Changes In Stature Research Articles

Enhanced Stature in the Elderly: The Immediate Impact of Acute Postural Exercises.

This study investigates the immediate effects of acute postural exercises on the stature of seniors, focusing on changes in both upright and supine stature measurements. A within-subject design with repeated measures was applied, involving seniors participating in continuous exercises aimed at enhancing core musculature strength and promoting muscle relaxation. Stature measurements were recorded pre- and post-exercise in both upright and supine positions, alongside assessments of body mass index (BMI) category classifications. The results revealed a post-exercise increase in stature ranging from 0.9 to 6.0 cm and from 0.2 to 7.2 cm in upright and supine positions, respectively, with an average increase of approximately 3.5 cm in both upright and supine positions. Statistically significant and clinically relevant changes were observed (p < 0.05), including a modification of BMI by approximately two units, reclassifying 55% of participants from overweight or obese to normal weight or overweight. Furthermore, the similarity between post-exercise upright stature and pre-exercise supine stature suggested that the supine position might provide a more accurate measure of stature in seniors. Conclusively, acute postural exercises have an immediate positive impact on the stature of seniors, suggesting their potential utility in clinical settings for accurate stature measurement. However, BMI results should be interpreted with caution because they are only related to the acute change in stature and therefore may lead to the misinterpretation of the study findings, so future studies focused on evaluating the chronic effect of postural exercises integration on the health outcomes of older adults are needed to demonstrate their potential utility in clinical settings to improve postural health and general well-being.

Vapour pressure deficit modulates hydraulic function and structure of tropical rainforests under nonlimiting soil water supply.

Atmospheric conditions are expected to become warmer and drier in the future, but little is known about how evaporative demand influences forest structure and function independently from soil moisture availability, and how fast-response variables (such as canopy water potential and stomatal conductance) may mediate longer-term changes in forest structure and function in response to climate change. We used two tropical rainforest sites with different temperatures and vapour pressure deficits (VPD), but nonlimiting soil water supply, to assess the impact of evaporative demand on ecophysiological function and forest structure. Common species between sites allowed us to test the extent to which species composition, relative abundance and intraspecific variability contributed to site-level differences. The highest VPD site had lower midday canopy water potentials, canopy conductance (gc ), annual transpiration, forest stature, and biomass, while the transpiration rate was less sensitive to changes in VPD; it also had different height-diameter allometry (accounting for 51% of the difference in biomass between sites) and higher plot-level wood density. Our findings suggest that increases in VPD, even in the absence of soil water limitation, influence fast-response variables, such as canopy water potentials and gc , potentially leading to longer-term changes in forest stature resulting in reductions in biomass.

Картографический метод в изучении секулярного тренда длины тела мужчин России и сопредельных стран на протяжении XIX-XX вв.

Introduction. The article aims to study the regional differences in male stature during the 19-20th centuries in Russian Empire, USSR, Russia and some neighboring countries and to illustrate the observed changes in time using contemporary cartographic methods and the new source of information – the RLMS HSE dataset. We hypothesized that there are some areas with stable short and tall statures. Materials and methods. We used datasets with as large number of territorial units of the country as possible, published by D.N. Anuchin, V.V. Bunak, A.L. Purundzhan. To illustrate relevant datasets, the methodology of visualization was created. To make maps comparable with each other, especially, for the territory, like the European part of Russia, we made a surface interpolation. Results. We could suggest areas with more or less stable tall stature – near the Baltic Sea and Saint-Petersburg and between the contemporary cities of Kiev and Krasnodar. The area with stable short stature is situated in the middle part of Volga River – near Kazan city. Thus, the hypothesis was confirmed considering a new database. Moreover, according to the datasets, which illustrated the second part of the 20th century, the new area had appeared in Moscow and some neighboring territories. Secular changes in height for different regions and time periods were uneven, which may be connected with the different ethnic composition of the studied populations and various socioeconomic and demographic variables. Conclusion. Based on contemporary cartographic methods we illustrated the general pattern of changes in male stature, the idea of the consistency of the changes in male stature and the uneven changes in values across the territory. Some areas with stable short and tall statures first discovered by Anuchin are preserved till nowadays. Our research demonstrated the idea that areas could be formed under various circumstances. However, the overall trend has stayed the same over time despite the positive secular changes.

