Validation of the SenseWear armband in circuit resistance training with different loads

The use of the SenseWear™ armband (SWA), an objective monitor of physical activity, is a relatively new device used by researchers to measure energy expenditure. These monitors are practical, relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of SWAs for the measurement of energy expenditure (EE) in circuit resistance training (CRT) at three different intensities in moderately active, healthy subjects. The study subjects (17 females, 12 males) undertook CRT at 30, 50 and 70% of the 15 repetition maximum for each exercise component wearing an SWA as well as an Oxycon Mobile (OM) portable metabolic system (a gold standard method for measuring EE). The EE rose as exercise intensity increased, but was underestimated by the SWAs. For women, Bland-Altman plots showed a bias of 1.13 ± 1.48 METs and 32.1 ± 34.0 kcal in favour of the OM system, while for men values of 2.33 ± 1.82 METs and 75.8 ± 50.8 kcal were recorded

Meta Modeling for Business Process Improvement

Conducting business process improvement (BPI) initiatives is a topic of high priority for today’s companies. However, performing BPI projects has become challenging. This is due to rapidly changing customer requirements and an increase of inter-organizational business processes, which need to be considered from an end-to-end perspective. In addition, traditional BPI approaches are more and more perceived as overly complex and too resource-consuming in practice. Against this background, the paper proposes a BPI roadmap, which is an approach for systematically performing BPI projects and serves practitioners’ needs for manageable BPI methods. Based on this BPI roadmap, a domain-specific conceptual modeling method (DSMM) has been developed. The DSMM supports the efficient documentation and communication of the results that emerge during the application of the roadmap. Thus, conceptual modeling acts as a means for purposefully codifying the outcomes of a BPI project. Furthermore, a corresponding software prototype has been implemented using a meta modeling platform to assess the technical feasibility of the approach. Finally, the usability of the prototype has been empirically evaluated

APOE ε4 lowers age at onset and is a high risk factor for Alzheimer's disease; A case control study from central Norway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study was to analyze factors influencing the risk and timing of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in central Norway. The <it>APOE </it>ε4 allele is the only consistently identified risk factor for late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). We have described the allele frequencies of the apolipoprotein E gene (<it>APOE</it>) in a large population of patients with AD compared to the frequencies in a cognitively-normal control group, and estimated the effect of the <it>APOE </it>ε4 allele on the risk and the age at onset of AD in this population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>376 patients diagnosed with AD and 561 cognitively-normal control individuals with no known first degree relatives with dementia were genotyped for the <it>APOE </it>alleles. Allele frequencies and genotypes in patients and control individuals were compared. Odds Ratio for developing AD in different genotypes was calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Odds Ratio (OR) for developing AD was significantly increased in carriers of the <it>APOE </it>ε4 allele compared to individuals with the <it>APOE </it>ε3/ε3 genotype. Individuals carrying <it>APOE </it>ε4/ε4 had OR of 12.9 for developing AD, while carriers of <it>APOE </it>ε2/ε4 and <it>APOE </it>ε3/ε4 had OR of 3.2 and 4.2 respectively. The effect of the <it>APOE </it>ε4 allele was weaker with increasing age. Carrying the <it>APOE </it>ε2 allele showed no significant protective effect against AD and did not influence age at onset of the disease. Onset in LOAD patients was significantly reduced in a dose dependent manner from 78.4 years in patients without the <it>APOE </it>ε4 allele, to 75.3 in carriers of one <it>APOE </it>ε4 allele and 72.9 in carriers of two <it>APOE </it>ε4 alleles. Age at onset in early onset AD (EOAD) was not influenced by <it>APOE </it>ε4 alleles.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>APOE </it>ε4 is a very strong risk factor for AD in the population of central Norway, and lowers age at onset of LOAD significantly.</p

Coupled transcriptome and proteome analysis of human lymphotropic tumor viruses: insights on the detection and discovery of viral genes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are related human tumor viruses that cause primary effusion lymphomas (PEL) and Burkitt's lymphomas (BL), respectively. Viral genes expressed in naturally-infected cancer cells contribute to disease pathogenesis; knowing which viral genes are expressed is critical in understanding how these viruses cause cancer. To evaluate the expression of viral genes, we used high-resolution separation and mass spectrometry coupled with custom tiling arrays to align the viral proteomes and transcriptomes of three PEL and two BL cell lines under latent and lytic culture conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of viral genes were efficiently detected at the transcript and/or protein level on manipulating the viral life cycle. Overall the correlation of expressed viral proteins and transcripts was highly complementary in both validating and providing orthogonal data with latent/lytic viral gene expression. Our approach also identified novel viral genes in both KSHV and EBV, and extends viral genome annotation. Several previously uncharacterized genes were validated at both transcript and protein levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This systems biology approach coupling proteome and transcriptome measurements provides a comprehensive view of viral gene expression that could not have been attained using each methodology independently. Detection of viral proteins in combination with viral transcripts is a potentially powerful method for establishing virus-disease relationships.</p

Molecular dynamics simulations of non-equilibrium systems

Peer reviewe

Direct measurement of thermal conductivity in solid iron at planetary core conditions

The conduction of heat through minerals and melts at extreme pressures and temperatures is of central importance to the evolution and dynamics of planets. In the cooling Earth’s core, the thermal conductivity of iron alloys defines the adiabatic heat flux and therefore the thermal and compositional energy available to support the production of Earth’s magnetic field via dynamo action1, 2, 3. Attempts to describe thermal transport in Earth’s core have been problematic, with predictions of high thermal conductivity4, 5, 6, 7 at odds with traditional geophysical models and direct evidence for a primordial magnetic field in the rock record8, 9, 10. Measurements of core heat transport are needed to resolve this difference. Here we present direct measurements of the thermal conductivity of solid iron at pressure and temperature conditions relevant to the cores of Mercury-sized to Earth-sized planets, using a dynamically laser-heated diamond-anvil cell11, 12. Our measurements place the thermal conductivity of Earth’s core near the low end of previous estimates, at 18–44 watts per metre per kelvin. The result is in agreement with palaeomagnetic measurements10 indicating that Earth’s geodynamo has persisted since the beginning of Earth’s history, and allows for a solid inner core as old as the dynamo