316 research outputs found
Exercise Improves Vascular Dilator Reactivity in Chronically Stressed Rats with Pre-existing Metabolic Syndrome
Please refer to the pdf version of the abstract located adjacent to the title
Exercise as a Treatment for Peripheral Vascular Dysfunction Caused by Metabolic Syndrome and Depression
Please refer to the pdf version of the abstract located adjacent to the title
Socio-cultural, environmental and behavioural determinants of obesity in black South African women
South Africa (SA) is undergoing a rapid epidemiological
transition and has the highest prevalence of obesity in sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA), with black women being the most
affected (obesity prevalence 31.8%). Although genetic factors
are important, socio-cultural, environmental and behavioural
factors, as well as the influence of socio-economic status,
more likely explain the high prevalence of obesity in black
SA women. This review examines these determinants in black
SA women, and compares them to their white counterparts,
black SA men, and where appropriate, to women from SSA.
Specifically this review focuses on environmental factors
influencing obesity, the influence of urbanisation, as well
as the interaction with socio-cultural and socio-economic
factors. In addition, the role of maternal and early life factors
and cultural aspects relating to body image are discussed.
This information can be used to guide public health interventions
aimed at reducing obesity in black SA women.Department of HE and Training approved lis
Determination of total x-ray absorption coefficient using non-resonant x-ray emission
An alternative measure of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) called inverse partial fluorescence yield (IPFY) has recently been developed that is both bulk sensitive and free of saturation effects. Here we show that the angle dependence of IPFY can provide a measure directly proportional to the total x-ray absorption coefficient, µ(E). In contrast, fluorescence yield (FY) and electron yield (EY) spectra are offset and/or distorted from µ(E) by an unknown and difficult to measure amount. Moreover, our measurement can determine µ(E) in absolute units with no free parameters by scaling to µ(E) at the non-resonant emission energy. We demonstrate this technique with measurements on NiO and NdGaO3. Determining µ(E) across edge-steps enables the use of XAS as a non-destructive measure of material composition. In NdGaO3, we also demonstrate the utility of IPFY for insulating samples, where neither EY or FY provide reliable spectra due to sample charging and self-absorption effects, respectively
First measurement of kaonic helium-3 X-rays
The first observation of the kaonic 3He 3d - 2p transition was made using
slow K- mesons stopped in a gaseous 3He target. The kaonic atom X-rays were
detected with large-area silicon drift detectors using the timing information
of the K+K- pairs of phi-meson decays produced by the DAFNE e+e- collider. The
strong interaction shift of the kaonic 3He 2p state was determined to be -2+-2
(stat)+-4 (syst) eV.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.
Candidate chiral twin bands in the odd-odd nucleus 132 Cs : Exploring the limits of chirality in the mass A ≈ 130 region
High-spin states in the doubly odd nucleus have been studied. The known positive-parity structures have been extended. \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray linear-polarization and angular-correlation measurements have been performed to establish the spin and parity assignment of these structures. A new chiral partner of the \ensuremath{\pi}{h}_{11/2}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}\ensuremath{\nu}{h}_{11/2} band has been proposed. Three-dimensional tilted axis cranking model calculations have been performed and compared with the experimental results
Significance of herpesvirus immediate early gene expression in cellular immunity to cytomegalovirus infection
Interstitial pneumonia linked with reactivation of latent human cytomegalovirus due to iatrogenic immunosuppression can be a serious complication of bone marrow transplantation therapy of aplastic anaemia and acute leukaemia1. Cellular immunity plays a critical role in the immune surveillance of inapparent cytomegalovirus infections in man and the mouse1−7. The molecular basis of latency, however, and the interaction between latently or recurrently infected cells and the immune system of the host are poorfy understood. We have detected a so far unknown antigen in the mouse model. This antigen is found in infected cells in association with the expression of the herpesvirus 'immediate early' genes and is recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL)8. We now demonstrate that an unexpectedly high proportion of the CTL precursors generated in vivo during acute murine cytomegalovirus infection are specific for cells that selectively synthesize immediate early proteins, indicating an immunodominant role of viral non-structural proteins
On the Dynamical Overstability of Radiative Blast Waves: The Atomic Physics of Shock Stability
Atomic physics calculations of radiative cooling are used to calculate
criteria for the overstability of radiating shocks. Our calculations explain
the measurement of shock overstability by Grun et al. and explain why the
overstability was not observed in other experiments. The methodology described
here can be especially useful in astrophysical situations where the relevant
properties leading to an overstability can be measured spectroscopically, but
the effective adiabatic index is harder to determine.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical
Review Letter
Public health professionals' perceptions toward provision of health protection in England: a survey of expectations of Primary Care Trusts and Health Protection Units in the delivery of health protection
BACKGROUND: Effective health protection requires systematised responses with clear accountabilities. In England, Primary Care Trusts and the Health Protection Agency both have statutory responsibilities for health protection. A Memorandum of Understanding identifies responsibilities of both parties, but there is a potential lack of clarity about responsibility for specific health protection functions. We aimed to investigate professionals' perceptions of responsibility for different health protection functions, to inform future guidance for, and organisation of, health protection in England. METHODS: We sent a postal questionnaire to all health protection professionals in England from the following groups: (a) Directors of Public Health in Primary Care Trusts; (b) Directors of Health Protection Units within the Health Protection Agency; (c) Directors of Public Health in Strategic Health Authorities and; (d) Regional Directors of the Health Protection Agency RESULTS: The response rate exceeded 70%. Variations in perceptions of who should be, and who is, delivering health protection functions were observed within, and between, the professional groups (a)-(d). Concordance in views of which organisation should, and which does deliver was high (≥90%) for 6 of 18 health protection functions, but much lower (≤80%) for 6 other functions, including managing the implications of a case of meningitis out of hours, of landfill environmental contamination, vaccination in response to mumps outbreaks, nursing home infection control, monitoring sexually transmitted infections and immunisation training for primary care staff. The proportion of respondents reporting that they felt confident most or all of the time in the safe delivery of a health protection function was strongly correlated with the concordance (r = 0.65, P = 0.0038). CONCLUSION: Whilst we studied professionals' perceptions, rather than actual responses to incidents, our study suggests that there are important areas of health protection where consistent understanding of responsibility for delivery is lacking. There are opportunities to clarify the responsibility for health protection in England, perhaps learning from the approaches used for those health protection functions where we found consistent perceptions of accountability
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