Physical activity patterns in a nationally representative sample of adults in Ireland

Original article can be found at: http://journals.cambridge.org/ Copyright - the authors. DOI: 10.1079/PHN2001192Objective To evaluate habitual levels of physical activity in a nationally representative sample of adults in Ireland. Design Cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire. Usual levels of work, recreational and household activities were evaluated in relation to anthropometric, demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The amount and intensity of all activities were quantified by assigning metabolic equivalents (METS) to each activity. Setting Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, 1997–1999. Subjects Random sample of 1379 adults aged 18–64 years. Results Men were approximately twice as active in work and recreational activity (139.7 ± 83.9 METS) as women (68.5 ± 49.8 METS; P 28kg m−2) or obese (BMI > 30kg m−2). Fewer obese subjects reported higher levels of work and leisure activities. However, a higher percentage of obese women reported participation in the higher levels of household activities. Participation rates in recreational activities were low. Walking was the most important leisure activity of both men (41%) and women (60%). In terms of hours per week spent in vigorous physical activity, men were more active than women, professional and skilled non-manual women were more active than women in other social classes, and younger subjects (aged 18–35 years) were more active than older subjects. Conclusions The holistic approach used in the assessment of physical activity in this study has revealed important and subtle differences in the activity patterns of men and women. Failure to fully characterise the respective activity patterns of men and women could lead to ill-informed public health policy aimed at promoting and sustaining lifetime habits of physical activity. The results suggest that simple population-focused programmes to promote physical activity are unlikely to offer the same chance of long-term success as more sensitive and individualised strategies.Peer reviewe

Sums of products of Ramanujan sums

The Ramanujan sum $c_n(k)$ is defined as the sum of $k$-th powers of the primitive $n$-th roots of unity. We investigate arithmetic functions of $r$ variables defined as certain sums of the products $c_{m_1}(g_1(k))...c_{m_r}(g_r(k))$, where $g_1,..., g_r$ are polynomials with integer coefficients. A modified orthogonality relation of the Ramanujan sums is also derived.Comment: 13 pages, revise

A Case Building Ciliate in the Genus Pseudoblepharisma Found in Subtropical Fresh Water

The genus Pseudoblepharisma is currently comprised of only one species, P. tenue, and one variant, P. tenue var. viride, both described as free‐living ciliates thriving in oxygen depleted freshwater habitats of Europe. Here we report on this genus being discovered from subtropical freshwa-ters of Florida, USA. The Florida strain diverges from the P. tenue by being much larger, as well as having a far higher density of intracellular symbiotic green algae, resembling P. tenue var. viride. Unlike its European counterparts, the North American strain was observed to build a lorica, likely useful for protection and feeding; this has not been previously described for this genus. In contrast to P. tenue, the Florida strain does not have endosymbiotic purple bacteria. Despite large distances between sampling zones, the species is a close match at a morphological level to Pseudoblepharisma tenue var. viride. We provide the first 18S rRNA gene sequence for this species, allowing future in-vestigations into the biogeography of this genus. As intensive sampling efforts continue to increase, cryptic microbial species will continue to be recorded from diverse freshwater habitats at a global scale

What is 3C 324?

We report ground based and HST observations of the z=1.206 radio galaxy 3C 324, a prototypical example of the radio-optical ``alignment effect.'' While infrared images shows a simple, round object reminiscent of a giant elliptical galaxy, the HST images reveal a spectacular, linear chain of UV-bright subcomponents closely aligned with the radio axis. In light of the available data, we consider various scenarios to explain the properties of 3C 324, as well as evidence for the presence of dust which may obscure the central active nucleus and scatter its light to produce the polarized, aligned continuum seen in the rest-frame UV.Comment: 9 pages, uuencoded gzipped postscript. To appear in ``Galaxies in the Young Universe,'' ed. H. Hippelein, Springer Verlag. Revised version (hopefully) corrects postscript error which garbled the last pag

Probing the time dependence of dark energy

A new method to investigate a possible time-dependence of the dark energy equation of state $w$ is proposed. We apply this methodology to two of the most recent data sets of type Ia supernova (Union2 and SDSS) and the baryon acoustic oscillation peak at $z = 0.35$. For some combinations of these data, we show that there is a clear departure from the standard $\Lambda$CDM model at intermediary redshifts, although a non-evolving dark energy component ($dw/dz = 0$) cannot be ruled out by these data. The approach developed here may be useful to probe a possible evolving dark energy component when applied to upcoming observational data.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

BMS field theory and holography in asymptotically flat space-times

We explore the holographic principle in the context of asymptotically flat space-times by means of the asymptotic symmetry group of this class of space-times, the so called Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) group. In particular we construct a (free) field theory living at future (or past) null infinity invariant under the action of the BMS group. Eventually we analyse the quantum aspects of this theory and we explore how to relate the correlation functions in the boundary and in the bulk.Comment: 36 pages, updated introduction, conclusions and references; added a discussion on Schwartzschild background in section

Study protocol; thyroid hormone replacement for untreated older adults with subclinical hypothyroidism - a randomised placebo controlled trial (TRUST)

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common condition in elderly people, defined as elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with normal circulating free thyroxine (fT4). Evidence is lacking about the effect of thyroid hormone treatment. We describe the protocol of a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Levothyroxine treatment for SCH. Methods: Participants are community-dwelling subjects aged ≥65 years with SCH, diagnosed by elevated TSH levels (≥4.6 and ≤19.9 mU/L) on a minimum of two measures ≥ three months apart, with fT4 levels within laboratory reference range. The study is a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel group trial, starting with levothyroxine 50 micrograms daily (25 micrograms in subjects <50Kg body weight or known coronary heart disease) with titration of dose in the active treatment group according to TSH level, and a mock titration in the placebo group. The primary outcomes are changes in two domains (hypothyroid symptoms and fatigue / vitality) on the thyroid-related quality of life questionnaire (ThyPRO) at one year. The study has 80% power (at p = 0.025, 2-tailed) to detect a change with levothyroxine treatment of 3.0% on the hypothyroid scale and 4.1% on the fatigue / vitality scale with a total target sample size of 750 patients. Secondary outcomes include general health-related quality of life (EuroQol), fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, handgrip strength, executive cognitive function (Letter Digit Coding Test), basic and instrumental activities of daily living, haemoglobin, blood pressure, weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Patients are monitored for specific adverse events of interest including incident atrial fibrillation, heart failure and bone fracture. Discussion: This large multicentre RCT of levothyroxine treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism is powered to detect clinically relevant change in symptoms / quality of life and is likely to be highly influential in guiding treatment of this common condition. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01660126; registered 8th June 2012

Towards Activity Context using Software Sensors

Service-Oriented Computing delivers the promise of configuring and reconfiguring software systems to address user's needs in a dynamic way. Context-aware computing promises to capture the user's needs and hence the requirements they have on systems. The marriage of both can deliver ad-hoc software solutions relevant to the user in the most current fashion. However, here it is a key to gather information on the users' activity (that is what they are doing). Traditionally any context sensing was conducted with hardware sensors. However, software can also play the same role and in some situations will be more useful to sense the activity of the user. Furthermore they can make use of the fact that Service-oriented systems exchange information through standard protocols. In this paper we discuss our proposed approach to sense the activity of the user making use of software

Evaluating a novel cervical orthosis, the Sheffield Support Snood, in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease with neck weakness

Current practice and guidelines recommend the use of neck orthoses for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to compensate for neck weakness and to provide surrogate neck control. However, available options are frequently described by patients as restrictive and unsuitable and there was a need for a new device that addressed the needs of people with ALS. This project utilized a co-design process to develop a new neck orthosis that was more flexible yet supportive. Following development of a prototype device, a mixed methods cohort study was undertaken with patients and carers, in order to evaluate the new orthosis. Twenty-six patients were recruited to the study, with 20 of these completing all phases of data collection. Participants described the impact of neck weakness on their life and limitations of existing supports. Evaluation of the new orthosis identified key beneficial features: notably, increased support while providing a greater range of movement, flexibility of use, and improved appearance and comfort. In conclusion, the results of this evaluation highlight the value of this alternative option for people with ALS, and potentially other patient groups who require a neck orthosis

Reversible maps and composites of involutions in groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line

An element of a group is reversible if it is conjugate to its own inverse, and it is strongly reversible if it is conjugate to its inverse by an involution. A group element is strongly reversible if and only if it can be expressed as a composite of two involutions. In this paper the reversible maps, the strongly reversible maps, and those maps that can be expressed as a composite of involutions are determined in certain groups of piecewise linear homeomorphisms of the real line