Attachment style and dietary self-regulation in persons at risk for type II diabetes

Introduction: Attachment theory and Self-Determination Theory were used as explanatory frameworks for understanding diet-related health behaviour for persons identified at risk for type II diabetes. The effect of attachment models of self and others on treatment motivation (autonomous, controlled, and amotivation) was examined. Furthermore, it was predicted that accurate illness perceptions of type II diabetes and ability to regulate emotions would determine autonomous motivation. Method: A sample of 116 volunteer participants (73 female, 43 male) aged between 40 to 65 years (mean age of 51.28 years) completed an online survey. The measures used were the Relationship Questionnaire, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, the Self-Regulation Scale, the Perceived Competence Scale and the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire. Results: Using hierarchical regression, models of self and others were not found to add significantly to the prediction of diet amotivation, autonomous motivation or controlled motivation for diet. Gender was found to be the most significant contributor to the prediction of controlled motivation for diet. Positive models of self (secure attachment) were associated with self-regulation, perceived competence to make dietary changes and lower amotivation. Negative models of self and others (fearful, dismissing attachment) were not related to treatment motivation to make dietary changes. Conclusions: An attachment framework does not appear to be useful in understanding treatment motivation for persons at risk for Type II diabetes. This finding needs to be replicated with other chronic illnesses and has significance for self-management

TRAIL, DR5 and Caspase 3-dependent Apoptosis in Vessels of Diseased Human Temporomandibular Joint Disc. An Immunohistochemical Study

To evaluate the apoptosis involvement in the angiogenesis as a self-limiting process in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) degenerated disc vessels, we assessed, by immunohistochemistry, the detection of TRAIL, its death receptor DR5 and caspase 3. TRAIL, its death receptor DR5 and caspase 3 expression were studied by immunohistochemistry in 15 TMJ discs displaced without reduction and in 4 unaffected discs. These apoptosis molecules were detected in the intima and media layers of newly formed vessels affected discs. In conclusion, vessels apoptosis activation in TMJ disc with ID could be regarded as a self-limiting process that try to leads to vessel regression; in this way an inhibition of angiogenic vessels may prove a key strategy in limiting pathological angiogenesis, by cutting off blood supply to tumors, or by reducing harmful inflammation

TinyML for UWB-radar based presence detection

Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) is a novel research area aiming at designing machine and deep learning models and algorithms able to be executed on tiny devices such as Internet-of-Things units, edge devices or embedded systems. In this paper we introduce, for the first time in the literature, a TinyML solution for presence-detection based on UltrawideBand (UWB) radar, which is a particularly promising radar technology for pervasive systems. To achieve this goal we introduce a novel family of tiny convolutional neural networks for the processing of UWB-radar data characterized by a reduced memory footprint and computational demand so as to satisfy the severe technological constraints of tiny devices. From this technological perspective, UWB-radars are particularly relevant in the presence-detection scenario since they do not acquire sensitive information of users (e.g., images, videos or audio), hence preserving their privacy.The proposed solution has been successfully tested on a public-available benchmark for the indoor presence detection and on a real-world application of in-car presence detection

Transgender experience of mental healthcare in Australia

Emerging global research suggests that transgender people experience poorer physical and mental health outcomes, as well as higher rates of discrimination in healthcare settings. To explore this in an Australian context, a qualitative research project was undertaken to explore the helpful and unhelpful therapy experiences of six transgender Australians. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, four master themes emerged from the interview data, two of which are explored in depth. The research brings valuable insight into working towards positive outcomes with transgender clients with suggestions for changes in clinical practice for mental healthcare providers, education, training and future research

Psychological well-being post-bariatric surgery

This study investigated whether patients who receive psychological counselling have better physical and mental well-being post-bariatric surgery. Eighty-eight persons (81 female, 7 male, M age 43.99 years) who had undergone weight loss surgery were recruited from bariatric surgery and obesity online support groups to answer an electronic survey which included the Health Survey Short Form (SF-12) to assess mental and physical well-being. Patients who had attended ≥ 6 counselling sessions after Gastric Sleeve surgery had better physical well-being, compared to those who attended <6 sessions. Patients who attended between one and four psychological counselling sessions had significantly higher mental health component scores. Psychological support for the mental health needs of obese patients post-surgery requires more attention to ensure long-term weight loss success

Individual perceptions of physical activity in a community-level initiative in North Queensland, Australia

Introduction: Community-level health initiatives advertise the benefits of physical activity, however, it is unknown how personally relevant these promoted benefits are to those who take part. The purpose of this study was to describe the personal experience of participation in the health programs, and to identify how appropriate the participants felt the programs were. Methods: Participants were rural North Queensland residents participating in Australian federal government funded health initiative programs offered by their local council. There were 25 participants (10 males, 15 females) whose ages ranged from 47 to 79. Twenty-one were in the 12-week Diabetes Australia Beat It program, and four participants were in a 10-week water aerobics program. Qualitative data was provided by participants during semi-structured interviews which asked about current exercise habits, reason for taking part in the program and opinions about the program and facilitators. Results: Thematic Analysis was used to analyze the data. It was an inductive analysis that assessed semantic themes from a realist perspective. The themes fond detail the personal definition of exercise (Exercise to me), the physical benefits of exercise (Keep yourself, Future fitness, Observed changes), and the psychological benefits of exercise (socializing, challenging oneself, sense of achievement). Conclusions: The benefits that participants felt they gained from the physical fitness program, and their reasons for attending were different to the programs' expected outcomes. Programs should aim to appeal and cater to the needs of a wide group of people who have limited access to exercise facilities and health behaviour programs

Individual perceptions of physical activity in a community-level initiative in North Queensland, Australia

