We study extremal problems for decomposing a connected n-vertex graph G into trees or into caterpillars. The least size of such a decomposition is the tree thickness θT(G) or caterpillar thickness θC(G). If G has girth g with g ≥ 5, then θT(G) ≤ bn/gc + 1. We conjecture that the bound holds also for g = 4 and prove it when G contains no subdivision of K2,3 with girth 4. For θC, we prove that θC...

During the 1997 Federation Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron (FISA) World Junior Rowing Championships, the anthropometric characteristics of 245 female junior rowers aged 17.5 +/- 0.8 years (mean +/- s) were assessed. Twenty-seven body dimensions (body mass, 6 heights or lengths, 4 breadths, 10 girths and 6 skinfolds) were measured in total. The elite female junior rowers were taller (174.5 ...

Common carotid intima-media thickness was measured by B-mode ultrasound imaging in 46 children (mean age, 7.4 years) with serum cholesterol > or = 6.4 mmol/L (mean, 8.25 mmol/L) and in 48 children (mean age, 6.4 years) with serum cholesterol < 6.4 mmol/L (mean, 4.60 mmol/L). Maximum thickness was significantly higher in hypercholesterolemic children than in control children (0.50 versus 0.47 m...

Background and Purpose—UK black African-Caribbean adults have higher risks of stroke than white Europeans and have been shown to have increased carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT). We examined whether corresponding ethnic differences in cIMT were apparent in childhood and, if so, whether these could be explained by ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk markers. Methods—We conducted a 2-st...

BACKGROUND Prolonged breast-feeding is frequently associated with malnutrition in less-developed countries, even after adjustment for socioeconomic confounders. However, in rural Senegal, breast-feeding is prolonged when the child is stunted. OBJECTIVE We aimed to test whether the lower height-for-age of children weaned late is explained by their height before weaning or whether prolonged bre...

The term menarche signifying the onset of menstruation is merely one manifestation of puberty. The age at menarche has been getting earlier all over the world with varying rates. An average decline of about 4 months per decade has been reported from the United States and in Western Europe over the period 1830-1960, while that in Eastern Europe since the late nineteenth century. There have been ...