The Relationship between Insulin Resistance and the Atherogenic Lipoprotein Phenotype

The prevalence of the insulin resistance syndrome in a non diabetic population had been estimated to be about 25% whilst the prevalence of the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype is thought to be about 30%. There are some evidence to suggest that there may be a close relationship between these two syndrome and that relationship was explored in this thesis. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease often show clustering that cannot be accounted for by chance occurrence. This has led to the hypothesis that clustering of risk factors such as insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia, may be an indication of an underlying metabolic disorder which increases the risk for premature atherosclerosis. Plasma triglyceride was found to be the most important determinant of LDL subfraction distribution in a group of normal individuals. The least dense species, LDL-I, decreased as the level of this plasma lipid rose. LDL-II in both men and women exhibited a positive association with plasma triglyceride in the range 0.5 to 1.3 mmol/L; it increased from about 100 to 200 mg/dL. In contrast, within this triglyceride range the LDL-III concentration was low (about 30 mg/dL) and changed little. As plasma triglyceride rose from 1.3 mmol/L to 3.0 mmol/L there was a significant fall in LDL-II concentration in males but not in females. Conversely, above the triglyceride "threshold" of 1.3 mmol/L there was a steeper rise in LDL-III concentration in males than females; 42% of men had an LDL-III in the range associated with high risk of heart disease (> 100 mg lipoprotein/dL plasma) compared with only 17% of women. In a group of young Singaporean males, the relationship of plasma triglyceride with LDL-II failed to show a biphasic pattern but rather, increasing levels of plasma triglyceride was associated with decreasing levels of LDL-II. The LDL-I showed a similar negative relationship and the LDL-III a positive relationship with plasma triglyceride. Other influences of the LDL subfraction profile were the activities of lipases and parameters indicative of the presence of insulin resistance. Males on the average had twice the hepatic lipase activity of females. This enzyme in males was not strongly associated with variation in the LDL subfraction profile whereas in the females it was correlated with LDL-III and remained a significant predictor in multivariate analysis. Increased WHR, fasting insulin and glucose were shown to be correlated with LDL-I (negatively) and LDL-III (positively), primarily, at least in the case of LDL-III, through raising plasma triglyceride. Subjects with proven coronary artery disease were also found to have impaired triglyceride metabolic capacity during the administration of an oral fat tolerance test. The triglyceride rose to a higher level when compared to age matched controls. The exaggerated hypertriglyceridaemia may be related to the preheparin lipoprotein lipase activity, which was demonstrated to be significantly lower in CAD patients compared to age matched controls. The CAD patients also demonstrated some features of insulin resistance, such as hyperinsulinaemic and hyperglycaemic response, both after the standardised fat meal as well as after a modified glucose meal carried in almost fat free yoghurt. Lipoprotein lipase activity is believed to be modulated by hormonal influence such as insulin and resistance of LPL to insulin may be responsible for the lower preheparin LPL documented in CAD patients. The metabolic implications of impaired preheparin LPL during alimentary lipaemia is presently unclear as there is no correlation with adipose tissue and skeletal muscle LPL. The prevalence of insulin resistance and the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype in Singapore may be higher than other population because of the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus. A group of normal Singaporean male, aged 30 to 45 years old were studied and found to have a high prevalence of both syndromes. More than half of this sampled group had LDL-III concentraton that was above 100 mg lipoprotein/dL plasma and this may be related to the higher mean plasma triglyceride levels (1.8 mmol/L). Ethnic differences were noted and men with predominantly Asian ancestry had higher mean LDL-III concentrations and plasma triglyceride, while those with some European descent (Eurasians) had levels of LDL-III and plasma triglyceride similar to age matched Scottish cohort. There were also ethnic differences in markers of insulin resistance such as fasting insulin and fasting glucose and these difference paralleled that seen in LDL-III concentration. Ethnic differences suggest that genetic factors may determine manifestation of both the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype and the insulin resistance syndrome, as socio-economic factors are similar between the various ethnic groups. The data presented in this thesis suggest a strong relationship between the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype and the insulin resistance syndrome. The clustering of coronary risk factors such as dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance in patients with premature atherosclerosis may be an indication of an underlying metabolic dyslipidaemic syndrome

