Reliability and validity of the persian version of compulsive eating scale (CES) in overweight or obese women and its relationship with some body composition and dietary intake variables

Objective: Compulsive or binge eating is a kind of disturbed eating behavior, which is mostly observed among dieting women, and is integrated with appetite disorder, and uncontrolled eating of plenty of junk food. The Compulsive Eating Scale (CES) created first by Kagan & Squires in 1984, is an eight-item self-reporting instrument that is made to measure the severity of binge eating disorder. The aim of this study was to provide the reliability and validity of the Persian version of Compulsive Eating Scale (CES) among overweight and obese women in Iran. Method: One hundred and twenty six (N = 126) overweight and obese women consented to participate in this study. We estimated the anthropometric indices, including body weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, a total body fat percentage, and visceral fat level with body analyzer all in standard situations. Then, the participants completed the CES. Next, to assess concurrent validity, Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger anxiety scale, appetite visual analogue rating scale, Food Craving questionnaire, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18, and Restraint eating visual analogue rating scale were performed simultaneously. To assess test-retest reliability, CES was repeated for all the participants two weeks later. Moreover, we reported the internal consistency and factor analysis of this questionnaire. Furthermore, we estimated the concurrent correlation of CES with logically relevant questionnaires and body composition and anthropometric indices. Results: Based on the reliability analysis and factor analysis of the principal component by Varimax rotation, we extracted two factors: eating because of negative feelings, and overeating. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) of the CES was 0.85 (Cronbach alpha of the factors was 0.85, and 0.74, respectively). The test-retest correlation of the CES was 0.89. Also, the split-half reliability of the questionnaire was established with the correlation coefficient between Sets I and II. The correlation was 0.85. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the CES. This instrument would be helpful in measuring the clinical practice and research studies of obesity, appetite and eating disorders reliably and validly

Contribution of direct electron transfer mechanisms to overall electron transfer in microbial fuel cells utilising Shewanella oneidensis as biocatalyst

Objectives To investigate the contribution of direct electron transfer mechanisms to electricity production in microbial fuel cells by physically retaining Shewanella oneidensis cells close to or away from the anode electrode. Results A maximum power output of 114 ± 6 mWm−2 was obtained when cells were retained close to the anode using a dialysis membrane. This was 3.5 times more than when the cells were separated away from the anode. Without the membrane the maximum power output was 129 ± 6 mWm−2. The direct mechanisms of electron transfer contributed significantly to overall electron transfer from S. oneidensis to electrodes, a result that was corroborated by another experiment where S. oneidensis cells were entrapped in alginate gels. Conclusion S. oneidensis transfers electrons primarily by direct electron transfer as opposed to mediated electron transfer

Amelioration of caffeine-induced seizures by modulators of sigma, N-methyl-D-Aspartate and ryanodine receptors in mice

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiepileptic effects of opipramol, a sigma receptor agonist, diazepam, ketamine, an N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, and dantrolene, a ryanodine receptor antagonist, against caffeine-induced seizures in mice. Methods We used caffeine (1000 mg/kg) intraperitoneally for inducing clonic and tonic-clonic seizures in male albino Swiss strain of mice. We used opipramol in three different doses (10, 20 and 50 mg/kg), ketamine (50 mg/kg), dantrolene (40 mg/kg), opipramol (20 mg/kg) plus ketamine (50 mg/kg), opipramol (20 mg/kg) plus dantrolene (40 mg/kg), diazepam (5 mg/kg as a positive control) and the vehicle 30 min before injecting caffeine. We recorded the onset of clonic, tonic-clonic seizures and the time of death of animals after using caffeine. Results Animals treated with opipramol at a dose of 50 mg/kg or diazepam had a higher onset of clonic seizure compared with the vehicle-treated group. Dantrolene alone or with opipramol (20 mg/kg) increased the latency of clonic seizure compared with the control group. Opipramol (20 and 50 mg/kg), diazepam, ketamine alone or with opipramol, and dantrolene plus opipramol increased the latency of tonic-clonic seizures in mice. All the treatments except opipramol (10 mg/kg) and dantrolene alone increased the latency of death of animals. Conclusion Opipramol attenuated seizures produced by high doses of caffeine. Moreover, the activation of sigma receptors and inhibition of ryanodine receptors may produce synergistic effects against caffeine-induced seizures. Our study may imply that different mechanisms such as inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptors, activation of NMDA and ryanodine receptors may contribute to the caffeine-induced seizure

Overexpression of the Mtr pathway in Shewanella oneidensis for bioelectricity production

Microbial fuel cells represent a promising technology for simultaneous wastewater treatment and renewable electricity production. However, the electricity recovery is still poor, typically <10% of what is theoretically possible and the extracellular electron transfer mechanisms are poorly understood. Synthetic biology was employed in this study to overexpress the genes: mtrA (periplasmic membrane cytochrome), mtrB (outer membrane β-barrel protein) and mtrC (outer membrane decaheme cytochrome C) involved in the Mtr pathway for extracellular electron transfer in Shewanella oneidensis. The genes were expressed individually or as operons and the effect on electricity production and substrate utilisation determined using H-type microbial fuel cells. The power generated by the mtrAB construct (144 mWm-2) was 3 fold higher than that produced by the wild type (48mWm-2). Constructs mtrCAB, mtrA, mtrBC produced similar power densities amounting to 78 mWm-2, 77 mWm-2, 74 mWm-2 respectively. Substrate (glucose) utilisation was in the order mtrCAB construct (94%) > mtrC construct (88%) > mtrA construct (76%) > mtrAB construct (36%) > wild type (30%). The results demonstrate the importance of overexpression of mtrA and mtrB as an operon in S. oneidensis with regard to power production. However, to enhance substrate utilisation, avenues to control the levels of expression of the genes are needed

An Investigation on Injection Characteristics of Direct-Injected Heavy Duty Diesel Engine by Means of Multi-Zone Spray Modeling

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of injection parameters on a heavy duty diesel engine performance and emission characteristics. In order to analyze the injection and spray characteristics of diesel fuel with employing high-pressure common-rail injection system, the injection characteristics such as injection delay, injection duration, and injection rate and number of nozzle holes were investigated by using a quasi-dimensional model. In the present work, the variety of injection rate is performed at various injection parameters where as performance and emission of the engine will be simulated subsequently. Finally the best injection system for a high efficiency and low NOx emission heavy duty diesel engine was investigated