Comparison of Undernutrition Prevalence of Children under 5 Years in China between 2002 and 2013.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the undernutrition status of children under 5-year in China, and study the trend between 2002 and 2013). METHODS: The study was based on two national surveys. Undernutrition was determined against WHO's 2006 growth standards. The prevalence in 2013 and 2002 was weighted by China sixth National Population Census (2010). The relationship between undernutrition and gender/age groups/different areas use weighted logistic regression. RESULTS: The results indicated the overall prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting of Chinese children under 5-year was 8.1%, 2.4%, and 1.9% in 2013, respectively. The prevalence of stunting was higher for children aged 12-47 month, while underweight was higher for children aged 48-59 month. The prevalence of undernutrition was higher in rural areas than in urban areas, especially in poor rural areas. There was a decline of stunting, underweight, and wasting between 2002 and 2013 among the children, with greater reduction in rural areas than in urban areas. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of undernutrition of children under 5-year remains high in rural areas especially in poor rural areas in China. It is urgent to take action to control undernutrition in the vulnerable areas and subgroups.

Mineral Intake in Urban Pregnant Women from Base Diet, Fortified Foods, and Food Supplements: Focus on Calcium, Iron, and Zinc.

In the Chinese national nutrition surveys, fortified foods were not investigated separately from the base diet, and the contribution of fortified foods to micronutrients intake is not very clear. This study investigated the diet, including fortified foods and food supplements, of urban pregnant women and analyzed the intake of calcium, iron, and zinc to assess the corresponding contributions of fortified foods, food supplements, and the base diet. The results demonstrated that the base diet was the major source of calcium, iron, and zinc, and was recommended to be the first choice for micronutrients intake. Furthermore, consumption of fortified foods and food supplements offered effective approaches to improve the dietary intake of calcium, iron, and zinc in Chinese urban pregnant women.

Effect of in-home fortification of complementary feeding on intellectual development of Chinese children.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of in-home fortification of complementary feeding on intellectual development of Chinese children aged below 24 months. METHODS: One thousand and four hundred seventy eight children aged 4-12 months were recruited and divided into study groups (formula 1 group and formula 2 group) and control group. In two study groups, in addition to the usual complementary food, children were fed with a sachet of fortified food supplement each day. Protein and micronutrients were provided in formula 1 group. Formula 2 group had the same energy intake as the formula 1 group . In addition to measurement of physical growth and detection of hemoglobin level, Development Quotient (DQ) or Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was assessed. RESULTS: The DQ of children aged below 24 months was 97.2, 95.5, and 93.8 in formula 1 group, formula 2 group and control group, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The DQ of children in formula 1 group, formula 2 group, and control group was 92.7, 90.4, and 88.3 respectively in the first follow up showing statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). And, DQ of children in formula 1 group, formula 2 group and control group were 96.7, 94.5, and 93.7 respectively in the second follow up, showing statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Full-IQ of children in the formula 1 group was 3.1 and 4.5 points higher than that in formula 2 group and in control group respectively. Verbal IQ of children in the formula 1 group was 2.1 and 5 points higher than that in formula 2 group and control group respectively. Performance IQ was 2.5 and 3.1 points higher than that in formula 2 group and control group respectively. All above mentioned comparisons were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Fortification of complementary feeding showed persistent effect on intelligence development of young children which could persist to 6 years of age. The critical time for correction of anemia could be under 18 months.

Complementary feeding and growth of infant and young child in China.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the status and problems of complementary feeding and to explore the strategy of improving complementary feeding for infants and young children in China. METHOD: Data of urban and rural children were selected from the China Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (CFNSS) dataset to describe the status of complementary feeding and growth of children. Logistic Regression was used to analyze the relationship between child growth and the complementary feeding pattern. RESULTS: Applications of foods that come from animals, vegetable/fruit and dairy product in complementary feeding were negatively correlated to the prevalence of stunting and underweight. Attributable risk (AR) of no application of vegetable/fruit in complementary feeding to stunting was 30.2%, to underweight 35.4%; AR of no application of foods from animal products in complementary feeding to stunting was 28.2%, to underweight 11.7%; and the AR of no application of diary products in complementary feeding to stunting was 27.4%, to underweight was 15.9%. CONCLUSION: Complementary feeding contributed to the improvement of infants and young children growth in China. There is an urgent need to develop health education in the public on infants and young children complementary feeding, in the mean time, it is pressing to pay attention and take actions to develop and promote affordable, acceptable, and accessible fortified complementary food in rural areas of China.

Report on childhood obesity in China (6) evaluation of a classroom-based physical activity promotion program.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of Happy 10 program on the promotion of physical activity, physical growth and development of primary-school students, and on obesity control and prevention. METHODS: Two similar primary schools from one district of Beijing, China were selected, one as an intervention school and the other as a control school. Happy 10 program was implemented at least once every school day in the intervention school for two semesters, whereas no intervention was adopted in the control school. The information on energy expenditure and duration of physical activity was collected by a validated 7-day physical activity questionnaire. Height and weight were measured by trained investigators following the standardized procedure. Energy expenditure and intensity of each Happy 10 session was measured by a physical activity monitor. RESULTS: The average energy expenditure and duration of total physical activity per day among students in the intervention school increased significantly from 15.0 to 18.2 kcal/kg, and 2.8 to 3.3 h respectively, whereas the figures significantly decreased in the control school. There was a significant difference in change of weight and BMI between girls in the intervention and control school (2.4 kg vs 4.6 kg, -0.47 kg/m2 vs 0.66 kg/m2). The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the intervention school decreased by 0.4%-5.6%, as compared to the increase by 0.6%-4.5% in the control school. The average energy expenditure and intensity per 10-minute session ranged from 25.0-35.1 kcal, 4.8-6.2 kcal/kg/h respectively in grades 1-5. CONCLUSION: Happy 10 program provides a useful strategy to promote physical activity among school children and also plays a positive role in building up physical growth and development of girls.

Distribution of Kv3.3 potassium channel subunits in distinct neuronal populations of mouse brain.

Kv3.3 proteins are pore-forming subunits of voltage-dependent potassium channels, and mutations in the gene encoding for Kv3.3 have recently been linked to human disease, spinocerebellar ataxia 13, with cerebellar and extracerebellar symptoms. To understand better the functions of Kv3.3 subunits in brain, we developed highly specific antibodies to Kv3.3 and analyzed immunoreactivity throughout mouse brain. We found that Kv3.3 subunits are widely expressed, present in important forebrain structures but particularly prominent in brainstem and cerebellum. In forebrain and midbrain, Kv3.3 expression was often found colocalized with parvalbumin and other Kv3 subunits in inhibitory neurons. In brainstem, Kv3.3 was strongly expressed in auditory and other sensory nuclei. In cerebellar cortex, Kv3.3 expression was found in Purkinje and granule cells. Kv3.3 proteins were observed in axons, terminals, somas, and, unlike other Kv3 proteins, also in distal dendrites, although precise subcellular localization depended on cell type. For example, hippocampal dentate granule cells expressed Kv3.3 subunits specifically in their mossy fiber axons, whereas Purkinje cells of the cerebellar cortex strongly expressed Kv3.3 subunits in axons, somas, and proximal and distal, but not second- and third-order, dendrites. Expression in Purkinje cell dendrites was confirmed by immunoelectron microscopy. Kv3 channels have been demonstrated to rapidly repolarize action potentials and support high-frequency firing in various neuronal populations. In this study, we identified additional populations and subcellular compartments that are likely to sustain high-frequency firing because of the expression of Kv3.3 and other Kv3 subunits.

[Prevalence of overweight and obesity and its associated risk factors in students aged 11-17 in Xi'an in 2004].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the magnitude of overweight and obesity and its associated sociodemographic factors in adolescents attending junior high schools in Xi'an, Shanxi province. METHODS: A total of 1 804 adolescents attending junior high schools in Xi'an (age: 11-17 years) were enrolled randomly from 30 schools in 6 districts in Xi'an. Overweight and obesity was categorized with body mass index (BMI) cutoffs from Working Group of Obesity in China (WGOC). Underweight was defined by BMI-Z < or = -2 s. Sociodemographic information was collected from the parents of the survey participants using self-administered, structured and precoded questionnaires. RESULTS: Overall 17.4% of adolescents were overweight or obese (overweight 11.2%; obesity 6.2%), but there was a marked gender difference in the prevalence with 20.2% of boys versus 14.4% of the girls being overweight or obese. The prevalence of underweight was 2.7%. In a multivariate model, age, residence, household wealth, and parents' BMI were significantly associated with overweight and obesity (P < 0.05). After having been adjusted for age and gender, the odds ratio of an adolescent being overweight and obese was 2.7 (95% CI: 1.8-4.0) folds higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and was 1.6 (95% CI: 1.04-2.5) folds higher for adolescents from rich families than those from poor families. An adolescent with one or both parents overweight was 1.8 (95% CI: 1.3-2.5) more likely to be overweight themselves compared to those with normal weight parents. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obesity is a major public health problem in adolescents in Xi'an. Overweight and obesity is more prevalent in younger boys from richer families living in urban districts and those whose parents were either overweight or obese.