Physical intelligence of UiTM Sport Science undergraduates

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the physical intelligence among the Sports Science undergraduates who are currently enrolled at the Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation, Universiti Teknologi MARA Shah Alam campus and branch campuses (Arau and Kuching campuses). The model of this study is based on Denis Postle’s (The Mind Gymnasium,1989) Model of multiple intelligence. Denis Postle’s model includes four types of intelligence : 1) Emotional Intelligence, 2) Intuitive Intelligence, 3) Physical Intelligence and 4) Intellectual Intelligence. This study only examine Physical Intelligence. Further, this study adopted 5 dimensions of the 6 dimensions of Postle’s Physical Intelligence which were fitness and health, enjoyment of physical activities, pride in manual skills and dexterity, sensible and balanced diet and love of the outdoors. A total of 215 Sport Science undergraduates enrolling in the Diploma and Degree courses were examined. Data were collected through a questionnaire formulated by the researchers. Results indicated that there was no significant difference in physical intelligence among undergraduates from different age groups. However, when undergraduates from different programmes were compared, significant difference was found in the ‘love of outdoor’ dimension. Multiple comparisons results showed that significant difference was between Diploma and Bachelor of Sport Science undergraduates with Diploma undergraduates love the outdoor more than Bachelor of Sport Science undergraduates

Effects of a 4-Week Plyometric Training on the Jumping Performance of Basketball Players / Wee Eng Hoe,Floreta Mudah and Tan Chee Hian

This study examined the effect of 4-week plyometric training programme on the jumping performance of undergraduate male basketball players. A total of 20 basketball players from the inter-faculty game at a public university were selected to participate in this study. The subjects were aged 20-23 years (mean = 21.3 + 1.12). Convenience sampling was used to select the students and subsequently randomly assigned to the control (n=10) and experimental (n=10) groups. Both groups were trained according to the compulsory training programme three times a week for four weeks. Additional plyometric training was provided to the experimental group, twice a week on non training days. The Vertec equipment (VER Vertec Jump Trainer) was used to measure the vertical jumping ability of the subjects. Control and experimental groups showed significant improvement in the mean vertical jump scores during the post-test as compared with the pre-test (t= -2.45; p < 0.05; and t=-21.00; p<0.05 respectively). Experimental group exhibited greater improvement (11.17%) as compared to the control group (2.12%). In short, plyometric training improved the jumping performance of basketball players and it is recommended to be used as a training strategy in improving jumping performance not only in basketball but in other sport as well

Design of urea granulator with energy optimization

Urea granules are one of the popular fertilizers among synthetic fertilizer industry. Its main function is to provide nitrogen which enhances leaf growth on plant. Urea granules are produced from the process of granulation. Granulation process is divided to wet and dry granulation. Generally, there are two type of dry granulator which is slugger and roller compactor. Roller compactor or also known as roll press is using two counter rotating rolls to compact raw material such as powder to become ribbons or granules. If ribbons instead of granules arc produced from compaction, milling will be used to produce granules. It is difficult obtain a numerical result of the process due to the variety of parameters. Therefore, this work will only consider the parameters which are related to feeder system and roller. The parameters include the feeding rate of feeder, roller force, roller pressure, and roller gap size. While powder flow to roller from feeder, overfeeding may occurs. Overfeeding is harmful because it will cause motor failure. To overcome this problem, the function of roller needs to be improved. The roller will be modified and hence, a new design will be produced

DESIGN OF A UREA GRANULATOR WITH ENERGY OPTIMIZATION

Urea granules are one of the popular fertilizers among synthetic fertilizer industry. Its main function is to provide nitrogen which enhances leaf growth on plant. Urea granules are produced from the process of granulation. Granulation process is divided to wet and dry granulation. Generally, there are two type of dry granulator which is slugger and roller compactor. Roller compactor or also known as roll press is using two counter rotating rolls to compact raw material such as powder to become ribbons or granules. If ribbons instead of granules are produced from compaction, milling will be used to produce granules. It is difficult obtain a numerical result of the process due to the variety of parameters. Therefore, this work will only consider the parameters which are related to feeder system and roller. The parameters include the feeding rate of feeder, roller force, roller pressure, and roller gap size. While powder flow to roller from feeder, overfeeding may occurs. Overfeeding is harmful because it will cause motor failure. To overcome this problem, the function of roller needs to be improved. The roller will be modified and hence, a new design will be produced

Healthcare Worker Seroconversion in SARS Outbreak

Serum samples were obtained from healthcare workers 5 weeks after exposure to an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A sensitive dot blot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, complemented by a specific neutralization test, shows that only persons in whom probable SARS was diagnosed had specific antibodies and suggests that subclinical SARS is not an important feature of the disease

