Effects of Physical Activity on Disordered Eating Behaviours in Individuals With a Psychotic Disorder.

Aim: This study aims to determine the effect of physical activity on cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in individuals with a psychotic disorder.

Methods: Twenty-seven participants with a psychotic disorder (55% male; mean age: 30 ± 7.5 years; Caucasian: 66.

Neuroblastoma in relation to joint effects of vitamin A and maternal and offspring variants in vitamin A-related genes: A report of the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: There is evidence vitamin A plays a role in neuroblastoma. Not only is 13-cis-retinoic acid used as maintenance therapy for high-risk cases, but prenatal vitamin intake use may decrease neuroblastoma risk. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in vitamin A-related genes are may be associated with neuroblastoma risk and potentially be modified by vitamin A intake.

Protein phosphatase 2A is crucial for sarcomere organization in Caenorhabditis elegans striated muscle.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a heterotrimer composed of single catalytic and scaffolding subunits and one of several possible regulatory subunits. We identified PPTR-2, a regulatory subunit of PP2A, as a binding partner for the giant muscle protein UNC-89 (obscurin) in Caenorhabditis elegans. PPTR-2 is required for sarcomere organization when its paralogue, PPTR-1, is deficient.

Multicenter Study of Staging and Therapeutic Predictors of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence Following Transplantation.

Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and resection are effective treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, optimizing OLT and limiting HCC recurrence remains a vexing problem. New HCC Model for End-Stage Liver Disease and allocation algorithms provide greater observation of HCC patients, many while receiving local-regional treatments.

A family-based study of gene variants and maternal folate and choline in neuroblastoma: a report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Purpose: Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer of the sympathetic nervous system with embryonic origins. Previous epidemiologic studies suggest maternal vitamin supplementation during pregnancy reduces the risk of neuroblastoma. We hypothesized offspring and maternal genetic variants in folate-related and choline-related genes are associated with neuroblastoma and modify the effects of maternal intake of folate, choline, and folic acid.

Preoperative Opioid Use is Independently Associated With Increased Costs and Worse Outcomes After Major Abdominal Surgery.

Objective: To explore the clinical and financial implications of preoperative opioid use in major abdominal surgery.

Background: Opioids are increasingly used to manage chronic pain, and chronic opioid users are challenging to care for perioperatively. Given the epidemic of opioid-related morbidity and mortality, it is critical to understand how preoperative opioid use impacts surgical outcomes.

Inter-rater Reliability of Sustained Aberrant Movement Patterns as a Clinical Assessment of Muscular Fatigue.

Background: The assessment of clinical manifestation of muscle fatigue is an effective procedure in establishing therapeutic exercise dose. Few studies have evaluated physical therapist reliability in establishing muscle fatigue through detection of changes in quality of movement patterns in a live setting.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of physical therapists' ability to detect altered movement patterns due to muscle fatigue.

A qualitative study of women's perceptions of provider advice about diet and physical activity during pregnancy.

Objective: The purpose of this qualitative study was to gather insights into pregnant women's experiences with provider advice about diet and physical activity.

Methods: We conducted a series of 13 focus groups with a total of 58 pregnant African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic women of varying body sizes. Statements were independently coded, reduced, and then reconstructed to identify overarching themes with the assistance of ATLAS/ti software.

Protein phosphatase 2a (PP2A) binds within the oligomerization domain of striatin and regulates the phosphorylation and activation of the mammalian Ste20-Like kinase Mst3.

Background: Striatin, a putative protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) B-type regulatory subunit, is a multi-domain scaffolding protein that has recently been linked to several diseases including cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM), which causes symptoms ranging from headaches to stroke. Striatin association with the PP2A A/C (structural subunit/catalytic subunit) heterodimer alters PP2A substrate specificity, but targets and roles of striatin-associated PP2A are not known. In addition to binding the PP2A A/C heterodimer to form a PP2A holoenzyme, striatin associates with cerebral cavernous malformation 3 (CCM3) protein, the mammalian Mps one binder (MOB) homolog, Mob3/phocein, the mammalian sterile 20-like (Mst) kinases, Mst3, Mst4 and STK25, and several other proteins to form a large signaling complex.

Sociodemographic, perinatal, behavioral, and psychosocial predictors of weight retention at 3 and 12 months postpartum.

Postpartum weight retention plays an important role in the pathway leading to obesity among women of childbearing age. The objective of this study was to examine predictors of moderate (1-10 pounds) and high (>10 pounds) postpartum weight retention using data from a prospective pregnancy cohort that followed women into the postpartum period; n = 688 and 550 women at 3 and 12 months, respectively. Analysis included descriptive statistics and predictive modeling using log-binomial techniques.

Response to gefitinib and erlotinib in Non-small cell lung cancer: a restrospective study.

Background: In Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), an overactive epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway is a component of the malignant phenotype. Two tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) of EGFR, gefinitib and erlotinib, have been used with variable benefit.

Methods: We have analyzed outcome data of a population of NSCLC patients that received these TKIs to determine the benefit derived and to define the clinical and molecular parameters that correlate with response.

Perceived barriers to physical activity among pregnant women.

Objective: Physical activity generally declines during pregnancy, but barriers to activity during this time period are not well understood. The objective was to examine barriers to physical activity in a large cohort of pregnant women and to explore these barriers in more depth with qualitative data derived from a separate focus group study using a socioecologic framework.

Method: A total of 1535 pregnant women (27-30 weeks' gestation) enrolled in the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study were asked an open-ended question about their primary barrier to physical activity; responses were coded into categories according to the socioecologic framework.

Genomic organization of RNA2 of Tomato ringspot virus: processing at a third cleavage site in the N-terminal region of the polyprotein in vitro.

