The effect of a postmodern career life story intervention on disadvantaged grade 12 learners.

This research sought to explore the effects of a postmodern career life story intervention on a sample of eight disadvantaged grade 12 learners. A qualitative research design using pre and post intervention interviews was used to explore whether the participants reevaluated or reinterpreted their responses to the interview questions in light of the intervention. The results of the study indicated that the participants experienced increased self-understanding, self-esteem, initiative and hope, optimism and empowerment through the intervention. The participants appreciated the time and space to be able to reflect on their lives. It appears as if all the various components of the life story intervention had a powerful impact on the participants. Writing life stories and using art materials appeared to be a method that was effective with disadvantaged grade 12 learners

Public involvement in health research: a case study of one NHS project over 5 years

Background: Public involvement, both in the National Health Service (NHS) and in clinical research, is promoted as an important democratic principle. The declared aims are to reduce professional autocracy and allow a broader ownership of the research agenda; also to improve the design of, and recruitment and retention of patients to, clinical studies. There have been a number of national initiatives in the UK to improve public input to clinical research activities, but very few reports of effective and sustainable partnerships over time. This study reports the evaluation of one example, which is embedded in the NHS and university partnerships in the Norfolk area of England. Objectives Evaluate: • Putting principles into practice of public involvement in research over a 5 year period for one specific project (Patient and Public Involvement in Research). • How the model contributes to, and impacts upon, all stages of the research process. • Attitudes of the research community and lay volunteers to their mutual experiences of public involvement. • Key factors and strengths of this project, and areas for improvement. Methods: A mixed methods approach related to the 5 years from start of 2003 to end of 2007. This used descriptive statistics of volunteer activity, interviews with key stakeholders (13), questionnaires (53% response rate), and focus group with 10 volunteers to explore emergent themes. We analysed findings using a policy framework approach. Results: About 47 of the original 55 volunteers remained on the panel after 5 years. All have undertaken training, 38% have been involved in the full range of research activities offered, and 75% have attended at least one research project meeting. Some are active in governance, ethics, and advisory committees. Both the research community and the volunteers are very positive about the project. The researchers find it provides well prepared personnel, and gives a speedy and efficient way of fulfilling the expectations of funders for lay input. The volunteers find it gives them important opportunities to influence the quality of research and thus support improvements in patient care. Areas for improvement include increasing social diversity among the volunteers, and improving feedback on input from volunteers, without which volunteers tend to lose confidence and motivation. Conclusion: Long-term sustainable and valuable public input to research is possible. Key factors are committing resources, embedding the service in the infrastructure of a research consortium, and ongoing responsiveness by NHS staff and researchers. Additional activity to recruit and support access may be needed to attract people from a broad range of sociodemographic backgrounds. Some volunteers want more involvement than this model currently offers

Differential Effects of Oral vs. Intravenous Fluid Administration on Bioelectrical Impedance During Dehydration Induced by Exercise and Heat

