background: the body mass index (bmi) is widely used to diagnose overweight and obesity. however, there are limitations on the use of bmi and development of alternative measures can be of clinical importance. this study aimed to compare specificity and sensitivity of weight for height (w/h), waist circumference (wc) and waist-to-height ratio (whtr) with bmi-for-age in diagnosing overweight and ...

BACKGROUND Thigh circumference is associated with diabetes risk; however, the role of obesity as a potential effect modifier has not been well studied. METHODS We examined the association between thigh circumference and diabetes in a cross-sectional study of 384 612 Koreans aged 30 to 79 years. The association between diabetes and thigh circumference in relation to body mass index (BMI) was a...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between chest circumference in infancy and rapid growth or obesity at 3 years of age. We conducted a retrospective observational study of 1353 children in Kumamoto, Japan. Data collected included chest circumference, head circumference, weight, and body mass index. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for chest...

Insects use taste to evaluate food, hosts, and mates. Drosophila has many "orphan" taste neurons that express no known taste receptors. The Ionotropic Receptor (IR) superfamily is best known for its role in olfaction, but virtually nothing is known about a clade of ∼35 members, the IR20a clade. Here, a comprehensive analysis of this clade reveals expression in all taste organs of the fly. Some ...

On a slippery surface the forelegs of a decapitated stick insect walk forwards and the hindlegs, backwards. Animals with only forelegs but that are otherwise intact walk forwards, whereas animals with only hindlegs walk mostly backwards. Usually when intact animals start to walk, their hindlegs exert a rearwards thrust on the substrate, but occasionally the starting forces are directed forwards...

The present scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study includes the redescription of female Laelaps nuttalli with emphasis on its gnathosoma and pulvilli which were rarely described in superfamily Dermanyssoidea. Chaetotaxy of dorsal shield revealed 40 pairs of setae, 22 on prosoma and 18 on opisthosoma. Epigynial plate carried 4 pairs of setae. Gnathosoma consisted of long basis capituli carryi...

In the dog foreleg, serotonin antagonizes extremes of vascular tone induced by neurogenic means. It produces net dilatation when the bed is constricted and net constriction when the bed is dilated. This bidirectional response derives ultimately from the facts that changes in nervous activity change calibers of small vessels without greatly altering calibers of large vessels, and that serotonin ...