Many physical factors (including maternal comorbidities) affecting gestational weight gain (GWG) have been widely studied; however, the psychosocial aspects pertaining to this need to be put under ...the microscope, especially in countries characterized by low indicators of socioeconomic development. Gaining and maintaining an adequate amount of weight during pregnancy is important to prevent premature deliveries, fetal demise, fetal macrosomia, shoulder dystocia during delivery, emergency cesarean sections, postpartum weight retention, childhood obesity, etc. A scoping review of the articles published in the last five years has revealed that perinatal outcomes like gestational weight are influenced by certain psychosocial factors, including, but not limited to, intimate partner violence, lack of social support and recognition, financial distress, household food insecurity, chronic stress and depression related to pregnancy, eating pathologies, and low self-esteem. Employing a multi-disciplinary approach, which involves seeking the help of psychiatrists/psychologists, obstetricians, nutritionists, and public health specialists, can help us mitigate undesirable outcomes related to inadequate and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. More intervention-based research focusing on psychosocial factors relating to GWG is needed in regions like South Asia, which is associated with low indicators of socioeconomic development.
This article proposes a current-driven bifrequency resonant dual active bridge converter for efficiently charging a battery in constant current-constant voltage (CC-CV) mode. The novel converter ...gives the freedom to operate without complex control, while ensuring stable voltage and current regulation to achieve CC-CV charging. In the proposed configuration, the switching states causes the converter to form an equivalent parallel resonant tank which facilitates the proposed converter to behave as a current source and a voltage source using single step change in frequency and thus, offering dual source property at its output. This results in reduction of control complexity and the associated cost. In addition, the problem of input current ripple is eliminated and converter reliability is improved due to replacement of electrolytic capacitor by a resonant film capacitor. The behavior of converter is analyzed through state-plane analysis and trajectory of each interval with the closed form solution is presented. To verify the behavior of the proposed converter a scaled-down 500 W experimental prototype is developed and the results are presented for both CC and CV charging mode.
To analyze the impact of intermittent air exposure on the in vitro deposition of two radioactive lipids on various contact lens (CL) materials, using a custom-designed model blink cell.
Six different ...CL materials (balafilcon A, lotrafilcon B, comfilcon A, senofilcon A, etafilcon A, and omafilcon A) were mounted on the model blink cell pistons, which cycled the lenses in and out of a complex artificial tear solution (ATS) that contained a trace amount of C-cholesterol or C-phosphatidylcholine. For the short-term experiment, air-exposed lenses were continuously cycled in and out of the ATS for 10 h. Longer term incubations for 6 days were tested with lotrafilcon B and balafilcon A materials incubated in C-cholesterol ATS. The air-exposed CLs were cycled for 14 h then submerged for 10 h each day. For both experiments, the control lenses were submerged for the entire test period. After incubation, lenses were processed, and deposited masses were quantified.
Exposure to air resulted in increased amounts of cholesterol deposited by 1.6 to 4.3 fold on omafilcon A, balafilcon A, comfilcon A, and senofilcon A (p ≤ 0.03) compared with submerged lenses. No differences in deposition were observed for etafilcon A and lotrafilcon B (p > 0.05). The longer term incubation of lotrafilcon B and balafilcon A showed statistically significant increases in cholesterol deposition for both air-exposed lens materials (p < 0.02) with the increase in deposition 1.8× and 2.8×, respectively. For phosphatidylcholine, all air-exposed lenses had increased masses of deposition. These deposits were statistically greater by 1.1 to 1.6 times for omafilcon A, comfilcon A, lotrafilcon B, and senofilcon A (p < 0.04), but not statistically different for etafilcon A or balafilcon A (p > 0.05).
This study found that lipid deposition profiles are CL material dependent and that intermittent air exposure can influence the mass of lipid deposited.
Age-related loss of muscle mass and function exhibits a marked acceleration from late middle age to senescence and exercise training is one method that has been proposed to slow this process. The ...purpose of this study was to determine if long-term treadmill exercise training initiated at late middle age could increase endogenous antioxidant enzyme activity and attenuate the loss of skeletal muscle contractile properties in the gastrocnemius/plantaris (GAS/Plan) and soleus (SOL) muscles of senescent rats (34–36
mo) through a decrease in oxidative damage. Male Fisher 344 × Brown Norway F1-hybrid rats underwent 5–7
mo of treadmill training beginning at late middle age (29
mo). A 7
mo sedentary adult group was used to investigate age-related changes. Aging caused an increase in antioxidant enzyme activities; however, only SOD activity was further increased with exercise training. Exercise training did not attenuate the decrease in twitch or tetanic tension of the GAS/Plan or SOL. It did, however, prevent the increase in twitch half relaxation time of the SOL muscle only. Oxidative damage, as reflected in carbonyl content, was increased with age and even further with exercise training in the GAS muscle. Muscle fibre cross sectional area was decreased with age and even further with exercise training. Interestingly, small muscle fibres showed the highest accumulation of carbonyls. Overall, despite an augmentation of select antioxidant enzyme activities, exercise training from late middle age through to senescence had minimal benefits for muscle contractile properties, perhaps in part due to exacerbated oxidation.
►Initiating endurance exercise training at late middle age augments the age-associated increase in some endogenous antioxidants in senescent skeletal muscle. ►Initiating endurance exercise training at late middle age does not protect senescent skeletal muscle contractile function. ►Despite an increased endogenous antioxidant capacity, endurance training exacerbated the age-related increase in myocyte cytoplasmic carbonyl accumulation in senescent skeletal muscle, suggesting an inability to cope with the exercise-induced oxidative stress in senescence. ►Senescent skeletal muscle has a diminished capacity to positively adapt to endurance training.
The primary goal of this research is to look into the impact of digital campaigns for environmental and economic incentives on environmental performance, with indoor and outdoor activities of ...households taken as mediating variables. PLS-SEM was used to evaluate and quantify the novel and complex model to meet the study’s goals. Furthermore, data were gathered from 1542 Pakistani households using convenient sampling techniques. The study’s findings show that digital campaigns and economic incentives significantly increase household’s participation in indoor and outdoor activities, which improves environmental performance. This study contributes to the literature on environmental performance by examining digital campaigns and economic incentives as resilient influencers. Furthermore, this study assists authorities in developing an effective and efficient policy that promotes environmental savaging information while providing economic incentives to encourage the activities. At the same time, it emphasizes environmental concerns and how they can be addressed.
Hansen and Hurwitz (1946) advised a follow-up procedure based on two-phase sampling which is reasonable when respondents and non-respondents are not similar. Such a follow-up procedure eliminates the ...non-response bias if all the units selected in the 2nd-phase sample from the non-respondent's group will respond. However, since in most of the real-life situations all units don't respond, this hints Hansen and Hurwitz (1946) estimator will be no more unbiased. This study presents a follow-up procedure based on three-phase, and four-phase sampling separately, and it shows that sample mean estimator based on the proposed procedures is now unbiased which is further discussed with the weighting procedure and the variance expressions separately. Furthermore, the auxiliary variable is introduced to estimate population mean more efficiently. Empirical and simulation results show that the proposed estimators are more efficient. A real-life application of mixed-mode survey is provided to show applicability of the proposed sampling procedures.
To investigate the response of nutritional supplement (LNS-PLW) on appetite score, energy intake, insulin and glucose levels in preeclamptic women.
Sixty under-weight preeclamptic primigravida were ...divided into two groups randomly and provided LNS-PLW/Placebo in the fasted state. Blood samples were collected at fasting state, after 30mins of supplementation, "ad libitum buffet" breakfast and lunch for glucose and insulin levels.
Total energy intake was higher significantly in the LNS-PLW group, although during breakfast it was significantly reduced. The insulin and glucose concentration was significantly increased after 30min of supplementation in the LNS-PLW group.
Intake of the LNS-PLW by pre-eclamptic women had short-term suppression on subsequent meal but improved total energy intake during trial.
To characterize various properties of a physiologically-relevant artificial tear solution (ATS) containing a range of tear film components within a complex salt solution, and to measure contact lens ...parameters and lipid deposition of a variety of contact lens materials after incubation in this ATS.
A complex ATS was developed that contains a range of salts, proteins, lipids, mucin, and other tear film constituents in tear-film relevant concentrations. This ATS was tested to confirm that its pH, osmolality, surface tension, and homogeneity are similar to human tears and remain so throughout the material incubation process, for up to 4 weeks. To confirm that silicone hydrogel and conventional hydrogel contact lens materials do not alter in physical characteristics beyond what is allowed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 18369-2. The diameter, center thickness, and calculated base curve were measured for five different lens materials directly out of the blister pack, after a rinse in saline and then following a two week incubation in the modified ATS. To test the ATS and the effect of its composition on lipid deposition, two lens materials were incubated in the ATS and a modified version for several time points. Both ATS solutions contained trace amounts of carbon-14 cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine, such that deposition of these specific lipids could be quantified using standard methods.
This ATS is a complex mixture that remains stable at physiologically relevant pH (7.3-7.6), osmolality (304-306 mmol/kg), surface tension (40-46 dynes/cm) and homogeneity over an incubation period of three weeks or more. The physical parameters of the lenses tested showed no changes beyond that allowed by the ISO guidelines. Incubations with the ATS found that balafilcon A lenses deposit significantly more cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine than omafilcon A lenses (p<0.05) and that removing lactoferrin and immunoglobulin G from the ATS can significantly decrease the mass of lipid deposited.
This paper describes a novel complex artificial tear solution specially designed for in-vial incubation of contact lens materials. This solution was stable and did not adversely affect the physical parameters of the soft contact lenses incubated within it and showed that lipid deposition was responsive to changes in ATS composition.
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