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Sample records for activation barrier ea

  1. EA Training 2.0 Newsletter #3 - EA Active, Problem Based Learning Methodology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buus, Lillian; Ryberg, Thomas; Sroga, Magdalena

    2010-01-01

    The main products of the project are innovative, active problem-based learning methodology for EA education and training, EA courses for university students and private and public sector employees, and an Enterprise Architecture competence ontology including a complete specification of skills...

  2. Overcoming hybridization barriers by the secretion of the maize pollen tube attractant ZmEA1 from Arabidopsis ovules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Márton, Mihaela L; Fastner, Astrid; Uebler, Susanne; Dresselhaus, Thomas

    2012-07-10

    A major goal of plant reproduction research is to understand and overcome hybridization barriers so that the gene pool of crop plants can be increased and improved upon. After successful pollen germination on a receptive stigma, the nonmotile sperm cells of flowering plants are transported via the pollen tube (PT) to the egg apparatus for the achievement of double fertilization. The PT path is controlled by various hybridization mechanisms probably involving a larger number of species-specific molecular interactions. The egg-apparatus-secreted polymorphic peptides ZmEA1 in maize and LURE1 and LURE2 in Torenia fournieri as well as TcCRP1 in T. concolor were shown to be required for micropylar PT guidance, the last step of the PT journey. We report here that ZmEA1 attracts maize PTs in vitro and arrests their growth at higher concentrations. Furthermore, it binds to the subapical region of maize PT tips in a species-preferential manner. To overcome hybridization barriers at the level of gametophytic PT guidance, we expressed ZmEA1 in Arabidopsis synergid cells. Secreted ZmEA1 enabled Arabidopsis ovules to guide maize PT in vitro in a species-preferential manner to the micropylar opening of the ovule. These results demonstrate that the egg-apparatus-controlled reproductive-isolation barrier of PT guidance can be overcome even between unrelated plant families. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. NOAA Weather Radio - EAS Description

    Science.gov (United States)

    Non-Zero All Hazards Logo Emergency Alert Description Event Codes Fact Sheet FAQ Organization Search Search For Go NWS All NOAA Emergency Alert System (EAS) List of EAS Event Codes NWS EAS fact sheet What Management Agency (FEMA) and the NWS, implements the EAS at the federal level. The EAS is the nation's public

  4. Comparison of absolute intensity between EAS with gamma families and general EAS at Mount Norikura

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitsumune, T.; Nakatsuka, T.; Nishikawa, K.

    1985-01-01

    Gamma families with total energy greater than 10 TeV, found in the EX chamber which was cooperated with the EAS array, were combined with EAS triggered by big bursts. The absolute intensity of the size spectrum of these combined EAS was compared with that of general EAS obtained by AS trigger. The EAS with sizes greater than 2x1 million were always accompanied by gamma families with sigma E sub gamma H 10 TeV, n sub gamma, H 2 and Emin=3 TeV, although the rate of EAS accompaning such gamma families decreases rapidly as their sizes decrease

  5. Perceptions of preclinical medical students towards extracurricular activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almasry, Mazen; Kayali, Zeina; Alsaad, Rakan; Alhayaza, Ghada; Ahmad, Mohammad Sharique; Obeidat, Akef; Abu-Zaid, Ahmed

    2017-08-16

    To determine the percentage of students involved in extracurricular activities (EAs), explore relationships between participation in EAs and students' characteristics, and investigate students' perceptions (i.e., motives and barriers) towards participation in EAs. An online, anonymous, random, cross-sectional, self-rating survey was administered during spring 2015-2016 to second-year and third-year students (n=340). Chi-square test was used to explore relationships between participation in EAs and students' characteristics. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the mean 5-point Likert scale responses according to students' characteristics. Statistical significance was determined as pstudents participated in the survey (n=237/340, response rate: 69.7%). Only 143 students (60.3%, n=140/237) participated in EAs, and this percentage significantly differed by gender (χ 2 (1, N=237)=4.3205, pstudents regarding the following barrier: "affect academic performance negatively" (U=5389.5, psatisfactory, and positively related to students' characteristics of male gender, non-Saudi nationality and high cGPA. Medical schools should facilitate all potential motives and resolve all associated barriers towards participation in EAs.

  6. D2.1 - An EA Active, Problem Based Learning Methodology - EAtrain2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryberg, Thomas; Georgsen, Marianne; Buus, Lillian

    This deliverable reports on the work undertaken in work package 2 with the key objective to develop a learning methodology for web 2.0 mediated Enterprise Architecture (EA) learning building on a problem based learning (PBL) approach. The deliverable reports not only on the methodology but also...... on the activities leading to its development (literature review, workshops, etc.) and on further outcomes of this work relevant to the platform specification and pilot courses preparation....

  7. Performance comparisons between PCA-EA-LBG and PCA-LBG-EA approaches in VQ codebook generation for image compression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Jinn-Tsong; Chou, Ping-Yi; Chou, Jyh-Horng

    2015-11-01

    The aim of this study is to generate vector quantisation (VQ) codebooks by integrating principle component analysis (PCA) algorithm, Linde-Buzo-Gray (LBG) algorithm, and evolutionary algorithms (EAs). The EAs include genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimisation (PSO), honey bee mating optimisation (HBMO), and firefly algorithm (FF). The study is to provide performance comparisons between PCA-EA-LBG and PCA-LBG-EA approaches. The PCA-EA-LBG approaches contain PCA-GA-LBG, PCA-PSO-LBG, PCA-HBMO-LBG, and PCA-FF-LBG, while the PCA-LBG-EA approaches contain PCA-LBG, PCA-LBG-GA, PCA-LBG-PSO, PCA-LBG-HBMO, and PCA-LBG-FF. All training vectors of test images are grouped according to PCA. The PCA-EA-LBG used the vectors grouped by PCA as initial individuals, and the best solution gained by the EAs was given for LBG to discover a codebook. The PCA-LBG approach is to use the PCA to select vectors as initial individuals for LBG to find a codebook. The PCA-LBG-EA used the final result of PCA-LBG as an initial individual for EAs to find a codebook. The search schemes in PCA-EA-LBG first used global search and then applied local search skill, while in PCA-LBG-EA first used local search and then employed global search skill. The results verify that the PCA-EA-LBG indeed gain superior results compared to the PCA-LBG-EA, because the PCA-EA-LBG explores a global area to find a solution, and then exploits a better one from the local area of the solution. Furthermore the proposed PCA-EA-LBG approaches in designing VQ codebooks outperform existing approaches shown in the literature.

  8. Reconceptualizing public participation in environmental assessment as EA civics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sinclair, A. John, E-mail: jsincla@umanitoba.ca [Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 (Canada); Diduck, Alan P., E-mail: a.diduck@uwinnipeg.ca [Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg R3B 2E9 (Canada)

    2017-01-15

    Notwithstanding the considerable attention placed on creating meaningful opportunities for public participation in environmental assessment (EA), many participants and those who have reviewed participation processes often find practice sorely wanting. This reality stands in stark juxtaposition to future environmental governance needs, which will require increased openness, deliberation and transdisciplinary knowledge in order to deal with environmental change that is ever more uncertain, complex and conflictual. In this paper, our purpose was to consider how to meet those needs through reconceptualizing public participation as EA civics, founded on an active citizen base, deliberative in nature and orientated toward learning. We do this through developing a new conceptual model of next generation participation processes that is relevant at multiple spatial scales and institutional levels, is applicable to the entire assessment cycle and spans temporal scales through feedback loops. Our EA civics model builds on the “civics approach” to environmental governance and “action civics” by extending their core ideas to participation in EA. We did this by conducting an integrative literature review (including numerous papers we have contributed over the years) and reflecting on our own experiences as EA participants. We apply current thinking on public participation design to our EA civics conceptualization and highlight important design features that have received scant attention. We conclude that EA civics holds promise for fairer and more robust participation processes if all aspects of the model are considered and the actions related to each are implemented. - Highlights: • Consideration of the ‘civics approach’ and ‘action civics’ in an EA context • Conceptualization of public participation as EA civics • Reflection on the EA civics as a model of participation suitable for next generation assessment.

  9. Reconceptualizing public participation in environmental assessment as EA civics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinclair, A. John; Diduck, Alan P.

    2017-01-01

    Notwithstanding the considerable attention placed on creating meaningful opportunities for public participation in environmental assessment (EA), many participants and those who have reviewed participation processes often find practice sorely wanting. This reality stands in stark juxtaposition to future environmental governance needs, which will require increased openness, deliberation and transdisciplinary knowledge in order to deal with environmental change that is ever more uncertain, complex and conflictual. In this paper, our purpose was to consider how to meet those needs through reconceptualizing public participation as EA civics, founded on an active citizen base, deliberative in nature and orientated toward learning. We do this through developing a new conceptual model of next generation participation processes that is relevant at multiple spatial scales and institutional levels, is applicable to the entire assessment cycle and spans temporal scales through feedback loops. Our EA civics model builds on the “civics approach” to environmental governance and “action civics” by extending their core ideas to participation in EA. We did this by conducting an integrative literature review (including numerous papers we have contributed over the years) and reflecting on our own experiences as EA participants. We apply current thinking on public participation design to our EA civics conceptualization and highlight important design features that have received scant attention. We conclude that EA civics holds promise for fairer and more robust participation processes if all aspects of the model are considered and the actions related to each are implemented. - Highlights: • Consideration of the ‘civics approach’ and ‘action civics’ in an EA context • Conceptualization of public participation as EA civics • Reflection on the EA civics as a model of participation suitable for next generation assessment

  10. Investigation of EAS cores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaulov S.B.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The development of nuclear-electromagnetic cascade models in air in the late forties have shown informational content of the study of cores of extensive air showers (EAS. These investigations were the main goal in different experiments which were carried out over many years by a variety of methods. Outcomes of such investigations obtained in the HADRON experiment using an X-ray emulsion chamber (XREC as a core detector are considered. The Ne spectrum of EAS associated with γ-ray families, spectra of γ-rays (hadrons in EAS cores and the Ne dependence of the muon number, ⟨Nμ⟩, in EAS with γ-ray families are obtained for the first time at energies of 1015–1017 eV with this method. A number of new effects were observed, namely, an abnormal scaling violation in hadron spectra which are fundamentally different from model predictions, an excess of muon number in EAS associated with γ-ray families, and the penetrating component in EAS cores. It is supposed that the abnormal behavior of γ-ray spectra and Ne dependence of the muon number are explained by the emergence of a penetrating component in the 1st PCR spectrum ‘knee’ range. Nuclear and astrophysical explanations of the origin of the penetrating component are discussed. The necessity of considering the contribution of a single close cosmic-ray source to explain the PCR spectrum in the knee range is noted.

  11. EAS experiment on board the Airbus A380

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capdevielle, J.N.; Cohen, F.; Jedrzejczak, K.; Szabelska, B.; Szabelski, J.; Wibig, T.

    2006-01-01

    We consider taking the opportunity of about 10,000 hours of test flights of the Airbus A380, and to install in the passenger area detectors for high energy cosmic ray events. The altitude of 10 km (250 g/cm 2 ) presents the opportunity to measure EAS originating from heavy primaries to energies exceeding 10 7 GeV, and also the proton component beyond the energy of the knee arriving without interaction. At the flight altitude iron originated EAS are well developed and by registering their lateral distribution in the 70 meters long cabin it will be possible to distinguish them from proton originated EAS. The hadron component of EAS (registered as number of secondary hadrons produced in the detector) would help in discrimination and energy estimation. On the other hand, the detection of high energy protons (without EAS) would enable us to measure the high energy proton spectrum. The proton energy would be estimated via hadron multiplicity in single interactions inside the detector. We propose to use about 60 modules of 0.5 m 2 of active detectors with scintillators to detect E-M component and a carbon target with lead layer to detect the hadronic component via neutron registrations

  12. Barriers for recess physical activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pawlowski, Charlotte Skau; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine; Schipperijn, Jasper

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Many children, in particular girls, do not reach the recommended amount of daily physical activity. School recess provides an opportunity for both boys and girls to be physically active, but barriers to recess physical activity are not well understood. This study explores gender...... differences in children's perceptions of barriers to recess physical activity. Based on the socio-ecological model four types of environmental barriers were distinguished: natural, social, physical and organizational environment. METHODS: Data were collected through 17 focus groups (at 17 different schools...... this study, we recommend promoting recess physical activity through a combination of actions, addressing barriers within the natural, social, physical and organizational environment....

  13. Electroacupuncture at Zusanli Prevents Severe Scalds-Induced Gut Ischemia and Paralysis by Activating the Cholinergic Pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huan Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Severe burn injuries may result in gastrointestinal paralysis, and barrier dysfunction due to gut ischemia and lowered vagus excitability. In this study we investigate whether electroacupuncture (EA at Zusanli (ST36 could prevent severe scalds-induced gut ischemia, paralysis, and barrier dysfunction and whether the protective role of EA at ST36 is related to the vagus nerve. 35% burn area rats were divided into six groups: (a EAN: EA nonchannel acupoints followed by scald injury; (b EA: EA at ST36 after scald injury; (c VGX/EA: vagotomy (VGX before EA at ST36 and scald injury; (d VGX/EAN: VGX before EAN and scald injury; (e atropine/EA: applying atropine before scald injury and then EA at ST36; (f atropine/EAN: applying atropine before scald injury and then EA at nonchannel acupoints. EA at the Zusanli point significantly promoted the intestinal impelling ratio and increased the amount of mucosal blood flow after scald injury. The plasma diamine oxidase (DAO and intestinal permeability decreased significantly after scald injury in the EA group compared with others. However, EA after atropine injection or cervical vagotomy failed to improve intestinal motility and mucosa blood flow suggesting that the mechanism of EA may be related to the activation of the cholinergic nerve pathway.

  14. 47 CFR 11.31 - EAS protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false EAS protocol. 11.31 Section 11.31... characters. FM or TV call signs must use a slash ASCII character number 47 (/) in lieu of a dash. (c) The EAS... the State EAS Mapbook. FIPS# State: AL 01 AK 02 AZ 04 AR 05 CA 06 CO 08 CT 09 DE 10 DC 11 FL 12 GA 13...

  15. Evaluation of RSDL, M291 SDK, 0.5 Bleach, 1% Soapy Water and SERPACWA: Part 11: Challenge with EA4243 (VR, Russian VX)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    listed decontamination products in the haired guinea pig model following exposure to VR (Russian VX, EA4243). 15. SUBJECT TERMS decontamination...the efficacy of the barrier skin cream SERPACWA and the four listed decontamination products in the haired guinea pig model following exposure to VR...four listed decontamination products and SERPACWA in the haired guinea pig model following exposure to VR (Russian VX, EA4243, Soviet V-gas

  16. Analysis of ethyl acrylate (EA) and acrylic acid (AA) residues from rat tissues following oral ea dosing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Udinsky, J.R.; Frederick, C.B.

    1990-01-01

    Gavage dosing of rats with EA at high dose levels (100 or 200 mg/kg) has resulted in tumors at the dosing site, forestomach (FST), but no lesions of the glandular stomach (GST) or other remote tissues. Since previous in vitro studies have demonstrated that EA is very rapidly metabolized to AA and glutathione conjugates, EA and AA residues were analyzed 0-24 hr following gavage dosing of non-fasted F-344/N male rats with [1- 14 C]EA in corn oil at 10, 50, and 200 mg/kg. Analysis of total 14 C indicated that the dose solution was primarily in the FST at ≥5 min after dosing, although 14 C was detected in the GST, duodenum, and small intestine (attributed to distension of the FST and leakage from the FST to the GST). HPLC analysis of the gut contents, gut wall, liver, kidneys, lungs, and blood indicated that EA and AA could only be detected at ≥15 min in the FST and GST contents, and in the FST tissue. AA alone was detected in the GST tissue, duodenum tissue and contents, and small intestine tissue and contents. The minimum level of detection was 0.0005% of the dose. The remaining 14 C was primarily attributed to binding to the gut contents or bioincorporation of AA. The detection of EA and AA residues only in the upper gastrointestinal tract following gavage dosing is consistent with rapid detoxification of EA by hydrolysis and conjugation which prevents toxicity at sites remote form the site of dosing

  17. Increased cardiogenesis in P19-GFP teratocarcinoma cells expressing the propeptide IGF-1Ea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poudel, Bhawana [Heart Science Centre, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London (United Kingdom); Bilbao, Daniel [EMBL, Mouse Biology Unit, Monterotondo (Italy); Sarathchandra, Padmini; Germack, Renee [Heart Science Centre, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London (United Kingdom); Rosenthal, Nadia [Heart Science Centre, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London (United Kingdom); Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Melbourne (Australia); Santini, Maria Paola, E-mail: m.santini@imperial.ac.uk [Heart Science Centre, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)

    2011-12-16

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer In this study, we explored the function of IGF-1Ea propeptide in inducing cardiogenesis of stem cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer IGF-1Ea promoted cardiac mesodermal induction in uncommitted cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Under differentiation condition, IGF-1Ea increased expression of cardiac differentiation markers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Furthermore, it promoted formation of finely organized sarcomeric structure. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer IGF-1Ea propeptide may be a good candidate to improve production of cardiomyocytes from pluripotent cells. -- Abstract: The mechanism implicated in differentiation of endogenous cardiac stem cells into cardiomyocytes to regenerate the heart tissue upon an insult remains elusive, limiting the therapeutical goals to exogenous cell injection and/or gene therapy. We have shown previously that cardiac specific overexpression of the insulin-like growth factor 1 propeptide IGF-1Ea induces beneficial myocardial repair after infarct. Although the mechanism is still under investigation, the possibility that this propeptide may be involved in promoting stem cell differentiation into the cardiac lineage has yet to be explored. To investigate whether IGF-1Ea promote cardiogenesis, we initially modified P19 embryonal carcinoma cells to express IGF-1Ea. Taking advantage of their cardiomyogenic nature, we analyzed whether overexpression of this propeptide affected cardiac differentiation program. The data herein presented showed for the first time that constitutively overexpressed IGF-1Ea increased cardiogenic differentiation program in both undifferentiated and DMSO-differentiated cells. In details, IGF-1Ea overexpression promoted localization of alpha-actinin in finely organized sarcomeric structure compared to control cells and upregulated the cardiac mesodermal marker NKX-2.5 and the ventricular structural protein MLC2v. Furthermore, activated IGF-1 signaling promoted cardiac

  18. Increased cardiogenesis in P19-GFP teratocarcinoma cells expressing the propeptide IGF-1Ea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poudel, Bhawana; Bilbao, Daniel; Sarathchandra, Padmini; Germack, Renee; Rosenthal, Nadia; Santini, Maria Paola

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: ► In this study, we explored the function of IGF-1Ea propeptide in inducing cardiogenesis of stem cells. ► IGF-1Ea promoted cardiac mesodermal induction in uncommitted cells. ► Under differentiation condition, IGF-1Ea increased expression of cardiac differentiation markers. ► Furthermore, it promoted formation of finely organized sarcomeric structure. ► IGF-1Ea propeptide may be a good candidate to improve production of cardiomyocytes from pluripotent cells. -- Abstract: The mechanism implicated in differentiation of endogenous cardiac stem cells into cardiomyocytes to regenerate the heart tissue upon an insult remains elusive, limiting the therapeutical goals to exogenous cell injection and/or gene therapy. We have shown previously that cardiac specific overexpression of the insulin-like growth factor 1 propeptide IGF-1Ea induces beneficial myocardial repair after infarct. Although the mechanism is still under investigation, the possibility that this propeptide may be involved in promoting stem cell differentiation into the cardiac lineage has yet to be explored. To investigate whether IGF-1Ea promote cardiogenesis, we initially modified P19 embryonal carcinoma cells to express IGF-1Ea. Taking advantage of their cardiomyogenic nature, we analyzed whether overexpression of this propeptide affected cardiac differentiation program. The data herein presented showed for the first time that constitutively overexpressed IGF-1Ea increased cardiogenic differentiation program in both undifferentiated and DMSO-differentiated cells. In details, IGF-1Ea overexpression promoted localization of alpha-actinin in finely organized sarcomeric structure compared to control cells and upregulated the cardiac mesodermal marker NKX-2.5 and the ventricular structural protein MLC2v. Furthermore, activated IGF-1 signaling promoted cardiac mesodermal induction in undifferentiated cells independently of cell proliferation. This analysis suggests that IGF-1Ea may be a

  19. Barriers to physical activity among working mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dombrowski, Jill J

    2011-04-01

    Working mothers experience several barriers to physical activity. If these barriers can be identified by occupational health nurses and they can partner with working mothers to reduce these perceived barriers, the health of these workers can be improved and chronic disease risk prevented. The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of self-regulatory efficacy on physical activity among working mothers and to describe specific barriers to physical activity. The Barriers Specific Self-Efficacy Scale (BARSE) and the Kaiser Physical Activity Survey (KPAS) were used to measure the variables. Self-regulatory efficacy was found to be a strong predictor of physical activity in a diverse sample of working mothers who did not meet current recommendations for physical activity. Occupational health nurses can use these findings to design programs for groups and for counseling individuals. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

  20. Hindered rotational energy barriers of BH4- tetrahedra in β-Mg(BH4)2 from quasielastic neutron scattering and DFT calculations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blanchard, Didier; Maronsson, Jon Bergmann; Riktor, M.D.

    2012-01-01

    , around the 2-fold (C2) and 3-fold (C3) axes were observed at temperatures from 120 to 440 K. The experimentally obtained activation energies (EaC2 = 39 and 76 meV and EaC3 = 214 meV) and mean residence times between reorientational jumps are comparable with the energy barriers obtained from DFT......In this work, hindered rotations of the BH4- tetrahedra in Mg(BH4)2 were studied by quasielastic neutron scattering, using two instruments with different energy resolution, in combination with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Two thermally activated reorientations of the BH4- units...... calculations. A linear dependency of the energy barriers for rotations around the C2 axis parallel to the Mg-Mg axis with the distance between these two axes was revealed by the DFT calculations. At the lowest temperature (120 K) only 15% of the BH4- units undergo rotational motion and from comparison with DFT...

  1. Barriers to Physical Activity on University Student

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jajat; Sultoni, K.; Suherman, A.

    2017-03-01

    The purpose of the research is to analyze the factors that become barriers to physical activity in university students based on physical activity level. An internet-based survey was conducted. The participants were 158 University students from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. Barriers to Physical Activity Quiz (BPAQ) were used to assessed the factors that become barriers to physical activity in university students. IPAQ (short form) were used to assessed physical activity level. The results show there was no differences BPAQ based on IPAQ level. But when analyzed further based on seven factors barriers there are differences in factors “social influence and lack of willpower” based IPAQ level. Based on this it was concluded that the “influence from other and lack of willpower” an inhibiting factor on students to perform physical activity.

  2. [Prevalence of barriers for physical activity in adolescents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Mariana Silva; Hino, Adriano Akira Ferreira; Reis, Rodrigo Siqueira; Rodriguez-Añez, Ciro Romélio

    2010-03-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and association of barriers to physical activity among adolescents. This cross-sectional study evaluated a representative sample of public high school students in Curitiba-PR, Brazil. A total of 1,609 school adolescents (59.7% male) between 14 and 18 years of age answered a questionnaire on physical activity status and barriers to physical activity. Logistic regressions were conducted for each barrier investigated to verify the association between the prevalence of barriers and physical activity, adjusting for confounding variables (age and socioeconomic status). Analyses were done separately for boys and girls. Only 22% of boys and 9% of girls achieved the current physical activity recommendation. Among the 12 barriers investigated, only "there is nobody to take" did not differ between boys and girls. The perception of barriers was higher for girls than boys (p barriers. "Lack of friends company" and "feel lazy" were the barriers most often reported by boys (30.4%) and girls (51.8%) respectively; however, the barrier most strongly associated with prevalence of physical inactivity was "prefer to do other things" for both boys (OR = 5.02 (2.69 - 9.37); p barriers for the practice of physical activity were more prevalent in girls and differed as to the extent of importance between genders.

  3. Faculty Perceptions about Barriers to Active Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, Joel

    2007-01-01

    Faculty may perceive many barriers to active learning in their classrooms. Four groups of participants in a faculty development workshop were asked to list their perceived barriers to active learning. Many of the problems identified were present on more than one list. The barriers fall into three categories: student characteristics, issues…

  4. Post-Starburst Galaxies At The End of The E+A Phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Charles; Marinelli, Mariarosa; Chang, Madeleine; Lyczko, Camilla; Vega Orozco, Cecilia; SDSS-IV Collaboration

    2018-06-01

    Post-starburst galaxies, once thought to be rare curiosities, are now recognized to represent a key phase in the galaxy evolution. The post-starburst, or E+A phase, should however not be considered as a single, short-lived phenomenon; rather, it is an extended evolutionary process that occurs a galaxy transitions from an actively star-forming system into a quiescent one. We present a study of nearby galaxies at or near the end of the E+A phase, wherein all star formation has been quenched, the fossilized stellar population of the most recent starburst is highly localized, and the remainder of the galaxy's stellar population is old and quiescent. The luminosity and stellar age distribution of these "end-phase E+As" can provide insights into the evolution of galaxies onto and within the red sequence, from active to passive systems. This work is supported by National Science Foundation grants to CUNY College of Staten Island and the American Museum of Natural History; the College of Staten Island Office of Academic Affairs; the Sherman Fairchild Science Pathways Scholars Program (SP^2) at Barnard College; and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

  5. Synthesis and optimization of EA-MMA copolymer emulsion%EA-MMA共聚乳液合成工艺及优化

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张成芬; 武玉民

    2011-01-01

    以丙烯酸乙酯(EA)和甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)为共聚单体、过硫酸钾(KPS)为引发剂、十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)和壬基酚聚氧乙烯醚(OP-10)为复合乳化剂,采用乳液聚合法合成出一种稳定的EA-MMA乳液.通过单因素试验法考察了乳化剂浓度、引发剂浓度、反应温度和反应时间等因素对乳液平均粒径和单体转化率的影响,并采用正交试验法进一步优选出制备EA-MMA乳液的最佳工艺条件.结果表明:当w(乳化剂)=2.0%、w(引发剂)=0.60%、反应时间为4 h和反应温度为80℃时,制成的EA-MMA乳液较稳定,并且单体转化率相对最高.%With ethyl acrylate(EA) and methyl methacrylate( MMA) as comonomers ,potassium persulfate(KPS)as initiator,and sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) and nonylphenol ethoxylates(OP-10) as composite emulsifier,a stable EA-MMA emulsion was synthesized by emulsion polymerization. The influences of some factor(such as emulsifier concentration,initiator concentration,reaction temperature and reaction time) on average particle size of emulsion and monomer conversion rate were investigated by single factor experiment method,then the optimal process conditions of preparing EA-MMA emulsion were preferred by orthogonal experiment method. The results showed that the EA-MMA emulsion had better stability and relatively highest monomer conversion rate when the mass fractions of emulsifier and initiator were 2.0% and 0.60% respectively,the reaction time and reaction temperature were 4 h and 80 ℃ respectively.

  6. A Combined group EA-PROMETHEE method for a supplier selection problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Reza Rezaee Kelidbari

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available One of the important decisions which impacts all firms’ activities is the supplier selection problem. Since the 1950s, several works have addressed this problem by treating different aspects and instances. In this paper, a combined multiple criteria decision making (MCDM technique (EA-PROMETHEE has been applied to implement a proper decision making. To this aim, after reviewing the theoretical background regarding to supplier selection, the extension analysis (EA is used to determine the importance of criteria and PROMETHEE for appraisal of suppliers based on the criteria. An empirical example illustrated the proposed approach.

  7. Membrane topology and identification of key residues of EaDAcT, a plant MBOAT with unusual substrate specificity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Tam N T; Shelton, Jennifer; Brown, Susan; Durrett, Timothy P

    2017-10-01

    Euonymus alatus diacylglycerol acetyltransferase (EaDAcT) catalyzes the transfer of an acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to the sn-3 position of diacylglycerol to form 3-acetyl-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerol (acetyl-TAG). EaDAcT belongs to a small, plant-specific subfamily of the membrane bound O-acyltransferases (MBOAT) that acylate different lipid substrates. Sucrose gradient density centrifugation revealed that EaDAcT colocalizes to the same fractions as an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-specific marker. By mapping the membrane topology of EaDAcT, we obtained an experimentally determined topology model for a plant MBOAT. The EaDAcT model contains four transmembrane domains (TMDs), with both the N- and C-termini orientated toward the lumen of the ER. In addition, there is a large cytoplasmic loop between the first and second TMDs, with the MBOAT signature region of the protein embedded in the third TMD close to the interface between the membrane and the cytoplasm. During topology mapping, we discovered two cysteine residues (C187 and C293) located on opposite sides of the membrane that are important for enzyme activity. In order to identify additional amino acid residues important for acetyltransferase activity, we isolated and characterized acetyltransferases from other acetyl-TAG-producing plants. Among them, the acetyltransferase from Euonymus fortunei possessed the highest activity in vivo and in vitro. Mutagenesis of conserved amino acids revealed that S253, H257, D258 and V263 are essential for EaDAcT activity. Alteration of residues unique to the acetyltransferases did not alter the unique acyl donor specificity of EaDAcT, suggesting that multiple amino acids are important for substrate recognition. © 2017 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Physical protection system using activated barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timm, R.E.; Zinneman, T.E.; Haumann, J.R.; Flaugher, H.A.; Reigle, D.L.

    1984-03-01

    The Argonne National Laboratory has recently installed an activated barrier, the Access Denial System, to upgrade its security. The technology of this system was developed in the late 70's by Sandia National Laboratory-Albuquerque. The Argonne National Laboratory is the first Department of Energy facility to use this device. Recent advancements in electronic components provide the total system support that makes the use of an activated barrier viable and desirable. The premise of an activated barrier is that it is deployed after a positive detection of an adversary is made and before the adversary can penetrate vital area. To accomplish this detection, sophisticated alarms, assessment, and communications must be integrated into a system that permits a security inspector to make a positive evaluation and to activate the barrier. The alarm sensor locations are selected to provide protection in depth. Closed circuit television is used with components that permit multiple video frames to be stored for automated, priority-based playback to the security inspector. Further, algorithms permit look-ahead surveillance of vital areas so that the security inspector can activate the access denial system in a timely manner and not be restricted to following the adversaries' penetration path(s)

  9. 47 CFR 11.54 - EAS operation during a National Level emergency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false EAS operation during a National Level emergency... SYSTEM (EAS) Emergency Operations § 11.54 EAS operation during a National Level emergency. (a) The EAS Operating Handbook summarizes the procedures to be followed upon receipt of a National level EAN or EAT...

  10. Transport of the moving barrier driven by chiral active particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Jing-jing; Huang, Xiao-qun; Ai, Bao-quan

    2018-03-01

    Transport of a moving V-shaped barrier exposed to a bath of chiral active particles is investigated in a two-dimensional channel. Due to the chirality of active particles and the transversal asymmetry of the barrier position, active particles can power and steer the directed transport of the barrier in the longitudinal direction. The transport of the barrier is determined by the chirality of active particles. The moving barrier and active particles move in the opposite directions. The average velocity of the barrier is much larger than that of active particles. There exist optimal parameters (the chirality, the self-propulsion speed, the packing fraction, and the channel width) at which the average velocity of the barrier takes its maximal value. In particular, tailoring the geometry of the barrier and the active concentration provides novel strategies to control the transport properties of micro-objects or cargoes in an active medium.

  11. EAS Telecommunications Certification Bodies (TCB)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Communications Commission — EAS (Equipment Authorization System). A Telecommunication Certification Body (TCB) is an accredited product certification body with the authority to issue Grants of...

  12. Perceived barriers to physical activity among Nigerian stroke survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Idowu, Opeyemi Ayodiipo; Adeniyi, Ade Fatai; Ogwumike, Omoyemi Olubunmi; Fawole, Henrietta Oluwafunmilola; Akinrolie, Olayinka

    2015-01-01

    Benefits of physical activity in the prevention and management of stroke are well documented in the literature. There is increasing evidence that stroke survivors in South-West Nigeria are physically inactive. Data on barriers to the achievement of the recommended physical activity levels including its differences along socio-demographic characteristics among stroke survivors in South-West Nigeria are needed. The Exercise Benefits and Barrier Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were administered on 121 stroke survivors to determine their perceived barriers to physical activity and physical activity levels respectively. Information on socio-demographic data and clinical variables were also collected. The sample included 70.2% males, with majority of the participants reporting low physical activity levels (80.2%) and high perceived barriers (Mean = 48.13, SD = 7.88). The four most reported common barriers among stroke survivors were access to exercise facilities (95.0%), being embarrassed to exercise (94.2%), economic cost demands of exercise (94.2%) and notion that people in exercise clothes look funny (94.2%) respectively. There were no significant differences found in barriers to physical activity between gender (U = 1471.00, P = 0.74) and across each of: occupational status (H = 4.37, P = 0.22), age group (H = 0.82, P = 0.84) and educational levels (H = 4.56, P = 0.33). Significant difference however existed in perceived barriers across marital status categories (H = 12.87, P = 0.05). Stroke survivors indicated high perceived barriers to physical activity and these barriers were associated with marital status.

  13. EAS Equipment Authorization Grantee Registrations

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Communications Commission — EAS (Equipment Authorization System). Radio Frequency (RF) devices are required to be properly authorized under 47 CFR Part 2 prior to being marketed or imported...

  14. Promoting Physical Activity: Addressing Barriers and Moving Forward

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beighle, Aaron; Morrow, James R.

    2014-01-01

    The barriers that keep individuals from adopting and maintaining active lifestyles are very complex. Strategies for overcoming these barriers and to incentivize and assist inactive individuals to benefit from physical activity are necessary. In addition, it is important to examine the impact of public policy on active living. As youth physical…

  15. 47 CFR 90.691 - Emission mask requirements for EA-based systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Emission mask requirements for EA-based systems. 90.691 Section 90.691 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) SAFETY AND... of Ea-Based Smr Systems in the 809-824/851-869 Mhz Band § 90.691 Emission mask requirements for EA...

  16. Barriers to outdoor physical activity in wintertime among Somali youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothe, Elizabeth; Holt, Christina; Kuhn, Celine; McAteer, Timothy; Askari, Isabella; O'Meara, Mary; Sharif, Abdimajid; Dexter, William

    2010-10-01

    To identify barriers to outdoor physical activity in winter among Somali youth in Maine. Despite the many proven health benefits of physical activity among children, such as cardiovascular fitness and health status as an adult, there has been a decrease in physical activity among children in recent years. Specifically, children who are of low socio-economic status or are from communities where many immigrants are at increased risk for developing obesity. Immigrants are also less likely to be physically active. There are many potential barriers to wintertime physical activity among Somali youth in Maine, such as lack of financial resources, transportation, proper winter clothing, and appropriate knowledge of winter safety, and language and cultural barriers. For females, different attire required for outdoor activity may be a barrier. Somali parents and children were recruited from Portland, Maine to participate in focus groups led by a trained facilitator with a Somali translator and cultural broker. Transcripts were coded using NVIVO software to identify barriers to physical activity among Somali youth outside in winter. Eight focus groups were conducted. Sixty-one Somali community members were recruited. Participants felt outdoor physical activity is important, but note that it is decreased in winter. Barriers to outdoor activity in winter cited by focus group participants were lack of resources, health concerns, gender barriers for females, and knowledge barriers. Concern over lack of supervision while children play outside was also cited. This study revealed many of the underlying beliefs, barriers and cultural issues that impact Somali families' intention to be active and ability to be active outdoors in winter. These findings can be used to generate research hypotheses and public health interventions regarding outdoor physical activity among Somali youth.

  17. Physical Properties and Evolutionary States of EA-type Eclipsing Binaries Observed by LAMOST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, S.-B.; Zhang, J.; He, J.-J.; Zhu, L.-Y.; Zhao, E.-G.; Shi, X.-D.; Zhou, X.; Han, Z.-T.

    2018-03-01

    About 3196 EA-type binaries (EAs) were observed by LAMOST by 2017 June 16 and their spectral types were derived. Meanwhile, the stellar atmospheric parameters of 2020 EAs were determined. In this paper, those EAs are cataloged and their physical properties and evolutionary states are investigated. The period distribution of EAs suggests that the period limit of tidal locking for the close binaries is about 6 days. It is found that the metallicity of EAs is higher than that of EW-type binaries (EWs), indicating that EAs are generally younger than EWs and they are the progenitors of EWs. The metallicities of long-period EWs (0.4values of Log (g) are usually smaller than those of EAs. These support the evolutionary process that EAs evolve into long-period EWs through the combination of angular momentum loss (AML) via magnetic braking and case A mass transfer. For short-period EWs, their metallicities are lower than those of EAs, while their gravitational accelerations are higher. These reveal that they may be formed from cool short-period EAs through AML via magnetic braking with little mass transfer. For some EWs with high metallicities, they may be contaminated by material from the evolution of unseen neutron stars and black holes or they have third bodies that may help them to form rapidly through a short timescale of pre-contact evolution. The present investigation suggests that the modern EW populations may have formed through a combination of these mechanisms.

  18. Barriers to Physical Activity in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roberton, Terri; Bucks, Romola S.; Skinner, Timothy C.

    2011-01-01

    This study examined barriers to physical activity reported individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the degree to which these barriers differed across varying degrees of independence. Participants were 65 individuals recruited from the Western Australian Spinal Cord Injury database. Data...... on physical activity participation and perceived barriers to physical activity participation were collected using a cross-sectional survey and analysed using independent samples t-tests. We found that, regardless of level of ambulation or ability to transfer, few participants reported being physically active....... While there were no significant differences in the amount of barriers reported by individuals with different levels of independence, the type of barriers reported varied across groups....

  19. Grain size analysis of beach sediment along the barrier bar lagoon ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Grain size analysis of beach sediment along the barrier bar lagoon coastal system, Lagos, Nigeria; its implication on coastal erosion. R Abdulkarim, EA Akinnigbagbe, DO Imo, MT Imhansoloeva, VO Aniebone, MP Ibitola, BR Faleye, O Shonde, YJ Appia ...

  20. Noise properties and cascadability of SOA-EA regenerators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Öhman, Filip; Bischoff, Svend; Tromborg, Bjarne

    2002-01-01

    We suggest and analyse a new device containing concatenated pairs of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) and electroabsorption modulators (EAs). The device has regenerative properties and improves the cascadability of optical fibre links.......We suggest and analyse a new device containing concatenated pairs of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) and electroabsorption modulators (EAs). The device has regenerative properties and improves the cascadability of optical fibre links....

  1. D1.1 Stakeholders Needs Regarding EA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ryberg, Thomas; Eleftheriou, Paraskevi; Maglavera, Stavroula

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this deliverable is to identify and document the competences (skills and knowledge) that employees of both private and public sector organisations need to acquire in order to be capable of developing an EA as well as the competences that university students need to acquire in a u...... competences comprising professional skills, personal skills and knowledge. Finally, three detailed lists of EA related competences are presented for the three target groups of the project i.e. private sector employees, public sector employees and university students....

  2. Posterior Tracheopexy for Severe Tracheomalacia Associated with Esophageal Atresia (EA: Primary Treatment at the Time of Initial EA Repair versus Secondary Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hester F. Shieh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available PurposeWe review outcomes of posterior tracheopexy for tracheomalacia in esophageal atresia (EA patients, comparing primary treatment at the time of initial EA repair versus secondary treatment.MethodsAll EA patients who underwent posterior tracheopexy from October 2012 to September 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical symptoms, tracheomalacia scores, and persistent airway intrusion were collected. Indication for posterior tracheopexy was the presence of clinical symptoms, in combination with severe tracheomalacia as identified on bronchoscopic evaluation, typically defined as coaptation in one or more regions of the trachea. Secondary cases were usually those with chronic respiratory symptoms who underwent bronchoscopic evaluation, whereas primary cases were those found to have severe tracheomalacia on routine preoperative dynamic tracheobronchoscopy at the time of initial EA repair.ResultsA total of 118 patients underwent posterior tracheopexy: 18 (15% primary versus 100 (85% secondary cases. Median (interquartile range age was 2 months (1–4 months for primary (22% type C and 18 months (8–40 months for secondary (87% type C cases (p < 0.001. There were statistically significant improvements in most clinical symptoms postoperatively for primary and secondary cases, with no significant differences in any postoperative symptoms between the two groups (p > 0.1. Total tracheomalacia scores improved significantly in primary (p = 0.013 and secondary (p < 0.001 cases. Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated no differences in persistent airway intrusion requiring reoperation between primary and secondary tracheopexy adjusting for imbalances in age and EA type (p = 0.67.ConclusionPosterior tracheopexy is effective in treating severe tracheomalacia with significant improvements in clinical symptoms and degree of airway collapse on bronchoscopy. With no significant differences in outcomes between primary and

  3. Perceived barriers, benefits, and motives for physical activity: two primary-care physical activity prescription programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Asmita; Schofield, Grant M; Kolt, Gregory S; Keogh J, W L

    2013-01-01

    This study examined whether perceived barriers, benefits, and motives for physical activity differed based on allocation to 2 different types of primary-care activity-prescription programs (pedometer-based vs. time-based Green Prescription). Eighty participants from the Healthy Steps study completed a questionnaire that assessed their perceived barriers, benefits, and motives for physical activity. Factor analysis was carried out to identify common themes of barriers, benefits, and motives for physical activity. Factor scores were then used to explore between-groups differences for perceived barriers, benefits, and motives based on group allocation and demographic variables. No significant differences were found in factor scores based on allocation. Demographic variables relating to the existence of chronic health conditions, weight status, and older age were found to significantly influence perceived barriers, benefits, and motives for physical activity. Findings suggest that the addition of a pedometer to the standard Green Prescription does not appear to increase perceived motives or benefits or decrease perceived barriers for physical activity in low-active older adults.

  4. EA follow-up in the Ghanaian mining sector: Challenges and opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appiah-Opoku, Seth; Bryan, Hobson C.

    2013-01-01

    Environmental assessment (EA) follow-up provides a means for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of environmental impact studies. It is integral to the success or failure of a project or program. In spite of its importance, very little attention is given to the need for follow-up programs in most jurisdictions in Africa. Using a case study in the Ghanaian mining sector, this paper explores the challenges and opportunities within the country's EA process for an effective follow-up program. The paper is based on informal interviews, content analysis of relevant publications, official EA documents, and internet searches. The authors suggest a standard EA follow-up program to be formalized as an integral part of Ghana's environmental assessment policy. They also propose a follow-up process that harnesses existing opportunities within the country's EA system. This approach can be replicated in other African countries

  5. Perceived barriers to physical activity among Polish adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jodkowska, Maria; Mazur, Joanna; Oblacińska, Anna

    2015-01-01

    To identify barriers to physical activity (PA) for adolescents according to the gender and age and examine the association between these barriers and youths' physical activity. 3346 students aged 10-16 years (1759 girls) took part in the cross-sectional, nationally representative study. For this paper the dataset was created from adolescents who reported perceived barriers to PA, N = 2300, (1259 girls), range 13-16 years. Barriers and physical activity (MVPA) were analysed for all participants, as well as by gender, age group and place of residence. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between perceived barriers and physical inactivity for all and than separately for boys and girls. Lack of energy, lack of time and lack of support were three of the five barriers reported by more than 40% of adolescents, statistically more likely by girls than boys and older youth than younger. For boys - lack of time (OR = 2.56; CI = 1.66-3.96), lack of skills (OR = 2.35; CI = 1.94-3.95), lack of willpower (OR = 1.71, CI = 1.05-2.80) and lack of support (OR = 1.64, CI = 1.11-2.41) were the predictors contributing to low level of PA. For girls lack of skills (OR = 3.16, CI = 1.62-6.18), lack of energy (OR = 1.84, CI = 1.14-2.96), lack of support (OR = 1.64, CI = 1.07-2.54) and lack of time (OR = 1.61,CI = 1.00-2.60) were positively and statistically significant associated with physical inactivity. 1. Perceived barriers to physical activity among adolescents have strong negative impact on recommended PA level. For girls lack of skills is the strongest predictor of low PA, for boys - lack of time. 2. Identification more precisely barriers to physical activity among adolescents will enable to developed more effective interventions in high-risk populations.

  6. OneVA EA Vision and Strategy

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — The outcomes/goals supported by effective use of an EA are: Improved Service Delivery, Functional Integration, Resource Optimization and Authoritative Reference. VA...

  7. The Tunka-133 EAS Cherenkov light array: Status of 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berezhnev, S.F.; Besson, D.; Budnev, N.M.; Chiavassa, A.; Chvalaev, O.A.; Gress, O.A.; Dyachok, A.N.; Epimakhov, S.N.; Haungs, A.; Karpov, N.I.; Kalmykov, N.N.; Konstantinov, E.N.; Korobchenko, A.V.; Korosteleva, E.E.; Kozhin, V.A.; Kuzmichev, L.A.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.K.; Lubsandorzhiev, N.B.; Mirgazov, R.R.; Panasyuk, M.I.

    2012-01-01

    A new EAS Cherenkov light array, Tunka-133, with ∼1km 2 geometrical area has been installed at the Tunka Valley (50 km from Lake Baikal) in 2009. The array permits a detailed study of cosmic ray energy spectrum and mass composition in the energy range 10 16 –10 18 eV with a uniform method. We describe the array construction, DAQ and methods of the array calibration. The method of energy reconstruction and absolute calibration of measurements are discussed. The analysis of spatial and time structure of EAS Cherenkov light allows to estimate the depth of the EAS maximum X max . The results on the all particles energy spectrum and the mean depth of the EAS maximum X max vs. primary energy derived from the data of two winter seasons (2009–2011) are presented. Preliminary results of joint operation of the Cherenkov array with antennas for the detection of EAS radio signals are shown. Plans for future upgrades – deployment of remote clusters, radioantennas and a scintillator detector network and a prototype of the HiSCORE gamma-telescope – are discussed.

  8. Measuring Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity in Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunnell, Katie E; Brunet, Jennifer; Wing, Erin K; Bélanger, Mathieu

    2015-05-01

    Perceived barriers to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA) may contribute to the low rates of moderate-to-vigorous PA in adolescents. We examined the psychometric properties of scores from the perceived barriers to moderate-to-vigorous PA scale (PB-MVPA) by examining composite reliability and validity evidence based on the internal structure of the PB-MVPA and relations with other variables. This study was a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in 2013 from adolescents (N = 507; Mage = 12.40, SD = .62) via self-report scales. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we found that perceived barriers were best represented as two factors representing internal (e.g., "I am not interested in physical activity") and external (e.g., "I need equipment I don't have") dimensions. Composite reliability was over .80. Using multiple regression to examine the relationship between perceived barriers and moderate-to-vigorous PA, we found that perceived internal barriers were inversely related to moderate-to-vigorous PA (β = -.32, p barriers (p > .26). The PB-MVPA scale demonstrated evidence of score reliability and validity. To improve the understanding of the impact of perceived barriers on moderate-to- vigorous PA in adolescents, researchers should examine internal and external barriers separately.

  9. EAS 2.948 Listed Test Firms

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Communications Commission — EAS (Equipment Authorization System). The following firms have submitted the information required by Section 2.948 of the FCC Rules for measuring devices subject to...

  10. Perceived benefits and barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy in previously inactive and active women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Costa, Deborah; Ireland, Kierla

    2013-01-01

    This study compared perceived benefits and barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy among women who were insufficiently active or inactive before pregnancy. Eighty-two pregnant women completed questionnaires assessing leisure-time physical activity benefits/barriers, exercise self-efficacy, social support, depressed mood, pre-pregnancy and current physical activity and fatigue. Multivariable regression analyses identified factors associated with exercise benefits/barriers for the two pre-pregnancy leisure-time physical activity groups. Both pre-pregnancy leisure-time physical activity groups reported more benefits than barriers to exercise during pregnancy. Previously inactive women reported fewer perceived benefits and greater perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy. Higher self-efficacy for exercise during pregnancy was significantly associated with greater benefits of leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy for both groups. Less family support for exercise and lower self-efficacy for exercise were significantly related to greater leisure-time physical activity barriers during pregnancy for previously inactive women. Lower self-efficacy for exercise, higher depressed mood scores, and younger age were associated with greater leisure-time physical activity barriers for active women. Findings suggest that the intensities of perceived leisure-time physical activity benefits and barriers during pregnancy differ for women, depending on their pre-pregnancy leisure-time physical activity status. Consideration of pre-pregnancy leisure-time physical activity status may thus be important when tailoring strategies to overcome barriers to promote initiation and maintenance of physical activity during pregnancy.

  11. Circularly polarized antennas for active holographic imaging through barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMakin, Douglas L [Richland, WA; Severtsen, Ronald H [Richland, WA; Lechelt, Wayne M [West Richland, WA; Prince, James M [Kennewick, WA

    2011-07-26

    Circularly-polarized antennas and their methods of use for active holographic imaging through barriers. The antennas are dielectrically loaded to optimally match the dielectric constant of the barrier through which images are to be produced. The dielectric loading helps to remove barrier-front surface reflections and to couple electromagnetic energy into the barrier.

  12. Attempting to be active: Self-efficacy and barrier limitation differentiate activity levels of working mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gierc, Madelaine; Locke, Sean; Jung, Mary; Brawley, Lawrence

    2016-07-01

    Working mothers are less physically active than working women without children and mothers who do not work. The purpose of this study was to examine concurrent self-regulatory efficacy and barriers to physical activity in a sample of working mothers. Women completed a mixed-methods survey which included measures of physical activity, concurrent self-regulatory efficacy, and barriers. Sufficiently active women experienced significantly greater concurrent self-regulatory efficacy and significantly less barrier limitation and frequency. No significant group differences were found for age, domestic duties performed, and children's extracurricular activities. Thematic analysis of barriers revealed six themes of common and unique factors, including limited time and family activities. © The Author(s) 2014.

  13. Barriers to Leisure-Time Physical Activities in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Eric J; Groves, Mary D; Sanchez, Jacqueline N; Hudson, Cassandra E; Jao, Rachel G; Kroll, Meghan E

    2016-07-01

    This study investigated the personal, environmental, and activity barriers to leisure-time physical activities (LTPAs) among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). A survey instrument was administered to 85 participants with SCI. Personal barriers to LTPAs included issues involving motivation, pain, scheduling, and financial resources. Environmental barriers marked the issues regarding availability and accessibility to specialized programs, activities, and professional services. Activity barriers included limitations in equipment, training, and personal skills required by the selected activities. Significant negative correlations were found between these barriers and the levels of physical activity and satisfaction with physical activity. While working with clients with SCI, occupational therapists should identify those LTPA barriers and possible solutions in order to establish individualized action plans for enhancing participation in LTPAs.

  14. Barrier-beliefs about physical activity in active and inactive adults : an explorative study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouma, Adrie

    2018-01-01

    Objectives: Perceived barriers are often a reason why people do not start physical activity or relapse to inactivity. From a psychological perspective, barriers can be seen as beliefs about what is obstructing people’s behavior. To understand inactivity and relapse from physical activity, this study

  15. Barriers to Physical Activity in East Harlem, New York

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashley M. Fox

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. East Harlem is an epicenter of the intertwining epidemics of obesity and diabetes in New York. Physical activity is thought to prevent and control a number of chronic illnesses, including diabetes, both independently and through weight control. Using data from a survey collected on adult (age 18+ residents of East Harlem, this study evaluated whether perceptions of safety and community-identified barriers were associated with lower levels of physical activity in a diverse sample. Methods. We surveyed 300 adults in a 2-census tract area of East Harlem and took measurements of height and weight. Physical activity was measured in two ways: respondents were classified as having met the weekly recommended target of 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity (walking per week (or not and reporting having engaged in at least one recreational physical activity (or not. Perceived barriers were assessed through five items developed by a community advisory board and perceptions of neighborhood safety were measured through an adapted 7-item scale. Two multivariate logistic regression models with perceived barriers and concerns about neighborhood safety were modeled separately as predictors of engaging in recommended levels of exercise and recreational physical activity, controlling for respondent weight and sociodemographic characteristics. Results. The most commonly reported perceived barriers to physical activity identified by nearly half of the sample were being too tired or having little energy followed by pain with exertion and lack of time. Multivariate regression found that individuals who endorsed a greater number of perceived barriers were less likely to report having met their weekly recommended levels of physical activity and less likely to engage in recreational physical activity controlling for covariates. Concerns about neighborhood safety, though prevalent, were not associated with physical activity levels. Conclusions. Although

  16. 75 FR 33799 - EasTrans, LLC; Notice of Baseline Filing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PR10-30-000] EasTrans, LLC; Notice of Baseline Filing June 8, 2010. Take notice that on June 4, 2010, EasTrans, LLC submitted a baseline filing of its Statement of Operating Conditions for services provided under section 311 of the...

  17. Barriers for recess physical activity: a gender specific qualitative focus group exploration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawlowski, Charlotte Skau; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine; Schipperijn, Jasper; Troelsen, Jens

    2014-06-23

    Many children, in particular girls, do not reach the recommended amount of daily physical activity. School recess provides an opportunity for both boys and girls to be physically active, but barriers to recess physical activity are not well understood. This study explores gender differences in children's perceptions of barriers to recess physical activity. Based on the socio-ecological model four types of environmental barriers were distinguished: natural, social, physical and organizational environment. Data were collected through 17 focus groups (at 17 different schools) with in total 111 children (53 boys) from fourth grade, with a mean age of 10.4 years. The focus groups included an open group discussion, go-along group interviews, and a gender segregated post-it note activity. A content analysis of the post-it notes was used to rank the children's perceived barriers. This was verified by a thematic analysis of transcripts from the open discussions and go-along interviews. The most frequently identified barriers for both boys and girls were weather, conflicts, lack of space, lack of play facilities and a newly-found barrier, use of electronic devices. While boys and girls identified the same barriers, there were both inter- and intra-gender differences in the perception of these barriers. Weather was a barrier for all children, apart from the most active boys. Conflicts were perceived as a barrier particularly by those boys who played ballgames. Girls said they would like to have more secluded areas added to the school playground, even in large schoolyards where lack of space was not a barrier. This aligned with girls' requests for more "hanging-out" facilities, whereas boys primarily wanted activity promoting facilities. Based on the results from this study, we recommend promoting recess physical activity through a combination of actions, addressing barriers within the natural, social, physical and organizational environment.

  18. A new paradigm for Environmental Assessment (EA) in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Young-Il; Glasson, John

    2010-01-01

    Over the last 30 years, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in Korea has played an important role in decision-making processes particularly for environmentally sensitive projects. However, the EIA system alone has sometimes not been effective enough to ensure the successful resolution of environmental concerns. In order to compensate for the limitations of the EIA system, a new assessment system called Prior Environmental Review System (PERS), which is relevant to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in some aspects, was introduced in 1993. PERS aims to balance development and preservation by identifying possible environmental impacts of some administrative plans mainly related to development projects in the early stages of planning. However, PERS still appeared to have some weak points such as a limited range of subjects to be assessed, and weakness of tiering (or vertical integration) from PERS to EIA. Therefore, the necessity for reform of the Korean Environmental Assessment (EA) system, including PERS, was raised. In response, the Korean government sought to establish its policy direction for implementing SEA by enhancing the objectivity and expertise of PERS. The policy was approved by the National Assembly in May 2005, and went into effect in June 2006. The introduction of SEA, by enhancing PERS, provides a framework for a system of EA from the strategic level, including PPPs, to the project level. Yet, despite such improvements, some managerial and technical problems associated with subsequent EA implementation remain. This paper critically reviews the evolution of the EA system in Korea and suggests essential improvements for the current EA system based on experiences of implementation of both EIA and SEA since June 2006, in the context of international good practice.

  19. Expert Advisor (EA) Evaluation System Using Web-based ELECTRE Method in Foreign Exchange (Forex) Market

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satibi; Widodo, Catur Edi; Farikhin

    2018-02-01

    This research aims to optimize forex trading profit automatically using EA but its still keep considering accuracy and drawdown levels. The evaluation system will classify EA performance based on trading market sessions (Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York) to determine the right EA to be used in certain market sessions. This evaluation system is a web-based ELECTRE methods that interact in real-time with EA through web service and are able to present real-time charts performance dashboard using web socket protocol communications. Web applications are programmed using NodeJs. In the testing period, all EAs had been simulated 24 hours in all market sessions for three months, the best EA is valued by its profit, accuracy and drawdown criteria that calculated using web-based ELECTRE method. The ideas of this research are to compare the best EA on testing period with collaboration performances of each best classified EA by market sessions. This research uses three months historical data of EUR/USD as testing period and other 3 months as validation period. As a result, performance of collaboration four best EA classified by market sessions can increase profits percentage consistently in testing and validation periods and keep securing accuracy and drawdown levels.

  20. Expert Advisor (EA Evaluation System Using Web-based ELECTRE Method in Foreign Exchange (Forex Market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satibi Satibi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to optimize forex trading profit automatically using EA but its still keep considering accuracy and drawdown levels. The evaluation system will classify EA performance based on trading market sessions (Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York to determine the right EA to be used in certain market sessions. This evaluation system is a web-based ELECTRE methods that interact in real-time with EA through web service and are able to present real-time charts performance dashboard using web socket protocol communications. Web applications are programmed using NodeJs. In the testing period, all EAs had been simulated 24 hours in all market sessions for three months, the best EA is valued by its profit, accuracy and drawdown criteria that calculated using web-based ELECTRE method. The ideas of this research are to compare the best EA on testing period with collaboration performances of each best classified EA by market sessions. This research uses three months historical data of EUR/USD as testing period and other 3 months as validation period. As a result, performance of collaboration four best EA classified by market sessions can increase profits percentage consistently in testing and validation periods and keep securing accuracy and drawdown levels.

  1. Physical activity barriers and facilitators among working mothers and fathers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mailey, Emily L; Huberty, Jennifer; Dinkel, Danae; McAuley, Edward

    2014-06-27

    The transition to parenthood is consistently associated with declines in physical activity. In particular, working parents are at risk for inactivity, but research exploring physical activity barriers and facilitators in this population has been scarce. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine perceptions of physical activity among working parents. Working mothers (n = 13) and fathers (n = 12) were recruited to participate in one of four focus group sessions and discuss physical activity barriers and facilitators. Data were analyzed using immersion/crystallization in NVivo 10. Major themes for barriers included family responsibilities, guilt, lack of support, scheduling constraints, and work. Major themes for facilitators included being active with children or during children's activities, being a role model for children, making time/prioritizing, benefits to health and family, and having support available. Several gender differences emerged within each theme, but overall both mothers and fathers reported their priorities had shifted to focus on family after becoming parents, and those who were fitting in physical activity had developed strategies that allowed them to balance their household and occupational responsibilities. The results of this study suggest working mothers and fathers report similar physical activity barriers and facilitators and would benefit from interventions that teach strategies for overcoming barriers and prioritizing physical activity amidst the demands of parenthood. Future interventions might consider targeting mothers and fathers in tandem to create an optimally supportive environment in the home.

  2. (1+1) EA on Generalized Dynamic OneMax

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kötzing, Timo; Lissovoi, Andrei; Witt, Carsten

    2015-01-01

    . We get tight bounds both for the case of bit strings, as well as for the case of more than two values per position. Surprisingly, in the latter setting, the expected quality of the search point maintained by the (1+1) EA does not depend on the number of values per dimension....... using the modern tool of drift analysis. We extend these results to search spaces which allow for more than two values per dimension. Furthermore, we make an anytime analysis as suggested by Jansen and Zarges (2014), analyzing how closely the (1+1) EA can track the dynamically moving optimum over time...

  3. Barriers to involvement in physical activities of persons with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shor, Ron; Shalev, Anat

    2016-03-01

    Participating in physical activities could be essential for reducing the multiple risk factors for health problems that persons with severe mental illness (SMI) may suffer. However, people with SMI are significantly less active than the general population. To develop knowledge about factors related to the perceived barriers hindering this population's participation in physical activities and the benefits this participation would have, a study was conducted in Israel with 86 people with mental illness living in community mental health facilities prior to their participation in a health promotion program. A mixed method was implemented and included: a scale designed to measure participants' perceptions of the barriers to and benefits of involvement in physical activities; instruments focusing on bio-psycho-social factors that may affect the level of barriers experienced; and personal interviews. The findings revealed high ranking for accessibility barriers hindering the participation in physical activities. Bio-psycho-social factors stemming from the participants' mental health, such as level of depression, were correlated with higher ranking of accessibility barriers. Bio-psycho-social factors reflecting positive mental health and health, such as positive appraisal of body weight, were correlated with lower ranking of accessibility barriers. Other barriers may include organizational and broader systemic barriers in the mental health facilities where the participants reside. These findings illuminate the need to consider the unique challenges that persons with mental illness may face in any attempt to advance their involvement in physical activity. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Barriers for recess physical activity: a gender specific qualitative focus group exploration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pawlowski, Charlotte Skau; Tjørnhøj-Thomsen, Tine; Schipperijn, Jasper

    Background: Many children, in particular girls, do not reach the recommended amount of daily physical activity. School recess provides an opportunity for both boys and girls to be physically active, but barriers to recess physical activity are not well understood. This study explores gender...... (53 boys) from fourth grade, with a mean age of 10.4 years. The focus groups included an open group discussion, go-along group interviews, and a gender segregated post-it note activity. A content analysis of the post-it notes was used to prioritize the children´s perceived barriers. This was verified...... barriers, there were both inter- and intra-gender differences in the children´s perceptions of these barriers. Weather was a barrier for all children, apart from the most active boys. Conflicts were perceived as a barrier particularly for those boys who played ballgames. Girls said they would like to have...

  5. Barriers to activity and participation for stroke survivors in rural China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lifang; Yan, Tiebin; You, Liming; Li, Kun

    2015-07-01

    To investigate environmental barriers reported by stroke survivors in the rural areas of China and to determine the impact of environmental barriers on activity and participation relative to demographic characteristics and body functioning. Cross-sectional survey. Structured interviews in the participants' homes. Community-dwelling stroke survivors in the rural areas of China (N=639). Not applicable. Activity and participation (Chinese version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0), environmental barriers (Craig Hospital Inventory of Environmental Factors), neurological function (Canadian Neurological Scale), cognitive function (Abbreviated Mental Test), and depression (6-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression). Physical/structural barriers are the major impediment to activity and participation for these participants (odds ratio, 1.86 and 1.99 for activity and participation, respectively; Penvironmental barriers to be decreased and eliminated first. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Impact of conservatism on the Ea process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pelletier, C.A.

