To treat or not to treat: comparison of different criteria used to determine whether weight loss is to be recommended

Background  

Excess body fat is a major risk factor for disease primarily due to its endocrine activity. In recent years several criteria have been introduced to evaluate this factor. Nevertheless, treatment need is currently assessed only on the basis of an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI), calculated as body weight (in kg) divided by height in m². The aim of our study was to determine whether application of the BMI, compared to adiposity-based criteria, results in underestimation of the number of subjects needing lifestyle intervention.     

Large deflections and stability FEM analysis of shear deformable compressed anisotropic flat panels

This paper deals with the non-linear analysis of multilayered axially compressed plates in the static elastic conservative cases. A finite element model based on a Reissner-Mindlin theory involving von Kármán nonlinearity is developed. Results related to the classical Kirchhoff plate approximations are obtained via application of a penalty technique to the shear correction factor. The numerical investigations have concerned the large deflections and postbuckling behaviour of symmetrically and non-symmetrically anisotropic flat panels. The main conclusions are: (1) the non-linear effects very much depend on lay-up and boundary conditions, moreover for the asymmetric laminated long plates the snapping-type instability occurs; (2) the shear deformation effects are very much subordinate to both multilayered lay-up and load levels, furthermore they are greater in the large deflections field; (3) it has been observed that in the neighbourhood of a singularity (of buckling point type) of the tangent stiffness matrix, the use of an arc-length type algorithm could lead to a new buckled path and that happens without employing an appropriate turning bifurcation algorithm with an accompanying eigenvalues calculation, but via a non-convergent iteration in the loadstep.     

Bronchoalveolar lavage studies in children without parenchymal lung disease: cellular constituents and protein levels

The hepatotoxicity of acetaminophen overdose depends on the metabolic activation to a toxic reactive metabolite by the hepatic mixed function oxidases. There is evidence that an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ is involved in acetaminophen hepatotoxicity. The effects of the Ca2+-antagonists nifedipine (NF), verapamil (V), diltiazem (DL) and of the calmodulin antagonist trifluoperazine (TFP) on the activity of some drug-metabolizing enzyme systems, lipid peroxidation and acute acetaminophen toxicity were studied in male albino mice. No changes in the drug-metabolizing enzyme activities studied and in the cytochrome P-450 and b5 contents were observed 1 h after oral administration of V (20 mg/kg). DL (70 mg/kg) and TFP (3 mg/kg). NF (50 mg/kg) increased cytochrome P-450 content, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and ethylmorphine-N-demethylase activities. DL and TFP significantly decreased lipid peroxidation. NF, V, DL and TFP administered 1 h before acetaminophen (700 mg/kg orally) increased the mean survival time of animals. A large increase of serum aspartate aminotransferase(AST), and liver weight and depletion of liver reduced glutathione (GSH) occurred in animals receiving toxic acetaminophen dose. NF, V and DL prevented and TFP decreased the acetaminophen-induced hepatic damage measured both by plasma AST and by liver weight. NF, V, DL and TFP changed neither the hepatic GSH level nor the GSH depletion provoked by the toxic dose of acetaminophen. This suggests that V, DL and TFP do not influence the amount of the acetaminophen toxic metabolite formed in the liver. The possible mechanism of the protective effect of NF, V, DL and TFP on the acetaminophen-induced toxicity is discussed.     

Identification of the female-produced sex pheromone of the scarab beetle,Hoplia equina

Hoplia equina LeConte (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) is a beetle pest of cranberry beds in Massachusetts. Larvae feed on the roots of the cranberry plant, reducing yield as well as vine density. The female sex pheromone was identified as 2-tetradecanone. There were eight compounds found in the airborne volatiles collected from females that elicited antennal responses from males. Of the eight compounds tested (nonanal, decanal, dodecanal, 2-dodecanone, 2-tridecanone, 2-tetradecanone, 2-pentadecanone, and 2-hexadecanone), 2-tetradecanone was the only one that attracted male beetles in the field. Combining any of the other seven antennally active compounds with 2-tetradecanone did not increase male capture.     

