in cats; maximum crude fiber digestibility in dogs and cats occurred at 1 year. In both species, high fecal protein and low fecal fiber predicted decreased stool quality, and fecal fiber was positively associated with fecal protein and fat.ConclusionsAging in dogs and cats differentially impacted nutrient digestibility; protein and energy digestibility had a positive linear association with age in cats, while dry matter, carbohydrate, energy and fat digestibility had a negative linear association with age in dogs. In both species, fiber digestibility linearly decreased with increasing age. Undigested fecal fiber was associated with improved stool quality while fecal protein was detrimental. Intriguingly, the impact of fecal bypass macronutrients on stool quality was significantly greater in cats than dogs. This is the largest investigation to date evaluating associations between age and macronutrient digestibility in dogs and cats, and supports the development of diets to optimize health throughout the lifespan.Support or Funding InformationHill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. Topeka, Kansas, USAThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

This study investigated the association between levels of marital conflict and the self-esteem of 132 children aged 8-9 years and 142 adolescents aged 15-16 years selected randomly through the public and private school systems in the state of Victoria, Australia. Marital conflict was negatively associated with self-esteem among primary school girls but not among primary schoolboys. Weak negative associations between conflict and self-esteem were found for male and female adolescents. Marital conflict was negatively associated with the quality of the child-father relationship in all groups except among primary schoolboys. The negative effects of conflict tended to be strongest when children's relationships were poor with both parents. However, for young females, conflict was also negatively related to self-esteem when relationships with both parents were good.

BackgroundBiting midges in the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) transmit bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) to ruminants, thus exerting a significant economic impact on animal agriculture worldwide. However, very little is known about the larval habitat characteristics of Culicoides species associated with BTV/EHDV transmission, particularly in southeastern USA, limiting the establishment of effective midge control strategies. In this study, we examined the habitat associations of Culicoides species abundant on a commercial cervid farm in Florida, USA and quantified several environmental variables of their habitat to identify the key variables associated with midge abundance.MethodsMud/substrate samples from three potential larval habitats on the farm (edges of streams, puddles and seepages) were brought to the laboratory and incubated for adult emergence, and the percentage organic matter, macronutrients, micronutrients, pH, electrical conductivity, moisture and microbial concentrations of the substrate were quantified.ResultsStrong habitat associations were observed for Culicoides haematopotus (Malloch) (stream edge), Culicoides stellifer (Coquillett) (puddles) and Culicoides loisae (Jamnback) (stream edge), the most commonly emerging midge species from the samples. Suspected vector species of BTV/EHDV on the property, C. stellifer and Culicoides venustus (Hoffman), emerged mainly from habitats with moderate-high levels of pollution (edges of puddles and seepages) as indicated by the relatively higher concentrations/levels of organic matter, nutrients and other environmental variables in these samples. The emergence of C. insignis was too low to form any meaningful conclusions. For each Culicoides species, only weak positive or negative associations were detected between midge abundance and the various environmental variables quantified.ConclusionsHabitat associations of Culicoides species abundant on a local cervid/animal farm vary, most likely as a function of certain biotic/abiotic characteristics of the habitat. Further studies across a larger spatial and temporal scale will be needed to experimentally evaluate/identify the key factors more strongly associated with the abundance of target Culicoides species. This information, in the long term, can be potentially exploited to render local habitats unsuitable for midge oviposition/larval development.

