Obesity and metabolic syndrome in adolescent survivors of standard risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Saudi Arabia

This study estimated prevalence of unhealthy weight status and metabolic syndrome (MS) amongst Saudi survivors of standard risk ALL. Procedure. We recruited 56 survivors, mean age 13.4 years (SD 4.1), a mean of 9.1 years (SD 4.1) postdiagnosis. The BMI for age was used to define weight status relative to national (Saudi) and international (Cole et al., Cole-IOTF, WHO, and CDC) reference data. We measured body composition by dualenergy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), waist circumference, blood pressure, lipid profile (HDL-C, Triglycerides), fasting glucose and insulin. Results. According to international definitions based on BMI for age, around half of the sample had unhealthy weight status. All of the approaches based on BMI for age underestimated overfatness, present in 27/51 (53%) of the sample according to DXA. Prevalence of MS was 7.1% (3/42 of those over 9-years old) and 5.4% (3/56) by applying the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition and National Cholesterol Education Program Third Adult Treatment panel Guidelines (NCEP III), respectively. However, MS by the NCEP III definition was present in 19% of the overweight and obese survivors and 7.1% of the sample had at least two of the components of MS. Conclusion. Unhealthy body weight and overfatness may be common amongst adolescent Saudi survivors of standard risk ALL, though overweight and obesity may be no more common than in the general Saudi adolescent population. Defining weight status using BMI underestimates overfatness. Ideally, body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors should be monitored at late effects clinics. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2012;59: 133–137. 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

The political economy of automotive industry development policy in middle income countries: A comparative analysis of Egypt, India, South Africa and Turkey

This paper examines the political economy of development policy through the prism of four country case studies (Egypt, India, South Africa and Turkey) of the automotive industry. The objective is not simply to examine the developmental impact of automotive policy, but to illustrate how the policy regime has been the outcome of a contested process. Early growth in the auto sector in the four case countries was enabled by rents from protected markets. The emergence of competitive firms is critically dependent on the nature of state–business relationships and the net outcome of the rent-seeking process in the sector. This hinges on the bargaining power of business, foreign or domestic, vis à vis the government. If firms capture subsidies in return for support to weak and vulnerable ruling coalitions, the auto sector in that country can become the classic case of an infant industry remaining stunted. Where the distribution of power is such that ruling coalitions are able to discipline firms in the auto sector, so that they become globally competitive, developmental outcomes have been positive

Scalar meson properties from D-meson decays

Decay amplitudes of D(D_s)->f0(980)X, X=pi, K, are compared to experimental branching ratios with the aim of singling out the poorly known D->f0(980) transition form factor in these amplitudes. Since the other elements of the amplitudes are either calculable in an effective QCD theory using operator product expansion or are known from experiment (e.g. the pion and kaon decay constants), we can take advantage of these reactions to constrain the transition form factors obtained in relativistic quark models. In these models, the f0(980) wavefunction requires an unknown size parameter for both its non-strange ubar u(dbar d) and strange sbar s components, which we fit to the D(D_s) decay data.Comment: Talk given at the Few Body 18 conference in Santos, Brazil. 4 pages, to be published in Nuclear Physics

Characterizations of quasitrivial symmetric nondecreasing associative operations

We provide a description of the class of n-ary operations on an arbitrary chain that are quasitrivial, symmetric, nondecreasing, and associative. We also prove that associativity can be replaced with bisymmetry in the definition of this class. Finally we investigate the special situation where the chain is finite

Sensitivity of Shear Process in Metal Cutting to the Development of Residual Stress

Machining processes are widely used for producing a component by material removal. Material is removed in the form of chips through the action of the wedge-shaped cutting tool. As the tool proceeds, the material is first elastically deformed, and then plastically deformed. The mechanism of plastic deformation in metal is dislocation movement Typical machining processes include turning, milling, drilling, shaping and grinding. It is known that the chip formation process in metal cutting is quite unique in many ways [1]. First, the process is a localized, asymmetric deformation that takes place at very large strains and exceptionally high strain rates in a small deformation zone. Typical values for strains and strain rates range 2 to 5 and 104 to 109 per second, respectively. Second, it is relatively unconstrained in that the only external constraint is the length of contact between tool and chip on the rake face of the tool. On the rake face there may be seizure as well as sliding friction. Machining introduces a large amount of plastic deformation in the workpiece material and chip. This plastic strain is nonuniform, and therefore residual stresses are induced in the workpiece surface and subsurface throughout, and slight below, the depth of plastic deformation. Thus, residual stresses are often an undesirable but unavoidable by-product of machining

Tropical wetlands: A missing link in the global carbon cycle?

