Subjects Of Different Age Groups Research Articles

Relationship Not Found Between Blood and Urine Concentrations and Body Mass Index in Humans With Apparently Adequate Boron Status.

The impact of boron on the development of obesity remains controversial in the analysis of experimental and clinical data. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between blood and urine boron concentrations and obesity in normal, overweight, obese, and morbidly obese subjects in different age groups. A total of 105 subjects were categorized into 12 groups based on body mass index and three different age levels: as young adult (18 to 34years old), adult (35 to 54years old), and older adult (greater than 55years old). Age, gender, body mass index, and blood and urine boron concentrations were recorded for each subject. There were 50 women and 55 men, with a mean age of 44.63±17.9years. Blood and urine boron concentrations were similar among the groups (p=0.510 and p=0.228, respectively). However, a positive correlation between age and blood boron concentration (p=0.001) was detected in contrast to the presence of a negative correlation between age and urine boron concentration (p=0.027). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between gender, age, and quantitative values of body mass index for each subject, and blood and urine boron concentrations. Although the relationship between boron and obesity has not been confirmed, changes of blood and urine boron concentrations with age may have some physiologic sequences to cause obesity.

Three-dimensional gait analysis of healthy subjects in different age groups in Turkey

Three-dimensional gait analysis of healthy subjects in different age groups in Turkey

The report of sequence analysis on familial Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) in South-eastern Mediterranean region (Kahramanmaraş) of Turkey.

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is defined as an inherited and autosomal recessive disease. Many researches have been done about this subject, and we believe that it should be necessary to focus on phenotype-genotype correlation, especially novel mutation types. We aim to announce the results of FMF sequence analysis in Kahramanmaras/Turkey. The number of participants is 380 males and 451 females who clinically diagnosed as FMF subjects of different age groups. Genomic sequences of exons 2 and 10 and in some cases exon 3 of the MEFV gene were scanned for mutations by sequence analyzer. The most common mutation identified in 230 (57.07 %) patients is heterozygous. The frequencies of mutation types in heterozygous subjects are R202Q (39.13 %), E148Q (18.70 %), M680I (16.52 %), M694V (13.91 %), and V726A (4.78 %), respectively. The most striking point among the compound heterozygous subjects is R202Q/M694V mutation type found at the highest rate (32 subjects). Fever and peritonitis are the most frequent signs of homozygous M694V and combine heterozygous mutations. Interestingly, the rate of homozygous mutation types (M694V/M694V+ R202Q/R202Q) is 96.70 % among all compound homozygous mutation types. The most frequent rate of homozygous patients is M680I mutation types (68.42 % in all homozygous mutation types). Two novel mutations were found in this study: N206K (p.Asn206Lys) and S208T (p.Ser208Tyr). Our findings in this study on the FMF sequence analysis are different from the results obtained from the other regions of Turkey.

Amelioration of Fluoride Toxicity Using Amla ( Emblica officinalis )

A study was conducted on the residents of Bhupnagar, a fluoride endemic village in Gaya district, Bihar, to assess the ameliorating effect of amla ( Emblica officinalis) on fluoride-induced toxicity. Fifty-three subjects of different age groups were included in the study. Among these, 27 subjects (test group) were given amla powder as dietary supplement for 9 months and the rest 26 subjects were kept as control (i.e. without dietary supplement). The mean urinary fluoride level in the test group was found to decline progressively during the period of supplementation. The study revealed that consumption of amla powder may play an important role in mitigating fluoride-induced toxicity.

A comparative evaluation of the reliability of three methods of assessing gingival biotype in dentate subjects in different age groups: An in vivo study.

Introduction:In the modern competitive society, a pleasing appearance often dictates the difference between success and failure in both our personal and professional lives. Evaluation of gingival biotype is very important from the start of treatment plan to the final restorative placement to provide excellent esthetics.Materials and Methodology:For the study, subjects were divided into 4 groups of different ages, from 20-30, 31-40, 41-50 and 51-60 years. 30 subjects (15 men and 15 women) were selected in each group for the study. Examination of the thickness of Gingival Biotype was done in 3 different ways; - Direct visual, William's Graduated Probe and Using modified wax caliper.Results:The McNemar test showed statistically significant differences in the way gingival biotype was identified when comparing visual assessment with assessment using direct measurement (P < 0.001). And there was no statistically significant difference when assessment using a periodontal probe was compared to direct measurement (P < 0.676). There is no correlation for the Biotype among the different age groups.Conclusion:Gingival biotype identification by visual assessment is statistically significantly different from assessment with direct measurement. Gingival biotype identification by assessment with a periodontal probe is not statistically significantly different from direct measurement.

