The Role of Psychological Well-Being in Weight Loss: New Insights from a Comprehensive Lifestyle Intervention

Background/Objective: Although the literature suggested that impaired psychological well-being (PWB) is associated with obesity, evidence on the role of PWB in weight outcomes is limited and inconclusive. This research aimed to investigate the joint role of PWB in achieving clinically significant weight loss (CWL; loss of 5% of the initial weight) through a comprehensive lifestyle intervention for obesity using a broad-based evaluation. Method: This study is a prospective cohort of 96 patients with obesity attending a comprehensive lifestyle intervention for weight loss. Data on weight, lifestyle, PWB, and distress, were collected before and after the intervention. Results: 30.5% of the participants achieved CWL at the end of treatment. A more pronounced increase in autonomy (odds ratio = 0.80 [95% CI: 0.68, 0.93], p ≤.01) and somatization (odds ratio = 0.83 [95% CI: 0.70, 0.98], p ≤.05) from pre- to post-treatment were independently associated with a lower probability of CWL. Conclusions: Unbalanced dimensions of PWB, in particular exceedingly high autonomy, may contribute to a poor weight loss outcome. This study paves the way for the addition of psychotherapeutic strategies geared to euthymia in comprehensive lifestyle intervention

Unambiguous detection of nitrated explosive vapours by fluorescence quenching of dendrimer films

Unambiguous and selective standoff (non-contact) infield detection of nitro-containingexplosives and taggants is an important goal but difficult to achieve with standard analyticaltechniques. Oxidative fluorescence quenching is emerging as a high sensitivity method fordetecting such materials but is prone to false positives—everyday items such as perfumeselicit similar responses. Here we report thin films of light-emitting dendrimers that detectvapours of explosives and taggants selectively—fluorescence quenching is not observed for arange of common interferents. Using a combination of neutron reflectometry, quartz crystalmicrobalance and photophysical measurements we show that the origin of the selectivity isprimarily electronic and not the diffusion kinetics of the analyte or its distribution in the film.The results are a major advance in the development of sensing materials for the standoffdetection of nitro-based explosive vapours, and deliver significant insights into the physicalprocesses that govern the sensing efficacy

The antecedents and outcomes of creative cognition

This chapter summarises the antecedents and outcomes that are associated with creative potential and creative achievement, as well as the outcomes of creative practice and engagement with the arts. It provides a concise overview of the relationships between creativity and individual or dispositional factors such as intelligence, personality and executive functions, while also exploring the effects of environmental or situational factors, such as reward and evaluation, on creativity and motivation with an especial focus on two important outcomes of creative cognition, academic achievement and wellbeing. The consequences associated with engagement in creative practice and arts-integrated teaching are also discussed

Primo corso di trasporto di materia e reattoristica chimica

Il presente volume \ue8 basato sulle lezioni tenute dall\u2019autore per gli allievi dei corsi di laurea in Ingegneria Chimica e Ingegneria dell\u2019Industria Alimentare. I primi tre capitoli forniscono gli elementi di base per il calcolo dei reattori, con richiami di cinetica chimica e biologica e l\u2019introduzione dei modelli di fase perfettamente miscelata e corrente monodimensionale. La trattazione del mass transfer, dopo una breve parte introduttiva (Capitolo 4), inizia con l\u2019introduzione dei coefficienti di trasporto (Capitoli 5 e 6) e prosegue con lo studio della diffusione (Capitoli 7 - 10) e del trasporto di materia in fluidi in moto. I reattori e bioreattori eterogenei sono trattati come applicazione nei vari capitoli sul trasporto di materia

Trasporto di materia con elementi di reattoristica chimica e biochimica

Il volume tratta le basi del trasporto di materia e le sue applicazioni nei processi di separazione e nella modellazione dei reattori chimici e biologici. Trovano un certo spazio argomenti di solito non presenti in una trattazione di base, come i processi a membrana

Applications of osmotic distillation in food and wine processing: the critical points, their weaknesses and the potentialities

In this work some application of Osmotic Distillation are reviewed discussed. The first application concerns the concentration of juices at room temperature by using downstream the membrane a mixture with low water activity, so that water vapour diffuses across the gas membrane. The second one concern the wine quality improvement by alcohol level adjustment or by the volatile acidity removal. Finally the production of low alcohol wines, or alcohol free wine is discussed

Psychological correlates of unexplained syncope: preliminary findings.

Background and Aims. 5-37% of the cases of syncope remain unexplained after a thorough medical evaluation. A psychogenic etiology is seldom investigated and a well-defined relationship between syncope and psychological distress has not yet been established. We aimed to assess psychological profile in patients with medically unexplained syncope. Methods. A consecutive series of 63 patients (mean age=47.9\ub117.8 years) with syncope of unknown origin underwent to head-up tilt test: 40 subjects presented vasovagal syncope-VVS, 23 unexplained syncope-US. The sample was evaluated by both observer-rated (DSM and DCPR) and self-rated (Symptom Questionnaire-SQ, Psychosocial Index-PSI, Illness Attitude Scale-IAS and Fear Questionnaire-FQ) methods. Differences on diagnoses and questionnaires\u2019 mean scores between VVS and US subjects were analyzed using \u3c72-test and analysis of variance. Results. Of the 63 patients, 60 had at least one DSM or DCPR diagnosis, such as specific phobia (47.6%), illness denial (22.2%) and demoralization (19%). We found no statistical differences on diagnoses\u2019 distribution between VVS and US patients. However, US group had significantly higher scores on SQ anxiety, depression and hostility (p<.01); worse outcomes on PSI stress (p<.01), well-being (p<.01) and psychological distress (p<.05); lower level of IAS health anxiety (p<.05), higher of nosophobia (p<.05). At the FQ, VVS were more blood (p=.007) and social phobic (p=.003), while US patients had more associated anxiety/depression (p=.039). Conclusion. Despite similar psychopathology, US patients reported higher psychological distress than VVS patients. These findings underline the need to include the evaluation of self-perceived distress in screening patients with US and consider it for effective treatment