Men’s health and osteoporosis: modern treatment and prevention options

Osteoporosis (OP) has traditionally been seen as a pathology that mainly occurs in postmenopausal women and elderly men, and until recently, the problem of this disease among males has not been given sufficient priority. At the moment, however, OP in men is widely acknowledged to be an important issue of modern health care. Given the etiological and pathogenetic characteristics, two categories of OP have been identified: primary and secondary. In the structure of male OP, the secondary category of OP accounts for up to 40-60 % of all cases. Hypogonadism is one of the common causes of bone loss in men. Initially, males develop a larger bone mass compared to women and, accordingly, greater bone strength. Men over the age of 50 do not undergo rapid bone mass loss, as women do after menopause, and the bone mass decreases more gradually, in a linear manner. With ageing, the trabecular number (Tb.N) in men are relatively maintained with underlying more pronounced thinning of Tb. N associated with decreased osteoblast-forming activity. Although the prevalence of OP among men is significantly lower than among women, the clinical consequences of OP in men are of a great importance. The primary strategy of the anti-osteoporotic therapy is to prevent OP and low-traumatic fractures. According to the current guidelines for the treatment of OP in men, bisphosphonates (BP) are the drugs of choice. Zoledronic acid is a highly effective nitrogen-containing BP, the first drug to be injected once a year. Intravenous injection of zoledronic acid is as effective in reducing the risk of fractures in men as in women.

The structure, centrality, and scale of urban street networks: Cases from Pre-Industrial Afro-Eurasia

Cities and towns have often developed infrastructure that enabled a variety of socio-economic interactions. Street networks within these urban settings provide key access to resources, neighborhoods, and cultural facilities. Studies on settlement scaling have also demonstrated that a variety of urban infrastructure and resources indicate clear population scaling relationships in both modern and ancient settings. This article presents an approach that investigates past street network centrality and its relationship to population scaling in urban contexts. Centrality results are compared statistically among different urban settings, which are categorized as orthogonal (i.e., planned) or self-organizing (i.e., organic) urban settings, with places having both characteristics classified as hybrid. Results demonstrate that street nodes have a power law relationship to urban area, where the number of nodes increases and node density decreases in a sub-linear manner for larger sites. Most median centrality values decrease in a negative sub-linear manner as sites are larger, with organic and hybrid urban sites’ centrality being generally less and diminishing more rapidly than orthogonal settings. Diminishing centrality shows comparability to modern urban systems, where larger urban districts may restrict overall interaction due to increasing transport costs over wider areas. Centrality results indicate that scaling results have multiples of approximately ⅙ or ⅓ that are comparable to other urban and road infrastructure, suggesting a potential relationship between different infrastructure features and population in urban centers. The results have implications for archaeological settlements where urban street plans are incomplete or undetermined, as it allows forecasts to be made on past urban sites’ street network centrality. Additionally, a tool to enable analysis of street networks and centrality is provided as part of the contribution.

Analysis of Early Reading Ability of Children in Group B of Kindergarten Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar

Reading is an activity of following a series of writings arranged in a linear manner. Experience is an important aspect of the reading process. Children who have a lot of experience will have a wider opportunity in developing an understanding of vocabulary in reading. The formulation of the problem in this study, what activities are done in training beginning reading skills in group B in TK Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar. How is the description of beginning reading ability in group B in TK Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar. What are the obstacles faced by teachers in teaching beginning reading skills to group B children in TK Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar. The purpose of this study is to see a picture of the activities given to children in group B in TK Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar. To see the beginning reading ability in group B children in TK Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar. To find out the obstacles faced by teachers on the ability to read beginning in group B children in TK Tut Wuri Handayani Samahani Aceh Besar. The type of research is Qualitative research The instrument used is an interview, the sample size is 1 principal and 2 classroom teachers. The results show that beginning reading is very important for early childhood which will be the foundation of the beginning of reading. Teachers who teach at TK Tut Wuri Handayani Aceh Besar, are very understanding about the development of children's reading and also teachers at TK Tut Wuri Handayani Aceh Besar always encourage children by providing creative media that can attract children's attention in beginning reading so that teachers provide reading learning start by using a system of play while learning.

Text Creation in Novel Narrative

Exposition (SASATSGS) is a knowledge-based field used to explain the various elements and functions of story description. Morphology is the basis of exposition. The basis of exposition is the subtle units invisible to the language. The expositioners have developed some basic definitions for the creation of panual. The narrative or the story can be constructed by combining the events with the narrative. Through this, the narrator easily reaches the reader. Story programs can be integrated into time and causality. Novelists often rely on programs to build stories. Some people set up story shows in a linear manner in chronological order. Modern novelists have set up programs through causal communication. In this manner, the programmes have been dissolved. The reader with reading experience learns the causal connection and understands the story. Sundara Ramasamy, Jayamohan and Shobashakti have successfully set up the programmes of the story in a time-based series. The reader who reads their novels easily identifies the operating system of the story. In Nakulan's novel Dogs, a causal sequence has been adopted to coordinate the programmes. The reader who reads this could not immediately understand the flow of the story. They are a slightly difficult series. Charu Nivedita's novel 'Dekam' and MG Suresh's 'Spider' are in a causal sequence. Sundara Ramasamy and Shobashakti are seen in their novels in the same programme. Novels are divided into small elements based on the definition review and innovative results are available.

Strengthening the satisfaction loyalty link: the role of relational switching costs

The extant retail research has placed much emphasis on understanding customer switching and the concept of switching costs (SCs). However, the empirical evidence is inconclusive with respect to the moderating role of SCs in general and relational switching costs (RSCs) in particular. Therefore, this research focuses on the moderating role played by SCs on the satisfaction-loyalty link. Specifically, our study attempts to clarify the nonlinear moderating effect of RSCs. Furthermore, we investigate RSCs in greater depth, considering their two dimensions, brand relationship loss costs (BRLCs), and personal relationship loss costs (PRLCs). We find that there is an optimal level of BRLC whereas increasing PRLCs decreases the impact of satisfaction on loyalty in a linear manner, calling for a more nuanced assessment of this type of SC in future studies. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the effectiveness of SCs as a retention strategy.

Antioxidant Activities and Selenogene Transcription in the European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Liver Depend, in a Non-linear Manner, on the Se/Hg Molar Ratio of the Feeds

Feeding 3.9 and 6.7 mg Hg/kg (Se/Hg molar ratios of 0.8 and 0.4, respectively) for 14 days negatively affected Dicentrarchus labrax growth and total DNTB- and thioredoxin-reductase (TrxR) activities and the transcription of four redox genes (txn1, gpx1, txnrd3, and txnrd2) in the liver, but a diet with 0.5 mg Hg/kg (Se/Hg molar ratio 6.6) slightly increased both reductase activities and the transcription of txn1, gpx1, and txnrd2. Feeding 6.7 mg Hg/kg for 53 days downregulated the genes of the thioredoxin system (txn1, txnrd3, and txnrd2) but upregulated gpx1, confirming the previously proposed complementarity among the antioxidant systems. Substitution of 20% of the feed by thawed white fish (hake) slightly counteracted the negative effects of Hg. The effects were not statistically significant and were dependent, in a non-linear manner, on the Se/Hg molar ratio of the feed but not on its Hg concentration. These results stress the need to consider the Se/Hg molar ratio of the feed/food when evaluating the toxicity of Hg.

The Association of N-terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide with Haemoglobin and Ferritin in Heart Failure Patients

Introduction: The adverse prognosis of heart failure (HF) correlates with both N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and ferritin. The contribution of an underlying inflammatory process in the pathogenesis of HF is not only evidenced by increased ferritin (acute phase reactant), but also a reduced haemoglobin (Hb) due to cytokine-mediated bone marrow suppression. However, it remains unknown if there is a linear relationship between NT-pro BNP with ferritin and Hb levels. Objective: To determine an association between very elevated levels of NT-proBNP (>10,000pg/ ml) with Hb and ferritin in patients with HF. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study to evaluate levels of ferritin and Hb among patients with very high NT-proBNP levels (>10,000pg/ml) treated at a district hospital serving a population of 500,000 people. Inclusion criteria: in-patient between October to December 2020, diagnosis of HF, NT-proBNP level >10,000 pg/ml, measured haemoglobin and ferritin level within 7 days of NT-proBNP measurement. Results: Forty-five patients met all of the inclusion criteria. Mean age 81 years ± 12 years. There was a positive correlation between NT- proBNP with ferritin and a negative correlation between NT-proBNP and Hb. With NT-proBNP on the x-axis and Hb on the y-axis, the trend line equated y = -0.0003x + 124.88. With NT-proBNP on the x-axis and ferritin on the y-axis, the trend line equated y = 0.0043x + 311.6. Conclusion: With rising levels of NT-proBNP, Hb levels decrease and ferritin levels increase in a linear manner, simultaneously. Larger studies are required to confirm this observation and to investigate the clinical implications of these findings.

Methodology for correcting the nonlinear response of radionuclide calibrators

Due to constructive and operational issues, the response of a radionuclide calibrator used in Nuclear Medicine can behave in a non-linear manner, especially in the transition of scales. Although the deviations from linearity are small, they may be important for standard secondary or reference radionuclide calibrators used in calibration laboratories. In the document TRS 454 - IAEA it is proposed that the deviation from linearity for these instruments should be in the range of ± 2%. However, calibration laboratories may have some difficulty meeting the requirement. This article proposes an easy-to-implement methodology to correct the response of reference radionuclide calibrators from calibration laboratories, in order to meet the requirement of ± 2% for the linearity parameter recommended by the IAEA.

Study on the additional support length requirements of single-span bridges due to skew using a simplified method

Skew bridges with seat-type abutments are frequently unseated in earthquakes due to large transverse displacements at their acute corners. It is believed these large displacements are due to in-plane rotation of the superstructure. Lack of detailed guidelines for modeling of skew bridges, many current design codes give empirical expressions rather than theoretical solutions for the additional support length required in skew bridges to prevent unseating. In this paper, a parametric study has been carried out to study the influence of skew angle, aspect ratio and fundamental periods of bridges on the additional support length requirements of single-span bridges due to skew using a shake table experiment validated Simplified Method, which is capable of simulating gap closure based on response spectrum analysis. This method is developed based on the premise that the obtuse corner of the superstructure engages the adjacent back wall during lateral loading and rotates about this corner until the loading reverses direction. A design response spectrum specified in AASHTO LRFD Specifications was employed to represent the design-level earthquakes. The results show the additional length required to prevent unseating due to skew increases with the skew angle in an approximately linear manner when the angle is less than a critical value and decreases for angles above this value. This critical skew angle increases with the aspect ratio approximately in a linear manner and shows negligible dependence on the fundamental periods of the bridges, and combination of span length and width. In addition, the critical skew angle varies between 58° and 66°, when the aspect ratio is varied from 3.0 to 5.0. The results also show that the empirical formulas for minimum support length requirements of skew bridges in current codes and specifications can not accurately reflect the influence of skew.

Static bearing capacity investigation of grouted square hollow section sleeve connection

As a pilot research for an aimed beam-column joint of steel prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) buildings, this study investigates the axial static bearing capacity of grouted square hollow section (SHS) sleeve connections via carrying out experimental tests. Ten specimens with different dimensions were tested to failure under monotonic axial compressive loading and their loading-displacement curves were measured and recorded. The effect of the grouted length, the shear-key spacing, and the grout strength to the bearing capacity of the grouted SHS sleeve connections are investigated in this study. It is found that the axial static bearing capacity of the specimens tested increases approximately in a linear manner with the grouted length increases and can reach the bearing capacity of the outer tube’s cross-section when the grouted length is sufficient. Besides, the benefits brought by the increment of the grout strength to the axial bearing capacity of the grouted SHS sleeve connection may depend on other parameters such as the shear-key size and spacing, the gap between two tubes, and the thickness of the outer tube. Therefore, more experimental tests are required to understand the effect of the grout strength comprehensively.