Smoking status in relation to serum folate and dietary vitamin intake

Objective Cigarette smoke itself is an abundant source of free radicals and a major cause of oxidative stress, to which plasma antioxidants function as a vital protective and counterbalancing mechanism. The objective of this study was to investigate into the relationship between smoking status and serum and dietary micronutrient concentrations. Design Cross-sectional study Subjects ' Setting 502 farmers from the Valley of Messara in Crete were randomly selected and examined. Complete three-day and 24-hr recall questionnaires were collected along with anthropometrical, physical activity and clinical data from all participating subjects. Results After adjusting for age, gender and number of fasting days adhered to per year, current smokers were found to have a lower dietary intake of vitamin C (112.1 mg vs. 136.4 mg, p = 0.03), fibre (16.6 g vs. 19.1 g, p = 0.006) and fruits and vegetables (339 g vs. 412 g, p = 0.014), while dietary vitamin B1 intake was found to be higher (1.7 mg vs. 1.4 mg, p = 0.02) in comparison to non/ex smokers. Dietary intake of meat, folate and vitami A, E, B2, B6 and B12 did not differ between the groups. Controlling age, gender, fasting days and dietary micronutrient intake, serum folate levels were found to be lower among smokers (geometric mean 15.3 nmol/L vs. 17.7 nmol/L, p = 0.023), while serum iron and vitamin B12 levels were not affected by smoking status. Conclusion Current smoking status affects dietary nutrient intake as well as plasma folate levels. The above coherence between antioxidant depletion and reduced antioxidant intake may predispose smokers to the premature development of tobacco related mortality and morbidity

Advanced Modalizing Problems

I present an internal problem for David Lewis’s genuine modal realism. My aim is to show that his analysis of modality is inconsistent with his metaphysics. I consider several ways of modifying the Lewisian analysis of modality, but argue that none are successful. I argue that the problem also affects theories related to genuine modal realism, including the stage theory of persistence and modal fictionalism

Study of subjects with indeterminate results in primary HIV screening

Η πρώτη αναφορά του συνδρόμου που σήμερα ονομάζεται Σύνδρομο Επίκτητης Ανοσολογικής Ανεπάρκειας ή AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), έγινε στις 5/6/1981 στο Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report του Κέντρου Ελέγχου και Πρόληψης Μεταδοτικών Νοσημάτων (CDC) των Η.Π.Α., με την ανακοίνωση πέντε περιστατικών. Με την εμφάνιση του AIDS στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του ’80, κλονίστηκε η πεποίθηση ότι οι λοιμώξεις [αντίθετα με μη μεταδοτικές νόσους όπως κακοήθειες, καρδιοπάθειες και εκφυλιστικές ασθένειες] δεν αποτελούσαν πια σοβαρή απειλή για τη δημόσια υγεία στις αναπτυγμένες χώρες. Αρχικά το AIDS χαρακτηρίστηκε σαν «σύνδρομο ομοφυλοφίλων» («gay syndrome») ή GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency), επειδή τα πρώτα κρούσματα διαγνώστηκαν σε προηγούμενα υγιείς νέους ομοφυλόφιλους άνδρες και τα κυριότερα συμπτώματα του συνδρόμου οφείλονταν σε ανοσοανεπάρκεια. Η ανακάλυψη όμως του ίδιου συνδρόμου σε αιμορροφιλικούς, δέκτες μετάγγισης αίματος και παραγώγων, χρήστες ενδοφλέβιων ναρκωτικών (IVDUs) και σεξουαλικούς συντρόφους αυτών, κλόνισε την υπόθεση του «gay syndrome» και το 1982 καθιερώθηκε διεθνώς η ονομασία AIDS. [...

