Health dietary practices among European students.

Predictors of 5 healthy dietary habits were examined in data from the European Health and Behaviour Survey (A. Steptoe & J. Wardle, 1996), a study of over 16,000 students from 21 European countries. The level of practice of these healthy dietary habits was low. Significant univariate associations with healthy dietary habits were identified for gender, weight, dieting status, dietary health beliefs, nutrition knowledge, and health locus of control. In multivariate analyses, only gender, dieting status, and dietary health beliefs were significant predictors of healthy dietary habits. The practical implications of these results for dietary health promotion are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Free phenols in chronic renal failure

Serum total free phenols are elevated in chronic renal failure, acute renal failure and hepatic coma. Being partly protein-bound, phenols behave during dialysis in a similar manner to considerably larger molecules which are not protein-bound. In view of their potential toxicity they should be considered as an alternative to 'middle molecules'. Patients on regular hemodialysis have retention of phenols if their post-dialysis serum creatinine is above 6-7 mg/dl. Patients on short time dialysis have high pre-dialysis neutral phenol levels. Such levels are sufficiently high to suggest a role in the genesis of neurological symptoms, anemia and bone disease. Certainly pre-dialysis free phenols reflect adequacy of dialysis.     

A longitudinal study of work load and variations in psychological well-being, cortisol, smoking, and alcohol consumption

PURPOSE: Although public health interventions have not specifically targeted high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, observed changes in the prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors would be expected to have differential effects on HDL. This study examined secular trends in HDL in relation to changes in other cardiovascular risk factors for the years 1981 through 1993 in the Pawtucket Heart Health Program (PHHP) study communities. METHODS: Nonfasting HDL levels were assessed in 12,223 respondents to six biennial population random sample surveys. RESULTS: Between 1981 and 1993, mean HDL cholesterol declined by 0.08 mmol/L in both men and women after adjustment for age, city, education, hormone use, medications, recent alcohol use, smoking, regular exercise, body mass index (BMI), and total cholesterol, (p for trend < 0.001). There was no apparent laboratory explanation for the trend which occurred concurrent with decreased smoking prevalence, increasing BMI and decreased prevalence of recent alcohol use. Decreasing HDL cholesterol was observed consistently across subgroups defined by smoking, alcohol use and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Although several favorable cardiovascular risk factor trends have been observed in recent decades, declining HDL cholesterol is also of interest, particularly in conjunction with population increases in BMI.     

Multifunctional properties of high volume fraction aligned carbon nanotube polymer composites with controlled morphology

Advanced composites, such as those used in aerospace applications, employ a high volume fraction of aligned stiff fibers embedded in high-performance polymers. Unlike advanced composites, polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) employ low volume fraction filler-like concepts with randomly-oriented and poorly controlled morphologies due to difficult issues such as dispersion and alignment of the nanostructures. Here, novel fabrication techniques yield controlled-morphology aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) composites with measured non-isotropic properties and trends consistent with standard composites theories. Modulus and electrical conductivity are maximal along the CNT axis, and are the highest reported in the literature due to the continuous aligned-CNTs and use of an unmodified aerospace-grade structural epoxy. Rule-of-mixtures predictions are brought into agreement with the measured moduli when CNT waviness is incorporated. Waviness yields a large (10×) reduction in modulus, and therefore control of CNT collimation is seen as the primary limiting factor in CNT reinforcement of composites for stiffness. Anisotropic electron transport (conductivity and current-carrying capacity) follows expected trends, with enhanced conductivity and Joule heating observed at high current densities.     

Dependency scoring in a critical care area: a direct nursing assessment method

The urinary symptoms characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) can have a considerable impact on patients' quality of life. Symptom score assessment is now used in BPH, although a number of different instruments are available. Controlled clinical trials with selective alpha 1 adrenoceptor antagonists such as doxazosin, prazosin and terazosin have shown these agents to be effective in the treatment of BPH. The effects of doxazosin on the severity and bothersomeness of BPH symptoms were determined in three multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies, involving a total of 609 normotensive and hypertensive patients. Doxazosin was initiated at a dosage of 0.5 or 1 mg once daily, with a final dose range of up to 12 mg once daily. The duration of active treatment was 12 to 14 weeks. Significant improvements were seen in symptom severity and bothersomeness with doxazosin compared with placebo, in both patient populations. The onset of symptomatic improvement was rapid, occurring within two weeks of treatment initiation, and efficacy was sustained throughout the treatment period. A long-term, open label extension of these studies has demonstrated sustained efficacy during 48 months of follow-up. Since symptom relief is the primary goal of therapy in BPH, and since doxazosin's effects are rapid in onset and sustained in duration, it appears that doxazosin is an effective agent for the treatment of symptomatic BPH in both normotensive and hypertensive men.     

