Weight Measurements Research Articles

Association of weight change with cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in obese participants with cardiovascular disease: a prospective cohort study

BackgroundStudies have examined the association between weight change and risk of cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in the general population. However, very few literature reported the association among obese people with established...

Timing based clustering of childhood BMI trajectories reveals differential maturational patterns; Study in the Northern Finland Birth Cohorts 1966 and 1986.

Children's biological age does not always correspond to their chronological age. In the case of BMI trajectories, this can appear as phase variation, which can be seen as shift, stretch, or shrinking between trajectories. With maturation thought of as a process moving towards the final state - adult BMI, we assessed whether children can be divided into latent groups reflecting similar maturational age of BMI. The groups were characterised by early factors and time-related features of the trajectories. We used data from two general population birth cohort studies, Northern Finland Birth Cohorts 1966 and 1986 (NFBC1966 and NFBC1986). Height (n = 6329) and weight (n = 6568) measurements were interpolated in 34 shared time points using B-splines, and BMI values were calculated between 3 months to 16 years. Pairwise phase distances of 2999 females and 3163 males were used as a similarity measure in k-medoids clustering. We identified three clusters of trajectories in females and males (Type 1: females, n = 1566, males, n = 1669; Type 2: females, n = 1028, males, n = 973; Type 3: females, n = 405, males, n = 521). Similar distinct timing patterns were identified in males and females. The clusters did not differ by sex, or early growth determinants studied. Trajectory cluster Type 1 reflected to the shape of what is typically illustrated as the childhood BMI trajectory in literature. However, the other two have not been identified previously. Type 2 pattern was more common in the NFBC1966 suggesting a generational shift in BMI maturational patterns.

Pemantauan Indeks Massa Tubuh dalam Pencegahan Obesitas pada Masyarakat Kelurahan Kessilampe Kota Kendari

Obesity is a risk factor for degenerative diseases in developing countries. This is due to changes in people's lifestyles, including physical activity and eating patterns, influenced by the socio-economic development of urban and rural communities. This activity aims to determine the cut-off point for obese nutritional status based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) indicator. The study seeks to evaluate the nutritional and health status of the community in Kessilampe Village, Kendari City, by measuring Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference. A total of 50 respondents participated in this activity, with the majority being women (86%). The research method used a descriptive design with a cross-sectional approach. Data collection was conducted through measurements of height (HT), weight (WT), and body mass index (BMI) on 50 adults, consisting of 7 males and 23 females.The measurement results indicated that 58% of respondents were in the normal weight category, while 26% were overweight and 16% were classified as obese. Waist circumference measurements also revealed that 44% of respondents had a waist circumference between 81-90 cm, indicating health risks associated with obesity.

Effects of antidepressants on body weight in patients treated in a naturalistic setting in Oman

BackgroundThe rising use of antidepressants is critical for managing mental health disorders, but weight gain is a concerning side effect, particularly with certain classes like TCAs and SSRIs. This study aims to investigate weight changes in Omani patients prescribed paroxetine, fluoxetine, mirtazapine, or venlafaxine.MethodA cross-sectional study conducted from January to June 2023 at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital recruited adults with mental disorders on these medications. Weight measurements were taken at baseline and follow-up, with clinically significant weight gain defined as a ≥ 7% increase.ResultsA total of 135 participants were analyzed, showing a mean weight gain of 5.54 kg, with 60.7% experiencing significant weight gain. Mirtazapine and paroxetine exhibited the highest average weight increases (7.51 kg and 8.05 kg, respectively) compared to fluoxetine (0.69 kg) and venlafaxine (4.32 kg). No significant demographic factors influenced weight changes (p = 0.213).ConclusionThe study highlights significant weight gain among Omani patients on antidepressants, particularly mirtazapine and paroxetine. This underscores the importance of monitoring weight in clinical practice and necessitates further investigations into individualized treatment strategies to manage both mental health and weight-related concerns.

2-[18F]Fluoropropionic Acid PET Imaging of Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity.

