Morphological and Ultrastructural Features of Selected Epidendroideae Pollen Dispersal Units and New Insights into Their Chemical Nature.

Orchidaceae 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. This study provides new insights into the pollen morphology and ultrastructure of five orchid species from the subfamily Epidendroideae, using combined light, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy. The aim was to compare the morphology and ultrastructure of pollen dispersal units and to elucidate the chemical nature of the pollen wall layers and of elastoviscin. Our combined light and electron microscopy investigation demonstrated the presence of six tetrad types even within a single pollinium, which is unique for orchids. The application of different staining methods confirmed the assumed lipidic nature of elastoviscin and the differences in its contrast and ultrastructure suggest a mixture of sticky materials with dissimilar chemical compositions. This study affirmed that sporopollenin is mostly restricted to the outer pollen grains of peripheral tetrads in compact and sectile pollinia, while inner tetrads exhibit highly reduced non-sporopollenin pollen walls.

A possible case of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis? Differential diagnosis in a rare case from the Late Antiquity Bavaria (Germany).

OBJECTIVE: 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. RESULTS: Resorptive defects, particularly in the cranium, but also in the left hip bone and the right femur, suggest the presence of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis macroscopically and radiologically. The presence of morphological changes along the edges of osteolytic lesions and in the diploic spaces appear to be post-mortem artifacts based on microscopic investigation and elemental analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Re-evaluation of morphological structures and elemental constitution of lesions is critical to differential diagnosis. In the case examined here, the identification of post-mortem structures rules out the former diagnosis of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis. Re-evaluation of cases of rare diseases require applying a range of methods during the analysis, as every single case makes a difference in the numbers of this very small group of diseases. SIGNIFICANCE: This study emphasizes the importance of utilizing different analytical techniques to avoid false diagnoses. LIMITATIONS: Not all morphological features can reliably be diagnosed using microscopic and elemental techniques. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: In the case of rare diseases that are difficult to diagnose, the widest possible spectrum of techniques should always be used, particularly microscopy.

Cultural effects on neurodevelopmental testing in children from six European countries: an analysis of NUTRIMENTHE Global Database.

Cultural 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. The objectives of this study were to compare neuropsychological performance of children from six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain) using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and to apply a statistical procedure to reduce the influence of country/cultural differences in neuropsychological performance. As expected, the results demonstrated differences in neuropsychological performance among children of the six countries involved. Cultural differences remained after adjusting for other confounders related to neuropsychological execution, such as sex, type of delivery, maternal age, gestational age and maternal educational level. Differences between countries disappeared and influence of culture was considerably reduced when standardised scores by country and sex were used. These results highlight the need for developing specific procedures to compare neuropsychological performance among children from different cultures to be used in multicentre studies.

Metabolic Regulation of Pre- and Postnatal Growth.

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.g., 50 µL plasma. In the large German LISA birth cohort study, cord blood lysophosphatidylcholines and fatty acids were closely associated with infant birth weight, with a nonsignificant trend towards an association with infant weight gain and later BMI. Studies in infants randomized to different protein intakes in the European CHOP Study show conventional high protein intakes to markedly increase plasma-indispensable amino acids (AA), particularly branched-chain AA (BCAA), while exceeding the infant's capacity of BCAA breakdown, and an increase in the dispensable AA tyrosine previously associated with insulin resistance. In a path model analysis of the relationship of infant plasma AA, growth factors, and infant growth, AA were generally found to induce a stronger response of insulin than IGF-I although effects of individual AA were very different. We conclude that targeted improvement in nutrient supply in pregnancy and infancy may offer large opportunities for promoting desirable child growth patterns and long-term health.

DNA-Methylation and Body Composition in Preschool Children: Epigenome-Wide-Analysis in the European Childhood Obesity Project (CHOP)-Study.

Adiposity 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. Associations were tested by linear regression adjusted for sex, age, centre, education, 6 WBC-proportions according to Houseman and 30 principal components derived from control probes. Specific DNAm variants were identified to be associated with BMI (212), fat-mass (230), fat-free-mass (120), fat-mass-index (24) and fat-free-mass-index (15). Probes in genes SNED1(IRE-BP1), KLHL6, WDR51A(POC1A), CYTH4-ELFN2, CFLAR, PRDM14, SOS1, ZNF643(ZFP69B), ST6GAL1, C3orf70, CILP2, MLLT4 and ncRNA LOC101929268 remained significantly associated after Bonferroni-correction of P-values. We provide novel evidence linking DNAm with (i) altered lipid and glucose metabolism, (ii) diabetes and (iii) body size and composition in children. Both common and specific epigenetic signatures among measures were also revealed. The causal direction with phenotypic measures and stability of DNAm variants throughout the life course remains unclear and longitudinal analysis in other populations is required. These findings give support for potential epigenetic programming of body composition and obesity.

