The HealtheSteps™ lifestyle prescription program to improve physical activity and modifiable risk factors for chronic disease: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to determine the influence of the HealtheSteps™ lifestyle prescription program on physical activity and modifiable risk factors for chronic disease in individuals at risk. METHODS: One hundred eighteen participants were recruited from 5 sites in Southwestern Ontario, Canada and randomized to either the intervention (HealtheSteps™ program, n = 59) or a wait-list control group (n = 59). The study comprised three phases: an Active Phase (0 to 6 months) consisted of bi-monthly in-person lifestyle coaching with access to a suite of eHealth technology supports (Heathesteps app, telephone coaching and a private HealtheSteps™ social network) followed by a Minimally-Supported Phase I (6 to 12 months), in which in-person coaching was removed, but participants still had access to the full suite of eHealth technology supports. In the final stage, Minimally-Supported Phase II (12 to 18 months), access to the eHealth technology supports was restricted to the HealtheSteps™ app. Assessments were conducted at baseline, 6, 12 and 18 months. The study primary outcome was the 6-month change in average number of steps per day. Secondary outcomes included: self-reported physical activity and sedentary time; self-reported eating habits; weight and body composition measures; blood pressure and health-related quality of life. Data from all participants were analyzed using an intent-to-treat approach. We applied mixed effects models for repeated measurements and adjusted for age, sex, and site in the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Participants in HealtheSteps™ increased step counts (between-group [95% confidence interval]: 3132 [1969 to 4294], p \u3c 0.001), decreased their sitting time (- 0.08 [- 0.16 to - 0.006], p = 0.03), and improved their overall healthful eating (- 1.5 [- 2.42 to - 0.58], p = 0.002) to a greater extent compared to control at 6 months. Furthermore, exploratory results showed that these individuals maintained these outcomes 12 months later, after a minimally-supported phase; and retained improvements in sedentary time and improved healthful eating after 18 months. No differences in self-reported physical activity, health-related quality of life, weight, waist circumference or blood pressure were observed between groups at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that HealtheSteps™ is effective at increasing physical activity (i.e., step counts per day), decreasing weekday sitting time, and improving healthful eating in adults at increased risk for chronic disease after 6 months; however, we did not see change in other risk factors. Nonetheless, the maintenance of these behaviours with minimal support after 12 and even 18 months indicates the promise of HealtheSteps™ for long-term sustainability. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered on April 6, 2015 with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02413385 )

HOCl chemistry in the Antarctic stratospheric vortex 2002, as observed with the Michelson interferometer for passive atmospheric sounding (MIPAS)

In the 2002 Antarctic polar vortex enhanced HOCl mixing ratios were detected by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding both at altitudes of around 35 km (1000K potential temperature), where HOCl abundances are ruled by gas phase chemistry and at around 18–24 km (475–625 K), which belongs to the altitude domain where heterogeneous chlorine chemistry is relevant. At altitudes of 33 to 40 km polar vortex HOCl mixing ratios were found to be around 0.14 ppbv as long as the polar vortex was intact, centered at the pole, and thus received relatively little sunlight. This is the altitude region where in midlatitudinal and tropic atmospheres peak HOCl mixing ratios significantly above 0.2 ppbv (in terms of daily mean values) are observed. After deformation and displacement of the polar vortex in the course of a major warming, ClO-rich vortex air was more exposed to sunlight, where enhanced HOx abundances led to largely increased HOCl mixing ratios (up to 0.3 ppbv), exceeding typical midlatitudinal and tropical amounts significantly. The HOCl increase was preceded by an increase of ClO. Model runs could reproduce these measurements only when the Stimpfle et al. (1979) rate constant for the reaction ClO+HO2→HOCl+O2 was used but not with the current JPL recommendation. At an altitude of 24 km, HOCl mixing ratios of up to 0.15 ppbv were detected. This HOCl enhancement, which is already visible in 18 September data, is attributed to heterogeneous chemistry, which is in agreement with observations of polar stratospheric clouds. The measurements were compared to a model run where no polar stratospheric clouds appeared during the observation period. The fact that HOCl still was produced in the model run suggests that a significant part of HOCl was generated from ClO rather than directly via heterogeneous reaction. Excess ClO, lower ClONO2 and earlier loss of HOCl in the measurements are attributed to ongoing heterogeneous chemistry which is not reproduced by the model. On 11 October, polar vortex mean daytime mixing ratios were only 0.03 ppbv

Incidence and survival of childhood bone cancer in northern England and the West Midlands, 1981–2002

