Serum dihydroceramides correlate with insulin sensitivity in humans and decrease insulin sensitivity in vitro.

Serum ceramides, especially C16:0 and C18:0 species, are linked to CVD risk and insulin resistance, but details of this association are not well understood. We performed this study to quantify a broad range of serum sphingolipids in individuals spanning the physiologic range of insulin sensitivity and to determine if dihydroceramides cause insulin resistance in vitro. As expected, we found that serum triglycerides were significantly greater in individuals with obesity and T2D compared with athletes and lean individuals.

Association between residential green cover and direct healthcare costs in Northern California: An individual level analysis of 5 million persons.

Background And Objective: Prior studies have shown higher green cover levels are associated with beneficial health outcomes. We sought to determine if residential green cover was also associated with direct healthcare costs.

Methods: We linked residential Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) satellite data for 5,189,303 members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) to direct individual healthcare costs for 2003-2015.

Do Experiences With Nature Promote Learning? Converging Evidence of a Cause-and-Effect Relationship.

Do experiences with nature - from wilderness backpacking to plants in a preschool, to a wetland lesson on frogs-promote learning? Until recently, claims outstripped evidence on this question. But the field has matured, not only substantiating previously unwarranted claims but deepening our understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship between nature and learning. Hundreds of studies now bear on this question, and converging evidence strongly suggests that experiences of nature boost academic learning, personal development, and environmental stewardship.

Might School Performance Grow on Trees? Examining the Link Between "Greenness" and Academic Achievement in Urban, High-Poverty Schools.

In the United States, schools serving urban, low-income students are among the lowest-performing academically. Previous research in relatively well-off populations has linked vegetation in schoolyards and surrounding neighborhoods to better school performance even after controlling for important confounding factors, raising the tantalizing possibility that greening might boost academic achievement. This study extended previous cross-sectional research on the "greenness"-academic achievement link to a public school district in which nine out of ten children were eligible for free lunch.

Direct analysis of PI(3,4,5)P using liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5) trisphosphate (PIP) is a biologically active membrane phospholipid that is essential for the growth and survival of all eukaryotic cells. We describe a new method that directly measures PIP and describe the HPLC separation and measurement of the positional isomers of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate, PI(3,5)P, PI(3,4)P and PI(4,5)P. Mass spectrometric analyses were performed online using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) in the negative multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) modes.

Do Lessons in Nature Boost Subsequent Classroom Engagement? Refueling Students in Flight.

Teachers wishing to offer lessons in nature may hold back for fear of leaving students keyed up and unable to concentrate in subsequent, indoor lessons. This study tested the hypothesis that lessons in nature have positive-not negative-aftereffects on subsequent classroom engagement. Using carefully matched pairs of lessons (one in a relatively natural outdoor setting and one indoors), we observed subsequent classroom engagement during an indoor instructional period, replicating these comparisons over 10 different topics and weeks in the school year, in each of two third grade classrooms.

Intramuscular triglyceride synthesis: importance in muscle lipid partitioning in humans.

Intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) concentration is elevated in insulin-resistant individuals and was once thought to promote insulin resistance. However, endurance-trained athletes have equivalent concentration of IMTG compared with individuals with type 2 diabetes, and have very low risk of diabetes, termed the "athlete's paradox." We now know that IMTG synthesis is positively related to insulin sensitivity, but the exact mechanisms for this are unclear.

Isolates and antibiotic susceptibilities of endophthalmitis in postcataract surgery: a 12-year review of culture-proven cases.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the spectrum of organisms causing endophthalmitis after cataract surgery in a tertiary medical center in Taiwan and the antibiotic susceptibilities. This was a retrospective case series study. Patients with endophthalmitis after cataract surgery from January 2004 to July 2015 were reviewed.

Skeletal muscle phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine are related to insulin sensitivity and respond to acute exercise in humans.

Several recent reports indicate that the balance of skeletal muscle phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is a key determinant of muscle contractile function and metabolism. The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between skeletal muscle PC, PE and insulin sensitivity, and whether PC and PE are dynamically regulated in response to acute exercise in humans. Insulin sensitivity was measured via intravenous glucose tolerance in sedentary obese adults (OB; n = 14), individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D; n = 15), and endurance-trained athletes (ATH; n = 15).

Muscle sphingolipids during rest and exercise: a C18:0 signature for insulin resistance in humans.

Aims/hypotheses: Ceramides and other sphingolipids comprise a family of lipid molecules that accumulate in skeletal muscle and promote insulin resistance. Chronic endurance exercise training decreases muscle ceramides and other sphingolipids, but less is known about the effects of a single bout of exercise.

Methods: We measured basal relationships and the effect of acute exercise (1.

Biomarkers of Ectopic Fat Deposition: The Next Frontier in Serum Lipidomics.

Context: Strong evidence suggests that ectopic fat rather than fat mass per se drives risk for type 2 diabetes. Nonetheless, biomarkers of ectopic fat have gone unexplored.