Effectiveness of a Novel Power Control Algorithm in Heart Rate Monitoring of a Mobile Adult: Energy Efficiency Comparison with Fixed Power Transmission

In this paper, experiments are conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a novel adaptive power control algorithm in terms of energy efficiency in heart rate monitoring scenario of a mobile adult in a typical home environment. As part of health care, persons with heart related problems are required to be monitored by logging for example, their heart rate on a regular basis to check for any anomaly. At the same time, it is expected that the person in question should be able to move freely within the given facility. The wireless sensors that are attached to the person send periodic data to the central base station. Since the person is mobile, the distance between the transmitting sensor and the base station changes with time. Since the signal path-loss is primarily dependent on distance and the number and type of obstructions between the transmitter and the receiver, it may be wise to use transmission power control to modulate the transmit power. Using power control, the sensor can adjust the level that is sufficient to send the data through the wireless channel without wasting energy. Conservation of energy is critical in wireless sensor network scenarios because they are powered by batteries which have limited lifetime. A critical application like the heart rate monitoring sensor is expected to operate for a reasonable amount of time before the battery dies. The novel adaptive power control algorithm uses intelligent modulation methods to ramp up or ramp down the transmission power level as and when required. By this method, the operational lifetime of the wireless sensor can be extended. As part of the experimental methodology for this paper, two subjects of different age groups have been used. Experimental results show that there is at least a 12% increase in the energy savings using the proposed algorithm.

Piezoelectric sensor to non-invasively detect age associated changes in human carotid pulse

The arterial pressure waveform reflects the physics of blood flow in the arterial tree. There are definite changes that occur in the vasculature with age and cause changes in the shape of arterial waveforms. These changes are mainly attributed to increase in the pulse wave velocity caused by the arterial stiffness that causes the reflected wave to return early. Arterial waveforms can be used to non-invasively detect the condition of the cardiac system. There are various methods that have been used to non-invasively detect the arterial pressure waveform like the applanation tonometry, ausculcatory method, palpatory method etc. The developed work presents a simple and cost-effective method wherein carotid artery pressure waveform of subjects of different age groups is recorded using piezoelectric sensor and then analysed using MATLAB to find the systolic, diastolic and inflection points. These points are used to calculate augmentation index and find the changes that occur in the augmentation index with age.

Effect of ECG-derived respiration (EDR) on modeling ventricular repolarization dynamics in different physiological and psychological conditions.

Ventricular repolarization dynamics is an important predictor of the outcome in cardiovascular diseases. Mathematical modeling of the heart rate variability (RR interval variability) and ventricular repolarization variability (QT interval variability) is one of the popular methods to understand the dynamics of ventricular repolarization. Although ECG derived respiration (EDR) was previously suggested as a surrogate of respiration, but the effect of respiratory movement on ventricular repolarization dynamics was not studied. In this study, the importance of considering the effect of respiration and the validity of using EDR as a surrogate of respiration for linear parametric modeling of ventricular repolarization variability is studied in two cases with different physiological and psychological conditions. In the first case study, we used 20 young and 20 old healthy subjects' ECG and respiration data from Fantasia database at Physionet to analyze a bivariate QT-RR and a trivariate [Formula: see text] model structure to study the aging effect on cardiac repolarization variability. In the second study, we used 16 healthy subjects' data from drivedb (stress detection for automobile drivers) database at Physionet to do the same analysis for different psychological condition (i.e., in stressed and no stress condition). The results of our study showed that model having respiratory information (QT-RR-RESP and QT-RR-EDR) gave significantly better fit value (p < 0.05) than that of found from the QT-RR model. EDR showed statistically similar (p > 0.05) performance as that of respiration as an exogenous model input in describing repolarization variability irrespective of age and different mental conditions. Another finding of our study is that both respiration and EDR-based models can significantly (p < 0.05) differentiate the ventricular repolarization dynamics between healthy subjects of different age groups and with different psychological conditions, whereas models without respiration or EDR cannot distinguish between the groups. These results established the importance of using respiration and the validity of using EDR as a surrogate of respiration in the absence of respiration signal recording in linear parametric modeling of ventricular repolarization variability in healthy subjects.