There is continued debate regarding optimal evaluation of hydration. Bioimpedance analysis has been utilized to evaluate hydration status, but there is limited information regarding the ability of this technology to detect physiological changes occurring during acute dehydration. PURPOSE: To evaluate whether bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) detects changes in bioelectrical resistance (R) in response to dehydration induced by exercising in the heat, assess whether these changes are related to body mass changes, and determine if the route of fluid administration during the dehydration protocol influences these observations. METHODS: Twelve males (mean ± SD; age: 28.6 ± 12.4 y; body mass: 74.7 ± 7.9 kg; height: 179.4 ± 7.0 cm; VO2max: 49.8 ± 6.6 mL/kg/min) completed two randomized experimental trials, each consisting of 90 minutes of continuous cycling exercise at 55% VO2maxfollowed by a 12 km time trial in the heat (ambient temperature: 34.9 ± 0.6 °C; relative humidity: 30.3 ± 0.9 %; wind speed: 3.4 mile×h-1). During each trial, fluid was administered either orally (DRINK) or intravenously (IV). During the DRINK trial, participants drank 25 mL of water every 5 minutes. During the IV trial, participants received 25 mL of isotonic saline solution through their IV catheter every 5 minutes. Nude body mass and BIS data were collected before and after trials to assess hydration status. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlations and paired t-tests with p-values corrected via false discovery rate. RESULTS: Body mass decreased, without differences between conditions (IV: -2.3 ± 0.5%; DRINK: -2.4 ± 0.9%; p=0.85). However, significant differences were observed for changes in predicted R at zero frequency (R0; IV: -3.6 ± 4.6%; DRINK: 1.3 ± 5.6%; p=0.02) and R at 50 kHz (R50; IV: -3.2 ± 4.1%; DRINK: -0.2 ± 4.1%; p=0.04), without differences in predicted R at infinite frequency (R∞; IV: -2.4 ± 6.1%; DRINK: -1.1 ± 3.7%; p=0.45). In the IV condition, significant correlations between body mass changes and R changes were observed for R0 (r=-0.80; p=0.002), R50 (r=-0.85; p\u3c0.001), and R∞ (r=-0.84; p\u3c0.001); however, no correlations were observed in the DRINK condition (r=-0.06 to 0.13; p≥0.69 for each). CONCLUSION: Differences between oral and intravenous fluid administration were seemingly detected by bioelectrical resistance at low-to-moderate, but not high, frequencies. With intravenous administration, negative correlations between changes in body mass and changes in R at all frequencies were observed, unlike with oral fluid administration. These findings suggest a potential sensitivity of bioimpedance technologies for monitoring intravenous fluid administration in the context of acute dehydration. However, additional investigation is needed to confirm their utility during distinct fluid loss scenarios and to confirm if these technologies are useful in the context of oral intake of fluids varying in composition

Body Fat Percentage and Hormonal Intrauterine Device Use Are Independently Associated with Self-Reported Menstrual Regularity in Young Adult Females

Menstrual regularity is a key indicator of energy availability, long-term bone density, and other important health information in females. The occurrence of a regular menstrual cycle indicates that an individual’s level of estrogen is supportive of strong bones and that they are achieving the caloric intake required to support their activity level. In contrast, an irregular menstrual cycle can be indicative of insufficient energy availability which may, over time, result in low bone mineral density and thus a higher risk of bone stress injuries. However, hormonal contraceptive use, including the rising use of intrauterine devices (IUDs), may mask these changes in menstrual regularity. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to self-reported menstrual regularity among a population of young, generally healthy females. METHODS: Participants were included if they were no more than 50 years of age at the time of enrollment and had less than 50% body fat as assessed via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Participants were asked via questionnaire if they reported having a regular menstrual cycle, defined as menstrual periods occurring at predictable intervals and no missed periods in the past six months. Additionally, participants were asked if they were currently using any form of hormonal contraception, and if so, what type. A logistic regression was run with menstrual regularity (1 = regular; 0 = irregular) as the dependent variable and body fat percentage (BFP) and contraceptive type as the predictors. RESULTS: Out of the 76 participants (mean±SD age: 23.2±5.1 years; height: 164.5±6.5 cm; weight: 65.2±13.6 kg; BFP: 32.3±8.5%), 54 (71%) reported having a regular menstrual cycle. Of the 45 (59%) participants using hormonal contraception, 27 (60%) used a combined oral contraceptive pill, six (13%) used a progestin-only pill, nine (20%) used an IUD, two (4%) used a hormonal implant, and one (2%) used a vaginal ring. Overall, a higher BFP was associated with a greater likelihood of menstrual regularity (coefficient±SE: 0.08 ± 0.04; p = 0.04) while IUD use was associated with a lower likelihood (coefficient±SE: -1.8 ± 0.9; p = 0.04). No other hormonal contraception type was independently associated with self-reported menstrual regularity. CONCLUSION: These results collectively suggest, within a population of generally healthy, young adult females, that lower BFP and hormonal IUD use are both independently associated with a lower likelihood of having a regular menstrual cycle. When assessing the lack of a regular menstrual cycle, practitioners may consider hormonal IUD use as one potential factor in addition to a general assessment of body composition and energy availability. However, this analysis was limited by a relatively small sample size, which may have reduced the ability to detect the relationship between menstrual regularity and less commonly used contraceptive types. Future research is required to determine the relationship between these contraceptive types and menstrual regularity in generally healthy adult females

