Role of diet on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: An updated narrative review

© 2015 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. The purpose of this article review is to update what is known about the role of diet on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the developed world and is considered to be a spectrum, ranging from fatty infiltration of the liver alone (steatosis), which may lead to fatty infiltration with inflammation known as non alcoholic steatohepatitis While the majority of individuals with risk factors like obesity and insulin resistance have steatosis, only few people may develop steatohepatitis. Current treatment relies on weight loss and exercise, although various insulin-sensitizing medications appear promising. Weight loss alone by dietary changes has been shown to lead to histological improvement in fatty liver making nutrition therapy to become a cornerstone of treatment for NAFLD. Supplementation of vitamin E, C and omega 3 fatty acids are under consideration with some conflicting data. Moreover, research has been showed that saturated fat, trans-fatty acid, carbohydrate, and simple sugars (fructose and sucrose) may play significant role in the intrahepatic fat accumulation. However, true associations with specific nutrients yet to be clarified

Integration of Healthy Eating Habits and Physical Activity through Nutrition Care Process to Tackle the Obesity Epidemic: A Narrative Review of the Evidence

Background: Obesity is a rising global health problem which is already at epidemic proportions. Effective methods of treatment are required and should be imparted by efficient means to dietitians and other health professionals dealing with weight management. Research shows that behavioral modification techniques are the most effective way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight compared to diet and physical activity alone.  Aim: This narrative review focusses on diet and physical activity behavioral modification techniques to promote effective weight management for sedentary and active adults using the Nutrition Care Process (NCP).  Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Science Direct, Web of Science and Pro-Quest databases were searched for relevant articles.   Results: A healthy eating habit is one of the contributing factors to improved health. Physical activities also help improve and maintain one’s health. This article discusses the importance of eating habits and physical activities among school students. In addition, health issues related to eating habits and the practice of physical activities are also highlighted. Overall, the results revealed that healthy eating habits and regular physical activities help in maintaining good health. Conclusion: NCP is a systematic approach to provide high-quality nutrition care. Using the NCP does not mean that all clients get the same care. Use of a care process provides a framework for the dietitian to individualize care, taking into account clients’ needs and values, and using the best evidence available to make decisions. Keywords:  obesity, weight control, physical activity, nutrition knowledge, eating habits, nutrition care proces

LiBH4 as candidate solid state electrolyte in Li-ion batteries

Electrical Energy Storage (EES) systems aspire to store the power network’s energy and provide it back when necessary, eliminating the discrepancies between demand and supply. During the last decade, lithium-ion batteries have been established as an important pillar in humanity’s effort, not only to produce “cleaner power” but, also, to develop a safe, environmentally friendly and low-cost set of methods and technologies for storing the produced power. They are -by far- the most common medium for storing energy, at a small scale (e.g. portable electronics), as one of their numerous advantages is the fact that they can be used in conjunction with many different installations of the existing grid’s infrastructure. Focusing, mainly, on the mechanisms that apply in the solid-state, Li-ion conduction in Li-ion batteries takes place due to the defects existing in their crystalline solid components. Today, concerns that relate to safety, cost, charge/discharge rates, cycle life and energy density of Li-ion batteries have risen questions which need to be answered. During the last two decades, high-end research has been conducted aiming to address the challenges and limitations of lithium metal batteries (LMBs) presented previously. The ongoing efforts focus on the suppression of lithium dendritic growth, either through the use of solid electrolytes that act as mechanical barriers, or through development of electrolytes which produce a suitable passivation layer, widely known as the “solid-electrolyte interphase” (SEI). Nowadays, safety concerns have led to the extensive use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), rather than LMBs, as no entirely successful strategy has been developed to suspend the growth of dendrites. Complex hydrides are among the most promising candidate materials for use as solid-state electrolytes. As the demand for energy storage systems that are compact, lightweight, and powerful continues to grow, mainly due to the worldwide proliferation of portable electronic devices. Sodium, lithium and boron are the lightest elements that can form solid-state compounds with hydrogen, such as LiBH4. Researchers’ interest into the properties of lithium borohydride (LiBH4) first arose due to indications that it could function as a promising hydrogen storage material. Following its extensive study as a hydrogen storage material, LiBH4 has drawn interest as a potential electrolyte for solid-state batteries. This was proposed by the discovery that LiBH4 undergoes a structural transition from its orthorhombic, low temperature (LT-) phase to a hexagonal, high temperature (HT-) phase at 380 K. Following the stabilisation of the HT-phase at room temperature (RT), attempts have been made to synthesise sodium-substituted lithium borohydride but, previous work has suggested that a direct reaction between LiBH4 and NaBH4 is not possible. This project had been focused on the stabilisation of the high pressure (HP-) phase of LiBH4 at RT. Our efforts have been successful in the investigation of the most simple and efficient way to synthesise, stabilise and characterise the ion conducting, HP-phase of LiBH4

Classroom behavior management practices in kindergarten classrooms: An observation study.