    1985-01-01

    Although starting out with an admitted negative view of the impact of conservatism on the Ea process, the opposite conclusion is reached. Overall, the impact of the authors conservatism has been positive

  7. Ultrastructural changes in the membrane system of isolated chloroplasts of spinach under the influence of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors AA and EA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina V. Vodka

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The effects of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (АА and EA on the membrane system of isolated chloroplasts of spinach were investigated. Under the influence of AA the considerable alterations in granal structure occurred, the thickness of the granal thylakoids increased by 36% and the interspace between thylakoids by 10% comparable with the control. As a result of EA treatment, the thickness of granal thylakoids enhanced by 31% and the interspace between thylakoids increased by 8% in comparison to the control. It was shown that structure of the granal system of the chloroplast was more sensitive to AA than EA. The data obtained can indicate a decrease in the activity of the thylakoid carbonic anhydrase, inhibition of electron transport and photosynthetic process as a whole in the presence of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (AA and EA.

  8. 47 CFR 11.33 - EAS Decoder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ..., satellite, public switched telephone network, or any other source that uses the EAS protocol. (2) Valid..., analog radio and television broadcast stations, analog cable systems and wireless cable systems may... program data must be retained even with power removed. (7) Outputs. Decoders shall have the following...

  9. A cluster expansion model for predicting activation barrier of atomic processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehman, Tafizur; Jaipal, M.; Chatterjee, Abhijit

    2013-01-01

    We introduce a procedure based on cluster expansion models for predicting the activation barrier of atomic processes encountered while studying the dynamics of a material system using the kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) method. Starting with an interatomic potential description, a mathematical derivation is presented to show that the local environment dependence of the activation barrier can be captured using cluster interaction models. Next, we develop a systematic procedure for training the cluster interaction model on-the-fly, which involves: (i) obtaining activation barriers for handful local environments using nudged elastic band (NEB) calculations, (ii) identifying the local environment by analyzing the NEB results, and (iii) estimating the cluster interaction model parameters from the activation barrier data. Once a cluster expansion model has been trained, it is used to predict activation barriers without requiring any additional NEB calculations. Numerical studies are performed to validate the cluster expansion model by studying hop processes in Ag/Ag(100). We show that the use of cluster expansion model with KMC enables efficient generation of an accurate process rate catalog

  10. 47 CFR 11.32 - EAS Encoder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION GENERAL EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM (EAS) Equipment Requirements § 11... operation. (vi) Indicator Display. The encoder shall be provided with a visual and/or aural indicator which... to +50 degrees C and a range of relative humidity of up to 95%. (c) Primary Supply Voltage Variation...

  11. Digitaalisen markkinointiviestinnän mahdollisuudet : Case Kelloliike EA Lahti Oy

    OpenAIRE

    Harmaala, Tiina

    2011-01-01

    TIIVISTELMÄ Harmaala, Tiina. 2011. Digitaalisen markkinointiviestinnän mahdollisuudet – Case Kelloliike EA Lahti Oy. Opinnäytetyö. Kemi-Tornion ammattikorkeakoulu. Kaupan ja kulttuurin toimiala. Sivuja 62. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on Kelloliike EA Lahti Oy:n digitaalisen markkinointiviestinnän suunnittelu. Tutkimuksessa tarkastelen digitaalista markkinointiviestintää integroidun markkinointiviestinnän näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on selvittää toimeksiantajalle sen markkino...

  12. Motivational readiness for active commuting by university students: incentives and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Rachel; Leslie, Eva; Donald, Maria; Cerin, Ester; Neller, Anne; Owen, Neville

    2008-12-01

    Walking for transport can contribute significantly to health-enhancing physical activity. We examined the associations of stages of motivational readiness for active transport with perceived barriers and incentives to walking to and from university among students. Mail-back surveys were completed by 781 students in a regional university in south-east Queensland. They identified one of eight options on motivational readiness for active commuting, which were then classified as: pre-contemplation; contemplation-preparation; or, action-maintenance. Open-ended questions were used to identify relevant barriers and incentives. Logistic regressions were used to examine the barriers and incentives that distinguished between those at different stages of motivational readiness. Barriers most frequently reported were long travel distances, inconvenience and time constraints. Incentives most frequently reported were shorter travel distance, having more time, supportive infrastructure and better security. Those not considering active commuting (pre-contemplation) were significantly more likely to report shorter travel distance as an incentive compared to those in contemplation-preparation. Those in contemplation-preparation were significantly more likely to report lack of motivation, inadequate infrastructure, shorter travel distance and inconvenience as barriers; and, having more time, supportive infrastructure, social support and incentive programs as encouragement. Different barriers and incentives to walking to or from university exist for students in the different stages of motivational readiness for active commuting. Interventions targeted specifically to stage of motivational readiness may be potentially helpful in increasing activity levels, through active transport.

  13. Understanding Motivators and Barriers to Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patay, Mary E.; Patton, Kevin; Parker, Melissa; Fahey, Kathleen; Sinclair, Christina

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to understand the factors that influence physical activity among year-round residents in an isolated summer resort community. Specifically, we explored the personal, environmental, social, and culture-specific perceived motivators and barriers to physical activity. Participants were formally interviewed about their…

  14. E+A galaxies in the SDSS. Stellar population and morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiva, R.; Galaz, G.

    2014-10-01

    Galaxies with E+A spectrum have deep Balmer absorption and no H_{α} and [OII] emission. This suggest recent star formation and the lack of ongoing star formation. With an E+A sample from the SDSS DR 7 (Aihara et al. 2011) we study the morphology with Galaxy Zoo 1 data and the star formation history fitting models from Bruzual & Charlot (2003). We found an underpopulation of spiral and disk like galaxies and an overpopulation of interacting galaxies, the last seems consistent with the scenario where, at low z, the interaction mechanism is responsible for at least part of the E+A galaxies. The star formation history (SFH) fits most of the spectra indicating an increased star formation around 2 Gyr in the past. Additional parameters like dust internal extinction need to be included to improve the fitting.

  15. Preferences for and Barriers to Formal and Informal Athletic Training Continuing Education Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, Kirk J.; Weidner, Thomas G.

    2011-01-01

    Context: Our previous research determined the frequency of participation and perceived effect of formal and informal continuing education (CE) activities. However, actual preferences for and barriers to CE must be characterized. Objective: To determine the types of formal and informal CE activities preferred by athletic trainers (ATs) and barriers to their participation in these activities. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Athletic training practice settings. Patients or Other Participants: Of a geographically stratified random sample of 1000 ATs, 427 ATs (42.7%) completed the survey. Main Outcome Measure(s): As part of a larger study, the Survey of Formal and Informal Athletic Training Continuing Education Activities (FIATCEA) was developed and administered electronically. The FIATCEA consists of demographic characteristics and Likert scale items (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) about preferred CE activities and barriers to these activities. Internal consistency of survey items, as determined by Cronbach α, was 0.638 for preferred CE activities and 0.860 for barriers to these activities. Descriptive statistics were computed for all items. Differences between respondent demographic characteristics and preferred CE activities and barriers to these activities were determined via analysis of variance and dependent t tests. The α level was set at .05. Results: Hands-on clinical workshops and professional networking were the preferred formal and informal CE activities, respectively. The most frequently reported barriers to formal CE were the cost of attending and travel distance, whereas the most frequently reported barriers to informal CE were personal and job-specific factors. Differences were noted between both the cost of CE and travel distance to CE and all other barriers to CE participation (F1,411 = 233.54, P formal CE activities. The same barriers (eg, cost, travel distance) to formal CE appeared to be universal to all ATs. Informal CE was

  16. Does weight status influence perceptions of physical activity barriers among African-American women?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genkinger, Jeanine M; Jehn, Megan L; Sapun, Marcella; Mabry, Iris; Young, Deborah Rohm

    2006-01-01

    Many African-American women fail to participate in regular physical activity. Weight status may influence physical activity barriers. This study examined the frequency and type of barriers. Participants in this study were enrolled in Project EXE-L (Exercising Ladies Excel), a six-month, church-based, randomized trial of moderate-intensity physical activity based in Baltimore city and county in Maryland. Participants were composed of African-American women who attended one of the participating churches, had friends who were church members, or who lived in neighborhoods surrounding one of the churches. Individuals who were between the ages of 25 and 70 years, were not regularly physically active (defined as not engaging in moderate-intensity activity more than three times per week), and were able to participate in moderate-intensity activity met eligibility criteria to participate in the trial. Barriers to physical activity were evaluated with the Steinhardt/Dishman Barriers for Habitual Physical Activity Scale at baseline. One hundred twenty women were classified as normal weight (body mass index [BMI]: or = 30 kg/m2). Obese participants were more likely to report "lack of motivation" as a barrier compared with normal-weight participants (63% vs 31%). Normal-weight and overweight participants were more likely to report no barriers compared with the obese (31%, 0%, 5%, respectively, P<.05). Barriers for African-American women may vary by BMI status. By defining these unique barriers, effective physical activity interventions can be developed.

  17. Barriers associated with reduced physical activity in COPD patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amorim, Priscila Batista; Stelmach, Rafael; Carvalho, Celso Ricardo Fernandes; Fernandes, Frederico Leon Arrabal; Carvalho-Pinto, Regina Maria; Cukier, Alberto

    2014-10-01

    To evaluate the ability of COPD patients to perform activities of daily living (ADL); to identify barriers that prevent these individuals from performing ADL; and to correlate those barriers with dyspnea severity, six-minute walk test (6MWT), and an ADL limitation score. In COPD patients and healthy, age-matched controls, the number of steps, the distance walked, and walking time were recorded with a triaxial accelerometer, for seven consecutive days. A questionnaire regarding perceived barriers and the London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) scale were used in order to identify the factors that prevent the performance of ADL. The severity of dyspnea was assessed with two scales, whereas submaximal exercise capacity was determined on the basis of the 6MWT. We evaluated 40 COPD patients and 40 controls. In comparison with the control values, the mean walk time was significantly shorter for COPD patients (68.5 ± 25.8 min/day vs. 105.2 ± 49.4 min/day; p barriers to performing ADL were lack of infrastructure, social influences, and lack of willpower. The 6MWT distance correlated with the results obtained with the accelerometer but not with the LCADL scale results. Patients with COPD are less active than are healthy adults of a comparable age. Physical inactivity and the barriers to performing ADL have immediate implications for clinical practice, calling for early intervention measures.

  18. Environmental Agents Service (EAS) Registry System of Records

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — The Environmental Agent Service (EAS) Registries is the information system encompassing the Ionizing Radiation Registry (IRR), the Agent Orange Registry (AOR), and...

  19. BARRIERS TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE ELDERLY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Matias

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The population awareness of the physical exercise’s benefits is widely diffused. These benefits are particularly important in the elderly because, with increasing age, there is a decline of the musculoskeletal system and the maximum oxygen consumption which reduces the functional fitness of the elderly and can often lead to a significant decline in the quality of life. Despite this awareness, a large part of the population remains sedentary. It is important to know what the barriers are, so they can be circumvented in order to increase the engagement of the elderly population in existing physical activity programs.Objectives: This study aims to identify some of the personal, behavioral and environmental barriers that prevent older adults to be physically active.

  20. The genome of the Erwinia amylovora phage PhiEaH1 reveals greater diversity and broadens the applicability of phages for the treatment of fire blight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meczker, Katalin; Dömötör, Dóra; Vass, János; Rákhely, Gábor; Schneider, György; Kovács, Tamás

    2014-01-01

    The enterobacterium Erwinia amylovora is the causal agent of fire blight. This study presents the analysis of the complete genome of phage PhiEaH1, isolated from the soil surrounding an E. amylovora-infected apple tree in Hungary. Its genome is 218 kb in size, containing 244 ORFs. PhiEaH1 is the second E. amylovora infecting phage from the Siphoviridae family whose complete genome sequence was determined. Beside PhiEaH2, PhiEaH1 is the other active component of Erwiphage, the first bacteriophage-based pesticide on the market against E. amylovora. Comparative genome analysis in this study has revealed that PhiEaH1 not only differs from the 10 formerly sequenced E. amylovora bacteriophages belonging to other phage families, but also from PhiEaH2. Sequencing of more Siphoviridae phage genomes might reveal further diversity, providing opportunities for the development of even more effective biological control agents, phage cocktails against Erwinia fire blight disease of commercial fruit crops.

  1. 7 CFR 1955.136 - Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact... Disposal of Inventory Property General § 1955.136 Environmental Assessment (EA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). (a) Prior to a final decision on some disposal actions, an environmental assessment must be...

  2. Investigating the status and barriers of science laboratory activities ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study aims at investigating the barriers encountered by science teachers in laboratory activities in Rwandan teacher training colleges (TTCs) using questionnaires and interviews. The results confirmed that teachers face barriers like time limitation, material scarcity and lack of improvising skills in their everyday science ...

  3. Active commuting: prevalence, barriers, and associated variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Kelly Samara; Vasques, Daniel Giordani; Martins, Caroline de Oliveira; Williams, Laura Ashley; Lopes, Adair S

    2011-08-01

    Research has demonstrated that adolescents who actively commute have higher levels of physical activity (PA), which have declined precipitously over the past 30 years. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of active commuting to school; and to identify barriers associated with active commuting. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1672 students (46.8% boys and 53.2% girls) from 11 to 17 years of age in Caxias do Sul/RS, Brazil. The students were asked to answer questionnaires about active transport, PA, and sedentary behaviors. They also completed a cardiovascular fitness test and body composition measurements. The study used a multivariate Poisson regression analysis. A total of 62.5% of students were observed to actively commute and the prevalence ratio (PR) of not actively commuting was associated with the type of school (Private: 2.41; 1.47, 3.95) and the time spent on commuting (>20 min: 1.93; 1.23, 3.03). The associated barriers to passive commuting were distance (3.02; 1.95, 4.71), crime/danger (2.65; 1.82, 3.85), and traffic (1.75; 1.19, 2.58). This study showed that environmental variables were strongly associated with active commuting. However, no alterations in body composition or other behavioral variables were observed after adjustment.

  4. Self-Adaptive Operator Scheduling using the Religion-Based EA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Rene; Krink, Thiemo

    2002-01-01

    of their application is determined by a constant parameter, such as a fixed mutation rate. However, recent studies have shown that the optimal usage of a variation operator changes during the EA run. In this study, we combined the idea of self-adaptive mutation operator scheduling with the Religion-Based EA (RBEA......), which is an agent model with spatially structured and variable sized subpopulations (religions). In our new model (OSRBEA), we used a selection of different operators, such that each operator type was applied within one specific subpopulation only. Our results indicate that the optimal choice...

  5. Are barriers to physical activity similar for adults with and without abnormal glucose metabolism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hume, Clare; Dunstan, David; Salmon, Jo; Healy, Genevieve; Andrianopoulos, Nick; Owen, Neville

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine perceived barriers to physical activity among adults with and without abnormal glucose metabolism (AGM), and whether barriers varied according to physical activity status. The 1999 to 2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity, and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) was a population-based cross-sectional study among adults aged > or =25 years. AGM was identified through an oral glucose tolerance test. The previous week's physical activity and individual, social, and environmental barriers to physical activity were self-reported. Logistic regression analyses examined differences in barriers to physical activity between those with and without AGM, and for those with and without AGM who did and did not meet the minimum recommendation of 150 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity. Of the 7088 participants (47.5 +/- 12.7 years; 46% male), 18.5% had AGM. Approximately 47.5% of those with AGM met the physical activity recommendation, compared to 54.7% of those without AGM (P barriers to physical activity included lack of time, other priorities, and being tired. Following adjustment for sociodemographic and behavioral factors, there were few differences in barriers to physical activity between those with and without AGM, even after stratifying according to physical activity. Adults with AGM report similar barriers to physical activity, as do those without AGM. Programs for those with AGM can therefore focus on the known generic adult-reported barriers to physical activity.

  6. Measurable difference in Cherenkov light between gamma and hadron induced EAS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cabot, H.; Meynadier, Ch. [Universite de Perpignan, Groupe de Physique Fondamentale, Perpignan (France); Sobczynska, D. [Experimental Physics Department, University of Lodz, Lodz (Poland); Szabelska, B. [Soltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, Lodz (Poland); Szabelski, J. [Universite de Perpignan, Groupe de Physique Fondamentale, Perpignan (France)]|[Soltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, Lodz (Poland); Wibig, T. [Experimental Physics Department, University of Lodz, Lodz (Poland)

    1997-12-31

    We describe the possibly measurable difference in the Cherenkov light component of EAS induced by en electromagnetic particle (i.e. e{sup +}, e{sup -} or {gamma}) and induced by a hadron (i.e. proton or heavier nuclei) in TeV range. The method can be applied in experiments which use wavefront sampling method of EAS Cherenkov light detection (e.g. THEMISTOCLE, ASGAT). (author) 16 refs, 9 figs

  7. Barriers to physical activity in older adults in Germany: a cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moschny Anna

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Data on barriers to physical activity in older adults in Germany are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse barriers to physical activity in a cohort of older adults, allowing comparisons between men and women, and age groups. Methods 1,937 older adults with a median age of 77 (range 72-93 years (53.3% female took part in the 7-year follow-up telephone interviews of the getABI cohort. Participants who stated that they did not get enough physical activity were surveyed with respect to barriers to physical activity. Barriers were analysed for all respondents, as well as by sex and age group for cases with complete data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate differences between sexes and age groups. The level of significance (alpha Results 1,607 (83.0% participants stated that they were sufficiently physically active. 286 participants rated their physical activity as insufficient and responded to questions on barriers to physical activity completely. The three most frequently cited barriers were poor health (57.7%, lack of company (43.0%, and lack of interest (36.7%. Lack of opportunities for sports or leisure activities (30.3% vs. 15.6%, and lack of transport (29.0% vs. 7.1% were more frequently stated by female respondents than male respondents. These differences between men and women were significant (p = .003; p Conclusions The present study provides relevant data on barriers to physical activity in older adults. By revealing appreciable differences between men and women, and age groups, this study has implications for efforts to increase older adults' physical activity. Promotion and intervention strategies should consider the barriers and tailor measures to the specific needs of older adults in order to reduce their constraints to physical activity.

  8. Runtime analysis of the (1+1) EA on computing unique input output sequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehre, Per Kristian; Yao, Xin

    2010-01-01

    Computing unique input output (UIO) sequences is a fundamental and hard problem in conformance testing of finite state machines (FSM). Previous experimental research has shown that evolutionary algorithms (EAs) can be applied successfully to find UIOs for some FSMs. However, before EAs can...... in the theoretical analysis, and the variability of the runtime. The numerical results fit well with the theoretical results, even for small problem instance sizes. Together, these results provide a first theoretical characterisation of the potential and limitations of the (1 + 1) EA on the problem of computing UIOs....

  9. Control strategies for active noise barriers using near-field error sensing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berkhoff, Arthur P.

    In this paper active noise control strategies for noise barriers are presented which are based on the use of sensors near the noise barrier. Virtual error signals are derived from these near-field sensor signals such that reductions of the far-field sound pressure are obtained with the active

  10. Culture X: addressing barriers to physical activity in Samoa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heard, Emma Marie; Auvaa, Leveti; Conway, Brooke A

    2017-08-01

    There is an urgent need to address the epidemic rates of non-communicable diseases globally, and the Pacific Island region is of particular concern. Increasing physical activity participation plays an important role in reducing some of the key risk factors for non-communicable diseases including obesity and being overweight. In order to address low levels of physical activity, it is essential to understand the key barriers and facilitating factors experienced by specific population groups. The purpose of this study is to investigate key facilitating factors for participation in a dance aerobic initiative, Culture X, developed in the Pacific Island country, Samoa. The study further aims to understand ways in which the programme assists participants in addressing barriers to physical activity. Face-to-face interviews running from 10 to 20 min were conducted with 28 Culture X participants in order to gain a deep understanding of participants' personal perspectives with regard to barriers and facilitating factors to physical activity. Findings suggest the inclusion of key cultural components (including, traditional dance moves and music, prayer, community orientation and family inclusiveness) were integral for supporting ongoing participation in Culture X. These components further assisted participants in addressing important personal and social barriers to physical activity (including lack of motivation and enjoyment, lack of confidence, time management, family and social commitments and lack of support). This study highlights creative ways that health promotion in the Pacific Island region can encourage physical activity and informs health promotion literature regarding the importance of placing local culture at the heart of behaviour change initiatives. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. A systematic review of perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity after stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, Sarah; Sniehotta, Falko F; van Wijck, Frederike; Greig, Carolyn A; Johnston, Marie; McMurdo, Marion E T; Dennis, Martin; Mead, Gillian E

    2013-07-01

    Physical fitness is impaired after stroke, may contribute to disability, yet is amenable to improvement through regular physical activity. To facilitate uptake and maintenance of physical activity, it is essential to understand stroke survivors' perceived barriers and motivators. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review of perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity after stroke. Electronic searches of EMBASE, Medline, CINAHL, and PsychInfo were performed. We included peer-reviewed journal articles, in English, between 1 January 1966 and 30 August 2010 reporting stroke survivors' perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity. Searches identified 73,807 citations of which 57 full articles were retrieved. Six articles were included, providing data on 174 stroke survivors (range 10 to 83 per article). Two reported barriers and motivators, two reported only motivators, and two reported only barriers. Five were qualitative articles and one was quantitative. The most commonly reported barriers were lack of motivation, environmental factors (e.g. transport), health concerns, and stroke impairments. The most commonly reported motivators were social support and the need to be able to perform daily tasks. This review has furthered our understanding of the perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity after a stroke. This review will enable the development of tailored interventions to target barriers, while building upon perceived motivators to increase and maintain stroke survivors' physical activity. © 2012 The Authors. International Journal of Stroke © 2012 World Stroke Organization.

  12. EAS selection in the EMMA underground array

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sarkamo, J.; Bezrukov, L.; Enqvist, T.

    2013-01-01

    The first measurements of the Experiment with MultiMuon Array (EMMA) have been analyzed for the selection of the Extensive Air Showers (EAS). Test data were recorded with an underground muon tracking station and a satellite station separated laterally by 10 metres. Events with tracks distributed...

  13. Socio-demographic and behavioral variation in barriers to leisure-time physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borodulin, Katja; Sipilä, Noora; Rahkonen, Ossi; Leino-Arjas, Päivi; Kestilä, Laura; Jousilahti, Pekka; Prättälä, Ritva

    2016-02-01

    We examined the socio-demographic and behavioral determinants of perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in a population-based sample of working-aged adults. Data comprised the National FINRISK 2002 Study, a population-based health examination study. Analyses were restricted to those aged 25-64 years and who perceived that their amount of LTPA did not reach sufficient levels. They reported barriers to LTPA, defined as a lack of time, motivation and lack of companionship to be active with, as well as high expenses. Age, education, household income, employment status, family type, physical activity, smoking and body mass index (BMI) were included as explanatory variables. Lack of time was the most frequent barrier. Each barrier was explained by a different set of factors that also varied between genders. The strongest and most systematic associations with the barriers were found for age, employment status and family type. Lack of time was less often reported as a barrier among the unemployed, singles without children and older people. Lacking motivation as a barrier was most common among singles without children. High expenses as a barrier was more often reported by the unemployed, and less often reported in the highest income group. When considering actions to promote LTPA, there is not one single solution, because the perceived barriers vary by population subgroups. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  14. Physical Activity Pattern of Malaysian Preschoolers: Environment, Barriers, and Motivators for Active Play.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Shoo Thien; Wong, Jyh Eiin; Ong, Wei Wen; Ismail, Mohd Noor; Deurenberg, Paul; Poh, Bee Koon

    2016-07-01

    Children's physical activity has been correlated with child characteristics and social or physical environment. This study aimed to compare preschoolers' physical activity among various sociodemographic characteristics and to determine barriers, motivators, and environmental factors for active play. A total of 835 preschoolers were included in this analysis. Time spent on active play, quiet play, and screen time was reported by parents. Boys spent significantly more time on active play and screen time than girls. Time spent on quiet play was highest in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia and lowest in Sarawak. Some 40% of children achieved active play recommendation while 27% exceeded daily screen time recommendation. Most parents reported that their child played actively in the house area; and that the main barrier and motivator to active play were safety and child's enjoyment, respectively. These findings demonstrate that sociodemographic characteristics and environment should be considered in designing physical activity intervention programs. © 2016 APJPH.

  15. Neighborhood disadvantage, physical activity barriers, and physical activity among African American breast cancer survivors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antwan Jones

    2015-01-01

    Higher renter rates and individual barriers both contribute to lower levels of physical activity in African American breast cancer survivors. These data suggest that the potential for constant residential turnover (via rentership and perceived barriers may increase physical inactivity even where facilities may be available.

  16. Can human activities alter the drowning fate of barrier islands?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzo-Trueba, J.; Ashton, A. D.; Jin, D.; Hoagland, P.; Kite-Powell, H.

    2012-12-01

    Low-lying coastal barriers face an uncertain future over the coming century and beyond as sea levels rise, with many projections suggesting end-of-century rates of sea-level rise as high or higher than 1 cm/yr. Geologically, such rates of sea-level rise have been experienced several thousand years ago and we can use our understanding of geological processes and sedimentary evidence to help unravel the dynamics of natural barriers experiencing sea-level rise. Along many modern coastal barriers, however, anthropic change, such as beach nourishment, dune construction, and emplacement of hard structures, plays a dominant role in coastline dynamics. A fundamental question to be addressed is whether human activities intended to preserve infrastructure and beach recreation may make wholesale collapse, or 'drowning,' of barrier systems more likely. Here we present a numerical modeling tool that couples natural processes and the human responses to these changes (and the subsequent of human responses on natural processes). Recent theoretical model development suggests that barriers are intrinsically morphodynamic features, responding to sea-level rise in complex ways through the interactions of marine processes and barrier overwash. Undeveloped coastal barriers would therefore respond to an accelerated sea-level rise in complex, less predictable manners than suggested by existing long-term models. We have developed a model that examines non-equilibrium cross-shore evolution of barrier systems at decadal to centennial temporal scales, focusing on the interactions between processes of shoreface evolution and overwash deposition. Model responses demonstrate two means of barrier collapse during sea-level rise: 'height drowning', which occurs when overwash fluxes are insufficient to maintain the landward migration rate required to keep in pace with sea-level rise, and 'width drowning', which occurs when the shoreface response is insufficient to maintain the barrier geometry

  17. Music therapists' research activity and utilization barriers: a survey of the membership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldon, Eric G

    2015-01-01

    Music therapists have access to a rapidly expanding body of research supporting the use of music-based interventions. What is not known is the extent to which music therapists access these resources and what factors may prevent them from incorporating research findings into clinical work. After constructing the Music Therapists' Research Activity and Utilization Barrier (MTRAUB) database, the purposes of this study involved: assessing the extent to which American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) members engage in certain research-related activities; and identifying respondents' perceived barriers to integrating research into clinical practice. This study employed a quantitative, non-experimental approach using an online survey. Respondents included professional, associate, student/graduate student, retired, inactive, and honorary life members of AMTA. Instrumentation involved a researcher-designed Background Questionnaire as well as the Barriers to Research Utilization Scale (BARRIERS; Funk, Champagne, Wiese, & Tornquist, 1991), a tool designed to assess perceived barriers to incorporating research into practice. Of the 3,194 survey invitations distributed, 974 AMTA members replied (a response rate of 30%). Regarding research-related activities, descriptive findings indicate that journal reading is the most frequently reported research-related activity while conducting research is the least frequently reported activity. Results from the BARRIERS Scale indicated that Organizational and Communication factors are perceived as interfering most prominently with the ability to utilize research in clinical practice. Findings suggest that research-related activity and perceived barriers vary as a function of educational attainment, work setting, and occupational role. The author discusses these differential findings in detail, suggests supportive mechanisms to encourage increased research activity and utilization, and offers recommendations for further analysis of the

  18. Barriers to Physical Activity in a Mass Transit Population: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Bhibha M; Petruzzello, Steven J

    2016-01-01

    The physical inactivity epidemic continues be one of the greatest public health challenges in contemporary society in the United States. The transportation industry is at greater risk of physical inactivity, compared with individuals in other sectors of the workforce. The aim of this study was to use the Nominal Group Technique, a focus group technique, to examine mass transit employees' perceptions of the barriers to physical activity at their worksite. Three focus groups (n = 31) were conducted to examine mass transit employees' perceptions of barriers to physical activity at the worksite. Salient barriers included (1) changing work schedules, (2) poor weather conditions, and (3) lack of scheduled and timely breaks. Findings were consistent with previous research demonstrating shift work, poor weather, and lack of breaks can negatively impact mass transit employees' ability to be physically active. Although physical activity barriers for this population have been consistent for the last 20 years, public health practice and policy have not changed to address these barriers. Future studies should include conducing focus groups stratified by job classification (eg, operators, maintenance, and clerical) along with implementing and evaluating worksite-based physical activity interventions and policy changes.

  19. CASA-MIA: A ''precision'' EAS detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borione, A.; Cronin, J.W.; Covault, C.E.; Fick, B.E.; Gibbs, K.G.; Krimm, H.A.; McKay, T.A.; Mueller, D.; Newport, B.J.; Ong, R.A.; Rosenberg, L.J.; Catanese, M.; Green, K.D.; Matthews, J.; Nitz, D.F.; Sinclair, D.; van der Velde, J.C.; Kieda, D.

    1993-01-01

    The CASA-MIA detector was constructed to search for sources of UHE neutral radiation. As such it has established limits well below those of previously reported observations and of most contemporaneous detectors. In addition to its primary mission, however, CASA-MIA measures the lateral distribution of both electrons and muons in EAS throughout a range of energies and with a degree of sampling not previously available

  20. Optimal mutation rates for the (1+λ) EA on OneMax

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gießen, Christian; Witt, Carsten

    2016-01-01

    We study the (1 + λ) EA with mutation probability c/n, where c > 0 is a constant, on the ONEMAX problem. Using an improved variable drift theorem, we show that upper and lower bounds on the expected runtime of the (1+λ) EA obtained from variable drift theorems are at most apart by a small lower...... mutation rates for the (1+λ) EA for various parameter settings of c and λ and also for moderate sizes of n. This makes the need for potentially lengthy and costly experiments in order to optimize the parameters unnecessary. Interestingly, even for moderate n and not too small λ it turns out that mutation...... rates up to 10% larger than the asymptotically optimal rate 1/n minimize the expected runtime. However, in absolute terms the expected runtime does not change by much when replacing 1/n with the optimal mutation rate....

  1. Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity in Children of a South Asian Ethnicity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee Smith

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Children of South Asian ethnicity residing in England have low levels of physical activity. Limited literature exists on correlates, barriers, and facilitators to activity in South Asian children. The aim of this study was to fill this gap in the literature. Interviews were conducted with 10 parents of South Asian ethnicity residing in the UK. Interviews covered a description of the family setup, participants’ opinions of physical activity including barriers and facilitators and their children’s participation, as well as approaches to general parenting, and how children spend their free time. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Key themes identified included (i restraints on parents’ and children’s time to be physically active; (ii the role of the family in children’s physical activity participation; (iii situational barriers to physical activity; (iv physical activity not a priority; (v opportunities to be active; and (vi perception of activity level and health. A number of key barriers to South Asian children’s participation in physical activity were identified, including (i restraints on parents and children’s time; (ii parents providing limited support for physical activity; and (iii physical activity having a low priority. A number of facilitators were also identified (i play; (ii school-time; and (iii extra-curricular clubs. In this sample of South Asian parents residing in the UK several socio-cultural barriers and facilitators of their children’s physical activity have been identified. The study provides preliminary data for a larger study to ascertain if such barriers and facilitators are representative of the wider South Asian community, so that recommendations for intervention and policies can be made.

  2. Barriers associated with reduced physical activity in COPD patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscila Batista Amorim

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of COPD patients to perform activities of daily living (ADL; to identify barriers that prevent these individuals from performing ADL; and to correlate those barriers with dyspnea severity, six-minute walk test (6MWT, and an ADL limitation score. METHODS: In COPD patients and healthy, age-matched controls, the number of steps, the distance walked, and walking time were recorded with a triaxial accelerometer, for seven consecutive days. A questionnaire regarding perceived barriers and the London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL scale were used in order to identify the factors that prevent the performance of ADL. The severity of dyspnea was assessed with two scales, whereas submaximal exercise capacity was determined on the basis of the 6MWT. RESULTS: We evaluated 40 COPD patients and 40 controls. In comparison with the control values, the mean walk time was significantly shorter for COPD patients (68.5 ± 25.8 min/day vs. 105.2 ± 49.4 min/day; p < 0.001, as was the distance walked (3.9 ± 1.9 km/day vs. 6.4 ± 3.2 km/day; p < 0.001. The COPD patients also walked fewer steps/day. The most common self-reported barriers to performing ADL were lack of infrastructure, social influences, and lack of willpower. The 6MWT distance correlated with the results obtained with the accelerometer but not with the LCADL scale results. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with COPD are less active than are healthy adults of a comparable age. Physical inactivity and the barriers to performing ADL have immediate implications for clinical practice, calling for early intervention measures.

  3. Physical activity in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: prevalence of inactivity and perceived barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweeting, Joanna; Ingles, Jodie; Timperio, Anna; Patterson, Jillian; Ball, Kylie; Semsarian, Christopher

    2016-01-01

    Objectives This study aimed to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and perceived barriers to physical activity among individuals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and to determine potential demographic, clinical and health-related factors influencing likelihood of meeting physical activity guidelines. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of consecutive patients (n=198) with HCM attending a specialist HCM centre from July 2014 to November 2015. The primary outcome measure was physical activity (minutes per day), as measured by self-report (International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)) and objective means (ActiGraph accelerometer). For both, participants were classified as meeting guidelines if they did at least 150 min per week of physical activity. Quality of life (Short Form-36 V.2, SF-36v2), barriers to exercise and clinical–demographic data were also collected. Results In total, 54.8% of participants did not meet physical activity recommendations based on IPAQ, and 12.7% did not meet guidelines based on accelerometer data. The most commonly identified barriers to exercise were ‘pain interferes with my exercise’ (33%) and ‘I have an injury/disability that stops me’ (29%). Independent factors associated with meeting guidelines included older age (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.85, p=0.002), higher education level (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.08 to 4.93, p=0.03), better physical quality of life (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.09, p=0.05) and more reported barriers (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.91, p=0.01). Conclusions More than half of the patients with HCM did not meet minimum physical activity recommendations. Several barriers to exercise among individuals with HCM exist, and provide the basis for targeted interventions to promote physical activity and improve overall health in patients with HCM. PMID:27547438

  4. Isolation and characterization of new lignin streams derived from extractive-ammonia (EA) pretreatment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    da Costa Sousa, Leonardo [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Foston, Marcus [Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States); Bokade, Vijay [National Chemical Lab., Pune (India); Azarpira, Ali [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Lu, Fachuang [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Ragauskas, Arthur J. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Ralph, John [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Dale, Bruce [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Balan, Venkatesh [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)

    2016-05-05

    One of the key challenges facing lignin conversion to fuels and chemicals is related to the level of carbohydrate and ash impurities found in extracted lignin. Structural modifications of lignin may also occur as a result of biomass pretreatment and harsh lignin extraction protocols. Extractive-Ammonia (EA) is a new pretreatment technology that uses liquid ammonia to cleave lignin–carbohydrate complexes, decrystallize cellulose, solubilize lignin, and selectively extract lignin from lignocellulosic biomass, enabling better utilization of both lignin and carbohydrate components in a biorefinery. The EA-based biorefinery produces two different lignin-rich streams, with different properties, that could potentially be upgraded to fuels and chemicals using green processes. Here, a water/ethanol-based fractionation method was developed to enrich the ammonia-soluble extractives, resulting in a major product stream containing 92% lignin. Detailed characterization of the various streams resulting from EA treatment, including compositional analysis, structural characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry, elemental analysis, molecular weight analysis, and thermo-gravimetric analysis provides a broad evaluation of the EA-derived lignin product stream structures and properties, assessing their potential for commercial applications. In conclusion, EA-derived lignins preserve much of lignin's functionality, including the sensitive β-aryl ether units. Furthermore, we observed nitrogen incorporation in the lignin-rich streams, notably due to the presence of hydroxycinnamoyl amides formed during ammonia pretreatment.

  5. The Stellar Kinematics of E+A Galaxies in SDSS IV-MaNGA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Amalya; Dudley, Raymond; Edwards, Kay; Gonzalez, Andrea; Kerrison, Nicole; Marinelli, Mariarosa; Melchert, Nancy; Ojanen, Winonah; Liu, Charles; SDSS-IV MaNGA

    2018-01-01

    E+A galaxies, hypothesized to be “transition” galaxies between the blue cloud and the red sequence, are valuable sources for studying the evolution of galaxies. Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, a large scale integral field spectroscopic survey of nearby galaxies from 3600 to 10300 Å, we identifed galaxies that exhibitted E+A characteristics within their optical spectra. We analyzed the 2,812 galaxies thus far observed by MaNGA to identify those that showed evidence of a starburst about 1 billion years ago, followed by cessation of star formation and quenching of the galaxy. Through this process we identifed 39 E+A galaxies by directly looking at the optical spectra and ensuring they exhibited the necessary properties of an E+A spectra, including a strong break at the 4000 Å mark, little to no Hα emission and absorption through the Balmer series, and a blue slope of the continuum past ~5000 Å as the flux decreases. We analyzed the stellar kinematics of these galaxies to determine whether or not they were fast or slow rotators, a proposed indicator of a major merger in their recent past. Using Voronoi binned graphs from the MaNGA Marvin database, we measured their stellar rotation curves in order to more clearly show the range of velocities within the galaxies. Among our 39 E+A candidates, all but two exhibited significant, orderly rotation across the galaxy, and 29 out of 39 of our galaxies show rotation faster than 30 km/s. With the caveat that our selection process was biased toward galaxies with orderly rotation, this prevalence of rotation challenges the belief that all E+A galaxies are created from major mergers. This work was supported by grants AST-1460860 from the National Science Foundation and SDSS FAST/SSP-483 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to the CUNY College of Staten Island.

  6. Research on the application of active sound barriers for the transformer noise abatement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hu Sheng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sound barriers are a type of measure most commonly used in the noise abatement of transformers. In the noise abatement project of substations, the design of sound barriers is restrained by the portal frames which are used to hold up outgoing lines from the main transformers, which impacts the noise reduction effect. If active sound barriers are utilized in these places, the noise diffraction of sound barriers can be effectively reduced. At a 110kV Substation, an experiment using a 15-channel active sound barrier has been carried out. The result of the experiment shows that the mean noise reduction value (MNRV of the noise measuring points at the substation boundary are 1.5 dB (A. The effect of the active noise control system is impacted by the layout of the active noise control system, the acoustic environment on site and the spectral characteristic of the target area.

  7. Barriers Affecting Physical Activity in Rural Communities: Perceptions of Parents and Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    McWhinney, Sharon; McDonald, Andrea; Dawkins-Moultin, Lenna; Outley, Corliss; McKyer, E. Lisako; Thomas, Audrene

    2011-01-01

    A comprehensive understanding of the barriers inhibiting physical activity among children is critical in the fight against childhood obesity. This qualitative interview study examined parents' and children's perceptions of the barriers to physical activity in rural communities of low socioeconomic status. Parents and children concurred that the…

  8. Danish research-active clinical nurses overcome barriers in research utilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamsen, Lis; Larsen, Kristian; Bjerregaard, Lene; Madsen, Jan K

    2003-03-01

    The aim of this study was to examine whether there was a difference between clinical nurses who were research-active, and clinical nurses who were nonresearch-active in utilization of research. A further aim was to identify the most significant barriers faced by a group of Danish clinical nurses in their use of research. Discrepancy between the improved quality of research results and the lack of implementing them was the starting point for a series of studies which showed the types of barriers clinical nurses found especially cumbersome when applying the research results of other researchers. This study investigates whether the clinical nurses' own engagement in research had any impact on their perception of research utilization. The study had an exploratory and descriptive design. Seventy-nine Danish clinical nurses participated and semi-structured interviewing was used as the research method. There was a statistically significant difference between the research-active and nonresearch-active nurses on various variables. The study showed that, to a larger extent, research-active nurses used evidence-based knowledge and were generally more internationally orientated. Furthermore, two important barriers for research utilization were identified by all 79 clinical nurses included in the study, i.e. 90% of the nurses explained that the quantity of research results was overwhelming, and 75% of them found that they were unable to evaluate the quality of the research. Clinical nurses, who were research-active themselves, experienced more success in overcoming some of the barriers, which existed in applying research to practice. The research potential found amongst clinical nurses in Denmark needed to be further supported through training and guidance in research methodology, establishing introductory stipends and part-time research positions. By doing so, some of the barriers affecting research utilization and the so-called theory-practice gap might be reduced. Further

  9. Classification of EA1-box proteins and new insights into their role during reproduction in grasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uebler, Susanne; Márton, Mihaela L; Dresselhaus, Thomas

    2015-12-01

    EA1-box protein classification. Success in reproduction and vegetative development in flowering plants strongly depends on precise cell-to-cell signaling events mediated by secreted peptides.A small peptide family named as EA1-like (EAL) has been first described 10 years ago and includes EA1 involved in pollen tubes attraction by the female gametophyte and EAL1-regulating germ cell identity in maize. EALs consist of an N-terminal endoplasmic reticulum-targeting motif, the highly conserved EA1-box and a short C-terminal alanine-rich domain. Whereas EAL peptides are exclusively found in the Gramineae, the EA1-box is widely distributed throughout the plant kingdom. Based on in silico analysis and subcellular localization studies, we report here a new classification of EA1-box proteins in flowering plants. They can be distinguished into three protein classes: the already defined EAL proteins, the EAG (EA1-box glycine-rich) proteins and the EAC (EA1-box containing)proteins. While fusion proteins of EAL and EAC classes locate to the secretory pathway, EAGs are cytoplasmic and locate also to the nucleus. Moreover, we further show that the third EAL protein of Zea mays, EAL2, appears to be also involved in processes related to late embryogenic development as its peptide level increases after formation of leaf primordia. Immunohistochemical studies indicate its presence in the scutellar parenchyma and around the vasculature, where it is secreted to the extracellular space. In conclusion, the members of the maize EAL family possess very diverse functions during reproduction and it will now be exciting to elucidate the functions of EAGs and EACs in plants.

  10. Barriers to increased market-oriented activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bisp, Søren

    1999-01-01

    and related activities still seem to attract relatively few resources is not answered by supplying another checklist or package of facilitators. Based on published conceptual writings and empirical studies this article makes an account of what the intra-organizational barriers may be to increased market......Most research on market orientation has dealt with assessing how market orientation behaviour is related to business performance. This work has established an intense market-oriented activity as significantly and positively related to business performance under most circumstances. In a maturing......-oriented activity. A framework of six generic domains is suggested: Organizational structure, human resource management, market-oriented activity competence, psychological climate, managers' personality characteristics, and individually held beliefs. A model is suggested inter-relating the domains....

  11. Physical Activity and Youth with Disabilities: Barriers and Supports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Block, Martin E.; Taliaferro, Andrea; Moran, Tom

    2013-01-01

    Physical activity and active use of leisure time is important for everyone but particularly important for youth with disabilities. Unfortunately, youth with disabilities often have a difficult time or are even excluded from participating in physical activity due to limited physical and cognitive skills, attitudinal barriers in the community, lack…

  12. Non-thermal activation of the hsp27/p38MAPK stress pathway by mobile phone radiation in human endothelial cells: molecular mechanism for cancer- and blood-brain barrier-related effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leszczynski, Dariusz; Joenväärä, Sakari; Reivinen, Jukka; Kuokka, Reetta

    2002-05-01

    We have examined whether non-thermal exposures of cultures of the human endothelial cell line EA.hy926 to 900 MHz GSM mobile phone microwave radiation could activate stress response. Results obtained demonstrate that 1-hour non-thermal exposure of EA.hy926 cells changes the phosphorylation status of numerous, yet largely unidentified, proteins. One of the affected proteins was identified as heat shock protein-27 (hsp27). Mobile phone exposure caused a transient increase in phosphorylation of hsp27, an effect which was prevented by SB203580, a specific inhibitor of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK). Also, mobile phone exposure caused transient changes in the protein expression levels of hsp27 and p38MAPK. All these changes were non-thermal effects because, as determined using temperature probes, irradiation did not alter the temperature of cell cultures, which remained throughout the irradiation period at 37 +/- 0.3 degrees C. Changes in the overall pattern of protein phosphorylation suggest that mobile phone radiation activates a variety of cellular signal transduction pathways, among them the hsp27/p38MAPK stress response pathway. Based on the known functions of hsp27, we put forward the hypothesis that mobile phone radiation-induced activation of hsp27 may (i) facilitate the development of brain cancer by inhibiting the cytochrome c/caspase-3 apoptotic pathway and (ii) cause an increase in blood-brain barrier permeability through stabilization of endothelial cell stress fibers. We postulate that these events, when occurring repeatedly over a long period of time, might become a health hazard because of the possible accumulation of brain tissue damage. Furthermore, our hypothesis suggests that other brain damaging factors may co-participate in mobile phone radiation-induced effects.

  13. Perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity and associated factors in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, Douglas Fernando; Loch, Mathias Roberto; Ronque, Enio Ricardo Vaz

    2015-11-01

    The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity in teenagers and to examine the possible association of these barriers with leisure-time physical inactivity. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 and a representative sample of 1,409 high school students from public schools in the city of Londrina/Paraná was selected through multistage sampling. For data collection, the adolescents completed a questionnaire. The relationship between leisure-time physical inactivity (barriers was analyzed by calculating the prevalence ratio (PR) in Poisson regression models. "Lack of friends company" was the most prevalent barrier for both girls (75.8%) and boys (58.7%). "Feel lazy" for girls (PR: 1.21; CI 95%: 1.08 to 1.36) and "prefer to do other things" for the boys (PR: 1.48; CI 95%: 1.01 to 2.15) were the barriers most strongly associated with leisure-time physical inactivity. For both genders, a strong dose-response relationship was observed between the number of perceived barriers and leisure-time physical inactivity. The perception of barriers was associated with a higher prevalence of leisure-time physical inactivity in adolescents and should therefore be considered in actions for promoting physical activity in this population.The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity in teenagers and to examine the possible association of these barriers with leisure-time physical inactivity. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 and a representative sample of 1,409 high school students from public schools in the city of Londrina/Paraná was selected through multistage sampling. For data collection, the adolescents completed a questionnaire. The relationship between leisure-time physical inactivity (barriers was analyzed by calculating the prevalence ratio (PR) in Poisson regression models. "Lack of friends company" was the most

  14. Spectrophotometric Properties of E+A Galaxies in SDSS-IV MaNGA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marinelli, Mariarosa; Dudley, Raymond; Edwards, Kay; Gonzalez, Andrea; Johnson, Amalya; Kerrison, Nicole; Melchert, Nancy; Ojanen, Winonah; Weaver, Olivia; Liu, Charles; SDSS-IV MaNGA

    2018-01-01

    Quenched post-starburst galaxies, or E+A galaxies, represent a unique and informative phase in the evolution of galaxies. We used a qualitative rubric-based methodology, informed by the literature, to manually select galaxies from the SDSS-IV IFU survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) using the single-fiber spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 8. Of the 2,812 galaxies observed so far in MaNGA, we found 39 galaxies meeting our criteria for E+A classification. Spectral energy distributions of these 39 galaxies from the far-UV to the mid-infrared demonstrate a heterogeneity in our sample emerging in the infrared, indicating many distinct paths to visually similar optical spectra. We used SDSS-IV MaNGA Pipe3D data products to analyze stellar population ages, and found that 34 galaxies exhibited stellar populations that were older at 1 effective radius than at the center of the galaxy. Given that our sample was manually chosen based on E+A markers in the single-fiber spectra aimed at the center of each galaxy, our E+A galaxies may have only experienced their significant starbursts in the central region, with a disk of quenched or quenching material further outward. This work was supported by grants AST-1460860 from the National Science Foundation and SDSS FAST/SSP-483 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to the CUNY College of Staten Island.

  15. A qualitative theory guided analysis of stroke survivors' perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, Sarah L; Donaghy, Marie; Johnston, Marie; Sniehotta, Falko F; van Wijck, Frederike; Johnston, Derek; Greig, Carolyn; McMurdo, Marion E T; Mead, Gillian

    2014-01-01

    After stroke, physical activity and physical fitness levels are low, impacting on health, activity and participation. It is unclear how best to support stroke survivors to increase physical activity. Little is known about the barriers and facilitators to physical activity after stroke. Thus, our aim was to explore stroke survivors' perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity. Semi-structured interviews with 13 ambulatory stroke survivors exploring perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity post stroke were conducted in participants' homes, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) informed content analysis of the interview transcripts. Data saturation was reached after interviews with 13 participants (median age of 76 years (inter-quartile range (IQR) = 69-83 years). The median time since stroke was 345 d (IQR = 316-366 d). The most commonly reported TDF domains were "beliefs about capabilities", "environmental context and resources" and "social influence". The most commonly reported perceived motivators were: social interaction, beliefs of benefits of exercise, high self-efficacy and the necessity of routine behaviours. The most commonly reported perceived barriers were: lack of professional support on discharge from hospital and follow-up, transport issues to structured classes/interventions, lack of control and negative affect. Stroke survivors perceive several different barriers and facilitators to physical activity. Stroke services need to address barriers to physical activity and to build on facilitators to promote physical activity after stroke. Physical activity post stroke can improve physical fitness and function, yet physical activity remains low among stroke survivors. Understanding stroke survivors' perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity is essential to develop targeted interventions to increase physical activity. Beliefs about capabilities, environmental

  16. Barriers to participation in physical activity and exercise among middle-aged and elderly individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justine, Maria; Azizan, Azliyana; Hassan, Vaharli; Salleh, Zoolfaiz; Manaf, Haidzir

    2013-10-01

    INTRODUCTION Although the benefits of physical activity and exercise are widely acknowledged, many middle-aged and elderly individuals remain sedentary. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the external and internal barriers to physical activity and exercise participation among middle-aged and elderly individuals, as well as identify any differences in these barriers between the two groups. METHODS Recruited individuals were categorised into either the middle-aged (age 45-59 years, n = 60) or elderly (age ≥ 60 years, n = 60) group. Data on demographics, anthropometry, as well as external and internal barriers to participation in physical activity and exercise were collected. RESULTS Analysis showed no significant differences in the total scores of all internal barriers between the two groups (p > 0.05). The total scores for most external barriers between the two groups also showed no significant differences (p > 0.05); only 'cost' (p = 0.045) and 'exercise interferes with social/family activities' (p = 0.011) showed significant differences. The most common external barriers among the middle-aged and elderly respondents were 'not enough time' (46.7% vs. 48.4%), 'no one to exercise with' (40.0% vs. 28.3%) and 'lack of facilities' (33.4% vs. 35.0%). The most common internal barriers for middle-aged respondents were 'too tired' (48.3%), 'already active enough' (38.3%), 'do not know how to do it' (36.7%) and 'too lazy' (36.7%), while those for elderly respondents were 'too tired' (51.7%), 'lack of motivation' (38.4%) and 'already active enough' (38.4%). CONCLUSION Middle-aged and elderly respondents presented with similar external and internal barriers to physical activity and exercise participation. These factors should be taken into account when healthcare policies are being designed and when interventions such as the provision of facilities to promote physical activity and exercise among older people are being considered.

  17. 47 CFR 90.699 - Transition of the upper 200 channels in the 800 MHz band to EA licensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... are defined as the actual costs associated with providing a replacement system, such as equipment and... activities necessary for implementing the replacement facilities, including engineering and cost analysis of... equipment and analog replacement parts can be difficult to find. An EA licensee's obligation to pay...

  18. 47 CFR 1.1311 - Environmental information to be included in the environmental assessment (EA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... a residential area, the EA must also address the impact of this lighting upon the residents. (2) A... concerning the proposal's environmental impact, if any. The EA shall deal specifically with any feature of... land utilized (e.g., deforestation, water diversion, wetland fill, or other extensive change of surface...

  19. Physical activity barriers and enablers in older Veterans with lower-limb amputation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littman, Alyson J; Boyko, Edward J; Thompson, Mary Lou; Haselkorn, Jodie K; Sangeorzan, Bruce J; Arterburn, David E

    2014-01-01

    Little is known about the types of physical activities that older individuals with lower-limb loss perform, correlates of regular physical activity (PA), and barriers and facilitators to PA. We conducted an exploratory study in 158 older Veterans from the Pacific Northwest with a partial foot (35%), below-knee (39%) and above-knee (26%) amputation. Ninety-eight percent of survey respondents were male, on average 65 yr of age and 15 yr postamputation; 36% of amputations were trauma-related. The most commonly reported physical activities were muscle strengthening (42%), yard work and/or gardening (30%), and bicycling (11%). Forty-three percent were classified as physically active based on weekly moderate- and vigorous-intensity PA. History of vigorous preamputation PA was positively associated with being active, while low wealth and watching ≥5 h/d of television/videos were inversely associated. While pain- and resource-related barriers to PA were most frequently reported, only knowledge-related and interest/motivation-related barriers were inversely associated with being active. Family support and financial assistance to join a gym were the most commonly reported factors that would facilitate PA. To increase PA in the older amputee population, interventions should address motivational issues, knowledge gaps, and television watching; reduce financial barriers to exercising; and consider involving family members.

  20. Motivators and barriers for physical activity in older adults with osteoporosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baert, Veerle; Gorus, Ellen; Mets, Tony; Bautmans, Ivan

    2015-01-01

    Although physical activity (PA) is an important tool to counter osteoporosis, too few older patients with osteoporosis (OPWO) engage in PA. Little is known about specific motivators for and barriers to PA in OPWO, hindering the development of targeted PA promotion campaigns for these persons. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to identify motivators for and barriers to PA specifically in OPWO. This qualitative study identified specific motivators for and barriers to PA in OPWO through 2 different methods: focus groups with professionals and in-depth interviews with OPWO. The OPWO tended to give a broad interpretation of what they considered as PA (practicing sports, physical work, and performing household activities), whereas the professionals seemed to mainly focus on (therapeutic) exercise as PA. Fifteen different motivators and 18 barriers have been identified. Among others, health improvement, social contact, habit, feeling good, and receiving medical advice from a medical doctor were motivators. Pain, fear of falling, bad weather, lack of interest, and caring for an ill partner were barriers to PA. For some older respondents, osteoporosis acted as a trigger for PA, and for others it was a barrier. This study emphasizes the importance for health care professionals to give personalized PA advice regarding the nature and frequency of PA that is safe and beneficial for osteoporosis. It stands to reason that the information about PA needs to be clear and consistent. Furthermore, it is quintessential to mention that it can take some time to adapt to physical exercise and to experience the beneficial effects, because pain sensations during the first PA sessions can be perceived as barriers to OPWO. Misconceptions or barriers to PA should be countered by assessing motivators for and barriers to PA by the health care professional together with the older client so that barriers can be eliminated and motivators can be strengthened. Physical activity

  1. Desmoglein 2 regulates the intestinal epithelial barrier via p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ungewiß, Hanna; Vielmuth, Franziska; Suzuki, Shintaro T; Maiser, Andreas; Harz, Hartmann; Leonhardt, Heinrich; Kugelmann, Daniela; Schlegel, Nicolas; Waschke, Jens

    2017-07-24

    Intestinal epithelial barrier properties are maintained by a junctional complex consisting of tight junctions (TJ), adherens junctions (AJ) and desmosomes. Desmoglein 2 (Dsg2), an adhesion molecule of desmosomes and the only Dsg isoform expressed in enterocytes, is required for epithelial barrier properties and may contribute to barrier defects in Crohn's disease. Here, we identified extradesmosomal Dsg2 on the surface of polarized enterocytes by Triton extraction, confocal microscopy, SIM and STED. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed Dsg2-specific binding events along the cell border on the surface of enterocytes with a mean unbinding force of around 30pN. Binding events were blocked by an inhibitory antibody targeting Dsg2 which under same conditions activated p38MAPK but did not reduce cell cohesion. In enterocytes deficient for Dsg2, p38MAPK activity was reduced and both barrier integrity and reformation were impaired. Dsc2 rescue did not restore p38MAPK activity indicating that Dsg2 is required. Accordingly, direct activation of p38MAPK in Dsg2-deficient cells enhanced barrier reformation demonstrating that Dsg2-mediated activation of p38MAPK is crucial for barrier function. Collectively, our data show that Dsg2, beside its adhesion function, regulates intestinal barrier function via p38MAPK signalling. This is in contrast to keratinocytes and points towards tissue-specific signalling functions of desmosomal cadherins.

  2. Enrichment of Microbial Cultures for Hydrolysis of EA2192

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rastogi, Vipin

    1998-01-01

    .... The enrichment was initiated using consortium adapted to biodegrade hydrolyzed vx (courtesy Dr. DeFrank). Based on NMR analysis, the concentration of EA2192 reduced from 120 ppm to 50 ppm in 48 hr of growth...

  3. The time structure of the EAS muon component observed in the KASCADE experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brancus, I.M.; Badea, A.F.; Duma, M.; Vulpescu, B.; Rebel, H.; Haeusler, R.; Mathes, H.J.

    1998-01-01

    The determination of the chemical composition in the energy range of 10 15 eV is the scientific goal of the KASCADE (Karlsruhe Shower Core and Array Detector) experiment. Under this aspect, the temporal structure of the muon component of extended air showers (EAS) is of great interest for a detailed understanding of the EAS features, since the muon arrival time distribution maps the longitudinal EAS development via the time-of-flight of muons produced in large atmospheric heights and shows effects for mass discrimination of the EAS primaries. Using the muon detection and timing facilities of the KASCADE Central Detector, in particular the 'trigger' layer of 456 scintillation detectors and the position-sensitive large-area multiwire proportional chambers, installed under the hadron calorimeter, the muon arrival time distributions (E μ ≥ 2 GeV) registered relative to the arrival of the foremost muons have been measured. Their dependence on various shower quantities, the distance from the shower center R μ , the zenith angle Θ of shower incidence and muon shower content N μ tr (which is an identifier of the primary energy), have been studied. We characterize the single arrival time distribution by various different moments: the median Δτ 0.50 , the 1 st and the 3 rd quartiles (Δτ 0.25 and Δτ 0.75 ) which express different features of the distributions. The dependence of the measured median distributions on the distance from the shower center for a restricted Θ-range and averaged over the observed shower size spectrum is presented. The shapes can be approximated by a gamma probability distribution function. There are also displayed the mean values (Δτ 0.50 ) and the dispersion σ 0.50 of the median distributions, whose R μ -variations represent the (median) profile on the EAS muon disc. The theoretical interpretation of this kind of experimental results on the basis of Monte Carlo simulations of the EAS development is under progress. (authors)

  4. Development of the Barriers to Physical Activity Questionnaire for People with Mobility Impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasudevan, Vijay; Rimmer, James H; Kviz, Frederick

    2015-10-01

    Despite the widely known benefits of physical activity, people with disabilities are more likely to be inactive when compared to people without disabilities. Previous questionnaires that measure barriers physical activity for people with disabilities do not measure barriers from an ecological perspective. The purpose of this study was to develop the Barriers to Physical Activity Questionnaire for People with Mobility Impairments (BPAQ-MI) that measures barriers using an ecological framework. This study consisted of two phases. In Phase one, developed the content validity by (a) developing an item bank, (b) identifying missing items and combining items using a Delphi panel, and (c) refine item wording via cognitive interviews. In Phase two, people with mobility impairments took part in in-person interviews to establish test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the BPAQ-MI. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the BPAQ-MI was comprised of eight subscales or factors: health; beliefs and attitudes; family; friends; fitness center built environment; staff and policy; community built environment; and safety. The BPAQ-MI demonstrated very good test-retest reliability. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.792 to 0.935. The BPAQ-MI showed significant negative correlations with exercise (minutes/week) and significant positive correlations between BPAQ-MI subscales and inactivity (hours/day). The BPAQ-MI is the first questionnaire that places greater equity at measuring barriers to physical activity across the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and community domains. The BPAQ-MI has the potential to assist researchers in understanding the complex relationship between barriers and ultimately develop physical activity interventions that address these barriers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. [A sporadic case of episodic ataxia with nystagmus (EA-2)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namekawa, M; Takiyama, Y; Ueno, N; Nishizawa, M

    1998-05-01

    A 39-year-old man with episodic ataxia with nystagmus (EA-2) was reported. He showed intermittent cerebellar dysfunction, i.e., ataxia, nystagmus, dysarthria and vertigo, since he was 10 years old. Although this attack lasted for several hours, he was normal with exception of interictal nystagmus. His parents and sister showed no episodic ataxia. We ruled out the diseases, which may cause episodic ataxia, such as multiple sclerosis, vascular disorders, metabolic disorders and congenital anomalies. He was released from the attack by treatment with acetazolamide. EA-2 has been associated with mutations in the alpha 1A-voltage dependent calcium channel gene (CACNL1A4), which is also affected in familial hemiplegic migraine (FMH) and spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6). In EA-2, frame-shift mutation leading to premature stop and splice-site mutation leading to truncated, non-functional channel protein have been reported. However, our patient did not have the mutations in the CACNL1A4 gene that were previously reported. In addition, our patient did not have an expanded CAG allele in the CACNL1A4 gene which is responsible for SCA6. Further examination is required to address whether a new mutation exists in the CACNL1A4 gene in our patient.

