Benefits and barriers of cancer practitioners discussing physical activity with their cancer patients

Our aim was to synthesise the existing empirical literature and theoretical perspectives on the physical activity (PA) promotion practices and determinants of cancer clinicians and health professionals. We conducted a narrative review of theory and evidence to develop practice recommendations for improving the promotion of PA to cancer patients. Surveyed health professionals were aware of many benefits of PA for their cancer patients, although only ~40 % promoted PA to selected cancer patients. Walking was the most commonly promoted form of PA, with this promoted to assist patients control their weight and cardiovascular health risk. Barriers to promotion of PA included lack of time and knowledge of PA and behaviour change skills. Health professionals appear interested in promoting PA to their cancer patients, yet encounter several barriers. Further research is warranted to assist health professionals improve their PA promotion. An adapted reflective-impulsive model of social behaviour shows promise for assisting health professionals overcome barriers and provides an evidence-based theoretical framework for improving communication with patients. Universities, hospitals and/or health-care accreditation organisations also have important roles to play in assisting health professionals improve their promotion of PA to patients

NASA's Global Change Master Directory: Discover and Access Earth Science Data Sets, Related Data Services, and Climate Diagnostics

NASA's Global Change Master Directory provides the scientific community with the ability to discover, access, and use Earth science data, data-related services, and climate diagnostics worldwide. The GCMD offers descriptions of Earth science data sets using the Directory Interchange Format (DIF) metadata standard; Earth science related data services are described using the Service Entry Resource Format (SERF); and climate visualizations are described using the Climate Diagnostic (CD) standard. The DIF, SERF and CD standards each capture data attributes used to determine whether a data set, service, or climate visualization is relevant to a user's needs. Metadata fields include: title, summary, science keywords, service keywords, data center, data set citation, personnel, instrument, platform, quality, related URL, temporal and spatial coverage, data resolution and distribution information. In addition, nine valuable sets of controlled vocabularies have been developed to assist users in normalizing the search for data descriptions. An update to the GCMD's search functionality is planned to further capitalize on the controlled vocabularies during database queries. By implementing a dynamic keyword "tree", users will have the ability to search for data sets by combining keywords in new ways. This will allow users to conduct more relevant and efficient database searches to support the free exchange and re-use of Earth science data. http://gcmd.nasa.gov

Best available technologies for the heat and cooling market in the European Union

Every year, over 40% of the total energy consumed in Europe is used for the generation of heat for either domestic or industrial purposes whereas the cooling demand is growing exponentially. The importance of the heat and cooling sector is underlined in the EU energy policy initiatives. This emphasize the role of technologies based on renewable energy sources combined with high-efficiency energy technologies, to meet the heat and cooling demand in Europe more sustainably in the future. In this context, the JRC led study, which was undertaken with two partners , to identify the current best available technologies (BATs) which can contribute to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the CO2 emission in the heat and cooling market in the EU.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

Easing the Discovery of NASA and International Near-Real-Time Data Using the Global Change Master Directory

The Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) provides an extensive directory of descriptive and spatial information about data sets and data-related services, which are relevant to Earth science research. The directory's data discovery components include controlled keywords, free-text searches, and map/date searches. The GCMD portal for NASA's Land Atmosphere Near-real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) data products leverages these discovery features by providing users a direct route to NASA's Near-Real-Time (NRT) collections. This portal offers direct access to collection entries by instrument name, informing users of the availability of data. After a relevant collection entry is found through the GCMD's search components, the "Get Data" URL within the entry directs the user to the desired data. http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/p/gcmd_lance_nrt

Beliefs, barriers, and promotion practices of Indian nurses' regarding healthy eating for cancer survivors in a tertiary care hospital-A cross sectional survey

PURPOSE: To describe the beliefs, barriers and promotion practices of Indian nurses' regarding healthy eating (HE) behaviours amongst cancer survivors, and to gain insights into whether their educational qualifications might affect the promotion of HE.METHODS: Data was gathered using a validated questionnaire, 388 of the approached 400 nurses who worked at a tertiary care hospital in India gave informed consent to participate in the study. The Mann-Whitney U test and the Chi square analysis (for continuous and categorical variables respectively) were performed to carry out sub-group comparisons based on the qualification of the nurses i.e., Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSc) and General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM).RESULTS: The nurses believed that dieticians/nutritionists were primarily responsible for educating the cancer survivors regarding HE. HE was promoted by nurses' relatively equally across multiple treatment stages ("during" treatment 24.4%, "post" treatment 23.1%; and "pre" treatment 22.3%). Nurses' believed HE practices had numerous benefits, with improved health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (75.7%), and mental health (73.9%) being the most frequent responses. The most frequently cited barriers by the nurses in promoting HE were lack of time (22.2%), and lack of adequate support structure (19.9%). Sub-group comparisons generally revealed no significant difference between the BSc and GNM nurses in their perceptions regarding HE promotion to cancer survivors. Exceptions were how the GNM group had significantly greater beliefs regarding whether HE can "reduce risk of cancer occurrence" ( p = 0.004) and "whether or not I promote HE is entirely up to me" ( p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: The nurses in India believe in the promotion of HE practices among cancer survivors across various stages of cancer treatments. However, they do face a range of barriers in their attempt to promote HE. Overcoming these barriers might facilitate effective promotion of HE among cancer survivors and help improve survivorship outcomes.IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Indian nurses employed in the two tertiary care hospitals wish to promote HE among cancer survivors, but require further knowledge and support services for more effective promotion of HE.</p

