Search results for "WEIGHT"

2021

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Recent years have witnessed a medicalization of obesity, promoting a classification as a disease or disability in order to reduce or protect against weight stigma and discrimination. This study sought to investigate the public understanding of the disability and disease concepts in obesity, their acceptance, and association with weight stigma. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In a representative German population sample (<i>n</i> = 2,524), public views of obesity as a disease or disability were assessed via a self-report questionnaire. For the assessment of weight stigma, the Weight Control/Blame subscale from the…

Influence of the Urban Exposome on Birth Weight

2019

Background: The exposome is defined as the totality of environmental exposures from conception onwards. It calls for providing a holistic view of environmental exposures and their effects on human health by evaluating multiple environmental exposures simultaneously during critical periods of life. Objective: We evaluated the association of the urban exposome with birth weight. Methods: We estimated exposure to the urban exposome, including the built environment, air pollution, road traffic noise, meteorology, natural space, and road traffic (corresponding to 24 environmental indicators and 60 exposures) for nearly 32,000 pregnant women from six European birth cohorts. To evaluate associatio…

Exposure to patulin from consumption of apple-based products.

2007

Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by species of Penicillium, Aspergillus and Byssochylamys. Several Scientific Committees classify patulin as mutagenic, embryotoxic and immunotoxic. It has been found as a natural contaminant of processed apple products and its presence may be indicative of the quality of fruit used in production. In this work, a method for the analysis of patulin is described, based on a simple liquid-liquid extraction with acetonitrile; patulin is analyzed using liquid chromatography with UV detection. Patulin identity was confirmed by GC-MS after its reaction with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide. Fifty-three apple-containing products were analyzed and patulin …

Rat and human liver cytosolic epoxide hydrolases: evidence for multiple forms at level of protein and mRNA.

1990

Two forms of human liver cytosolic epoxide hydrolase (cEH) with diagnostic substrate specificity for trans-stilbene oxide (cEHTSO) and cis-stilbene oxide (cEHCSO) have been identified, and cEHCSO was purified to apparent homogeneity. The enzyme had a monomer molecular weight of 49 kDa and an isoelectric point of 9.2. Pure cEHCSO hydrolyzed CSO at a rate of 145 nmole/min/mg. TSO was not metabolized at a detectable level, and like cEHTSO, the enzyme was about three times more active at pH 7.4 than at pH 9.0. Unlike cEHTSO, cEHCSO was efficiently inhibited by 1 mM 1-trichloropropene oxide (90.5%) and 1 mM STO (92%). Similarly, liver cEH purified 541-fold from fenofibrate induced Fischer 344 ra…

Assessment of quality of air in Palermo by chemical (ICP-OES) and cytological analyses on leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis

2013

In this work, we studied the influence of air pollution on the morpho-structural, biochemical and chemical composition of Eucalyptus camaldulensis leaves. Analyses were carried out on 22 samples collected in Palermo (Italy) area. Considering the mean concentrations (in unwashed leaves) of investigated metals, nutrient elements as Fe (214 mg kg(-1) dry weight (d.w.)), Mn (160 mg kg(-1) d.w.) and Zn (39 mg kg(-1) d.w.) were the most abundant, whereas Pb (5.6 mg kg(-1) d.w.) and Cd (0.072 mg kg(-1) d.w.) showed the lowest concentrations. The values of metal pollution index (MPI) ranged from 6.0 (station no. 15) to 25 (station no. 8) and from 4.0 (station no. 16) to 17 (stations no. 7 and no. 1…

Speciation of methylmercury in market seafood by thermal degradation, amalgamation and atomic absorption spectroscopy

2014

Sample thermal decomposition followed by mercury amalgamation and atomic absorption has been employed for the determination of methylmercury (MeHg) in fish. The method involves HBr leaching of MeHg, extraction into toluene, and back-extraction into an aqueous l-cysteine solution. Preliminary studies were focused on the extraction efficiency, losses, contaminations, and species interconversion prevention. The limit of detection was 0.018µgg(-1) (dry weight). The intraday precision for three replicate analysis at a concentration of 4.2µgg(-1) (dry weight) was 3.5 percent, similar to the interday precision according to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The accuracy was guaranteed by the use of for…

Genetic syndrome suspicion: examples of clinical approach in the neonatal unit.

2010

Overgrowth syndromes: the practical clinical approach. Excessive growth can be present in a variety of medical conditions as result of abnormal fetal metabolism (i.e., maternal gestational diabetes) or of an overgrowth syndrome. Within this latter group of diseases, a LGA newborn requires a complex differential diagnosis encompassing several syndromes, such as Beckwith-Wiedemman, Sotos, Weaver, Simpson-Golabi-Behmel, Perlman, and Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba. Partial or global overgrowth, other dysmorphisms, abdominal organs anomalies, as well as benign and malignant tumors are the common issues to examine for the diagnosis and the monitoring of all these disorders. The molecular bases of these…

What Is the Role of Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery in High-Risk Patients? A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

2016

Background. Minimally invasive valve surgery is related to certain better postoperative outcomes. We aimed to assess the role of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery in high-risk patients. Methods. A systematic literature review identified eight studies of which seven fulfilled criteria for metaanalysis. Outcomes for a total of 1,254 patients (731 were conventional standard sternotomy and 523 were minimally invasive mitral valve surgery) were submitted to meta-analysis using random effects modeling. Heterogeneity and subgroup analysis with quality scoring were assessed. The primary end point was early mortality. Secondary end points were intraoperative and postoperative outcomes and long…

A machine learning approach to determine airport asphalt concrete layer moduli using heavy weight deflectometer data

2021

An integrated approach based on machine learning and data augmentation techniques has been developed in order to predict the stiffness modulus of the asphalt concrete layer of an airport runway, from data acquired with a heavy weight deflectometer (HWD). The predictive model relies on a shallow neural network (SNN) trained with the results of a backcalculation, by means of a data augmentation method and can produce estimations of the stiffness modulus even at runway points not yet sampled. The Bayesian regularization algorithm was used for training of the feedforward backpropagation SNN, and a k-fold cross-validation procedure was implemented for a fair performance evaluation. The testing p…

Plantar pressure and EMG activity of simulated and actual ski jumping take-off

2001

Plantar pressures and activation of the four muscles (VL - vastus lateralis, GL - gluteus, TA - tibialis anterior and GA - lat. gastrocnemius) were measured from ten ski jumpers under simulated laboratory conditions with training shoes (Lab TS) and with jumping boots (Lab JB) as well as in actual hill jumping conditions (Hill). The most significant differences between measured conditions were found in muscle activation patterns and plantar pressures prior to take-off. The centrifugal force due to the curvature of the inrun under actual hill jumping conditions caused extra pressure under the fore and rear parts of the feet (P<0.001) and therefore higher activation in all muscles (P<0.001 for…