Psychopathy is one of the greatest risk factors for serious and persistent violence. In order to detect its neurobiological substrates, we examined 39 male psychopathic subjects and matched controls using structural MR imaging and the Psychopathy Check-List (PCL-R). Individual brain region volumes were calculated using the Julich-Brain and AAL3 atlases. Associations of region volumes with the PCL-R dimensions among psychopathic subjects and differences between both groups were analysed. PCL-R factor 2 assessing lifestyle and antisocial behaviour showed in the psychopathic sample negative associations with volumes of several regions, including pons, nuclei of basal ganglia, thalamus, basal forebrain (CH-4), cerebellar regions and areas in orbitofrontal, dorsolateral-frontal and insular cortices. These findings suggest dysfunctions in specific frontal-subcortical circuits, which are known to be relevant for behavioral control. In contrast, the interpersonal-affective PCL-R factor 1 showed only weak positive and negative associations with orbitofrontal, dorsolateral-frontal and left hippocampal areas (CA1, subiculum), among others, indicating that involved brain regions might be affected to a variable degree in different individuals. The group comparison yielded a significantly reduced total brain volume in psychopathic subjects relative to controls, while pronounced regional focuses of volume differences were found only in the right subiculum, suggesting an interindividually variable pattern of structural deviations in the brains of psychopathic subjects. In conclusion, these findings are compatible with the dimensionality of the PCL-R construct, and suggest a particulary strong association of antisocial behavior to smaller volumes in widespread subcortical-cortical brain regions.

Introduction ESPEN states that under-nutrition is a major factor influencing outcomes after orthotopic liver transplant (OLT). Early detections and interventions to correct nutritional deficits may help shorten length of hospital stay (LOS) post OLT. Aim To determine if there is a relationship between nutritional parameters pre OLT and i) total LOS post OLT ii) intensive care (ICU) LOS post OLT. The primary outcome measures were total hospital LOS and ICU LOS. Secondary aims included measuring the degree of malnutrition in those with and without a cancer diagnosis as aetiology for OLT. Method The study design was retrospective analysis. Approval was received from the hospital audit committee. All patients who were alive at discharge after an elective first OLT between January 2009 and December 2014 were identified. Data was prospectively gathered when nutritional status was assessed within 100 days pre transplant by a Dietitian. Data was retrospectively analysed on the following nutrition parameters; 1) dry BMI at OLT 2) hand grip strength (HGS) 3) Royal Free Hospital Global Assessment (RFH-GA). Statistical analysis including descriptive statistics, Spearman’s Correlation and the Mann-Whitney test to compare groups were undertaken. Results 226 patients underwent their first elective OLT and survived to discharge. 76% of the patients were transplanted for decompensated cirrhosis and 24% for cancer. The incidence of malnutrition as defined by RFH-GA was 64% pre OLT. The median BMI and%HGS of all OLTs was 25 Kg/m 2 [n = 200, range 15.1–41.1] and 75% [n = 84, range 28–151] respectively. The relationship between BMI and LOS had a weak negative association [r= –0.17, n = 200, p = 0.014]. Specifically patients with a BMI 20 [21 days VS 17 days, p = 0.009]. The relationship between HGS pre OLT and LOS had a weak negative association [r= –0.247, n = 84, p = 0.024]. Specifically patients with a HGS Pre transplant malnutrition was more prevalent in those transplanted for decompensated cirrhosis compared to those with cancer (75% VS 8%). The LOS for decompensated cirrhosis was longer than that for cancer [18 VS 15.5days, n = 226, p = 0.017]. Conclusion The study would indicate that malnutrition as defined by BMI Disclosure of interest None Declared.

Background: Participation in activities is associated with a range of positive outcomes in adulthood. Research has shown that pain and physical symptoms are associated with less activity in older adults, whereas higher self-efficacy is associated with more activity. Such research tends to examine cross-sectional or long-term between-person change, limiting the opportunity to explore dynamic within-person processes that unfold over shorter time periods. Objectives: This study aimed to (1) replicate previous between-person associations of self-efficacy with engagement in activity and (2) examine whether daily variation in pain, physical symptoms, and self-efficacy corresponded with daily within-person variation in different types of activity. We predicted that participants would engage in less activity on days when they experienced more pain or physical symptoms than their average (a negative within-person association) and that participants would engage in more activity on days when self-efficacy was higher than average (a positive within-person association). Methods: This study used an online diary study to assess self- reported daily pain, physical symptoms, self-efficacy, and engagement in activity among 185 adults aged 51-84 years for up to 7 days. Multilevel modelling was used to examine whether between-person (average) and daily within-person variability in pain, physical symptoms, and self-efficacy were associated with social, physical, and mental activity. Results: In line with previous research, between-person self-efficacy was positively associated with social and physical activity. Supporting the hypotheses, within-person self-efficacy was also positively associated with social and physical activity. The results for pain and physical symptoms were less consistent. Between-person pain was positively associated with social activity. Age interactions indicated that within-person pain was negatively associated with social activity and positively associated with physical activity among older adults. Within-person physical symptoms were positively related to social and mental activity. Conclusion: Stable individual differences as well as short-term within-person variation in physical and psychological functioning are associated with day-to-day variation in activity. Between-person associations did not always reflect within-person associations (e.g., for pain). These complex associations may be influenced by a range of factors including the type of activity and how it is defined (e.g., specific activities and their difficulty), the type of physical symptoms experienced, and age.

