77 research outputs found

    Traditional Eastern European diet and mortality: prospective evidence from the HAPIEE study

    Get PDF
    PURPOSE: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer mortality rates in Eastern Europe are among the highest in the world. Although diet is an important risk factor, traditional eating habits in this region have not yet been explored. This analysis assessed the relationship between traditional dietary pattern and mortality from all-causes, CVD and cancer in Eastern European cohorts. METHODS: Data from the Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe prospective cohort were used, including participants from Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Based on food frequency questionnaire data, we constructed an Eastern European diet score (EEDS) from nine food groups which can be considered as traditional in this region. The relationship between categorical (low, moderate, high) and continuous (range 0-18) EEDS and mortality was estimated with Cox-regression. RESULTS: From 18,852 eligible participants, 2234 died during follow-up. In multivariable adjusted models, participants with high adherence to the traditional Eastern European diet had significantly higher risk of all-cause (HR 1.23; 95% CI 1.08-1.42) and CVD (1.34; 1.08-1.66) deaths compared to those with low adherence. The association with cancer mortality was only significant in Poland (high vs. low EEDS: 1.41; 1.00-1.98). From the specific EEDS components, high consumption of lard was significantly positively related to all three mortality outcomes, while preserved fruit and vegetable consumption showed consistent inverse associations. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that traditional eating habits may contribute to the poor health status, particularly the high CVD mortality rates, of populations in Eastern Europe. Adequate public health nutritional interventions in this region are essential

    Electrically Sorted Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes-Based Electron Transporting Layers for Perovskite Solar Cells

    Get PDF
    © 2019 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Incorporation of as prepared single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) into the electron transporting layer (ETL) is an effective strategy to enhance the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the fundamental role of the SWCNT electrical types in the PSCs is not well understood. Herein, we prepared semiconducting (s-) and metallic (m-) SWCNT families and integrated them into TiO2 photoelectrodes of the PSCs. Based on experimental and theoretical studies, we found that the electrical type of the nanotubes plays an important role in the devices. In particular, the mixture of s-SWCNTs and m-SWCNTs (2:1 w/w)-based PSCs exhibited a remarkable efficiency of up to 19.35%, which was significantly higher than that of the best control cell (17.04%). In this class of PSCs, semiconducting properties of s-SWCNTs play a critical role in extracting and transporting electrons, whereas m-SWCNTs provide high conductance throughout the electrode

    Transcription restores DNA repair to heterochromatin, determining regional mutation rates in cancer genomes

    Get PDF
    SummarySomatic mutations in cancer are more frequent in heterochromatic and late-replicating regions of the genome. We report that regional disparities in mutation density are virtually abolished within transcriptionally silent genomic regions of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) arising in an XPC−/− background. XPC−/− cells lack global genome nucleotide excision repair (GG-NER), thus establishing differential access of DNA repair machinery within chromatin-rich regions of the genome as the primary cause for the regional disparity. Strikingly, we find that increasing levels of transcription reduce mutation prevalence on both strands of gene bodies embedded within H3K9me3-dense regions, and only to those levels observed in H3K9me3-sparse regions, also in an XPC-dependent manner. Therefore, transcription appears to reduce mutation prevalence specifically by relieving the constraints imposed by chromatin structure on DNA repair. We model this relationship among transcription, chromatin state, and DNA repair, revealing a new, personalized determinant of cancer risk

    Students' learning approaches at medical schools applying different curricula in Turkey

    No full text
    Objective: To investigate the learning approaches of undergraduate students at different medical schools applying different curricula in Turkey Design: Comparative study Setting: Three medical schools applying different curricula, namely, Hybrid (Akdeniz University), Integrated (Ege University) and Problem Based Learning (Pamukkale University) Subjects: All Year I and Year II students (n = 1038) at these three schools were invited to participate. Interventions: The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire was chosen to reveal learning approaches. Another questionnaire was established in order to see any association between learning approaches and demographic characteristics. Statistical analyses were done by using SPSS for PC 13.0. Chi-square test was used for the analysis of the data. Main Outcome Measures: Learning approaches, gender, living area, parents' graduation and high school characteristics of all students Results: Nine hundred and sixty six out of 1038 (93%) students filled out the questionnaires. More participants in Year I had approached their learning activities more deeply than those in Year II (χ2 = 16.417, p = 0.00). Only at the medical school applying Problem Based Learning, more participants in Year II had a deep approach than those in Year I (χ2 = 9.983, p = 0.00 for Year I and χ2 = 16.263, p = 0.00 for Year II). No association between demographic characteristics except gender and learning approaches was found. Conclusions: Application of Problem Based Learning curriculum may be more helpful in developing a deep learning approach than a Hybrid or Integrated curricula. Measurement of learning approaches at later years will provide stronger evidence
    corecore