Rapid Assessment of Reward-Related Eating: The RED-X5.

OBJECTIVE:The prevalence of obesity has created a plethora of questionnaires characterizing psychological aspects of eating behavior, such as reward-related eating (RRE). The Reward-based Eating Drive questionnaires (RED-9, RED-13) broadly and deeply assess the RRE construct. However, large-sample research designs require shorter questionnaires that capture RRE quickly and precisely. This study sought to develop a brief, reliable, and valid version of the RED questionnaire. METHODS:All-subset correlation was used to find a subset that maximally associated with the full RED-13 in two separate samples. Results were validated in a third independent sample. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and ability to explain variance in external outcomes were also assessed. RESULTS:A five-item questionnaire (RED-X5) correlated strongly with RED-13 in the independent sample (r = 0.95). RED-X5 demonstrated high internal consistency (omega total ≥ 0.80) and 6-month test-retest reliability (r = 0.72). RED-X5 accurately reproduced known associations between RED-13 and BMI, diabetes status, and craving for sweet and savory foods. As a novel finding, RED questionnaires predicted laboratory intake of chips. CONCLUSIONS:RED-X5 is a short, reliable, and valid measure of the RRE construct and can be readily implemented in large-sample research designs in which questionnaire space is limited

The Impact of Environment Concern and Attitude on Green Purchasing Behavior: Gender as The Moderator

The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between environmental concern and attitude towards green purchasing behavior from a Lebanese consumer perspective. This study is based on socialization theory, which suggests that individual behavior is shaped by gender expectation in relation to the cultural context. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from Lebanese consumers with independent purchasing power. A total of 326 complete questionnaires were analyzed in this study. The moderating effect of gender was found to be significant and affect both environmental concern and attitude towards green purchasing behavior. The results of this study provide insights for both practitioners and scholars. The findings revealed that green marketers could benefit from increasing the level of environmental concern and attitude among both males and females. It is recommended that marketers, educators and policymakers understand the uniqueness of each market to promote green behavior. Future studies should examine the new social role of females and how it affects the green behavior. Keywords: Environmental Attitude, Environmental Concern, Gender, Green Purchasing Behavior, ECEA To cite this document: Grace K. Dagher, Omar Itani, and Abdul Nasser Kassar , The Impact of Environment Concern and Attitude on Green Purchasing Behavior: Gender as The Moderator , Contemporary Management Research, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 179-206, 2015. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.1362

Synthesis, Characterization and Anti-hyperglycemic Activity of some novel Formazans Derivatives

In the present investigation, a series of novel formazans 4[a – h]were synthesized by the condensation of Schiff bases2[a-c] and diazonium salt chloride of various substituted aromatic amines 3[a-c] . The intermediate Schiff bases (2a-2h) were itself synthesized by the condensation of different aromatic amines2( thiocarbohydrazide , nicotinic hydrazide , carbohydrazide) with various aromatic aldehydes1.The completion of reactions  was checked by TLC.The structures of the  formazan compoundswere identified by FT- IR ,1H-NMR , 13C- NMR and mass spectral studies. Newly synthesized compound was  screened for their anti- hyperglycemiaactivity. Keywords:: Formazans, Schiff bases Anti-hyperglycemi

Regulation of ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux during adipose differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells.

Adipose cells specialized in energy storage, contain large intracellular triglyceride-rich lipid droplets, are enriched with free cholesterol, and express sterol-regulated transcription factors such as liver X receptor (LXR). The recent identification of the LXR-dependent ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) pathway for cholesterol release from peripheral cells has led us to address the question of the expression and function of ABCA1 in adipocytes. In 3T3-L1 adipose cells, we observed a strong induction of ABCA1 mRNA during adipose differentiation, but only limited variations in ABCA1 protein. Lipid efflux onto apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), which depends on ABCA1, was comparable in adipocytes and preadipocytes, demonstrating a differential regulation of ABCA1 mRNA and cholesterol efflux. We also found that total cell cholesterol remained stable during differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells, but membrane cholesterol was lower in adipocytes than in preadipocytes, suggesting redistribution of cholesterol to the lipid droplet. Finally, we show that under standard lipolytic stimulation, 3T3-L1 adipocytes do not release cholesterol onto apoA-I, a process that required long exposures to lipolytic agents (24 h). In conclusion, despite large induction of ABCA1 mRNA during differentiation, cholesterol efflux through the ABCA1 pathway remains limited in adipocytes and requires prolonged lipolysis. This is consistent with the view of the adipocyte behaving as a cholesterol sink, with plasma cholesterol-buffering properties

Correlation between Leptin Encoding Gene and Some Haematological and Biochemical Parameters in Awassi Sheep

The present study was scanned 104 of different genotypic Iraqi Awassi sheep to determine the relation of genetic polymorphism for leptin gene with several biochemical and haematological features. The results of this study were revealed that most of blood characters were homologous for the genotypes AA, AB, AH, AM, AR, and AS except for RBCs and WBCs count since there were significant differences (P< 0.05) between them, and the following genotypes AH and AB were surpassed on the two genotypes AM and AB concerning the number of RBCs, and the two genotypes AB and AH were surpassed on the genotype AM concerning the number of WBCs. Most of biochemical characters were nonhomologous except for the concentration of urea, since significant differences (P< 0.05) among the genotypes were observed with respect to glucose, protein, cholesterol, and triglycerides. The AH genotype was surpassed the two genotypes AB and AR concerning the glucose ratio. The AB genotype was surpassed the two genotypes AM and AS, the two genotypes AA and AH were surpassed the AB genotype concerning cholesterol ratio, and the AB genotype was surpassed the AH genotype concerning the level of triglyceride. In conclusion, the leptin gene diagnostic tool could be used for selection process to enhance the production levels in Awassi sheep through eliminating the animals that were correlated with the genotypes of some undesired characters in early breeding times. Keywords; leptin, gene, Awassi, parameter, blood, biochemistr

Automatic segmentation of intravital fluorescence microscopy images by K-means clustering of FLIM phasors

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) provides additional contrast for fluorophores with overlapping emission spectra. The phasor approach to FLIM greatly reduces the complexity of FLIM analysis and enables a useful image segmentation technique by selecting adjacent phasor points and labeling their corresponding pixels with different colors. This phasor labeling process, however, is empirical and could lead to biased results. In this Letter, we present a novel and unbiased approach to automate the phasor labeling process using an unsupervised machine learning technique, i.e., K-means clustering. In addition, we provide an open-source, user-friendly program that enables users to easily employ the proposed approach. We demonstrate successful image segmentation on 2D and 3D FLIM images of fixed cells and living animals acquired with two different FLIM systems. Finally, we evaluate how different parameters affect the segmentation result and provide a guideline for users to achieve optimal performance