Treatment of pediatric cancers with doxorubicin is a common and predictable cause of cardiomyopathy. Early diagnosis of treatment-induced cardiotoxicity and intervention are major determinants for the prevention of advanced disease. The onset of cardiomyopathies is often accompanied by profound changes in lipid metabolism, including an enhanced uptake of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Therefore, we explored the utility of 2-[18F]fluoropropionic acid ([18F]FPA), an SCFA analog, as an imaging biomarker of cardiac injury in mice exposed to doxorubicin. Cardiotoxicity and cardiac dysfunction were induced in mice by an 8-dose regimen of doxorubicin (cumulative dose 24mg/kg) administered over 14days. The effects of doxorubicin exposure were assessed by measurement of heart weights, left ventricular ejection fractions, and blood cardiac troponin levels. Whole body and cardiac [18F]FPA uptakes were determined by PET and tissue gamma counting in the presence or absence of AZD3965, a pharmacological inhibitor of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1). Radiation absorbed doses were estimated using tissue time-activity concentrations. Significantly higher cardiac [18F]FPA uptake was observed in doxorubicin-treated animals. This uptake remained constant from 30 to 120min post-injection. Pharmacological inhibition of MCT1-mediated transport by AZD3965 selectively decreased the uptake of [18F]FPA in tissues other than the heart. Co-administration of [18F]FPA and AZD3965 enhanced the imaging contrast of the diseased heart while reducing overall exposure to radioactivity. [18F]FPA, especially when co-administered with AZD3965, is a new tool for imaging changes in fatty acid metabolism occurring in response to doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy by PET.

Geometry and dynamics of representations in a precisely balanced memory network related to olfactory cortex.

Biological memory networks are thought to store information by experience-dependent changes in the synaptic connectivity between assemblies of neurons. Recent models suggest that these assemblies contain both excitatory and inhibitory neurons (E/I assemblies), resulting in co-tuning and precise balance of excitation and inhibition. To understand computational consequences of E/I assemblies under biologically realistic constraints we built a spiking network model based on experimental data from telencephalic area Dp of adult zebrafish, a precisely balanced recurrent network homologous to piriform cortex. We found that E/I assemblies stabilized firing rate distributions compared to networks with excitatory assemblies and global inhibition. Unlike classical memory models, networks with E/I assemblies did not show discrete attractor dynamics. Rather, responses to learned inputs were locally constrained onto manifolds that 'focused' activity into neuronal subspaces. The covariance structure of these manifolds supported pattern classification when information was retrieved from selected neuronal subsets. Networks with E/I assemblies therefore transformed the geometry of neuronal coding space, resulting in continuous representations that reflected both relatedness of inputs and an individual's experience. Such continuous representations enable fast pattern classification, can support continual learning, and may provide a basis for higher-order learning and cognitive computations.

Geometry and dynamics of representations in a precisely balanced memory network related to olfactory cortex

Biological memory networks are thought to store information by experience-dependent changes in the synaptic connectivity between assemblies of neurons. Recent models suggest that these assemblies contain both excitatory and inhibitory neurons (E/I assemblies), resulting in co-tuning and precise balance of excitation and inhibition. To understand computational consequences of E/I assemblies under biologically realistic constraints we built a spiking network model based on experimental data from telencephalic area Dp of adult zebrafish, a precisely balanced recurrent network homologous to piriform cortex. We found that E/I assemblies stabilized firing rate distributions compared to networks with excitatory assemblies and global inhibition. Unlike classical memory models, networks with E/I assemblies did not show discrete attractor dynamics. Rather, responses to learned inputs were locally constrained onto manifolds that ‘focused’ activity into neuronal subspaces. The covariance structure of these manifolds supported pattern classification when information was retrieved from selected neuronal subsets. Networks with E/I assemblies therefore transformed the geometry of neuronal coding space, resulting in continuous representations that reflected both relatedness of inputs and an individual’s experience. Such continuous representations enable fast pattern classification, can support continual learning, and may provide a basis for higher-order learning and cognitive computations.

PHIStruct: Improving phage-host interaction prediction at low sequence similarity settings using structure-aware protein embeddings.

Recent computational approaches for predicting phage-host interaction have explored the use of sequence-only protein language models to produce embeddings of phage proteins without manual feature engineering. However, these embeddings do not directly capture protein structure information and structure-informed signals related to host specificity. We present PHIStruct, a multilayer perceptron that takes in structure-aware embeddings of receptor-binding proteins, generated via the structure-aware protein language model SaProt, and then predicts the host from among the ESKAPEE genera. Compared against recent tools, PHIStruct exhibits the best balance of precision and recall, with the highest and most stable F1 score across a wide range of confidence thresholds and sequence similarity settings. The margin in performance is most pronounced when the sequence similarity between the training and test sets drops below 40%, wherein, at a relatively high-confidence threshold of above 50%, PHIStruct presents a 7% to 9% increase in class-averaged F1 over machine learning tools that do not directly incorporate structure information, as well as a 5% to 6% increase over BLASTp. The data and source code for our experiments and analyses are available at https://github.com/bioinfodlsu/PHIStruct. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Phenotypic Variabilities in Strain and Sex of Two-Broiler Chickens at Different Ages

