Attitudes to and experiences with body weight control and changes in body weight in relation to all-cause mortality in the general population

Background and aimsIncreased body mass index (BMI = weight/height2; kg/m2) and weight gain is associated with increased mortality, wherefore weight loss and avoided weight gain should be followed by lower mortality. This is achieved in clinical settings, but in the general population weight loss appears associated with increased mortality, possibly related to the struggles with body weight control (BWC). We investigated whether attitudes to and experiences with BWC in combination with recent changes in body weight influenced long-term mortality among normal weight and overweight individuals.Population and methodsThe study population included 6,740 individuals attending the 3rd cycle in 1991-94 of the Copenhagen City Heart Study, providing information on BMI, educational level, health behaviours, well-being, weight half-a-year earlier, and answers to four BWC questions about caring for body weight, assumed benefit of weight loss, current and past slimming experiences. Participants reporting previous unintended weight loss (> 4 kg during one year) were excluded. Cox regression models estimated the associations of prior changes in BMI and responses to the BWC questions with approximately 22 years all-cause mortality with age as 'time scale'. Participants with normal weight (BMI ResultsCompared with stable weight, weight loss was associated with significantly increased mortality in the normal weight group, but not in the overweight group, and weight gain was not significantly associated with mortality in either group. Participants with normal weight who claimed that it would be good for their health to lose weight or that they were currently trying to lose weight had significantly higher mortality than those denying it. There were no other significant associations with the responses to the BWC questions in either the normal weight or the overweight group. When combining the responses to the BWC questions with the weight changes, using the weight change as either a continuous or categorical variable, there were no significant interaction in their relation to mortality in either the normal weight or the overweight group.ConclusionAttitudes to and experiences with BWC did not notably modify the association of changes in body weight with mortality in either people with normal weight or people with overweight

Comprehensive geriatric assessment in men aged 70 years or older with localised prostate cancer undergoing radical radiotherapy

Aims Treatment decisions for men aged 70 years or over with localised prostate cancer need to take into account the risk of death from competing causes and fitness for the proposed treatment. Objective assessments such as those included in a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) might help to inform the decision-making process. The aim of this study was to describe the CGA scores of a cohort of older men with prostate cancer, evaluate potential screening tools in this population and assess whether any CGA component predicts significant acute radiotherapy toxicity. Materials and methods This was a prospective cohort study undertaking pretreatment CGA, Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) and G8 assessment in patients aged 70 years and over with localised prostate cancer planned to undergo radical external beam radiotherapy. Results In total, 178 participants were recruited over a 3 year period and underwent a CGA. Fifty-five (30.1%) participants were defined as having health needs identified by their CGA. Both VES-13 and G8 screening tools showed a statistically significant association with CGA needs (P < 0.001 and X2 = 15.02, P < 0.001, respectively), but their sensitivity was disappointing. There was no association between a CGA (or its components) and significant acute radiotherapy toxicity. Conclusions Many older men with localised prostate cancer are vulnerable according to a CGA. The screening tools evaluated were not sufficiently sensitive to identify this group. CGA outcome does not predict for significant acute radiotherapy toxicity

Insights Into Insular Isolation of the Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839), in Fijian Waters

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is a large, mobile, circumglobally distributed high trophic level predator that inhabits a variety of remote islands and continental coastal habitats, including freshwater environments. Here, we hypothesize that the barriers to dispersal created by large oceanic expanses and deep-water trenches result in a heterogeneous distribution of the neutral genetic diversity between island bull shark populations compared to populations sampled in continental locations connected through continuous coastlines of continental shelves. We analyzed 1,494 high-quality neutral single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in 215 individual bull sharks from widespread locations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans (South Africa, Indonesia, Western Australia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Australia, New Caledonia, and Fiji). Genomic analyses revealed partitioning between remote insular and continental populations, with the Fiji population being genetically different from all other locations sampled (FST = 0.034–0.044, P \u3c 0.001), and New Caledonia showing marginal isolation (FST = 0.016–0.024, P \u3c 0.001; albeit based on a small sample size) from most sampled sites. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) identified samples from Fiji as a distinct cluster with all other sites clustering together. Genetic structure analyses (Admixture, fastStructure and AssignPOP) further supported the genetic isolation of bull sharks from Fiji, with the analyses in agreement. The observed differentiation in bull sharks from Fiji makes this site of special interest, as it indicates a lack of migration through dispersal across deep-water trenches and large ocean expanses

