Cepon

BACKGROUND: Mast cells (MCs) mediate inflammation through neuropeptides and cytokines, along with histamine and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is an illness characterized by an unexplained disabling fatigue with multiple physiological impairments as well as dysregulated cytokine profiles. OBJECTIVE: To determine mast cell phenotypes in isolated human PBMCs, in healthy controls and in CFS/ME patients. Second, determine receptor expression of RAGE and its ligand high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1)...

BACKGROUND: Market integration (MI)-increasing production for and consumption from a market-based economy-is drastically altering traditional ways of life and environmental conditions among indigenous Amazonian peoples. The effects of MI on the biology and health of Amazonian children and adolescents, however, remain unclear. AIM: This study examines the impact of MI on sub-adult body size and nutritional status at the population, regional and household levels among the Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador...

OBJECTIVES: Knemometry, the precise measurement of lower leg (LL) length, suggests that childhood short-term (e.g., weekly) growth is a dynamic, nonlinear process. However, owing to the large size and complexity of the traditional knemometer device, previous study of short-term growth among children has been restricted predominantly to clinical settings in industrialized Western nations. The aim of the present study is to address this limitation and promote broader understandings of global variation in childhood development by: (1) describing a custom-built portable knemometer and assessing its performance in the field; and (2) demonstrating the potential application of such a device by characterizing childhood short-term LL growth among the indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador...

OBJECTIVES: Accelerometry provides researchers with a powerful tool to measure physical activity in population-based studies, yet this technology has been underutilized in cross-cultural studies of older adults. The present study was conducted among older adults in an urban setting in India with the following three objectives: (1) to compare average activity levels obtained through different durations of monitoring (1, 3, and 7 days); (2) to document differences in physical activity patterns by sex and age; and (3) to evaluate links between measures of physical activity and anthropometrics, as well as between activity parameters and measures of household size, work status, and social cohesion...

BACKGROUND: Physical activity impacts the ageing process; yet, few studies have examined relationships among physical activity, functional abilities and health among older adults in non-Western settings. AIM: This study tests for associations among measures of physical activity, function and self-report health conditions among 200 older adults (49--50 years old) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. METHODS: Seven consecutive days of accelerometry data were used in measures of physical activity (Total Daily Energy Expenditure [TDEE], Physical Activity Level [PAL], Daily Average Activity Count [AC] and Activity Energy Expenditure [AEE])...

OBJECTIVES: Information concerning physical growth among small-scale populations remains limited, yet such data are critical to local health efforts and to foster basic understandings of human life history and variation in childhood development. Using a large dataset and robust modeling methods, this study aims to describe growth from birth to adulthood among the indigenous Shuar of Amazonian Ecuador. METHODS: Mixed-longitudinal measures of height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were collected from Shuar participants (n = 2,463; age: 0-29 years)...

OBJECTIVE: Low bone density and osteoporosis prevalence, while well-documented in wealthy nations, are poorly studied in rural, non-clinical contexts in economically developing regions such as Latin America. This study contributes preliminary osteoporosis risk data for a rural Colono (mestizo) population from Amazonian Ecuador. METHODS: Anthropometrics were collected for 119 adult participants (74 females, 45 males [50-90 years old]). Heel bone density and T-scores were recorded using calcaneal ultrasonometry RESULTS: Approximately, 33...

Cassava beer, or chicha, is typically consumed daily by the indigenous Shuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. This traditional beverage made from cassava tuber (Manihot esculenta) is thought to improve nutritional quality and flavor while extending shelf life in a tropical climate. Bacteria responsible for chicha fermentation could be a source of microbes for the human microbiome, but little is known regarding the microbiology of chicha. We investigated bacterial community composition of chicha batches using Illumina high-throughput sequencing...

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections can result in a variety of negative health outcomes (e.g., diarrhea, nutritional deficiencies). Market integration (MI; participation in market-based economies) has been suggested to alter levels of STH exposure due to associated changes in diet, sanitation, and behavior, but the effects are complicated and not well understood. Some effects of economic development result in decreased exposure to certain pathogens, and other factors can lead to higher pathogen exposure...

