Impact of Genetic Variability on Physiological Responses to Caffeine in Humans: A Systematic Review.

Emerging research has demonstrated that genetic variation may impact physiological responses to caffeine consumption. The purpose of the present review was to systematically recognize how select single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) impact habitual use of caffeine as well as the ergogenic and anxiogenic consequences of caffeine. Two databases (PubMed and EBSCO) were independently searched using the same algorithm.

Genome wide association study for heat stress induced mortality in a white egg layer line.

High environmental temperature is a serious stress affecting economic and biological efficiency of poultry production in tropical and subtropical countries that is expected to become more prominent with global climate change. Iowa experienced 3 acute heat waves of 11, 3, and 4 d of heat index above 38°C in the summer of 2012, which led to production losses and increased bird mortality. For the current study, the proportion of daughters that died from heat stress during this period was calculated for 118 sire families of an elite White Leghorn layer line.

Creating Walkable Communities: Understanding Trade-Offs.

Implementing community design strategies can offer benefits related to walkability; however, they may also come with trade-offs to other community needs and desires. We examined public sentiment for 2 trade-offs among 2014 SummerStyles survey respondents (n = 3,995). About 33% of adults reported strongly favoring safer street design even if driving is slower; only 19% reported strongly favoring community design with walkable destinations even if homes are closer together.

Transportation and Leisure Walking Among U.S. Adults: Trends in Reported Prevalence and Volume, National Health Interview Survey 2005-2015.

Introduction: Promotion of walking is a promising strategy for increasing physical activity levels in the U.S. The proportion of adults who report walking for either transportation or leisure has increased in recent years, but evidence on trends in walking for specific purposes is limited.

Investigating the genetic determination of clutch traits in laying hens.

Clutch traits were proposed as a more detailed description of egg-laying patterns than simple total egg production. In this study, egg production of 23,809 Rhode Island Red (RIR) and 22,210 White Leghorn (WL) hens was described in terms of number of clutches, average and maximum clutch size, age at first egg, total saleable egg production, and percentage of egg defects. Genetic parameters were estimated using a six-trait animal model.

Utility of the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities.

Purpose: The purposes of this article are to: (a) describe the rationale and development of the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities (Youth Compendium); and (b) discuss the utility of the Youth Compendium for audiences in research, education, community, health care, public health, and the private sector.

Methods: The Youth Compendium provides a list of 196 physical activities (PA) categorized by activity types, specific activities, and metabolic costs (youth metabolic equivalents of task [MET]) as measured by indirect calorimetry. The utility of the Youth Compendium was assessed by describing ways in which it can be used by a variety of audiences.

Predicting ascites incidence in a simulated altitude-challenge using single nucleotide polymorphisms identified in multi-generational genome wide association studies.

Assessing pedigreed broiler lines for ascites resistance in an industry setting is time consuming. Further, the use of sibling selection implies study subjects are not used in the breeding program, and instead, siblings take their place in pedigree systems, which reduces overall genetic accuracy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of prediction models produced with SNP with the goal of predicting ascites incidence.

Network Analysis: A Systems Framework to Address Grand Challenges in Plant Pathology.

Plant pathology must address a number of challenges, most of which are characterized by complexity. Network analysis offers useful tools for addressing complex systems and an opportunity for synthesis within plant pathology and between it and relevant disciplines such as in the social sciences. We discuss applications of network analysis, which ultimately may be integrated together into more synthetic analyses of how to optimize plant disease management systems.

Primary Care Providers' Awareness of Physical Activity-Related Intensive Behavioral Counseling Services for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention.

Purpose: The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that adults at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) be offered or referred to intensive behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthful diet and physical activity for CVD prevention. We assessed primary care providers' (PCPs) awareness of local physical activity-related behavioral counseling services, whether this awareness was associated with referring eligible patients, and the types and locations of services to which they referred.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Life Program: Pilot Testing a Palliative Psychology Group Intervention.

Background: Psychosocial interventions for palliative care populations, individuals with life-limiting illness, improve distress; however, less is known about these interventions among military Veterans.

Objectives: This quality improvement project evaluated a palliative psychology group intervention to reduce depression, anxiety, and stress among Veterans with advanced life-limiting illness.

Methods: Veterans receiving palliative care at a mid-Atlantic VA healthcare system were referred by a mental health provider.

The Society for Vascular Surgery practice guidelines on follow-up after vascular surgery arterial procedures.

Although follow-up after open surgical and endovascular procedures is generally regarded as an important part of the care provided by vascular surgeons, there are no detailed or comprehensive guidelines that specify the optimal approaches with regard to testing methods, indications for reintervention, and follow-up intervals. To provide guidance to the vascular surgeon, the Clinical Practice Council of the Society for Vascular Surgery appointed an expert panel and a methodologist to review the current clinical evidence and to develop recommendations for follow-up after vascular surgery procedures. For those procedures for which high-quality evidence was not available, recommendations were based on observational studies, committee consensus, and indirect evidence.

