Cool Companions to White Dwarfs from the 2MASS Second Incremental Data Release

We present near-infrared magnitudes for all white dwarfs (selected from the catalog of McCook & Sion) contained in the 2 Micron All Sky Survey Second Incremental Data Release(2MASS 2IDR). We show that the near-IR color-color diagram is an effective means of identifying candidate binary stars containing a WD and a low mass main sequence star. The loci of single WDs and WD + red dwarf binaries occupy distinct regions of the near-IR color-color diagram. We recovered all known unresolved WD + red dwarf binaries located in the 2IDR sky coverage, and also identified as many new candidate binaries (47 new candidates out of 95 total). Using observational near-IR data for WDs and M-L dwarfs, we have compared a sample of simulated WD + red dwarf binaries with our 2MASS data. The colors of the simulated binaries are dominated by the low mass companion through the late-M to early-L spectral types. As the spectral type of the companion becomes progressively later, however, the colors of unresolved binaries become progressively bluer. Binaries containing the lowest mass companions will be difficult to distinguish from single WDs solely on the basis of their near-IR colors.Comment: 18 pages, including 2 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Electronic feedback in a diet- and physical activity-based lifestyle intervention for weight loss: a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The SenseWear™ Armband (SWA) (BodyMedia, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA) is a physical activity and lifestyle monitor that objectively and accurately measures free-living energy balance and sleep and includes software for self-monitoring of daily energy expenditure and energy intake. The real-time feedback of the SWA can improve individual self-monitoring and, therefore, enhance weight loss outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We recruited 197 sedentary overweight or obese adults (age, 46.8 ± 10.8 y; body mass index (BMI), 33.3 ± 5.2 kg/m²; 81% women, 32% African-American) from the greater Columbia, South Carolina area. Participants were randomized into 1 of 4 groups, a self-directed weight loss program via an evidence-based weight loss manual (Standard Care, n = 50), a group-based behavioral weight loss program (GWL, n = 49), the armband alone (SWA-alone, n = 49), or the GWL plus the armband (GWL+SWA, n = 49), during the 9-month intervention. The primary outcome was change in body weight and waist circumference. A mixed-model repeated-measures analysis compared change in the intervention groups to the standard care group on weight and waist circumference status after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, energy expenditure, and recruitment wave.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Body weight was available for 62% of participants at 9 months (52% standard care, 70% intervention). There was significant weight loss in all 3 intervention groups (GWL, 1.86 kg, P = 0.05; SWA-alone, 3.55 kg, P = 0.0002; GWL+SWA, 6.59 kg, P < 0.0001) but not in the Standard Care group (0.89 kg, P = 0.39) at month 9. Only the GWL+SWA group achieved significant weight loss at month 9 compared to the Standard Care group (P = 0.04). Significant waist circumference reductions were achieved in all 4 groups at month 9 (Standard Care, 3.49 cm, P = 0.0004; GWL, 2.42 cm, P = 0.008; SWA-alone, 3.59 cm, P < 0.0001; GWL+SWA, 6.77 cm, P < 0.0001), but no intervention group had significantly reduced waist circumference compared to the Standard Care group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Continuous self-monitoring from wearable technology with real-time feedback may be particularly useful to enhance lifestyle changes that promote weight loss in sedentary overweight or obese adults. This strategy, combined with a group-based behavioral intervention, may yield optimal weight loss.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00957008">NCT00957008</a></p

Linking the oceans to public health : current efforts and future directions

© 2008 Author et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License The definitive version was published in Environmental Health 7 (2008): S6, doi:10.1186/1476-069X-7-S2-S6.We review the major linkages between the oceans and public health, focusing on exposures and potential health effects due to anthropogenic and natural factors including: harmful algal blooms, microbes, and chemical pollutants in the oceans; consumption of seafood; and flooding events. We summarize briefly the current state of knowledge about public health effects and their economic consequences; and we discuss priorities for future research. We find that: • There are numerous connections between the oceans, human activities, and human health that result in both positive and negative exposures and health effects (risks and benefits); and the study of these connections comprises a new interdisciplinary area, "oceans and human health." • The state of present knowledge about the linkages between oceans and public health varies. Some risks, such as the acute health effects caused by toxins associated with shellfish poisoning and red tide, are relatively well understood. Other risks, such as those posed by chronic exposure to many anthropogenic chemicals, pathogens, and naturally occurring toxins in coastal waters, are less well quantified. Even where there is a good understanding of the mechanism for health effects, good epidemiological data are often lacking. Solid data on economic and social consequences of these linkages are also lacking in most cases. • The design of management measures to address these risks must take into account the complexities of human response to warnings and other guidance, and the economic tradeoffs among different risks and benefits. Future research in oceans and human health to address public health risks associated with marine pathogens and toxins, and with marine dimensions of global change, should include epidemiological, behavioral, and economic components to ensure that resulting management measures incorporate effective economic and risk/benefit tradeoffs.Funding was provided in part by the NSF-NIEHS Oceans Centers at Woods Hole, University of Hawaii, University of Miami, and University of Washington, and the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative Centers of Excellent in Charleston, Seattle and Milwaukee, the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the WHOI Marine Policy Center. Grant numbers are: NIEHS P50 ES012742 and NSF OCE-043072 (HLKP, RJG, PH); NSF OCE 0432368 and NIEHS P50 ES12736 (LEF); NIEHS P50 ES012762 and NSF OCE-0434087 (EMF, AT, LRY); NSF OCE04-32479 and NIEHS P50 ES012740 (BAW

The Undergraduate Training in Genomics (UTRIG) Initiative: Early & Active Training for Physicians in the Genomic Medicine Era

Genomic medicine is transforming patient care. However, the speed of development has left a knowledge gap between discovery and effective implementation into clinical practice. Since 2010, the Training Residents in Genomics (TRIG) Working Group has found success in building a rigorous genomics curriculum with implementation tools aimed at pathology residents in postgraduate training years 1-4. Based on the TRIG model, the interprofessional Undergraduate Training in Genomics (UTRIG) Working Group was formed. Under the aegis of the Undergraduate Medical Educators Section of the Association of Pathology Chairs and representation from nine additional professional societies, UTRIG\u27s collaborative goal is building medical student genomic literacy through development of a ready-to-use genomics curriculum. Key elements to the UTRIG curriculum are expert consensus-driven objectives, active learning methods, rigorous assessment and integration

Luteolin Decreases EGFR-Mediated Cell Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis in Glioblastoma Cell Lines.

Glioblastomas are a subtype of gliomas, which are the most aggressive and deadly form of brain tumours. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is over-expressed and amplified in glioblastomas. Luteolin is a common bioflavonoid found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. The aim of the present study was to explore the molecular and biological effects of luteolin on EGF-induced cell proliferation and the potential of luteolin to induce apoptosis in glioblastoma cells. In vitro cell viability assays demonstrated that luteolin decreased cell proliferation in the presence or absence of EGF. Immunoblots revealed that luteolin decreased the protein expression levels of phosphorylated Akt, mTOR, p70S6K, and MAPK in the presence of EGF. Furthermore, our results revealed the ability of luteolin to induce caspase and PARP cleavages in glioblastoma cells in addition to promoting cell cycle arrest. Our results demonstrated that luteolin has an inhibitory effect on downstream signalling molecules activated by EGFR, particularly the Akt and MAPK signalling pathways, and provided a rationale for further clinical investigation into the use of luteolin as a therapeutic molecule in the management of glioblastoma. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Religious Identity, Religious Attendance, and Parental Control

Using a national sample of adolescents aged 10–18 years and their parents (N = 5,117), this article examines whether parental religious identity and religious participation are associated with the ways in which parents control their children. We hypothesize that both religious orthodoxy and weekly religious attendance are related to heightened levels of three elements of parental control: monitoring activities, normative regulations, and network closure. Results indicate that an orthodox religious identity for Catholic and Protestant parents and higher levels of religious attendance for parents as a whole are associated with increases in monitoring activities and normative regulations of American adolescents

Electronic feedback in a diet- and physical activity-based intervention for weight loss: a randomized controlled trial

Background: The SenseWearTM Armband (SWA) (BodyMedia, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA) is a physical activity and lifestyle monitor that objectively and accurately measures free-living energy balance and sleep and includes software for self-monitoring of daily energy expenditure and energy intake. The real-time feedback of the SWA can improve individual self-monitoring and, therefore, enhance weight loss outcomes. Methods: We recruited 197 sedentary overweight or obese adults (age, 46.8 ± 10.8 y; body mass index (BMI), 33.3 ± 5.2 kg/m2; 81% women, 32% African-American) from the greater Columbia, South Carolina area. Participants were randomized into 1 of 4 groups, a self-directed weight loss program via an evidence-based weight loss manual (Standard Care, n = 50), a group-based behavioral weight loss program (GWL, n = 49), the armband alone (SWA-alone, n = 49), or the GWL plus the armband (GWL+SWA, n = 49), during the 9-month intervention. The primary outcome was change in body weight and waist circumference. A mixed-model repeated-measures analysis compared change in the intervention groups to the standard care group on weight and waist circumference status after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, energy expenditure, and recruitment wave. Results: Body weight was available for 62% of participants at 9 months (52% standard care, 70% intervention). There was significant weight loss in all 3 intervention groups (GWL, 1.86 kg, P = 0.05; SWA-alone, 3.55 kg, P = 0.0002; GWL+SWA, 6.59 kg, P \u3c 0.0001) but not in the Standard Care group (0.89 kg, P = 0.39) at month 9. Only the GWL+SWA group achieved significant weight loss at month 9 compared to the Standard Care group (P = 0.04). Significant waist circumference reductions were achieved in all 4 groups at month 9 (Standard Care, 3.49 cm, P = 0.0004; GWL, 2.42 cm, P = 0.008; SWA-alone, 3.59 cm, P \u3c 0.0001; GWL+SWA, 6.77 cm, P \u3c 0.0001), but no intervention group had significantly reduced waist circumference compared to the Standard Care group. Conclusions: Continuous self-monitoring from wearable technology with real-time feedback may be particularly useful to enhance lifestyle changes that promote weight loss in sedentary overweight or obese adults. This strategy, combined with a group-based behavioral intervention, may yield optimal weight loss

The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children

Children need to develop a variety of skill sets to optimize their development and manage toxic stress. Research demonstrates that developmentally appropriate play with parents and peers is a singular opportunity to promote the social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain. Furthermore, play supports the formation of the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships with all caregivers that children need to thrive

Do trade‐offs govern plant species’ responses to different global change treatments?

Plants are subject to trade-offs among growth strategies such that adaptations for optimal growth in one condition can preclude optimal growth in another. Thus, we predicted that a plant species that responds positively to one global change treatment would be less likely than average to respond positively to another treatment, particularly for pairs of treatments that favor distinct traits. We examined plant species’ abundances in 39 global change experiments manipulating two or more of the following: CO2, nitrogen, phosphorus, water, temperature, or disturbance. Overall, the directional response of a species to one treatment was 13% more likely than expected to oppose its response to a another single-factor treatment. This tendency was detectable across the global data set, but held little predictive power for individual treatment combinations or within individual experiments. Although trade-offs in the ability to respond to different global change treatments exert discernible global effects, other forces obscure their influence in local communities