Gender differences in the association between adiposity and probable major depression: a cross-sectional study of 140,564 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Previous studies on the association between adiposity and mood disorder have produced contradictory results, and few have used measurements other than body mass index (BMI). We examined the association between probable major depression and several measurements of adiposity: BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-hip-ratio (WHR), and body fat percentage (BF%).<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> We conducted a cross-sectional study using baseline data on the sub-group of UK Biobank participants who were assessed for mood disorder. Multivariate logistic regression models were used, adjusting for potential confounders including: demographic and life-style factors, comorbidity and psychotropic medication.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> Of the 140,564 eligible participants, evidence of probable major depression was reported by 30,145 (21.5%). The fully adjusted odds ratios (OR) for obese participants were 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12, 1.20) using BMI, 1.15 (95% CI 1.11, 1.19) using WC, 1.09 (95% CI 1.05, 1.13) using WHR and 1.18 (95% CI 1.12, 1.25) using BF% (all p <0.001). There was a significant interaction between adiposity and gender (p = 0.001). Overweight women were at increased risk of depression with a dose response relationship across the overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m2), obese I (30.0-34.9 kg/m2), II (35.0-39.9 kg/m2) and III (≥40.0 kg/m2) categories; fully adjusted ORs 1.14, 1.20, 1.29 and 1.48, respectively (all p < 0.001). In contrast, only obese III men had significantly increased risk of depression (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.08, 1.54, p = 0.006).<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b><p></p> Adiposity was associated with probable major depression, irrespective of the measurement used. The association was stronger in women than men. Physicians managing overweight and obese women should be alert to this increased risk

Oštećenja u aluminiju proizvedena zračenjem iz CO2 i Nd:YAG lasera

The change in the electrical properties of pure aluminium (Al 99.999%) after exposure to CO2 (energy = 2.5 J/pulse, wavelength = 10.6 µm, pulse duration = 200 nsec) and Nd:YAG (energy = 10 mJ/pulse, wavelength = 1.06 µm and pulse duration = 12 nsec) laser radiation is investigated. The samples were exposed to laser radiations for different numbers of pulses. The change in electrical characteristics of Al is studied under different ambient conditions, after irradiating the samples in air, vacuum and hydrogen at different pressures. After exposure, the electrical conductivity of Al is measured by the four probe method. The electrical conductivity decreases with increasing number of pulses. The damage in air and in hydrogen is more pronounced than in vacuum which can be attributed to collisionnal sputtering of Al by plasma ions of air molecules and hydrogen, respectively. The change in the conductivity in hydrogen is pressure-dependent. Some theoretical considerations are also made, e.g. the phonon speed in Al during the photon interaction, minimal melting and evaporation energy per volume, damage threshold energy, penetration depth, the mass of heated volume and average temperature rise at the Al surface during laser irradiation.Proučavamo promjene električnih svojstava čistog aluminija (Al 99.999%) nakon obasjavanja CO2 (energija = 2.5 J/puls, valna duljina = 10.6 µm, trajanje pulsa = 200 nsec) i Nd:YAG (energija = 10 mJ/puls, valna duljina = 1.06 µm, trajanje pulsa = 12 nsec) laserima. Uzorci su izloženi različitim brojevima pulseva. Proučavali smo promjene električne vodljivosti Al s uzorcima u zraku, vakuumu i u vodiku. Nakon obasjavanja mjerili smo električnu vodljivost metodom četiriju spojišta. Električna se vodljivost smanjuje nakon povećanog broja pulseva. Oštećenja u zraku i vodiku veća su nego u vakuumu, što se pripisuje sudarnom rasprašivanju Al ionima molekula zraka odnosno vodika u plazmi. Promjena vodljivosti uzoraka obasjanih u vodiku ovisna je o tlaku. Razmotrili smo neke teorijske rezultate, npr. fononsku brzinu u Al tijekom obasjavanja, minimalnu energiju taljenja i isparavanja po jedinici volumena, energijski prag oštećenja, dubinu prodiranja, masu zagrijanog volumena i prosječno povećanje temperature površine Al tijekom obasjavanja