Διερεύνηση ατόμων με αδιευκρίνιστα αποτελέσματα στον πρωτογενή έλεγχο για λοίμωξη HIV

Global illumination is an important factor when striving for photo realism in computergraphics. This thesis describes why this is the case, and why global illumination is considered acomplex problem to solve. The problem becomes even more demanding when considering realtime purposes. Resent research has proven it possible to produce global illumination in realtime. Therefore the subject of this thesis is to compare and evaluate a number of those methods. An implementation is presented based on the Imperfect shadow maps method, which per se isbased on instant radiosity and reflective shadow maps. The implementation is able to renderplausible global illumination effects in real time, for fully dynamic scenes. With conclusions that while it demonstrably is possible to provide believable global illum-ination in real time, it is not without shortcomings. In every case approximations or restrictionshas to be done to some extent, sometimes leading to wrong results. Though in most cases, notvisually unpleasing by a great deal. The final conclusion is that global illumination is possible on current hardware, with believablequality and good speed. Showing great potential for future implementations on next generationof hardware

Atorvastatin for diabetic macular edema in patients with diabetes mellitus and elevated serum cholesterol.

To determine the efficacy of atorvastatin in reducing hard exudates and diabetic macular edema. An uncontrolled clinical case series included 18 eyes with diabetic maculopathy and an elevated baseline lipid profile. All patients were treated with atorvastatin. Ophthalmologic evaluation, including fundus photography and fluorescein angiography, was performed at presentation and repeated at 3, 6, and 12 months. Hard exudates, hemorrhages, and fluorescein leakage at 12 months were evaluated and compared with baseline findings. Eighteen subjects with diabetic maculopathy received atorvastatin, and a significant decrease in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was seen (P < .05). Hard exudates and fluorescein leakage were decreased. No evidence of an association between change in hemorrhage status and treatment was found. Oral atorvastatin therapy in patients with diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia seems to reduce the severity of hard exudates and fluorescein leakage in diabetic maculopathy and could be useful as an adjuvant therapy in the management of diabetic macular edema

Vitamin D and Exercise Performance in Professional Soccer Players

<div><p>Aim</p><p>The current study had two aims. The primary purpose was to examine the association between serum vitamin D levels and the ergometric evaluation of muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and speed in professional soccer players. The secondary aim was to evaluate the effects of the soccer off-season period on serum vitamin D levels.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Sixty-seven Caucasian male soccer players (age 25.6±6.2 and height 1.81±0.08 m), members of two Greek Superleague Soccer teams and one Football-league championship team participated in this study. Exercise performance testing for the determination of squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), 10 (10 m) and 20 meters (20 m) sprint performance, maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max), anthropometry, and blood sampling were performed before (pre) and after (post) the six-week off-season period.</p><p>Results</p><p>Analysis of our results showed the following: (a) a significant correlations between serum vitamin D levels and performance parameters in both pre (SJ; P<0.001, CMJ; P<0.001, VO₂max; P<0.001, 10 m; P<0.001, and 20 m; P<0.001) and post (SJ; P<0.001, CMJ; P<0.001, VO₂max; P = 0.006, 10 m; P<0.001, and 20 m; P<0.001) experimental sessions. (b) Vitamin D concentration increased significantly (P<0.001) following the six-week off-season period compared to baseline, while at the same time all measured performance parameters decreased (SJ; P<0.001, CMJ; P<0.001, 10 m; P<0.001, 20 m; P<0.001, VO₂max; P<0.001).</p><p>Discussion</p><p>Our findings suggest that vitamin D levels are associated with the ergometric evaluation of muscle strength, as expressed by SJ and CMJ, sprinting capacity, and VO₂max in professional soccer players, irrespective the levels of performance. Furthermore, our data reaffirm the importance of UVB on serum vitamin D levels. Moreover, reductions in exercise training stress may also have beneficial effects on vitamin D levels, suggesting a possible association of its levels and the training-induced stress. Our results indicate a possibly bidirectional interaction between soccer performance indices and vitamin D levels.</p></div

Arts-Boats. Toward Chat-based Conversational Experience in Museums

In this work we esplore how a conversational user interface can be employed to offer engaging experiences in museums through what we call “artboats”. Art-boats interact with visitors through chat and convey information about the museum artifacts and history through short stories. We take a practical approach for the interaction based on a set of responses that are triggered by certain keywords and a curated story that guides visitors to a gamified information hunt

Correlations (correlation coefficients and p-values) between Vitamin D levels and exercise performance parameters.

<p>Pre: measurement prior to the beginning of the off-season transition period;</p><p>Post: measurement at the end of the off-season transition period.</p