Comparisons of attitudes and practices between obese and normal weight women in Taiwan

This study was designed to obtain baseline data regarding self-reported body image, attitudes toward overweight people, and dietary behaviors of normal-weight and obese women in Taiwan. Fifty obese women (BMI ≧ 27) and age-matched normal-weight women participated in this study. Written questionnaires were used for data collection. Simple frequency and t-test were used to analyze data. In general, the majority of normal-weight women perceived themselves as being heavier than their actual body weight. The normal-weight group had more high inaccurate images of their bodies than that of the obese group (72% vs. 24%). Obese and normal-weight women had similar attitudes to overweight people, but some of their attitudes showed significant differences. Obese women would prefer to consume more fried foods and drink sugar-containing foods than would normal-weight women (p < 0.05). Education about accurate perceptions of what is normal weight for women and adopting energy-diluted foods for obese women is needed in the future

A systematic review of the effectiveness of qigong exercise in supportive cancer care

PURPOSE: Qigong as a complementary and alternative modality of traditional Chinese medicine is often used by cancer patients to manage their symptoms. The aim of this systematic review is to critically evaluate the effectiveness of qigong exercise in cancer care. METHODS: Thirteen databases were searched from their inceptions through November 2010. All controlled clinical trials of qigong exercise among cancer patients were included. The strength of the evidence was evaluated for all included studies using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine Levels of Evidence. The validity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was also evaluated using the Jadad Scale. RESULTS: Twenty-three studies including eight RCTs and fifteen non-randomized controlled clinical trials (CCTs) were identified. The effects of qigong on physical and psychosocial outcomes were examined in 14 studies and the effects on biomedical outcomes were examined in 15 studies. For physical and psychosocial outcomes, it is difficult to draw a conclusion due to heterogeneity of outcome measures and variability of the results in the included studies. Among reviewed studies on biomedical outcomes, a consistent tendency appears to emerge which suggests that the patients treated with qigong exercise in combination with conventional methods had significant improvement in immune function than the patients treated with conventional methods alone. CONCLUSIONS: Due to high risk of bias and methodological problems in the majority of included studies, it is still too early to draw conclusive statements. Further vigorously designed large-scale RCTs with validated outcome measures are needed.published_or_final_versio

Relationships of the Psychological Influence of Food and Barriers to Lifestyle Change to Weight and Utilization of Online Weight Loss Tools

Abstract: Introduction: The psychological influence of food (PFS) and perceived barriers to lifestyle change (PBLC) were considered as predictors of body mass index and website tool utilization (TU) in an online weight loss program. Materials and Methodology: An archival analysis of all (N = 1361) overweight/obese (BMI M = 31.6 + 6.24 kg/m 2), adult (M = 42.0 + 10.72 years) users (82.4 % female) of an evidence-based, multidisciplinary Internet weight loss program was performed. Predictor variables included: PFS and PBLC, age, and longest maintained weight loss in relation to 1) BMI 2

Does Research on Nature of Science and Social Justice Intersect? Exploring Theoretical and Practical Convergence for Science Education

Even though enhancement of students’ understanding of social justice is thought to contribute to good citizenship, contextualising social justice in science education remains challenging for teachers because social justice is not conventionally a common feature of science teaching and learning. A separate issue in science education concerns a vast body of work on nature of science (NOS) elated to understanding of and about science. Understanding NOS is thought to contribute to scientific literacy as well as citizenship. Although social justice and NOS literatures share similar themes such as citizenship goals, the precise intersection of these literatures remains relatively understudied. In this chapter, we present an argument about how contemporary conceptualizations of NOS as well as NOS instruction might be used to promote goals related to social justice. In so doing, we aim to contribute to NOS literature by drawing on theories of social justice grounded in political philosophy. We trace the potential overlap of social justice and NOS concepts and draw out example recommendations for curriculum statements and practical teaching as well as practical teaching and learning approaches. Overall, we advocate the promotion of educational goals related to social justice through NOS instruction

The SNAPSHOT study protocol : SNAcking, Physical activity, Self-regulation, and Heart rate Over Time

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Emergence of the rtA181T/sW172* mutant increased the risk of hepatoma occurrence in patients with lamivudine-resistant chronic hepatitis B

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Development of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) rtA181T/sW172* mutant could occur during prolonged lamivudine (LAM) therapy, conferring cross resistance to adefovir. Recent studies demonstrated an increased oncogenic potential of this mutant in NIH3T3 cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical significance of this finding.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Serum samples from 123 LAM-resistant chronic hepatitis B patients were submitted for virological assays. A highly sensitive amplification created restriction enzyme site (ACRES) method was devised to detect small amounts of the rtA181T mutant in the serum. Virological factors including HBV-DNA level, genotype, precore G1896A, BCP A1762T/G1764A, rtM204I/V, rtA181T and pre-S internal deletion mutations as well as clinical variables including subsequent use of rescue drugs were submitted for outcome analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By use of the highly sensitive ACRES method, the rtA181T mutant was detectable in 10 of the 123 LAM-resistant patients. During the mean follow-up period of 26.2 ± 16.4 months (range 2 to 108 months), 3 of the 10 (30.0%) rtA181T-positive patients and 2 of the 113 (1.8%) rtA181T-negative patients developed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that the presence of rtA181T mutation (P < 0.001), age > 50 years (P = 0.001), and liver cirrhosis (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with subsequent occurrence of HCC. All 5 HCC patients belonged to the older age and cirrhosis groups.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Emergence of the rtA181T/sW172* mutant in LAM-resistant patients increased the risk of HCC development in the subsequent courses of antiviral therapy.</p

Bright ligand-activatable fluorescent protein for high-quality multicolor live-cell super-resolution microscopy

We introduce UnaG as a green-to-dark photoswitching fluorescent protein capable of high-quality super-resolution imaging with photon numbers equivalent to the brightest photoswitchable red protein. UnaG only fluoresces upon binding of a fluorogenic metabolite, bilirubin, enabling UV-free reversible photoswitching with easily controllable kinetics and low background under Epi illumination. The on- and off-switching rates are controlled by the concentration of the ligand and the excitation light intensity, respectively, where the dissolved oxygen also promotes the off-switching. The photo-oxidation reaction mechanism of bilirubin in UnaG suggests that the lack of ligand-protein covalent bond allows the oxidized ligand to detach from the protein, emptying the binding cavity for rebinding to a fresh ligand molecule. We demonstrate super-resolution single-molecule localization imaging of various subcellular structures genetically encoded with UnaG, which enables facile labeling and simultaneous multicolor imaging of live cells. UnaG has the promise of becoming a default protein for high-performance super-resolution imaging. Photoconvertible proteins occupy two color channels thereby limiting multicolour localisation microscopy applications. Here the authors present UnaG, a new green-to-dark photoswitching fluorescent protein for super-resolution imaging, whose activation is based on a noncovalent binding with bilirubin

Constraints on Nucleon Decay via "Invisible" Modes from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the lifetime for nucleon decay to ``invisible'' modes, such as n -> 3 nu. The analysis was based on a search for gamma-rays from the de-excitation of the residual nucleus that would result from the disappearance of either a proton or neutron from O16. A limit of tau_inv > 2 x 10^{29} years is obtained at 90% confidence for either neutron or proton decay modes. This is about an order of magnitude more stringent than previous constraints on invisible proton decay modes and 400 times more stringent than similar neutron modes.Comment: Update includes missing efficiency factor (limits change by factor of 2) Submitted to Physical Review Letter