CARACTERIZAÇÃO DOS CANDIDATOS AO USO DE PRÓTESES AUDITIVAS EM UM SERVIÇO DE SAÚDE AUDITIVA REGIONAL DO ESTADO DO RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Introduction – The National Health Care System (SUS) provides a concierge hearing care focused on providing hearing aids. This ordinance seeks rehabilitation of subjects in different age groups in all types and degrees of hearing loss. Objective – To characterize users Sector Hearing a Specialty Center and Diagnostics central region of Rio Grande do Sul. Material and Method – This is a quantitative, retrospective and documentary. The target population of this research consisted of all candidates for the use of hearing aids in the period 2000-2010. Results – The predominant group of adults and seniors with elementary school, receiving up to two minimum wages. The professions “retired” and “home” predominated in the sample. Conclusion – The main characteristics of the subjects in this study were adults and seniors with elementary school, retired or housewives, they receive up to two minimum wages.

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on muscle energy phospho-metabolites: a 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy-based pilot study

There are several published reports on the prevalence of low vitamin D levels in otherwise healthy Indian population. Vitamin D deficiency has shown variable effect on muscle performance and strength but there is paucity of data on the effect of vitamin D deficiency on muscle energy metabolism. The present study was proposed to investigate the influence of severe vitamin D deficiency on high-energy metabolite levels in resting skeletal muscle and thereafter, monitor the response after vitamin D supplementation using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Study was conducted on 19 otherwise healthy subjects but with low serum 25(OH)D levels (<5 ng/ml). Subjects were supplemented with cholecalciferol at a dose of 60 000 IU/week for 12 weeks. MRS measurements of inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphocreatine (PCr), phosphodiester (PDE) and ATP of the calf muscle were taken pre- and post-vitamin D supplementation. The study revealed significantly increased PCr/Pi ratio and decreased [Pi] and PDE/ATP ratio with raised serum 25(OH)D levels after 12 weeks of supplementation. The study indicates that serum 25(OH)D level plays an important role in improving the skeletal muscle energy metabolism and vitamin D deficiency might be one of the primary reasons for prevalence of low PCr/Pi ratio and high PDE values in normal Indian population as reported earlier. The findings of this preliminary study are highly encouraging and warrant further in-depth research, involving larger number of subjects of different age groups, regions and socio-economic sections of the society to further strengthen a correlation between vitamin D levels and muscle energy metabolism.

Choroidal thickness in normal subjects and in age-related macular degeneration

Results of choroidal thickness measurements in 75 healthy subjects of different age groups (123 eyes) are presented as well as those of 35 patients (45 eyes) with age-related macular degeneration. Examinations were performed with a Spectralis optical coherence tomograph using the regimen of Enhanced Depth Imaging (EDI-OCT). A negative dependence between choroidal thickness and age was found (r = -0.78, p 0.0001). Sub-foveal thickness of the choroid decreases on average by 2.99 µm for every life year. No significant differences in choroidal thickness of age-related macular degeneration patients and that of healthy people of the same age group were found.

Salivary alpha amylase activity in human beings of different age groups subjected to psychological stress.

Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been proposed as a sensitive non-invasive biomarker for stress-induced changes in the body that reflect the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Though several experiments have been conducted to determine the validity of this salivary component as a reliable stress marker in human subjects, the effect of stress induced changes on sAA levelin different age groups is least studied. This article reports the activity of sAA in human subjects of different age groups subjected to psychological stress induced through stressful video clip. Differences in sAA level based on sex of different age groups under stress have also been studied. A total of 112 subjects consisting of both the male and female subjects, divided into two groups on basis of age were viewed a video clip of corneal transplant surgery as stressor. Activity of sAA from saliva samples of the stressed subjects were measured and compared with the activity of the samples collected from the subjects before viewing the clip. The age ranges of subjects were 18-25 and 40-60years. The sAA level increased significantly in both the groups after viewing the stressful video. The increase was more pronounced in the younger subjects. The level of sAA was comparatively more in males than females in the respective groups. No significant change in sAA activity was observed after viewing the soothed video clip. Significant increase of sAA level in response to psychological stress suggests that it might act as a reliable sympathetic activity biochemical marker in different stages of humanbeings.

SAT0456 Outcome of a national immunization campaign indicated that children and adult rubella vaccination does not induce the development of chronic arthritis

BackgroundVaccinations have long been considered to be possible triggering agents for chronic arthritis, but no sufficiently definitive epidemiological study has been published on this issue. There are case reports of...

Mechanical Tomography of Human Corneocytes with a Nanoneedle

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) can image biological samples and characterize their mechanical properties. However, the low aspect ratio of standard AFM probes typically limits these measurements to surface properties. Here, the intracellular mechanical behavior of human corneocytes is determined using "nanoneedle" AFM probes. The method evaluates the forces experienced by a nanoneedle as it is pushed into and then retracted from the cell. Indentation loops yield the stiffness profile and information on the elastic and nonelastic mechanical properties at a specific depth below the surface of the corneocytes. A clear difference between the softer ∼50-nm-thick external layer and the more rigid internal structure of corneocytes is apparent, which is consistent with the current understanding of the structure of these cells. There are also significant variations in the mechanical properties of corneocytes from different volunteers. The small diameter of the nanoneedle allows this "mechanical tomography" to be performed with high spatial resolution, potentially offering an opportunity to detect biomechanical changes in corneocytes because of, e.g., environmental factors, aging, or dermatological pathologies.

Aging Does Not Affect Radial Viscoelastic Behavior of the Left Ventricle

Objectives: This study investigates the effect of aging on the radial viscoelastic behavior of the left ventricle (LV) based on a previously validated model that uses myocardial tissue phase mapping (TPM) of cine phase-contrast MRI. Methods: Previous studies suggest that aging remarkably influences regional myocardial motion, mostly myocardial velocities in both radial and long-axis directions. However, the effect of aging on cardiac viscoelasticity, which exhibits time-dependent strain, has not been elucidated yet. In this study, myocardial velocity and displacement mapping of the LV was performed using TPM in 39 healthy subjects divided into three age groups. The viscoelasticity parameters were obtained for each segment of the LV and compared among the studied groups. Results: The analyses showed that myocardial elasticity ranged from approximately 20 to -20 dyne/cm² during a cardiac cycle, and the myocardial viscous-damping component ranged from -1 to 1 dyne × s/cm². Overall, no statistically significant difference was observed in the viscoelasticity components among the subjects in the different age groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Myocardial viscoelastic behavior of the LV in radial direction was found to be considerably similar in pattern and magnitude among the studied subjects of different age groups with no statistically significant difference, despite the fact that the regional myocardial velocities change due to aging.

The association between certain chronic diseases and health status with depression

Depression is more likely in patients with certain chronic diseases, and it is associated with increased rates of disability and mortality. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between certain chronic diseases; hypertension, diabetes, asthma, low hemoglobin level and health status, with the presence of depression among general population. Cross-sectional study was conducted from 787 subjects in different age groups, who had participated in a major campaign in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during March 2012. Blood pressure (BP), random blood glucose (RBG), Serum hemoglobin (Hb), Beck Depression Inventory Scale (BDI) had been measured. Covariates included age, sex, and presence of hypertension, diabetes, or asthma. Of the 787 subjects participated in the study, 50.5% were females, 12.7% of study subjects were less than 25 years and 4.2% were 55 or more years of age. Measuring the Hb level was surprising, (14%) were having Hb level below 11 g/dl. BDI scale was used to screen for depression. The prevalence of depression among “medically free” population was (29.9%). The overall prevalence of chronic diseases among the study subjects including asthma, hypertension, and diabetes or combination of two diseases or more were 18.2%. Surprisingly, there was no significant relation between depression and chronic diseases with p-value 0.092. The presence of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and low hemoglobin level are not risk factors for having depressive symptoms among general population. Poor self-rated health status appears to be more strongly associated with depression than the presence of chronic disease.