Commensurability oscillations in the rf conductivity of unidirectional lateral superlattices: measurement of anisotropic conductivity by coplanar waveguide

We have measured the rf magnetoconductivity of unidirectional lateral superlattices (ULSLs) by detecting the attenuation of microwave through a coplanar waveguide placed on the surface. ULSL samples with the principal axis of the modulation perpendicular (S_perp) and parallel (S_||) to the microwave electric field are examined. For low microwave power, we observe expected anisotropic behavior of the commensurability oscillations (CO), with CO in samples S_perp and S_|| dominated by the diffusion and the collisional contributions, respectively. Amplitude modulation of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations is observed to be more prominent in sample S_||. The difference between the two samples is washed out with the increase of the microwave power, letting the diffusion contribution govern the CO in both samples. The failure of the intended directional selectivity in the conductivity measured with high microwave power is interpreted in terms of large-angle electron-phonon scattering.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Lack of correlation of stem cell markers in breast cancer stem cells

BACKGROUND: Various markers are used to identify the unique sub-population of breast cancer cells with stem cell properties. Whether these markers are expressed in all breast cancers, identify the same population of cells, or equate to therapeutic response is controversial. METHODS: We investigated the expression of multiple cancer stem cell markers in human breast cancer samples and cell lines in vitro and in vivo, comparing across and within samples and relating expression with growth and therapeutic response to doxorubicin, docetaxol and radiotherapy. RESULTS: CD24, CD44, ALDH and SOX2 expression, the ability to form mammospheres and side-population cells are variably present in human cancers and cell lines. Each marker identifies a unique rather than common population of cancer cells. In vivo, cells expressing these markers are not specifically localized to the presumptive stem cell niche at the tumour/stroma interface. Repeated therapy does not consistently enrich cells expressing these markers, although ER-negative cells accumulate. CONCLUSIONS: Commonly employed methods identify different cancer cell sub-populations with no consistent therapeutic implications, rather than a single population of cells. The relationships of breast cancer stem cells to clinical parameters will require identification of specific markers or panels for the individual cancer

Trouble at the top: The construction of a tenant identity in the governance of social housing organizations

The project of citizen governance has transformed the social housing sector in England where 20,000 tenants now sit as directors on the boards of housing associations, but the entrance of social housing tenants to the boardroom has aroused opposition from the chief executives of housing companies and triggered regulatory intervention from government inspectors. This paper investigates the cause of these tensions through a theoretical framework drawn from the work of feminist philosopher Judith Butler. It interprets housing governance as an identificatory project with the power to constitute tenant directors as regulated subjects, and presents evidence to suggest that this project of identity fails to completely enclose its subject, allowing tenant directors to engage in ‘identity work’ that threatens the supposed unity of the board. The paper charts the development of antagonism and political tension in the board rooms of housing companies to present an innovative account of the construction and contestation of identities in housing governance