Evolution of anthropometric and physical performance characteristics of international male cricketers from 2014 to 2020 in a World Cup winning nation

The aim of the study was to firstly present a comprehensive physical profile of international cricketers in a World Cup winning cricket nation. Secondly, to describe changes in physical profiles across seven years. Fifty-two senior international cricketers’ physical profiles were retrospectively analysed across seven years. Using linear mixed-modelling, changes in stature, body mass, sum-of-8 skinfolds, sprinting time (10 and 40 m), run-2 time, counter movement jump (CMJ), push and pull strength capacity and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level-1 (Yo-Yo-IR1) were analysed during a seven-year period. There were no significant changes in body mass ( p = .63) or stature ( p = .99) during this time. However, there was a significant ( p &lt; .001) mean decrease of ∼14 mm in the sum-of-8 skinfolds. Distance covered in the Yo-Yo-IR1 also showed a significant ( p = .002) effect of years, with a mean increase of 459 m in 2017 when compared with 2014. A significantly ( p = .01) more balanced push-to-pull strength capacity ratio was also evident across years as a result of a significant ( p &lt; .001) increase in pull strength capacity. Significant ( p &lt; .05) fluctuations in CMJ, sprint and run-2 time were seen, with no obvious trends. International cricketers within our study have gone through a notable physical transformation that has likely resulted in an increase in lean mass and aerobic capacity. The change across time to a more balanced push-to-pull strength capacity may be beneficial for injury prevention.

Live Weight and Bone Growth from Birth to 23 Months of Age in Holstein–Friesian, Jersey and Crossbred Heifers

Selection pressure for greater milk solid production, calving ease and early puberty attainment has resulted in the alteration of the growth trajectory of New Zealand dairy heifers. Although previous data have looked at stature growth in terms of height and girth, changes in the growth trajectory as a result of seasonal growth has not been examined. In addition, the relative contributions of the appendicular skeleton and thorax in relation to height have not been considered in previous studies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how the proportional contributions of stature change with increases in live weight in Holstein–Friesian, Jersey and Holstein–Friesian–Jersey crossbred heifers from birth to 23 months of age (just prior to calving). Comparisons of height, length, girth and distal and proximal forelimb length (stature) revealed that at the same live weight, measures of girth, length and height did not differ between breeds (p &lt; 0.05). As live weight increases, the relative contribution of the distal limb to increasing height decreases, which is consistent with the cessation of physeal growth occurring earlier in the bones of the distal limb than in the proximal limb. By understanding the timing of proximal and distal growth in dairy heifers, the effect of seasonal growth on longitudinal bone growth can be identified.

The Effect of Core Stabilization Exercise with the Abdominal Drawing-in Maneuver Technique on Stature Change during Prolonged Sitting in Sedentary Workers with Chronic Low Back Pain.

To enhance stature recovery, lumbar spine stabilization by stimulating the deep trunk muscle activation for compensation forces originating from the upper body was introduced. The abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) technique has been found mainly to activate deep trunk muscles. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether 5 weeks of training of deep trunk muscles using the ADIM technique could improve stature recovery, delay trunk muscle fatigue, and decrease pain intensity during prolonged sitting. Thirty participants with chronic low back pain (CLBP) conducted a core stabilization exercise (CSE) with the ADIM technique for 5 weeks. Participants were required to sit for 41 min before and after the exercise intervention. Stature change was measured using a seated stadiometer with a resolution of ±0.006 mm. During sitting, the stature change, pain intensity, and trunk muscle fatigue were recorded. A comparison between measurements at baseline and after 5 weeks of training demonstrated: (i) stature recovery and pain intensity significantly improved throughout the 41 min sitting condition; (ii) the bilaterally trunk muscle showed significantly decreased fatigue. The CSE with the ADIM technique was shown to provide a protective effect on detrimental reductions in stature change and trunk muscle fatigue during prolonged sitting in young participants under controlled conditions in a laboratory. This information may help to prevent the risk of LBP from prolonged sitting activities in real life situations.