PKD Phosphorylation as Novel Pathway of K_V11.1 Regulation

Background/Aims: The voltage-gated potassium channel KV11.1 has been originally cloned from the brain and is expressed in a variety of tissues. The role of phosphorylation for channel function is a matter of debate. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the extent and role of protein kinase D mediated phosphorylation. Methods: We employed mass spectrometry, whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology, confocal microscopy, site-directed mutagenesis, and western blotting. Results: Using brain tissue from rat and mouse, we mapped several phosphorylated KV11.1 residues by LC-MS mass spectrometry and identified protein kinase D (PKD1) as possible regulatory kinase. Co-expression of KV11.1 with PKD1 reduced current amplitudes without altering protein levels or surface expression of the channel. Based on LC-MS results from in vivo and HEK293 cell experiments we chose four KV11.1 mutant candidates for further functional analysis. Ablation of the putative PKD phosphorylation site in the mutant S284A increased the maximal current indicating S284 as a main PKD target in KV11.1. Conclusions: Our data might help mitigating a long-standing controversy in the field regarding PKC regulation of KV11.1. We propose that PKD1 mediates the PKC effects on KV11.1 and we found that PKD targets S284 in the N-terminus of the channel

Reliability and validity of clinically accessible smartphone applications to measure joint range of motion: A systematic review

Measuring joint range of motion is an important skill for many allied health professionals. While the Universal Goniometer is the most commonly utilised clinical tool for measuring joint range of motion, the evolution of smartphone technology and applications (apps) provides the clinician with more measurement options. However, the reliability and validity of these smartphones and apps is still somewhat uncertain. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding the intra- and inter-rater reliability and validity of smartphones and apps to measure joint range of motion. Eligible studies were published in English peer-reviewed journals with full text available, involving the assessment of reliability and/or validity of a non-videographic smartphone app to measure joint range of motion in participants >18 years old. An electronic search using PubMed, Medline via Ovid, EMBASE, CINAHL, and SPORTSDiscus was performed. The risk of bias was assessed using a standardised appraisal tool. Twenty-three of the eligible 25 studies exceeded the minimum 60% score to be classified as a low risk of bias, although 3 of the 13 criteria were not achieved in >50% of the studies. Most of the studies demonstrated adequate intra-rater or inter-rater reliability and/or validity for >50% of the range of motion tests across all joints assessed. However, this level of evidence appeared weaker for absolute (e.g. mean difference ± limit of agreement, minimal detectable change) than relative (e.g. intraclass correlation, correlation) measures; and for spinal rotation than spinal extension, flexion and lateral flexion. Our results provide clinicians with sufficient evidence to support the use of smartphones and apps in place of goniometers to measure joint motion. Future research should address some methodological limitations of the literature, especially including the inclusion of absolute and not just relative reliability and validity statistics

Morbid Obesity as a Risk Factor for Hospitalization and Death Due to 2009 Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) Disease

BACKGROUND: Severe illness due to 2009 pandemic A(H1N1) infection has been reported among persons who are obese or morbidly obese. We assessed whether obesity is a risk factor for hospitalization and death due to 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1), independent of chronic medical conditions considered by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to increase the risk of influenza-related complications. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a case-cohort design to compare cases of hospitalizations and deaths from 2009 pandemic A(H1N1) influenza occurring between April-July, 2009, with a cohort of the U.S. population estimated from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES); pregnant women and children <2 years old were excluded. For hospitalizations, we defined categories of relative weight by body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)); for deaths, obesity or morbid obesity was recorded on medical charts, and death certificates. Odds ratio (OR) of being in each BMI category was determined; normal weight was the reference category. Overall, 361 hospitalizations and 233 deaths included information to determine BMI category and presence of ACIP-recognized medical conditions. Among >or=20 year olds, hospitalization was associated with being morbidly obese (BMI>or=40) for individuals with ACIP-recognized chronic conditions (OR = 4.9, 95% CI 2.4-9.9) and without ACIP-recognized chronic conditions (OR = 4.7, 95%CI 1.3-17.2). Among 2-19 year olds, hospitalization was associated with being underweight (BMI<or=5(th) percentile) among those with (OR = 12.5, 95%CI 3.4-45.5) and without (OR = 5.5, 95%CI 1.3-22.5) ACIP-recognized chronic conditions. Death was not associated with BMI category among individuals 2-19 years old. Among individuals aged >or=20 years without ACIP-recognized chronic medical conditions death was associated with obesity (OR = 3.1, 95%CI: 1.5-6.6) and morbid obesity (OR = 7.6, 95%CI 2.1-27.9). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings support observations that morbid obesity may be associated with hospitalization and possibly death due to 2009 pandemic H1N1 infection. These complications could be prevented by early antiviral therapy and vaccination