Perceptions of body weight that vary by body mass index: Clear associations with perceptions based on personal control and responsibility.

This project aimed to identify the perceptions of body weight that vary by body mass index. First, a qualitative study explored body weight perceptions in 17 individuals with overweight. Second, a questionnaire was developed and completed by a UK sample with body mass index from 16.6 to 59.7 kg/m2 (N = 328). A higher body mass index was associated with perceptions of less personal control and responsibility. Body mass index in females was also associated with three other questionnaire factors and body mass index in males with illness/medication. Thus, body mass index was associated with different perceptions of body weight. Focussing on personal control and responsibility may be useful for treatment and prevention

Towards a Definition of Metaskills

Introduction: The term ‘metaskill’ has been used to mean a range of different types of information-based skill. This poster describes this variation in use across disciplines and industries, and two distinct but related definitions are found.Method: 210 scholarly papers were identified across the fields of psychology, work-based learning, education and information using key word searches. These papers are analysed for inclusion of definitions and examples of ‘metaskills’.Analysis: Comparisons are made to find similarities and disagreements within both definitions and examples. Excel is used to create word lists, and word clouds used to assess weight and frequency.Findings: Although some agreement can be found, there is no wide consensus. Two separate but related definitions emerge: that of a shorthand for ‘metacognitive skill’, and a broader ‘higher order’ technical skill type.Conclusions: Used as a buzzword in work-based learning literature, the idea of ‘metaskills’ seems to be an increasingly important part of lifelong learning. The two definitions that have emerged have some crossover, which may lead to confusion when designing skill development interventions. While formal education environments have traditionally been the source of participants for skill-based research, further work on the development of well-defined metaskills within the workplace is encouraged

Identification of Tilapia Lake Virus in Egypt in Nile tilapia affected by 'summer mortality' syndrome

Egyptian fish farms have faced unexplained mortality of tilapia during the summer months in recent years. Epidemiological surveys indicated that 37% of fish farms were affected in 2015 with an average mortality rate of 9.2% and a potential economic impact of around US$ 100 million. Despite a number of researchers and organizations investigating potential causes results so far have been inconclusive. Meanwhile recent reports emerged of the presence of a new orthomyxovirus, Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) in Israel, which shares a border and migrating avifauna with Egypt. Tissue samples from seven farms affected by ‘summer mortality’ were tested at the University of Stirling for TiLV. Samples from three of seven farms tested positive using PCR; the first time that TiLV has been identified in Egypt. Sequence analysis yielded a TiLV sequence with 93% homology to the published TiLV sequence described from Israel. More research is required to determine if TiLV is linked to ‘summer mortality’

Pathogenesis of experimental salmonid alphavirus infection in vivo: an ultrastructural insight

Salmonid alphavirus (SAV) is an enveloped, single-stranded, positive sense RNA virus belonging to the familyTogaviridae. It causes economically devastating disease in cultured salmonids. The characteristic features of SAV infection include severe histopathological changes in the heart, pancreas and skeletal muscles of diseased fish. Although the presence of virus has been reported in a wider range of tissues, the mechanisms responsible for viral tissue tropism and for lesion development during the disease are not clearly described or understood. Previously, we have described membrane-dependent morphogenesis of SAV and associated apoptosis-mediated cell death in vitro. The aims of the present study were to explore ultrastructural changes associated with SAV infection in vivo. Cytolytic changes were observed in heart, but not in gill and head-kidney of virus-infected fish, although they still exhibited signs of SAV morphogenesis. Ultrastructural changes associated with virus replication were also noted in leukocytes in the head kidney of virus-infected fish. These results further describe the presence of degenerative lesions in the heart as expected, but not in the gills and in the kidney

MotivATE: A Pretreatment Web-Based Program to Improve Attendance at UK Outpatient Services Among Adults With Eating Disorders.

BACKGROUND: In the UK, eating disorders affect upward of 725,000 people per year, and early assessment and treatment are important for patient outcomes. Around a third of adult outpatients in the UK who are referred to specialist eating disorder services do not attend, which could be related to patient factors related to ambivalence, fear, and a lack of confidence about change. This lack of engagement has a negative impact on the quality of life of patients and has implications for service costs. OBJECTIVE: To describe the development of a Web-based program ("MotivATE") designed for delivery at the point of referral to an eating disorder service, with the aim of increasing service attendance. METHODS: We used intervention mapping and a person-based approach to design the MotivATE program and conducted a needs assessment to determine the current impact of service nonattendance on patients (via a review of the qualitative evidence) and services (through a service provision survey to understand current issues in UK services). Following the needs assessment, we followed the five steps of program development outlined by Bartholomew et al (1998): (1) creating a matrix of proximal program objectives; (2) selecting theory-based intervention methods and strategies; (3) designing and organizing the program; (4) specifying adoption and implementation plans; and (5) generating program evaluation plans. RESULTS: The needs assessment identified current nonattendance rates of 10%-32%. We defined the objective of MotivATE as increasing attendance rates at an eating disorder service and considered four key determinants of poor attendance: patient ambivalence about change, low patient self-efficacy, recognition of the need to change, and expectations about assessment. We chose aspects of motivational interviewing, self-determination theory, and the use of patient stories as the most appropriate ways to enable change. Think-aloud piloting with people with lived experience of an eating disorder resulted in positive feedback on the MotivATE program. Participants related well to the stories used. Nonetheless, because of feedback, we further modified the program in line with patients' stage of change and addressed issues with the language used. A consultation with service staff meant that we could make clear implementation plans. Finally, a randomized controlled trial is currently underway to evaluate the MotivATE program. CONCLUSIONS: Using intervention mapping, we have developed a novel pretreatment Web-based program that is acceptable to people with eating disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first such program. The model of development described here could be a useful template for designing further programs for other difficult-to-engage populations

Molecular epidemiological study on Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus isolates from aquafarms in Scotland over three decades

In order to obtain an insight into genomic changes and associated evolution and adaptation of Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus (IPNV) the complete coding genomes of 57 IPNV isolates collected from Scottish aquafarms from 1982-2014 were sequenced and analysed. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequenced IPNV strains showed separate clustering of genogroups I, II, III and V. IPNV isolates with genetic reassortment of segment A/B of genogroup III/II were determined. About 59% of the IPNV isolates belonged to the persistent type and 32% to the low virulent type and only one highly pathogenic strain0 (1.79%) was identified. Codon adaptation index calculations indicated that the IPNV major capsid protein VP2 has adapted to its salmonid host. Underrepresentation of CpG dinucleotides in the IPNV genome to minimise detection by the innate immunity receptors, and observed positive selection in the virulence determination sites of VP2 embedded in the variable region of the main antigenic region, suggest an immune escape mechanism driving virulence evolution. The prevalence of mostly persistent genotypes together with the assumption of adaptation and immune escape indicates that IPNV is evolving with the host

Isolation of a New Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus (IPNV) Variant from a Fish Farm in Scotland

The aquatic virus, infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), is known to infect various farmed fish, in particular salmonids, and is responsible for large economic losses in the aquaculture industry. Common practices to detect the virus include qPCR tests based on specific primers and serum neutralization tests for virus serotyping. Following the potential presence of IPNV viruses in a fish farm in Scotland containing vaccinated and IPNV-resistant fish, the common serotyping of the IPNV isolates was not made possible. This led us to determine the complete genome of the new IPNV isolates in order to investigate the cause of the serotyping discrepancy. Next-generation sequencing using the Illumina technology along with the sequence-independent single primer amplification (SISPA) approach was conducted to fully characterize the new Scottish isolates. With this approach, the full genome of two isolates, V1810–4 and V1810–6, was determined and analyzed. The potential origin of the virus isolates was investigated by phylogenetic analyses along with tridimensional and secondary protein structure analyses. These revealed the emergence of a new variant from one of the main virus serotypes, probably caused by the presence of selective pressure exerted by the vaccinated IPNV-resistant farmed fish

The Role of Aesthetics in Intentions to Use Digital Health Interventions.

Digital interventions are increasingly recognised as cost-effective treatment solutions for a number of health concerns, but adoption and use of these interventions can be low, affecting outcomes. This research sought to identify how individual aesthetic facets and perceived trust may influence perceptions toward and intentions to use an online health intervention by building on the Technology Acceptance Model, where perceived attractiveness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment are thought to predict behavioural intentions towards a website. An online questionnaire study assessed perceptions of nine stimuli varying in four aesthetic facets (simplicity, diversity, colour & craftsmanship), utilising a quasi-experimental within-subjects design with a repetition among three different groups: individuals from the general population who were shown stimuli referring to general health (GP-H) (N = 257); individuals experiencing an eating disorder and shown stimuli referring to eating disorders (ED-ED) (N = 109); and individuals from the general population who were shown stimuli referring to eating disorders (GP-ED) (N = 235). Linear mixed models demonstrated that perceptions of simplicity and craftsmanship significantly influenced perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment and trust, which in turn influenced behavioural intentions. This study demonstrates that developing the TAM model to add a further construct of perceived trust could be beneficial for digital health intervention developers. In this study, simplicity and craftsmanship were identified as the aesthetic facets with the greatest impact on user perceptions of digital health interventions