Obese patients with a binge eating disorder have an unfavorable metabolic and inflammatory profile

To evaluate whether obese patients with a binge eating disorder (BED) have an altered metabolic and inflammatory profile related to their eating behaviors compared with non-BED obese.A total of 115 White obese patients consecutively recruited underwent biochemical, anthropometrical evaluation, and a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Patients answered the Binge Eating Scale and were interviewed by a psychiatrist. The patients were subsequently divided into 2 groups according to diagnosis: non-BED obese (n = 85) and BED obese (n = 30). Structural equation modeling analysis was performed to elucidate the relation between eating behaviors and metabolic and inflammatory profile.BED obese exhibited significantly higher percentages of altered eating behaviors, body mass index (P < 0.001), waist circumference (P < 0.01), fat mass (P < 0.001), and a lower lean mass (P < 0.001) when compared with non-BED obese. Binge eating disorder obese also had a worse metabolic and inflammatory profile, exhibiting significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (P < 0.05), and higher levels of glycated hemoglobin (P < 0.01), uric acid (P < 0.05), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < 0.001), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (P < 0.01), and white blood cell counts (P < 0.01). Higher fasting insulin (P < 0.01) and higher insulin resistance (P < 0.01), assessed by homeostasis model assessment index and visceral adiposity index (P < 0.001), were observed among BED obese. All differences remained significant after adjusting for body mass index. No significant differences in fasting plasma glucose or 2-hour postchallenge plasma glucose were found. Structural equation modeling analysis confirmed the relation between the altered eating behaviors of BED and the metabolic and inflammatory profile.Binge eating disorder obese exhibited an unfavorable metabolic and inflammatory profile, which is related to their characteristic eating habits

Investigation of acceptor levels and hole scattering mechanisms in p-gallium selenide by means of transport measurements under pressure

The effect of pressure on acceptor levels and hole scattering mechanisms in p-GaSe is investigated through Hall effect and resistivity measurements under quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 4 GPa. The pressure dependence of the hole concentration is interpreted through a carrier statistics equation with a single (nitrogen) or double (tin) acceptor whose ionization energies decrease under pressure due to the dielectric constant increase. The pressure effect on the hole mobility is also accounted for by considering the pressure dependencies of both the phonon frequencies and the hole-phonon coupling constants involved in the scattering rates.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 4 ps figures. to appear in High Pressure Research 69 (1997

Analysis of the genetic variability and structure of Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae) populations from the Colombian Atlantic coast on the basis of random amplified polymorphic DNA markers

Ochlerotatus taeniorhynchus (Diptera: Culicidae) is a mosquito, which is an efficient vector of the virus causing epidemic-epizootic Venezuelan equine encephalitis in Colombia. This study used 9 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers to analyze the mosquito's genetic variability and genetic structure of 122 specimens in 7 populations from the Colombian Atlantic coast. Assuming that all loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, diversity statistics and analyses were performed. The average number of amplified fragments for each primer was 8.3, and the size of these fragments ranged from 350 to 3600 bp. The expected average heterozygosity was 0.358 ± 0.103. The genetic heterogeneity among the populations studied was small (GST = 0.05 ± 0.01); meanwhile, the gene flow estimates (Nm = 7.32 ± 1.35) were high. In an identical way, the Nei's genetic distances obtained yielded very small values amongst the populations that were studied in this Colombian region. Furthermore, a spatial autocorrelation analysis with Moran's I index revealed a very weak, or inexistent, spatial genetic structure among these populations. The comparison of these results with those performed for other markers (isoenzymes and microsatellites) in populations of this same mosquito from the Colombian Atlantic coast was discussed. The results of our RAPD analysis showed scarce genetic differentiation among the mosquito populations on the Colombian Atlantic coast, which was probably determined by high gene flow levels. © FUNPEC-RP

Moluscos del yacimiento paleontológico de "Lo Hueco" (Cretácico Superior, Cuenca, España): Implicaciones paleoambientales y secuenciales