Effect of Time of Day on the Magnitude of Stature Change Response Variability in Participants with Chronic Low Back Pain on Consecutive 2 Days

Measurements of stature change have been used to compare spinal loading in the sitting posture. However, it is difficult to interpret whether the stature change response recorded is truly due to an intervention or to the natural fluctuation of stature change response between the days. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of time of day (morning and afternoon) on the variability of stature change in participants with chronic low back pain (CLBP) on 2 consecutive days. Forty-four participants with CLBP attended 2 sessions (morning and afternoon) of stature change testing on 4 separate days. A stature change response of more than 0.985 mm in the morning and 1.149 mm in the afternoon on 2 consecutive days indicates that an intervention itself has influenced stature change measurement in CLBP participants. The magnitude of stature change response on different days and times of day established specific levels of natural variation meaning changes above these levels can be attributed to intervention effects in participants with CLBP.&#x0D; HIGHLIGHTS&#x0D; &#x0D; The findings suggest that it is important to control the time at which stature change investigations are conducted&#x0D; Seated stadiometry measurement, changes above 0.985 mm (morning) and 1.149 mm (afternoon) can be attributed to intervention effects between consecutive 2 days&#x0D; The results of the current study presented no significant difference in magnitude of stature change response in the morning versus the afternoon in chronic low back pain participants&#x0D; &#x0D; GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

The immediate effect of the abdominal drawing-in maneuvertechnique on stature change in seated sedentary workers with chronic low back pain.

Many studies have measured stature change arising from loads imposed on the spine during sitting. To improve stature recovery, it is important to stabilise the lumbar spine and compensate forces from the upper body. The abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) technique has been found to mainly activate deep trunk muscles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether activation of deep trunk muscles by the ADIM technique could immediately improve stature recovery during prolonged sitting. Twenty-four patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) were randomly allocated into different orders of experimental conditions: control (sitting without ADIM technique) and intervention conditions (sitting with ADIM technique). The latter condition required participants to complete ADIM technique for 1 min and repeat it three times throughout 41 min prolonged sitting time. Stature recovery was improved by 3.292 mm in the intervention condition compared with control condition (p-value = 0.001). Our finding demonstrated that ADIM technique improved stature recovery. Practitioner Summary: Prolonged sitting seemingly harms sedentary workers' health, particularly affecting the lower back. Activation of deep trunk muscles using abdominal drawing-in maneuver technique can promote spinal recovery. Clinicians can teach abdominal drawing-in maneuver technique to activate deep trunk muscles in chronic low back pain, thereby promoting self-management of seated stature recovery. Abbrevations: ADIM: abdominal drawing-in maneuver; RA: rectus abdominis; ICLT: iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis; LM: lumbar multifidus; TrA: transversus abdominis; IO: internal oblique; CLBP: chronic low back pain; LBP: low back pain; RMDQ: Roland Morris disability questionnaire; NRS: numerical rating scale.

Life Across the River: Exploring the Impact of Urbanisation in 18th–19th Century Panevėžys

Studies aimed at considering the impact of industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation on human health in 19th-century society are becoming increasingly relevant. Although it is exceptionally rare to encounter human skeletal material from the 19th century in present-day Lithuania, this study explores whether changes which occurred in that century had any impact on human health. This research presents the preliminary results of an anthropological analysis of the human remains discovered in Panevėžys Cemetery, with material spanning the 18th–19th centuries. In total, 90 individuals were examined, including 57 males, 15 females and 18 nonadult individuals. Fractures and nonspecific inflammatory lesions were the most prevalent pathological changes. However, the values of the average height of males and females did not reveal a significant change in stature. Overall, the results demonstrated inconsistent evidence of the effects of urbanisation on the skeletal population. It can be concluded that both the sample size and the observed pathologies represent only part of the community. Therefore, a more representative sample and additional analyses are required in the future, to provide comprehensive results and more solid conclusions.

Influence of sex-specific concurrent changes in age, maturity status, and morphological covariates on the development of peak ventilatory variables in 10\u201317-year-olds

Purposes(i) To investigate the influence of concurrent changes in age, maturity status, stature, body mass, and skinfold thicknesses on the development of peak ventilatory variables in 10–17-year-olds; and, (ii) to evaluate the interpretation of paediatric norm tables of peak ventilatory variables.MethodsMultiplicative multilevel modelling which allows both the number of observations per individual and the temporal spacing of the observations to vary was used to analyze the expired ventilation (peak {dot{mathrm{V}}}_{mathrm{E}}) and tidal volume (peak VT) at peak oxygen uptake of 420 (217 boys) 10–17-year-olds. Models were founded on 1053 (550 from boys) determinations of peak ventilatory variables supported by anthropometric measures and maturity status.ResultsIn sex-specific, multiplicative allometric models, concurrent changes in body mass and skinfold thicknesses (as a surrogate of FFM) and age were significant (p < 0.05) explanatory variables of the development of peak {dot{mathrm{V}}}_{mathrm{E}}, once these covariates had been controlled for stature had no additional, significant (p > 0.05) effect on peak {dot{mathrm{V}}}_{mathrm{E}}. Concurrent changes in age, stature, body mass, and skinfold thicknesses were significant (p < 0.05) explanatory variables of the development of peak VT. Maturity status had no additional, significant (p > 0.05) effect on either peak {dot{mathrm{V}}}_{mathrm{E}} or peak VT once age and morphological covariates had been controlled for.ConclusionsElucidation of the sex-specific development of peak {dot{mathrm{V}}}_{mathrm{E}} requires studies which address concurrent changes in body mass, skinfold thicknesses, and age. Stature is an additional explanatory variable in the development of peak VT, in both sexes. Paediatric norms based solely on age or stature or body mass are untenable.

A global framework for linking alpine‐treeline ecotone patterns to underlying processes

Globally, treeline ecotones vary from abrupt lines to extended zones of increasingly small, stunted and/or dispersed trees. These spatial patterns contain information about the processes that control treeline dynamics. Describing these patterns consistently along ecologically meaningful dimensions is needed for generalizing hypotheses and knowledge about controlling processes and expected treeline shifts globally. However, existing spatial categorizations of treelines are very loosely defined, leading to ambiguities in their use and interpretation. To help better understand treeline‐forming processes, we present a new framework for describing alpine treeline ecotones, focusing on hillside‐scale patterns, using pattern dimensions with distinct indicative values: 1) the spatial pattern in the x‐y plane: a) decline in tree cover, and b) change in the level of clustering. Variation along these dimensions results in more or less ‘discrete' or ‘diffuse' treelines with or without islands. These patterns mainly indicate demographic processes: establishment and mortality. 2) Changes in tree stature: a) decline in tree height, and b) change in tree shape. Variation along these dimensions results in more or less ‘abrupt' or ‘gradual' treelines with or without the formation of environmental krummholz. These patterns mainly indicate growth and dieback processes.Additionally, tree population structure can help distinguish alternative hypotheses about pattern formation, while analysing the functional composition of the ecotonal vegetation is essential to understand community‐level processes, controlled by species‐specific demographic processes.Our graphical representation of this framework can be used to place any treeline pattern in the proposed multi‐dimensional space to guide hypotheses on underlying processes and associated dynamics. To quantify the dimensions and facilitate comparative research, we advocate a joint effort in gathering and analysing spatial patterns from treelines globally. The improved recognition of treeline patterns should allow more effective comparative research and monitoring and advance our understanding of treeline‐forming processes and vegetation dynamics in response to climate warming.

