Becoming One with Nature: A Nature Intervention for Individuals Living with Cancer Participating in a Ten-Week Group Exercise and Wellness Program

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(3): 498-518, 2021. Positive outcomes for psychological and physiological health have resulted from a nature experience. However, evidence is limited for nature-based interventions and their effect on a cancer population. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine if incorporating the One Nature Challenge (ONC) into a ten-week group exercise program (WE-Can) for individuals living with cancer could offer additional psychological and/or physiological benefits to those previously observed in WE-Can. For this study, two separate ONCs were implemented throughout two seasons (summer and winter) to formulate a ONC group (n = 18; 60 ± 12yrs). Previous WE-Can graduates were used as a control group (n = 160; 59 ± 11yrs) for this study. Psychological and physiological assessments were administered in a pre- and post-test. In addition, nature relatedness (NR; ones’ relationship with nature) was measured at the beginning, middle, and end of WE-Can. Following five weeks, the ONC began and participants tracked the days they experienced nature for at least thirty-minutes (24 ± 6 days), for a thirty-day period. The ONC finished concurrently with WE-Can where post-evaluations and focus groups were administered immediately following. No additional gain in overall health was found between groups. However, aerobic fitness and fatigue significantly improved for the ONC group. This was supported by frequent activities and self-reported restoration of the mind while experiencing nature. In conclusion, the lack of overall improvement could be limited by sample size and the high level of NR prior to ONC, indicating participants were already ‘one with nature.

Power, sample size and sampling costs for clustered data

The data collected in epidemiological or clinical studies are frequently clustered. In such settings, appropriate variance adjustments must be made in order to estimate the sufficient sample size correctly. This paper works through the sample size calculations for clustered data. Importantly, our explicit variance expressions also enable us to optimize the design with respect to the number of clusters and number of subjects; the objective could be either to maximize the power or to minimize the costs with given costs on the clusters and on the individuals. In our approach, units on different levels and treatment groups can have different costs, but the members of the same cluster are assumed to belong to the same treatment group. Design considerations in the health coaching project TERVA are used as motivating examples. R-functions for carrying out the computations presented are provided. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Reducing DNA Polymerase in the Absence of Drosophila ATR Leads to P53-Dependent Apoptosis and Developmental Defects

The ability to respond to DNA damage and incomplete replication ensures proper duplication and stability of the genome. Two checkpoint kinases, ATM and ATR, are required for DNA damage and replication checkpoint responses. In Drosophila, the ATR ortholog (MEI-41) is essential for preventing entry into mitosis in the presence of DNA damage. In the absence of MEI-41, heterozygosity for the E(mus304) mutation causes rough eyes. We found that E(mus304) is a mutation in DNApol-α180, which encodes the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase α. We did not find any defects resulting from reducing Polα by itself. However, reducing Polα in the absence of MEI-41 resulted in elevated P53-dependent apoptosis, rough eyes, and increased genomic instability. Reducing Polα in mutants that lack downstream components of the DNA damage checkpoint (DmChk1 and DmChk2) results in the same defects. Furthermore, reducing levels of mitotic cyclins rescues both phenotypes. We suggest that reducing Polα slows replication, imposing an essential requirement for the MEI-41-dependent checkpoint for maintenance of genome stability, cell survival, and proper development. This work demonstrates a critical contribution of the checkpoint function of MEI-41 in responding to endogenous damage

3-He in the Milky Way Interstellar Medium: Ionization Structure

The cosmic abundance of the 3-He isotope has important implications for many fields of astrophysics. We are using the 8.665 GHz hyperfine transition of 3-He+ to determine the 3-He/H abundance in Milky Way HII regions and planetary nebulae. This is one in a series of papers in which we discuss issues involved in deriving accurate 3-He/H abundance ratios from the available measurements. Here we describe the ionization correction we use to convert the 3-He+/H+ abundance, y3+, to the 3-He/H abundance, y3. In principle the nebular ionization structure can significantly influence the y3 derived for individual sources. We find that in general there is insufficient information available to make a detailed ionization correction. Here we make a simple correction and assess its validity. The correction is based on radio recombination line measurements of H+ and 4-He+, together with simple core-halo source models. We use these models to establish criteria that allow us to identify sources that can be accurately corrected for ionization and those that cannot. We argue that this effect cannot be very large for most of the sources in our observational sample. For a wide range of models of nebular ionization structure we find that the ionization correction factor varies from 1 to 1.8. Although large corrections are possible, there would have to be a conspiracy between the density and ionization structure for us to underestimate the ionization correction by a substantial amount.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figures To appear Astrophysical Journal, 20 August 2007, vol 665, no

Loss of p53 in quaking viable mice leads to Purkinje cell defects and reduced survival

