Predicting Changes in Negative Emotional Eating following Bariatric Weight-Loss Surgery

Background: Obesity has been associated with higher rates of social anxiety, and social anxiety has been linked to increased emotional eating. We hypothesized that reductions in BMI and social anxiety following bariatric surgery would predict decreases in negative emotional eating. Methods: Participants were 206 bariatric weight loss surgery patients who completed self-report questionnaires. Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) scores measured social anxiety. Scores from the negative emotion subscale in the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) reflected eating due to negative emotions. BMI was calculated from self-report data. All data were collected shortly preceding surgery and at 1-year post surgery. Results: Multiple regression was performed to examine whether changes in BMI and social anxiety predicted changes in negative emotional eating. BMI, social anxiety scores and negative emotional eating decreased significantly 1-year post surgery. Changes in BMI did not significantly predict changes in negative emotional eating. Decreases in social anxiety, however, did predict decreases in negative emotional eating following bariatric surgery, even when controlling for changes in BMI, p = .001. Conclusions: These research findings suggest that there may be behavioral benefits to bariatric surgery when psychosocial improvements occur, independent of weight loss. It would be worthwhile to test whether targeting social anxiety helps reduce negative emotional eating in obese participants

Sex Commonalities and Differences in Obesity-Related Alterations in Intrinsic Brain Activity and Connectivity.

OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to characterize obesity-related sex differences in the intrinsic activity and connectivity of the brain's reward networks. METHODS:Eighty-six women (n = 43) and men (n = 43) completed a 10-minute resting functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Sex differences and commonalities in BMI-related frequency power distribution and reward seed-based connectivity were investigated by using partial least squares analysis. RESULTS:For whole-brain activity in both men and women, increased BMI was associated with increased slow-5 activity in the left globus pallidus (GP) and substantia nigra. In women only, increased BMI was associated with increased slow-4 activity in the right GP and bilateral putamen. For seed-based connectivity in women, increased BMI was associated with reduced slow-5 connectivity between the left GP and putamen and the emotion and cortical regulation regions, but in men, increased BMI was associated with increased connectivity with the medial frontal cortex. In both men and women, increased BMI was associated with increased slow-4 connectivity between the right GP and bilateral putamen and the emotion regulation and sensorimotor-related regions. CONCLUSIONS:The stronger relationship between increased BMI and decreased connectivity of core reward network components with cortical and emotion regulation regions in women may be related to the greater prevalence of emotional eating. The present findings suggest the importance of personalized treatments for obesity that consider the sex of the affected individual

Female Yeshiva Students’ Perceptions of the Effects of Their Trust-In-Teachers Factors on Their Achievement of Science Education Goals

Achieving science education goals by teaching a breadth of science is possible, but it requires verbal pedagogies which require trust. However, the lack of trust in teachers is an international problem, leading to suboptimal school performance and other issues. Research concerning the importance of trust in science education is found wanting. To determine which trust factors affected achievement of which science education goals, 96 female yeshiva students in grades 7, 8, 9, and 12 filled out a survey and questionnaire that asked about their perceptions of the effects of their trust-in-teachers factors on their achievement of science education goals. Regardless of subgroup (tier [group of school grades] or learning style), the following science education goals were statistically significantly perceived by participants to be achieved with the presence of the listed trust factors: • Learning Classroom Science: Role, Transferring Knowledge, and Character. • Science Literacy: Transferring Knowledge. • Future Science: Role and Transferring Knowledge. For the following subgroups, the listed trust factors were also valued: Students who learn best by “listening to [their] teacher”: Expertise and Support; students who learn best by “exploring and doing things with [their] physical hands”: Emotional Relationship and Guidance; middle schoolers: Meritorious Service and Emotional Relationship; high schoolers: Guidance. It was also found that age has less predictive power than learning styles or “school blocs” (elementary school, middle school, high school) which are socially-constructed and ignore learning styles. Because of verbal methods’ more ubiquitous application than strictly science-educate-minded pedagogies, if repeated with modification, the Shade Report instrument introduced in this study has implications for students of different demographics (including ethnicities/cultures, sex, school type, and grade), additional learning styles, different science education goals, control factors or intimacy factors rather than trust factors, and teachers if they indicate how students can be more effective students. The present study has provided information regarding which trust factors are perceived by students to achieve specific science education goals. The next possible research step is to more fully examine through appropriate research design how to achieve each of the required trust factors

