Influence of organised sports practice during adolescence on health of adult women with special emphasis on participation in aesthetic sports.

This study aimed to assess the differences in psychosocial health and cardiometabolic risk during adulthood in women based on previously organised sport (OS) participation during adolescence and current activity levels, with emphasis on participation in aesthetic sports. The study included 1947 women aged 18-55 years who were categorised into four groups: 355 aesthetic athletes during adolescence, 494 non- aesthetic athletes during adolescence, 791 non-athletes during adolescence with similar current levels of physical activity (PA) to OS groups and 307 currently inactive non-athletes during adolescence. Participants answered questionnaires regarding sport participation, psychosocial health and cardiometabolic risk. The results show that non-athletes during adolescence who are currently inactive reported significantly lower psychosocial health and higher cardiometabolic risk scores. Women with currently homogenous PA levels (χ² = 0.514) reported similar physical quality of life (QoL), exercise addiction, anxiety and depression symptoms regardless of participation in OS during adolescence (P > .05), except aesthetic athletes who reported the worst sleep and mental QoL. Very high training volumes in aesthetic athletes did not influence psychological outcomes and cardiometabolic risk in adulthood compared to lower training volumes. In conclusion, the effects of PA during adulthood appear to be powerful enough to induce beneficial adaptations in health outcomes that match those observed in women who participate in OS during adolescence, except for aesthetic sports participants, who show a high risk of lower quality of sleep in adulthood. PA should be promoted in adults and especially women who have not participated in OS during adolescence.

Ideal cardiovascular health and its association with sedentary behaviour and fitness in psychiatric patients. The PsychiActive project.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) was defined as meeting ideal levels of 4 health behaviours (smoking, body mass index, physical activity, and diet) and 3 biological factors (blood pressure, total cholesterol, and glucose) and is inversely related to cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, the prevalence of ideal CVH in patients with severe mental illness and the possible independent associations of sedentary behaviour and fitness with CVH score are unexplored. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study included 142 (34 women) outpatients with severe mental illness (primarily schizophrenia, n = 92). CVH was evaluated according to the American Heart Association guidelines. Sedentary behaviour, cardiorespiratory fitness, and muscular strength were measured by an activity-monitor, the 6-min walk test, and handgrip dynamometry. Cardiorespiratory fitness and strength values were combined in a composite fitness score. The prevalence of ideal CVH was: non-smoking (47.9%), body mass index (16.9), physical activity (83.1%), diet (10.4%), blood pressure (40.4%), total cholesterol (62.9%), and plasma glucose (66.7%). Low levels of sedentary behaviour and high cardiorespiratory, strength, and composite fitness score were associated with meeting the ideal threshold in most CVH metrics and having higher global CVH score; however, only cardiorespiratory and composite fitness score remained significantly related to global CVH score independent of sedentary behaviour and multiple confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with severe mental illness generally have low prevalence of ideal CVH metrics, especially diet and body mass index. Additionally, our findings suggest the need or considering cardiorespiratory fitness, regardless of sedentary behaviour, to promote ideal CVH in this population.

Optimizing a parametrized Thomas-Fermi-Dirac-Weizsäcker density functional for atoms.

Because of issues with accuracy and transferability of existing orbital-free (OF) density functionals, OF functional development remains an active research area. However, due to numerical difficulties, all-electron self-consistent assessment of OF functionals is limited. Using an all-electron radial OFDFT code, we evaluate the performance of a parametrized OF functional for a wide range in parameter space. Specifically, we combine the parametrized Thomas-Fermi-Weizsäcker kinetic model (λ and γ for the fractions of Weizsäcker and Thomas-Fermi functionals, respectively) with a local density approximation (LDA) for the exchange-correlation functional. In order to obtain the converged results for λ values other than λ = 1, we use the potential scaling introduced in previous work. Because we work within a wide region in parameter space, this strategy provides an effective route towards better understanding of the parameter interplay that allows us to achieve good agreement with the Kohn-Sham (KS) model. Here, our interest lies in total energy, Euler equation eigenvalue, and electronic densities when the parameters are varied between 0.2 and 1.5. We observe that a one-to-one relation between λ and γ defines a region in parameter space that allows the atomic energies to be approximated with a very small average error (less than 3% percent for all the atoms studied) with respect to the KS reference energies. For each atom, the reference KS HOMO eigenvalue can also be reproduced with a similar error, but the one-to-one correspondence between λ and γ belongs to a different region of the same parameter space. Contrary to both properties, the atomic density behaves more smoothly and the error in reproducing the KS reference densities appears more insensitive to variation of the parameters (with mostly an average integrated difference of 0.15-0.20 |e| per electron). These results pave the way towards testing of parameter transferability and further systematic improvement of OF density functionals.

Ultrathin undoped tetrahedral amorphous carbon films: thickness dependence of the electronic structure and implications for their electrochemical behaviour.

In this paper we show that the electronic properties of ultrathin tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) films are heavily dependent on their thickness. By using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and conductive atomic force microscopy, it was found that a decrease of ta-C thickness from 30 to 7 nm leads to (i) the narrowing of the band gap; (ii) appearance of shallower monoenergetic traps as well as the increase of their concentration; (iii) the increase of the equilibrium concentration of free charge carriers and their mobility; which were caused by (iv) the increase in the sp(2) fraction. However, beyond a certain ta-C thickness (7 nm) the electronic properties of the studied samples start to deteriorate, which is highly likely related to titanium oxide formation at the Ti/ta-C interface. The same tendency is observed for the sample with beforehand air-formed native titanium oxide at the interface. With respect to the last point, it is suggested that the ta-C layer has no uniform coverage if its thickness is small enough (less than 7 nm). The experimental results were rationalized by detailed atomistic simulations. By using the so-called "Tauc plot" we introduce the possibility of the coexistence of bulk and surface band gaps originating from the large increase in sp(2) bonded carbon atoms in the surface region compared to that in the bulk ta-C. The results from the simulations were found to be consistent with the experimental measurements. The previously stated variation in the electronic properties of the layers as a function of their thickness was also exhibited in the electrochemical properties of the samples. It appears that the thinner ta-C layers had more facile electron transfer kinetics as determined with a ferrocenemethanol (FcMeOH) outer sphere redox system. However, if the ta-C layer thickness was reduced too much, the films were not stable anymore.

Comparison of stress and total energy methods for calculation of elastic properties of semiconductors.

We explore the calculation of the elastic properties of zinc-blende and wurtzite semiconductors using two different approaches: one based on stress and the other on total energy as a function of strain. The calculations are carried out within the framework of density functional theory in the local density approximation, with the plane wave-based package VASP. We use AlN as a test system, with some results also shown for selected other materials (C, Si, GaAs and GaN). Differences are found in convergence rate between the two methods, especially in low symmetry cases, where there is a much slower convergence for total energy calculations with respect to the number of plane waves and k points used. The stress method is observed to be more robust than the total energy method with respect to the residual error in the elastic constants calculated for different strain branches in the systems studied.

A fermentation system designed to independently evaluate mixing and/or oxygen tension effects in microbial processes: development, application and performance.

In order to evaluate the independent effects of hydrodynamic conditions and/or oxygen tension on culture physiology and productivity, a fermentation system designed to control dissolved oxygen at constant power drawn (P/V) was developed. The system included a fully instrumented 14 l bioreactor coupled to a PC for data acquisition and control. Power drawn was measured (using a commercial torquemeter coupled to the shaft) and maintained constant by varying the agitation speed; while gas blending was used to control dissolved oxygen concentration. To validate the system, rheological-complex fermentations involving xanthan gum production and filamentous fungal cultivation (using Xanthomonas campestris and Trichoderma harzianum) were developed. In both cases, and despite the changing environmental conditions (due to increased broth viscosities and microbial respiration), both variables were controlled at the desired set points. Through such a system, a rigorous evaluation of the hydrodynamic conditions and/or oxygen tension on culture physiology and productivity is now feasible.