  6. Predictors of physical activity and barriers to exercise in nursing and medical students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, Holly; Stanulewicz, Natalia; Mcgill, Francesca

    2017-04-01

    To investigate physical activity levels of nursing and medicine students, examine predictors of physical activity level and examine the most influential benefits and barriers to exercise. Healthcare professionals have low levels of physical activity, which increases their health risk and may influence their health promotion practices with patients. We surveyed 361 nursing (n = 193) and medicine (n = 168) students studying at a UK medical school. Questionnaire survey, active over 12 months in 2014-2015. Measures included physical activity level, benefits and barriers to exercise, social support, perceived stress and self-efficacy for exercise. Many nursing and medicine students did not achieve recommended levels of physical activity (nursing 48%; medicine 38%). Perceived benefits of exercise were health related, with medicine students identifying additional benefits for stress relief. Most notable barriers to exercise were as follows: lack of time, facilities having inconvenient schedules and exercise not fitting around study or placement schedules. Nursing students were less active than medicine students; they perceived fewer benefits and more barriers to exercise and reported lower social support for exercise. Physical activity of nursing and medicine students was best predicted by self-efficacy and social support, explaining 35% of the variance. Physical activity should be promoted in nursing and medicine students. Interventions should aim to build self-efficacy for exercise and increase social support. Interventions should be developed that are targeted specifically to shift-working frontline care staff, to reduce schedule-related barriers to exercise and to increase accessibility to workplace health and well-being initiatives. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Barriers related to physical activity practice in adolescents. A focus-group study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciro Romélio Rodriguez Añez

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of study was to identify barriers to physical activity in adolescents. Focus group interviews were conducted with subjects aged 15 to 18 years (n=59, 50.8% girls and divided according to gender. Content analysis was used to classify the reports into specific dimensions. Descriptive statistics employing relative and absolute frequencies of similar reports was performed using the SPSS 11.0 software. The most frequent barriers among adolescents were those associated with “psychological, cognitive and emotional” and “cultural and social” dimensions. For boys, the most frequently reported barriers were “feeling lazy”, “lack of company” and “lack of time”. For girls, “feeling lazy”, “lack of com-pany” and “occupation” were the most common barriers. In conclusion, the perception of barriers by adolescents varies according to gender, a fact requiring specific actions for the promotion of physical activity in this group.

  8. Quantitative structure-activation barrier relationship modeling for Diels-Alder ligations utilizing quantum chemical structural descriptors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nandi, Sisir; Monesi, Alessandro; Drgan, Viktor; Merzel, Franci; Novič, Marjana

    2013-10-30

    In the present study, we show the correlation of quantum chemical structural descriptors with the activation barriers of the Diels-Alder ligations. A set of 72 non-catalysed Diels-Alder reactions were subjected to quantitative structure-activation barrier relationship (QSABR) under the framework of theoretical quantum chemical descriptors calculated solely from the structures of diene and dienophile reactants. Experimental activation barrier data were obtained from literature. Descriptors were computed using Hartree-Fock theory using 6-31G(d) basis set as implemented in Gaussian 09 software. Variable selection and model development were carried out by stepwise multiple linear regression methodology. Predictive performance of the quantitative structure-activation barrier relationship (QSABR) model was assessed by training and test set concept and by calculating leave-one-out cross-validated Q2 and predictive R2 values. The QSABR model can explain and predict 86.5% and 80% of the variances, respectively, in the activation energy barrier training data. Alternatively, a neural network model based on back propagation of errors was developed to assess the nonlinearity of the sought correlations between theoretical descriptors and experimental reaction barriers. A reasonable predictability for the activation barrier of the test set reactions was obtained, which enabled an exploration and interpretation of the significant variables responsible for Diels-Alder interaction between dienes and dienophiles. Thus, studies in the direction of QSABR modelling that provide efficient and fast prediction of activation barriers of the Diels-Alder reactions turn out to be a meaningful alternative to transition state theory based computation.

  9. Perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity for children with disability: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Nora; Synnot, Anneliese Jane; Barr, Megan

    2012-11-01

    The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity among children with disability. 10 electronic databases were searched from the earliest time available to September 2010 to identify relevant articles. Articles were included if they examined the barriers or facilitators to physical activity for children with disability and were written in English. Articles were excluded if they included children with an acute, transient or chronic medical condition, examined sedentary leisure activities, or societal participation in general. Two reviewers independently assessed the search yields, extracted the data and assessed trial quality. Data were analysed descriptively. 14 articles met the inclusion criteria. Barriers included lack of knowledge and skills, the child's preferences, fear, parental behaviour, negative attitudes to disability, inadequate facilities, lack of transport, programmes and staff capacity, and cost. Facilitators included the child's desire to be active, practising skills, involvement of peers, family support, accessible facilities, proximity of location, better opportunities, skilled staff and information. Personal, social, environmental, and policy and programme-related barriers and facilitators influence the amount of activity children with disability undertake. The barriers to physical activity have been studied more comprehensively than the facilitators.

  10. Adolescent Girls' Perceived Barriers to Participation in Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, John J. M.; Allison, Kenneth R.; Goldenberg, Ellie R.; Fein, Allan J.; Yoshida, Karen K.; Boutilier, Marie A.

    2006-01-01

    Research shows a decline in physical activity levels during adolescence, particularly among girls. This study explored perceived barriers to participation in moderate and vigorous physical activity among adolescent girls who live in a large ethnoracially and socioeconomically diverse city. A total of 73 adolescent girls in Toronto participated in…

  11. Time for a new approach to public participation in EA: Promoting cooperation and consensus for sustainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doelle, Meinhard; Sinclair, A. John

    2006-01-01

    One of the fundamental challenges of project-based environmental assessments (EA) has been to deliver on the promise of meaningful public participation leading to decisions that put affected societies on the path to sustainability. The record to date has been less than promising, leading the authors to propose that it is time to consider a different approach to legislating public participation in project assessments, one that starts with the ultimate objective of cooperation and consensus building. The authors work back from this objective and propose an EA process specifically designed to encourage all participants to participate constructively. In the process, the authors identify how the proposed process will address various criticisms made of the traditional approach to EA by proponents, government officials and members of the public alike. Through a fundamental shift from process requirements to a focus on the outcomes of EA, the authors propose a way forward for project-based EA to deliver on the promise of becoming a central tool on the path to sustainability

  12. Municipal Officials’ Perceived Barriers to Consideration of Physical Activity in Community Design Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goins, Karin Valentine; Schneider, Kristin L.; Brownson, Ross; Carnoske, Cheryl; Evenson, Kelly; Eyler, Amy; Heinrich, Katie; Litt, Jill; Lyn, Rodney; Maddock, Jay; Reed, Hannah; Tompkins, Nancy O’Hara; Lemon, Stephenie C.

    2016-01-01

    Context Built environment-focused interventions and policies are recommended as sustainable approaches for promoting physical activity. Physical activity has not traditionally been considered in land use and transportation decision making. Effective collaboration with non-public health partners requires knowledge of their perceived barriers to consideration of physical activity in decision making. Objective This study aimed to 1) identify barriers to the consideration of physical activity in community design and planning decisions among municipal decision makers and 2) explore differences in these barriers among a wide range of job functions and departments in a geographically diverse sample. Design A web-based survey was conducted among municipal officials in 94 cities and towns with populations of at least 50,000 residents in eight states. Participants 453 municipal officials from public health, planning, transportation/public works, community and economic development, parks and recreation, city management, and municipal legislatures responded to the survey. Main Outcome Measures Five barriers to consideration of physical activity in community design and layout were assessed. Results The most common barriers included lack of political will (23.5%), limited staff (20.4%) and lack of collaboration across municipal departments (16.2%). Fewer participants reported opposition from the business community or residents as barriers. Compared to other professionals, public health department personnel were more likely to report the barriers of limited staff and lack of collaboration across municipal departments. They were also more likely to report lack of political will compared to city managers or mayors and municipal legislators. Conclusions Barriers to increasing consideration of physical activity in decision making about community design and layout are encouragingly low. Implications for public health practice include the need to strategically increase political will

  13. A New Kind of Void Soap-free P(MMA-EA-MAA) Latex Particles

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Kai KANG; Cheng You KAN; Yi DU; Yu Zhong LI; De Shan LIU

    2005-01-01

    Soap-free P(MMA-EA-MAA) particles with narrow size distribution were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl acrylate (EA) and methacrylic acid (MAA), and large voids inside the particles were generated by alkali posttreatment in the presence of 2-butanone. Results indicated that the size of void and the particle volume were related with the amount of 2-butanone. The generation mechanism of voids was proposed.

  14. Motives for and barriers to physical activity in twin pairs discordant for leisure time physical activity for 30 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aaltonen, S; Leskinen, T; Morris, T; Alen, M; Kaprio, J; Liukkonen, J; Kujala, U

    2012-02-01

    Long-term persistent physical activity is important in the prevention of chronic diseases, but a large number of people do not participate in physical activity to obtain health benefits. The purpose of this study was to examine the motives and perceived barriers to long-term engagement in leisure time physical activity. Same-sex twin pairs (N=16, mean age 60) discordant for physical activity over 30 years were identified from the Finnish Twin Cohort. We evaluated participants' physical activity motivation with the 73-item Recreational Exercise Motivation Measure and assessed barriers to physical activity with a 25-item questionnaire. The characteristics of physical activity motivation and perceived barriers between the active and inactive co-twins were analysed using paired tests. Motives related to the sub-dimensions of enjoyment and physical fitness and psychological state were the most important reasons for participation in physical activity among all the twin individuals analysed. The sub-dimensions mastery (p=0.018, Cohen's d=0.76), physical fitness (p=0.029, Cohen's d=0.69), and psychological state (p=0.039, Cohen's d=0.65) differed significantly between active and inactive co-twins. More than half of the participants reported no reasons for not being physically active. If reasons existed, participation in physical activity was deterred mostly by pain and various health problems. This study found no differences in perceived barriers between active and inactive co-twins. We conclude from our results that the main factors promoting persistent leisure time physical activity were participants' wish to improve or maintain their physical skills or techniques, a feeling that exercise would improve their mental and physical health and that they found the activity enjoyable. This study helps us understand the importance of the role of motives and the minor role of perceived barriers for engagement in persistent physical activity. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart

  15. Business Architecture Development at Public Administration - Insights from Government EA Method Engineering Project in Finland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valtonen, Katariina; Leppänen, Mauri

    Governments worldwide are concerned for efficient production of services to customers. To improve quality of services and to make service production more efficient, information and communication technology (ICT) is largely exploited in public administration (PA). Succeeding in this exploitation calls for large-scale planning which embraces issues from strategic to technological level. In this planning the notion of enterprise architecture (EA) is commonly applied. One of the sub-architectures of EA is business architecture (BA). BA planning is challenging in PA due to a large number of stakeholders, a wide set of customers, and solid and hierarchical structures of organizations. To support EA planning in Finland, a project to engineer a government EA (GEA) method was launched. In this chapter, we analyze the discussions and outputs of the project workshops and reflect emerged issues on current e-government literature. We bring forth insights into and suggestions for government BA and its development.

  16. Quantitative data analysis of perceived barriers and motivators to physical activity in stroke survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, S L; Greig, C A; Sniehotta, F; Johnston, M; Lewis, S J; McMurdo, M E; Johnston, D; Scopes, J; Mead, G E

    2017-09-01

    Levels of physical activity after stroke are low, despite multiple health benefits. We explored stroke survivors' perceived barriers, motivators, self-efficacy and intention to physical activity. Fifty independently mobile stroke survivors were recruited prior to hospital discharge. Participants rated nine possible motivators and four possible barriers based on the Mutrie Scale, as having 'no influence', 'some influence' or 'a major influence' on physical activity. Participants also rated their self-efficacy and intention to increasing walking. The most common motivator was 'physical activity is good for health' [34 (68%)]. The most common barrier was 'feeling too tired' [24 (48%)]. Intention and self-efficacy were high. Self-efficacy was graded as either 4 or 5 (highly confident) on a five-point scale by [34 (68%)] participants, while 42 (84%) 'strongly agreed' or 'agreed' that they intended to increase their walking. Participants felt capable of increasing physical activity but fatigue was often perceived as a barrier to physical activity. This needs to be considered when encouraging stroke survivors to be more active.

  17. Barriers to physical activity between adults with stroke and their care partners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalewski, Kathryn R; Dvorak, Leah

    2011-10-01

    Healthy living includes meeting daily physical activity guidelines. This study compares daily physical activity rates and barriers to physical activity for people with stroke and their partners (spouse or significant other). Physical abilities, energy expenditure, daily steps, and barriers to physical activity are evaluated in people who have completed stroke rehabilitation and their partners. Twenty pairs of adults (mean age 69.7 years) participated. Participants with stroke were classified as sedentary, averaging 2,990 (± 2,488) steps per day. Their partners are classified as low active, averaging 6,378 (± 2,149) steps per day. For stroke survivors, physical abilities were positively correlated to daily activity rates. The number of steps walked per day was moderately correlated to 6-minute walk tests (r = 0.550, P physical abilities were not correlated to daily physical activity. People with stroke report lack of skill as a primary barrier; their partners report lack of time. The relationship between physical ability and physical activity is reinforced with this study. The impact of stroke on the family, particularly on time demands of the primary caregiver, suggests the needs of the care partner may not be adequately addressed in the rehabilitation process.

  18. Physical Activity Promotion, Beliefs, and Barriers Among Australasian Oncology Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keogh, Justin W L; Pühringer, Petra; Olsen, Alicia; Sargeant, Sally; Jones, Lynnette M; Climstein, Mike

    2017-03-01

    To describe the physical activity (PA) promotion practices, beliefs, and barriers of Australasian oncology nurses and gain preliminary insight into how PA promotion practices may be affected by the demographics of the nurses.
. Cross-sectional survey.
. Australia and New Zealand.
. 119 registered oncology nurses.
. Self-reported online survey completed once per participant.
. Questions assessed the PA promotion beliefs (e.g., primary healthcare professionals responsible for PA promotion, treatment stage), PA benefits (e.g., primary benefits, evidence base), and PA promotion barriers of oncology nurses.
. Oncology nurses believed they were the major providers of PA advice to their patients. They promoted PA prior to, during, and post-treatment. The three most commonly cited benefits of PA for their patients were improved quality of life, mental health, and activities of daily living. Lack of time, lack of adequate support structures, and risk to patient were the most common barriers to PA promotion. Relatively few significant differences in the oncology nurses' PA promotion practices, beliefs, and barriers were observed based on hospital location or years of experience.
. Despite numerous barriers, Australasian oncology nurses wish to promote PA to their patients with cancer across multiple treatment stages because they believe PA is beneficial for their patients.
. Hospitals may need to better support oncology nurses in promoting PA to their patients and provide better referral pathways to exercise physiologists and physiotherapists.

  19. Physical activity barriers and motivators among high-risk employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paguntalan, John C; Gregoski, Mathew

    2016-11-22

    Worksite wellness programs offer an ideal setting to target high-risk sedentary workers to improve health status. Lack of physical activity is associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease and mortality. Despite the risks, the number of sedentary workers is increasing. This study examined the perceived barriers and motivators for physical activity among employees at high-risk for coronary heart disease. A purposive sample of 24 high-risk workers participating in a wellness program in rural South Carolina were enrolled in the study. Qualitative data was obtained through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Grounded theory was used to analyze qualitative data, and identify overarching themes. Physical limitations due to pain and weakness, lack of motivation, and lack of time emerged as the main barriers to physical activity. Family relationships were reported as the strongest motivator along with social support and potential health benefits. Findings highlight the unique experience of high-risk workers with physical activity. The findingsunderscore the need to design and implement effective interventions specifically designed to meet the needs of high-risk employees.

  20. Is the perception of time pressure a barrier to healthy eating and physical activity among women?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welch, Nicky; McNaughton, Sarah A; Hunter, Wendy; Hume, Clare; Crawford, David

    2009-07-01

    To describe the proportion of women reporting time is a barrier to healthy eating and physical activity, the characteristics of these women and the perceived causes of time pressure, and to examine associations between perceptions of time as a barrier and consumption of fruit, vegetables and fast food, and physical activity. A cross-sectional survey of food intake, physical activity and perceived causes of time pressure. A randomly selected community sample. A sample of 1580 women self-reported their food intake and their perceptions of the causes of time pressure in relation to healthy eating. An additional 1521 women self-reported their leisure-time physical activity and their perceptions of the causes of time pressure in relation to physical activity. Time pressure was reported as a barrier to healthy eating by 41% of the women and as a barrier to physical activity by 73%. Those who reported time pressure as a barrier to healthy eating were significantly less likely to meet fruit, vegetable and physical activity recommendations, and more likely to eat fast food more frequently. Women reporting time pressure as a barrier to healthy eating and physical activity are less likely to meet recommendations than are women who do not see time pressure as a barrier. Further research is required to understand the perception of time pressure issues among women and devise strategies to improve women's food and physical activity behaviours.

  1. Municipal officials' perceived barriers to consideration of physical activity in community design decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goins, Karin Valentine; Schneider, Kristin L; Brownson, Ross; Carnoske, Cheryl; Evenson, Kelly R; Eyler, Amy; Heinrich, Katie; Litt, Jill; Lyn, Rodney; Maddock, Jay; Reed, Hannah; Tompkins, Nancy Oʼhara; Lemon, Stephenie C

    2013-01-01

    Built environment-focused interventions and policies are recommended as sustainable approaches for promoting physical activity. Physical activity has not traditionally been considered in land use and transportation decision making. Effective collaboration with non-public health partners requires knowledge of their perceived barriers to such consideration. This analysis sought to (a) establish prevalence estimates of selected barriers to the consideration of physical activity in community design and layout decisions and (b) describe how barrier reporting by public health officials differs from other municipal officials among a wide range of job functions and departments in a geographically diverse sample. A Web-based survey was conducted among municipal officials in 94 cities and towns with populations of at least 50 000 residents in 8 states. A total of 453 municipal officials from public health, planning, transportation/public works, community and economic development, parks and recreation, city management, and municipal legislatures in 83 cities and towns responded to the survey. Five barriers to consideration of physical activity in community design and layout were assessed. The most common barriers included lack of political will (23.5%), limited staff (20.4%), and lack of collaboration across municipal departments (16.2%). Fewer participants reported opposition from the business community or residents as barriers. Public health department personnel were more likely to report the barriers of limited staff and lack of collaboration across municipal departments than other professionals. They were also more likely to report lack of political will than city managers or mayors and municipal legislators. Barriers to increasing consideration of physical activity in decision making about community design and layout are encouragingly low. Implications for public health practice include the need to strategically increase political will despite public health staffing

  2. Trends in Governmental Enterprise Architecture: Reviewing National EA Programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gøtze, John; Christiansen, Peter Engelund

    2007-01-01

    This article is the first in a series of three, where we will analyze and evaluate governmental enterprise architecture policies and practices from an international perspective. This first article presents the overall findings from an international study, we have made about governmental EA, and i...

  3. Motivation and Barriers for Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Inês; Ball, Kylie; Crawford, David; Teixeira, Pedro J

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between motivation and barriers for physical activity, and physical activity behavior in women living in socioeconomic disadvantage. This study also examined whether weight control intentions moderate those associations. Data from 1664 women aged 18-46 years was collected at baseline and three-year follow-up as part of the Resilience for Eating and Activity Despite Inequality study. In mail-based surveys, women reported sociodemographic and neighborhood environmental characteristics, intrinsic motivation, goals and perceived family barriers to be active, weight control intentions and leisure-time physical activity (assessed through the IPAQ-L). Linear regression models assessed the association of intrinsic motivation, goals and barriers with physical activity at baseline and follow-up, adjusting for environmental characteristics and also physical activity at baseline (for longitudinal analyses), and the moderating effects of weight control intentions were examined. Intrinsic motivation and, to a lesser extent, appearance and relaxation goals for being physically active were consistently associated with leisure-time physical activity at baseline and follow-up. Perceived family barriers, health, fitness, weight and stress relief goals were associated with leisure-time physical activity only at baseline. Moderated regression analyses revealed that weight control intentions significantly moderated the association between weight goals and leisure-time physical activity at baseline (β = 0.538, 99% CI = 0.057, 0.990) and between intrinsic motivation and leisure-time physical activity at follow-up (β = 0.666, 99% CI = 0.188, 1.145). For women actively trying to control their weight, intrinsic motivation was significantly associated with leisure-time physical activity at follow-up (β = 0.184, 99% CI = 0.097, 0.313). Results suggest that, especially in women trying to control their weight

  4. Motivators and barriers for physical activity in the oldest old: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baert, Veerle; Gorus, Ellen; Mets, Tony; Geerts, Christel; Bautmans, Ivan

    2011-09-01

    Worldwide, people engage insufficiently in physical activity, particularly subjects aged 80 years and over. For optimal life-style campaigns, knowledge of motivators and barriers for physical activity is mandatory. Given their specific needs, it is conceivable that these would be different for the oldest old compared to younger subjects. Pubmed, Web of Science and Psychinfo were systematically screened for articles reporting motivators and barriers for physical activity. Papers were excluded if data regarding elderly aged >79 years were absent. Forty-four relevant articles were included, involving a total of 28,583 subjects. Sixty one motivators and 59 barriers for physical activity in the elderly were identified, including those who are relevant for persons aged 80 years and over. Based on the results of our literature review, we recommend that when promoting physical activity in the oldest old, special attention is paid to the health benefits of physical activity, to the subject's fears, individual preferences and social support, and to constraints related to the physical environment. However, no studies were found exclusively describing people aged 80 years and over, and future research is necessary to differentiate the barriers or motivators that are specific for the oldest old from those of younger elderly. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Inclusive pseudodata for eA collisions at the LHeC

    CERN Document Server

    Armesto, N

    2010-01-01

    I explain how the pseudodata for eA collisions are generated, for the reduced cross section, $F_2$, $F_L$ and the corresponding heavy flavor decompositions. I also discuss how the uncertainties are computed.

  6. EAS vahendas mullu Harjumaale 47 miljonit krooni toetusi / Allar Korjas

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Korjas, Allar

    2005-01-01

    Möödunud aastal jõudis EAS- i vahendusel alustavate ja tegutsevate ettevõtete ning regionaalse arengu toetamiseks Harjumaale 47,1 miljonit krooni. Tabel. Vt. samas: Aare Ets. Regionaalne koostöö Harjumaal on oluline

  7. Effects of the foliar-applied protein "Harpin(Ea)" (messenger) on tomatoes infected with Phytophthora infestans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontanilla, M; Montes, M; De Prado, R

    2005-01-01

    The active ingredient in Messenger, is Harpin(Ea), a naturally occurring protein derived from Erwinia amylovora, a causal agent of fire blight. When Messenger is applied to a plant, the protein Harpin(Ea) binds foliar receptors to it. The receptors recognize the presence of Harpin(Ea), sending a signal that a pathogen is present, actually "tricking" the plant into thinking that it is under attack. This binding process triggers a cascade of responses affecting a global change of gene expressions, stimulating several distinct biochemical pathways within the plant responsible for growth and disease and insect resistance. The objective of this work is to characterize the development of an induced resistance against Phytophthora infestans. No effective treatment is currently available against this pathogenic agent, which causes the loss of complete harvests of different crops. Tomato plants with and without Messenger applications were inoculated with Phytophthora infestans in the same way. In addition, some plants with and without Messenger applications were not inoculated. Inoculated plants were symptomatologically checked for local and systemic symptoms. Evaluations of the number of tomatoes produced, with or without damage, and their growth, were also carried out. Based on the data obtained from the assays, significant changes were observed in the parameters measured due to Messenger treatment. The severe damage of this disease was reduced in the plants which received Messenger applications. These results open up new pathways in the control of diseases like Phytophthora infestans, in which effective means to combat them still do not exist, or these means are harmful to the environment.

  8. Physical activity preferences, motivators, barriers and attitudes of adults with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Justin J; Fraser, Sarah J; Brown, Wendy J; Burton, Nicola W

    2016-10-01

    Adults with mental illness may have specific attitudes toward physical activity (PA). To assess the PA attitudes of non-institutionalised adults with mental illness, and associations with psychological distress. Participants completed questionnaires on activity preferences (type, context and sources of support), motivators, barriers and attitudes toward personal training (PT). Relationships between responses and distress were assessed using logistic regressions. One-hundred forty-two participants completed the questionnaires. PA context preferences included activities done close to home, outdoors, with professional instruction, with people of the same ability, as part of a healthy lifestyle program and with a social component. The most commonly endorsed source of support was an exercise instructor. Most respondents had never received PT; however, PT had high acceptability. Common barriers included poor physical and mental health, and lack of money. Distress was positively associated with barriers of poor mental health, tiredness, disorganisation, exhaustion and being shy/embarrassed (p ≤ 0.001). Local outdoor walking groups that include social and healthy lifestyle components, and that are led by an exercise instructor who can provide support for overcoming barriers, may best meet PA interests of this group. PT could be an acceptable method for offering individualised support.

  9. MODELING AND DESIGN STUDY USING HFC-236EA AS AN ALTERNATIVE REFRIGERANT IN A CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR

    Science.gov (United States)

    The report gives results of an investigation of the operation of a centrifugal compressor--part of a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-114 chiller installation--with the new refrigerant hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-236ea, a proposed alternative to CFC-114. A large set of CFC-236ea operating da...

  10. Perceived Barriers to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Among Participants in a Workplace Obesity Intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stankevitz, Kayla; Dement, John; Schoenfisch, Ashley; Joyner, Julie; Clancy, Shayna M; Stroo, Marissa; Østbye, Truls

    2017-08-01

    To characterize barriers to healthy eating (BHE) and physical activity (BPA) among participants in a workplace weight management intervention. Steps to health participants completed a questionnaire to ascertain barriers to physical activity and healthy eating faced. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure for BPA and BHE. The relationships of these factors with accelerometer data and dietary behaviors were assessed using linear regression. Barriers to physical activity included time constraints and lack of interest and motivation, and to healthy eating, lack of self-control and convenience, and lack of access to healthy foods. Higher BHE correlated with higher sugary beverage intake but not fruit and vegetable and fat intake. To improve their effectiveness, workplace weight management programs should consider addressing and reducing barriers to healthy eating and physical activity.

  11. Barriers, activities and participation: Incorporating ICF into service planning datasets.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Donovan, MA

    2009-05-21

    Purpose. Guided by the World Health Organization\\'s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), a measure of activity and participation (MAP) was developed and incorporated into the National Physical and Sensory Disability Database in Ireland. The aims of this article are to investigate and explore the relationship between the barriers, participation restriction and functioning levels experienced by people with disabilities. Method. Seven thousand five hundred and sixty-two personal interviews with people meeting specific eligibility criteria for registering onto the database were conducted across four health service executive regions in Ireland. Results. Overall, differences in barriers, participation restriction and activity limitations experienced by people with different types of disabilities were found to be significant. Furthermore, low functioning and experience of barriers were indicators of participation restriction. Conclusions. This article has shown that elements of the ICF have been successfully operationalised in a service planning tool through the development of the MAP. This provides a more holistic view of disability and will enable the impact of service interventions to be measured over time.

  12. Perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in young adults with childhood-onset physical disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buffart, Laurien M; Westendorp, Tessa; van den Berg-Emons, Rita J; Stam, Henk J; Roebroeck, Marij E

    2009-11-01

    To explore the main barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in young adults with childhood-onset physical disabilities. Qualitative study using focus groups. Sixteen persons (12 men and 4 women) aged 22.4 (standard deviation 3.4) years, of whom 50% were wheelchair-dependent, participated in the study. Eight were diagnosed with myelomeningocele, 4 with cerebral palsy, 2 with acquired brain injury and 2 with rheumatoid arthritis. Three focus group sessions of 1.5 h were conducted using a semi-structured question route to assess perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity. Tape recordings were transcribed verbatim and content analysed. According to the Physical Activity for People with a Physical Disability model, barriers and facilitators were subdivided into personal factors and environmental factors. Participants reported several barriers related to attitude and motivation. In addition, lack of energy, existing injury or fear of developing injuries or complications, limited physical activity facilities, and lack of information and knowledge, appeared to be barriers to physical activity. Fun and social contacts were mentioned as facilitators of engaging in physical activity, as well as improved health and fitness. Young adults with childhood-onset physical disabilities perceived various personal and environmental factors as barriers to or facilitators of physical activity. These should be taken into account when developing interventions to promote physical activity in this population.

  13. Extracellular adenosine-induced Rac1 activation in pulmonary endothelium: Molecular mechanisms and barrier-protective role.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovacs-Kasa, Anita; Kim, Kyung Mi; Cherian-Shaw, Mary; Black, Stephen M; Fulton, David J; Verin, Alexander D

    2018-08-01

    We have previously shown that Gs-coupled adenosine receptors (A2a) are primarily involved in adenosine-induced human pulmonary artery endothelial cell (HPAEC) barrier enhancement. However, the downstream events that mediate the strengthening of the endothelial cell (EC) barrier via adenosine signaling are largely unknown. In the current study, we tested the overall hypothesis that adenosine-induced Rac1 activation and EC barrier enhancement is mediated by Gs-dependent stimulation of cAMP-dependent Epac1-mediated signaling cascades. Adenoviral transduction of HPAEC with constitutively-active (C/A) Rac1 (V12Rac1) significantly increases transendothelial electrical resistance (TER) reflecting an enhancement of the EC barrier. Conversely, expression of an inactive Rac1 mutant (N17Rac1) decreases TER reflecting a compromised EC barrier. The adenosine-induced increase in TER was accompanied by activation of Rac1, decrease in contractility (MLC dephosphorylation), but not Rho inhibition. Conversely, inhibition of Rac1 activity attenuates adenosine-induced increase in TER. We next examined the role of cAMP-activated Epac1 and its putative downstream targets Rac1, Vav2, Rap1, and Tiam1. Depletion of Epac1 attenuated the adenosine-induced Rac1 activation and the increase in TER. Furthermore, silencing of Rac1 specific guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), Vav2 and Rap1a expression significantly attenuated adenosine-induced increases in TER and activation of Rac1. Depletion of Rap1b only modestly impacted adenosine-induced increases in TER and Tiam1 depletion had no effect on adenosine-induced Rac1 activation and TER. Together these data strongly suggest that Rac1 activity is required for adenosine-induced EC barrier enhancement and that the activation of Rac1 and ability to strengthen the EC barrier depends, at least in part, on cAMP-dependent Epac1/Vav2/Rap1-mediated signaling. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Barriers, Motivations, and Preferences for Physical Activity Among Female African American Older Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neha P. Gothe PhD

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 11% of adults more than the age of 65 meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Among minority populations, only 5% of non-Hispanic Black older adults met the guidelines. Given our limited understanding of psychosocial and environmental factors that affect physical activity participation in these groups, the purpose of our focus groups was to investigate barriers, motivators, and preferences of physical activity for community-dwelling African American older adults. Three focus groups were conducted with female African American older adults ( N = 20. Questions posed to each focus group targeted motivations and barriers toward physical activity as well as their preferences for physical activity. The motivations included perceived health benefits of physical activity, social support, and enjoyment associated with engagement in physical activity. Prominent barriers included time and physical limitations, peer pressure and family responsibilities, and weather and poor neighborhood conditions. Group activities involving a dance component and novel exercises such as tai-chi or yoga were preferred choices. These findings should be taken into consideration when designing and implementing research or community physical activity programs for female African American older adults.

  15. Barriers, Motivations, and Preferences for Physical Activity Among Female African American Older Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gothe, Neha P; Kendall, Bradley J

    2016-01-01

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 11% of adults more than the age of 65 meet the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Among minority populations, only 5% of non-Hispanic Black older adults met the guidelines. Given our limited understanding of psychosocial and environmental factors that affect physical activity participation in these groups, the purpose of our focus groups was to investigate barriers, motivators, and preferences of physical activity for community-dwelling African American older adults. Three focus groups were conducted with female African American older adults ( N = 20). Questions posed to each focus group targeted motivations and barriers toward physical activity as well as their preferences for physical activity. The motivations included perceived health benefits of physical activity, social support, and enjoyment associated with engagement in physical activity. Prominent barriers included time and physical limitations, peer pressure and family responsibilities, and weather and poor neighborhood conditions. Group activities involving a dance component and novel exercises such as tai-chi or yoga were preferred choices. These findings should be taken into consideration when designing and implementing research or community physical activity programs for female African American older adults.

  16. Activated barrier for protection of special nuclear materials in vital areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timm, R.E.; Miranda, J.E.; Reigle, D.L.; Valente, A.D.

    1984-01-01

    The Argonne National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory have recently installed an activated barrier, the Access Denial System (ADS) for the upgrade of safeguards of special nuclear materials. The technology of this system was developed in the late 70's by Sandia National Laboratory-Albuquerque. The installation was the first for the Department of Energy. Subsequently, two additional installations have been completed. The Access Denial System, combined with physical restraints, provide the system delay. The principal advantages of the activated barrier are: (1) it provides an order of magnitude improvement in delay over that of a fixed barrier, (2) it can be added to existing vital areas with a minimum of renovations, (3) existing operations are minimally impacted, and (4) health and safety risks are virtually nonexistent. Hardening of the vital areas using the ADS was accomplished in a cost-effective manner. 3 references, 1 figure, 1 table

  17. Self-reported physical activity in patients on chronic hemodialysis: correlates and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bossola, Maurizio; Pellu, Valentina; Di Stasio, Enrico; Tazza, Luigi; Giungi, Stefania; Nebiolo, Pier Eugenio

    2014-01-01

    The knowledge of the barriers that are associated with decreased physical activity (PA) in patients on chronic hemodialysis (PCH) may be of primary importance for the nephrologists. Thus, we aimed to assess the barriers associated with the absent or reduced PA in PCH of a Mediterranean country. Patients were invited to answer the question 'How often do you exercise during your leisure time?'. Also, patients included in the study were asked to answer questions regarding barriers to physical activity lower than desired. We studied 105 patients. Forty (38.1%) patients reported to never exercise, 6 (5.7%) reported to exercise less than once/week, 4 (3.8%) once/week, 23 (21.9%) two to three times/week, 12 (11.4%) four to five times/week and 20 (19%) daily. Overall, 46 (43.8%) patients never exercised or exercised less than once/week ('inactive') and 59 (56.2%) did exercise more often ('active'). At the multivariate analysis, reduced walking ability, fatigue on the non-dialysis days, and shortness of breath were independently and negatively associated with PA. The same results were found when the reduced model of the multivariate logistic backward regression was built introducing in the model also clinical and laboratory variables. In PCH, fatigue on the non-dialysis days, reduced walking ability, and shortness of breath are barriers independently associated to decreased PA. Knowledge about the causes and mechanisms that generate these barriers has to be acquired. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. Perceived benefits and barriers of physical activity: A social marketing formative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn; Kubacki, Krzysztof; Gruneklee, Naomi

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to gain formative research insights that can be used to design social marketing campaigns. One thousand four hundred fifty-nine people participated in an online survey. Factor analysis was undertaken to establish perceived benefits and barriers, and indexes were created for barriers, benefits, and healthy living knowledge. Four attitude groups were formed and analysis of variance was undertaken to explore group differences. Consumers with high perceived barriers report less physical activity than consumers with low perceived barriers to exercise. The current study provides evidence to suggest that exchange theory can offer important insights to inform social marketing intervention planning.

  19. Skin barrier homeostasis in atopic dermatitis: feedback regulation of kallikrein activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reiko J Tanaka

    Full Text Available Atopic dermatitis (AD is a widely spread cutaneous chronic disease characterised by sensitive reactions (eg. eczema to normally innocuous elements. Although relatively little is understood about its underlying mechanisms due to its complexity, skin barrier dysfunction has been recognised as a key factor in the development of AD. Skin barrier homeostasis requires tight control of the activity of proteases, called kallikreins (KLKs, whose activity is regulated by a complex network of protein interactions that remains poorly understood despite its pathological importance. Characteristic symptoms of AD include the outbreak of inflammation triggered by external (eg. mechanical and chemical stimulus and the persistence and aggravation of inflammation even if the initial stimulus disappears. These characteristic symptoms, together with some experimental data, suggest the presence of positive feedback regulation for KLK activity by inflammatory signals. We developed simple mathematical models for the KLK activation system to study the effects of feedback loops and carried out bifurcation analysis to investigate the model behaviours corresponding to inflammation caused by external stimulus. The model analysis confirmed that the hypothesised core model mechanisms capture the essence of inflammation outbreak by a defective skin barrier. Our models predicted the outbreaks of inflammation at weaker stimulus and its longer persistence in AD patients compared to healthy control. We also proposed a novel quantitative indicator for inflammation level by applying principal component analysis to microarray data. The model analysis reproduced qualitative AD characteristics revealed by this indicator. Our results strongly implicate the presence and importance of feedback mechanisms in KLK activity regulation. We further proposed future experiments that may provide informative data to enhance the system-level understanding on the regulatory mechanisms of skin barrier

  20. Automatic and integrated micro-enzyme assay (AIμEA) platform for highly sensitive thrombin analysis via an engineered fluorescence protein-functionalized monolithic capillary column.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Lihua; Liu, Shengquan; Nie, Zhou; Chen, Yingzhuang; Lei, Chunyang; Wang, Zhen; Yin, Chao; Hu, Huiping; Huang, Yan; Yao, Shouzhuo

    2015-04-21

    Nowadays, large-scale screening for enzyme discovery, engineering, and drug discovery processes require simple, fast, and sensitive enzyme activity assay platforms with high integration and potential for high-throughput detection. Herein, a novel automatic and integrated micro-enzyme assay (AIμEA) platform was proposed based on a unique microreaction system fabricated by a engineered green fluorescence protein (GFP)-functionalized monolithic capillary column, with thrombin as an example. The recombinant GFP probe was rationally engineered to possess a His-tag and a substrate sequence of thrombin, which enable it to be immobilized on the monolith via metal affinity binding, and to be released after thrombin digestion. Combined with capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF), all the procedures, including thrombin injection, online enzymatic digestion in the microreaction system, and label-free detection of the released GFP, were integrated in a single electrophoretic process. By taking advantage of the ultrahigh loading capacity of the AIμEA platform and the CE automatic programming setup, one microreaction column was sufficient for many times digestion without replacement. The novel microreaction system showed significantly enhanced catalytic efficiency, about 30 fold higher than that of the equivalent bulk reaction. Accordingly, the AIμEA platform was highly sensitive with a limit of detection down to 1 pM of thrombin. Moreover, the AIμEA platform was robust and reliable to detect thrombin in human serum samples and its inhibition by hirudin. Hence, this AIμEA platform exhibits great potential for high-throughput analysis in future biological application, disease diagnostics, and drug screening.

  1. Predictors of perceived barriers to physical activity in the general adult population: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herazo-Beltrán, Yaneth; Pinillos, Yisel; Vidarte, José; Crissien, Estela; Suarez, Damaris; García, Rafael

    The perception of personal barriers to physical activity varies according to the sociodemographic characteristics of individuals. To determine the predictors of the perception of barriers to physical activity in the adult population. A cross-sectional study with 1066 adult women and 1036 adult men. The sociodemographic variables (age, gender, marital status, socioeconomic level, level of education), the perception of barriers that do not allow performance of physical activity (i.e. lack of time, social support, energy, motivation, skill, resources, and fear of injury during practice); and the level of physical activity through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in its short-form version were evaluated. Individuals from low socioeconomic level (1 and 2) have higher risks of perceiving barriers such as lack of motivation [OR 1.76 (95% CI (1.4-2.1))] and lack of resources [OR 1.37 (95% CI (1.1-1.6))]; individuals with partners did not perceive the lack of social support [OR 0.29 (95% CI (0.2-0.4))] and lack of motivation [OR 0.54 (95% CI (0.4-0.7))] as barriers to physical activity. Individuals with low schooling perceived lack of social support [OR 3.81 (95% CI (3-4.7))], lack of resources [OR 2.78 (95% CI (2.2-3.3))], and fear of injury [OR 2.70 (95% CI (2.2-3.3))] as barrier to physical activity. Factors such as socioeconomic level, marital status, level of education, and self-perception of health are predictors of barriers to physical activity. Copyright © 2017 Associação Brasileira de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Fisioterapia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  2. Search for Anti-EA(D Antibodies in Subjects with an “Isolated VCA IgG” Pattern

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimo De Paschale

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The presence of an “isolated viral capsid antigen (VCA IgG” pattern in serum is not easy to interpret without the aid of further tests, such as specific immunoblotting or a virus genome search, that often give rise to organisational and economic problems. However, one alternative is to use an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA to detect anti-early antigen (EA antibodies, which can be found in about 85% of subjects with acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV infections. The purpose of this work was to search for anti-EA(D antibodies in 130 samples with an isolated VCA IgG pattern at ELISA screening and classified as being indicative of past (102 cases or acute (28 cases infection on the basis of the immunoblotting results. Thirty-seven samples (28.5% were positive for anti-EA(D, of which 25 (89.3% had been classified by immunoblotting as indicating acute and 12 (11.8% past EBV infection. This difference was statistically significant (<.01. The results of our search for anti-EA(D antibodies correctly identified nearly 90% of acute (presence or past EBV infections (absence. When other tests are not available, the search for anti-EA antibodies may therefore be helpful in diagnosing patients with an isolated VCA IgG pattern at screening tests.

  3. Perceived barriers by university students in the practice of physical activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-López, Manuel; Gallegos, Antonio Granero; Extremera, Antonio Baena

    2010-01-01

    The main goal of this research is to study in detail the main characteristics of university students in order to find out the reasons why they have adopted an inactive lifestyle. In order to do so, a questionnaire on the analysis of sports habits and lifestyle was given to 323 students. They were taken from a representative sample of 1834 students. These 323 students had pointed out at the moment of the fieldwork, not having practiced any sport in their spare time. Our findings point out that there are diverse reasons for this. On one hand, reasons referred to as external barriers such as lack of time, on the other hand, internal barriers such as not liking the physical activity, not seeing its practicality or usefulness, feeling lazy or with apathy, or thinking that they are not competent in this type of activities. Other reasons such as the lack of social support are grouped within the external barriers. Finally, it is important to stress that there are also differences based on gender with respect to motivation. Key pointsExternal barriers prevail in university students. The lack of time is among the most highlighted ones.Statistically significant results have been found regarding the gender variable.The results are very important since they are considered to be valuable information for university institutions when guiding and diversifying their offer of physical and sport activities. Also as a guide in the design of support policies and national sport management guidelines.

  4. Preequilibrium light particle emission in heavy ion collisions for E/A between 10 and 20 MeV/A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kailas, S.

    1989-01-01

    It is known that when two heavy ions collide, while the interaction process is dominated by nucleus-nucleus mean field effects at lower energies (E/A < 10Me V), the nucleon-nucleon collision aspects dominate at higher energies (E/A <100 MeV) . In the intermediate E/A region, both the above mentioned effects are important t o varying degrees. Many experiments have shown that when the incident energy excee ds 10 MeV/A, the complete fusion (CF) of target and projectile gives way to an inco mplete fusion (ICF) mechanism associated with preequilibrium light particle (PELP) emmi sion. This phenomenon becomes increasingly important as E increases and at E/A < 20 Me V, the cross section for PELP emission becomes comparable to the reaction cross section . Considerable progress has been made in the last decade towards understanding of ICF and PELP. In the present work, the review of this field is mainly restricted to E/A values lying between 10 and 20 MeV/A. (author). 27 refs., 5 figs

  5. Separation and properties of EA-rosette-forming lymphocytes in humans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oers, M. H.; Zeijlemaker, W. P.; Schellekens, P. T.

    1977-01-01

    Human peripheral blood lymphocytes were separated into subpopulations enriched or depleted with respect to B lymphocytes (Ig-bearing cells), T lymphocytes, (cell forming rosettes with sheep erythrocytes: E-RFC) and Fc receptor-bearing lymphocytes (EA-RFC). From the distributions and recoveries of

  6. ACC/AHA guidelines superior to ESC/EAS guidelines for primary prevention with statins in non-diabetic Europeans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, Martin Bødtker; Nordestgaard, Børge G; Afzal, Shoaib

    2017-01-01

    Aim We compared the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) and the 2016 European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society (ESC/EAS) guidelines on prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) using different risk prediction models [US......-calibrated around decision thresholds for statin therapy. For a Class I recommendation, 42% of individuals qualified for statins using the ACC/AHA guidelines vs. 6% with the ESC/EAS guidelines. Using ACC/AHA- vs. ESC/EAS-defined statin eligibility led to a substantial gain in sensitivity (+62% for any ASCVD and+76......% for fatal ASCVD) with a smaller loss in specificity (-35% for any ASCVD and -36% for fatal ASCVD). Similar differences between the ACC/AHA and ESC/EAS guidelines were found for men and women separately, and for Class IIa recommendations. The sensitivity and specificity of a US-PCE risk of 5% were similar...

  7. "What I Wish You Knew": Social Barriers toward Physical Activity in Youth with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moola, Fiona; Fusco, Caroline; Kirsh, Joel A.

    2011-01-01

    Despite the benefits of physical activity for youth with congenital heart disease (CHD), most patients are inactive. Although literature has addressed medical and psychological barriers to participation, little is known about the social barriers that youth encounter. This qualitative study explored sociocultural barriers to physical activity from…

  8. Deciphering Molecular Mechanism Underlying Hypolipidemic Activity of Echinocystic Acid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Han

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Our previous study showed that a triterpene mixture, consisting of echinocystic acid (EA and oleanolic acid (OA at a ratio of 4 : 1, dose-dependently ameliorated the hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in rabbits fed with high fat/high cholesterol diets. This study was aimed at exploring the mechanisms underlying antihyperlipidemic effect of EA. Molecular docking simulation of EA was performed using Molegro Virtual Docker (version: 4.3.0 to investigate the potential targets related to lipid metabolism. Based on the molecular docking information, isotope labeling method or spectrophotometry was applied to examine the effect of EA on the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA reductase, acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT, and diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT in rat liver microsomes. Our results revealed a strong affinity of EA towards ACAT and DGAT in molecular docking analysis, while low binding affinity existed between EA and HMG-CoA reductase as well as between EA and cholesteryl ester transfer protein. Consistent with the results of molecular docking, in vitro enzyme activity assays showed that EA inhibited ACAT and DGAT, with IC50 values of 103 and 139 μM, respectively, and exhibited no significant effect on HMG-CoA reductase activity. The present findings suggest that EA may exert hypolipidemic effect by inhibiting the activity of ACAT and DGAT.

  9. Barriers and facilitators to being physically active on a rural U.S. Northern Plains American Indian reservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahns, Lisa; McDonald, Leander R; Wadsworth, Ann; Morin, Charles; Liu, Yan

    2014-11-21

    The objective of the present study was to identify barriers to and facilitators of physical activity among American Indian adults living on a rural, U.S. Northern Plains reservation using the nominal group technique (NGT). NGT is a method of data generation and interpretation that combines aspects of qualitative (free generation of responses) and quantitative (systematic ranking of responses) methodologies. Adults participated in one of two NGT sessions asking about either barriers to (n = 6), or facilitators of (n = 5), being physically active. Participants nominated and ranked 21 barriers and 18 facilitators. Barriers indicated lack of knowledge of how to fit physical activity into a daily schedule, work, caring for family members, and prioritizing sedentary pursuits. Other responses included environmental barriers such as lack of access and transportation to a gym, unsafe walking conditions, and inclement weather. Facilitators to following recommendations included knowledge of health benefits of physical activity and the perception of physical activity as enjoyable, including feeling good when working out. Environmental facilitators included being outdoors walking and biking as well as parks and exercise facilities. Responses provided direction for locally designed community-based programs to promote facilitators and decrease barriers to individual's engagement in physical activity.

  10. The recruitment of patients to trials in head and neck cancer: a qualitative study of the EaStER trial of treatments for early laryngeal cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, D W; de Salis, I; Donovan, J L; Birchall, M

    2013-08-01

    We aimed to investigate the factors contributing to poor recruitment to the EaStER trial "Early Stage glottic cancer: Endoscopic excision or Radiotherapy" feasibility study. We performed a prospective qualitative assessment of the EaStER trial at three centres to investigate barriers to recruitment and implement changes. Methods used included semi-structured interviews, focus groups and audio-recordings of recruitment encounters. First, surgeons and recruiters did not all accept the primary outcome as the rationale for the trial. Surgeons did not always adhere to the trial eligibility criteria leading to variations between centres in the numbers of "eligible" patients. Second, as both treatments were considered equally successful, recruiters and patients focused on the pragmatics of the different trial arms, favouring surgery over radiotherapy. The lack of equipoise was reflected in the way recruiters presented trial information. Third, patient views, beliefs and preferences were not fully elicited or addressed by recruiters. Fourth, in some centres, logistical issues made trial participation difficult. This qualitative research identified several major issues that explained recruitment difficulties. While there was insufficient time to address these in the EaStER trial, several factors would need to be addressed to launch further RCTs in head and neck cancer. These include the need for clear ongoing agreement among recruiting clinicians regarding details in the study protocol; an understanding of the logistical issues hindering recruitment at individual centres; and training recruiters to enable them to explain the need for randomisation and the rationale for the RCT to patients.

  11. Perceived Barriers to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Seven Arab Countries: A Cross-Cultural Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulrahman O. Musaiger

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To highlight the perceived personal, social, and environmental barriers to healthy eating and physical activity among Arab adolescents. Method. A multistage stratified sampling method was used to select 4698 students aged 15–18 years (2240 males and 2458 females from public schools. Seven Arab counties were included in the study, namely, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Self-reported questionnaire was used to list the barriers to healthy eating and physical activity facing these adolescents. Results. It was found that lack of information on healthy eating, lack of motivation to eat a healthy diet, and not having time to prepare or eat healthy food were the main barriers to healthy eating among both genders. For physical activity, the main barriers selected were lack of motivation to do physical activity, less support from teachers, and lack of time to do physical activity. In general, females faced more barriers to physical activity than males in all countries included. There were significant differences between males and females within each country and among countries for most barriers. Conclusion. Intervention programmes to combat obesity and other chronic noncommunicable diseases in the Arab world should include solutions to overcome the barriers to weight maintenance, particularly the sociocultural barriers to practising physical activity.

  12. Temperature dependent current-voltage characteristics of Au/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes and the effect of transition metal oxides as an interface layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahato, Somnath; Puigdollers, Joaquim

    2018-02-01

    Temperature dependent current-voltage (I‒V) characteristics of Au/n-type silicon (n-Si) Schottky barrier diodes have been investigated. Three transition metal oxides (TMO) are used as an interface layer between gold and silicon. The basic Schottky diode parameters such as ideality factor (n), barrier height (ϕb 0) and series resistance (Rs) are calculated and successfully explained by the thermionic emission (TE) theory. It has been found that ideality factor decreased and barrier height increased with increased of temperature. The conventional Richardson plot of ln(I0/T2) vs. 1000/T is determined the activation energy (Ea) and Richardson constant (A*). Whereas value of 'A*' is much smaller than the known theoretical value of n-type Si. The temperature dependent I-V characteristics obtained the mean value of barrier height (ϕb 0 bar) and standard deviation (σs) from the linear plot of ϕap vs. 1000/T. From the modified Richardson plot of ln(I0/T2) ˗ (qσ)2/2(kT)2 vs. 1000/T gives Richardson constant and homogeneous barrier height of Schottky diodes. Main observation in this present work is the barrier height and ideality factor shows a considerable change but the series resistance value exhibits negligible change due to TMO as an interface layer.

  13. A Qualitative Evaluation of Contact Centre Dietitian Support and Electronic Motivational Messaging for eaTracker My Goals Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieffers, Jessica R L; Haresign, Helen; Mehling, Christine; Arocha, Jose F; Hanning, Rhona M

    2018-06-01

    To conduct a qualitative evaluation of adjunct supports (brief motivational messaging regarding goals delivered by email/website, contact centre dietitian assistance) offered by EatRight Ontario (ERO) for users of a website-based nutrition/activity goal setting/tracking feature (eaTracker "My Goals"). One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with My Goals users in Ontario (n = 18) and Alberta (n = 5) recruited via the eaTracker website and ERO contact centre dietitians (n = 5). Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Participants had mixed experiences and perspectives with ERO motivational messaging. Messages targeted towards specific goals (e.g., tips, recipes) were generally well-liked, and generic messages (e.g., eaTracker login reminders) were less useful. No interviewed users had contacted ERO dietitians regarding goals, and dietitians reported encountering few callers asking for assistance while using My Goals. Limited user knowledge was one explanation for this finding. Participants provided suggestions to enhance these supports. Electronic motivational messaging and contact centre dietitian assistance have the potential to support achievement of goals set with website-based features. When considering using electronic messaging, researchers and practitioners should consider message content and delivery tailoring. Marketing that focuses on how contact centre dietitians can assist website users with their goals is needed when services are used in naturalistic settings.

  14. The role of perceived barriers and objectively measured physical activity in adults aged 65-100.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gellert, Paul; Witham, Miles D; Crombie, Iain K; Donnan, Peter T; McMurdo, Marion E T; Sniehotta, Falko F

    2015-05-01

    to test the predictive utility of perceived barriers to objectively measured physical activity levels in a stratified sample of older adults when accounting for social-cognitive determinants proposed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and economic and demographic factors. data were analysed from the Physical Activity Cohort Scotland survey, a representative and stratified (65-80 and 80+ years; deprived and affluent) sample of 584 community-dwelling older people, resident in Tayside, Scotland. Physical activity was measured objectively by accelerometry. perceived barriers clustered around the areas of poor health, lack of interest, lack of safety and lack of access. Perceived poor health and lack of interest, but not lack of access or concerns about personal safety, predicted physical activity after controlling for demographic, economic and TPB variables. perceived person-related barriers (poor health and lack of interest) seem to be more strongly associated with physical activity levels than perceived environmental barriers (safety and access) in a large sample of older adults. Perceived barriers are modifiable and may be a target for future interventions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. 75 FR 62133 - Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment (FINAL EA) and a Finding of No...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-07

    ... Availability of Final Environmental Assessment (FINAL EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for... of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Land Purchase, Access Road Construction and Access Tunnel... Impact (FONSI) based on the Final Environmental Assessment (FINAL EA) for Land Purchase, Access Road...

  16. Perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy: A literature review of quantitative and qualitative evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coll, Carolina V N; Domingues, Marlos R; Gonçalves, Helen; Bertoldi, Andréa D

    2017-01-01

    Identify perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy to inform future interventions aimed at improving physical activity levels in pregnancy. PubMed/Medline and Web of Science databases were systematically searched using a reference period between 1986 and January/2016. A comprehensive search strategy was developed combining the following keywords: (barriers OR constraints OR perceptions OR attitudes) AND (physical activity OR exercise OR motor activity) AND (pregnancy OR pregnant women OR antenatal OR prenatal). Thematic synthesis was conducted to analyze the data. A socioecological model was used to categorize the reported barriers. Twelve quantitative studies and 14 qualitative studies were included. Barriers belonging to the intrapersonal level of the socioecological model were the most reported in the studies and were categorized in five themes as follows: (1) Pregnancy-related symptoms and limitations; (2) Time constraints; (3) Perceptions of already being active, (4) Lack of motivation and (5) Mother-child safety concerns. At the interpersonal level, barriers were coded into two descriptive themes: (1) Lack of advice and information and (2) Lack of social support. Two other themes were used to summarize Environmental, Organizational and Policy barriers: (1) Adverse weather and (2) Lack of resources. A range of relevant barriers to leisure-time physical-activity engagement during pregnancy were identified in this literature review. Pregnancy-related symptoms and limitations barriers were the most reported in studies, regardless of study design. Mother-child safety concerns, lack of advice/information and lack of social support were also important emphasized pregnancy-related barriers to be targeted in future interventions. Copyright © 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. An activated barrier for protection of special nuclear materials in vital areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timm, R.E.; Miranda, J.E.

    1984-01-01

    The Argonne National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory have recently installed an activated barrier, the Access Denial System (ADS) for the upgrade of safeguards of special nuclear materials. The technology of this system was developed in the late 70's by Sandia National Laboratory-Albuquerque. The installation was the first for the Department of Energy. Subsequently, two additional installations have been completed. The Access Denial System, combined with physical restraints, provide the system delay. The principal advantages of the activated barrier are: (1) it provides an order of magnitude improvement in delay over that of a fixed barrier, (2) it can be added to existing vital areas with a minimum of renovations, (3) existing operations are minimally impacted, and (4) health and safety risks are virtually nonexistent. Hardening of the vital areas using the ADS was accomplished in a costeffective manner

  18. Arrival time and incidence angle distributions of extensive air showers (EAS) muons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brancus, I.M.; Duma, M.; Vulpescu, B.; Foeller, M.; Rebel, H.; Voelker, G.; Chilingarian, A.A.

    1995-01-01

    The arrival time distributions of the muons can be related to the longitudinal EAS development and may provide additional information about the nature of the primary. Based on EAS simulations using the Monte-Carlo code CORSIKA, the correlations between arrival time and incidence angle distributions have been investigated in a case of a set of ideal detectors (10 m x 10 m) placed at various distances from the shower core. Applying advanced statistical techniques based on Bayes decision rule and non-parametric multivariate analysing methods it turns out that the correlations of muon arrival time and incidence angle at various separating distances of about 50 m exhibit promising features for mass discrimination (author)

  19. Active barrier films of PET for solar cell application: Processing and characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rossi, Gabriella; Scarfato, Paola; Incarnato, Loredana

    2014-01-01

    A preliminary investigation was carried out on the possibility to improve the protective action offered by the standard multilayer structures used to encapsulate photovoltaic devices. With this aim, a commercial active barrier PET-based material, able to absorb oxygen when activated by liquid water, was used to produce flexible and transparent active barrier films, by means of a lab-scale film production plant. The obtained film, tested in terms of thermal, optical and oxygen absorption properties, shows a slow oxygen absorption kinetics, an acceptable transparency and an easy roll-to-roll processability, so proving itself as a good candidate for the development of protective coating for solar cells against the atmospheric degradation agents like the rain

  20. Barriers to Physical Activity Among African American Women: An Integrative Review of the Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Rodney P; Ainsworth, Barbara E; Keller, Colleen; Dodgson, Joan E

    2015-01-01

    A key aspect for researchers to consider when developing culturally appropriate physical activity (PA) interventions for African American (AA) women are the specific barriers AA women face that limit their participation in PA. Identification and critical examination of these barriers is the first step in developing comprehensive culturally relevant approaches to promote PA and help resolve PA-related health disparities in this underserved population. We conducted a systematic integrative literature review to identify barriers to PA among AA women. Five electronic databases were searched, and forty-two studies (twenty-seven qualitative, fourteen quantitative, one mixed method) published since 1990 (range 1998-2013) in English language journals met inclusion criteria for review. Barriers were classified as intrapersonal, interpersonal, or environment/community according to their respective level of influence within our social ecological framework. Intrapersonal barriers included lack of time, knowledge, and motivation; physical appearance concerns; health concerns; monetary cost of exercise facilities; and tiredness/fatigue. Interpersonal barriers included family/caregiving responsibilities; lack of social support; and lack of a PA partner. Environmental barriers included safety concerns; lack of facilities; weather concerns; lack of sidewalks; and lack of physically active AA role models. Results provide key leverage points for researchers to consider when developing culturally relevant PA interventions for AA women.

  1. Projectile-like fragments from 129Xe+natCu reactions at E/A = 40 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russ, D.E.; Mignerey, A.C.; Garcia-Solis, E.J.

    1996-01-01

    The bombarding of heavy nuclei with energetic heavy projectiles has been one of the most important experimental tools for nuclear science. At low beam energies, (E/A) beam 100 MeV, these mean field effects are less important and nucleon-nucleon interactions dominate. Within the intermediate energy region, the situation is less clear because of both the mean field and nucleon-nucleon effects contribute. There is no consensus on the theoretical treatment of nuclear reaction in the intermediate energy regime and statistical, dynamical, and hybrid models have been used with limited success. Previous studies of 136 Xe + 209 Bi at E/A = 28 MeV carried out at Michigan State University (MSU) have been well described by a damped reaction mechanism. On the other hand, 129 Xe + nat Cu at E/A = 50 MeV also at MSU has been compared with a hybrid model with reasonable success. In order to see a transition from a damped reaction mechanism to more fragmentation-like processes, an experiment was carried out at MSU using 129 Xe beams at E/A = 30, 40, 50, and 60 MeV. The targets were Cu, Sc, and Au. The current study only looks at the projectile-like fragments (PLF) detected in the Maryland Forward Array (MFA)

  2. Barriers and Facilitators to Being Physically Active on a Rural U.S. Northern Plains American Indian Reservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Jahns

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to identify barriers to and facilitators of physical activity among American Indian adults living on a rural, U.S. Northern Plains reservation using the nominal group technique (NGT. NGT is a method of data generation and interpretation that combines aspects of qualitative (free generation of responses and quantitative (systematic ranking of responses methodologies. Adults participated in one of two NGT sessions asking about either barriers to (n = 6, or facilitators of (n = 5, being physically active. Participants nominated and ranked 21 barriers and 18 facilitators. Barriers indicated lack of knowledge of how to fit physical activity into a daily schedule, work, caring for family members, and prioritizing sedentary pursuits. Other responses included environmental barriers such as lack of access and transportation to a gym, unsafe walking conditions, and inclement weather. Facilitators to following recommendations included knowledge of health benefits of physical activity and the perception of physical activity as enjoyable, including feeling good when working out. Environmental facilitators included being outdoors walking and biking as well as parks and exercise facilities. Responses provided direction for locally designed community-based programs to promote facilitators and decrease barriers to individual’s engagement in physical activity.

  3. Gender Differences in Barriers to Physical Activity among College Students Reporting Varying Levels of Regular Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munford, Shawn N.

    2011-01-01

    Researchers have studied the primary determinants of physical activity in an effort to enhance health promotion initiatives nationwide. These physical activity determinants have been observed to differ among various segments of the population, suggesting a further examination of physical activity barriers among differing populations. Little…

  4. Barriers to Providing Physical Education and Physical Activity in Victorian State Secondary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkinson, Kate A.; Benson, Amanda C.

    2010-01-01

    An on-line questionnaire was completed by 115 physical education teachers to establish the barriers to their implementation of physical education in Victorian state secondary schools. In addition, the barriers perceived by teachers to impact on students' participation in school-based physical education and physical activity were examined. The…

  5. PERCEIVED BARRIERS BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE PRACTICE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Gómez-López

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this research is to study in detail the main characteristics of university students in order to find out the reasons why they have adopted an inactive lifestyle. In order to do so, a questionnaire on the analysis of sports habits and lifestyle was given to 323 students. They were taken from a representative sample of 1834 students. These 323 students had pointed out at the moment of the fieldwork, not having practiced any sport in their spare time. Our findings point out that there are diverse reasons for this. On one hand, reasons referred to as external barriers such as lack of time, on the other hand, internal barriers such as not liking the physical activity, not seeing its practicality or usefulness, feeling lazy or with apathy, or thinking that they are not competent in this type of activities. Other reasons such as the lack of social support are grouped within the external barriers. Finally, it is important to stress that there are also differences based on gender with respect to motivation.

