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Visceral fat (VF) promotes the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which emerges as early as in adolescence. The clustering of MetS components suggests shared etiologies, but these are largely unknown and may vary between males and females. Here, we investigated the latent structure of pre-clinical MetS in a community-based sample of 286 male and 312 female adolescents, assessing their abdominal adiposity (VF) directly with magnetic resonance imaging. Principal component analysis of the five MetS-defining variables (VF, blood pressure [BP], fasting serum triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and glucose) identified two independent components in both males and females. The first component was sex-similar; it explained >30% of variance and was loaded by all but BP variables. The second component explained >20% of variance; it was loaded by BP similarly in both sexes but additional loading by metabolic variables was sex-specific. This sex-specificity was not detected in analyses that used waist circumference instead of VF. In adolescence, MetS-defining variables cluster into at least two sub-syndromes: (1) sex-similar metabolic abnormalities of obesity-induced insulin resistance and (2) sex-specific metabolic abnormalities associated with BP elevation. These results suggest that the etiology of MetS may involve more than one pathway and that some of the pathways may differ between males and females. Further, the sex-specific metabolic abnormalities associated with BP elevation suggest the need for sex-specific prevention and treatment strategies of MetS.

Visceral fat (VF) increases cardiometabolic risk more than fat stored subcutaneously. Here, we investigated how well routine clinical measures of adiposity, namely body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (waist), predict VF and subcutaneous fat (SF) in a large population-based sample of adolescents. As body-fat distribution differs between males and females, we performed these analyses separately in each sex. VF and SF were measured by magnetic resonance imaging in 1,002 adolescents (482 males, age 12-18 years). Relationships of BMI and waist with VF and SF were tested in multivariable analyses, which adjusted for potentially confounding effects of age and height. In both males and females, BMI and waist were highly correlated with VF and SF, and explained 55-76% of their total variance. When VF was adjusted for SF, however, BMI and waist explained, respectively, only 0% and 4% of VF variance in males, and 4% and 11% of VF variance in females. In contrast, when SF was adjusted for VF, BMI and waist explained, respectively, 36% and 21% of SF variance in males, and 48% and 23% of SF variance in females. These relationships were similar during early and late puberty. During adolescence, routine clinical measures of adiposity predict well SF but not VF. This holds for both sexes and throughout puberty. Further longitudinal studies are required to assess how well these measures predict changes of VF and SF over time. Given the clinical importance of VF, development of cost-effective imaging techniques and/or robust biomarkers of VF accumulation that would be suitable in everyday clinical practice is warranted.

In the field of orthopedic medicine, hybrid biocomposites with epoxy matrix reinforced with carbon fibers and glass fibers are being used. Through the hybridization phenomenon, appropriate properties can be obtained for the use of these biocomposites in the bone plate and external fixation. The paper presents the manufacture of hybrid laminate with epoxy matrix reinforced with carbon fiber and glass fiber, three-point bending test method and the influence of the laminate layering sequence on the bending behavior of composite biomaterial.

Dyslexia and Attention deficit disorder (AD) are prevalent neurodevelopmental conditions in children and adolescents. They have high comorbidity rates and have both been associated with motor difficulties. Little is known, however, about what is shared or differentiated in dyslexia and AD in terms of motor abilities. Even when motor skill problems are identified, few studies have used the same measurement tools, resulting in inconstant findings. The present study assessed increasingly complex gross motor skills in children and adolescents with dyslexia, AD, and with both Dyslexia and AD. Our results suggest normal performance on simple motor-speed tests, whereas all three groups share a common impairment on unimanual and bimanual sequential motor tasks. Children in these groups generally improve with practice to the same level as normal subjects, though they make more errors. In addition, children with AD are the most impaired on complex bimanual out-of-phase movements and with manual dexterity. These latter findings are examined in light of the Multiple Deficit Model.

