1,721,660 research outputs found
The horns of the dilemma: obesity, pregnancy and the broken social contract with today's adolescents
No full textChanges in the supercycle lengths of some SU UMa-type dwarf novae have been detected by other studies, and indicate that the mass transfer rates noticeably decrease over time. We investigated the supercycle lengths of three SU UMa-type dwarf novae: AR Pic, QW Ser, and V521 Peg, to determine if they have detectable changes in their supercycles. We present the results of optical spectroscopic and photometric observations of these sources. Our observations were conducted in 2016 and 2017 at the Boyden Observatory and the Sutherland station of the South African Astronomical Observatory. The quiescent results indicated that all three sources are typical SU UMa-type dwarf novae. We also present results of AR Pic and QW Ser in outburst and of V521 Peg during a precursor outburst and superoutburst. Light curves were supplemented by the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, the ASAS-3 and ASAS-SN archives, and the AAVSO International Database in order to investigate the long-term behaviour of these sources. Our results combined with catalogued properties for all short-period dwarf novae show a possible relationship between the supercycle time in SU UMa systems and their orbital periods, which is interpreted as the decline in the mass transfer rate as systems evolve towards and away from the ‘period minimum’. At the shortest orbital periods, SU UMa systems are almost indistinguishable from WZ Sge systems. However, we propose that the scaleheight between the secondary’s photosphere and L1 may be a factor that distinguish the SU UMa subclasses
The inheritance of cardiovascular disease risk
No full textCardiovascular disease (CVD) is foremost among the non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) which account for 71% of deaths globally each year. CVD is also prominent among the pre‐existing conditions still accounting for nearly 25% of maternal deaths and is linked to gestational diabetes and pre‐eclampsia. Markers of CVD risk have been reported even in young children, related to prenatal factors such as mother's diet or body composition. The underlying mechanisms include epigenetic changes which can alter the trajectory of risk across the life course. Preventive interventions need to commence before conception, to reduce transmission of CVD risk by promoting healthy behaviours in prospective parents, as well as in pregnancy, and postpartum through breastfeeding and healthy complementary feeding. Surprisingly, these opportunities are not emphasised in the 2018 United Nations Political Declaration on NCDs. NCDs such as CVD have communicable risk components transmitted across generations by socio‐economic as well as biological factors, although the former can also become embodied in the offspring by epigenetic mechanisms. The inheritance of CVD risk, and social inequalities in such risk, thus raises wider questions about responsibility for the health of future generations at societal as well as individual levels
Health effects of exposure to ultrasound and infrasound: report of the independent advisory group on non-ionising radiation
No full textIn September 2004, prior to its incorporation in the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the Board of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) agreed that the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) should be asked to undertake a review of ultrasound (frequencies greater than 20 kHz) and infrasound (frequencies less than 20 Hz) relevant to any possible health effects. A subgroup of the AGNIR was set up in 2005 under the chairmanship of Professor Denis Noble and vicechairmanship of Professor Francis Duck following the meeting of a scoping group in December 2004 that considered the possible content and shape of a report. In addition, the NRPB Board proposed that the NRPB should host a workshop on ultrasound and infrasound safety. The workshop, which was organised by the Radiation Protection Division of the HPA (the successor organisation of the NRPB), was co-sponsored by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the Department of Health and was held at Chilton from 24 to 26 October 2005
Commentary: Developing the future: life course epidemiology, DOHaD and evolutionary medicine
No full textWhat makes a person?: Secrets of our first 1000 days
No full textEver wondered why your life and health can sometimes be so hard to control? Or why it seems so easy for other people? Mark Hanson and Lucy Green draw on their years of experience as scientists and educators to cut through the usual information on genetics and lifestyle to reveal the secrets of early development which start to make each of us unique, during our first 1,000 days from the moment of conception.Some surprising discoveries, based on little-known new research, show how events during our first 1,000 days make each of us who we are and explain how we control our bodies, processes that go way beyond just the genes which we inherited. Provoking new ways of thinking about being parents, this book empowers individuals and society to give the next generation the gift of a good start to life and future health.Mark Hanson directs the Institute of Developmental Sciences and is Emeritus British Heart Foundation Professor at the University of Southampton, UK. He is a founder of the International Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He has chaired committees and working groups for the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and WHO. He researches early developmental environment effects on health across the life course, mechanisms and interventions, in high and low- to middle-income countries. Mark pioneered ‘LifeLab’ to promote health literacy in school students. He has authored over 400 papers and 11 academic and popular books and advocates application of developmental science to health policy.Lucy Green researches and teaches early development effects on lifelong health at the University of Southampton. She advocates for the physiological sciences with the International Society for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, as a Trustee of the Physiological Society, and as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (where she holds the 2019 Senior Investigator Outreach and Engagement Award), and as Head of Engagement in the Faculty of Medicine. She champions public understanding of science including as a 2018 British Science Association Media Fellow at the BBC, innovating engagement activities for science festivals and devising health-science experiences for young people which enable them to question expert panels and steer the discussion of big health issues. She lives with her family (of 5,000, 6,000 and 20,000 days) in Hampshire
- …