In the exceptional site of "Lo Hueco" (Cuenca, Spain) more than 8500 macroremains of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, including titanosaur sauropod dinosaurs, have been collected in a succession of Upper Cretaceous "Garumn" facies. This work describes the molluscs found together, interpreting their palaeoenvironmental and sequential meaning. The sample is comparatively scarce due to the urgency of the excavation, and to constraints of the preservational scenario, seemingly not ideal for the fossilization of carbonated remains. Thus, the absence of well preserved shells has motivated the use of open nomenclature. Bivalves are recorded by unarticulated marly mudstone moulds of Margaritifera sp., Anodonta sp., ?Corbicula sp. and Pisidium sp., and most gastropods by gypsum moulds of Faunus sp. This association indicates a typical freshwater palaeofauna, where the presence of Melanopsidae gastropods can suggest the sporadic influence of moderately brackish-water episodes. These data confirm previous palaeoenvironmental interpretations proposed for the site. Additionally, the presence of the terrestrial gastropod Palaeocyclophorus sp. in underlying beds with high proportion of vegetal terrestrial organic matter, and situated over an important erosive discordance, has allowed to locate the beginning of the depositional sequence of "Lo Hueco".En el excepcional yacimiento paleontológico de "Lo Hueco" (Cuenca, España) se han obtenido más de 8500 macrorrestos de plantas, invertebrados y vertebrados, incluyendo dinosaurios saurópodos titanosaurios, en una sección del Cretácico Superior en facies "Garumn". El presente trabajo describe los moluscos recogidos, interpretando su significado paleoambiental y secuencial. La muestra obtenida resulta relativamente reducida debido a la urgencia de la excavación, y a que las condiciones diagenéticas posiblemente no han favorecido la preservación de restos carbonatados. En consecuencia, la ausencia de conchas bien preservadas ha obligado a la utilización de nomenclatura abierta. Los bivalvos identificados se encuentran representados por moldes margosos desarticulados de Margaritifera sp., Anodonta sp., ?Corbicula sp. y Pisidium sp., y la mayoría de los gasterópodos por moldes de yeso de Faunus sp. Esta asociación corresponde a una típica paleofauna de agua dulce, en la que la presencia de gasterópodos melanópsidos parece sugerir la influencia esporádica de episodios de agua salobre. Estos datos confirman las interpretaciones paleoambientales previas propuestas para el yacimiento. Adicionalmente, la presencia del gasterópodo terrestre Palaeocyclophorus sp. en niveles infrayacentes con una elevada proporción de materia orgánica vegetal, situados sobre una importante discordancia erosiva, ha permitido localizar el inicio de la secuencia deposicional correspondiente a "Lo Hueco"

Supernova 1996cr: SN 1987A's Wild Cousin?

We report on new VLT optical spectroscopic and multi-wavelength archival observations of SN1996cr, a previously identified ULX known as Circinus Galaxy X-2. Our optical spectrum confirms SN1996cr as a bona fide type IIn SN, while archival imaging isolates its explosion date to between 1995-02-28 and 1996-03-16. SN1996cr is one of the closest SNe (~3.8 Mpc) in the last several decades and in terms of flux ranks among the brightest radio and X-ray SNe ever detected. The wealth of optical, X-ray, and radio observations that exist for this source provide relatively detailed constraints on its post-explosion expansion and progenitor history, including an preliminary angular size constaint from VLBI. The archival X-ray and radio data imply that the progenitor of SN1996cr evacuated a large cavity just prior to exploding: the blast wave likely expanded for ~1-2 yrs before eventually striking the dense circumstellar material which surrounds SN1996cr. The X-ray and radio emission, which trace the progenitor mass-loss rate, have respectively risen by a factor of ~2 and remained roughly constant over the past 7 yr. This behavior is reminiscent of the late rise of SN1987A, but 1000 times more luminous and much more rapid to onset. Complex Oxygen line emission in the optical spectrum further hints at a possible concentric shell or ring-like structure. The discovery of SN1996cr suggests that a substantial fraction of the closest SNe observed in the last several decades have occurred in wind-blown bubbles. An Interplanetary Network position allows us to reject a tentative GRB association with BATSE 4B960202. [Abridged]Comment: 25 pages with tables, 12 figures (color), accepted to ApJ, comments welcome; v2 - updated to reflect the subsequent rejection of our tentative GRB association based on a revised error region from the Interplanetary Network (thanks to Kevin Hurley) and include a few additional references; v3 - corrected some errors in Tables 7 and

Finitely fibered Rosenthal compacta and trees

We study some topological properties of trees with the interval topology. In particular, we characterize trees which admit a 2-fibered compactification and we present two examples of trees whose one-point compactifications are Rosenthal compact with certain renorming properties of their spaces of continuous functions.Comment: Small changes, mainly in the introduction and in final remark

A scene model of exosolar systems for use in planetary detection and characterisation simulations

Instrumental projects that will improve the direct optical finding and characterisation of exoplanets have advanced sufficiently to trigger organized investigation and development of corresponding signal processing algorithms. The first step is the availability of field-of-view (FOV) models. These can then be submitted to various instrumental models, which in turn produce simulated data, enabling the testing of processing algorithms. We aim to set the specifications of a physical model for typical FOVs of these instruments. The dynamic in resolution and flux between the various sources present in such a FOV imposes a multiscale, independent layer approach. From review of current literature and through extrapolations from currently available data and models, we derive the features of each source-type in the field of view likely to pass the instrumental filter at exo-Earth level. Stellar limb darkening is shown to cause bias in leakage calibration if unaccounted for. Occurrence of perturbing background stars or galaxies in the typical FOV is unlikely. We extract galactic interstellar medium background emissions for current target lists. Galactic background can be considered uniform over the FOV, and it should show no significant drift with parallax. Our model specifications have been embedded into a Java simulator, soon to be made open-source. We have also designed an associated FITS input/output format standard that we present here.Comment: 9 pages (+5 of appendices), 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic