Vitamin D Deficiency and Insufficiency in Obese Children and Adolescents and Its Relationship with Insulin Resistance

Objectives. We aimed to determine the relationship between insulin resistance and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels in obese children and their nonobese peers. Materials and Methods. Included in the study group were 188 obese children (aged 9–15 years), and 68 age- and gender-matched healthy children of normal weight as control group. Anthropomorphic data were collected on patients and fasting serum glucose, insulin, serum lipids, alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) and 25-OHD were measured. The homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated in both groups. Results. The levels of 25-OHD in the obese group were significantly lower than those of the nonobese (). HOMA-IR, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and ALT levels in the obese group were significantly higher than values of control group ( and , resp.). In the obese group, vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency (25-OHD 10 ng/dl; > 20 ng/dl, resp.) were not correlated with HOMA-IR (, ). HOMA-IR was negatively correlated with BMI, BMI SDS, and BMI%, and triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and ALT levels (). Conclusion. The insulin resistance of the obese subjects who were vitamin D deficient and insufficient did not statistically differ from those with vitamin D sufficiency. Low 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were not related with higher insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents. In obese subjects, insulin resistance was affected more from BMI, BMI SDS, and BMI% than from 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels

Impact of conflict related and workplace related violence on job satisfaction among physicians from Iraq - a descriptive cross-sectional multicentre study

Background: During the last decade, the events of violence against healthcare providers have been escalated, especially in the areas of conflicts. This study aimed to test the impact of conflict-related and workplace-related violence on job satisfaction among Iraqi physicians. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a self-administered survey was conducted among medical doctors in Iraq from January to June 2014. Participants (n=535, 81.1% response rate) were selected at random from 20 large general and district hospitals using a multistage sampling technique. Results: The mean (+SD) value on the total job satisfaction score was 42.26 (+14.63). The majority of respondents (67.3%) experienced unsafe medical practice; however, the conflict- related violence showed no significant difference in job satisfaction scores. In backward regression analysis, two socio-demographic variables (age, gender), and three work-related variables (being a specialist, working less than 40 hours per week, working in both government and private sector) were positively related to job satisfaction, while the workplace violence variables were negatively related. It was found that increases in physical attack, verbal abuse, bullying, and racial harassment brought about decreases in job satisfaction scores of 6,087, 3.014, 9,107, and 4,242, respectively. Conclusion: Our results suggest that work-related variables and workplace violence do affect job satisfaction. Specifically, when physicians have been physically attacked, verbally abused, bullied, and racially harassed, their job satisfaction decreases significantly

Impact of conflict related and workplace related violence on job satisfaction among physicians from Iraq - a descriptive cross-sectional multi centre study

Background: During the last decade the events of violence against healthcare providers have been escalated, especially in the areas of conflicts. This study aimed to test the impact of conflict-related and workplace -related violence on job satisfaction among Iraqi physicians. Methods: A cross sectional study with a self-administered survey was conducted among medical doctors in Iraq from January to June 2014. Participants (n=535, 81.1% response rate) were selected at random from 20 large general and district hospitals using multistage sampling technique. Results: The mean (+SD) value on the total job satisfaction score was 42.26 (SD = 14.63). Majority of respondents (67.3%) experienced unsafe medical practice, however, the conflict- related violence showed no significant difference on job satisfaction scores. In backward regression analysis, two socio-demographic variables (age, gender), and three work-related variables (being a specialist, working less than 40 hours per week, working in both government and private sector) were positively related to job satisfaction, while the workplace violence variables were negatively related. It was found that increases in physical attack, verbal abuse, bullying and racial harassment brought about decreases in job satisfaction scores of 6,087, 3.014, 9,107 and 4,242 respectively. Conclusion: Our results suggest that work related variables and workplace violence really do have an effect on job satisfaction. Specifically, when physicians have been physically attacked, verbally abused, bullied and racially harassed, their job satisfaction decreases significantly

Predictors of emotional exhaustion among physicians from Iraq - a descriptive cross-sectional multicentre study

