Large cities are typically characterized by a mosaic of green spaces that hold a remarkable variety of native and "exotic" plants. Urban beekeeping has gained increasing popularity. In order to characterize the "urban" in the honey, pollen diversity in 50 honey samples from 18 apiary locations in Vienna, Austria, was microscopically analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrchidaceae display enormous diversity in their flower morphology, which is particularly evident in their pollen dispersal units (pollinia, pollinaria). The packaging of pollen by elastoviscin leads to a great diversity of these morphologically and structurally complex pollen units. Despite being one of the most diverse angiosperm families, the available palynological data on orchids remain limited and sometimes contradicting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To outline the importance of accurate diagnosis in ancient rare diseases by presenting a possible case of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis.
Materials: Skeletal elements from a well-preserved skeleton of a nine to eleven-year-old, probably female child who lived around 300-400 AD Late Roman Neuburg / Donau (Germany).
Methods: Macroscopic, radiologic, light and scanning-electron microscopic and physical techniques were used.
Growth characteristics during periods of early developmental plasticity are linked with later health outcomes and with disease risks. Infant growth is modulated by genetic and exogenous factors including nutrition. We try to explore their underlying mechanisms using targeted metabolomic profiling of small molecules in biological samples using high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to quantify hundreds of molecules in small biosamples, e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdiposity and obesity result from the interaction of genetic variation and environmental factors from very early in life, possibly mediated by epigenetic processes. Few Epigenome-Wide-Association-Studies have identified DNA-methylation (DNAm) signatures associated with BMI and body composition in children. Body composition by Bio-Impedance-Analysis and genome-wide DNAm in whole blood were assessed in 374 pre-school children from four European countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Power of Programming conference 2016 at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich brought together about 600 researchers and other stakeholders from around the world who reviewed the recent evidence on the lasting health impact of environment and nutrition during early life, from pre-pregnancy to early childhood. The conference was hosted by the Early Nutrition Project, a multidisciplinary research collaboration funded by the European Commission with collaborating researchers from 35 institutions in 15 countries in Europe, the United States and Australia. The project explores the early origins of obesity, adiposity and associated non-communicable diseases, underlying mechanisms and opportunities for prevention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGrowth patterns of breastfed and formula-fed infants may differ, with formula-fed infants growing more rapidly than breastfed infants into childhood and adulthood. Our objectives were to identify growth patterns and investigate early nutritional programming potential on growth patterns at 6 y and on body composition at 20 y. The West Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study and 3 European cohort studies (European Childhood Obesity Trial, Norwegian Human Milk Study, and Prevention of Coeliac Disease) that collaborate in the European Union-funded Early Nutrition project combined, harmonized, and pooled data on full breastfeeding, anthropometry, and body composition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Physical activity (PA) and its health benefits are a continuous point of discussion. Recommendations for children's daily PA vary between guidelines. To better define the amount of PA necessary to prevent overweight and obesity in children, further research is needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCultural background is an important variable influencing neuropsychological performance. Multinational projects usually involve gathering data from participants from different countries and/or different cultures. Little is known about the influence of culture on neuropsychological testing results in children and especially in European children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreastfeeding induces a different metabolic and endocrine response than feeding conventional infant formula, and it has also been associated with slower weight gain and reduced disease risk in later life. The underlying programming mechanisms remain to be explored. Breastfeeding has been reported to induce lower levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 and some amino acids (AAs) than formula feeding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser
January 2017
There is growing evidence of long-term effects of early dietary intervention in infancy on later obesity risk. Many studies showed reduced risk of obesity with breastfeeding in infancy, which could be related to the reduced protein intake with human milk compared to infant formula. In a randomized controlled trial (Childhood Obesity Project), we were able to show that infant formula with reduced protein content results in lower BMI both at 2 and 6 years.
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