Measurement of functional inability and quality of life in cardiac failure. Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Goldman, Minnesota and Duke questionnaires

Cardiac failure has a big impact on the daily life of patients and this can be evaluated using quality of life questionnaires. The aim of this study was to translate and adapt for the French population and test the validity of two quality of life self-administered-questionnaires: the Duke health Profile, the Minnesota Quality of Life Questionnaire in Cardiac Failure and one function capacity questionnaire, the Goldman Specific Activity Scale. The questionnaires were translated and retranslated then submitted to a committee of experts: the final version was presented to 30 patients. The study of the quantitative properties of the three instruments was performed on a sample of 74 patients with cardiac failure to assess their validity and 26 stable patients after cardiac transplantation to test reproducibility. The results of this study show that these three instruments are valid and reproducible and are comparable to the original documents: Cronbach's Alpha ranging from 0.54 to 0.78 for the Duke, except for the social dimension, and from 0.73 to 0.93 for the Minnesota, except for its incapacity dimension, intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.6 in all dimensions. The validity of convergence with LVEF and the NYHA measured during hospitalisation for decompensation was poor, except for the Goldman. The three instruments provided coherent information. The authors conclude that a structured method allows transcultural adaptation of instruments of evaluation of quality of life, the French version having comparable properties to the original documents: they may be used for clinical research.     

The index of ideality of correlation: hierarchy of Monte Carlo models for glass transition temperatures of polymers

Glass transition temperatures of polymers were modelled by means of the CORAL software available on the Internet (http://www.insilico.eu/coral). The architecture of monomers was represented via simplified molecular input line entry systems (SMILES). Three random splits into the training and validation sets were tested to build up quantitative structure - property relationships (QSPRs). The index of Ideality of Correlation (IIC) represents a new measure of predictive potential. Application of the IIC as the criterion of predictive potential for the calibration set was tested in this work and resulted in correct recommendations for selection of the best model from three different models considered here.     

Thermoelectric spherical shell with fractional order heat transfer

Microsystem Technologies - The model of fractional magneto-thermoelasticity is applied to one-dimensional problems of a thermoelectric spherical shell subjected to an arbitrary thermal loading of...     

Utilization of lignocellulosic fibers in molded polyester composites

Using rice straw, bagasse, and cotton stalk fibers as reinforcing fillers in polyester composite was studied. The effects of fiber loading and fiber size on the modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), tensile strength, water absorption, and thickness swelling were investigated as well. The effect of esterification using maleic anhydride on the aforementioned properties also was studied. Ultraviolet light resistance and thermal behavior of the produced composites were also investigated. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 653–660, 2003     

Nutritional biomarkers: Current view and future perspectives

ABSTRACT

There is a poor relationship between nutrient intake and existing nutritional biomarkers due to variety of factors affecting their sensitivity and specificity. To explore the impact of nutrients at molecular level and devising a sensitive biomarker, proteomics is a central technology with sirtuins as one of the most promising nutritional biomarker. Sirtuins (seven mammalian sirtuins reported so far) have been reported to perform protein deacetylases and ADP-ribosyltransferases activity. It is distributed in different cellular compartments thereby controlling several metabolic processes. Sirtuins are oxidized nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dependent, which implicates a direct effect of the metabolic state of the cell on its activity. Calorie restriction upregulates the mammalian sirtuin protein levels in variety of tissues and organs where it acts upon both histone and nonhistone substrates. Sirtuin senses nutrient availability and impacts gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, and insulin sensitivity. It deacetylates and inhibits the nuclear receptor that activates fat synthesis and adipogenesis in the body, leading to fat loss and bringing favorable cellular and health changes. Sirtuins mediates intracellular response that promotes cell survival, DNA damage repair thereby increasing the cell longitivity. The activation of sirtuins brings a wide spectrum of other health benefits and its activity levels are indicative of nutritional status as well as disease progression in cancer, inflammation, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and viral infections. There are several foods that activate sirtuin activity and offer significant health benefits by their consumption.     

Characterization of hydrogels prepared by the γ irradiation of aqueous solutions of acrylamide and N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone comonomers

Copolymer hydrogels were prepared through the γ irradiation of aqueous solutions composed of different ratios of acrylamide (AAm) and vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) monomers. The chemical structure, thermal stability, and structural morphology of the hydrogels were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The IR spectroscopy analysis showed the formation of copolymerization and the presence of hydrogen bonding. The TGA study showed that the AAm/VP‐based hydrogels possessed higher thermal stability than polyacrylamide (PAAm). However, the thermal stability of the AAm/VP hydrogels increased with an increasing ratio of the VP component. The study of the swelling kinetics in water showed that all the hydrogels reached the equilibrium state after 24 h. However, the AAm/VP‐based hydrogels showed swelling in water that was lower than that of the hydrogel based on pure AAm. Meanwhile, the degree of swelling of the AAm/VP‐based hydrogels decreased with an increasing ratio of VP in the feeding solutions. The results showed that the PAAm and AAm/VP‐based hydrogels prepared at 50 kGy were affected by a change in the temperature around 25°C, whereas the hydrogels prepared at 25 kGy did not show this characteristic. However, the hydrogels prepared at different doses displayed reversible pH character. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Beeswax Fractions Used as Potential Oil Gelling Agents

The objective of this work was the fractionation of beeswax to investigate the phase behavior of binary blends of the fractions and their potential use as gelling agents in edible oleogels. We have extracted seven distinctive fractions, using preparative flash chromatography with eluents permitted to be used in the processing of food raw materials. The odor profile of the fractions was characterized. The high purity of collected fractions was shown through thin-layer chromatography, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and high-performance liquid chromatography with an evaporative light scattering detector methods for hydrocarbons (94.8%), monoesters (97.6%), and mixed mono-, di-, and triesters fraction (98.7%). Free fatty acids and fatty alcohol fractions had lower purity which equals 82.6% and 39%, respectively. The analysis of the binary pseudo phase diagram revealed that all fractions combined with hydrocarbons express eutectic behavior. Combinations of all other fractions resulted in the formation of solid solutions. This study shows that the texture of oleogels can be improved by using a combination of various fractions of beeswax instead of native wax.