Introduction; An Overview: Energy and Policy

Includes an introduction to the theme of the journal issue and an overview of the problem. Introduction: This issue of Carolina planning focuses on energy. The magazine's coverage includes a number of policy alternatives pertinent to state, local, and national decision-makers in their deliberation over the energy problem. To provide some background information, the periodical begins with a short look at energy patterns and the institutional arrangements presently existing in North Carolina to manage resources. Next, an article and comment discusses national and state strategies for combatting a future petroleum crisis like the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Then, the benefits of a peak load pricing scheme are explained and proposed for North Carolina utilities. Following, are three articles on two widely discussed alternative energy forms: the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor and solar energy. The magazine concludes with an elaboration on energy conservation and the special role local governments might play in the effort. This collection, we feel, provides a broadly-based, yet in-depth assessment of important aspects of the state's and nation's energy problems, from the point of view of the planner, government official, and citizen. An Overview: Over the past three decades, North Carolina, like the rest of the nation, has seen a spectacular rise in the consumption of energy. What are the major forms of energy use in North Carolina? Basically, the state's power comes from four sources: electricity (which is generated from coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, and fuel oil power), natural gas, gasoline, and fuel oil. How do the trends for each source measure up, and what plans are being made for management of the state's energy resources? The following description presents a brief overview of the existing situation, in terms of demand and supply of existing resources, and their management, in order to provide background information for this energy issue

Cardiorespiratory fitness, adiposity and incident asthma in adults

Available large-scale prospective studies on adiposity and asthma used body mass index as an indicator of adiposity. Studies involving more accurate measures of adiposity, such as body fat percentage (BF%), are needed to confirm or contrast body mass index - related results. Cardiorepiratory fitness is a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality, and the available literature suggests that moderate-high cardiorespiratory fitness reduces many of the health hazards associated with obesity. The present study aimed: 1) to examine whether cardiorespiratory fitness and/or BF% are associated with subsequent acquisition of asthma in adults; and 2) to test the hypothesis that a high cardiorespiratory fitness level can reduce the risk of incident asthma in individuals with excess adiposity

Psychological well-being, cardiorespiratory fitness, and long-term survival

BACKGROUND: Psychological well-being is associated with mortality/survival. Although cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is one of the strongest predictors of mortality, studies examining the relationship between well-being and survival seldom account for the possible effects of CRF. PURPOSE: This study examined the independent associations of psychological well-being components (low level of negative emotion and high level of positive emotion) and CRF, as well as their combined effects, with survival. METHODS: Participants (N=4888) were examined in 1988-1997 and followed up for a median period of ∼15 years (212 deaths, 4.3%). CRF was assessed by a maximal exercise test on a treadmill. Low-level negative emotion was defined as the minimum score of the negative emotion subscale of the CES-D scale and high-level positive emotion as the maximum score of the positive emotion subscale. Results are presented as hazard ratios (95% CIs). Data were analyzed in 2009. RESULTS: After adjustment for a set of established risk factors, men and women with low levels of negative emotion had lower risk of death than those with higher levels of negative emotion, 0.66 (95% CI=0.50, 0.87). The association persisted after additional adjustment for CRF and positive emotion. High level of positive emotion was not associated with survival. A high level of CRF independently predicted lower risk of death, 0.54 (95% CI=0.37, 0.79), compared to a low level of CRF. The risk of death in participants with both a low level of negative emotion and a high level of CRF was 0.37 (95% CI=0.22, 0.63), compared to their peers with higher levels of negative emotion/low levels of CRF. CONCLUSIONS: Low levels of negative emotion and high levels of CRF are independent predictors of long-term survival in men and women. A strong combined effect was observed, as individuals with both a low level of negative emotion and a high level of CRF had a 63% lower risk of premature death than those with higher levels of negative emotion and a low level of CRF.This study was supported by NIH grants AG06945 and HL62508, and in part by an unrestricted research grant from The Coca-Cola Company. The study also was supported in part by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio (grant number 63597); the Spanish Ministry of Education (EX-2008-0641, EX-2007-1124); the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research; and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation (20090635)

Reference values for and cross-validation of time to exhaustion on a modified Balke protocol in Norwegian men and women

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Fifty years of spellchecking

A short history of spellchecking from the late 1950s to the present day, describing its development through dictionary lookup, affix stripping, correction, confusion sets, and edit distance to the use of gigantic databases

Body adiposity index and all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in men

Objective To evaluate the association of body adiposity index (BAI) with all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk. Design and Methods The current analysis comprised 19,756 adult men who enrolled in the Aerobics Centre Longitudinal Study and completed a baseline examination during 1988-2002. All-cause and CVD mortality was registered till December 31, 2003. Results During an average follow-up of 8.3 years (163,844 man-years), 353 deaths occurred (101 CVD deaths). Age- and examination year-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality risk were higher for men with high values of BMI (HR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.19-2.23), waist circumference (1.55, 1.22-1.96), and percentage of body fat (%BF) (1.36, 1.04-1.31), but not for men with high values of BAI (1.28, 0.98-1.66). The HRs for CVD mortality risks were higher for men with high values in all adiposity measures (HRs ranged from 1.73 to 2.06). Most of these associations, however, became nonsignificant after adjusting for multiple confounders including cardiorespiratory fitness. Conclusion BAI is not a better predictor of all-cause and CVD mortality risk than BMI, waist circumference, or %BF

Patient initiated outpatient follow up in rheumatoid arthritis:six year randomised controlled trial

Objectives To determine whether direct access to hospital review initiated by patients with rheumatoid arthritis would result in improved clinical and psychological outcome, reduced overall use of healthcare resources, and greater satisfaction with care than seen in patients receiving regular review initiated by a rheumatologist. Design Two year randomised controlled trial extended to six years. Setting Rheumatology outpatient department in teaching hospital. Participants 209 consecutive patients with rheumatoid arthritis for over two years; 68 (65%) in the direct access group and 52 (50%) in the control group completed the study (P = 0.04). Main outcome measures Clinical outcome: pain, disease activity, early morning stiffness, inflammatory indices, disability, grip strength, range of movement in joints, and bone erosion. Psychological status: anxiety, depression, helplessness, self efficacy, satisfaction, and confidence in the system. Number of visits to hospital physician and general practitioner for arthritis. Results Participants were well matched at baseline. After six years there was only one significant difference between the two groups for the 14 clinical outcomes measured (deterioration in range of movement in elbow was less in direct access patients). There were no significant differences between groups for median change in psychological status. Satisfaction and confidence in the system were significantly higher in the direct access group at two, four, and six years: confidence 9.8 v 8.4, 9.4 v 8.0, 8.7 v 6.9; satisfaction 9.3 v 8.3, 9.3 v 7.7, 8.9 v 7.1 (all P < 0.02). Patients in the direct access group had 38% fewer hospital appointments (median 8 v 13, P < 0.0001). Conclusions Over six years, patients with rheumatoid arthritis who initiated their reviews through direct access were clinically and psychologically at least as well as patients having traditional reviews initiated by a physician. They requested fewer appointments, found direct access more acceptable, and had more than a third fewer medical appointments. This radical responsive management could be tested in other chronic diseases

Reducing arthritis fatigue impact: Two-year randomised controlled trial of cognitive behavioural approaches by rheumatology teams (RAFT)

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Objectives To see if a group course delivered by rheumatology teams using cognitive-behavioural approaches, plus usual care, reduced RA fatigue impact more than usual care alone. Methods Multicentre, 2-year randomised controlled trial in RA adults (fatigue severity>6/10, no recent major medication changes). RAFT (Reducing Arthritis Fatigue: Clinical Teams using CB approaches) comprises seven sessions, codelivered by pairs of trained rheumatology occupational therapists/nurses. Usual care was Arthritis Research UK fatigue booklet. Primary 26-week outcome fatigue impact (Bristol RA Fatigue Effect Numerical Rating Scale, BRAF-NRS 0-10). Intention-to-treat regression analysis adjusted for baseline scores and centre. Results 308/333 randomised patients completed 26 week data (156/175 RAFT, 152/158 Control). Mean baseline variables were similar. At 26 weeks, the adjusted difference between arms for fatigue impact change favoured RAFT (BRAF-NRS Effect-0.59, 95% CI -1.11 to -0.06), BRAF Multidimensional Questionnaire (MDQ) Total-3.42 (95% CI -6.44 to -0.39), Living with Fatigue-1.19 (95% CI -2.17 to -0.21), Emotional Fatigue-0.91 (95% CI -1.58 to -0.23); RA Self-Efficacy (RASE, +3.05, 95% CI 0.43 to 5.66) (14 secondary outcomes unchanged). Effects persisted at 2 years: BRAF-NRS Effect-0.49 (95% CI-0.83 to -0.14), BRAF MDQ Total-2.98 (95% CI-5.39 to -0.57), Living with Fatigue-0.93 (95% CI-1.75 to -0.10), Emotional Fatigue-0.90 (95% CI-1.44, to -0.37); BRAF-NRS Coping +0.42 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.77) (relevance of fatigue impact improvement uncertain). RAFT satisfaction: 89% scored ≥ 8/10 vs 54% controls rating usual care booklet (

Associations of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Obesity With Risks of Impaired Fasting Glucose and Type 2 Diabetes in Men

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of cardiorespiratory fitness (hereafter fitness) and various obesity measures with risks of incident impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and type 2 diabetes

The theory of planned behaviour predicts self-reports of walking, but does not predict step count

Objectives This paper compares multiple measures of walking in two studies, and the second study compares how well Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) constructs perform in predicting these different measures. Methods In Study 1, 41 participants wore a New Lifestyles NL-2000 pedometer for 1 week. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire containing measures of the TPB constructs and two self-report measures of walking, followed by two interview measures of walking. For Study 2, 200 RAF trainee aircraftsmen wore pedometers for 2 weeks. At the end of each week, participants completed the questionnaire and interview measures of walking. Results Both studies found no significant association between questionnaire measures of walking and pedometer measures. In Study 1, the interview measures produced significant, large correlations with the pedometer measure, but these relationships were markedly weaker in the second study. TPB variables were found to explain 22% of variance in intention to walk in Study 1 and 45% of the variance in Study 2. In Study 2, prediction of subsequent measures of behaviour was found to be weak, except when using a single-item measure of walking. Conclusions Recall of walking is poor, and accurate measurement by self-report is problematic. Although the TPB predicts intentions to walk well, it does not predict actual amount of walking, as assessed by pedometer. Possible reasons for these findings include the unique nature of walking as an activity primarily used to facilitate higher order goals. The use of single-item measures may exaggerate the effectiveness of the TPB model for walking, and possibly other forms of physical activity.</p