Associations between objectively assessed and questionnaire-based sedentary behaviour with body mass index and systolic blood pressure in Kuwaiti adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Kuwait has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. This study examined the associations between sedentary behaviour (objectively measured and self-reported), adiposity and systolic blood pressure in a sample of adolescents residing in Kuwait. Data was obtained from the Study of Health and Activity among adolescents in Kuwait (2012-2013). The sample included a total of 435 adolescents (201 boys). Outcomes were age- and sex specific body mass index Z-scores and systolic blood pressure. Exposures were total sedentary behaviour measured by accelerometry and time spent in some sedentary behaviours (television viewing, video games, computer use and total screen-time). We used multiple linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, governorate, maternal education and physical activity, to examine associations between sedentary behaviour and adiposity and systolic blood pressure. RESULTS: Only 2 statistically significant associations were found between sedentary behaviour and the study outcomes: body mass in boys was directly associated with higher sedentary time [β (95% CIs) 0.003 (0.00 to 0.06)]; body mass index was inversely associated with videogames in both sexes [girls: β (95% CIs) - 0.17 (- 0.48 to - 0.04); boys: - 0.24 (- 0.57 to - 0.12)]. In this sample of Kuwaiti adolescents, sedentary behaviour showed limited deleterious associations with adiposity and systolic blood pressure

Directedness of Information Flow in Mobile Phone Communication Networks

Without having direct access to the information that is being exchanged, traces of information flow can be obtained by looking at temporal sequences of user interactions. These sequences can be represented as causality trees whose statistics result from a complex interplay between the topology of the underlying (social) network and the time correlations among the communications. Here, we study causality trees in mobile-phone data, which can be represented as a dynamical directed network. This representation of the data reveals the existence of super-spreaders and super-receivers. We show that the tree statistics, respectively the information spreading process, are extremely sensitive to the in-out degree correlation exhibited by the users. We also learn that a given information, e.g., a rumor, would require users to retransmit it for more than 30 hours in order to cover a macroscopic fraction of the system. Our analysis indicates that topological node-node correlations of the underlying social network, while allowing the existence of information loops, they also promote information spreading. Temporal correlations, and therefore causality effects, are only visible as local phenomena and during short time scales. Consequently, the very idea that there is (intentional) information spreading beyond a small vecinity is called into question. These results are obtained through a combination of theory and data analysis techniques

Grain refinement of deoxidized copper

This study reports the current status of grain refinement of copper accompanied in particular by a critical appraisal of grain refinement of phosphorus-deoxidized, high residual P (DHP) copper microalloyed with 150 ppm Ag. Some deviations exist in terms of the growth restriction factor (Q) framework, on the basis of empirical evidence reported in the literature for grain size measurements of copper with individual additions of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.5 wt pct of Mo, In, Sn, Bi, Sb, Pb, and Se, cast under a protective atmosphere of pure Ar and water quenching. The columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET) has been observed in copper, with an individual addition of 0.4B and with combined additions of 0.4Zr-0.04P and 0.4Zr-0.04P-0.015Ag and, in a previous study, with combined additions of 0.1Ag-0.069P (in wt pct). CETs in these B- and Zr-treated casts have been ascribed to changes in the morphology and chemistry of particles, concurrently in association with free solute type and availability. No further grain-refining action was observed due to microalloying additions of B, Mg, Ca, Zr, Ti, Mn, In, Fe, and Zn (~0.1 wt pct) with respect to DHP-Cu microalloyed with Ag, and therefore are no longer relevant for the casting conditions studied. The critical microalloying element for grain size control in deoxidized copper and in particular DHP-Cu is Ag

Characterization of CdSe nanocrystals coated with amphiphiles. A capillary electrophoresis study

We have synthesized CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) possessing a trioctylphosphine surface passivation layer and modified with amphiphilic molecules to form a surface bilayer. The NCs covered with single amphiphiles are not stable in aqueous solution, but a mixed amphiphilic system is shown to provide stability in solution over several months. The solutions of the modified NCs were characterized by UV-Vis absorbance, photoluminescence, and transmission electron microscopy. An electrophoretic study revealed two operational modes. The first relies on the enrichment of NCs using a micellar plug as a tool. The accumulation of NCs at the plug-electrolyte buffer interface results in a sharp peak. By controlling the electrophoretic conditions, nanocrystals were forced to exit a micellar plug into an electrolyte buffer. We conclude that a system consisting of modified nanocrystals and a micellar plug can act as a mixed pseudomicellar system, where modified nanocrystals play the role of pseudomicelles

Stellar Diameters and Temperatures – V. 11 Newly Characterized Exoplanet Host Stars

We use near-infrared interferometric data coupled with trigonometric parallax values and spectral energy distribution fitting to directly determine stellar radii, effective temperatures and luminosities for the exoplanet host stars 61 Vir, ρ CrB, GJ 176, GJ 614, GJ 649, GJ 876, HD 1461, HD 7924, HD 33564, HD 107383 and HD 210702. Three of these targets are M dwarfs. Statistical uncertainties in the stellar radii and effective temperatures range from 0.5 to 5 per cent and from 0.2 to 2 per cent, respectively. For eight of these targets, this work presents the first directly determined values of radius and temperature; for the other three, we provide updates to their properties. The stellar fundamental parameters are used to estimate stellar mass and calculate the location and extent of each system's circumstellar habitable zone. Two of these systems have planets that spend at least parts of their respective orbits in the system habitable zone: two of GJ 876's four planets and the planet that orbits HD 33564. We find that our value for GJ 876's stellar radius is more than 20 per cent larger than previous estimates and frequently used values in the astronomical literature

