A user-centred approach to developing bWell, a mobile app for arm and shoulder exercises after breast cancer treatment.

Purpose: The study aim was to develop a mobile application (app) supported by user preferences to optimise self-management of arm and shoulder exercises for upper-limb dysfunction (ULD) after breast cancer treatment.

Methods: Focus groups with breast cancer patients were held to identify user needs and requirements. Behaviour change techniques were explored by researchers and discussed during the focus groups.

Some aspects of body composition in cancer.

Changes in body composition, in cancer as in benign disease, simple starvation or overfeeding, show the integrated effect of a period of metabolic imbalance. Therefore, accurate measurements of body composition can help to elucidate the mechanisms that bring about the imbalance. Techniques of measurement that depend for their accuracy on the constancy of some property of the entire fat-free tissues are unlikely to give accurate results in obese or wasted patients.

Influence of energy source upon body composition in patients receiving intravenous nutrition.

The influence of energy substrate upon body composition was investigated by measuring changes in the body composition of 24 patients who received intravenous nutrition for 2 weeks. The patients were randomly allocated to two groups. Twelve patients (the "glucose group") received all 'nonprotein' calories as glucose, the remaining 12 (the "fat-glucose group") received 60% of 'nonprotein' calories as fat emulsion (Intralipid).

Changes in the absorption of bile acids after total colectomy in patients with an ileostomy or pouch-anal anastomosis.

Bile acid absorption was investigated using 75Se Taurohomocholate (SeHCAT) in controls and patients who had undergone total colectomy with either conventional ileostomy or pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis or adenomatous polyposis. Whole-body retention of SeHCAT after 168 hours was greater in the controls than the patients who had undergone colectomy (P less than .05).

Isotope computed tomography using cone-beam geometry: a comparison of two reconstruction algorithms.

A CT scanner has been constructed specifically to determine the three-dimensional distribution of bone mineral in the medullary cavities of the radius, ulna and femur. A source of x-rays (153Gd) and a multiwire proportional counter (MWPC) are mounted at opposite ends of a diameter of an annular mounting. The limb is placed on the axis of rotation of the annulus and a series of two-dimensional transmission projections are obtained at equal angular spacings over 360 degrees.

Body composition of fasting obese patients measured by in vivo neutron activation analysis and isotopic dilution.

The masses of fat, water, protein and minerals in ten obese patients (seven women and three men) have been measured, by in vivo neutron activation analysis and isotopic dilution, before and after four weeks of starvation. Mass of skeletal muscle was estimated from measured total body potassium (TBK) and nitrogen (TBN). Before starvation the patients weighed, on average, 56.

Body composition in malignant disease.

It has been suggested that adaptation to starvation may be impaired in patients with malignant disease and that this may contribute to the development of cancer cachexia. We have investigated this by comparing the body composition, as well as the tissue composition of weight loss, of a group of 49 patients with gastrointestinal carcinomas and 91 patients with benign gastrointestinal disease all of whom had sustained a weight loss greater than 10% of their recalled pre-illness weight. Total body protein was calculated from total body nitrogen measured by in vivo neutron activation analysis which also provided absolute values of sodium, chlorine, phosphorus, and calcium.

A controlled trial of nandrolone decanoate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in postmenopausal women.

To determine whether an anabolic steroid had any benefit in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis 47 patients entered a parallel group study. Twenty four received nandrolone decanoate 50 mg intramuscularly every third week for two years and 23 patients received no anabolic steroids. Other therapy was unaltered.

Tomographic reconstruction from experimentally obtained cone-beam projections.

Direct reconstruction in three dimensions for two-dimensional projection data has been achieved by cone-beam reconstruction techniques. In this paper explicit formulas for a cone-beam convolution and back-projection reconstruction algorithm are given in a form which can be easily coded for a computer. The algorithm is justified by analyzing tomographic reconstructions of a uniformly attenuating sphere from simulated noisy projection data.

Body composition in ileostomy patients with and without ileal resection.

Body composition was measured in 24 patients who had previously undergone proctocolectomy and ileostomy. One group (control group) had undergone resection of only small amounts of terminal ileum (median 4 cm), the other group of patients (resected group) had undergone resection of greater lengths of small bowel (median 54 cm). These values of body composition were then compared with predicted values in normal subjects.

Estimating the composition of tissue gained or lost from measurements of elementary body composition.

