Feasibility and user acceptability of Breezing, a mobile indirect calorimetry device, in pregnant women with overweight or obesity.

Emerging evidence has suggested that prenatal resting energy expenditure (REE) may be an important determinant of gestational weight gain. Advancements in technology such as the real-time, mobile indirect calorimetry device (Breezing) have offered the novel opportunity to continuously assess prenatal REE while also potentially capturing fluctuations in REE. The purpose of this study was to examine feasibility and user acceptability of Breezing to assess weekly REE from 8-36 weeks gestation in pregnant women with overweight or obesity participating in the Healthy Mom Zone intervention study.

Underreporting of Energy Intake Increases over Pregnancy: An Intensive Longitudinal Study of Women with Overweight and Obesity.

(1) Background: Energy intake (EI) underreporting is a widespread problem of great relevance to public health, yet is poorly described among pregnant women. This study aimed to describe and predict error in self-reported EI across pregnancy among women with overweight or obesity. (2) Methods: Participants were from the Healthy Mom Zone study, an adaptive intervention to regulate gestational weight gain (GWG) tested in a feasibility RCT and followed women (n = 21) with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 from 8−12 weeks to ~36 weeks gestation.

Optimizing Behavioral Interventions to Regulate Gestational Weight Gain With Sequential Decision Policies Using Hybrid Model Predictive Control.

Excessive gestational weight gain is a significant public health concern that has been the recent focus of control systems-based interventions. (HMZ) is an intervention study that aims to develop and validate an individually-tailored and "intensively adaptive" intervention to manage weight gain for pregnant women with overweight or obesity using control engineering approaches. This paper presents how Hybrid Model Predictive Control (HMPC) can be used to assign intervention dosages and consequently generate a prescribed intervention with dosages unique to each individuals needs.

Influence of C14 alkane stress on antioxidant defense capacity, mineral nutrient element accumulation, and cadmium uptake of ryegrass.

In order to explore the influence of C14 alkane on physiological stress responses, mineral nutrient elements uptake, cadmium (Cd) transfer, and uptake characteristics of Lolium perenne L. (ryegrass), a series of pot trials were conducted which included a moderate level of Cd (2.182 mg·kg) without (control) and with five levels of C14 alkane (V/m, 0.

Influence of electrical fields enhanced phytoremediation of multi-metal contaminated soil on soil parameters and plants uptake in different soil sections.

The influence of electrical fields on phytoremediation of multi-metal (Cd, Cu, and Zn) naturally contaminated soils has been investigated based on different soil sections. After ryegrass and hybrid penisetum were sowed for 30 d, electrical fields were applied during 30 days with the switching polarity every 30 min and continuing for 16 h d. After electrokinetic (EK) assisted phytoremediation process, soil electrical conductivity (EC) in anode section and available soil potassium (K) in cathode section were obviously elevated.

Adaptive, behavioral intervention impact on weight gain, physical activity, energy intake, and motivational determinants: results of a feasibility trial in pregnant women with overweight/obesity.

Interventions have modest impact on reducing excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) in pregnant women with overweight/obesity. This two-arm feasibility randomized control trial tested delivery of and compliance with an intervention using adapted dosages to regulate GWG, and examined pre-post change in GWG and secondary outcomes (physical activity: PA, energy intake: EI, theories of planned behavior/self-regulation constructs) compared to a usual care group. Pregnant women with overweight/obesity (N = 31) were randomized to a usual care control group or usual care + intervention group from 8 to 2 weeks gestation and completed the intervention through 36 weeks gestation.

Short Nighttime Sleep Duration and High Number of Nighttime Awakenings Explain Increases in Gestational Weight Gain and Decreases in Physical Activity but Not Energy Intake among Pregnant Women with Overweight/Obesity.

Pregnant women are at a high risk for experiencing sleep disturbances, excess energy intake, low physical activity, and excessive gestational weight gain (GWG). Scant research has examined how sleep behaviors influence energy intake, physical activity, and GWG over the course of pregnancy. This study conducted secondary analyses from the Healthy Mom Zone Study to examine between- and within-person effects of weekly sleep behaviors on energy intake, physical activity, and GWG in pregnant women with overweight/obesity (PW-OW/OB) participating in an adaptive intervention to manage GWG.

Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons contaminated soil under the superimposed electric field condition.

An innovative superimposed electric field (SEF) was designed with the aim to achieve uniform removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. Also the influence of SEF on the bioremediation efficiency of PAHs was investigated in compared with the common electric field (CEF). Five experiments were conducted in this study, namely EK-CEF (applied CEF), EKB-CEF (CEF enhanced bioremediation), EK-SEF (applied SEF), EKB-SEF (SEF enhanced bioremediation), and Bio (bioremediation).

Characteristics of organic carbon metabolism and bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soil by a mesophilic aerobic biopile system.

An innovative mesophilic aerobic biopile technology was explored to improve the bioremediation efficiency of petroleum-contaminated soil. Under the suitable soil conditions (C:N:P at 100:5:1 and soil moisture content at 18%), the soil pH was hold in the range of 7.4 to 6.

Identifying ActiGraph non-wear time in pregnant women with overweight or obesity.

Objectives: Non-wear time algorithms have not been validated in pregnant women with overweight/obesity (PW-OW/OB), potentially leading to misclassification of sedentary/activity data, and inaccurate estimates of how physical activity is associated with pregnancy outcomes. We examined: (1) validity/reliability of non-wear time algorithms in PW-OW/OB by comparing wear time from five algorithms to a self-report criterion and (2) whether these algorithms over- or underestimated sedentary behaviors.

