Thermal Comfort in Living Room of Houses with Different Frontage

House frontage is an essential aspect of terraced house design to ensure the occupant's comfort and healthy living. Four samples selected to evaluate the influence of the window to wall ratio (WWR) towards the internal thermal comfort of the house. The indoor thermal parameters were recorded using HOBOware Data Logger and evaluated using CBE Thermal Comfort Calculator. The study shows that the living room with a bigger WWR had the lowest thermal comfort levels. Besides the WWR, window placements and the shading devices also help in reducing the sun exposure of the frontage wall and increase the indoor thermal comfort. Keywords: Frontage; Thermal Comfort; Window to Wall Ratio; Sun Exposure eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.263

Impact of calcium in dairy products in combination with caloric restriction on body weight, hormones and health risk factors in postmenopausal women

We evaluated the effects of low (LC, ∼800 mg/d) and high (HC, ∼1400 mg/d) dairy calcium on body weight, body composition, glucose, insulin, leptin, plasma lipid profile, LDL particle size, and apolipoproteins (Apo B, CIII, E), in overweight/obese postmenopausal women (n = 56, average BMI of 33.1 ± 5.7kg/m2). The 3-month weight loss program involved caloric restriction (1,400 kcal/d) and macronutrient distribution: 51% CHO, 20.7% PRO, and 27.6% FAT. Using 3 randomly selected days, both groups average baseline dairy calcium intake was: 832 mg/d. At 3 months, LC was 861 ± 721 mg/d and HC was 1340 ± 494 mg/d (P \u3c 0.05). For HC, weight decreased (87.7 ± 16.0 to 86.2 ± 15.6 Kg, P \u3c 0.05), BMI decreased (33.5 ± 5.8 to 32.8 ± 5 kg/m2, P \u3c 0.001), plasma total cholesterol decreased (218.6 ± 55.3 mg/dL to 196.5 ± 45 mg/dL, P \u3c 0.05), LDL cholesterol decreased (129.2 ± 53.3 mg/dL to 103.8 ± 42 mg/dL, P \u3c 0.05), HDL increased (59.2 ± 15.7 mg/dL to 63 ± 12.2 mg/dL, P = 0.104), total fat decreased (36.1 ± 7.0 kg to 34.7 ± 6.9 kg), trunk fat decreased (18.3 ± 4.4 kg to 17.6 ± 4.4 kg P \u3c 0.001), plasma glucose decreased (74.7 ± 31.9 mg/dl to 71.1 ± 12.2 mg/dl, P \u3c 0.05) and plasma leptin decreased (32.5 ± 9.9 μg/L to 31.3 ± 9.6 μg/L, P \u3c 0.231). For LC group, weight decreased (86.4 ± 18.9 to 84.4 ± 19.6 Kg, P \u3c 0.05), BMI decreased (32.5 ± 6.6 to 31.8 ± 6.9 kg/m 2, P \u3c 0.05), LDL cholesterol decreased (104 ± 35.9 mg/dL to 93 ± 30 mg/dL, P \u3c 0.05), HDL increased (60.8 ± 15.9 mg/dL to 64.8 ± 12.5 mg/dL, P = 0.098), total fat decreased (37.3 ± 12.4 kg to 35.4 ± 13.4 kg, P \u3c 0.05), trunk fat decreased (17.1 ± 7.1 kg to 16.5 ± 7.6 kg (P = 0.27) and plasma leptin from 27.8 ± 9.9 μg/L to 25.2 ± 11.1 μ/L, P \u3c 0.114). Plasma TG, LDL particle size, mean, pattern, and apolipoproteins were not affected by this intervention in either group, while LDL peak size was decreased in LC (267 ± 11 nm to 263 ± 15 nm) and increased in HC (257 ± 9.4 nm to 259 ± 12.4 nm) with significant between difference between groups (P \u3c 0.05). ^ In conclusion, dairy calcium was effective in reducing TC trunk fat and increasing LDL-PS, while dairy calcium combined with caloric restriction was effective in decreasing weight, BMI, improving body composition parameters, leptin, glucose, insulin, insulin resistance and plasma lipids in this population.

Association of Regional Body Composition With Bone Mineral Density in HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Women

ObjectiveTo understand how regional body composition affects bone mineral density (BMD) in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women.MethodsDual energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to measure regional lean and fat mass and BMD at lumbar spine (LS), total hip (TH), and femoral neck (FN) in 318 HIV-infected and 122 HIV-uninfected Women's Interagency HIV Study participants at baseline and 2 and 5 years later. Total lean and fat mass were measured using bioimpedance analysis. Multivariate marginal linear regression models assessed the association of HIV status and body composition on BMD change.ResultsCompared with HIV-uninfected women, HIV-infected women were older (44 vs. 37 years), more likely to be Hepatitis C virus-infected (32% vs. 14%), and postmenopausal (26% vs. 3%) and had lower baseline total fat mass, trunk fat, and leg fat. In multivariate models, increased total lean mass was independently associated with increased BMD at LS, TH, and FN, and total fat mass was associated with increased BMD at TH and FN (all P < 0.05). When total fat was replaced in multivariate models with trunk fat and leg fat, increased trunk fat (and not leg fat) was associated with increased TH and FN BMD (P < 0.001).ConclusionsTotal fat and lean mass are strong independent predictors of TH and FN BMD, and lean mass was associated with greater LS BMD. Regardless of HIV status, greater trunk fat (and not leg fat) was associated with increased TH and FN BMD, suggesting that weight-bearing fat may be a more important predictor of BMD in the hip