Is food addiction a predictor of treatment outcome among patients with eating disorder?

ObjectivesThe study aimed to examine whether food addiction (FA) was associated with greater severity in both binge eating disorders (BED) and bulimia nervosa and, therefore, to determine if FA was predictive of treatment outcome.MethodSeventy-one adult patients with bulimia nervosa and BED (42 and 29, respectively) participated in the study. FA was assessed by means of the Yale Food Addiction Scale.ResultsThe results confirmed a high prevalence of FA in patients with binge disorders (around 87%) and also its association with a greater severity of the disorder (i.e., related to an increased eating psychopathology and greater frequency of binge eating episodes). Although FA did not appear as a predictor of treatment outcome in general terms, when the diagnostic subtypes were considered separately, FA was associated with poor prognosis in the BED group. In this vein, FA appeared as a mediator in the relationship between ED severity and treatment outcome.DiscussionsOur findings suggest that FA may act as an indicator of ED severity, and it would be a predictor of treatment outcome in BED but not in BN.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152018/1/erv2705.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152018/2/erv2705_am.pd

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Use of mud from metallic surface treatment industries as additive to ceramic matrices

Ceramic processing is one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly solutions to the enormous amounts of industrial mud produced in metal surface treatments. Moreover, ceramized products may represent an important secondary source to replace clay materials and cut down manufacturing costs. After characterization, in order to prepare specimens by uniaxial die pressing, mud was incorporated into a clay matrix at rates between 1 and 5 wt %. Compression strength, linear contraction, suction capacity and water absorption of the moulded materials were evaluated. Finally, metal leakage was characterized through chemical analysis of lixiviates. The results showed an improvement in mechanical properties following the incorporation of mud into the ceramic materials. The resulting materials meet health and safety regulations regarding dangerous waste recycling.Peer reviewe

Caolín de Poveda de la Sierra (Guadalajara): caracterización, propiedades cerámicas y análisis mineralógico de fases con la temperatura

Peer reviewe

Valorization and inertization of galvanic sludge waste in clay bricks

Galvanic sludge wastes (GSW) are produced by the physico-chemical treatments of wastewater generated by electroplating plants. These materials have a significant potential for the production of clay ceramic bricks. This paper focuses on the viability of the inertization of heavy metals from GSW mixed with clays. The original materials were obtained by mixing three types of raw clay (red, yellow and black) in equal parts with GSW. These mixtures were characterized by XRD, XRF, and chemical elemental analysis CHNS. The dosage of GSW in the clay–GSW bricks was up to 5 wt.%. The bricks were then manufactured using conventional processes. The influence of the amount of GSW was evaluated after firing the clay–GSW composites at 950 °C for 1 h. The engineering properties of the fired samples, such as density, water absorption, open porosity, water suction and compressive strength, with and without the GSW, were determined. The incorporation of GSW into the clay mix clearly decreased the linear shrinkage and bulk density of the bricks in comparison with the fired clay used as a control. These GSW–clay composites also showed lower open porosity. According to the results obtained for the bulk density of the bricks, samples with GSW addition showed slightly lower values of open porosity than clay bodies, indicating that the GSW–clay samples had slightly higher closed porosity values. This was also shown by SEM. The open porosity, SEM and pore size distribution tests indicated that the porosity generated by the addition of GSW was mainly closed and, therefore, GSW bricks had excellent mechanical properties. The environmental risks of the incorporation of GSW, rich in heavy metals (Cr, Zn, Ni and others), to a clay matrix were evaluated by leaching tests of the fired products. The results indicated a successful inertization of the pollutants.Peer reviewe

New waste-based clinkers for the preparation of low-energy cements. A step forward toward circular economy

This paper describes the use of industrial wastes arising from different production processes of the ceramic and marble industries as raw materials for the design and formulation of new cement clinkers with a high content of dicalcium silicate (Belite). The aim was to reintroduce these wastes in the industrial sector and take advantage of them for a greater environmental benefit, as indicated by the principles of the circular economy. Formulations containing 2.5, 5 and 10 wt% of chamotte and marble sludge, respectively, and a waste-free formulation have been designed to obtain clinkers with a content of dicalcium silicate higher than 60 wt%. The different blends have been studied up to a maximum temperature of 1390°C by Thermal Analysis. Other techniques such as XRD, XRF, Modified Bogue Equation, Quality Indexes (LSF, AM, SM) and Optical Microscopy have been used for the study and characterization of industrial wastes, the raw materials and the high belite-type cement dosages. The results indicate that this type of cements can be designed using different types of wastes and in this way reduce the environmental impacts caused by the extraction of raw materials and the deposition of the wastes in landfills, improving the circular economy of the construction industry

Investigation of use of coal fly ash in eco-friendly construction materials: fired clay bricks and silica-calcareous non fired bricks

The use of coal fly ash (CFA) as raw material for the manufacture of two construction materials, fired clay bricks and silica-calcareous non-fired bricks, was investigated. Fired clay bricks were manufactured using a commercial clay and different waste ratios (0–50 wt%), moulded at 10 MPa and fired at 1000 ºC (4 h). Silica-calcareous non-fired bricks were prepared using two wastes as raw material: CFA and “geosilex”(G), a hidrated lime residue which comes entirely from acetylene industry waste. Different proportions CFA (80–30 wt%) – G (20–70 wt%) were investigated. Raw materials were moulded at 10 MPa and cured in water at room temperature during 28 days. The results indicated that the incorporation of up to 20 wt% of CFA produced fired clay bricks with physical and mechanical properties similar to control bricks without waste. However, additions of a higher amount (30–50 wt%) of residue resulted in a more pronounced decrease in mechanical properties (between 25–50%) due to an increase in open porosity. The technological characterization of the silica-calcareous non-fired bricks showed a reduction in the values of bulk density and water absorption when the coal fly ash content decreases. Silica-calcareous non-fired bricks containing between 40 and 60 wt% of CFA had the highest values of compressive strength in the range 46–43 MPa. These silica-calcareous non-fired bricks, 60CFA-40 G, 50CFA-50 G and 40CFA-60 G, presented the optimum amount of pozzolanic materials (SiO and AlO) in the coal fly ash and calcium hydroxide in the geosilex to give rise to the formation of calcium silicate hydrates and calcium aluminate hydrates, the phases responsible for the mechanical resistance increase of the construction materials. Therefore, CFA-clay fired bricks and silica-calcareous CFA-Geosilex non-fired bricks presented optimal technological properties that attain the quality standards.This work has been funded by the Project “Valuation of various types of ash for the obtaining of new sustainable ceramic materials” (UJA2014/06/13), Own Plan University of Jaen, sponsored by Caja Rural of Jaen. The authors thank the companies “Thermal Power Plant Litoral SS” and “Geosilex Trenza Metal S.L.” for supplying the ashes and geosilex, respectively. Technical and human support provided by CICT of Universidad de Jaén (UJA, MINECO, Junta de Andalucía, FEDER) is gratefully acknowledged