Adiposity Markers as Predictors of 11-Year Decline in Maximal Walking Speed in Late Midlife

Background: Obesity is linked to poorer physical functioning in older adults, but impact of excess adiposity on loss of functional capacity in late midlife is unclear. This study examined associations between adiposity markers and 11-year change in maximal walking speed, a sensitive indicator of physical functioning, among adults aged 55 to 69 years. Method: Maximal walking speed over 6.1 m was assessed in 2000 and 2011 among Finnish men (n = 409) and women (n = 498) from the prospective Health 2000 Survey. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were assessed in 2000. Generalized estimating equation models estimated changes in maximal walking speed by BMI and waist circumference, stratified by sex. Results: BMI greater than 30 kg/m(2) was associated with accelerated decline in maximal walking speed particularly in women. Associations with waist circumference were nonsignificant. Conclusion: Late midlife obesity may speed up the decline in functional capacity as measured by maximal walking speed, especially in women

Compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines and the relationship with anthropometry in Finnish preschoolers: the DAGIS study

Background: Recent 24-h movement guidelines for the early years established recommendations for physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep. To date, few studies have focused on compliance with meeting the guidelines and their associations with health outcomes. Thus, we aimed to investigate: 1) compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines, and 2) associations between compliance and anthropometry in Finnish preschoolers.Methods: We utilized DAGIS survey data that were collected in 2015-2016 (N = 864). PA was assessed 24 h/day over 7 days using a waist-worn ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer. ST and sleep were reported by the parents during the same 7 days. Anthropometry was assessed using body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) and waist circumference (WC, cm). Children were classified as meeting the guidelines if they averaged >= 180 min/day of PA, which consisted of >= 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity; <= 60 min/day of ST; and 10-13 h/day of sleep. In total, 778 children (51% boys, mean age: 4.7 +/- 0.9 years) were included in the study. The compliance with meeting the 24-h movement guidelines was calculated for each behavior separately and in combinations. Adjusted linear regression analyses were applied to examine associations of compliance with BMI and WC.Results: Children were physically active on average 390 (+/- 46.2) min/day and spent 86 (+/- 25.5) min/day in moderate-to-vigorous PA. They spent 76 (+/- 37.4) min/day on ST and had on average 10:21 (+/- 0:33) h:min/day of sleep. The compliance rate in meeting all three movement guidelines overall was 24%. The highest compliance rate was found for PA (85%), followed by sleep (76%) and ST (35%). Meeting guidelines separately for PA or sleep, or for both, were associated with lower WC (PA: B = -1.37, p < 0.001; Sleep: B = -0.72, p = 0.009; PA + Sleep: B = -1.03, p < 0.001). In addition, meeting guidelines for sleep or for both PA and sleep were associated with lower BMI (Sleep: B = -0.26, p = 0.027; PA + Sleep: B = -0.30, p = 0.007). There were no significant associations found regarding ST.Conclusions: Meeting recommendations for PA and sleep may have an important role in supporting a healthy weight status in young children. However, there is still a need to improve compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines, especially for ST

A user-centred approach to developing bWell, a mobile app for arm and shoulder exercises after breast cancer treatment

Purpose: The study aim was to develop a mobile application (app) supported by user preferences to optimise self-management of arm and shoulder exercises for upper-limb dysfunction (ULD) after breast cancer treatment. Methods: Focus groups with breast cancer patients were held to identify user needs and requirements. Behaviour change techniques were explored by researchers and discussed during the focus groups. Concepts for content were identified by thematic analysis. A rapid review was conducted to inform the exercise programme. Preliminary testing was carried out to obtain user feedback from breast cancer patients who used the app for 8 weeks post-surgery. Results: Breast cancer patients’ experiences with ULD and exercise advice and routines varied widely. They identified and prioritised several app features: tailored information, video demonstrations of the exercises, push notifications, and tracking and progress features. An evidence-based programme was developed with a physiotherapist with progressive exercises for passive and active mobilisation, stretching and strengthening. The exercise demonstration videos were filmed with a breast cancer patient. Early user testing demonstrated ease of use, and clear and motivating app content. Conclusions: bWell, a novel app for arm and shoulder exercises was developed by breast cancer patients, health care professionals and academics. Further research is warranted to confirm its clinical effectiveness. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Mobile health has great potential to provide patients with information specific to their needs. bWell is a promising way to support breast cancer patients with exercise routines after treatment and may improve future self-management of clinical care

EU-Indonesia Relations: No Expectations-Capability Gap?

