Benefits and Risks of Weight-Loss Treatment for Older, Obese Women

Background: A key issue in the treatment of obesity in older adults is whether the health benefits of weight loss outweigh the potential risks with respect to musculoskeletal injury. Objective: To compare change in weight, improvements in metabolic risk factors, and reported musculoskeletal adverse events in middle-aged (50-59 years) and older (65-74 years), obese women. Materials and methods: Participants completed an initial 6-month lifestyle intervention for weight loss, comprised of weekly group sessions, followed by 12 months of extended care with biweekly contacts. Weight and fasting blood samples were assessed at baseline, month 6, and month 18; data regarding adverse events were collected throughout the duration of the study. Results: Both middle-aged (n = 162) and older (n = 56) women achieved significant weight reductions from baseline to month 6 (10.1 +/- 0.68 kg and 9.3 +/- 0.76 kg, respectively) and maintained a large proportion of their losses at month 18 (7.6 +/- 0.87 kg and 7.6 +/- 1.3 kg, respectively); there were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to weight change. Older women further experienced significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, HbA(1c), and C-reactive protein from baseline to month 6 and maintained these improvements at month 18. Despite potential safety concerns, we found that older women were no more likely to experience musculoskeletal adverse events during the intervention as compared with their middle-aged counterparts. Conclusion: These results suggest that older, obese women can experience significant health benefits from lifestyle treatment for obesity, including weight loss and improvements in disease risk factors. Further investigation of the impact of weight loss on additional health-related parameters and risks (eg, body composition, muscular strength, physical functioning, and injuries) in older adults is needed.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute R18HL73326University of FloridaDivision of Statistics and Scientific Computatio

Swift-XRT observation of 34 new INTEGRAL/IBIS AGNs: discovery of Compton thick and other peculiar sources

For a significant number of the sources detected at high energies (>10 keV) by the INTEGRAL/IBIS and Swift/BAT instruments there is either a lack information about them in the 2-10 keV range or they are totally unidentified. Herein, we report on a sample of 34 IBIS AGN or AGN candidate objects for which there is X-ray data in the Swift/XRT archive. Thanks to these X-ray follow up observations, the identification of the gamma ray emitters has been possible and the spectral shape in terms of photon index and absorption has been evaluated for the first time for the majority of our sample sources. The sample, enlarged to include 4 more AGN already discussed in the literature, has been used to provide photon index and column density distribution. We obtain a mean value of 1.88 with a dispersion of 0.12, i.e. typical of an AGN sample. Sixteen objects (47%) have column densities in excess of 10^{22} cm^{-2} and, as expected, a large fraction of the absorbed sources are within the Sey 2 sample. We have provided a new diagnostic tool (NH versus F(2-10)keV/F(20-100)keV softness ratio) to isolate peculiar objects; we find at least one absorbed Sey 1 galaxy, 3 Compton thick AGN candidates; and one secure example of a "true" type 2 AGN. Within the sample of 10 still unidentified objects, 3 are almost certainly AGN of type 2; 3 to 4 have spectral slopes typical of AGN; and two are located high on the galactic plane and are strong enough radio emitters so that can be considered good AGN candidates.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, ApJ accepte

Timing accuracy of the Swift X-Ray Telescope in WT mode

The X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on board Swift was mainly designed to provide detailed position, timing and spectroscopic information on Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) afterglows. During the mission lifetime the fraction of observing time allocated to other types of source has been steadily increased. In this paper, we report on the results of the in-flight calibration of the timing capabilities of the XRT in Windowed Timing read-out mode. We use observations of the Crab pulsar to evaluate the accuracy of the pulse period determination by comparing the values obtained by the XRT timing analysis with the values derived from radio monitoring. We also check the absolute time reconstruction measuring the phase position of the main peak in the Crab profile and comparing it both with the value reported in literature and with the result that we obtain from a simultaneous Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observation. We find that the accuracy in period determination for the Crab pulsar is of the order of a few picoseconds for the observation with the largest data time span. The absolute time reconstruction, measured using the position of the Crab main peak, shows that the main peak anticipates the phase of the position reported in literature for RXTE by ~270 microseconds on average (~150 microseconds when data are reduced with the attitude file corrected with the UVOT data). The analysis of the simultaneous Swift-XRT and RXTE Proportional Counter Array (PCA) observations confirms that the XRT Crab profile leads the PCA profile by ~200 microseconds. The analysis of XRT Photodiode mode data and BAT event data shows a main peak position in good agreement with the RXTE, suggesting the discrepancy observed in XRT data in Windowed Timing mode is likely due to a systematic offset in the time assignment for this XRT read out mode.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication on Astronomy&Astrophysic

