Prevalence of thinness and excessive fatness in a group of school children of the city of Cordoba, Argentina

Findings of a nutritional evaluation study, using triceps skinfold, are reported. The study was carried out in 1,615 school-children from 5 to 12 years, pertaining to the low socioeconomic status of the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Measurements were done during the years 1983 and 1984 by Center's examiners with a Lange caliper, according to international anthropometric methodology. Interintra observer technical error was found to be within tolerance limits reported by other authors. Local standards were used to determine the prevalence of thinness and excessive fatness, by comparing them to tricep skinfold of each child, and selecting those children where this parameter presented values less than or equal to 10th percentile and fatness greater than or equal to 90th percentile. Furthermore, comparison between median triceps skinfold of the examined group, the local standards and Frisancho's norms for US population was also made. Results revealed that: a) the prevalence of thinness (19.9%) was almost twice the percentage expected for a normal population; in contrast, occurrence of excessive fatness (6.4%) was found to be below the expected value; b) prevalence of thinness was not statistically associated to age nor sex; c) frequency of excessive fatness was significantly higher in the 8-11 year-old male group (8, 9%, p much less than 0.0005) and in the girls group (10.8%), P much less than 0.005) the prevalence of fatness in girls increased with age, and figures revealed that from eight years onwards this exceeded the expected percentage, and d) median triceps skinfold of the group under study was generally below local and foreign norms. It is concluded that potential or real nutrition problems as those mentioned above, may be grossly identified using the triceps skinfold as the single anthropometric indicator.     

Imbalance diets in preschool children: study in a day-care center in the Province of Buenos Aires,Argentina

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of low fat diets in children aged 2 to 5. Eighty two children (40 females and 42 males) attending a school cafeteria (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina), in a cross sectional study, were evaluated. Body weight (W), height (H) and body composition (BC) by bioimpedance were recorded. The anthropometric raw data were processed as Z-score of the weight-for-age (WEZ) and of the height-for-age (HAZ). Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and Zinc/haemoglobin ratio (Zn/Hb) were also measured. Results showed that 73.2% of the children were adequate (A) according WEZ, 13.4% were lean (L) and 13.4% overweight (O). 8.5% presented simultaneously impairment in WEZ and HAZ. Body fat percentage and energy metabolism were higher in O than in L and A (p < 0.05). Serum IGF-1's children--aged 4 to 5 years--with HAZ deficit were low than adequate HAZ ones. No statistical differences in Zn/Hb ratio between A, L and O were found. This cross sectional study suggests metabolic disorders in young children attending school cafeterias. These conclusions will allow to design balanced diets in order to optimize the resources, promote optimal growth and development and prevent adult diseases through dietary practices in childhood.     

Nutritional study relative to proteins, energy, and calcium in children eating school meals

Food consumption and nutritional status were evaluated on 419 children having meals at school located in the surrounding of Santa Fe (Argentina). The protein, energy and calcium content of the meals were analyzed. Anthropometrical evaluation was made by the following indicators: weight to age, height to age and weight to height. Biochemical evaluation to a sample of the children, was made by urea/creatinine and calcium/creatinine indicators. Recommended protein consumption is achieved but a biological efficiency loss is detected, probably due to an insufficient energy intake. School meals provide about 50% of the daily energy requirements. Regarding calcium consumption, the dinner cover about 15% of the recommendations but they achieve 47-49% with the cup of milk. As in the case of energy, the calcium daily intake is insufficient as we can see by the calcium/creatinine indicator which shows that a 60% of the people are below of the normal values. All these results suggest that is necessary to increase the energy intake and calcium consumption to improve the nutritional status.     

Wastewater management in Greater Buenos Aires,Argentina

The city of Buenos Aires, the capital town of Argentina, is located besides De la Plata river, and is surrounded by a continuum of built areas, the so-called Greater Buenos Aires. The present situation of sewerage system is described and analysed taking into account: distance from Buenos Aires city, geographic location, socio-economic level, wastewater treatment technologies, management and regulatory agencies. The existence of a sewerage system does not mean automatically wastewater treatment, as frequently in Latin America. The water quality of wastewater receiving bodies is a matter of increasing concern, since large quantity of pollutants is daily discharged.     

Psychological, nutritional, socioeconomic aspects and family relations of Mexican children with low school performance

Two groups of children (aged 4-6 years) living in poor urban areas of Hermosillo (Sonora) and having "low" and "adequate" school achievements, were studied with the objective of determining their psychological, social, economic and nutritional characteristics. They were evaluated by means of standardized psychological tests. Their nutritional condition was assessed by dietary anthropometric and biochemical indicators. The socioeconomic characteristics of their micro-environment were also determined including the degree of home stimulation. It was found that school performance does not depend solely from their execution in psychological tests (Intelligence Quotient and visuomotor and linguistic performance) but also from other micro-environmental factors. The children with "low"school performance were characterized by sub-optimal energy intakes, mild-to-moderate undernutrition, belonged to large families, lived under more crowded conditions, and had a low level of home stimulation. It is concluded that poor nutrition and a disadvantageous micro-environment particularly home stimulation) are important factors related to the poor school performance of the children studied.     