In 2002, it was discovered that several Cika cattle in the mountain areas of Slovenia had escaped the official policy of cross-breeding. Here, we report a genetic characterization to assess their status as autochthonous breed. We compared genotypes for 14 microsatellite markers in 150 Cika cattle individuals with data from 16 Central European cattle breeds. We show that Cika cattle are genetically as diverse as other Eastern Alpine breeds, are more diverse than Austrian Simmental but less than the Balkan Busha cattle...

BACKGROUND: Market integration (MI), the suite of social and cultural changes that occur with economic development, has been associated with negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease; however, key questions remain about how this transition manifests at the local level. AIM: The present paper investigates the effects of MI on health among Shuar, an indigenous lowland Ecuadorian population, with the goal of better understanding the mechanisms responsible for this health transition...

OBJECTIVE: Clinical and epidemiological research suggest that bone mineral density (BMD) in women is shaped by various reproductive factors such as parity and lactation patterns. However, the extent of these effects on BMD remains unclear because of contradictory findings and a focus on industrialized populations. Because fertility patterns in these groups are vastly different than those of women from non-Western, subsistence populations, our current understanding of the reproductive effects on skeletal health is incomplete...

UNLABELLED: Minimal data on bone mineral density changes are available from populations in developing countries. Using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound (QUS) techniques, the current study contributes to remedying this gap in the literature by establishing a normative data set on the indigenous Shuar and non-Shuar Colonos of the Ecuadorian Amazon. PURPOSE: The paucity of bone mineral density (BMD) data from populations in developing countries partially reflects the lack of diagnostic resources in these areas...

OBJECTIVES: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a central component of innate immune defenses, and high sensitivity CRP has emerged as an important biomarker of chronic inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk. Prior analyses of CRP variability have reported stable between-individual differences in CRP over time, but a limitation of current knowledge is that it is based on research conducted in post-epidemiologic transition populations. METHODS: This study evaluated CRP variability among adults in the southeastern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon where rates of infectious diseases remain high...

OBJECTIVES: Alterations in thyroid function appear to play a central role in adaptation to Arctic environments. Increased thyroid activity in indigenous circumpolar populations is associated with upregulated metabolism, including elevated basal metabolic rate (BMR); however, little is known about the possible health consequences of these climate-induced changes on thyroid function. The focus of the present study is to determine the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disorders and their lifestyle and metabolic correlates among a sample of indigenous Yakut adults from northeastern Siberia...

In the years 1987-1988, 372 fractures of the radius in the typical zone were treated at the trauma station. 178 were included into our study, the remaining 194 did not return for check-ups. 123 cases were treated conservatively and 55 operatively. According to statistical data, more women than men were injured (p < 0.01). More patients aged over 60 were treated conservatively. In operative and conservative treatment, the types of fractures were similar (p < 0.01). In comparing the results of operative treatment with those from 1985, we establish that the present results are better (p < 0...

1. The adult possums showed a circadian rhythm of body temperature with a peak in temperature around midnight and a nadir at noon. 2. The young possum within the pouch displayed a circadian rhythm with the highest temperatures during the day and the lowest in the early evening. 3. Although the body temperature of the young possum exceeded that of the mother occassionally, for the major part of the 24 hr the body temperature of the young was lower than that of the mother. 4. The young possum could maintain a steady body temperature between 140 and 167 days post partum...

The possum is a seasonally breeding marsupial which gives birth in Queensland from March through to September. To ascertain whether this seasonality in breeding is manifest in the male reproductive system, body weight and plasma testosterone concentrations were examined in five possums. Plasma testosterone concentrations fluctuated throughout the year and a seasonal cycle was observed, with a peak in testosterone concentration in March and a nadir in September. Body weights fluctuated in a similar manner. Statistical analysis suggested that the annual plasma testosterone profile correlated well with the rate of change of daylength...

The effect of tick infestations on body weight and various blood parameters was monitored in juvenile northern brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus) after release into tick-infested or tick-free enclosures. Three species of ticks were observed in the enclosures, Haemaphysalis humerosa, Ixodes tasmani and Ixodes holocyclus. Bandicoots released into tick-infested enclosures showed a reduced growth rate (1.8 versus 2.5 g/day increase in body weight), a reduced haematocrit value (27.4 versus 40.0%) and an increased number of white blood cells when compared with bandicoots released into tick-free enclosures...