The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the types of management practices that teachers use when disturbing behaviors occur in their classrooms. Teachers and children were observed in 14 kindergartens during daily classroom activities. Data was collected through the use of observation checklists, documents, and teacher’s short interviews.  The present study distinguishes the classroom management practices into two broad categories: positive non - punitive practices and negative punitive practices. The results showed that teachers combine most of the non - punitive practices such as, establishing and re-establishing rules, encouraging children to be responsible, promoting students to discuss a topic involving behavior, emotions or situations of concern, etc.,  with punitive practices such as verbal reprimand, intervention by yelling etc. Research has yielded important information that has practical implications for the improvement of classroom behavior management practices

Syntactic and Story Structure Complexity in the Narratives of High- and Low-Language Ability Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Although language impairment is commonly associated with the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the Diagnostic Statistical Manual no longer includes language impairment as a necessary component of an ASD diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, children with ASD and no comorbid intellectual disability struggle with some aspects of language whose precise nature is still outstanding. Narratives have been extensively used as a tool to examine lexical and syntactic abilities, as well as pragmatic skills in children with ASD. This study contributes to this literature by investigating the narrative skills of 30 Greek-speaking children with ASD and normal non-verbal IQ, 16 with language skills in the upper end of the normal range (ASD-HL), and 14 in the lower end of the normal range (ASD-LL). The control group consisted of 15 age-matched typically-developing (TD) children. Narrative performance was measured in terms of both microstructural and macrostructural properties. Microstructural properties included lexical and syntactic measures of complexity such as subordinate vs. coordinate clauses and types of subordinate clauses. Macrostructure was measured in terms of the diversity in the use of internal state terms (ISTs) and story structure complexity, i.e., children's ability to produce important units of information that involve the setting, characters, events, and outcomes of the story, as well as the characters' thoughts and feelings. The findings demonstrate that high language ability and syntactic complexity pattern together in ASD children's narrative performance and that language ability compensates for autistic children's pragmatic deficit associated with the production of Theory of Mind-related ISTs. Nevertheless, both groups of children with ASD (high and low language ability) scored lower than the TD controls in the production of Theory of Mind-unrelated ISTs, modifier clauses and story structure complexity

Bullying and victimization in children with special educational needs: implications for inclusive practices

Bullying has been recognized as a widespread, persistent and serious problem occurring in schools across different national contexts. Despite the surge of interest in bullying in recent years, much of the research has focused on its multiple facets and characteristics among non-disabled students, while little is known about its incidence and dimensions in the population of students receiving special education support provision. It is well-known that schooling has generally been constructed and operates around the notions of normalization and homogeneity and children’s diversity often generates discriminating responses contributing to exclusionary educational experiences. In the light of above, the present study aims at exploring the extent and different types of bullying and victimization among Greek students receiving special education support provision. The sample of the study consisted of 173 students attending 5th and 6th primary school grades and participating in pull-out special education delivery programs operating within mainstream schools. According to the findings, participants were actively involved in both bullying and victimization with higher rates in victimization. Bullying was mainly related to physical aggressiveness, humiliating and racist behaviors towards others and social isolation from peers, while victimization included destruction of personal belongings attacked. Statistically significant differences were identified between girls and boys over the different types of bullying and victimization getting involved in, with girls experiencing mostly social isolation and manipulation from others and boys displaying aggressiveness towards others and attacking peers. Statistically significant differences were also found in physical bullying between children receiving more than 12 hours a week special education support and the rest. Children with developmental disabilities tended to use more indirect methods of bullying such as social exclusion more often than children with learning difficulties and children with learning difficulties combined with socio-emotional behavioral disorders. Overall bullying behavior was found to be predicted by presence of playmates during playtime and victimization by absence of playmates during break and limited number of friends in class. The implications of the study for developing school-based inclusive responses to students with SENs, are also discussed. - O bullying tem sido reconhecido como um problema generalizado, persistente e grave que ocorre nas escolas em diferentes contextos nacionais. Apesar da onda de interesse nos comportamentos de bullying ao longo dos últimos anos, grande parte da pesquisa concentrou-se nas suas múltiplas facetas e características entre os estudantes sem deficiência, pouco se sabendo sobre a incidência e dimensões no seio da população estudantil com necessidades educativas especiais. É sabido que a escolaridade tem sido geralmente orientada e opera em função das noções de normalização e de homogeneidade, sendo que a diversidade das crianças gera, muitas vezes, atitudes discriminatórias que contribuem para experiências de exclusão educativa. À luz do exposto, o presente estudo tem por objectivo explorar a extensão e diferentes tipos de bullying e vitimização entre estudantes gregos que recebem apoio ao nível da educação especial. A amostra do estudo foi constituída por 173 alunos do 5 º e 6 º anos do ensino básico que participam em programas de educação especial em funcionamento no seio de escolas regulares. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, verificou-se que os alunos da amostra se encontravam activamente envolvidos em comportamentos de bullying e vitimização, com índices de envolvimento mais elevados de vitimização. O bullying encontrou-se fundamentalmente relacionado aos comportamentos agressivos físicos, comportamentos racistas e de humilhação para com os outros e isolamento social dos seus pares, enquanto a vitimização incluiu a destruição de pertences pessoais e ser atacado. Diferenças estatisticamente significativas foram identificadas entre raparigas e rapazes relativamente aos diferentes tipos de comportamentos de bullying e vitimização em que se envolveram, sendo que as raparigas vivenciaram maioritariamente o isolamento social e a manipulação de outros, e os rapazes exibindo maioritariamente comportamentos de agressividade para com os outros e ataques aos colegas. Diferenças estatisticamente significativas foram também encontradas relativamente aos comportamentos de bullying entre crianças que recebem mais de 12 horas semanais de apoio no ensino especial. Crianças com deficiências de desenvolvimento tendem a usar métodos mais indirectos de bullying, como a exclusão social, mais frequentemente do que crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem e do que as crianças com dificuldades de aprendizagem combinadas com distúrbios sócio-emocionais e comportamentais. No geral confirmou-se, como factor preditor da ocorrência de comportamentos de bullying, a presença dos colegas durante o recreio, e como factor preditor da vitimização a falta de companheiros durante o intervalo e o número limitado de amigos na sala de aula. As implicações do estudo para o desenvolvimento de respostas baseadas na escola inclusiva para alunos com necessidades educativas especiais, também são discutidas

