Lipedema: A Painful Adipose Tissue Disorder

Lipedema is a painful fat disease of loose connective tissue usually misdiagnosed as lifestyle-induced obesity that affects ~10% of women of European descent as well as other populations. Lipedema is characterized by symmetric enlargement of the buttocks, hips, and legs due to increased loose connective tissue; arms are also affected in 80% of patients. Lipedema loose connective tissue is characterized by hypertrophic adipocytes, inflammatory cells, and dilated leaky blood and lymphatic vessels. Altered fluid flux through the tissue causes accumulation of fluid, protein, and other constituents in the interstitium resulting in recruitment of inflammatory cells, which in turn stimulates fibrosis and results in difficulty in weight loss. Inflammation and excess interstitial substance may also activate nerve fibers instigating the painful lipedema fat tissue. More research is needed to characterize lipedema loose connective tissue structure in depth, as well as the form and function of blood and lymphatic vessels. Understanding the pathophysiology of the disease will allow healthcare providers to diagnose the disease and develop treatments

Effect of vibration on freeze-thaw resistance of concrete

Doctor of PhilosophyCivil EngineeringKyle RidingPre-stressed concrete is used for manufacturing railroad ties. Air entrainment is used in concrete railroad ties to provide durability in freeze-thaw conditions commonly present in track. Vibration practices in pre-stressed concrete railroad tie plants could contribute to excessive air loss during manufacture and thus poor freeze-thaw resistance. Rheological properties of fresh concrete significantly influence the determination of how much air is lost during vibration. This research attempted to increase understanding of the effect of vibration on air bubble distribution and freeze-thaw resistance of concrete given certain compositions and rheological properties of concrete. The objective was achieved by examining the effect of different admixtures combinations, vibration parameters, and rheological properties on the air void system and freeze-thaw resistance of concrete. This research also proposed a method to measure rheological properties of concrete when vibrated and for concrete mixtures too stiff to measure using conventional rheology measurements. Results showed that delaying the initiation of vibration can cause significant air loss but does not necessarily decrease freeze-thaw performance of concrete. Results also showed that a majority of air loss occurs in the first 30 seconds of vibration. The types of admixtures used in the concrete mixture can significantly affect the air system and freeze-thaw durability of concrete; this effect was shown to be more pronounced in mixtures with low yield stress and plastic viscosity. While the peak vibration acceleration had a mild effect, the frequency and peak velocity of vibration did not seem to have a noticeable effect on the air system and freeze-thaw performance of concrete. Results also showed that rheological properties of stiff mixtures can be estimated by running the rheology test during vibration

Buckling of Nonprismatic Column on Varying Elastic Foundation with Arbitrary Boundary Conditions

Citation: Ahmad A. Ghadban, Ahmed H. Al-Rahmani, Hayder A. Rasheed, and Mohammed T. Albahttiti, “Buckling of Nonprismatic Column on Varying Elastic Foundation with Arbitrary Boundary Conditions,” Mathematical Problems in Engineering, vol. 2017, Article ID 5976098, 14 pages, 2017. doi:10.1155/2017/5976098Buckling of nonprismatic single columns with arbitrary boundary conditions resting on a nonuniform elastic foundation may be considered as the most generalized treatment of the subject. The buckling differential equation for such columns is extremely difficult to solve analytically. Thus, the authors propose a numerical approach by discretizing the column into a finite number of segments. Each segment has constants  (modulus of elasticity),  (moment of inertia), and  (subgrade stiffness). Next, an exact analytical solution is derived for each prismatic segment resting on uniform elastic foundation. These segments are then assembled in a matrix from which the critical buckling load is obtained. The derived formulation accounts for different end boundary conditions. Validation is performed by benchmarking the present results against analytical solutions found in the literature, showing excellent agreement. After validation, more examples are solved to illustrate the power and flexibility of the proposed method. Overall, the proposed method provides reasonable results, and the examples solved demonstrate the versatility of the developed approach and some of its many possible applications

Estrogen as a Contributing Factor to the Development of Lipedema

Lipedema is an underdiagnosed painful adipose tissue disorder that occurs almost exclusively in women, with onset manifesting at puberty or at times of hormonal change. Unlike many fat disorders, diet and exercise have little to no impact on the prevention or progression of this disease. Estrogens control the distribution of body fat and food intake, regulate leptin expression, increase insulin sensitivity, and reduce inflammation through signaling pathways mediated by its receptors, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and ERβ. This review will focus on understanding the role of estrogen in the pathogenesis of the disease and envisage potential hormonal therapy for lipedema patients

