A cluster randomised control trial of a multi-component weight management programme for adults with intellectual disabilities and obesity

There have been few published controlled studies of multi-component weight management programmes that include an energy deficit diet (EDD), for adults with intellectual disabilities and obesity. The objective of this study was to conduct a single-blind, cluster randomised controlled trial comparing a multi-component weight management programme to a health education programme. Participants were randomised to either TAKE 5, which included an EDD or Waist Winners Too (WWToo), based on health education principles. Outcomes measured at baseline, 6 months (after a weight loss phase) and 12 months (after a 6-month weight maintenance phase), by a researcher blinded to treatment allocation, included: weight; BMI; waist circumference; physical activity; sedentary behaviour and health-related quality of life. The recruitment strategy was effective with fifty participants successfully recruited. Both programmes were acceptable to adults with intellectual disabilities, evidenced by high retention rates (90 %). Exploratory efficacy analysis revealed that at 12 months there was a trend for more participants in TAKE 5 (50·0 %) to achieve a clinically important weight loss of 5-10 %, in comparison to WWToo (20·8 %) (OR 3·76; 95 % CI 0·92, 15·30; 0·064). This study found that a multi-component weight management programme that included an EDD, is feasible and an acceptable approach to weight loss when tailored to meet the needs of adults with intellectual disabilities and obesity

A single-blind, pilot randomised trial of a weight management intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities and obesity: study protocol

Background: The prevalence of obesity in adults with intellectual disabilities has consistently been reported to be higher than the general population. Despite the negative impact of obesity on health, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of weight management interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities and obesity. Preliminary results from a single-stranded feasibility study of a multi-component weight management intervention specifically designed for adults with intellectual disabilities and obesity (TAKE 5) and that satisfied clinical recommendations reported that it was acceptable to adults with intellectual disabilities and their carers. This study aims to determine the feasibility of a full-scale clinical trial of TAKE 5.<p></p> Methods: This study will follow a pilot randomised trial design. Sixty-six obese participants (body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2) will be randomly allocated to the TAKE 5 multi-component weight management intervention or a health education ‘active’ control intervention (Waist Winners Too (WWToo)). Both interventions will be delivered over a 12-month period. Participants’ anthropometric measures (body weight, BMI, waist circumference, percentage body fat); indicators of activity (levels of physical activity and sedentary behaviour) and well-being will be measured at three time points: baseline, 6 and 12 months. The researcher collecting outcome measures will be blind to study group allocation.<p></p> Conclusions: The data from this study will generate pilot data on the acceptability of randomisation, attrition rates and the estimates of patient-centred outcomes of TAKE 5, which will help inform future research and the development of a full-scale randomised clinical trial

Gender differences in research areas, methods and topics: Can people and thing orientations explain the results?

Although the gender gap in academia has narrowed, females are underrepresented within some fields in the USA. Prior research suggests that the imbalances between science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields may be partly due to greater male interest in things and greater female interest in people, or to off-putting masculine cultures in some disciplines. To seek more detailed insights across all subjects, this article compares practising US male and female researchers between and within 285 narrow Scopus fields inside 26 broad fields from their first-authored articles published in 2017. The comparison is based on publishing fields and the words used in article titles, abstracts, and keywords. The results cannot be fully explained by the people/thing dimensions. Exceptions include greater female interest in veterinary science and cell biology and greater male interest in abstraction, patients, and power/control fields, such as politics and law. These may be due to other factors, such as the ability of a career to provide status or social impact or the availability of alternative careers. As a possible side effect of the partial people/thing relationship, females are more likely to use exploratory and qualitative methods and males are more likely to use quantitative methods. The results suggest that the necessary steps of eliminating explicit and implicit gender bias in academia are insufficient and might be complemented by measures to make fields more attractive to minority genders

Pleistocene/Holocene Cave Fossils From Grand Canyon National Park: Ice Age (Pleistocene) Flora, Fauna, Environments, and Climate of the Grand Canyon, Arizona

The Colorado Plateau is a distinct physiographic province in western North America covering an area of roughly 337,000 km2 (130,115 mi2) across parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Elevations range from about 360 m (1,180 ft) in the overall Grand Canyon (GC; which includes the Grand Canyon National Park, GRCA) river corridor to an average at the eastern South Rim of 2,072 m (6,800 ft) to 3,850 m (12,630 ft) on the nearby San Francisco Peaks at Flagstaff, Arizona, with an average elevation of 1,525 m (5,000 ft). The Colorado River of Grand Canyon is located along the southwestern portion of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona and is renowned for its dramatic display of geomorphic effects created by fluvial incision and its unique dry-preservation of fossils from the Ice Age (late Pleistocene and Holocene [Quaternary]; most recent 2.58 million years). Although there were at least 22 glacial-interglacial cycles during the Ice Age, this discussion is limited to the most recent episode (called the Wisconsinan Glaciation), which includes the transition to the modern climate (latest Pleistocene and Holocene; the most recent 50,000 years of geologic history)

Discovering RNA-Protein Interactome by Using Chemical Context Profiling of the RNA-Protein Interface

SummaryRNA-protein (RNP) interactions generally are required for RNA function. At least 5% of human genes code for RNA-binding proteins. Whereas many approaches can identify the RNA partners for a specific protein, finding the protein partners for a specific RNA is difficult. We present a machine-learning method that scores a protein’s binding potential for an RNA structure by utilizing the chemical context profiles of the interface from known RNP structures. Our approach is applicable even when only a single RNP structure is available. We examined 801 mammalian proteins and find that 37 (4.6%) potentially bind transfer RNA (tRNA). Most are enzymes involved in cellular processes unrelated to translation and were not known to interact with RNA. We experimentally tested six positive and three negative predictions for tRNA binding in vivo, and all nine predictions were correct. Our computational approach provides a powerful complement to experiments in discovering new RNPs

Benefit-Cost Analysis of FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants

Mitigation ameliorates the impact of natural hazards on communities by reducing loss of life and injury, property and environmental damage, and social and economic disruption. The potential to reduce these losses brings many benefits, but every mitigation activity has a cost that must be considered in our world of limited resources. In principle benefit-cost analysis (BCA) can be used to assess a mitigation activity’s expected net benefits (discounted future benefits less discounted costs), but in practice this often proves difficult. This paper reports on a study that refined BCA methodologies and applied them to a national statistical sample of FEMA mitigation activities over a ten-year period for earthquake, flood, and wind hazards. The results indicate that the overall benefit-cost ratio for FEMA mitigation grants is about 4 to 1, though the ratio varies according to hazard and mitigation type.

Atopic dermatitis and food sensitization in South African toddlers: Role of fiber and gut microbiota

The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) is complex and related to allergic responses and defects in skin barrier function. In common with many atopic diseases, the prevalence of AD has been increasing across the world.1 One of the theories for this increase is increased hygiene and urbanization-related changes in the environment, which can affect the human microbiome.2 Previous studies have found associations between the composition of the early gut microbiome and development of atopic conditions, including AD.3 Although the rate of atopic conditions, including AD and food allergy, is increasing on all continents, the prevalence of these diseases is still lower in African countries.1 This is especially interesting because individuals of African origin who live in Western countries, such as African Americans, are at a higher risk for severe AD.4 This variation places Africa in a special position; studying African populations is necessary not only to find ways to prevent increases of allergy conditions in African countries but also to provide important clues to the causes of this global increasing of allergic conditions. Young children who have developed AD in African communities with a low incidence of atopic disease might be the transitional group. In the current study, we have, for the first time to our knowledge, analyzed the fecal microbiota composition of a group of young black African children aged 12 to 36 months old with and without AD living in the same community in Cape Town, South Africa. Our primary goal was to examine whether toddlers with AD and control toddlers from Cape Town have different microbiomes in terms of bacterial richness and diversity. We also aimed to investigate the differences in the relative abundance for different operational taxonomic units between these 2 groups. In our subgroup analyses, we further tested the effect of multiple environmental factors on the gut microbiome in these children

Large-Scale Asset Purchases by the Federal Reserve: Did They Work?

Discusses how the Federal Reserve faced the challenge to further ease the stance of monetary policy as the economic outlook deteriorated through LSAPs