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Abdominal obesity is associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett's esophagus (BE). Increased body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) have been associated with BE. Abdominal diameter index (ADI, sagittal abdominal diameter divided by thigh circumference) was previously shown to be a more accurate predictor of incident cardiovascular disease compared to other measurements. Our aim is to examine whether abdominal diameter index was a more accurate predictor of prevalent BE compared to other anthropometric measurements. We conducted a case-control study of patients presenting to our institution. Our study population was consecutive Caucasian men with a known history of BE, and we recruited control patients who had GERD without BE. Both groups completed a questionnaire about demographics, smoking, and medications and underwent a series of anthropometric body measurements using standardized measuring tools. BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and abdominal diameter index were calculated. Thirty-one BE patients and 27 control patients were recruited. The BE cohort were older and had a higher rate of hiatal hernia. The mean abdominal diameter index for patients with BE was 0.65 ± 0.07 and without BE was 0.60 ± 0.07 (p = 0.01). The predictive value of abdominal diameter index was analyzed using a receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve and was a more powerful predictor of BE than waist-to-hip ratio or BMI (AUROC = 0.70 vs. 0.60 vs. 0.52, respectively). Using a cut-point abdominal diameter index value of 0.60, abdominal diameter index had a sensitivity of 77.4% and a specificity of 63.0% for the presence of BE. When controlling for age, smoking status, and BMI, an abdominal diameter index =0.60 was a significant independent risk factor for BE (OR = 5.7, 95% CI = 1.29-25.4). In this pilot study, the abdominal diameter index appears to be a more powerful predictor of the presence of BE than BMI and waist-to-hip ratio and remained the only significant predictor of BE in multivariate analysis. We propose further validation of abdominal diameter index before inclusion in future prediction tools for BE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate matter in diesel engine exhaust, particularly nano-particles, can cause serious human health problems including diseases such as lung cancer. Because diesel nano-particle issues are of global concern, regulations on particulate matter emissions specify that not only the weight of particulate matter emitted but also the concentration of nanoparticles must be controlled. This study aimed to determine the effects on nano-particle and PM emissions from a diesel engine when applying a urea-SCR system for NO reduction. We found that PM weight increases by approximately 90% when urea is injected in ND-13 mode over the emission without urea injection. Additionally, PM weight increases as the NH/NO mole ratio is increased at 250 °C. In SEM scans of the collected PM, spherical particles were observed during urea injection, with sizes of approximately 200 nm to 1 μm. This study was designed to determine the conditions under which nano-particles and PM are formed in a urea-SCR system and to relate these conditions to particle size and shape via a quantitative analysis in ND-13 mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the spray and combustion characteristics of compressed ignition type LPG fuel when a cetane number enhancing additive was applied to a constant volume chamber. Because LPG has a lower cetane number, DTBP and alpha olefin were added to the LPG (100% butane) to enhance the cetane number and viscosity. By adding the cetane enhancer, stable combustion over the wide range of the ambient conditions was possible as well. According to the blending rates of DTBP and alpha olefin, various proportions of LPG blended fuels were obtained. In a constant volume chamber, a high speed digital camera was also employed to visualize the combustion characteristics of LPG fuel. The combustion pressures and heat-release rates of the LPG blends were also compared at various ambient pressures. As the results of measurements of exhaust emissions, CO and HC were reduced considerably, but CO2 was increased by blending LPG with DTBP and alpha olefin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigmentation genes such as TYR ( tyrosinase), TYRP1 ( tyrosinase-related protein 1) , DCT (previously TYRP2, or tyrosinase-related protein 2) , ASIP ( agouti) and MC1R ( melanocortin receptor 1) play a major role in cattle coat colour. To understand the genotypic profile underlying coat colour in native Korean Hanwoo cattle and Angus black cattle, portions of the above-mentioned genes were amplified. Sequence analysis revealed variation in the TYRP1 (exon 5) and MC1R genes. Restriction enzyme analysis of these two genes could distinguish between different colours of Hanwoo cattle. Quantitative estimates of melanin and eumelanin in hair from three different-coloured Hanwoo phenotypes and Angus black showed significant differences at the breed and phenotypic levels. Finally, sequence variants in MC1R were associated with total melanin and eumelanin in breeds as well as in Hanwoo phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synopsis Hot hydrochloric acid solutions were used to extract zinc from electric-arc furnace dusts containing zinc oxide and zinc ferrite and to minimize iron dissolution. Fresh electric-arc furnace dust was used to remove iron from the filtrate after hot acid leaching. The zinc chloride solutions, purified by activated carbon to remove organics and by metallic zinc powder to remove cadmium, copper and lead, were electrolysed in electrowinning cells that had a cation-exchange membrane to produce high-purity zinc metal and regenerate hydrochloric acid. The spent electrolyte contained 1-2 M HC1 and this was used to leach the residue in the hot acid leaching vessel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data (N =1,289) were collected from 2001 through 2005 on Korean native horse called Jejuma by the evaluations of Jeju horse commission to estimate genetic parameters for head length, withers height, back height, croup height, body length, chest depth, chest width, hip width, croup width, croup length, chest girth, and cannon circumference as conformation traits of a horse. Estimates of heritability and genetic correlations of these traits were obtained with derivative - free REML. Model included animal genetic and residual random effects. For 12 conformation traits, sex, age, and registration status were used as a fixed effect. For the sex effect, there were few quantifiable differences between mares and stallions. Non - registered horses were much higher and lengthier than those of registered horses. Single-trait analyses were initially done to obtain starting values for multiple-trait analyses. Estimates of heritability for 12 body measures were moderate to high and for the height traits (withers height, back height, and croup height) were moderate (.45 ~.55). The lowest estimate was found for the hip width (.08) while highest values were chest width and body length (.72 ~ .62). Estimates of genetic correlations between cannon bone circumference and head length and withers height and back height were .80 and .98, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]