Body mass index and the prediction of percentage body fat in Australian Chinese women

Background Body mass index (BMI) is frequently related to percentage body fat. Nevertheless, the relationship between BMI and fat mass/height(2) (FM/H-2), theoretically, should be more appropriate. Aim: This study seeks to evaluate the relationship between BMI and both percentage body fat and FM/H-2 in a group of Chinese Australian females. Subjects and methods: Forty subjects took part in the study and all were Chinese females resident in Brisbane, Australia. Body mass index was calculated from height and weight. Percentage body fat and fat mass were calculated from measurements of total body water. Results: The use of BMI to predict FM/H-2 accounted for double the variance of that found when BMI was used to predict percentage body fat. Conclusions: As a consequence, it is possible that the use of BMI to predict FM/H-2 and not percentage body fat in the first instance may prove to be more useful in a number of adult populations. Nevertheless, with a relatively small sample size it is difficult, if not impossible, to test the developed equations on a validation group and further investigation into the findings described in this paper needs to be undertaken.

A proposed maceral index to predict combustion behavior of coal

To predict the combustion performance in pulverized coal-fired boilers, this paper examines existing indices and develops a maceral index (MI). These indices were compared with the data of 68 coals and blends in a range of the mean vitrinite reflectance from 0.25 to 1.63. The results showed that the fuel ratio and the mean vitrinite reflectance could qualitatively indicate the burnout of the coals and blends. The new MI, MI = L + V/R-2/I-1.25(HV/30)(2.5), provides a useful correlation for the burnout of the coals and blends. The correlation coefficient (I-) is 0.982 for the EER data, and 0.808 for the ACIRL data. The MI also has potential to correlate ignition and flame stability of the coals and blends. The MI predicts the burnout better than the other indices. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cationic drug pharmacokinetics in diseased livers determined by fibrosis index, hepatic protein content, microsomal activity, and nature of drug

The disposition kinetics of six cationic drugs in perfused diseased and normal rat livers were determined by multiple indicator dilution and related to the drug physicochemical properties and liver histopathology. A carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)induced acute hepatocellular injury model had a higher fibrosis index (FI), determined by computer-assisted image analysis, than did an alcohol-induced chronic hepatocellular injury model. The alcohol-treated group had the highest hepatic alpha(1)- acid glycoprotein, microsomal protein (MP), and cytochrome P450 (P450) concentrations. Various pharmacokinetic parameters could be related to the octanol-water partition coefficient (log P-app) of the drug as a surrogate for plasma membrane partition coefficient and affinity for MP or P450, the dependence being lower in the CCl4-treated group and higher in the alcohol-treated group relative to controls. Stepwise regression analysis showed that hepatic extraction ratio, permeability-surface area product, tissue-binding constant, intrinsic clearance, partition ratio of influx (k(in)) and efflux rate constant (k(out)), and k(in)/k(out) were related to physicochemical properties of drug (log P-app or pK(a)) and liver histopathology (FI, MP, or P450). In addition, hepatocyte organelle ion trapping of cationic drugs was evident in all groups. It is concluded that fibrosis-inducing hepatic disease effects on cationic drug disposition in the liver may be predicted from drug properties and liver histopathology.

Body mass index-related human adipocyte agouti expression is sex-specific but not depot-specific

Objective: To determine if human adipocyte agouti signal protein (ASIP) mRNA expression is associated with obesity and is gender and/or depot specific. Research Methods and Procedures: Subjects included 8 men (64 +/- 3 years) and 14 women (56 +/- 15 years) undergoing elective abdominal surgery. ASIP mRNA levels in isolated omental and subcutaneous abdominal adipocytes were measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: No significant depot difference was observed between genders; ASIP mRNA levels of omental and subcutaneous abdominal adipocytes were pooled for this analysis. BMI and ASIP gene expression were negatively correlated in men (p = -0.70; p < 0.05), whereas a positive relationship was observed in women (p = 0.48; p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in age, body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference between groups. Hip circumference was significantly higher in women than in men (p < 0.05). Also, no significant difference in ASIP mRNA expression was observed between men and women, regardless of the fat depot. Discussion: These results show that men and women of similar age and BMI present similar ASIP mRNA levels in omental and subcutaneous abdominal adipocytes. However, a sexual dimorphism exists in the relationship between ASIP expression and BMI. If ASIP is involved in appetite regulation or energy homeostasis in humans, this observation may contribute to the recognized differences in these parameters between men and women.

