Objective:
Between 31 and 35% of the college‐aged population is overweight or obese, yet few weight loss trials for this population have been conducted. This study examined the feasibility, ...acceptability, and initial efficacy of a technology‐based 8‐week weight loss intervention among college students.
Design and Methods:
Students (N = 52) were randomly assigned to one of the three arms: Facebook (n = 17); Facebook Plus text messaging and personalized feedback (n = 18); Waiting List control (n = 17), with assessments at 4 weeks and 8 weeks (post‐treatment). Participants were 20.47 ± 2.19 years old, 86.45 ± 17.11 kg, with a body mass index of 31.36 ± 5.3 kg/m2. Participants were primarily female (86.5%), and the sample was racially diverse (57.7% Caucasian, 30.8% African American, 5.8% Hispanic, and 5.7% other races).
Results:
The primary outcome was weight loss after 8 weeks (post‐treatment); 96.0% of the participants completed this assessment. At 8 weeks, the Facebook Plus group had significantly greater weight loss (−2.4 ± 2.5 kg) than the Facebook (−0.63 ± 2.4 kg) and Waiting List (−0.24 ± 2.6 kg) (both Ps < 0.05). Weight change at 8 weeks was not significantly different between the Facebook and Waiting List groups.
Conclusions:
Results show preliminary efficacy and acceptability of the two active intervention arms (97.0% found the program helpful, 81.3% found the videos/handouts helpful, and 100% would recommend the program to others). Results indicate the potential for an innovative weight loss intervention that uses technology platforms (Facebook and text messaging) that are frequently used and already integrated into the cultural life of college students.
Filamentous fungi represent an incredibly rich and rather overlooked reservoir of natural products, which often show potent bioactivity and find applications in different fields. Increasing the ...naturally low yields of bioactive metabolites within their host producers can be problematic, and yield improvement is further hampered by such fungi often being genetic intractable or having demanding culturing conditions. Additionally, total synthesis does not always represent a cost-effective approach for producing bioactive fungal-inspired metabolites, especially when pursuing assembly of compounds with complex chemistry. This review aims at providing insights into heterologous production of secondary metabolites from filamentous fungi, which has been established as a potent system for the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds. Numerous advantages are associated with this technique, such as the availability of tools that allow enhanced production yields and directing biosynthesis towards analogues of the naturally occurring metabolite. Furthermore, a choice of hosts is available for heterologous expression, going from model unicellular organisms to well-characterised filamentous fungi, which has also been shown to allow the study of biosynthesis of complex secondary metabolites. Looking to the future, fungi are likely to continue to play a substantial role as sources of new pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals—either as producers of novel natural products or indeed as platforms to generate new compounds through synthetic biology.
Background/Objectives Considerable evidence from U.S. studies suggests that weight stigma is consequential for patient-provider interactions and healthcare for people with high body weight. Despite ...international calls for efforts to reduce weight stigma in the medical community, cross-country research is lacking in this field. This study provides the first multinational investigation of associations between weight stigma and healthcare experiences across six Western countries. Methods Participants were 13,996 adults residing in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the US who were actively enrolled in an internationally available behavioral weight management program. Participants completed identical online surveys in the dominant language for their country that assessed experienced weight stigma, internalized weight bias, and healthcare behaviors and experiences including perceived quality of care, avoidance or delay of seeking care, experiences with providers, and perceived weight stigma from doctors. Results Among participants who reported a history of weight stigma (56-61%), two-thirds of participants in each country reported experiencing weight stigma from doctors. Across all six countries, after accounting for demographics, BMI, and experienced stigma, participants with higher internalized weight bias reported greater healthcare avoidance, increased perceived judgment from doctors due to body weight, lower frequency of obtaining routine checkups, less frequent listening and respect from providers, and lower quality of healthcare. Additionally, experienced weight stigma (from any source) was indirectly associated with poorer healthcare experiences through weight bias internalization, consistently across the six countries. Conclusions Weight stigma in healthcare is prevalent among adults actively engaged in weight management across different Western countries, and internalized weight bias has negative implications for healthcare even after controlling for BMI. The similar findings across all six countries underscore the negative consequences of weight stigma on healthcare behaviors and experiences, and emphasize the need for collective international efforts to address this problem.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
SUMMARY
The aim of this review was to survey all fungal pathologists with an association with the journal Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate which fungal pathogens they would place in ...a ‘Top 10’ based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated 495 votes from the international community, and resulted in the generation of a Top 10 fungal plant pathogen list for Molecular Plant Pathology. The Top 10 list includes, in rank order, (1) Magnaporthe oryzae; (2) Botrytis cinerea; (3) Puccinia spp.; (4) Fusarium graminearum; (5) Fusarium oxysporum; (6) Blumeria graminis; (7) Mycosphaerella graminicola; (8) Colletotrichum spp.; (9) Ustilago maydis; (10) Melampsora lini, with honourable mentions for fungi just missing out on the Top 10, including Phakopsora pachyrhizi and Rhizoctonia solani. This article presents a short resumé of each fungus in the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intent of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant mycology community, as well as laying down a bench‐mark. It will be interesting to see in future years how perceptions change and what fungi will comprise any future Top 10.
