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Previous work revealed the potential of an inclined plate settler (IPS) for water treatment in emergency relief applications. Whilst preliminary data demonstrated the tested IPS prototype’s capacity to achieve stable turbidity reductions, further optimisation was warranted. This paper reports on the optimisation and preliminary field testing of an IPS prototype. Trials revealed that after system modification, treatment objectives with regards to turbidity reductions (i.e. < 5 NTU) could be achieved. Such positive results were largely due to the addition of a hydraulic flocculation (conditioning) stage.

Background: Substantial heterogeneity exists in the individual response to physical activity, and identifying biomarkers that predict clinical responsiveness to exercise remains an unmet clinical n...

Importance Short-term studies show that bariatric surgery causes remission of diabetes. The long-term outcomes for remission and diabetes-related complications are not known. Objectives To determine the long-term diabetes remission rates and the cumulative incidence of microvascular and macrovascular diabetes complications after bariatric surgery. Design, Setting, and Participants The Swedish Obese Subjects (SOS) is a prospective matched cohort study conducted at 25 surgical departments and 480 primary health care centers in Sweden. Of patients recruited between September 1, 1987, and January 31, 2001, 260 of 2037 control patients and 343 of 2010 surgery patients had type 2 diabetes at baseline. For the current analysis, diabetes status was determined at SOS health examinations until May 22, 2013. Information on diabetes complications was obtained from national health registers until December 31, 2012. Participation rates at the 2-, 10-, and 15-year examinations were 81%, 58%, and 41% in the control group and 90%, 76%, and 47% in the surgery group. For diabetes assessment, the median follow-up time was 10 years (interquartile range [IQR], 2-15) and 10 years (IQR, 10-15) in the control and surgery groups, respectively. For diabetes complications, the median follow-up time was 17.6 years (IQR, 14.2-19.8) and 18.1 years (IQR, 15.2-21.1) in the control and surgery groups, respectively. Interventions Adjustable or nonadjustable banding (n = 61), vertical banded gastroplasty (n = 227), or gastric bypass (n = 55) procedures were performed in the surgery group, and usual obesity and diabetes care was provided to the control group. Main Outcomes and Measures Diabetes remission, relapse, and diabetes complications. Remission was defined as blood glucose Results The diabetes remission rate 2 years after surgery was 16.4% (95% CI, 11.7%-22.2%; 34/207) for control patients and 72.3% (95% CI, 66.9%-77.2%; 219/303) for bariatric surgery patients (odds ratio [OR], 13.3; 95% CI, 8.5-20.7; P P P P  = .001). Conclusions and Relevance In this very long-term follow-up observational study of obese patients with type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery was associated with more frequent diabetes remission and fewer complications than usual care. These findings require confirmation in randomized trials. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT01479452

The relationship between physique and metabolic fitness was examined in a sample of 413 boys and 343 girls 9-18 years of age from Phase I of the Québec Family Study. Physique was assessed using the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype. Indicators of metabolic fitness were plasma triglyceride levels (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and blood glucose levels (GLY). The sample was divided into three age groups, 9-12, 13-15, and 16-18 years of age. A partial canonical correlation analysis was used to quantify the relationship between the standardized somatotype and metabolic fitness variables (z-transformed) with age as the covariate. In both boys and girls the first canonical correlation is significant (P ⩽ 0.001) and indicates a relationship between the physique and metabolic fitness variables. By age group, the 16-18 year old boys, and the 9-12, 13-15, 16-18 year old girls demonstrate significant canonical correlations (P ⩽ 0.03). Overall, 8% to 19% of the variance in metabolic fitness can be explained by the Heath-Carter anthropometric somatotype. The makeup of the canonical variates is similar for all age groups. Generally, the physique domain is characterized by a positive loading for ectomorphy and negative loadings for endomorphy and mesomorphy. The metabolic fitness domain has a positive loading for HDL-C and negative loadings for TG, LDL-C, and GLY. The results suggest that in youth 9-18 years, a physique characterized by high endomorphy and mesomorphy is associated with higher levels of TG, LDL-C, and GLY, and lower levels of HDL-C. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:341-350, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The high-affinity sulfonylurea receptor 1 (SUR1) plays an important role in regulating insulin secretion. In the Québec Family Study, we genotyped 731 individuals (685 nondiabetic [ND] subjects) for the SUR1 gene IVS15-3c-->t and exon 18 Thr759(ACC-->ACT) polymorphisms using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis. Phenotypes measured were fasting plasma glucose (GLU), fasting plasma insulin (INS), and fasting C-peptide (CPEP), as well as oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) responses; they were adjusted for age, sex, waist circumference, and the sum of six skinfold thicknesses. In ND subjects, exon 18 Thr759(ACC-->ACT) T allele carriers (T+) had lower CPEP (P = 0.022, -12.8%) and acute C-peptide responses (area above basal in first 30 min [CP30]) (P = 0.051, -12.4%) than noncarriers (T-). Also, in those with the cT/tC haplotype (from both IVS15-3c-->t and exon 18 Thr759[ACC-->ACT] polymorphisms), CPEP (P = 0.005, -21.2%), CP30 (P = 0.034, -19.2%), and total C-peptide responses (P = 0.016, -20.2%) were lower than that in cT- subjects. In overweight individuals (BMI >25 kg/m2), differences between carriers and noncarriers of the T or cT alleles were greater for GLU (P = 0.023-0.034), CPEP (P = 0.021-0.015), acute OGTT insulin response (P = 0.014-0.019), and CP30 (P = 0.034-0.019). These results suggest that the T and cT allele variants are associated with lower insulin secretion parameters, particularly in female and overweight subjects, adding evidence to the role of SUR1 sequence variants in decreased insulin secretion.

