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In this paper, we study the Sinai–Ruelle–Bowen (SRB) measures of generalized horseshoe maps. We prove that under the conditions of transversality and fatness, the SRB measure is indeed absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, lots of evidence has supported that sociocultural pressure and body image can predict people's participation of exercise, yet only a few studies have examined their impact on lifestyle physical activity (PA), which has been proven to be as effective as structured exercise in health and weight management. The study aims to examine an extended sociocultural model by using multi-dimensional body image concerns and objectively measured lifestyle PA data from a large sample. The study included 1557 young adults (68.10% female) aged 18–26 years. Sociocultural pressure and body image concerns were assessed using Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale (PSPS) and Negative Physical Self Scale (NPSS). Five-days' lifestyle PA was measured objectively by accelerometer. Results indicated that the relationship between women' s PSPS and light PA was fully mediated through their fatness concern (indirect effect = -.22, p <.05) and facial appearance concern (indirect effect = -.25, p <.05). The relationship between men's PSPS and light PA was fully mediated by their fatness concern (indirect effect = -.19, p <.05). In addition, men's fatness concern as well as their shortness concern emerged as two significant mediators for the relationship between PSPS and time spent in moderate-vigorous PA (fatness: indirect effect =.19, p <.01; shortness: indirect effect =.17, p <.01). The study supports the sociocultural model as an explanatory model for lifestyle PA behavior, and suggests that unchangeable domains of body image might be the stronger mediators of the relationship between sociocultural pressures and PA behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slogan that ‘the virus doesn’t discriminate’ has been belied by the emergence of stark and persistent disparities in rates of infection, hospitalisation, and death from Covid-19 between various social groups. I focus on two groups that have been disproportionately affected, and that have been constructed or designated as particularly ‘at-risk’ during the Covid-19 pandemic: racial or ethnic minorities and fat people. I trace the range of narratives that have arisen in the context of explaining these disparities, in both the scientific literature and wider expert and public discourse. I show that the scientific and public narratives around these groups have differed significantly, revealing contested and competing conceptions of the basis of these categories themselves. These different conceptions have important impacts on the kinds of interventions that become possible or desirable. I show that in the case of racial or ethnic disparities, genetic narratives have been combatted by a strong focus on structural racism as a driver of pandemic inequalities. However, in the case of fatness, individualising and stigmatising narratives have dominated discussions. I suggest that, given racial or ethnic differences in prevalence of fatness, and scholarship casting anti-fatness as historically racialised, the stigmatisation of fatness disproportionately affects racial or ethnic minorities in terms of placing individual blame or responsibility for the increased burden of Covid-19 on these groups. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the role of structural racism in driving racial inequalities in the burden of Covid-19, anti-obesity rhetoric and research provides a ‘backdoor’ to placing blame on individuals from racial minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early post-mortem, objective and non-destructive prediction of tissue distribution in the major pork cuts is a challenge for the meat industry. Mathematical models to predict pig carcass composition using total lean meat percentage and carcass weight were evaluated in this study. The data were obtained from 455 cold pig carcasses which were dissected according to the EU reference method; total lean meat percentage and carcass weight ranged from 42.45 to 69.21% and from 23.26 to 55.22 kg, respectively. Developed empirical models gave a reasonable fit to the experimental data and successfully predicted the carcass composition and tissue distribution in primal cuts. The second order polynomial models showed high coefficients of determination for prediction of experimental results (between 0.612 and 0.929), while the artificial neural network (ANN) model, based on the Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno iterative algorithm, showed better prediction capabilities (overall r2 was 0.889). The newly developed software, based on ANN model is easy, fast, cheap and with sufficient precision for application in the meat industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of allele-specific expression may help to elucidate the genetic architecture of complex traits including fat deposition in pigs. Here, we used pyrosequencing to investigate the allele proportions of candidate genes (ACACA, ADIPOR1, FASN, LEP, ME1, SCD, and TNF) involved in regulation of lipid metabolism in two fat deposits (subcutaneous and visceral fat) and longissimus dorsi muscle of pigs representing Polish Large White, Polish Landrace, Duroc, and Pietrain breeds. We detected differential allelic expression of ACACA, LEP, SCD, and TNF in all tissues analyzed. To search for putative cis-regulatory elements involved in allele-specific expression, we quantified the methylation level within CpG islands located in 5′-flanking regions of ACACA and SCD. Comparison between samples showing markedly disproportionate allelic expression and control groups with similar levels of both alleles did not reveal significant differences. We also assessed the association of rs321308225 (c.