Walks4work: Rationale and study design to investigate walking at lunchtime in the workplace setting

Background: Following recruitment of a private sector company, an 8week lunchtime walking intervention was implemented to examine the effect of the intervention on modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors, and further to see if walking environment had any further effect on the cardiovascular disease risk factors. Methods. For phase 1 of the study participants were divided into three groups, two lunchtime walking intervention groups to walk around either an urban or natural environment twice a week during their lunch break over an 8week period. The third group was a waiting-list control who would be invited to join the walking groups after phase 1. In phase 2 all participants were encouraged to walk during their lunch break on self-selecting routes. Health checks were completed at baseline, end of phase 1 and end of phase 2 in order to measure the impact of the intervention on cardiovascular disease risk. The primary outcome variables of heart rate and heart rate variability were measured to assess autonomic function associated with cardiovascular disease. Secondary outcome variables (Body mass index, blood pressure, fitness, autonomic response to a stressor) related to cardiovascular disease were also measured. The efficacy of the intervention in increasing physical activity was objectively monitored throughout the 8-weeks using an accelerometer device. Discussion. The results of this study will help in developing interventions with low researcher input with high participant output that may be implemented in the workplace. If effective, this study will highlight the contribution that natural environments can make in the reduction of modifiable cardiovascular disease risk factors within the workplace. © 2012 Brown et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Genome-wide association study identifies loci associated with liability to alcohol and drug dependence that is associated with variability in reward-related ventral striatum activity in African- and European-Americans.

Genetic influences on alcohol and drug dependence partially overlap, however, specific loci underlying this overlap remain unclear. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a phenotype representing alcohol or illicit drug dependence (ANYDEP) among 7291 European-Americans (EA; 2927 cases) and 3132 African-Americans (AA: 1315 cases) participating in the family-based Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. ANYDEP was heritable (h 2 in EA = 0.60, AA = 0.37). The AA GWAS identified three regions with genome-wide significant (GWS; P < 5E-08) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosomes 3 (rs34066662, rs58801820) and 13 (rs75168521, rs78886294), and an insertion-deletion on chromosome 5 (chr5:141988181). No polymorphisms reached GWS in the EA. One GWS region (chromosome 1: rs1890881) emerged from a trans-ancestral meta-analysis (EA + AA) of ANYDEP, and was attributable to alcohol dependence in both samples. Four genes (AA: CRKL, DZIP3, SBK3; EA: P2RX6) and four sets of genes were significantly enriched within biological pathways for hemostasis and signal transduction. GWS signals did not replicate in two independent samples but there was weak evidence for association between rs1890881 and alcohol intake in the UK Biobank. Among 118 AA and 481 EA individuals from the Duke Neurogenetics Study, rs75168521 and rs1890881 genotypes were associated with variability in reward-related ventral striatum activation. This study identified novel loci for substance dependence and provides preliminary evidence that these variants are also associated with individual differences in neural reward reactivity. Gene discovery efforts in non-European samples with distinct patterns of substance use may lead to the identification of novel ancestry-specific genetic markers of risk

Reliability and validity of the modified child and adolescent physical activity and nutrition survey (CAPANS-C) questionnaire examining potential correlates of physical activity participation among Chinese-Australian youth

BACKGROUND: To date, few questionnaires examining psychosocial influences of physical activity (PA) participation have been psychometrically tested among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) youth. An understanding of these influences may help explain the observed differences in PA among CALD youth. Therefore, this study examined the reliability and predictive validity of a brief self-report questionnaire examining potential psychological and social correlates of physical activity among a sample of Chinese-Australian youth. METHODS: Two Chinese-weekend cultural schools from eastern metropolitan Melbourne consented to participate in this study. In total, 505 students aged 11 to 16 years were eligible for inclusion in the present study, and of these, 106 students agreed to participate (21% response rate). Participants completed at 37-item self-report questionnaire examining perceived psychological and social influences on physical activity participation twice, with a test–retest interval of 7 days. Predictive validity, internal consistency and test–retest reliability were evaluated using exploratory factor analyses, Cronbach’s α coefficient, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) respectively. Predictive validity was assessed by correlating responses against duration spent in self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis revealed a nine factor structure, with the majority of factors exhibiting high internal consistency (α ≥ 0.6). In addition, four of the nine factors had an ICC ≥ 0.6. Spearman rank-order correlations coefficients between the nine factors and self-reported minutes spent in MVPA ranged from -0.5 to 0.3 for all participants. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to examine the psychometric properties of a potential psychological and social correlates questionnaire among Chinese-Australian youth. The questionnaire was found to provide reliable estimates on a range of psychological and social influences on physical activity and evidence of predictive validity on a limited number of factors. More research is required to improve the reliability and validity of the questionnaire

Diamond light source booster fast orbit feedback system

The Fast Orbit Feedback system that has been installed on the Diamond Light Source Storage ring has been replicated on the Booster synchrotron in order to provide a test bed for the development of the Storage Ring controller design. To realise this the Booster is operated in DC mode. The electron beam is regulated in two planes using the Fast Orbit Feedback system, which takes the beam position from 22 beam position monitors for each plane, and calculates offsets to 44 corrector power supplies at a sample rate of 10 kHz. This paper describes the design and realization of the controller for the Booster Fast Orbit Feedback, presents results from the implementation and considers future development

