Gas purification by nonthermal plasma: a case study of ethylene.

The destruction of ethylene in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma is investigated by the combination of kinetic modeling and experiments, as a case study for plasma-based gas purification. The influence of the specific energy deposition on the removal efficiency and the selectivity toward CO and CO2 is studied for different concentrations of ethylene. The model allows the identification of the destruction pathway in dry and humid air.

The long-term effectiveness of need-supportive physical activity counseling compared with a standard referral in sedentary older adults.

This study compared the long-term effectiveness of three physical activity counseling strategies among sedentary older adults: a 1-contact referral (REFER), a 1-contact individualized walking program (WALK), and multiple-contact, individually tailored, and need-supportive coaching based on the self-determination theory (COACH). Participants (n = 442) completed measurements before (pretest), immediately after (posttest), and 1 yr after (follow-up test) a 10-wk intervention. Linear mixed models demonstrated significant time-by-condition interaction effects from pre- to posttest.

Anxiety and depressed mood in obese pregnant women: a prospective controlled cohort study.

Background: The psychological health in obese women during pregnancy has been poorly studied.

Objective: To compare levels of anxiety and depressed mood during pregnancy in obese versus normal-weight women.

Methods: 63 obese pregnant women and 156 normal-weight controls were included prospectively before 15 weeks of gestation.

Defect healing and enhanced nucleation of carbon nanotubes by low-energy ion bombardment.

Structural defects inevitably appear during the nucleation event that determines the structure and properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes. By combining ion bombardment experiments with atomistic simulations we reveal that ion bombardment in a suitable energy range allows these defects to be healed resulting in an enhanced nucleation of the carbon nanotube cap. The enhanced growth of the nanotube cap is explained by a nonthermal ion-induced graphene network restructuring mechanism.

Anxiety during early pregnancy predicts postpartum weight retention in obese mothers.

Objective: We aimed to describe the weight status of obese mothers 6 months after delivery and examine its relationship to important sociodemographical, behavioral, and psychological variables.

Design And Methods: Postpartum data from an interventional trial in obese pregnant women (n = 197), conducted in three regional hospitals, between March 2008 and June 2012, were available from 150 mothers. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 29 kg/m2.

Effects of fitness and vibration training on muscle quality: a 1-year postintervention follow-up in older men.

Objective: To evaluate the residual effects of fitness and whole-body vibration (WBV) training in older men 1 year after completion of the interventions.

Design: A 1-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial comparing the effects of 1 year of fitness training, including combined resistance and aerobic (R+A) training and WBV training, with a control (CON) group.

Setting: University training center.

Reactive molecular dynamics simulations on SiO2-coated ultra-small Si-nanowires.

The application of core-shell Si-SiO(2) nanowires as nanoelectronic devices strongly depends on their structure, which is difficult to tune precisely. In this work, we investigate the formation of the core-shell nanowires at the atomic scale, by reactive molecular dynamics simulations. The occurrence of two temperature-dependent oxidation mechanisms of ultra-small diameter Si-NWs is demonstrated.

Effects of lifestyle intervention in obese pregnant women on gestational weight gain and mental health: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Lifestyle intervention could help obese pregnant women to limit their weight gain during pregnancy and improve their psychological comfort, but has not yet been evaluated in randomized controlled trials. We evaluated whether a targeted antenatal lifestyle intervention programme for obese pregnant women influences gestational weight gain (GWG) and levels of anxiety or depressed mood.

Design And Subjects: This study used a longitudinal interventional design.

Socio-demographic and obstetrical correlates of pre-pregnancy body mass index and gestational weight gain.

Both pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) are important determinants of a healthy pregnancy outcome and may show important variation. To study the influence of socio-demographic and obstetrical correlates on pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG, data of 54 022 singleton term pregnancies were analysed using adjusted regression models. In 2009, in the Northern region of Belgium, one-third of women were overweight (21.

Lifestyle after bariatric surgery: a multicenter, prospective cohort study in pregnant women.

Background: To ensure a good pregnancy outcome after bariatric surgery, a healthy life-style and a multidisciplinary prenatal follow-up is recommended. The aim of this prospective multicenter trial was to compare diet quality and physical activity (PA) of pregnant women with bariatric surgery with current lifestyle recommendations.

Methods: Pregnant women (>18 years, prepregnancy BMI 28 ± 6 kg/m², 39 % nulliparae, 25 % smokers) with a history of bariatric surgery were recruited and allocated to two groups according to surgery type: restrictive (N = 18) and bypass group (N = 31).

Worker honeybee sterility: a proteomic analysis of suppressed ovary activation.

