The risk of metabolic syndrome as a result of lifestyle among Ellisras rural young adults

The study aimed to investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and lifestyle risk factors among Ellisras adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 624 adults (306 males and 318 females). MetS was defined according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. The prevalence of MetS was 23.1% (8.6% males and 36.8 % females). Females appeared to have higher mean values for waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TCHOL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while males had high mean values for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). No significant age and gender differences were observed for dietary intake. Significantly more females (51.9%) presented with increased WC than males (4.6%). Participants who had a high dietary energy intake were significantly less likely to present with larger WC (OR: 0.250 95% CI [0.161; 0.389]), low HDL-C (OR: 0.306 95% CI [0.220; 0.425]) and high LDL-C (OR: 0.583 95% CI [0.418; 0.812]) but more likely to present with elevated FBG (OR: 1.01 95% CI [0.735; 1.386]), high TCHOL (OR: 1.039 95% CI [0.575; 1.337]), high TG (OR: 1.186 95% CI [0.695; 2.023]) and hypertension (OR: 5.205 95% CI [3.156; 8.585]). After adjusting for age, gender, smoking, and alcohol status, high energy intake was more than two times likely to predict MetS in adults with a large WC (OR: 2.766 95% CI [0.863; 3.477] and elevated FBG (OR: 2.227 95% CI [1.051; 3.328]). Therefore, identifying groups that are at an increased risk and those that are in their early stages of MetS will help improve and prevent the increase of the MetS in the future

Rational Design of 2D Manganese Phosphate Hydrate Nanosheets as Pseudocapacitive Electrodes

A new class of 2D nanosheets of nitrogen-integrated phosphate-rich ammonium manganese phosphate hydrate, (NH4MnPO4·H2O) (AMP), has been developed as pseudocapacitive electrode materials. The optimized electrodes exhibited device capacitances of 48.4 and 65.4 F/g for symmetric and asymmetric configurations, respectively. The devices showed excellent energy and power (e.g., 29.4 Wh/kg and 133 kW/kg for asymmetric cells) with extraordinary capacitance retention (e.g., >93%, 100 000 cycles at 5 A/g for asymmetric cells) that surpass those of most of the reported values. The huge pseudocapacitance of AMP is attributed to several factors, including the electroactive sites containing NH4+ ions, the conductive inorganic layers, intercalated water interactions of Mn2+···H2O, redox-active phosphate ions, and the 2D nanosheets. AMP-based all-solid-state flexible asymmetric devices exhibited >95% capacitance retention upon 1000 repetitive charge-discharge cycles. This study opens doors to elegant strategies of unlocking the rich physicoelectrochemical properties of 2D AMP for next-generation pseudocapacitors

Influence of K3Fe(CN)6 on the electrochemical performance of carbon derived from waste tyres by K2CO3 activation

Please read abstract in the article.The South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant No. 61056). A. Bello acknowledge the National research Foundation (NRF) through the SARCHI chair in Carbon Technology and the African Centres of Excellence Program, the Pan African Materials Institute (PAMI), and the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), for their travel fellowship.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/matchemphys2019-04-15hj2018Physic

Solvothermal synthesis of surfactant free spherical nickel hydroxide/graphene oxide composite for supercapacitor application

Please read abstract in the article.The South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant No 97994). A. A. Khaleed acknowledges financial support from University of Pretoria and the NRF through SARChI in Carbon Technology and Materials for his Ph.D. study.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jalcom2018-10-15hj2018ChemistryPhysic