Studies of relationships between changes in body constituents resulting from disease or treatment can, in principle, give information about the composition of the tissues gained or lost. Frequently, however, the random errors of measurement are of similar magnitude to the changes measured, so that standard statistical methods such as linear regression analysis give biased estimates of the parameters in the relationships. Possible ways of obtaining better estimates are discussed and models suitable for two types of experiment are described.

Mass and composition of the fat-free tissues of patients with weight-loss.

An estimate of the mass of fat-free tissue in the body can be calculated from body weight and skinfold thickness; this estimate is called the 'fat-free mass'. Total body potassium and nitrogen are alternative estimates. Factor analysis of data for healthy subjects has defined relationships between the true values of these three quantities and estimated the random component of the variance of each, i.

Measurement of short-term changes in the fat content of the body: a comparison of three methods in patients receiving intravenous nutrition.

Three methods of measuring changes in body fat were compared in seventeen patients undergoing a 2-week course of intravenous nutrition. Patients received all nutrition intravenously at a steady rate of infusion, calculated to supply energy at a rate equal to 1.5 times the resting metabolic expenditure measured before feeding.

Multi-element analysis of the obese subject by in vivo neutron activation analysis.

The Leeds facility for in vivo neutron activation analysis has been modified and calibrated for the simultaneous measurement of nitrogen, potassium, sodium, chlorine, phosphorus and calcium in obese patients weighing up to 210 kg. The effects of body size and shape were incorporated into the calibration by measuring 14 anthropomorphic phantoms of known composition representing individual patients being treated for obesity. The phantoms were constructed from tissue substitutes representing lean, skeletal and adipose tissues, arranged to simulate the distributions of the corresponding tissues within the patients, as visualised by CT scanning.

Estimating total body calcium from peripheral bone measurements.

In a heterogeneous group of 12 male and 30 female patients, total body calcium (TBCa) was measured by neutron activation analysis, and bone mineral content of the distal femur and six regions of the distal radius and ulna were measured by photon absorptiometry. TBCa was an average of 71 g (9%) lower than normal in the females and 119 g (11%) lower than normal in the males. Of the forearm measurements, those of the radial shaft provided the best estimate of TBCa with a standard error of estimation (SEE) of 88 g (14% of the mean value) for female patients alone, and 113 g (16%) for the whole group.

Electrolyte metabolism in patients with periodic affective disorders during treatment with rubidium.

Five patients suffering from periodic affective disorders with short mood-cycles were treated with rubidium chloride, producing peak erythrocyte concentrations between 9 and 13 mmol/l. Loading with rubidium was associated with decreased total body potassium, but red-cell potassium was unchanged. Regular mood-cycling was disturbed, together with the associated body-weight changes.

The feasibility of measuring total body carbon by counting neutron inelastic scatter gamma rays.

A technique is examined for measuring the mass of carbon of both ambulatory and non-ambulatory subjects. The method is based upon the detection of the 4.43 MeV gamma rays emitted from carbon nuclei when the body is irradiated with fast neutrons.

Total body nitrogen and its relation to body potassium and fat-free mass in healthy subjects.

1. The amount of lean tissue in the body can be assessed by measuring total body nitrogen, total body potassium or fat-free mass. To compare these techniques we have measured total body nitrogen, total body potassium and fat-free mass in 91 healthy subjects (62 males, 29 females).

Effects of methandienone on the performance and body composition of men undergoing athletic training.

1. In a previous study of the effects of methandienone (Dianabol) on men undergoing athletic training, strength and performance increased, but not significantly more when the subjects were taking the drug than when they were taking placebo. The subjects did, however, gain more weight on the drug, with increases in total body potassium and muscle dimensions.

The assessment of weight loss from a single measurement of body weight: the problems and limitations.

Estimation of weight loss plays a key role in the nutritional assessment of patients. The loss is usually calculated by subtracting the patient's observed weight (O) either from his recalled weight (R) or from his predicted weight (P) taken from standard tables or equations. We have compared these two assessments of weight loss (R-O, P-O) in a cross-sectional study of patients in the surgical wards of a teaching hospital.

The accuracy of total body nitrogen determined by neutron activation analysis.

Experiments have been performed to validate the technique of determining total body nitrogen by measuring the induced activity of 13N produced by the reaction of 14 MeV neutrons with nitrogen. Firstly, the accuracy of determining the counts due to nitrogen was studied by measuring the activities of the positron-emitting nuclides of C, Cl, K, P, and O, as well as N, produced by the irradiation of anthropomorphic phantoms with a surface neutron dose equivalent of 0.5 mSv (50 mrem).