Income inequality is associated positively with disease prevalence and mortality. Digit ratio (2D4D) - a negative proxy for prenatal testosterone and a positive correlate of prenatal oestrogen - is related to several diseases. This study examined the association of income inequality (operationalized as relative parental income) and children's 2D4D. Participants self-measured finger lengths (2D=index finger, and 4D=ring finger) in a large online survey conducted in July 2005 (the BBC Internet Study) and reported their parents' income. Children of parents of above-average income had low 2D4D (high prenatal testosterone, low prenatal oestrogen) while the children of parents of below-average income had high 2D4D (low prenatal testosterone, high prenatal oestrogen). The effects were significant in the total sample, present among Whites (the largest group in the sample), in the two largest national samples (UK and USA) and were greater for males than females. https://www.selleckchem.com/CDK.html The findings suggest a Trivers-Willard effect, such that high-income women may prenatally masculinize their sons at the expense of the fitness of their daughters. Women with low income may prenatally feminize their daughters at the fitness expense of their sons. The effect could, in part, explain associations between low income, high 2D4D (low prenatal testosterone) and some major causes of mortality such as cardiovascular disease. The present study examines the association between mild and moderate-to-severe household food insecurity and school readiness among a nationally representative sample of preschool-aged children. Cross-sectional data pertaining to household food availability as well as four domains of school readiness - early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development and physical health & motor development - were employed. The USA. 15 402 children aged 3-5 years from the 2016-2018 National Survey of Children's Health. Both mild and moderate-to-severe food insecurity are associated with an increase in needing support or being at-risk in each of the four school readiness domains, particularly Self-Regulation (IRR = 4·31; CI 2·68, 6·95) and Social-Emotional Development (IRR = 3·43; CI 2·16, 5·45). Furthermore, while nearly half of the children in food-secure households are on-track across all four school readiness domains (47·49 %), only one in four children experiencing moderate-to-severe household food insecurity is on-track across all domains (25·26 %). Household food insecurity is associated with reductions in school readiness among preschool-aged children.Household food insecurity is associated with reductions in school readiness among preschool-aged children. A suboptimal diet and nutritional deficiencies can have important influences on health with significant impact among older adults. This study aims to assess the presence of suboptimal dietary intake among older Americans and identify risk and protective factors influencing diet quality. Cross-sectional secondary analysis. USA. A nationally representative sample of 5614 community-dwelling older adults over age 54 in the Health and Retirement Study - Health Care and Nutrition Survey. Overall, only 10·7 % of respondents had a good quality diet (Healthy Eating Index score 81 and above); the majority had diets considered poor or needing improvement. Less than 50 % of respondents met dietary guidelines and nutritional goals for most individual food groups and nutrients. Respondents with low socio-economic status, fewer psychosocial resources and those who had limited access to healthy food outlets were more likely to have a diet of suboptimal quality. Efforts to remove identified barriers that put older adults at risk for poor nutrition and to provide resources that increase access to healthy food should be made to encourage healthy eating and enhance diet quality.Efforts to remove identified barriers that put older adults at risk for poor nutrition and to provide resources that increase access to healthy food should be made to encourage healthy eating and enhance diet quality.The swimbladder functions as a hydrostatic organ in most bony fishes, including the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. Infection by the nematode Anguillicoloides crassus impairs swimbladder function, significantly compromising the success of the eel spawning migration. Swimbladders from 32 yellow eels taken from Lake Trasimeno (Central Italy) were analysed by histopathology- and electron microscopy-based techniques. Sixteen eels (50%) harboured A. crassus in their swimbladders and intensity of infection ranged from 2 to 17 adult nematodes per organ (6.9 ± 1.6, mean ± s.e.). Gross observations of heavily infected swimbladders showed opacity and histological analysis found a papillose aspect to the mucosa and hyperplasia of the lamina propria, muscularis mucosae and submucosa. Inflammation, haemorrhages, dilation of blood vessels and epithelial erosion were common in infected swimbladders. In the epithelium of parasitized swimbladders, many empty spaces and lack of apical junctional complexes were frequent among the gas gland cells. In heavily infected swimbladders, we observed hyperplasia, cellular swelling and abundant vacuolization in the apical portion of the gas gland cells. Numerous mast cells and several macrophage aggregates were noticed in the mucosal layer of infected swimbladders. We found more nervous and endocrine elements immunoreactive to a panel of six rabbit polyclonal antibodies in infected swimbladders compared to uninfected.Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common arrhythmias in the adult population, in children, however, only a few case reports of isolated atrial fibrillation exist.1 Aside from post-operative AF due to atrial scar formation or suture lines and atrial enlargement in CHD (e.g., mitral stenosis), alcohol consumption represents a rare cause of AF in adolescents. We report on the latter. The practice of public and patient engagement (PPE) in health technology assessment (HTA) has spread worldwide, yet gaps in knowledge remain. We carried out an institutional ethnography of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) public and patient involvement in HTA. The research took place over 15 months and included observational work in the institutional settings, text review, and interviews with individuals working for or involved with the agency. We found that despite demonstrated commitment to PPE, organizational history, governance structure, and practices were impediments to a unified approach to PPE. Unclear role descriptions for committee members and differences in philosophy and priority given to PPE across the organization presented challenges to effective participation. The high degree of value given to evidence-based principles at times conflicted with meaningful integration of patient input. A lack of clear goals and processes, roles, and differential treatment of evidence in PPE served to minimize the importance of patient experiences and to displace their validity. |