Overweight and obesity among Jordanian women and their social determinants.

This study aimed to explore the social determinants associated with obesity among Jordanian women using the national data from the Jordan Population and Family Health Survey 2009. We found the overall prevalence of overweight was 30% and obesity was 38.8% among Jordanian women aged 15-49 years. Results of multivariate analysis showed that age; residing in the south region of Jordan, marriage at an early age, parity, wealth status and smoking were statistically significant predictors of overweight and obesity among women in Jordan. Our results show that there is an urgent need to implement health programmes to prevent and control overweight and obesity at the national level. Social determinants should be taking into consideration in designing. and implementing these programmes.

Detection of chemical damage in concrete using ultrasound.

This research deals with a non-destructive method for characterizing the degraded cover of concrete structures using high-frequency ultrasound (0.5-1 MHz). Although such a frequency range is unusual in civil engineering, it is well suited to the kind of defect to be detected, as it corresponds to a thin near-to-surface layer with increased porosity and density of microcracks. In order to assess the feasibility of detecting concrete cover degradation, velocity and attenuation measurements were made on both halves of a concrete slab. One half was immersed into an acid solution for 15-45 days, while the other half remained sound. These measurements were made for longitudinal, transverse and surface waves. The results obtained show a 23% decrease of ultrasonic pulse velocity and a 1000% increase of attenuation in the degraded material relative to the sound material. It is thus possible to detect and characterize concrete cover degradation using high-frequency ultrasound. Although attenuation measurements in heterogeneous media are difficult, their sensitivity to degradation is very high.

Assessment of broadband ultrasonic attenuation measurements in inhomogeneous media.

In this paper, we address the problem of evaluating the acoustic attenuation of "difficult" media, i.e. highly attenuating and scattering media. In a broadband, through transmission setup, the signals acquired from such media are characterized by a poor signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, an accurate estimate of attenuation cannot be obtained from a single measurement, but multiple measurements must be combined. Two methods are considered to yield a single estimate of attenuation from multiple measurements. The first one, the "average attenuation" (AA) method, consists in a simple average of individual attenuation estimates. The second one, the "cross spectrum" (CS) method, is based on a system identification approach. In order to evaluate the estimation errors for these methods, ultrasonic signals transmitted through a material of known attenuation were simulated and mixed with both coherent and incoherent noise. In all tests performed, the "CS" method was found to yield the most accurate estimate. This method, combined time delay compensation, is then applied to real signals measured from a concrete slab. A valid frequency band for the attenuation estimate can be defined based on the coherence function. Results from this research are being applied to characterize the degradation of concrete structures using high-frequency ultrasound.

Problems encountered during introduction of Gianturco coils for transcatheter occlusion of the patent arterial duct.

OBJECTIVE: To define the problems encountered during transcatheter occlusion of the patent arterial duct using Gianturco coils. METHODS: Between January 1994 and November 1995, 93 patients were admitted in whom it was intended to occlude the patent arterial duct using Gianturco coils. Anterograde transcatheter coil occlusion was performed via the femoral vein in 81 patients. In the remaining 12 the procedure was done via the femoral artery. RESULTS: Coils were implanted successfully in 82/93 (88%) patients. In 11 patients the procedure was a failure. In 19/93 patients (20%), inadvertent embolization of the coil occurred. The coils were retrieved in all except one patient. In 17 of these patients, new coils were then reimplanted successfully. Doppler echocardiography after the procedure showed that in 9/82 (11%) patients the left pulmonary artery Doppler peak velocity exceeded 1.5 m.s-1 (mean 1.2 m.s-1) raising concern about left pulmonary artery branch stenosis. The complete occlusion rate at discharge from hospital was 72/82 (88%). Follow-up ranges from 1 day to 14 months (mean 2/12 months) in the 82 patients in whom successful deployment of coils was possible. In two patients, the arterial duct became occluded at follow-up. One additional patient had complete occlusion after reocclusion using another coil. Thus, after short-term follow-up a total of 75/82 patients (91.4%) have a completely occluded arterial duct after coil implantation. CONCLUSION: Transcatheter occlusion of the patent arterial duct using Gianturco coils is an effective and safe technique. In the learning curve there is a relatively high rate of inadvertent embolization, but the coils can be retrieved in the vast majority of patients. The complication rate is offset by the high early occlusion rate and the inexpensiveness of the procedure.