The effect of training in reduced energy density eating and food self-monitoring accuracy on weight loss maintenance

Background: Failure to maintain weight losses in lifestyle change programs continues to be a major problem and warrants investigation of innovative approaches to weight control.Objective: The goal of this study was to compare two novel group interventions, both aimed at improving weight loss maintenance, with a control group.Methods and Procedures: A total of 103 women lost weight on a meal replacement&ndash;supplemented diet and were then randomized to one of three conditions for the 14-week maintenance phase: cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT); CBT with an enhanced food monitoring accuracy (EFMA) program; or these two interventions plus a reduced energy density eating (REDE) program. Assessments were conducted periodically through an 18-month postintervention. Outcome measures included weight and self-reported dietary intake. Data were analyzed using completers only as well as baseline-carried-forward imputation.Results: Participants lost an average of 7.6 plusminus 2.6 kg during the weight loss phase and 1.8 plusminus 2.3 kg during the maintenance phase. Results do not suggest that the EFMA intervention was successful in improving food monitoring accuracy. The REDE group decreased the energy density (ED) of their diets more so than the other two groups. However, neither the REDE nor the EFMA condition showed any advantage in weight loss maintenance. All groups regained weight between 6- and 18-month follow-ups.Discussion: Although no incremental weight maintenance benefit was observed in the EFMA or EFMA + REDE groups, the improvement in the ED of the REDE group\u27s diet, if shown to be sustainable in future studies, could have weight maintenance benefits.<br /

Projected sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment to the 0νββ decay of Xe 136

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will enable a neutrinoless double β decay search in parallel to the main science goal of discovering dark matter particle interactions. We report the expected LZ sensitivity to Xe136 neutrinoless double β decay, taking advantage of the significant (&gt;600 kg) Xe136 mass contained within the active volume of LZ without isotopic enrichment. After 1000 live-days, the median exclusion sensitivity to the half-life of Xe136 is projected to be 1.06×1026 years (90% confidence level), similar to existing constraints. We also report the expected sensitivity of a possible subsequent dedicated exposure using 90% enrichment with Xe136 at 1.06×1027 years

Simulations of events for the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment

The LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter search aims to achieve a sensitivity to the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross-section down to (1–2)×10−12 pb at a WIMP mass of 40 GeV/c2. This paper describes the simulations framework that, along with radioactivity measurements, was used to support this projection, and also to provide mock data for validating reconstruction and analysis software. Of particular note are the event generators, which allow us to model the background radiation, and the detector response physics used in the production of raw signals, which can be converted into digitized waveforms similar to data from the operational detector. Inclusion of the detector response allows us to process simulated data using the same analysis routines as developed to process the experimental data

Mutational Biases and Selective Forces Shaping the Structure of Arabidopsis Genes

Recently features of gene expression profiles have been associated with structural parameters of gene sequences in organisms representing a diverse set of taxa. The emerging picture indicates that natural selection, mediated by gene expression profiles, has a significant role in determining genic structures. However the current situation is less clear in plants as the available data indicates that the effect of natural selection mediated by gene expression is very weak. Moreover, the direction of the patterns in plants appears to contradict those observed in animal genomes. In the present work we analized expression data for >18000 Arabidopsis genes retrieved from public datasets obtained with different technologies (MPSS and high density chip arrays) and compared them with gene parameters. Our results show that the impact of natural selection mediated by expression on genes sequences is significant and distinguishable from the effects of regional mutational biases. In addition, we provide evidence that the level and the breadth of gene expression are related in opposite ways to many structural parameters of gene sequences. Higher levels of expression abundance are associated with smaller transcripts, consistent with the need to reduce costs of both transcription and translation. Expression breadth, however, shows a contrasting pattern, i.e. longer genes have higher breadth of expression, possibly to ensure those structural features associated with gene plasticity. Based on these results, we propose that the specific balance between these two selective forces play a significant role in shaping the structure of Arabidopsis genes

Identification of Radiopure Titanium for the LZ Dark Matter Experiment and Future Rare Event Searches

The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions with a detector containing a total of 10 tonnes of liquid xenon within a double-vessel cryostat. The large mass and proximity of the cryostat to the active detector volume demand the use of material with extremely low intrinsic radioactivity. We report on the radioassay campaign conducted to identify suitable metals, the determination of factors limiting radiopure production, and the selection of titanium for construction of the LZ cryostat and other detector components. This titanium has been measured with activities of $^{238}$U$_{e}$~$<$1.6~mBq/kg, $^{238}$U$_{l}$~$<$0.09~mBq/kg, $^{232}$Th$_{e}$~$=0.28\pm 0.03$~mBq/kg, $^{232}$Th$_{l}$~$=0.25\pm 0.02$~mBq/kg, $^{40}$K~$<$0.54~mBq/kg, and $^{60}$Co~$<$0.02~mBq/kg (68\% CL). Such low intrinsic activities, which are some of the lowest ever reported for titanium, enable its use for future dark matter and other rare event searches. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to assess the expected background contribution from the LZ cryostat with this radioactivity. In 1,000 days of WIMP search exposure of a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, the cryostat will contribute only a mean background of $0.160\pm0.001$(stat)$\pm0.030$(sys) counts.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Using Microsatellites to Understand the Physical Distribution of Recombination on Soybean Chromosomes

Soybean is a major crop that is an important source of oil and proteins. A number of genetic linkage maps have been developed in soybean. Specifically, hundreds of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been developed and mapped. Recent sequencing of the soybean genome resulted in the generation of vast amounts of genetic information. The objectives of this investigation were to use SSR markers in developing a connection between genetic and physical maps and to determine the physical distribution of recombination on soybean chromosomes. A total of 2,188 SSRs were used for sequence-based physical localization on soybean chromosomes. Linkage information was used from different maps to create an integrated genetic map. Comparison of the integrated genetic linkage maps and sequence based physical maps revealed that the distal 25% of each chromosome was the most marker-dense, containing an average of 47.4% of the SSR markers and 50.2% of the genes. The proximal 25% of each chromosome contained only 7.4% of the markers and 6.7% of the genes. At the whole genome level, the marker density and gene density showed a high correlation (R2) of 0.64 and 0.83, respectively with the physical distance from the centromere. Recombination followed a similar pattern with comparisons indicating that recombination is high in telomeric regions, though the correlation between crossover frequency and distance from the centromeres is low (R2 = 0.21). Most of the centromeric regions were low in recombination. The crossover frequency for the entire soybean genome was 7.2%, with extremes much higher and lower than average. The number of recombination hotspots varied from 1 to 12 per chromosome. A high correlation of 0.83 between the distribution of SSR markers and genes suggested close association of SSRs with genes. The knowledge of distribution of recombination on chromosomes may be applied in characterizing and targeting genes