Owing to the growing number of animal breed development centres around the world and the profitability of their production, comparative studies to evaluate superior strain and sex performance in breeders became an important endeavour for researchers. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of strain and sex on body weight and linear body morphometric traits of 2-broiler chickens during the starter and finisher phases. Arbor-Acre and Cobb-500 chicks (n=192) were raised under controlled conditions and monitored over 56 days. Weekly measurements of body weight and linear body traits were recorded. Data subjected to multivariate analysis using the SPSS package revealed that strain significantly (p<0.05) influenced growth, with Arbor-Acre broilers exhibiting superior body weight performance, particularly during the starter phase, weighing 799.50g compared to 669.11g for Cobb-500. This result implied that selecting for improved growth performance during the starter phase (week four) was an important consideration for breeding farms. However, the sex and age factors, as well as the linear body traits in both strains, yielded similar economic results at 8 weeks. Male broilers consistently outperformed their female counterparts in body morphometric traits during both phases. The sex-based differences observed in this study varied across developmental stages, emphasizing the importance of sexual dimorphism in broiler management. These findings recommended that strain and sex were important factors to consider in optimizing broiler production, providing critical insights for broiler breeders and farmers to enhance production efficiency through strategic selection of strains, sex, and other environmental factors.

Cryptography in IoT: Securing the Next Generation of Connected Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized connectivity across diverse industries, linking billions of devices for optimized operations, data-driven insights, and enhanced consumer experiences. However, IoT's vast scale, heterogeneity, and resource-constrained devices introduce severe security challenges, with data integrity and privacy at risk. This white paper explores the application of cryptographic methods in securing IoT, addressing the unique constraints IoT presents, and highlighting recent advancements in lightweight cryptography, key management, and authentication protocols tailored to IoT requirements. Key words: IoT Security, Cryptography, Lightweight Encryption, Key Management, Authentication, Secure Communication

Assessment of the relationship between body weight and body measurements among Morkaraman, Tushin and Awassi sheeps with different ages

This study aimed to identify morphological predictors of body weight in Morkaraman, Tushin, and Awassi sheep across different age groups, providing valuable insights for effective livestock management and breeding programs. Data were collected from 260 Morkaraman, 109 Tushin, and 96 Awassi sheep, with body measurements including body length (BL), wither height (WH), chest girth (CG), chest width (CW), chest depth (CD), rump width (RW), rump height (RH), ear length (EL), head length (HL), forehead width (FW), cannon forelimb circumference (CFC), and cannon hindlimb circumference (CHC). Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess relationships between body weight and these morphological traits. A multiple linear regression model was developed using the backward stepwise elimination method to estimate body weight based on the collected measurements. The results revealed that the Morkaraman breed and the 3-year-old age group had the highest average body weights. Among the morphological traits, CG (r = 0.702), RH (r = 0.694), BL (r = 0.678), and WH (r = 0.677) exhibited the strongest correlations with body weight. The final regression model identified CG, RW, RH, and HL as the most significant predictors, collectively explaining approximately 78.3% of the variation in body weight. These findings underscore the importance of selecting specific morphological traits for accurate body weight estimation in sheep. The results of this study have significant implications for sheep farming, particularly in enhancing breeding, management, and selection strategies. By focusing on key morphological predictors, livestock producers can improve decision-making processes, optimize resource allocation, and promote the overall productivity and sustainability of sheep farming operations.

Household Dietary Diversity and Its Influence on Preschoolers' Nutritional Status in Tamale Metropolis, Ghana

Introduction: Household dietary diversity serves as a simple indicator of various parameters that affect the nutrition of people. Food security has three important aspects (availability, access, and utilization). Household accessibility to food has also been shown to be affected by demographic and socioeconomic factors, accounting for variations in diet quality. This study aimed to determine the relationship between preschoolers’ household dietary diversity and their nutritional status in the Tamale Metropolis. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used to obtain data from 357 caregiver-preschooler pairs from three randomly selected communities in Tamale Metropolis. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on the demographic and nutritional status of the preschoolers. Dietary data for preschoolers and households were obtained using a single 24-hour recall method. Height and weight measurements of preschoolers were collected on anthropometric indices (weight-for-height, weight-for-age, and height-for-age). The relationships between the independent variables (household dietary diversity) and dependent variables (weight-for-age, weight-for-height, and height-for-age) were examined using the statistical analysis test to assess the strength of the relationship. The data were collected between December 2022 and January 2023. Results: The results indicated that preschoolers consumed more starchy staples than other food groups. Dairy, egg, and meat products were the least consumed. Households had a mean household dietary diversity of 6.7059 ± 1.23 out of 12 food groups, and about 84.3% of the households had minimum dietary diversity. The finding from this study showed 22.1% stunting, 7.8% wasting and 14.3% underweight. No significant relationship was found between dietary diversity and height-for-age and weight-for-height nutritional status. However, there was a significant relationship between the age of the child and being stunted (P = .00) and underweight (P = .00). Conclusion: These results show no significant relationship between household dietary diversity and preschoolers’ nutritional status. Therefore, there should be improvements in household food security, maternal knowledge of balance, and hygienic food practices.

Turkish adaptation of the digital literacy scale: A rasch analysis

Turkish adaptation of the digital literacy scale: A rasch analysis

Anthropometric Trajectories in Children Prior to Development of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Poor nutrition and growth in childhood have short-term and long-term consequences, so understanding the timing of the onset of an impaired nutritional status is crucial for diagnosing and treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at its earliest stage. To assess anthropometric trajectories before a pediatric diagnosis of IBD and growth recovery after diagnosis. This population-based cohort study included children born in Denmark from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2015, with weight and length or height measurements at birth and at least 1 length or height and weight measurement at school age based on the Danish Medical Birth Register and the Danish National Child Health Register. Within this population, all individuals diagnosed with IBD at ages 5 to 17 years, according to the Danish National Patient Register, were identified. Data were analyzed from October 13, 2023, to April 17, 2024. A pediatric diagnosis of IBD compared with the corresponding population without the disease. The outcome measures were z scores for length or height, weight, and body mass index (BMI [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]) before and after pediatric IBD diagnosis compared with reference and sibling populations. The final study population included 916 133 individuals (51.2% male) with a median of 3 pairs of length or height and weight measurements collected (IQR, 2-6 pairs). Of those, 1522 (median age, 14.3 years [IQR, 11.8-16.3 years]; 763 female [50.1%]) were diagnosed with IBD (851 [55.9%] with Crohn disease [CD] and 671 [44.1%] with ulcerative colitis [UC]). Compared with children without IBD, individuals with a later diagnosis of CD had declining anthropometric measures 3 years (weight: mean, -0.12 g [95% CI, -0.20 to -0.03 g]; BMI: mean, -0.13 [95% CI, -0.21 to -0.04]) and 1 year (length or height: mean, -0.20 cm [95% CI, -0.29 to -0.10 cm]) prior to diagnosis, whereas this was observed 1 year prior to a diagnosis of UC for weight (mean, -0.12 g [95% CI, -0.22 to -0.02 g]) and BMI (mean, -0.13 [95% CI, -0.23 to -0.03]). Deviating anthropometric patterns persisted after diagnosis, with the slowest recovery observed in children with CD. The findings of this large-scale population-based cohort study of anthropometrics in children suggest impaired nutritional status as assessed by weight up to 3 years and by length or height 1 year before a diagnosis of CD and by weight up to 1 year before a diagnosis of UC. These findings emphasize that the onset of pediatric IBD may occur years prior to diagnosis, that growth recovery may first occur after diagnosis and treatment, and that frequent nutritional screenings may help ensure a healthy transition to adulthood.

Conjunctival Bulbar Redness Extraction Pipeline for High-Resolution Ocular Surface Photography.

