Weight change and quality of life in a community-based population

*Objectives:* This study investigates the longitudinal association between 5-year weight change and quality of life (QoL) in Dutch men and women.

*Design:* A prospective cohort study (1998, 2000, 2003) in a population based sample. Subjects: 2,414 men and women from the Maastricht region of the Netherlands.

*Measurements:* QoL outcomes were measured by the RAND-36 (eight subscales and two overall composite scores, physical and mental health (PCS and MCS)). Weight was measured on a scale. Weight change was calculated as change in weight between 1998 and 2003. In addition, 5-year weight change was also categorized in three groups: weight losers, weight maintainers, and weight gainers. All analyses were stratified for gender.

*Results:* A total of 598 men (50%) and 646 women (54%) maintained their weight, 177 men (15%) and 163 women (14%) lost more than 2.5 kg, and 410 men (35%) and 379 women (32%) gained more than 2.5 kg. Associations between 5-year weight change and QoL were found for MCS ([beta] = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.02|0.24) in women, and PCS ([beta] = -0.09, 95% CI: -0.17|-0.00; [beta] = -0.10, 95% CI: -0.19|-0.01) in men and women respectively. Moreover, associations between weight change and QoL were most pronounced for women of normal weight and obese men. Furthermore, in both genders, weight gainers showed a greater reduction on all physical components of QoL compared with weight maintainers. However, after 5-years weight gainers and weight losers did not significantly differ from weight maintainers in the mean change of MCS and PCS.

*Conclusion:* Weight gain was inversely associated with the physical domains of QoL in women and obese men. Conversely, in women, weight gain was positively associated with the mental domains of QoL. No differences between weight losers and weight gainers were found in mean change of QoL compared with weight maintainers

The Origin of Cornbelt Maize: The Isozyme Evidence

Historical records show t hat the Midwestern dent corns of the United States originated from hybridization of two landraces, Northern Flint and Southern Dent. We examined the origin of Southern and Midwestern Dents by means of isozyme electrophoresis. Isozyme genotypes were determined for 23 loci in 12 plants each of 32 accessions of Southern Dent. Previously published isozyme data for maize landraces of Mexico and North America and for U.S. Midwestern Dents were included for comparative purposes. The data show that Northern Flint and Southern Dent are among the isozymically most divergent maize landraces. Nei’s genetic identities between populations of these two landraces are very low for conspecific populations (ca. 0.80). Southern Dent of the southeastern U.S. appears closely related to similar dent corns of southern Mexico, supporting a previously published hypothesis that U.S. Southern Dent is largely derived from the dent corns of southern Mexico. The Midwestern Dents, which resulted from crosses of Southern Dent and Northern Flint, are much more like Southern Dent than Northern Flint in their isozyme profile. Similarly, public inbreds show greater affinity to Southern Dent with the exception of sweet corn lines, which resemble Northern Flint in their isozyme allele frequencies. North American public inbreds do not contain appreciable isozymic variation beyond that found in Northern Flint and Southern Dent

Factors Influencing College Choice By Out of-State Students

What motivates students to attend an out-or-state school? To find out the answer, two groups of students were surveyed. One group was attending with the financial assistance of a scholarship designed to recruit out-of-state scholars. The second group included students who matriculated via the general admissions process. Information was also compared by gender. Students\u27 perceptions of academic programs, campus climate, cost, and the influence of other people in their lives were examined. The overall academic program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L), scholarships received, cost of tuition, and interest in a specific academic program were the major reasons why surveyed students chose to attend UN-L

Comparison of Enamel and Stainless Steel Electron Cloud Clearing Electrodes Tested in the CERN Proton Synchrotron

During the 2007 run with the nominal LHC proton beam, electron cloud has been clearly identified and characterized in the PS using a dedicated setup with shielded button-type pickups. Efficient electron cloud suppression could be achieved with a stainless steel stripline-type electrode biased to negative and positive voltages up to ± 1 kV. For the 2008 run, a second setup was installed in straight section 84 of the PS where the stainless steel was replaced by a stripline composed of an enamel insulator with a resistive coating. In contrast to ordinary stripline electrodes this setup presents a very low beam coupling impedance and could thus be envisaged for long sections of high-intensity machines. Here, we present first comparative measurements with this new type of enamel clearing electrode using the nominal LHC beam with 72 bunches and 25 ns bunch spacing

Amyloid peptide mixtures: self-assembly, hydrogelation, nematic ordering and catalysts in aldol reactions

Morphological, spectroscopic and scattering studies of the self-assembly and aggregation process of mixtures of [RF]4 and P[RF]4 peptides (where: R = arginine; F = phenylalanine; P = proline), in solution and as hydrogels, were performed to obtain information about polymorphism. CD data confirmed a β-sheet secondary structure conformation for the solutions and TEM images revealed nanofibers with diameters of ~ 10 nm and micrometer lengths. SAXS curves were fitted using a mass fractal-component and a long cylinder shell form factor for the liquid samples, and only a long cylinder shell form factor for the gels. Increasing the P[RF]4 content in the systems leads to a reduction in cylinder radius and core density scattering, suggesting an increase in packing of the peptide molecules; however, the opposite effect was observed for the gels. Remarkably, the gels are birefringent, indicating nematic ordering of the gel fibrils. These compounds show potential as catalysts in the asymmetric aldol reactions, with cyclohexanone and p-nitrobenzaldehyde in aqueous media. A moderate conversion (36.9 %) and a good stereoselectivity (69:31) were observed for the system containing only [RF]4, and with the increase of the P[RF]4, a considerable decrease of the conversion was observed, suggesting differences in the self-assembly and packing factor. Rheological measurements were performed to determine the shear moduli for the soft gels. These model amyloid peptides demonstrate a range of tunable self-assembly behaviors and additionally have potential as biocatalysts

Hyperfine magnetic field in ferromagnetic graphite

Information on atomic-scale features is required for a better understanding of the mechanisms leading to magnetism in non-metallic, carbon-based materials. This work reports a direct evaluation of the hyperfine magnetic field produced at 13C nuclei in ferromagnetic graphite by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The experimental investigation was made possible by the results of first-principles calculations carried out in model systems, including graphene sheets with atomic vacancies and graphite nanoribbons with edge sites partially passivated by oxygen. A similar range of maximum hyperfine magnetic field values (18-21T) was found for all systems, setting the frequency span to be investigated in the NMR experiments; accordingly, a significant 13C NMR signal was detected close to this range without any external applied magnetic field in ferromagnetic graphite