Height deficit in school aged children: a multivariate analysis of possible risk factors, Pernambuco-1997

The nutritional status and some risk factors in 894 school children (ages 6 to 12) in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil, were analyzed based on the data collected by the Second State Research on Nourishment, Health and Nutrition carried out in 1997. The cutoff point used in the nutritional evaluation was the limit referring to -2 score-Z, being the NCHS the reference standard. The prevalence of stunting in the state was of 16.9%. Rural areas were more affected, reaching 27.1%. Bivariate analysis showed that the low socioeconomic level of the children and their families is associated with the occurrence of stunting. The logistic regression model pointed the variables: residence location, gender, access to treated potable water, low education, and per-capita income as the main determinants in stunting. The conjunct analysis of all the factors that explain the malnutrition found among the school children studied showed that the probability of a school-aged child to present height deficit varied from 1.5 to 60.3% depending on the risk factors taken into account, therefore showing different epidemiological "scenarios." The study also concluded that in the State of Pernambuco the height deficit constitutes a public health problem especially for school children in rural areas, showing two very different epidemiologic realities between urban and rural areas.     

High and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemic school children

To most fully explicate risk to coronary heart disease (CHD) in adults and children with elevated plasma total cholesterol, the levels of high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (C-HDL, C-LDL) must be quantitated. This report focuses upon C-HDL and C-LDL levels in children identified in a lipid and lipoprotein sampling survey of 6,775 Princeton School children, by either total plasma cholesterol ≥205 mg/dl, the approximate 95th percentile for children 6–17 years of age, or age-, sex-, and race-specific 95th percentiles for cholesterol. Using the sex-, race-specific local 95th percentiles for C-HDL and C-LDL, the hypercholesterolemic children were separated into four categories according to whether they had elevations of both C-HDL and C-LDL, C-HDL only, C-LDL only, or neither. When selection for hypercholesterolemia was based on the overall 95th percentile (205 mg/dl), black children were more likely than white to have elevations of C-HDL only, which accounted for their hypercholesterolemia, p<.05, whereas white children were much more likely to have elevations of C-LDL only, than were black children, p<.005. However, when selection for hypercholesterolemia was based on age-, sex-, and race-specific 95th percentile cholesterol levels, there were no differences in the proportion of black and white children having elevations of C-HDL and C-LDL, accounting for their hypercholesterolemia. Elevated levels of C-HDL can explain apparent hypercholesterolemia in at least 16% of children, ages 6–17, who may putatively be at reduced, rather than increased CHD risk.     

江苏扬中市2013年儿童及老人流感抗体水平分析

目的分析江苏扬中市儿童及老人的流感流行状况,为预防疾病和制定免疫策略提供依据。方法按照整群分层随机抽样的原则,于2013年9月采集扬中市下辖6个乡镇1 449名健康儿童及老人的静脉血,分离血清,采用微量血凝抑制(hemagglutination inhibition,HI)试验检测血清抗体。结果共采集血清1 449份,其中儿童组739份,老人组710份。H1N1、H3N2和B型3个型别抗体阳性率均在70%以上,抗体保护率分别为44.10%、31.88%和65.98%,抗体几何平均滴度(geometric mean titer,GMT)分别为1∶26.19、1∶18.00和1∶48.76。其中儿童组H1N1型抗体保护率达62.38%,抗体GMT为1∶41.48。结论 B型在儿童和老人中流行较广泛,是该部分人群的流感流行优势毒株。H1N1型在儿童中发生过流行,并已产生了相应抗体。在流感高发季节,对儿童及老人等重点人群进行流感疫苗的预防接种是必要的。     

Obesity in Mexican school age children is associated with out of-home food consumption: in the journey from home to school

The objective of our study was to evaluate the association between consumption of food during the journey from home to school and back, with overweight and obesity, in a nationwide representative sample of school children. We assessed consumption outside the home in 9537 children, with information on availability and consumption of selected groups of food and beverages. Height, weight, total energy consumption, and sociodemographic variables were also obtained. We developed logistic regression models, and tested interactions with sociodemographic variables. The results of our study show that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was positively associated with dairy consumption in girls (OR:1.70; p = 0.01), as well as fried snacks consumption in school children living in Mexico City (OR: 1.68; p = 0.06). Consumption of fruits and vegetables in medium and high socioeconomic levels was negatively associated with the prevalence of overweight and obesity (OR: 0.54; p = 0.01 and 0.59; p = 0.07, respectively). We concluded that children during their stay away from home have a high availability of energy dense foods, which can influence their consumption and contribute to the development of overweight and obesity, so it is important to investigate this association in prospective studies.     