Design: PW-OW/OB (N = 19) from the Healthy Mom Zone randomized controlled trial wore an ActiGraph GT3x + for 7 consecutive days between 8-12 weeks gestation.

Enhancement of electrokinetic-bioremediation by ryegrass: Sustainability of electrokinetic effect and improvement of n-hexadecane degradation.

Phytoremediation-assisted electrokinetic-bioremediation is a novel technology for soil remediation. We aimed to study the effects of a plant (ryegrass) on electrokinetic-bioremediation in n-hexadecane-contaminated soil. After treatment for 40 days, the n-hexadecane degradation ratio of electrokinetic-bioremediation-ryegrass (EK-Bio-RG) was 4.

System Identification Approaches For Energy Intake Estimation: Enhancing Interventions For Managing Gestational Weight Gain.

Excessive maternal weight gain during pregnancy represents a major public health concern that calls for novel and effective gestational weight management interventions. In (HMZ), an on-going intervention study, energy intake underreporting has been found to be an important consideration that interferes with accurate weight control assessment, and the effective use of energy balance models in an intervention setting. In this paper, a series of estimation approaches that address measurement noise and measurement losses are developed to better understand the extent of energy intake underreporting.

Change in soil ion content and soil water-holding capacity during electro-bioremediation of petroleum contaminated saline soil.

This study investigated changes in soil ion content and soil water-holding capacity during electro-bioremediation (EK-Bio) of petroleum contaminated saline soil (ion content of 3.92 g/kg). The results indicated that the soil ions surrounded the electrodes with increasing time, thus changing the soil water-holding capacity.

Enhanced electrokinetic remediation and simulation of cadmium-contaminated soil by superimposed electric field.

The 'focusing' effect has become a limiting factor for the removal of heavy metals from soils by electrokinetic (EK) remediation. A superimposed electric field EK (SE-EK) method is proposed to address this problem. Two sets of fixed electrodes placed at different positions were switched to move the 'focusing' region of Cd to the cathode by controlling the location of the pH jumping front.

A Dynamical Systems Model of Intrauterine Fetal Growth.

The underlying mechanisms for how maternal perinatal obesity and intrauterine environment influence fetal development are not well understood and thus require further understanding. In this paper, energy balance concepts are used to develop a comprehensive dynamical systems model for fetal growth that illustrates how maternal factors (energy intake and physical activity) influence fetal weight and related components (fat mass, fat-free mass, and placental volume) over time. The model is estimated from intensive measurements of fetal weight and placental volume obtained as part of (HMZ), a novel intervention for managing gestational weight gain in obese/overweight women.

A "Model-on-Demand" Methodology For Energy Intake Estimation to Improve Gestational Weight Control Interventions.

Energy intake underreporting is a frequent concern in weight control interventions. In prior work, a series of estimation approaches were developed to better understand the issue of underreporting of energy intake; among these is an approach based on semi-physical identification principles that adjusts energy intake self-reports by obtaining a functional relationship for the extent of underreporting. In this paper, this global modeling approach is extended, and for comparison purposes, a local modeling approach based on the concept of Model-on-Demand (MoD) is developed.

Gestational Weight Gain Intervention Impacts Determinants of Healthy Eating and Exercise in Overweight/Obese Pregnant Women.

High gestational weight gain (GWG) in overweight/obese pregnant women increases maternal-fetal complications. We conducted a 6-week GWG intervention based on an energy balance model that includes theories of planned behavior (TPB) and self-regulation constructs to promote exercise and healthy eating motivation and behaviors. The purposes of this proof-of-concept feasibility study were to examine: (1) the energy balance model constructs over the intervention, and (2) pre-post intervention, weekly, and dose-response changes in study constructs.

Individually Tailored, Adaptive Intervention to Manage Gestational Weight Gain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial in Women With Overweight and Obesity.

Background: High gestational weight gain is a major public health concern as it independently predicts adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Past interventions have had only limited success in effectively managing pregnancy weight gain, especially among women with overweight and obesity. Well-designed interventions are needed that take an individualized approach and target unique barriers to promote healthy weight gain.

State Estimation Under Correlated Partial Measurement Losses: Implications for Weight Control Interventions.

The growing prevalence of obesity and related health problems warrants immediate need for effective weight control interventions. Quantitative energy balance models serve as powerful tools to assist in these interventions, as a result of their ability to accurately predict individual weight change based on reliable measurements of energy intake and energy expenditure. However, the data collected in most existing weight interventions is self-monitored; these measurements often have significant noise or experience losses resulting from participant non-adherence, which in turn, limits accurate model estimation.

Semi-physical Identification and State Estimation of Energy Intake for Interventions to Manage Gestational Weight Gain.

Excessive gestational weight gain (i.e., weight gain during pregnancy) is a significant public health concern, and has been the recent focus of novel, control systems-based interventions.

A novel risperidone-loaded SAIB-PLGA mixture matrix depot with a reduced burst release: effects of solvents and PLGA on drug release behaviors in vitro/in vivo.

The purpose of this study was to develop an in situ forming SAIB (sucrose acetate isobutyrate)-PLGA (poly (d, lactide-co-glycolide)) mixture matrix depot for sustained release of risperidone. The factors affecting the risperidone release kinetics were investigated to obtain further insight into the drug release mechanisms. The burst release in vitro was significantly reduced (4.