No abstract is provided for this article.

BMI and waist circumference (WC) are used to identify individuals with elevated obesity-related health risks. The current thresholds were derived largely in populations of European origin. This study determined optimal BMI and WC thresholds for the identification of cardiometabolic risk among white and African-American (AA) adults. The sample included 2096 white women, 1789 AA women, 1948 white men, and 643 AA men aged 18-64 years. Elevated cardiometabolic risk was defined as ≥2 risk factors (blood pressure ≥ 130/85 mm Hg; glucose ≥100 mg/dl; triglycerides ≥150 mg/dl; high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol <40 mg/dl (men) or <50 mg/dl (women)). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify optimal BMI and WC thresholds in each sex-by-ethnicity group. The optimal BMI thresholds were 30 kg/m2 in white women, 32.9 kg/m2 in AA women, 29.1 kg/m2 white men, and 30.4 kg/m2 in AA men, whereas optimal WC thresholds were 91.9 cm in white women, 96.8 cm in AA women, 99.4 in white men, and 99.1 cm in AA men. The sensitivities at the optimal thresholds ranged from 63.5 to 68.5% for BMI and 68.4 to 71.0% for WC and the specificities ranged from 64.2 to 68.8% for BMI and from 68.5 to 71.0% for WC, respectively. In general, the optimal BMI and WC thresholds approximated currently used thresholds in men and in white women. There are no apparent ethnic differences in men; however, in AA women the optimal BMI and WC values are ~3 kg/m2 and 5 cm higher than in white women.

Introduction: Angiopoietin like protein (ANGPTL) complexes 3/8 and 4/8 are established inhibitors of lipoprotein lipase and modifiable by regular exercise. However, the molecular underpinning of these novel biomarkers has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between plasma metabolites and ANGPTL3/8 and 4/8 before and after exercise training. Methods: Measurements were taken before and after 20 weeks of exercise training in 630 adults (36% Black, 56% women, mean age 35 yrs) of the HERITAGE Family Study. Meso Scale Discovery immunoassays were used to measure ANGPTL3/8 and 4/8 in serum. Plasma metabolites (n=300 named) were measured using LC-MS and the HILIC-pos method. Linear mixed models tested the association between metabolites and each trait at baseline and post-training with full covariate adjustment. Significance was set to FDR&lt;0.05. Results: A total of 111 and 93 metabolites were significantly associated with ANGPTL3/8 at baseline or post-training, respectively ( Figure 1A ). A total of 69 metabolites were associated with ANGPTL3/8 at both time points, including ketone bodies, acylcarnitines, and DMGV, while 24 metabolites were only associated at post-training including citric acid, methionine, and glycine. A total of 89 and 40 metabolites were significantly associated with ANGPTL4/8 at baseline or post-training, respectively ( Figure 1B ). A total of 13 metabolites were associated with ANGPTL4/8 at both time points including glycine and lysophospholipids, whereas 27 metabolites were associated only at post-training including hydroxyproline, N-Lignoceroyl Taurine, and methylguanidine. Conclusions: We identified several plasma metabolites associated with ANGPTL3/8 and 4/8 before and after exercise training. Our findings indicate potential metabolic pathways related to the exercise responsiveness of ANGPTL3/8 and 4/8, including glucose-alanine cycle, urea cycle, and glycine and methionine metabolism.