Scientific Research Publishing

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. It is diabetes that only happens during pregnancy.  As there is a strong association of GDM and maternal obesity, the prevalence of GDM is on rise with epidemic of growing obesity and widespread sedentary lifestyle. Advanced maternal age is considered as an additional factor of the recent increasing prevalence of GDM. GDM is also associated with higher incidence of maternal and fetal complications during pregnancy and labor. It is characterized by increased risk of miscarriage, hypertensive disorders including preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, preterm birth and stillbirth. So women at higher risk should be routinely screened of the condition and offered appropriate management in order to avoid fetal and maternal complications.   The aim of management is to keep glycaemic levels within specific targets to avoid adverse outcomes. Improved ...

Binge-eating disorder (BED), a serious public health issue is described as recurrent episodes of particularly large amounts of food intake within a discrete period of time, lack of control over consumption, marked psychological distress and physical discomfort, along with an absence of compensatory behaviours after the occurrence of the binge episodes. It has been gaining recognition as the most widespread of the eating disorder types. Lisdexamfetamine (LDX) is a prodrug of the central nervous system (CNS) stimulant dextroamphetamine, a phenethylamine of the amphetamine class that was initially used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and later was proven to also have efficacy in limiting the occurrence of binge-eating behaviors. The present paper reviewed the psychobehavioural and neuropharmacological mechanisms at play in BED and compulsive eating behaviours, along with the mechanisms of action LDX was thought to play. Besides, the autho...

Human body shape is a complex phenomenon with sophisticated detail and function. The general shape or figure of a person is defined mainly by the molding of skeletal structures, as well as the distribution of muscles and fat. In fact, the criteria for judging others’ body shapes have become a recognizable social problem. At present, the criteria that we use to judge women’s body shapes appear to be strict with regard to what is considered “thin”. In this study, the authors investigated whether the criteria for judging others’ body shapes as “fat” or “thin” changed with the degree of satiety. And a computer-based psychophysics task was used to examine changes in individuals’ judgments of body shape. Nine female volunteers (age 18 - 22, height: 165.0 ± 3.5 cm, body mass: 59.9 ± 5.0 kg, BMI: 22.0 ± 2.0 kg/m 2 ) were participants and all were naive to the purpose of the experiment. The participants judged nine women’s figures as fat or skinny on a computer monitor in two conditions ...

Volatiles from plant flowers attract nectar-seeking and pollen-collecting pollinators to visit and pollinate by supplying rewards. Meanwhile, volatiles from floral branches prevent flower-robbers from foraging and pollinating. In this study, the author aimed to investigate the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from living  Prunus persica  flowers of different branches and their correlation with floral insects. Volatile collections were conducted from 2 trees of Prunus persica on sunny and shady slopes on April 29 2016 in Wanbailin Ecological Garden, Shanxi Province, China, respectively. Two fully blooming floral branches of each tree were sampled. And dominant and 20 VOCs were analyzed by closely and circularly headspace way in adsorbent tubes and ATD-GC/MS. The results indicated that VOCs from high altitude tree were more than low altitude in sunny site, and floral volatile constituents from upslope branches were less than downslope of the same tree on high altitud...

Minimally invasive surgical methods are becoming more common in the treatment of gynecologic conditions, both benign and malignant diseases. And robotically-assisted surgery has been developed to overcome the limitations of pre-existing minimally-invasive surgical procedures and to enhance the capabilities of surgeons performing open surgery. In this study, the authors aimed to estimate the impact of patient’s age on surgical outcomes in patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy. This was a retrospective review of prospectively collected data on a consecutive series of robotic assisted gynecologic surgeries in a single institution. Robotic surgeries were performed on the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnydale, CA) using a four-arm robot. Patient’s age and perioperative variables were collected from the database, charts, and other hospital records of all patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy. 399 patients underwent robotic surgery for gynecologic disease. 37...

Over the past decades, we have witnessed a mining boom that has led businesses to venture into markets in which an increasing number of players are trying to differentiate themselves. As a result of this expansion, the mining industry now faces a serious shortage of qualified workers. Concurrent with this challenge are rising expectations of workers and society as a whole with regard to occupational health and safety (OHS). In fact, occupational health and safety in mining has clearly improved in developed countries over the past twenty years, but accidents and illness still occur with unacceptable frequency. The arrival of new mining equipment, bigger, more powerful and complex and requiring a higher skill level appears also to increase certain specific risks of accident and work-related illness. The objective of this paper was to examine the impact of new equipment on occupational health and safety in underground mining. The authors measured the impact of eight equipment in...

Clozapine (CZP) is an atypical antipsychotic medication. It is mainly used for schizophrenia and also the most efficacious among antipsychotics for treatment of patients with schizophrenia. Nevertheless, clozapine is not effective in more than about 50% of treatment refractory schizophrenia patients, and several pharmacological strategies are used to augment it. Several reviews including meta-analyses have been published, but the efficacy of augmentation therapy for clozapine-resistant patients is not adequately supported. Though there is a weak connection between the oral dose and plasma concentration of clozapine, there is no report of augmentation therapy considering the plasma concentration of clozapine. Blonanserin (BNS) is a relatively new atypical antipsychotic drug which is used to treat patients with mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It has been is reported to be effective in treatment of both positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia ...