Effect of exercise and dietary restraint on energy intake of reduced-obese women

Self-selected food intake of 15 reduced-obese women living in a metabolic ward was studied for 14 consecutive days to determine the effect of exercise and other metabolic and behavioral variables on energy intake. A choice of prepared food items were offered at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a variety of additional food items were available continuously 24 h/day. Subjects performed either moderate intensity aerobic exercise (A-EX) (n = 8) expending 354 +/- 76 kcal/session or low intensity resistance weight training (R-EX)(n =7) expending 96 +/- kcal/session, 5 days/week. Mean energy intakes (kcal/day, +/- SEM) of the exercise groups were similar: 1867 +/- 275 for A-EX, 1889 +/- 294 for R-EX. Mean energy intakes of individuals ranged from 49 to 157% of the predetermined level required for weight maintenance. Resting metabolic rate per kg 0.75 and the Eating Inventory hunger score contributed significantly to the between subject variance in energy intake, whereas exercise energy expenditure did not. Regardless of exercise, eight women consistently restricted their energy intake (undereaters), and seven other consumed excess energy (overeaters). Overeaters were distinguished by higher Eating Inventory disinhibition (P = 0.023) and hunger (p = 0.004) scores. The overeaters' diet had a higher fat content 34 +/- 1% (p = 0.007). Also, overeaters took a larger percentage of their daily energy, than that of undereaters, 27 +/- 1 energy intake in the evening, 13 +/- 2%, compared to undereaters, 7 +/- 1% (p = 0.005). We conclude that the Eating Inventory is useful for identifying reduced-obese women at risk of overeating, and these individuals may benefit from dietary counseling aimed at reducing fat intake and evening snacking.     

Visual Analytics for Exploring Local Impact of Air Traffic

The environmental and noise impact of airports often causes extensive political discussion which in some cases even lead to transnational tensions. Analyzing local approach and departure patterns around an airport is difficult since it depends on a variety of complex variables like weather, local and general regulations and many more. Yet, understanding these movements and the expected amount of flights during arrival and departure is of great interest to both casual and expert users, as planes have a higher impact on the areas beneath during these phases. We present a Visual Analytics framework that enables users to develop an understanding of local flight behavior through visual exploration of historical data and interactive manipulation of prediction models with direct feedback, as well as a classification quality visualization using a random noise metaphor. We showcase our approach using real world data from the Zurich International Airport region, where aircraft noise has led to an ongoing conflict between Germany and Switzerland. The use cases, findings and expert feedback demonstrate how our approach helps in understanding the situation and to substantiate the otherwise often subjective discourse on the topic.     

Density Displays for Data Stream Monitoring

In many business applications, large data workloads such as sales figures or process performance measures need to be monitored in real‐time. The data analysts want to catch problems in flight to reveal the root cause of anomalies. Immediate actions need to be taken before the problems become too expensive or consume too many resources. In the meantime, analysts need to have the “big picture” of what the information is about. In this paper, we derive and analyze two real‐time visualization techniques for managing density displays: (1) circular overlay d isplays which visualize large volumes of data without data shift movements after the display is full, thus freeing the analyst from adjusting the mental picture of the data after each data shift; and (2) variable resolution density displays which allow users to get the entire view without cluttering. We evaluate these techniques with respect to a number of evaluation measures, such as constancy of the display and usage of display space, and compare them to conventional d isplays with periodic shifts. Our real time data monitoring system also provides advanced interactions such as a local root cause analysis for further exploration. The applications using a number of real‐world data sets show the wide applicability and usefulness of our ideas.     

Quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization: an overview and systematization

In this paper, we present a systematization of techniques that use quality metrics to help in the visual exploration of meaningful patterns in high-dimensional data. In a number of recent papers, different quality metrics are proposed to automate the demanding search through large spaces of alternative visualizations (e.g., alternative projections or ordering), allowing the user to concentrate on the most promising visualizations suggested by the quality metrics. Over the last decade, this approach has witnessed a remarkable development but few reflections exist on how these methods are related to each other and how the approach can be developed further. For this purpose, we provide an overview of approaches that use quality metrics in high-dimensional data visualization and propose a systematization based on a thorough literature review. We carefully analyze the papers and derive a set of factors for discriminating the quality metrics, visualization techniques, and the process itself. The process is described through a reworked version of the well-known information visualization pipeline. We demonstrate the usefulness of our model by applying it to several existing approaches that use quality metrics, and we provide reflections on implications of our model for future research.     