Abstract Objective To examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of a technology-based weight loss intervention for urban, low-income mothers. Methods Eighteen obese, ethnic ...minority, socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers in the first year after childbirth were randomly assigned to either: 1) technology-based intervention, which included empirically supported behavior-change strategies, daily skills, and self-monitoring text messages with personalized feedback, biweekly counseling calls from a health coach, and access to a Facebook support group, or 2) usual-care control. Results After 14 weeks of treatment, the technology-based intervention participants had significantly greater weight loss (−2.9 ± 3.6 kg) than usual care (0.5 ± 2.3 kg; adjusted mean difference: −3.2 kg, 95% confidence interval −6.2 to −0.1 kg, P = .04). One-third of intervention participants (3 of 9) and no control participants lost > 5% of their initial body weight at follow up. Conclusions and Implications Results suggest the potential for using technology to deliver a postpartum weight loss intervention among low-income racial/ethnic minorities.
SUMMARY
Many plant bacteriologists, if not all, feel that their particular microbe should appear in any list of the most important bacterial plant pathogens. However, to our knowledge, no such list ...exists. The aim of this review was to survey all bacterial pathologists with an association with the journal Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate the bacterial pathogens they would place in a ‘Top 10’ based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated 458 votes from the international community, and allowed the construction of a Top 10 bacterial plant pathogen list. The list includes, in rank order: (1) Pseudomonas syringae pathovars; (2) Ralstonia solanacearum; (3) Agrobacterium tumefaciens; (4) Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae; (5) Xanthomonas campestris pathovars; (6) Xanthomonas axonopodis pathovars; (7) Erwinia amylovora; (8) Xylella fastidiosa; (9) Dickeya (dadantii and solani); (10) Pectobacterium carotovorum (and Pectobacterium atrosepticum). Bacteria garnering honourable mentions for just missing out on the Top 10 include Clavibacter michiganensis (michiganensis and sepedonicus), Pseudomonas savastanoi and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. This review article presents a short section on each bacterium in the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intention of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant bacteriology community, as well as laying down a benchmark. It will be interesting to see, in future years, how perceptions change and which bacterial pathogens enter and leave the Top 10.
In this study, continuous positive airway pressure plus weight loss was no better than either one alone in reducing C-reactive protein levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, but ...improvements were seen in insulin resistance, triglyceride levels, and blood pressure.
Available clinical data derived largely from observational studies link obstructive sleep apnea
1
to proatherosclerotic risk factors, including insulin resistance,
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dyslipidemia, hypertension,
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and inflammation.
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Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea are strongly associated.
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–
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Like obstructive sleep apnea, obesity is linked to insulin resistance,
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dyslipidemia,
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hypertension,
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,
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and inflammation.
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However, the relative causal roles that obstructive sleep apnea and obesity play in these abnormalities is unclear.
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,
11
,
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The interrelationships between obesity and obstructive sleep apnea are complex and bidirectional, and they cannot be confidently discerned in observational studies. Randomized trials have shown the beneficial effects of weight loss on cardiovascular risk . . .
SUMMARY
Many scientists, if not all, feel that their particular plant virus should appear in any list of the most important plant viruses. However, to our knowledge, no such list exists. The aim of ...this review was to survey all plant virologists with an association with Molecular Plant Pathology and ask them to nominate which plant viruses they would place in a ‘Top 10’ based on scientific/economic importance. The survey generated more than 250 votes from the international community, and allowed the generation of a Top 10 plant virus list for Molecular Plant Pathology. The Top 10 list includes, in rank order, (1) Tobacco mosaic virus, (2) Tomato spotted wilt virus, (3) Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, (4) Cucumber mosaic virus, (5) Potato virus Y, (6) Cauliflower mosaic virus, (7) African cassava mosaic virus, (8) Plum pox virus, (9) Brome mosaic virus and (10) Potato virus X, with honourable mentions for viruses just missing out on the Top 10, including Citrus tristeza virus, Barley yellow dwarf virus, Potato leafroll virus and Tomato bushy stunt virus. This review article presents a short review on each virus of the Top 10 list and its importance, with the intent of initiating discussion and debate amongst the plant virology community, as well as laying down a benchmark, as it will be interesting to see in future years how perceptions change and which viruses enter and leave the Top 10.
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