Brief, Aerobic-surge Exercises for Effective Weight Loss: a Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background: Obesity is a growing disease and a consistently effective protocol is needed to reduce this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to determine if a frequent, brief (2-minute) high intensity aerobic exercise (≥75% max HR) was effective in reducing subjects’ weight (BMI) and girth sizes. Methods: A randomized, controlled trial lasting 60 days was conducted at three sites and forty-six subjects completed this study (mean age 39 ± 8 and BMI 32 ±2). The Experimental group was shown how to make movements such as riding a stationary bicycle or lifting dumbbells into an ‘Aerobic-surge’ exercise at or above 75% of calculated maximum heart rate. Control subjects were simply told to “exercise more.” No dietary changes were made for either group. The dependent variables were changes in weight and ‘body summation’ of 10 girth measurements. A 2x2 ANOVA was used to calculate differences. A post-hoc analysis of changes in BMI was also calculated. Results: There was a significant difference between groups (P<0.0001). The mean change of the groups were as follows: Experimental (N=23) mean reductions = -18.lbs and -18.7” vs. Control (N=23) mean changes = +1.3.lbs and +1.3.” Conclusion: The repeated, brief (2-minute) aerobic-surge exercise protocol, performed 4.2 times/day was effective in reducing subjects’ weight and body circumferences. Isolated tests of body composition showed that change were primarily in body fat. This could be a tool in reducing the obesity epidemic. The Aerobic-surge exercise was effective without a dietary changes. Retrospectively Registered Trial: ISRCTN 17326333

The germs inside me: Pediatric patients\u27 conceptualization of illness and regulation of emotions during hospitalization

The transition into a medical setting can be difficult for children under the age of 18. Previous research has identified a child\u27s capacity to construct accurate representations of illness, in addition to the construction and application of adaptive strategies to modify emotional arousal, as significant predictors of successful adjustment to a medical environment. Preexisting research has neglected to investigate the constructs of illness conceptualization and regulatory systems of emotions. Using a sample of 26 pediatric patients and 26 adult informants, the current study explored the complex relationship between emotional regulation and the conceptualization of illness among children, from the ages of three to five, in the management of a hospital setting. Measures of inhibition, attentional shift and inhibitory self-control were significantly and negatively related to general illness conceptualization. In addition, the study investigated the implications of increased exposure to hospitalization on pediatric patients\u27 development of health-related knowledge and strategies to regulate emotional arousal in early childhood. Contrary to prediction, children characterized as experiencing frequent admittances to a medical setting attained significantly higher means scores, reflecting poor aptitude, on measures of attentional shift, emotional control, and flexibility. The present investigation validates the necessity of respective therapeutic models to appropriately intervene for vulnerable, medically fragile populations

Pathophysiology of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders and is one of the most common reasons gastroenterology referrals are placed. IBS causes abdominal pain and is associated with altered bowel habits (Dlugosz, Zakikhany, Acevedo, D\u27Amato, & Lindberg, 2017, p. 1). While the pathophysiology of IBS is still being explored, it is multifactorial, and recent studies have shown that inflammation and immunological alterations play a role in the development of IBS (Dlugosz et al., 2017, p. 1). IBS causes abdominal pain and discomfort, negatively affects patients’ quality of life, and contributes to increased anxiety and depression. Healthcare providers should understand the complex interactions underlying the pathophysiology of IBS and provide holistic, multi-disciplinary care to best serve this patient population. While there is no known curative treatment for IBS, the goal should be to maintain the highest level of quality of life. This poster project aims to investigate the underlying pathophysiology of IBS and the implications for nursing care. It serves to provide other students with an understanding of the topic and assist them when caring for patients suffering from IBS

Study scale determines whether wildlife loss protects against or promotes tick-borne disease

How does wildlife loss affect tick-borne disease risk? To test this question, Titcomb et al. [1] excluded large mammals that typically support large numbers of adult ticks from 1 ha plots, and then quantified the density of questing adult ticks within exclosure versus control plots. A priori, one might expect reduced tick density within total exclosure plots, because adult ticks must take their final blood meal from an ungulate, hare or carnivore (hereafter ‘large mammal’; table 1), which were scarce to absent in exclosure plots ([1], fig. S1). However, contrary to expectations, Titcomb et al. report higher density of questing adult ticks of two species (Rhipicephalus pravus and R. praetextatus) in exclosure plots compared to control plots, whereas the density of a third tick species (R. pulchellus) declined in exclosure plots. Here, we examine three possible explanations for this counterintuitive result, expanding on the interpretation offered by Titcomb et al. We submit that high densities of questing adult ticks in exclosure plots indicate that the tick population there is failing, not flourishing. This pattern is maintained through time because small mammals import ticks from outside the plot. Therefore, this pattern would be expected to reverse in a larger plot

Leveraging Lessons Learned from a Virtual Hands-on Outreach Program to Cultivate Diversity in the Next Generation of Structural Engineers

A challenge that continues to face the structural engineering (SE) profession is the recruitment and retention of individuals from underrepresented minority (URM) groups, underscored over the years by findings reported on by the SE3 project committee. One approach to address this is by developing and conducting early outreach efforts with diverse populations of K-12 students, so they are aware of SE’s meaningful contributions to society and the intriguing technical problem- solving opportunities in this field. During these educational activities it is also important for young students to be exposed to engineering practitioner-educators who represent diverse backgrounds and whose lived experience demonstrates a path forward for URM members in the industry. This paper focuses on a virtual outreach program offered in Summer 2021, that yields insights about facilitating middle and high school students in a hands-on earthquake engineering project as well as software programming activities. This week- long program was affiliated with the Cal Poly Engineering Possibilities in College (EPIC) summer camp which provides pre-college experiences to students, specifically from underrepresented backgrounds. The instructor team prototyped, manufactured, and shipped over 120 low-cost engineering kits so students could construct a shake table and building model as well as test their baseline and retrofitted designs. These hands-on activities accompanied lectures to help students understand earthquake hazard, seismic design of buildings, instrumentation, and data visualization among other topics. The curriculum, mail-home engineering kit details, and reflection on student performance will be discussed in the paper to provide readers with a guide for developing meaningful outreach experiences that engage diverse groups of students in exploring SE. The group of all-female instructors will also share their perspective on some potentially effective methods to recruit diverse engineers to participate in outreach: to achieve their aspirations of impact the next generation, cultivate their interest in the SE field, and thus, be motivated to persist and ascend in their careers

Memory in Paediatric Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common form of epilepsy and is frequently associated with memory and learning impairments. Medically intractable and lesion-based TLE occurs in 20-30% of the patients, in which case a surgical intervention is proposed. However, there is a clear gap in knowledge about pre-operative memory status in children undergoing surgery and post-operative memory outcome. It is unclear whether paediatric patients show material-specific memory impairments associated with side of pathology and whether specific memory processes are affected more than others, i.e. learning, recall and recognition. Lastly, as opposed to language lateralisation, the neural representation of memory is unknown and memory fMRI has never been explored in paediatric TLE. The aim of this project is therefore to investigate the hippocampal-neocortical network that is at risk of compromise given learning and recall deficits in paediatric TLE at the pre-operative level in order to contribute to the prediction of outcome after surgery. I developed a neuropsychological protocol and a neuroimaging protocol for the investigation of pre-operative memory functions. The neuropsychological protocol is a tablet-based version of a paired-associate learning paradigm that allows comparisons between verbal and non-verbal memory. I validated this protocol in normally-developing children (N=130, 8-18 years). The neuroimaging protocol is a combined language and memory fMRI task that allows the investigation of the interaction between the two networks within one scanning session. This protocol was also validated in normally-developing children (N=28, 8-18 years). The feasibility of these protocols for clinical assessments was explored in a representative sample of children with TLE who were being considered for surgery (N=6, 12-18 years). These protocols add value to the diagnosis of memory impairments associated with paediatric TLE and provide a better understanding of pre-operative memory profile at the individual level. The findings also contribute towards the use of memory fMRI in the surgical decision-making process. Combining information from these protocols could provide prognostic indicators of outcome after surgery