An Evaluation of an Innovative Exercise to Relieve Chronic Low Back Pain in Sedentary Workers.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a novel supported dynamic lumbar extension with the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) technique on stature change, deep abdominal muscle activity, trunk muscle fatigue, and pain intensity during prolonged sitting in chronic low back pain (CLBP) participants. Prolonged sitting can cause trunk muscle fatigue from continuous contraction of deep trunk muscles in seated postures. Deficiency of activity of deep muscles can reduce muscular support of the spine, causing stress on spinal structures, which could result in pain. Thirty participants with CLBP were randomly allocated: (a) control-sitting without exercise, and (b) intervention-supported dynamic lumbar extension with the ADIM technique. Compared to the intervention condition, the control condition demonstrated significantly greater deterioration in stature change, increased levels of deep trunk muscle fatigue, and an increase in pain during prolonged sitting. The supported dynamic lumbar extension with the ADIM technique appears to provide a protective effect on detrimental stature change and deep trunk muscle fatigue. In addition, it prevented an increase in pain intensity during prolonged sitting in people with CLBP. Sedentary behavior harms health, particularly affecting the lower back. Clinicians can use the intervention to induce dynamic lumbar movement, and this exercise can maintain deep trunk muscle activity during prolonged sitting, thereby helping to prevent low back pain (LBP) problems.

Advancements in sex estimation using the diaphyseal cross-sectional geometric properties of the lower and upper limbs.

This paper introduces an automated method for estimating sex from the lower and upper limbs based on diaphyseal CSG properties. The proposed method was developed and evaluated using 389 femurs, 412 tibias, and 404 humeri of adult individuals from a modern Greek reference sample, the Athens Collection. The skeletal properties, which were extracted with the CSG-Toolkit, were analyzed with step-wise DFA (evaluated with LOOCV) and subsequently with RBF kernel SVM supervised learning. SVM cross-validation was based on a 20-fold stratified random sample splitting as well as a chronological split based on year of birth to further assess the effect of secular change in sex estimation capacity. Maximum cross-validated classification accuracy from step-wise DFA reached 94.8% for the femur, 94.7% for the tibia, and 97.3% for the humerus, whereas SVM cross-validated results were similar although slightly lower, mainly due to the more strict cross-validation scheme. Our results suggest that the proposed sex estimation method is reasonably robust to secular change, since there was limited loss in classification accuracy between different chronological groups, despite the presence of secular change in stature of the Greek population during the examined period. The proposed method has been implemented as a function for the GNU Octave environment, named estimate_sex, which comprises a self-intuitive graphical user interface for facilitating sex estimation and is freely available under a suitable license.

The immediate effect of the abdominal drawing-in maneuver technique on stature change in seated sedentary workers with chronic low back pain

Many studies have measured stature change arising from loads imposed on the spine during sitting. To improve stature recovery, it is important to stabilise the lumbar spine and compensate forces from the upper body. The abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM) technique has been found to mainly activate deep trunk muscles. The purpose of this study was to determine whether activation of deep trunk muscles by the ADIM technique could immediately improve stature recovery during prolonged sitting. Twenty-four patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) were randomly allocated into different orders of experimental conditions: control (sitting without ADIM technique) and intervention conditions (sitting with ADIM technique). The latter condition required participants to complete ADIM technique for 1 min and repeat it three times throughout 41 min prolonged sitting time. Stature recovery was improved by 3.292 mm in the intervention condition compared with control condition (p-value = 0.001). Our finding demonstrated that ADIM technique improved stature recovery. Practitioner Summary: Prolonged sitting seemingly harms sedentary workers’ health, particularly affecting the lower back. Activation of deep trunk muscles using abdominal drawing-in maneuver technique can promote spinal recovery. Clinicians can teach abdominal drawing-in maneuver technique to activate deep trunk muscles in chronic low back pain, thereby promoting self-management of seated stature recovery. Abbrevations: ADIM: abdominal drawing-in maneuver; RA: rectus abdominis; ICLT: iliocostalis lumborum pars thoracis; LM: lumbar multifidus; TrA: transversus abdominis; IO: internal oblique; CLBP: chronic low back pain; LBP: low back pain; RMDQ: Roland Morris disability questionnaire; NRS: numerical rating scale.