  6. Identifying barriers to remaining physically active after rehabilitation: differences in perception between physical therapists and older adult patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalewski, Kathryn; Alt, Carlynn; Arvinen-Barrow, Monna

    2014-06-01

    Cross-sectional study. To describe readiness for change and barriers to physical activity in older adults and to contrast perceptions of physical therapists and patients using the Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Regular physical activity is vital to recovery after discharge from physical therapy. Physical therapists are positioned to support change in physical activity habits for those transitioning to home care. Understanding of readiness for change and barriers to physical activity could optimize recovery. Thirteen physical therapists enrolled in the study and invited patients who met the inclusion criteria to enroll (79 patients enrolled). The physical therapists provided the ICD-9 code, the physical therapist diagnosis, and completed the Barriers to Being Active Quiz as they perceived their patients would. The enrolled patients provided demographics and filled out the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the stages-of-change scale for physical activity, and the Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Patients were predominantly in the early stages of readiness for change. Both patients and physical therapists identified lack of willpower as the primary barrier to physical activity. Patients identified lack of willpower and social influence as critical barriers more often than physical therapists, whereas physical therapists identified fear of injury and lack of time more often than their patients did. Differences between physical therapists and their patients were noted for fear of injury (z = 2.66, P = .008) and lack of time (z = 3.46, P = .001). The stage of change for physical activity impacted perception of social influence (χ2 = 9.64, Pbarriers to physical activity may allow physical therapists to better tailor intervention strategies to impact physical activity behavior change.

  7. Perceived physical activity barriers related to body weight status and sociodemographic factors among Malaysian men in Klang Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Physical inactivity has been acknowledged as a public health issue and has received increasing attention in recent years. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the barriers to physical activity among Malaysian men. These barriers were analyzed with regards to sociodemographic factors, physical activity level, BMI and waist circumference. Methods Subjects in this study included 308 Malay men and 422 Chinese men aged 20 years and older. Subjects completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and a questionnaire on barriers to physical activity, categorized into personal and psychological, physical and social environment barriers. Weight, height and waist circumference were also measured and BMI was calculated. Results Descriptive analyses showed that 79.3% of subjects were married, 52.1% had secondary educational level, 68.8% were still working, and 39.7% had household income between RM1500 to RM3500. The perception that other recreational activities with family and friends were more fun was the most frequently reported barrier, followed by weather, lack of discipline, lack of free time, lack of money, and lack of friends. Marriage status, educational level, household income, BMI, and physical activity status were shown to be associated with perceived barriers. Conclusions To increase participation in physical activity, policy makers should consider significant personal, social and environmental barriers when developing appropriate intervention programmes. Health-promoting strategies that increase awareness, knowledge, skills and motivation related to physical activity are required. PMID:23530696

  8. Buckling of thermally fluctuating spherical shells: Parameter renormalization and thermally activated barrier crossing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumgarten, Lorenz; Kierfeld, Jan

    2018-05-01

    We study the influence of thermal fluctuations on the buckling behavior of thin elastic capsules with spherical rest shape. Above a critical uniform pressure, an elastic capsule becomes mechanically unstable and spontaneously buckles into a shape with an axisymmetric dimple. Thermal fluctuations affect the buckling instability by two mechanisms. On the one hand, thermal fluctuations can renormalize the capsule's elastic properties and its pressure because of anharmonic couplings between normal displacement modes of different wavelengths. This effectively lowers its critical buckling pressure [Košmrlj and Nelson, Phys. Rev. X 7, 011002 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevX.7.011002]. On the other hand, buckled shapes are energetically favorable already at pressures below the classical buckling pressure. At these pressures, however, buckling requires to overcome an energy barrier, which only vanishes at the critical buckling pressure. In the presence of thermal fluctuations, the capsule can spontaneously overcome an energy barrier of the order of the thermal energy by thermal activation already at pressures below the critical buckling pressure. We revisit parameter renormalization by thermal fluctuations and formulate a buckling criterion based on scale-dependent renormalized parameters to obtain a temperature-dependent critical buckling pressure. Then we quantify the pressure-dependent energy barrier for buckling below the critical buckling pressure using numerical energy minimization and analytical arguments. This allows us to obtain the temperature-dependent critical pressure for buckling by thermal activation over this energy barrier. Remarkably, both parameter renormalization and thermal activation lead to the same parameter dependence of the critical buckling pressure on temperature, capsule radius and thickness, and Young's modulus. Finally, we study the combined effect of parameter renormalization and thermal activation by using renormalized parameters for the energy

  9. Measuring Perceived Benefits and Perceived Barriers for Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Seth A.

    2005-01-01

    Objectives: To evaluate the psychometric properties and relationship to physical activity levels of the Exercise Benefits/Barriers Scale (EBBS) among college students. Methods: A total of 398 college students completed the EBBS and a measure of self-efficacy, the Physical Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale. In addition, a subsample of 275 students also…

  10. Sailuotong Prevents Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2-Induced Injury in EA.hy926 Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sai Wang Seto

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Sailuotong (SLT is a standardised three-herb formulation consisting of Panax ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, and Crocus sativus designed for the management of vascular dementia. While the latest clinical trials have demonstrated beneficial effects of SLT in vascular dementia, the underlying cellular mechanisms have not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to assess the ability and mechanisms of SLT to act against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2-induced oxidative damage in cultured human vascular endothelial cells (EAhy926. SLT (1–50 µg/mL significantly suppressed the H2O2-induced cell death and abolished the H2O2-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS generation in a concentration-dependent manner. Similarly, H2O2 (0.5 mM; 24 h caused a ~2-fold increase in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH release from the EA.hy926 cells which were significantly suppressed by SLT (1–50 µg/mL in a concentration-dependent manner. Incubation of SLT (50 µg/mL increased superoxide dismutase (SOD activity and suppressed the H2O2-enhanced Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and cleaved caspase-3 expression. In conclusion, our results suggest that SLT protects EA.hy916 cells against H2O2-mediated injury via direct reduction of intracellular ROS generation and an increase in SOD activity. These protective effects are closely associated with the inhibition of the apoptotic death cascade via the suppression of caspase-3 activation and reduction of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, thereby indicating a potential mechanism of action for the clinical effects observed.

  11. 78 FR 4983 - Proposed Information Collection; Women Veterans Healthcare Barriers Survey Activity: Comment Request

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-23

    ... Veterans Healthcare Barriers Survey Activity: Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans Health Administration... Healthcare Barriers Survey'' in any correspondence. During the comment period, comments may be viewed online... of automated collection techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Women...

  12. Spectral Analysis, Synthesis, & Energy Distributions of Nearby E+A Galaxies Using SDSS-IV MaNGA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weaver, Olivia A.; Anderson, Miguel Ricardo; Wally, Muhammad; James, Olivia; Falcone, Julia; Liu, Allen; Wallack, Nicole; Liu, Charles; SDSS Collaboration

    2017-01-01

    Utilizing data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) Survey (MaNGA Product Launch-4, or MPL-4), of the latest generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV), we identified nine post-starburst (E+A) systems that lie within the Green Valley transition zone. We identify the E+A galaxies by their SDSS single fiber spectrum and u-r color, then confirmed their classification as post-starburst by coding/plotting methods and spectral synthesis codes (FIREFLY and PIPE3D), as well as with their Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) from 0.15 µm to 22 µm, using GALEX, SDSS, 2MASS, and WISE data. We produced maps of gaussian-fitted fluxes, equivalent widths, stellar velocities, metallicities and age. We also produced spectral line ratio diagrams to classify regions of stellar populations of the galaxies. We found that our sample of E+As retain their post-starburst properties across the entire galaxy, not just at their center. We detected matching a trend line in the ultraviolet and optical bands, consistent with the expected SEDs for an E+A galaxy, and also through the J, H and Ks bands, except for one object. We classified one of the nine galaxies as a luminous infrared galaxy, unusual for a post-starburst object. Our group seeks to further study stellar population properties, spectral energy distributions and quenching properties in E+A galaxies, and investigate their role in galaxy evolution as a whole. This work was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation via the SDSS-IV Faculty and Student Team (FAST) initiative, ARC Agreement #SSP483 to the CUNY College of Staten Island. This work was also supported by grants to The American Museum of Natural History, and the CUNY College of Staten Island through from National Science Foundation.

  13. Survey of the Relationship Between Activity Energy Expenditure Metabolic Equivalents and Barrier Factors of Physical Activity in the Elderly in Kashan

    OpenAIRE

    Sadrollahi, Ali; Khalili, Zahra; Pour Nazari, Robab; Mohammadi, Majid; Ahmadi Khatir, Maryam; Mossadegh, Najima

    2016-01-01

    Background Physical activity in the elderly is influenced by aspects of aging that cause personal, mental, environmental, and social changes. Increases in factors that are barriers to activity cause physical energy expenditure to decrease. Objectives The aim of the present study was to survey the relationship between energy expenditure in metabolic equivalent units (MET) and factors that are barriers to physical activity in elderly people in Kashan, Iran Methods This is a descriptive analysis...

  14. Levels of physical activity, motivation and barriers to participation in university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevil, Javier; Práxedes, Alba; Abarca-Sos, Alberto; Del Villar, Fernando; García-González, Luis

    2016-10-01

    Grounded in self-determination theory and trans-theoretical model applied to exercise, the aim of this study was to analyse the existing relationships between physical activity (PA) carried out by university students, perceived barriers to PA, motivation to PA and stages of change. 901 Spanish students took part in the study (408 men, 493 women; mean age 22.59±3.59), who completed the Behavioural Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ-3), Scale of Barriers to PA, Stages of Change and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF). Noteworthy among the findings is the positive relationship between the more autonomous regulation forms, especially integrated regulation, and the moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) levels. However, barriers to participatrion are negatively related to PA levels and the more self-determined forms of motivation. Finally, students in action and maintenance stages, and those who comply with the recommendations on PA present higher values in the more self-determined motivation forms and lower values in barriers to participation in PA. The study shows the importance of addressing the analysis of variables associated with engagement in PA in the university population to develop healthy policies and intervention programmes that can establish a series of healthy and more active habits in the youth-adult stage. The appropriateness of promoting more self-determined motivation forms is highlighted, especially integrated regulation, to have an impact on higher levels of MVPA.

  15. Biological and Sociocultural Differences in Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity among 5th–7th Grade Urban Girls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeesch, Amber L.; Ling, Jiying; Voskuil, Vicki R.; Bakhoya, Marion; Wesolek, Stacey M.; Bourne, Kelly A.; Pfeiffer, Karin A.; Robbins, Lorraine B.

    2015-01-01

    Background Inadequate physical activity (PA) contributes to the high prevalence of overweight and obesity among U.S. adolescent girls. Barriers preventing adolescent girls from meeting PA guidelines have not been thoroughly examined. Objectives The threefold purpose of this study was to: (a) determine pubertal stage, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic status (SES) differences in ratings of interference of barriers to PA; (b) examine relationships between perceived barriers and age, body mass index (BMI), recreational screen time, sedentary activity, and PA; and (c) identify girls’ top-rated perceived barriers to PA. Methods Girls (N = 509) from eight Midwestern U.S. schools participated. Demographic, pubertal stage, perceived barriers, and recreational screen time data were collected via surveys. Height and weight were measured. Accelerometers measured sedentary activity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and light plus MVPA. Results Girls of low SES reported greater interference of perceived barriers to PA than those who were not of low SES (1.16 vs. 0.97, p = .01). Girls in early/middle puberty had lower perceived barriers than those in late puberty (1.03 vs. 1.24, p barriers were negatively related to MVPA (r = −.10, p = .03) and light plus MVPA (r = −.11, p = .02). Girls’ top five perceived barriers included lack of skills, hating to sweat, difficulty finding programs, being tired, and having pain. Discussion Innovative interventions, particularly focusing on skill development, are needed to assist girls in overcoming their perceived barriers to PA. PMID:26325276

  16. Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analysis revealed genetic characteristics related to solvent formation and xylose utilization in Clostridium acetobutylicum EA 2018

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Shengyue

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Clostridium acetobutylicum, a gram-positive and spore-forming anaerobe, is a major strain for the fermentative production of acetone, butanol and ethanol. But a previously isolated hyper-butanol producing strain C. acetobutylicum EA 2018 does not produce spores and has greater capability of solvent production, especially for butanol, than the type strain C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Results Complete genome of C. acetobutylicum EA 2018 was sequenced using Roche 454 pyrosequencing. Genomic comparison with ATCC 824 identified many variations which may contribute to the hyper-butanol producing characteristics in the EA 2018 strain, including a total of 46 deletion sites and 26 insertion sites. In addition, transcriptomic profiling of gene expression in EA 2018 relative to that of ATCC824 revealed expression-level changes of several key genes related to solvent formation. For example, spo0A and adhEII have higher expression level, and most of the acid formation related genes have lower expression level in EA 2018. Interestingly, the results also showed that the variation in CEA_G2622 (CAC2613 in ATCC 824, a putative transcriptional regulator involved in xylose utilization, might accelerate utilization of substrate xylose. Conclusions Comparative analysis of C. acetobutylicum hyper-butanol producing strain EA 2018 and type strain ATCC 824 at both genomic and transcriptomic levels, for the first time, provides molecular-level understanding of non-sporulation, higher solvent production and enhanced xylose utilization in the mutant EA 2018. The information could be valuable for further genetic modification of C. acetobutylicum for more effective butanol production.

  17. Harlamov selgitab EAS-i nõukogule BNS-ist lahkumist / Toivo Tänavsuu

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Tänavsuu, Toivo

    2005-01-01

    Ettevõtluse Arendamise Sihtasutuse juhatuse esimehe kandidaadilt Oleg Harlamovilt, praeguselt majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniminister Edgar Savisaare nõunikult, plaanitakse küsida tema BNS-ist lahkumise kohta. Lisa: Varrak: EAS pole kellegi rahapump

  18. Barriers to physical activity and restorative care for residents in long-term care: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin, Kathleen; Edwards, Nancy; Ploeg, Jenny; Legault, Frances

    2014-01-01

    Despite the benefits of physical activity, residents living in long-term care (LTC) are relatively sedentary. Designing successful physical activity and restorative care programs requires a good understanding of implementation barriers. A database search (2002-2013) yielded seven studies (nine articles) that met our inclusion criteria. We also reviewed 31 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine if the authors explicitly discussed the barriers encountered while implementing their interventions. Eleven RCTs (13 articles) included a discussion of the barriers. Hence, a total of 18 studies (22 articles) were included in this review. Barriers occurred at resident (e.g., health status), environmental (e.g., lack of space for physical activity), and organizational (e.g., staffing and funding constraints) levels. These barriers intersect to adversely affect the physical activity of older people living in LTC. Future studies targeting physical activity interventions for residents living in LTC are needed to address these multiple levels of influence.

  19. Biological and Sociocultural Differences in Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity Among Fifth- to Seventh-Grade Urban Girls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermeesch, Amber L; Ling, Jiying; Voskuil, Vicki R; Bakhoya, Marion; Wesolek, Stacey M; Bourne, Kelly A; Pfeiffer, Karin A; Robbins, Lorraine B

    2015-01-01

    Inadequate physical activity (PA) contributes to the high prevalence of overweight and obesity among U.S. adolescent girls. Barriers preventing adolescent girls from meeting PA guidelines have not been thoroughly examined. The threefold purpose of this study was to (a) determine pubertal stage, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic status (SES) differences in ratings of interference of barriers to PA; (b) examine relationships between perceived barriers and age, body mass index, recreational screen time, sedentary activity, and PA; and (c) identify girls' top-rated perceived barriers to PA. Girls (N = 509) from eight Midwestern U.S. schools participated. Demographic, pubertal stage, perceived barriers, and recreational screen time data were collected via surveys. Height and weight were measured. Accelerometers measured sedentary activity, moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), and light plus MVPA. Girls of low SES reported greater interference of perceived barriers to PA than those who were not of low SES (1.16 vs. 0.97, p = .01). Girls in early/middle puberty had lower perceived barriers than those in late puberty (1.03 vs. 1.24, p barriers were negatively related to MVPA (r = -.10, p = .03) and light plus MVPA (r = -.11, p = .02). Girls' top five perceived barriers included lack of skills, hating to sweat, difficulty finding programs, being tired, and having pain. Innovative interventions, particularly focusing on skill development, are needed to assist girls in overcoming their perceived barriers to PA.

  20. Designed to deter. Community barriers to physical activity for people with visual or motor impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirchner, Corinne E; Gerber, Elaine G; Smith, Brooke C

    2008-04-01

    People with disabilities are more likely to be obese, in poor health, and get less physical activity than the general population. However, research on community factors for physical activity has generally either excluded most people with disabilities, or overlooked relevant factors of community accessibility. This exploratory study investigated environmental factors affecting people with motor impairments and people with visual impairments in urban neighborhoods. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used with a nonrandom sample (n=134) of users of four types of assistive mobility technologies: guide dogs, long canes, and motorized and manual wheelchairs. From July 2005 to August 2006, the sample participated in two telephone surveys. Between the surveys, a stratified random subsample (n =32) engaged in an ethnographic phase of observation and interviews. Most participants in all groups using assistive mobility technologies rated their neighborhoods as accessible, although they also reported many specific barriers. Users of assistive mobility technologies differed in the amount of reported physical activity and on specific barriers. Problems with sidewalk pavement and puddles/poor drainage were the most frequently mentioned environmental barriers, by 90% and 80%, respectively. Users of assistive mobility technologies were more similar on main strategies for dealing with barriers. All groups reported having to plan routes for outings, to alter planned routes, to go more slowly than planned, or to wait for a different time. Despite legislative requirements for accommodation, people with disabilities face barriers to physical activity, both in the built and social environments. Determined people with disabilities were able to overcome barriers, but required additional expenditure of resources to do so. Community design that can include people with disabilities requires detailed understanding of barriers specific both to types of impairments and to different types

  1. Barriers to Physical Activity in Low Back Pain Patients following Rehabilitation: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Schaller

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Promoting health-enhancing physical activity following rehabilitation is a well-known challenge. This study analysed the barriers to leisure time activity among low back pain patients. Methods. A subset of 192 low back pain patients who participated in a randomized controlled trial promoting physical activity was analysed. Physical activity, barriers, and sociodemographic and indication-related variables were assessed by a questionnaire. Differences in barriers between active and inactive participants were tested by Pearson’s chi squared test. A logistic regression model was fitted to identify influencing factors on physical activity at six months following rehabilitation. Results. Inactive and active participants differed significantly in nine of the 19 barriers assessed. The adjusted regression model showed associations of level of education (OR = 5.366 [1.563; 18.425]; p value = 0.008 and fear of pain (OR = 0.612 [0.421; 0.889]; p value = 0.010 with physical activity. The barriers included in the model failed to show any statistically significant association after adjustment for sociodemographic factors. Conclusions. Low back pain patients especially with a low level of education and fear of pain seem to need tailored support in overcoming barriers to physical activity. This study is registered at German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00004878.

  2. Assessment of active play, inactivity and perceived barriers in an inner city neighborhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kottyan, Gregg; Kottyan, Leah; Edwards, Nicholas M.; Unaka, Ndidi I.

    2014-01-01

    Avondale, a disadvantaged neighborhood in Cincinnati, lags behind on a number of indicators of child well-being. Childhood obesity has become increasingly prevalent, as one third of Avondale’s kindergarteners are obese or overweight. The study objective was to determine perceptions of the quantity of and obstacles to childhood physical activity in the Avondale community. Caregivers of children from two elementary schools were surveyed to assess their child’s physical activity and barriers to being active. Three hundred forty surveys were returned out of 1,047 for a response rate of 32%. On school days, 41% of caregivers reported that their children spent more than 2 hours watching television, playing video games, or spending time on the computer. While over half of respondents reported that their children get more than 2 hours of physical activity on school days, 14% of children were reported to be physically active less than 1 hour per day. Caregivers identified violence, cost of extracurricular activities, and lack of organized activities as barriers to their child’s physical activity. The overwhelming majority of caregivers expressed interest in a program to make local playgrounds safer. In conclusion, children in Avondale are not participating in enough physical activity and are exposed to more screen time than is recommended by the AAP. Safety concerns were identified as a critical barrier to address in future advocacy efforts in this community. This project represents an important step toward increasing the physical activity of children in Avondale and engaging the local community. PMID:24306236

  3. Barriers to Physical Activity in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Relationship to Physical Activity and Screen Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Must, Aviva; Phillips, Sarah; Curtin, Carol; Bandini, Linda G

    2015-04-01

    Individual, social, and community barriers to physical activity (PA) experienced by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make PA participation more difficult and may contribute to increased screen time. We compared the prevalence of parent-reported barriers to PA among 58 typically developing (TD) children and 53 children with an ASD, 3 to 11 years, and assessed the association between barriers and PA participation and screen time among children with ASD. Parents of children with ASD reported significantly more barriers than parents of TD children. Based on parent-report, 60% of children with ASD required too much supervision compared with no TD children (P barriers to PA was inversely correlated with the hours spent in PA per year (r = -0.27, P = .05) and positively related to total screen time (r = .32, P < .03). These findings underscore the need for community-based PA programs designed to meet the special requirements of this population and policies that compel schools and other government-supported organizations for inclusion and/or targeted programming.

  4. Estimation of primary cosmic ray characteristics with the help of EAS Cherenkov light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aleksandrov, L.; Brankova, M.; Kirov, I.; Mishev, A.; Stamenov, J.; Ushev, S.; Mavrodiev, S.

    1999-01-01

    A new method of estimating primary cosmic ray characteristics based on the registration and analysis of EAS Cherenkov light is proposed. The nature, energy and arrival direction of primaries are obtained as a solution of a nonlinear inverse problem. The applied mathematical model is created by analyzing 'Hotovo' telescope experimental data. The behaviour of model parameters is studied using CORSIKA code for the primary energy interval 30 GeV-3 TeV. This method could be applied successfully for a different kind of detector displacements of EAS arrays. Moreover, it is shown that the shower parameter estimation could be obtained more effectively and precisely in the case of detectors displacement according to a Spiral

  5. Perceived Barriers to and Facilitators of Physical Activity in Recipients of Solid Organ Transplantation, a Qualitative Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edwin J van Adrichem

    Full Text Available Sufficient physical activity is important for solid organ transplant recipients (heart, lung, liver, kidney. However, recipients do not meet the recommended amount or required type of physical activity. The perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in this population are largely unknown.Semi-structured in depth interviews were conducted with solid organ transplant recipients in order to explore experienced barriers and facilitators. Qualitative methodology with thematic line-by-line analysis was used for analysis, and derived themes were classified into personal and environmental factors.The most important indicated barriers were physical limitations, insufficient energy level, fear, and comorbidities. The most frequently mentioned facilitators included motivation, coping, consequences of (inactivity, routine/habit, goals/goal priority, and responsibility for the transplanted organ. Neutral factors acting as a barrier or facilitator were self-efficacy and expertise of personnel. A comparison of barriers and facilitators between transplant recipient groups yielded no overt differences.Several personal and environmental factors were indicated that should be considered in intervention development to increase physical activity behavior in solid organ transplant recipients.

  6. Perceived barriers and facilitators to physical activity in men with prostate cancer: possible influence of androgen deprivation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keogh, J W L; Patel, A; MacLeod, R D; Masters, J

    2014-03-01

    While physical activity is beneficial for men with prostate cancer, too few perform sufficient activity for such benefit. This study examined perceptions of men with prostate cancer of their barriers and facilitators to physical activity, and how androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) may influence these perceptions. Two focus groups were conducted, involving six ADT and eight non-ADT patients respectively. Data were transcribed verbatim and themes developed using a general inductive thematic approach. Facilitators to physical activity common to both groups of cancer survivors included clinician and spousal involvement, with pre-existing co-morbidities and increased age cited as barriers by both groups. The ADT subgroup cited personal involvement as a facilitator to physical activity, with fatigue, reduced motivation and a relative lack of specific advice from their clinician as additional barriers. The non-ADT subgroup had no additional facilitators to physical activity but cited time constraints as a barrier. These results highlight the important role that cancer clinicians and spouses play in promoting physical activity for men with prostate cancer and how ADT may influence their other facilitators and barriers. As physical activity is beneficial for prostate cancer survivors, especially those on ADT, cancer clinicians should regularly discuss physical activity with their patients. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Physical activity and mental disorders: a case-control study on attitudes, preferences and perceived barriers in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpiniello, Bernardo; Primavera, Diego; Pilu, Alessandra; Vaccargiu, Nicola; Pinna, Federica

    2013-12-01

    Mentally ill people experience greater difficulty than the general population in exercising regularly. We aimed to evaluate attitudes displayed and barriers perceived towards physical activity in a sample of psychiatric patients. A total of 138 (M = 48, F = 90) patients attending a community mental health centre were compared with a control group made up of 138 subjects not affected by mental disorders matched for gender, mean age and education. Both groups underwent a self-administered questionnaire. Patients reported a more sedentary lifestyle in terms of weekly physical activities and daily hours of exercise; their body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher compared with the BMI of controls (p barriers to physical activity; moreover, stating how feeling sad or "distressed" reduced their propensity to physical exercise (p = 0.002). A higher number of patients (p physical activity, and the experiencing of scarce enjoyment (p barriers may limit regular physical activity in subjects affected by mental disorders; these barriers should be taken into account and appropriately addressed.

  8. Exploring the facilitators and barriers to engagement in physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayes, Nicola M; McPherson, Kathryn M; Schluter, Philip; Taylor, Denise; Leete, Marta; Kolt, Gregory S

    2011-01-01

    To explore the relationship that cognitive behavioural and other previously identified variables have with physical activity engagement in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study adopted a cross-sectional questionnaire design. Participants were 282 individuals with MS. Outcome measures included the Physical Activity Disability Survey--Revised, Cognitive and Behavioural Responses to Symptoms Questionnaire, Barriers to Health Promoting Activities for Disabled Persons Scale, Multiple Sclerosis Self-efficacy Scale, Self-Efficacy for Chronic Diseases Scales and Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire. Multivariable stepwise regression analyses found that greater self-efficacy, greater reported mental fatigue and lower number of perceived barriers to physical activity accounted for a significant proportion of variance in physical activity behaviour, over that accounted for by illness-related variables. Although fear-avoidance beliefs accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the initial analyses, its effect was explained by other factors in the final multivariable analyses. Self-efficacy, mental fatigue and perceived barriers to physical activity are potentially modifiable variables which could be incorporated into interventions designed to improve physical activity engagement. Future research should explore whether a measurement tool tailored to capture beliefs about physical activity identified by people with MS would better predict participation in physical activity.

  9. Slow and fast light in SOA-EA structures for phased-array antennas

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sales, S.; Öhman, Filip; Bermejo, A.

    We present an SOA-EA structure for controlling the phase and amplitude of optically fed phased-array antennas. Phase shifts of 40 degrees are obtained through slow and fast light effects by changing only the reverse voltage....

  10. Global Account of Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity Among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus: A Narrative Review of the Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adeniyi, Ade F; Anjana, Ranjit M; Weber, Mary B

    2016-01-01

    With diabetes rates escalating globally, there is the need for a better integration of all aspects of diabetes care for improved population outcomes. An understanding, not only of regional but global literature on physical activity barriers and its facilitators is important if healthcare providers and policy makers are to create programs tailored to their populations. Herein, we report the results of a narrative review of the global barriers and facilitators of physical activity for patients with diabetes mellitus. An in-depth literature search was conducted to identify English-language studies that examined physical activity barriers and associated facilitators among patients with diabetes mellitus. Major electronic literature databases that were searched included Google Scholar, PubMed, Hub-Med, and Highwire. Studies were available from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and, predominantly North America. A total of 34 predominantly internal barriers emerged globally. The most commonly reported were time constrains, fear of provoking additional disorders, exercise venue and weather related barriers. Facilitators of physical activity were reported for most of the internal barriers (e.g. time constraints, lack of knowledge etc) while the external barriers (e.g. weather, environmental pollution etc) received only a minimal attention. Globally, patients with diabetes are confronted with an enormous number of physical activity barriers. Unlike the robust solutions proffered for the internal barriers, the literature is largely silent about solutions to the external barriers, which though fewer, may be highly influential. Additional data is needed to better understand physical activity behaviors in populations outside of North America.

  11. Physical Activity With and Without TV Viewing: Effects on Enjoyment of Physical Activity and TV, Exercise Self-Efficacy, and Barriers to Being Active in Overweight Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steeves, Jeremy A; Bassett, David R; Fitzhugh, Eugene C; Raynor, Hollie; Cho, Chi; Thompson, Dixie L

    2016-04-01

    Physical activity (PA) is enjoyable, but there are barriers to participation. TV viewing is highly enjoyable with limited barriers. Exercising while viewing TV may impact enjoyment, exercise self-efficacy, and barriers to PA, compared with exercising without TV. 58 sedentary, overweight adults were randomized to 1 of 2 PA prescriptions: one that increased PA during TV viewing (TV Commercial Stepping), and another that focused solely on PA (Walking). Random effects models tested changes in enjoyment of TV and PA, exercise self-efficacy, and barriers to PA across time (baseline, 3, and 6 months) and PA prescription during a 6-month PA intervention. At baseline, TV was more enjoyable than PA. Over the 6-month intervention, enjoyment of TV viewing did not change, but enjoyment of PA and exercise self-efficacy significantly increased, while barriers to PA significantly decreased for both groups compared with baseline (P exercise increased, and barriers to being active were reduced for previously sedentary adults participating in a behavioral PA intervention. These findings highlight the importance of encouraging inactive adults to engage in some form of PA, whether it occurs with or without TV viewing.

  12. Barriers to physical activity in chronic hemodialysis patients: a single-center pilot study in an Italian dialysis facility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiaccadori, Enrico; Sabatino, Alice; Schito, Franco; Angella, Francesca; Malagoli, Martina; Tucci, Marco; Cupisti, Adamasco; Capitanini, Alessandro; Regolisti, Giuseppe

    2014-01-01

    In patients on chronic dialysis a sedentary lifestyle is a strong, yet potentially modifiable, predictor of mortality. The present single-center pilot study evaluated social, psychological and clinical barriers that may hinder physical activity in this population. We explored the association between barriers to physical activity and sedentarism in adult patients at a chronic dialysis facility in Parma, Italy. We used different questionnaries exploring participation in physical activity, physical functioning, patient attitudes and preferences, and barriers to physical activity perceived by either patients or dialysis doctors and nurses. We enrolled 104 patients, (67 males, 65%), mean age 69 years (79% of patients older than 60 years); median dialysis vintage 60 months (range 8-440); mean Charlson score 5.55, ADL (Activities of Daily Living) score 5.5. Ninety-two participants (88.5%) reported at least one barrier to physical activity. At multivariable analysis, after adjusting for age and sex, feeling to have too many medical problems (OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.27 to 7.07; P=0.012), chest pain (OR 10.78, 95% CI 1.28 to 90.28; P=0.029) and sadness (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.10 to 6.09; P=0.030) were independently associated with physical inactivity. Lack of time for exercise counseling and the firm belief about low compliance/interest by the patients toward exercise were the most frequent barriers reported by doctors and nurses. We identified a number of patient-related and health personnel-related barriers to physical activity in patients on chronic dialysis. Solutions for these barriers should be addressed in future studies aimed at increasing the level of physical activity in this population. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  13. Evaluation of RSDL, M291 SDK, 0.5% Bleach, 1% Soapy Water and SERPACWA. Part 12: Challenge with EA1212 (GF, cyclosarin)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    products in the haired guinea pig model following exposure to GF (EA1212). 15. SUBJECT TERMS decontamination, delayed decontamination, Reactive Skin...the four listed decontamination products in the haired guinea pig model following exposure to GF (EA1212). In all experiments, guinea pigs were close...the four listed decontamination products and SERPACWA in the haired guinea pig model following exposure to GF [cyclosarin, EA1212, Cyclohexyl

  14. Perceived Benefits, Facilitators, Disadvantages, and Barriers for Physical Activity Amongst South Asian Adolescents in India and Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajaraman, Divya; Correa, Natasha; Punthakee, Zubin; Lear, Scott A; Jayachitra, Krishnaswamy G; Vaz, Mario; Swaminathan, Sumathi

    2015-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to understand perceived benefits, facilitators, disadvantages, and barriers for physical activity among South Asian adolescents in India and Canada. Thirteen focus group discussions with South Asian (origin) adolescent boys and girls of different nutritional status and socioeconomic status in rural and urban India and urban Canada. Across the groups, fitness and 'energy' were perceived to be major benefits of physical activity. In India, better academic performance was highlighted, while health benefits were well detailed in Canadian groups. In all settings, friends, family, and teachers were perceived as facilitators of as well as barriers to physical activity. Lack of a safe space to play was a major concern for urban adolescents, while academic pressures and preference for other sedentary recreational activities were common barriers across all groups. Girls were less likely than boys to be interested in physical activity, with girls' participation in India further limited by societal restrictions. The study suggests key areas for promotion of physical activity among South Asian adolescents: balance between academic pressure and opportunities for physical activity, especially in India; urban planning for a built environment conducive to physical activity; and gender-sensitive programming to promote girls' activity which also addresses culture-specific barriers.

  15. A qualitative exploration of barriers and motivators to physical activity participation in women treated for breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunet, Jennifer; Taran, Samantha; Burke, Shaunna; Sabiston, Catherine M

    2013-01-01

    The adoption and maintenance of a physically active lifestyle among women after breast cancer is an important priority for public health and rehabilitation science. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore breast cancer survivors' perceptions of the factors influencing their ability to maintain a self-directed physical activity program. Nine women participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Data were coded into perceived barriers and motivators to maintenance of physical activity using thematic analysis. Women identified a range of physical (e.g. cancer-related physical symptoms), environmental/organizational (e.g. bad weather, lack of equipment/facilities, lack of knowledge, time constraints) and psychosocial (e.g. lack of motivation, low social support, low confidence/skill) barriers. They also identified perceived physical (e.g. weight management, health improvement or maintenance, increase energy) and psychosocial (e.g. improve body image, experience enjoyment, social support, positive emotions) motivators. These findings are consistent with research on barriers and motivators to physical activity initiation, and can be used to develop self-directed physical activity programs that target active breast cancer survivors to sustain regular engagement. Furthermore, the barriers and motivators identified represent key variables for further investigation. The present study identifies a number of perceived physical, psychosocial and organizational/environmental barriers to naturally occurring physical activity participation among active breast cancer survivors that should be addressed to ensure they maintain a physically active lifestyle This study also provides evidence that comprehensive approaches that address physical and psychosocial motivators to physical activity should be developed to assist women with a history of breast cancer maintain their physical activity levels.

  16. PATTERNS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN: AN ASSESSMENT OF BARRIERS AND SUPPORT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Janice L.; Davis, Sally M.; Gittelsohn, Joel; Going, Scott; Becenti, Alberta; Metcalfe, Lauve; Stone, Elaine; Harnack, Lisa; Ring, Kim

    2016-01-01

    Estimates indicate that 10% to 50% of American Indian and non-Indian children in the U.S. are obese, defined as a body mass index ≥ 95th percentile of the NHANES II reference data. Pathways is a two-phase, multi-site study to develop and test a school-based obesity prevention program in American Indian schoolchildren in grades three through five. During Phase I feasibility prior to initiation of the Pathways trial, data were collected related to physical activity patterns, and the supports of, and barriers to, physical activity. Nine schools from communities representing six different tribal groups participated in this study. Multiple measures were used for data collection including direct observation, paired child interviews, and in-depth interviews and focus groups with adults. Students completed the self-administered Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors (KAB) survey, and a Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ). Barriers to physical activity at schools included a lack of facilities, equipment, and trained staff persons for PE. Adults were not consistently active with their children, but they were highly supportive of their children’s activity level. Children reported a strong enjoyment of physical activity and strong peer support to be physically active. Weather conditions, safety concerns, and homework/chores were common barriers to physical activity reported by children and adult caregivers. The information was used to design culturally and age-appropriate, practical interventions including the five physical activity programs for schoolchildren in the Pathways study. PMID:11759094

  17. Promoting physical activity participation among adolescents: The barriers and the suggestions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niloofar Peykari

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Physical activity is a complex behavior. To designing the effective intervention, qualitative researches may be allowed for greater understanding of the reasons behind the adolescences′ physical activity-related behaviors′. Methods: Using the grounded theory approach, including semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs and in-depth interviews, we conducted a quantitative study to elicit the adolescents and key informants′ opinion regarding the satiation, needs, social and environmental barriers of adolescents′ physical activity. For FGDs, participants were selected from volunteered adolescent (aged 10-19 years of the populated western part of Tehran, which was selected as a research field. Key informants were invited from the health professionals and experts in the field of adolescents′ health. Results: According to findings, although the majority of participants agreed on the important role of physical activity, the lack of essential motivation and the pressure of educational assignments remove it from the daily program priorities. Lack of a safe environment for girls′ physical activity and high cost of professional sports were two first mentioned barriers. It was also suggested that future interventions should focus on improving more parents′ engagement and their direct participation in physical activities with their adolescents. Conclusions: We proposed the participatory strategies for adolescent′s physical activity promotion. Through which target groups participation during the designing, development, and implementation of health programs led to more effective interventions.

  18. Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for Modification of Airspace Units R-3008A/B/C from Visual Flight Rules (VFR) to VFR-Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-30

    RULES ( IFR ) AT MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, GEORGIA September 2015 Finding of No Significant Impact Modification of Airspace Units R-3008A/B/C from...Interactions with Federally- Recognized Tribes. These tribal governments were also consulted regarding impacts to Final EA for VFR- IFR in R-3008A/B/C at Moody...analysis would focus on impacts to these Final EA for VFR- IFR in R-3008A/B/C at Moody AFB September 2015 2-5 resources from proposed activities

  19. 75 FR 61345 - Airworthiness Directives; Eclipse Aerospace, Inc. Model EA500 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-05

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Eclipse Aerospace, Inc. Model EA500 Airplanes AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration... service information identified in this AD, contact Eclipse Aerospace Incorporated, 2503 Clark Carr Loop... Kinney, Aerospace Engineer, Ft. Worth Aircraft Certification Office, FAA, 2601 Meacham Blvd., Fort Worth...

  20. 47 CFR 11.51 - EAS code and Attention Signal Transmission requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... interfere with other visual messages. (e) Analog class D non-commercial educational FM stations as defined in § 73.506 of this chapter, digital class D non-commercial educational FM stations, analog Low Power... Message (EOM) codes using the EAS Protocol. The Attention Signal must precede any emergency audio message...

  1. Motivators, barriers, and beliefs regarding physical activity in an older adult population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costello, Ellen; Kafchinski, Marcia; Vrazel, JoEllen; Sullivan, Patricia

    2011-01-01

    Regular physical activity (PA) plays an important role in improving and maintaining one's health, especially as one ages. Although many older Americans are aware of the benefits of regular PA, the majority do not participate in regular PA that meets recommended guidelines. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the motivators, barriers, and beliefs regarding PA of independent-living older adults with easy access to fitness facilities. In this qualitative design, focus group interviews were used to explore the individual perceptions of physically active and inactive older adults regarding PA and exercise. Thirty-one older adults, over age 60 participated in focus group discussions regarding PA beliefs and behaviors. Groups were homogenous based on current PA behaviors. Demographic information was collected. Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim and deidentified. Two researchers independently coded for emergent themes. Interrater reliability was established (κ = 0.89). Peer review was used to further ensure trustworthiness and credibility. No significant differences were noted in age, body mass index, or educational levels between the physically active and inactive groups. Differences in perceptions were noted between the groups regarding the construct of PA, barriers to participation in regular PA, and the components of an ideal PA program. Physically inactive persons had much lower fitness expectations of a physically active older adult, more perceived barriers to regular PA, and required individual tailoring of a PA program if they were going to participate. In addition, inactive persons were intimidated by the fitness facilities and concerned about slowing others down in a group exercise setting. Both groups shared similar motivators to participate in PA, such as maintaining health and socialization; however, inactive persons also described PA as needing to be purposeful and fun. Physically inactive persons perceived themselves to be

  2. Searching saturation effects in inclusive and exclusive eA processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncalves, V.P.

    2016-01-01

    In this contribution we have discussed the search of saturation effects in inclusive and exclusive eA processes. In particular, we present a comparison between the linear and non-linear predictions for the nuclear structure functions as well as for the Deep Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) and vector meson production in future eA colliders. These results demonstrated that although the inclusive observables are sensitive to saturation effects, it is not yet possible to draw any firm conclusion concerning the QCD dynamics from inclusive quantities due to the large uncertainty present in the collinear predictions. In contrast, exclusive processes are promising observables to search saturation effects, due to the quadratic dependence on the forward scattering amplitude. In particular, the analysis of the nuclear DVCS and vector meson production demonstrated that the energy dependence of the differential cross sections are strongly modified with the increasing of the atomic mass number and that coherent cross section dominates at small t and the incoherent one at large t. Moreover, the number of dips at small t increases with the atomic number, with the position of the dips being almost independent of the model used to treat the dipole - proton interaction

  3. Barriers in the implementation of a physical activity intervention in primary care settings: lessons learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Josyula, Lakshmi K; Lyle, Roseann M

    2013-01-01

    Barriers encountered in implementing a physical activity intervention in primary health care settings, and ways to address them, are described in this paper. A randomized comparison trial was designed to examine the impact of health care providers' written prescriptions for physical activity, with or without additional physical activity resources, to adult, nonpregnant patients on preventive care or chronic disease monitoring visits. Following abysmal recruitment outcomes, the research protocol was altered to make it more appealing to all the participants, i.e., health care providers, office personnel, and patients. Various barriers--financial, motivational, and executive--to the implementation of health promotion interventions in primary health care settings were experienced and identified. These barriers have been classified by the different participants in the research process, viz., healthcare providers, administrative personnel, researchers, and patients. Some of the barriers identified were lack of time and reimbursement for health promotion activities, and inadequate practice capacity, for health care providers; increased time and labor demands for administrative personnel; constrained access to participants, and limited funding, for researchers; and superseding commitments, and inaccurate comprehension of the research protocol, for patients. Solutions suggested to overcome these barriers include financial support, e.g., funding for researchers, remuneration for health care organization personnel, reimbursement for providers, payment for participants, and free or subsidized postage, and use of health facilities; motivational strategies such as inspirational leadership, and contests within health care organizations; and partnerships, with other expert technical and creative entities, to improve the quality, efficiency, and acceptability of health promotion interventions.

  4. Nucleus Ambiguus Cholinergic Neurons Activated by Acupuncture: Relation to Enkephalin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Zhi-Ling; Li, Min; Longhurst, John C.

    2012-01-01

    Acupuncture regulates autonomic function. Our previous studies have shown that electroacupuncture (EA) at the Jianshi–Neiguan acupoints (P5–P6, underlying the median nerve) inhibits central sympathetic outflow and attenuates excitatory cardiovascular reflexes, in part, through an opioid mechanism. It is unknown if EA at these acupoints influences the parasympathetic system. Thus, using c-Fos expression, we examined activation of nucleus ambiguus (NAmb) neurons by EA, their relation to cholinergic (preganglionic parasympathetic) neurons and those containing enkephalin. To enhance detection of cell bodies containing enkephalin, colchicine (90–100 μg/kg) was administered into the subarachnoid space of cats 30 hr prior to EA or sham-operated controls for EA. Following bilateral barodenervation and cervical vagotomy, either EA for 30 min at P5–P6 acupoints or control stimulation (needle placement at P5–P6 without stimulation) was applied. While perikarya containing enkephalin were observed in some medullary nuclei (e.g., râphe), only enkephalin-containing neuronal processes were found in the NAmb. Compared to controls (n=4), more c-Fos immunoreactivity, located principally in close proximity to fibers containing enkephalin was noted in the NAmb of EA-treated cats (n=5; P<0.01). Moreover, neurons double-labeled with c-Fos and choline acetyltransferase in the NAmb were identified in EA-treated, but not the control animals. These data demonstrate for the first time that EA activates preganglionic parasympathetic neurons in the NAmb. Because of their close proximity, these EA-activated neurons likely interact with nerve fibers containing enkephalin. These results suggest that EA at the P5–P6 acupoints has the potential to influence parasympathetic outflow and cardiovascular function, likely through an enkephalinergic mechanism. PMID:22306033

  5. 47 CFR 11.55 - EAS operation during a State or Local Area emergency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ..., earthquakes, heavy snows, icing conditions, widespread fires, etc. Man-made emergencies may include: toxic gas...) SDARS licensees and DBS providers may participate in EAS at the state and local level and make their...

  6. EAS primary particle parameter estimation with the complex Pamir-XXI detector array

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galkin V.I.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Some new developments in EAS methods made in the framework of the Pamir-XXI project are presented. First, primary energy and direction definition accuracies by a network of fast scintillators are considered, optimum network cell size is defined for 10 PeV showers. Second, the same accuracies for a network of fast optical (Cherenkov detectors are considered for 30 TeV–10 PeV showers. Third, the possibilities of separation of EAS initiated by protons, nitrogen and iron nuclei of 1 and 10 PeV energies using a wide-angle Cherenkov telescope are discussed. Finally, the results of the extraction of 30–50 TeV gamma showers from the proton shower background with the same telescope are presented. Presumably, our developments can help in the study of PCR mass composition and ultra high energy gamma ray astronomy in other projects.

  7. Barriers to and enablers of physical activity in patients with COPD following a hospital admission: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thorpe O

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Olivia Thorpe, Saravana Kumar, Kylie JohnstonInternational Centre for Allied Health Evidence, The Samson Institute for Health Research, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaBackground: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD is characterized by a persistent blockage of airflow, prompting episodes of shortness of breath, commonly leading to hospitalization. Hospitalization may lead to a decline in physical activity following discharge. Physical activity has been shown to improve symptoms of COPD and reduce readmissions, and to decrease morbidity and mortality. This study aims to explore, from the perspectives of people with COPD, the barriers to and enablers of participation in physical activity following hospitalization for COPD.Methods: This study had a qualitative descriptive design and included semistructured interviews with 28 adult COPD patients who had been admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of exacerbation of COPD.Results: A plethora of barriers to but fewer enablers of participation in physical activity and pulmonary rehabilitation were identified for this cohort of people. The main barriers identified were health-related (comorbidities, COPD symptoms, and physical injury or illness environment-related (weather, transport, and finance, and self-related. The main enabling factors reported were access to health professionals and equipment, social support, routine and extracurricular activities, personal goals and motivation, and the effect of physical activity and "feeling better".Conclusion: This research provides a snapshot of the barriers to and enablers of physical activity and pulmonary rehabilitation in people with COPD. It is evident that there are significant barriers which hinder the ability of people with COPD to undertake and continue participation in physical activity and pulmonary rehabilitation. While there are some enablers that may counter these barriers, it is

  8. Adolescents' Self-Efficacy to Overcome Barriers to Physical Activity Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, John J. M.; Chulak, Tala; Maitland, Scott; Allison, Kenneth R.; Lysy, Daria C.; Faulkner, Guy E. J.; Sheeshka, Judy

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes a revised measure of self-efficacy to overcome barriers to moderate and vigorous physical activity in a sample of 484 high school students in Toronto, Ontario. The students had a mean age of 15.3 years. Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation yielded five factors: self-efficacy to overcome internal, harassment, physical…

  9. Headspace solid phase microextraction--GC/C-IRMS for delta13CVPDB measurements of mono-aromatic hydrocarbons using EA-IRMS calibration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebongué, Véronique Woule; Geypens, Benny; Berglund, Michael; Taylor, Philip

    2009-03-01

    This work aims at comparing the delta(13)C(VPDB) of mono-aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene isomers (BTEX) measured by elemental analyser (EA)-isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) with the delta(13)C(VPDB) measured on the same compounds by headspace solid phase microextraction - GC/C-IRMS (hSPME - GC/C-IRMS) with the final goal of using these compounds as internal standards on the latter system. The EA-IRMS measurements were done using calcium and lithium carbonate isotopic reference materials: NBS19 and L-SVEC for establishing the delta(13)C(VPDB) scale. The EA-IRMS measurements with helium dilution of a set of five reference materials (USGS40, USGS41, IAEA-CH-6, IAEA-CH-3 and IAEA-601) show systematic bias of 1 per thousand relative to their assigned values. This bias due to the dilution mechanism in the used ConfloII interface device could not be avoided. As the selected hydrocarbons: BTEX could not be analysed by EA-IRMS without helium dilution, their delta(13)C(VPDB) must be corrected from this observed bias using an external calibration. The CO(2) gas calibrated using EA-IRMS without helium dilution, was used as an in-house reference for the delta(13)C(VPDB) measurements of the BTEX by the hSPME - GC/C-IRMS system. The comparison made between the delta(13)C(VPDB) measured on the same BTEX compounds by EA-IRMS (with external calibration) and by hSPME - GC/C-IRMS techniques showed good agreement.

  10. Facilitators and barriers to physical activity as perceived by older adults with intellectual disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Schijndel-Speet, Marieke; Evenhuis, Heleen M; van Wijck, Ruud; van Empelen, Pepijn; Echteld, Michael A

    2014-06-01

    Older people with intellectual disability (ID) are characterized by low physical activity (PA) levels. PA is important for reducing health risks and maintaining adequate fitness levels for performing activities of daily living. The aim of this study was to explore preferences of older adults with ID for specific physical activities, and to gain insight into facilitators and barriers to engaging into PA. Fourteen in-depth interviews and four focus groups were undertaken, with a total of 40 older adults with mild and moderate ID included in the analysis. NVivo software was used for analysing the transcribed verbatim interviews. In total, 30 codes for facilitators and barriers were identified. Themes concerning facilitators to PA were enjoyment, support from others, social contact and friendship, reward, familiarity, and routine of activities. Themes concerning barriers to PA were health and physiological factors, lack of self-confidence, lack of skills, lack of support, transportation problems, costs, and lack of appropriate PA options and materials. The results of the present study suggest that older adults with ID may benefit from specific PA programs, adapted to their individual needs and limitations. Results can be used for developing feasible health promotion programs for older adults with ID.

  11. CORRELATION BETWEEN PREEXPONENTIAL FACTOR AND ACTIVATION ENERGY OF ISOAMYLALCOHOL HYDROGENOLYSIS ON PLATINUM CATALYSTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Triyono Triyono

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Arrhenius equation stated that reaction will proceed faster at higher temperature and with lower activation energy (Ea. Many literatures reported that preexponential factor (A is constant for certain reaction and there is no relation between A and Ea. Experiment on the reaction of isoamylalcohol hydrogenolysis showed that logarithm of A increased linearly with Ea. The result of this investigation suggests that the rate of a process is affected by the number of active centers on the surface of a catalysts, which influences the value of the pre-exponential term in the expression for the rate constant of a reaction. An increase in the number of active centers corresponds to a higher value of A, the active centers would be less effective and is attended by a growth in the value of Ea. Therefore, reaction with lower activation energy will not always has higher reaction rate due to decreasing of Ea.   Keywords: isoamylalcohol hydrogenolysis, preexponential factor, activation  energy.

  12. Perceptions of barriers and facilitators in physical activity participation among women in Thiruvananthapuram City, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathews, Elezebeth; Lakshmi, J K; Ravindran, T K Sundari; Pratt, Michael; Thankappan, K R

    2016-12-01

    Despite the known benefits of physical activity, very few people, especially women, are found to engage in regular physical activity. This study explored the perceptions, barriers and facilitators related to physical activity among women in Thiruvananthapuram City, India. Four focus group discussions were conducted among individuals between 25 and 60 years of age, in a few areas of Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation limits in Kerala, preparatory to the design of a physical activity intervention trial. An open-ended approach was used and emergent findings were analyzed and interpreted. Women associated physical activity mostly with household activities. The majority of the women considered their activity level adequate, although they engaged in what the researchers concluded were quite low levels of activity. Commonly reported barriers were lack of time, motivation, and interest; stray dogs; narrow roads; and not being used to the culture of walking. Facilitators of activity were seeing others walking, walking in pairs, and pleasant walking routes. Walking was reported as the most feasible physical activity by women. Physical activity promotion strategies among women should address the prevailing cultural norms in the community, and involve social norming and overcoming cultural barriers. They should also target the modifiable determinants of physical activity, such as improving self-efficacy, improving knowledge on the adequacy of physical activity and its recommendations, facilitating goal-setting, and enhancing social support through peer support and group-based activities. © The Author(s) 2015.

  13. Identifying Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity for Adults with Down Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahy, J.; Shields, N.; Taylor, N. F.; Dodd, K. J.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Adults with Down syndrome are typically sedentary, and many do not participate in the recommended levels of physical activity per week. The aim of this study was to identify the facilitators and barriers to physical activity for this group. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit the views of adults with Down…

  14. Barriers and Motivators to Physical Activity among African American Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Delores C. S.; Efunbumi, Orisatalabi; Harville, Cedric; Sears, Cynthia

    2014-01-01

    The goals of the study were to identify the barriers and motivators for physical activity (PA) and to assess whether these factors vary by weight status. A self-administered survey was completed by 413 African American women. Each woman provided verbal informed consent and was weighed and measured by a research team member. The participants' mean…

  15. Perceived Barriers, Facilitators and Benefits for Regular Physical Activity and Exercise in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Review of the Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Jet J C S; Rouse, Peter C; Hale, Elizabeth D; Ntoumanis, Nikos; Metsios, George S; Duda, Joan L; Kitas, George D

    2015-10-01

    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, which not only affects the joints but can also impact on general well-being and risk for cardiovascular disease. Regular physical activity and exercise in patients with RA have numerous health benefits. Nevertheless, the majority of patients with RA are physically inactive. This indicates that people with RA might experience additional or more severe barriers to physical activity or exercise than the general population. This narrative review provides an overview of perceived barriers, benefits and facilitators of physical activity and exercise in RA. Databases were searched for articles published until September 2014 using the terms 'rheumatoid arthritis', 'physical activity', 'exercise', 'barriers', 'facilitators', 'benefits', 'motivation', 'motivators' and 'enablers'. Similarities were found between disease-specific barriers and benefits of physical activity and exercise, e.g. pain and fatigue are frequently mentioned as barriers, but reductions in pain and fatigue are perceived benefits of physical activity and exercise. Even though exercise does not influence the existence of barriers, physically active patients appear to be more capable of overcoming them. Therefore, exercise programmes should enhance self-efficacy for exercise in order to achieve long-term physical activity and exercise behaviour. Encouragement from health professionals and friends/family are facilitators for physical activity and exercise. There is a need for interventions that support RA patients in overcoming barriers to physical activity and exercise and help sustain this important health behaviour.

  16. 85 km Long Reach PON System Using a Reflective SOA-EA Modulator and Distributed Raman Fiber Amplification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso; Öhman, Filip; Yvind, Kresten

    2006-01-01

    We report on a bidirectional 85 km long reach PON system supported by distributed fiber Raman amplification with a record 7.5 Gb/s remote carrier modulated upstream signal by employing a reflective SOA-EA monolithically integrated circuit......We report on a bidirectional 85 km long reach PON system supported by distributed fiber Raman amplification with a record 7.5 Gb/s remote carrier modulated upstream signal by employing a reflective SOA-EA monolithically integrated circuit...

  17. Physical Activity Correlates in Middle School Adolescents: Perceived Benefits and Barriers and Their Determinants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth, Sarah E; Gill, Monique; Chan-Golston, Alec M; Rice, Lindsay N; Crespi, Catherine M; Koniak-Griffin, Deborah; Cole, Brian L; Upchurch, Dawn M; Prelip, Michael L

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of benefits and barriers and their relationship with physical activity (PA) among predominantly Latino middle school students. Data were collected in a cross-sectional survey of 4,773 seventh-grade students recruited from a large, urban school district in Los Angeles. Hierarchical logistic regression models were used to assess determinants of benefits and barriers as well as their association with self-reported PA. Differences in benefits and barriers were observed by gender, ethnicity, and body size. Barriers were negatively correlated with all three PA outcomes while benefits were positively associated with exercising at least 60 min daily. A deeper understanding of benefits and barriers can facilitate the development of interventions and collaborative efforts among physical education teachers, school nurses, and administrators to implement comprehensive approaches that encourage students' participation in PA inside and outside of the classroom.

  18. Properties of latent and thiol-activated rat hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase and regulation of enzyme activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dotan, I; Shechter, I

    1983-10-15

    The effect of the thiols glutathione (GSH), dithiothreitol (DTT), and dithioerythritol (DTE) on the conversion of an inactive, latent form (El) of rat liver 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase, EC 1.1.1.34) to a catalyticaly active form (Ea) is examined. Latent hepatic microsomal HMG-CoA reductase is activated to a similar degree of activation by DTT and DTE and to a lower extent by GSH. All three thiols affect both Km and Vmax values of the enzyme toward HMG-CoA and NADPH. Studies of the effect of DTT on the affinity binding of HMG-CoA reductase to agarose-hexane-HMG-CoA (AG-HMG-CoA) resin shows that thiols are necessary for the binding of the enzyme to the resin. Removal of DTT from AG-HMG-CoA-bound soluble Ea (active enzyme) does not cause dissociation of the enzyme from the resin at low salt concentrations. Substitution of DTT by NADPH does not promote binding of soluble El (latent enzyme) to AG-HMG-CoA. The enzymatic activity of Ea in the presence of DTT and GSH indicates that these thiols compete for the same binding site on the enzyme. Diethylene glycol disulfide (ESSE) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) inhibit the activity of Ea. ESSE is more effective for the inhibition of Ea than GSSG, causing a higher degree of maximal inhibition and affecting the enzymatic activity at lower concentrations. A method is described for the rapid conversion of soluble purified Ea to El using gel-filtration chromatography on Bio-Gel P-4 columns. These combined results point to the importance of the thiol/disulfide ratio for the modulation of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity.

  19. Impacts of the EA and SCA patterns on the 20th century NAO-winter precipitation relationship in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comas-Bru, Laia; McDermott, Frank

    2013-04-01

    Much of the 20th century multi-decadal variability in the NAO-winter precipitation relationship over the N. Atlantic / European sector can be ascribed to the combined effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and either the East Atlantic pattern (EA) or the Scandinavian pattern (SCA). The NAO, EA and SCA indices employed here are defined as the three leading vectors of the cross-correlation matrix calculated from monthly sea-level pressure anomalies for 138 complete winters from the 20CRv2 dataset (Compo et al., 2011). Winter precipitation data over Europe for the entire 20th century is derived from the high resolution CRU-TS3.1 climate dataset (Mitchell and Jones, 2005). Here we document for the first time, that different NAO/EA and NAO/SCA combinations systematically influence winter precipitation conditions in Europe as a consequence of NAO dipole migrations. We find that the zero-correlated line of the NAO-winter precipitation relationship migrates southwards when the EA is in the opposite phase to the NAO. This can be related to a south-westwards migration of the NAO dipole under these conditions, as shown by teleconnectivity maps. Similarly, a clockwise movement of the NAO-winter climate correlated areas occurs when the phase of the SCA is opposite to that of the NAO, reflecting a clockwise movement of the NAO dipole under these conditions. An important implication of these migrations is that they influence the spatial and temporal stationarity of climate-NAO relationships. As a result, the link between winter precipitation patterns and the NAO is not straightforward in some regions such as the southern UK, Ireland and France. For instance, much of the inter-annual variability in the N-S winter precipitation gradient in the UK, originally attributed to inter-annual and inter-decadal variability of the NAO, reflects the migration of the NAO dipole, linked to linear combinations of the NAO and the EA. Our results indicate that when the N-S winter

  20. Surface-water interface induces conformational changes critical for protein adsorption: Implications for monolayer formation of EAS hydrophobin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamron eLey

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The class I hydrophobin EAS is part of a family of small, amphiphilic fungal proteins best known for their ability to self-assemble into stable monolayers that modify the hydrophobicity of a surface to facilitate further microbial growth. These proteins have attracted increasing attention for industrial and biomedical applications, with the aim of designing surfaces that have the potential to maintain their clean state by resisting non-specific protein binding. To gain a better understanding of this process, we have employed all-atom molecular dynamics to study initial stages of the spontaneous adsorption of monomeric EAS hydrophobin on fully hydroxylated silica, a commonly used industrial and biomedical substrate. Particular interest has been paid to the Cys3-Cys4 loop, which has been shown to exhibit disruptive behavior in solution, and the Cys7-Cys8 loop, which is believed to be involved in the aggregation of EAS hydrophobin at interfaces. Specific and water mediated interactions with the surface were also analyzed. We have identified two possible binding motifs, one which allows unfolding of the Cys7-Cys8 loop due to the surfactant-like behavior of the Cys3-Cys4 loop, and another which has limited unfolding due to the Cys3-Cys4 loop remaining disordered in solution. We have also identified intermittent interactions with water which mediate the protein adsorption to the surface, as well as longer lasting interactions which control the diffusion of water around the adsorption site. These results have shown that EAS behaves in a similar way at the air-water and surface-water interfaces, and have also highlighted the need for hydrophilic ligand functionalization of the silica surface in order to prevent the adsorption of EAS hydrophobin.

  1. Motivators of and Barriers to Engaging in Physical Activity: Perspectives of Low-Income Culturally Diverse Adolescents and Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragg, Marie A; Tucker, Carolyn M; Kaye, Lily B; Desmond, Frederic

    2009-01-01

    Obesity rates are rising in the United States, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic minority individuals. Exploring motivators and barriers relative to engaging in physical activity is imperative. The purpose of this study was to identify motivators and barriers relative to engagement in physical activity as reported by culturally diverse low-income adolescents and adults. A total of 91 adolescent (11 to 15 years of age) and adult (18 years of age or older) participants who self-identified as African American, Hispanic, or non-Hispanic White engaged in age group-, race/ethnicity-, and gender-concordant focus groups. Qualitative data analysis indicated that the motivators and barriers most commonly identified among the adolescent and adult focus groups were: social influence; time and priorities; physical environment; fun and enjoyment; inherently physical activities; weight concerns; fatigue, physical discomfort and current fitness level; and immediate positive feelings. Findings were generally similar across age group, gender and race/ethnicity. Age group-specific, gender-specific and race/ethnicity-specific motivators and barriers were related to how commonly the motivators and barriers were identified among each group. Implications for increasing physical activity among low-income culturally diverse adolescents and adults are discussed.

  2. Perceived barriers and enablers of physical activity in postpartum women: a qualitative approach

    OpenAIRE

    Saligheh, Maryam; McNamara, Beverley; Rooney, Rosanna

    2016-01-01

    Background Postpartum women?s recovery from birth can be assisted through increased physical activity (PA). However, women face substantial barriers to participating in exercise and require support to enable them to benefit from increased PA. Methods This study sought to explore women?s beliefs about and experiences of PA and exercise during the 6?weeks to 12?months postpartum period. A cohort of 14 postpartum women from a survey study of the barriers and enablers to exercise participation ag...