To extract conjunctival bulbar redness from standardized high-resolution ocular surface photographs of a novel imaging system by implementing an image analysis pipeline. Data from two trials (healthy; outgoing ophthalmic clinic) were collected, processed, and used to train a machine learning model for ocular surface segmentation. Various regions of interest were defined to globally and locally extract a redness biomarker based on color intensity. The image-based redness scores were correlated to clinical gradings (Efron) for validation. The model to determine the regions of interest was verified for a segmentation performance, yielding mean intersections over union of 0.9639 (iris) and 0.9731 (ocular surface). All trial data were analyzed and a digital grading scale for the novel imaging system was established. Photographs and redness scores from visits weeks apart showed good feasibility and reproducibility. For scores within the same session, a mean coefficient of variation of 4.09% was observed. A moderate positive Spearman correlation (0.599) was found with clinical grading. The proposed conjunctival bulbar redness extraction pipeline demonstrates that by using standardized imaging, a segmentation model and image-based redness scores' external eye photography can be classified and evaluated. Therefore, it shows the potential to provide eye care professionals with an objective tool to grade ocular redness and facilitate clinical decision-making in a high-throughput manner. To empower clinicians and researchers with a high-throughput workflow by standardized imaging combined with an analysis tool based on artificial intelligence to objectively determine an image-based redness score.

Development of a perceived eHealth literacy scale for individuals with serious mental illness: A cross-sectional study.

The development of an electronic health literacy scale for the population with serious mental illness (SMI) is needed due to individuals' characteristics. Develop a graphic-based perceived electronic health literacy scale for SMI (GP-eHLS-SMI). A cross-section study. This study was conducted from May 2023 to February 2024. The GP-eHLS-SMI was constructed based on qualitative interviews. Experts reviewed the items, and a pilot questionnaire was developed. A total of 436 community-dwelling participants with SMI from 20 medical facilities were recruited for psychometric analysis. Ten questionnaires were invalid, and 426 questionnaires were used for analysis. We used the first 220 questionnaires to perform the item and exploratory factor analyses. The last 206 questionnaires were used for confirmatory factor analysis. All valid questionnaires were used to examine test-retest reliability and criterion validity. Research tools included a demographic data questionnaire, the GP-eHLS-SMI, and the Chinese eHealth Literacy Scale (C-eHEALS). The C-eHEALS was used as the gold standard to explore the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) and cut-off point of the GP-eHLS-SMI. The Cronbach's alpha for the 16-item GP-eHLS-SMI was 0.882. The GP-eHLS-SMI score was significantly correlated with the C-eHEALS score (r=0.733, p<.001). The AUC was 0.863 (95% CI: 0.828, 0.897), and the cut-off point was 41. The test-retest reliability was r=0.929 (p<.001), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.961. The GP-eHLS-SMI is a valuable tool.

When to pair: Effects of different pairing ages on dairy calf health, behavior and performance.

Pair housing presents an alternative to individual or larger group housing systems, though the effects of different pairing ages on calf welfare are not well understood. In this study, we examined the impact of pairing age on the performance, health, and behavior of dairy calves. A total of 140 Holstein female calves (n = 70 pairs) were used, paired at 3 ages: Early (6-7 d; 48 calves), Intermediate (29-30 d; 48 calves), and Late pairing (49-50 d; 44 calves). Calves were housed individually before pairing and weaned at 78 ± 2 d of age. Weight measurements were recorded at birth, 30, 50, 60 d, and at weaning. Calves' behavior was assessed 5 times per week through scan sampling after milk feedings from d 6-7 until weaning, and a food neophobia test was conducted at 50-51 d. Health assessments were performed 3 times per week by a veterinarian using Wisconsin clinical scores to diagnose diarrhea and BRD, with pulmonary ultrasonography at 55 d. The results suggest no association between pairing age and the prevalence of diarrhea or bovine respiratory disease (BRD), although our statistical power was limited. The number of calves with lung consolidation scores above 2 was also unaffected by pairing age. Early paired calves exhibited more exploration and play behaviors, and less idleness, stereotypies, and non-nutritive oral behaviors than Late paired calves. No differences were observed in cross-suckling likelihood across pairing ages. Early paired calves also showed a shorter latency to touch a novel feed in the food neophobia test, higher calf starter intake during the first 15 d, and greater ADG up to 50 d. Although overall ADG did not differ among pairing ages, Early paired calves were more homogeneous in weaning weight compared with Late paired calves. In conclusion, early pairing supports calves' initial development, promoting early feeding behavior and growth, enhancing behaviors associated with positive affective states, and without adverse effects on health or undesirable behaviors.

Syringa oblata Lindl extract alleviated corticosterone-induced depression via the cAMP/PKA-CREB-BDNF pathway.

