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Earlier published studies on maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy in relation to the risk of low birth weight (LBW) (birth weight <2500 g) have indicated conflicting findings. Therefore, the present systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the association between maternal caffeine intake and risk of LBW. We searched for relevant articles published up to Jan 2021 through PubMed and Scopus. For this purpose, we used MESH (Medical Subject Heading) and non-MESH keywords. Cohort studies that considered maternal caffeine intake as the exposure variable and LBW as the main outcome variable were included in the systematic review. Finally, seven cohort studies were considered in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Combining seven effect sizes, we found a significant positive association between maternal caffeine intake and risk of LBW (RR: 1.70; 95% CI: 1.19–2.43). We also found that each additional 100-mg per day of maternal caffeine intake was significantly associated with an increased risk of LBW (RR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03–1.22; Pheterogeneity = 0.020). In addition, nonlinear dose–response analysis showed a significant relationship (Pnonlinearity < 0.001) between maternal caffeine intake and risk of LBW. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found a significant positive association between maternal caffeine intake and risk of LBW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preconception period represents an important window for foetal and epigenetic programming. Some micronutrients (B vitamins, choline, betaine, methionine) implicated in one-carbon metabolism (OCM) are essential for major epigenetic processes that take place in early pregnancy. However, few studies have evaluated the implication of the micronutrients in placental DNA methylation. We investigated whether intake of OCM nutrients in the year before pregnancy was associated with placental DNA methylation in the EDEN mother–child cohort. Maternal dietary intake was assessed with a food-frequency questionnaire. Three dietary patterns, 'varied and balanced diet,' 'vegetarian tendency,' and 'bread and starchy food,' were used to characterize maternal OCM dietary intake. The Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip was used to measure placental DNA methylation of 573 women included in the analyses. We evaluated the association of dietary patterns with global DNA methylation. Then, we conducted an agnostic epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) and investigated differentially methylated regions (DMRs) associated with each dietary pattern. We found no significant association between the three dietary patterns and global DNA methylation or individual CpG sites. DMR analyses highlighted associations between the 'varied and balanced' or 'vegetarian tendency' pattern and DMRs located at genes previously implicated in functions essential for embryonic development, such as neurodevelopment. The 'bread and starchy food' pattern was associated with regions related to genes whose functions involve various metabolic and cell synthesis-related processes. In mainly well-nourished French women without major deficiencies, OCM intake before pregnancy was not associated with major variation in DNA methylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work is to extend the concepts of generalized Lelong number of positive currents investigated by Skoda, Demailly and Ghiloufi in complex analysis, to weakly positive supercurrents on the real superspaces. We generalize then a result of Lagerberg when the supercurrent is closed as well as a very recent result of Berndtsson for minimal supercurrents associated to submanifolds of R n . The main tool is a variant of the well-known Lelong–Jensen formula in the superformalism case. Moreover, we extend to our setting various interesting theorems in complex analysis such as Demailly and Rashkovskii comparison theorems. We also complete the work begun by Lagerberg on the degree of positive closed supercurrents and we prove a removable singularities result for positive supercurrents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Short sleep duration is associated with concomitant behavioral difficulties, but the longitudinal association between sleep duration and later behavior in early childhood remains unclear. The aim was to study the association between sleep duration trajectories throughout preschool and behavior at age 5–6 years. Participants: 1021 children of the French birth-cohort EDEN were included in this study. Methods: Night-sleep duration trajectories were modeled on the basis of repeated measures collected at age 2, 3 and 5–6 years by parental questionnaires. Behavior was assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), with five subscales measuring conduct problems, emotional symptoms, peer relation problems, antisocial behavior, and hyperactivity-inattention problems. The subscales were dichotomized by the 25th percentile. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusted for baseline behavior, and assessment of multiple confounding factors allowed for studying the independent association between night-sleep duration trajectories from age 2 to 5-6 and behavior at age 5–6. Results: Five distinct sleep-duration trajectories were identified. At age 5–6 years, probability of hyperactivity-inattention problems was increased for boys belonging to the "short sleep" and "medium-low sleep" duration trajectory and girls belonging to the "changing sleep" duration trajectory as compared with children with the medium-high sleep duration trajectory (boys: OR 2.69 [95% CI 1.18–6.16], p =.03 and 1.95 [1.25–3.03], p =.003, and girls: OR 2.79 [1.09– 7.17], p =.03). No associations were observed with the other SDQ subscales. Conclusion: The persistence of short night-sleep durations in preschool years as well as a sudden decrease at age 3 are risk factors of hyperactivity-inattention problems at school start. Abbreviations: SS: short-sleep duration trajectory; MLS: medium-low-sleep duration trajectory; MHS: medium-high-sleep duration trajectory; LS: long-sleep duration trajectory; CS: changing-sleep duration trajectory [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coffee is a composite mixture of more than a thousand diverse phytochemicals like alkaloids, phenolic compounds, vitamins, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals and nitrogenous compounds. Coffee has multifunctional properties as a food additive and nutraceutical. As a nutraceutical, coffee has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, antidyslipidemic, anti-obesity, type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which can serve for the treatment and prevention of metabolic syndrome and associated disorders. On the other hand, as a food additive, coffee has antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms, inhibits lipid peroxidation (LPO), and can function as a prebiotic. The outcomes of different studies also revealed that coffee intake may reduce the incidence of numerous chronic diseases, like liver disease, mental health, and it also overcomes the all-cause mortality, and suicidal risks. In some studies, high intake of coffee is linked to increase CVD risk factors, like cholesterol, plasma homocysteine and blood pressure (BP). There is also a little evidence that associated the coffee consumption with increased risk of lung tumors in smokers. Among adults who consume the moderate amount of coffee, there is slight indication of health hazards with strong indicators of health benefits. Moreover, existing literature suggests that it may be cautious for pregnant women to eliminate the chances of miscarriages and impaired fetal growth. The primary purpose of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the findings of the positive impacts and risks of coffee consumption on human health. In conclusion, to date, the best available evidence from research indicates that drinking coffee up to 3-4 cups/day provides health benefits for most people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The C-alkylpyrogallol[4]arene macrocycles are known to form self-assembled dimeric and hexameric nanocapsules. Several conformations of alkyl-substituted pyrogallol[4]arenes have been found to be thermodynamically stable, with the most stable structures typically being a chair and cone. However, experimental evidence suggests that aryl-substituted pyrogallol[4]arenes exist in the chair conformation, implying that because for nanocapsule formation the cone is the necessary conformer of the subunits of these capsules, the chair must undergo some transition to the cone. To benchmark the intrinsic behavior of these systems, we here use quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations to (1) investigate conformers of the R=H system and their solvent interactions to understand the structures and their relative stabilities, (2) explore interconversions between conformers, and (3) gain preliminary insight into the mechanism by which self-assembly of the nanocapsule occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that have been associated with severe toxic effects to vertebrates produced by many important phytopathogenic and food spoilage fungi including Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria species. The contamination of foods and animal feeds with mycotoxins is a worldwide problem. We reviewed various control strategies to prevent the growth of mycotoxigenic fungi as well as to inhibit mycotoxin biosynthesis including pre-harvest (resistance varieties, field management and the use of biological and chemical agents), harvest management, and post-harvest (improving of drying and storage conditions, the use of natural and chemical agents, and irradiation) applications. While much work in this area has been performed on the most economically important mycotoxins, aflatoxin B(1) and ochratoxin A much less information is available on other mycotoxins such as trichothecenes, fumonisin B(1), zearalenone, citrinin, and patulin. In addition, physical, chemical, and biological detoxification methods used to prevent exposure to the toxic and carcinogenic effect of mycotoxins are discussed. Finally, dietary strategies, which are one of the most recent approaches to counteract the mycotoxin problem with special emphasis on in vivo and in vitro efficacy of several of binding agents (activated carbons, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate, bentonite, zeolites, and lactic acid bacteria) have also been reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]