Differences in physical activity time-use composition associated with cardiometabolic risks

This study investigates the association between the overall physical activity composition of the day (sedentary behavior (SB), light intensity physical activity (LIPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)) and cardiometabolic health, and examines whether improved health can be associated with replacing SB with LIPA. A cross-sectional analysis of the Health Survey for England 2008 on N = 1411 adults was undertaken using a compositional analysis approach to examine the relationship between cardiometabolic risk biomarkers and physical activity accounting for co-dependency between relative amounts of time spent in different behavior. Daily time spent in SB, LIPA and MVPA was determined from waist-mounted accelerometry data (Actigraph GT1M) and modelled against BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, total and HDL cholesterol, HbA1c, and VO2 maximum. The composition of time spent in SB, LIPA and MVPA was statistically significantly associated with BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-hips ratio, HDL cholesterol and VO2 maximum (p < 0.001), but not HbA1c, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, or total cholesterol. Increase of relative time spent in MVPA was beneficially associated with obesity markers, HDL cholesterol, and VO2 maximum, and SB with poorer outcomes. The association of changes in LIPA depended on whether it displaced MVPA or SB. Increasing the proportion of MVPA alone may have the strongest potential association with adiposity outcomes and HDL cholesterol but similar outcomes could also be associated with a lower quantity of MVPA provided a greater quantity of SB is replaced overall with LIPA (around 10.5 min of LIPA is equivalent to 1 min of MVPA). Keywords: MVPA, Sedentary behavior, Physical activity, Compositional data analysis, Cardiometabolic health, Adipoisit

Making a difference - the appropriate use of web technology

Much has been written elsewhere about how, different Information Technology tools, can in principle be used by groups or communities to make their web sites more effective for Continued Professional Development. In practice, complex use is not often the case. In particular, three sites were studied in Scotland, which provided web facilities for the over 60s. The sites, and the communities they served, used only simple Information Technology. Nevertheless, they enabled their communities to participate effectively, on the 'right side', of the European population's 'digital divide'

Temperature dependence of the ohmic conductivity and activation energy of Pb1+y(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 thin films

The ohmic conductivity of the sol-gel derived Pb1+y(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 thin films (with the excess lead y=0.0 to 0.4) are investigated using low frequency small signal alternate current (AC) and direct current (DC) methods. Its temperature dependence shows two activation energies of 0.26 and 0.12 eV depending on temperature range and excess Pb levels. The former is associated with Pb3+ acceptor centers, while the latter could be due to a different defect level yet to be identified.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, PostScript. Submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Loss of expression of ATM is associated with worse prognosis in colorectal cancer and loss of Ku70 expression is associated with CIN

Repair of double strand DNA breaks (DSBs) is pivotal in maintaining normal cell division and disruption of this system has been shown to be a key factor in carcinogenesis. Loss of expression of the DSB repair proteins have previously been shown to be associated with poorer survival in colorectal cancer. We wished to ascertain the relationship of altered expression of the DSB repair proteins γ-H2AX (gamma-H2AX), ATM and Ku70 with biological and clinico-pathological features of colorectal cancer. 908 tumours from the VICTOR clinical trial of stage II/III colorectal cancer were analysed for expression of γ-H2AX, ATM and Ku70 using immunohistochemistry. Expression levels were correlated with CIN and with diseasefree survival, correcting for microsatellite instability, BRAF/KRAS mutation status, Dukes stage, chemo/radiotherapy, age, gender and tumour location. Down-regulated Ku70 expression was associated with chromosomal instability (p=0.029) in colorectal cancer. Reduced ATM expression was an independent marker of poor disease-free survival (HR=1.67, 95% CI 1.11-2.50, p=0.015). For Ku70, further studies are required to investigate the potential relationship of non-homologous end joining with chromosomal instability. Loss of ATM expression might serve as a biomarker of poor prognosis in colorectal cancer