*195C>A) an SNP located in the 3′UTR of ACACA with its allelic expression in Polish Landrace pigs, but it was not significant. We conclude that allelic imbalance occurs frequently in regard to genes involved in regulation of lipid deposition in pigs, and further studies are necessary to identify cis-regulatory elements affecting ACACA, LEP, SCD, and TNF expression in porcine fat tissues and skeletal muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the total content and composition of lipids in yearlings of the Lake Krugloye Amur sleeper depending on their body length during the active feeding period have been analyzed. It is found that fatness of the juvenile Amur sleeper does not change with an increasing body length. The seasonal dynamics of fatness is expressed to a greater degree in fish of the same size. The lipid composition of juvenile specimens of the Amur sleeper varies considerably depending on the length of the body of the fry and the time of observation. The character of the fractional composition of lipids in yearlings of the Amur sleeper with body lengths >25-29 mm in September and October indicates a decline in food supply of the largest specimens of the generation by the end of the active feeding period and their lower readiness for wintering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adipogenesis is a complex process of fat cells development driven by the expression of numerous genes. Differentiation of progenitor cells into mature adipocytes is accompanied by changes in cell shape, as a result of lipid accumulation. In the present study, expression of three genes involved in lipid droplet formation ( SNAP23, BSCL2 and COPA) was evaluated during porcine adipogenesis. It was found that mRNA levels of BSCL2 and SNAP23, but not COPA, increased during differentiation. Redistribution of SNAP23 protein to different cellular compartments was observed when comparing undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells and differentiated adipocytes. The BSCL2 protein was found to be highly specific to cells with accumulated lipids, while COPA protein coated the lipid droplets. Obtained results indicated that the studied genes may be considered as candidates for fatness traits in pigs. Moreover, this study has shown that the porcine in vitro adipogenesis system provides a useful tool for the characterisation of novel genes involved in adipose tissue accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fat content and fatty acid (FA) profile influence meat quality in pigs. These parameters are important for consumers due to their preferences for healthy, high quality meat. The aim of this study was searching for polymorphisms and transcript levels of two positional and functional candidate genes, FASN and INSIG2, encoding proteins which take part in lipid metabolism. The molecular findings were analyzed in relation to fatness traits. Pigs of four commercial breeds were included: Polish Landrace (PL), Polish Large White (PLW), Duroc and Pietrain. DNA sequencing, 5′RACE technique and real time PCR and association analysis were applied. In total, 20 polymorphisms in 5′-flanking, 5′UTR and 3′UTR regions of FASN (12 novel polymorphisms) and INSIG2 (seven novel ones and one known) genes were found. Association study with fatness traits (PL n = 225, PLW n = 179) revealed that four polymorphisms (c.-2908G>A, c.-2335C>T, c.*42_43insCCCCA and c.*264A>G) of the FASN gene were associated with back fat thickness in PL and PLW. Since the polymorphisms were identified in regulatory sequences of the both genes also their transcript levels were studied in PLW (n = 23), PL (n = 22), Pietrain (n = 17) and Duroc (n = 23). The INSIG2 transcript level was positively correlated with monounsaturated FA contents in the longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle. Several correlations were also found between three polymorphisms (c.*264A>G and c.-2335C>T in FASN, and c.-5527C>G in INSIG2) and the FA content. Our study showed that the FASN gene is a promising marker for subcutaneous fat tissue accumulation, while INSIG2 is a promising marker for FA composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A better understanding of the control of body fat mass and distribution is required for both human health and animal production. The current study investigates plasma parameters in response to changes in body fat mass. Methods: Pigs from two lines divergently selected for residual feed intake were fed diets contrasted in energy sources and nutrients. Between 74 and 132 days of age, pigs ( n = 12 by diet and by line) received isoproteic and isoenergetic diets, either rich in starch (LF) or in lipids and fibres (HF). At the end of the feeding trial, plasma samples were analysed by H NMR spectroscopy and standard hormonal and biochemical assays. Results: Pigs fed the HF diet had lower ( P < 0.01) perirenal and subcutaneous adipose tissue relative masses than pigs fed the LF diet. Metabolomic approach showed a clear discrimination between diets, with lower ( P < 0.05) plasma levels of creatinine-lysine, creatine, tyrosine, proline, histidine, lysine, phenylalanine and formate but higher ( P < 0.001) plasma VLDL-LDL levels in HF pigs than in LF pigs. Plasma concentrations of triglycerides were higher ( P < 0.001), while plasma concentrations of β-hydroxybutyrate, leptin, glucose, insulin and urea were lower ( P ≤ 0.05) in HF pigs than in LF pigs. Plasma levels of leptin, creatine and urea were positively correlated ( r = 