Obesity often clusters with other major cardiovascular disease risk factors, yet a subset of the obese appears to be protected from these risks. Two obesity phenotypes are described, 1)"metabolically healthy" obese, broadly defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m(2) and favorable levels of blood pressure, lipids, and glucose; and 2)"at risk" obese, BMI ≥ 30 with unfavorable levels of these risk factors. More than 30% of obese American adults are metabolically healthy. Diet and activity determinants of obesity phenotypes are unclear. We hypothesized that metabolically healthy obese have more favorable behavioral factors, including less adverse diet composition and higher activity levels than at risk obese in the multi-ethnic group of 775 obese American adults ages 40-59 years from the International Population Study on Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP) cohort. In gender stratified analyses, mean values for diet composition and activity behavior variables, adjusted for age, race, and education, were compared between metabolically healthy and at risk obese. Nearly 1 in 5 (149/775, or 19%) of obese American INTERMAP participants were classified as metabolically healthy obese. Diet composition and most activity behaviors were similar between obesity phenotypes, although metabolically healthy obese women reported higher sleep duration than at risk obese women. These results do not support hypotheses that diet composition and/or physical activity account for the absence of cardiometabolic abnormalities in metabolically healthy obese.

Agricultural expansion and climate variability have become important agents of disturbance in the Amazon basin. Recent studies have demonstrated considerable resilience of Amazonian forests to moderate annual drought, but they also show that interactions between deforestation, fire and drought potentially lead to losses of carbon storage and changes in regional precipitation patterns and river discharge. Although the basin-wide impacts of land use and drought may not yet surpass the magnitude of natural variability of hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles, there are some signs of a transition to a disturbance-dominated regime. These signs include changing energy and water cycles in the southern and eastern portions of the Amazon basin.

Historically, intervention programmes in intellectual and developmental disabilities have targeted the individual's special needs independent of the family and environmental context. This trend has been changing over the past two decades. This paper presents a literature review on changing trends in family support and the development of family quality of life (FQOL) and intellectual disability from a construct to a theory. The evolution of research in quality of life from the perspective of the individual with the disability to the family is described. A description of the development of FQOL measures is included, specifically an introduction and comparison of the two leading comprehensive initiatives on measuring FQOL - international FQOL project and the FQOL initiative of the Beach Center on Disability, in the USA. This paper provides the conceptual background and context to the other papers presented in this special issue, which focus on FQOL measurement in specific contexts.

BACKGROUND The limited literature that exists about intellectual disabilities (ID) in Nigeria suggests that perceptions of ID may be shaped by social and cultural beliefs, and that socio-economic factors have prevented the development of policy and services. The present study sought to explore these suggestions in more detail by administering the Family Quality of Life Survey, an instrument used extensively throughout the world to collect comprehensive data on family quality of life. Its specific purposes were:(1) to describe the family quality of life of Nigerian families that have a son or daughter with ID and (2) to provide some initial ideas about the relationship between the families' life experiences and government policy and provision of services. METHOD Eighty main caregivers from 80 families that received services for their sons and daughters with ID from two community agencies volunteered to participate. Two trained assistants administered the Family Quality of Life Survey in accordance with the administration methods set out by the Survey authors. Quantitative data and explanatory comments were also collected. RESULTS Regarding the first study purpose, all nine life domains of the Family Quality of Life Survey were rated as important. The two main outcome measures, Attainment and Satisfaction, showed that three domains (Family relationships, Influence of values and Health) were sources of quality for families, but that three domains (Support from services, Support from others and Leisure) detracted from family quality of life. Measures of Opportunities, Initiative and Stability were somewhat related to one another, and with the two main outcome measures. Participants' explanatory comments suggested that the main caregivers perceived some domains to make their lives better and others did not. Regarding the second study purpose, it was only possible with the data available to make suggestions, but it seemed that there is a strong need for the development of government policy and services, and for education and training. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that some areas of family life contribute to quality of life for Nigerian families and other areas of life are problematic for families. Although this study is not representative of all Nigerian families that have a son or daughter with ID, it provides important initial information on the family experience with disability in Nigeria.

Omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids inhibit breast and prostate cancer cell growth. We previously showed that N-acylethanolamine derivatives of n-3 (n-3-NAE) are endocannabinoids, which regulate cancer cell proliferation. These n-3-NAE are synthesised in certain cells/tissues, after supplementing with fatty acids, however, no one has assessed whether and to what extent this occurs in cancer cells. We determined levels of endogenous n-3-NAEs in hormone sensitive and insensitive prostate and breast cancer cells and subsequent effects on other endocannabinoids (anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol), before and after supplementing with DHA and EPA fatty acids, using HPLC tandem mass spectrometry. This is the first study reporting that n-3-NAEs are synthesised from their parent n-3 fatty acids in cancer cells, regardless of tumour type, hormone status or the presence of fatty acid amide hydrolase. This could have important implications for the use of n-3 fatty acids as therapeutic agents in breast and prostate cancers expressing cannabinoid receptors.

Background  There is substantial literature investigating quality of life (QoL) of individuals with intellectual disability (ID). QoL of families of people with ID is emerging as an important field of research. Despite this, there is a lack of studies regarding their relationship. Aim  The present paper aimed to study the relationship between QoL scores of individuals with ID and members of their families. Methods  Twenty-seven parents or relatives of 27 adults with ID were recruited by four different research centres across Tuscany (Italy) to be interviewed through the Italian adaptation of the Family Quality of Life Survey - 2006 (FQoLS-2006), a tool developed for use in a multiple-country study on family QoL. The FQoLS-2006 was translated and adapted to Italian through three revisions. The last was submitted to the authors of the original version, who also maintain an electronic data file and data archive for statistical evaluations in various countries. QoL of persons with ID was assessed through the administration of the Quality of Life - Instrument Package. QoL scores were analysed to describe population characteristics and to examine the relationships among measures of individual and family QoL using correlations (Pearson and Spearman). Results  Findings showed that family ratings of QoL were generally low. Families interviewed reported a low level of QoL in 'Support from Others' and 'Community Interaction', while 'Family Relationships' and 'Health of the Family' rated higher. For individual QoL, individuals had the lowest scores in the area of 'Spiritual being' and higher scores in the area of 'Physical being'. Correlations examining possible relationships among Importance, Satisfaction and Opportunities found some statistically significant correlation coefficients between some aspects of the three main areas of individual QoL (Being, Belonging and Becoming) and the nine family domains. Most of these correlations regarded family 'Financial Well-Being','Family Relationships,'Support from Service' and 'Support from Others' areas. Conclusions  The results of this study suggest that QoL is perceived somewhat differently by individuals with ID and by members of their families. This difference could negatively impact QoL of people with ID, if their views are not taken into account when planning for family support. The relationships between individual and family QoL appear to be quite complex, and such complexity needs to be clarified in future research.

Collagenous ileitis (CI), characterized by subepithelial collagen deposition in the terminal ileum, is an uncommon condition. The few cases reported to date have been associated with collagenous colitis (CC) or lymphocytic colitis. Thirteen cases of CI retrieved over a 9-year period were retrospectively studied. There were 7 female and 6 male patients, with an age range of 39 to 72 years (mean, 64 y). Two groups were identified:(1) CI associated with collagenous or lymphocytic disease elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract and (2) CI as an isolated process. Diarrhea was the presenting symptom in 11 cases. Most patients had no regular medication use. Subepithelial collagen thickness ranged from 15 to 100 μm (mean, 32 μm) and involved 5% to 80% of the subepithelial region of the submitted biopsies. Six cases had >25 intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs)/100 epithelial cells, and villous blunting was observed in 11 cases. Chronic inflammation of the lamina propria was present in 9 cases, and focal neutrophil infiltration was identified in 3 cases. In biopsies taken from other sites, 7 of 13 colonic biopsies showed CC, 4 of 9 gastric biopsies showed collagenous gastritis, and 2 of 10 duodenal biopsies were abnormal with collagenous sprue (n=1) and partial villous atrophy and increased IELs (n=1)(both celiac disease related). Resolution of the subepithelial collagen deposition was found in the 1 case in which follow-up of terminal ileal biopsies were taken. There was partial or complete resolution of symptoms in 6 of 9 patients for whom follow-up information was available.

