University of Westminster

About: University of Westminster is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Politics. The organization has 2944 authors who have published 8426 publications receiving 200236 citations. The organization is also known as: Westminster University & Royal Polytechnic Institution.

Descriptive epidemiology of body mass index of an urban adult population in western India

Abstract: Study objective: To describe height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of the adult urban population in Mumbai, western India and to estimate the prevalence and severity of thinness and overweight in this population. To describe the association of BMI with education, age, and tobacco habits in an urban Indian population. Design: Cross sectional representative survey of 99 598 adults (40 071 men and 59 527 women). Setting: The survey was carried out in the city of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) in western India. Participants: Men and women aged ≥35 years who were residents of the main city of Mumbai. Main results: The mean height, weight, and BMI were 161.0 (SD 6.7) cm, 56.7 (SD 11.0) kg, and 21.8 (SD 3.8) kg/m2 for men and 148.0 (SD 6.2) cm, 49.8 (SD 11.2) kg, and 22.7 (SD 4.7) kg/m2 for women, respectively. Some 19% of men and women were thin (BMI<18.5 kg/m2), while 19% of men and 30% of women were overweight (BMI≥25kg/m2). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that age, level of education, and tobacco use were independently associated with BMI. The odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for thinness (BMI<18.5 kg/m2) were OR 6.52, 95%CI 5.38 to 7.89 for men and OR 4.83, 95%CI 3.71 to 6.28 for women, respectively, (p<0.001) for the lowest level of education (illiterate group). The OR and 95%CI for overweight were 2.25, 2.20 to 2.58 for college educated men and 1.90, 1.64 to 2.20 for college educated women, respectively, p<0.001. Both smoking (2.33, 2.09 to 2.59; 2.89, 1.77 to 4.72 for men and women, respectively, p<0.001) and smokeless tobacco use (1.65, 1.52 to 1.80; 2.26, 2.14 to 2.38 for men and women, respectively p<0.0001) were significantly associated with low BMI. Conclusions: Sequelae of thinness and overweight represent major public health problems. The results of this study, indicating an equal prevalence of thinness and overweight in an urban area and their association with age, level of education, and tobacco use raise concerns of an emerging public health crisis in urban India.

Sampling for Internet surveys. An examination of respondent selection for Internet research

Abstract: The traditional methods of probability and non-probability sample selection are applicable to Internet surveys and respondents can be selected in various ways, some of which are unique to the Internet. Specific to the Internet, and important to note from a sampling viewpoint, is the self-completion method of data collection. For this article the method has been sub-divided into six categories, three web-page style questionnaires and three e-mail style questionnaires. Data that show the number of individuals with access to a networked computer are of limited use in sampling. Thirteen types of computer user are identifiable, each of which poses a challenge for sampling. Published examples illustrate how these principles have been applied in practice. Two techniques: saturation surveying and sifting, may be employed usefully in some situations. There are numerous solutions to sampling problems for Internet research and many avenues for further inquiry.

Slippery? contradictory? sociologically untenable? The Copenhagen school replies

Abstract: In the January 1996 issue of the Review, Bill McSweeney argues that our 1993 book, Identity, Migration and the New Security Agenda in Europe (IMNSAE), ‘subverts’ the analysis of Buzan’s People, States and Fear (PSF) ‘without enhancing our understanding of the problem of security’ (p. 93).Bill McSweeney, ‘Identity and Security: Buzan and the Copenhagen School’, Review of International Studies, 22 (1996), pp. 81–93; O. Waever, B. Buzan, Morten Kelstrup and Pierre Lemaitre with David Carlton et al., Identity, Migration and the New Security Agenda in Europe (London, 1993). Of the many charges that McSweeney brings to bear we will address three. First is that societal security is merely a trendy response to current concerns about nationalism rather than a more theoretically considered move. Second — and this seems to be the core of his complaint — is that the view we take of ‘identities’ is far too objectivist and not (de)constructivist enough, and that our approach makes it impossible to consider the process of identity formation as part of the politics of security. Third, he says that Buzan’s association with IMNSAE contradicts strong positions he developed in PSF and that his analysis has therefore become incoherent.

Oxalate production by Basidiomycetes, including the white-rot species Coriolus versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Abstract: Oxalate was found to accumulate in liquid culture media from the growth of the white-rot basidiomycetes Coriolus versicolor, Heterobasidion annosum, Pleurotus florida and Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Whereas little oxalate accumulated during active growth, millimolar concentrations of oxalate were detected in culture media during the stationary phase. The basidiomycete Agaricus bisporus, the cultivated mushroom, also accumulated oxalate in its culture medium in the stationary phase. In comparison, the brown-rot fungi Amyloporia xantha, Coniophora marmorata, C. puteana and Poria vaporaria accumulated oxalate in the primary metabolic phase and throughout growth up to 35 days. Oxalate accumulation (0.04–10.0 mm) in white-rot cultures did not lower the pH of the medium during growth, whereas in brown-rot cultures oxalate (2.0–20.0 mm) reduced the media pH during growth. Cultures of Agaricus bisporus, C. puteana and Coriolus versicolor grown on solid media containing high levels of calcium (50 or 100 mm calcium chloride) produced calcium oxalate crystals to varying extents on the surface of the hyphae.

Physiological and biomechanical adaptations to the cycle to run transition in Olympic triathlon: review and practical recommendations for training

Abstract: Current knowledge of the physiological, biomechanical, and sensory effects of the cycle to run transition in the Olympic triathlon (1.5 km, 10 km, 40 km) is reviewed and implications for the training of junior and elite triathletes are discussed. Triathlon running elicits hyperventilation, increased heart rate, decreased pulmonary compliance, and exercise induced hypoxaemia. This may be due to exercise intensity, ventilatory muscle fatigue, dehydration, muscle fibre damage, a shift in metabolism towards fat oxidation, and depleted glycogen stores after a 40 km cycle. The energy cost (CR) of running during the cycle to run transition is also increased over that of control running. The increase in CR varies from 1.6% to 11.6% and is a reflection of triathlete ability level. This increase may be partly related to kinematic alterations, but research suggests that most biomechanical parameters are unchanged. A more forward leaning trunk inclination is the most significant observation reported. Running pattern, and thus running economy, could also be influenced by sensorimotor perturbations related to the change in posture. Technical skill in the transition area is obviously very important. The conditions under which the preceding cycling section is performed-that is, steady state or stochastic power output, drafting or non-drafting-are likely to influence the speed of adjustment to transition. The extent to which a decrease in the average 10 km running speed occurs during competition must be investigated further. It is clear that the higher the athlete is placed in the field at the end of the bike section, the greater the importance to their finishing position of both a quick transition area time and optimal adjustment to the physiological demands of the cycle to run transition. The need for, and current methods of, training to prepare junior and elite triathletes for a better transition are critically reviewed in light of the effects of sequential cycle to run exercise.