This article reviews recent medical research on the relationship between young maternal age and the incidence of low birth weight infants. One line of research, "nature," emphasizes biological factors in early adolescence such as immaturity of the female reproductive system and inadequate prenatal weight gain. "Nurture," another research focus, stresses sociocultural attributes of teen mothers such as poverty and minority status. Young maternal age alone does not explain the higher rates of low birth weight infants born to adolescent females. Both biological and sociocultural factors, plus lifestyle choices made by adolescents, combine to raise or lower the risk of delivering a low birth weight infant. School health personnel need to link their health promotion efforts to those of other community organizations serving adolescents and their families.

Background One key approach for anticancer therapy is drug combination. Drug combinations can help reduce doses and thereby decrease side effects. Furthermore, the likelihood of drug resistance is reduced. Distinct alterations in tumor metabolism have been described in past decades, but metabolism has yet to be targeted in clinical cancer therapy. Recently, we found evidence for synergism between dichloroacetate (DCA), a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor, and the HIF-1α inhibitor PX-478. In this study, we aimed to analyse this synergism in cell lines of different cancer types and to identify the underlying biochemical mechanisms. Methods The dose-dependent antiproliferative effects of the single drugs and their combination were assessed using SRB assays. FACS, Western blot and HPLC analyses were performed to investigate changes in reactive oxygen species levels, apoptosis and the cell cycle. Additionally, real-time metabolic analyses (Seahorse) were performed with DCA-treated MCF-7 cells. Results The combination of DCA and PX-478 produced synergistic effects in all eight cancer cell lines tested, including colorectal, lung, breast, cervical, liver and brain cancer. Reactive oxygen species generation and apoptosis played important roles in this synergism. Furthermore, cell proliferation was inhibited by the combination treatment. Conclusions Here, we found that these tumor metabolism-targeting compounds exhibited a potent synergism across all tested cancer cell lines. Thus, we highly recommend the combination of these two compounds for progression to in vivo translational and clinical trials.

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Regulations around the globe are driving the adoption of alternative fuels and vehicles through the implementation of stricter standards aimed at reducing carbon footprint and criteria emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NO_x), particulate matter (PM), and total hydrocarbon (THC) emissions. Low emission zones have been implemented across Europe which restrict access by some vehicles with the aim of improving the air quality. The Paris Agreement on climate change declared governments’ intentions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as outlined in each country’s nationally determined contribution. Providing affordable energy to support prosperity while reducing environmental impacts, including the risks of climate change, is the dual challenge for the energy and transport industries.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Development and deployment of low-emission liquid fuels and complementary engine hardware optimization could provide options to meet air quality as well as proposed, ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. To take advantage of these potential benefits, these fuels must be compatible with the existing fleet and comply with current fuel standards. This work represents a joint effort by Porsche and ExxonMobil Research &amp; Engineering Company. The goal of this work is to evaluate the potential of low-emission fuels to improve tailpipe emissions from in-use and new vehicle fleets.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">In this study, a number of fuels with various qualities and low-emissions potential were tested for resulting criteria emissions (NO_x, PM, THC). A research Porsche single cylinder engine, including advanced engine combustion design elements, was used for combustion and emissions analysis. The tests were done under stationary and dynamic load as well as under different temperature conditions.</div><div class="htmlview paragraph">Significant reductions to criteria emissions were obtained with the new fuel formulations, when compared to an existing European market fuel. Reductions of more than 90% in particulate emissions, 10 to 20% in NO_x emissions, and up to 30% in THC emissions were achieved. Additionally, vehicle test results on both, a 1996 993 and a 2016 991.2 Porsche Carrera, with some selected fuels are presented and compared. Emission reduction potential with the 993 (23 years old vehicle) were similar to the 991.2 by using the low emission formulations showing the potential of the fuels in legacy vehicles, not equipped with gasoline particulate filters (GPF), to comply with current emission regulations. Furthermore, these fuels can be formulated to be compliant with existing European fuel regulations.</div></div>