The proteinase of Tomato ringspot virus (genus Nepovirus) is responsible for proteolytic cleavage of the RNA2-encoded polyprotein (P2) at two cleavage sites, allowing definition of the domains for the movement protein (MP) and coat protein. In this study, we have characterized a third cleavage site in the N-terminal region of P2 using an in vitro processing assay and partial cDNA clones. Results from site-directed mutagenesis of putative cleavage sites suggest that cleavage occurs at dipeptide Q(301)/G.

Mutagenesis of amino acids at two tomato ringspot nepovirus cleavage sites: effect on proteolytic processing in cis and in trans by the 3C-like protease.

Tomato ringspot nepovirus (ToRSV) encodes two polyproteins that are processed by a 3C-like protease at specific cleavage sites. Analysis of ToRSV cleavage sites identified previously and in this study revealed that cleavage occurs at conserved Q/(G or S) dipeptides. In addition, a Cys or Val is found in the -2 position.

Proteolytic processing of tomato ringspot nepovirus 3C-like protease precursors: definition of the domains for the VPg, protease and putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

Tomato ringspot nepovirus (TomRSV) RNA-1 encodes a putative NTP-binding protein (NTB), a putative viral genome-linked protein (VPg), a putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (Pol) and a serine-like protease (Pro), which have been suggested to be involved in viral RNA replication. Proteolytic processing of protease precursors containing these proteins was studied in Escherichia coli and in vitro. The TomRSV protease could cleave the precursor proteins and release the predicted mature proteins or intermediate precursors.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions between diltiazem and quinidine.

Objectives: To examine the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions between quinidine and diltiazem because both drugs can inhibit drug metabolism.

Methods: Twelve fasting, healthy male volunteers (age, 24 +/- 5 years; weight, 75 +/- 10 kg) received a single oral dose of diltiazem (60 mg) or quinidine (200 mg), alone and on a background of the other drug, in a crossover study. Background treatment consisted of 100 mg quinidine twice a day or 90 mg sustained-release diltiazem twice a day for 2 day before the study day.

Simultaneous determination of diltiazem and quinidine in human plasma by liquid chromatography.

A novel method for simultaneous determination of diltiazem and quinidine in human plasma is described. Plasma is alkalinized and extracted with methyl tert.-butyl ether.

Rethinking traditional weight management programs: a 3-year follow-up evaluation of a new approach.

We evaluated the effectiveness of a nondiet approach designed to reduce restrained eating behaviors and improve self-acceptance and self-esteem. This approach also encourages participants to address eating and exercise behavior separately. Subjects were Conoco employees who participated in the Wellness Department's Eat For L.

The identification and assay of 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole in pigs treated with dimetridazole.

An unidentified metabolite of dimetridazole (DMZ), found in pig plasma, muscle and kidney, was shown by chromatography and spectroscopy to be 2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole (2-MNI), resulting from N-demethylation of DMZ. This route of degradation competes with the oxidation pathway previously described. The concentration of 2-MNI in the plasma of pig fed medicated diet (DMZ 0.

Evidence that amikacin ototoxicity is related to total perilymph area under the concentration-time curve regardless of concentration.

Previous studies have failed to fully establish whether ototoxicity is related in any way to the levels of an aminoglycoside antibiotic in the perilymph. To study this we exposed guinea pigs to continuously infused amikacin at four different dosing rates under conditions parallel to those used in our previous study which related ototoxicity to total plasma area under the concentration-time curve regardless of the level in plasma. It was found that at all dosing rates, levels in the perilymph and ratios of levels in perilymph/plasma remained constant as the dosing duration increased from nonototoxic to strongly ototoxic.

Quantitation and confirmation of sulfamethazine residues in swine muscle and liver by LC and GC/MS.

The present paper describes a liquid chromatographic (LC) method for purification of crude swine tissue extracts before gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) quantitation and confirmation of sulfamethazine at low ppb levels. Fractions corresponding to sulfamethazine were collected, evaporated to dryness, N-methylated with diazomethane, concentrated, and analyzed by GC/MS. A mass spectrometer was set to selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode.

Delay in hearing loss following drug administration. A consistent feature of amikacin ototoxicity.

The time course of threshold increase in the VIII nerve compound action potential was studied in guinea pigs following amikacin administration at four different constant infusion rates. Despite the wide range of dosing durations required to achieve drug ototoxicity (2-24 days), the full development of both high and low frequency hearing loss was invariably found to be delayed with respect to the time of drug removal. The greatest degree of delayed hearing loss generally occurred within the first 7 days after drug removal, with smaller losses occurring during later time intervals.

Incidence of amikacin ototoxicity: a sigmoid function of total drug exposure independent of plasma levels.

A sigmoid curve was found to closely describe the relationship between the incidence of amikacin ototoxicity (greater than or equal to 15 dB hearing loss at a given frequency) and either (1) total dose, or (2) the area under the curve (AUC) describing plasma drug concentration v time over the total period of amikacin administration (total AUC) in continuously infused guinea pigs. Total dose or total AUC estimates of the drug exposure required to produce ototoxicity in 50% of the animals (ED50s) were not significantly different over an eight-fold range of dosing rates or plasma concentrations. A theoretical explanation for this result is that ototoxicity occurs only when a critical amount of drug is accumulated at the ototoxic site by an essentially unidirectional process with a rate that is slow and linearly related to the extracellular drug concentration.

Early and continued participation in a work-site health and fitness program.

This study examines social-environmental, physical-behavioral, and psychological factors influencing early and continued participation in physical activity. Data for the study were collected during the first six months of operation of a work-site Health and Fitness Center. The following sources were used to collect data (N = 403): 1) printouts of frequency of employee visits to the Health and Fitness Center; 2) a questionnaire; and 3) fitness files.