Evaluating the Usability of an Exercise Guide Program for Breast Cancer Survivors

43 pages of the master's project paper, 30 slides of TCC presentation, and 30 seconds of the website video tourOne in eight U.S. women may be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. As the number of cancer survivors increases, survivorship should include, but not limited to, long-term care, recurrence prevention, and quality of life. Exercise is a key factor in achieving a satisfactory post-treatment life; nonetheless, a large population of breast cancer survivors remains physically inactive. Inadequate exercise information for survivors whose medical conditions are different from general users increases barriers to adopting physical exercise into their life. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the usability of the exercise guide program for breast cancer survivors to help them meet the exercise requirements recommended by the World Health Organization. The website was designed with Case-Based Learning and the American College of Sports Medicine Roundtable and evaluated by five principles of Nielsen’s heuristics. Ten participants evaluated the ease-of-use of the navigation and validation of the exercise plan in visual design, navigation, contents, and effectiveness of the website. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics during three iterated rounds. Results indicated the importance of simplicity and user interaction in improving user satisfaction. The further study focuses on young survivors’ unique needs in balanced exercises

Transient receptor potential canonical type 3 channels control the vascular contractility of mouse mesenteric arteries

Transient receptor potential canonical type 3 (TRPC3) channels are non-selective cation channels and regulate intracellular Ca2+ concentration. We examined the role of TRPC3 channels in agonist-, membrane depolarization (high K+)-, and mechanical (pressure)-induced vasoconstriction and vasorelaxation in mouse mesenteric arteries. Vasoconstriction and vasorelaxation of endothelial cells intact mesenteric arteries were measured in TRPC3 wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice. Calcium concentration ([Ca2+]) was measured in isolated arteries from TRPC3 WT and KO mice as well as in the mouse endothelial cell line bEnd.3. Nitric oxide (NO) production and nitrate/nitrite concentrations were also measured in TRPC3 WT and KO mice. Phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction was reduced in TRPC3 KO mice when compared to that of WT mice, but neither high K+- nor pressure-induced vasoconstriction was altered in TRPC3 KO mice. Acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation was inhibited in TRPC3 KO mice and by the selective TRPC3 blocker pyrazole-3. Acetylcholine blocked the phenylephrine-induced increase in Ca2+ ratio and then relaxation in TRPC3 WT mice but had little effect on those outcomes in KO mice. Acetylcholine evoked a Ca2+ increase in endothelial cells, which was inhibited by pyrazole-3. Acetylcholine induced increased NO release in TRPC3 WT mice, but not in KO mice. Acetylcholine also increased the nitrate/nitrite concentration in TRPC3 WT mice, but not in KO mice. The present study directly demonstrated that the TRPC3 channel is involved in agonist-induced vasoconstriction and plays important role in NO-mediated vasorelaxation of intact mesenteric arteries.Fil: Yeon, Soo-In. Yonsei University College of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Kim, Joo Young. Yonsei University College Of Medicine; . Yonsei University College of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Yeon, Dong-Soo. Kwandong University College of Medicine; Corea del SurFil: Abramowitz, Joel. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Muallem, Shmuel. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Lee, Young-Ho. Yonsei University College of Medicine; Corea del Su

ECHOGENIC LIPOSOMES FOR NITRIC OXIDE DELIVERY AND BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

Liposomes, also known as nontoxic, biodegradable, and non-immunogenic therapeutic delivery vehicles, have been proposed as a carrier for drugs and antitumor agents in cancer chemotherapy. Echogenic liposomes (ELIP) have the potential to entrap air or bioactive gas to enhance acoustic reflectivity in ultrasound and are used as a contrast agent. The innovative part of this study is based on a novel concept to encapsulate nitric oxide (NO) gas into ELIP, deliver it to breast cancer cells, and control its release via direct ultrasound exposure. Studies on the effect of NO in tumor biology have shown that a high levels of NO (\u3e 300 nM) leads to cytostasis or apoptosis by decreasing the translation of several cell cycle proteins and stimulating cancer cell death by activating the p53 pathway. The central hypothesis is that NO gas can be packaged and delivered through a delivery methodology to breast cancer cells to facilitate tumor regression with minimal systemic toxicity. The primary goal of this thesis is to develop an echogenic liposomal solution that has the ability to encapsulate NO, to release NO locally upon ultrasound exposure, and to induce breast cancer cell death. NO-containing echogenic liposomes (NO-ELIP) were prepared by the freezing-under-pressure method previously developed in our laboratory. It was necessary to evaluate stability of NO-ELIP and release of NO from NO-ELIP by measuring echogenicity using intravascular ultrasound images. Breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468, were selected to investigate the cytotoxic effects of NO liberated from NO-ELIP and their response to NO concentration. Ultrasound-triggered NO release from NO-ELIP using ultrasound activation was studied. It was demonstrated that NO-ELIP remained stable for 5 hours in bovine serum albumin. Delivery of NO using NO-ELIP induced cytotoxicity and programmed cell death of MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 after 5 hours of incubation. Enhancement of the NO-ELIP effect for therapeutic application was observed with ultrasound activation. This work demonstrates that NO-ELIP can incorporate and deliver NO to breast cancer cells providing increased NO stability and ultrasound-controlled NO release. Improved therapeutic effect with the use of NO-ELIP is expected to be found for breast cancer treatment