Syringa oblata Lindl (ZDX) is a plant in the Oleaceae family that is the primary ingredient in the classic Tibetan medicine AKARU sinensis. The plant's stem is used as a medicine, and Tibetan doctors often use it as a sedative, a use with a history of nearly 100 years. Tibetan medicine mainly uses lilac to treat headache, forgetfulness, insomnia, irritability and other symptoms. Depression is a chronic mental disorder characterized by low mood, cognitive impairments, and physical discomfort, and it has become a significant public health issue. Given the limitations of existing treatments, interest in alternative therapies, including herbal medicines, is increasing. To elucidate the mechanism of ZDX extract in the treatment of depression. A depression-like mouse model was established via the subcutaneous injection of corticosterone (CORT) into the groin, and a model of PC12cell injury was established via CORT treatment. The antidepressant effect of the ZDX extract was subsequently evaluated via weight measurements, the sucrose preference test (SPT), the forced swimming test (FST), the open field test(OFT), the tail suspension test (TST), HE staining, Nissl staining and ELISA. Moreover, immunofluorescence staining, qRT‒PCR and Western blotting were used to determine whether ZDX extract can regulate the cAMP/PKA-CREB-BDNF pathway to prevent depression and neuronal apoptosis. ZDX extract significantly improved depression-like behaviours; inhibited decreases in the protein levels of cAMP, PKA, CREB and BDNF; and increased proliferative activity in the hippocampus and cortex. In addition, in vitro, ZDX extract attenuated CORT-induced injury and apoptosis in hippocampal neurons and inhibited CORT-induced decreases in the mRNA expression levels of cAMP, PKA, CREB and BDNF. These findings suggest that ZDX extract has potential as a novel antidepressant therapeutic agent, offering a complementary approach to current treatments by targeting multiple pathways involved in the pathogenesis of depression. Further research is warranted to explore the clinical applications of ZDX extract in the treatment of depression.

Analysis of heart rate as a predictor of changes in heart rate variability in children.

To evaluate the predictive validity and cut-off point of heart rate and blood pressure on heart rate variability (HRV) changes in children with and without obesity. This study included 125 children, of whom 41 were normal weight and 84 were obese. Anthropometry, blood pressure, heart rate, and HRV were measured using an electronic scale and stadiometer, a sphygmomanometer, and HRV monitor. In addition, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was obtained by statistical analysis of the data. Heart rate proved to be a good predictor for changes in the square root of the mean of the square of the differences between consecutive NN intervals (RMSSD) parameter in students of both sexes for the normal-weight group (ROC 0.89; 95%CI 0.77-1.00) and obesity (ROC 0.90; 95%CI 0.83-0.97). In addition, the heart rate cut-off point for alterations in the RMSSD parameter for normal-weight boys was 93 bpm (sensitivity 100.00% and specificity 87.50%) and for boys with obesity, the established cut-off point was 91 bpm (sensitivity 94.74% and specificity 63.64%). Heart rate also proved to be a good predictor considering low-frequency/high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) and standard deviation of long-term continuous NN intervals /standard deviation of the instantaneous variability of continuous NN intervals in the Poincaré graph ratio (SD2/SD1). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were good predictors in more specific stratifications and, therefore, can be used in some cases. The predictive validity of heart rate was shown to be at a good level, with high sensitivity and acceptable specificity for the cut-off points according to the different analyses stratified by gender and nutritional status. In this sense, health professionals will be able to use heart rate to estimate cardiovascular risk in children of different sexes and nutritional status.

End-To-End FRET Enabling Direct Measurement of Oligomer Chain Conformations and Molecular Weight in Reaction Solutions.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is an established tool for measuring distances between two molecules (donor and acceptor) on the nanometer scale. In the field of polymer science, the use of FRET to measure polymer end-to-end distances (Ree) often requires complex synthetic steps to label the chain ends with the FRET pair. This work reports an anthracene-functionalized chain-transfer agent for reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization, enabling the synthesized chains to be directly end-labeled with a donor and acceptor without the need for any post-polymerization functionalization. Noteworthily, this FRET method allows for chain conformation measurements of low molecular weight oligomers in situ, without any work-up steps. Using FRET to directly measure the average Ree of the oligomer chains during polymerization, the chain growth of methyl methacrylate, styrene, and methyl acrylate is investigated as a function of reaction time, including determining their degree of polymerization (DP). It is found that DP results from FRET are consistent with other established measurement methods, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Altogether, this work presents a broadly applicable and straightforward method to in situ characterize Ree of low molecular weight oligomers and their DP during reaction.