The qkv mutation is a one megabase deletion resulting in abnormal expression of the qkI gene. qkv mice exhibit hypomyelination of the central nervous system and display rapid tremors and seizures as adults. The qkI locus on 6q26-27 has also been implicated as a candidate tumor suppressor gene as the qkI locus maps to a region of genetic instability in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), an aggressive brain tumor of astrocytic lineage. As GBM frequently harbors mutations affecting p53, we crossbred qkv and p53 mutant mice to examine whether qkv mice on a p53−/− background have an increased incidence of GBM. qkv/v; p53−/− mice had a reduced survival rate compared to p53−/− littermates, and the cause of death of the majority of the mice remains unknown. In addition, immunohistochemistry revealed Purkinje cell degeneration in the cerebellum. These results suggest that p53 and qkI are genetically linked for neuronal maintenance and survival

Quantifying interictal intracranial EEG to predict focal epilepsy

Intracranial EEG (IEEG) is used for 2 main purposes, to determine: (1) if epileptic networks are amenable to focal treatment and (2) where to intervene. Currently these questions are answered qualitatively and sometimes differently across centers. There is a need for objective, standardized methods to guide surgical decision making and to enable large scale data analysis across centers and prospective clinical trials. We analyzed interictal data from 101 patients with drug resistant epilepsy who underwent presurgical evaluation with IEEG. We chose interictal data because of its potential to reduce the morbidity and cost associated with ictal recording. 65 patients had unifocal seizure onset on IEEG, and 36 were non-focal or multi-focal. We quantified the spatial dispersion of implanted electrodes and interictal IEEG abnormalities for each patient. We compared these measures against the 5 Sense Score (5SS), a pre-implant estimate of the likelihood of focal seizure onset, and assessed their ability to predict the clinicians choice of therapeutic intervention and the patient outcome. The spatial dispersion of IEEG electrodes predicted network focality with precision similar to the 5SS (AUC = 0.67), indicating that electrode placement accurately reflected pre-implant information. A cross-validated model combining the 5SS and the spatial dispersion of interictal IEEG abnormalities significantly improved this prediction (AUC = 0.79; p<0.05). The combined model predicted ultimate treatment strategy (surgery vs. device) with an AUC of 0.81 and post-surgical outcome at 2 years with an AUC of 0.70. The 5SS, interictal IEEG, and electrode placement were not correlated and provided complementary information. Quantitative, interictal IEEG significantly improved upon pre-implant estimates of network focality and predicted treatment with precision approaching that of clinical experts.Comment: 25 pages, 4 Figures, 1 tabl

Individuals with Le(a+b−) Blood Group Have Increased Susceptibility to Symptomatic Vibrio cholerae O1 Infection

Cholera remains a severe diarrheal disease, capable of causing extensive outbreaks and high mortality. Blood group is one of the genetic factors determining predisposition to disease, including infectious diseases. Expression of different Lewis or ABO blood group types has been shown to be associated with risk of different enteric infections. For example, individuals of blood group O have a higher risk of severe illness due to V. cholerae compared to those with non-blood group O antigens. In this study, we have determined the relationship of the Lewis blood group antigen phenotypes with the risk of symptomatic cholera as well as the severity of disease and immune responses following infection. We show that individuals expressing the Le(a+b−) phenotype were more susceptible to symptomatic cholera, while Le(a–b+) expressing individuals were less susceptible. Individuals with the Le(a–b−) blood group had a longer duration of diarrhea when infected, required more intravenous fluid replacement, and had lower plasma IgA antibody responses to V. cholerae LPS on day 7 following infection. We conclude that there is an association between the Lewis blood group and the risk of cholera, and that this risk may affect the outcome of infection as well as possibly the efficacy of vaccination

Nanodielectric Surface Performance When Submitted to Partial Discharges in Compressed Air

Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Hookworm-Related Anaemia among Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review

Anaemia affects large numbers of pregnant women in developing countries and increases their risk of dying during pregnancy and delivering low birth weight babies, who in turn are at increased risk of dying. Human hookworm infection has long been recognized among the major causes of anaemia in poor communities, but understanding of the benefits of the management of hookworm infection in pregnancy has lagged behind the other major causes of maternal anaemia. Low coverage of anthelmintic treatment in maternal health programmes in many countries has been the result. After systematically reviewing the available literature we observed that increasing hookworm infection intensity is associated with lower haemoglobin levels in pregnant women. We also estimate that between a quarter and a third of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with hookworm and at risk of preventable hookworm-related anaemia. However, all identified intervention studies showed a benefit of deworming for maternal or child health and we argue that increased efforts should be made to increase the coverage of anthelmintic treatment among pregnant women