Childhood obesity is a growing and alarming problem, associated with several short-term and long-term metabolic and cardiovascular complications. In addition, it has also been suggested that excess adiposity during childhood influences growth and pubertal development. Several studies have shown that during pre-pubertal years, obese patients present higher growth velocity and that this pre-puber...

OBJECTIVE Pubertal gynaecomastia is a frequent phenomenon occurring in 20-40% of otherwise healthy adolescent boys. Little is known about the aetiology of pubertal gynaecomastia. Markedly elevated thyroid hormone levels in adults with hyperthyroidism are associated with gynaecomastia. DESIGN A cross-sectional examination of 444 healthy boys with and without pubertal gynaecomastia. METHODS W...

BACKGROUND Public education is one of the most important elements of earthquake preparedness. The present study identifies methods and appropriate strategies for public awareness and education on preparedness for earthquakes based on people's opinions in the city of Tehran. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study and a door-to-door survey of residents from 22 municipal districts in Tehran, t...

BACKGROUND The recent WHO report on health promotion interventions for maternal and newborn health recommends birth preparedness and complications readiness interventions to increase the use of skilled care at birth and to increase timely use of facility care for obstetric and newborn complications. However, these interventions are complex and relate strongly to the context in which they are im...

UNLABELLED BACKGROUND During the last decade there has been a need to respond and recover from various types of emergencies including mass casualty events (MCEs), mass toxicological/chemical events (MTEs), and biological events (pandemics and bio-terror agents). Effective emergency preparedness is more likely to be achieved if an all-hazards response plan is adopted. OBJECTIVES To investig...

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects type extracurricular sport on body composition, respiratory parameters, and physical condition in prepubertal pubertal girls. Four hundred eighty-five female athletes (aged 8–14) from different sports participated study. They were gathered into four groups according typology maturity level: ‘prepubertal girls who practise collective sports’ (PRE-...

In light of the exceptional circumstances that arose from hosting the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 and from recent terrorist events internationally, Greece attributes the highest priority to security issues. According to its statutory role, the Greek Atomic Energy Commission is responsible for emergency preparedness and response in case of nuclear and radiological events, and advises the Gov...

This paper describes a research program with an objective to develop and implement an interactive virtual reality (VR) model of the aircraft inspection maintenance process for asynchronous delivery. Existing approaches have not been able to mimic accurately the complexity of the aircraft maintenance process, reporting limited transfer capabilities and student preparedness for the workplace. Thi...

This research examines the impact of a nutrition education intervention program on the nutritional status and knowledge of Nicaraguan adolescent girls. Anthropometric measurements, hemoglobin values, and data concerning nutritional knowledge were collected from adolescent girls living in Managua, Nicaragua. Using a pre-test/post-test design, data are compared prior to and after the nutrition in...