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In order to determine whether there were differences in tissue layer thickness between ages and which components and sites showed the greatest differences, 20 young people (19~ 22 years old) and 10 elderly people (63~83 years old) were selected as subjects, and ultrasonic measurement was used to measure their skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle thickness, as well as the thickness of visceral fat in localised areas. It was found that the mean values of skin thickness and subcutaneous fat thickness (except for the buttocks) were greater in the elderly than in the young, but there was no significant difference in skin thickness, and the subcutaneous fat thickness differed only in the chest, iliac crest, and scapula. Muscle thickness was smaller in the elderly than in the young, and there were significant differences in all cases. Muscle was the component with the greatest difference in tissue thickness between the elderly and the young. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint thread-embedding at fat layer for abdominal obesity and its effects on glucose and lipid metabolism., Methods: Ninety-six patients with abdominal obesity were randomly divided into an acupoint embedding group (48 cases, 3 cases dropped out) and a sham embedding group (48 cases, 3 cases dropped out). Both groups received lifestyle interventions as basic treatment. The acupoint embedding group underwent thread-embedding at Zhongwan (CV 12), Qihai (CV 6), Guanyuan (CV 4), and bilateral Liangmen (ST 21), Fenglong (ST 40), and Pishu (BL 20), with the thread implanted in the fat layer. The sham embedding group followed the same acupoint selection and procedure but without catgut implantation. Both groups were treated once every two weeks for 12 weeks, for a total of six treatments. Waist circumference, body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were measured, and appetite was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after treatment and at 12 weeks after treatment completion (follow-up) in the two groups. Visceral fat area (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) at abdomen were measured, and blood glucose and lipid metabolism markers, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), leptin, tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), were also tested before and after treatment in the two groups. Clinical efficacy was evaluated two weeks after treatment completion., Results: After treatment and at follow-up, the waist circumference, body weight, BMI, WHR, WHtR, and appetite VAS scores in the acupoint embedding group were decreased compared to those before treatment ( P <0.01). In the sham embedding group, waist circumference, body weight, BMI, WHtR, and appetite VAS score were also reduced after treatment compared to those before treatment ( P <0.01). Except for body weight after treatment, the acupoint embedding group showed lower waist circumference, body weight, BMI, WHR, and WHtR values after treatment and at follow-up compared to the sham embedding group ( P <0.01, P <0.05). Additionally, the appetite VAS score in the acupoint embedding group was lower than that in the sham embedding group after treatment ( P <0.01). Both groups showed a reduction in abdominal VFA and SFA after treatment compared to those before treatment ( P <0.01, P <0.05). In the acupoint embedding group, serum FBG, FINS, HOMA-IR index, TC, TG, LDL-C, leptin, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels were decreased compared to those before treatment ( P <0.01), while HDL-C level was increased ( P <0.01). In the sham embedding group, serum FBG and HOMA-IR index were decreased compared to those before treatment ( P <0.01, P <0.05). After treatment, the abdominal SFA in the acupoint embedding group was lower than that in the sham embedding group ( P <0.01). Additionally, the acupoint embedding group had lower levels of serum FINS, HOMA-IR index, TC, LDL-C, leptin, TNF-α, and IL-6 compared to the sham embedding group ( P <0.05, P <0.01). The total effective rate in the acupoint embedding group was 82.2% (37/45), which was significantly higher than 15.6% (7/45) in the sham embedding group ( P <0.01)., Conclusion: The acupoint catgut embedding at fat layer could effectively reduce the obesity severity in patients with abdominal obesity, decrease abdominal fat accumulation, suppress appetite, improve glucose and lipid metabolism, reduce inflammatory responses, and has a sustained effect.

The thickness of fat layer on the carcasses obtained from swine exploited in semi-intensive system was determined in the area: cervical, thoracic, lumbar and abdominal. In case of the first group of pigs was recorded an average of lumbar measurements of 2.2 ± 0.16 cm, of those abdominal of 1.4 ± 0.23 cm and those dorsal of 2.4 ± 0.19 cm. For the carcasses obtained through the slaughtering of the pigs from group II the average of the lumbar measurements was of 1.8 ± 0.37 cm, abdominal of 0.28 cm ± 1.1 and dorsal of 1.9 ± 0.32 cm.

Abstract A 46‐year‐old female with a body mass index of 38.9 kg/m2 and no organic heart disease underwent a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator implantation for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death in the setting of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation. Defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing during implantation detected high shock impedance and high DFT. Fluoroscopy revealed subcoil fat between the lead and the sternum, which we suspected was the reason for the high shock impedance and high DFT. We repositioned the lead to a site just above the sternum and the shock impedance and DFT improved to within the respective normal ranges.

Introduction: Energy-based cosmetic devices offer an in-office treatment option, with minimal downtime, to non-invasively remove unwanted fat. We evaluated focused, pulsed ultrasound treatment to randomized flanks, compared to corresponding non-treated contralateral flanks. Material and Methods: Subjects were enrolled at three sites for a series of focused ultrasound treatments to a single flank, with the contralateral flank remaining untreated throughout the study. Success criteria included measureable fat thickness reduction on ultrasound imaging in the treated areas at 16 weeks after the final treatment session, and correct identification of the post-treatment photo and treated flank in at least 80% of evaluated images, as assessed by two blinded evaluators. Results: The post-treatment flank photo and treated flank side were correctly identified in 82% and 93% of cases, respectively. All study subjects demonstrated significant fat reduction in their treated area, as measured by ultrasound and skin caliper. Subjects expressed a high satisfaction from treatment outcomes. There were no complications with treatment. Conclusion: A series of three ultrasound treatments resulted in significant fat reduction in treated flanks. Although treatment results are more modest than with liposuction, non-invasive ultrasound treatment may provide an attractive alternative for patients seeking an in-office, nonsurgical procedure for fat reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solution of the heat conductivity problem for moving axisymmetric heat sources in a flat layer (thick plate) is described. Analytical solutions were obtained for heating with moving uniformly distributed annular and circular sources and also volume sources, distributed randomly in the thickness of the flat layer. Quasi-stationary (steady) fields of dimensionless temperature are described. The results of calculations and of experimental thermal cycles in argon-shielded welding of a steel plate are compared. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A 46‐year‐old female with a body mass index of 38.9 kg/m2 and no organic heart disease underwent a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator implantation for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death in the setting of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation. Defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing during implantation detected high shock impedance and high DFT. Fluoroscopy revealed subcoil fat between the lead and the sternum, which we suspected was the reason for the high shock impedance and high DFT. We repositioned the lead to a site just above the sternum and the shock impedance and DFT improved to within the respective normal ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effects of fat layer on the temperature distribution during microwave atrial fibrillation catheter ablation in the conditions of different ablation time; 3D finite element models (fat layer and no fat layer) were built, and temperature distribution was obtained based on coupled electromagnetic-thermal analysis at 2.45 GHz and 30 W of microwave power. Results shown: in the endocardial ablation, the existence of the fat layer did not affect the shape of the 50 °C contour before 30 s. The increase speed of depth became quite slowly in the model with fat layer after 30 s. When ablation depth needed fixed, there are no significant effect on effectively ablation depth whether fat layer over or not. However, the existence of fat layer makes the temperature lower in the myocardium, and maximum temperature point closer to the myocardium surface. What is more, in the model with fat layer, effective ablation reach lower maximum temperature and the shallower depth of 50 °C contour. But there are larger ablation axial length and transverse width. In this case, doctor should ensure safety of normal cardiac tissue around the target tissue. In the epicardial ablation, the existence of fat layer seriously affects result of the microwave ablation. The epicardial ablation needs more heating time to create lesion. But epicardial ablation can be better controlled in the shape of effective ablation area because of the slowly increase of target variables after the appearing of 50 °C contour. Doctor can choose endocardial or epicardial ablation in different case of clinic requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of a subcutaneous fat layer on measurement of muscle oxygenation using near-IR spectroscopy was quantitatively investigated by two-layered phantom experiments and Monte Carlo simulations, with the aim of developing an algorithm that can correct this influence. The phantom consisted of a fat-like layer, which was a mixture of agar and titanium dioxide powder, and a muscle-like layer, which was suspension of washed bovine blood in Intralipid solution. An LED with 760 and 840 nm elements was used as an optical source, and the backscattered light was detected by photodiodes at source-detector distances of 20, 30 and 40 mm. The relationships between changes in optical density and blood concentrations were obtained at fat-like layer thicknesses of 0, 5, 10 and 15 mm under fully oxygenated and fully deoxygenated states. It was experimentally found that the change in optical density is significantly decreased and the linearity of measurement characteristics is clearly distorted by the presence of a fat layer. In the simulations, normalized light reflectance and mean optical pathlength in a muscle layer were calculated. The simulation results of the light reflectance agreed well with the experimental results. When the absorption in a muscle layer was relatively high, the mean optical pathlength in the muscle layer, or the measurement sensitivity, was not so dependent on the absorption. Therefore, the modified Beer-Lambert law can still be applied to estimate changes in muscle absorption from changes in optical density, even when a fat layer is involved. The results of simulation also suggested that the influence of a fat layer can be eliminated by correcting the measurement sensitivity using the fat layer thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperthermia technique has received much attention over the last decade being less invasive among the others. Laser therapy is among the most commonly investigated types of ablative hyperthermia for treatment of cancer. In this method an external heat source provided by a laser fiber leads the cancerous tissue to the necrosis stage. For its simulation a cylindrical geometry of a breast tissue containing a tumor is acted upon by a Gaussian form of laser radiation. Then the feasibility of a fat layer injection around the tumor during the therapy is investigated numerically. In order to consider the finite speed of heat transfer, dual phase lag (DPL) model is implemented for prediction of the thermal results. The therapy is addressed with and without the presence of a fat layer around the breast tumor. Results show that the temperature in the tumor increases up to 15 % by the injection of a fat layer. Also, the presence of a fat layer around the tumor shows that the irreversible ablation happens at a faster rate. • DPL model is implemented to analyze the effect of a fat layer around a breast tumor during ablative laser therapy. • The fat injection causes more damage inside the tumor. Therefore, the time of the hyperthermia process could be reduced. • It is shown that the temperature in the tumor increases up to 15% by the injection of a fat layer. • The irreversible ablated volume of tissue increases from 4.5cm3 to 4.81cm3 by injection of the fat layer around the tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavation of burrows is an extremely physically demanding activity producing a large amount of metabolic heat. Dissipation of its surplus is crucial to avoid the risk of overheating, but in subterranean mammals it is complicated due to the absence of notable body extremities and high humidity in their burrows. IR-thermography in a previous study on two species of African mole-rats revealed that body heat was dissipated mainly through the ventral body part, which is notably less furred. Here, we analyzed the dorsal and ventral skin morphology, to test if dermal characteristics could contribute to higher heat dissipation through the ventral body part. The thickness of the epidermis and dermis and the presence, extent and connectivity of fat tissue in the dermis were examined using routine histological methods, while vascular density was evaluated using fluorescent dye and confocal microscopy in the giant mole-rat Fukomys mechowii . As in other hitherto studied subterranean mammals, no subcutaneous adipose tissue was found. All examined skin characteristics were very similar for both dorsal and ventral regions: relative content of adipose tissue in the dermis (14.4 ± 3.7% dorsally and 11.0 ± 4.0% ventrally), connectivity of dermal fat (98.5 ± 2.8% and 95.5 ± 6.8%), vascular density (26.5 ± 3.3% and 22.7 ± 2.3%). Absence of large differences in measured characteristics between particular body regions indicates that the thermal windows are determined mainly by the pelage characteristics., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2020 Pleštilová et al.)

Scope: Breastfeeding is associated with reduced risk of infection, immune-mediated disorders, obesity, and even cancer. Recently it was found that breast milk contains a variety of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the skim and fat layer that can be transferred to infants, and appear to play important roles in those biological functions., Methods and Results: This study applied next generation sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR analysis to determine the miRNA expression profile of the skim and fat fraction of human, goat, and bovine milk as well as infant formulas. Human and mammalian milk were found to contain known advantageous miRNAs in exosomes and also in the fat layer. These miRNAs are highly conserved in human, bovine and goat milk. However, they were not detected in several infant formulas. Further, miRNAs present in milk were able to enter normal and tumor cells and affect their biological functions. Following incubation of milk derived human miRNA with normal and cancer cells, the expression of miRNA-148a was upregulated and the expression of the DNA methyltransferase1 target gene of miRNA-148a was down regulated., Conclusion: These results reinforce previous findings on the importance of miRNA in breast milk. Future studies should concentrate on the addition of miRNA to infant formulas., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)