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This retrospective study was undertaken to determine the effect of nutritional counseling and assessment of underweight pregnant women enrolled in NIP program of the Virginia State Health Department on pregnancy outcomes, including biological, social and nutritional risk variables. A total sample of 2228 prenatal women enrolled in the program from 1988-1991 were subjects for this study. A NIP program tracking form was used to obtain all the information pertinent to this research. About half of the underweight women as measured by percent expected weight remained underweight at their last visit and only 44% of the underweight pregnant women had normal expected weight at their last visit. Women of the other ethnic group had the highest change in protein intake during their pregnancy indicating that these women showed remarkable improvement in their dietary intake. The incidence of low birth weight in this subject population was greater when compared with the state vital statistics. Black women appeared to be more vulnerable than white women or women of other ethnic group. No significant difference was seen in the incidence of preterm and low birth weight infants born to underweight women who remained underweight at their last visit and those who had improvement in their percent expected weight. Longer NIP participation was not positively correlated with pregnancy outcomes. But positive correlations with number of nutritional visits and when the prenatal care began, it is possible that nutrition intervention by the NIP nutritionists may have reduced the incidence of unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. / Master of Science

Yes / Long-term and reversible changes in body weight are typical of seasonal animals. Thyroid hormone (TH) and retinoic acid (RA) within the tanycytes and ependymal cells of the hypothalamus have been implicated in the photoperiodic response. We investigated signalling downstream of RA and how this links to the control of body weight and food intake in photoperiodic F344 rats. Chemerin, an inflammatory chemokine, with a known role in energy metabolism, was identified as a target of RA. Gene expression of chemerin (Rarres2) and its receptors were localised within the tanycytes and ependymal cells, with higher expression under long (LD) versus short (SD) photoperiod, pointing to a physiological role. The SD to LD transition (increased food intake) was mimicked by 2 weeks of ICV infusion of chemerin into rats. Chemerin also increased expression of the cytoskeletal protein vimentin, implicating hypothalamic remodelling in this response. By contrast, acute ICV bolus injection of chemerin on a 12h:12h photoperiod inhibited food intake and decreased body weight with associated changes in hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in growth and feeding after 24hr. We describe the hypothalamic ventricular zone as a key site of neuroendocrine regulation, where the inflammatory signal, chemerin, links TH and RA signaling to hypothalamic remodeling. / BBSRC (grant number BB/K001043/1) and the Scottish Government.

Yes / In this study the effects of photoperiod and diet, and their interaction, were examined for their effects on growth and body composition in juvenile F344 rats over a 4-week period. On long (16L:8D), relative to short (8L:16D), photoperiod food intake and growth rate were increased, but percentage adiposity remained constant (ca 3-4%). On a high fat diet (HFD), containing 22.8% fat (45% energy as fat), food intake was reduced, but energy intake increased on both photoperiods. This led to a small increase in adiposity (up to 10%) without overt change in body weight. These changes were also reflected in plasma leptin and lipid levels. Importantly while both lean and adipose tissue were strongly regulated by photoperiod on a chow diet, this regulation was lost for adipose, but not lean tissue, on HFD. This implies that a primary effect of photoperiod is the regulation of growth and lean mass accretion. Consistent with this both hypothalamic GHRH gene expression and serum IGF-1 levels were photoperiod dependent. As for other animals and humans, there was evidence of central hyposomatotropism in response to obesity, as GHRH gene expression was suppressed by the HFD. Gene expression of hypothalamic AgRP and CRH, but not NPY nor POMC, accorded with the energy balance status on long and short photoperiod. However, there was a general dissociation between plasma leptin levels and expression of these hypothalamic energy balance genes. Similarly there was no interaction between the HFD and photoperiod at the level of the genes involved in thyroid hormone metabolism (Dio2, Dio3, TSHβ or NMU), which are important mediators of the photoperiodic response. These data suggest that photoperiod and HFD influence body weight and body composition through independent mechanisms but in each case the role of the hypothalamic energy balance genes is not predictable based on their known function. / Scottish Government (Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/), AWR LR LMT PJM and the BBSRC, (http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/home/home.aspx, grant BB/K001043/1), AWR GH PJM

Yes / The WNT pathway was shown to play an important role in the adult central nervous system. We previously identified the WNT pathway as a novel integration site of the adipokine leptin in mediating its neuroendocrine control of metabolism in obese mice. Here we investigated the implication of WNT signaling in seasonal body weight regulation exhibited by the Djungarian hamster (Phodopus sungorus), a seasonal mammal that exhibits profound annual changes in leptin sensitivity. We furthermore investigated whether crucial components of the WNT pathway are regulated in a diurnal manner. Gene expression of key components of the WNT pathway in the hypothalamus of hamsters acclimated to either long day (LD) or short day (SD) photoperiod was analyzed by in situ hybridization. We detected elevated expression of the genes WNT-4, Axin-2, Cyclin-D1, and SFRP-2, in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, a key energy balance integration site, during LD compared with SD as well as a diurnal regulation of Axin-2, Cyclin-D1, and DKK-3. Investigating the effect of photoperiod as well as leptin on the activation (phosphorylation) of the WNT coreceptor LRP-6-(Ser1490) by immunohistochemistry, we found elevated activity in the arcuate nucleus during LD relative to SD as well as after leptin treatment (2 mg/kg body weight). These findings indicate that differential WNT signaling may be associated with seasonal body weight regulation and is partially regulated in a diurnal manner in the adult brain. Furthermore, they suggest that this pathway plays a key role in the neuroendocrine regulation of body weight and integration of the leptin signal.

Body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) is being promoted as an effective means of restoring ambulatory abilities among individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The emphasis of this thesis is on the description of the metabolic demands and the EMG profiles of able-bodied persons and individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) while walking under the identical conditions on a body weight support (BWS) treadmill. The secondary purpose was to contrast the metabolic and muscular responses between the two groups. Two separate chapters describing the metabolic demands and EMG profiles respectively follow the review of the literature. The metabolic results indicate that raising the speed and/or decreasing the amount of BWS increase the intensity of BWS treadmill walking, with speed having a more profound effect. The SCI group was less efficient and they had greater metabolic rates of oxygen consumption than the controls for all conditions examined. This led to the conclusion that walking on the treadmill, for the SCI group can provide an effective aerobic exercise stimulus. The EMG profiles suggest that speed and BWS affect the phasic characteristics of the muscular activity while walking for both groups. Furthermore, abnormalities, omissions and inappropriate levels of activity were observed in the SCI group when compared to the controls. These irregularities suggest that the SCI participants have adopted altered motor strategies while walking, relative to the control group. Nonetheless, the SCI participants showed evidence of appropriate modulations in their EMG activity to meet the demands of the task as they changed from one condition to the next. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

published_or_final_version / Zoology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Title of the diploma:Complex nutrition typology- an effective form of weight reduction? Objectives: Evaluation of effectiveness of complex nutrition typology during weight reduction. Overall characteristics of metabolic typology and typologies, which influence determination of metabolic type. Comparison of metabolic typology with general healthy eating recommendations published by the Society for Nutrition (2012). Methods: Analysis and comparison of literature with obtained information, comparison of metabolic typology with general nutrition recommendations. The application of theory through survey completed by clients of complex nutrition typology. Evaluation of results of the survey. Results: Creation of overall characteristic of complex nutrition typology and results of analysis on effectivity of this method during weight reduction. Outcome of the research has confirmed the effectivity of complex nutrition typology during weight reduction. Keywords: Metabolic type, body weight reduction, racional diet, dietary guidelines.