Accounting Conservatism, Changes In Real Investment, And Analysts Earnings Forecasts

This study examines whether sell-side analysts fully incorporate into their earnings forecasts the joint effects between accounting conservatism and changes in real investment on the quality of current earnings. Our results indicate that sell-side analysts do not fully incorporate such effects when they forecast future earnings so that they overestimate (underestimate) future earnings when current earnings are inflated (depressed) by those effects. Thus, we conclude that sell-side analysts do not recognize fully the joint effects between accounting conservatism and real activity on the earnings quality and that they need to mitigate their bias to enhance market efficiency by providing investors with a good benchmark for their earnings expectation

A STUDY ON USERS’ AWARENESS OF MOVING-PICTURE ADS IN MOVINF-PICTURE CONTENTS WITH DIFFERENT ONLINE MEDIA CHARATERISTICS

Internet plays an important role in our lives and the number of internet users keeps increasing. As internet users are exposed to ads from online media while not knowing, advertising market’s interest in moving-picture ads increases. Thus, this study comparatively measured effects of moving-picture ads inserted in news-related moving-picture contents of media companies and those of moving-picture ads inserted in moving-picture contents of professional moving-picture UCC. Advertising effects were compared between media characteristics (news and UCC) and keyword relatedness (related or unrelated keyword) and interactions of the two factors were measured. As a result, there was a significant difference in media characteristics and keyword relatedness. As for media characteristics, advertising effects of news-related moving pictures were higher than those of professional moving-picture UCC in all items. As for keyword relatedness, executing ads of keyword related to moving-picture contents was verified to have higher advertising effects than executing ads of unrelated keywords. There was no significant difference in interactions between these two factors. As interest in the moving picture advertising market increases, the necessity to introduce a method to analyze effects of moving-picture ads is raised. As for evaluation of advertising effects of moving pictures of media companies, the theme to be dealt in this paper, it is still difficult to state that moving-picture ads are facilitated in the overall market of moving picture services. So under such circumstances that verification is hard to achieve, the attempt of this study is considered to be meaningful. Keyword: media companies, UCC, moving-picture contents, moving-picture ads, advertising effects, media, new

Associations between Physical Activity and Obesity Defined by Waist-To-Height Ratio and Body Mass Index in the Korean Population

Objective This study investigated the associations between physical activity and the prevalence of obesity determined by waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body mass index (BMI). Methods This is the first study to our knowledge on physical activity and obesity using a nationally representative sample of South Korean population from The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We categorized individuals into either non-obese or obese defined by WHtR and BMI. Levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were classified as ‘Inactive’, ‘Active’, and ‘Very active’ groups based on the World Health Organization physical activity guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the associations between physical activity and the prevalence of obesity. Results Physical activity was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of obesity using both WHtR and BMI. Compared to inactive men, odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for obesity by WHtR ≥0.50 were 0.69 (0.53–0.89) in active men and 0.76 (0.63–0.91) in very active men (p for trend = 0.007). The ORs (95% CIs) for obesity by BMI ≥25 kg/m2 were 0.78 (0.59–1.03) in active men and 0.82 (0.67–0.99) in very active men (p for trend = 0.060). The ORs (95% CIs) for obesity by BMI ≥30 kg/m2 were 0.40 (0.15–0.98) in active men and 0.90 (0.52–1.56) in very active men (p for trend = 0.978). Compared to inactive women, the ORs (95% CIs) for obesity by WHtR ≥0.50 were 0.94 (0.75–1.18) in active women and 0.84 (0.71–0.998) in very active women (p for trend = 0.046). However, no significant associations were found between physical activity and obesity by BMI in women. Conclusions We found more significant associations between physical activity and obesity defined by WHtR than BMI. However, intervention studies are warranted to investigate and compare causal associations between physical activity and different obesity measures in various populations

Psychometric properties of a short self-reported measure of medication adherence among patients with hypertension treated in a busy clinical setting in Korea.

BackgroundWe examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) among adults with hypertension.MethodsA total of 373 adults with hypertension were given face-to-face interviews in 2 cardiology clinics at 2 large teaching hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. Blood pressure was measured twice, and medical records were reviewed. About one-third of the participants (n = 109) were randomly selected for a 2-week test-retest evaluation of reliability via telephone interview.ResultsInternal consistency reliability was moderate (Cronbach α = 0.56), and test-retest reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation = 0.91; P < 0.001), although a ceiling effect was detected. The correlation of MMAS-8 scores with scores for the original 4-item scale indicated that convergent validity was good (r = 0.92; P < 0.01). A low MMAS-8 score was significantly associated with poor blood pressure control (χ(2) = 29.86; P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio = 5.08; 95% CI, 2.56-10.08). Using a cut-off point of 6, sensitivity and specificity were 64.3% and 72.9%, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis identified 3 dimensions of the scale, with poor fit for the 1-dimensional construct using confirmatory factory analysis.ConclusionsThe MMAS-8 had satisfactory reliability and validity and thus might be suitable for assessment and counseling regarding medication adherence among adults with hypertension in a busy clinical setting in Korea