Associations between dietary added sugar intake and micronutrient intake: a systematic review

Original article can be found at: http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright The Authors. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114507617206There is increasing concern that high intakes of added sugars might compromise intakes of micronutrients. The objectives of this systematic review were (1) to determine whether dietary added sugar intake was associated with micronutrient intakes, and if so, whether there was evidence of micronutrient dilution as a result of higher dietary added sugar intake and (2) if micronutrient dilution was present, to determine whether there was sufficiently robust evidence to support a threshold effect above which there was a significant decline in micronutrient intake or status relative to the recommended intakes. A systematic computerised literature search was undertaken, limited to studies written in English published from 1980 onwards and further studies identified through hand searching papers. Fifteen studies that assessed associations between intakes of added sugars or non-milk extrinsic sugars and micronutrients were included. Overall, there are insufficient data and inconsistency between studies in relationships between added sugars and micronutrient intakes, with no clear evidence of micronutrient dilution or a threshold for a quantitative amount of added sugar intake for any of the micronutrients investigated. The current evidence base is considerably constrained by methodological issues. Further research is required to determine which food products high in added sugars might adversely affect micronutrient intakes by displacing other food items from the diet. Analyses should take into account the magnitude of any observed associations to determine their true biological significance.Peer reviewe

An investigation to examine the most appropriate methodology to capture historical and modern preserved anatomical specimens for use in the digital age to improve access: a pilot study

Anatomico-pathological specimens constitute a valuable component of many medical museums or institutional collections but can be limited in their impact on account of both physical and intellectual inaccessibility. Further concerns relate to conservation as anatomical specimens may be subject to tissue deterioration, constraints imposed by spatial or financial limitations of the host institution, or accident-based destruction. In awareness of these issues, a simple and easily implementable methodology to increase accessibility, impact and conservation of anatomical specimens is proposed which combines photogrammetry, object virtual reality (object VR), and interactive portable document format (PDF) with supplementary historical and anatomical commentary. The methodology was developed using wet, dry, and plastinated specimens from the historical and modern collections in the Museum of Anatomy at the University of Glasgow. It was found that photogrammetry yielded excellent results for plastinated specimens and showed potential for dry specimens, while object VR produced excellent photorealistic virtual specimens for all materials visualised. Use of PDF as output format was found to allow for the addition of textual, visual, and interactive content, and as such supplemented the virtual specimen with multidisciplinary information adaptable to the needs of various audiences. The results of this small-scale pilot study indicate the beneficial nature of combining these established techniques into a methodology for the digitisation and utilisation of historical anatomical collections in particular, but also collections of material culture more broadly

Post-outburst X-ray flux and timing evolution of Swift J1822.3-1606

Swift J1822.3-1606 was discovered on 2011 July 14 by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope following the detection of several bursts. The source was found to have a period of 8.4377 s and was identified as a magnetar. Here we present a phase-connected timing analysis and the evolution of the flux and spectral properties using RXTE, Swift, and Chandra observations. We measure a spin frequency of 0.1185154343(8) s$^{-1}$ and a frequency derivative of $-4.3\pm0.3\times10^{-15}$ at MJD 55761.0, in a timing analysis that include significant non-zero second and third frequency derivatives that we attribute to timing noise. This corresponds to an estimated spin-down inferred dipole magnetic field of $B\sim5\times10^{13}$ G, consistent with previous estimates though still possibly affected by unmodelled noise. We find that the post-outburst 1--10 keV flux evolution can be characterized by a double-exponential decay with decay timescales of $15.5\pm0.5$ and $177\pm14$ days. We also fit the light curve with a crustal cooling model which suggests that the cooling results from heat injection into the outer crust. We find that the hardness-flux correlation observed in magnetar outbursts also characterizes the outburst of Swift J1822.3-1606. We compare the properties of Swift J1822.3-1606 with those of other magnetars and their outbursts.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

A Survey of 56 Mid-latitude EGRET Error Boxes for Radio Pulsars

We have conducted a radio pulsar survey of 56 unidentified gamma-ray sources from the 3rd EGRET catalog which are at intermediate Galactic latitudes (5 deg. < |b| < 73 deg.). For each source, four interleaved 35-minute pointings were made with the 13-beam, 1400-MHz multibeam receiver on the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. This covered the 95% error box of each source at a limiting sensitivity of about 0.2 mJy to pulsed radio emission for periods P > 10 ms and dispersion measures < 50 pc cm-3. Roughly half of the unidentified gamma-ray sources at |b| > 5 deg. with no proposed active galactic nucleus counterpart were covered in this survey. We detected nine isolated pulsars and four recycled binary pulsars, with three from each class being new. Timing observations suggest that only one of the pulsars has a spin-down luminosity which is even marginally consistent with the inferred luminosity of its coincident EGRET source. Our results suggest that population models, which include the Gould belt as a component, overestimate the number of isolated pulsars among the mid-latitude Galactic gamma-ray sources and that it is unlikely that Gould belt pulsars make up the majority of these sources. However, the possibility of steep pulsar radio spectra and the confusion of terrestrial radio interference with long-period pulsars (P > 200 ms) having very low dispersion measures (< 10 pc cm-3, expected for sources at a distance of less than about 1 kpc) prevent us from strongly ruling out this hypothesis. Our results also do not support the hypothesis that millisecond pulsars make up the majority of these sources. Non-pulsar source classes should therefore be further investigated as possible counterparts to the unidentified EGRET sources at intermediate Galactic latitudes.Comment: 24 pages, including 4 figures and 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap

Physical activity patterns in a nationally representative sample of adults in Ireland

Original article can be found at: http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright - the authors. DOI: 10.1079/PHN2001192Objective To evaluate habitual levels of physical activity in a nationally representative sample of adults in Ireland. Design Cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Usual levels of work, recreational and household activities were evaluated in relation to anthropometric, demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The amount and intensity of all activities were quantified by assigning metabolic equivalents (METS) to each activity. Setting Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, 1997–1999. Subjects Random sample of 1379 adults aged 18–64 years. Results Men were approximately twice as active in work and recreational activity (139.7 ± 83.9 METS) as women (68.5 ± 49.8 METS; P 28kg m−2) or obese (BMI > 30kg m−2). Fewer obese subjects reported higher levels of work and leisure activities. However, a higher percentage of obese women reported participation in the higher levels of household activities. Participation rates in recreational activities were low. Walking was the most important leisure activity of both men (41%) and women (60%). In terms of hours per week spent in vigorous physical activity, men were more active than women, professional and skilled non-manual women were more active than women in other social classes, and younger subjects (aged 18–35 years) were more active than older subjects. Conclusions The holistic approach used in the assessment of physical activity in this study has revealed important and subtle differences in the activity patterns of men and women. Failure to fully characterise the respective activity patterns of men and women could lead to ill-informed public health policy aimed at promoting and sustaining lifetime habits of physical activity. The results suggest that simple population-focused programmes to promote physical activity are unlikely to offer the same chance of long-term success as more sensitive and individualised strategies.Peer reviewe

On-Line Fatigue Crack Growth Monitoring in Externally Pressurised Vessels Using the Alternating Current Potential Drop (ACPD) Technique

At ARE (Dunfermline) fatigue tests are carried out on internally stiffened, welded steel cylindrical pressure vessels. These vessels are constructed from high yield strength quenched and tempered steels with full penetration butt and T-butt welds