  3. Women bound to be active (years 3 and 4): can a book club help women overcome barriers to physical activity and improve self-worth?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huberty, Jennifer L; Vener, Jamie; Ransdell, Lynda; Schulte, Laura; Budd, Melissa A; Gao, Yong

    2010-01-01

    Little progress has been made toward increasing physical activity in women. This study aimed to determine if an 8-month theory-based book club intervention (Women Bound to Be Active) was effective in increasing: (a) self-worth, (b) benefits relative to barriers to physical activity, and (c) physical activity in women (n = 51). Findings suggested a book club was effective for improving: self-worth, the benefits relative to barriers to physical activity, and possibly participation in physical activity. This is an innovative model to help women become more active and learn skills that may enable them to be active on their own long after a physical activity program has ended.

  4. Characteristics of Ni-Cr-Fe laser clad layers on EA4T steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wenjing; Chen, Hui; Wang, Yongjing; Li, Congchen; Wang, Xiaoli

    2017-07-01

    The Ni-Cr-Fe metal powder was deposited on EA4T steel by laser cladding technology. The microstructure and chemical composition of the cladding layer were analyzed by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The bonding ability between the cladding layer and the matrix was measured. The results showed that the bonding between the cladding layer and the EA4T steel was metallurgical bonding. The microstructure of cladding layer was composed of planar crystals, columnar crystals and dendrite, which consisted of Cr2Ni3, γ phase, M23C6 and Ni3B phases. When the powder feeding speed reached 4 g/min, the upper bainite occurred in the heat affected zone (HAZ). Moreover, the tensile strength of the joint increased, while the yield strength and the ductility decreased.

  5. Strength Pareto particle swarm optimization and hybrid EA-PSO for multi-objective optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elhossini, Ahmed; Areibi, Shawki; Dony, Robert

    2010-01-01

    This paper proposes an efficient particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique that can handle multi-objective optimization problems. It is based on the strength Pareto approach originally used in evolutionary algorithms (EA). The proposed modified particle swarm algorithm is used to build three hybrid EA-PSO algorithms to solve different multi-objective optimization problems. This algorithm and its hybrid forms are tested using seven benchmarks from the literature and the results are compared to the strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2) and a competitive multi-objective PSO using several metrics. The proposed algorithm shows a slower convergence, compared to the other algorithms, but requires less CPU time. Combining PSO and evolutionary algorithms leads to superior hybrid algorithms that outperform SPEA2, the competitive multi-objective PSO (MO-PSO), and the proposed strength Pareto PSO based on different metrics.

  6. Assessment of physical inactivity and perceived barriers to physical activity among health college students, south-western Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awadalla, N J; Aboelyazed, A E; Hassanein, M A; Khalil, S N; Aftab, R; Gaballa, I I; Mahfouz, A A

    2014-10-20

    Physical inactivity is a public health problem in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the pattern of physical activity, predictors of physical inactivity and perceived barriers to physical activity among health college students in King Khalid University. A total of 1257 students (426 males and 831 females) were recruited. The Arabic short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used. Overall, 58.0% of the students were physically inactive. Only 13.4% of the students performed vigorous physical activity, 14.8% moderate-intensity physical activity and 29.9% walking activities which met World Health Organization criteria of health-enhancing physical activities. The prevalence of inactive leisure time was 47.5%. The independent predictors of physical inactivity were non-membership of sports clubs and being a medical student. The top reported barrier to physical activity among inactive students was time limitations (51.3%). Overcoming perceived barriers may increase physical activity among students.

  7. [Construction and validation of a short scale of perception of barriers for the physical activity in adolescents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabanas-Sánchez, Verónica; Tejero-González, Carlos M; Veiga, Oscar L

    2012-01-01

    One of the main problems of health in the first world is the increase of physical inactivity. In this respect, adolescence has been identified as a critic period with high decline of physical activity. Therefore, a relevant line of research is the understanding of this social phenomenon. The aim of this study was to design a scale to assess perceived barriers to physical activity on adolescents. A convenience sample of 160 Spanish adolescents (84 girls), between 12 and 18 years old, was recruited for this study. Firstly, there were designed 40 items whose pertinence was evaluated through content validation by experts. Later, the participants were divided in two randomized groups, and Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were performed to define a short scale of 12 items. Cronbach Alfa Coefficent was used to evaluate internal consistence of the instrument. The scale reports four dimensions: incompatibility barriers (2 items), self-concept barriers (4 items), amotivation barriers (4 items) and social barriers (2 items). The scale showed enough construct validity (χ2=60.78; d.f.=48; p=0.100; GFI=0.88; CFI=0.94; RMSEA=0.58) and high internal reliability (α=0.80). Moreover, the scale was able to explain 67% of the data variance. The Short Scale of Perceived Barriers to Physical Activity in Adolescents is a valid and reliable instrument.

  8. A prospective examination of exercise and barrier self-efficacy to engage in leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramp, Anita G; Bray, Steven R

    2009-06-01

    Pregnant women without medical contraindications should accumulate 30 min of moderate exercise on most days of the week, yet many pregnant women do not exercise at recommended levels. The purpose the study was to examine barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and investigate barrier and exercise self-efficacy as predictors of self-reported LTPA during pregnancy. Pregnant women (n = 160) completed questionnaires eliciting barriers to LTPA, measures of exercise and barrier self-efficacy, and 6-week LTPA recall at gestational weeks 18, 24, 30, and 36. A total of 1,168 barriers were content-analyzed, yielding nine major themes including fatigue, time constraints, and physical limitations. Exercise self-efficacy predicted LTPA from gestational weeks 18 to 24 (beta = 0.32, R(2) = 0.26) and weeks 30 to 36 (beta = 0.41, R(2) = 0.37), while barrier self-efficacy predicted LTPA from weeks 24 to 30 (beta = 0.40, R(2) = 0.32). Pregnant women face numerous barriers to LTPA during pregnancy, the nature of which may change substantially over the course of pregnancy. Higher levels of self-efficacy to exercise and to overcome exercise barriers are associated with greater LTPA during pregnancy. Research and interventions to understand and promote LTPA during pregnancy should explore the dynamic nature of exercise barriers and foster women's confidence to overcome physical activity barriers.

  9. Thermal activation of current in an inhomogeneous Schottky diode with a Gaussian distribution of barrier height

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo-Ping, Ru; Rong, Yu; Yu-Long, Jiang; Gang, Ruan

    2010-01-01

    This paper investigates the thermal activation behaviour of current in an inhomogeneous Schottky diode with a Gaussian distribution of barrier height by numerical simulation. The analytical Gaussian distribution model predicted that the I-V-T curves may intersect with the possibility of the negative thermal activation of current, but may be contradictory to the thermionic emission mechanism in a Schottky diode. It shows that the cause of the unphysical phenomenon is related to the incorrect calculation of current across very low barriers. It proposes that junction voltage V j , excluding the voltage drop across series resistance from the external bias, is a crucial parameter for correct calculation of the current across very low barriers. For correctly employing the thermionic emission model, V j needs to be smaller than the barrier height ø. With proper scheme of series resistance connection where the condition of V j > ø is guaranteed, I-V-T curves of an inhomogeneous Schottky diode with a Gaussian distribution of barrier height have been simulated, which demonstrate normal thermal activation. Although the calculated results exclude the intersecting possibility of I-V-T curves with an assumption of temperature-independent series resistance, it shows that the intersecting is possible when the series resistance has a positive temperature coefficient. Finally, the comparison of our numerical and analytical results indicates that the analytical Gaussian distribution model is valid and accurate in analysing I-V-T curves only for small barrier height inhomogeneity. (condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties)

  10. Motivators of and Barriers to Engaging in Physical Activity: Perspectives of Low-Income Culturally Diverse Adolescents and Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragg, Marie A.; Tucker, Carolyn M.; Kaye, Lily B.; Desmond, Frederic

    2009-01-01

    Background: Obesity rates are rising in the United States, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic minority individuals. Exploring motivators and barriers relative to engaging in physical activity is imperative. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify motivators and barriers relative to engagement in physical activity as reported…

  11. Activation of RhoA, but Not Rac1, Mediates Early Stages of S1P-Induced Endothelial Barrier Enhancement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xun E; Adderley, Shaquria P; Breslin, Jerome W

    2016-01-01

    Compromised endothelial barrier function is a hallmark of inflammation. Rho family GTPases are critical in regulating endothelial barrier function, yet their precise roles, particularly in sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P)-induced endothelial barrier enhancement, remain elusive. Confluent cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) or human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC) were used to model the endothelial barrier. Barrier function was assessed by determining the transendothelial electrical resistance (TER) using an electrical cell-substrate impedance sensor (ECIS). The roles of Rac1 and RhoA were tested in S1P-induced barrier enhancement. The results show that pharmacologic inhibition of Rac1 with Z62954982 failed to block S1P-induced barrier enhancement. Likewise, expression of a dominant negative form of Rac1, or knockdown of native Rac1 with siRNA, failed to block S1P-induced elevations in TER. In contrast, blockade of RhoA with the combination of the inhibitors Rhosin and Y16 significantly reduced S1P-induced increases in TER. Assessment of RhoA activation in real time using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor showed that S1P increased RhoA activation primarily at the edges of cells, near junctions. This was complemented by myosin light chain-2 phosphorylation at cell edges, and increased F-actin and vinculin near intercellular junctions, which could all be blocked with pharmacologic inhibition of RhoA. The results suggest that S1P causes activation of RhoA at the cell periphery, stimulating local activation of the actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesions, and resulting in endothelial barrier enhancement. S1P-induced Rac1 activation, however, does not appear to have a significant role in this process.

  12. Activation of RhoA, but Not Rac1, Mediates Early Stages of S1P-Induced Endothelial Barrier Enhancement.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xun E Zhang

    Full Text Available Compromised endothelial barrier function is a hallmark of inflammation. Rho family GTPases are critical in regulating endothelial barrier function, yet their precise roles, particularly in sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P-induced endothelial barrier enhancement, remain elusive. Confluent cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC or human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC were used to model the endothelial barrier. Barrier function was assessed by determining the transendothelial electrical resistance (TER using an electrical cell-substrate impedance sensor (ECIS. The roles of Rac1 and RhoA were tested in S1P-induced barrier enhancement. The results show that pharmacologic inhibition of Rac1 with Z62954982 failed to block S1P-induced barrier enhancement. Likewise, expression of a dominant negative form of Rac1, or knockdown of native Rac1 with siRNA, failed to block S1P-induced elevations in TER. In contrast, blockade of RhoA with the combination of the inhibitors Rhosin and Y16 significantly reduced S1P-induced increases in TER. Assessment of RhoA activation in real time using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET biosensor showed that S1P increased RhoA activation primarily at the edges of cells, near junctions. This was complemented by myosin light chain-2 phosphorylation at cell edges, and increased F-actin and vinculin near intercellular junctions, which could all be blocked with pharmacologic inhibition of RhoA. The results suggest that S1P causes activation of RhoA at the cell periphery, stimulating local activation of the actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesions, and resulting in endothelial barrier enhancement. S1P-induced Rac1 activation, however, does not appear to have a significant role in this process.

  13. Barriers to Physical Activity Among African American Women: An Integrative Review of the Literature

    OpenAIRE

    Joseph, Rodney P.; Ainsworth, Barbara E.; Keller, Colleen; Dodgson, Joan E

    2015-01-01

    A key aspect for researchers to consider when developing culturally appropriate physical activity (PA) interventions for African American (AA) women are the specific barriers AA women face that limit their participation in PA. Identification and critical examination of these barriers is the first step in developing comprehensive culturally relevant approaches to promote PA and help resolve PA-related health disparities in this underserved population. We conducted a systemati...

  14. Short and long-term lifestyle coaching approaches used to address diverse participant barriers to weight loss and physical activity adherence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venditti, Elizabeth M; Wylie-Rosett, Judith; Delahanty, Linda M; Mele, Lisa; Hoskin, Mary A; Edelstein, Sharon L

    2014-02-12

    Individual barriers to weight loss and physical activity goals in the Diabetes Prevention Program, a randomized trial with 3.2 years average treatment duration, have not been previously reported. Evaluating barriers and the lifestyle coaching approaches used to improve adherence in a large, diverse participant cohort can inform dissemination efforts. Lifestyle coaches documented barriers and approaches after each session (mean session attendance = 50.3 ± 21.8). Subjects were 1076 intensive lifestyle participants (mean age = 50.6 years; mean BMI = 33.9 kg/m²; 68% female, 48% non-Caucasian). Barriers and approaches used to improve adherence were ranked by the percentage of the cohort for whom they applied. Barrier groupings were also analyzed in relation to baseline demographic characteristics. Top weight loss barriers reported were problems with self-monitoring (58%); social cues (58%); holidays (54%); low activity (48%); and internal cues (thought/mood) (44%). Top activity barriers were holidays (51%); time management (50%); internal cues (30%); illness (29%), and motivation (26%). The percentage of the cohort having any type of barrier increased over the long-term intervention period. A majority of the weight loss barriers were significantly associated with younger age, greater obesity, and non-Caucasian race/ethnicity (p-values vary). Physical activity barriers, particularly thought and mood cues, social cues and time management, physical injury or illness and access/weather, were most significantly associated with being female and obese (p  90% long term) and regularly reviewed self-monitoring skills. More costly approaches were used infrequently during the first 16 sessions (≤10%) but increased over 3.2 years. Behavioral problem solving approaches have short and long term dissemination potential for many kinds of participant barriers. Given minimal resources, increased attention to training lifestyle coaches in the consistent use of these

  15. Determining the primary cosmic ray energy from the total flux of Cherenkov light measured at the Yakutsk EAS array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanov, A. A.; Knurenko, S. P.; Sleptsov, I. E.

    2007-01-01

    We present a method for determining the energy of the primary particle that generates an extensive air shower (EAS) of comic rays based on measuring the total flux of Cherenkov light from the shower. Applying this method to Cherenkov light measurements at the Yakutsk EAS array has allowed us to construct the cosmic ray energy spectrum in the range 10 15 - 3 x 10 19 eV

  16. Ghrelin ameliorates intestinal barrier dysfunction in experimental colitis by inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, Jian; Zhang, Lin; Dai, Weiqi; Mao, Yuqing; Li, Sainan; Wang, Jingjie; Li, Huanqing; Guo, Chuanyong; Fan, Xiaoming

    2015-01-01

    Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of ghrelin on intestinal barrier dysfunction in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Methods and results: Acute colitis was induced in C57BL/6J mice by administering 2.5% DSS. Saline or 25, 125, 250 μg/kg ghrelin was administrated intraperitoneally (IP) to mice 1 day before colitis induction and on days 4, 5, and 6 after DSS administration. IP injection of a ghrelin receptor antagonist, [D-lys 3 ]-GHRP-6, was performed immediately prior to ghrelin injection. Ghrelin (125 or 250 μg/kg) could reduce the disease activity index, histological score, and myeloperoxidase activities in experimental colitis, and also prevented shortening of the colon. Ghrelin could prevent the reduction of transepithelial electrical resistance and tight junction expression, and bolstered tight junction structural integrity and regulated cytokine secretion. Ultimately, ghrelin inhibited nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), inhibitory κB-α, myosin light chain kinase, and phosphorylated myosin light chain 2 activation. Conclusions: Ghrelin prevented the breakdown of intestinal barrier function in DSS-induced colitis. The protective effects of ghrelin on intestinal barrier function were mediated by its receptor GHSR-1a. The inhibition of NF-κB activation might be part of the mechanism underlying the effects of ghrelin that protect against barrier dysfunction. - Highlights: • Ghrelin ameliorates intestinal barrier dysfunction in experimental colitis. • The effect of ghrelin is mediated by GHSR-1a. • Inhibition of NF-κB activation

  17. Ghrelin ameliorates intestinal barrier dysfunction in experimental colitis by inhibiting the activation of nuclear factor-kappa B

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, Jian; Zhang, Lin [Department of Gastroenterology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai (China); Dai, Weiqi [Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People' s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai (China); Mao, Yuqing [Department of Gastroenterology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai (China); Li, Sainan [Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People' s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai (China); Wang, Jingjie; Li, Huanqing [Department of Gastroenterology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai (China); Guo, Chuanyong [Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People' s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai (China); Fan, Xiaoming, E-mail: xiaomingfan57@sina.com [Department of Gastroenterology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai (China)

    2015-02-27

    Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect and underlying mechanism of ghrelin on intestinal barrier dysfunction in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Methods and results: Acute colitis was induced in C57BL/6J mice by administering 2.5% DSS. Saline or 25, 125, 250 μg/kg ghrelin was administrated intraperitoneally (IP) to mice 1 day before colitis induction and on days 4, 5, and 6 after DSS administration. IP injection of a ghrelin receptor antagonist, [D-lys{sup 3}]-GHRP-6, was performed immediately prior to ghrelin injection. Ghrelin (125 or 250 μg/kg) could reduce the disease activity index, histological score, and myeloperoxidase activities in experimental colitis, and also prevented shortening of the colon. Ghrelin could prevent the reduction of transepithelial electrical resistance and tight junction expression, and bolstered tight junction structural integrity and regulated cytokine secretion. Ultimately, ghrelin inhibited nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), inhibitory κB-α, myosin light chain kinase, and phosphorylated myosin light chain 2 activation. Conclusions: Ghrelin prevented the breakdown of intestinal barrier function in DSS-induced colitis. The protective effects of ghrelin on intestinal barrier function were mediated by its receptor GHSR-1a. The inhibition of NF-κB activation might be part of the mechanism underlying the effects of ghrelin that protect against barrier dysfunction. - Highlights: • Ghrelin ameliorates intestinal barrier dysfunction in experimental colitis. • The effect of ghrelin is mediated by GHSR-1a. • Inhibition of NF-κB activation.

  18. Hydroelectric project EA's [environmental assessments]: The Magpie development in northern Ontario

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashwood, K.

    1992-01-01

    Great Lakes Power recently constructed a hydroelectric plant on the Magpie River near Wawa, Ontario. The project involved three main elements: construction of a 33 m high dam, a 15.5 MW power station, and a spillway at Steephill Falls; construction of a 3.5 m high overflow weir just above the crest of scenic Magpie Falls, creating a head pond to supply a 15 MW power plant; and construction of a weir and 15 MW power plant at Mission Falls. Although this was a private development and therefore not automatically subject to Ontario's Environmental Assessment Act, Great Lakes Power decided to conform with the act's requirements and undertook a comprehensive environmental assessment (EA). Environmental issues were focused on changes in hydrology and water quality, impacts on fisheries and natural resources, slope stability and erosion, socioeconomic impacts, impacts on heritage resources, and impacts on tourism and recreation. The project was approved subject to conditions which included implementation of mitigation and monitoring requirements outlined in the EA document. Environmental specialists worked closely with the engineers at the detailed design stage of the project, resulting in modifications to the preliminary design to minimize environmental impacts

  19. Lead-resistant Providencia alcalifaciens strain 2EA bioprecipitates Pb+2 as lead phosphate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naik, M M; Khanolkar, D; Dubey, S K

    2013-02-01

    A lead-resistant bacteria isolated from soil contaminated with car battery waste were identified as Providencia alcalifaciens based on biochemical characteristics, FAME profile and 16S rRNA sequencing and designated as strain 2EA. It resists lead nitrate up to 0·0014 mol l(-1) by precipitating soluble lead as insoluble light brown solid. Scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometric analysis (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) revealed extracellular light brown precipitate as lead orthophosphate mineral, that is, Pb(9) (PO(4))(6) catalysed by phosphatase enzyme. This lead-resistant bacterial strain also demonstrated tolerance to high levels of cadmium and mercury along with multiple antibiotic resistance. Providencia alcalifaciens strain 2EA could be used for bioremediation of lead-contaminated environmental sites, as it can efficiently precipitate lead as lead phosphate. © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  20. Measurement of organic carbon stable isotope composition of different soil types by EA-IRMS system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qi Biao; Ding Lingling; Cui Jiehua; Wang Yanhong

    2009-01-01

    Element analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometers (EA-IRMS) is a rapid and precise method for measuring stable carbon isotope. Pure CO 2 reference gas was calibrated via international standard-Urea, and the δ 13 C us PDB value of pure CO 2 is (-29.523 ± 0.0181)%. Stability and linearity of the EA-IRMS system, precision of δ 13 C measurement for samples were tested through experimental comparison. Moreover, determination method of organic carbon stable isotope in soil was based on the system. The EA-IRMS system had well linearity when ion intensity ranged from 1.0 to 7.0V, and it excelled the total linearity when the ion intensity was from 1.5 to 5.0V, and the accurate result of δ 13 C for sample analysis could be obtained with precision of 0.015%. If carbon content in sample is more than 5μg, the requirement for analyzing accurate result of δ 13 C could be achieved. The organic carbon stable isotope was measured in 18 different types soil samples, the average natural abundance of 13 C was 1.082%, and the organic carbon stable isotope composition was significantly different among different type soils. (authors)

  1. Perceived barriers and enablers of physical activity in postpartum women: a qualitative approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saligheh, Maryam; McNamara, Beverley; Rooney, Rosanna

    2016-06-02

    Postpartum women's recovery from birth can be assisted through increased physical activity (PA). However, women face substantial barriers to participating in exercise and require support to enable them to benefit from increased PA. This study sought to explore women's beliefs about and experiences of PA and exercise during the 6 weeks to 12 months postpartum period. A cohort of 14 postpartum women from a survey study of the barriers and enablers to exercise participation agreed to take part in interview sessions to provide an in-depth understanding of the women's perceptions of the postpartum period and their physical activity during this time. Findings are presented with reference to the social ecological framework and indicate postpartum women face substantial personal and environmental barriers to PA and exercise participation: fatigue, a lack of motivation and confidence, substantial time constraints, lack of access to affordable and appropriate activities and poor access to public transport. In contrast, enablers such as possessing greater social support, in particular partner support, improved PA and exercise participation. The findings encourage facilitation of exercise through mothers' groups, mothers' exercise clubs or postnatal classes suggesting behavioral and social change is needed. Interaction between individuals, community, organizations and policy makers is required. In addition, the provision of specifically tailored and appropriate exercise programs could potentially enable increased PA in postpartum women, thereby improving their health.

  2. Barriers and Facilitators of Breasteeding for Primiparous Active Duty Military Mothers: A Qualitative Study

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Bristow, Kristine

    1999-01-01

    .... This descriptive study describes the barriers and facilitators of breastfeeding for primiparous active duty military mothers, from their perspective, using a Husserlian phenomenological approach...

  3. Understanding exercise self-efficacy and barriers to leisure-time physical activity among postnatal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramp, Anita G; Bray, Steven R

    2011-07-01

    Studies have demonstrated that postnatal women are at high risk for physical inactivity and generally show lower levels of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) compared to prepregnancy. The overall purpose of the current study was to investigate social cognitive correlates of LTPA among postnatal women during a 6-month period following childbirth. A total of 230 women (mean age = 30.9) provided descriptive data regarding barriers to LTPA and completed measures of LTPA and self-efficacy (exercise and barrier) for at least one of the study data collection periods. A total of 1,520 barriers were content analyzed. Both exercise and barrier self-efficacy were positively associated with subsequent LTPA. Exercise self-efficacy at postnatal week 12 predicted LTPA from postnatal weeks 12 to 18 (β = .40, R (2) = .18) and exercise self-efficacy at postnatal week 24 predicted LTPA during weeks 24-30 (β = .49, R (2) = .30). Barrier self-efficacy at week 18 predicted LTPA from weeks 18 to 24 (β = .33, R (2) = .13). The results of the study identify a number of barriers to LTPA at multiple time points closely following childbirth which may hinder initiation, resumption or maintenance of LTPA. The results also suggest that higher levels of exercise and barrier self-efficacy are prospectively associated with higher levels of LTPA in the early postnatal period. Future interventions should be designed to investigate causal effects of developing participants' exercise and barrier self-efficacy for promoting and maintaining LTPA during the postnatal period.

  4. Barriers and motivators for physical activity among overweight and obese people with type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lidegaard, Lærke; Schwennesen, Nete; Willaing, Ingrid

    2016-01-01

    Aim To explore barriers to and motivators for physical activity in a group of overweight and obese individuals with dysregulated Type 2 diabetes. Methods Data were collected from the Steno Diabetes Centre's outpatient clinic in Denmark. Four focus groups were conducted including 28 individuals...... with Type 2 diabetes aged 39–71 years. The facilitators used open-ended questions and probes such as images, statements and quotations about physical activity to foster active participation and interaction among participants. Focus groups were recorded on video and the discussions were transcribed...... and analysed thematically. Results We identified four main themes: 1) the body as a barrier to physical activity because of functional limitations; 2) logistical challenges, including lack of time and awareness of where to exercise in the local area; 3) being physically active with others, providing a sense...

  5. Passive and active ventricular elastances of the left ventricle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ng Eddie YK

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Description of the heart as a pump has been dominated by models based on elastance and compliance. Here, we are presenting a somewhat new concept of time-varying passive and active elastance. The mathematical basis of time-varying elastance of the ventricle is presented. We have defined elastance in terms of the relationship between ventricular pressure and volume, as: dP = EdV + VdE, where E includes passive (Ep and active (Ea elastance. By incorporating this concept in left ventricular (LV models to simulate filling and systolic phases, we have obtained the time-varying expression for Ea and the LV-volume dependent expression for Ep. Methods and Results Using the patient's catheterization-ventriculogram data, the values of passive and active elastance are computed. Ea is expressed as: ; Epis represented as: . Ea is deemed to represent a measure of LV contractility. Hence, Peak dP/dt and ejection fraction (EF are computed from the monitored data and used as the traditional measures of LV contractility. When our computed peak active elastance (Ea,max is compared against these traditional indices by linear regression, a high degree of correlation is obtained. As regards Ep, it constitutes a volume-dependent stiffness property of the LV, and is deemed to represent resistance-to-filling. Conclusions Passive and active ventricular elastance formulae can be evaluated from a single-beat P-V data by means of a simple-to-apply LV model. The active elastance (Ea can be used to characterize the ventricle's contractile state, while passive elastance (Ep can represent a measure of resistance-to-filling.

  6. Attitudes, barriers and enablers to physical activity in pregnant women: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne L Harrison

    2018-01-01

    Registration: PROSPERO CRD42016037643. [Harrison AL, Taylor NF, Shields N, Frawley HC (2018 Attitudes, barriers and enablers to physical activity in pregnant women: a systematic review. Journal of Physiotherapy 64: 24–32

  7. General Practitioners' Barriers to Prescribe Physical Activity: The Dark Side of the Cluster Effects on the Physical Activity of Their Type 2 Diabetes Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanhers, Charlotte; Duclos, Martine; Guttmann, Aline; Coudeyre, Emmanuel; Pereira, Bruno; Ouchchane, Lemlih

    2015-01-01

    To describe barriers to physical activity (PA) in type 2 diabetes patients and their general practitioners (GPs), looking for practitioner's influence on PA practice of their patients. We conducted a cross-sectional study on GPs (n = 48) and their type 2 diabetes patients (n = 369) measuring respectively barriers to prescribe and practice PA using a self-assessment questionnaire: barriers to physical activity in diabetes (BAPAD). Statistical analysis was performed accounting hierarchical data structure. Similar practitioner's patients were considered a cluster sharing common patterns. The higher the patient's BAPAD score, the higher the barriers to PA, the higher the risk to declare practicing no PA (pbarriers to physical activity, have a higher PA level and a better glycemic control. An important and deleterious cluster effect between GPs and their patients is demonstrated: the higher the GP's BAPAD score, the higher the type 2 diabetes patients' BAPAD score. This important cluster effect might designate GPs as a relevant lever for future interventions regarding patient's education towards PA and type 2 diabetes management.

  8. Barriers to Physical Activity for People with Long-Term Neurological Conditions: A Review Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulligan, Hilda F.; Hale, Leigh A.; Whitehead, Lisa; Baxter, G. David

    2012-01-01

    People with disability are insufficiently physically active for health. This study identified the volume, quality, and findings of research that exposes environmental and personal barriers of physical activity participation for people with neurological conditions. CINAHL, Sport Discus, EMBASE, Medline, and AMED were systematically searched between…

  9. Are the barriers for physical activity practice equal for all peripheral artery disease patients?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavalcante, Bruno R; Farah, Breno Q; dos A Barbosa, João Paulo; Cucato, Gabriel Grizzo; da Rocha Chehuen, Marcel; da Silva Santana, Fábio; Wolosker, Nelson; de Moraes Forjaz, Cláudia Lúcia; Ritti-Dias, Raphael M

    2015-02-01

    To investigate barriers to physical activity related to the sociodemographic comorbidities and clinical variables of patients with intermittent claudication. Cross-sectional study. Ambulatory care. The medical histories of patients (N=145) aged ≥50 years with intermittent claudication were examined. Not applicable. Sociodemographic data (sex, race, level of education, socioeconomic status, marital status), comorbidities (overweight, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, currently smoking, heart disease), and clinical variables (initial claudication distance, total walking distance, ankle-brachial index). Information on personal and environmental barriers was obtained by questionnaire. Low economic status was most associated with "being afraid of falling" (odd ratios [OR]=2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-4.54). Low education level was most associated with "lack of street pedestrian crossing" (OR=3.34; 95% CI, 1.48-7.52). Diabetes was associated with lack of energy (OR=3.38; 95% CI, 1.68-6.79) and other medical conditions (eg, arthritis, angina) (OR=3.44; 95% CI, 1.65-7.16). Ankle brachial index was associated with "some difficulty in getting to a place where physical activity can be performed" (OR=2.75; 95% CI, 1.22-6.21). Walking capacity was strongly associated with barriers relating to leg pain (OR=7.39; 95% CI, 1.66-32.88). Older patients, those with a low education level, patients with diabetes, low ankle brachial index, and those with a lower walking capacity are more likely to experience barriers to physical activity. Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Motivators and Barriers to Engaging in Healthy Eating and Physical Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashton, Lee M; Hutchesson, Melinda J; Rollo, Megan E; Morgan, Philip J; Collins, Clare E

    2017-03-01

    Many Australian young men (18-25 years) fail to meet recommendations in national dietary or physical activity (PA) guidelines. However, there is a lack of understanding of their perspectives on PA and diet to inform intervention design. This study examined young men's motivators and barriers to healthy eating and PA, along with differences by demographic and behavioral factors. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 282 men aged 18 to 25 years in Australia. Results identified the most common motivators for healthy eating included improving health (63.5%), body image (52.3%), and increasing energy (32.1%). Motivators for PA included improving body image (44.6%), fitness (44.2%), and health (41.0%). Common barriers to healthy eating were access to unhealthy foods (61.1%), time to cook/prepare healthy foods (55.0%), and motivation to cook healthy foods (50.7%). Barriers for PA included motivation (66.3%), time (57.8%), and cost of equipment/facilities (33.3%). Significant differences ( p motivators to healthy eating and/or PA were identified for BMI category, marital status, PA level, alcohol intake, and stress levels. Significant differences were identified for barriers to healthy eating and/or PA by BMI, PA level, stress, and fruit and vegetable intake, assessed using Pearson's chi-square test. Findings suggest that promotion of benefits related to health, appearance/body image, increased energy and fitness, and addressing key barriers including motivation, time, financial restraints, and accessibility of unhealthy foods, could engage young men in improving lifestyle behaviors. Differences by demographic and behavioral factors suggest development of tailored programs to address diversity among young men may be required.

  11. Electroless Ni-Mo-P diffusion barriers with Pd-activated self-assembled monolayer on SiO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Dianlong; Yang Zhigang; Zhang Chi

    2010-01-01

    Ternary Ni-based amorphous films can serve as a diffusion barrier layer for Cu interconnects in ultralarge-scale integration (ULSI) applications. In this paper, electroless Ni-Mo-P films deposited on SiO 2 layer without sputtered seed layer were prepared by using Pd-activated self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The solutions and operating conditions for pretreatment and deposition were presented, and the formation of Pd-activated SAM was demonstrated by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis and BSE (back-scattered electron) observation. The effects of the concentration of Na 2 MoO 4 added in electrolytes, pH value, and bath temperature on the surface morphology and compositions of Ni-Mo-P films were investigated. The microstructures, diffusion barrier property, electrical resistivity, and adhesion were also examined. Based on the experimental results, the Ni-Mo-P alloys produced by using Pd-activated SAM had an amorphous or amorphous-like structure, and possessed good performance as diffusion barrier layer.

  12. Special report. Update on EAS (electronic article surveillance) systems: protecting against patient wandering, infant abduction, property theft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-10-01

    Concern about wandering patients and infant abduction on the part of hospitals has sparked renewed interest in Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) systems. Such systems had their origins in department stores and libraries where they are almost universally used. They also have applications in hospitals for preventing the theft of supplies and equipment. A number of companies provide EAS products for the health care field. How do you select the system that is best for your needs? "Talk to users. Pick out a number of profit and non-profit hospitals to get their views," advises Ted Algaier, vice president, marketing and sales, Innovative Control Systems, Inc., Waukesha, WI. "Examine the history of the company or vendor to determine if it understands the health care market and find out if the product really works." In this report, we'll review a number of EAS systems currently on the market, and present information on how they work, how effective they are, and costs involved. Also included are comments from users who have installed such systems.

  13. The prevalence of barriers for Colombian college students engaging in physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramírez-Vélez, Robinson; Tordecilla-Sanders, Alejandra; Laverde, David; Hernández-Novoa, Juan Gilberto; Ríos, Marcelo; Rubio, Fernando; Correa-Bautista, Jorge Enrique; Martinez-Torres, Javier

    2014-09-18

    To investigate the prevalence of barriers and their association with Colombia college students engaging in PA. A total of 5,663 students (3,348 male) from three cities in Colombia. In fall 2013, students voluntarily completed a demographic questionnaire, Barriers to Being Active Quiz. Logistic regression analysis of each barrier (adjusted for confusion variables: gender, age and BMI) was used for verifying such association. The most prevalent barriers in overweight individuals were "fear of injury" (87.0%), "lack of skill" (79.8%) and "lack of resources" (64.3%). The group of females revealed a protective association regarding "lack of time" (OR=0.53: 0.47-0.60 95%CI), "social influence" (OR=0.67: 0.60-0.75 95%CI), "lack of energy" (OR=0.54: 0.49-0.61 95%CI), "lack of willpower" (OR=0.57: 0.51- 0.64 95%CI), "lack of skill" (OR=0.76: 0.66-0.87 95%CI) and "lack of resources" (OR=0.79: 0.71-0.89 95%CI). Such observation also appeared in the 20- to 23-yearold age group concerning "social influence" (OR=0.83: 0.74-0.94 95%CI) and in those aged over 23-years-old (OR=0.86: 0.74-0.99 95%CI) regarding "lack of energy". A significant prevalence was found regarding self-perception of barriers leading to students ceasing to engage in PA. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  14. Modifiable barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy: a qualitative study investigating first time mother's views and experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connelly, Megan; Brown, Helen; van der Pligt, Paige; Teychenne, Megan

    2015-04-22

    Evidence suggests physical activity often declines during pregnancy, however explanations for the decline are not well understood. The aim of this study was to identify modifiable barriers to leisure-time physical activity among women who did not meet physical activity guidelines during pregnancy. Analyses were based on data from 133 mothers (~3-months postpartum) who were recruited from the Melbourne InFANT Extend study (2012/2013). Women completed a self-report survey at baseline in which they reported their leisure-time physical activity levels during pregnancy as well provided an open-ended written response regarding the key barriers that they perceived prevented them from meeting the physical activity guidelines during their pregnancy. Thematic analyses were conducted to identify key themes. The qualitative data revealed six themes relating to the barriers of leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy. These included work-related factors (most commonly reported), tiredness, pregnancy-related symptoms, being active but not meeting the guidelines, lack of motivation, and a lack of knowledge of recommendations. Considering work-related barriers were suggested to be key factors to preventing women from meeting the physical activity guidelines during pregnancy, workplace interventions aimed at providing time management skills along with supporting physical activity programs for pregnant workers should be considered. Such interventions should also incorporate knowledge and education components, providing advice for undertaking leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy.

  15. Development of novel zein-sodium caseinate nanoparticle (ZP)-stabilized emulsion films for improved water barrier properties via emulsion/solvent evaporation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Li-Juan; Yin, Ye-Chong; Yin, Shou-Wei; Yang, Xiao-Quan; Shi, Wei-Jian; Tang, Chuan-He; Wang, Jin-Mei

    2013-11-20

    This work attempted to develop novel high barrier zein/SC nanoparticle (ZP)-stabilized emulsion films through microfluidic emulsification (ZPE films) or in combination with solvent (ethyl acetate) evaporation techniques (ZPE-EA films). Some physical properties, including tensile and optical properties, water vapor permeability (WVP), and surface hydrophobicity, as well as the microstructure of ZP-stabilized emulsion films were evaluated and compared with SC emulsion (SCE) films. The emulsion/solvent evaporation approach reduced lipid droplets of ZP-stabilized emulsions, and lipid droplets of ZP-stabilized emulsions were similar to or slightly lower than that of SC emulsions. However, ZP- and SC-stabilized emulsion films exhibited a completely different microstructure, nanoscalar lipid droplets were homogeneously distributed in the ZPE film matrix and interpenetrating protein-oil complex networks occurred within ZPE-EA films, whereas SCE films presented a heterogeneous microstructure. The different stabilization mechanisms against creaming or coalescence during film formation accounted for the preceding discrepancy of the microstructures between ZP-and SC-stabilized emulsion films. Interestingly, ZP-stabilized emulsion films exhibited a better water barrier efficiency, and the WVP values were only 40-50% of SCE films. A schematic representation for the formation of ZP-stabilized emulsion films was proposed to relate the physical performance of the films with their microstructure and to elucidate the possible forming mechanism of the films.

  16. Promoting youth physical activity in rural southern communities: practitioner perceptions of environmental opportunities and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, Michael B; Theriault, Daniel S; Shores, Kindal A; Melton, Karen M

    2014-01-01

    Research on youth physical activity has focused on urban areas. Rural adolescents are more likely to be physically inactive than urban youth, contributing to higher risk of obesity and chronic diseases. Study objectives were to: (1) identify perceived opportunities and barriers to youth physical activity within a rural area and (2) identify rural community characteristics that facilitate or inhibit efforts to promote youth physical activity. Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted with expert informants in 2 rural southern US counties. Interviewees were recruited from diverse positions across multiple sectors based on their expert knowledge of community policies and programs for youth physical activity. Informants saw ball fields, natural amenities, and school sports as primary resources for youth physical activity, but they were divided on whether opportunities were abundant or scarce. Physical distance, social isolation, lack of community offerings, and transportation were identified as key barriers. Local social networks facilitated political action and volunteer recruitment to support programs. However, communities often lacked human capital to sustain initiatives. Racial divisions influenced perceptions of opportunities. Despite divisions, there were also examples of pooling resources to create and sustain physical activity opportunities. Developing partnerships and leveraging local resources may be essential to overcoming barriers for physical activity promotion in rural areas. Involvement of church leaders, school officials, health care workers, and cooperative extension is likely needed to establish and sustain youth rural physical activity programs. Allocating resources to existing community personnel and volunteers for continuing education may be valuable. © 2014 National Rural Health Association.

  17. Everyday physical activity in ambulatory heart transplant candidates: the role of expected health benefits, social support, and potential barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerhardt, Andreas; Weidner, Gerdi; Grassmann, Mariel; Spaderna, Heike

    2014-04-01

    Physical activity (PA) is recommended for stable patients with advanced heart failure (HF). We evaluated expected health benefits of PA and social support as facilitators of PA, and physical symptom distress and psychological distress (depression, anxiety) as barriers to PA. Additionally, we investigated if facilitators of PA are of particular importance for patients who report barriers. We analyzed data assessed at time of waitlisting in 231 ambulatory patients (53.4 ± 10.3 years, 18 % women) who were enrolled in the multisite Waiting for a New Heart Study in 1 Austrian and 16 German hospitals. Self-reported everyday PA scores (number of activities, duration of activities) was regressed on demographic characteristics and indicators of disease severity (ejection fraction, peak oxygen consumption), facilitators (expected health benefits of PA, perceived emotional support, perceived support for PA), and barriers to PA (physical symptom distress, psychological distress). Interaction terms of facilitators with barriers were also examined. PA was positively associated with higher peak oxygen consumption, validating self-reported PA. Regarding facilitators, expected health benefits of PA were independently associated with higher PA (p values barriers, depression tended to be associated with fewer activities (p = 0.068). However, in the presence of barriers (depression, physical symptoms), feeling supported for being physically active was positively associated with PA (p values < 0.05). Interventions to improve PA may benefit from strengthening positive expectations of health outcomes associated with everyday PA and fostering PA-specific social support for those distressed by HF symptoms or depression.

  18. U.H.E. γ-ray observations with the EAS-TOP array

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aglietta, M.; Alessandro, B.; Arneodo, F.; Badino, G.; Bergamasco, L.; Castagnoli, C.; Castellina, A.; Cattadori, C.; Chiavassa, A.; Cini, G.; Piazzoli, B.D.; Fulgione, W.; Ghia, P.L.; Galeotti, P.; Mannocchi, G.; Morello, C.; Navarra, G.; Periale, L.; Riccati, L.; Saavedra, O.; Trinchero, G.C.; Vallania, P.; Vernetto, S.

    1991-01-01

    The EAS-TOP array at Gran Sasso (Italy) has been fully operating as a gamma-ray astronomy observatory since the beginning of 1989 (energy range 10 14 -10 17 eV). We present the results on search for gamma ray emission from candidate point sources in northern hemisphere obtained by data collected through 1989-1990. The UHE energy event observed from Crab Nebula on February 23rd, 1989, is also discussed

  19. Minimum recommended physical activity, and perceived barriers and benefits of exercise in methadone maintained persons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caviness, Celeste M; Bird, Jessica L; Anderson, Bradley J; Abrantes, Ana M; Stein, Michael D

    2013-04-01

    Methadone-maintained persons are at increased risk for many physical and mental health disorders compared to the general population. Increased physical activity could offset these risks. We assessed physical activity level, and perceived benefits and barriers to exercise in a group of 305 methadone-maintained smokers. Mean participant age was 39.9 years, 50.2% were male, 79.7% were non-Hispanic White, and mean body mass index was 29.8. Nearly 45% endorsed fair or poor physical health. Although participants perceived many benefits of exercise and few barriers, only 38% of participants met weekly recommendations for physical activity, and nearly 25% reported no physical activity. Those who met recommended guidelines were significantly more likely to endorse relapse prevention as a benefit of exercise. Motivating MMT patients to increase physical activity could have important physical, mental health, and drug treatment benefits. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Why do kids eat healthful food? Perceived benefits of and barriers to healthful eating and physical activity among children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'dea, Jennifer A

    2003-04-01

    The goal was to have children and adolescents identify and rank the major perceived benefits of and barriers to healthful eating and physical activity and to suggest strategies for overcoming barriers. Semistructured, in-depth focus groups were undertaken using standardized questions and prompts. Students in grades 2 through 11(ages 7 through 17; N=213) from 34 randomly selected schools participated in 38 focus groups. Major benefits of healthful eating included improvements to cognitive and physical performance, fitness, endurance, psychological benefits, physical sensation (feeling good physically), and production of energy. Barriers included convenience, taste, and social factors. Benefits of physical activity included social benefits, enhancement of psychological status, physical sensation, and sports performance. Barriers included a preference for indoor activities, lack of energy and motivation, time constraints, and social factors. Suggested strategies for overcoming barriers included support from parents and school staff, better planning, time management, self-motivation, education, restructuring the physical environment, and greater variety of physical activities.

  1. Age-related ventricular-vascular coupling during acute inflammation in humans: Effect of physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Abbi D; Kappus, Rebecca M; Bunsawat, Kanokwan; Ranadive, Sushant M; Yan, Huimin; Phillips, Shane; Baynard, Tracy; Woods, Jeffrey A; Motl, Robert; Fernhall, Bo

    2015-07-01

    Aging is commonly accompanied by increased arterial and ventricular stiffness (determined by arterial elastance (Ea) and ventricular elastance (Elv)), augmented ventricular-vascular coupling ratios (Ea/Elv) and systemic inflammation. Acute inflammation may impact ventricular-vascular coupling and predispose older adults to cardiovascular events. However, physically active older adults have more compliant large arteries and left ventricles and lower inflammation than sedentary older adults. We hypothesized that acute inflammation would alter Ea, Elv, and Ea/Elv more in older versus younger adults but that higher levels of physical activity would attenuate inflammation-induced changes. End-systolic and central blood pressures were obtained using applanation tonometry before and at 24 and 48 h post-influenza vaccination in 24 older and 38 younger adults. Ultrasonography was used to measure ventricular volumes and other indices of cardiac performance. Physical activity was measured with accelerometry. Ea and Ea/Elv were maintained (p > 0.05), but Elv was reduced (p  0.05) except in the most active group of seniors (p < 0.05). Aging did not affect the elastance responses but did affect central blood pressure and other ventricular systolic responses to acute inflammation. Aging, not physical activity, appears to modulate cardiovascular responses to acute inflammation, except in the most active older adults. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  2. Impact of compliance with different guidelines on physical activity during pregnancy and perceived barriers to leisure physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Paula Clara; Abreu, Sandra; Moreira, Carla; Lopes, Diana; Santos, Rute; Alves, Odete; Silva, Pedro; Montenegro, Nuno; Mota, Jorge

    2014-01-01

    The aims of the this prospective study were to analyse physical activity (PA) engagement during the first and second trimesters, considering the different guidelines published on PA, to document the individual characteristics associated with the accomplishment of these guidelines and to examine pregnant women's perceived barriers to leisure PA, using a socioecological framework. A sample of 133 pregnant women in two stages--at 10-12 weeks' gestation (T1) and 20-22 weeks' gestation (T2)--were evaluated. PA was assessed by accelerometry during the T1 and T2 evaluation stages. Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors and barriers to leisure PA were assessed via questionnaire. A large proportion of women (ranging from 32% to 96%) did not reach the levels of PA recommended by the guidelines. There were no significant differences between T1 and T2 with regard to compliance with PA recommendations. A decrease in PA levels from T1 to T2 was noted for all recommendations. No associations were found between participants' characteristics and adherence to the recommendations in T1 and T2. No significant differences were found in barriers to leisure PA between T1 and T2. The most commonly reported barriers to leisure PA were intrapersonal, not health related. Our results indicate that there were no differences between trimesters regarding compliance of PA recommendations, and perceived barriers were similar in both trimesters.

  3. Origins and implications of temperature-dependent activation energy barriers for dislocation nucleation in face-centered cubic metals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Warner, D.H.; Curtin, W.A.

    2009-01-01

    The linking of atomistic simulations of stress-driven processes to experimentally observed mechanical behavior via the computation of activation energy barriers is a topic of intense current research. Using dislocation nucleation from a crack tip as the reaction process, long-time multiscale molecular dynamics simulations show that the activation barrier can exhibit significant temperature dependence. Using an analytic model for the nucleation process and computing the relevant material properties (elastic constants and stacking fault energies), the temperature dependence is shown to arise primarily from the temperature dependence of the material parameters for both Al and Ni. After thermally activated emission of the first partial dislocation, there is then a competition between two other thermally activated processes: twinning and full dislocation emission. Because the activation barriers depend on temperature, this transition is more complex than usually envisioned. Simulations in Al reveal that a transition from twinning to full dislocation emission back to twinning occurs with increasing temperature, which is counter to traditional metallurgical wisdom. Temperature-dependent activation energies are thus essential to accurate understanding and prediction of those phenomena that control fracture and deformation in metals at realistic loading rates.

  4. Perceived barriers to physical activity in older and younger veterans with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muralidharan, Anjana; Klingaman, Elizabeth A; Molinari, Victor; Goldberg, Richard W

    2018-03-01

    Individuals with serious mental illness endorse many more medical and psychosocial barriers to physical activity (PA) than the general population. However, it is unknown if older adults with serious mental illness are at greater risk of experiencing barriers to PA than their younger counterparts. The present study utilized a national VA dataset to compare veterans with serious mental illness ages 55 and older (n = 9,044) to veterans with serious mental illness ages 54 and younger (n = 8,782) on their responses to a questionnaire assessment of barriers to PA. Older veterans were more likely to endorse arthritis and cardiopulmonary disease, and less likely to endorse work schedule, as barriers to PA. Interventions designed to increase PA for young/middle-aged adults with serious mental illness may be broadly useful for older adults with serious mental illness, with some modification to address specific health concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Facilitators and Barriers to Performing Activities and Participation in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Caregivers' Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earde, Pinailug Tantilipikorn; Praipruk, Aina; Rodpradit, Phanlerd; Seanjumla, Parichad

    2018-01-01

    To investigate contextual factors that were facilitators and barriers to performing activity and participation for children with cerebral palsy from the caregivers' perspective. Qualitative in-depth interview with primary caregivers of children with cerebral palsy aged 4 to 12 years was conducted in the metropolitan area of Thailand. Semistructured questions related to environmental and personal factors were recorded. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed for main themes on the basis of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health-Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY) classification. Twenty-seven caregivers participated. Facilitators were appropriateness of assistive devices, support and acceptance from family, friends, and society, health services, willingness, and self-acceptance. Barriers were inappropriate design and facilities, overprotection of family, nonacceptance from family, friends, and society, inconvenient transportation, financial problems, limited health services, limited access to education, frustration, and being an introvert. Contextual factors that can be facilitators and barriers to perform activities and participation should be considered for improving lives of children with cerebral palsy.

  6. Physical activity in patients with heart failure: barriers and motivations with special focus on sex differences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klompstra L

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Leonie Klompstra,1 Tiny Jaarsma,1 Anna Strömberg2,31Department of Social and Welfare Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Division of Nursing, 3Department of Cardiology, Linköping University, Linköping, SwedenBackground: Adherence to recommendations for physical activity is low in both male and female patients with heart failure (HF. Men are more physically active than women. In order to successfully promote physical activity, it is therefore essential to explore how much and why HF patients are physically active and if this is related to sex. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate physical activity in HF patients, to describe the factors related to physical activity, and to examine potential barriers and motivations to physical activity with special focus on sex differences.Methods: The study had a cross-sectional survey design. HF patients living at home received a questionnaire during May–July 2014, with questions on physical activity (from the Short Form-International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and potential barriers and motivations to physical activity.Results: A total of 154 HF patients, 27% women, with a mean age of 70±10 were included. In total, 23% of the patients reported a high level of physical activity, 46% a moderate level, and 34% a low level. Higher education, self-efficacy, and motivation were significantly associated with a higher amount of physical activity. Symptoms or severity of the disease were not related to physical activity. All the potential barriers to exercise were reported to be of importance. Psychological motivations were most frequently rated as being the most important motivation (41% to be physically active. Physical motivations (33% and social motivations were rated as the least important ones (22%. Women had significantly higher total motivation to be physically active. These differences were found in social, physical, and psychological

  7. Predictors of physical activity and barriers to exercise in nursing and medical students

    OpenAIRE

    Blake, Holly; Stanulewicz, Natalia; McGill, Francesca

    2016-01-01

    Aims\\ud \\ud To investigate physical activity levels of nursing and medicine students; examine predictors of physical activity level; and examine the most influential benefits and barriers to exercise.\\ud Background\\ud \\ud Healthcare professionals have low levels of physical activity, which increases their health risk and may influence their health promotion practices with patients.\\ud Design\\ud \\ud We surveyed 361 nursing (n=193) and medicine (n=168) students studying at a UK medical school.\\...

  8. Physical activity practice among children and adolescents with visual impairment--influence of parental support and perceived barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greguol, Márcia; Gobbi, Erica; Carraro, Attilio

    2015-01-01

    To analyze the practice of physical activity among children and adolescents with visual impairments (VI), regarding the possible influence of parental support and perceived barriers. Twenty-two young people with VIs (10 + 2.74 years old) and one of each of their parents were evaluated. They responded to the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C), Baecke Questionnaire, the Parental Support Scale and a questionnaire about perceived barriers to physical activity. The independent samples t-test, pearson correlation test and chi-square test were performed. Blind young people showed lower physical activity levels. There were significant correlations both between parents' physical activity and the support offered to children and between the PAQ-C results and the importance given by young people to physical activity, but only for those aged between 8 and 10 years old. The main perceived barriers were lack of security, motivation, professional training and information about available physical activity programs. The influence of parental support seems to be an important factor in the adoption of a physically active lifestyle for young people with VI. Parents and children should have more information about the benefits and opportunities of physical activity. Implications for Rehabilitation Young people with visual impairment should be encouraged by parents to practice physical activity. More information should be provided on the benefits of physical activity to both parents and children. Professional training should be available to help support this group become more active.

  9. Spectroscopic studies on the antioxidant activity of ellagic acid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilic, Ismail; Yeşiloğlu, Yeşim; Bayrak, Yüksel

    2014-09-01

    Ellagic acid (EA, C14H6O8) is a natural dietary polyphenol whose benefits in a variety of diseases shown in epidemiological and experimental studies involve anti-inflammation, anti-proliferation, anti-angiogenesis, anticarcinogenesis and anti-oxidation properties. In vitro radical scavenging and antioxidant capacity of EA were clarified using different analytical methodologies such as total antioxidant activity determination by ferric thiocyanate, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl free radical (DPPH) scavenging, 2,2‧-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity and superoxide anion radical scavenging, ferrous ions (Fe2+) chelating activity and ferric ions (Fe3+) reducing ability. EA inhibited 71.2% lipid peroxidation of a linoleic acid emulsion at 45 μg/mL concentration. On the other hand, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid displayed 69.8%, 66.8%, 64.5% and 59.7% inhibition on the peroxidation of linoleic acid emulsion at the same concentration, respectively. In addition, EA had an effective DPPH• scavenging, ABTSrad + scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, ferric ions (Fe3+) reducing power and ferrous ions (Fe2+) chelating activities. Also, those various antioxidant activities were compared to BHA, BHT, α-tocopherol and ascorbic acid as references antioxidant compounds. These results suggested that EA can be used in the pharmacological, food industry and medicine because of these properties.

  10. Zinc-chelation contributes to the anti-angiogenic effect of ellagic acid on inhibiting MMP-2 activity, cell migration and tube formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheng-Teng Huang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Ellagic acid (EA, a dietary polyphenolic compound, has been demonstrated to exert anti-angiogenic effect but the detailed mechanism is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the zinc chelating activity of EA contributed to its anti-angiogenic effect. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2 activity, a zinc-required reaction, was directly inhibited by EA as examined by gelatin zymography, which was reversed dose-dependently by adding zinc chloride. In addition, EA was demonstrated to inhibit the secretion of MMP-2 from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs as analyzed by Western blot method, which was also reversed by the addition of zinc chloride. Reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK, known to down-regulate the MMP-2 activity, was induced by EA at both the mRNA and protein levels which was correlated well with the inhibition of MMP-2 activity. Interestingly, zinc chloride could also abolish the increase of EA-induced RECK expression. The anti-angiogenic effect of EA was further confirmed to inhibit matrix-induced tube formation of endothelial cells. The migration of endothelial cells as analyzed by transwell filter assay was suppressed markedly by EA dose-dependently as well. Zinc chloride could reverse these two effects of EA also in a dose-dependent manner. Since magnesium chloride or calcium chloride could not reverse the inhibitory effect of EA, zinc was found to be involved in tube formation and migration of vascular endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Together these results demonstrated that the zinc chelation of EA is involved in its anti-angiogenic effects by inhibiting MMP-2 activity, tube formation and cell migration of vascular endothelial cells. The role of zinc was confirmed to be important in the process of angiogenesis.

  11. Porritoxins, metabolites of Alternaria porri, as anti-tumor-promoting active compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horiuchi, Masayuki; Tokuda, Harukuni; Ohnishi, Keiichiro; Yamashita, Masakazu; Nishino, Hoyoku; Maoka, Takashi

    2006-02-01

    To search for possible cancer chemopreventive agents from natural sources, we performed primary screening of metabolites of Alternaria porri by examining their possible inhibitory effects on Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in Raji cells. The ethyl acetate extract of A. porri showed the inhibitory effect on EBV-EA activation. Three porritoxins (1-3) were obtained as inhibitory active compounds for EBV-EA from ethyl acetate extract. 6-(3',3'-Dimethylallyloxy)-4-methoxy-5-methylphthalide (2) showed the strongest activity among them. Inhibitory effect of porritoxin (1) and (2) was superior to that of beta-carotene, a well-known anti-tumor promoter. Furthermore, the structure-activity correlation of porritoxins and their related compounds were discussed.

  12. Confronting Physical Activity Programming Barriers for People with Disabilities: The Empowerment Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Thomas Eugene; Taliaferro, Andrea R.; Pate, Joshua R.

    2014-01-01

    Community-based physical activity programs for people with disabilities have barriers that are unique to their program leader qualifications and the population they serve. Moran and Block (2010) argued that there is a need for practical strategies that are easy for communities to implement, maximize resources, and minimize the impact of barriers…

  13. HEAT TRANSFER EVALUATION OF HFC-236EA AND CFC-114 IN CONDENSATION AND EVAPORATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    The report gives results of a heat transfer evaluation of the refrigerants hexafluoropropane (HFC-236ea) and 1,1,2,2-dichloro-tetrafluoroethane (CFC-114). (NOTE: With the mandatory phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), as dictated by the Montreal Protocol and Clean Air Act Ame...

  14. Investigation of relative arrival time distributions of EAS electron and muon component with the KASCADE central detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hafemann, W.; Haeusler, R.; Rebel, H.; Mathes, H.J.

    2000-01-01

    The central detector of the KASCADE experiment is equipped with two layers of scintillation detectors with different area coverage. The scintillators of both detector systems have a good timing resolution of about 1.6 ns. With these two arrangements we performed extensive measurements of the arrival time differences at different energy thresholds of the electron and the muon component of EAS. The observed time structure of the shower profile is classified according to different EAS parameters. We furthermore present an analysis and comparism based on detailed MC simulations of the shower development. This comparism shows good agreement between experimental data and the expected behaviour of the different time distributions. (orig.)

  15. An Activity Theory Approach to Analyze Barriers to a Virtual Management Information Systems (MIS) Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaradat, Suhair; Qablan, Ahmad; Barham, Areej

    2011-01-01

    This paper explains how the activity theory is used as a framework to analyze the barriers to a virtual Management Information Stream (MIS) Curriculum in Jordanian schools, from both the sociocultural and pedagogical perspectives. Taking the activity system as a unit of analysis, this study documents the processes by which activities shape and are…

  16. Beliefs, Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity in Bariatric Surgery Candidates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zabatiero, Juliana; Hill, Kylie; Gucciardi, Daniel F; Hamdorf, Jeffrey M; Taylor, Susan F; Hagger, Martin S; Smith, Anne

    2016-05-01

    Bariatric surgery candidates engage in less physical activity (PA) and spend longer periods in sedentary behaviour (SB) when compared to the general adult population. The aim of this study was to explore the beliefs about PA and perceived barriers and facilitators to PA in obese adults scheduled for bariatric surgery. Nineteen obese adults (15 females), with a mean (SD) age of 41.6 (12.1) years, weight of 119.2 (20.5) kg and body mass index of 41.6 (6.7) kg/m(2) participated in a one-on-one in-depth qualitative interview before undergoing bariatric surgery. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Most participants believed that engaging in regular PA confers important health benefits, however reported insufficient PA levels to obtain those benefits. The perceived barriers to PA reported by participants were both obesity related (e.g. bodily pain, physical limitation and self-presentational concerns) and non-obesity related (e.g. lack of motivation, environment and restricted resources). All participants stated weight loss to be the main perceived facilitator to PA, together with social factors, better time management and access to financial resources. In bariatric surgery candidates, many of the perceived barriers and facilitators to PA are not obesity related and are therefore unlikely to change as a result of bariatric surgery. This may explain why earlier research shows little change in PA or SB following surgery. It is likely that an approach that aims to address the barriers and facilitators identified in this study is needed to change the inactive lifestyle adopted in this population.

  17. Endogenous Opiates in the Nucleus Tractus Solitarius Mediate Electroacupuncture-Induced Sleep Activities in Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiung-Hsiang Cheng

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Electroacupuncture (EA possesses various therapeutic effects, including alleviation of pain, reduction of inflammation and improvement of sleep disturbance. The mechanisms of EA on sleep improvement, however, remain to be determined. It has been stated in ancient Chinese literature that the Anmian (EX17 acupoint is one of the trigger points that alleviates insomnia. We previously demonstrated that EA stimulation of Anmian acupoints in rats during the dark period enhances non-rapid eye movement (NREM sleep, which involves the induction of cholinergic activity in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS. In addition to cholinergic activation of the NTS, activation of the endogenous opioidergic system may also be a mechanism by which acupuncture affects sleep. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the involvement of the NTS opioidergic system in EA-induced alterations in sleep. Our present results indicate that EA of Anmian acupoints increased NREM sleep, but not rapid eye movement sleep, during the dark period in rats. This enhancement in NREM sleep was dose-dependently blocked by microinjection of opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, and the μ-opioid receptor antagonist, naloxonazine, into the NTS; administrations of δ-receptor antagonist, natrindole, and the κ-receptor antagonist, nor-binaltrophimine, however, did not affect EA-induced alterations in sleep. Furthermore, β-endorphin was significantly increased in both the brainstem and hippocampus after the EA stimuli, an effect blocked by administration of the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine into the NTS. Our findings suggest that mechanisms of EA-induced NREM sleep enhancement may be mediated, in part, by cholinergic activation, stimulation of the opiodergic neurons to increase the concentrations of β-endorphin and the involvement of the μ-opioid receptors.

  18. Polyphenol-Rich Propolis Extracts Strengthen Intestinal Barrier Function by Activating AMPK and ERK Signaling

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    Kai Wang

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Propolis has abundant polyphenolic constituents and is used widely as a health/functional food. Here, we investigated the effects of polyphenol-rich propolis extracts (PPE on intestinal barrier function in human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells, as well as in rats. In Caco-2 cells, PPE increased transepithelial electrical resistance and decreased lucifer yellow flux. PPE-treated cells showed increased expression of the tight junction (TJ loci occludin and zona occludens (ZO-1. Confocal microscopy showed organized expressions in proteins related to TJ assembly, i.e., occludin and ZO-1, in response to PPE. Furthermore, PPE led to the activation of AMPK, ERK1/2, p38, and Akt. Using selective inhibitors, we found that the positive effects of PPE on barrier function were abolished in cells in which AMPK and ERK1/2 signaling were inhibited. Moreover, rats fed a diet supplemented with PPE (0.3% in the diet exhibited increased colonic epithelium ZO-1 expression. Overall, these data suggest that PPE strengthens intestinal barrier function by activating AMPK and ERK signaling and provide novel insights into the potential application of propolis for human gut health.