0.3, P < 0.05) with relative adipose tissue masses. Conclusion: These data indicate that metabolites associated with energy and protein metabolism were involved in the response to a high-fat, high-fibre diet. Relevant plasma indicators of metabolic flexibility related to changes in body adiposity were then proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlordecone (CLD) is an organochlorine pesticide whose extended use led to the contamination of at least 20 % of agricultural soils from the French West Indies. Livestock reared on polluted areas are involuntary contaminated by CLD and their level of contamination may exceed the threshold values set by the European Union. Thus, characterizing the CLD behaviour in farm animals appear as a real issue in terms of food safety for local populations. The aim of this experiment was (i) to characterize the CLD disappearance in various tissues after exposure cessation and (ii) to evaluate the potential effect of body fatness on this process. Two groups of eight growing goats were submitted to either a basal diet or a high energy diet for 50 days before being intravenously contaminated with 1 mg CLD kg body weight. Two days after CLD contamination, half of the kids of each experimental group were slaughtered in order to determine pollutant levels in the serum, liver, adipose tissues, and empty carcass. The remaining animals were submitted to a 30-day decontamination period before slaughtering and measurements as described above. The implemented nutritional plan resulted in both groups of kids with significant differences in terms of body fatness. CLD was mainly concentrated in the liver of animals as described in the literature. It was found also in kids' empty carcass and adipose tissues; however its levels in the empty carcass (muscles and bones) were unexpected since they were higher than in fat. These results indicate that the lipophilic pollutant CLD is found mainly in liver but also in muscles and fat. Concerning the animals' depuration, a 30-d decontamination period was sufficient to observe a decrease of CLD levels by more than 75 % in both experimental groups and neither CLD concentrations nor CLD amounts were significantly affected by kids' body fatness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effects of suckling length (45, 75 and 120 days) and birth type (single and twin) on lamb growth, slaughtering and carcass quality characteristics were investigated using 40 Kivircik lambs. SC-45 and SC-75 lambs were weaned at 45 and 75 days of age, respectively, whilst SC-120 lambs remained with their mothers until the end of the experimental period. Lambs from all studied groups were slaughtered at 120 days of age. Weaning treatment caused a decrease in average daily gain in SC-45 and SC-75 lambs, and therefore, final weight was higher in SC-120 lambs than lambs from weaned groups. SC-120 lambs had higher empty body weight, cold carcass weight, dressing percentage, carcass measurements, carcass fatness (proportions of the kidney knob and channel fat, subcutaneous and intramuscular fat in pelvic limb) and non-carcass fatness (omental and mesenteric fat proportion) than weaned lambs. As a conclusion, the potential losses in meat production due to weaning should be considered before deciding the weaning of lambs at early ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to examine the association of muscular strength with markers of insulin resistance in European adolescents. The study comprised a total of 1,053 adolescents (499 males; 12.5-17.5 years) from ten European cities participating in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Cross-Sectional Study. Muscular strength was measured by the handgrip strength and standing long jump tests. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by the 20-m shuttle run test. Fasting insulin and glucose were measured and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) indices were calculated. Weight, height, waist circumference and skinfold thickness were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. In males, the handgrip strength and standing long jump tests were negatively associated with fasting insulin and HOMA (all P < 0.05) after controlling for pubertal status, country and BMI or waist circumference. When skinfold thickness was included in the model, the association became non-significant. In females, the standing long jump test was negatively associated with fasting insulin and HOMA (all P < 0.001) after controlling for pubertal status, country and surrogate markers of total or central body fat (BMI, waist circumference or skinfold thickness). Findings were retained in males, but not in females after controlling for cardiorespiratory fitness. The findings of the present study suggest that preventive strategies should focus not only on decreasing fatness and increasing cardiorespiratory fitness but also on enhancing muscular strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Several candidate genes have been associated with obesity, but very few studies have tested more than one gene simultaneously.Methods:In this study, 15 polymorphisms in 10 candidate genes of obesity were tested for association with changes in adiposity measured over a period of 6–10 years in a maximum of 332 adult subjects with a wide range of adiposity (17.5

