728 research outputs found
Canadian Physicians' Use of Antiobesity Drugs and Their Referral Patterns to Weight Management Programs or Providers: The SOCCER Study
Antiobesity pharmacotherapy and programs/providers that possess weight management expertise are not commonly used by physicians. The underlying reasons for this are not known. We performed a cross-sectional study in 33 Canadian medical practices (36 physicians) examining 1788 overweight/obese adult patients. The frequency of pharmacotherapy use and referral for further diet, exercise, behavioral management and/or bariatric surgery was documented. If drug treatment or referral was not made, reasons were documented by choosing amongst preselected categories. Logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of antiobesity drug use. No single antiobesity management strategy was recommended by physicians in more than 50% of patients. Referral was most common for exercise (49% of cases) followed by dietary advice (46%), and only 5% of eligible patients were referred for bariatric surgery. Significant predictors of initiating/continuing pharmacotherapy were male sex (OR 0.70; 95% CI 0.52â0.94), increasing BMI (1.02; 95% CI 1.01â1.03), and private drug coverage (1.78; 95% CI 1.39â2.29). âNot consideredâ and âpatient refusalâ were the main reasons for not initiating further weight management. We conclude that both physician and patient factors act as barriers to the use of weight management strategies and both need to be addressed to increase uptake of these interventions
Zeolite-based photocatalysts immobilized on aluminum support by plasma electrolytic oxidation
The preparation and properties of zeolite-containing oxide coatings obtained
by plasma electrolytic oxidation are investigated and discussed. Pure and
Ce-exchanged natural (clinoptilolite) and synthetic (13X) zeolites are
immobilized on aluminum support from silicate-based electrolyte. Obtained
coatings are characterized with respect to their morphology, phase and chemical
composition, photocatalytic activity and anti-corrosion properties. It is
observed that all mentioned properties of obtained coatings are dependent on
processing time and type of immobilized zeolite. Coatings with Ce-exchanged
zeolite show higher photocatalytic activity and more effective corrosion
protection than those with pure zeolite. The highest photocatalytic activity is
observed for coatings processed in pulsed a DC regime for 30 minutes containing
Ce-exchanged 13X zeolite, followed by those containing Ce-exchanged
clinoptilolite. Pronounced anti-corrosion properties feature almost all samples
containing Ce-exchanged 13X zeolite
NA60 results on thermal dimuons
The NA60 experiment at the CERN SPS has measured muon pairs with
unprecedented precision in 158A GeV In-In collisions. A strong excess of pairs
above the known sources is observed in the whole mass region 0.2<M<2.6 GeV. The
mass spectrum for M<1 GeV is consistent with a dominant contribution from
pi+pi- -> rho -> mu+mu- annihilation. The associated rho spectral function
shows a strong broadening, but essentially no shift in mass. For M>1 GeV, the
excess is found to be prompt, not due to enhanced charm production, with
pronounced differences to Drell-Yan pairs. The slope parameter Teff associated
with the transverse momentum spectra rises with mass up to the rho, followed by
a sudden decline above. The rise for M<1 GeV is consistent with radial flow of
a hadronic emission source. The seeming absence of significant flow for M>1 GeV
and its relation to parton-hadron duality is discussed in detail, suggesting a
dominantly partonic emission source in this region. A comparison of the data to
the present status of theoretical modeling is also contained. The accumulated
empirical evidence, including also a Planck-like shape of the mass spectra at
low pT and the lack of polarization, is consistent with a global interpretation
of the excess dimuons as thermal radiation. We conclude with first results on
omega in-medium effects.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Low field hysteresis in disordered ferromagnets
We analyze low field hysteresis close to the demagnetized state in disordered
ferromagnets using the zero temperature random-field Ising model. We solve the
demagnetization process exactly in one dimension and derive the Rayleigh law of
hysteresis. The initial susceptibility a and the hysteretic coefficient b
display a peak as a function of the disorder width. This behavior is confirmed
by numerical simulations d=2,3 showing that in limit of weak disorder
demagnetization is not possible and the Rayleigh law is not defined. These
results are in agreement with experimental observations on nanocrystalline
magnetic materials.Comment: Extended version, 18 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Properties of ZnO/ZnAlO composite PEO coatings on zinc
Recently the successful formation of PEO coatings on zinc in a phosphate
aluminate electrolyte was shown. The produced composite coatings contain
various mixtures of ZnO and ZnAlO. In frame of the current study, the
properties of the formed coatings including adhesion/cohesion, wear, corrosion
and photocatalytic activity were analysed to identify possible applications.
