The age-related patterns of clustering of cardiovascular risk variables of Syndrome X from childhood to adulthood were examined in a community-based sample of black and white children (aged 5-10 years, n = 2,389), adolescents (aged 11-17 years, n = 3,371), and young adults (aged 18-37 years, n = 2,115). In the analysis of clustering, insulin resistance index, BMI, triglycerides/ HDL cholesterol ratio, and mean arterial pressure were used either as categorical variables (age-, race-and sexspecific values >75th percentiles) to calculate risk ratios (observed frequency/expected frequency) or as continuous variables (normal scores based on ranks) to compute intraclass correlations. In the total sample, the risk ratio for clustering of adverse levels of all 4 variables was 9.8 for whites (P < 0.01) versus 7.4 for blacks (P < 0.01); the intraclass correlation was 0.33 for whites (P < 0.001) versus 0.26 for blacks (P < 0.001). Both the risk ratio and intraclass correlation were significantly higher in whites than in blacks in the total sample. The intraclass correlations of the 4 variables were significant (P < 0.001) in all race and age-groups, and they were higher during preadolescence and adulthood than during adolescence. Furthermore, unlike risk ratios, intraclass correlations showed a continuous increase with age during adulthood. When BMI was adjusted, the intraclass correlations involving the other 3 variables were reduced by ~50%, and the age-related pattern was no longer evident. These results suggest that the degree of clustering of risk variables of Syndrome X varies with age from childhood to adulthood and is likely influenced by the age-related changes in obesity and the attendant insulin resistance. Diabetes 49:1042-1048, 2000 D yslipidemia, hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, and obesity have been recognized as potent risk factors for coronary heart disease in adults (1-3). These risk factors have also been found to be associated with early atherosclerotic lesions in youth (4,5). Further, the extent of coronary atherosclerosis in youth increased markedly with the number of multiple risk factors (6). Coexistence of the above cardiovascular risk variables often occurs in both children (7-10) and adults (7,8,(11)(12)(13). Such a condition has been termed Syndrome X (14), deadly quartet (15), insulin resistance syndrome (11,16), and multiple metabolic syndrome (17).Although the clustering of cardiovascular risk factors related to Syndrome X has been found to occur at a very early age (7-10) and persist from childhood into adulthood (8), very little is known about the age-related trend in clustering of risk variables during this period. The Bogalusa Heart Study, a long-term community-based investigation of cardiovascular disease risk factors in black and white children and young adults (18)(19)(20), provided a unique opportunity to examine the age-related trend in clustering of risk variables during this period. The objective of the present study was to determine the age-related patterns in the magnitude of clus...

The nitrogen (N) requirement for paddy rice cultivated in Bangladesh amounts to approximately 80 kg N ha-1. Lack of knowledge on N mineralization from soil organic matter leads farmers to meet this N requirement exclusively by costly mineral fertilizers, which have typically an efficiency of less than 40%. We assessed to what extent routinely analysed soil properties (N and carbon (C), texture, pH, extractable iron (Fe), aluminium (Al) and manganese (Mn), soil mineralogy and length of the annual inundation period) are able to predict net aerobic and anaerobic N mineralization in paddy soils. Both soil N and C correlated positively with the aerobic but not with the anaerobic N mineralization rate. Instead, relative anaerobic N mineralization showed a significant negative correlation with soil N content. We observed no significant influence of clay mineralogy on soil N mineralization. Aerobic but not anaerobic N mineralization increased with length of the annual inundation period while the proportion of the soil N that was mineralized during 120 days decreased. The large clay content of fields that are inundated for 9–10 months annually explains the co-occurrence of large soil N contents and relatively small N mineralization rates in these fields. However, variation in texture did not explain variation in N mineralization of soils with inundation periods of 3–8 months. Instead, the anaerobic N mineralization correlated positively with Na pyrophosphate-extractable Fe and negatively with pH (both at P < 0.01). Thus, pH and Fe content, rather than soil N content, clay mineralogy or texture, explained the substantial variation in anaerobic N mineralization of paddy soils in Bangladesh inundated for 3–8 months. It is not known if these relationships between net evolution of ammonium in soil and pH and Fe content are causal or indirect. Elucidation of these mechanisms would greatly further our comprehension of the biochemistry of the young ‘floodplain soils' with relatively low content of pedogenic oxides throughout southeast Asia

Although not recommended, children seen in the emergency room and family practitioner's office are more likely to receive antibiotic prescriptions than those seen in the pediatrician's office.