Control and loss of control over eating: An experimental investigation.

The present study provides experimental evidence for the restraint theory's proposition of a causal link between restraint and disturbances in food-intake control. Twenty-seven obese women were randomly assigned to a diet group (high restraint), an exercise group (low restraint), or a control group for a 7-week group treatment program. On Weeks 4 and 6, all subjects participated individually in two laboratory sessions designed to investigate the regulation of food intake. In Session 1, food intake and appetite for food were assessed before and after a preload. In Session 2, food intake was assessed under stressful conditions. The results showed that the dieters ate more than either of the other two groups in all conditions. The possible mechanisms linking conscious regulation of eating with disturbances in control are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Liquid–Liquid Mixing Studies in Annular Centrifugal Contactors Comparing Stationary Mixing Vane Options

Comparative studies of multiphase operation of an annular centrifugal contactor show the impact of housing stationary mixing vane configuration. A number of experimental results for several different mixing vane options are reported for operation of a 12.5 cm engineering-scale contactor unit. Fewer straight vanes give greater mixing-zone hold-up compared to curved vanes. Quantitative comparison of droplet size distribution also showed a significant decrease in mean diameter for four straight vanes versus eight curved vanes. This set of measurements gives a compelling case for careful consideration of mixing vane geometry when evaluating hydraulic operation and extraction process efficiency of annular centrifugal contactors.     

Optimizing Heat Treatment of Gas Turbine Blades with a Co–C Fixed Point for Improved In-service Thermocouples

Improvement of energy efficiency of jet aircraft is achieved by operating gas turbine engines at higher temperatures. To facilitate this, gas turbine engine manufacturers are continuously developing new alloys for hot-zone turbine blades that will withstand the increased in-service temperatures. A critical part of the manufacture of these blades is heat treatment to ensure that they attain the necessary metallurgical characteristics. Current heat-treatment temperature-control requirements are at the limit of what is achievable with conventional thermocouple calibrations. A project that will allow thermocouple manufacturer CCPI Europe Ltd. to realize uncertainties of ± 1°C, or better, in the calibration of its noble metal thermocouples is described. This will be realized through implementing a Co–C eutectic fixed point in CCPI’s calibration chain. As this melts at 1,324°C, very close to the heat-treatment temperatures required, low uncertainties will be obtained. This should yield an increase in effectiveness of the heat-treatment process performed by Bodycote Heat Treatments Ltd., allowing them to respond effectively to the increasingly stringent demands of engine manufacturers. Outside the current project, there is a strong requirement by industry for lower uncertainties at and above 1,300°C. Successful implementation of the current fixed point in an industrial setting is likely to result in rapid take-up by other companies, probably through the supply of ultra-low uncertainty thermocouples, looking to improve their high-temperature processes.     

Horizontal cylinder-in-cylinder buckling under compression and torsion: Review and application to composite drill pipe

Available analytical results and experiments on the structural behavior of constrained horizontal cylinders subjected to axial compression, torsion, and gravitational loads are reviewed. Such configurations are of interest to the oil-drilling field and provide static design expressions for steel tubulars. The buckling problem is similar to restrained railroad tracks and submerged/underwater pipelines under thermal expansion. Due to outer cylinder constraint and gravitational loads, analysis has shown that long cylinders initiate buckling at loads significantly higher than classical Euler buckling loads. For these constrained long cylinders, buckling initiates in a sinusoidal mode that snakes along the lower surface of the constraining cylinder. Classic analytical expressions hold that as the axial load increases, the cylinder achieves an overall helically buckled state in which the buckled cylinder forms a helix spiraling around the inner surface of the constraining cylinder. Torsion is shown to have little effect on either buckling load but controls the sense/direction of the helical buckling. Little experimental data exist on constrained cylinder buckling, and it is unclear how the initiating sinusoidal mode transitions to the helical mode. Implications of the buckling progression for composite cylinder applications are described including the finding that composites perform poorly relative to steel on the metric of buckling due to lower density and axial stiffness; composites perform well on the metric of lock-up length when friction is considered. Based on this review and findings for composite cylinders, recommendations are made for further work.     

Dynamic test for measuring the non-repeatable running accuracy of rolling bearings

The non-repeatable running accuracy of rolling element bearings has a direct influence on the performance of many types of precision machine. Traditionally, this parameter has been deduced from analogue displacement-time traces taken for bearings subjected to nominal loads and slow speeds. In this article a test is described in which the running accuracy is measured under loads and speeds more representative of bearing operating conditions. The test can be undertaken conveniently in less than 20 s and is suitable for monitoring large numbers of bearings.