ObjectiveLife-long maintenance of brain health is important for the prevention of cognitive impairment in older age. Low-grade peripheral inflammation associated with excess visceral fat (VF) may influence brain structure and function. Here we examined (i) if this type of inflammation is associated with altered white-matter (WM) microstructure and lower cognitive functioning in adolescents, and (ii) if recently identified circulating glycerophosphocholines (GPCs) can index this type of inflammation and associated variations in WM microstructure and cognitive functioning.SubjectsWe studied a community-based sample of 872 adolescents (12–18 years, 48% males) in whom we assessed VF and WM microstructure with magnetic resonance imaging, processing speed with cognitive testing, serum C-reactive protein (CRP, a common marker of peripheral inflammation) with a high-sensitivity assay, and serum levels of a panel of 64 GPCs with advanced mass spectrometry.ResultsVF was associated with CRP, and CRP in turn was associated with “altered” WM microstructure and lower processing speed (all p < 0.003). Further, “altered” WM microstructure was associated with lower processing speed (p < 0.0001). Of all 64 tested GPCs, 4 were associated with both VF and CRP (at Bonferroni corrected p < 0.0004). One of them, PC16:0/2:0, was also associated with WM microstructure (p < 0.0001) and processing speed (p = 0.0003), and mediated the directed associations between VF and both WM microstructure (p < 0.0001) and processing speed (p = 0.02). As a mediator, PC16:0/2:0 explained 21% of shared variance between VF and WM microstructure, and 22% of shared variance between VF and processing speed. Similar associations were observed in an auxiliary study of 80 middle-aged adults.ConclusionsOur results show that VF-related peripheral inflammation is associated with \"altered\" WM microstructure and lower cognitive functioning already in adolescents, and a specific circulating GPC may be a new molecule indexing this VF-related peripheral inflammation and its influences on brain structure and function.

The paper uses Kane’s formalism to study two degrees of freedom (DOF) mechanisms with elastic elements = employed in a wind water pump. This formalism represents an alternative, in our opinion, that is simpler and more economical to Lagrange’s equation, used mainly by researchers in this type of application. In the problems where the finite element method (FEM) is applied, Kane’s equations were not used at all. The automated computation causes it to be reconsidered in the case of mechanical systems with a high DOF. Analyzing the planar transmission mechanism, these equations were applied for the study of an elastic element. An analysis was then made of the results obtained for this type of water pump. The matrices coefficients of the obtained equations were symmetric or skew-symmetric.

Income inequality is associated with poor health and social outcomes. Negative social comparisons and competition may involve the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axes in underlying some of these complex inter-relationships. Here we investigate brain maturation, indexed by age-related decreases in cortical thickness, in adolescents living in neighborhoods with differing levels of income inequality and household income. We examine whether inter-regional variations relate to those in glucocorticoid receptor (HPA) and androgen receptor (HPG) gene expression. For each sex, we used a median split of income inequality and household income (income-to-needs ratio) to create four subgroups. In female adolescents, the high-inequality low-income group displayed the greatest age-related decreases in cortical thickness. In this group, expression of glucocorticoid and androgen receptor genes explained the most variance in these age-related decreases in thickness across the cortex. We speculate that female adolescents living in high-inequality neighborhoods and low-income households may experience greater HPA and HPG activity, leading to steeper decreases in cortical thickness with age.

The pituitary gland is a key structure in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis — it plays an important role in sexual maturation during puberty. Despite its small size, its volume can be quantified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Here, we study a cohort of 962 typically developing adolescents from the Saguenay Youth Study and estimate pituitary volumes using a newly developed multi-atlas segmentation method known as the MAGeT Brain algorithm. We found that age and puberty stage (controlled for age) each predicts adjusted pituitary volumes (controlled for total brain volume) in both males and females. Controlling for the effects of age and puberty stage, total testosterone and estradiol levels also predict adjusted pituitary volumes in males and pre-menarche females, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the pituitary gland grows during adolescence, and its volume relates to circulating plasma-levels of sex steroids in both males and females. •Pituitary gland was automatically segmented from MR images.•Pituitary volumes were obtained in 957 adolescents.•Volumes increased with age in males and females.•Puberty stage and gonadal hormones contribute to this growth.