Nonbonding valence electrons, better known as lone pairs, are found in all anions as well as in cations in their lower oxidation states. In this paper the properties of lone pairs are analyzed using a bond valence model defined in terms of a core-and-valence-shell picture, which can be reduced to the point charges of the ionic model. A bond is defined in terms of the electrostatic flux linking the atoms. When the lone pairs are inactive, they are uniformly distributed around the valence shell and the ion behaves like a main group ion that has no lone pairs. In this state it can be assigned a bonding strength that obeys the valence matching rule (for stable bonds the cation and anion bonding strengths should not differ by more than a factor of 2). However, when an ion with a lone pair has a bonding strength less than half that of the counterion, it has the flexibility to form a stronger bond by converting lone pair electron density to bonding electron density in the region where the valence shells overlap. To conserve the number of lone pairs, bonding electron density elsewhere in the valence shell is converted to lone pairs. The result is the adoption of an anisotropic coordination environment with fewer bonds but bonds whose enhanced strength matches the higher bonding strength of the counterion. This analysis raises questions about the validity of a number of traditional ideas on the nature of chemical bonds. It shows that lone pairs do not form dative bonds. In a neutral molecule, the base function that is often attributed to a lone pair is always accompanied by an acid function, and both functions must be simultaneously activated. Electron-pair bonds, which are found only around strongly bonding cations, normally result in the formation of molecules, explaining why the models developed to describe molecular structures are unable to give good descriptions of extended crystal structures.

Epidemiological studies indicate that populations consuming high levels of plant derived foods have low incidence rates of various cancers. Recent findings implicate a variety of phytochemicals, including phenolics, in these anticancer properties. Both monophenolic and polyphenolic compounds from a large variety of plant foods, spices and beverages have been shown to inhibit or attenuate the initiation, progression and spread of cancers in cells in vitro and in animals in vivo. The cellular mechanisms that phenolics modulate to elicit these anticancer effects are multi-faceted and include regulation of growth factor-receptor interactions and cell signaling cascades, including kinases and transcription factors, that determine the expression of genes involved in cell cycle arrest, cell survival and apoptosis or programmed cell death. A major focus has been the inhibitory effects of phenolics on the stress-activated NF-κB and AP-1 signal cascades in cancer cells which are regarded as major therapeutic targets. Phenolics can enhance the body's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells as well as inhibiting the development of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) that is necessary for tumour growth. They also attenuate adhesiveness and invasiveness of cancer cells thereby reducing their metastatic potential.Augmentation of the efficacy of standard chemo- and radiotherapeutic treatment regimes and the prevention of resistance to these agents is another important effect of plant phenolics that warrants further research.Plant phenolics appear to have both preventative and treatment potential in combating cancer and warrant further, in-depth research. It is interesting that these effects of plant phenolics on cancer inhibition resemble effects reported for specific fatty acids (omega-3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acids).Although phenolic effects in cells in vitro and in animal models are generally positive, observations from the less numerous human interventions are less clear. This is surprising given the positive epidemiological data and may relate to mixed diets and synergistic interactions between compounds or the bioavailability of individual compounds. Much of the work in vitro with phenolic compounds has utilized concentrations higher than the amount that can be obtained from the diet suggesting a role of fortified, functional foods in cancer suppression.