Background: Doctors and paramedics in countries suffering from long-acting conflicts, including Iraq, are working in severe and exceptional conditions, putting them under severe physical and psychological pressure, therefore examining burnout is important when dealing with the quality of care and working conditions. This study aimed to assess the point prevalence and to explore factors associated with emotional exhaustion (EE) among medical doctors in Iraq. Methods: Descriptive and a cross-sectional study was conducted (January to June 2014) among a randomly selected sample of medical doctors (n=576, 87.3% response rate) working in twenty large general hospitals and medical centers. In addition to EE, the self-administered questionnaire used was consisting of questions on sociodemographic, work-related characteristics, conflict-related variables, and job satisfaction. EE was measured using the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Results: The prevalence of EE reported by 60.0% of the respondents. In multiple linear regression analysis, the emotional burnout was higher among doctors who were married, female, bearing children, being threatened, displaced internally, non-specialist doctors, working more than 40 hours per week, experienced unsafe medical practice, disagreed with the way manager handle the staff and those who reported that the doctor-patient relationship as not excellent.  Conclusion: Our findings suggest that job dissatisfaction, conflict, and violence-related factors were significantly associated with a high level of emotional exhaustion among Iraqi physicians

Assembly of Plasmonic Nanoparticles on Nanopatterns of Polymer Brushes Fabricated by Electrospin Nanolithography

This paper presents electrospin nanolithography (ESPNL) for versatile and low-cost fabrication of nanoscale patterns of polymer brushes to serve as templates for assembly of metallic nanoparticles. Here electrospun nanofibers placed on top of a substrate grafted with polymer brushes serve as masks. The oxygen plasma etching of the substrate followed by removal of the fibers leads to linear patterns of polymer brushes. The line-widths as small as ∼50 nm can be achieved by precise tuning of the diameter of fibers, etching condition, and fiber-substrate interaction. Highly aligned and spatially defined patterns can be fabricated by operating in the near-field electrospinning regime. Patterns of polymer brushes with two different chemistries effectively directed the assembly of gold nanoparticles and silver nanocubes. Nanopatterned brushes imparted strong confinement effects on the assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles and resulted in strong localization of electromagnetic fields leading to intense signals in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. The scalability and simplicity of ESPNL hold great promise in patterning of a broad range of polymer thin films for different applications

Robust superhydrophobicity on paper: Protection of spray-coated nanoparticles against mechanical wear by the microstructure of paper

Practical applications require scalable, low cost and facile approaches to fabricate coatings that are repellent to liquids and yet are resistant to mechanical impact and abrasion which may occur during service operation of these materials. Here we report fabrication of superhydrophobic (SHP) coatings on paper substrates by one-step spray-coating of fluorinated silica nanoparticles. The coatings were extremely repellent to water and organic liquids with surface tensions higher than similar to 45 mN/m, as demonstrated by the sliding angles that are lower than 5 degrees. The coated paper substrates retained their liquid repellency behavior without any discernable change in their static contact and sliding angles following different mechanical wear tests. Mechanical robustness together with demonstrations in self-cleaning, anti-icing and food-packaging show great promise for the use of fabricated paper substrates in different applications. A significant finding of the present work is that the mechanical robustness of the spray-coated fluorinated silica nanoparticles in the absence of any polymeric matrix/binder was dramatically higher on paper in comparison to flat substrates. These results suggest that the inherent microstructure of the paper provides a suitable matrix for protecting the functionalized nanoparticles against external mechanical effects and present an effective strategy for improving the mechanical robustness of the coatings fabricated by one-step spray-coating of nanomaterials. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The Effect of Obesity Degree on Childhood Pulmonary Function Tests

Background: Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic. It is related to several chronic diseases such as essential hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and renal disease. The relationship between the degree of obesity and lung functions is well defined in adults, but limited information is available about the childhood period. Aims: This study aims to determine the impact of the degree of obesity on the pulmonary functions of school children and adolescents. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Methods: Included in the study were a total of 170 school children and adolescents (9-17 years old) referred to our paediatric outpatient clinic. Of these subjects, 42 were lean and non-obese (BMI % <85), 30 subjects were overweight (BMI % ˃85, <95), 34 subjects were obese (BMI % ˃95, <97), and 64 subjects were morbidly obese (BMI % ˃97). Anthropometric measurements were taken and spirometry was performed on all subjects. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity 25-75 (FEV25-75) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) were used to measure the ventilatory functions for all the subjects. Results: The groups showed no significant differences in age or gender. Despite no statistically significant differences in FEV1, FVC, or FEV1/FVC, there were significant reductions in PEF (p<0.001) and FEV25-75 (p<0.001) in the overweight, obese and morbidly obese subjects, when compared with those who were non-obese. Conclusion: Overweight, obese and morbidly obese children have no obstructive abnormalities compared with healthy lean subjects

Superhydrophobic coatings made from biocompatible polydimethylsiloxane and natural wax

There is a strong need for mechanically robust superhydrophobic coatings that can be manufactured from ecofriendly and sustainable materials for a broad portfolio of applications. Here, we report the preparation of a composite suspension coating from biocompatible carnauba wax and polydimethylsiloxane, and demonstrate its superhydrophobicity and resistance to water impact. The superhydrophobicity and mechanical stability of the coated surfaces can be controlled by adjusting the concentrations of constituent materials. The composite suspension can be easily drop cast or spray-coated on common materials, such as glass and paper, wherein the coated surface exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning property. Glass substrates spray-coated with the composite suspension demonstrate high levels of resistance against water impact, retaining superhydrophobicity even after the impact of 250,000 water droplets

Physically Unclonable Surfaces via Dewetting of Polymer Thin Films

From anti-counterfeiting to biotechnology applications, there is a strong demand for encoded surfaces with multiple security layers that are prepared by stochastic processes and are adaptable to deterministic fabrication approaches. Here, we present dewetting instabilities in nanoscopic (thickness <100 nm) polymer films as a form of physically unclonable function (PUF). The inherent randomness involved in the dewetting process presents a highly suitable platform for fabricating unclonable surfaces. The thermal annealing-induced dewetting of poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (P2VP) on polystyrene-grafted substrates enables fabrication of randomly positioned functional features that are separated at a microscopic length scale, a requirement set by optical authentication systems. At a first level, PUFs can be simply and readily verified via reflection of visible light. Area-specific electrostatic interactions between P2VP and citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles allow for fabrication of plasmonic PUFs. The strong surface-enhanced Raman scattering by plasmonic nanoparticles together with incorporation of taggants facilitates a molecular vibration-based security layer. The patterning of P2VP films presents opportunities for fabricating hybrid security labels, which can be resolved through both stochastic and deterministic pathways. The adaptability to a broad range of nanoscale materials, simplicity, versatility, compatibility with conventional fabrication approaches, and high levels of stability offer key opportunities in encoding applications

The relationship of surface roughness and wettability of 316L stainless steel implants with plastic deformation mechanisms

The wettability of the implant plays significant role in successful tissue-implant integration and shows strong dependence on the surface topography of the material. Recent studies showed that the plastic deformation mechanisms can improve cell response, and increase surface roughness and energy. In order to understand the effect of these mechanisms on wettability, 316L stainless steel samples were subjected to tensile test and deformed up to 15% to 35% of strain levels. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) presented approximately 22-fold greater average surface roughness on the 35% deformed sample compared to undeformed one. On the other hand, sessile drop test showed contact angle decrease from 82 degrees to 52 degrees as the deformation increased. This finding is significant since much higher contact angle value at similar surface roughness was presented in the literature. This demonstrates that the plastic deformation mechanisms can play significant role in enhancing the surface wettability without a need for a surface treatment technique. Hence, through the activation of these mechanisms, wettability and surface energy of the implant materials could be further increased which would result with enhanced cell response and lessened post-surgical complications. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved