Strict health-oriented eating patterns (orthorexic eating behaviours) and their connection with a vegetarian and vegan diet

Although research on vegetarianism is becoming more prevalent, to date, only a few research has been conducted on relationship between vegetarian diet and orthorexia nervosa (ON). The objective of the present study was to examine the orthorexic dietary patterns and eating behaviours among individuals following a vegetarian, vegan, and meat diet. We examined the moderating role of ethical and health reasons for following a meat-free diet on the relation between vegan versus vegetarian diet and eating behaviours and ON. The study aimed to determine the predictors of ON in individuals with differential food preferences.

Evaluation of a pre-consultation questionnaire on patient knowledge concerning oral anticoagulant therapy: The EDUCONSULT randomized trial

Validation cohort of the proSCANNED score: A simplified bedside prognostic tool for heart failure.

Polygenic Risk Scores for Prediction of Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Subtypes

Stratification of women according to their risk of breast cancer based on polygenic risk scores (PRSs) could improve screening and prevention strategies. Our aim was to develop PRSs, optimized for prediction of estrogen receptor (ER)-specific disease, from the largest available genome-wide association dataset and to empirically validate the PRSs in prospective studies. The development dataset comprised 94,075 case subjects and 75,017 control subjects of European ancestry from 69 studies, divided into training and validation sets. Samples were genotyped using genome-wide arrays, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected by stepwise regression or lasso penalized regression. The best performing PRSs were validated in an independent test set comprising 11,428 case subjects and 18,323 control subjects from 10 prospective studies and 190,040 women from UK Biobank (3,215 incident breast cancers). For the best PRSs (313 SNPs), the odds ratio for overall disease per 1 standard deviation in ten prospective studies was 1.61 (95%CI: 1.57-1.65) with area under receiver-operator curve (AUC) = 0.630 (95%CI: 0.628-0.651). The lifetime risk of overall breast cancer in the top centile of the PRSs was 32.6%. Compared with women in the middle quintile, those in the highest 1% of risk had 4.37- and 2.78-fold risks, and those in the lowest 1% of risk had 0.16- and 0.27-fold risks, of developing ER-positive and ER-negative disease, respectively. Goodness-of-fit tests indicated that this PRS was well calibrated and predicts disease risk accurately in the tails of the distribution. This PRS is a powerful and reliable predictor of breast cancer risk that may improve breast cancer prevention programs.

Physical Activity-Related Drivers of Perceived Health Status in Adults With Congenital Heart Disease

Data on the differential impact of physical activity on perceived health status (PHS) in a large adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patient population are lacking. We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of 4,028 ACHD patients recruited from 24 ACHD-specialized centers in 15 countries across 5 continents to examine the association between physical activity and PHS in a large international cohort of ACHD patients. A linear analog scale of the EuroQol-5D 3 level version and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey-version 2 were used to assess self-reported health status and the Health-Behavior Scale-Congenital Heart Disease was used as a subjective measurement of physical activity type, participation, and level. Correlation analyses and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests examined bivariate relations between sample characteristics and PHS scores. Then, multivariable models were constructed to understand the impact of physical activity on PHS. Only 30% of our sample achieved recommended physical activity levels. Physically active patients reported better PHS than sedentary patients; however, the amount of physical activity was not associated with PHS. Further statistical analyses demonstrated that specifically sport participation regardless of physical activity level was a predictor of PHS. In conclusion, the majority of ACHD patients across the world are physically inactive. Sport participation appears to be the primary physical activity-related driver of PHS. By promoting sport-related exercise ACHD specialists thus may improve PHS in ACHD patients.

In situ ATR-IR studies in aqueous phase reforming of hydroxyacetone on Pt/ZrO2 and Pt/AlO(OH) catalysts: The role of aldol condensation

In situ Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy was used to study Aqueous Phase Reforming of hydroxyacetone on Pt/AlO(OH) and Pt/ZrO2 catalysts at 230 °C/ 30 bar. Formation of strongly adsorbed aldol condensation products was observed on the surface of Pt/ZrO2 and ZrO2 in contrast to Pt/AlO(OH) and AlO(OH). Peak assignments were supported by DFT calculations of the IR spectra of the condensation products in vacuum and in the presence of water. Aldol condensation of hydroxyacetone leading to compounds with high molecular weight with unsaturated bonds was suggested as a first step in coke formation. Carbonaceous deposits on the surface of the ZrO2 support are oxygen-rich and highly reactive, according elemental analysis and TPO. Surprisingly, no adsorbed CO on Pt was observed in the spectra obtained under reaction conditions, suggesting that adsorbed CO is not involved in the rate-determining step in APR of hydroxyacetone.

Urban environment as a factor modulating metals deposition in the respiratory track and associated cancer risk

The aim of this study was to compare the inhalation cancer risk posed by PM-bound As, Cd, Pb, Ni and Cr(VI) concentrations in typical urban environment and to differentiate this risk between PM size fractions and population age-groups. Additionally inhalation deposition metrics were used to characterize risks posed by PM of highway (H)-, street canyon (SC)- and residential (RA) origin. Aerosol samples were collected in the cities of Zabrze and Katowice (Poland) using Dekati cascade impactors. Regardless of the location metals were primarily associated with particles less than 1 μm. For sites, where the PM size distribution was bi-modal (SC in Zabrze and Katowice and RA in Zabrze) and the maxima of metal mass distribution occurred in both accumulation and coarse modes, the metal was predominantly deposited in head airways region. Sites characterized by an uni-modal distribution (RA in Katowice, H in Katowice and SC in Zabrze) were found to favor pulmonary deposition. The overall mass deposition of metals in the respiratory tract in residential; highway and street canyon environments were: 0.51; 0.54 and 0.61, respectively. Street canyon concentrations were therefore most hazardous. Depending on the specific compartment of the respiratory tract, average metal mass deposition amounts varied from 0.05 to 0.53 of its ambient concentration. ILCR values were up to 10E-03 for adults versus 10E-05 for infants. Adults were mostly exposed near street canyons, while infants and children were mostly susceptible near residential and highway environments.

Tailoring properties of reduced graphene oxide by oxygen plasma treatment

We report an easily controllable, eco-friendly method for tailoring the properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by means of oxygen plasma. The effect of oxygen plasma treatment time (1, 5 and 10 min) on the surface properties of rGO was evaluated. Physicochemical characterization using microscopic, spectroscopic and thermal techniques was performed. The results revealed that different oxygen-containing groups (e.g. carboxyl, hydroxyl) were introduced on the rGO surface enhancing its wettability. Furthermore, upon longer treatment time, other functionalities were created (e.g. quinones, lactones). Moreover, external surface of rGO was partially etched resulting in an increase of the material surface area and porosity. Finally, the oxygen plasma-treated rGO electrodes with bilirubin oxidase were tested for oxygen reduction reaction. The study showed that rGO treated for 10 min exhibited twofold higher current density than untreated rGO. The oxygen plasma treatment may improve the enzyme adsorption on rGO electrodes by introduction of oxygen moieties and increasing the porosity.

Photocatalytic decomposition of methanol-water solution over N-La/TiO2 photocatalysts

Responses of competitive understorey species to spatial environmental gradients inaccurately explain temporal changes