  19. Activation barriers for series of exothermic homologous reactions. VI. Reactions of lanthanide and transition metal atoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blue, Alan S.; Fontijn, Arthur

    2001-09-01

    Semiempirical configuration interaction (SECI) theory to predict activation barriers, E, as given by k(T)=ATn exp(-E(RT), has been applied to homologous series of lanthanide (LN) and transition metal (TM) atom oxidation reactions. This was achieved by considering as homologous series reactions of elements differing only by the number of electrons in one subshell. Comparison between SECI and experimental results leads to an average deviation for the LN+N2O reactions of 0.66 kJ mol-1, and up to 5.5 kJ mol-1 for other series. Thirty-one activation barriers are reported.

  20. A non-linear detection of phospho-histone H2AX in EA.hy926 endothelial cells following low-dose X-irradiation is modulated by reactive oxygen species

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Large, Martin; Reichert, Sebastian; Hehlgans, Stephanie; Fournier, Claudia; Rödel, Claus; Rödel, Franz

    2014-01-01

    A discontinuous dose response relationship is a major characteristic of the anti-inflammatory effects of low-dose X-irradiation therapy. Although recent data indicate an involvement of a variety of molecular mechanisms in these characteristics, the impact of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production to give rise or contribute to these phenomena in endothelial cells (EC) remains elusive. HUVEC derived immortalized EA.hy926 cells were stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α, 20 ng/ml) 4 h before irradiation with doses ranging from 0.3 to 1 Gy. To analyse DNA repair capacity, phospho-histone H2AX foci were assayed at 1 h, 4 h and 24 h after irradiation. ROS production and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were analysed by fluorometric 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein-diacetate (H2DCFDA) and colorimetric assays. A functional impact of ROS on γH2AX production was analysed by treatment with the scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). Irrespective of stimulation by TNF-α, EA.hy926 cells revealed a linear dose response characteristic of γH2AX foci detection at 1 h and 4 h after irradiation. By contrast, we observed a discontinuity in residual γH2AX foci detection at 24 h after irradiation with locally elevated values following a 0.5 Gy exposure that was abolished by inhibition of ROS by NAC. Moreover, SOD protein expression was significantly decreased at doses of 0.5 Gy and 0.7 Gy concomitant with a reduced SOD activity. These data implicate a non-linear regulation of ROS production and SOD activity in EA.hy926 EC following irradiation with doses < 1 Gy that may contribute to a discontinuous dose-response relationship of residual γH2AX foci detection

  1. Non-Critical-Care Nurses' Perceptions of Facilitators and Barriers to Rapid Response Team Activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, Sheryl Henry; Astroth, Kim Schafer; Woith, Wendy Mann

    2015-01-01

    Rapid response teams can save lives but are only effective when activated. We surveyed 50 nurses for their perceptions of facilitators and barriers to activation. Findings showed that participants need more education on their role and when to activate the rapid response team. Nurses who comprise the team need help building their communication skills. We recommend nursing professional development specialists increase the frequency of offerings and expand the focus on roles, activation criteria, and communication skills.

  2. Physical activity perceptions, context, barriers, and facilitators from a Hispanic child's perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Sharon E. Taverno; Francis, Lori A.

    2016-01-01

    Background In order to develop effective physical activity interventions and to address the burden of obesity in Hispanic children, qualitative studies are needed to build descriptive theory and expand the state of the science. The purpose of this study is to describe physical activity perceptions, context, facilitators, and barriers from the perspective of Hispanic immigrant-origin children. Method This in-depth, ethnographic study included 14, 6- to 11-year old, first- and second- generation Hispanic children recruited from an afterschool program in Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA. Methods included child observation, field notes, semi-structured interviews, and a PhotoVoice activity. Transcripts and field notes were coded and analyzed using the constant comparison method to identify overarching themes and patterns in the data. Results Data analysis yielded four overarching themes regarding children's perspectives on physical activity. Children engaged in a variety of physical activities and sedentary behaviors, which differed by physical (e.g., park, outside home, and afterschool programs) and social (e.g., parents, siblings, and friends) contexts. Children discussed specific benefits of physical activity. Children's negative attitudes toward physical activity were related to physical discomfort, low athletic competence, and safety concerns. Children perceived physical activity and play to be one in the same, and “fun” was identified as a primary driver of physical activity preferences. The facilitators and barriers to physical activity were related to specific parent/home, school, and neighborhood factors. Conclusion Findings from this study suggest that an emphasis on fun and active play, while taking into account family and neighborhood context, may be a desirable intervention approach in Hispanic immigrant-origin children. This study lays the groundwork for future studies to further explore some of the themes identified here to better understand children

  3. Physical activity perceptions, context, barriers, and facilitators from a Hispanic child's perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharon E. Taverno Ross

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: In order to develop effective physical activity interventions and to address the burden of obesity in Hispanic children, qualitative studies are needed to build descriptive theory and expand the state of the science. The purpose of this study is to describe physical activity perceptions, context, facilitators, and barriers from the perspective of Hispanic immigrant-origin children. Method: This in-depth, ethnographic study included 14, 6- to 11-year old, first- and second- generation Hispanic children recruited from an afterschool program in Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA. Methods included child observation, field notes, semi-structured interviews, and a PhotoVoice activity. Transcripts and field notes were coded and analyzed using the constant comparison method to identify overarching themes and patterns in the data. Results: Data analysis yielded four overarching themes regarding children's perspectives on physical activity. Children engaged in a variety of physical activities and sedentary behaviors, which differed by physical (e.g., park, outside home, and afterschool programs and social (e.g., parents, siblings, and friends contexts. Children discussed specific benefits of physical activity. Children's negative attitudes toward physical activity were related to physical discomfort, low athletic competence, and safety concerns. Children perceived physical activity and play to be one in the same, and “fun” was identified as a primary driver of physical activity preferences. The facilitators and barriers to physical activity were related to specific parent/home, school, and neighborhood factors. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that an emphasis on fun and active play, while taking into account family and neighborhood context, may be a desirable intervention approach in Hispanic immigrant-origin children. This study lays the groundwork for future studies to further explore some of the themes identified here to better

  4. Motivations and barriers to prosthesis users participation in physical activity, exercise and sport: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deans, Sarah; Burns, David; McGarry, Anthony; Murray, Kevin; Mutrie, Nanette

    2012-09-01

    The UK will host the Paralympics in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in 2014 showcasing the talents of elite athletes and aiming to inspire the population to become involved. However, low levels of physical activity are prevalent: only 40% of men and 28% of women meet the minimum UK physical activity recommendations. The population of people with limb absence is no exception. To determine if people with amputation are participating in physical activity and sport; whether post-amputation activity levels match pre-amputation levels; and if there are motivations and barriers to participation. Literature review. Five reviewers systematically searched all peer reviewed and gray literature in seven bibliographic databases and the Cochrane Library. Following rigorous elimination, 12 articles were finally included in the review and critically appraised. Four themes were identified: components; rehabilitation outcomes; body image; and motivations and barriers to participation. People with limb absence are not participating in physical activity conducive to health benefits, and only a minority participate in exercise and sports. Participation following amputation does not mirror that of pre-amputation levels, and more barriers than motivations exist to adopting or maintaining a physically active lifestyle.

  5. Correlates of daily leisure-time physical activity in a community sample: Narrow personality traits and practical barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Patrick; Yancy, William S; Denissen, Jaap J A; Kühnel, Anja; Voils, Corrine I

    2013-12-01

    Previous studies examining correlates of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) have identified personality factors that are correlated with LTPA and practical factors that impede LTPA. The purpose of the present study was to test how several narrow traits predict daily reports of LTPA and to test whether traits that predict LTPA moderate the effects of practical barriers. 1192 participants completed baseline measures of personality, then reported their LTPA and several situational and environmental factors daily for 25 days. We used generalized estimating equations to measure how personality traits, practical barriers, and interactions between these factors affected (1) the odds of engaging in LTPA and (2) the duration of daily LTPA. Higher standing on Activity and Discipline and lower standing on Assertiveness predicted greater odds of engaging in LTPA and longer duration of LTPA, and higher standing on Aesthetics predicted shorter duration of LTPA. Poor weather conditions and less leisure time were associated with less LTPA, and effects of these barriers were generally greater among participants 30 and older. In participants older than 30, poor weather was associated with less LTPA among those with lower standing on Activity but was not associated with LTPA among those high in Activity. Despite Discipline's overall positive association with LTPA, less leisure time and less routineness were greater barriers for those high in Discipline. Assessing narrow personality traits could help target LTPA interventions to individual patients' needs and could help identify important new personality dynamics that affect LTPA.

  6. In vitro and in vivo anti-tumour activities of echinoside A and ds-echinoside A from Pearsonothuria graeffei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qin; Xue, Yong; Wang, Jing-feng; Li, Hui; Long, Teng-teng; Li, Zhaojie; Wang, Yu-ming; Dong, Ping; Xue, Chang-hu

    2012-03-15

    Echinoside A (EA) and ds-echinoside A (DSEA) are triterpene glycosides isolated from the sea cucumber Pearsonothuria graeffei. DSEA, the desulfurisation product of EA, has the following structure: β-D-xylopyranosyl-holost-8(9),11(12)-diene-3β,17α-diol. In the present study, we examined the anti-tumour activities-in particular, the structure-activity relationships-of EA and DSEA in vitro and in vivo. Both EA and DSEA exhibited an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, along with apoptosis-inducing activity, in HepG2 cells. Moreover, they significantly arrested the cell cycle in the G₀/G₁ phase. A reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay revealed that EA and DSEA significantly increased the expression of the cell-cycle-related genes, namely, p16, p21 and c-myc, and decreased that of cyclin D₁. Western blotting analysis demonstrated that they down-regulated the expression of Bcl-2, and enhanced mitochondria cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation, and poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase, cleavage. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) expression was significantly decreased by DSEA, but was unaffected by EA. EA and DSEA (2.5 mg kg⁻¹) treatment of mice bearing H22 hepatocarcinoma tumours reduced the tumour weight by 49.8% and 55.0%, respectively. EA and DSEA exhibit marked anti-cancer activity in HepG2 cells, by blocking cell-cycle progression and inducing apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. DSEA-induced apoptosis was more potent than EA-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the two triterpene glycosides derived from P. graeffei may induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells in an NF-κB-dependent or NF-κB-independent manner, depending on their structure. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  7. Motivators, Facilitators, and Barriers to Physical Activity in Older Adults: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Wendy; Brown, Patrick R

    In this descriptive, qualitative research study, the researchers used semistructured interviews with older adults who engaged in regular physical activity to identify common motivators, facilitators, and barriers to participating in regular exercise. The authors used these interviews to identify major themes and discuss implications for population health.

  8. Proyecto de Obras de Urbanización de la UD-EA1 Tm Murcia

    OpenAIRE

    Lafuente Pérez, Antonio

    2016-01-01

    El presente proyecto tiene por objeto la construcción de las obras de urbanización (viales, zonas verdes y servicios de abastecimiento y saneamiento) de la UD-EA1 del PGOUM. Escuela de Ingeniería de Caminos y Minas Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena

  9. Integration of EA and IT service to improve performance at higher education organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hermanto Agus

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the perceived benefits of the use of information technology is the increased accuracy and speed of information that greatly helped the operations of an institution or organization. Politeknik XYZ as one of the organizations / institutions in the field of education, now need to consider the strategic role of information technology in supporting academic activities and develop a wide range of academic services, especially for students. Accordingly, in this study has been carried out the planning and improvement of information technology services in accordance with EA and IT Service standards, based on analysis using ACMM maturity level. The end result of architectural planning and service enhancement developed with TOGAF and ITIL is to be used as a reference in the improvement the role of information systems and technology in supporting business process organizations at Polytechnic XYZ. This study demonstrates the importance of raising awareness of the interdependent relationship between architecture and quality of service management in the organization of information technology.

  10. E+A Galaxy Properties and Post-Starburst Galaxy Evolution Data through SDSS-IV MaNGA and Illustris: A Co-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojanen, Winonah; Dudley, Raymond; Edwards, Kay; Gonzalez, Andrea; Johnson, Amalya; Kerrison, Nicole; Marinelli, Mariarosa; Melchert, Nancy; Liu, Charles; Sloan Collaboration, SDSS-IV MaNGA

    2018-01-01

    E+A galaxies (Elliptical + A-type stars) are post-starburst galaxies that have experienced a sudden quenching phase. Using previous research methods, 39 candidates out of 2,812 galaxies observed, or 1.4%, were selected from the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey. We then identified morphological characteristics of the 39 galaxies including stellar kinematics, Gini coefficient, gas density and distribution and stellar ages. To study the origin of how E+A galaxies evolved to their present state, galaxy simulation data from the Illustris simulation was utilized to identify similar quenched post-starburst candidates. Seven post-starburst candidates were identified through star formation rate histories of Illustris simulated galaxies. The evolution of these galaxies is studied from 0 to 13.8 billion years ago to identify what caused the starburst and quenching of the Illustris candidates. Similar morphological characteristics of Illustris post-starburst candidates are pulled from before, during, and post-starburst and compared to the same morphological characteristics of the E+A galaxies from SDSS-IV MaNGA. The characteristics and properties of the Illustris galaxies are used to identify the possible evolutionary histories of the observed E+A galaxies. This work was supported by grants AST-1460860 from the National Science Foundation and SDSS FAST/SSP-483 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to the CUNY College of Staten Island.

  11. Active living in rural Appalachia: Using the rural active living assessment (RALA tools to explore environmental barriers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Hege

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available People residing in rural communities are more likely to be physically inactive and subsequently have elevated risks for chronic disease. Recent evidence has shown this could stem from environmental barriers, inadequate programming and policies directed at the promotion of physical activity (PA in rural settings. The objective of this research was to assess active living features in rural towns and townships (n=16 across seven counties in northwestern North Carolina (NC. The study utilized the Town-Wide and Street Segment components of the Rural Active Living Assessment (RALA as well as the 2014 American Community Survey results. The assessments were conducted in the summer of 2016 in the rural Appalachia region of NC. Using the RALA town-wide assessment scoring system (0−100, the range of scores was 18–84, with the mean being 50.06. Three towns had no sidewalks, nine towns had sidewalks on only one side of the main streets, and four had sidewalks on both sides of the main streets. One town was rated as highly walkable, seven towns as moderately walkable, five towns as moderately unwalkable, and three towns as highly unwalkable. The rural Appalachia region of NC offers unique topographic, geographic and environmental barriers to PA. However, our findings indicate many rural towns offer common PA amenities. Future research should utilize qualitative methods and a community-based participatory research approach to more fully understand the challenges with increasing PA in the rural and often isolated Appalachia communities. Keywords: Rural active living assessment (RALA, Health disparities, Physical activity, Rural Appalachia

  12. Lack of facilities rather than sociocultural factors as the primary barrier to physical activity among female Saudi university students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samara A

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Anastasia Samara,1 Anne Nistrup,1 Tamader Y AL-Rammah,2 Arja R Aro11Unit for Health Promotion and Research, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark; 2Faculty of Rehabilitation and Health Sciences, Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaPurpose: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is experiencing a dramatic increase in physical inactivity, with women having higher levels of inactivity than men among all age groups. It is assumed that factors such as dress codes, restrictions on going outdoors, and conservative norms are the main reasons for women’s low physical activity. Our aim was to explore the different parameters related to physical activity, including self-efficacy, as well as the perceived barriers to and benefits of physical activity in young Saudi females.Patients and methods: Ninety-four first-year female Saudi university students in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, participated in the present study in 2014. The students were from eight bachelor’s programs in health and well-being, and each completed a questionnaire with questions divided into five parts as follows: 1 socioeconomic status, 2 physical activity, 3 self-efficacy 4 social factors, and 5 barriers and facilitators related to physical activity.Results: The students exercised at home and alone, and there was low self-efficacy for physical activity (mean score =42±14. Among social factors, attending university was the only factor that hindered physical activity (32%. Physical activity was positively perceived overall (mean score =131±10. Students showed awareness of the benefits of physical activity for health and well-being. The most important barrier was the lack of designated areas available for physical activity. Students disagreed that family or the Islamic community were barriers to physical activity.Conclusion: The lack of facilities and lack of encouragement from the university, but not a lack of knowledge (a high level of

  13. Perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in recipients of solid organ transplantation, a qualitative study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Adrichem, Edwin; van de Zande, Saskia C; Dekker, Rienk; Verschuuren, Erik A M; Dijkstra, Pieter U; van der Schans, Cees

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Sufficient physical activity is important for solid organ transplant recipients (heart, lung, liver, kidney). However, recipients do not meet the recommended amount or required type of physical activity. The perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in this population

  14. Perceived Barriers to and Facilitators of Physical Activity in Recipients of Solid Organ Transplantation, a Qualitative Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Adrichem, Edwin J; van de Zande, Saskia C; Dekker, Rienk; Verschuuren, Erik A M; Dijkstra, Pieter U; Schans, van der Cornelis

    2016-01-01

    Background Sufficient physical activity is important for solid organ transplant recipients (heart, lung, liver, kidney). However, recipients do not meet the recommended amount or required type of physical activity. The perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in this population

  15. Barriers and enabling factors for work-site physical activity programs: a qualitative examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Gena M; Behrens, Timothyh K; Domina, Lorie

    2008-05-01

    Work sites offer a productive setting for physical activity (PA) promoting interventions. Still, PA participation remains low. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the reasoning behind commonly reported barriers and enabling factors to participation in PA programs in a work-site setting. Employees from a large city government were recruited to participate in focus groups, stratified by white- and blue-collar occupations. Responses from open-ended questions about factors influencing participation in PA programs were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Resulting data were analyzed with open and axial coding. The sample consisted of 60 employees composing 9 focus groups. Although time was the most common barrier between both groups, white-collars workers responded that scheduling and work conflicts were the most common barrier concerning time. Blue-collar workers indicated shift work as their most common barrier. In addition, health was a significant enabling factor for both occupational categories. White-collar workers were much more concerned with appearances and were more highly motivated by weight loss and the hopefulness of quick results than were blue-collar workers. These findings are important in the understanding of PA as it relates to the reasoning behind participation in work-site programs in regard to occupational status.

  16. Breast cancer survivors' barriers and motives for participating in a group-based physical activity program offered in the community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wurz, Amanda; St-Aubin, Anik; Brunet, Jennifer

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the barriers and motives experienced by women attending an 8-week group-based physical activity program offered in the community following treatment for breast cancer. Seven women were interviewed during the first and last week of the program. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Factors that hindered women's continued participation could be subdivided into situational barriers, which encompassed community (i.e., distance of center and traffic) and institutional factors (i.e., competing roles and responsibilities), and internal barriers, which consisted of cancer-specific limitations. Motives for initial and continued participation were situational (i.e., gaining social support, networking, and being around similar others) and internal (i.e., feeling a sense of personal fulfillment, acquiring health benefits, and recovering from cancer). The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of women's motives to engage in a group-based physical activity program after treatment for breast cancer. Further, they underscore the necessity of considering situational and internal barriers when developing group-based physical activity programs to increase regular participation, optimize adherence, and reduce drop-out.

  17. Evaluation and analysis of barriers to the innovation activity in the economy of the region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. A. Tomasova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Prospects for the development of the Russian innovative economy largely depend on the successful overcoming of negative factors impeding the effective interaction of institutions in the field of education, science, business, credit and fi nancial sphere regarding the creation, transfer and commercialization of innovations. Deep evaluation of innovative problems needs dynamic analysis of main processes in the spheres accompanying the innovation activity, which determines the topicality of this article. The aim of research consists in elaborating a dynamic approach to complex estimation of problems and barriers to the innovative development of Russia, including their structure and change. In order to do that, this article reviews the main barriers to the development of innovation activity in the region, builds a detailed classifi cation of parameters of innovative economic environment, and analyses their dynamics. The algorithm of innovation barriers assessment is based on economic statistics methods and fuzzy sets theory. This algorithm is determined on the basis of linguistic variables according to the matrix principle and linguistic identifi cation of economic objects. The estimation is based on a dynamic approach, that is, each analyzed indicator represents a rate of growth of one or another factor associated with the level of barriers to the innovation activity and therefore reflects the degree of reduction or strengthening in such barrier for the period under review. The minimax normalization allows providing comparability of all indicators under review. Macroeconomic data and indices of Russian enterprises operation, presented in statistical collections were used as the input data for analysis and estimation. As a result, we evaluated the level of overcoming barriers to innovative development during the past three years on the basis of analyzing research human potential, of development of innovative infrastructure

  18. Alteration of intestinal barrier function during activity-based anorexia in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jésus, Pierre; Ouelaa, Wassila; François, Marie; Riachy, Lina; Guérin, Charlène; Aziz, Moutaz; Do Rego, Jean-Claude; Déchelotte, Pierre; Fetissov, Sergueï O; Coëffier, Moïse

    2014-12-01

    Anorexia nervosa is a severe eating disorder often leading to malnutrition and cachexia, but its pathophysiology is still poorly defined. Chronic food restriction during anorexia nervosa may induce gut barrier dysfunction, which may contribute to disease development and its complications. Here we have characterized intestinal barrier function in mice with activity-based anorexia (ABA), an animal model of anorexia nervosa. Male C57Bl/6 ABA or limited food access (LFA) mice were placed respectively in cages with or without activity wheel. After 5 days of acclimatization, both ABA and LFA mice had progressively limited access to food from 6 h/d at day 6 to 3 h/d at day 9 and until the end of experiment at day 17. A group of pair-fed mice (PF) was also compared to ABA. On day 17, food intake was lower in ABA than LFA mice (2.0 ± 0.18 g vs. 3.0 ± 0.14 g, p anorexia nervosa. The role of these alterations in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa should be further evaluated. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

  19. Motivators for and barriers to physical activity in people with knee osteoarthritis: A qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gay, Chloé; Eschalier, Bénédicte; Levyckyj, Christine; Bonnin, Armand; Coudeyre, Emmanuel

    2017-07-27

    We aimed to explore the motivators for and barriers to regular physical activity in people with knee osteoarthritis. We performed a cross-sectional, monocentric qualitative study based on 20 semi-structured individual interviews and two focus groups. People with knee osteoarthritis according to American College of Rheumatology criteria were recruited from spa therapy resorts (Royat, France). Data were collected by interviews, which were then transcribed and coded. The analysis was performed according to the researcher triangulation method. Among the 27 participants (17 women), the mean age was 67years (SD 7.8) and mean body mass index 29.2kg/m 2 (SD 8.2). The motivators for physical activity were physical (well-being, decreased pain, self-perception), personal (lifestyle, psychological well-being), societal (relationships, others' views), and environmental (living). The motivators differed by gender, with the concept of performance predominant for men and others' views for women. The barriers were psychological (fear of pain, lack of motivation) and physical (knee pain, asthenia) and were also potentially related to life events (depression, hospitalization). The study population had an overall positive idea of the value of physical activity for knee osteoarthritis. The participants expressed beliefs and knowledge generally in line with current recommendations. Compliance with these recommendations remains moderate. An educational support for progressive adapted physical activity and identification of barriers and motivators could help improve adherence. Copyright © 2017 Société française de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  20. The cosmic ray proton, helium and CNO fluxes in the 100 TeV energy region from TeV muons and EAS atmospheric Cherenkov light observations of MACRO and EAS-TOP

    CERN Document Server

    Aglietta, M; Ambrosio, M; Antolini, R; Antonioli, P; Arneodo, F; Baldini, A; Barbarino, G C; Barish, B C; Battistoni, G; Becherini, Y; Bellotti, R; Bemporad, C; Bergamasco, L; Bernardini, P; Bertaina, M; Bilokon, H; Bower, C; Brigida, M; Bussino, S; Cafagna, F; Calicchio, M; Campana, D; Carboni, M; Caruso, R; Castagnoli, C; Castellina, A; Cecchini, S; Cei, F; Chiarella, V; Chiarusi, T; Chiavassa, A; Choudhary, B C; Cini, G; Coutu, S; Cozzi, M; De Cataldo, G; De Marzo, C; De Mitri, I; De Vincenzi, M; Dekhissi, H; Derkaoui, J; Di Credico, A; Di Sciascio, G; Erriquez, O; Favuzzi, C; Forti, C; Fulgione, W; Fusco, P; Galeotti, P; Ghia, P L; Giacomelli, G; Giannini, G; Giglietto, N; Giorgini, M; Grassi, M; Grillo, A; Guarino, F; Gustavino, C; Habig, A; Hanson, K; Heinz, R; Iacovacci, M; Iarocci, E; Katsavounidis, E; Katsavounidis, I; Kearns, E; Kim, H; Kyriazopoulou, S; Lamanna, E; Lane, C; Levin, D S; Lipari, P; Longley, N P; Longo, M J; Loparco, F; Maaroufi, F; Mancarella, G; Mandrioli, G; Mannocchi, G; Margiotta, A; Marini, A; Martello, D; Marzari-Chiesa, A; Mazziotta, M N; Michael, D G; Monacelli, P; Montaruli, T; Monteno, M; Morello, C; Mufson, S; Musser, J; Navarra, G; Nicolò, D; Nolty, R; Orth, C; Osteria, G; Palamara, O; Patera, V; Patrizii, L; Pazzi, R; Peck, C W; Perrone, L; Petrera, S; D'Ettorre-Piazzoli, B; Popa, V; Rainó, A; Reynoldson, J; Ronga, F; Saavedra, O; Satriano, C; Scapparone, E; Scholberg, K; Sciubba, A; Sioli, M; Sirri, G; Sitta, M; Spinelli, P; Spinetti, M; Spurio, M; Stamerra, A; Steinberg, R; Stone, J L; Sulak, L R; Surdo, A; Tarle, G; Togo, V; Trinchero, G C; Vakili, M; Valchierotti, S; Vallania, P; Vernetto, S; Vigorito, C; Walter, C W; Webb, R; 10.1016/j.astropartphys.2004.01.005

    2004-01-01

    The primary cosmic ray (CR) proton, helium and CNO fluxes in the energy range 80-300 TeV are studied at the National Gran Sasso Laboratories by means of EAS-TOP (Campo Imperatore, 2005 m a.s.l.) and MACRO (deep underground, 3100 m w.e., the surface energy threshold for a muon reaching the detector being E/sub mu //sup th/ approximately=1.3 TeV). The measurement is based on: (a) the selection of primaries based on their energy/nucleon (i.e., with energy/nucleon sufficient to produce a muon with energy larger than 1.3 TeV) and the reconstruction of the shower geometry by means of the muons recorded by MACRO in the deep underground laboratories; (b) the detection of the associated atmospheric Cherenkov light (C.l.) signals by means of the C.l. detector of EAS-TOP. The C.l. density at core distance r>100 m is directly related to the total primary energy E/sub 0/. Proton and helium ("p+He") and proton, helium and CNO ("p +He+CNO") primaries are thus selected at E/sub 0/ approximately=80 Te V, and at E/sub 0/ appro...

  1. Lack of facilities rather than sociocultural factors as the primary barrier to physical activity among female Saudi university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samara, Anastasia; Nistrup, Anne; Al-Rammah, Tamader Y; Aro, Arja R

    2015-01-01

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is experiencing a dramatic increase in physical inactivity, with women having higher levels of inactivity than men among all age groups. It is assumed that factors such as dress codes, restrictions on going outdoors, and conservative norms are the main reasons for women's low physical activity. Our aim was to explore the different parameters related to physical activity, including self-efficacy, as well as the perceived barriers to and benefits of physical activity in young Saudi females. Ninety-four first-year female Saudi university students in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, participated in the present study in 2014. The students were from eight bachelor's programs in health and well-being, and each completed a questionnaire with questions divided into five parts as follows: 1) socioeconomic status, 2) physical activity, 3) self-efficacy 4) social factors, and 5) barriers and facilitators related to physical activity. The students exercised at home and alone, and there was low self-efficacy for physical activity (mean score =42±14). Among social factors, attending university was the only factor that hindered physical activity (32%). Physical activity was positively perceived overall (mean score =131±10). Students showed awareness of the benefits of physical activity for health and well-being. The most important barrier was the lack of designated areas available for physical activity. Students disagreed that family or the Islamic community were barriers to physical activity. The lack of facilities and lack of encouragement from the university, but not a lack of knowledge (a high level of knowledge is to be expected given their health and well-being studies backgrounds) and/or restrictions from families and society, seem to hinder female students' physical activity, at least young Saudi students.

  2. Chemisorption on size-selected metal clusters: activation barriers and chemical reactions for deuterium and aluminum cluster ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarrold, M.F.; Bower, J.E.

    1988-01-01

    The authors describe a new approach to investigating chemisorption on size-selected metal clusters. This approach involves investigating the collision-energy dependence of chemisorption using low-energy ion beam techniques. The method provides a direct measure of the activation barrier for chemisorption and in some cases an estimate of the desorption energy as well. They describe the application of this technique to chemisorption of deuterium on size-selected aluminum clusters. The activation barriers increase with cluster size (from a little over 1 eV for Al 10 + to around 2 eV for Al 27 + ) and show significant odd-even oscillations. The activation barriers for the clusters with an odd number of atoms are larger than those for the even-numbered clusters. In addition to chemisorption of deuterium onto the clusters, chemical reactions were observed, often resulting in cluster fragmentation. The main products observed were Al/sub n-1/D + , Al/sub n-2/ + , and Al + for clusters with n + and Al/sub n-1/D + for the larger clusters

  3. Electron attachment rate constant measurement by photoemission electron attachment ion mobility spectrometry (PE-EA-IMS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Desheng; Niu, Wenqi; Liu, Sheng; Shen, Chengyin; Huang, Chaoqun; Wang, Hongmei; Jiang, Haihe; Chu, Yannan

    2012-01-01

    Photoemission electron attachment ion mobility spectrometry (PE-EA-IMS), with a source of photoelectrons induced by vacuum ultraviolet radiation on a metal surface, has been developed to study electron attachment reaction at atmospheric pressure using nitrogen as the buffer gas. Based on the negative ion mobility spectra, the rate constants for electron attachment to tetrachloromethane and chloroform were measured at ambient temperature as a function of the average electron energy in the range from 0.29 to 0.96 eV. The experimental results are in good agreement with the data reported in the literature. - Highlights: ► Photoemission electron attachment ion mobility spectrometry (PE-EA-IMS) was developed to study electron attachment reaction. ► The rate constants of electron attachment to CCl 4 and CHCl 3 were determined. ► The present experimental results are in good agreement with the previously reported data.

  4. Male Adolescents' Reasons for Participating in Physical Activity, Barriers to Participation, and Suggestions for Increasing Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allison, Kenneth R.; Dwyer, John J. M.; Goldenberg, Ellie; Fein, Allan; Yoshida, Karen K.; Boutilier, Marie

    2005-01-01

    This study explored male adolescents' reasons for participating in moderate and vigorous physical activity, perceived barriers to moderate and vigorous physical activity, and suggestions as to what can be done to increase participation in physical activity. A total of 26 male 15- and 16-year-old adolescents participated in focus group sessions,…

  5. Activation barriers for series of exothermic homologous reactions. V. Boron group diatomic species reactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blue, Alan S.; Belyung, David P.; Fontijn, Arthur

    1997-09-01

    Semiempirical configuration interaction (SECI) theory is used to predict activation barriers E, as defined by k(T)=ATn exp(-E/RT). Previously SECI has been applied to homologous series of oxidation reactions of s1, s2, and s2p1 metal atoms. Here it is extended to oxidation reactions of diatomic molecules containing one s2p1 atom. E values are calculated for the reactions of BH, BF, BCl, AlF, AlCl, AlBr, GaF, GaI, InCl, InBr, InI, TlF, TlCl, TlBr, and TlI with O2, CO2, SO2, or N2O. These values correlate with the sums of the ionization potentials and Σ-Π promotion energies of the former minus the electron affinities of the latter. In the earlier work n was chosen somewhat arbitrarily, which affected the absolute values of E. Here it is shown that examination of available experimental and theoretical results allows determination of the best values of n. Using this approach yields n=1.9 for the present series. For the seven reactions which have been studied experimentally, the average deviation of the SECI activation barrier prediction from experiment is 4.0 kJ mol-1. Energy barriers are calculated for another 52 reactions.

  6. Exogenous vs Endogenous Growth in the EU’s EaP and Central Asian Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharipov Ilkhom

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to determine and analyse the factors that affected economic growth in the EU’s Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries in the 2000-2015 period. Economic growth is one of the main targets of economic policy of any country and influenced by various determinants. Of particular interest is the endogenous and exogenous nature of these factors. Having classified these factors into exogenous and endogenous ones, we examined and determined the significance and robustness of various factors influencing the economic growth in these countries, like investment, human capital, research and development, economic policies and macroeconomic conditions, openness to trade, geography, political factors and others. Correlation and factor analysis showed significance and strong association of GDP per capita with physical, human capital, and R&D in EaP countries and with natural resources and active population share in Central Asian countries.

  7. Exploring the Relationship between Self-Determination Theory, Adults' Barriers to Exercise, and Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ball, James W.; Bice, Matthew R.; Maljak, Kimberly A.

    2017-01-01

    Physical activity is a preventative measure that can help decrease obesity trends. However, many individuals struggle to live a physically active lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between Self-Determination Theory, adults' barriers to exercise, and those who have met and have not met the Center for Disease…

  8. Barriers to Screening and Possibilities for Active Detection of Family Medicine Attendees Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kopčavar Guček, Nena; Petek, Davorina; Švab, Igor; Selič, Polona

    2016-03-01

    In 1996 the World Health Organization declared intimate partner violence (IPV) the most important public health problem. Meta-analyses in 2013 showed every third female globally had been a victim of violence. Experts find screening controversial; family medicine is the preferred environment for identifying victims of violence, but barriers on both sides prevent patients from discussing it with doctors. In July 2014, a qualitative study was performed through semi-structured interviews with ten family doctors of different ages and gender, working in rural or urban environments. Sound recordings of the interviews were transcribed, and the record verified. The data were interpreted using content analysis. A coding scheme was developed and later verified and analysed by two independent researchers. The text of the interviews was analysed according to the coding scheme. Two coding schemes were developed: one for screening, and the other for the active detection of IPV. The main themes emerging as barriers to screening were lack of time, staff turnover, inadequate finance, ignorance of a clear definition, poor commitment to screening, obligatory follow-up, risk of deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship, and insincerity on the part of the patient. Additionally, cultural aspects of violence, uncertainty/ helplessness, fear, lack of competence and qualifications, autonomy/negative experience, and passive role/stigma/ fear on the part of the patients were barriers to active detection. All the participating doctors had had previous experience with active detection of IPV and were aware of its importance. Due to several barriers to screening for violence they preferred active detection.

  9. Barriers to Screening and Possibilities for Active Detection of Family Medicine Attendees Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

    Science.gov (United States)

    KOPČAVAR GUČEK, Nena; PETEK, Davorina; ŠVAB, Igor; SELIČ, Polona

    2016-01-01

    Introduction In 1996 the World Health Organization declared intimate partner violence (IPV) the most important public health problem. Meta-analyses in 2013 showed every third female globally had been a victim of violence. Experts find screening controversial; family medicine is the preferred environment for identifying victims of violence, but barriers on both sides prevent patients from discussing it with doctors. Methods In July 2014, a qualitative study was performed through semi-structured interviews with ten family doctors of different ages and gender, working in rural or urban environments. Sound recordings of the interviews were transcribed, and the record verified. The data were interpreted using content analysis. A coding scheme was developed and later verified and analysed by two independent researchers. The text of the interviews was analysed according to the coding scheme. Results Two coding schemes were developed: one for screening, and the other for the active detection of IPV. The main themes emerging as barriers to screening were lack of time, staff turnover, inadequate finance, ignorance of a clear definition, poor commitment to screening, obligatory follow-up, risk of deterioration of the doctor-patient relationship, and insincerity on the part of the patient. Additionally, cultural aspects of violence, uncertainty/ helplessness, fear, lack of competence and qualifications, autonomy/negative experience, and passive role/stigma/ fear on the part of the patients were barriers to active detection. Conclusion All the participating doctors had had previous experience with active detection of IPV and were aware of its importance. Due to several barriers to screening for violence they preferred active detection. PMID:27647084

  10. A Multi-Level Investigation into the Antecedents of Enterprise Architecture (EA) Assimilation in the U.S. Federal Government: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Research Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makiya, George K.

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation reports on a multi-dimensional longitudinal investigation of the factors that influence Enterprise Architecture (EA) diffusion and assimilation within the U.S. federal government. The study uses publicly available datasets of 123 U.S. federal departments and agencies, as well as interview data among CIOs and EA managers within…

  11. Identifying the Barriers and Facilitators to Participation in Physical Activity for Children with Down Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barr, M.; Shields, N.

    2011-01-01

    Background: Many children with Down syndrome do not undertake the recommended amount of daily physical activity. The aim of this study was to explore the barriers and facilitators to physical activity for this group. Methods: Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 parents (16 mothers, 4 fathers) of children with Down syndrome aged…

  12. Office-based physical activity and nutrition intervention: barriers, enablers, and preferred strategies for workplace obesity prevention, Perth, Western Australia, 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackford, Krysten; Jancey, Jonine; Howat, Peter; Ledger, Melissa; Lee, Andy H

    2013-09-12

    Workplace health promotion programs to prevent overweight and obesity in office-based employees should be evidence-based and comprehensive and should consider behavioral, social, organizational, and environmental factors. The objective of this study was to identify barriers to and enablers of physical activity and nutrition as well as intervention strategies for health promotion in office-based workplaces in the Perth, Western Australia, metropolitan area in 2012. We conducted an online survey of 111 employees from 55 organizations. The online survey investigated demographics, individual and workplace characteristics, barriers and enablers, intervention-strategy preferences, and physical activity and nutrition behaviors. We used χ(2) and Mann-Whitney U statistics to test for differences between age and sex groups for barriers and enablers, intervention-strategy preferences, and physical activity and nutrition behaviors. Stepwise multiple regression analysis determined factors that affect physical activity and nutrition behaviors. We identified several factors that affected physical activity and nutrition behaviors, including the most common barriers ("too tired" and "access to unhealthy food") and enablers ("enjoy physical activity" and "nutrition knowledge"). Intervention-strategy preferences demonstrated employee support for health promotion in the workplace. The findings provide useful insights into employees' preferences for interventions; they can be used to develop comprehensive programs for evidence-based workplace health promotion that consider environmental and policy influences as well as the individual.

  13. Physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension--insights into motivations and barriers from the MOBILE study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duclos, Martine; Dejager, Sylvie; Postel-Vinay, Nicolas; di Nicola, Sylvie; Quéré, Stéphane; Fiquet, Béatrice

    2015-01-01

    Although physical activity (PA) is key in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and hypertension, it is difficult to implement in practice. Cross-sectional, observational study. Participating physicians were asked to recruit two active and four inactive patients, screened with the Ricci-Gagnon (RG) self-questionnaire (active if score ≥16). Patients subsequently completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The objective was to assess the achievement of individualized glycated hemoglobin and blood pressure goals (active vs inactive cohort, to explore the correlates for meeting both targets by multivariate analysis, and to examine the barriers and motivations to engage in PA. About 1,766 patients were analyzed. Active (n=628) vs. inactive (n=1,138) patients were more often male, younger, less obese, had shorter durations of diabetes, fewer complications and other health issues, such as osteoarticular disorders (Pactive vs inactive patients was the percentage who declared engaging in regular leisure-type PA (97.9% vs. 9.6%), also reflected in the percentage with vigorous activities in International Physical Activity Questionnaire (59.5% vs. 9.6%). Target control was achieved by 33% of active and 19% of inactive patients (PActive patients, those with fewer barriers to PA, with lower treatment burden, and with an active physician, were more likely to reach targets. The physician's role emerged in the motivations (reassurance on health issues, training on hypoglycemia risk, and prescription/monitoring of the PA by the physician). A negative self-image was the highest ranked barrier for the inactive patients, followed by lack of support and medical concerns. Physicians should consider PA prescription as seriously as any drug prescription, and take into account motivations and barriers to PA to tailor advice to patients' specific needs and reduce their perceived constraints.

  14. Parental perceptions of barriers to physical activity in children with developmental disabilities living in Trinidad and Tobago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Njelesani, Janet; Leckie, Karen; Drummond, Jennifer; Cameron, Deb

    2015-01-01

    Parents have a strong influence on their child's engagement in physical activities, especially for children with developmental disabilities, as these children are less likely to initiate physical activity. Knowledge is limited regarding parents' perceptions of this phenomenon in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); yet many rehabilitation providers work with children with developmental disabilities and their parents in these contexts. The aim of this study was to explore the barriers perceived by parents of children with developmental disabilities to their children's engagement in physical activity. An occupational perspective was used to explore how parents speak about barriers to their child's engagement in physical activity. Interviews were conducted with nine parents in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Parent's perceived barriers were categorized into four themes: family priorities, not an option in our environment, need to match the activity to the child's ability, and need for specialized supports. FINDINGS provide opportunities for future rehabilitation and community programming in LMICs. Implications for Rehabilitation Children living with a developmental disability may engage more in solitary and sedentary pursuits as a result of parents choosing activities that do not present extensive social and physical demands for their child. Therapists can play an important role in providing knowledge to parents of appropriate physical activity and the benefits of physical activity for children with developmental disabilities in order to promote children's participation. In environments where there is limited social support for families, therapists need to consider and be particularly supportive of parental priorities and schedules.

  15. Parents' Perceived Barriers to Healthful Eating and Physical Activity for Low-Income Adolescents Who Are at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Sharon L.; Bell, Toya Wilson; Hasin, Afroza

    2009-01-01

    Healthful eating and regular physical activity are vitally important for low-income adolescents who are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM). To design a relevant, community-based intervention for these at risk adolescents, parent perceptions of barriers to healthful eating and physical activity should be assessed. Such barriers have been…

  16. An understanding of Japanese children's perceptions of fun, barriers, and facilitators of active free play.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, YingHua; Takenaka, Koji; Kanosue, Kazuyuki

    2015-09-01

    Physical activity contributes to children's physical and mental well-being. Research suggests that active free play helps to maintain and increase physical activity in children and also contributes to social and emotional well-being. To date, these studies have focused on Western countries. Thus, this study was conducted to gain insights into the factors of perceptions of fun, barriers, and facilitators affecting active free play from the perspective of Japanese children using focus group interviews. In Japan, 12 focus groups were conducted with 60 children aged 9-11 years. Children's perceptions of fun in active free play were categorized into socializing, achievement, emotions, and freedom. Additionally, active boys' groups were interested in free play and adventure play; girls' groups were interested in free play with less physical movement and challenges; inactive boys' groups were interested in relaxing and competitive play with bodily contact. However, children mentioned that busy schedules, weather, and health-related factors acted as main barriers. Lastly, children noted facilitators include setting schedules, having access to equipment and playgrounds, and holding special events. The findings provide insights into active free play-related factors for active and inactive Japanese children and also clarify the differences between Japanese and Western children. Such findings will contribute to designing interventions to increase active free play. © The Author(s) 2013.

  17. Oxygen isotope analysis of phosphate: improved precision using TC/EA CF-IRMS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaPorte, D F; Holmden, C; Patterson, W P; Prokopiuk, T; Eglington, B M

    2009-06-01

    Oxygen isotope values of biogenic apatite have long demonstrated considerable promise for paleothermometry potential because of the abundance of material in the fossil record and greater resistance of apatite to diagenesis compared to carbonate. Unfortunately, this promise has not been fully realized because of relatively poor precision of isotopic measurements, and exceedingly small size of some substrates for analysis. Building on previous work, we demonstrate that it is possible to improve precision of delta18O(PO4) measurements using a 'reverse-plumbed' thermal conversion elemental analyzer (TC/EA) coupled to a continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS) via a helium stream [Correction made here after initial online publication]. This modification to the flow of helium through the TC/EA, and careful location of the packing of glassy carbon fragments relative to the hot spot in the reactor, leads to narrower, more symmetrically distributed CO elution peaks with diminished tailing. In addition, we describe our apatite purification chemistry that uses nitric acid and cation exchange resin. Purification chemistry is optimized for processing small samples, minimizing isotopic fractionation of PO4(-3) and permitting Ca, Sr and Nd to be eluted and purified further for the measurement of delta44Ca and 87Sr/86Sr in modern biogenic apatite and 143Nd/144Nd in fossil apatite. Our methodology yields an external precision of +/- 0.15 per thousand (1sigma) for delta18O(PO4). The uncertainty is related to the preparation of the Ag3PO4 salt, conversion to CO gas in a reversed-plumbed TC/EA, analysis of oxygen isotopes using a CF-IRMS, and uncertainty in constructing calibration lines that convert raw delta18O data to the VSMOW scale. Matrix matching of samples and standards for the purpose of calibration to the VSMOW scale was determined to be unnecessary. Our method requires only slightly modified equipment that is widely available. This fact, and the

  18. Letramentos acadêmicos e multimodalidade em contexto de EaD semipresencial

    OpenAIRE

    Komesu, Fabiana

    2012-01-01

    De uma perspectiva teórica enunciativo-discursiva, este artigo tem como objetivo discutir o processo de constituição do texto em contexto digital, de maneira particularizada, por meio da problematização de modos e recursos semióticos atualizados na produção acadêmica do universitário que utiliza computador com acesso à internet no processo de Educação a Distância (EaD) semipresencial. Interessa investigar como o modelo de letramentos acadêmicos pode ser articulado ao estudo da multimodalidade...

  19. Deep disposal of high activity radioactive wastes: the study of engineered and geological barriers behaviour

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Jun; Cui; Delage, P.; Laure, E. de; Behrouz, Gatmiri; Sulem, J.; Anh Minh, Tang

    2008-09-01

    One option for the isolation of high activity and long lived radioactive wastes is the disposal of the vitrified waste containers in galleries dug inside impermeable rocks of the deep underground (granite, argillite, salt). The multi-barrier isolation concept is based on the use of successive barriers to avoid the migration of radionuclides towards the biosphere (container envelope, engineered barrier made of compacted swelling clay, and host rock). In parallel to the works carried out in underground laboratories, experiments and simulation works are performed in order to understand the behaviour of storage facilities and barriers under the effects of constraints, water fluxes and temperature changes. In this context, the UR Navier geotechnical team (CERMES), a joint research unit of Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and LCPC, has been working for more than 15 years on this topic for various contractors. These works are based on original experimental devices allowing to identify the thermo-hydro-mechanical phenomena and thereafter to model them. This dossier presents a summary of these works. (J.S.)

  20. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles induce human eosinophil adhesion onto endothelial EA.hy926 cells via activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt cell signalling pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy-Marion, Maxime; Girard, Denis

    2018-02-01

    The use of nanoparticles (NPs) for developing new therapeutic strategies in a variety of diseases is gaining increasing attention. However, NPs could possess undesired effects, including pro-inflammatory activities. Despite the fact that several studies reported that NPs may induce or exacerbate eosinophilic inflammation in vivo in rodents, the information regarding the direct interaction between NPs and human eosinophils is lacking. In the present study, we test the possibility that NPs could alter the capacity of human eosinophils to adhere onto a cellular substratum. Using a panel of NPs, we found that several were able to increase the adhesion of human eosinophil onto endothelial EA.hy926 cells. Among them, TiO 2 NPs were the most potent and we therefore pursue this study with these NPs. TiO 2 NPs were found to increase the adhesion of eosinophils in a concentration dependent fashion. TiO 2 NPs did not alter the cell surface expression of a panel of cellular adhesion molecules, but CD29. Indeed, a weak to moderate, but significant, decrease of CD29 was observed after 30min but returned to normal levels after 90min. TiO 2 NPs were found to activate Akt, one important target of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). However, despite the fact that cells were fully responsive to the cytokine GM-CSF activating both Akt and Erk-1/2, TiO 2 NPs did not activate Erk-1/2. Using a pharmacological approach with the PI3K/Akt inhibitor, wortmannin, the ability of TiO 2 NPs to activate Akt was drastically inhibited and, further, their capacity to increase adhesion of eosinophils was reversed. This study provides insights into the effects of NPs on the biology of human eosinophils indicating that as other agents, NPs, namely TiO 2 NPs, can induce intracellular events associated with a cellular function, adhesion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  1. Characterization of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Environmental Assessment (EA) glass Standard Reference Material. Revision 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jantzen, C.M.; Bibler, N.E.; Beam, D.C.; Crawford, C.L.; Pickett, M.A.

    1993-06-01

    Liquid high-level nuclear waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS) will be immobilized by vitrification in borosilicate glass. The glass will be produced and poured into stainless steel canisters in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Other waste form producers, such as West Valley Nuclear Services (WVNS) and the Hanford Waste Vitrification Project (HWVP), will also immobilize high-level radioactive waste in borosilicate glass. The canistered waste will be stored temporarily at each facility for eventual permanent disposal in a geologic repository. The Department of Energy has defined a set of requirements for the canistered waste forms, the Waste Acceptance Product Specifications (WAPS). The current Waste Acceptance Primary Specification (WAPS) 1.3, the product consistency specification, requires the waste form producers to demonstrate control of the consistency of the final waste form using a crushed glass durability test, the Product Consistency Test (PCI). In order to be acceptable, a waste glass must be more durable during PCT analysis than the waste glass identified in the DWPF Environmental Assessment (EA). In order to supply all the waste form producers with the same standard benchmark glass, 1000 pounds of the EA glass was fabricated. The chemical analyses and characterization of the benchmark EA glass are reported. This material is now available to act as a durability and/or redox Standard Reference Material (SRM) for all waste form producers.

  2. Design and research on nuclear power plant EAS jet pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Xingjiang; Fang Xiquan; Xie Jian; Yang Bin; Wang Xueling; Qi Yanli

    2014-01-01

    The jet pump is an important part of the PWR containment spray system. It will be performed the security functions under the accident conditions, which the containment spray system adds the right amount of sodium hydroxide through the jet pump to spray water. This paper describes the principle of jet pump. And the optimum structure dimensions were calculated according to the performance parameter and requirement of the jet pump. On the basis of foreign EAS jet pump design experience, the structure dimensions were modified according to the CFD analysis and performance test. Finally, the results of CFD analysis and performance test were provided. (authors)

  3. Barriers and enablers to physical activity participation in patients with COPD: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorpe, Olivia; Johnston, Kylie; Kumar, Saravana

    2012-01-01

    Physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve symptoms in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Despite the high health and financial costs, the uptake of management strategies, particularly participation in PA and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), are low. The review objective here was to identify potential barriers and enablers, which people with COPD report being associated with their participation in PA programs, including PR. A systematic search was undertaken to identify studies (published Jan 2000 to Aug 2011) reporting any barriers and enablers experienced by people with COPD regarding participation in PA and PR. Methodological quality of the studies was appraised using McMaster critical appraisal tools. A narrative summary of findings was undertaken reporting on individual study characteristics, country of origin, participants, and potential barriers and enablers. Eleven studies (8 qualitative and 3 quantitative) met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Several methodological issues (small sampling, poor description of data collection and analysis, issues with generalizability of the research findings) were common among included studies. Barriers identified included changing health status, personal issues, lack of support, external factors, ongoing smoking, and program-specific barriers. Enablers identified included social support, professional support, personal drivers, personal benefit, control of condition, specific goals, and program-specific enablers. The findings from this review may assist health professionals, patients, care givers and the wider community to develop effective strategies to promote participation in PA and PR among people with COPD.

  4. Financial barriers and pricing strategies related to participation in sports activities: the perceptions of people of low income.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steenhuis, Ingrid H M; Nooy, Steffie B C; Moes, Machiel J G; Schuit, Albertine J

    2009-11-01

    Physical activity levels in most affluent countries are low and many people do not meet the current recommendations. Particularly for people with a low income, economic strategies seem promising to stimulate taking part in sports activities. This study investigated the importance of economic restraints for taking part in sports activities as well as perceptions of low-income people toward different pricing interventions. A qualitative study was conducted, using semistructured, individual interviews with 27 low-income men and women. The framework approach was used to analyze the transcripts of the interviews. The respondents considered finances to be an important barrier for participating in sports activities, together with some individual barriers. Promising pricing strategies are a discount on the subscription to the fitness or sports club, a 1 month free trial, and free entrance to the swimming pool once a week. Pricing strategies may be a promising intervention to increase physical activity levels of low-income people. However, this study indicates that this should be coupled with an intervention directed at individual barriers. Some pricing strategies will be used and appreciated more by low-income people than other pricing strategies. In addition, pricing strategies should be tailored to individual needs and preferences.

  5. Perceived barriers and facilitators to participation in physical activity for children with disability: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Nora; Synnot, Anneliese

    2016-01-19

    Children with disability engage in less physical activity compared to their typically developing peers. Our aim was to explore the barriers and facilitators to participation in physical activity for this group. Ten focus groups, involving 63 participants (23 children with disability, 20 parents of children with disability and 20 sport and recreation staff), were held to explore factors perceived as barriers and facilitators to participation in physical activity by children with disability. Data were analysed thematically by two researchers. Four themes were identified: (1) similarities and differences, (2) people make the difference, (3) one size does not fit all, and (4) communication and connections. Key facilitators identified were the need for inclusive pathways that encourage ongoing participation as children grow or as their skills develop, and for better partnerships between key stakeholders from the disability, sport, education and government sectors. Children with disabilities' need for the early attainment of motor and social skills and the integral role of their families in supporting them were considered to influence their participation in physical activity. Children with disability were thought to face additional barriers to participation compared to children with typical development including a lack of instructor skills and unwillingness to be inclusive, negative societal attitudes towards disability, and a lack of local opportunities. The perspectives gathered in this study are relevant to the many stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of effective interventions, strategies and policies to promote participation in physical activity for children with disability. We outline ten strategies for facilitating participation.

  6. Utility of 64-row MDCT in assessment of neonates with congenital EA and distal TEF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hosam El-Deen Galal Mohamed El-Malah

    2015-12-01

    Conclusion: Preoperative MDCT scan with MPVR, 3D TL-VR of 64-row MDCT which is a noninvasive technique could provide more accurate information about the assessment of the origin of the fistula, the distal esophageal pouches and inter-pouch distance in neonates with EA and distal TEF.

  7. A retrospective analysis of real-world use of the eaTracker® My Goals website by adults from Ontario and Alberta, Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieffers, Jessica R L; Haresign, Helen; Mehling, Christine; Hanning, Rhona M

    2016-09-15

    Little is known about use of goal setting and tracking tools within online programs to support nutrition and physical activity behaviour change. In 2011, Dietitians of Canada added "My Goals," a nutrition and physical activity behaviour goal setting and tracking tool to their free publicly available self-monitoring website (eaTracker® ( http://www.eaTracker.ca/ )). My Goals allows users to: a) set "ready-made" SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-related) goals (choice of n = 87 goals from n = 13 categories) or "write your own" goals, and b) track progress using the "My Goals Tracker." The purpose of this study was to characterize: a) My Goals user demographics, b) types of goals set, and c) My Goals Tracker use. Anonymous data on all goals set using the My Goals feature from December 6/2012-April 28/2014 by users ≥19y from Ontario and Alberta, Canada were obtained. This dataset contained: anonymous self-reported user demographic data, user set goals, and My Goals Tracker use data. Write your own goals were categorized by topic and specificity. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to determine associations between user demographics and a) goal topic areas and b) My Goals Tracker use. Overall, n = 16,511 goal statements (75.4 % ready-made; 24.6 % write your own) set by n = 8,067 adult users 19-85y (83.3 % female; mean age 41.1 ± 15.0y, mean BMI 28.8 ± 7.6kg/m(2)) were included for analysis. Overall, 33.1 % of ready-made goals were from the "Managing your Weight" category. Of write your own goal entries, 42.3 % were solely distal goals (most related to weight management); 38.6 % addressed nutrition behaviour change (16.6 % had unspecific general eating goals); 18.1 % addressed physical activity behaviour change (47.3 % had goals without information on exercise amount and type). Many write your own goals were poor quality (e.g., non-specific (e.g., missing

  8. Cardiac-Restricted IGF-1Ea Overexpression Reduces the Early Accumulation of Inflammatory Myeloid Cells and Mediates Expression of Extracellular Matrix Remodelling Genes after Myocardial Infarction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrique Gallego-Colon

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Strategies to limit damage and improve repair after myocardial infarct remain a major therapeutic goal in cardiology. Our previous studies have shown that constitutive expression of a locally acting insulin-like growth factor-1 Ea (IGF-1Ea propeptide promotes functional restoration after cardiac injury associated with decreased scar formation. In the current study, we investigated the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms behind the enhanced functional recovery. We observed improved cardiac function in mice overexpressing cardiac-specific IGF-1Ea as early as day 7 after myocardial infarction. Analysis of gene transcription revealed that supplemental IGF-1Ea regulated expression of key metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9, their inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, and collagen types (Col 1α1 and Col 1α3 in the first week after injury. Infiltration of inflammatory cells, which direct the remodelling process, was also altered; in particular there was a notable reduction in inflammatory Ly6C+ monocytes at day 3 and an increase in anti-inflammatory CD206+ macrophages at day 7. Taken together, these results indicate that the IGF-1Ea transgene shifts the balance of innate immune cell populations early after infarction, favouring a reduction in inflammatory myeloid cells. This correlates with reduced extracellular matrix remodelling and changes in collagen composition that may confer enhanced scar elasticity and improved cardiac function.

  9. Perceived barriers to physical activity among Nigerian stroke survivors

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The four most reported common barriers among stroke survivors were access to exercise facilities (95.0 %), being embarrassed to exercise (94.2%), economic cost demands of exercise (94.2 %) and notion that people in exercise clothes look funny (94.2%) respectively. There were no significant differences found in barriers ...

  10. Levels of Engagement and Barriers to Physical Activity in a Population of Adults with Learning Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Andrew; Look, Roger

    2006-01-01

    This study examined levels of, and barriers to, physical activity in a population of 19 adults with learning disabilities living in community supported accommodation, using diary records and semi-structured interviews with staff. The levels of physical activity were higher in the sample population than previous figures for adults with learning…

  11. Design of engineered sorbent barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, E.O.; Freeman, H.D.

    1988-01-01

    A sorbent barrier uses sorbent material such as activated carbon or natural zeolites to prevent the migration of radionuclides from a low-level waste site to the aquifer. The sorbent barrier retards the movement of radioactive contaminants, thereby providing time for the radionuclides to decay. Sorbent barriers can be a simple, effective, and inexpensive method for reducing the migration of radionuclides to the environment. Designing a sorbent barrier consists of using soil and sorbent material properties and site conditions as input to a model which will determine the necessary sorbent barrier thickness to meet contaminant limits. The paper covers the following areas: techniques for measuring sorption properties of barrier materials and underlying soils, use of a radionuclide transport model to determine the required barrier thickness and performance under a variety of site conditions, and cost estimates for applying the barrier

  12. Exploring Perceptions of Barriers, Facilitators, and Motivators to Physical Activity Among Female Bariatric Patients: Implications for Physical Activity Programming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dikareva, A; Harvey, W J; Cicchillitti, M A; Bartlett, S J; Andersen, R E

    2016-09-01

    To explore barriers, facilitators, and motivators to adopting and maintaining regular physical activity among women with obesity who have undergone bariatric surgery. Individual interviews with women 3 to 24 months post-bariatric surgery. Participants were recruited from a bariatric clinic in Montreal, Canada. Twelve women were recruited (mean age = 47 ± 9 years) using poster advertisements and word of mouth. Participants were on average 15 months postsurgery. Each woman was interviewed once using a semistructured interview protocol. Recruitment was conducted until data saturation (i.e., no new information emerged). The interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Three interrelated themes emerged: the physical body, appraisal of the physical and social self, and the exercise environment. Barriers included weight-restricted mobility, side effects of surgery, body dissatisfaction, compromised psychological health, competing responsibilities, a lack of exercise self-efficacy and social support, reduced access to accommodating facilities, lack of exercise knowledge, and northern climate. Participants reported postsurgical weight loss, weight and health maintenance, enjoyment, body image, and supportive active relationships, as well as access to accommodating facilities and exercise knowledge, as facilitators and motivators. Suggested physical activity programming strategies for health care professionals working with this unique population are discussed. Physical activity and health promotion initiatives can also benefit from a cultural paradigm shift away from weight-based representations of health. © 2016 by American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc.

  13. Gastroesophageal reflux activates the NF-κB pathway and impairs esophageal barrier function in mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Yu; Chen, Hao; Hu, Yuhui; Djukic, Zorka; Tevebaugh, Whitney; Shaheen, Nicholas J.; Orlando, Roy C.; Hu, Jianguo

    2013-01-01

    The barrier function of the esophageal epithelium is a major defense against gastroesophageal reflux disease. Previous studies have shown that reflux damage is reflected in a decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance associated with tight junction alterations in the esophageal epithelium. To develop novel therapies, it is critical to understand the molecular mechanisms whereby contact with a refluxate impairs esophageal barrier function. In this study, surgical models of duodenal and mixed reflux were developed in mice. Mouse esophageal epithelium was analyzed by gene microarray. Gene set enrichment analysis showed upregulation of inflammation-related gene sets and the NF-κB pathway due to reflux. Significance analysis of microarrays revealed upregulation of NF-κB target genes. Overexpression of NF-κB subunits (p50 and p65) and NF-κB target genes (matrix metalloproteinases-3 and -9, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) confirmed activation of the NF-κB pathway in the esophageal epithelium. In addition, real-time PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining also showed downregulation and mislocalization of claudins-1 and -4. In a second animal experiment, treatment with an NF-κB inhibitor, BAY 11-7085 (20 mg·kg−1·day−1 ip for 10 days), counteracted the effects of duodenal and mixed reflux on epithelial resistance and NF-κB-regulated cytokines. We conclude that gastroesophageal reflux activates the NF-κB pathway and impairs esophageal barrier function in mice and that targeting the NF-κB pathway may strengthen esophageal barrier function against reflux. PMID:23639809

  14. HEAT TRANSFER EVALUATION OF HFC-236EA WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE ENHANCED TUBES IN CONDENSATION AND EVAPORATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    The report gives results of an evaluation of the heat transfer performance of pure hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)-236ea for high performance enhanced tubes which had not been previously used in Navy shipboard chillers. Shell-side heat transfer coefficient data are presented for condensa...

