An initial psychometric evaluation and exploratory cross-sectional study of the Body Checking Questionnaire among Brazilian women

Body checking is considered an expression of an excessive preoccupation with appearance. The first aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Brazilian Portuguese version of the Body Checking Questionnaire (BCQ). Additionally, we wanted to examine the questionnaire’s associations with body avoidance behaviour, body mass index, dietary habits, and the intensity, frequency, and length of physical exercise. Finally, we also examined the differences between the total BCQ score and the individual BCQ factor scores. Differences between active and sedentary persons and between non-dieters and those on weight-loss diets were also analyzed. For the psychometric study, 546 female public university students from four different courses were surveyed. Two minor samples of university students and eating disorders women were also recruited. In the second part of the study, 403 women were recruited from weight-loss programs, gyms, and a university. All participants were verbally invited to participate in the research and voluntarily took part. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit to the original model of the Brazilian BCQ that retained all 23 items. Satisfactory evidence of construct validity and internal consistency were also generated through analysis of factor loadings, t-values, Cronbach’s alpha, and construct reliability tests. The results also showed associations among body checking and body avoidance, body satisfaction, social anxiety, body mass index, and the frequency and intensity of physical exercise. Significant differences were found between non-dieters and weight-loss dieters for all BCQ factors and the total BCQ score. For physically active and sedentary persons, a significant difference was only observed for idiosyncratic checking behaviour. In conclusion, the BCQ appears to be a valid and reliable scale for Brazilian research, and the associations and differences found in this study suggest that women at gyms and especially in weight-loss programs should be targeted for future body checking studies

Knowledge, attitudes and practices with regard to the presence, transmission, impact, and control of cystic echinococcosis in Sidi Kacem Province, Morocco

BACKGROUND: This study is a component of a large research project on five major neglected zoonotic diseases (NZDs) including cystic echinococcosis and was undertaken in the Province of Sidi Kacem over a period of four years (April 2009-March 2013). METHODS: Questionnaires were administered at community level in a total of 27 communes and visits were made to all of the 10 abattoirs situated in the Province, to collect qualitative data on determinants of transmission for disease in humans and animals. More specifically, community knowledge, attitudes and practices related to cystic echinococcosis were assessed, as well as the extent to which local customs and behaviours may promote transmission. Abattoir infrastructure and practices, and their role in perpetuating disease transmission were also critically evaluated. RESULTS: The results show that only 50 % of people have heard of the disease, and of those, only 21 % are aware of the dog’s role in disease transmission. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents stated that dogs are fed ruminant organs deemed unfit for human consumption. Owned dogs have access to the family home, including the kitchen, in 39 % of households. The extent of this close proximity between humans and animals is even more pertinent when one considers that dogs are omnipresent in the community, with an average of 1.8 dogs owned per household. The unrestricted access of dogs to abattoirs is a huge issue, which further promotes disease transmission. CONCLUSION: This study would suggest that the high prevalence of cystic echinococcosis in humans and animals in Morocco is largely due to three factors: 1) abundance of dogs 2) engagement in risky behaviour of the local population and 3) poor abattoir infrastructure and practices. This has serious implications in terms of the socio-economic impact of the disease, especially for rural poor communities. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-015-0082-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Dynamic travel time models for pricing and route guidance : a fluid dynamics approach

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-201).This thesis investigates dynamic phenomena that arise in a variety of systems that share similar characteristics. A common characteristic of particular interest in this work is travel time. We wish to address questions of the type: How long does it take a driver to traverse a route in a transportation network? How long does a unit of product remain in inventory before being sold? As a result, our goal is not only to develop models for travel times as they arise in a variety of dynamically evolving environments, but also to investigate the application of these models in the contexts of dynamic pricing, inventory management, traffic control and route guidance. To address these issues, we develop general models for travel times. To make these models more accessible, we describe them as they apply to transportation systems. We propose first-order and second-order fluid models. We enhance these models to account for spillback and bottleneck phenomena. Based on piecewise linear and piecewise quadratic approximations of the departure or exit flows, we propose several classes of travel time functions. In the area of supply chain, we propose and study a fluid model of pricing and inventory management for make-to-stock manufacturing systems. This model is based on how price and level of inventory affect the time a unit of product remains in inventory. The model applies to non-perishable products. Our motivation is based on the observation that in inventory systems, a unit of product incurs a delay before being sold. This delay depends on the level of inventory of this product, its unit price, and prices of competitors.(Cont.) The model includes joint pricing, production and inventory decisions in a competitive capacitated multi-product dynamic environment. Finally, we consider the anticipatory route guidance problem, an extension of the dynamic user-equilibrium problem. This problem consists of providing messages to drivers, based on forecasts of traffic conditions, to assist them in their path choice decisions. We propose two equivalent formulations that are the first general analytical formulations of this problem. We establish, under weak assumptions, the existence of a solution to this problem.by Soulaymane Kachani.Ph.D

Terminologie à utiliser pour l’étude et la prise en charge des échinococcoses : adaptation du consensus international à la langue française

International audienceEchinococcoses are zoonoses affecting accidentally humans and their management requires the involvement of specialists from numerous disciplines. A standardization of the international terminology was published recently by the World Association of Echinococcosis. A multidisciplinary working group was established to propose an adaptation to the French language, taking the main French-speaking areas endemic for echinococcoses into account. The main recommendations are: 1) the use of single names for each disease associated with the different Echinococcus species « échinococcose kystique », « échinococcose alvéolaire » and « échinococcose néotropicale »; 2) the restriction of the use of « hydatique » to the larval stage of the cluster of Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato species; 3) the harmonization of terms used to describe the structure of the cysts; 4) the adaptation of the term used to name the ex-« vésicules filles », that now should be replaced by « kystes filles », to better comply with the international terminology. Concerning the surgical treatment of cystic echinococcosis, the description system and the acronym « AORC » (the same in English and in French for Approach/Abord, Opening/Ouverture, Resection/Résection, and Completeness/Complétude) were adopted. The use of this new terminology is crucial for the coherence between scientific publications and textbooks, and especially for a better understanding of the transmission of these diseases as well as for patients’ management.Les échinococcoses sont des zoonoses touchant les humains de manière accidentelle et leur prise en charge implique l’intervention de spécialistes issus de nombreuses disciplines. Un consensus a récemment été obtenu par l’Association mondiale de l’échinococcose sur la standardisation de la terminologie internationale, en anglais. Un groupe de travail francophone multidisciplinaire a été constitué pour proposer une adaptation spécifique à la langue française, en prenant en compte les principales régions du monde francophone endémiques pour les échinococcoses. Les principaux changements adoptés sont : 1) la dénomination des différentes maladies associées au développement du métacestode des différentes espèces d’échinocoques, « échinococcose kystique », « échinococcose alvéolaire » et « échinococcose néotropicale » ; 2) la restriction de l’usage de l’adjectif « hydatique » au stade larvaire du cluster d’espèces Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato ; 3) l’harmonisation des expressions qui décrivent la structure des kystes ; 4) la mise en cohérence avec la terminologie internationale de la dénomination des ex-« vésicules filles », qui sont désormais appelées « kystes filles ». Concernant le traitement chirurgical de l’échinococcose kystique, le système de description et l’acronyme « AORC », identique en français et en anglais pour Abord/Approach, Ouverture/Opening, Résection/Resection, Complétude/Completeness, ont été retenus. L’adoption de cette nouvelle terminologie est essentielle pour la cohérence des publications et des ouvrages pédagogiques, et surtout pour une meilleure compréhension de la transmission de ces maladies et une meilleure prise en charge des patients