Seasonal variation in environmental factors is vital to the regulation of seasonal reproduction in primates. Consequently, long-term systematic data is necessary to clarify the birth seasonality and pattern of primate...Seasonal variation in environmental factors is vital to the regulation of seasonal reproduction in primates. Consequently, long-term systematic data is necessary to clarify the birth seasonality and pattern of primates in highly seasonal environments. This study indicated that black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys （Rhinopithecus bieti） at Mt. Lasha exhibited strict birth seasonality with a pulse model. Infants were born with a certain degree of synchronization. Birth distribution showed three birth peaks, and the birth pattern showed a ＂V＂ style in even-numbered years and a gradual increase in odd-numbered years. The beginning date, end date and median birth date were earlier in even-numbered years than those in odd-numbered years. The higher latitude of their habitats, earlier birth date, shorter birth period, fewer birth peaks and stronger birth synchrony might be adaptations for strongly seasonal variation in climate and food resources. After the summer solstice when daylight length began to gradually shorten, R. bieti at Mt. Lasha started to breed during the period with the highest environmental temperature and food availability, which implied that photoperiod may be the proximate factor triggering the onset of estrus and mating. It appears that R. bieti coincided conception and mid-lactation with the peak in staple foods, and weaning with the peak in high quality of foods. Thus, food availability was the ultimate factor regulating reproductive seasonality, and photoperiod was the proximate factor fine-turning the coordination between seasonal breeding and food availability.展开更多
Objectives: Although lung function decline is a normal ageing process, it can be potentiated by risk factors. However, the potential impact of early life factors on lung function decline has been scarcely studied. The...Objectives: Although lung function decline is a normal ageing process, it can be potentiated by risk factors. However, the potential impact of early life factors on lung function decline has been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential correlation between birth season and adult lung function. Methods: We enrolled 1008 South Korean patients (530 men and 478 women;age range, 40 - 80 years) who were hospitalized for urological surgery, irrespective of respiratory disease. All patients underwent the pulmonary function test before any surgery or procedure. Based on their birth season, the patients were divided into two groups (spring, summer, and fall vs. winter). Results: Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and FEV1 % predicted of men born in winter were lower than those of men born in other seasons. Univariate and multivariate analyses using linear regression models also showed that birth season was a significant predictive factor for FVC, FEV1, and FEV1 % predicted in men. However, birth season was not correlated with lung function in women. Among male ever-smokers, FEV1 and FEV1 % predicted were lower for men born in winter than for those born in other seasons. Conclusions: Unlike women, men born in winter had lower lung function than did men born in other seasons. These results suggest that birth season might be an early life factor that predicts airway function. Furthermore, birth season has different effects on adult lung function depending on the patient’s sex.展开更多
Many environmental factors have been shown to adversely influence birth weight,and new insight has been gained into＇seasonal programming＇.We studied a total of 23,064 infants.The mean birth weight varied across seas...Many environmental factors have been shown to adversely influence birth weight,and new insight has been gained into＇seasonal programming＇.We studied a total of 23,064 infants.The mean birth weight varied across seasons.Logistic regression analysis was used to obtain the crude and adjusted odds ratios（ORs）for dichotomous outcomes（e.g.,macrosomia,low birth weight）.展开更多
Background: The etiology of Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) remains unclear. It has been suggested that apart from genetic factors, prenatal or perinatal environmental factors could change the risk o...Background: The etiology of Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) remains unclear. It has been suggested that apart from genetic factors, prenatal or perinatal environmental factors could change the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) later in life. Seasonality in birth distribution over the year has been demonstrated for several immune diseases, but studies on IBD have had inconsistent results. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate in the Netherlands the effect of the month of birth on the probability to develop IBD later in life. Methods: Birth data from CD patients and UC patients of 4 different Dutch hospitals were compared to a control group of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients from the same hospitals. A chi-square test was used to test whether there was heterogeneity between the monthly and seasonal birth rates of the three groups. Results: The patient cohort consisted of 1183 CD patients and 1293 UC patients. The control group consisted of 2113 IBS patients. Data showed no difference in birth distribution over the year or over the four seasons of IBD patients as compared to the control group. P-values over the year and over the seasons respectively are 0.428 and 0.237 for CD and 0.311 and 0.812 for UC. Conclusions: There is no seasonality in the distribution of births of IBD patients as compared to controls. The hypothesis that environmental factors present at the time of birth play a role in the pathogenesis of IBD is not supported by these data.展开更多
基金Foundation items： This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （31160422, 30960084）, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation （2013M542379）, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University （NCET-12-1079）, and Key Subject of Wildlife Conservation and Utilization in Yunnan Province We thank the directors and staff from the Administrative Bureau of Yunling National Reserve, Lanping County, Nujiang Prefecture, Yunan Province, the residents of Dashanqing village and assistants Qing-Sheng Su and Jin-Fu Zhang.
