Dietary and non-dietary determinants of central adiposity among Tehrani women

OBJECTIVE: To determine the correlates of central adiposity. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: A total of 926 women (aged 40-60 years) from all districts of Tehran. METHODS: Demographic data were collected and anthropometric indices were measured according to standard protocols. Dietary intakes were assessed by means of a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. The suggested cut-off point for waist-to-hip ratio (WHR>or=0.84) for Tehrani people, adjusted for their age group, was used to determine central adiposity. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the correlates of WHR, which were adjusted for age, taking medications and body mass index (BMI). The components of dietary intake were determined by factor analysis. Pearson correlation was used to determine the association between the dietary components and WHR. Analysis of covariance was employed to compare the mean values of WHR in different lifestyle groups, with adjustment for BMI and age. RESULTS: Mean WHR was 0.82 +/- 0.06. The possibility of being centrally obese was higher in women with light physical activity (odds ratio: 2.11; 95% confidence interval: 1.40-2.53), depressed women (1.36; 1.02-1.93), smokers (1.21; 1.02-1.56) and unemployed women (1.41; 1.13-1.72). Marriage (1.31; 1.10-1.82), menopause (1.22; 1.02-1.61), low vitamin C intake (2.31; 1.25-4.25) and low calcium intake (1.30; 1.07-3.78) were associated with central fat accumulation. Dairy consumption was inversely correlated with central fat accumulation (r = -0.2, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Central adiposity is associated with poor lifestyle factors including low physical activity, depression, smoking, low intake of vitamin C, low intake of calcium and dairy products and high fat consumption. Thus lifestyle modifications should be encouraged to achieve a healthier body shape.     

Genetic diversity of Ziziphus lotus natural populations from Algeria based on fruit morphological markers

The xerophytic shrub Ziziphus lotus (L) Lam may constitute the best choice as a fruit crop in arid regions and seems to have a great importance in uncultured and marginal soils. As the first report, this study investigates the genetic diversity among and within nine natural populations of Z. lotus encompassing wide range of ecological conditions in Algeria through analyses of fruits characteristics. Results reveal significant differences of fruit traits among and within populations; the morphological variability was significantly correlated with the variation of ecological conditions. In general, fruits color ranges from light to dark brown with mostly oval-shaped endocarps containing one or two seeds. In addition, fruits weight ranged between 0.43 and 0.75?g while length was comprised between 10 and 13?mm and fruit thickness varied between 9.85 and 12.81?mm. Overall, quantitative traits were significantly influenced by the environmental conditions, whereas qualitative traits were not clearly affected. Hence, three phenotypes were distinguished allowing detection of a gradual phenotypic variation following latitudinal gradient related mainly to aridity and sand content in the soil. Such variation offers a good basis for breeding objectives, principally for food and medicine objectives along with wide adaptations for various range of climate and soil. Management and conservation of Z. lotus germplasm in Algeria is highly recommended.     

Effects of cadmium stress on seedlings of various rangeland plant species (Avena fatua L., Lathyrus sativus L., and Lolium temulentum L.): Growth,physiological traits,and cadmium accumulation

A pot culture experiment was performed to study the effect of cadmium stress (Cd stress) on seedling growth, physiological traits, and remediation potency of Avena fatua, Lathyrus sativus, and Lolium temulentum. The seedlings of these native rangeland plant species were treated with 0, 2, 4, and 6 mM cadmium nitrate concentrations. Based on the results of analysis of variance (p < 0.05), the shoot height, shoot dry weight, root length, root dry weight, root: shoot ratio, total chlorophyll content, soluble sugars, and protein contentof A. fatua, L. sativus, and L. temulentum significantly decreased with increased cadmium concentrations. Generally, translocation factor (TF) and tolerance index (TI) decreased significantly as the concentration of cadmium increased. The maximum TF and TI of studied plants in various concentrations of Cd were observed in L. temulentum followed by L. sativus and A. fatua. The root concentration factor (RCF) values of all studied plants were higher than 1 under different cadmium concentrations. Our results indicate that Lolium temulentum could be labeled as an accumulator of Cd asthe values of TF and RCF are greater than 1. A. fatua and L. sativus showed a potential to be used in the phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soils.     

Toxicity of selected biorational insecticides to Pulvinaria aurantii Cockerell and its predator,Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant in citrus field

The citrus cottony scale, Pulvinaria aurantii Cockerell, is the most important pest of citrus orchards in northern Iran in recent years. Owing to the harmful impacts of chemical insecticides, the use of biorational pesticides seems a safe and convenient way to control this pest. The present investigation was set up to study contact toxicity of various biorational and chemical compounds on the first, second instar nymph and overwintering adult of the citrus cottony scale, P. aurantii, and its predator, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant under field conditions. The results indicated that the highest percentage of mortality of first instar nymph of the citrus cottony scale was observed in the Dayabon treatment of 9 and 10?ml/L, 100.0%?±?0.0% and the lowest percentage was observed in Palizin treatment of 1.5?ml/L, 34.7%?±?2.9%. In the second instar nymph, the highest mortality was seen in the Dursban treatment of 2?ml/L, 94.7%?±?2.4% and the lowest mortality in the Palizin treatment of 1.5?ml/L, 30.0%?±?2.3%. Also, for overwintering adults Dayabon 10?ml/L caused the highest mortality, 96.0%?±?4.0% during 24?h. In the case of ladybird insects, the highest and lowest percentage of mortality was observed in the Dursban treatment of 2?ml/L, 76.7%?±?8.8%, Dayabon 5?ml/L, and Palizin 2?ml/L, 3.3%?±?3.3%, respectively. The highest and lowest mortality rate of larvae of ladybird was estimated in the Dursban treatment of 2?ml/L, 83.3%?±?3.3% and Dayabon 5?ml/L, 3.3%?±?3.3%, respectively. Also, for overwintering predator adults Palizin 1.5?ml/L had the lowest mortality, 3.3%?±?3.3% during 24?h and this rate remain unchanged after 96?h after treatment. According to the results obtained, treatments with Dayabon 9 and 10?ml/L, can be a viable alternative to other high-risk chemical pesticides in addition to effectively controlling citrus cottony scale without having any adverse impacts on predator ladybird.     

Effects of rice bran protein concentrate on the growth performance and digestive enzyme activities of jundiá (Rhamdia quelen) (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824)

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of increasing inclusion levels (100, 150, 200 and 300 g/kg) of rice bran protein concentrate (RBPC) in jundiá (Rhamdia quelen) diets using growth, body composition, somatic indices and digestive enzyme activity as parameters. Five isoproteic (370.08 ± 0.04 g/kg) and isocaloric (13.38 ± 0.04 MJ/kg) diets were formulated with four replicates per treatment. After acclimation, 500 jundiá juveniles (initial mean weight of 6.28 ± 0.12 g) were distributed into 20 round polyethylene tanks (280 L) (25 fish per tank) coupled to a thermoregulated water recirculating system. The fish were fed experimental diets three times daily (at 9:00, 13:00 and 17:00 hr) to apparent satiation. At the end of the trial (45 days), no significant differences were found in the body chemical composition, somatic indices, and trypsin and chymotrypsin enzymes of the fish fed experimental diets. A lower final weight and a lower condition factor were found in fish fed diets RBPC10 (100 g/kg of RBPC) and RBPC15 (150 g/kg of RBPC). Based on the results of this study, it is clear that the use of RBPC (at high dietary inclusion levels of 200 and 300 g kg^?1) is an effective alternative protein source to fishmeal.