5,158 research outputs found
Serum lipid and apolipoprotein distributions in Hong Kong Chinese
STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to describe the distribution of lipids and apolipoproteins in the Chinese population in Hong Kong. DESIGN--This was a prospective, cross sectional, population based survey. SETTINGS--The study was conducted in a single, self referred, out patient screening centre. PARTICIPANTS--Altogether 825 Chinese adults aged > or = 20 years were screened. One hundred subjects who had previously had lipid measurement and 29 who were taking lipid modifying drugs were excluded but 289 men and 407 women remained for further analysis. MAIN RESULTS--Age standardised mean (SEM) lipids concentrations for Hong Kong Chinese were total cholesterol: men, 5.48 (0.05) mmol/l and women, 5.46 (0.06) mmol/l; triglycerides: men, 1.22 (1.03) mmol/l and women, 1.00 (1.03) mmol/l; high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol: men, 1.25 (0.02) mmol/l and women, 1.42 (0.02) mmol/l; low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol: men, 3.56 (0.05) mmol/l and women, 3.50 (0.06) mmol/l; apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I): men, 1.34 (0.01) g/l and women, 1.46 (0.01) g/l; and apolipoprotein B (apo B): men, 1.15 (0.02) g/l and women, 1.06 (0.02) g/l. The total to HDL cholesterol ratios were men, 4.62 (0.07) and women, 4.10 (0.08); and apo B to apo A-I ratios (apo B/A) were men, 0.88 (0.02) and women, 0.75 (0.02). While levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apo B, triglycerides, total/HDL cholesterol, and apo B/A were positively associated with age in both sexes and were higher in men before the age 50-59 years, they rose steeply thereafter in women to cross over the levels in men. In contrast, HDL cholesterol decreased with age while apo A-I remained constant, and both were consistently higher in women than in men in all age groups. CONCLUSIONS--Hong Kong Chinese have attained lipid profiles similar to those in other developed western populations. Environmental factors seem influential in this regard. Faced with the increasing coronary mortality of recent years, there should be a major effort to reduce the cholesterol concentrations in this population.published_or_final_versio
Immunoglobulin G testing in the diagnosis of food allergy and intolerance
published_or_final_versio
Activating signal cointegrator 2 required for liver lipid metabolism mediated by liver X receptors in mice
Activating signal cointegrator 2 (ASC-2), a cancer-amplified transcriptional coactivator of nuclear receptors and many other transcription factors, contains two LXXLL-type nuclear receptor interaction domains. Interestingly, the second LXXLL motif is highly specific to the liver X receptors (LXRs). In cotransfection, DN2, an ASC-2 fragment encompassing this motif, exerts a potent dominant-negative effect on transactivation by LXRs, which is rescued by ectopic coexpression of the full-length ASC-2 but not by other LXXLL-type coactivators, such as SRC-1 and TRAP220. In contrast, DN2/m, in which the LXXLL motif is mutated to LXXAA to abolish the interactions with LXRs, is without any effect. Accordingly, expression of DN2, but not DN2/m, in transgenic mice results in phenotypes that are highly homologous to those previously observed with LXRalpha(-/-) mice, including a rapid accumulation of large amounts of cholesterol and down-regulation of the known lipid-metabolizing target genes of LXRalpha in the liver upon being fed a high-cholesterol diet. These results identify ASC-2 as a physiologically important transcriptional coactivator of LXRs and demonstrate its pivotal role in the liver lipid metabolism.open1136sciescopu
Predicting the optoelectronic properties of nanowire films based on control of length polydispersity
We demonstrate that the optoelectronic properties of percolating thin films of silver nanowires (AgNWs) are predominantly dependent upon the length distribution of the constituent AgNWs. A generalized expression is derived to describe the dependence of both sheet resistance and optical transmission on this distribution. We experimentally validate the relationship using ultrasonication to controllably vary the length distribution. These results have major implications where nanowire-based films are a desirable material for transparent conductor applications; in particular when application specific performance criteria must be met. It is of particular interest to have a simple method to generalize the properties of bulk films from an understanding of the base material, as this will speed up the optimisation process. It is anticipated that these results may aid in the adoption of nanowire films in industry, for applications such as touch sensors or photovoltaic electrode structures
Recommended from our members
Burnout and work-related stressors in gastroenterology: a protocol for a multinational observational study in the ASEAN region.