Background:Most studies indicate an inverse relationship between physical activity (PA) and body mass index (BMI). However, the impact of obesity on this relationship is unclear.Objective:To scrutinize the BMI/PA relationship by analysing multiple categories of PA from a sample with a wide BMI range.Design:PA was measured with accelerometry for 7 consecutive days during free-living conditions in 85 severely obese outpatients (mean BMI 42.7 kg/m2 (s.d. 6.1); age 43.0 year (12.6)) and 193 control subjects (24.0 kg/m2 (3.5); 41.6 year (13.0)). Six categories of PA were calculated from the accelerometer data (min/day of sedentary time, min/day of light PA, min/day of moderate PA, min/day of vigorous PA, activity counts/day and steps/day). Participants were stratified in obese and non-obese subgroups (BMI=30 kg/m2 as cutoff). Associations between BMI and PA were examined in the total sample, and in subgroups. The impact of sex and age on the BMI/PA association was tested.Results:In the total sample, the association between BMI and PA was significant in all PA categories except for time spent sedentary (P=0.68). However, in subgroup analyses, the association between BMI and PA in non-obese was only significant for activity counts/day (r=−0.16, P<0.05) and vigorous intensity PA (r=−0.15, P=0.05). After adjustment for age, vigorous PA remained significantly associated with BMI in the non-obese (r=−0.17, P<0.05). In obese individuals, significant associations between BMI and PA were found for all six PA categories (age adjusted), sedentary time (r=0.26, P=0.05), light PA (r=−0.30, P<0.01), moderate PA (r=−0.35, P<0.01), vigorous PA (r=−0.39, P<0.001), activity counts/day (r=−0.50, P<0.001) and steps/day (r=−0.54, P<0.001).Conclusion:The association between PA and BMI was weak in non-obese individuals. In contrast, BMI was highly significantly associated with PA in obese individuals. Longitudinal studies are needed to tease out the direction of association between PA and BMI across BMI categories, as the cross-sectional associations seem to be dependent on obesity status.International Journal of Obesity (2007) 31, 663–668. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803458; published online 5 September 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of a relationship between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and adaptive thermogenesis. Daily energy expenditure (DEE) and sleeping metabolic rate (SMR) were measured in apneic and a priori nonapneic subjects who were tested in a whole-body indirect calorimetry chamber for 24 h. The apneic patients were diagnosed by nocturnal home oximetry to determine the percentage of total recording time spent below 90% arterial oxygen saturation (% TRT <90% SaO2). Reference equations established from body weight and age in nonapneic subjects were used to predict DEE and SMR in apneic patients. The predicted values of the apneic patients were then compared to their measured values. No significant difference was found between predicted and measured values in SMR nor in DEE. We observed a significant relationship between the severity of nocturnal desaturation and the difference between predicted and measured DEE in apneic patients (r=−0.74, P<0.05) and a similar negative trend with SMR (r=−0.65, P=0.08). These preliminary data suggest that a nocturnal hypoxia may influence adaptive thermogenesis in apneic patients and complicate their body weight regulation.International Journal of Obesity (2006) 30, 574–577. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803159; published online 1 November 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE:: To examine the influence of cardiorespiratory fitness on total and truncal fatness in children. It was hypothesised that high cardiorespiratory fitness would result in lower total and central obesity. DESIGN:: Observational cohort study. SETTING:: Primary and secondary schools in Athens, Greece. SUBJECTS:: A total of 1362 healthy children aged 6-13?y (742 boys and 620 girls). METHODS:: Anthropometric data (height, body mass, four skinfolds thickness) were collected and per cent body fat was calculated. Body mass index (BMI) sex- and age-specific cutoff points were used for overweight and obesity definition and children were placed in two groups: overweight/obese and nonoverweight. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was assessed with the endurance shuttle-run test. Participants were grouped into high (upper two quintiles) and low (lower two quintiles) CRF based on age and sex distributions. T-test and Mann-Whitney test were used for comparisons between fit and unfit children within each BMI category. RESULTS:: Sum of skinfolds, subscapular and truncal skinfold thickness, BMI and per cent body fat were lower in overweight and obese youths with high CRF in comparison with youths at the same BMI category with low CRF (P<0.01). The beneficial effect of high CRF was also presented in nonoverweight children (P<0.01). The influence of CRF on body composition remained even after correcting body fatness for BMI. CONCLUSIONS:: Central and total obesity were lower in overweight and obese children with high CRF. This is the first study to show that a high CRF may reduce the hazards of obesity in children. SPONSORSHIP:: None.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 137-141. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602061 Published online 29 September 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To review the empirical evidence of associations between television (TV) viewing, video/computer game use and (a) body fatness, and (b) physical activity. DESIGN: Meta-analysis. METHOD: Published English-language studies were located from computerized literature searches, bibliographies of primary studies and narrative reviews, and manual searches of personal archives. Included studies presented at least one empirical association between TV viewing, video/computer game use and body fatness or physical activity among samples of children and youth aged 3–18 y. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The mean sample-weighted corrected effect size (Pearson r). RESULTS: Based on data from 52 independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between TV viewing and body fatness was 0.066 (95% CI = 0.056–0.078; total N=44 707). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was 0.084. Based on data from six independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between video/computer game use and body fatness was 0.070 (95% CI=-0.048 to 0.188; total N=1722). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was 0.128. Based on data from 39 independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between TV viewing and physical activity was -0.096 (95% CI=-0.080 to -0.112; total N=141 505). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was -0.129. Based on data from 10 independent samples, the mean sample-weighted effect size between video/computer game use and physical activity was -0.104 (95% CI = -0.080 to -0.128; total N= 119942). The sample-weighted fully corrected effect size was -0.141. CONCLUSION: A statistically significant relationship exists between TV viewing and body fatness among children and youth although it is likely to be too small to be of substantial clinical relevance. The relationship between TV viewing and physical activity is small but negative. The strength of these relationships remains virtually unchanged even after correcting for common sources of bias known to impact study outcomes. While the total amount of time per day engaged in sedentary behavior is inevitably prohibitive of physical activity, media-based inactivity may be unfairly implicated in recent epidemiologic trends of overweight and obesity among children and youth. Relationships between sedentary behavior and health are unlikely to be explained using single markers of inactivity, such as TV viewing or video/computer game use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used multilevel modelling to examine peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) during growth and maturation. Body mass, stature, triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, blood haemoglobin concentration, and VO2peak of boys and girls, [mean (SD)] aged 11.1 (0.4) years at the onset of the study, were measured at ages 11, 12, 13 and 17 years. Sexual maturation was assessed on the first three occasions and was assumed to be Tanner stage 5 at 17 years. The analysis was founded on 388 VO2peak determinations from 132 children. The initial model revealed mass, stature and age as significant explanatory variables of VO2peak with an additional positive effect for stage of maturity. Girls' values were significantly lower than those of boys and a significant age-by-sex interaction described a progressive divergence in boys' and girls' VO2peak. The introduction of skinfold thicknesses produced a model with an improvement in fit. The stature term was negated and the mass exponent almost doubled. The sex and age-by-sex terms were reduced but remained significant. Many of the observed maturity effects were explained with stage 5 becoming non-significant. Blood haemoglobin concentration was a nonsignificant parameter estimate in both models. Fat-free mass was the dominant influence on the growth of VO2peak but the multilevel regression models demonstrated that, with body size and fatness allowed for, VO2peak increased with age and maturation in both sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a new and simple method for constructing binary space partitions (BSPs) in arbitrary dimensions. We also introduce the concept of uncluttered scenes, which are scenes with a certain property that we suspect many realistic scenes exhibit, and we show that our method constructs a BSP of size O(n) for an uncluttered scene consisting of n objects. The construction time is O(n log n) . Because any set of disjoint fat objects is uncluttered, our result implies an efficient method to construct a linear size BSP for fat objects. We use our BSP to develop a data structure for point location in uncluttered scenes. The query time of our structure is O( log n) , and the amount of storage is O(n) . This result can in turn be used to perform range queries with not-too-small ranges in scenes consisting of disjoint fat objects or, more generally, in so-called low-density scenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Two prominent Canadian knowledge brokers aim to influence how primary care clinicians address obesity, through the dissemination of texts: the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care (guideline) and the Canadian Obesity Network (5As). While written for the same clinician and adult patient population, the recommendations differ. This analysis highlights active decisions that produced the difference., Methods: Frame analysis of the guideline and 5As texts., Results: The brokers both frame obesity as a chronic and pathological threat to health, at least to a point. The guideline texts frame obesity primarily as a sign of a behavioural problem, discrediting or ignoring many complicating sources of knowledge. In contrast, the 5As frames obesity as complex through diversifying the knowledge foundation embedded in the texts (e.g., including fat-related stigmatisation; health status differences among those classified as obese). Both de-emphasize social and environmental determinants of weight and health., Conclusion: Frames of problems used by brokers are not neutral, nor are decisions about how knowledge is excluded and included. Knowledge brokering, no matter how scientific and systematic, is limited by its frame. Recognizing the limits of each frame supports reflexivity in knowledge brokering and interventions taken to enhance health.