The Effects of Short-Term Detraining and Subsequent Retraining on Body Composition and Muscle Performance in Males Consuming a Whey Protein or Carbohydrate Supplement

An acute bout of resistance exercise (RE) can up-regulate processes that stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Additionally, nutritional strategies involving carbohydrate (CHO) and whey protein (WP) supplementation can augment MPS. However, resistance training (RT) induced muscle anabolism during the early phases of training can attenuate over time. The use of a short-term cessation of training (detraining; DT) can potentially restore the attenuated muscular anabolic adaptive responses. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a successive cycle of detraining and retraining (ReT) in humans on body composition and muscle performance. Resistance-trained males (age 20.95 ± 1.23 y; n=20) were recruited and randomized into one of two groups (WP or CHO; 25 grams) in a double-blind fashion. Both groups followed a standardized 4 days per week resistance-training program for 4 weeks, carried out 2 weeks of DT and continued the resistance-training program for another 4 weeks of ReT. Participants were instructed to consume their respective supplement only on workout days during RT, but every day during DT. Research visits were conducted at baseline, 4 weeks (post-RT), 6 weeks (post-2-week-DT), and after 10 weeks (post-ReT). Each visit consisted of body composition assessments and muscular strength and endurance testing using the bench press and angled leg press exercises. Four-day diet records, workout logs, and supplement compliance forms were utilized. Factorial 2x4 (group by time) ANOVAs with repeated measures were conducted using SPSS (version 20.0) with a probability level of ≤ .05. There were no significant group by time interactions for lean or fat mass changes throughout the study (p \u3e .05). However, both groups were able to retain lean mass following 2 weeks of DT. The WP group appeared to have an elevation in lean mass (+1.58kg on average) by the end of ReT in comparison to baseline, even though it was not statistically significant (p \u3e .05). Leg press strength (LPS) increased throughout the study (p=.003), and neither group showed a decrease in LPS following DT. There were no group-by-time interactions or group differences between WP and CHO for bench press strength (BPS), bench press endurance (BPE), leg press endurance (LPE), or any dietary variables (p \u3e .05). Interestingly, the WP group presented a non-significant overall increase in lean mass compared to the CHO group by the end of 10 weeks. LPS and BPS were also elevated and retained respectfully following DT. In summary, a short-term 2 week cycle of DT in resistance trained males maintained both muscle mass and muscular strength, which potentially reinforces the importance of recovery

Dynamics of Gill Responses to a Natural Infection with Neoparamoeba perurans in Farmed Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon

We thank fish farm personnel in Tasmania for accommodating our research, performing gross morphology scoring and helping with sampling.Peer reviewe

