The aim of this study is to present age- and sex-specific reference values of insulin, glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and the homeostasis model assessment to quantify insulin resistance ...(HOMA-IR) for pre-pubertal children.
The reference population consists of 7074 normal weight 3- to 10.9-year-old pre-pubertal children from eight European countries who participated in at least one wave of the IDEFICS ('identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants') surveys (2007-2010) and for whom standardised laboratory measurements were obtained. Percentile curves of insulin (measured by an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay), glucose, HbA1c and HOMA-IR were calculated as a function of age stratified by sex using the general additive model for location scale and shape (GAMLSS) method.
Levels of insulin, fasting glucose and HOMA-IR continuously show an increasing trend with age, whereas HbA1c shows an upward trend only beyond the age of 8 years. Insulin and HOMA-IR values are higher in girls of all age groups, whereas glucose values are slightly higher in boys. Median serum levels of insulin range from 17.4 and 13.2 pmol l(-1) in 3-<3.5-year-old girls and boys, respectively, to 53.5 and 43.0 pmol l(-1) in 10.5-<11-year-old girls and boys. Median values of glucose are 4.3 and 4.5 mmol l(-1) in the youngest age group and 49.3 and 50.6 mmol l(-1) in the oldest girls and boys. For HOMA-IR, median values range from 0.5 and 0.4 in 3-<3.5-year-old girls and boys to 1.7 and 1.4 in 10.5-<11-year-old girls and boys, respectively.
Our study provides the first standardised reference values for an international European children's population and provides the, up to now, largest data set of healthy pre-pubertal children to model reference percentiles for markers of insulin resistance. Our cohort shows higher values of Hb1Ac as compared with a single Swedish study while our percentiles for the other glucose metabolic markers are in good accordance with previous studies.
Over the past decade, several works have used the ratio between total (rest 8−1000
μ
m) infrared and radio (rest 1.4 GHz) luminosity in star-forming galaxies (
q
IR
), often referred to as the ...infrared-radio correlation (IRRC), to calibrate the radio emission as a star formation rate (SFR) indicator. Previous studies constrained the evolution of
q
IR
with redshift, finding a mild but significant decline that is yet to be understood. Here, for the first time, we calibrate
q
IR
as a function of
both
stellar mass (
M
⋆
) and redshift, starting from an
M
⋆
-selected sample of > 400 000 star-forming galaxies in the COSMOS field, identified via (
NUV
−
r
)/(
r
−
J
) colours, at redshifts of 0.1 <
z
< 4.5. Within each (
M
⋆
,
z
) bin, we stacked the deepest available infrared/sub-mm and radio images. We fit the stacked IR spectral energy distributions with typical star-forming galaxy and IR-AGN templates. We then carefully removed the radio AGN candidates via a recursive approach. We find that the IRRC evolves primarily with
M
⋆
, with more massive galaxies displaying a systematically lower
q
IR
. A secondary, weaker dependence on redshift is also observed. The best-fit analytical expression is the following:
q
IR
(
M
⋆
,
z
) = (2.646 ± 0.024) × (1 +
z
)
( − 0.023 ± 0.008)
–(0.148 ± 0.013) × (log
M
⋆
/
M
⊙
− 10). Adding the UV dust-uncorrected contribution to the IR as a proxy for the total SFR would further steepen the
q
IR
dependence on
M
⋆
. We interpret the apparent redshift decline reported in previous works as due to low-
M
⋆
galaxies being progressively under-represented at high redshift, as a consequence of binning only in redshift and using either infrared or radio-detected samples. The lower IR/radio ratios seen in more massive galaxies are well described by their higher observed SFR surface densities. Our findings highlight the fact that using radio-synchrotron emission as a proxy for SFR requires novel
M
⋆
-dependent recipes that will enable us to convert detections from future ultra-deep radio surveys into accurate SFR measurements down to low-
M
⋆
galaxies with low SFR.
Objective: To provide an overview of the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study (HELENA-CSS) design, with particular attention to its quality control ...procedures. Other important methodological aspects are described in detail throughout this supplement. Design: Description of the HELENA-CSS sampling and recruitment approaches, standardization and harmonization processes, data collection and analysis strategies and quality control activities. Results: The HELENA-CSS is a multi-centre collaborative study conducted in European adolescents located in urban settings. The data management systems, quality assurance monitoring activities, standardized manuals of operating procedures and training and study management are addressed in this paper. Various quality controls to ensure collection of valid and reliable data will be discussed in this supplement, as well as quantitative estimates of measurement error. Conclusion: The great advantage of the HELENA-CSS is the strict standardization of the fieldwork and the blood analyses, which precludes to a great extent the kind of immeasurable confounding bias that often interferes when comparing results from isolated studies.
We present MeerKAT observations of neutral hydrogen gas (H I) in the nearby merger remnant NGC 1316 (Fornax A), the brightest member of a galaxy group which is falling into the Fornax cluster. We ...find H I on a variety of scales, from the galaxy centre to its large-scale environment. For the first time we detect H I at large radii (70–150 kpc in projection), mostly distributed on two long tails associated with the galaxy. Gas in the tails dominates the H I mass of NGC 1316: 7 × 108 M⊙– 14 times more than in previous observations. The total H I mass is comparable to the amount of neutral gas found inside the stellar body, mostly in molecular form. The H I tails are associated with faint optical tidal features thought to be the remnant of a galaxy merger occurred a few billion years ago. They demonstrate that the merger was gas-rich. During the merger, tidal forces pulled some gas and stars out to large radii, where we now detect them in the form of optical tails and, thanks to our new data, H I tails; while torques caused the remaining gas to flow towards the centre of the remnant, where it was converted into molecular gas and fuelled the starburst revealed by the galaxy’s stellar populations. Several of the observed properties of NGC 1316 can be reproduced by a ∼10:1 merger between a dominant, gas-poor early-type galaxy and a smaller, gas-rich spiral occurred 1–3 Gyr ago, likely followed by subsequent accretion of satellite galaxies.
We present new observations of Fornax A taken at ∼1 GHz with the MeerKAT telescope and at ∼6 GHz with the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT). The sensitive (noise ∼16
μ
Jy beam
−1
), high-resolution ...(≲10″) MeerKAT images show that the lobes of Fornax A have a double-shell morphology, where dense filaments are embedded in a diffuse and extended cocoon. We study the spectral properties of these components by combining the MeerKAT and SRT observations with archival data between 84 MHz and 217 GHz. For the first time, we show that multiple episodes of nuclear activity must have formed the extended radio lobes. The modelling of the radio spectrum suggests that the last episode of injection of relativistic particles into the lobes started ∼24 Myr ago and stopped 12 Myr ago. More recently (∼3 Myr ago), a less powerful and short (≲1 Myr) phase of nuclear activity generated the central jets. Currently, the core may be in a new active phase. It appears that Fornax A is rapidly flickering. The dense environment around Fornax A has lead to a complex recent merger history for this galaxy, including mergers spanning a range of gas contents and mass ratios, as shown by the analysis of the galaxy’s stellar- and cold-gas phases. This complex recent history may be the cause of the rapid, recurrent nuclear activity of Fornax A.
We present MeerKAT 1000 MHz and 1400 MHz observations of a bright radio galaxy in the southern hemisphere, ESO 137-006. The galaxy lies at the centre of the massive and merging Norma galaxy cluster. ...The MeerKAT continuum images (rms ∼0.02 mJy beam
−1
at ∼10″ resolution) reveal new features that have never been seen in a radio galaxy before: collimated synchrotron threads of yet unknown origin, which link the extended and bent radio lobes of ESO 137-006. The most prominent of these threads stretches in projection for about 80 kpc and is about 1 kpc in width. The radio spectrum of the threads is steep, with a spectral index of up to
α
≃ 2 between 1000 and 1400 MHz.