Oštećenja u aluminiju proizvedena zračenjem iz CO2 i Nd:YAG lasera

The change in the electrical properties of pure aluminium (Al 99.999%) after exposure to CO2 (energy = 2.5 J/pulse, wavelength = 10.6 µm, pulse duration = 200 nsec) and Nd:YAG (energy = 10 mJ/pulse, wavelength = 1.06 µm and pulse duration = 12 nsec) laser radiation is investigated. The samples were exposed to laser radiations for different numbers of pulses. The change in electrical characteristics of Al is studied under different ambient conditions, after irradiating the samples in air, vacuum and hydrogen at different pressures. After exposure, the electrical conductivity of Al is measured by the four probe method. The electrical conductivity decreases with increasing number of pulses. The damage in air and in hydrogen is more pronounced than in vacuum which can be attributed to collisionnal sputtering of Al by plasma ions of air molecules and hydrogen, respectively. The change in the conductivity in hydrogen is pressure-dependent. Some theoretical considerations are also made, e.g. the phonon speed in Al during the photon interaction, minimal melting and evaporation energy per volume, damage threshold energy, penetration depth, the mass of heated volume and average temperature rise at the Al surface during laser irradiation.Proučavamo promjene električnih svojstava čistog aluminija (Al 99.999%) nakon obasjavanja CO2 (energija = 2.5 J/puls, valna duljina = 10.6 µm, trajanje pulsa = 200 nsec) i Nd:YAG (energija = 10 mJ/puls, valna duljina = 1.06 µm, trajanje pulsa = 12 nsec) laserima. Uzorci su izloženi različitim brojevima pulseva. Proučavali smo promjene električne vodljivosti Al s uzorcima u zraku, vakuumu i u vodiku. Nakon obasjavanja mjerili smo električnu vodljivost metodom četiriju spojišta. Električna se vodljivost smanjuje nakon povećanog broja pulseva. Oštećenja u zraku i vodiku veća su nego u vakuumu, što se pripisuje sudarnom rasprašivanju Al ionima molekula zraka odnosno vodika u plazmi. Promjena vodljivosti uzoraka obasjanih u vodiku ovisna je o tlaku. Razmotrili smo neke teorijske rezultate, npr. fononsku brzinu u Al tijekom obasjavanja, minimalnu energiju taljenja i isparavanja po jedinici volumena, energijski prag oštećenja, dubinu prodiranja, masu zagrijanog volumena i prosječno povećanje temperature površine Al tijekom obasjavanja

Investigation of structural, electronic and thermoelectric properties of XCUOTE (X: BI, CE, LE) with GGA-WC exchange correlation functional

Linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbitals (LAPW + lo) method designed within density functional theory (DFT) has been used in this study to calculate the structural, electronic and thermoelectric properties of XCuOTe (X=Bi, Ce, La). Generalized gradient approximation, Wu-Cohen (GGA-WC) parameterized exchange correlation functional, was used. The structural and electronic calculations have a good agreement with previous study. For thermoelectric calculation, semi empirical Boltzmann approach implemented in BoltzTraP package was used to calculate Seebeck coefficient, electronic conductivity as well as thermal conductivity. By referring to previous studies, the results have good agreement with them. In addition, the Seebeck coefficient of these materials was calculated as a function of the chemical potential at temperatures 300K, 600K, and 900K. Our calculations highlight suitability of these materials for applications in thermoelectric devices

Cytotoxicity, In vitro anti-Leishmanial and fingerprint HPLC- photodiode array analysis of the roots of Trillium govanianum.

Trillium govanianum Wall. ex D. Don (Melanthiaceae alt. Trilliaceae), commonly known as 'nagchhatry' or 'teen patra', distributed from Pakistan to Bhutan about 2500-3800 m altitude is indigenous to Himalayas region. In folk medicine the plant has been reported for the treatment of wound healing, sepsis and in various sexual disorders. This paper reports, for the first time, to evaluate the cytotoxicity, in vitro anti-leishmanial (promastigotes) and fingerprint HPLC-photodiode array analysis of the MeOH extract of the roots of T. govanianum and its solid phase extraction fractions. Reverse phase HPLC-PDA based quantification revealed the presence of significant amount of quercetin, myrecetin and kaemferol ranging from 0.221to 0.528 μg/mg DW. MeOH extract revealed distinguishable protein kinase inhibitory activity against Streptomyces 85E strain with 18 mm bald phenotype. The remarkable toxicity profile against brine shrimps and leishmanial was manifested by MeOH extract with LC50 10 and 38.5 μg/mL, respectively

Investigation of GaBi1-xSbx based highly mismatched alloys: Potential thermoelectric materials for renewable energy devices and applications