Obese Children with Metabolic Syndrome Have 3 Times Higher Risk to Have Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Compared with Those without Metabolic Syndrome

Copyright © 2017 Dimitrios Papandreou et al. Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MS) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children. One hundred and twenty-five subjects aged 11-12 years old participated in the study. Methods: Anthropometric and biochemical indices were measured, including lipid and liver profile, blood glucose, serum insulin, and liver ultrasound. Results: Forty-four children (58.6%) were found to have MS. Insulin resistance was present in 78 (62.4%) children. Patients with MS were more likely to have NAFLD (P \u3c; 0.001). Children with NAFLD had significantly higher body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, fasting insulin, and lower high-density lipoprotein compared to patients with normal livers (P \u3c 0.001). Insulin resistance was significantly higher in children with NAFLD (P \u3c; 0.001). Obese children presenting with MS were 3.01 (2.87-3.57, P \u3c 0.002) times more likely to develop NAFLD compared to those without metabolic syndrome after adjustment of cofounders. Conclusions: Obese children with MS have a higher risk of developing NAFLD. Weight management and early prevention should be the first line of treatment to prevent any possible health issues later on

Electroforming in the Industry 4.0 era

In the Industry 4.0 Era big data and automation will require precise knowledge that allows one to control, monitor and predict a process. Electroforming, which is the fabrication of free-standing components using electrodeposition, is rapidly gaining acceptance as a sustainable additive manufacturing technology. However, current knowledge of electroforming is based on empirical data, and academic engagement in this area has been limited. This paper throws light on some of the complex issues surrounding the electrochemical and chemical behaviour during electroforming which are yet unresolved. The differences between cathodic reactions in sulphamates and sulphates, ambiguities related to the role of boric acid, and paucity of data on anode reactions are highlighted

Considerations for digitalisation of nickel electroforming

This paper is a ‘follow-on’ from a paper previously published in this journal dealing with the laboratory to pilot scaling up approach using Industry 4.0 manufacturing methods. In particular, the paper reports a strategy for developing a model for the electroforming of nickel from a sulphamate electrolyte at laboratory scale which could subsequently provide an educated approach for transferring the process to a larger scale. At the laboratory scale, a rotating disc electrode assembly was used, which is a standard instrument to determine electrochemical parameters. Thereafter, small scale nickel discs were electroplated using this equipment, and a model of this process was developed and validated against those experimental results. These parameters were then used to actually produce electroforms in a prototype, 18 L tank system. Cross-validation between practical experiments and simulations followed which allowed for fine-tuning the model until it was consistently predicting the real process results within an acceptable error. Overall, it was found that a secondary current distribution model could be used for reasonably accurate description for the electroforming process, and could provide a quick virtual tool at a production facility