Food stamps and the energy status of the U.S. elderly poor.

The energy status of poor elderly individuals in relation to the nonpoor elderly was examined using data from NHANES I and II. Within the poor population, the status of Food Stamp Program participants was compared with that of nonparticipants. The indicators of energy status used were weight (adjusted for height), triceps skinfold, subscapular skinfold, and energy intake.

Primary structure of the gene for the murine Ia antigen-associated invariant chains (Ii). An alternatively spliced exon encodes a cysteine-rich domain highly homologous to a repetitive sequence of thyroglobulin.

The gene for murine Ia-associated invariant (Ii) chains (Ii31 and Ii41) was characterized by sequence analysis. The gene extends over approximately 9 kb and is organized in nine exons. Exon 1 encodes the 5' untranslated region and the cytoplasmic segment, exon 2 the membrane spanning segment and adjacent amino acids and exons 3-8 the extracytoplasmic portion of Ii31.

Food stamps and the iron status of the U.S. elderly poor.

With the use of data from NHANES I and II, the iron status of poor elderly persons was examined by comparing it with that of nonpoor elderly persons. Within the poor group, the iron status of Food Stamp Program participants was compared with that of nonparticipants. The poor were those below the poverty line; the nonpoor were those with incomes at least twice the poverty line.

Comparing indicators of health or nutritional status.

The performance of an indicator of health or nutritional status depends on its sensitivity and specificity properties over a range of cut-offs. Frequently, it is of interest to compare indicators to pick the best for a given purpose, such as screening for disease or monitoring to detect changes in prevalence of inadequate nutriture. Relative operating characteristic (ROC) analysis provides an objective method for making this comparison, but the application of this methodology as described for epidemiologists in this Journal is now outdated for most indicators.

Infant mortality decline in Malaysia, 1946-1975: the roles of changes in variables and changes in the structure of relationships.

This analysis has identified several factors contributing to the dramatic decline in infant mortality since World War II in Malaysia, as well as one factor that prevented the infant mortality rate from declining even more rapidly. Our main findings are the following: On average, mothers' education more than doubled over the study period, contributing to the decline in their infants' mortality. In addition, the beneficial effect of mothers' education on infant survival appears to have become stronger over the study period.

Does breastfeeding really save lives, or are apparent benefits due to biases?

Analysis of mothers' recall data collected in 1976-1977 by a probability survey in Peninsular Malaysia shows an association between breastfeeding up to six months of age and improved survival of infants throughout the first year of life. Inappropriate sample selection and inadequate control of confounding can introduce large biases in these analyses. The magnitude and direction of these biases are presented.

Influences in child growth associated with poverty in the 1970's: an examination of HANESI and HANESII, cross-sectional US national surveys.

This research examines associations between various measures of child growth (height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, subscapular skinfold thickness), dietary variables, and poverty status in a sample of 13,750 black and white children aged 1 to 17 yr. The data used in this survey were collected in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys I and II (HANESI, 1971-1975, and HANESII, 1976-1980). In general, lower mean values for all the growth measures examined were found in children living below the defined poverty threshold in comparison with those above the poverty threshold.

Selecting a screening cut-off point or diagnostic criterion for comparing prevalences of disease.

Comparisons of population prevalences of disease or of inadequate nutriture, across locations or over time (as in monitoring to detect a change in prevalence) are important activities in epidemiology and public health. The data collected are often counts based on a dichotomy of a continuous indicator variable, and performance of the test procedure depends on the cut-off point used. This cut-off may be chosen to optimize performance, on the assumption that the indicator has a mixed normal distribution with unknown mixing proportion corresponding to the unknown prevalence of disease.

Evidence for an increased risk for hypertension with centrally located body fat and the effect of race and sex on this risk.

Data from the First Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HANES), 1971-1974, were used to examine the relationship between blood pressure and the distribution of subcutaneous body fat in 5506 survey participants, ages 30-59. Triceps and subscapular skinfolds were used as approximations of peripheral and centrally located body fat. The effects of race, sex and age on the obesity-blood pressure relationship were analyzed.

Environmental factors in the relationship between breastfeeding and infant mortality: the role of sanitation and water in Malaysia.

Mothers' recall data collected in Malaysia in 1976-1977 are analyzed to study correlates of mortality of 5471 infants. Respondent population is 1262 women living in 52 primary sampling units of Peninsular Malaysia. Lengths of unsupplemented and supplemented breastfeeding and presence of piped household water and toilet sanitation are related to infant mortality in regressions that also control other correlates.

Assessing socioeconomic correlates of birthweight in peninsular Malaysia: ethnic differences and changes over time.

This paper presents evidence from the Malaysian Family Life Survey that mothers' reports of their babies' birthweights, including reports of unweighed babies' approximate size at birth, can be used to examine many biological and socioeconomic correlates of birthweight. The study uses a sample of 5583 singleton births that occurred between 1945 and 1976. In these data, the frequency distribution of birthweights and their bivariate and multivariate relationships with the biological correlates of mother's age, baby's sex, first parity and infant mortality are consistent with those found in prospective studies.

Inhibition of prostaglandin E2 release by salicylates, benzoates and phenols: a quantitative structure-activity study.

Concentrations inhibiting 50% of the prostaglandin E2 release from phorbol ester-stimulated mouse peritoneal macrophages in-vitro were determined for 59 monosubstituted congeners of salicylic acid, benzoic acid and phenol. Twenty-seven further compounds, mainly benzoic acids, were found to be inactive. An attempt was made to establish a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) form our experimental data using literature or calculated values for the logarithmic n-octanol/water partition coefficients of the compounds, molar refractivity and sigma values of substituents as well as structural indicator variables.

Prevalences of anemia and iron deficiency anemia in Black and White women in the United States estimated by two methods.

Prevalences of anemia were estimated by two methods for 742 Black and 3,074 White nonpregnant women of childbearing age drawn from a large probability sample of the United States civilian noninstitutionalized population (NHANES I). One method defines the prevalence of anemia as the proportion of women with hemoglobin levels below a 12 g/dl "cut-off". The second method defines the prevalence of anemia as the proportion of women whose hemoglobin values are shifted downwards relative to a distribution of hemoglobin values of non-anemic women.

Quantum chemical analysis of structure-activity relationships in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Ab initio, quantum chemical methods are being used to analyze and interpret structure-activity relationships in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The biological data for this study derive from full dose-response curves of the inhibitory potency of phenols, salicylates, and benzoates on prostaglandin production in mouse macrophages. To date, about 80 compounds have been assayed and from this group a sample of 30 has been selected for calculation.

The isolation of the antibody moieties of immune complexes from serum by the pepsin digestion of conglutinin-anti-conglutinin complexes.

A technique is described which allows the antibodies of circulating immune complexes to be isolated as their F(ab')2 fragments. The method is based on the precipitation of the complexes by the sequential addition of conglutinin and anti-conglutinin, and the subsequent digestion of these precipitates by pepsin. Using this technique it has been possible to show antibodies to Epstein-Barr (EB) virus antigens in the immune complexes of patients with Burkitt's lymphoma and to microbial antigens in two patients with nephritis.

Intracerebral synthesis of antibodies to measles and distemper viruses in patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and multiple sclerosis.

Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measles and distemper antibody levels were quantified in a series of twenty patients (four subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE); ten multiple sclerosis (MS); six non-MS neurological cases) using independent competitive inhibition radioimmunoassays. These results were used in a Tourtellotte calculation to measure the intracerebral IgG synthesis to each virus. The results confirmed that in SSPE there is a greatly enhanced intracerebral measles antibody synthesis (6.