The high-performance thermoelectric materials are considered a potential resource for clean and sustainable energy. Highly mismatched alloys (HMAs), that are admired for the dramatic modifications in their electronic band structures can essentially play important role in developing high-performance thermoelectric materials. Here, we explore the potential of GaBi1-xSbx based HMAs for their thermoelectric applications via density functional theory coupled with the Boltzmann transport theory. To perform a comprehensive analysis, four different Sb alloying compositions such as GaBi, GaBi0.875Sb0.125, GaBi0.75Sb0.25, and GaBi0.625Sb0.375, are considered. It is found that the Sb replacement over Bi in GaBi1-xSbx has stimulated two major modifications in the electronic band structure: the band-gap enhancement, and contraction in the curvature of conduction band minimum. These features have remarkably evolved the thermoelectric properties of GaBi1-xSbx as a function of Sb contents. The significant increase in Seebeck coefficient and decrease in the electrical conductivity of GaBi1-xSbx alloy as a function of Sb content have resulted in large values of thermoelectric power factor as well as the figure of merit (ZT). Considerable improvement in the ZT values as a function of Sb has been recorded that approaches to ~1.0 for GaBi0.625Sb0.375 at room temperature. The occurrence of optimal thermoelectric coefficient values, at attainable doping levels below the Fermi level reveals the predominantly p-type nature of the GaBi1-xSbx. Hence, GaBi1-xSbx (GaBi0.625Sb0.375 in particular) exhibits interesting thermoelectric properties at room temperature, and is therefore believed to be good candidate material for room temperature based thermoelectric devices and applications

Automatic Generation of Interpretable Lung Cancer Scoring Models from Chest X-Ray Images

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide with early detection being the key to a positive patient prognosis. Although a multitude of studies have demonstrated that machine learning, and particularly deep learning, techniques are effective at automatically diagnosing lung cancer, these techniques have yet to be clinically approved and adopted by the medical community. Most research in this field is focused on the narrow task of nodule detection to provide an artificial radiological second reading. We instead focus on extracting, from chest X-ray images, a wider range of pathologies associated with lung cancer using a computer vision model trained on a large dataset. We then find the set of best fit decision trees against an independent, smaller dataset for which lung cancer malignancy metadata is provided. For this small inferencing dataset, our best model achieves sensitivity and specificity of 85% and 75% respectively with a positive predictive value of 85% which is comparable to the performance of human radiologists. Furthermore, the decision trees created by this method may be considered as a starting point for refinement by medical experts into clinically usable multi-variate lung cancer scoring and diagnostic models

Exploring thermoelectric materials for renewable energy applications: The case of highly mismatched alloys based on AlBi1-xSbx and InBi1-xSbx

The high throughput thermoelectric devices are considered promising futuristic energy source to control global warming and realize the dream of green energy and sustainable environment. The ability of the highly mismatched alloys (HMAs), to show the intriguing impact on the physical properties with controlled modifications, has extended their promise to thermoelectric applications. Here, we examine comprehensively the potential of the two prototypical HMAs such as AlBi1-xSbx and InBi1-xSbx for thermoelectric applications within density functional theory together with the Boltzmann transport theory. For comprehensive understanding, alloying of these materials has been performed over the entire composition range. From our calculations, we found, the replacement of Sb with Bi leads to a significant evolution in the energy band-gap and effective masses of the charge carriers that consequently deliver enhancement in thermoelectric response. Improvement of magnitude 1.25 eV and 0.986 eV has been respectively recorded in band-gaps of AlBi1-xSbx and InBi1-xSbx for the across composition alloying. Similarly, by the electronic-structure engineering of HMAs, thermoelectric properties such as, the Seebeck coefficients over Fermi-level were found to be improved from 82.90 µV/K to 107.52 µV/K for AlBi1-xSbx and 60.32 µV/K to 92.73 µV/K for InBi1-xSbx. As a result, the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) and power factor show considerable enhancement as a function of alloying composition for both alloys at room temperature. However, at a higher temperature, the thermal conductivity of these materials experience an exponential increase, results in lower ZT values. Overall, the observed evolution in the electronic structure and thermoelectric response for replacing Sb over Bi is significant in AlBi1-xSbx as compared to InBi1-xSbx. Hence, with the capability of significant and controlled evolution in electronic-structure and subsequent thermoelectric properties, HMAs particularly AlBi1-xSbx are believed potential candidates for thermoelectric applications

Numerical simulation of lid driven flow in a curved corrugated porous cavity filled with CuO-water in the presence of heat generation/absorption

In this article, numerical simulation is performed for mixed convection lid-driven flow of CuO-water nanofluid enclosed in a curved corrugated. Cylindrical obstacles having three different constraints: (adiabatic, cold, and heated) at its surface are considered. Internal heat generation/absorption and uniform heat is provided at the vertical wall of the cavity. The bottom wall is insulated, and the curve surfaces are maintained with cold temperature. Mathematically equations are developed from physical problems and solved through Galerkin weighted residual method of FEM formulation. The effect of various Reynold number (), Darcy number (), solid volume fraction of nanoparticles (), heat generation/absorption coefficient () and various cylindrical obstacle on velocity, Nusselt number, molecular movements and the flow structure has been studied. Nusselt number increases for high Darcy number due to the convection in lid cavity. For high Reynold number generally Nusselt numbers decrease or remain the same at the wall with an increase of nanoparticles in porous medium. There significant effect of heat sink coefficient on temperature profile and Nusselt number decreases with increasing of Q