Search

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic gastrointestinal condition. While inflammatory biomarkers are valuable for diagnosing and monitoring the disease, their correlation with patients' quality of life (QoL) is not well-established. Purpose: This study aims to investigate the correlations between inflammatory biomarkers and the quality of life (QoL) variables of individuals diagnosed with IBD in clinical remission. Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional study included 74 patients (80% women; 45±11 years old) diagnosed with IBD. Outcome variables included faecal calprotectin (FC), C-reactive protein (CRP), cortisol levels from hair samples, and anxiety and depression assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A and HADS-D, respectively), alongside QoL evaluated with the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire 32 (IBDQ-32). Bivariate correlations were calculated using the Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise linear regression analyses were conducted to identify independent factors contributing to IBDQ-32 scores. Results: The IBDQ-32 did not significantly correlate with any biomarkers. However, it exhibited a large and statistically significant negative correlation with HADS-A (r=-0.651) and HADS-D (r=-0.611) scores (p < 0.001). Stepwise linear regression analyses indicated that HADS-A was a significant and independent predictor for IBDQ-32 scores (Adjusted R² = 0.41, β = -0.65, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Inflammatory markers such as CRP, FC, or cortisol in hair do not play a decisive role in assessing the QoL of IBD patients. These findings emphasize the significance of considering psychological factors in evaluating and managing QoL in IBD patients in order to identify severity, suggesting that instruments like HADS should be integral to comprehensive patient assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friction pendulum systems (FPSs) are a common solution for isolating civil engineering structures under ground movements. The result is a base-isolated structure in which the base exhibits low shear stiffness in such a way that the input energy of the earthquake is concentrated and dissipated into it, leaving the superstructure free of damage. As a consequence, large displacements of the FPS may be demanded depending on the earthquake intensity and the fundamental period of the FPS. To accommodate these displacements, large-size isolators with high friction coefficients are usually required. However, the FPS will then exhibit poor re-centering capacity and the risk of future shocks will increase due to previous residual displacements, especially for low-intensity earthquakes. An alternative solution is to include a semi-active damper to the FPS, keeping the friction coefficient low and achieving both, limited base displacement under high-intensity earthquakes and good re-centering capacity under low-intensity ones. Thus, this work presents a design methodology for base isolators formed by an FPS with a damper added. The design methodology is applied to an FPS with a passive damper and to an FPS with a semi-active damper. Two ON-OFF control strategies are studied: (i) a fairly simple phase control, and (ii), a mechanical energy-predictive based algorithm. The advantages of semi-active FPSs with low friction coefficients with respect to FPS with high friction coefficients are demonstrated. The results with the designed semi-active FPS are compared with the single FPS and the FPS with a passive damper. Finally, the use of semi-active FPS allows us to enhance the FPS performance as the isolator size can be reduced while keeping the capacity to cope with low and high-intensity earthquakes without residual displacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The purpose of this study was to estimate the heritability of genetic and environmental correlations between cardiometabolic risk factors in extended pedigrees. Methods The Jequitinhonha Community Family Study Cohort (JCFSC) consists of individuals aged ≥18 years living in rural villages. Family pedigrees were constructed of the cohort. The following data were collected: demographic and socioeconomic status, lifestyle variables, anthropometrics, and lipid traits. Results The JCFSC consists of 931 individuals distributed into 69 pedigrees with 4,907 members in total. The heritabilities were 0.47 for total cholesterol (TC), 0.44 for triglycerides (TG) and 0.42 for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), 0.49 for metabolic syndrome, approximately 0.60 for anthropometric traits and 0.30 for blood pressure/hypertension. Significant genetic correlations ( ρg) were found mainly between TG and TC ( ρg = 0.58) and hypertension and TG ( ρg = 0.52). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was correlated with TG ( ρg = 0.39) and HDLc ( ρg = −0.30). Diastolic blood pressures correlated with TG ( ρg=0.56) and TC ( ρg=0.30). Genetic correlations were also found between anthropometric traits, including: body mass index (BMI) and TG ( ρg=0.34), waist circumference (WC) and TG ( ρg=0.42), and WC and HDLc ( ρg=-0.33). Household effects were found for HDLc ( c2= 0.19), SBP ( c2 = 0.14) and Hypertension ( c2= 0.14). Conclusions To some phenotypes, including lipids, hypertension, blood pressure, and anthropometric traits, genetic contribution is important in the determination of cardiometabolic risk factors. This study provides a foundation for future studies. These will mainly focus on rare variants that could describe the genetic mechanisms influencing cardiometabolic risk. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:619-626, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A low-cost vibration-monitoring systemwas developed and installed on an urban steel-plated stress-ribbon footbridge. The system continuously measures the acceleration [using 18 triaxial microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers distributed along the structure), the ambient temperature, and the wind velocity and direction. Automated output-only modal parameter estimation based on the stochastic subspace identification (SSI) was carried out to extract the modal parameters (i.e., the natural frequencies, damping ratios, and modal shapes). Thus, this study analyzed the time evolution of the modal parameters over data monitoring for 1 year. First, for similar environmental/ operational factors, the uncertainties associated with the SSI-based techniques used and to the acceleration records used were studied and quantified. Second, a methodology for tracking the vibration modes was established, because several of them with closely spaced natural frequencies were identified. Third, the modal parameters were correlated against external factors. It has been shown that this stress-ribbon structure is highly sensitive to temperature variations (frequency changes of more than 20%) with strongly seasonal and daily trends. Fairly simple dynamic multiple regression models for the lowest persistent vibration modes were derived, and excellent correlations for some of them were obtained. These correlations enable the influence of these uncertainties on modal estimates to be removed, thus facilitating their use as damage-sensitive features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation evaluated the ability of an experimental di-calcium phosphate (DCP) desensitising agent used alone or combined with phytosphingosine (PHS) to occlude dentine tubules and resist a citric acid (CA) or artificial saliva (AS) challenge. Three groups of human dentine specimens (DS) were treated with the following: (1) PHS alone, (2) DCP or (3) a combination of PHS and DCP. Dentine hydraulic conductance of DS was evaluated using a digital flow sensor at 6.9 kPa. The average fluid volume for each of the treated DS was used to calculate the total dentine permeability reduction (%P) prior to and following CA immersion for 1 min or AS immersion for 4 weeks. The treated DS were subjected to both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. Statistically significant differences (%P) were identified between the groups by ANOVA and Fisher's multiple comparison test (p < 0.05), respectively. Interestingly, both PHS and DCP appeared to work synergistically. DS treated with DCP or PHS/DCP demonstrated a significant reduction (%P) prior to and following CA or AS challenge (p < 0.05). Both the SEM and FTIR analyses showed consistent brushite crystals occluding the dentine tubules. Conversely, the application of PHS alone failed to demonstrate any significant reduction of dentine permeability (p > 0.05) or show any evidence of occlusion of the dentine tubules. DCP can be used alone or combined with PHS to decrease the dentine permeability as well as to resist a CA and AS challenge. These results would, therefore, suggest that DCP may be a suitable treatment option for dentine hypersensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transient process of heat transfer between a high-temperature emulsion packet and the wall of an immersed surface is simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). From these simulations, the total heat transfer coefficient and its radiant contribution due to the emulsion (dense) phase are evaluated. The results are compared with experimental data (Ozkaynak et al., 'An experimental investigation of radiant heat transfer in high temperature fluidized beds,' in Fluidization IV, 1983:371-378) and with predicted values from the generalized heterogeneous model (GHM), (Mazza et al., 'Evaluation of overall heat transfer rates between bubbling fluidized beds and immersed surfaces,' Chem Eng Commun., 1997;162:125-149). The CFD simulations are in good agreement with both, experimental data and theoretical GHM predictions and provide a reliable way to quantify the studied heat transfer process. Also, the GHM is validated as a practical tool to this end. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 412-426, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation into fine-scale European population structure was carried out using high-density genetic variation on nearly 6000 individuals originating from across Europe. The individuals were collected as control samples and were genotyped with more than 300 000 SNPs in genome-wide association studies using the Illumina Infinium platform. A major East–West gradient from Russian (Moscow) samples to Spanish samples was identified as the first principal component (PC) of the genetic diversity. The second PC identified a North–South gradient from Norway and Sweden to Romania and Spain. Variation of frequencies at markers in three separate genomic regions, surrounding LCT, HLA and HERC2, were strongly associated with this gradient. The next 18 PCs also accounted for a significant proportion of genetic diversity observed in the sample. We present a method to predict the ethnic origin of samples by comparing the sample genotypes with those from a reference set of samples of known origin. These predictions can be performed using just summary information on the known samples, and individual genotype data are not required. We discuss issues raised by these data and analyses for association studies including the matching of case-only cohorts to appropriate pre-collected control samples for genome-wide association studies.European Journal of Human Genetics (2008) 16, 1413–1429; doi:10.1038/ejhg.2008.210 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: There is a large number of slender structures that are prone to vibrate due to pedestrian loads. The well‐known tuned mass damper (TMD) is increasingly used in practice, but this device may detune under several circumstances drastically reducing its expected performance. A semiactive TMD (STMD) provides more robustness under structure uncertainties than the passive one and may be recommended for use when several vibration modes are in the excitation range and/or when the mode to cancel has uncertainty or varies over time. The tuning of the semiactive device for these cases cannot be the same as the passive one. This paper presents a methodology for the tuning of an STMD under broad frequency‐band uncertainties using an ON/OFF phase control law. This control law is experimentally implemented considering interesting practical aspects, such as the estimation of the inertial mass velocity from the measured acceleration or a low‐pass filter to avoid unnecessary control actions, among others. An optimization process using a proposed performance index is carried out. Thus, it has been demonstrated that the optimal STMD is achieved for much lower damping and higher tuned frequency than the passive one. Finally, the proposed methodology is validated with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]