Analysis of the indoor GPS system as feedback for the robotic alignment of fuselages using laser radar measurements as comparison

The alignment of aircraft fuselages in the aerospace sector is currently done either manually or by complex, expensive automated systems. The manual process introduces a significant production delay and the automated systems are purpose-built and have limited flexibility, apart from its financial drawback. This work proposes a low-cost, high-flexibility system and, as part of it, evaluates the performance of a Rotary-Laser Automatic Theodolite (R-LAT) as a feedback source for the adaptive robot control of an anthropomorphic manipulator. In the proposed solution the robot carries a fuselage barrel and aligns it with respect to a second barrel. A high accuracy, frequency-modulated laser equipment is used to generate the reference system for the procedure. The measurements of the R-LAT are then verified with the frequency-modulated laser equipment in order to determine the linear and angular alignment tolerances achieved by the robot/R-LAT closed loop in a predefined work envelope. A throughout, step-by-step analysis of the measuring procedure is carried out to allow the recognition of error sources and thus the determination of an optimized method. These results identify the operation boundaries of the R-LAT within the process and yield its best configuration for the intended purpose. Using the EN ISO 9283 robot evaluation standard, the closed loop system was found to attain the nominal position with an average accuracy of 0.38 mm and 0.01°, contrasting with an average accuracy of 4.53 mm and 0.21° when the robot was operating in an open loop configuration.     

Mechanistic procedure for parameter determination of multiplicative decomposition based constitutive models

By exploiting the Clausius–Planck local energy dissipation inequality, a large strain, three-dimensional constitutive model has been developed for the monotonic and cyclic response prediction of various asphaltic materials. The model consists of a Zener non-linear, visco-elastic component acting in series with a stress dependent viscous component. A novel computational scheme has been developed for solution of the coupled system of equations expressing the interdependent response of these two in series components. An explicit, mechanistic, parameter determination procedure is presented for the laboratory determination of all necessary model parameters. Examples of model parameter determination and utilisation for prediction of the response of a recycled asphalt mix and a stone mastic asphalt mix are presented.     

Integration for the next generation: embedding force control into industrial robots

In this paper, the interaction control schemes suitable for implementation on industrial robot units are presented. In particular, the focus is on impedance control and parallel control, which are conceived to manage the interaction with a more or less compliant environment without requiring an accurate model thereof. All the considered schemes are based on an inner motion control loop, which can be the usual independent joint control of PID type or an advanced model-based motion control law with superior tracking performance. The inner motion control loop is in charge of tracking the reference trajectory computed by the outer interaction control loop. Special emphasis is given to controlling 6-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) interaction tasks involving the end-effector position and orientation when a contact force and moment are applied.     

Microbial succession during ripening of Naples-type salami, a southern Italian fermented sausage

Studies were carried out on the microbiological and physico-chemical changes which occurred during the ripening of five batches of Naples-type salami, manufactured without starter cultures. Salami were sampled internally and externally, and the following microbial groups were studied: lactic acid bacteria, Micrococcaceae and yeasts. The results obtained indicated that lactobacilli constituted the predominant flora, both on the surface and in the interior of the pieces throughout the ripening period. Micrococcaceae and yeasts were also found in considerable number in both locations. Characterisation of 191 lactic isolates indicated that the salami microflora was dominated by homofermentative lactobacilli; approximately 63% of them could be identified as Lactobacillus sake; 40% showing the traits of a racemase negative variant of this species, once referred to Lactobacillus bavaricus. Yeast population mainly comprised Debaryomyces strains. All the colonies grown on mannitol salt and Kranep agar were catalase-positive cocci; novobiocin-resistant staphylococci were the only Micrococcaceae found. The API Staph identification system did not prove to be reliable: 82% of the isolates remained unidentified. To achieve improved characterisation, cluster analysis was subsequently performed on this group, corroborating the existence of a fairly homogeneous group representing an intermediate variety between Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus saprophyticus that was isolated during the whole ripening process.     

New technologies for relaxation: The role of presence.

In recent years, several publications have appeared on virtual reality (VR) therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders. However, a limited number of these studies targeted stress management and relaxation. To evaluate the efficacy of VR as a support tool in the relaxation process, this study compared its efficacy with two other media (DVD and audiotape). The goals of the experiment were to test the efficacy of each condition in increasing relaxation and reducing anxiety, and whether the sense of presence-the feeling of being inside the media content-correlated with the efficacy of the treatment. Results suggested the importance of the sense of presence as a mediating variable between the media experience and the efficacy of the protocol. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)