Estimation of sacroiliac joint index in normal subjects of various age groups: comparative evaluation of four different methods of quantification in skeletal scintigraphy

To estimate and compare the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) index in skeletal scintigraphy by four different methods of quantification employed in normal subjects of different age groups. The whole-body skeletal survey of 100 subjects, who underwent skeletal scintigraphy three hours after injection of 99mTc-Methylene Diphosphonate (MDP), were selected for this analysis. The patients having previous history of low back pain, joint pain or any benign bone joint disorders (e.g. ankylosing spondylitis, metabolic bone disease, and osteoarthritis), documented bone lesions or tumors within the pelvis region were excluded from the study. All subjects had normal posterior pelvis view on visual assessment in the respective study. Sacroiliac joint index was calculated by quantitative sacroiliac scintigraphy. In each subject, four different methods of quantification were carried out: 1. irregular region of interest (ROI) method, 2. rectangular ROI method, 3. profile peak counts (PPC) method and 4. profile integrated counts (PIC) method and applied to calculate SIJ index. SIJ indices for left and right sacroiliac joints were calculated by dividing the count for each joint by the count for the sacrum. Results obtained by the four methods were compared statistically. The overall SIJ index was found to range from 1.06 to 1.36 in the study population of 100 subjects encompassing all age groups. There was no significant difference in the estimated SIJ index within each age group obtained by the four different methods employed in this study. The values of SIJ index were as follows: in patients aged 2-20 years - they ranged from 1.22 to 1.36; in patients aged 21-40 years - from 1.07 to 1.19; for patients aged 41-60 years - from 1.08 to 1.19 and in patients aged 61 years and older, SIJ values were slightly lower than in other groups and ranged from 1.06 to 1.13. Methods of selecting a region of interest have no significant effect on the calculation of SIJ index and in healthy subjects its values range between 1.06 and 1.36, depending on the age of the subject. The maximum value was observed in patients aged 2-20 years and minimum values were noted in patients aged 61 and older.

Distribution of Copper, Iron, and Zinc in Biological Samples of Pakistani Hypertensive Patients and Referent Subjects of Different Age Groups

The abnormal metabolism of metal ions plays an important role in health and disease conditions, and studies about them have been attracting significant interest. The aim of our study was to assess the trace metals (copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn)) in biological samples (scalp hair, blood, urine) of 387 hypertensive males and females, age range 30 - 60 years, from an urban population and 439 non-hypertensive subjects of same age group and residential areas. The element concentrations were measured by means of an atomic absorption spectrophotometer after microwave-induced acid digestion. The validity and accuracy was checked by conventional wet acid digestion method, using certified reference materials. The overall recoveries of all elements were found in the range of 95.2 - 98.7 % of certified values. The results indicated significantly lower levels of Cu, Fe, and Zn in the biological samples (blood and scalp hair) of hypertensive patients when compared to referents of both genders while the levels of these elements was found to be high in urine samples of hypertensive patients as compared to referents. The deficiency of Cu, Fe, and Zn may be synergistic with risk factors associated with hypertension. These data present guidance to clinicians and other professionals who will be investigating the deficiency of essential micronutrients in biological samples (scalp hair, serum, and blood) of hypertensive patients.

Prevalence of low bone mass in postmenopausal Kuwaiti women residents in the largest province of Kuwait