A Common Variant of the FTO Gene Is Associated With Not Only Increased Adiposity but Also Elevated Blood Pressure in French Canadians Zdenka Pausova, MD ; Catriona Syme, MSc ; Michal Abrahamowicz, PhD ; Yongling Xiao, MSc ; Gabriel T. Leonard, PhD ; Michel Perron, PhD ; Louis Richer, PhD ; Suzanne Veillette, PhD ; George Davey Smith, MD, DSc ; Ondrej Seda, MD, PhD ; Johanne Tremblay, PhD ; Pavel Hamet, MD, PhD ; Daniel Gaudet, MD, PhD and Tomas Paus, MD, PhD From the Brain and Body Centre (Z.P., C.S., T.P.), University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom; Research Centre-CHUM (Z.P., O.S., J.T., P.H.), Montréal, Canada; McGill University (M.A., Y.X.), Montreal, Canada; Montreal Neurological Institute (G.T.L., T.P.), McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Groupe ECOBEs (M.P., S.V.), Jonquière, Canada; Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (L.R.), Quebec, Canada; MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology (D.S.), University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; and Community Genomic Centre (D.G.), Université de Montréal, Chicoutimi Montreal, Canada. Correspondence to Zdenka Pausova, MD, Brain and Body Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. E-mail zdenka.pausova{at}nottingham.ac.uk Received November 12, 2008; accepted March 20, 2009. Background— FTO is the first gene established as contributing to common forms of obesity. The gene is highly expressed in the hypothalamus and is thought to mediate this effect through its influence on energy homeostasis. The hypothalamus, however, also regulates blood pressure (BP). Therefore, we investigated whether the FTO -risk variant is associated not only with increased adiposity but also with elevated BP and whether the latter may be mediated, in part, by increased sympathetic modulation of vasomotor tone. Methods and Results— The primary study was carried out in 485 adolescents recruited from a French Canadian founder population who underwent detailed body-composition and cardiovascular phenotyping. Body fat was examined with MRI, bioimpedance, and anthropometry. BP was recorded beat to beat at rest and during physical and mental challenges. Sympathetic modulation of vasomotor tone was assessed with power spectral analysis of BP. We found that individuals with the FTO- risk genotype compared with those without it demonstrate greater adiposity, including the amount of intra-abdominal fat (by 38%). They also showed higher systolic BP throughout the entire protocol, with a maximum difference during a mental stress (6.4 [1.5 to 11.3] mm Hg). The difference in BP was accompanied by elevated index of sympathetic modulation of vasomotor tone. A replication in an independent sample of adults from the same founder population confirmed the association between FTO and BP. Conclusions— These results suggest that, in a French Canadian founder population, FTO may increase not only risk for obesity, as demonstrated in other populations, but also for hypertension. The latter may be related, at least in part, to the regulation of sympathetic vasomotor tone. Key Words: genetics • hypertension • obesity • sympathetic nervous system • genetic association   CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE Home | Subscriptions | Archives | Feedback | Authors | Help | Circulation Journals Home | AHA Journals Home | Search Copyright © 2009 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited. var _rsCI=\"us-lippincott\"; var _rsCG=\"0\"; var _rsDN=\"//secure-us.imrworldwide.com/\"; var _rsSE=1; var _rsSM=1.0;

Preference for fatty foods is a risk factor for obesity. It is a complex behaviour that involves the brain reward system and is regulated by genetic and environmental factors, such as the opioid receptor mu-1 gene (OPRM1) and prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking (PEMCS). We examined whether OPRM1 and PEMCS interact in influencing fat intake and whether exposure-associated epigenetic modifications of OPRM1 may mediate this gene–environment interaction. We studied adolescents from a French Canadian genetic founder population, half of whom were exposed prenatally to maternal cigarette smoking. Fat intake was assessed with a 24-hour food recall in the form of a structured interview conducted by a trained nutritionist. The OPRM1 variant rs2281617 was genotyped for the whole sample with the Illumina Human610-Quad and HumanOmniExpress BeadChips. Methylation of blood DNA was assessed at 21 CpGs across OPRM1 in a subset of the sample using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. We included 956 adolescents in our study. In the whole sample, OPRM1 (T carrier in rs2281617) was associated with lower fat intake (−1.6%, p = 0.017), and PEMCS was associated with higher fat intake (+1.6%, p = 0.005). OPRM1 and PEMCS interacted with each other (p = 0.003); the “protective” (fat intake–lowering) allele of OPRM1 was associated with lower fat intake in nonexposed (−3.2%, p &spilt; 0.001) but not in exposed individuals (+0.8%, p = 0.42). Further, PEMCS was associated with lower DNA methylation across multiple CpGs across OPRM1 in exposed versus nonexposed individuals (p = 0.031). A limitation of our study was its cross-sectional design. Our study suggests that PEMCS may interact with OPRM1 in increasing fat preference. Silencing of the protective OPRM1 allele in exposed adolescents might be related to epigenetic modification of this gene.