Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Derivation of simple muscle fatigue index for biceps muscle based on surface electromyography temporal characteristics

Biceps brachii muscle which attached to the forearm bone is one of the important muscles to the athletes who involve in sports like badminton, tennis and volleyball. Repetition of the arm such as throwing and hitting can lead to muscle fatigue. This physiological phenomenon needs to be monitored and well controlled especially in athletes training. The purpose of this study was to formulate a simple muscle fatigue index for the biceps brachii muscles. Ten male badminton players were chosen to be the subjects for this study. Each subject was asked to do dynamic contraction by lifting 5 kilogram dumbbell. This exercise is called biceps curl exercise and the subjects were asked to repeat the task for one minute and thirty seconds. The electromyogram signal was recorded using Neuroprax EEG device. For that purpose, monopolar surface electrodes were attached to the biceps muscle of the subject. The electromyogram signals were then processed using MATLAB software. Four parameters in time domain were extracted; Zero Crossings (ZC), Root Mean Square (RMS), Mean Absolute Value (MAV), and Variance (VAR). Except for zero crossings (ZC), all other parameters showed significant difference between fatigue signal and non-fatigue signal (p-value < 0.001). RMS was found to correlate very well with MAV (0.999). The study concludes that several temporal characteristics from electromyogram signal could be used in the formulation of biceps muscle fatigue index, supporting its use in monitoring muscle endurance

Design of mixed bow-tie and ice-cream cone antenna at 120 GHz for millimeter wave application

In this paper, an analysis was done by combining two separate antenna design into one which is the Bow-Tie design and the Ice-Cream cone design. This antenna was designed to operate at 120 GHz for millimetre wave application via CST Microwave Studio Simulation Software. An investigation was done on the antenna return loss and radiation efficiency to the new combined design. This antenna was designed on an Alumina substrate with a dielectric constant 8.8. The proposed antenna shows improvement in the radiation efficiency and the ability to operate at high frequency. Results of the simulation and the antenna design are presented as well

Thrombotic and hemorrhagic complications of COVID-19 in adults hospitalized in high-income countries compared with those in adults hospitalized in low- and middle-income countries in an international registry

Background: COVID-19 has been associated with a broad range of thromboembolic, ischemic, and hemorrhagic complications (coagulopathy complications). Most studies have focused on patients with severe disease from high-income countries (HICs). Objectives: The main aims were to compare the frequency of coagulopathy complications in developing countries (low- and middle-income countries [LMICs]) with those in HICs, delineate the frequency across a range of treatment levels, and determine associations with in-hospital mortality. Methods: Adult patients enrolled in an observational, multinational registry, the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infections COVID-19 study, between January 1, 2020, and September 15, 2021, met inclusion criteria, including admission to a hospital for laboratory-confirmed, acute COVID-19 and data on complications and survival. The advanced-treatment cohort received care, such as admission to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, or inotropes or vasopressors; the basic-treatment cohort did not receive any of these interventions. Results: The study population included 495,682 patients from 52 countries, with 63% from LMICs and 85% in the basic treatment cohort. The frequency of coagulopathy complications was higher in HICs (0.76%-3.4%) than in LMICs (0.09%-1.22%). Complications were more frequent in the advanced-treatment cohort than in the basic-treatment cohort. Coagulopathy complications were associated with increased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.52-1.64). The increased mortality associated with these complications was higher in LMICs (58.5%) than in HICs (35.4%). After controlling for coagulopathy complications, treatment intensity, and multiple other factors, the mortality was higher among patients in LMICs than among patients in HICs (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.39-1.51). Conclusion: In a large, international registry of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, coagulopathy complications were more frequent in HICs than in LMICs (developing countries). Increased mortality associated with coagulopathy complications was of a greater magnitude among patients in LMICs. Additional research is needed regarding timely diagnosis of and intervention for coagulation derangements associated with COVID-19, particularly for limited-resource settings