ESSENTIAL OIL AND CHEMICAL CONESTITUENTS OF FENNEL PLANTS AS AFFECTED BY COMPOST/NPK AND BIOFERTILIZATION TREATMENTS

A field experiment was conducted during the two successive seasons of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 to explore the effect of compost/NPK and biofertilization treatments on essential oil, photosynthetic pigments and herb NPK content of fennel plants. Obtained results revealed that the best three essential oil characteristics (essential oil %, essential oil yield per plant and per feddan), photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids) and herb content of N, P and K values were obtained due to the use of the full dose of mineral NPK, ¼ compost + ¾ NPK dose or ½ compost + ½ NPK dose with no significant differences being detected between such three fertilization treatments. Concerning biofertilization treatments, all of the prementioned essential oil determinations, photosynthetic pigments and herb NPK content traits were considerably augmented due to the dual treatment (Minia Azotein + phosphorein) followed by Minia Azotein, while phosphorein gave the least values. In regard to the interaction gave between the, two involved factors, the highest volatile oil determinations and chemical compositions values were given by fertilizing fennel plants with the full dose of mineral NPK, 25% compost + 75% NPK or 50% compost + 50% NPK in combination with dual biofertilizer treatments (Minia Azotein + phosphorein). It is recommended, to supply fennel plants with 50% compost + 50% NPK in combination with the dual biofertilization treatment (Minia Azotein + phosphorein), from the environmental and economical point of view, in order to maximize the fruit essential oil productivity

EFFECT OF FOLIAR SPRAYING WITH SEAWEEDS EXTRACT, CHITOSAN AND POTASSIUM SILICATE ON ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS L. PLANTS IN SANDY SOIL

The present study was carried out at the Experimental Farm, Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University during two seasons of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 to study the effect of foliar application of seaweeds extract at 2, 4 and 6 ml/l, chitosan at 2, 4 and 6 ml/l and potassium silicate at 6, 9 and 12 ml/l as well as the interaction between seaweeds extract and chitosan on growth, biochemical, and essential oil characteristics of rosemary plants grown in a sandy soil. These compounds were applied as foliar spray three times after 15 days from planting. The results showed that foliar applications of seaweeds extract at 6 ml/l, chitosan at 6 ml/l and potassium silicate at 12 ml/l significantly affected all studied parameters compared with control. The results clearly indicated that the different applied treatments increased the measured growth characteristics i.e. plant height, number of branches/plant, fresh and dry weights as well parallel increase of photosynthetic pigments. Also, constituents of N, P, K, total carbohydrates, percentage of essential oil and the G.L.C. of essential oil of plant age were existed in the two assigned seasons. In addition, the most effective combined treatment was that of seaweed at 6 ml/l + chitosan at 6 ml/l in this respect

ENHANCING GROWTH, PRODUCTIVITY AND ESSENTIAL OIL PERCENTAGE OF THYMUS VULGARIS L. PLANT USING SEAWEEDS EXTRACT, CHITOSAN AND POTASSIUM SILICATE IN SANDY SOIL

The present study was carried out at the Experimental Farm, Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Egypt during two successive seasons of 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 to examine the effect of foliar application of seaweeds extract at 2, 4 and 6 ml/l, chitosan at 2, 4 and 6 ml/l and potassium silicate at 6, 9 and 12 ml/l as well as the interaction between seaweeds extract and chitosan on growth, biochemical and essential oil characteristics of thyme plants grown in a sandy soil. These compounds were applied as foliar spray three times after 15 days from planting and at 15 days interval. The results showed that foliar applications of seaweeds extract at 6 ml/l, chitosan at 6 ml/l and potassium silicate at 12 ml/l significantly affected all studied parameters compared with control. The results indicated that the different applied treatments increased the measured growth characteristics i.e. plant height, number of branches/plant, fresh and dry weights as well parallel increase of photosynthetic pigments. Also, constituents of N, P, K, total carbohydrates, percentage of essential oil and the GLC of essential oil of plant were existed in the two assigned seasons. In addition, the most effective combined treatments were seaweed at 6 ml/l + chitosan at 4 ml/l in this respect

Aqueous RAFT polymerization of N-acryloylmorpholine, synthesis of an ABA triblock glycopolymer and study of its self-association behavior

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