Iron deficiency and anemia in pregnant women from Chaco,Argentina

Aiming at their prevention, to determine the prevalence of gestational iron deficiency and anemia, considering access to health care and associations with social and biological variables in the Province of el Chaco, Argentina. Three hundred and sixty four, randomly selected pregnant women from the whole province participated. Mean Hemoglobin (Hb) +/- SD dropped progressively from 118.4 +/- 11.0 to 112.1 +/- 11.5 g/L (p = 0.015) between the 1st and the 3rd gestational trimesters. Anemia prevalence (Hb < 110 g/L) was 17.4, 26.5 and 35.8%. From the 1st to the 3rd trimesters. Second trimester prevalence was 14.1% using Hb < 105 g/L as recently suggested. The ferritin geometric mean during the progressive gestational trimesters were 28.9; 16.0 and 11.1 micrograms/L. 21.7, 40.5 and 60.5% had ferritins < 12 micrograms/L, and 39.1, 58.9 and 83.2% had ferritins < 20 micrograms/L in these respective trimesters (p < 0.004 between trimesters in both cases). Both iron deficiency and anemia were significantly greater in women with unfinished primary education and with interpregnancy interval < 1 year. Seventy five percent of women had adequate number of antenatal visits but only 23% were taking iron supplements and 10% had stopped taking them. The prevention and correction of gestational iron deficiency and anemia must focus on the preconceptional period (inter-pregnancy spacing and increasing iron intake using all available means) as well as during pregnancy improving adherence to iron supplements by means of motivation of health workers and community.     

Hemoglobin-fortified biscuits: bioavailability and its effect on iron nutriture in school children

School-age children in Chile received 30 g of wheat-flour biscuits daily through a National School Lunch Program. To improve iron nutrition, these biscuits were fortified with 6% of a bovine hemoglobin concentrate. Hemoglobin iron bioavailability, measured with a double isotope technique, showed that heme-iron absorption in fortified biscuits was high (19.7%). In a pilot field trial, a cohort of 215 school-children received fortified biscuits (30 g) daily during two school periods, and their iron nutrition status was compared with that of children who received non-fortified biscuits (n = 212). Acceptability of both types of biscuits was excellent. Initially, both groups had comparably good iron nutrition. The fortified children presented higher mean ferritin values at the end of the first and second school periods. Good iron stores (serum ferritin greater than or equal to 20 micrograms/lt) were present in 92% and 79% of the fortified and control subjects, respectively (P less than 0.004). The high-iron bioavailability, the good organoleptic characteristics and the biological effect on iron nutriture make this product an appealing alternative to combat iron deficiency.     

Nitrogen balance for potato crops in the southeast pampas region, Argentina

The aim of this work was to build an N mass balance for the potato crop under irrigation conditions in the southeast pampas (Argentina) as a function of N rate and gravitational water. The experiment was developed in a Typic Argiudoll soils during five growing seasons using N treatments. Yield, N concentration, N accumulated and dry matter content in the tubers were different between years by effect of the N rates, the irrigation management and precipitations. Fertilizer N recovery in tubers decreased as the N rate and the volume of gravitational water increased. Soil residual N increased with the N rate and decreased with gravitational water. N loss increased with the N rate and the volume of gravitational water, so it is highly possible that nitrate leaching is the most important loss process. N loss means ranged from 12 to 57 % with the lowest and highest hydric excess (73 and 479 mm, respectively). N loss may become the largest N sink when there is excess of water. It is recommended to adapt N fertilization strategies with a proper irrigation management.     

Food habits and caries experience in young adults from Rosario, Argentina

Odontological assistance in Rosary City is offered in private and public services. The public ones lack programs to avoid dental loss in adults. Our aim was to describe the caries experience and dietetic habits in three sub-populations of young adults. Applying a standardized anamnesis, 517 patients, both sexes, 15-45 years old, attending to a private service (19%) and two public ones (81%), were investigated. Studied variables: oral health, lacteal and sweet food consumed, and instruction level. Student t-test, ANOVA and chi-square tests were applied. Average decayed teeth were 1.7+/-2.0 in the private service, and 4.1+/-2.8 in the public ones (p<0.0001); missing teeth were 5.4+/-5.2 and 6.8+/-5.4 (p=0.04); and filled teeth were 4.4+/-4.2 and 1.3+/-2.2, respectively (p<0.0001). Dairy foods daily consumption was higher in the private service (p<0.001). Patients in the public services expressed to replace milk by mate, and to relate its consumption with pregnancy and lactation, or to leave it for children. Sweets delicacies consumed in the private sector -considered of risk- were sweet breads, cakes, cookies and sweets, and in the public ones were soft candies, "alfajores" and sweet made with milk. Minor risk sweets consumption in private patients were ice creams, sodas and chocolates, and in the public ones, hard candies and chewing gums, with and without sugar. Although a high number of patients consume delicacies and sweet foods at any hour, private patients were a minority; and they were a majority when considering its ingestion only after a food.     