BACKGROUND: Clinician burnout is an important occupational hazard that may be exacerbated by the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Within Southeast Asia, burnout in gastroenterology is understudied. The primary objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of burnout symptoms within gastroenterology, in member states of the Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The secondary objective is to identify work-related stressors that contribute to burnout in ASEAN gastroenterologists. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is an observational study that will use anonymised online surveys to estimate the prevalence of burnout symptoms at two time points: during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and in 2022 (assumed to be after the pandemic). Gastroenterologists from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Brunei will be invited to participate in the online survey through their national gastroenterology and endoscopy societies. Burnout will be assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey tool. Supplementary questions will collect demographic and qualitative data. Associations between demographic characteristics and burnout will be tested by multiple regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of burnout symptoms in gastroenterology during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the baseline prevalence after COVID-19, will be established in the above-mentioned countries. Work-related stressors commonly associated with burnout will be identified, allowing the introduction of preventative measures to reduce burnout in the future. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was granted by the Singhealth Centralised Institutional Review Board (2020/2709). Results will be submitted for publication
Quantifying Inactive Lithium in Lithium Metal Batteries
Inactive lithium (Li) formation is the immediate cause of capacity loss and
catastrophic failure of Li metal batteries. However, the chemical component and
the atomic level structure of inactive Li have rarely been studied due to the
lack of effective diagnosis tools to accurately differentiate and quantify Li+
in solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) components and the electrically isolated
unreacted metallic Li0, which together comprise the inactive Li. Here, by
introducing a new analytical method, Titration Gas Chromatography (TGC), we can
accurately quantify the contribution from metallic Li0 to the total amount of
inactive Li. We uncover that the Li0, rather than the electrochemically formed
SEI, dominates the inactive Li and capacity loss. Using cryogenic electron
microscopies to further study the microstructure and nanostructure of inactive
Li, we find that the Li0 is surrounded by insulating SEI, losing the electronic
conductive pathway to the bulk electrode. Coupling the measurements of the Li0
global content to observations of its local atomic structure, we reveal the
formation mechanism of inactive Li in different types of electrolytes, and
identify the true underlying cause of low Coulombic efficiency in Li metal
deposition and stripping. We ultimately propose strategies to enable the highly
efficient Li deposition and stripping to enable Li metal anode for next
generation high energy batteries
Twisted mass chiral perturbation theory for 2+1+1 quark flavours
We present results for the masses of pseudoscalar mesons in twisted mass
lattice QCD with a degenerate doublet of u and d quarks and a non-degenerate
doublet of s and c quarks in the framework of next-to-leading order chiral
perturbation theory, including lattice effects up to O(a^2). The masses depend
on the two twist angles for the light and heavy sectors. For maximal twist in
both sectors, O(a)-improvement is explicitly exhibited. The mixing of
flavour-neutral mesons is also discussed, and results in the literature for the
case of degenerate s and c quarks are corrected.Comment: LaTeX2e, 12 pages, corrected typo
Visual motor control in patients with Parkinson's disease
Sunday Afternoon Posters - Perception and Action: Pointing, tracking and catching: no. 36.3018Although previous studies have suggested deteriorated visual motor control in patients with Parkinson disease (PD) is likely due to deficits in both the motor and perceptual systems, no study has directly measured such deficits and how antiparkinsonian medication improves visual motor control in PD patients. Here we took a control-theoretic approach to address these issues. We tested 20 PD patients ON and OFF mediation and 20 healthy controls with a typical manual control task. Specifically, in each 90-s trial, participants were instructed to use a joystick to control the movement of a red target to keep it centered on a CRT display (37°Hx21°V) as its ...postprin
- …