  15. Multidimensional structure of a questionnaire to assess barriers to and motivators of physical activity in recipients of solid organ transplantation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Adrichem, Edwin J.; Krijnen, Wim P.; Dekker, Rienk; Ranchor, Adelita V.; Dijkstra, Pieter U.; van der Schans, Cees P.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: To explore the underlying dimensions of the Barriers and Motivators Questionnaire that is used to assess barriers to and motivators of physical activity experienced by recipients of solid organ transplantation and thereby improve the application in research and clinical settings. Method: A

  16. Multidimensional structure of a questionnaire to assess barriers to and motivators of physical activity in recipients of solid organ transplantation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Adrichem, Edwin J; Krijnen, Wim P; Dekker, Rienk; Ranchor, Adelita V; Dijkstra, Pieter U; van der Schans, Cees P

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE: To explore the underlying dimensions of the Barriers and Motivators Questionnaire that is used to assess barriers to and motivators of physical activity experienced by recipients of solid organ transplantation and thereby improve the application in research and clinical settings. METHOD: A

  17. Selection of design parameters of diffusion barrier in a passive 222Rn sampler based on activated charcoal adsorption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Suxia

    1992-01-01

    A method concerning selection of design parameters of diffusion barrier in a passive 222 Rn sampler based on activated charcoal adsorption. The proper parameter value of diffusion barrier is obtained by means of linearization of 222 Rn adsorption versus the exposure time. Thus, the influence of temperature on measured results may be greatly decreased, and higher sensitivity of the detector may be maintained

  18. An exploratory study of how sports and recreation industry personnel perceive the barriers and facilitators of physical activity in children with disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Nora; Synnot, Anneliese J

    2014-01-01

    To explore the perceived barriers and facilitators to participation in physical activity among children with disability in physical activity and community sports from the perspective of sports and recreation industry personnel. A convenient sample of 24 participants was recruited from delegates attending a symposium on physical activity for organisations in the sport and recreation sector in Victoria, Australia. The participants completed a brief questionnaire. Data were analysed by content analysis using an inductive approach. The participants reported 25 facilitators and 20 barriers to participation for children with disability. The top five reported facilitators were: welcoming providers, support and encouragement from parents or others, inclusive providers, adaptable approaches and accessibility of facilities. The top five reported barriers were: inaccessible facilities, non-inclusive providers, transport, lack of relevant opportunities and cost. Sports industry personnel share a similar perspective to families of potential barriers and facilitators to engagement by children with disability in physical activity and community sports. Policy change was not considered as a facilitator of physical activity, even though four of the top five facilitators identified could be implemented through local policy change. Implications for Rehabilitation There are multiple factors that interact with each other which influence the participation by children with disability in physical activity and community sports. The sports and recreation industry should consider policy change as a relevant way to facilitate participation by children with disability in physical activity. More professional development and disability engagement opportunities for sports and recreation industry personnel may help address some of the barriers to participation for children with disability experience.

  19. “I don’t have the heart”: a qualitative study of barriers to and facilitators of physical activity for people with coronary heart disease and depressive symptoms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogerson Michelle C

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical activity has been shown to reduce depression in people with coronary heart disease (CHD, however many people with CHD do not engage in sufficient levels of physical activity to reap its positive effects. People with depression and CHD are at particular risk of non-adherence to physical activity. Little is known about the barriers to and facilitators of physical activity for people with CHD and depressive symptoms. Using qualitative interviews, the aim of this study was to explore the barriers to and facilitators of physical activity for cardiac patients with depressive symptoms. Methods Fifteen participants with CHD and depressive symptoms (assessed using the Cardiac Depression Scale participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. The interviews were focussed on investigating participants’ experiences of physical activity since their cardiac event. Interviews were content analysed to determine major themes. Results Participants identified a number of barriers to and facilitators of physical activity. Barriers included having negative perceptions towards health and life changes as a result of the cardiac event, having low mood and low motivation to exercise, feeling physically restricted towards or fearful of exercise, lacking knowledge regarding exercise and perceiving external barriers. Facilitators included having a reason for exercising, being able to identify the psychological benefits of exercise, having positive social support and using psychological strategies. ‘Inactive’ participants reported more barriers and fewer facilitators than did ‘active’ participants. Conclusions The barriers reported in this study were highly salient for a number of participants. Health professionals and researchers can use this information to assist people with CHD and depressive symptoms to identify and possibly overcome barriers to physical activity. Relevant barriers and facilitators could be taken into account to

  20. Simulating the energy deposits of particles in the KASCADE-grande detector stations as a preliminary step for EAS event reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toma, G.; Brancus, I.M.; Mitrica, B.; Sima, O.; Rebel, H.; Haungs, A.

    2005-01-01

    The study of primary cosmic rays with energies higher than 10 14 eV is done mostly by indirect observation techniques such as the study of Extensive Air Showers (EAS). In the much larger framework effort of inferring data on the mass and energy of the primaries from EAS observables, the present study aims at developing a versatile method and software tool that will be used to reconstruct lateral particle densities from the energy deposits of particles in the KASCADE-Grande detector stations. The study has been performed on simulated events, by taking into account the interaction of the EAS components with the detector array (energy deposits). The energy deposits have been simulated using the GEANT code and then the energy deposits have been parametrized for different incident energies and angles of EAS particles. Thus the results obtained for simulated events have the same level of consistency as the experimental data. This technique will allow an increased speed of lateral particle density reconstruction when studying real events detected by the KASCADE-Grande array. The particle densities in detectors have been reconstructed from the energy deposits. A correlation between lateral particle density and primary mass and primary energy (at ∼600 m from shower core) has been established. The study puts great emphasis on the quality of reconstruction and also on the speed of the technique. The data obtained from the study on simulated events creates the basis for the next stage of the study, the study of real events detected by the KASCADE-Grande array. (authors)

  1. Barriers to and motivators for physical activity among people with Type 2 diabetes: patients' perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lidegaard, L P; Schwennesen, N; Willaing, I; Faerch, K

    2016-12-01

    To explore barriers to and motivators for physical activity in a group of overweight and obese individuals with dysregulated Type 2 diabetes. Data were collected from the Steno Diabetes Center's outpatient clinic in Denmark. Four focus groups were conducted including 28 individuals with Type 2 diabetes aged 39-71 years. The facilitators used open-ended questions and probes such as images, statements and quotations about physical activity to foster active participation and interaction among participants. Focus groups were recorded on video and the discussions were transcribed and analysed thematically. We identified four main themes: 1) the body as a barrier to physical activity because of functional limitations; 2) logistical challenges, including lack of time and awareness of where to exercise in the local area; 3) being physically active with others, providing a sense of mutual commitment and enjoyment; and 4) goal-setting and self-tracking, which was seen as an opportunity to track physical improvement over time. The findings suggest that, once people are active, a high level of social interaction may help maintain their activity levels. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of combining individually tailored exercise plans with the establishment of customized and locally based exercise communities that offer enjoyment and support. Additionally, it is relevant to explore experiences of using self-tracking technologies to review short- and long-term goals. © 2016 Diabetes UK.

  2. Investigating Parental Beliefs Concerning Facilitators and Barriers to the Physical Activity in Down Syndrome and Typical Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianna Alesi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Family is a crucial factor to determine the amount, the duration, and the complexity of children’s sport activities. This study aims at comparing the beliefs concerning the involvement in sport activities among parents of children with Down syndrome (DS and parents of typically developing children (TDC. A phenomenological theoretical framework was adopted to realize semistructured interviews with the parents. The participants were 35 parents: 19 with children and adolescents with DS and 16 with TDC. The main facilitation/barrier themes identified by the parents of children with DS were the family and the expert at Adapted Physical Activity (APA instructors. Conversely, the parents of TDC identified social factors related to family as the only barrier. One of the issues that emerge from this study is the lack of home-based physical activity (PA intervention programs aimed at involving families and children.

  3. Detection of elder abuse: Exploring the potential use of the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index© by law enforcement in the field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurkurina, Elina; Lange, Brittany C L; Lama, Sonam D; Burk-Leaver, Erin; Yaffe, Mark J; Monin, Joan K; Humphries, Debbie

    2018-01-01

    There are no known instruments to aid law enforcement officers in the assessment of elder abuse (EA), despite officers' contact with older adults. This study aimed to identify: 1) officers' perceptions and knowledge of EA, 2) barriers in detecting EA in the field, 3) characteristics officers value in a detection tool, and to explore 4) the potential for officers to use the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI)©. Data was collected from 69 Connecticut officers who confirmed that barriers to effectively detecting EA included a lack of EA detection instruments, as well as a lack of training on warning signs and risk factors. Officers indicated that the important elements of a desirable tool for helping to detect EA included ease of use, clear instructions, and information on follow-up resources. Approximately 80% of respondents could see themselves using the EASI © in the field, and a modified version has been developed for this purpose.

  4. Activation of reciprocal pathways between arcuate nucleus and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray during electroacupuncture: involvement of VGLUT3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Zhi-Ling; Longhurst, John C.

    2010-01-01

    Electroacupuncture (EA) at the Jianshi-Neiguan acupoints (P5-P6, overlying the median nerve) attenuates sympathoexcitatory responses through activation of the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG). Activation of the ARC or vlPAG respectively leads to neuronal excitation of the both nuclei during EA. However, direct projections between these two nuclei that could participate in central neural processing during EA have not been identified. The vesicular glutamate transporter 3 (VGLUT3) marks glutamatergic neurons. Thus, the present study evaluated direct neuronal projections between the ARC and vlPAG during EA, focusing on neurons containing VGLUT3. Seven to ten days after unilateral microinjection of a rodamine-conjugated microsphere retrograde tracer (100 nl) into the vlPAG or ARC, rats were subjected to EA or served as a sham-operated control. Low frequency (2 Hz) EA was performed bilaterally for 30 min at the P5-P6 acupoints. Perikarya containing the microsphere tracer were found in the ARC and vlPAG of both groups. Compared to controls (needle placement without electrical stimulation), c-Fos immunoreactivity and neurons double-labeled with c-Fos, an immediate early gene and the tracer were increased significantly in the ARC and vlPAG of EA-treated rats (both P<0.01). Moreover, some neurons were triple-labeled with c-Fos, the retrograde tracer and VGLUT3 in the two nuclei following EA stimulation (P<0.01, both nuclei). These results suggest that direct reciprocal projections between the ARC and vlPAG are available to participate in prolonged modulation by EA of sympathetic activity and that VGLUT3-containing neurons are an important neuronal phenotype involved in this process. PMID:20836994

  5. Design of engineered sorbent barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, E.O.; Freeman, H.D.

    1988-08-01

    A sorbent barrier uses sorbent material such as activated carbon or natural zeolites to prevent the migration of radionuclides from a low-level waste site to the aquifer. The sorbent barrier retards the movement of radioactive contaminants, thereby providing time for the radionuclides to decay. Sorbent barriers can be a simple, effective, and inexpensive method for reducing the migration of radionuclides to the environment. Designing a sorbent barrier consists of using soil and sorbent material properties and site conditions as input to a model which will determine the necessary sorbent barrier thickness to meet contaminant limits. The paper will cover the following areas: techniques for measuring sorption properties of barrier materials and underlying soils, use of a radionuclide transport model to determine the required barrier thickness and performance under a variety of site conditions, and cost estimates for applying the barrier. 8 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab

  6. Limites e possibilidades do ensino à distância (EaD na educação permanente em saúde: revisão integrativa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriane das Neves Silva

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de um estudo sobre o uso do ensino a distância (EaD como uma estratégia de ensino na educação permanente em saúde (EPS, que teve como objetivo identificar e analisar os limites e possibilidades do uso da EaD na EPS. Estudo de revisão integrativa. O resultado aponta que a EaD é uma estratégia inovadora possível e potencial para a EPS, facilitando o desenvolvimento da aprendizagem dentro ou fora da instituição de saúde, porém é evidente a escassez de pesquisas na área. As limitações para a realização dos programas estão relacionadas à variável tempo, preparação para lidar com as tecnologias e importância do tutor como facilitador da aprendizagem. Conclui-se que o uso da EaD tem tido uma importante contribuição para o desenvolvimento dos recursos humanos em saúde, seja no processo de formação e/ou no processo contínuo de conhecimento.

  7. Young adult males' motivators and perceived barriers towards eating healthily and being active: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashton, Lee M; Hutchesson, Melinda J; Rollo, Megan E; Morgan, Philip J; Thompson, Debbe I; Collins, Clare E

    2015-07-15

    There is a lack of understanding of young men's perspectives in obesity-related research. This study aims to: (1) identify young men's perceived motivators and barriers in adopting healthy eating and physical activity behaviours, and (2) explore any differences in responses by weight status categories. Ten focus groups (32-63 minutes; 3-9 participants per group) were conducted with 61 young men (BMI: 25.3 ± 5.1 kg/m(2), aged: 18-25 years) from the Hunter region, New South Wales, Australia. There were 35 (57.4 %) healthy weight men and 26 (42.6 %) overweight/ obese men. Three groups were with healthy weight participants, three with overweight/obese participants and four with mixed-BMI participants. Sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data analysis was conducted by an independent researcher using NVIVO10. Motivators for healthy eating grouped into four themes: physical health (e.g. to live longer), sport or performance (e.g. to support their sporting goals), physical appearance (e.g. sexual attractiveness) and social influences (e.g. societal expectations to eat healthy), while key motivators for physical activity were: physical appearance (e.g. sexual attractiveness), social inclusion (e.g. making friends), physical and mental health (e.g. relieve stress) and improvements for sport or performance (e.g. improve fitness). Themes for key barriers to eating healthy were: intrinsic (e.g. perceived effort to adopt healthy eating), logistic (e.g. cost), and social factors (e.g. peer influence), while busy lifestyles (e.g. lack of time), logistic (e.g. cost), cognitive-emotional (e.g. feelings of inferiority) and social factors (e.g. family upbringing) were key barriers for physical activity. Responses varied little by BMI status. This research emphasises the importance of consulting young men when developing healthy lifestyle programs that aim to promote healthy eating and physical activity in young men. Future research is needed to identify the most

  8. 85 km long reach PON system using a reflective SOA-EA modulator and distributed Raman fiber amplification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tafur Monroy, I.; Öhman, F.; Yvind, K.; Kjaer, R.; Peucheret, C.; Koonen, A.M.J.; Jeppesen, P.

    2006-01-01

    We report on a bidirectional 85 km long reach PON system supported by distributed fiber Raman amplification with a record 7.5 Gb/s remote carrier modulated upstream signal by employing a reflective SOA-EA monolithically integrated circuit.

  9. Tritium/hydrogen barrier development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollenberg, G.W.; Simonen, E.P.; Kalinen, G.; Terlain, A.

    1994-06-01

    A review of hydrogen permeation barriers that can be applied to structural metals used in fusion power plants is presented. Both implanted and chemically available hydrogen isotopes must be controlled in fusion plants. The need for permeation barriers appears strongest in Li17-Pb blanket designs, although barriers also appear necessary for other blanket and coolant systems. Barriers that provide greater than a 1000 fold reduction in the permeation of structural metals are desired. In laboratory experiments, aluminide and titanium ceramic coatings provide permeation reduction factors, PRFS, from 1000 to over 100,000 with a wide range of scatter. The rate-controlling mechanism for hydrogen permeation through these barriers may be related to the number and type of defects in the barriers. Although these barriers appear robust and resistant to liquid metal corrosion, irradiation tests which simulate blanket environments result in very low PRFs in comparison to laboratory experiments, i.e., <150. It is anticipated from fundamental research activities that the REID enhancement of hydrogen diffusion in oxides may contribute to the lower permeation reduction factors during in-reactor experiments

  10. Crack closure in near-threshold fatigue crack propagation in railway axle steel EA4T

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Pokorný, Pavel; Vojtek, Tomáš; Náhlík, Luboš; Hutař, Pavel

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 185, NOV (2017), s. 2-19 ISSN 0013-7944 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LQ1601 Institutional support: RVO:68081723 Keywords : Fatigue crack propagation * crack closure * EA4T * Railway axle Subject RIV: JL - Materials Fatigue, Friction Mechanics OBOR OECD: Audio engineering , reliability analysis Impact factor: 2.151, year: 2016

  11. 77 FR 33972 - Channel Spacing and Bandwidth Limitations for Certain Economic Area (EA)-based 800 MHz...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-08

    ..., 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. The complete text may be purchased from the Commission's... regulatory parity between commercial wireless licensees, to consumers' benefit. Under this rule change, EA... begin, the specific locations of antenna sites, and effective radiated power (ERP) for each antenna site...

  12. Barriers associated with frequency of leisure-time physical activity among Brazilian adults of different income strata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, K S; Del Duca, G F; Garcia, L M T; da Silva, J A; Bertuol, C; de Oliveira, E S A; de Barros, M V G; Nahas, M V

    2016-02-01

    This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of the main perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and their associations with the frequency of LTPA in a representative sample of industrial workers from Brazil (n = 47,477), according to their income strata (low income: ≤$US280, middle income: $US281-$US1400, and high income: ≥$US1401). Data were collected between 2006 and 2008 via questionnaires about the main perceived barrier to LTPA and the frequency of LTPA. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to evaluate differences among groups. There was a lower prevalence of regular practice of LTPA in the low- (15.8%) and middle-income strata (18.2%) than among the individuals of the high-income stratum (27.6%). A large proportion of workers who regularly participated in LTPA reported no barriers (low: 43.1%; middle: 46.8%; high: 51.6%). Additional obligations and fatigue were the two most common perceived barriers in all family income strata among participants who engaged in different frequencies of LTPA. The odds for all perceived barriers showed a positive trend related to frequency of LTPA (from regular to no LTPA), with higher values according to income. In summary, the ordering of the main perceived barriers to LTPA differed according to workers' income stratum and frequency of engaging in LTPA. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Enhanced anticancer activity and oral bioavailability of ellagic acid through encapsulation in biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mady, Fatma M; Shaker, Mohamed A

    2017-01-01

    Despite the fact that various studies have investigated the clinical relevance of ellagic acid (EA) as a naturally existing bioactive substance in cancer therapy, little has been reported regarding the efficient strategy for improving its oral bioavailability. In this study, we report the formulation of EA-loaded nanoparticles (EA-NPs) to find a way to enhance its bioactivity as well as bioavailability after oral administration. Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was selected as the biodegradable polymer for the formulation of EA-NPs through the emulsion-diffusion-evaporation technique. The obtained NPs have been characterized by measuring particle size, zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction. The entrapment efficiency and the release profile of EA was also determined. In vitro cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of the obtained NPs were evaluated using Caco-2 and HCT-116 cell lines, respectively. Moreover, in vivo study has been performed to measure the oral bioavailability of EA-NPs compared to free EA, using New Zealand white rabbits. NPs with distinct shape were obtained with high entrapment and loading efficiencies. Diffusion-driven release profile of EA from the prepared NPs was determined. EA-NP-treated HCT-116 cells showed relatively lower cell viability compared to free EA-treated cells. Fluorometric imaging revealed the cellular uptake and efficient localization of EA-NPs in the nuclear region of Caco-2 cells. In vivo testing revealed that the oral administration of EA-NPs produced a 3.6 times increase in the area under the curve compared to that of EA. From these results, it can be concluded that incorporation of EA into PCL as NPs enhances its oral bioavailability and activity.

  14. Dynamical aspects of violent collisions in Ar + Ag reactions at E/A = 27 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rivet, M.F.; Borderie, B.; Jouan, D.; Remaud, B.

    1988-01-01

    Intermediate-mass fragment studies were found to give an overview of the mechanisms involved in violent collisions between Ar and Ag at E/A = 27 MeV. A comparison is made with semi-classical calculations (Landau-Vlasov) which reproduce experimental observations well and sustain the persistence of dissipative processes at high incident relative velocity (∼ 0.2c)

  15. 33 CFR 230.7 - Actions normally requiring an Environmental Assessment (EA) but not necessarily an EIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    .... (d) Construction and Operations and Maintenance. Changes in environmental impacts which were not considered in the project EIS or EA. Examples are changes in pool level operations, use of new disposal areas, location of bank protection works, etc. (e) Real Estate Management and Disposal Actions. (1) Disposal of a...

  16. Capacidades do Estado brasileiro e arquitetura institucional da EaD: da organização burocrática à autonomia inserida dos órgãos estatais

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela da Costa Britto Pereira Lima

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Resumo: O tema deste estudo é a arquitetura institucional da educação a distância (EaD no Brasil sob a ótica das capacidades do Estado no que se refere à organização burocrática. Seu objetivo geral é apresentar e discutir algumas das capacidades do Estado brasileiro para gerir sua política pública de EaD. A pesquisa é do tipo bibliográfica e de natureza empírica, com suporte teórico em Evans (1993, 1995, 2004. O estudo empírico considerou o mapeamento e a análise da arquitetura institucional da EaD no Brasil entre 2010 e 2013 (LIMA, 2013. Constata-se que o Estado precisa rever sua arquitetura institucional da EaD, visando desenvolver a sua capacidade de organização burocrática e autonomia inserida, para passar de um Estado intermediário para desenvolvimentista. Palavras-chave: Educação a distância; educação superior; capacidades do Estado; arquitetura institucional.   Abstract: The theme of this study is the institutional architecture of distance education - EaD - in Brazil, from the point of view of the state's capabilities, regarding the bureaucratic organization. Its general objective is to present and discuss some of the capabilities of the Brazilian State to manage it's public DE policy. The research is a bibliographical and empirical study, with theoretical support in Evans (1993, 1995, 2004. The empirical study considered the mapping and analysis of the institutional architecture of EaD in Brazil between 2010 and 2013 (LIMA, 2013. It concludes that the Brazilian State needs to reassess its DE institutional architecture as a means to develop its bureaucratic organization capacity and inserted autonomy, and as a condition to move from an intermediary State to a developed one. Keywords: distance education; higher education; State capacity; institutional architecture.   Resumen: El tema de este estudio es la arquitectura institucional de la educación a distancia (EaD en Brasil bajo la óptica de las capacidades

  17. Understanding low levels of physical activity in people with intellectual disabilities : A systematic review to identify barriers and facilitators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bossink, Leontien; van der Putten, Annette; Vlaskamp, Carla

    2017-01-01

    Background: People with intellectual disabilities (ID) undertake extremely low levels of physical activity. Aims: To enhance understanding concerning low levels of physical activity in people with ID, this study has three aims: (1) to identify barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in

  18. In Vitro Anticancer Activity of a Nonpolar Fraction from Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb. Makino

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yantao Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb. Makino (GpM has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM for the treatment of various diseases including cancer. Most previous studies have focused primarily on polar fractions of GpM for anticancer activities. In this study, a nonpolar fraction EA1.3A from GpM showed potent growth inhibitory activities against four cancer cell lines with IC50 ranging from 31.62 μg/mL to 38.02 μg/mL. Furthermore, EA1.3A also inhibited the growth of breast cancer cell MDA-MB-453 time-dependently, as well as its colony formation ability. EA1.3A induced apoptosis on MDA-MB-453 cells both dose-dependently and time-dependently as analyzed by flow cytometry and verified by western blotting analysis of apoptosis marker cleaved nuclear poly(ADP-ribose polymerase (cPARP. Additionally, EA1.3A induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase. Chemical components analysis of EA1.3A by GC-MS revealed that this nonpolar fraction from GpM contains 10 compounds including four alkaloids, three organic esters, two terpenes, and one catechol substance, and all these compounds have not been reported in GpM. In summary, the nonpolar fraction EA1.3A from GpM inhibited cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis and regulation of cell cycle progression. Our study shed light on new chemical bases for the anticancer activities of GpM and feasibilities to develop new anticancer agents from this widely used medicinal plant.

  19. Activated barrier crossing dynamics in the non-radiative decay of NADH and NADPH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blacker, Thomas S., E-mail: t.blacker@ucl.ac.uk [Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Marsh, Richard J., E-mail: richard.marsh@ucl.ac.uk [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Duchen, Michael R., E-mail: m.duchen@ucl.ac.uk [Research Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Bain, Angus J., E-mail: a.bain@ucl.ac.uk [Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)

    2013-08-30

    Highlights: ► NADH and NADPH have a high rate of non-radiative excited state decay. ► Conformational relaxation is shown to be a significant non-radiative pathway. ► The Kramers equation describes the barrier crossing dynamics of the relaxation. ► Conformational restriction upon enzyme binding will alter NAD(P)H lifetimes. - Abstract: In live tissue, alterations in metabolism induce changes in the fluorescence decay of the biological coenzyme NAD(P)H, the mechanism of which is not well understood. In this work, the fluorescence and anisotropy decay dynamics of NADH and NADPH were investigated as a function of viscosity in a range of water–glycerol solutions. The viscosity dependence of the non-radiative decay is well described by Kramers and Kramers–Hubbard models of activated barrier crossing over a wide viscosity range. Our combined lifetime and anisotropy analysis indicates common mechanisms of non-radiative relaxation in the two emitting states (conformations) of both molecules. The low frequencies associated with barrier crossing suggest that non-radiative decay is mediated by small scale motion (e.g. puckering) of the nicotinamide ring. Variations in the fluorescence lifetimes of NADH and NADPH when bound to different enzymes may therefore be attributed to differing levels of conformational restriction upon binding.

  20. Activism in Southeast Asian Ethnomusicology: Empowering Youths to Revitalize Traditions and Bridge Cultural Barriers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sooi Beng Tan

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Beginning with a short overview of the strategies and activities in applied ethnomusicology in Southeast Asia, this paper focuses on the development of a socially engaged approach to empower young people in Malaysia to address two concerns: revitalizing traditions and bridging cultural barriers in a multiethnic and multireligious society where tensions often occur. 

  1. Safety assessment of discharge chute isolation barrier preparation and installation activities. Revision 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meichle, R.H.

    1994-01-01

    This revision adds a section addressing impacts of dropping surfacing tool and rack cutter on the basin floor, and corrects typographical errors. The safety assessment is made for the activities for the preparation and installation of the discharge chute isolation barriers. The safety assessment includes a hazard assessment and comparisons of potential accidents/events to those addressed by the current safety basis documentation. No significant hazards were identified. An evaluation against the USQ evaluation questions was made and the determination made that the activities do not represent a USQ. Hazard categorization techniques were used to provide a basis for readiness review classifications

  2. Contextual barriers to lifestyle physical activity interventions in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eves, Frank F; Masters, Rich S W; McManus, Alison; Leung, Moon; Wong, Peggy; White, Mike J

    2008-05-01

    Increased lifestyle physical activity, for instance, use of active transport, is a current public health target. Active transport interventions that target stair climbing are consistently successful in English-speaking populations yet unsuccessful in Hong Kong. We report two further studies on active transport in the Hong Kong Chinese. Pedestrians on a mass transit escalator system (study 1) and in an air-conditioned shopping mall (study 2) were encouraged to take the stairs for their cardiovascular health by point-of-choice prompts. Observers coded sex, age, and walking on the mass transit system, with the additional variables of presence of children and bags coded in the shopping mall. In the first study, a 1-wk baseline was followed by 4 wk of intervention (N = 76,710) whereas in the second study (shopping mall) a 2-wk baseline was followed by a 2-wk intervention period (N = 18,257). A small but significant increase in stair climbing (+0.29%) on the mass transit system contrasted with no significant changes in the shopping mall (+0.09%). The active transport of walking on the mass transit system was reduced at higher rates of humidity and temperature, with steeper slopes for the effects of climate variables in men than in women. These studies confirm that lifestyle physical activity interventions do not have universal application. The context in which the behavior occurs (e.g., climate) may act as a barrier to active transport.

  3. Amino Acid Block Copolymers with Broad Antimicrobial Activity and Barrier Properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bevilacqua, Michael P; Huang, Daniel J; Wall, Brian D; Lane, Shalyn J; Edwards, Carl K; Hanson, Jarrod A; Benitez, Diego; Solomkin, Joseph S; Deming, Timothy J

    2017-10-01

    Antimicrobial properties of a long-chain, synthetic, cationic, and hydrophobic amino acid block copolymer are reported. In 5 and 60 min time-kill assays, solutions of K 100 L 40 block copolymers (poly(l-lysine·hydrochloride) 100 -b-poly(l-leucine) 40 ) at concentrations of 10-100 µg mL -1 show multi-log reductions in colony forming units of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as yeast, including multidrug-resistant strains. Driven by association of hydrophobic segments, K 100 L 40 copolymers form viscous solutions and self-supporting hydrogels in water at concentrations of 1 and 2 wt%, respectively. These K 100 L 40 preparations provide an effective barrier to microbial contamination of wounds, as measured by multi-log decreases of tissue-associated bacteria with deliberate inoculation of porcine skin explants, porcine open wounds, and rodent closed wounds with foreign body. Based on these findings, amino acid copolymers with the features of K 100 L 40 can combine potent, direct antimicrobial activity and barrier properties in one biopolymer for a new approach to prevention of wound infections. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Electronic interactions decreasing the activation barrier for the hydrogen electro-oxidation reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Elizabeth; Schmickler, Wolfgang

    2008-01-01

    A unified model for electrochemical electron transfer reactions which explicitly accounts for the electronic structure of the electrode recently proposed by us is applied to the hydrogen oxidation reaction at different metal electrocatalysts. We focus on the changes produced in the transition state (saddle point) as a consequence of the interactions with d-bands. We discuss different empirical correlations between properties of the metal and catalytic activity proposed in the past. We show which role is played by the band structure of the different metals and its interaction with the molecule for decreasing the activation barrier. Finally, we demonstrate why some metals are better electrocatalysts for the hydrogen electro-oxidation reaction than others

  5. Counselling low-back-pain patients in secondary healthcare: a randomised trial addressing experienced workplace barriers and physical activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Lone Donbæk; Maribo, Thomas; Schiøttz-Christensen, Berit; Madsen, Finn Hjorth; Gonge, Bigitte; Christensen, Michael; Frost, Poul

    2012-01-01

    To assess if counselling by an occupational physician (OP) addressing experienced workplace barriers and physical activity integrated as a part of low-back pain (LBP) outpatient treatment influences pain, function and sick leave. Randomised controlled trial in the secondary healthcare sector with 3 months' follow-up. The participants were LBP patients who, independently of sick-leave status, expressed concerns about the ability to maintain their current job. Patients referred for surgery were excluded. The intervention consisted of two counselling sessions conducted by an OP addressing both workplace barriers and leisure-time physical activity. A workplace visit was performed if required. Pain, function and duration of sick leave due to LBP were primary outcomes. A reduction in bodily pain and improvement in physical function both measured by the 36-item short-form health survey questionnaire in favour of the intervention group was found. The change in pain score was found to be clinically relevant. The risk of sick leave for at least 8 weeks due to LBP was significantly reduced in the intervention group. Two secondary outcomes, Fear Avoidance Beliefs about physical activity and maximum oxygen uptake, supported compliance and adherence to the part of the intervention focusing on enhanced physical activity. Two short counselling sessions by an OP combining advice on meeting workplace barriers and enhancing physical activity had a substantial effect on important prognostic factors for LBP patients with moderate to severe symptoms diagnosed in outpatient rheumatological clinics. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN13071157.

  6. Mapping barriers and intervention activities to behaviour change theory for Mobilization of Vulnerable Elders in Ontario (MOVE ON), a multi-site implementation intervention in acute care hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Julia E; Mascarenhas, Alekhya; Marquez, Christine; Almaawiy, Ummukulthum; Chan, Wai-Hin; D'Souza, Jennifer; Liu, Barbara; Straus, Sharon E

    2014-10-30

    As evidence-informed implementation interventions spread, they need to be tailored to address the unique needs of each setting, and this process should be well documented to facilitate replication. To facilitate the spread of the Mobilization of Vulnerable Elders in Ontario (MOVE ON) intervention, the aim of the current study is to develop a mapping guide that links identified barriers and intervention activities to behaviour change theory. Focus groups were conducted with front line health-care professionals to identify perceived barriers to implementation of an early mobilization intervention targeted to hospitalized older adults. Participating units then used or adapted intervention activities from an existing menu or developed new activities to facilitate early mobilization. A thematic analysis was performed on the focus group data, emphasizing concepts related to barriers to behaviour change. A behaviour change theory, the 'capability, opportunity, motivation-behaviour (COM-B) system', was used as a taxonomy to map the identified barriers to their root causes. We also mapped the behaviour constructs and intervention activities to overcome these. A total of 46 focus groups were conducted across 26 hospital inpatient units in Ontario, Canada, with 261 participants. The barriers were conceptualized at three levels: health-care provider (HCP), patient, and unit. Commonly mentioned barriers were time constraints and workload (HCP), patient clinical acuity and their perceived 'sick role' (patient), and lack of proper equipment and human resources (unit level). Thirty intervention activities to facilitate early mobilization of older adults were implemented across hospitals; examples of unit-developed intervention activities include the 'mobility clock' communication tool and the use of staff champions. A mapping guide was created with barriers and intervention activities matched though the lens of the COM-B system. We used a systematic approach to develop a guide

  7. Electroacupuncture Delays Hypertension Development through Enhancing NO/NOS Activity in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hye Suk Hwang

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Using spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, this study investigated whether electroacupuncture (EA could reduce early stage hypertension by examining nitric oxide (NO levels in plasma and nitric oxide synthase (NOS levels in the mesenteric resistance artery. EA was applied to the acupuncture point Governor Vessel 20 (GV20 or to a non-acupuncture point in the tail twice weekly for 3 weeks under anesthesia. In conscious SHR and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY rats, blood pressure was determined the day after EA treatment by the tail-cuff method. We measured plasma NO concentration, and evaluated endothelial NO syntheses (eNOS and neuronal NOS (nNOS protein expression in the mesenteric artery. Systolic blood pressure (SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP were lower after 3 weeks of GV20 treatment than EA at non-acupuncture point and no treatment control in SHR. nNOS expression by EA was significantly different between both WKY and no treatment SHR control, and EA at GV20 in SHR. eNOS expression was significantly high in EA at GV 20 compared with no treatment control. In conclusion, EA could attenuate the blood pressure elevation of SHR, along with enhancing NO/NOS activity in the mesenteric artery in SHR.

  8. Energy barriers in patterned media

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, Jeroen

    2013-01-01

    Due to the fact that thermal activation aids in overcoming the energy barrier, the required field for reversal varies from instance to instance for the same island. This thermally induced switching field distribution can be used to determine the difference in energy barrier of magneticallyweak and

  9. Engineered barriers: current status

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atkinson, A.; Marsh, G.P.

    1988-01-01

    This report summarises the current state of research relevant to assessing the performance of engineered barriers made of steel and concrete in radioactive waste repositories. The objective of these barriers is to contain the radionuclides within them by providing both physical and chemical impediment to their release. The physical barriers are of most value for highly soluble isotopes with relatively short half-lives (eg 137 Cs), since they can provide containment until a large fraction of the activity has decayed. In addition they can facilitate retrievability for some period after disposal. The chemical barriers operate by beneficial conditioning of the near field groundwater and providing sites for sorption of radionuclides. Both of these reduce the aqueous concentration of radionuclides in the near field. (author)

  10. Perceived barriers to physical activity in adolescent students from a Southern Brazilian city. 10.5007/1980-0037.2011v13n6p422

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Dressler Dambros

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to analyze physical activity (PA habits and perceived barriers to PA in high school students from the municipality of Santa Maria, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A total of 424 students with a mean age of 15.69 (±0.9 years, 54.72% of them male and 45.28% female, took part in the study. The third part of the COMPAC questionnaire was used to assess physical activity habits, and the questionnaire developed by Martins and Petroski (2000, adapted for this study population, to investigate perceived barriers to physical activity. The main perceived barriers were time devoted to studies, absence of an exercise partner, poor weather and long work hours. Girls perceived more barriers than boys. Nearly one-third of participants (32.35% were considered insufficiently active. Engagement in moderate to vigorous PA differed significantly (p<0.05 between genders, girls being less active. Walking was the most widely practiced activity among girls (76.04%, whereas boys favored soccer (71.90%. There were significant differences in PA between private and public school students; those enrolled in state-run schools were most active. Our results can serve as a reference for specific actions designed to promote physical activity and health.

  11. Distance and protective barrier effects on the composite resin degree of conversion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coutinho, Margareth; Trevizam, Natália Carvalho; Takayassu, Renata Nakase; Leme, Ariene Arcas; Soares, Giulliana Panfiglio

    2013-01-01

    Context: The food wrap films are used to cover the tip of curing light units in order to avoid contamination and prevent damage to the light guide. However, their effects on resin polymerization are not fully known. Aims: We investigated the effects on restoration efficiency of a food wrap protective barrier used on the tip of curing light units. Materials and Methods: For each treatment, five replications were performed, a total of 60 bovine incisor. The degree of conversion (%DC) of restorations with the composite resin Opallis EA2 was evaluated using 3 curing light devices (Optilux 501, Optilight and Ultra LED) and 2 curing distances (0 and 5 mm). The composite resin was tested for restoration of cavities in bovine crowns. %DC values were measured by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance technique. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed using 3-way ANOVA and Tukey's test. Results: Use of the protective film lowered %DC (F = 4.13; P = 0.05), and the effects of curing distance were associated to the curing light device (F = 3.61; P = 0.03). Conclusions: The distance from the light curing tip and use of a translucent protective barrier on the light-cure device can both impair composite resin %DC. PMID:24015001

  12. A retrospective analysis of real-world use of the eaTracker® My Goals website by adults from Ontario and Alberta, Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica R. L. Lieffers

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about use of goal setting and tracking tools within online programs to support nutrition and physical activity behaviour change. In 2011, Dietitians of Canada added “My Goals,” a nutrition and physical activity behaviour goal setting and tracking tool to their free publicly available self-monitoring website (eaTracker® ( http://www.eaTracker.ca/ . My Goals allows users to: a set “ready-made” SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-related goals (choice of n = 87 goals from n = 13 categories or “write your own” goals, and b track progress using the “My Goals Tracker.” The purpose of this study was to characterize: a My Goals user demographics, b types of goals set, and c My Goals Tracker use. Methods Anonymous data on all goals set using the My Goals feature from December 6/2012-April 28/2014 by users ≥19y from Ontario and Alberta, Canada were obtained. This dataset contained: anonymous self-reported user demographic data, user set goals, and My Goals Tracker use data. Write your own goals were categorized by topic and specificity. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to determine associations between user demographics and a goal topic areas and b My Goals Tracker use. Results Overall, n = 16,511 goal statements (75.4 % ready-made; 24.6 % write your own set by n = 8,067 adult users 19-85y (83.3 % female; mean age 41.1 ± 15.0y, mean BMI 28.8 ± 7.6kg/m2 were included for analysis. Overall, 33.1 % of ready-made goals were from the “Managing your Weight” category. Of write your own goal entries, 42.3 % were solely distal goals (most related to weight management; 38.6 % addressed nutrition behaviour change (16.6 % had unspecific general eating goals; 18.1 % addressed physical activity behaviour change (47.3 % had goals without information on exercise amount and type. Many write your own

  13. Multidimensional structure of a questionnaire to assess barriers to and motivators of physical activity in recipients of solid organ transplantation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Adrichem, Edwin J; Krijnen, Wim P; Dekker, Rienk; Ranchor, Adelita V; Dijkstra, Pieter U; van der Schans, Cees P

    2017-11-01

    To explore the underlying dimensions of the Barriers and Motivators Questionnaire that is used to assess barriers to and motivators of physical activity experienced by recipients of solid organ transplantation and thereby improve the application in research and clinical settings. A cross-sectional study was performed in recipients of solid organ transplantation (n = 591; median (IQR) age = 59 (49; 66); 56% male). The multidimensional structure of the questionnaire was analyzed by exploratory principal component analysis. Cronbach's α was calculated to determine internal consistency of the entire questionnaire and individual components. The barriers scale had a Cronbach's α of 0.86 and was subdivided into four components; α of the corresponding subscales varied between 0.80 and 0.66. The motivator scale had an α of 0.91 and was subdivided into four components with an α between 0.88 to 0.70. Nine of the original barrier items and two motivator items were not included in the component structure. A four-dimensional structure for both the barriers and motivators scale of the questionnaire is supported. The use of the indicated subscales increases the usability in research and clinical settings compared to the overall scores and provide opportunities to identify modifiable constructs to be targeted in interventions. Implications for rehabilitation Organ transplant recipients are less active than the general population despite established health benefits of physical activity. A multidimensional structure is shown in the Barriers and Motivators Questionnaire, the use of the identified subscales increases applicability in research and clinical settings. The use of the questionnaire with its component structure in the clinical practice of a rehabilitation physician could result in a faster assessment of problem areas in daily practice and result in a higher degree of clarity as opposed to the use of the individual items of the questionnaire.

  14. Barriers and motivational factors towards physical activity in COPD - an interview based pilot study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østergaard, Elisabeth Bomholt; Sritharan, Sophia Sajitha; Thomsen, Pernille Maja

    2018-01-01

    Title Barriers and motivational factors towards physical activity in COPD - an interview based pilot study Authors Elisabeth Bomholt Østergaard, Sophia Sajitha Sritharan, Pernille Maja Thomsen, Anne Dal Kristiansen, Anders Løkke Background: Surprisingly few people in Denmark with Chronic...... Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) engage in physical activity even though it is evident that pulmonary rehabilitation has positive effects on activity level, dyspnea, anxiety, fatigue and quality of life. Aims: To explore why people with COPD do not engage in physical activity and their motivational...... factors for being physically active. Methods: Fieldwork among five people with COPD in Jutland, Denmark 2013-2016 using qualitative semi-structured interviews. Supplementary short semistructured interviews with three general practitioners, and participation in a closed Facebook-group for people with COPD...

  15. Vaccine platforms combining circumsporozoite protein and potent immune modulators, rEA or EAT-2, paradoxically result in opposing immune responses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathaniel J Schuldt

    Full Text Available Malaria greatly impacts the health and wellbeing of over half of the world's population. Promising malaria vaccine candidates have attempted to induce adaptive immune responses to Circumsporozoite (CS protein. Despite the inclusion of potent adjuvants, these vaccines have limited protective efficacy. Conventional recombinant adenovirus (rAd based vaccines expressing CS protein can induce CS protein specific immune responses, but these are essentially equivalent to those generated after use of the CS protein subunit based vaccines. In this study we combined the use of rAds expressing CS protein along with rAds expressing novel innate immune response modulating proteins in an attempt to significantly improve the induction of CS protein specific cell mediated immune (CMI responses.BALB/cJ mice were co-vaccinated with a rAd vectors expressing CS protein simultaneous with a rAd expressing either TLR agonist (rEA or SLAM receptors adaptor protein (EAT-2. Paradoxically, expression of the TLR agonist uncovered a potent immunosuppressive activity inherent to the combined expression of the CS protein and rEA. Fortunately, use of the rAd vaccine expressing EAT-2 circumvented CS protein's suppressive activity, and generated a fivefold increase in the number of CS protein responsive, IFNγ secreting splenocytes, as well as increased the breadth of T cells responsive to peptides present in the CS protein. These improvements were positively correlated with the induction of a fourfold improvement in CS protein specific CTL functional activity in vivo.Our results emphasize the need for caution when incorporating CS protein into malaria vaccine platforms expressing or containing other immunostimulatory compounds, as the immunological outcomes may be unanticipated and/or counter-productive. However, expressing the SLAM receptors derived signaling adaptor EAT-2 at the same time of vaccination with CS protein can overcome these concerns, as well as significantly

  16. Adolescents' Perspectives on the Barriers and Facilitators of Physical Activity: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, João; Marques, Adilson; Sarmento, Hugo; Carreiro da Costa, Francisco

    2015-01-01

    This article examined qualitative studies of adolescents' perspectives about the facilitators and barriers of physical activity, published from 2007 to 2014. A systematic review of "Web of Science", "EBSCO", "Psychinfo" and "ERIC" databases was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic…

  17. Understanding the complex interplay of barriers to physical activity amongst black and minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom: a qualitative synthesis using meta-ethnography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koshoedo, Sejlo A; Paul-Ebhohimhen, Virginia A; Jepson, Ruth G; Watson, Margaret C

    2015-07-12

    To conduct a meta-ethnographic analysis of qualitative studies to identify barriers to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) individuals engaging in physical activity in the UK context. A qualitative synthesis using meta-ethnographic methods to synthesis studies of barriers to engaging in physical activity among BME groups in the UK. A comprehensive search strategy of multiple databases was employed to identify qualitative research studies published up to October 2012. The eleven searched databases included ASSIA, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), NHS Scotland Library, Physical Activity Health Alliance (PAHA), PsyINFO, Social Services Abstract, Sport discuss and Web of Science. The Noblit and Hare's meta-ethnographic approach was undertaken to develop an inductive and interpretive form of knowledge synthesis. Fourteen papers met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis indicated that barriers to physical activity among BME individuals were influenced by four main concepts: perceptions; cultural expectations; personal barriers; and factors limiting access to facilities. BME individuals had different understandings of physical activity were influenced by migration history, experiences, cultural and health beliefs. This in turn may have a disempowering effect on BME individuals in terms of adopting or maintaining physical activity. These barriers to physical activity were explained at a higher conceptual level by a socio-ecological model. The social construct 'individual perception and understanding of physical activity' was particularly relevant to theoretical models and interventions. Interventions to promote engagement with physical activity need to address perceptions of this behaviour. The elicited concepts and contexts could be used to enhance the development of tailored effective health promotion interventions for BME individuals.

  18. Differentiation of partial acylglycerols derived from different animal fats by EA-IRMS and GCMS techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nina Naquiah, A.N.; Marikkar, J.M.N.; Shuhaimi, M.

    2016-07-01

    A study was carried out to compare partial acylglycerols of lard with those of chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Elemental Analysis–Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA-IRMS). Mono- (MAG) and di-(DAG) acylglycerols of animal fats were prepared according to a chemical glycerolysis method and isolated using column chromatography. The fatty acid composition and δ13C carbon isotope ratio of MAG and DAG derived from individual animal fat were determined separately to establish their identity characteristics. The results showed that the δ13C values of MAG and DAG of lard were significantly different from those of MAG and DAG derived from chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat. According to the loading plots based on a principle component analysis (PCA), fatty acids namely stearic, oleic and linoleic were the most discriminating parameters to distinctly identify MAG and DAG derived from different animal fats. This demonstrated that the EA-IRMS and the PCA of fatty acid data have considerable potential for discriminating MAG and DAG derived from lard from other animal fats for Halal authentication purposes. (Author)

  19. "Left to my own devices, I don't know": using theory and patient-reported barriers to move from physical activity recommendations to practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziebart, C; McArthur, C; Lee, L; Papaioannou, A; Laprade, J; Cheung, A M; Jain, R; Giangregorio, L

    2018-05-01

    Knowledge exchange with community-dwelling individuals across Ontario revealed barriers to implementation of physical activity recommendations that reflected capability, opportunity, and motivation; barriers unique to individuals with osteoporosis include fear of fracturing, trust in providers, and knowledge of exercise terminology. Using the Behaviour Change Wheel, we identified interventions (training, education, modeling) and policy categories (communication/marketing, guidelines, service provision). Physical activity recommendations exist for individuals with osteoporosis; however, to change behavior, we must address barriers and facilitators to their implementation. The purposes of this project are (1) to identify barriers to and facilitators of uptake of disease-specific physical activity recommendations (2) to use the findings to identify behavior change strategies using the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW). Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with community-dwelling individuals attending osteoporosis-related programs or education sessions in Ontario. They were stratified by geographic area, urban/rural, and gender, and transcribed verbatim. Two researchers coded data and identified emerging themes. Using the Behaviour Change Wheel framework, themes were categorized into capability, opportunity, and motivation, and interventions were identified. Two hundred forty community-dwelling individuals across Ontario participated (mean ± SD age = 72 ± 8.28). Barriers were as follows: capability: disease-related symptoms hinder exercise and physical activity participation, lack of exercise-related knowledge, low exercise self-efficacy; opportunity: access to exercise programs that meet needs and preferences, limited resources and time, physical activity norms and preferences; motivation: incentives to exercise, fear of fracturing, trust in exercise providers. Interventions selected were training, education, and modeling. Policy categories

  20. Effect of smoking on EA and NOS expression as well as NO and ET-1 content in gingival tissue of patients with chronic periodontitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Feng

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To study the effect of smoking on EA and NOS expression as well as NO and ET-1 content in gingival tissue of patients with chronic periodontitis. Methods: Patients diagnosed with periodontitis in our hospital between May 2013 and March 2016 were selected to screen 72 cases of smokers and 80 cases of non-smokers who were enrolled in smoking group and non-smoking group respectively, periodontal tissue was collected to detect the expression of EA, NOS and NLRP3 inflammasome, and gingival crevicular fluid was collected to detect the content of ET-1, NO, inflammatory factors and MMPs. Results: EA expression and ET-1 content in gingival tissue of smoking group were significantly higher than those of nonsmoking group while NOS expression and NO content in gingival tissue were significantly lower than those of non-smoking group; NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 expression in gingival tissue of smoking group were significantly higher than those of nonsmoking group, and IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α, IFN-γ, MMP1, MMP8 and MMP13 content in gingival crevicular fluid were significantly higher than those of non-smoking group; NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 expression as well as IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α, IFN-γ, MMP1, MMP8 and MMP13 content were positively correlated with EA and ET-1, and negatively correlated with NOS and NO. Conclusion: Smoking can cause increased EA and ET-1 as well as decreased NOS and NO in gingival tissue of patients with chronic periodontitis, thus adjusting the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and MMPs to periodontal tissue inflammation and structure damage.

  1. Estrogenic and anti-estrogenic activity of off-the-shelf hair and skin care products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Sharon L; Yang, Chun Z; Bittner, George D; Witt, Kristine L; Tice, Raymond R; Baird, Donna D

    2015-05-01

    Use of personal care products is widespread in the United States but tends to be greater among African Americans than whites. Of special concern is the possible hazard of absorption of chemicals with estrogenic activity (EA) or anti-EA (AEA) in these products. Such exposure may have adverse health effects, especially when it occurs during developmental windows (e.g., prepubertally) when estrogen levels are low. We assessed the ethanol extracts of eight commonly used hair and skin products popular among African Americans for EA and AEA using a cell proliferation assay with the estrogen sensitive MCF-7:WS8 cell line derived from a human breast cancer. Four of the eight personal care products tested (Oil Hair Lotion, Extra-dry Skin Lotion, Intensive Skin Lotion, Petroleum Jelly) demonstrated detectable EA, whereas three (Placenta Hair Conditioner, Tea-Tree Hair Conditioner, Cocoa Butter Skin Cream) exhibited AEA. Our data indicate that hair and skin care products can have EA or AEA, and suggest that laboratory studies are warranted to investigate the in vivo activity of such products under chronic exposure conditions as well as epidemiologic studies to investigate potential adverse health effects that might be associated with use of such products.

  2. Benefits of barrier fuel on fuel cycle economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crowther, R.L.; Kunz, C.L.

    1988-01-01

    Barrier fuel rod cladding was developed to eliminate fuel rod failures from pellet/cladding stress/corrosion interaction and to eliminate the associated need to restrict the rate at which fuel rod power can be increased. The performance of barrier cladding has been demonstrated through extensive testing and through production application to many boiling water reactors (BWRs). Power reactor data have shown that barrier fuel rod cladding has a significant beneficial effect on plant capacity factor and plant operating costs and significantly increases fuel reliability. Independent of the fuel reliability benefit, it is less obvious that barrier fuel has a beneficial effect of fuel cycle costs, since barrier cladding is more costly to fabricate. Evaluations, measurements, and development activities, however, have shown that the fuel cycle cost benefits of barrier fuel are large. This paper is a summary of development activities that have shown that application of barrier fuel significantly reduces BWR fuel cycle costs

  3. A role for VEGFR2 activation in endothelial responses caused by barrier disruptive OxPAPC concentrations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna A Birukova

    Full Text Available Oxidation products of 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (OxPAPC differentially modulate endothelial cell (EC barrier function in a dose-dependent fashion. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR2 is involved in the OxPAPC-induced EC inflammatory activation. This study examined a role of VEGFR2 in barrier dysfunction caused by high concentrations of OxPAPC and evaluated downstream signaling mechanisms resulting from the effect of OxPAPC in EC from pulmonary and systemic circulation.EC monolayer permeability in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC and human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC was monitored by changes in transendothelial electrical resistance (TER across EC monolayers. Actin cytoskeleton was examined by immunostaining with Texas Red labeled phalloidin. Phosphorylation of myosin light chains (MLC and VE-Cadherin was examined by Western blot and immunofluorescence techniques. The role of VEGFR2 in OxPAPC-induced permeability and cytoskeletal arrangement were determined using siRNA-induced VEGFR2 knockdown.Low OxPAPC concentrations (5-20 µg/ml induced a barrier protective response in both HPAEC and HAEC, while high OxPAPC concentrations (50-100 µg/ml caused a rapid increase in permeability; actin stress fiber formation and increased MLC phosphorylation were observed as early as 30 min after treatment. VEGFR2 knockdown dramatically decreased the amount of MLC phosphorylation and stress fiber formation caused by high OxPAPC concentrations with modest effects on the amount of VE-cadherin phosphorylation at Y(731. We present evidence that activation of Rho is involved in the OxPAPC/VEGFR2 mechanism of EC permeability induced by high OxPAPC concentrations. Knockdown of VEGFR2 did not rescue the early drop in TER but prevented further development of OxPAPC-induced barrier dysfunction.This study shows that VEGFR2 is involved in the delayed phase of EC barrier dysfunction caused by high Ox

  4. MMAS vs. Population-based EA on a family of dynamic fitness functions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lissovoi, Andrei; Witt, Carsten

    2014-01-01

    We study the behavior of a population-based EA and the Max-Min Ant System (MMAS) on a family of deterministically-changing fitness functions, where, in order to find the global optimum, the algorithms have to find specific local optima within each of a series of phases. In particular, we prove...... a Maze function extended over a finite alphabet of μ symbols, whereas population size μ-1 is not sufficient. Furthermore, we show that MMAS does not require additional modifications to track the optimum of the finite-alphabet Maze functions, and, using a novel drift statement to simplify the analysis...

  5. MMAS Versus Population-Based EA on a Family of Dynamic Fitness Functions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lissovoi, Andrei; Witt, Carsten

    2015-01-01

    We study the behavior of a population-based EA and the Max–Min Ant System (MMAS) on a family of deterministically-changing fitness functions, where, in order to find the global optimum, the algorithms have to find specific local optima within each of a series of phases. In particular, we prove...... function extended over a finite alphabet of μ symbols, whereas population size μ−1 is not sufficient. Furthermore, we show that MMAS does not require additional modifications to track the optimum of the finite-alphabet Maze functions, and, using a novel drift statement to simplify the analysis, reduce...

  6. Physical activities and barriers reported by adolescents attending a health service. DOI: 10.5007/1980-0037.2011v13n3p163

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro Garcia

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This study characterized the physical activity and barriers reported by adolescents attending the Physical Education service of the Adolescent Care and Support Center, São Paulo, Brazil. An exploratory study was conducted using anamnesis data from118 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years seen between April 2005 and June 2008. The following aspects were analyzed according to gender and age group: participation in leisure-time physical activities and physical education classes, physical activity preferences, and barriers to preferred physical activity. Data are reported as frequencies and were compared by Fisher’s exact test. Enjoying physical activities was reported by 93.2% of the adolescents, whereas 50.8% did not perform any physical activity during their leisure time. The lack of participation in school physical education classes predominated among older adolescents of both genders. Games and team games were the preferred activities, irrespective of gender or age. The lack of company or friends and the lack of places were the most frequently reported barriers to preferred physical activity. The results highlight the importance of a health service program for adolescents that promotes, guides, and supports a more active lifestyle.

  7. Young adult males' motivators and perceived barrier towards eating healthily and being active: A qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    There is a lack of understanding of young men's perspectives in obesity-related research. This study aims to: (1) identify young men's perceived motivators and barriers in adopting healthy eating and physical activity behaviors, and (2) explore any differences in responses by weight status categorie...

  8. Physiotherapists' perceived motivators and barriers for organizing physical activity for older long-term care facility residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baert, Veerle; Gorus, Ellen; Guldemont, Nele; De Coster, Sofie; Bautmans, Ivan

    2015-05-01

    Information regarding factors that hinder or stimulate older adults in long-term care facilities (LTCF) for being physically active is available in the literature, but much less is known regarding perceived motivators and barriers among physiotherapists (PTs) to organize physical activity (PA) in LTCF. The main purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing PTs to organize PA in LTCF for older adults. A secondary goal was to examine the PTs' knowledge about and their barriers at the PA guidelines for older adults of the World Health Organization (WHO). A mixed qualitative and quantitative study was carried out using semistructured interviews (n = 24) followed by an online survey (n = 254). As a frame the social-ecological model (McLeroy) was used, distinguishing factors at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community level. In the qualitative component the PTs reported 41 motivators and 35 barriers for organizing PA in LTCF. The survey revealed that although the majority of the respondents (71%) are convinced of the usefulness of PA in LTCF, 84% are not familiar with the WHO-guidelines. Seventy-five percent of the respondents believe that the WHO-guidelines are not feasible for LTCF-residents. The strongest motivators on the intrapersonal level were maintaining the independence of the residents (98%), reducing the risk of falling (98%), and improving the physical (93%) and psychological (90%) wellbeing of LTCF-residents. The social interaction among LTCF-residents (91%) during PA was the strongest motivator on the interpersonal level. Motivators on the community level are the belief that PA is the basis of their physiotherapeutic work (89%) and that offering varied activities avoids PA becoming monotonous (71%). Barriers on the intra- and interpersonal level were of less influence. On the community level, they felt hindered to organize PA because of lack of time (38%) and the overload of paperwork (33%). This study described different motivators

  9. EurEAs_Gplex--A new SNaPshot assay for continental population discrimination and gender identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daca-Roszak, P; Pfeifer, A; Żebracka-Gala, J; Jarząb, B; Witt, M; Ziętkiewicz, E

    2016-01-01

    Assays that allow analysis of the biogeographic origin of biological samples in a standard forensic laboratory have to target a small number of highly differentiating markers. Such markers should be easy to multiplex and the assay must perform well in the degraded and scarce biological material. SNPs localized in the genome regions, which in the past were subjected to differential selective pressure in various populations, are the most widely used markers in the studies of biogeographic affiliation. SNPs reflecting biogeographic differences not related to any phenotypic traits are not sufficiently explored. The goal of our study was to identify a small set of SNPs not related to any known pigmentation/phenotype-specific genes, which would allow efficient discrimination between populations of Europe and East Asia. The selection of SNPs was based on the comparative analysis of representative European and Chinese/Japanese samples (B-lymphocyte cell lines), genotyped using the Infinium HumanOmniExpressExome microarray (Illumina). The classifier, consisting of 24 unlinked SNPs (24-SNP classifier), was selected. The performance of a 14-SNP subset of this classifier (14-SNP subclassifier) was tested using genotype data from several populations. The 14-SNP subclassifier differentiated East Asians, Europeans and Africans with ∼100% accuracy; Palestinians, representative of the Middle East, clustered with Europeans, while Amerindians and Pakistani were placed between East Asian and European populations. Based on these results, we have developed a SNaPshot assay (EurEAs_Gplex) for genotyping SNPs from the 14-SNP subclassifier, combined with an additional marker for gender identification. Forensic utility of the EurEAs_Gplex was verified using degraded and low quantity DNA samples. The performance of the EurEAs_Gplex was satisfactory when using degraded DNA; tests using low quantity DNA samples revealed a previously not described source of genotyping errors, potentially

  10. Regeneration of nitrobenzene-exhausted granular activated carbon by dielectric barrier discharge method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lan, Tian; Gao, Wenli; Li, Zhongjian; Lei, Lecheng

    2013-01-01

    A novel method for the regeneration of nitrobenzene-exhausted granular activated carbon using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was proposed in this study. The influence of several parameters including voltage, frequency, and plasma medium on the regeneration efficiency were studied. Under optimum conditions, regeneration efficiency can reach over 80% and remain nearly stable after 5 times of regeneration cycle. The texture characteristic and surface chemistry of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) samples were also investigated. Analysis shows that the pore volume and specific surface area of regenerated GAC is strongly recovered compared to the exhausted GAC, but the discharge can cause some pores to diminish. Acidic functional groups on GAC's surface especially carboxylic groups had a growing tendency after DBD process. Experimental results show that the regeneration of GAC by DBD method mainly attributes to high active species and thermal effect, while O 3 has minor effect.

  11. Exploring the relationship between outdoor recreation activities, community participation, and environmental attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsey Barker; Chad Dawson

    2012-01-01

    The relationship between environmental attitudes (EA) and environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) has been the focus of several studies in environmental psychology and recreation research. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between EAs and ERBs at both a general level and at an activity-specific level using a 2009 survey of motorized...

  12. Physical activity in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension – insights into motivations and barriers from the MOBILE study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duclos M

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Martine Duclos,1,2 Sylvie Dejager,3,4 Nicolas Postel-Vinay,5 Sylvie di Nicola,6 Stéphane Quéré,7 Béatrice Fiquet4,5 1Department of Sport Medicine and Functional Explorations, University-Hospital (CHU, G Montpied Hospital; INRA, UNH, CRNH Auvergne, 2Nutrition Department, University of Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, 3Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, La Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, Paris, 4Clinical and Scientific Affairs, Novartis Pharma SAS, Rueil-Malmaison, 5Department of Hypertension, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Paris, 6Biostatistics, Inferential, Paris, 7Biostatistics, Novartis Pharma SAS, Rueil-Malmaison, France Background: Although physical activity (PA is key in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2DM and hypertension, it is difficult to implement in practice. Methods: Cross-sectional, observational study. Participating physicians were asked to recruit two active and four inactive patients, screened with the Ricci-Gagnon (RG self-questionnaire (active if score ≥16. Patients subsequently completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The objective was to assess the achievement of individualized glycated hemoglobin and blood pressure goals (<140/90 mmHg in the active vs inactive cohort, to explore the correlates for meeting both targets by multivariate analysis, and to examine the barriers and motivations to engage in PA. Results: About 1,766 patients were analyzed. Active (n=628 vs inactive (n=1,138 patients were more often male, younger, less obese, had shorter durations of diabetes, fewer complications and other health issues, such as osteoarticular disorders (P<0.001 for all. Their diabetes and hypertension control was better and obtained despite a lower treatment burden. The biggest difference in PA between the active vs inactive patients was the percentage who declared engaging in regular leisure-type PA (97.9% vs 9.6%, also reflected in the percentage with vigorous activities in

  13. Barriers, facilitators and attitudes influencing health promotion activities in general practice: an explorative pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geense Wytske W

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The number of chronically ill patients increases every year. This is partly due to an unhealthy lifestyle. However, the frequency and quality of (evidence-based health promotion activities conducted by Dutch general practitioners (GPs and practice nurses (PNs are limited. The aim of this pilot study was to explore which lifestyle interventions Dutch GPs and PNs carry out in primary care, which barriers and facilitators can be identified and what main topics are with respect to attitudes towards health promoting activities. These topic areas will be identified for a future, larger scale study. Method This qualitative study consisted of 25 semi-structured interviews with sixteen GPs and nine PNs. ATLAS.ti was used to analyse the transcripts of the interviews. Results All GPs and PNs said they discuss lifestyle with their patients. Next to this, GPs and PNs counsel patients, and/or refer them to other disciplines. Only few said they refer patients to specific lifestyle programs or interventions in their own practice or in the neighbourhood. Several barriers and facilitators were identified. The main topics as barriers are: a lack of patients’ motivation to make lifestyle changes, insufficient reimbursement, a lack of proven effectiveness of interventions and a lack of overview of health promoting programs in their neighbourhood. The most cited facilitators are availability of a PN, collaboration with other disciplines and availability of interventions in their own practice. With respect to attitudes, six different types of GPs were identified reflecting the main topics that relate to attitudes, varying from ‘ignorer’ to ‘nurturer’. The topics relating to PNs attitudes towards health promotion activities, were almost unanimously positive. Conclusion GPs and PNs all say they discuss lifestyle issues with their patients, but the health promotion activities that are organized in their practice vary. Main topics that hinder

  14. Differentiation of partial acylglycerols derived from different animal fats by EA-IRMS and GCMS techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Naquiah, A. N.