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

IFN-λ3, not IFN-λ4, likely mediates IFNL3-IFNL4 haplotype-dependent hepatic inflammation and fibrosis

Genetic variation in the IFNL3-IFNL4 (interferon-λ3-interferon-λ4) region is associated with hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Whether IFN-λ3 or IFN-λ4 protein drives this association is not known. We demonstrate that hepatic inflammation, fibrosis stage, fibrosis progression rate, hepatic infiltration of immune cells, IFN-λ3 expression, and serum sCD163 levels (a marker of activated macrophages) are greater in individuals with the IFNL3-IFNL4 risk haplotype that does not produce IFN-λ4, but produces IFN-λ3. No difference in these features was observed according to genotype at rs117648444, which encodes a substitution at position 70 of the IFN-λ4 protein and reduces IFN-λ4 activity, or between patients encoding functionally defective IFN-λ4 (IFN-λ4-Ser70) and those encoding fully active IFN-λ4-Pro70. The two proposed functional variants (rs368234815 and rs4803217) were not superior to the discovery SNP rs12979860 with respect to liver inflammation or fibrosis phenotype. IFN-λ3 rather than IFN-λ4 likely mediates IFNL3-IFNL4 haplotype-dependent hepatic inflammation and fibrosis

Applying an extended theory of planned behaviour to predict breakfast consumption in adolescents

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Breakfast skipping increases during adolescence and is associated with lower levels of physical activity and weight gain. Theory-based interventions promoting breakfast consumption in adolescents report mixed findings, potentially because of limited research identifying which determinants to target. This study aimed to: (i) utilise the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to identify the relative contribution of attitudes (affective, cognitive and behavioural) to predict intention to eat breakfast and breakfast consumption in adolescents and (ii) determine whether demographic factors moderate the relationship between TPB variables, intention and behaviour. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Questionnaires were completed by 434 students (mean 14+/-0.9 years) measuring breakfast consumption (0-2, 3-6 or 7 days), physical activity levels and TPB measures. Data were analysed by breakfast frequency and demographics using hierarchical and multinomial regression analyses. RESULTS: Breakfast was consumed everyday by 57% of students, with boys more likely to eat a regular breakfast, report higher activity levels and report more positive attitudes towards breakfast than girls (P<0.001). The TPB predicted 58% of the variation in intentions. Overall, the model was predictive of breakfast behaviours (P<0.001), but the relative contribution of TPB constructs varied depending on breakfast frequency. Interactions between gender and intentions were significant when comparing 0-2- and 3-6-day breakfast eaters only highlighting a stronger intention-behaviour relationship for girls. CONCLUSIONS: Findings confirm that the TPB is a successful model for predicting breakfast intentions and behaviours in adolescents. The potential for a direct effect of attitudes on behaviours should be considered in the implementation and design of breakfast interventions

A change in the transportation needs today, a better future for tomorrow – climate change review

No sooner than later, the world will be living hell as a result of the transportation effects on our climate now escalating. The pressure is now growing towards their resultant effects to be totally eradicated in order to save our planet otherwise, the stabilisation of these effects; global warming, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and degradation will need to be sought after. The world all over is at it now in an effort to restore our climate, to save it from the effects of these catastrophes/disasters. On the proposition of the Kyoto Protocol in1997, the main focus was to decrease greenhouse emissions of mainly six gases – Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, Hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs) and Per fluorinated Compounds (PFCs). And transport alone, accounts for over 26% of global CO2 and has been regarded as one of the few industrial sectors wherein emissions are still on the increase, on this basis, researchers and policy makers are all at it to tackle the menace of climate changes through provision of sustainable transport. This paper focuses on the new and developed technologies like the renewable energy source [RES], which will be an alternative to transport fuels to avoid the dependence on petroleum which after effects are damaging to the world climate, and may probably not be there forever to continue serving the world ever increasing population. While the long term solutions are being sought, these alternatives will make do for now

Extensive telomere erosion is consistent with localised clonal expansions in Barrett’s metaplasia

Barrett’s oesophagus is a premalignant metaplastic condition that predisposes patients to the development of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. However, only a minor fraction of Barrett’s oesophagus patients progress to adenocarcinoma and it is thus essential to determine bio-molecular markers that can predict the progression of this condition. Telomere dysfunction is considered to drive clonal evolution in several tumour types and telomere length analysis provides clinically relevant prognostic and predictive information. The aim of this work was to use high-resolution telomere analysis to examine telomere dynamics in Barrett’s oesophagus. Telomere length analysis of XpYp, 17p, 11q and 9p, chromosome arms that contain key cancer related genes that are known to be subjected to copy number changes in Barrett’s metaplasia, revealed similar profiles at each chromosome end, indicating that no one specific telomere is likely to suffer preferential telomere erosion. Analysis of patient matched tissues (233 samples from 32 patients) sampled from normal squamous oesophagus, Z-line, and 2 cm intervals within Barrett’s metaplasia, plus oesophago-gastric junction, gastric body and antrum, revealed extensive telomere erosion in Barrett’s metaplasia to within the length ranges at which telomere fusion is detected in other tumour types. Telomere erosion was not uniform, with distinct zones displaying more extensive erosion and more homogenous telomere length profiles. These data are consistent with an extensive proliferative history of cells within Barrett’s metaplasia and are indicative of localised clonal growth. The extent of telomere erosion highlights the potential of telomere dysfunction to drive genome instability and clonal evolution in Barrett’s metaplasia