We measured bone mineral density (BMD) in Kuwaiti women residents in the largest province of Kuwait state to highlight the BMD changes with each age, in particular when they reach the postmenopausal stage. Healthy Kuwaiti females between the ages of 10 and 89years, who were residents in the largest province of Kuwait, were included in the study. After measurements of their height and weight, their bone mineral density of L2-L4 lumbar spine and femur (neck and total) was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Out of the studied 903 female subjects, 811 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Their mean ± SEM age and body mass index (BMI) were respectively 47 ± 1years and 30.8 ± 0.2kg/m(2). Out of these 811 subjects, 454 were postmenopausal, and their age and BMI were 55.0 ± 0.3years and 32.0 ± 0.3kg/m(2), respectively. We have demonstrated that osteoporotic BMD of the spine and femur neck occurred in 20.2 and 12.5% of postmenopausal Kuwaiti females, whereas osteopenic BMD of the spine and femur neck was observed at a frequency of 35.4 and 42.8% of women, respectively. When the subjects were subdivided as per BMI, it was notable that overweight and obese had significantly higher BMD than normal weight postmenopausal women. BMD of the spine, femur neck, and femur total demonstrated significant positive correlations with body weight and BMI, whereas they demonstrated significant negative correlations with age. Low BMD of the femur neck and spine, reflected by the combination of osteopenia and osteoporosis, seemed to occur in more than half (55.3-55.6%) of postmenopausal Kuwaiti women. Most of the studies on assessment of prevalence of low bone mass were focused in Caucasian population. Data on subjects of the Mediterranean area are limited. We measured bone mineral density (BMD) in Kuwaiti women residents in the largest province of Kuwait state to highlight the BMD changes with each age, in particular when they reach the postmenopausal stage. Kuwaiti female subjects of different age groups between 10 and 89years, who were residents in the largest province of Kuwait (Hawalli), were included in the study. They were included if they had been healthy over the last 12months, had no past history of bone disease, and are not taking any prescription medication that may affect bone density. Their bone mineral density of L2-L4 lumbar spine and femur (neck and total) was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Out of the studied 903 female subjects, 811 fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Their mean ± SEM age and body mass index (BMI) were respectively 47 ± 1years and 30.8 ± 0.2kg/m(2). Out of these 811 subjects, 454 were postmenopausal, and their age and BMI were 55.0 ± 0.3years and 32.0 ± 0.3kg/m(2), respectively. We have demonstrated that osteoporotic BMD of the spine and femur neck occurred in 20.2 and 12.5% of postmenopausal Kuwaiti females, respectively, whereas osteopenic BMD of the spine and femur neck was observed at a frequency of 35.4 and 42.8% of women. When subjects were subdivided as per BMI, it was notable that overweight and obese postmenopausal women had significantly higher BMD of lumbar spine, femur neck, and femur total than normal weight postmenopausal women. Bone mineral densities of the spine, femur neck, and femur total demonstrated significant positive correlations with body weight and BMI, whereas they demonstrated significant negative correlations with age. Low BMD of the femur neck and spine, reflected by the combination of osteopenia and osteoporosis, seemed to occur in more than half (55.3-55.6%) of postmenopausal Kuwaiti women residents at the largest province of Kuwait.

LABEL: Pediatric brain extraction using learning-based meta-algorithm

Magnetic resonance imaging of pediatric brain provides valuable information for early brain development studies. Automated brain extraction is challenging due to the small brain size and dynamic change of tissue contrast in the developing brains. In this paper, we propose a novel Learning Algorithm for Brain Extraction and Labeling (LABEL) specially for the pediatric MR brain images. The idea is to perform multiple complementary brain extractions on a given testing image by using a meta-algorithm, including BET and BSE, where the parameters of each run of the meta-algorithm are effectively learned from the training data. Also, the representative subjects are selected as exemplars and used to guide brain extraction of new subjects in different age groups. We further develop a level-set based fusion method to combine multiple brain extractions together with a closed smooth surface for obtaining the final extraction. The proposed method has been extensively evaluated in subjects of three representative age groups, such as neonate (less than 2 months), infant (1-2 years), and child (5-18 years). Experimental results show that, with 45 subjects for training (15 neonates, 15 infant, and 15 children), the proposed method can produce more accurate brain extraction results on 246 testing subjects (75 neonates, 126 infants, and 45 children), i.e., at average Jaccard Index of 0.953, compared to those by BET (0.918), BSE (0.902), ROBEX (0.901), GCUT (0.856), and other fusion methods such as Majority Voting (0.919) and STAPLE (0.941). Along with the largely-improved computational efficiency, the proposed method demonstrates its ability of automated brain extraction for pediatric MR images in a large age range.