A retrospective Cohort Study. The aim of this study is to investigate the associations between posterior muscle health characteristics and disk geometry parameters between L1 and S1. Paralumbar muscle changes have been associated with clinical outcomes. However, the relationship between disk geometry and paralumbar muscle changes has not been defined. Axial T2 MRI was analyzed for paralumbar muscle measurements, and lateral radiographs were analyzed for disk geometry parameters in patients with disk degeneration. Associations between disk shape and muscle health at each individual lumbar level were evaluated using a partial correlation controlling for age and sex. Demographic data were compared between the listhesis groups, and an ANCOVA analysis controlling for significant demographic parameters was conducted to evaluate differences in muscle characteristics. In all, 435 patients were included (age: 55.6±15, BMI: 29.5±6, 60.9% female, 41.3% White). Muscle health median characteristics were CSA/BMI=140, LIV=13, and Goutallier Classification of 1. Partial correlations between focal disk parameters and muscle health controlling for age and sex showed moderate significant positive associations between focal lordosis and lumbar indentation value (LIV) at every level L1-S1 (mean r =0.264 between L1 and L5, P <0.001), weak positive association between focal lordosis and CSA/BMI (mean r =0.113 at L2-L5, P <0.03), and weak negative associations between disk height and Goutallier Classification (mean r =0.158 at L1-L5, P <0.03). Listhesis at L4-S1 was stratified, and ANCOVA controlling for sex and age demonstrated no significant association between S and R groups and CSA/BMI, LIV, or Goutallier classification ( P >0.1). Posterior muscle health was significantly associated with disk shape, especially disk height and disk lordosis, with larger and more lordotic disks being associated with better muscle health. Disk listhesis was not significantly associated with muscle quality when controlling for demographic characteristics, and no differences in muscle health parameters were observed in patients with spondylolisthesis versus retrolisthesis. Overall, the results highlight important associations between lumbar compensation, disk geometry, and posterior muscle health.

Associated factors of estimated desaturase activity in the EPIC-Potsdam study

Perinatal leptin exposure may modulate the risk of adiposity in early childhood. In previous analyses, negative associations between maternal (32 weeks' gestation) and cord blood leptin and offspring body composition at 2 years were observed. Associations between maternal/cord blood leptin were assessed with indirect (i.e., body weight, BMI percentiles, sum of 4 skinfold thicknesses), and direct (i.e., ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging in a subgroup) growth and adipose tissue (AT) measurements in 120 children aged 3 to 5 years. Maternal leptin was not shown to be associated with offspring body composition in univariate analyses. In adjusted analyses, some weak negative associations were observed with weight and BMI percentiles but not with sum of 4 skinfold thicknesses or calculated body fat at 3 to 5 years. Cord blood leptin was inversely related to offspring body composition, but effect sizes were small and not consistently statistically significant. No evidence of associations with direct AT measurements was observed. Although some negative relationships with indirect measurements of AT mass were observed, the results of this study do not provide sufficient evidence that maternal plasma or cord blood leptin is clinically relevant predictors of obesity or body fat distribution in early childhood.

Retrospective Analysis of Sexual Function After Transvaginal Mesh Surgery.