Famennian (Upper Devonian) conodont zonation: revised global standard

The revision of the Famennian part of the \u201cLate Devonian Standard Conodont Zonation\u201d is based on the inequivalence between biozones and time, and the rejection of the presumed single phyletic concept on which the previous zonation was based. It is also intended to simplify the zonation, eliminating the zonal groups named after only one taxon, and biozones that are defined by a Last Appearance Datum (LAD). The proposed revision is largely based on the zonation proposed by Ziegler and Sandberg (1990) and is for the most part correlatable using the same zonal markers. Modifications have only been made when strictly necessary, as the aim of the proposal is to maintain the stability of over 50 years of studies. The 22 zones constituting the revised zonation are defined by the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of species or subspecies that have a well-established stratigraphic range and wide geographic distribution. Each zone is named after the taxon for which the FAD defines the lower boundary. For each zone an association of other species useful for its identification is listed

The Effect of Two Speed Endurance Training Regimes on Performance of Soccer Players.

In order to better understand the specificity of training adaptations, we compared the effects of two different anaerobic training regimes on various types of soccer-related exercise performances. During the last 3 weeks of the competitive season, thirteen young male professional soccer players (age 18.5±1 yr, height 179.5±6.5 cm, body mass 74.3±6.5 kg) reduced the training volume by ~20% and replaced their habitual fitness conditioning work with either speed endurance production (SEP; n = 6) or speed endurance maintenance (SEM; n = 7) training, three times per wk. SEP training consisted of 6-8 reps of 20-s all-out running bouts followed by 2 min of passive recovery, whereas SEM training was characterized by 6-8 x 20-s all-out efforts interspersed with 40 s of passive recovery. SEP training reduced (p<0.01) the total time in a repeated sprint ability test (RSAt) by 2.5%. SEM training improved the 200-m sprint performance (from 26.59±0.70 to 26.02±0.62 s, p<0.01) and had a likely beneficial impact on the percentage decrement score of the RSA test (from 4.07±1.28 to 3.55±1.01%) but induced a very likely impairment in RSAt (from 83.81±2.37 to 84.65±2.27 s). The distance covered in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 2 was 10.1% (p<0.001) and 3.8% (p<0.05) higher after SEP and SEM training, respectively, with possibly greater improvements following SEP compared to SEM. No differences were observed in the 20- and 40-m sprint performances. In conclusion, these two training strategies target different determinants of soccer-related physical performance. SEP improved repeated sprint and high-intensity intermittent exercise performance, whereas SEM increased muscles' ability to maximize fatigue tolerance and maintain speed development during both repeated all-out and continuous short-duration maximal exercises. These results provide new insight into the precise nature of a stimulus necessary to improve specific types of athletic performance in trained young soccer players

1SXPS: A deep Swift X-ray Telescope point source catalog with light curves and spectra

We present the 1SXPS (Swift-XRT Point Source) catalog of 151,524 X-ray point-sources detected by the Swift-XRT in 8 years of operation. The catalog covers 1905 square degrees distributed approximately uniformly on the sky. We analyze the data in two ways. First we consider all observations individually, for which we have a typical sensitivity of ~3e-13 erg/cm2/s (0.3--10 keV). Then we co-add all data covering the same location on the sky: these images have a typical sensitivity of ~9e-14 erg/cm2/s (0.3--10 keV). Our sky coverage is nearly 2.5 times that of 3XMM-DR4, although the catalog is a factor of ~1.5 less sensitive. The median position error is 5.5" (90% confidence), including systematics. Our source detection method improves on that used in previous XRT catalogs and we report >68,000 new X-ray sources. The goals and observing strategy of the Swift satellite allow us to probe source variability on multiple timescales, and we find ~30,000 variable objects in our catalog. For every source we give positions, fluxes, time series (in four energy bands and two hardness ratios), estimates of the spectral properties, spectra and spectral fits for the brightest sources, and variability probabilities in multiple energy bands and timescales.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures; accepted for publication in ApJS. The accompanying website, http://www.swift.ac.uk/1SXPS is live; the Vizier entry should be available shortl

Monitoring and modelling of soil–plant interactions: the joint use of ERT, sap flow and eddy covariance data to characterize the volume of an orange tree root zone