City of Gloucester Harbor Plan & Designated Port Area Master Plan, July 2009

A harbor plan is a waterfront land and water use plan intended to establish the community’s objectives, standards, and policies for guiding public and private utilization of land and of water within and adjacent to the commonwealth’s jurisdiction. The 1999 Gloucester Harbor Plan was chiefly focused on infrastructure improvements for both maritime and visitor oriented industries along the waterfront as a central means of recharging the harbor’s economic engine. Many of the improvements have been completed in the wake of this plan. However, it largely ignored the confusing web of land use regulations that has since emerged as the central force stagnating much of the waterfront’s revitalization. Gloucester Harbor is the center of one of the country’s most important commercial fishing communities; its docks lined with vessels of various types and its waterfront dominated by facilities and services associated with seafood industry. In recent decades, as the groundfish stocks have declined and management measures designed to rebuild the stocks have reduced the size and effort of the fleet, the infrastructure has deteriorated and businesses that depend on groundfish have struggled

Report on the Texas Legislature, 87th Session: An Urban Perspective-Executive Summary

In Texas, the legislature meets every two years. At the end of a regular legislative session, hundreds of passed bills will have been sent to the governor for approval. The large number of bills and the wide range of topics they cover can make it difficult to gain an understanding of all the new laws that were passed, and this session there were three special sessions as well. At the close of each legislative session the Earl Carl Institute publishes, for the benefit of its constituents, highlights from the session in a bi-annual legislative report. In this year’s publication entitled Report on the Texas Legislature, 87th Session: An Urban Perspective, the Institute attempted to cover matters that it believes to be of concern to the urban community, however, many of the highlights cover issues of particular concern to other traditionally disenfranchised communities as well. The legislation covered in these reports generally falls under such issues as Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking, Criminal Procedure, Wrongful Convictions, Domestic Violence), Elections, Juvenile Justice, Family Law, Property, Education, Healthcare, Wills, Estate and Probate, Wealth and Litigation. We are pleased to present, via The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy, the executive summary of this year’s legislative report and report excerpts. The full report was published in September 2022 and can found at http://www.tsulaw.edu/centers/ECI/publications.html

Transcriptomic responses of the heart and brain to anoxia in the Western Painted turtle

Painted turtles are the most anoxia-tolerant tetrapods known, capable of surviving without oxygen for more than four months at 3°C and 30 hours at 20°C. To investigate the transcriptomic basis of this ability, we used RNA-seq to quantify mRNA expression in the painted turtle ventricle and telencephalon after 24 hours of anoxia at 19°C. Reads were obtained from 22,174 different genes, 13,236 of which were compared statistically between treatments for each tissue. Total tissue RNA contents decreased by 16% in telencephalon and 53% in ventricle. The telencephalon and ventricle showed ≥ 2x expression (increased expression) in 19 and 23 genes, respectively, while only four genes in ventricle showed ≤ 0.5x changes (decreased expression). When treatment effects were compared between anoxic and normoxic conditions in the two tissue types, 31 genes were increased (≥ 2x change) and 2 were decreased (≤ 0.5x change). Most of the effected genes were immediate early genes and transcription factors that regulate cellular growth and development; changes that would seem to promote transcriptional, translational, and metabolic arrest. No genes related to ion channels, synaptic transmission, cardiac contractility or excitation-contraction coupling changed. The generalized expression pattern in telencephalon and across tissues, but not in ventricle, correlated with the predicted metabolic cost of transcription, with the shortest genes and those with the fewest exons showing the largest increases in expression