Search results for "init"

Hormone therapy is associated with better body composition and adipokine/glucose profiles

2012

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of preventing the metabolic health consequences of postmenopausal hypogonadism with the use of long-term hormone therapy (HT). Methods: We used a monozygotic co-twin control design including 10 twin pairs (aged 56-62 y) discordant for HT (duration of HT, 2-10 y). In addition, 14 premenopausal women (aged 29-35 y) who did not use HT were studied to evaluate the differences in metabolic health between the premenopausal and postmenopausal states. Body composition was determined, and waist-to-hip ratio was used as an estimate for fat distribution. Serum sex steroids, sex hormone-binding globulin, and serum lipid and glucose profil…

The transcription factor IFN regulatory factor–4 controls experimental colitis in mice via T cell–derived IL-6

2008

The proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 seems to have an important role in the intestinal inflammation that characterizes inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating IL-6 production in IBD. Here, we assessed the role of the transcriptional regulator IFN regulatory factor-4 (IRF4) in this process. Patients with either Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis exhibited increased IRF4 expression in lamina propria CD3+ T cells as compared with control patients. Consistent with IRF4 having a regulatory function in T cells, in a mouse model of IBD whereby colitis is induced in RAG-deficient mice by transp…

EMG-Assisted Muscle Force Driven Finite Element Model of the Knee Joint with Fibril-Reinforced Poroelastic Cartilages and Menisci.

2019

Abnormal mechanical loading is essential in the onset and progression of knee osteoarthritis. Combined musculoskeletal (MS) and finite element (FE) modeling is a typical method to estimate load distribution and tissue responses in the knee joint. However, earlier combined models mostly utilize static-optimization based MS models and muscle force driven FE models typically use elastic materials for soft tissues or analyze specific time points of gait. Therefore, here we develop an electromyography-assisted muscle force driven FE model with fibril-reinforced poro(visco)elastic cartilages and menisci to analyze knee joint loading during the stance phase of gait. Moreover, since ligament pre-st…

Importance of Patella, Quadriceps Forces, and Depthwise Cartilage Structure on Knee Joint Motion and Cartilage Response During Gait

2015

In finite-element (FE) models of the knee joint, patella is often omitted. We investigated the importance of patella and quadriceps forces on the knee joint motion by creating an FE model of the subject's knee. In addition, depthwise strains and stresses in patellar cartilage with different tissue properties were determined. An FE model was created from subject's magnetic resonance images. Knee rotations, moments, and translational forces during gait were recorded in a motion laboratory and used as an input for the model. Three material models were implemented into the patellar cartilage: (1) homogeneous model, (2) inhomogeneous (arcadelike fibrils), and (3) random fibrils at the superficia…

Rhinoconjunctivitis and wheeze in preschool children: a different relationship than in adults (United or Coexistent Airways Disease)?

2007

Integration of immigrants into a new culture is related to poor sleep quality.

2008

Abstract Background This article reports on the relationship between cultural influences on life style, coping style, and sleep in a sample of female Portuguese immigrants living in Germany. Sleep quality is known to be poorer in women than in men, yet little is known about mediating psychological and sociological variables such as stress and coping with stressful life circumstances. Migration constitutes a particularly difficult life circumstance for women if it involves differing role conceptions in the country of origin and the emigrant country. Methods The study investigated sleep quality, coping styles and level of integration in a sample of Portuguese (N = 48) and Moroccan (N = 64) im…

Development and testing of a model for risk and protective factors for eating disorders and higher weight among emerging adults: A study protocol

2019

Research has demonstrated that eating disorders (ED) and higher weight have lifetime co-occurrence suggesting that they may be best considered within a common etiological model. Although we know that body dissatisfaction is likely to be a risk factor for both outcomes, other proposed risk and protective factors for each condition have not been adequately explored. The current paper tests a conceptual model that is based on a review of the existing literature from both areas of scholarship. It considers biological, sociocultural, psychological, and behavioral factors that may contribute to both outcomes. The model will be tested in a longitudinal design with an initial sample of 600 emerging…

A finite element-based machine learning approach for modeling the mechanical behavior of the breast tissues under compression in real-time

2017

[EN] This work presents a data-driven method to simulate, in real-time, the biomechanical behavior of the breast tissues in some image-guided interventions such as biopsies or radiotherapy dose delivery as well as to speed up multimodal registration algorithms. Ten real breasts were used for this work. Their deformation due to the displacement of two compression plates was simulated off-line using the finite element (FE) method. Three machine learning models were trained with the data from those simulations. Then, they were used to predict in real-time the deformation of the breast tissues during the compression. The models were a decision tree and two tree-based ensemble methods (extremely…

Differences in the behavior of advanced glycation end products and advanced oxidation protein products in patients with allergic rhinitis

2013

BACKGROUND: The presence of oxidative stress in patients with asthma is well documented; however, the role of oxidative stress in allergic rhinitis has received less attention, although it is likely to be similar to that observed in patients with asthma. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) are compounds formed by the transformation of macromolecules, including proteins, which can serve as densitometric markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in several diseases. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of AGEs and AOPPs as new markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in patients affected by allergic rhinitis. ME…

Treatment of Vaginal Trichomoniasis with a Single Dose of Tinidazole

1974

SummaryTwenty-two patients with proven vaginal trichomoniasis were treated with a single dose of 2 g. tinidazole. Twenty-one patients were cured, at both the early and the late follow-up visits. No side-effects were noted and no abnormalities of the clinical laboratory parameters were found in the trial. A historical comparison with published works was carried out and the results compared favourably with those found in the literature for tinidazole as well as for other agents used in a similar fashion.