Non-nutritive sweetened beverages versus water after a 52-week weight management programme: a randomised controlled trial.

Background/objective: Sugar-sweetened beverages are a substantial source of dietary sugar that can contribute to weight gain and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Dietary guidelines recommend non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) beverages to reduce sugar consumption, however, there is a need for long-term randomised controlled trials on their use. We aimed to compare the effects of NNS beverages and water on body weight during weight loss and maintenance in a behavioural weight management programme.

Effects of non-nutritive sweetened beverages versus water after a 12-week weight-loss program: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare non-nutritive sweetened (NNS) beverages versus water for weight loss after a 12-week behavioral weight-management program.

Methods: This is an ongoing, 2-year, parallel-group, open-label, controlled equivalence trial; week-12 data are reported. Adults with BMI of 27 to 35 kg/m who regularly drank cold beverages were randomized 1:1 to intention-to-treat water or NNS beverages while undergoing a weekly 12-week group behavioral weight-management program.

Characterization of childhood trauma, hippocampal mediation and Cannabis use in a large dataset of psychosis and non-psychosis individuals.

Background: Cannabis use (CA) and childhood trauma (CT) independently increase the risk of earlier psychosis onset; but their interaction in relation to psychosis risk and association with endocannabinoid-receptor rich brain regions, i.e. the hippocampus (HP), remains unclear.

Virtue signalling and the Condorcet Jury theorem.

One might think that if the majority of virtue signallers judge that a proposition is true, then there is significant evidence for the truth of that proposition. Given the Condorcet Jury Theorem, individual virtue signallers need not be very reliable for the majority judgment to be very likely to be correct. Thus, even people who are skeptical of the judgments of individual virtue signallers should think that if a majority of them judge that a proposition is true, then that provides significant evidence that the proposition is true.

Accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of post-concussion symptoms due to mild traumatic brain injury: a pilot study.

: To investigate the feasibility, tolerability, and efficacy of twice-daily, low frequency (LF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the reduction of chronic post-concussion symptoms (PCS) in patients who have suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).: 15 patients with mTBI received 30 sessions of twice-daily LF rTMS (1 Hz) over the right DLPFC. Post-concussion symptoms, pain, disability, fatigue, apathy, agitation, and mood were assessed by a psychiatrist pre- and post-treatment.

Effects of Intranasal Epinephrine on Cerebrospinal Fluid Epinephrine Pharmacokinetics, Nasal Mucosa, Plasma Epinephrine Pharmacokinetics, and Cardiovascular Changes.

Purpose: We aimed to assess intranasal (IN) epinephrine effects on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) absorption, nasal mucosa quality, plasma epinephrine pharmacokinetics (PK), and cardiovascular changes in dogs.

Methods: CSF epinephrine concentration was measured and nasal mucosa quality was evaluated after IN epinephrine 4 mg and one or two 4 mg doses (21 min apart), respectively. Maximum plasma concentration [C], time to C [T], area under the curve from 0 to 120 min [AUC], and cardiovascular effects were evaluated after epinephrine IN (4 and 5 mg) and intramuscular (IM; 0.

Intranasal epinephrine in dogs: Pharmacokinetic and heart rate effects.

Epinephrine is the standard of care for the treatment of severe allergy and anaphylaxis. Epinephrine is most often administered through the intramuscular (IM) route via autoinjector. The current study aimed to evaluate an alternative method of epinephrine treatment through intranasal (IN) delivery in dogs.

Intranasal epinephrine effects on epinephrine pharmacokinetics and heart rate in a nasal congestion canine model.

Background: Histamine release and vasodilation during an allergic reaction can alter the pharmacokinetics of drugs administered via the intranasal (IN) route. The current study evaluated the effects of histamine-induced nasal congestion on epinephrine pharmacokinetics and heart rate changes after IN epinephrine.

Methods: Dogs received 5% histamine or saline IN followed by 4 mg epinephrine IN.

Expression of estrus before fixed-time AI affects conception rates and factors that impact expression of estrus and the repeatability of expression of estrus in sequential breeding seasons.

Expression of estrus after PG and before fixed-time AI has been reported to change the uterine environment, increase accessory sperm numbers, fertilization rates, and overall embryo survival. Thus, expression of estrus can strongly impact overall pregnancy success. Because of variation in percentage of beef females detected in estrus and number of animals per study, it can be difficult to detect a significant effect of estrus on pregnancy success.

Linking hospital security to customer service: making the case for 'world class' security.

The reluctance of many hospitals today to invest money and resources into security and safety while at the same time promoting customer good will is a fallacy that has to be corrected, according to the author. He demonstrates how high customer satisfaction scores, as well as regulatory compliance, can only be achieved if a hospital takes the steps necessary to provide adequate safety and security to patients, visitors, physicians and to all who come to the hospital.

Dynamic model of time-dependent complex networks.

The characterization of the "most connected" nodes in static or slowly evolving complex networks has helped in understanding and predicting the behavior of social, biological, and technological networked systems, including their robustness against failures, vulnerability to deliberate attacks, and diffusion properties. However, recent empirical research of large dynamic networks (characterized by irregular connections that evolve rapidly) has demonstrated that there is little continuity in degree centrality of nodes over time, even when their degree distributions follow a power law. This unexpected dynamic centrality suggests that the connections in these systems are not driven by preferential attachment or other known mechanisms.

Implementing and securing a tobacco free campus.

Predictions are that the time is not far off when hospitals will be completely tobacco free, removing smoking kiosks and abolishing designated smoking areas. Achieving this goal will not be easy and will require support from the top down, dedicated program participants, and well-formulated plans and their implementation, according to the author, who describes the experiences of a medical center in a major tobacco producing state in becoming tobacco free.

Evidence of construct similarity in Executive Functions and Fluid Reasoning abilities.

Executive Functions and Fluid Reasoning are both considered to be core aspects of intelligence and mediated by frontal lobe functioning. However, both constructs considerably overlap, and the distinction between the two constructs is unclear. For this study, three measures of Executive Functions and three measures of Fluid Reasoning were administered to a group of participants.

Granular clustering in a hydrodynamic simulation.

We examine the hydrodynamics of a granular gas using numerical simulation. We demonstrate the appearance of shearing and clustering instabilities predicted by linear stability analysis, and show that their appearance is directly related to the inelasticity of collisions in the material. We discuss the rate at which these instabilities arise and the manner in which clusters grow and merge.

Short-term effects of exercise and music on cognitive performance among participants in a cardiac rehabilitation program.

Objective: Exercise has been associated with improved cognitive performance among patients with coronary artery disease. Music listening has been associated with enhanced cognitive functioning among healthy adults. This study evaluated the combined influence of exercise and music listening on cognitive performance among patients in cardiac rehabilitation (CR).

Performance improvement in the JCAHO environment of care.

Using security management to demonstrate performance improvement for JCAHO can be a viable option. The article illustrates how a program for reducing theft became the basis for demonstrating performance improvement.

Cyclopentene Synthesis from 1,3-Dienes via Base-Induced Ring Contraction of 3,6-Dihydro-2H-thiopyrans: Studies on Diastereoselection and Mechanism.

An investigation of the scope and mechanism of a new synthesis of cyclopentenes from 3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyrans is described. Alkyl halides substituted with an electron-withdrawing group in the alpha-position were reacted with sodium thiosulfate, yielding the corresponding Bunte salts, which could be transformed to reactive thiocarbonyl compounds by elimination of the elements of bisulfite with mild base treatment. In situ trapping by 1,3-dienes afforded in good yields a variety of 3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyrans substituted with electron-withdrawing groups at the 2-position.