Health Behaviour Changes after Diagnosis of Chronic Illness Among Canadians Aged 50 or Older

Changes in health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and fruit and vegetable consumption) after diagnosis of chronic health conditions (heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory disease, and diabetes) were examined among Canadians aged 50 or older. Results from 12 years of longitudinal data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey indicated relatively modest changes in behavior. Although significant decreases in smoking were observed among all groups except those with respiratory disease, at least 75% of smokers did not quit. No significant changes emerged in the percentage meeting physical activity recommendations, except those with diabetes, or in excessive alcohol consumption, except those with diabetes and respiratory disease. The percentage reporting the recommended minimum fruit and vegetable intake did not increase significantly among any group

Cortisol responses to immobilization with Telazol or ketamine in baboons (Papio cynocephalus/anubis) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Little is known about the influence of Telazol on cortisol or of anesthetic agents on immunological measures, and reports of ketamine's effect on cortisol are inconsistent. We measured effects of Telazol, ketamine and blood sampling on cortisol in male rhesus macaques and male savannah baboons. We also obtained leukocyte counts in the macaques. In macaques, Telazol reduced cortisol in the morning but not in the afternoon; ketamine had no effect on cortisol in these animals. In baboons, cortisol changed little post-Telazol but increased post-ketamine. In macaques, lymphocyte numbers decreased following afternoon injection of Telazol, ketamine or saline. The injection and blood sampling process increased cortisol levels in monkeys not trained to extend an arm but exerted no effect on cortisol in trained macaques. Thus, the animals' physiological responses to blood sampling and immobilization are influenced by such variables as anesthetic agent, species, time of day, and familiarity with the blood sampling process

Proposal for a multi-use test beam in the SLAC B-line

With the impending construction of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) [1] at SLAC, displacing the well-used Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) area, there is growing interest in developing a new test beam facility which makes use of the remaining 2/3 of the SLAC linac, and is available during LCLS operations. The success of the Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source (SPPS) [2] and the desire to preserve this capacity suggest a new beamline with similar or improved electron beam quality, including bunch length compression to 10 μm. Beam availability during LCLS operations requires a new 1-km bypass beamline connecting the 2/3-point of the linac with, for example, the existing B-Line tunnel at the end of the linac. A second operating mode, with LCLS not running, is then available using the existing connection directly from the end of the linac to the B-line. This path would provide the highest beam quality at 30 GeV and also allow a third operational mode by deflecting a few of the very high-brightness 120-Hz, 14-GeV LCLS bunches at low rate (1-10 Hz) into the B-line. Additionally, linear collider research might also be carried out in a short final focus system at the end of the B-Line, capable of producing a 70-nm rms transverse beam size. We describe a design for these systems. © 2005 IEEE

Beta-endorphin levels in longtailed and pigtailed macaques vary by abnormal behavior rating and sex.

Frequent or severe abnormal behavior may be associated with the release of endorphins that positively reinforce the behavior with an opiate euphoria or analgesia. One line of research exploring this association involves the superhormone, proopiomelanocortin (POMC). The products of POMC appear to be dysregulated in some human subjects who exhibit self-injurious behavior (SIB). Macaque monkeys have POMC very similar to humans, and some laboratory macaques display SIB or frequent stereotypies. We investigated associations between plasma levels of three immunoreactive POMC fragments with possible opioid action and abnormal behavior ratings in macaques. In 58 adult male and female macaques (24 Macaca fascicularis and 34 Macaca nemestrina), plasma levels of intact beta-endorphin (betaE) and the N-terminal fragment (BEN) were significantly higher in animals with higher levels of abnormal behavior. The C-terminal fragment (BEC) was significantly higher in males but unrelated to ratings of abnormal behavior. Levels of ACTH, cortisol, and (betaE-ACTH)/betaE dysregulation index were unrelated to abnormal behavior. None of the POMC products differed significantly by subjects' species, age, or weight. The finding that intact beta-endorphin is positively related to abnormal behavior in two species of macaque is consistent with some previous research on human subjects and nonprimates. The positive relation of the N-terminal fragment of betaE to abnormal behavior is a new finding

Beta-endorphin levels in longtailed and pigtailed macaques vary by abnormal behavior rating and sex.

Frequent or severe abnormal behavior may be associated with the release of endorphins that positively reinforce the behavior with an opiate euphoria or analgesia. One line of research exploring this association involves the superhormone, proopiomelanocortin (POMC). The products of POMC appear to be dysregulated in some human subjects who exhibit self-injurious behavior (SIB). Macaque monkeys have POMC very similar to humans, and some laboratory macaques display SIB or frequent stereotypies. We investigated associations between plasma levels of three immunoreactive POMC fragments with possible opioid action and abnormal behavior ratings in macaques. In 58 adult male and female macaques (24 Macaca fascicularis and 34 Macaca nemestrina), plasma levels of intact beta-endorphin (betaE) and the N-terminal fragment (BEN) were significantly higher in animals with higher levels of abnormal behavior. The C-terminal fragment (BEC) was significantly higher in males but unrelated to ratings of abnormal behavior. Levels of ACTH, cortisol, and (betaE-ACTH)/betaE dysregulation index were unrelated to abnormal behavior. None of the POMC products differed significantly by subjects' species, age, or weight. The finding that intact beta-endorphin is positively related to abnormal behavior in two species of macaque is consistent with some previous research on human subjects and nonprimates. The positive relation of the N-terminal fragment of betaE to abnormal behavior is a new finding

Coupler Design for the LCLS Injector S-Band Structures

The LCLS injector is required to provide a 1-nC, 10-ps bunch with a normalized rms transverse projected emittance of less than 1 micron. The LCLS beam is generated and accelerated in a 1.6-cell S-band RF gun at 120 MV/m up to 6 MeV. The gun is followed by two SLAC 3-m S-band accelerator structures to further accelerate the beam to 135 MeV which moves the beam out of the space-charge dominated regime. In the SLAC S-band structures, the RF power feed is through a single coupling-hole (single-feed coupler) which results in a field asymmetry. The time dependent multipole fields in the coupler induce a transverse kick along the bunch and cause the emittance to increase above the LCLS specification. To meet the stringent emittance requirements for the injector, the single-feed couplers will be replaced by a dual-feed racetrack design to minimize the multipole field effects. We will present detailed studies of the multipole fields in the SLAC linac RF coupler and the improvements with the dual-feed ractrack design using the parallel finite element S-parameter solver S3P