There is a paucity of population-based studies examining incidence and survival trends in childhood bone tumours. We used high quality data from four population-based registries in England. Incidence patterns and trends were described using Poisson regression. Survival trends were analysed using Cox regression. There were 374 cases of childhood (ages 0–14 years) bone tumours (206 osteosarcomas, 144 Ewing sarcomas, 16 chondrosarcomas, 8 other bone tumours) registered in the period 1981–2002. Overall incidence (per million person years) rates were 2.63 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.27–2.99) for osteosarcoma, 1.90 (1.58–2.21) for Ewing sarcoma and 0.21 (0.11–0.31) for chondrosarcoma. Incidence of Ewing sarcoma declined at an average rate of 3.1% (95% CI 0.6–5.6) per annum (P=0.04), which may be due to tumour reclassification, but there was no change in osteosarcoma incidence. Survival showed marked improvement over the 20 years (1981–2000) for Ewing sarcoma (hazard ratio (HR) per annum=0.95 95% CI 0.91–0.99; P=0.02). However, no improvement was seen for osteosarcoma patients (HR per annum=1.02 95% CI 0.98–1.05; P=0.35) over this time period. Reasons for failure to improve survival including potential delays in diagnosis, accrual to trials, adherence to therapy and lack of improvement in treatment strategies all need to be considered

Analysis of the Reaction Rate Coefficients for Slow Bimolecular Chemical Reactions

Simple bimolecular reactions $A_1+A_2\rightleftharpoons A_3+A_4$ are analyzed within the framework of the Boltzmann equation in the initial stage of a chemical reaction with the system far from chemical equilibrium. The Chapman-Enskog methodology is applied to determine the coefficients of the expansion of the distribution functions in terms of Sonine polynomials for peculiar molecular velocities. The results are applied to the reaction $H_2+Cl\rightleftharpoons HCl+H$, and the influence of the non-Maxwellian distribution and of the activation-energy dependent reactive cross sections upon the forward and reverse reaction rate coefficients are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, to appear in vol.42 of the Brazilian Journal of Physic

Solenosmilia variabilis-bearing cold-water coral mounds off Brazil

Cold-water corals (CWC), dominantly Desmophyllum pertusum (previously Lophelia pertusa), and their mounds have been in the focus of marine research during the last two decades; however, little is known about the mound-forming capacity of other CWC species. Here, we present new 230Th/U age constraints of the relatively rarely studied framework-building CWC Solenosmilia variabilis from a mound structure off the Brazilian margin combined with computed tomography (CT) acquisition. Our results show that S. variabilis can also contribute to mound formation, but reveal coral-free intervals of hemipelagic sediment deposits, which is in contrast to most of the previously studied CWC mound structures. We demonstrate that S. variabilis only occurs in short episodes of < 4 kyr characterized by a coral content of up to 31 vol%. In particular, it is possible to identify distinct clusters of enhanced aggradation rates (AR) between 54 and 80 cm ka−1. The determined AR are close to the maximal growth rates of individual S. variabilis specimens, but are still up to one order of magnitude smaller than the AR of D. pertusum mounds. Periods of enhanced S. variabilis AR predominantly fall into glacial periods and glacial terminations that were characterized by a 60–90 m lower sea level. The formation of nearby D. pertusum mounds is also associated with the last glacial termination. We suggest that the short-term periods of coral growth and mound formation benefited from enhanced organic matter supply, either from the adjacent exposed shelf and coast and/or from enhanced sea-surface productivity. This organic matter became concentrated on a deeper water-mass boundary between South Atlantic Central Water and the Antarctic Intermediate Water and may have been distributed by a stronger hydrodynamic regime. Finally, periods of enhanced coral mound formation can also be linked to advection of nutrient-rich intermediate water masses that in turn might have (directly or indirectly) further facilitated coral growth and mound formation

The Australian bushfires of February 2009: MIPAS observations and GEM-AQ model results