CDC's Active People, Healthy Nation: Creating an Active America, Together.

Physical activity can reduce the risk of at least 20 chronic diseases and conditions and provide effective treatment for many of these conditions. Yet, physical activity levels of Americans remain low, with only small improvements over 20 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considered what would accelerate progress and, as a result, developed Active People, Healthy Nation, an aspirational initiative to improve physical activity in 2.

Community and Street-Scale Supports for Walking in the US Virgin Islands Before the 2017 Hurricanes.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of community and street-scale design features that promote walking across the US Virgin Islands (USVI).

Methods: In May 2016, the USVI Department of Health, with technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a territory-wide audit with a validated tool. We selected street segments (n = 1114) via a 2-stage sampling method, and estimates were weighted to be representative of publicly accessible street length.

Genetic basis of resistance to avian influenza in different commercial varieties of layer chickens.

An outbreak of H5N2 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 2015, resulting in mandatory euthanization of millions of chickens, was one of the most fatal in the US history. The aim of this study was to detect genes associated with survival following natural infection with HPAI during this outbreak. Blood samples were collected from 274 individuals from 3 commercial varieties of White Leghorn.

Racial and ethnic differences in perceived safety barriers to walking, United States National Health Interview Survey - 2015.

Barriers to safe walking may prevent people from being physically active, and previous reports have identified differences in barriers to safe walking across racial and ethnic groups. The purpose of this research was to determine the role demographic characteristics play on racial/ethnic differences in perceived barriers to safe walking and determine if racial/ethnic differences vary by urban/rural residence and Census region. Participants in the 2015 National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Supplement (n = 31,433 adults ≥18 years) reported perceived barriers to safe walking (traffic, crime, and animals) and demographic characteristics.

Genomic prediction of avian influenza infection outcome in layer chickens.

Avian influenza (AI) is a devastating poultry disease that currently can be controlled only by liquidation of affected flocks. In spite of typically very high mortality rates, a group of survivors was identified and genotyped on a 600K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip to identify genetic differences between survivors, and age- and genetics-matched controls from unaffected flocks. In a previous analysis of this dataset, a heritable component was identified and several regions that are associated with outcome of the infection were localized but none with a large effect.

Psychotherapy Targeting Depression and Anxiety for Use in Palliative Care: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Research on the effectiveness of evidence-based practices in the treatment of depression and anxiety with palliative care populations is primarily limited to individuals having specific conditions such as cancer.

Objective: This meta-analysis examined the effect of psychotherapy on depression and anxiety among individuals with any condition appropriate for palliative care.

Methods: We searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases until August 2017.

Anticorrelated Contributions to Pre-edge Features of Aluminate Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy in Concentrated Electrolytes.

Ion pairing within complex solutions and electrolytes is a difficult phenomenon to measure and investigate, yet it has significant impact upon macroscopic processes, such as crystal formation. Traditional methods of detecting and characterizing ion pairing are sensitive to contact ion pairs, may require minimum concentrations that limit applicability, and can have difficulty in characterizing solutions with many components. Because of its element specificity and sensitivity to local environment, X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) is a promising tool for investigating ion pairing in complex solutions.

Percentage of Deaths Associated With Inadequate Physical Activity in the United States.

Introduction: Current physical activity guidelines recommend that adults participate weekly in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity equivalent aerobic physical activity to achieve substantial health benefits. We used a nationally representative sample of data of US adults to estimate the percentage of deaths attributable to levels of physical activity that were inadequate to meet the aerobic guideline.

Methods: Data from the 1990 to 1991 National Health Interview Survey for adults aged 25 years or older were linked with mortality data up until December 31, 2011, from the National Death Index (N = 67,762 persons and 18,796 deaths).

Pigment carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures in euxinic basins.

The carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of chloropigments and porphyrins from the sediments of redox-stratified lakes and marine basins reveal details of past biogeochemical nutrient cycling. Such interpretations are strengthened by modern calibration studies, and here, we report on the C and N isotopic composition of pigments and nutrients in the water column and surface sediment of redox-stratified Fayetteville Green Lake (FGL; New York). We also report δ C and δ N values for pyropheophytin a (Pphe a) and bacteriochlorophyll e (Bchl e) deposited in the Black Sea during its transition to a redox-stratified basin ca.

Patient and family description of receiving care in acuity adaptable care model.

Aim: To explore patient and family perspectives of hospital care in an acuity adaptable care model implemented in an urban, public safety-net hospital.

Background: Specialty care units result in reactionary bed management. Changes in acuity generate costly, disruptive, intra-hospital patient transfers, which negatively affect clinical outcomes while increasing nurse workload.