This chapter has as its starting point Christopher Hill’s postulate of an ‘expectations-capability gap’ in the EU’s bilateral relations with other polities (both nation states and regional entities). It is argued that no such gap exists in the EU-Indonesia asymmetrical bilateral relationship. This lack is not due to heightened capabilities but, rather, low expectations. The capacities employed are thus commensurate with the latter. The chapter seeks to explore the reasons for these low expectations and minimal capabilities by briefly exploring the colonial experience with a minor European power and, above all, by the negative traces of decolonisation in the immediate post-Revolution period (1949–1967). It then explores how two irritants during the New Order period (1967–1998), namely the situation in Indonesian occupied East Timor and the separatist conflict in Aceh, meant that EU-relations with the world’s largest Muslim nation were maintained at a low level. Moreover, the EU’s approach to Indonesia during this period was inscribed within wider EU-ASEAN inter-regional relations. Only since the fall of the Suharto regime — and the experience of Indonesia’s extraordinary on-going democratic transition of the last 14 years — has there been a strengthening of bilateral relations. These relations, however, remain essentially economic driven by Indonesia’s progressive rise to BRIC status

Chiral phase-HPLC separation of hydroperoxyoctadecenoic acids and their biosynthesis by fatty acid dioxygenases.

Fatty acid oxygenases are often characterized by steric analysis of their hydroxy or hydroperoxy metabolites. Chiral phase-HPLC (CP-HPLC) can be used to separate enantiomeric hydroperoxyoctadecenoic acids. This method is based on analysis of seven octadecenoic fatty acids with double bonds at positions 6Z to 13Z, which were oxidized to hydroperoxides by photooxidation. A stationary phase, Reprosil Chiral NR, was found to resolve these hydroperoxy fatty acids with 1-hydroperoxy-2-propene and with 3-hydroperoxy-1-propene elements so that the S hydroperoxy fatty acids consistently eluted before the R stereoisomers. The chiral selector has not been disclosed, but it is described as an aromatic chiral phase with π-donor and π-acceptor groups of Pirkle type. The MS(3) spectra of the hydroperoxides showed characteristic fragments, which were influenced by the distance between the hydroperoxy and the carboxyl groups and the relative position of the double bond. Octadecenoic fatty acids can be oxidized by fungal and bacterial dioxygenases to hydroperoxides with cis or trans double bond configuration. Steric analysis of the hydroperoxy metabolites can be performed by this method, and it can also be used for preparative purposes

Compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines and the relationship with anthropometry in Finnish preschoolers : the DAGIS study

Background: Recent 24-h movement guidelines for the early years established recommendations for physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep. To date, few studies have focused on compliance with meeting the guidelines and their associations with health outcomes. Thus, we aimed to investigate: 1) compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines, and 2) associations between compliance and anthropometry in Finnish preschoolers. Methods: We utilized DAGIS survey data that were collected in 2015-2016 (N = 864). PA was assessed 24 h/day over 7 days using a waist-worn ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer. ST and sleep were reported by the parents during the same 7 days. Anthropometry was assessed using body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) and waist circumference (WC, cm). Children were classified as meeting the guidelines if they averaged >= 180 min/day of PA, which consisted of >= 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity; Results: Children were physically active on average 390 (+/- 46.2) min/day and spent 86 (+/- 25.5) min/day in moderate-to-vigorous PA. They spent 76 (+/- 37.4) min/day on ST and had on average 10:21 (+/- 0:33) h:min/day of sleep. The compliance rate in meeting all three movement guidelines overall was 24%. The highest compliance rate was found for PA (85%), followed by sleep (76%) and ST (35%). Meeting guidelines separately for PA or sleep, or for both, were associated with lower WC (PA: B = -1.37, p <0.001; Sleep: B = -0.72, p = 0.009; PA + Sleep: B = -1.03, p <0.001). In addition, meeting guidelines for sleep or for both PA and sleep were associated with lower BMI (Sleep: B = -0.26, p = 0.027; PA + Sleep: B = -0.30, p = 0.007). There were no significant associations found regarding ST. Conclusions: Meeting recommendations for PA and sleep may have an important role in supporting a healthy weight status in young children. However, there is still a need to improve compliance with the 24-h movement guidelines, especially for ST.Peer reviewe