Endocrine disruptors and obesity: a current review on environmental obesogens

Obesity represents an important public health concern because it substantially increases the risk of multiple chronic diseases and thereby contributing to a decline in both quality of life and life expectancy. Besides unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and genetic susceptibility, environmental pollutants also contribute to the rising prevalence of obesity epidemic. An environmental obesogen is defined as a chemical that can alter lipid homeostasis to promote adipogenesis and lipid accumulation whereas an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) is defined as a synthetic chemical that can interfere with the endocrine function and cause adverse health effects. Many obesogens are EDCs that interfere with normal endocrine regulation of metabolism, adipose tissue development and maintenance, appetite, weight, and energy balance. An expanding body of scientific evidence from animal and epidemiological studies has begun to provide links between exposure to EDCs and obesity. Despite the significance of environmental obesogens in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases, the contribution of synthetic chemical exposure to obesity epidemic remains largely unrecognised. Hence, the purpose of this review is to provide a current update on the evidences from animal and human studies on the role of fourteen environmental obesogens in obesity, a comprehensive view of the mechanisms of action of obesogens and current green and sustainable chemistry strategies to overcome chemical exposure to prevent obesity. Designing of safer version of obesogens through green chemistry approaches requires a collaborative undertaking to evaluate the toxicity of endocrine disruptors using appropriate experimental methods, which will help in developing a new generation of inherently safer chemicals

The Future Landscape of High-Redshift Galaxy Cluster Science

Large scale structure and cosmolog

Photogrammetric monitoring of an artificially generated landslide

According to pre-planned schedules, a series of two artificial rainfall events were applied to a forested slope in Ruedlingen, northern Switzerland. The experiments were conducted in autumn 2008 and spring 2009, the second of which resulted in mobilising about 130 m3 of debris. Both experiments were monitored by a photogrammetric camera network in order to quantify spatial and temporal changes. A 4-camera arrangement was used for the image acquisition. The cameras operated at a data acquisition rate of circa 8 frames per second (fps). Image measurements were made using the Least Squares image matching method, which was implemented in an in-house developed software package (BAAP) to compute 3D coordinates of the target points. The surface deformation was quantified by tracking the small (ping-pong and tennis) balls pegged into the ground. The average 3D point-positioning precision of ±1.6 cm was achieved in the first experiment and ±1.8 cm in the second experiment.This research was funded by the Competence Centre for Environment and Sustainability (CCES) within the framework of the TRAMM-Project. Marco Sperl, Stefan Moser, Ernst Bleiker, Felix Wietlisbach and Peter Kienzler, have kindly contributed to this work. We are grateful to the Gemeinde of Ruedlingen and their President Mrs. Katy Leutenegger for giving permission to carry out this experiment on their land.Publisher's Versio

Applied Geomatics, ISSN: 1866-9298 (print version) ISSN: 1866-928X (electronic version)

Scientific and technical advances in the geomatic sciences AG covers many research fields, including: remote sensing, close range and videometric photogrammetry, image analysis, digital mapping, land and geographic information systems, geographic information science, integrated geodesy, spatial data analysis, heritage recording; network adjustment and numerical processes. It also features articles from all areas of deformation measurements and analysis, structural engineering, mechanical engineering and all trends in earth and planetary survey science and space technology. In addition, the journal contains notices of conferences and international workshops, industry news, and information on new products

The Future Landscape of High-Redshift Galaxy Cluster Science

The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2020) of the US National Academies of ScienceWe describe the opportunities for galaxy cluster science in the high- redshift regime where massive, virialized halos first formed and where star formation and AGN activity peaked. New observing facilities from radio to X-ray wavelengths, combining high spatial/spectral resolution with large collecting areas, are poised to uncover this population

The Future Landscape of High-Redshift Galaxy Cluster Science

The Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics (Astro2020) of the US National Academies of ScienceWe describe the opportunities for galaxy cluster science in the high- redshift regime where massive, virialized halos first formed and where star formation and AGN activity peaked. New observing facilities from radio to X-ray wavelengths, combining high spatial/spectral resolution with large collecting areas, are poised to uncover this population