Visual data mining in large geospatial point sets

Visual data-mining techniques have proven valuable in exploratory data analysis, and they have strong potential in the exploration of large databases. Detecting interesting local patterns in large data sets is a key research challenge. Particularly challenging today is finding and deploying efficient and scalable visualization strategies for exploring large geospatial data sets. One way is to share ideas from the statistics and machine-learning disciplines with ideas and methods from the information and geo-visualization disciplines. PixelMaps in the Waldo system demonstrates how data mining can be successfully integrated with interactive visualization. The increasing scale and complexity of data analysis problems require tighter integration of interactive geospatial data visualization with statistical data-mining algorithms.     

Overexpression of the PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA is part of the stress response induced by acute pancreatitis in rats

We have previously shown that the acute phase reaction of the pancreas is a powerful emergency mechanism which protects the organism against further pancreatic aggression. In an attempt to understand the mechanisms involved in this protective effect we tried to characterize at the molecular level the phenotypic changes of the pancreatic cell during acute stress. Using a systematic approach, we identified the PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA as strongly overexpressed in pancreas during the acute phase of pancreatitis. PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA is also overexpressed in liver and kidney during acute pancreatitis but not in the other tissues analyzed. In addition, PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA is overexpressed in kidney after a 30-min ischemia. Since acute pancreatitis and kidney ischemia-reperfusion-induced injury were associated with apoptosis, and PC3/TIS21/BTG2 has an antiapoptotic activity, we speculate that this protein may play a role in the control of apoptosis progression in these tissues.     

Design and characterization of the balloon-borne Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS-B2)

MIPAS-B2 is a balloon-borne limb-emission sounder for atmospheric research. The heart of the instrument is a Fourier spectrometer that covers the mid-infrared spectral range (4-14 microns) and operates at cryogenic temperatures. Essential for this application is the sophisticated line-of-sight stabilization system, which is based on an inertial navigation system and is supplemented with an additional star reference system. The major scientific benefit of the instrument is the simultaneous detection of complete trace gas families in the stratosphere without restrictions concerning the time of day and viewing directions. The specifications, the design considerations, the actual realization of the instrument, and the results of characterization measurements that have been performed are described.     

Comparison of Rat Hepatic Cholesterol Biosynthesis During Skim Milk Versus Whey Permeate Ingestion

Whey permeate is an ultrafiltrate of whey that is devoid of protein but contains lactose, salts, and other soluble low molecular weight compounds. These experiments compared cholesterol concentrations of blood plasma, hepatic lipids, and hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis of rats ingesting skim milk powder versus whey permeate powder. Groups of young male rats weighing 90 to 92 g were fed a casein-based diet into which skim milk powder or whey permeate powder was incorporated isocalorically. No effects of skim milk or whey permeate on plasma cholesterol concentrations were observed at any time during 5-wk of feeding. However, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity was increased by either skim milk or whey permeate feeding. Hepatic cholesterol, triglyceride, and phospholipid concentrations at wk 5 were unchanged. Plasma and hepatic cholesterol responses of rats to whey permeate ingestion are similar to those that occur with skim milk consumption, and plasma and hepatic cholesterol concentrations do not reflect necessarily an increase in hepatic cholesterol biosynthesis.     

Petrochemicals: Raw material change from fossil to biomass?

The petrochemical industry, which is based on crude oil and natural gas, competes with the energy providing industry for the same fossil raw material, but uses only 10% of it. This leaves the energy providers in the driver seat and makes the petrochemical industry dependent on them. Dwindling oil and gas reserves, concern regarding the greenhouse effect (carbon dioxide emissions) and worldwide rising energy demand raise the question of the future availability of fossil raw materials. Biomass as a renewable resource appears as an alternative to substitute oil and gas. Current use of biomass for organic chemicals amounts to 10% and is mainly based on sugar, starch, fats and oils (first generation of biomass). The use of these raw materials brings the chemical industry also in competition with nutrition for man and animal. Great interest centers around the use of “non-food-biomass” (lignocellulose), which is available in nearly abundant amounts, but routes for chemical utilizations are lacking. Biotechnological, chemical and engineering solutions are needed for utilization of this second generation bio-renewable based supply chain. One approach consists of the concept of a bio-refinery. Also gasification followed by liquefaction is a promising pathway. Short and medium term a feedstock mix with crude oil and natural gas dominating can most likely be expected. Very long term, due to the final limited availability of oil and gas, biomass will prevail. Prior to this change to occur great research and developments efforts must be carried out to have the necessary technology available when needed.