To identify the main knowledge gaps and to propose research lines that will be developed within the European Union-funded 'Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence' (HELENA) project, ...concerning the nutritional status, physical fitness and physical activity of adolescents in Europe.
Review of the currently existing literature.
The main gaps identified were: lack of harmonised and comparable data on food intake; lack of understanding regarding the role of eating attitudes, food choices and food preferences; lack of harmonised and comparable data on levels and patterns of physical activity and physical fitness; lack of comparable data about obesity prevalence and body composition; lack of comparable data about micronutrient and immunological status; and lack of effective intervention methodologies for healthier lifestyles.
The HELENA Study Group should develop, test and describe harmonised and state-of-the-art methods to assess the nutritional status and lifestyle of adolescents across Europe; develop and evaluate an intervention on eating habits and physical activity; and develop and test new healthy food products attractive for European adolescents.
Cathepsin B and L (CATB, CATL), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and its inhibitor PAI-1 play an important role in colorectal cancer invasion. The tumor marker utility and prognostic ...relevance of these proteases have not been evaluated in the same experimental setting and compared with that of CEA and CA-19-9.
Protease, CEA and CA 19-9 serum or plasma levels were determined in 56 patients with colorectal cancer, 25 patients with ulcerative colitis, 26 patients with colorectal adenomas and 35 tumor-free control patients. Protease, CEA, CA 19-9 levels have been determined by ELISA and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, respectively; their sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy have been calculated and correlated with clinicopathological staging.
The protease antigen levels were significantly higher in colorectal cancer compared with other groups. Sensitivity of PAI-1 (94%), CATB (82%), uPA (69%), CATL (41%) were higher than those of CEA or CA 19-9 (30% and 18%, respectively). PAI-1, CATB and uPA demonstrated a better accuracy than CEA or CA 19-9. A combination of PAI-1 with CATB or uPA exhibited the highest sensitivity value (98%). High CATB, PAI-1, CEA and CA 19-9 levels correlated with advanced Dukes stages. CATB (P = 0.0004), CATL (P = 0.02), PAI-1 (P = 0.01) and CA 19-9 (P = 0.004) had a significant prognostic impact. PAI-1 (P = 0.001), CATB (P = 0.04) and CA 19-9 (P = 0.02) proved as independent prognostic variables.
At the time of clinical detection proteases are more sensitive indicators for colorectal cancer than the commonly used tumor markers. Determinations of CATB, CATL and PAI-1 have a major prognostic impact in patients with colorectal cancer.
To investigate the combined influence of diet quality and physical activity on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adolescents, adolescents (n = 1513; 12.5–17.5 years) participating in the ...Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study were studied. Dietary intake was registered using a 24‐h recall and a diet quality index was calculated. Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry. Lifestyle groups were computed as: healthy diet and active, unhealthy diet but active, healthy diet but inactive, and unhealthy diet and inactive. CVD risk factor measurements included cardiorespiratory fitness, adiposity indicators, blood lipid profile, blood pressure, and insulin resistance. A CVD risk score was computed. The healthy diet and active group had a healthier cardiorespiratory profile, fat mass index (FMI), triglycerides, and high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) levels and total cholesterol (TC)/HDL‐C ratio (all P ≤ 0.05). Overall, active adolescents showed higher cardiorespiratory fitness, lower FMI, TC/HDL‐C ratio, and homeostasis model assessment index and healthier blood pressure than their inactive peers with either healthy or unhealthy diet (all P ≤ 0.05). Healthy diet and active group had healthier CVD risk score compared with the inactive groups (all P ≤ 0.02). Thus, a combination of healthy diet and active lifestyle is associated with decreased CVD risk in adolescents. Moreover, an active lifestyle may reduce the adverse consequences of an unhealthy diet.
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