文摘Seasonal variation in environmental factors is vital to the regulation of seasonal reproduction in primates. Consequently, long-term systematic data is necessary to clarify the birth seasonality and pattern of primates in highly seasonal environments. This study indicated that black-and-white snub-nosed monkeys （Rhinopithecus bieti） at Mt. Lasha exhibited strict birth seasonality with a pulse model. Infants were born with a certain degree of synchronization. Birth distribution showed three birth peaks, and the birth pattern showed a ＂V＂ style in even-numbered years and a gradual increase in odd-numbered years. The beginning date, end date and median birth date were earlier in even-numbered years than those in odd-numbered years. The higher latitude of their habitats, earlier birth date, shorter birth period, fewer birth peaks and stronger birth synchrony might be adaptations for strongly seasonal variation in climate and food resources. After the summer solstice when daylight length began to gradually shorten, R. bieti at Mt. Lasha started to breed during the period with the highest environmental temperature and food availability, which implied that photoperiod may be the proximate factor triggering the onset of estrus and mating. It appears that R. bieti coincided conception and mid-lactation with the peak in staple foods, and weaning with the peak in high quality of foods. Thus, food availability was the ultimate factor regulating reproductive seasonality, and photoperiod was the proximate factor fine-turning the coordination between seasonal breeding and food availability.
文摘Objectives: Although lung function decline is a normal ageing process, it can be potentiated by risk factors. However, the potential impact of early life factors on lung function decline has been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential correlation between birth season and adult lung function. Methods: We enrolled 1008 South Korean patients (530 men and 478 women;age range, 40 - 80 years) who were hospitalized for urological surgery, irrespective of respiratory disease. All patients underwent the pulmonary function test before any surgery or procedure. Based on their birth season, the patients were divided into two groups (spring, summer, and fall vs. winter). Results: Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and FEV1 % predicted of men born in winter were lower than those of men born in other seasons. Univariate and multivariate analyses using linear regression models also showed that birth season was a significant predictive factor for FVC, FEV1, and FEV1 % predicted in men. However, birth season was not correlated with lung function in women. Among male ever-smokers, FEV1 and FEV1 % predicted were lower for men born in winter than for those born in other seasons. Conclusions: Unlike women, men born in winter had lower lung function than did men born in other seasons. These results suggest that birth season might be an early life factor that predicts airway function. Furthermore, birth season has different effects on adult lung function depending on the patient’s sex.
基金partially supported by grants from the National Nature Science Foundation of China(81370719)Suzhou Science&Technology Project(SYS201405)Suzhou Key Technologies of Prevention and Control of Major Disease and Infectious Diseases(Gwzx201506)
文摘Many environmental factors have been shown to adversely influence birth weight,and new insight has been gained into＇seasonal programming＇.We studied a total of 23,064 infants.The mean birth weight varied across seasons.Logistic regression analysis was used to obtain the crude and adjusted odds ratios（ORs）for dichotomous outcomes（e.g.,macrosomia,low birth weight）.
文摘Background: The etiology of Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) remains unclear. It has been suggested that apart from genetic factors, prenatal or perinatal environmental factors could change the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) later in life. Seasonality in birth distribution over the year has been demonstrated for several immune diseases, but studies on IBD have had inconsistent results. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate in the Netherlands the effect of the month of birth on the probability to develop IBD later in life. Methods: Birth data from CD patients and UC patients of 4 different Dutch hospitals were compared to a control group of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients from the same hospitals. A chi-square test was used to test whether there was heterogeneity between the monthly and seasonal birth rates of the three groups. Results: The patient cohort consisted of 1183 CD patients and 1293 UC patients. The control group consisted of 2113 IBS patients. Data showed no difference in birth distribution over the year or over the four seasons of IBD patients as compared to the control group. P-values over the year and over the seasons respectively are 0.428 and 0.237 for CD and 0.311 and 0.812 for UC. Conclusions: There is no seasonality in the distribution of births of IBD patients as compared to controls. The hypothesis that environmental factors present at the time of birth play a role in the pathogenesis of IBD is not supported by these data.