Unusually high SOC levels have been reported for sandy cropland soils in North-Western Europe. A potential link with their general heathland land-use history was investigated by comparing two soil pairs of relict heathland and cultivated former heathland in the Belgian sandy region. A sequential chemical fractionation yielded similar sizes in corresponding SOM fractions between the heathland and cropland soils (i.e. NaOCl resistant: 12.3-15.0 g C kg(-1) and NaOCl + HF resistant: 2.6-5.3 g C kg(-1)). Higher amounts of clay sized N in the cropland plots can be attributed to N additions from mineral fertilizers and animal manure. Temperature resolved Pyrolysis Field Ionization Mass Spectroscopy analysis showed that the composition of both relict heathland and cultivated soils was surprisingly similar, in spite of over 60 years of intense cropland management. The mass spectra of SOM in both heathland-cropland soil pairs investigated was dominated by signals from lipids, alkylaromatics and sterols. The accumulation of this SOM rich in aliphatics was logically linked to the high input of lipids, long-chain aliphatics and sterols from heathland vegetation and the low soil pH and microbial activity. Based on the relatively high OC surface loadings of HF-extractable OM (13-44 mg C m(-2) Fe and 1.2-2.3 mg C m(-2) clay), direct organo-mineral bonds between OM and Fe-oxides or clay minerals seem to be only partly involved as a stabilization mechanism in these soils. The distinct bimodal shape of the thermograms indicates that OM-crosslinking could furthermore contribute substantially to SOM stabilization in these soils. This study therefore corroborates the previously proposed view that lipids may be bound in networks of alkylaromatics, the structural building blocks of OM macromolecules. We hypothesize that such binding is able to explain the measured retention of these OM components, even under several decades of cropland management

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The adsorption of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] onto bone char was optimised as a function of pH, initial Cr(VI) concentration, and bone char dosage using aqueous solution in batch tests. The initial Cr(VI) concentrations were varied between 5 and 800 mg/L to investigate equilibrium, kinetics, and the adsorption isotherms. About 100 % of Cr(VI) was removed at initial pH of 1.0 with initial Cr(VI) concentration of 10 mg/L, using 2 g of bone char after 2 hours. The maximum adsorption capacity of the bone char was 4.8 mg/g for an initial Cr(VI) concentration of 800 mg/L. The adsorption kinetics of Cr(VI) onto bone char followed a second order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherm followed the Langmuir model for Cr(VI) adsorption. In general, bone char demonstrated promising results as an effective adsorbent for removal of Cr(VI) from the aqueous solution. The results from this study could be useful in designing a filtration unit with bone char as the adsorbent in a full-scale water and wastewater treatment plant for the removal of Cr(VI) from contaminated water.

In Bangladesh, veterinarians often claim to reduce the mortality of natural peste des petits ruminants (PPR) outbreaks with the help of supportive fluid and electrolyte therapy. Information on haematological and biochemical parameters of PPR-infected goats, which is often altered because of associated tissue damages, is necessary to formulate the appropriate supportive therapy. This study determined the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of Black Bengal goats naturally infected with PPR virus. Blood and serum samples from 13 PPR-affected Black Bengal goats from 13 field outbreaks and 5 healthy goats were collected and analysed by routine haematological and biochemical examination. Haematological analysis of PRR-affected goats showed severe anaemia characterised by significant decrease in the values of haemoglobin, total erythrocyte counts (TECs) and packed cell volume (PCV). On the contrary, PPR-affected goats showed marked leucocytosis with absolute increase in lymphocytes and neutrophils counts compared to the healthy goats. Biochemical analysis revealed significant decrease in total protein and albumin level and increased creatine kinase, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase that mirrored the gross and histopathological changes in the PPR-affected goats. Significant increase in the values of sodium and chloride ions was found in the sera of PPR-infected goats. Peste des petits ruminants virus altered the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of the infected goats. Antidiarrheal agents with aqua solution together with other drugs to support liver and kidney function could help improve therapy of PPR-infected goats.

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