Tropical wetlands are not included in Earth system models, despite being an important source of methane (CH4) and contributing a large fraction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from land use, land use change, and forestry in the tropics. This review identifies a remarkable lack of data on the carbon balance and gas fluxes from undisturbed tropical wetlands, which limits the ability of global change models to make accurate predictions about future climate. We show that the available data on in situ carbon gas fluxes in undisturbed forested tropical wetlands indicate marked spatial and temporal variability in CO2 and CH4 emissions, with exceptionally large fluxes in Southeast Asia and the Neotropics. By upscaling short-term measurements, we calculate that approximately 90 ± 77 Tg CH4 year−1 and 4540 ± 1480 Tg CO2 year−1 are released from tropical wetlands globally. CH4 fluxes are greater from mineral than organic soils, whereas CO2 fluxes do not differ between soil types. The high CO2 and CH4 emissions are mirrored by high rates of net primary productivity and litter decay. Net ecosystem productivity was estimated to be greater in peat-forming wetlands than on mineral soils, but the available data are insufficient to construct reliable carbon balances or estimate gas fluxes at regional scales. We conclude that there is an urgent need for systematic data on carbon dynamics in tropical wetlands to provide a robust understanding of how they differ from well-studied northern wetlands and allow incorporation of tropical wetlands into global climate change models

Statin Use and Venous Thromboembolism in Cancer: A Large, Active Comparator, Propensity Score Matched Cohort Study

Background—Statins have been shown to have a protective effect for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the general population. This study sought to assess the association between statins and the risk for cancer-associated deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods—Patients with newly diagnosed cancer were followed for up to one year in a healthcare claims database (2010–2013). Three treatment groups included statin users, non-statin cholesterol lowering medication users, and an untreated group with pre-existing indications for statin therapy (hyperlipidemia, diabetes, or heart disease). Propensity score matched groups were compared using competing risks survival models for DVT and PE outcomes reporting the hazard ratios (HR) between the treatment groups. Sensitivity analyses assessed the influence of age and individual medications. Results—The total cohort included 170,459 patients, which, after matching, were similar on baseline characteristics. The overall model showed a statistically significant protective effect for statins compared to no treatment attributed only to leukemia for DVT (HR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.61–0.99) and colorectal cancers for PE (HR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.64–0.99) in stratified analyses. There were generally no differences in outcomes between statins and non-statins and no individual statin use showed results different from the class effect. Conclusions—In this propensity score matched sample of patients with cancer, statins were shown to have a small protective effect in some cancers for DVT or PE compared to no treatment and little difference compared to an active control group. The lack of effect was consistent across statins and was also not found for any of the sensitivity analyses included

Proactive Device Management for the Internet of Things

IoT ecosystems are rapidly expanding, and device management is emerging as a key challenge due to the scale, complexity, and dynamism of IoT systems. The adoption of autonomous techniques shows promise to alleviate key issues including maintaining organisational security when large volumes of IoT devices are being added and removed from a telecommunications network. Here we propose a proactive IoT device management approach that addresses the need to control network access in a risk-based manner. The proposed system comprises of two novel core components, a Management Platform for IoT (MP-IoT) component and an Intent-Based Microsegmentation (IBMS) component. The MP-IoT component carries out a risk management role and combines with IBMS to provide risk-based network segmentation. The two components work together to proactively manage risks by migrating devices between isolated network segments according to a dynamic assessment of the risk to the system from an individual device. Self-healing techniques may then be used to mitigate risks associated with a device and consequently change the network segment that it resides in. Here we present the key challenges associated with typical IoT environments and demonstrate how they are addressed by the proposed Proactive IoT Device Management architecture. A prototype implementation is also presented to validate the operation of the proposed architecture

Strategies for improving antibiotic use in Qatar: A survey of pharmacists' perceptions and experiences

Objectives The objectives of this study were to identify antimicrobial stewardship activities in Qatar, identify pharmacist involvement in activities and summarize perceived barriers for implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). Methods A cross-sectional survey was developed based on study objectives and completed by pharmacists in Qatar. Key findings Most hospital settings have implemented components of ASP. Lack of infectious disease specialists and training of healthcare providers was the most common barrier to implementation or expansion of ASP identified in the hospital and community settings respectively. Conclusion Pharmacists report some components of ASP have been implemented; however, barriers must be overcome to further expand ASPs.This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors. This project was reviewed by the institutional review board at Qatar University and was provided with exemption from full ethics review (QU-IRB 121-E/12)

Global Health Estimates: Stronger Collaboration Needed with Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Osman Sankoh argues for much stronger collaboration between generators of global health estimates, and individuals and organizations working at the country level, as part of a PLoS Medicine cluster of articles on global health estimates