Fat Distribution and Lipid Profile of Young Adults with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Due to 21-Hydroxylase Enzyme Deficiency

We aimed to compare detailed fat distribution and lipid profile between young adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase enzyme deficiency and a control group. We also verified independent associations of treatment duration and daily hydrocortisone dose equivalent (HDE) with lipid profile within patients. This case–control study included 23 patients (7 male and 16 female) matched by an age range of young adults (18–31 years) with 20 control subjects (8 male and 12 female). Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure the fat distribution. Male patients demonstrated elevated indices of fat mass for total (7.7 ± 2.1 vs. 4.5 ± 1.3 kg/m², p = 0.003), trunk (4.0 ± 1.2 vs. 2.2 ± 0.8 kg/m², p = 0.005), android (0.63 ± 0.24 vs. 0.32 ± 0.15 kg/m², p = 0.008), gynoid (1.34 ± 0.43 vs. 0.74 ± 0.24 kg/m², p = 0.005), arm (0.65 ± 0.16 vs. 0.39 ± 0.10 kg/m², p = 0.009), and leg regions (2.7 ± 0.8 vs. 1.6 ± 0.4 kg/m², p = 0.005) than the control group, but not in females. However, female patients demonstrated elevated ratio of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.90 ± 0.46 vs. 1.39 ± 0.47, p = 0.009) than the control group, but not in males. Total fat mass was inversely correlated with total testosterone (r = −0.64, p = 0.014) and positively correlated with leptin in males (r = 0.75, p = 0.002). An elevated daily HDE (β = 0.43, p = 0.038 and β = 0.47, p = 0.033) and trunk to total fat mass ratio (β = 0.46, p = 0.025, and β = 0.45, p = 0.037) were independently correlated with impaired lipid profile markers. Although there is no altered lipid profile, male patients demonstrated an increased fat distribution. However, female patients presented with an impaired lipid profile marker but demonstrated close values of normal fat distribution. Interestingly, the dose of glucocorticoid therapy can have some role in the lipid mechanisms.     

Assessment of technological attributes of autochthonous starter cultures in Turkish dry fermented sausage (sucuk)

The study aims to evaluate the technological properties of autochthonous strains (Lactobacillus sakei S15, Lactobacillus plantarum S24, L. plantarum S91, Pediococcus pentosaceus S128b and Staphylococcus carnosus G109) in Turkish dry fermented sausage (sucuk). After 24 h of fermentaPtion, all lactic acid bacteria strains reduced the pH to below 5.0, while the pH in the control group was above 5.3. The number of lactic acid bacteria strains reached 10⁸–10⁹ cfu g⁻¹ during fermentation. Staphylococcus carnosus G109 remained at the inoculation level of 10⁶ cfu g⁻¹ during ripening. Lactobacillus sakei S15 as mono-culture showed higher TBARS values compared to other strains. The control group had the lowest L* value and autochthonous strains caused no significant difference for a* value. According to principal component analysis results, most volatile compounds were positively correlated with the group containing only L. sakei S15.     

DFTMicroagg: a dual-level anonymization algorithm for smart grid data

International Journal of Information Security - The introduction of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) smart meters has given rise to fine-grained electricity usage data at different levels of...     

Modeling of the Magnetization and Magnetocaloric Effect in Ni2MnGa Heusler Alloy with the Effective Field Theory

Journal of Low Temperature Physics - This study modeled and investigated the magnetocaloric effect in Ni2MnGa Heusler alloy characterized by its magnetic entropy change (ΔSm) and its...     

Experimental determination of 3D crack propagation scenario in resistance spot welds of a martensitic stainless steel

International Journal of Fracture - The development of high-performance automotive steels involves increasingly complex chemistries and heat treating sequences, to produce stronger and lighter...     

Ceramic Powder Bed Laser Sintering (CPBLS) on copper-doped hydroxyapatite: Creation of thin (5–50 μm thick) consolidated ceramic patterns

Implants made of ceramics, and more particularly of calcium phosphates (hydroxyapatite: HA, mainly), promoting intimate contact with natural bone are nowadays merging. Addition of copper ions in bio-ceramics is expected to increase the biological compatibilities of bone graft substitutes. Previous works have shown that copper-doped hydroxyapatite (Cu-doped HA) ceramics can be prepared by solid-state sintering between HA and CuO powder mixtures at about 1100 °C; but, copper-substituted HA was found to be metastable leading to apatitic grains and Cu-rich grain boundaries during the sintering process. Ultra-rapid sintering is so needed. Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing process that possesses the advantage to be based on ultra-fast sintering process under laser irradiation. SLS being used in literature for the application of laser on polymer-ceramic or poymer-metal composites the proper term all along the paper is Ceramic Powder Bed Laser Sintering (CPBLS). To achieve densification of Cu-doped HA ceramics from CPBLS process, one should control the composition/morphology/structure of the powder bed as well as three other important CPBLS parameters: (i) the applied energy from the laser beam, (ii) the laser power and the laser scanning speed, (iii) the distance between two successive lased lines. In this paper, the impact of all the main CPBLS parameters controlling the sintering of dip-coated Cu-doped HA layers on glass substrates is carefully investigated. Possibility of the creation of thin consolidated Cu-doped HA ceramic patterns, using the ultra-fast CPBLS process, is finally shown.