Replication and Meta-analysis of the Association between BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Cognitive Impairment in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) adversely affects cancer patients. We had previously demonstrated that the BDNF Val66Met genetic polymorphism is associated with lower odds of subjective CRCI in the multitasking and verbal ability domains among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. To further assess our previous findings, we evaluated the association of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with subjective and objective CRCI in a temporally separate cohort of patients and pooled findings from both the original (n = 145) and current (n = 193) cohorts in a meta-analysis. Subjective CRCI was assessed using FACT-Cog. Objective CRCI was evaluated using computerized neuropsychological tests. Genotyping was carried out using Sanger sequencing. The association of BDNF Val66Met genotypes and CRCI was examined with logistic regression. A fixed-effect meta-analysis was conducted using the inverse variance method. In the meta-analysis (n = 338), significantly lower odds of CRCI were associated with Met allele carriers based on the global FACT-Cog score (OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.29-0.94). Furthermore, Met allele carriers were at lower odds of developing impairment in the domains of memory (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.70), multitasking (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.59), and verbal ability (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24-0.88). Consistent with the previous study, lower odds of subjective CRCI among patients with the BDNF Met allele was observed after adjusting for potential confounders in the multitasking (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14-0.67) domain. In conclusion, carriers of the BDNF Met allele were protected against global subjective CRCI, particularly in the domains of memory, multitasking, and verbal ability. Our findings further contribute to the understanding of CRCI pathophysiology

Visceral, subcutaneous abdominal adiposity and liver fat content distribution in normal glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance

Q1Q1Objectives: To examine the specific distribution of liver fat content, visceral and subcutaneous adiposity in normal glucose tolerance (NGT/NGT), isolated impaired fasting glucose (iIFG), isolated impaired glucose tolerance (iIGT) and combined conditions (IFG+IGT), as well as with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (nT2D). Design: Multicenter, international observational study: cross-sectional analysis. Subjects: Two thousand five hundred and fifteen patients (50.0% women, 54.5% non-Caucasian) without previously known diabetes were recruited from 29 countries. Abdominal fat distribution was measured by computed tomography (CT). Liver fat was estimated using the CT-liver mean attenuation. Results: Compared with NGT/NGT patients, increased visceral adiposity was found in iIFG, iIGT, IFG+IGT and nT2D; estimated liver fat progressively increased across these conditions. A one-s.d. increase in visceral adiposity was associated with an increased risk of having iIFG (men: odds ratio (OR) 1.41 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15–1.74), women: OR 1.62 (1.29–2.04)), iIGT (men: OR 1.59 (1.15–2.01), women: OR 1.30 (0.96–1.76)), IFG+IGT (men: OR 1.64 (1.27–2.13), women: OR 1.83 (1.36–2.48)) and nT2D (men: OR 1.80 (1.35–2.42), women: OR 1.73 (1.25–2.41)). A one-s.d. increase in estimated liver fat was associated with iIGT (men: OR 1.46 (1.12–1.90), women: OR 1.81 (1.41–2.35)), IFG+IGT (men: OR 1.42 (1.14–1.77), women: OR 1.74 (1.35–2.26)) and nT2D (men: OR 1.77 (1.40–2.27), women: OR 2.38 (1.81–3.18)). Subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue showed an inverse relationship with nT2D in women (OR 0.63 (0.45–0.88)). Conclusions: Liver fat was associated with iIGT but not with iIFG, whereas visceral adiposity was associated with both. Liver fat and visceral adiposity were associated with nT2D, whereas subcutaneous adiposity showed an inverse relationship with nT2D in women

Nocturnal Lifestyle Behaviours and Risk of Poor Sleep during Pregnancy

The extent to which lifestyle practices at night influence sleep quality in pregnant women remains unknown. This study aimed to examine whether nocturnal behaviours were associated with poor sleep during pregnancy. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort of pregnant women at 18–24 gestation weeks recruited from KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, between 2019 and 2021. Nocturnal behaviours were assessed with questionnaires, and sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) with a global score ≥5 indicative of poor sleep quality. Modified Poisson regression and linear regression were used to examine the association between nocturnal behaviour and sleep quality. Of 299 women, 117 (39.1%) experienced poor sleep. In the covariate-adjusted analysis, poor sleep was observed in women with nocturnal eating (risk ratio 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12, 2.04) and nocturnal artificial light exposure (1.63; 1.24, 2.13). Similarly, nocturnal eating (β 0.68; 95% CI 0.03, 1.32) and light exposure (1.99; 1.04, 2.94) were associated with higher PSQI score. Nocturnal physical activity and screen viewing before bedtime were not associated with sleep quality. In conclusion, reducing nocturnal eating and light exposure at night could potentially improve sleep in pregnancy.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

A new class of pluripotent stem cell cytotoxic small molecules

10.1371/journal.pone.0085039PLoS ONE93-POLN