Change in Brain Volume and Cortical Thickness after Behavioral and Surgical Weight Loss Intervention

Obesity is associated with reduced cortical thickness and brain volume, which may be related to poor nutrition. Given that brain atrophy in anorexia nervosa recovers with nutritional improvements and weight gain, it is worth examining how brain structure changes at the other end of the weight spectrum with weight loss. Thus, this study aimed to examine change in cortical thickness and brain volume in 47 patients with severe obesity who participated in no treatment, behavioral weight loss, or bariatric surgery. T1-weighted MRI scans were conducted pre-treatment and approximately four months later. Measures of cortical thickness, gray matter volume, and white matter volume were compared between time points. Despite overall reduction in BMI, there was no significant change in cortical thickness. There was a significant increase in left hemisphere gray matter and white matter volumes across the sample. At baseline and follow-up, there was no relationship between cortical thickness or brain volumes and BMI. This study is the first to examine changes in cortical thickness and brain volume with weight loss in adults with obesity and the findings show partial support for the hypotheses that weight loss results in increased cortical gray and white matter

ESM-1 siRNA Knockdown Decreased Migration and Expression of CXCL3 in Prostate Cancer Cells

Endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 (ESM-1), also known as endocan, is a soluble proteoglycan expressed by the vascular endothelium, which also circulates in the bloodstream. Inflammatory cytokines and proangiogenic growth factors increase its expression, and increased serum levels have been reported in several cancer types and immunocompetent patients with sepsis. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression profile of CXC-chemokines and the effects of ESM-1 gene knockdown in proliferation, migration and CXC-chemokine expression in highly metastatic human prostate PC-3 cells. Expression profiles of CXC-chemokines were analyzed in metastatic PC-3 and non-tumorigenic PWR-1E cells. siRNA-mediated knockdown of ESM-1 was performed into PC-3 cells, which were subsequently tested for cell migration and proliferation. Effect of siRNA transfection on CXC-chemokine expression was further quantified at the transcript and protein level. RT-qPCR analysis and sandwich ELISA assay revealed higher levels of ESM-1 and several CXC-chemokines in metastatic PC-3 cells compared to non-tumorigenic PWR-1E. Transfection of PC-3 cells with ESM-1-siRNA decreased cell migration with no effect on proliferation, and it was accompanied by decrease in the transcript and protein levels of the angiogenic chemokine CXCL3. We report here for the first time the ESM-1 targeting in PC-3 cells, which resulted in decreased migration, which may be related, at least in part, to decreased expression of the angiogenic CXCL3 chemokine, whose expression was found to be reduced in ESM-1-siRNA transfected cells. Additional studies are required to ascertain the biological role of ESM-1 in prostate cancer cells and the link with the expression of CXCL3

Prevalence of COVID-19 in adolescents and youth compared with older adults in states experiencing surges

Purpose There has been considerable controversy regarding susceptibility of adolescents (10–19 years) and youth (15–24 years) to COVID-19. However, a number of studies have reported that adolescents are significantly less susceptible than older adults. Summer 2020 provided an opportunity to examine data on prevalence since after months of lockdowns, with the easing of restrictions, people were mingling, leading to surges in cases. Methods We examined data from Departments of Health websites in six U.S. states experiencing surges in cases to determine prevalence of COVID-19, and two prevalence-related measures, in adolescents and youth as compared to older adults. The two other measures related to prevalence were: (Percentage of cases observed in a given age group) ÷ (percentage of cases expected based on population demographics); and percentage deviation, or [(% observed—% expected)/ % expected] x 100. Results Prevalence of COVID-19 for adolescents and for youth was significantly greater than for older adults (p \u3c .00001), as was percentage observed ÷ percentage expected (p \u3c .005). The percentage deviation was significantly greater in adolescents/youth than in older adults (p \u3c 0.00001) when there was an excess of observed cases over what was expected, and significantly less when observed cases were fewer than expected (p\u3c 0.00001). Conclusions Our results are contrary to previous findings that adolescents are less susceptible than older adults. Possible reasons for the findings are suggested, and we note that public health messaging targeting adolescents and youth might be helpful in curbing the pandemic. Also, the findings of the potential for high transmission among adolescents and youth, should be factored into decisions regarding school reopening