Dimensionality and clinical importance of pain and disability in hand osteoarthritis: Development of the Australian/Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis Hand Index

Objective: To develop a reliable, valid, and responsive self-administered questionnaire to probe pain, stiffness and physical disability in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hand. Design: In order to assess the dimensionality of the symptomatology of hand OA, a self-administered questionnaire was developed to probe various aspects of pain (10 items), stiffness (two items), and physical function (83 items). The question inventory was generated from eight existing health status measures and an interactive process involving four rheumatologists, two physiotherapists, and an orthopaedic surgeon. Results: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 50 OA hand patients; 39 females and 11 males with mean age 62.8 years and mean disease duration 9.4 years. Items retained were those which fulfilled specified selection criteria: prevalence greater than or equal to60% and mean importance score approximating or exceeding 2.0 Item exclusion criteria included low prevalence, gender-based, ambiguous, duplicates or similarities, alternatives, composite items, and items that were too restrictive. This process resulted in five pain, one stiffness and nine function items which have been proposed for incorporation in the AUSCAN Index. Conclusions: Using a traditional development strategy, we have constructed a self-administered multi-dimensional outcome measure for assessing hand OA. The next stage includes reliability, validity and responsiveness testing of the 15-item questionnaire. (C) 2002 OsteoArthritis Research Society Intenational. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clinical evaluation of the WOMAC 3.0 OA Index in numeric rating scale format using a computerized touch screen version

Background: The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index is a previously described self-administered questionnaire covering three domains: pain, stiffness and function. It has been validated in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee in a paper-based format. Aim: To validate the WOMAC 3.0 using a numerical rating scale in a computerized touch screen format allowing immediate evaluation of the questionnaire. In the computed version cartoons, written and audio instruments were included in order facilitate application. Methods: Fifty patients, demographically balanced, with radiographically proven primary hip or knee OA completed the classical paper and the new computerized WOMAC version. Subjects were randomized either to paper format or computerized format first to balance possible order effects, Results: The intra-class correlation coefficients for pain, stiffness and function values were 0.915, 0.745 and 0.940, respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficients for pain, stiffness and function were 0.88, 0.77 and 0.87, respectively. Conclusion: These data indicate that the computerized WOMAC OA index 3.0 is comparable to the paper WOMAC in all three dimensions. The computerized version would allow physicians to get an immediate result and if present a direct comparison with a previous exam. (C) 2002 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparative study of telephone versus onsite completion of the WOMAC 3.0 Osteoarthritis Index

Objective. Outcome assessment in clinical trials using the Western Ontario and McMaster University (WOMAC 3.0) Osteoarthritis Index is traditionally achieved through self-administration of the Index. However, in other areas of clinical measurement, telephone administration has been shown to be a reliable method of acquiring data that are both accurate and complete. To address this issue in knee osteoarthritis (OA), we conducted a comparative study of telephone administration by interviewer of WOMAC LK3.0 versus onsite self-completion at the hospital. Methods. Fifty consenting patients with knee OA were randomized to complete the WOMAC LK3.0 Index by telephone interview one day, followed by onsite completion the following day, or vice versa. Neither patients nor interviewers had access to any prior scores. Results. The mean age of the 50 patients was 66.3 years (range 44-82); 34 (68%) were female and 16 (32%) male. There was excellent agreement between the mean office and telephone scores, with mean differences for the WOMAC LK3.0 pain, stiffness, and function subscale scores and total score of 0.09, 0.12, 0.78, and 0.98, respectively. These differences were well within the respective protocol defined equivalence criteria of +/- 1.7, +/- 0.9, +/- 6.4, and +/- 9.1, and represented differences from office scores of 0.9, 2.6, 2.4, and 2.2%, respectively. Conclusion. The use of telephone interviews for the WOMAC LK3.0 Index is a valid method of obtaining OA outcome measurements. These observations have important implications for designing data acquisition strategies for future OA clinical trials and for longterm observational studies.

A four-stage index 2 Diagonally Implicit Runge-Kutta method

High index Differential Algebraic Equations (DAEs) force standard numerical methods to lower order. Implicit Runge-Kutta methods such as RADAU5 handle high index problems but their fully implicit structure creates significant overhead costs for large problems. Singly Diagonally Implicit Runge-Kutta (SDIRK) methods offer lower costs for integration. This paper derives a four-stage, index 2 Explicit Singly Diagonally Implicit Runge-Kutta (ESDIRK) method. By introducing an explicit first stage, the method achieves second order stage calculations. After deriving and solving appropriate order conditions., numerical examples are used to test the proposed method using fixed and variable step size implementations. (C) 2001 IMACS. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.