Introduction: Community-level health initiatives advertise the benefits of physical activity, however, it is unknown how personally relevant these promoted benefits are to those who take part. The purpose of this study was to describe the personal experience of participation in the health programs, and to identify how appropriate the participants felt the programs were. Methods: Participants were rural North Queensland residents participating in Australian federal government funded health initiative programs offered by their local council. There were 25 participants (10 males, 15 females) whose ages ranged from 47 to 79. Twenty-one were in the 12-week Diabetes Australia Beat It program, and four participants were in a 10-week water aerobics program. Qualitative data was provided by participants during semi-structured interviews which asked about current exercise habits, reason for taking part in the program and opinions about the program and facilitators. Results: Thematic Analysis was used to analyze the data. It was an inductive analysis that assessed semantic themes from a realist perspective. The themes fond detail the personal definition of exercise (Exercise to me), the physical benefits of exercise (Keep yourself, Future fitness, Observed changes), and the psychological benefits of exercise (socializing, challenging oneself, sense of achievement). Conclusions: The benefits that participants felt they gained from the physical fitness program, and their reasons for attending were different to the programs' expected outcomes. Programs should aim to appeal and cater to the needs of a wide group of people who have limited access to exercise facilities and health behaviour programs

Rapporto sulle misure di Mercurio effettuate sull’Etna nel periodo Novembre 2005 – Marzo 2006 e loro raffronto con altri parametri geochimici

traccia nella troposfera, tende ad accumularsi nei processi biologici che seguono la sua deposizione. Il suo lungo tempo di residenza in atmosfera (circa 1 anno) combinato con la sua elevata tossicità, rendono tale elemento di primaria importanza per l’impatto ambientale, soprattutto nelle aree di maggiore emissione. Le emissioni di mercurio da aree vulcaniche attive sono considerate una delle principali sorgenti di mercurio verso l’atmosfera terrestre, insieme con le emissioni antropogeniche legate all’attività mineraria per l’estrazione del cinabro. L’entità del contributo vulcanico a scala regionale e globale rimane tuttavia altamente incerto. Le emissioni vulcaniche possono essere ricche in mercurio elementare gassoso (Hg0), mercurio gassoso reattivo (HgII) presente soprattutto come solfuro ed altre forme di mercurio che devono essere ancora determinate (Symonds et al., 1992; Nicholson, 1993; Barnes & Seward, 1997). L’Etna rappresenta una delle maggiori sorgenti potenzialmente in grado di fornire grandi quantità di Hg in atmosfera, grazie alle sue notevoli emissioni gassose dal plume craterico e dai fianchi (e.g., Ferrara et al., 2000). A partire dalla metà di Novembre 2005 si è reso disponibile un analizzatore portatile della concentrazione di mercurio in fase gassosa Lumex RA-915+ (Figura 1), in visione temporanea grazie all’accordo tra il distributore per l’Italia (Loccioni srl, Ancona) e la sezione di Catania dell’INGV ottenuto su interessamento personale di M. Burton. L’analizzatore si basa sul principio della spettrometria differenziale Zeeman di assorbimento atomico, ed utilizza la modulazione ad alta frequenza della polarizzazione della luce. Lo strumento è in grado di misurare concentrazioni di Hg in aria o in fase gassosa da 0 a 20.000 ng m-3 nella modalità a cella multi-percorso (limite di rilevabilità = 2 ng m-3), oppure da 500 a 200.000 ng m-3 nella modalità a cella singolo-percorso (limite di rilevabilità = 500 ng m-3). La misura viene effettuata mediante aspirazione del campione di aria o di gas all’interno dello strumento attraverso un tubo che, nel caso di gas del suolo o gorgogliante in acqua, viene opportunamente collegato, rispettivamente, ad una sonda inserita nel suolo o ad un imbuto posto sul punto di campionamento. Nel corso degli ultimi due mesi lo strumento è stato utilizzato sull’Etna per misure di Hg nell’aria in varie zone del vulcano, in gas del suolo emessi in due siti ubicati presso Santa Venerina e presso Paternò, in gas fumarolici presso la Torre del Filosofo e in gas gorgoglianti emessi dalle polle d’acqua delle Salinelle dello Stadio di Paternò. Purtroppo, le spesso avverse condizioni meteorologiche che hanno caratterizzato questo periodo, hanno impedito un più esteso utilizzo dell’analizzatore, così come era stato inizialmente preventivat

SO2 flux from Stromboli during the 2007 eruption: Results from the FLAME network and traverse measurements

SO2 fluxes emitted by Stromboli during the 27th February – 2nd April 2007 effusive eruption were regularly measured both by an automatic network of scanning ultraviolet spectrometers and by traverse easurements conducted by boat and helicopter. The results from both methodologies agree reasonably well, providing a validation for the automatic flux calculations produced by the network. Approximately 22,000 tonnes of SO2 were degassed during the course of the 35 day eruption at an average rate of 620 tonnes per day. Such a degassing rate is much higher than that normally observed (150-200 t/d), because the cross-sectional area occupied by ascending degassed magma is much greater than normal during the effusion, as descending, degassed magma that would normally occupy a large volume of the conduit is absent. We propose that the hydrostatically controlled magma level within Stromboli’s conduit is the main control on eruptive activity, and that a high effusion rate led to the depressurisation of an intermediate magma reservoir, creating a decrease in the magma level until it dropped beneath the eruptive fissure, causing the rapid end of the eruption. A significant decrease in SO2 flux was observed prior to a paroxysm on 15th March 2007, suggesting that choking of the gas flowing in the conduit may have induced a coalescence event, and consequent rapid ascent of gas and magma that produced the explosion