Reasons for eating 'unhealthy' snacks in overweight and obese males and females

Background: Snack foods are often high in fat and sugar. Thus, reducing snack consumption may be a useful weight management strategy. However, individuals may snack for a variety of reasons with different implications for intervention. The present study examined the perceived reasons for eating main meals, ‘unhealthy’ snacks (i.e. snacks high in fat or sugar) and ‘healthy’ snacks in overweight and obese participants. Methods: Over a period of 5 days, 28 males and 27 females completed a food diary every time they ate. As well as providing details about the type of eating episode and food eaten, they also rated their agreement with 13 different reasons for eating (identified from relevant literature and a pilot study). Results: Across a total of 1084 eating episodes, 358 were coded as snacks, 79% of which were high in either fat or sugar. The results showed that hunger and temptation (external eating) were reported as a reason for eating unhealthy snacks in 49% and 55% of all episodes, respectively. Eating because the individual was feeling fed up, bored or stressed (emotional eating) was given as a reason in 26% of episodes. Conclusions: These findings point to the potential utility of intervention strategies that target cravings, enhance self-control or promote stimulus control

How Does the Brain Implement Adaptive Decision Making to Eat?

Adaptive decision making to eat is crucial for survival, but in anorexia nervosa, the brain persistently supports reduced food intake despite a growing need for energy. How the brain persists in reducing food intake, sometimes even to the point of death and despite the evolution of multiple mechanisms to ensure survival by governing adaptive eating behaviors, remains mysterious. Neural substrates belong to the reward-habit system, which could differ among the eating disorders. The present review provides an overview of neural circuitry of restrictive food choice, binge eating, and the contribution of specific serotonin receptors. One possibility is that restrictive food intake critically engages goal-directed (decision making) systems and “habit,” supporting the view that persistent caloric restriction mimics some aspects of addiction to drugs of abuse

Changes in zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) plasma concentrations pre and post Roux-En-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) or a very low calorie (VLCD) diet in clinically severe obese patients: Preliminary Study

The purpose of this preliminary study was to investigate changes in plasma concentrations of zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG), a lipid mobilizing hormone, in obese subjects following Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) surgery or a very low calorie diet (VLCD). Fasting blood concentrations and anthropometric measurements were measured pre and 12 weeks post intervention. 14 healthy, obese individuals underwent either RYGB (N=6) surgery or a VLCD (N=8). Body composition and fasting plasma ZAG concentrations were measured at baseline (pre) and 12 weeks post intervention (post). At pre-intervention baseline, there was no difference in plasma ZAG between the two intervention groups. Post-intervention, there was a significant overall reduction (F(1,11) = 32.8, p<0.001) in plasma ZAG, which was significant only within the RYGB group from pre to post intervention (33.2 ± 5.7 µg/ml to 26.7 ± 4.8 µg/ml (p<0.015)) and significantly greater than the change within the VLCD group. The change in ZAG was inversely correlated across groups with BMI reduction (r= -0.60, p<0.05), % body fat reduction (r= -0.68, p<0.015), reduction in weight (r= -0.58, p<0.05), and % weight loss (r= -0.70, p<0.05). Overall, subjects who underwent RYGB or VLCD had a significant reduction in plasma ZAG. This reduction was significant within the RYGB group alone, who lost a larger amount of weight than the VLCD group, which suggests that ZAG may have a protective effect during marked weight loss