[Analysis on the changes of nutritional situation in past 15 years (1990 - 2005) in China the 15 - year establishment of Chinese food and nutrition surveillance system( CFNSS)].

OBJECTIVE: To establish a Food and Nutrition Surveillance System as the supplementation to the Nationwide Nutritional Survey conducted in China for every ten years. To understand the changes and trend of child growth during the period in fast economic development in China. To provide the basis for policy-maker. METHODS: Based on 145 National Disease Monitoring Sites and 600 sampling sites of SSB, to sampling 40 sites as Chinese Food and Nutrition Surveillance sites. Using Child growth Reference by WHO to evaluate the Child development. Using SSB data to assess the nutrient intake by China DDp. RESULTS: The results from 5 round surveillance in 15 years are reliable and are consistent with National Nutrition Survey. The results also become national data and the basis for policy-making. CONCLUSION: The big improvement of child growth has been showed in China in past 15 years. We have to pay attention to child complementation feeding as important as breastfeeding, improvement of Anemia situation for mother and his/her child, Improvement of child growth in Western child and Child problem of floating mothers.

[The changes of the attributable factors of child growth].

OBJECTIVE: To rule out the attributable factors of child growth in China and the changes of the factors in the past 15 years for the planning of future nutrition improvement of children in China. METHOD: The datasets of 1990 - 2005 China Food and Nutrition Surveillance were used and the Multi-factorial Logistic Regression analysis was used. The AR% of these factors and the changes of the attributable factors during the past 15 years were presented. RESULT: The main factors attributed to the growth of children under 5 in year 2005 were low education level of mothers (AR = 40.5%), floating out-for-job mothers (AR% = 35.5%), No egg introduction in the past 24 hours (AR = 24.2%), No milk introduction in the past 24 hours(18.7%) and household income below national poverty line (21.9%). Many of the attributable factors have improved significantly during the past 15 years. However, the increasing number of floating out-for-job mothers will have more impact on the quality of child feeding and child care. CONCLUSION: Social economic development is the direct factors to child growth, while other factors such as feeding and mother care are critical factors could either accelerate or counteract the positive effects of the favorable socioeconomic development. To improve height growth is essential to further enhance health and fitness of children under 5 focused nutrition and dietary intervention should be implemented.

Specific functions of synaptically localized potassium channels in synaptic transmission at the neocortical GABAergic fast-spiking cell synapse.

Potassium (K+) channel subunits of the Kv3 subfamily (Kv3.1-Kv3.4) display a positively shifted voltage dependence of activation and fast activation/deactivation kinetics when compared with other voltage-gated K+ channels, features that confer on Kv3 channels the ability to accelerate the repolarization of the action potential (AP) efficiently and specifically. In the cortex, the Kv3.1 and Kv3.2 proteins are expressed prominently in a subset of GABAergic interneurons known as fast-spiking (FS) cells and in fact are a significant determinant of the fast-spiking discharge pattern. However, in addition to expression at FS cell somata, Kv3.1 and Kv3.2 proteins also are expressed prominently at FS cell terminals, suggesting roles for Kv3 channels in neurotransmitter release. We investigated the effect of 1.0 mM tetraethylammonium (TEA; which blocks Kv3 channels) on inhibitory synaptic currents recorded in layer II/III neocortical pyramidal cells. Spike-evoked GABA release by FS cells was enhanced nearly twofold by 1.0 mM TEA, with a decrease in the paired pulse ratio (PPR), effects not reproduced by blockade of the non-Kv3 subfamily K+ channels also blocked by low concentrations of TEA. Moreover, in Kv3.1/Kv3.2 double knock-out (DKO) mice, the large effects of TEA were absent, spike-evoked GABA release was larger, and the PPR was lower than in wild-type mice. Together, these results suggest specific roles for Kv3 channels at FS cell terminals that are distinct from those of Kv1 and large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (also present at the FS cell synapse). We propose that at FS cell terminals synaptically localized Kv3 channels keep APs brief, limiting Ca2+ influx and hence release probability, thereby influencing synaptic depression at a synapse designed for sustained high-frequency synaptic transmission.

Prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms during pregnancy in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Women often complain of symptoms related to urination during their pregnancy, but data are limited on the clinical profile and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) of pregnant women in Taiwan. This study assessed the prevalence and predisposing factors of LUTS in Taiwanese women during pregnancy. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was designed to collect data on the prevalence of LUTS during pregnancy. Women attending the antenatal clinic of a medical center in central Taiwan were recruited and asked to complete a LUTS questionnaire including 12 questions on symptoms related to urination. RESULTS: 799 normal pregnant women were included in this study. The most common LUTS were nocturia (60.2%) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI; 46.1%), followed by urgency (34.1%), frequency (27.8%), incomplete emptying (26.2%), a bearing-down sensation (23.8%), and voiding difficulty (12.6%). The prevalence of nocturia, SUI, urgency, and frequency generally increased as gestational age advanced. There was a significantly higher prevalence of SUI in multiparous women than in nulliparous women; however, the prevalence of urgency, frequency, incomplete emptying, bearing-down sensation, and straining was significantly higher in nulliparous women than in multiparous women. High parity, high body weight before pregnancy and advanced gestational age were the predisposing factors of SUI during pregnancy. Only 6.5% of the pregnant women studied complained that SUI caused a social or hygienic problem based on the International Continence Society (ICS) criteria. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a profile of LUTS in Taiwanese women during pregnancy. Nocturia was the most common lower urinary tract symptom. Nocturia, SUI, urgency, and frequency increased as gestational age advanced. Parity was a predisposing factor for LUTS during pregnancy, with multiparous women experiencing significantly more SUI while nulliparous women had higher prevalence of other LUTS.

DPP10 modulates Kv4-mediated A-type potassium channels.

A new member of a family of proteins characterized by structural similarity to dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) IV known as DPP10 was recently identified and linked to asthma susceptibility; however, the cellular functions of DPP10 are thus far unknown. DPP10 is highly homologous to subfamily member DPPX, which we previously reported as a modulator of Kv4-mediated A-type potassium channels (Nadal, M. S., Ozaita, A., Amarillo, Y., Vega-Saenz de Miera, E., Ma, Y., Mo, W., Goldberg, E. M., Misumi, Y., Ikehara, Y., Neubert, T. A., and Rudy, B. (2003) Neuron. 37, 449-461). We studied the ability of DPP10 protein to modulate the properties of Kv4.2 channels in heterologous expression systems. We found DPP10 activity to be nearly identical to DPPX activity and significantly different from DPPIV activity. DPPX and DPP10 facilitated Kv4.2 protein trafficking to the cell membrane, increased A-type current magnitude, and modified the voltage dependence and kinetic properties of the current such that they resembled the properties of A-type currents recorded in neurons in the central nervous system. Using in situ hybridization, we found DPP10 to be prominently expressed in brain neuronal populations that also express Kv4 subunits. Furthermore, DPP10 was detected in immunoprecipitated Kv4.2 channel complexes from rat brain membranes, confirming the association of DPP10 proteins with native Kv4.2 channels. These experiments suggest that DPP10 contributes to the molecular composition of A-type currents in the central nervous system. To dissect the structural determinants of these integral accessory proteins, we constructed chimeras of DPPX, DPP10, and DPPIV lacking the extracellular domain. Chimeras of DPPX and DPP10, but not DPPIV, were able to modulate the properties of Kv4.2 channels, highlighting the importance of the intracellular and transmembrane domains in this activity.

Is an indwelling catheter necessary for bladder drainage after modified Burch colposuspension?

Catheterization is considered to be a mandatory procedure for adequate bladder drainage following an anti-incontinence operation until the recovery of normal voiding function occurs. We conducted this prospective study to challenge this practice. A total of 86 patients with genuine stress incontinence who underwent a modified Burch coplosuspension were randomized into two groups based on the day of operation. The study group consisted of 42 patients who had the transurethral Foley catheter removed postoperatively the next morning (Group A). The control group was composed of 43 patients who had the transurethral indwelling catheter left in place until the fifth postoperative day (Group B). The percentages of immediate voiding difficulties in Groups A and B were 7.1% and 0%, respectively ( P>0.05). The postoperative urinary tract infection rates of Groups A and B were 16.6% and 23.3%, respectively ( P>0.05). The success rates of our patients were not compromised after our modified operative procedures (78.6% with dry results and 19.0% with improved symptoms in Group A vs. 74.4% with dry results and 20.9% with improved symptoms in Group B, P >0.05). Our results imply that it is not necessary that an indwelling catheter, for bladder drainage, be left in place until the fifth postoperative day to prevent immediate voiding difficulties.