Promoting Public Health In The Context Of The “Obesity Epidemic”: False Starts And Promising New Directions

In the battle to combat obesity rates in the United States, several misconceptions have dominated policy initiatives. We address those misconceptions, including the notion that restrictive diets lead to long-term weight loss, that stigmatizing obesity is an effective strategy for promoting weight reduction, and that weight and physical health should be considered synonymous with one another. In offering correctives to each of these points, we draw on psychological science to suggest new policies that could be enacted at both the local and national levels. Instead of policies that rely solely on individual willpower, which is susceptible to failure, we recommend those that make use of environmental changes to reduce the amount of willpower necessary to achieve healthy behavior. Ultimately, the most effective policies will promote health rather than any arbitrary level of weight

Spatial distribution read-out system for thermoluminescence sheets

A spatial distribution read-out system of thermoluminescence (TL) sheets is developed. This system consists of high gain image intensifier, a CCD-TV camera, a video image processor and a host computer. This system has been applied to artificial TL sheets (BaSO4:Eu doped) for detecting high energy electromagnetic shower and heavy nuclei tracks

Immunological Pathogenesis of Endolymphatic Hydrops and Its Relation to Meniere\u27s Disease

This study was designed to investigate an immunologically induced endolymphatic hydrops (ELH) and to focus on the issue of its pathogenesis in relation to Meniere\u27s disease. The time course of ELH was evaluated by light microscopy in a 2-hour to 7-month period following direct antigen challenge to the endolymphatic sac (ELS) in systemically pre-sensitized guinea pigs. ELH began to appear in the vestibule and the basal turn 5-7 hours after inner ear challenge and developed gradually. During the interval from the second day to the first week, ELH rapidly developed in all the cochlear turns and reached a maximum size. During the period from the second week to the eighth week, ELH gradually reduced. After 9 weeks, ELH of the saccule and the cochlea gradually recurred. During the interval from the first week to the eighth week, the time course of ELH correlated well with the grade of cellular infiltration of the perisaccular tissue. These results suggest that recurrent immunological reaction in the ELS may result in disorders of the ELS which finally lead to the onset of Meniere\u27s disease

The Effects of Cellulase on Cell Wall Structure and the Rumen Digestion of Alfalfa Silage

First- and second-cut alfalfa (Medicago sativa) was ensiled with no additive, microbial (Lactobacillus casei) inoculant, cellulase derived from Acremonium celluloytics Y-94, co-addition of inoculant and cellulase, and formic acid. The resultant silages were digested in the rumen of a dairy cow. The alfalfa and the silages were then examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and their chemical characteristics analyzed to evaluate the effects of cellulase on the quality of alfalfa silage and its cell wall structure. The addition of cellulase lend to both a greater loss of parenchymal tissue and decrease in digestibility during rumen degradation than did the other additives moreover, photos taken during SEM examination also showed that cellulase affected cell wall decomposition. The results of this study may suggest that the addition of cellulase affects fiber digestion by ruminant animals