Effect of Pre-Exercise Nutrition on Human Skeletal Muscle UCP3 Expression

BACKGROUND: Increased UCP3 expression in skeletal muscle after exercise may be attributed to elevated free fatty acids (FFA) that are known to directly activate UCP3 expression. Pre-exercise glucose consumption has shown to blunt UCP3 expression in response to exercise. Since glucose ingestion before and during exercise is typically not a common practice, the goal of the present study was to assess the effect of a multi-macronutrient meal (drinkable shake) in the pre-exercise period towards human skeletal muscle UCP3 expression. METHODS: Using a crossover design, untrained participants performed an endurance exercise session (350 kcal at 70% of their VO2max) after two experimental conditions 1) consumption of a multi-macronutrient meal and 2) a fasting period of 8 h. Blood samples were taken at baseline, pre-exercise, post-exercise, 1h, and 4h post-exercise, while muscle biopsies were taken at the last four time points. RESULTS: A significant increase in FFA was observed in the fasting condition (p= 0.046) as well as a significant increase in UCP3 mRNA and protein expression at post-exercise (p= 0.042) and 4 h post-exercise (p= 0.036) respectively, in the multi-macronutrient meal condition. DISCUSSION: Variables showed a total opposite response to what has been reported after the consumption of pure glucose before an exercise session. Instead of observing a decrease in UCP3 expression in the non-fasting condition, we observed a significant increase in UCP3 mRNA and protein concentration in the multi-macronutrient condition. According to previous research, variables such as the protein and fat content from the multi-macronutrient meal, as well as the insulin levels, could have played key roles in altering UCP3 mRNA and protein expression in the multi-macronutrient condition; however, further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis. CONCLUSION: The expression of UCP3 mRNA and protein expression as a result of exercise might be controlled by factors other than FFA

Influence of Acute Water Ingestion on Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Estimates of Body Composition

Body composition estimation is a significant component of health and fitness assessments. Multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MFBIA) uses multiple electrical frequencies that travel through body tissues in order to estimate fluid content and body composition. Prior to body composition assessments, it is common to implement a wet fast (i.e., a fasting period that allows water intake); however, the influence of a wet fast as compared to a dry fast (i.e., disallowing water intake) is relatively unknown. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of acute water consumption on MFBIA body composition estimates. METHODS: A randomized crossover study was conducted in 16 adults (8 F, 8 M; age: 22.0 ± 2.9 y; height: 173.6 ± 9.9 cm; weight: 74.3 ± 21.6 kg; body mass index: 24.6 ± 4.7; body fat % [BF%]: 16.7 ± 8.1%). On two occasions, participants reported to the laboratory after an overnight food and fluid fast. After a baseline MFBIA assessment, participants either consumed 11 mL/kg of bottled water (W condition) or consumed no fluid as the control (CON condition). The 11 ml/kg dose of water corresponded to absolute intakes of 531 to 1360 mL. After the water consumption time point, MFBIA tests were performed every 10 minutes for one hour. Participants stood upright for the entire research visit. MFBIA estimates of body mass (BM), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and BF% were analyzed using 2 x 7 (condition x time) analysis of variance with repeated measures, follow-up pairwise comparisons, and evaluation of the partial eta-squared (ηp2) effect sizes. RESULTS: No variables differed between conditions at baseline. Condition x time interactions were present for all variables (BM: pp2=0.89; FM: p=0.0008, ηp2=0.30; BF%: p=0.005, ηp2=0.23) except FFM (p=0.69, ηp2=0.03). Follow-up testing indicated that BM was ~0.6 kg higher in W as compared to CON at all post-baseline time points (pp2=0.32), regardless of condition. CONCLUSION: Up to one hour after ingestion, acute water intake was exclusively detected as increased FM by MFBIA. This contrasts with the common belief that ingesting water prior to bioimpedance tests would result in inflated FFM and decreased BF%. Since body composition estimates never returned to baseline within the hour after water ingestion, it is not clear how long this effect would persist. These results suggest acute water ingestion can produce an inflation of MFBIA body fat estimates for at least one hour. These results indicate that water intake during fasting periods should be considered as part of pre-assessment standardization

Impact of Fluid Consumption on Estimates of Intracellular, Extracellular, and Total Body Water from Multi-Frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

Multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (MFBIA) is able to distinguish between total body water (TBW), extracellular water (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW). Low-frequency currents are thought to primarily pass through ECW, while high-frequency currents pass through all body fluids (i.e., TBW). ICW can then be estimated by subtracting ECW from TBW. As such, MFBIA may have utility for monitoring health conditions resulting in water retention within specific fluid compartments. However, the sensitivity of fluid estimates from MFBIA is not fully established. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of acute fluid ingestion on body water estimates produced by a MFBIA analyzer. METHODS: Sixteen adults (8 F, 8 M; age: 22.0 ± 2.9 y; height: 173.6 ± 9.9 cm; weight: 74.3 ± 21.6 kg; body fat %: 16.7 ± 8.1%) participated in a randomized crossover study consisting of two conditions: 1) no fluid ingestion (control; C); and 2) acute ingestion of 11 mL/kg of bottled water (W). In both conditions, participants reported to the laboratory after an overnight food and fluid fast for serial assessments using 8-point standing MFBIA. An initial MFBIA assessment was performed at baseline, followed by a 5-minute period during which water was ingested (W condition) or the participant continued to rest in the lab (C condition). Beginning 10 minutes after this time period, participants were assessed by MFBIA every 10 minutes for one hour. Participants stood upright for the entirety of each research visit. Analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to examine differences in MFBIA estimates of body mass (BM), TBW, ECW, and ICW between conditions and across time. Follow-up pairwise comparisons were performed and partial eta-squared (ηp2) effect sizes were calculated. RESULTS: A group-by-time interaction was present for BM (pp2: 0.89) but not TBW (p=0.74; ηp2: 0.03), ECW (p=0.85; ηp2: 0.02), or ICW (p=0.87; ηp2: 0.05). Follow-up indicated that BM did not differ between conditions at baseline but was ~0.6 ± 0.2 kg higher in the W condition as compared to C at all post-baseline time points (pp2: 0.29 to 0.38). No significant effects were observed for ECW. CONCLUSION: The lack of change in body fluids with acute water ingestion likely indicates that: 1) within one hour, ingested water has not been assimilated into body fluids to the extent that it is detectable by MFBIA; or 2) the quantity of fluid ingestion is below the detection limits of the MFBIA analyzer. In support of the first point, it is likely that bioelectrical currents do not penetrate the gastrointestinal tract, meaning fluids contained therein are unlikely to be detected by MFBIA as fluids

Body Fat Gain Automatically Increases Lean Mass by Changing the Fat-Free Component of Adipose Tissue

Estimating alterations in lean mass in response to various training interventions is a primary concern for many investigations. However, previous reports have suggested that lean mass estimates from weight loss interventions may be significantly altered by attempting to correct for changes in the fat-free component of adipose tissue (FFAT). This component, consisting primarily of water and protein, has been estimated as ~15% of adipose tissue (AT) mass. While a preliminary examination of this correction method has been conducted in the instance of weight loss, it has yet to be investigated after a period of purposeful weight gain and resistance training. PURPOSE: To examine the impact of corrections for FFAT on estimates of lean mass accretion during a period of weight gain and resistance training. METHODS: Twenty-one resistance trained males underwent 6 weeks of supervised training and followed a hypercaloric diet in order to elicit weight gain. Body composition was assessed pre- and post-intervention via dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). AT was estimated using DXA-derived fat mass (FM) in the equation: AT = FM/0.85. FFAT was then estimated via the equation: FFAT = 0.15 × AT. Lastly, FFAT was subtracted from DXA-derived lean mass (LMDXA) to yield the new corrected lean mass value (cLM). Changes in LMDXA and cLM in response to the training intervention were calculated, and dependent samples T-tests were employed to determine if significant differences were present between changes in LMDXA and cLM. RESULTS: Significant differences (p ≤ 0.001) were noted for estimates of LM gain, with a larger increase observed for LMDXA as compared to cLM (LMDXA :2.42 ± 1.58kg; cLM: 2.14 ± 1.65kg). CONCLUSION: Correcting DXA-derived LM for the fat-free component of adipose tissue reduces the magnitude of LM accretion after a period of weight gain. However, while LM estimates did significantly differ, the small degree to which they differed indicates questionable practical relevance of such corrections in future investigations