Eusocial behavior is extensively studied in the honeybee, Apis mellifera, as it displays an extreme form of altruism. Honeybee workers are generally obligatory sterile in a bee colony headed by a queen, but the inhibition of ovary activation is lifted upon the absence of queen and larvae. Worker bees are then able to develop mature, viable eggs.

Phenotypic and genome-wide analysis of an antibiotic-resistant small colony variant (SCV) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Background: Small colony variants (SCVs) are slow-growing bacteria, which often show increased resistance to antibiotics and cause latent or recurrent infections. It is therefore important to understand the mechanisms at the basis of this phenotypic switch.

Methodology/principal Findings: One SCV (termed PAO-SCV) was isolated, showing high resistance to gentamicin and to the cephalosporine cefotaxime.

Insights in the plasma-assisted growth of carbon nanotubes through atomic scale simulations: effect of electric field.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nowadays routinely grown in a thermal CVD setup. State-of-the-art plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) growth, however, offers advantages over thermal CVD. A lower growth temperature and the growth of aligned freestanding single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) makes the technique very attractive.

The effect of pre-pregnancy BMI on intention, initiation and duration of breast-feeding.

Objective: To determine whether pre-pregnancy BMI influences breast-feeding practice.

Design: Retrospective epidemiological study.

Setting: University Hospital Leuven, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium.

Force-velocity characteristics of the knee extensors: an indication of the risk for physical frailty in elderly women.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between muscle strength, speed of movement, muscle mass (MM), and functional performance in elderly women and to determine optimal threshold values below which physical frailty occurs.

Design: Survey.

Setting: University-based laboratory.

Changing chirality during single-walled carbon nanotube growth: a reactive molecular dynamics/Monte Carlo study.

The growth mechanism and chirality formation of a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) on a surface-bound nickel nanocluster are investigated by hybrid reactive molecular dynamics/force-biased Monte Carlo simulations. The validity of the interatomic potential used, the so-called ReaxFF potential, for simulating catalytic SWNT growth is demonstrated. The SWNT growth process was found to be in agreement with previous studies and observed to proceed through a number of distinct steps, viz.

A proteomic approach to neuropeptide function elucidation.

Many of the diverse functions of neuropeptides are still elusive. As they are ideally suited to modulate traditional signaling, their added actions are not always detectable under standard laboratory conditions. The search for function assignment to peptide encoding genes can therefore greatly benefit from molecular information.

Simulation and experimental studies on plasma temperature, flow velocity, and injector diameter effects for an inductively coupled plasma.

An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is analyzed by means of experiments and numerical simulation. Important plasma properties are analyzed, namely, the effective temperature inside the central channel and the mean flow velocity inside the plasma. Furthermore, the effect of torches with different injector diameters is studied by the model.

C. elegans homologs of insect clock proteins: a tale of many stories.

As a consequence of the Earth's axial rotation, organisms display daily recurring rhythms in behavior and biochemical properties, such as hormone titers. The neuronal system controlling such changes is best studied in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, most homologs of these genes function in the heterochronic pathway controlling the (timing of) developmental events.

Changes in balance, functional performance and fall risk following whole body vibration training and vitamin D supplementation in institutionalized elderly women. A 6 month randomized controlled trial.

Falls in the elderly constitute a growing public health problem. This randomized controlled trial investigated the potential benefit of 6 months of whole body vibration (WBV) training and/or vitamin D supplementation on balance, functionality and estimated fall risk in institutionalized elderly women. A total of 113 women (mean age: 79.

Catalyzed growth of carbon nanotube with definable chirality by hybrid molecular dynamics-force biased Monte Carlo simulations.

Metal-catalyzed growth mechanisms of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were studied by hybrid molecular dynamics-Monte Carlo simulations using a recently developed ReaxFF reactive force field. Using this novel approach, including relaxation effects, a CNT with definable chirality is obtained, and a step-by-step atomistic description of the nucleation process is presented. Both root and tip growth mechanisms are observed.

Preconception care.

A good pregnancy outcome is partly determined by a women's preconceptional health and healthy lifestyle. The access to prenatal care is good nowadays but the incidence of congenital malformations, preterm births, low birth weight and maternal mortality has not significantly declined over the years. Although most women of reproductive age have a gynecological examination every two years in Belgium, they are not often counseled before starting a pregnancy.

The effects of whole-body vibration training and vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength, muscle mass, and bone density in institutionalized elderly women: a 6-month randomized, controlled trial.

Sarcopenia and osteoporosis represent a growing public health problem. We studied the potential benefit of whole-body vibration (WBV) training given a conventional or a high dose of daily vitamin D supplementation in improving strength, muscle mass, and bone density in postmenopausal women. In a 2 × 2 factorial-design trial, 113 institutionalized elderly females aged over 70 years (mean age 79.