A search for methane in the atmosphere of GJ 1214b via GTC narrow-band transmission spectrophotometry

We present narrow-band photometric measurements of the exoplanet GJ 1214b using the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias and the Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy instrument. Using tuneable filters, we observed a total of five transits, three of which were observed at two wavelengths nearly simultaneously, producing a total of eight individual light curves, six of these probed the possible existence of a methane absorption feature in the 8770–8850 Å region at high resolution. We detect no increase in the planet-to-star radius ratio across the methane feature with a change in radius ratio of ΔR = -0.0007 ± 0.0017 corresponding to a scaleheight (H) change of −0.5 ± 1.2H across the methane feature, assuming a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. We find that a variety of water and cloudy atmospheric models fit the data well, but find that cloud-free models provide poor fits. These observations support a flat transmission spectrum resulting from the presence of a high-altitude haze or a water-rich atmosphere, in agreement with previous studies. In this study, the observations are pre-dominantly limited by the photometric quality and the limited number of data points (resulting from a long observing cadence), which make the determination of the systematic noise challenging. With tuneable filters capable of high-resolution measurements (R ≈ 600–750) of narrow absorption features, the interpretation of our results are also limited by the absence of high-resolution methane models below 1 μm

Vegetation succession and climate change across the Plio-Pleistocene transition in eastern Azerbaijan, central Eurasia (2.77–2.45 Ma)

The Plio-Pleistocene transition marked a key moment in global climate history, characterised by the onset of major glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere. The palaeoenvironmental history of the Plio-Pleistocene transition is not well known for the Caspian Sea region, despite its importance for global climate dynamics. Here we present an independently 40Ar/39Ar dated, high-resolution terrestrial palynological record spanning the Plio-Pleistocene boundary based on a lacustrine-marine sedimentary sequence from eastern Azerbaijan. Despite complex pollen transport pathways and the proximity of closely stacked mountain vegetation belts in the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, the record shows that regional vegetation responded to Milankovitch forced glacial-interglacial cycles, tentatively correlated with global climatic records spanning MIS G8 to 98 (∼2.77–2.45 Ma). The persistence of mesophilous forests during glacial times indicates that some settings in the South Caspian Basin acted as glacial refugia, and that vegetation response to glaciations was muted by increased moisture availability, linked to Caspian transgression. The palynological record shows a relationship with global [delta]18O stacks and specifically to the obliquity record. We anticipate that precise correlation with the global climatostratigraphic timescale will allow better understanding of the nature and timing of important transgressive events in the Caspian Sea and their relevance on a global scale

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Lung Cancer: Underlying Pathophysiology and New Therapeutic Modalities

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are major lung diseases affecting millions worldwide. Both diseases have links to cigarette smoking and exert a considerable societal burden. People suffering from COPD are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than those without, and are more susceptible to poor outcomes after diagnosis and treatment. Lung cancer and COPD are closely associated, possibly sharing common traits such as an underlying genetic predisposition, epithelial and endothelial cell plasticity, dysfunctional inflammatory mechanisms including the deposition of excessive extracellular matrix, angiogenesis, susceptibility to DNA damage and cellular mutagenesis. In fact, COPD could be the driving factor for lung cancer, providing a conducive environment that propagates its evolution. In the early stages of smoking, body defences provide a combative immune/oxidative response and DNA repair mechanisms are likely to subdue these changes to a certain extent; however, in patients with COPD with lung cancer the consequences could be devastating, potentially contributing to slower postoperative recovery after lung resection and increased resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Vital to the development of new-targeted therapies is an in-depth understanding of various molecular mechanisms that are associated with both pathologies. In this comprehensive review, we provide a detailed overview of possible underlying factors that link COPD and lung cancer, and current therapeutic advances from both human and preclinical animal models that can effectively mitigate this unholy relationship

Measurement of the Depth of Maximum of Extensive Air Showers above 10^(18) eV

We describe the measurement of the depth of maximum, X_(max), of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays. Almost 4000 events above 10^(18) eV observed by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory in coincidence with at least one surface detector station are selected for the analysis. The average shower maximum was found to evolve with energy at a rate of (106_(-21)^(+35)) g/cm^2/decade below 10^(18:24±0.05) eV, and (24±3) g/cm^ 2=decade above this energy. The measured shower-to-shower fluctuations decrease from about 55 to 26 g/cm^2. The interpretation of these results in terms of the cosmic ray mass composition is briefly discussed

The potential buffering role of self-efficacy and pain acceptance against invalidation in rheumatic diseases

A substantial amount of people with a rheu-matic disease perceive invalidation consisting of lack of understanding and discounting (negative social responses). To get insight into the potential buffering role of self-effi-cacy and pain acceptance against invalidation, this cross-sectional study examined associations between these vari-ables. Spanish speaking people (N = 1153, 91% female, mean age 45 ± 11 years) with one or multiple rheumatic diseases completed online the Illness Invalidation Inven-tory, the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire, and the Chronic Disease Self-Efficacy Scale. Higher self-efficacy (t = − 4.80, p = < 0.001) and pain acceptance (t = − 7.99, p = < 0.001) were additively associated with discounting. Higher self-efficacy (t = − 5.41, p = < 0.001) and pain acceptance (t = − 5.71, p = < 0.001) were also additively associated with lack of understanding. The combined occurrence of high self-efficacy and high acceptance was associated most clearly with lower lack of understanding (interaction: t = − 2.12, p = 0.034). The findings suggest the usefulness of examining whether interventions aimed at increasing self-efficacy and pain acceptance can help people with rheumatic diseases for whom invalidation is a consider-able burden