However, the coatings show internal porosity and a sponge-like structure. Thus
the cohesion within the coating is quite low. Pull-off tests have demonstrated
clear rupture within the PEO layer at strength values as low as 1 MPa. The
photocatalytic activity is limited, in spite of the formation of a higher
amount of ZnO at shorter treatment times. Interestingly, the composite coatings
of ZnO and higher amounts of ZnAlO spinel showed a higher activity, but
not sufficient for fast and effective catalytic cleaning applications
NA60 results on spectra and the spectral function in In-In collisions
The NA60 experiment at the CERN SPS has studied low-mass muon pairs in 158
AGeV In-In collisions. A strong excess of pairs is observed above the yield
expected from neutral meson decays. The unprecedented sample size of close to
400K events and the good mass resolution of about 2% have made it possible to
isolate the excess by subtraction of the decay sources (keeping the ).
The shape of the resulting mass spectrum exhibits considerable broadening, but
essentially no shift in mass. The acceptance-corrected transverse-momentum
spectra have a shape atypical for radial flow and show a significant mass
dependence, pointing to different sources in different mass regions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Quark Matter 2006 conference proceeding
Multivalued SK-contractions with respect to b-generalized pseudodistances
A new class of multivalued non-self-mappings, called SK-contractions with respect to
b-generalized pseudodistances, is introduced and used to investigate the existence of
best proximity points by using an appropriate geometric property. Some new fixed
point results in b-metric spaces are also obtained. Examples are given to support the
usability of our main result
Non-Markovian stochastic description of quantum transport in photosynthetic systems
We analyze several aspects of the transport dynamics in the LH1-RC core of
purple bacteria, which consists basically in a ring of antenna molecules that
transport the energy into a target molecule, the reaction center, placed in the
center of the ring. We show that the periodicity of the system plays an
important role to explain the relevance of the initial state in the transport
efficiency. This picture is modified, and the transport enhanced for any
initial state, when considering that molecules have different energies, and
when including their interaction with the environment. We study this last
situation by using stochastic Schr{\"o}dinger equations, both for Markovian and
non-Markovian type of interactions.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure
GSTM1 Modulates Expression of Endothelial Adhesion Molecules in Uremic Milieu
Deletion polymorphism of glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1), a phase II detoxification and antioxidant enzyme, increases susceptibility to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as well as the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among ESRD patients and leads to their shorter cardiovascular survival. The mechanisms by which GSTM1 downregulation contributes to oxidative stress and inflammation in endothelial cells in uremic conditions have not been investigated so far. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to elucidate the effects of GSTM1 knockdown on oxidative stress and expression of a panel of inflammatory markers in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) exposed to uremic serum. Additionally, we aimed to discern whether GSTM1-null genotype is associated with serum levels of adhesion molecules in ESRD patients. HUVECs treated with uremic serum exhibited impaired redox balance characterized by enhanced lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities, independently of the GSTM1 knockdown. In response to uremic injury, HUVECs exhibited alteration in the expression of a series of inflammatory cytokines including retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), C-reactive protein (CRP), angiogenin, dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1), and platelet factor 4 (PF4). GSTM1 knockdown in HUVECs showed upregulation of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), a cytokine involved in the regulation of monocyte migration and adhesion. These cells also have shown upregulated intracellular and vascular cell adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1). In accordance with these findings, the levels of serum ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 (sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1) were increased in ESRD patients lacking GSTM1, in comparison with patients with the GSTM1-active genotype. Based on these results, it may be concluded that incubation of endothelial cells in uremic serum induces redox imbalance accompanied with altered expression of a series of cytokines involved in arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis. The association of GSTM1 downregulation with the altered expression of adhesion molecules might be at least partly responsible for the increased susceptibility of ESRD patients to CVD
Summary of Experimental Results: Photons, Leptons and Heavy Quarks
This is a summary of experimental results on photons, leptons, and heavy
quarks presented at Quark Matter 2008. A first measurement of the bottom to
charm contribution to the lepton spectrum has given experimental indication for
the suppression of charm and bottom. Excess dileptons have been observed and
studied by both NA60 and PHENIX, which may arise from the early production of
thermal dileptons and/or the modification of mesons.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, Summary talk at Quark Matter 200
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