Commercial production of chia in Northwestern Argentina

The economy of northwestern Argentina depends heavily on sugar and tobacco. Depressed prices for these crops in recent years have caused significant economic problems, and alternative crops are actively being sought. Chia (Salvia hispanica L.), a source of industrial oil for the cosmetics industry and θ-3 α-linolenic acid for the food industry, is one new crop that could help diversify the local economy. A project to develop chia as a commercial crop was initiated in 1991. In 1996, 13 fields were commercially grown in two provinces of northwestern Argentina. Biomass production and seed yields were affected by weather, location, and production practices. Average seed yield was 606 kg/ha. Oil content and fatty acid composition varied between fields.     

Mineralogy, chemistry and potential applications of a white bentonite in San Juan province, Argentina

A white bentonite deposit of Pleistocene age located in San Juan Province, Argentina, has very promising commercial applications because of its mineralogy and physical and chemical properties. The bentonite occurs in the Lower Member of the Las Trancas Formation which is a hydrothermally altered rhyolitic to rhyodacitic pumice and breccia.Analysis shows the major minerals present are smectite and opal-CT along with minor amounts of quartz, clinoptilolite, feldspar and biotite. The majority of the quartz, clinoptilolite, and biotite occurs in the >325 mesh fraction. The smectite is mainly a sodium montmorillonite along with some calcium and magnesium in the exchange positions. The <2 μm fraction consists of almost pure smectite and opal CT. Scanning electron micrographs show a typical “corn flakes” texture, which is characteristic of sodium montmorillonite.The physical and chemical properties including particle size, surface area, water and oil absorption, swelling index, cation exchange capacity, viscosity, and brightness indicate after wet beneficiation, that the processed white bentonite could be used in many industrial applications. These include paper coating and filling, paint, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and filtering agents. Also the fine particle size fraction of <2 μm could be used to make an excellent quality organoclay.     

Genetic Diversity and Population Differentiation of Calanthe tsoongiana,a Rare and Endemic Orchid in China

Calanthe tsoongiana is a rare terrestrial orchid endemic to China, and this species has experienced severe habitat loss and fragmentation. Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were employed to assess the genetic diversity and differentiation of six populations of C. tsoongiana. Based on 124 discernible fragments yielded by eleven selected primers, high genetic diversity was revealed at the species level; however, genetic diversity at the population level was relatively low. High-level genetic differentiation among populations was detected based on analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), indicating potential limited gene flow. No significant relationship was observed between genetic and geographic distances among the sampled populations. These results suggested that restricted gene flow might be due to habitat fragmentation and reduced population size as a result of human activities. Based on the findings, several conservation strategies were proposed for the preservation of this threatened species.     

2017年兰州市5岁以下儿童病毒性腹泻分子流行病学分析

目的分析2017年兰州市5岁以下儿童病毒性腹泻病原体及其流行特点,为病毒性腹泻的防控提供科学依据。方法收集2017年就诊于兰州大学第一医院儿科的5岁以下急性腹泻患儿粪便样本219份,采用双抗体夹心ELISA法检测A组轮状病毒(rotavirus A,RVA),阳性样本采用RT-PCR法进行G/P分型;同时采用RT-PCR法鉴定人杯状病毒(human calicivirus,HuCV)、人星状病毒(human astrovirus,HAstV),PCR法鉴定腺病毒(adenovirus,AdV),阳性样本进行测序。结果 219份样本中,病毒总检出率80. 37%,其中居于首位的是RVA(51. 60%),其次为Hu CV(20. 09%)、AdV(4. 11%)及HAstV(4. 57%)。RVAG基因型中以G9(90. 27%)为主,P基因型以P[8](91. 15%)为主,其次为P[4](7. 96%),二者组合主要为G9P[8](88. 50%)。HuCV全部为诺如病毒(noruvirus,NoV),未检出札如病毒,NoV以GⅡ-4型(52. 27%)为主,其次为GⅡ-3型(36. 36%),仅1例GⅠ-3型。AdV以F组的41型(55. 56%)为主,HAstV全部为1型。病毒性腹泻的高发季节特点以RVA最为明显,在第4季度,高危人群年龄在0～17月龄。结论兰州市5岁以下儿童病毒性腹泻病原多样,RVA为最主要病原,主要流行株为G9P[8],其次为NoV,主要流行株为GⅡ-4型,与近年全国流行的优势基因型相同。