Spinal Osteoarthritis Is Associated With Stature Loss Independently of Incident Vertebral Fracture in Postmenopausal Women.

Retrospective observational study from the Nagano Cohort Study. Clarify the association between spinal osteoarthritis and loss of stature in postmenopausal women. Loss of stature with aging is known to deteriorate health-related quality of life and has been implicated with increased mortality. Although the association of vertebral fracture with height loss has been well documented, the relationship between stature loss and spinal osteoarthritis remains unclear. We retrospectively investigated Japanese postmenopausal women recruited from the Nagano Cohort Study. The participants were outpatients at a primary care institute in Nagano prefecture, Japan. A total of 977 postmenopausal patients (mean age: 65.8 yr) completed a minimum of 1 year of follow-up, with an average observation period of 7.6 years. Quartile analysis on the prevalence of spinal osteoarthritis and occurrence of incident fracture was performed based on the rate of stature change per year (Δ cm/yr). Multiple regression analysis was also conducted to identify the determinants of stature change. The lower quartiles of stature change rate (i.e., more rapid stature loss) displayed a significantly higher prevalence of spinal osteoarthritis (P < 0.001) and incident vertebral fracture (P < 0.001). A statistically significant independent negative association for spinal osteoarthritis prevalence with change in stature was revealed by multiple regression analysis after adjusting for confounders including incident vertebral fracture. The partial regression coefficient for spinal osteoarthritis was -0.18 (95% confidence interval -0.33 to -0.03; P = 0.016). This study demonstrated an independent association of spinal osteoarthritis with stature loss in postmenopausal women. Adequate understanding of this relationship and appropriate treatment approaches will help improve health-related quality of life in elderly patients. 3.

Prevalence of Short Stature and Growth Hormone Deficiency and Factors Associated With Short Stature After Fontan Surgery.

Background: Fontan circulation is characterized by many features commonly observed in heart failure that may affect physical growth regardless of pituitary gland dysfunction status. The aims of the present study were to investigate the prevalence of short stature and growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and determine the factors associated with short stature after Fontan surgery.Methods and Results: On retrospective evaluation of 47 patients after Fontan surgery, a very high prevalence of short stature was observed (38.3%). In the short stature group, 5 patients were diagnosed with GHD (10.6% of patients after Fontan Surgery), which is much higher than the frequency of 1/10,000 in the general population. Central venous pressure (CVP) was significantly higher (14.6±4.5 vs. 12.2±1.9 mmHg, P<0.05) and the blood pressure and arterial oxygen saturation were significantly lower in the short stature group. Laboratory data also indicated volume retention and congestion in the short stature group. Mean change in stature from catheterization 1 year after Fontan surgery to the most recent visit was significantly lower in the short stature group (−1.1±1.1 SD vs. 0.0±0.8 SD, P<0.05) and significantly negatively correlated with CVP (r=−0.42, P<0.05).Conclusions: Volume retention and congestion, the prominent features of Fontan circulation, affect physical growth partly due to pituitary gland dysfunction, highlighting the need for the screening for and treatment of this condition after Fontan surgery.

Transitions that Matter? Czechoslovakia's Break up and Human Stature.

Changes in a population’s average stature are virtuous pointers of wellbeing which are sensitive to improvements in psychosocial environments during childhood. A major structural change that could have altered an environment during childhood is the transition from communist to a liberal democracy, and, more specifically, the meltdown of the Soviet bloc provides for a quasi-natural experiment. This paper examines the trends in heights in the Czech Republic and Slovakia before and after the transition and the subsequent break-up of the Czechoslovakian federation. We find that one additional year of exposure to a liberal democracy while growing up is associated with an increasing population stature of 0.28 cm among Slovaks and 0.15 cm among Czechs. We only find changes in stature among men who are more sensitive to environmental stress, especially at the lower end of the current socio-economic status. Results are robust to alternative datasets and measures of democracy.

