Changes in body weight, blood pressure and selected metabolic biomarkers with an energy-restricted diet including twice daily sweet snacks and once daily sugar-free beverage

Sharon M. Nickols-Richardson,Kathryn E. Piehowski,Catherine J. Metzgar,Debra L. Miller,Amy G. Preston 한국영양학회 2014 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.8 No.6

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The type of sweet snack incorporated into an energy-restricted diet (ERD) may produce differential effects on metabolic improvements associated with body weight (BW) loss. This study compared effects of incorporating either twice daily energy-controlled dark chocolate snacks plus once daily sugar-free cocoa beverage (DC) to non-chocolate snacks plus sugar-free non-cocoa beverage (NC) into an ERD on BW loss and metabolic outcomes. MATERIALS/METHODS: In an 18-week randomized comparative trial, 60 overweight/obese premenopausal women were assigned to DC (n = 30) or NC group (n = 30). Dietary intake was measured at baseline and week 18, and BW, anthropometrics, blood pressure (BP) and serum glucose, insulin and lipid concentrations were measured at baseline, and weeks 6, 12 and 18. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Using intention-to-treat analysis, women in DC and NC groups reduced energy intake (both P < 0.001) and lost 4.4 ± 0.6 kg and 5.0 ± 0.9 kg (both P < 0.001), respectively. Both groups lowered systolic and diastolic BP [DC = 2.7 (P < 0.05), 2.7 (P < 0.01); NC = 3.4 (P < 0.01), 4.2 (P < 0.01) mmHg, respectively]. Glucose and insulin concentrations decreased by 0.72 mmol/L (P < 0.001) and 13.20 pmol/L (P < 0.01) in DC group and by 0.83 mmol/L (P < 0.001) and 13.20 pmol/L (P < 0.01), respectively, in NC group. Total cholesterol increased in NC group (P < 0.05), with no significant lipid changes in DC group. There were no significant differences in biomarker outcomes between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overweight/obese premenopausal women following an 18-week ERD that included either DC or NC sweet snack and sugar-free beverage lost equivalent amounts of BW and improved BP measurements and glucose and insulin concentrations.

Automated detection of corrosion in used nuclear fuel dry storage canisters using residual neural networks

Papamarkou, Theodore,Guy, Hayley,Kroencke, Bryce,Miller, Jordan,Robinette, Preston,Schultz, Daniel,Hinkle, Jacob,Pullum, Laura,Schuman, Catherine,Renshaw, Jeremy,Chatzidakis, Stylianos Korean Nuclear Society 2021 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.53 No.2

Nondestructive evaluation methods play an important role in ensuring component integrity and safety in many industries. Operator fatigue can play a critical role in the reliability of such methods. This is important for inspecting high value assets or assets with a high consequence of failure, such as aerospace and nuclear components. Recent advances in convolution neural networks can support and automate these inspection efforts. This paper proposes using residual neural networks (ResNets) for real-time detection of corrosion, including iron oxide discoloration, pitting and stress corrosion cracking, in dry storage stainless steel canisters housing used nuclear fuel. The proposed approach crops nuclear canister images into smaller tiles, trains a ResNet on these tiles, and classifies images as corroded or intact using the per-image count of tiles predicted as corroded by the ResNet. The results demonstrate that such a deep learning approach allows to detect the locus of corrosion via smaller tiles, and at the same time to infer with high accuracy whether an image comes from a corroded canister. Thereby, the proposed approach holds promise to automate and speed up nuclear fuel canister inspections, to minimize inspection costs, and to partially replace human-conducted onsite inspections, thus reducing radiation doses to personnel.

The effects of physical decontamination methods on zirconia implant surfaces: a systematic review

Nathan Chiang Ping Tan,Ahsen Khan,Elsa Antunes,Catherine M Miller,Dileep Sharma 대한치주과학회 2021 Journal of Periodontal & Implant Science Vol.51 No.5

Purpose: Peri-implantitis therapy and implant maintenance are fundamental practices to enhance the longevity of zirconia implants. However, the use of physical decontamination methods, including hand instruments, polishing devices, ultrasonic scalers, and laser systems, might damage the implant surfaces. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of physical decontamination methods on zirconia implant surfaces. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using 5 electronic databases: Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Hand searching of the OpenGrey database, reference lists, and 6 selected dental journals was also performed to identify relevant studies satisfying the eligibility criteria. Results: Overall, 1049 unique studies were identified, of which 11 studies were deemed suitable for final review. Air-abrasive devices with glycine powder, prophylaxis cups, and ultrasonic scalers with non-metal tips were found to cause minimal to no damage to implant-grade zirconia surfaces. However, hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers with metal tips have the potential to cause major damage to zirconia surfaces. In terms of laser systems, diode lasers appear to be the most promising, as no surface alterations were reported following their use. Conclusion: Air-abrasive devices and prophylaxis cups are safe for zirconia implant decontamination due to preservation of the implant surface integrity. In contrast, hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers with metal tips should be used with caution. Recommendations for the use of laser systems could not be fully established due to significant heterogeneity among included studies, but diode lasers may be the best-suited system. Further research—specifically, randomised controlled trials—would further confirm the effects of physical decontamination methods in a clinical setting.

The effects of physical decontamination methods on zirconia implant surfaces: a systematic review

Tan, Nathan Chiang Ping,Khan, Ahsen,Antunes, Elsa,Miller, Catherine M,Sharma, Dileep Korean Academy of Periodontology 2021 Journal of Periodontal & Implant Science Vol.51 No.-

Purpose: Peri-implantitis therapy and implant maintenance are fundamental practices to enhance the longevity of zirconia implants. However, the use of physical decontamination methods, including hand instruments, polishing devices, ultrasonic scalers, and laser systems, might damage the implant surfaces. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effects of physical decontamination methods on zirconia implant surfaces. Methods: A systematic search was conducted using 5 electronic databases: Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Hand searching of the OpenGrey database, reference lists, and 6 selected dental journals was also performed to identify relevant studies satisfying the eligibility criteria. Results: Overall, 1049 unique studies were identified, of which 11 studies were deemed suitable for final review. Air-abrasive devices with glycine powder, prophylaxis cups, and ultrasonic scalers with non-metal tips were found to cause minimal to no damage to implantgrade zirconia surfaces. However, hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers with metal tips have the potential to cause major damage to zirconia surfaces. In terms of laser systems, diode lasers appear to be the most promising, as no surface alterations were reported following their use. Conclusion: Air-abrasive devices and prophylaxis cups are safe for zirconia implant decontamination due to preservation of the implant surface integrity. In contrast, hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers with metal tips should be used with caution. Recommendations for the use of laser systems could not be fully established due to significant heterogeneity among included studies, but diode lasers may be the best-suited system. Further research-specifically, randomised controlled trials-would further confirm the effects of physical decontamination methods in a clinical setting.