Objective: To determine the utility of serum lipidomics to predict ectopic lipid deposition.

How might contact with nature promote human health? Promising mechanisms and a possible central pathway.

How might contact with nature promote human health? Myriad studies have linked the two; at this time the task of identifying the mechanisms underlying this link is paramount. This article offers: (1) a compilation of plausible pathways between nature and health; (2) criteria for identifying a possible central pathway; and (3) one promising candidate for a central pathway. The 21 pathways identified here include environmental factors, physiological and psychological states, and behaviors or conditions, each of which has been empirically tied to nature and has implications for specific physical and mental health outcomes.

Serum sphingolipids: relationships to insulin sensitivity and changes with exercise in humans.

Ceramides and sphingolipids are a family of lipid molecules that circulate in serum and accumulate in skeletal muscle, promoting insulin resistance. Plasma ceramide and dihydroceramide are related to insulin resistance, yet less is known regarding other ceramide and sphingolipid species. Despite its association with insulin sensitivity, chronic endurance exercise training does not change plasma ceramide and sphingolipid content, with little known regarding a single bout of exercise.

Linear oligoarylamines: electrochemical, EPR, and computational studies of their oxidative states.

A series of straight-chain oligoarylamines were synthesized and examined by electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, electron paramagnetic resonance techniques, and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. Depending on their electrochemical characteristics, these oligoarylamines were classified into two groups: one containing an odd number and the other an even number of redox centers. In the systems with odd redox centers (N1, N3, and N5), each oxidation was associated with the loss of one electron.

The relationship of learning motivation, achievement and satisfaction for nurses learning simple excel VBA information systems programming.

This study aims to understand the relationship between participating nurses' motivation, achievement and satisfaction before and after they learned to program in Excel Visual Basic for Applications (Excel VBA). We held a workshop to train nurses in developing simple Excel VBA information systems to support their clinical or administrative practices. Before and after the workshop, the participants were evaluated on their knowledge of Excel VBA, and a questionnaire was given to survey their learning motivation and satisfaction.

A course to teach students to learn mobile health by serving the elderly.

We designed a special course based on Service Learning theory to train the undergraduate students to teach the elderly people in community college to learn using smartphones for health. A 2-credit course was designed, composed of lecture & discussion and community service. 20 undergrduate stundents from university and 26 seniors from community college registered at this course.

Studies on the structure of N-phenyl-substituted hexaaza[1(6)]paracyclophane: synthesis, electrochemical properties, and theoretical calculation.

The N-phenyl-substituted hexaaza[1(6)]paracyclophane (3, hexamer) has been synthesized successfully in two steps and the noncoplanar conformation was calculated by gaussian program. The electrochemical properties exhibited lots of interesting results and each overlapping oxidative wave contained two-electron transfer.

Developing a visualized patient-centered, flow-based and objective-oriented care path of cardiac catheterization examination.

It has been known that visualization is a user-preferred and more meaningful interface of information systems. To reduce the anxiety and uncertainty of patients, we transformed the sophisticated process of cardiac catheterization into visualized information. The Microsoft Visio 2003 and Excel 2003 with the VBA automation tool were used to design a process flow of Cardiac Catheterization.

A simple and useful solution for visualizing the care flow for patients and healthcare professionals.

It has been known that visualization is a user-preferred and more meaningful interface of information systems. We used the Microsoft Visio 2003 and Excel 2003 with the VBA automation tool to design a process flow of Cardiac Catheterization. The results showed the technical feasibility and potentials of using simple tool to visualize the nursing process for both patients and healthcare professionals.

Sleep and non-invasive ventilation in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency.

Objective: Noninvasive ventilation with pressure support (NIV-PS) therapy can augment ventilation; however, such therapy is fixed and may not adapt to varied patient needs. We tested the hypothesis that in patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency, a newer mode of ventilation [averaged volume assured pressure support (AVAPS)] and lateral decubitus position were associated with better sleep efficiency than NIV-PS and supine position. Our secondary aim was to assess the effect of mode of ventilation, body position, and sleep-wakefulness state on minute ventilation (V(E)) in the same patients.

Wave-front reconstruction without twin-image blurring by two arbitrary step digital holograms.

We discuss a novel approach for numerical wave-front reconstruction which utilizes arbitrary phase step digital holography. Our experimental results demonstrate that only two digital holograms and a simple estimation procedure are required for twin-image suppression, and for numerical reconstruction. One advantage of this approach is its simplicity.

Preparation of Nano-Sized Particles of Collagen II by an Electrostatic Field System.

This study described a novel method for preparing nano-sized particles of collagen II by using a high voltage electrostatic field system. The preliminary results showed that the collagen II particles exhibited good sphericity and the particles diameters increased after longer electric field treatment. They were in the range of 208 plusmn 27, 277 plusmn 26 and 467 plusmn 35 nm in diameter at the treatment of 3 kV/cm for 1, 3, and 5 hours respectively at 25degC (collagen concentration was 0.