Starting on 7 February 2009, southeast Australia was devastated by large bushfires, which burned an area of about 3000 km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; on this day alone. This event was extraordinary, because a large number of combustion products were transported into the uppermost troposphere and lower stratosphere within a few days. Various biomass burning products released by the fire were observed by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on the Envisat satellite. We tracked the plume using MIPAS C&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;, HCN and HCOOH single-scan measurements on a day-to-day basis. The measurements were compared with a high-resolution model run of the Global Environmental Multiscale Air Quality (GEM-AQ) model. Generally there is good agreement between the spatial distribution of measured and modelled pollutants. Both MIPAS and GEM-AQ show a fast southeastward transport of the pollutants to New Zealand within one day. During the following 3–4 days, the plume remained northeastward of New Zealand and was located at altitudes of 15 to 18 km. Thereafter its lower part was transported eastward, followed by westward transport of its upper part. On 17 February the eastern part had reached southern South America and on 20 February the central South Atlantic. On the latter day a second relic of the plume was observed moving eastward above the South Pacific. Between 20 February and the first week of March, the upper part of the plume was transported westward over Australia and the Indian Ocean towards southern Africa. First evidence for entry of the pollutants into the stratosphere was found in MIPAS data of 11 February, followed by larger amounts on 17 February and the days thereafter. From MIPAS data, C&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;/HCN and HCOOH/HCN enhancement ratios of 0.76 and 2.16 were calculated for the first days after the outbreak of the fires, which are considerably higher than the emission ratios assumed for the model run and at the upper end of values found in literature. From the temporal decrease of the enhancement ratios, mean lifetimes of 16–20 days and of 8–9 days were calculated for measured C&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;H&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; and HCOOH. The respective lifetimes calculated from the model data are 18 and 12 days

Experimental design and statistical rigor in phylogenomics of horizontal and endosymbiotic gene transfer

A growing number of phylogenomic investigations from diverse eukaryotes are examining conflicts among gene trees as evidence of horizontal gene transfer. If multiple foreign genes from the same eukaryotic lineage are found in a given genome, it is increasingly interpreted as concerted gene transfers during a cryptic endosymbiosis in the organism's evolutionary past, also known as "endosymbiotic gene transfer" or EGT. A number of provocative hypotheses of lost or serially replaced endosymbionts have been advanced; to date, however, these inferences largely have been post-hoc interpretations of genomic-wide conflicts among gene trees. With data sets as large and complex as eukaryotic genome sequences, it is critical to examine alternative explanations for intra-genome phylogenetic conflicts, particularly how much conflicting signal is expected from directional biases and statistical noise. The availability of genome-level data both permits and necessitates phylogenomics that test explicit, a priori predictions of horizontal gene transfer, using rigorous statistical methods and clearly defined experimental controls

MIPAS reduced spectral resolution UTLS-1 mode measurements of temperature, O₃, HNO₃, N₂O, H₂O and relative humidity over ice: retrievals and comparison to MLS

During several periods since 2005 the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) on Envisat has performed observations dedicated to the region of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS). For the duration of November/December 2005 global distributions of temperature and several trace gases from MIPAS UTLS-1 mode measurements have been retrieved using the IMK/IAA (Institut für Meteorologie und Klimaforschung/ Instituto de Astrof´ısica de Andalucía) scientific processor. In the UTLS region a vertical resolution of 3 km for temperaure, 3 to 4 km for H2O, 2.5 to 3 km for O3, 3.5 km for HNO3 and 3.5 to 2.5 km for N2O has been achieved. The retrieved temperature, H2O, O3, HNO3, N2O, and relative humidity over ice are intercompared with the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS/Aura) v2.2 data in the pressure range 316 to 0.68 hPa, 316 to 0.68 hPa, 215 to 0.68 hPa, 215 to 3.16 hPa, 100 to 1 hPa and 316 to 10 hPa, respectively. In general, MIPAS and MLS temperatures are biased within ±4K over the whole pressure and latitude range. Systematic, latitude-independent differences of −2 to −4K (MIPASMLS) at 121 hPa are explained by previously observed biases in the MLS v2.2 temperature retrievals. Temperature differences of −4K up to 12K above 10.0 hPa are present both in MIPAS and MLS with respect to ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) and are likely due to deficiencies of the ECMWF analysis data. MIPAS and MLS stratospheric volume mixing ratios (vmr) of H2O are biased within ±1 ppmv, with indication of oscillations between 146 and 26 hPa in the MLS dataset. Tropical upper tropospheric values of relative humidity over ice measured by the two instruments differ by ±20% in the pressure range ~146 to 68 hPa. These differences are mainly caused by the MLS temperature biases. Ozone mixing ratios agree within 0.5 ppmv (10 to 20%) between 68 and 14 hPa. At pressures smaller than 10 hPa, MIPAS O3 vmr are higher than MLS by an average of 0.5 ppmv (10%). General agreement between MIPAS and MLS HNO3 is within the range of −1.0 (−10%) to 1.0 ppbv (20%). MIPAS HNO3 is 1.0 ppbv (10%) higher compared to MLS between 46 hPa and 10 hPa over the Northern Hemisphere. Over the tropics at 31.6 hPaMLS shows a low bias of more than 1 ppbv (>50%). In general, MIPAS and MLS N2Ovmr agree within 20 to 40 ppbv (20 to 40%). Differences in the range between 100 to 21 hPa are attributed to a known 20% positive bias in MIPAS N2O data