Secular trends in weight, stature, and body mass index in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The present study aims to investigate the secular trends of weight, stature, and BMI values in a Nova Scotian sample from 1946 to 1999, with particular focus on how these trends may relate to nutrition and the evolving obesity epidemic. Data were collected from investigative (autopsy) records of 1645 individuals (1287 males, 358 females) of European descent at the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service. Secular trends were evaluated by linear regression of weight, stature, and BMI with respect to the year of birth. Further analysis of this sample was based on five time periods (birth cohorts), in order to determine whether dramatic shifts in diet and nutrition affected weight, stature, and BMI. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate positive secular trends in weight, stature, and BMI from 1946 to 1999 in the Nova Scotian sample. Subsequent analysis among different time periods shows a secular increase in the weight of Nova Scotian males from 1946 to 1979, and a subsequent decrease in weight in after 1980. For Nova Scotian females, the results show a secular increase in weight from 1946 to 1989, and a subsequent decrease in weight after 1990. Such secular increases in weight coincide with the global nutrition transition, while recent decreasing median weight values may reflect economic growth and urbanization in Nova Scotia. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that temporal trends in nutrition may have contributed to positive secular changes in weight, stature, and BMI in Nova Scotia, Canada between 1946 and 1999.

Alagille Syndrome and the Liver: Current Insights.

Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is an autosomal dominant disorder, with multisystem involvement, which usually occurs due to Notch signaling pathway defects, mostly due to JAG1 mutation (ALGS type 1), but rarely due to neurogenic locus notch homolog protein (NOTCH2) mutation (ALGS type 2). It was suspected in cases having at least three out of five major clinical criteria: cholestasis with a paucity of the bile duct, congenital cardiac defects, ocular posterior embryotoxon, typical facial features, and skeletal malformation. Till date, no early predictive marker for hepatic outcome in ALGS has found. No genotypic or, phenotype features or correlation could predict the development of endstage liver disease, which poses a unique management challenge. Cases with progressive liver damage, unremitting cholestasis and intractable pruritus often depend on liver transplantation as last resort. The cardiac, and renal status should be well accessed before liver transplant for the better post-transplantation outcome. Most of the clinical manifestations usually improve the following transplant, except any change in stature. The post liver transplantation outcome was usually comparable with other conditions which require liver transplantation as a last resort, but in this disease the effect of long term immunosuppression on other affected systems not evaluated well till date. Therefore long term post transplant prospective study is required to address these issues.How to cite this article: Singh SP, Pati GK. Alagille Syndrome and the Liver: Current Insights. Euroasian J Hepatogastroenterol, 2018;8(2):140-147

Mutagenesis of kiwifruit CENTRORADIALIS-like genes transforms a climbing woody perennial with long juvenility and axillary flowering into a compact plant with rapid terminal flowering.

SummaryAnnualization of woody perennials has the potential to revolutionize the breeding and production of fruit crops and rapidly improve horticultural species. Kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) is a recently domesticated fruit crop with a short history of breeding and tremendous potential for improvement. Previously, multiple kiwifruit CENTRORADIALIS (CEN)‐like genes have been identified as potential repressors of flowering. In this study, CRISPR/Cas9‐ mediated manipulation enabled functional analysis of kiwifruit CEN‐like genes AcCEN4 and AcCEN. Mutation of these genes transformed a climbing woody perennial, which develops axillary inflorescences after many years of juvenility, into a compact plant with rapid terminal flower and fruit development. The number of affected genes and alleles and severity of detected mutations correlated with the precocity and change in plant stature, suggesting that a bi‐allelic mutation of either AcCEN4 or AcCEN may be sufficient for early flowering, whereas mutations affecting both genes further contributed to precocity and enhanced the compact growth habit. CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated mutagenesis of AcCEN4 and AcCEN may be a valuable means to engineer Actinidia amenable for accelerated breeding, indoor farming and cultivation as an annual crop.