Long-Term Health Impact of Early Nutrition: The Power of Programming.

The 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. The project also proactively supports translational application of research findings. In fact, some existing evidence has already been rapidly adopted into policy, regulatory standards and practice. Further, broad dissemination of findings is achieved through the established digital eLearning platform of the Early Nutrition eAcademy, video clip-based learning and graphically supported messaging to consumers. The project demonstrated powerful effects of early metabolic programming on later health. Compared to other common prevention strategies, modifying risk trajectories in early life can achieve a much larger risk reduction and be more cost-effective. While some effective prevention strategies have been promptly implemented in policy and guidelines, legislation and practice, in other areas, the uptake is limited by a paucity of quality human intervention trials and insufficient evaluation of the feasibility of implementation and econometric impact. This needs to be strengthened by future collaborative research work.

BMI and recommended levels of physical activity in school children.

BACKGROUND: 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. The present study investigates children's compliance to physical activity guidelines (PAGs) and the association between objectively measured PA and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Participating children were 11 years old (n = 419) and part of the European CHOP trial, which was conducted in Germany, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Italy. At least 2 days of PA measurements were collected from each child using a SenseWear™ armband. BMI was calculated from children's height and weight. Thresholds of min·day-1 in PA needed to differentiate between normal and excess weight (overweight/obesity) were determined with Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) analysis. Additionally, adjusted linear and logistic regressions models were calculated for group differences and effects of a 5, 15 and 60 min·day-1 increases in PA on BMI. RESULTS: Median time spent in total PA was 462 min·day-1 (25th percentile; 75th percentile: 389; 534) and 75 min·day-1 (41; 115) in moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA). Girls spent 36 min·day-1 less in MVPA than boys and overweight/obese children 24 min·day-1 less than normal weight children (linear regression, p < 0.001). 63.2% of the children met PAGs of 60 min·day-1 in MVPA. The optimal threshold for min·day-1 in MVPA determined with ROC analysis was 46 min·day-1. Comparing 5, 15 and 60 min·day-1 increases in PA revealed that an additional 15 min·day-1 of vigorous PA had the same effect as 60 min·day-1 of MVPA. Sedentary time and light PA showed contrary associations to one another, with light PA being negatively and sedentary time being positively associated with excessive weight. CONCLUSIONS: Current PAGs are met by 2/3 of children and seem appropriate to prevent excess weight in children. An official recommendation of daily 15-20 min of vigorous PA and further reduction of sedentary time could help to fight youth overweight and thus be of potential public health importance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00338689 . Registered: June 19, 2006 (retrospectively registered).

Infant feeding and growth trajectory patterns in childhood and body composition in young adulthood.

Background: Growth patterns of breastfed and formula-fed infants may differ, with formula-fed infants growing more rapidly than breastfed infants into childhood and adulthood.Objective: 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.Design: 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. Latent growth mixture modeling was applied to identify growth patterns among the 6708 individual growth trajectories. The association of full breastfeeding for <3 mo compared with ≥3 mo with the identified trajectory classes was assessed by logistic regression. Differences in body composition at 20 y among the identified trajectory classes were tested by analysis of variance.Results: Three body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) trajectory patterns were identified and labeled as follows-class 1: persistent, accelerating, rapid growth (5%); class 2: early, nonpersistent, rapid growth (40%); and class 3: normative growth (55%). A shorter duration of full breastfeeding for <3 mo was associated with being in rapid-growth class 1 (OR: 2.66; 95% CI: 1.48, 4.79) and class 2 (OR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.51, 2.55) rather than the normative-growth class 3 after adjustment for covariates. Both rapid-growth classes showed significant associations with body composition at 20 y (P < 0.0001).Conclusions: Full breastfeeding for <3 mo compared with ≥3 mo may be associated with rapid growth in early childhood and body composition in young adulthood. Rapid-growth patterns in early childhood could be a mediating link between infant feeding and long-term obesity risk.

Effects of Early Nutrition on the Infant Metabolome.

Breastfeeding 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. In the Childhood Obesity Project (CHOP), infants fed a conventional protein-rich formula had a higher BMI at 2 and 6 years than those fed a protein-reduced formula. At 6 months, higher protein intakes induced increased plasma concentrations of branched-chain AAs (BCAAs) and their oxidation products, short-chain acylcarnitines. With increasing BCAA levels, these short-chain acylcarnitines increased proportionally only until a break point was reached, after which BCAAs seemed to escape their degradation. The resulting marked elevation in BCAA levels with high-protein (HP) intakes appears to contribute to increased insulin levels and to affect ß-oxidation of fatty acids. The ratios of long-chain acylcarnitines to free carnitine decreased in infants who received a HP formula, which indicates a reduced initiation of ß-oxidation. We conclude that HP intakes inducing high BCAA plasma levels may inhibit fat oxidation and thereby enhance body fat deposition and adiposity.