Abstract. Mass and energy exchanges between soil, plants and atmosphere control a number of key environmental processes involving hydrology, biota and climate. The understanding of these exchanges also play a critical role for practical purposes e.g. in precision agriculture. In this paper we present a methodology based on coupling innovative data collection and models in order to obtain quantitative estimates of the key parameters of such complex flow system. In particular we propose the use of hydro-geophysical monitoring via "time-lapse" electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in conjunction with measurements of plant transpiration via sap flow and evapotranspiration (ET) from eddy covariance (EC). This abundance of data is fed to spatially distributed soil models in order to characterize the distribution of active roots. We conducted experiments in an orange orchard in eastern Sicily (Italy), characterized by the typical Mediterranean semi-arid climate. The subsoil dynamics, particularly influenced by irrigation and root uptake, were characterized mainly by the ERT set-up, consisting of 48 buried electrodes on 4 instrumented micro-boreholes (about 1.2 m deep) placed at the corners of a square (with about 1.3 m long sides) surrounding the orange tree, plus 24 mini-electrodes on the surface spaced 0.1 m on a square grid. During the monitoring, we collected repeated ERT and time domain reflectometry (TDR) soil moisture measurements, soil water sampling, sap flow measurements from the orange tree and EC data. We conducted a laboratory calibration of the soil electrical properties as a function of moisture content and porewater electrical conductivity. Irrigation, precipitation, sap flow and ET data are available allowing for knowledge of the system's long-term forcing conditions on the system. This information was used to calibrate a 1-D Richards' equation model representing the dynamics of the volume monitored via 3-D ERT. Information on the soil hydraulic properties was collected from laboratory and field experiments. The successful results of the calibrated modelling exercise allow for the quantification of the soil volume interested by root water uptake (RWU). This volume is much smaller (with a surface area less than 2 m2, and about 40 cm thick) than expected and assumed in the design of classical drip irrigation schemes that prove to be losing at least half of the irrigated water which is not taken up by the plants

The seven year Swift-XRT point source catalog (1SWXRT)

Swift is a multi-wavelength observatory specifically designed for gamma-ray burst (GRB) astronomy that is operational since 2004. Swift is also a very flexible multi-purpose facility that supports a wide range of scientific fields such as active galactic nuclei, supernovae, cataclysmic variables, Galactic transients, active stars and comets. The Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) has collected more than 150 Ms of observations in its first seven years of operations. We present the list of all the X-ray point sources detected in XRT imaging data taken in photon counting mode during the first seven years of Swift operations. All these point-like sources, excluding the Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB), will be stored in a catalog publicly available (1SWXRT). We consider all XRT observations with exposure time > 500 s taken in the period 2005-2011. Data were reduced and analyzed with standard techniques and a list of detected sources for each observation was produced. A careful visual inspection was performed to remove extended, spurious and piled-up sources. Positions, count rates, fluxes and the corresponding uncertainties were computed. We have analyzed more than 35,000 XRT fields, with exposures ranging between 500 s and 100 ks, for a total exposure time of 140 Ms. The catalog includes ~ 89,000 entries, of which almost 85,000 are not affected by pile-up and are not GRBs. Since many XRT fields were observed several times, we have a total of ~36,000 distinct celestial sources. We computed count rates in three energy bands: 0.3-10 keV (Full, or F), 0.3-3 keV (Soft, or S) and 2-10 keV (Hard, or H). Each entry has a detection in at least one of these bands. In particular, we detect ~ 80,000, ~ 70,000 and ~ 25,500$ in the F, S and H band, respectively. Count rates were converted into fluxes in the 0.5-10, 0.5-2 and 2-10 keV bands. Some possible scientific uses of the catalog are also highlighted.Comment: 11 pages, 15 ps figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Abstract shortened with respect to the original versio

NuSTAR and multifrequency study of the two high-redshift blazars S5 0836+710 and PKS 2149-306

The most powerful blazars are the flat spectrum radio quasars whose emission is dominated by a Compton component peaking between a few hundred keV and a few hundred MeV. We selected two bright blazars, PKS 2149-306 at redshift z=2.345 and S5 0836+710 at z=2.172, in order to observe them in the hard X-ray band with the NuSTAR satellite. In this band the Compton component is rapidly rising almost up to the peak of the emission. Simultaneous soft-X-rays and UV-optical observations were performed with the Swift satellite, while near-infrared (NIR) data were obtained with the REM telescope. To study their variability, we repeated these observations for both sources on a timescale of a few months. While no fast variability was detected during a single observation, both sources were found to be variable in the X-ray band, up to 50%, between the two observations, with larger variability at higher energies. No variability was detected in the optical/NIR band. These data together with Fermi-LAT, WISE and other literature data are then used to study the overall spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these blazars. Although the jet non-thermal emission dominates the SED, it leaves the UV band unhidden, allowing us to detect the thermal emission of the disc and to estimate the mass of the black hole. The non-thermal emission is well reproduced by a one-zone leptonic model. The non-thermal radiative processes are synchrotron, self-Compton and external Compton using seed photons from both the broad-line region (BLR) and the torus. We find that our data are better reproduced if we assume that the location of the dissipation region of the jet, R_diss, is in-between the torus, (at R_torus), and the BLR (R_torus>R_diss>R_BLR). The observed variability is explained by changing a minimum number of model parameters by a very small amount.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap