^1H{^(19)F} NOE NMR Structural Signatures of the Insulin R_6 Hexamer: Evidence of a Capped HisB10 Site in Aryl- and Arylacryloyl-carboxylate Complexes

New and improved insulin: ^1H{^(19)F} NOE NMR difference spectra for CF_3-substituted aromatic carboxylates bound at the HisB10 sites of the R_6 human insulin (HI) hexamer show strong NOEs between the CF_3 groups and the LeuB6, AsnB3, and PheB1 sidechains. The NOEs and structural modeling establish that these carboxylates form closed complexes with the HisB10 site capped by the PheB1 rings

COP21 climate negotiators' responses to climate model forecasts

Policymakers involved in climate change negotiations are key users of climate science. It is therefore vital to understand how to communicate scientific information most effectively to this group. We tested how a unique sample of policymakers and negotiators at the Paris COP21 conference update their beliefs on year 2100 global mean temperature increases in response to a statistical summary of climate models' forecasts. We randomized the way information was provided across participants using three different formats similar to those used in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. In spite of having received all available relevant scientific information, policymakers adopted such information very conservatively, assigning it less weight than their own prior beliefs. However, providing individual model estimates in addition to the statistical range was more effective in mitigating such inertia. The experiment was repeated with a population of European MBA students who, despite starting from similar priors, reported conditional probabilities closer to the provided models' forecasts than policymakers. There was also no effect of presentation format in the MBA sample. These results highlight the importance of testing visualization tools directly on the population of interest

Are Nutrition-Related Knowledge and Attitudes Reflected in Lifestyle and Health Among Elderly People? A Study Across Five European Countries

Background: Nutrition-related knowledge (NRK) and nutrition-related attitudes (NRAs) are necessary for dietary changes toward healthier dietary patterns. In turn, healthier dietary patterns can be beneficial in maintaining health of older adults. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether NRK and NRAs were associated with lifestyle and health features among older adults (65+ years) from five European countries (France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and United Kingdom). Methods: Within the European project NU-AGE, 1,144 healthy elderly volunteers (65–79 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: intervention (NU-AGE diet) or control. After 1-year of follow-up, both NRK and NRAs were assessed during exit interviews, in combination with a number of lifestyle and health variables (e.g., physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, BMI, self-assessed health status). Multivariable linear regression models were used in data analysis. Results: In the NU-AGE study sample, good NRK was associated with lower BMI and higher physical activity. More positive NRAs were related to lower BMI and self-reported very good or good appetite. Moreover, both NRK and NRAs were associated with some socio-economic determinants, like financial situation, age, education, living area (for NRK), and country (for NRAs). Participants in the intervention group showed a better NRK (β = 0.367 [95% CI: 0.117; 0.617], p = 0.004) and more positive NRAs (β = 0.838 [95% CI: 0.318; 1.358], p = 0.002) than those in the control group. Higher self-evaluated knowledge was also significantly related to more positive NRAs (p < 0.001). The most popular sources of nutrition information were food labels, books and magazines on health, the dietitian and the doctor's office, although their importance varied significantly among countries, and, to a lesser extent, between women and men and between intervention and control group. Conclusion: Higher NRK and NRA scores were associated with lower BMI and higher physical activity level. Therefore, a good nutrition-related knowledge and positive nutrition-related attitudes can strongly and positively influence the health status and quality of life among the older population. These results offer a great opportunity for policy makers to implement educational programs in order to counteract the epidemic of obesity and to improve the health span of European population

The effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on social loafing

Decreased performance in group settings, labeled social loafing, has previously been attributed to the lack of identifiability of individual performance. However, some research indicates that the power of identifiability may depend on motivational orientation. The purpose of this laboratory experiment was to understand the effects of different motivational styles on social loafing. Specifically, motivation was thought to moderate the relationship between identifiability of individual outputs and performance. Participants were subjected to a priming manipulation intended to elicit intrinsic or extrinsic motivational states. They also worked under one of three group settings, which were intended to create a condition conducive to social loafing, and two control conditions. It was expected that extrinsically motivated participants working in a group where their individual efforts would be unidentifiable would show the highest levels of social loafing. Results indicate that the priming manipulation was unsuccessful, which explains why the main hypothesis was not supported. The value of using a motivational analysis in social loafing research is discussed

Validation of zeolites to maximize ammonium and phosphate removal from anaerobic digestate by combination of zeolites in Ca and Na forms

Ammonium and phosphate are fundamental nutrients for human life, but their excess in water can lead to eutrophication, an uncontrolled growth of biomass with a consequent deficit of oxygen (hypoxia) that can be really dangerous for water life. This excess is principally due to human activities such as industry and agriculture (detergents, fertilizers) and the problem is expected to grow during next years. Then, it is necessary to find an efficient, simple and low cost technology able to remove the nutrients from water in order to avoid environmental damages. Moreover, the population growth, the constant improvement in agriculture and the consequent increase in fertilizers demand have made the recovery of nutrient from water a real need, as it has been estimated that a 20% of the total needs of Europe could be recovered from wastewaters. Although both ammonium and phosphate have to be recovered from wastewater, their simultaneous removal by means of one adsorbent material has rarely been reported hitherto. The merit of using one material for the simultaneous removal is obvious, even if it has not been achieved yet. In general, most of the solutions proposed for the simultaneous removal of ammonium and phosphate are based on the use of two types of reagents. A large list of removal technologies, ranging from biological to physic-chemical methods, have been widely studied: in this work, zeolites in Ca and Na forms were evaluated as sorbents for phosphate and ammonium from synthetic water and real anaerobic digestate. The sorption performance has been studied by varying zeolites dosage and initial ammonium and phosphate concentration, and the results are presented in terms of equilibrium isotherms. The evaluation of the ammonium and phosphate sorption properties of a mixture of zeolites in calcium and sodium form was carried out by batch experiments and by using a hybrid sorption filtration system in a stirred reactor tank. Finally, the stability of the phosphate and ammonium-loaded zeolite samples was evaluated by extraction experiments and by Olsen method to determine the bioavailability for their potential application as soil fertilizers

It’s definitely time to consider diet in its ultra-processing form as a major risk factor for thrombotic vascular disorders

Not available.

Ideating Mobile Health Behavioral Support for Compliance to Therapy for Patients with Chronic Disease: A Case Study of Atrial Fibrillation Management

Poor patient compliance to therapy results in a worsening condition that often increases healthcare costs. In the MobiGuide project, we developed an evidence-based clinical decision-support system that delivered personalized reminders and recommendations to patients, helping to achieve higher therapy compliance. Yet compliance could still be improved and therefore building on the MobiGuide project experience, we designed a new component called the Motivational Patient Assistant (MPA) that is integrated within the MobiGuide architecture to further improve compliance. This component draws from psychological theories to provide behavioral support to improve patient engagement and thereby increasing patients\u27 compliance. Behavior modification interventions are delivered via mobile technology at patients\u27 home environments. Our approach was inspired by the IDEAS (Integrate, Design, Assess, and Share) framework for developing effective digital interventions to change health behavior; it goes beyond this approach by extending the Ideation phase\u27 concepts into concrete backend architectural components and graphical user-interface designs that implement behavioral interventions. We describe in detail our ideation approach and how it was applied to design the user interface of MPA for anticoagulation therapy for the atrial fibrillation patients. We report results of a preliminary evaluation involving patients and care providers that shows the potential usefulness of the MPA for improving compliance to anticoagulation therapy

Ultra-processed food consumption and its correlates among Italian children, adolescents and adults from the Italian Nutrition & Health Survey (INHES) cohort study

Objective: To assess ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and its socio-demographic, psychosocial and behavioural correlates in a general population of Italian children, adolescents and adults. Design: Cross-sectional telephone-based survey Setting: Italy, 2010-2013. Participants: In total, 9078 participants (5-97 years) from the Italian Nutrition &amp; Health Survey. Dietary intakes were collected by a 1-d 24-h dietary recall. UPF was defined by the NOVA classification and expressed as percentage of total energies. Results: Average energy intake from UPF (95 % CI) was 17·3 % (17·1 %, 17·6 %) among adults and 25·9 % (24·8 %, 27·0 %) in children/adolescents. Top sources of UPF were processed meats (32·5 %) and bread substitutes (16·7 %). Among adults, age (β = -3·10; 95 % CI (-4·40, -1·80) for &gt;65 years v. 20-40 years; βs are dimensionless) and residing in Southern Italy (β = -0·73; 95 % CI (-1·32, -0·14) v. Northern) inversely associated with UPF. Screen view during meals was directly linked to UPF, as well as poor self-rated health (β = 5·32; 95 % CI (2·66, 7·99)), adverse life events (β = 2·33; 95 % CI (1·48, 3·18)) and low sleep quality (β = 2·34; 95 % CI (1·45, 3·23)). Boys consumed two-point percent more UPF of the total energy than girls (β = 2·01; 95 % CI (0·20, 3·82)). For all ages, a Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with UPF (β = -4·86; 95 % CI (-5·53, -4·20) for good v. poor adherence in adults and (β = -5·08; 95 % CI (-8·38, -1·77) for kids). Conclusions: UPF contributes a modest proportion of energy to the diets of Italian adults while being one-quarter of the total energies in children/adolescents. UPF was associated with several psychosocial factors and eating behaviours. Increased adherence to Mediterranean diet would possibly result in lower UPF consumption