Magneto-shear modes and a.c. dissipation in a two-dimensional Wigner crystal

The a.c. response of an unpinned and finite 2D Wigner crystal to electric fields at an angular frequency $\omega$ has been calculated in the dissipative limit, $\omega \tau \ll 1$, where $\tau ^{-1}$ is the scattering rate. For electrons screened by parallel electrodes, in zero magnetic field the long-wavelength excitations are a diffusive longitudinal transmission line mode and a diffusive shear mode. A magnetic field couples these modes together to form two new magneto-shear modes. The dimensionless coupling parameter $\beta =2(c_{t}/c_{l})|\sigma_{xy}/\sigma_{xx}|$ where $c_{t}$ and $c_{l}$ are the speeds of transverse and longitudinal sound in the collisionless limit and $\sigma_{xy}$ and $\sigma_{xx}$ are the tensor components of the magnetoconductivity. For $\beta \geqslant 1$, both the coupled modes contribute to the response of 2D electrons in a Corbino disk measurement of magnetoconductivity. For $\beta \gg 1$, the electron crystal rotates rigidly in a magnetic field. In general, both the amplitude and phase of the measured a.c. currents are changed by the shear modulus. In principle, both the magnetoconductivity and the shear modulus can be measured simultaneously.Comment: REVTeX, 7 pp., 4 eps figure

Families of patients in ICU: A Scoping review of their needs and satisfaction with care

Aim To describe published literature on the needs and experiences of family members of adults admitted to intensive care and interventions to improve family satisfaction and psychological well‐being and health. Design Scoping review. Methods Several selective databases were searched. English‐language articles were retrieved, and data extracted on study design, sample size, sample characteristics and outcomes measured. Results From 469 references, 43 studies were identified for inclusion. Four key themes were identified: (a) Different perspectives on meeting family needs; (b) Family satisfaction with care in intensive care; (c) Factors having an impact on family health and well‐being and their capacity to cope; and (d) Psychosocial interventions. Unmet informational and assurance needs have an impact on family satisfaction and mental health. Structured written and oral information shows some effect in improving satisfaction and reducing psychological burden. Future research might include family in the design of interventions, provide details of the implementation process and have clearly identified outcomes

Monitoring international migration flows in Europe. Towards a statistical data base combining data from different sources

The paper reviews techniques developed in demography, geography and statistics that are useful for bridging the gap between available data on international migration flows and the information required for policy making and research. The basic idea of the paper is as follows: to establish a coherent and consistent data base that contains sufficiently detailed, up-to-date and accurate information, data from several sources should be combined. That raises issues of definition and measurement, and of how to combine data from different origins properly. The issues may be tackled more easily if the statistics that are being compiled are viewed as different outcomes or manifestations of underlying stochastic processes governing migration. The link between the processes and their outcomes is described by models, the parameters of which must be estimated from the available data. That may be done within the context of socio-demographic accounting. The paper discusses the experience of the U.S. Bureau of the Census in combining migration data from several sources. It also summarizes the many efforts in Europe to establish a coherent and consistent data base on international migration. The paper was written at IIASA. It is part of the Migration Estimation Study, which is a collaborative IIASA-University of Groningen project, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The project aims at developing techniques to obtain improved estimates of international migration flows by country of origin and country of destination

Interaction Effects in a One-Dimensional Constriction

We have investigated the transport properties of one-dimensional (1D) constrictions defined by split-gates in high quality GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. In addition to the usual quantized conductance plateaus, the equilibrium conductance shows a structure close to $0.7(2e^2/h)$, and in consolidating our previous work [K.~J. Thomas et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 135 (1996)] this 0.7 structure has been investigated in a wide range of samples as a function of temperature, carrier density, in-plane magnetic field $B_{\parallel}$ and source-drain voltage $V_{sd}$. We show that the 0.7 structure is not due to transmission or resonance effects, nor does it arise from the asymmetry of the heterojunction in the growth direction. All the 1D subbands show Zeeman splitting at high $B_{\parallel}$, and in the wide channel limit the $g$-factor is $\mid g \mid \approx 0.4$, close to that of bulk GaAs. As the channel is progressively narrowed we measure an exchange-enhanced $g$-factor. The measurements establish that the 0.7 structure is related to spin, and that electron-electron interactions become important for the last few conducting 1D subbands.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures (accepted in Phys. Rev. B