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A study was carried out to compare partial acylglycerols of lard with those of chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS and Elemental Analysis–Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA-IRMS. Mono- (MAG and di-(DAG acylglycerols of animal fats were prepared according to a chemical glycerolysis method and isolated using column chromatography. The fatty acid composition and δ13C carbon isotope ratio of MAG and DAG derived from individual animal fat were determined separately to establish their identity characteristics. The results showed that the δ13C values of MAG and DAG of lard were significantly different from those of MAG and DAG derived from chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat. According to the loading plots based on a principle component analysis (PCA, fatty acids namely stearic, oleic and linoleic were the most discriminating parameters to distinctly identify MAG and DAG derived from different animal fats. This demonstrated that the EA-IRMS and the PCA of fatty acid data have considerable potential for discriminating MAG and DAG derived from lard from other animal fats for Halal authentication purposes.Se realizó un estudio para comparar acilgliceroles parciales de la manteca de cerdo con las de grasa de pollo, grasa de vacuno y grasa de cordero utilizando cromatografía de gases-espectrometría de masas (GC-MS y análisis elemental de Isótopos-Espectrometría de Masas (EA-IRMS. Los mono- (MAG y di- (DAG acilgliceroles de grasas animales se prepararon mediante un método de glicerolisis química y se aislaron mediante cromatografía en columna. La composición de ácidos grasos y la relación isotópica de carbono δ13C de los MAG y DAG de las grasas de animales se determinan por separado para establecer sus características de identidad. Los resultados mostraron que los valores de δ13C de MAG y DAG de la manteca de cerdo fue significativamente diferente de los de MAG y DAG derivados de grasa

  15. Endothelium-Derived 5-Methoxytryptophan Protects Endothelial Barrier Function by Blocking p38 MAPK Activation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling-Yun Chu

    Full Text Available The endothelial junction is tightly controlled to restrict the passage of blood cells and solutes. Disruption of endothelial barrier function by bacterial endotoxins, cytokines or growth factors results in inflammation and vascular damage leading to vascular diseases. We have identified 5-methoxytryptophan (5-MTP as an anti-inflammatory factor by metabolomic analysis of conditioned medium of human fibroblasts. Here we postulated that endothelial cells release 5-MTP to protect the barrier function. Conditioned medium of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs prevented endothelial hyperpermeability and VE-cadherin downregulation induced by VEGF, LPS and cytokines. We analyzed the metabolomic profile of HUVEC conditioned medium and detected 5-MTP but not melatonin, serotonin or their catabolites, which was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Addition of synthetic pure 5-MTP preserved VE-cadherin and maintained barrier function despite challenge with pro-inflammatory mediators. Tryptophan hydroxylase-1, an enzyme required for 5-MTP biosynthesis, was downregulated in HUVECs by pro-inflammatory mediators and it was accompanied by reduction of 5-MTP. 5-MTP protected VE-cadherin and prevented endothelial hyperpermeability by blocking p38 MAPK activation. A chemical inhibitor of p38 MAPK, SB202190, exhibited a similar protective effect as 5-MTP. To determine whether 5-MTP prevents vascular hyperpermeability in vivo, we evaluated the effect of 5-MTP administration on LPS-induced murine microvascular permeability with Evans blue. 5-MTP significantly prevented Evans blue dye leakage. Our findings indicate that 5-MTP is a new class of endothelium-derived molecules which protects endothelial barrier function by blocking p38 MAPK.

  16. Perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in young adults with childhood-onset physical disabilities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buffart, L.M.; Westendorp, T.; Berg-Emons, van den R.J.; Stam, H.; Roebroeck, M.E.

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To explore the main barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in young adults with childhood-onset physical disabilities. DESIGN: Qualitative study using focus groups. PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen persons (12 men and 4 women) aged 22.4 (standard deviation 3.4) years, of whom 50% were

  17. Field study plan for alternate barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freeman, H.D.; Gee, G.W.; Relyea, J.F.

    1989-05-01

    Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) is providing technical assistance in selecting, designing, evaluating, and demonstrating protective barriers. As part of this technical assistance effort, asphalt, clay, and chemical grout will be evaluated for use as alternate barriers. The purpose of the subsurface layer is to reduce the likelihood that extreme events (i.e., 100-year maximum storms, etc.) will cause significant drainage through the barrier. The tests on alternate barriers will include laboratory and field analysis of the subsurface layer performance. This field test plan outlines the activities required to test and design subsurface moisture barriers. The test plan covers activities completed in FY 1988 and planned through FY 1992 and includes a field-scale test of one or more of the alternate barriers to demonstrate full-scale application techniques and to provide performance data on a larger scale. Tests on asphalt, clay, and chemical grout were initiated in FY 1988 in small (30.5 cm diameter) tube-layer lysimeters. The parameters used for testing the materials were different for each one. The tests had to take into account the differences in material characteristics and response to change in conditions, as well as information provided by previous studies. 33 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab

  18. Extracurricular research activities among senior medical students in Kuwait: experiences, attitudes, and barriers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al-Halabi B

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Becher Al-Halabi,1 Yousef Marwan,2 Mohammad Hasan,3 Sulaiman Alkhadhari41Department of Surgery, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait; 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Al-Razi Hospital, Al-Sabah Medical Area, Ministry of Health, Kuwait; 3Department of Radiation Oncology, Kuwait Cancer Control Center, Al-Sabah Medical Area, Ministry of Health, Kuwait; 4Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Kuwait University, KuwaitBackground: Research is the foundation of scientific advancement and improvement in quality of health care, which ensures the good health of the community. The aim of this study is to explore experiences, attitudes, and barriers of medical students in Kuwait University (KU in regards to extracurricular research.Methods: A questionnaire about extracurricular research activities (ie, any research activity that is not part of the required undergraduate curriculum, such as publishing a paper, research elective, etc was distributed to 175 senior medical students (years 6 and 7. Descriptive and chi-square analyses were used to analyze the responses, considering a P-value of <0.05 as the cut-off level for significance. The main outcome was defined as taking part in any of the extracurricular research activities.Results: Of the 150 participants (response rate = 85.7%, 26 (17.3%, 68 (45.3%, 52 (34.7%, and 17 (11.3% had published their required medical school research, presented abstracts in conferences, conducted extracurricular research, and completed a research elective/course, respectively; 99 (66.0% took part in any of these activities. Participants who read medical journals regularly (81; 54% reported higher participation in extracurricular research activities than those who did not read journals (P=0.003. Improving the availability of mentors for students' extracurricular research was ranked by the participants as the most important factor to improve their participation in

  19. Comparative study of genetic activity of chlorambucil's active metabolite steroidal esters: The role of steroidal skeleton on aneugenic potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Efthimiou, M.; Ouranou, D.; Stephanou, G.; Demopoulos, N.A.; Nikolaropoulos, S.S.; Alevizos, Ph.

    2010-01-01

    p-N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)aminophenylacetic acid (PHE), a nitrogen mustard analogue and chlorambucil's active metabolite used as chemotherapeutic agent, has been shown that, in addition to its clastogenic activity, induces chromosome delay. In the present study an efford has been made (a) to investigate if the steroidal analogues of PHE (EA-92, EA-97, AK-333, AK-409 and AK-433) exert the same genetic activity as the parent compound, (b) to further analyze the aneugenic activity of nitrogen mustard analogues, (c) to investigate the mechanism by which they exert aneugenic potential and (d) to correlate the genetic activity with chemical structure. For this purpose the Cytokinesis Block Micronucleus (CBMN) assay was conducted in human lymphocytes in vitro and the micronucleus (MN) frequency was determined to investigate their genetic activity. The mechanism of micronucleation was determined in combination with Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) using pancentromeric DNA probe. Since one of the mechanisms that chemicals cause aneuploidy is through alterations in the mitotic spindle, we also investigated the effect of the above compounds on the integrity and morphology of the mitotic spindle using double immunofluorescence of β- and γ-tubulin in C 2 C 12 mouse cell line. We found that PHE and its steroidal analogues, EA-92, EA-97, AK-333, AK-409 and AK-433, affect cell proliferation in human lymphocytes and C 2 C 12 mouse cells. All studied compounds are capable of inducing chromosome breakage events, as indicated by the enhanced C - MN frequencies. The less lipophilic compounds are the most genetically active molecules. PHE and only two of the studied analogues, AK-409 and AK-433, the most hydrophilic ones, showed aneugenic potential, by increasing the frequencies of MN containing a whole chromosome. The aneugenic potential of the above referred analogues is associated with amplification of centrosome number, since they caused high multipolar metaphase

  20. Physical activity and exercise after stoma surgery: overcoming the barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Sarah

    2017-03-09

    This article presents the results from a large nationwide survey completed in 2016 that investigated the physical health and wellbeing of people living with stomas in the UK. In particular, the survey looked at physical activity and exercise, general attitudes and opinions about exercise, whether or not advice about physical activity had been received and other general questions about parastomal hernia and quality of life. There were 2631 respondents making it one of the largest known surveys to date. The findings were concerning yet unsurprising, highlighting a trend toward inactivity after stoma surgery and a fear of exercise in general. People also seem to have poor knowledge about appropriate activities, with many suggesting that the fear of developing a parastomal hernia is a major barrier to activity. Unsurprisingly, those who have a stoma owing to cancer seem to fare worse, reporting even lower levels of physical activity and worse quality of life compared to those with other conditions. This indicates that people who have a combination of a cancer diagnosis and also a stoma may need more specific or additional support in the longer term. The most concerning finding, however, was that the majority of patients could not recall being given any advice about exercise or physical activity by their nurse or surgeon. While this survey presents some initial findings, it raises questions for further research and work. It also highlights a significantly neglected area in both research and support for stoma patients and the health professionals caring for them.

  1. SME's perceptions regarding strategic and structural entry barriers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lutz, Clemens; Kemp, Ron; Dijkstra, S. Gerhard

    2007-01-01

    Abstract Extant literature discusses a large number of different entry barriers that may hamper market efficiency or entrepreneurial activity. In practice several of these barriers cohere and stem from the same root. Factor analysis is used to identify the underlying dimensions of these barriers. 7

  2. Enhanced anticancer activity and oral bioavailability of ellagic acid through encapsulation in biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mady FM

    2017-10-01

    . From these results, it can be concluded that incorporation of EA into PCL as NPs enhances its oral bioavailability and activity. Keywords: nanoparticles, ellagic acid, poly(ε-caprolactone, bioavailability, cytotoxicity, oral administration

  3. Electroacupuncture pretreatment induces tolerance against focal cerebral ischemia through activation of canonical Notch pathway

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhao Yu

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Electroacupuncture (EA pretreatment can induce the tolerance against focal cerebral ischemia. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully understood. Emerging evidences suggest that canonical Notch signaling may be involved in ischemic brain injury. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that EA pretreatment-induced tolerance against focal cerebral ischemia is mediated by Notch signaling. Results EA pretreatment significantly enhanced Notch1, Notch4 and Jag1 gene transcriptions in the striatum, except Notch1 intracellular domain level, which could be increased evidently by ischemia. After ischemia and reperfusion, Hes1 mRNA and Notch1 intracellular domain level in ischemic striatum in EA pretreatment group were increased and reached the peak at 2 h and 24 h, respectively, which were both earlier than the peak achieved in control group. Intraventricular injection with the γ-secretase inhibitor MW167 attenuated the neuroprotective effect of EA pretreatment. Conclusions EA pretreatment induces the tolerance against focal cerebral ischemia through activation of canonical Notch pathway.

  4. Physical activity in culturally and linguistically diverse migrant groups to Western society: a review of barriers, enablers and experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caperchione, Cristina M; Kolt, Gregory S; Mummery, W Kerry

    2009-01-01

    A close examination of epidemiological data reveals burdens of disease particular to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants, as these individuals adjust to both culture and modernization gaps. Despite the increased risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease, individuals from CALD groups are less likely to be proactive in accessing healthcare or undertaking preventative measures to ensure optimal health outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review literature that outlines the barriers, challenges and enablers of physical activity in CALD groups who have recently migrated to Western society, and to identify key strategies to increase physical activity participation for these individuals. Electronic and manual literature searches were used to identify 57 publications that met the inclusion criteria. Findings from the review indicate that migration to Western societies has a detrimental effect on the health status and health behaviours of CALD groups as they assimilate to their new surroundings, explore different cultures and customs, and embrace a new way of life. In particular, there is evidence that physical inactivity is common in migrant CALD groups, and is a key contributing risk factor to chronic disease for these individuals. Challenges and barriers that limit physical activity participation in CALD groups include: cultural and religious beliefs, issues with social relationships, socioeconomic challenges, environmental barriers, and perceptions of health and injury. Strategies that may assist with overcoming these challenges and barriers consist of the need for cultural sensitivity, the provision of education sessions addressing health behaviours, encouraging participation of individuals from the same culture, exploration of employment situational variables, and the implementation of 'Health Action Zones' in CALD communities. This information will inform and support the development of culturally

  5. A comparison of genotyping-by-sequencing analysis methods on low-coverage crop datasets shows advantages of a new workflow, GB-eaSy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickland, Daniel P; Battu, Gopal; Hudson, Karen A; Diers, Brian W; Hudson, Matthew E

    2017-12-28

    Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS), a method to identify genetic variants and quickly genotype samples, reduces genome complexity by using restriction enzymes to divide the genome into fragments whose ends are sequenced on short-read sequencing platforms. While cost-effective, this method produces extensive missing data and requires complex bioinformatics analysis. GBS is most commonly used on crop plant genomes, and because crop plants have highly variable ploidy and repeat content, the performance of GBS analysis software can vary by target organism. Here we focus our analysis on soybean, a polyploid crop with a highly duplicated genome, relatively little public GBS data and few dedicated tools. We compared the performance of five GBS pipelines using low-coverage Illumina sequence data from three soybean populations. To address issues identified with existing methods, we developed GB-eaSy, a GBS bioinformatics workflow that incorporates widely used genomics tools, parallelization and automation to increase the accuracy and accessibility of GBS data analysis. Compared to other GBS pipelines, GB-eaSy rapidly and accurately identified the greatest number of SNPs, with SNP calls closely concordant with whole-genome sequencing of selected lines. Across all five GBS analysis platforms, SNP calls showed unexpectedly low convergence but generally high accuracy, indicating that the workflows arrived at largely complementary sets of valid SNP calls on the low-coverage data analyzed. We show that GB-eaSy is approximately as good as, or better than, other leading software solutions in the accuracy, yield and missing data fraction of variant calling, as tested on low-coverage genomic data from soybean. It also performs well relative to other solutions in terms of the run time and disk space required. In addition, GB-eaSy is built from existing open-source, modular software packages that are regularly updated and commonly used, making it straightforward to install and maintain

  6. Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Eating and Active Living in Rural Communities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Seguin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. Studies demonstrate that people’s food and physical activity (PA environments influence behavior, yet research examining this in rural communities is limited. Methods. Focus groups of 8–15 women were conducted in rural communities in seven US states. Questions were designed to identify factors within residents’ food and PA environments they felt helped or hindered them from eating healthfully and being physically active. Results. Participants were aged 30–84 years; mean (SD = 61 (14 (N=95. On average, communities had fewer than 5,000 residents. Limited time, social norms, and distances from or lack of exercise facilities were common PA barriers. Facilitators for PA included social support, dog walking, and availability of affordable facilities. Healthy eating barriers included the perception that healthy foods were too expensive; calorically dense large portion sizes served at family meals; and frequency of eating foods away from home, which were perceived as generally unhealthy. Healthy eating supports included culture/value around local food gathering (e.g., hunting and gardening and preservation (e.g., canning and smoking. Friends and family were frequently identified as key influencers of eating and PA behavior. Conclusions. Targeting both social and built environment factors, particularly those unique to rural locales, may enhance support for healthy eating and PA behavior change interventions.

  7. Prevalence of E/A wave fusion and A wave truncation in DDD pacemaker patients with complete AV block under nominal AV intervals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfram C Poller

    Full Text Available Optimization of the AV-interval (AVI in DDD pacemakers improves cardiac hemodynamics and reduces pacemaker syndromes. Manual optimization is typically not performed in clinical routine. In the present study we analyze the prevalence of E/A wave fusion and A wave truncation under resting conditions in 160 patients with complete AV block (AVB under the pre-programmed AVI. We manually optimized sub-optimal AVI.We analyzed 160 pacemaker patients with complete AVB, both in sinus rhythm (AV-sense; n = 129 and under atrial pacing (AV-pace; n = 31. Using Doppler analyses of the transmitral inflow we classified the nominal AVI as: a normal, b too long (E/A wave fusion or c too short (A wave truncation. In patients with a sub-optimal AVI, we performed manual optimization according to the recommendations of the American Society of Echocardiography.All AVB patients with atrial pacing exhibited a normal transmitral inflow under the nominal AV-pace intervals (100%. In contrast, 25 AVB patients in sinus rhythm showed E/A wave fusion under the pre-programmed AV-sense intervals (19.4%; 95% confidence interval (CI: 12.6-26.2%. A wave truncations were not observed in any patient. All patients with a complete E/A wave fusion achieved a normal transmitral inflow after AV-sense interval reduction (mean optimized AVI: 79.4 ± 13.6 ms.Given the rate of 19.4% (CI 12.6-26.2% of patients with a too long nominal AV-sense interval, automatic algorithms may prove useful in improving cardiac hemodynamics, especially in the subgroup of atrially triggered pacemaker patients with AV node diseases.

  8. Deeply inelastic collisions as a source of intermediate mass fragments at E/A = 27 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borderie, B.; Montoya, M.; Rivet, M.F.; Jouan, D.; Cabot, C.; Fuchs, H.; Gardes, D.; Gauvin, H.; Jacquet, D.; Monnet, F.

    1988-01-01

    Intermediate-mass fragments detected in coincidence with heavy residues were measured in 40 Ar induced reactions on Ag at E/A = 27 MeV. From the observed characteristics, it is inferred that intermediate-mass fragments associated with the so-called intermediate-velocity source come mainly from deeply inelastic collisions occurring after or at the same time as preequilibrium particle emission. (orig.)

  9. Knowledge Exchange and Management Research: Barriers and Potentials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bager, Torben

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The growing involvement of management researchers in knowledge exchange activities and collaborative research does not seem to be reflected in a growing academic output. The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers for academic output from these activities as well as the potential...... for ‘interesting’ papers. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses secondary data and statistics as well as an illustrative case study to trace knowledge exchange activities and barriers for academic output based on these activities. Findings: The paper identifies a number of barriers for the turning of data...... derived from knowledge exchange activities and Mode 2 research into academic papers such as low priority of case study research in leading management journals, a growing practice orientation in the research funding systems, methodological challenges due to limited researcher control, and disincentives...

  10. Methane activation using Kr and Xe in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jo, Sungkwon; Lee, Dae Hoon; Kim, Kwan-Tae; Kang, Woo Seok; Song, Young-Hoon

    2014-01-01

    Methane has interested many researchers as a possible new energy source, but the high stability of methane causes a bottleneck in methane activation, limiting its practical utilization. To determine how to effectively activate methane using non-thermal plasma, the conversion of methane is measured in a planar-type dielectric barrier discharge reactor using three different noble gases—Ar, Kr, and Xe—as additives. In addition to the methane conversion results at various applied voltages, the discharge characteristics such as electron temperature and electron density were calculated through zero-dimensional calculations. Moreover, the threshold energies of excitation and ionization were used to distinguish the dominant particle for activating methane between electrons, excited atoms, and ionized atoms. From the experiments and calculations, the selection of the additive noble gas is found to affect not only the conversion of methane but also the selectivity of product gases even under similar electron temperature and electron density conditions

  11. Overcoming natural replication barriers: differential helicase requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anand, Ranjith P; Shah, Kartik A; Niu, Hengyao; Sung, Patrick; Mirkin, Sergei M; Freudenreich, Catherine H

    2012-02-01

    DNA sequences that form secondary structures or bind protein complexes are known barriers to replication and potential inducers of genome instability. In order to determine which helicases facilitate DNA replication across these barriers, we analyzed fork progression through them in wild-type and mutant yeast cells, using 2-dimensional gel-electrophoretic analysis of the replication intermediates. We show that the Srs2 protein facilitates replication of hairpin-forming CGG/CCG repeats and prevents chromosome fragility at the repeat, whereas it does not affect replication of G-quadruplex forming sequences or a protein-bound repeat. Srs2 helicase activity is required for hairpin unwinding and fork progression. Also, the PCNA binding domain of Srs2 is required for its in vivo role of replication through hairpins. In contrast, the absence of Sgs1 or Pif1 helicases did not inhibit replication through structural barriers, though Pif1 did facilitate replication of a telomeric protein barrier. Interestingly, replication through a protein barrier but not a DNA structure barrier was modulated by nucleotide pool levels, illuminating a different mechanism by which cells can regulate fork progression through protein-mediated stall sites. Our analyses reveal fundamental differences in the replication of DNA structural versus protein barriers, with Srs2 helicase activity exclusively required for fork progression through hairpin structures.

  12. Activation barrier scaling and crossover for noise-induced switching in micromechanical parametric oscillators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, H B; Stambaugh, C

    2007-08-10

    We explore fluctuation-induced switching in parametrically driven micromechanical torsional oscillators. The oscillators possess one, two, or three stable attractors depending on the modulation frequency. Noise induces transitions between the coexisting attractors. Near the bifurcation points, the activation barriers are found to have a power law dependence on frequency detuning with critical exponents that are in agreement with predicted universal scaling relationships. At large detuning, we observe a crossover to a different power law dependence with an exponent that is device specific.

  13. Exotic geophysical phenomena observed in an environmental neutron flux study using EAS PRISMA detectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alekseenko Victor

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Some exotic geophysical events are observed by a global net of electron-neutron detectors (en-detectors developed in the framework of the PRISMA EAS project. Our en-detectors running both on the Earth's surface and underground are continuously measuring the environmental thermal neutron flux. Thermal neutrons are in equilibrium with media and are therefore sensitive to many geophysical phenomena, which are exotic for people studying ultra high-energy cosmic rays or carrying out low background experiments deep underground.

  14. Autonomic nervous system activation mediates the increase in whole-body glucose uptake in response to electroacupuncture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benrick, Anna; Kokosar, Milana; Hu, Min

    2017-01-01

    was higher after EA in controls and women with PCOS. Plasma serotonin levels and homovanillic acid, markers of vagal activity, decreased in both controls and patients with PCOS. Adipose tissue expression of pro-nerve growth factor (proNGF) decreased, and the mature NGF/proNGF ratio increased after EA in PCOS...... of EA increases whole-body glucose uptake by activation of the sympathetic and partly the parasympathetic nervous systems, which could have important clinical implications for the treatment of insulin resistance.-Benrick, A., Kokosar, M., Hu, M., Larsson, M., Maliqueo, M., Marcondes, R. R., Soligo, M......., Protto, V., Jerlhag, E., Sazonova, A., Behre, C. J., Højlund, K., Thorén, P., Stener-Victorin, E. Autonomic nervous system activation mediates the increase in whole-body glucose uptake in response to electroacupuncture....

  15. Multivalent adhesion molecule 7 clusters act as signaling platform for host cellular GTPase activation and facilitate epithelial barrier dysfunction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jenson Lim

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an emerging bacterial pathogen which colonizes the gastrointestinal tract and can cause severe enteritis and bacteraemia. During infection, V. parahaemolyticus primarily attaches to the small intestine, where it causes extensive tissue damage and compromises epithelial barrier integrity. We have previously described that Multivalent Adhesion Molecule (MAM 7 contributes to initial attachment of V. parahaemolyticus to epithelial cells. Here we show that the bacterial adhesin, through multivalent interactions between surface-induced adhesin clusters and phosphatidic acid lipids in the host cell membrane, induces activation of the small GTPase RhoA and actin rearrangements in host cells. In infection studies with V. parahaemolyticus we further demonstrate that adhesin-triggered activation of the ROCK/LIMK signaling axis is sufficient to redistribute tight junction proteins, leading to a loss of epithelial barrier function. Taken together, these findings show an unprecedented mechanism by which an adhesin acts as assembly platform for a host cellular signaling pathway, which ultimately facilitates breaching of the epithelial barrier by a bacterial pathogen.

  16. Barriers, motivators, and facilitators of physical activity in dementia patients: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Alphen, Helena J M; Hortobágyi, Tibor; van Heuvelen, Marieke J G

    2016-01-01

    Physical activity (PA) has the potential to slow the progression of dementia patients' cognitive and physical decline. A better understanding of the factors that facilitate or hamper dementia patients' PA participation will increase the success rate of implementing PA in dementia patients' daily care. We systematically screened the barriers, motivators, and facilitators of PA participation in dementia patients, complementing previous analyses of quantitative correlates of PA in community-dwelling dementia patients. Systematic searches yielded 78 potential studies of which seven met the eligibility criteria including 39 dementia patients and 36 caregivers (33 spouses and three daughters). We identified 35 barriers, 26 motivators, and 21 facilitators related to PA. We reduced these factors to six themes within the social-ecological model. Prominent barriers to PA were physical and mental limitations and difficulties with guidance and organization of PA by caregivers. Motivators included the motivation to maintain physical and mental health and participate in preferred PA options. Facilitators included strategies to avoid health problems, providing support and guidance for PA, and access to convenient and personalized PA options. The emerging picture suggests that dementia patients' PA participation will increase if service providers become familiar with the health benefits of PA, the characteristics of PA programs, methods of delivery, and the concepts of how such programs can be personalized to and synchronized with patients' individual needs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A comparison of professional-level faculty and student perceptions of active learning: its current use, effectiveness, and barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metz, Michael J.

    2014-01-01

    Active learning is an instructional method in which students become engaged participants in the classroom through the use of in-class written exercises, games, problem sets, audience-response systems, debates, class discussions, etc. Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of active learning strategies, minimal adoption of the technique has occurred in many professional programs. The goal of this study was to compare the perceptions of active learning between students who were exposed to active learning in the classroom (n = 116) and professional-level physiology faculty members (n = 9). Faculty members reported a heavy reliance on lectures and minimal use of educational games and activities, whereas students indicated that they learned best via the activities. A majority of faculty members (89%) had observed active learning in the classroom and predicted favorable effects of the method on student performance and motivation. The main reported barriers by faculty members to the adoption of active learning were a lack of necessary class time, a high comfort level with traditional lectures, and insufficient time to develop materials. Students hypothesized similar obstacles for faculty members but also associated many negative qualities with the traditional lecturers. Despite these barriers, a majority of faculty members (78%) were interested in learning more about the alternative teaching strategy. Both faculty members and students indicated that active learning should occupy portions (29% vs. 40%) of face-to-face class time. PMID:25179615

  18. Optimal Mutation Rates for the (1+lambda) EA on OneMax Through Asymptotically Tight Drift Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gießen, Christian; Witt, Carsten

    2018-01-01

    We study the (1+) EA, a classical population-based evolutionary algorithm, with mutation probability c / n, where and are constant, on the benchmark function OneMax, which counts the number of 1-bits in a bitstring. We improve a well-established result that allows to determine the first hitting t...... that mutation rates up to 10% larger than the asymptotically optimal rate 1 / n minimize the expected runtime. However, in absolute terms the expected runtime does not change by much when replacing 1 / n with the optimal mutation rate....... drift is known. This reduces the analysis of expected optimization time to finding an exact expression for the drift. We then give an exact closed-form expression for the drift and develop a method to approximate it very efficiently, enabling us to determine approximate optimal mutation rates for the (1......+) EA for various parameter settings of c and and also for moderate sizes of n. This makes the need for potentially lengthy and costly experiments in order to optimize c for fixed n and for the optimization of OneMax unnecessary. Interestingly, even for moderate n and not too small it turns out...

  19. Differentiation of lard, chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat by GCMS and EA-IRMS techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad Nizar, Nina Naquiah; Nazrim Marikkar, Jalaldeen Mohamed; Hashim, Dzulkifly Mat

    2013-01-01

    A study was conducted to differentiate lard, chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Elemental Analyzer-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA-IRMS). The comparison of overall fatty acid data showed that lard and chicken fat share common characteristics by having palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid as major fatty acids while beef and mutton fats shared common characteristics by possessing palmitic, stearic and oleic acid as major fatty acids. The direct comparisons among the fatty acid data, therefore, may not be suitable for discrimination of different animal fats. When the fatty acid distributional data was subjected to Principle Component Analysis (PCA), it was demonstrated that stearic, oleic and linoleic acids as the most discriminating parameters in the clustering of animal fats into four subclasses. The bulk carbon analysis of animal fats using EA-IRMS showed that determination of the carbon isotope ratios (δ¹³C) would be a good indicator for discriminating lard, chicken fat, beef fat and mutton fat. This would lead to a faster and more efficient method to ascertain the source of origin of fats used in food products.

  20. A Study of Female Students' Perceptions of the Barriers to Participate in Physical and Sports Activities at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Tawel, Adnan M.; AlJa'afreh, Ibraheem A.

    2017-01-01

    The study aimed to examine the perceived barriers to participate in physical and sports activities among female university students as well as the potential differences of their perceptions of the barriers based on their academic discipline, academic year, and Grade Point Average (GPA) level. The participants in this study were 221 female students…

  1. An approach to determine multiple enzyme activities in the same soil sample for soil health-biogeochemical indexes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enzyme activities (EAs) are soil health indicators of changes in decomposition processes due to management and the crop(s) affecting the quantity and quality of plant residues and nutrients entering the soil. More commonly assessed soil EAs can provide information of reactions where plant available ...

  2. Exploring physical activity engagement and barriers for asylum seekers in Australia coping with prolonged uncertainty and no right to work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartley, Lisa; Fleay, Caroline; Tye, Marian E

    2017-05-01

    This paper explores the engagement in physical activity as a potential coping strategy for asylum seekers living in the Australian community without the right to work and with prolonged uncertainty, and benefits or barriers to undertaking such activity. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with 29 asylum seekers who had arrived to Australia by boat and were living in the community in the cities of Perth, Sydney or Melbourne in July-October 2013 after their release from immigration detention. The ratio of the numbers of men and women interviewed (23 men and 6 women) was comparable to the ratio of men and women who came by boat to Australia seeking asylum in 2012-2013. Nine participants reported that they participated in physical activity as a coping strategy. Seven other participants were so worried about their future and their families that they did not have the mental or physical energy to engage in physical activity. A further six wanted to participate in physical activity but faced a number of barriers to doing so. The seven remaining participants were either not asked about their physical activity engagement because they focused their discussion on other challenges or did not elaborate on why they were not engaging in physical activity. The findings suggest that physical activity, coupled with other coping strategies, are important for some asylum seekers in trying to manage the distress of being denied the right to work and living with prolonged uncertainty. In addition, these findings highlight the critical barrier that government policy plays in disabling engagement in physical activity, which further compounds social exclusion. This includes the lack of welfare support provided, which hinders people's financial ability to access activities and support in the community. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Importance of sports during youth and exercise barriers in 20- to 29-year-old male nonathletes differently motivated for regular physical activities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leyk, Dieter; Witzki, Alexander; Sievert, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    The number of sedentary young adults has dramatically increased in past decades, and sedentary lifestyles are adopted at an increasingly earlier age. Little is known about barriers or predictors to (re)initiate regular physical activity in this group. The purpose of the study is to (a) identify...... subgroups in nonathletes differing in their amenability to physical exercise, (b) to analyze them for differences in barriers and intention to exercise, and (c) compare importance of sports during youth in nonathletes to trained peers. Using a health and fitness questionnaire 589 nonathletes were queried.......5%), the other groups showed significantly more barriers and a broader distribution. Similar characteristics but minor differences were observed for perceived importance of sports during youth. The most significant differences between athletes and nonathletes emerged enquiring the attitude and activity...

  4. Leisure time physical activity participation in individuals with spinal cord injury in Malaysia: barriers to exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mat Rosly, Maziah; Halaki, Mark; Hasnan, Nazirah; Mat Rosly, Hadi; Davis, Glen M; Husain, Ruby

    2018-02-06

    Cross-sectional. An epidemiological study describing leisure time physical activities (LTPA) and the associations of barriers, sociodemographic and injury characteristics to moderate-vigorous aerobic exercise participation among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in a developing Southeast Asian country. SCI community in Malaysia. The study sample consisted of 70 participants with SCI. Questionnaires were distributed containing an abbreviated Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities (items 2-6) and the Barriers to Exercise Scale using a 5-tier Likert format. Statistical analyses were χ 2 tests, odds ratios, and binary forward stepwise logistic regression to assess the association and to predict factors related to participation in moderate-vigorous intensity aerobic exercise (items 4 and 5). Seventy-three percent of the study sample did not participate in any form of moderate or vigorous LTPA. The top three barriers to undertaking LTPA (strongly agree and agree descriptors) were expensive exercise equipment (54%), pain (37%) and inaccessible facilities (36%). Participants over the age of 35 years, ethnicity, health concerns, perceiving exercise as difficult and indicating lack of transport were significantly different (p exercise type of LTPA. Age, ethnicity, indicated health concerns and lack of transport were the significant predictors in likelihood of participating in moderate-vigorous LTPA (p exercising is too difficult, pain while exercising, age more than 35), interpersonal (different ethnicity), community (expensive exercise equipment), and policy levels (lack of or poor access to transportation, inaccessible facilities) that prevent LTPA participation.

  5. Barriers to Physical Activity in a Population-based Sample of Children and Adolescents in Isfahan, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roya Kelishadi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This study was conducted to explore the barriers to physical activity in a representative sample of Iranian children and adolescents.Methods: The studywas conducted in 2007 in urban and rural areas of Isfahan district in Iran. In the qualitative part,we used the grounded theory approach, including semi-structured focus group discussionsand in-depth interviews. The quantitative part comprised 600 randomly selected students.Results: The qualitative study included 34 school students (16 girls, 20 parents (11 mothers and 11 school staff. All students disclosed that studying was a priority.They pointed to lack of safe and easy-access place for physical activity and unsupportive family as the main barriers. Lack of self-confidence and low self-worth were the two other concepts developed in this context.Parents pointed to lack of safe and easy-access place for activity followed by the priority of studying. The concepts derived from interviews with school staff included unhealthy modeling of parents, priority of studying, and inadequate public know-ledge about how to integrate physical activity in routine daily life.The quantitative survey comprised 600 students including 286 (47.8% girls. Parents’ education level had inverse association with children’s physical activity level. Significant inverse associations of self-efficacy and physical activity levels were documented.Conclusions: Increasing the public knowledge about adopting physical activity habits in routinedaily life, informing the families and students about the benefits of physical activity to improvelearning, as well as providing safe places such as using the school facilities in non-school hoursshould be considered in planning effective preventive strategies and interventions.

  6. Remote identification of research and educational activities using spectral properties of nighttime light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rybnikova, Nataliya A.; Portnov, Boris A.

    2017-06-01

    Research and educational activities (R&EAs) are major forces behind modern economic growth. However, data on geographic location of such activities are often poorly reported. According to our research hypothesis, intensities and spectral properties of artificial light-at-night (ALAN) can be used for remote identification of R&EAs, due to their unique ALAN signatures. In order to develop activity identification models, we carried out a series of in situ measurements of ALAN intensities and spectral properties in a major metropolitan area in Israel. For this task, we used an illuminance CL-500A spectrophotometer that measures the total intensity and spectral irradiance of ALAN, incremented by a 1-nm pitch, from 360 to 780 nm. As our analysis shows, logistic regressions, incorporating ALAN intensities at the peak or near-peak wavelengths, and geographical attributes of the measurement sites as controls, succeeded to predict correctly up to 98.6% of the actual locations of R&EAs. A digital camera satellite image, obtained from the Astronaut Photography Database, was used for the model's validation. According to the validation results, the actual locations of R&EAs coincided well with the estimated high probability areas, as confirmed by the values of Cohen's Kappa index of up to 64%, which indicate a reasonable level of agreement.

  7. Barriers to Self-Motivated Conceptual Music Learning: Activity Theory as a Framework for Comparing Dissimilar Cases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt-Jones, Catherine

    2018-01-01

    This paper describes the use of activity theory to compare dissimilar cases in a study of adult online music learners. The purpose of the study was to better understand the barriers that keep self-motivated users of online open education resources from experiencing successful independent learning. Eleven participants were given tutoring-style help…

  8. The effects of temperature on Schottky diode barrier height and evidence of multiple barrier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabah, K.V.O.

    1994-07-01

    Experimental study of Capacitance-Voltage-Temperature (C-V-T) plots, Current-Voltage-Temperature (I-V-T) characteristics have been undertaken in order to determine the height of the Schottky barrier. The results of the barrier height obtained by the above two methods were found to differ as well as vary with temperature change. In view of this discrepancy in barrier height values, two further experiments were performed: one on activation energy (I-T) plots and the other on pulsed (I-V-T) characteristics, and the results were found to show a similar trend. The Schottky diode studied was a 30CP040. (author). 23 refs, 9 figs, 3 tabs

  9. REDES TECNOLÓGICAS APLICADAS EM EaD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suélly Lima dos Santos

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Com o advento da internet e o aparecimento das novas tecnologias educacionais, conjunto de informações e comunicações (telefone, internet, rádio, vídeo, computador e televisão, ultrapassaram as fronteiras das quatro paredes da sala de aula, surgindo ambientes virtuais direcionadas à ampliação da participação dos serviços públicos relacionados ao ensino. À educação e à formação técnica e profissional permitiu-se o aumento da interatividade através da tecnologia, promovendo maneiras de acesso ao aluno utilizando computadores e/ou dispositivos móveis que viabiliza a Educação à Distância (EaD. Devido o grande crescimento do ensino à distância, as instituições já utilizam redes de dados para ampliar o acesso de aprendizagem. Com este espantoso aumento das redes, e da acelerada transmissão de informações aprender como elas funcionam é muito importante, além do mais usando a própria tecnologia para este fim. Como conclusão deste trabalho as mudanças relâmpadas da grande disponibilidade de dados no ambiente virtual é de enorme valia para o processo ensino-aprendizado.

  10. Barriers to, and Facilitators of Physical Activity in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer: An exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mas, Sébastien; Quantin, Xavier; Ninot, Grégory

    2015-01-01

    Physical activity (PA) has a positive effect on the cardiorespiratory fitness, lung cancer symptoms, and quality of life of lung cancer patients. The aim of our study was to identify barriers to, and facilitators of PA in lung cancer patients. We collected data from five patients diagnosed with primary, advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who were receiving chemotherapy. Choosing a qualitative approach, we conducted an exploratory analysis using the thematic analysis technique to process the data. Seven barriers to, and facilitators of PA were identified and grouped into four categories. We found that psychological and social factors affect patients' willingness and ability to engage in PA, while physiological and environmental factors have an impact on the duration, intensity, and regularity of their PA. Our study highlighted some of the effects that the barriers to PA have on the practice of it in our patient group. Our findings may be used by professionals to design adapted PA programs.

  11. Engineered barriers: current status 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atkinson, A.; Marsh, G.B.

    1989-06-01

    This report summarises the current state of research relevant to assessing the performance of engineered barriers made of steel and concrete in radioactive waste repositories. The objective of these barriers is to contain substantially the radionuclides within them by providing both physical and chemical impediment to their release. The physical barriers are of most value for highly soluble isotopes with relatively short half-lives (eg 137 Cs), since they can provide a measure of containment until a large fraction of the activity has decayed. In addition they can facilitate retrievability for some period after disposal. The chemical barriers operate by beneficial conditioning of the near field groundwater and providing sites for sorption of radionuclides. Both of these reduce the aqueous concentration of radionuclides in the near field. (author)

  12. How does a lifestyle intervention during pregnancy influence perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity? The Norwegian fit for delivery study, a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haakstad, Lene A H; Vistad, Ingvild; Sagedal, Linda Reme; Lohne-Seiler, Hilde; Torstveit, Monica K

    2018-05-03

    To develop effective health promotional and preventive prenatal programs, it is important to understand perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy, including exercise and sport participation. The aims of the present study was 1) to assess the effect of prenatal lifestyle intervention on the perceived barrier to leisure-time physical activity during pregnancy and the first year after delivery and 2) identify the most important perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity at multiple time points during and after pregnancy. This secondary analysis was part of the Norwegian Fit for Delivery study, a combined lifestyle intervention evaluated in a blinded, randomized controlled trial. Healthy, nulliparous women with singleton pregnancy of ≤20 gestational weeks, age ≥ 18 years and body mass index ≥19 kg/m 2 were recruited via healthcare clinics in southern Norway, including urban and rural settings. Participants were randomized to either twice-weekly supervised exercise sessions and nutritional counselling (n = 303) or standard prenatal care (n = 303). The principal analysis was based on the participants who completed the standardized questionnaire assessing their perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity at inclusion (gestational week 16, n = 589) and following intervention (gestational week 36, n = 509), as well as six months (n = 470) and 12 months (n = 424) postpartum. Following intervention (gestation week 35.4 ± 1.0), a significant between-group difference in perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity was found with respect to time constraints: "... I do not have the time" (intervention: 22 vs. control: 38, p = 0.030), mother-child safety concerns: "... afraid to harm the baby" (intervention: 8 vs. control: 25, p = 0.002) and self-efficacy: "... I do not believe/think that I can do it" (intervention: 3 vs. control: 10, p = 0.050). No positive effect was seen

  13. Chemicals having estrogenic activity can be released from some bisphenol A-free, hard and clear, thermoplastic resins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bittner, George D; Denison, Michael S; Yang, Chun Z; Stoner, Matthew A; He, Guochun

    2014-12-04

    Chemicals that have estrogenic activity (EA) can potentially cause adverse health effects in mammals including humans, sometimes at low doses in fetal through juvenile stages with effects detected in adults. Polycarbonate (PC) thermoplastic resins made from bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has EA, are now often avoided in products used by babies. Other BPA-free thermoplastic resins, some hypothesized or advertised to be EA-free, are replacing PC resins used to make reusable hard and clear thermoplastic products such as baby bottles. We used two very sensitive and accurate in vitro assays (MCF-7 and BG1Luc human cell lines) to quantify the EA of chemicals leached into ethanol or water/saline extracts of fourteen unstressed or stressed (autoclaving, microwaving, UV radiation) thermoplastic resins. Estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent agonist responses were confirmed by their inhibition with the ER antagonist ICI 182,780. Our data showed that some (4/14) unstressed and stressed BPA-free thermoplastic resins leached chemicals having significant levels of EA, including one polystyrene (PS), and three Tritan™ resins, the latter reportedly EA-free. Exposure to UV radiation in natural sunlight resulted in an increased release of EA from Tritan™ resins. Triphenyl-phosphate (TPP), an additive used to manufacture some thermoplastic resins such as Tritan™, exhibited EA in both MCF-7 and BG1Luc assays. Ten unstressed or stressed glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG), cyclic olefin polymer (COP) or copolymer (COC) thermoplastic resins did not release chemicals with detectable EA under any test condition. This hazard survey study assessed the release of chemicals exhibiting EA as detected by two sensitive, widely used and accepted, human cell line in vitro assays. Four PC replacement resins (Tritan™ and PS) released chemicals having EA. However, ten other PC-replacement resins did not leach chemicals having EA (EA-free-resins). These results indicate that PC

  14. Engineered barrier development for a nuclear waste repository in basalt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, M.J.

    1980-05-01

    The BWIP Engineered Barrier Program has been developed to provide an integrated approach to the development of site-specific Engineered Barrier assemblages for a repository located in basalt. The goal of this program is to specify engineered and natural barriers which will ensure that nuclear and non-radioactive hazardous materials emplaced in a repository in basalt do not exceed acceptable rates of release to the biosphere. A wide range of analytical and experimental activities related to the basalt repository environment, waste package environment, waste/barrier/rock interactions, and barrier performance assessment provide the basis for selection of systems capable of meeting licensing requirements. Work has concentrated on specifying and testing natural and man-made materials which can be used to plug boreholes in basalt and which can be used as multiple barriers to surround nuclear waste forms and containers. The Engineered Barriers Program is divided into two major activities: multiple barrier studies and borehole plugging. 8 figures, 4 tables

  15. WH-EA: An Evolutionary Algorithm for Wiener-Hammerstein System Identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Zambrano

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Current methods to identify Wiener-Hammerstein systems using Best Linear Approximation (BLA involve at least two steps. First, BLA is divided into obtaining front and back linear dynamics of the Wiener-Hammerstein model. Second, a refitting procedure of all parameters is carried out to reduce modelling errors. In this paper, a novel approach to identify Wiener-Hammerstein systems in a single step is proposed. This approach is based on a customized evolutionary algorithm (WH-EA able to look for the best BLA split, capturing at the same time the process static nonlinearity with high precision. Furthermore, to correct possible errors in BLA estimation, the locations of poles and zeros are subtly modified within an adequate search space to allow a fine-tuning of the model. The performance of the proposed approach is analysed by using a demonstration example and a nonlinear system identification benchmark.

  16. Enablers and barriers to physical activity in overweight and obese pregnant women: an analysis informed by the theoretical domains framework and COM-B model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flannery, C; McHugh, S; Anaba, A E; Clifford, E; O'Riordan, M; Kenny, L C; McAuliffe, F M; Kearney, P M; Byrne, M

    2018-05-21

    Obesity during pregnancy is associated with increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and other complications. Physical activity is a modifiable lifestyle factor that may help to prevent these complications but many women reduce their physical activity levels during pregnancy. Interventions targeting physical activity in pregnancy are on-going but few identify the underlying behaviour change mechanisms by which the intervention is expected to work. To enhance intervention effectiveness, recent tools in behavioural science such as the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and COM-B model (capability, opportunity, motivation and behaviour) have been employed to understand behaviours for intervention development. Using these behaviour change methods, this study aimed to identify the enablers and barriers to physical activity in overweight and obese pregnant women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of overweight and obese women at different stages of pregnancy attending a public antenatal clinic in a large academic maternity hospital in Cork, Ireland. Interviews were recorded and transcribed into NVivo V.10 software. Data analysis followed the framework approach, drawing on the TDF and the COM-B model. Twenty one themes were identified and these mapped directly on to the COM-B model of behaviour change and ten of the TDF domains. Having the social opportunity to engage in physical activity was identified as an enabler; pregnant women suggested being active was easier when supported by their partners. Knowledge was a commonly reported barrier with women lacking information on safe activities during pregnancy and describing the information received from their midwife as 'limited'. Having the physical capability and physical opportunity to carry out physical activity were also identified as barriers; experiencing pain, a lack of time, having other children, and working prevented women from being active. A wide range of barriers

  17. Barriers to adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy as expressed by people living with HIV/AIDS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proctor, V E; Tesfa, A; Tompkins, D C

    1999-09-01

    The primary objective of this study was to gain a clearer understanding of the barriers to adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) faced by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV/AIDS) on Long Island, New York. Focus group, a qualitative research method, was used to study these barriers. The study was conducted in 1998 on Long Island, NY, at five institutions that provide services to 1700 PLWHIV/AIDS. Five focus groups were conducted with 6 to 13 PLWHIV/AIDS in each group, a total of 39 subjects. PLWHIV/AIDS identified eight common barriers to adherence to HAART. In descending order, the barriers include: (1) frequency and severity of side effects, (2) conflicts with daily routines, (3) dietary requirements, (4) frequency of taking medications, (5) number and dosage of medications, (6) psychosocial factors (i.e., stress, feeling good, and bad news), (7) pharmacy refills, and (8) physiological needs (i.e., sleep, hunger, or thirst). Many factors play a role in the success or failure of HAART, including preexisting drug resistance, drug-drug interactions, and the ability of PLWHIV/AIDS to adhere to a rigid and frequently changing medication regimen. The information gleaned from focus groups is limited in that it may not be generalized to a larger population with any known reliability. However, clinicians sensitive to barriers to adherence to HAART, including those identified by PLWHIV/AIDS in this study, may play a more proactive role in supporting adherence to the medication regimen, increasing the durability of effective viral suppression, decreasing morbidity and mortality, and decreasing the selection and transmission of resistant strains of HIV.

  18. A comparison of professional-level faculty and student perceptions of active learning: its current use, effectiveness, and barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Cynthia J; Metz, Michael J

    2014-09-01

    Active learning is an instructional method in which students become engaged participants in the classroom through the use of in-class written exercises, games, problem sets, audience-response systems, debates, class discussions, etc. Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of active learning strategies, minimal adoption of the technique has occurred in many professional programs. The goal of this study was to compare the perceptions of active learning between students who were exposed to active learning in the classroom (n = 116) and professional-level physiology faculty members (n = 9). Faculty members reported a heavy reliance on lectures and minimal use of educational games and activities, whereas students indicated that they learned best via the activities. A majority of faculty members (89%) had observed active learning in the classroom and predicted favorable effects of the method on student performance and motivation. The main reported barriers by faculty members to the adoption of active learning were a lack of necessary class time, a high comfort level with traditional lectures, and insufficient time to develop materials. Students hypothesized similar obstacles for faculty members but also associated many negative qualities with the traditional lecturers. Despite these barriers, a majority of faculty members (78%) were interested in learning more about the alternative teaching strategy. Both faculty members and students indicated that active learning should occupy portions (29% vs. 40%) of face-to-face class time. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

  19. Mass yield distributions for the reactions Ca+Ca, Nb+Nb and Ca+Ca at E/A=800 MeV in the molecular-dynamical model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kiselev, S.M.

    1987-01-01

    Mass yield distributions obtained on the basis of the molecular-dynamical model are presented for the Ca+Ca, Nb+Nb reactions at E/A=400 MeV and Ca+Ca reaction at E/A=800 MeV. For the fragments with masses upto quarter of the mass of initial nucleus the model predicts a power law for mass spectra with almost the same value of the exponent. Such the behaviour is roughly a result of the superposition of the fireball breakup and the disintegration of spectator regions rather than the evidence of a liquid-gas-like phase transition in hot nuclear matter

  20. Multigap resistive plate chambers for EAS study in the EEE Project

    CERN Document Server

    An, S; Badalà, A; Zichichi, A

    2007-01-01

    The EEE (Extreme Energy Events) Project, conceived by its leader Antonino Zichichi, is an experiment to study very high-energetic air showers (EAS) through the detection of the shower's muon component using a network of tracking detectors, installed in Italian high schools. The single tracking telescope is composed of three large area () Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs). The data collected by the telescopes will be used for studies of air showers and also for the search of time correlations between sites which are far apart. The first telescope, recently installed in the Liceo B. Touschek in Grottaferrata (Rome), is successfully running, and other telescopes are going to be installed in a short time in other towns, opening up the way for the first search of long-distance coincidences over a total area of .

  1. A Comparison of Motivational Factors and Barriers to Physical Activity among Traditional versus Nontraditional College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulavic, Kimberly; Hultquist, Cherilyn N.; McLester, John R.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the motivational factors and the barriers to physical activity (PA) in traditional college students (TS) and nontraditional college students (NTS) and determine if differences exist between these 2 groups. Participants: A total of 746 college students; 628 were TS (19.1 [plus-minus] 1.2 years), and 118 were NTS (31.2…

  2. Determination of Free Radical Scavenging, Antioxidative DNA Damage Activities and Phytochemical Components of Active Fractions from Lansium domesticum Corr. Fruit

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klungsupya, Prapaipat; Suthepakul, Nava; Muangman, Thanchanok; Rerk-Am, Ubon; Thongdon-A, Jeerayu

    2015-01-01

    Lansium domesticum Corr. or “long-kong” is one of the most popular fruits in Thailand. Its peel (skin, SK) and seeds (SD) become waste unless recycled or applied for use. This study was undertaken to determine the bioactivity and phytochemical components of L. domesticum (LD) skin and seed extracts. Following various extraction and fractionation procedures, 12 fractions were obtained. All fractions were tested for antioxidant capacity against O2−• and OH•. It was found that the peel of L. domesticum fruits exhibited higher O2−• and OH• scavenging activity than seeds. High potential antioxidant activity was found in two fractions of 50% ethanol extract of peel followed by ethyl acetate (EA) fractionation (LDSK50-EA) and its aqueous phase (LDSK50-H2O). Therefore, these two active fractions were selected for further studies on their antioxidative activity against DNA damage by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in human TK6 cells using comet assay. The comet results revealed DNA-protective activity of both LDSK50-EA and LDSK50-H2O fractions when TK6 human lymphoblast cells were pre-treated at 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL for 24 h prior to H2O2 exposure. The phytochemical analysis illustrated the presence of phenolic substances, mainly scopoletin, rutin, and chlorogenic acid, in these two active fractions. This study generates new information on the biological activity of L. domesticum. It will promote and strengthen the utilization of L. domesticum by-products. PMID:26287238

  3. Determination of Free Radical Scavenging, Antioxidative DNA Damage Activities and Phytochemical Components of Active Fractions from Lansium domesticum Corr. Fruit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prapaipat Klungsupya

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Lansium domesticum Corr. or “long-kong” is one of the most popular fruits in Thailand. Its peel (skin, SK and seeds (SD become waste unless recycled or applied for use. This study was undertaken to determine the bioactivity and phytochemical components of L. domesticum (LD skin and seed extracts. Following various extraction and fractionation procedures, 12 fractions were obtained. All fractions were tested for antioxidant capacity against O2−• and OH•. It was found that the peel of L. domesticum fruits exhibited higher O2−• and OH• scavenging activity than seeds. High potential antioxidant activity was found in two fractions of 50% ethanol extract of peel followed by ethyl acetate (EA fractionation (LDSK50-EA and its aqueous phase (LDSK50-H2O. Therefore, these two active fractions were selected for further studies on their antioxidative activity against DNA damage by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 in human TK6 cells using comet assay. The comet results revealed DNA-protective activity of both LDSK50-EA and LDSK50-H2O fractions when TK6 human lymphoblast cells were pre-treated at 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL for 24 h prior to H2O2 exposure. The phytochemical analysis illustrated the presence of phenolic substances, mainly scopoletin, rutin, and chlorogenic acid, in these two active fractions. This study generates new information on the biological activity of L. domesticum. It will promote and strengthen the utilization of L. domesticum by-products.

  4. 3α-breakup-induced dynamical polarization potential of 12C at E/A >= 10 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubono, S.; Sugitani, M.; Tanaka, M.H.; Morita, K.; Sakuragi, Y.; Kamimura, M.

    1985-06-01

    The important role of the 3α-breakup processes to the optical potential of 12 C at E/A >= 10 MeV has been shown by observing directly the excitation of the 7.65-MeV 0 2 + state which breaks into 3α clusters. The 3α-breakup processes also explain well the previously unknown reduction factor for the exit-channel real potential for the same state. (author)

  5. Low-Frequency Electroacupuncture Improves Insulin Sensitivity in Obese Diabetic Mice through Activation of SIRT1/PGC-1α in Skeletal Muscle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengxia Liang

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Electroacupuncture (EA has been observed to reduce insulin resistance in obesity and diabetes. However, the biochemical mechanism underlying this effect remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of low-frequency EA on metabolic action in genetically obese and type 2 diabetic db/db mice. Nine-week-old db/m and db/db mice were randomly divided into four groups, namely, db/m, db/m + EA, db/db, and db/db + EA. db/m + EA and db/db + EA mice received 3-Hz electroacupuncture five times weekly for eight consecutive weeks. In db/db mice, EA tempered the increase in fasting blood glucose, food intake, and body mass and maintained insulin levels. In EA-treated db/db mice, improved insulin sensitivity was established through intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test. EA was likewise observed to decrease free fatty acid levels in db/db mice; it increased protein expression in skeletal muscle Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1 and induced gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator (PGC-, nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1, and acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX. These results indicated that EA offers a beneficial effect on insulin resistance in obese and diabetic db/db mice, at least partly, via stimulation of SIRT1/PGC-, thus resulting in improved insulin signal.

  6. Activation energies of diffusion for I and Cs in interlayer of smectite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, H.

    2009-01-01

    The apparent diffusivities (Da) and activation energies (ΔEa) for I - and Cs + ions in compacted Na-smectite with an interlayer space of only 2 water layers were measured at a dry density of 1.79 Mg/m 3 . In-diffusion experiments were carried out under the conditions that interlayer space, orientation of smectite stacks and dry density were controlled. Basal spacing was checked by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). All diffraction peaks to d(001) indicated basal spacing, of which interlayer space was equal to 2 water layers. The ΔEa of I - ions was at similar level as that for the ionic diffusivity of I - ions in free water (Do) at a dry density of 1.0 Mg/m 3 , but was 35.24 kJ/mol at a dry density of 1.79 Mg/m 3 . The ΔEa for Cs + ions was 46.27 kJ/mol which was higher than that for I? ions, at a dry density of 1.79 Mg/m 3 . Such high ΔEa for I - ions in the interlayer of smectite could be explained by the lowering in the activity (a H 2 O ) of interlayer water. Since Cs + ions sorb onto smectite by ion exchange, such high ΔEa for Cs + ions could be explained by the combined effects of the Cs+/Na+ ion exchange enthalpy (ΔH o ) in smectite and the lowering in the a H 2 O of interlayer water. (author)

  7. Permeable reactive barrier of surface hydrophobic granular activated carbon coupled with elemental iron for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang Ji, E-mail: yangji@ecust.edu.cn [School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237 (China); Cao Limei; Guo Rui; Jia Jinping [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

    2010-12-15

    Granular activated carbon was modified with dimethyl dichlorosilane to improve its surface hydrophobicity, and therefore to improve the performance of permeable reactive barrier constructed with the modified granular activated carbon and elemental iron. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface silicon concentration of the modified granular activated carbon is higher than that of the original one, leading to the increased surface hydrophobicity. Although the specific surface area decreased from 895 to 835 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}, the modified granular activated carbon could adsorb 20% more 2,4-dichlorophenol than the original one did in water. It is also proven that the permeable reactive barrier with the modified granular activated carbon is more efficient at 2,4-dichlorophenol dechlorination, in which process 2,4-dichlorophenol is transformed to 2-chlorophenol or 4-chlorophenol then to phenol, or to phenol directly.

  8. Permeable reactive barrier of surface hydrophobic granular activated carbon coupled with elemental iron for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Ji; Cao Limei; Guo Rui; Jia Jinping

    2010-01-01

    Granular activated carbon was modified with dimethyl dichlorosilane to improve its surface hydrophobicity, and therefore to improve the performance of permeable reactive barrier constructed with the modified granular activated carbon and elemental iron. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface silicon concentration of the modified granular activated carbon is higher than that of the original one, leading to the increased surface hydrophobicity. Although the specific surface area decreased from 895 to 835 m 2 g -1 , the modified granular activated carbon could adsorb 20% more 2,4-dichlorophenol than the original one did in water. It is also proven that the permeable reactive barrier with the modified granular activated carbon is more efficient at 2,4-dichlorophenol dechlorination, in which process 2,4-dichlorophenol is transformed to 2-chlorophenol or 4-chlorophenol then to phenol, or to phenol directly.

  9. Historical changes in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier-island chain and the roles of extreme storms, sea level, and human activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, R.A.

    2008-01-01

    Barrier-island chains worldwide are undergoing substantial changes, and their futures remain uncertain. An historical analysis of a barrier-island chain in the north-central Gulf of Mexico shows that the Mississippi barriers are undergoing rapid systematic land loss and translocation associated with: (1) unequal lateral transfer of sand related to greater updrift erosion compared to downdrift deposition; (2) barrier narrowing resulting from simultaneous erosion of shores along the Gulf and Mississippi Sound; and (3) barrier segmentation related to storm breaching. Dauphin Island, Alabama, is also losing land for some of the same reasons as it gradually migrates landward. The principal causes of land loss are frequent intense storms, a relative rise in sea level, and a sediment-budget deficit. Considering the predicted trends for storms and sea level related to global warming, it is certain that the Mississippi-Alabama (MS-AL) barrier islands will continue to lose land area at a rapid rate unless the trend of at least one causal factor reverses. Historical land-loss trends and engineering records show that progressive increases in land-loss rate correlate with nearly simultaneous deepening of channels dredged across the outer bars of the three tidal inlets maintained for deep-draft shipping. This correlation indicates that channel-maintenance activities along the MS-AL barriers have impacted the sediment budget by disrupting the alongshore sediment transport system and progressively reducing sand supply. Direct management of this causal factor can be accomplished by strategically placing dredged sediment where adjacent barrier-island shores will receive it for island nourishment and rebuilding.

  10. Study on characteristics of high frequency dielectric barrier discharge for the removal of organic pollutant adsorbed on activated carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qu, G.Z.; Li, G.F. [Dalian Univ. of Technology, Dalian (China). Inst. of Electrostatics and Special Power; Li, J.; Lu, N.; Wu, Y.; Li, D. [Dalian Univ. of Technology, Dalian (China). Inst. of Electrostatics and Special Power; Key Lab of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Ministry of Education, Dalian (China)

    2010-07-01

    Advanced oxidation technologies such as photocatalysis, electrochemical degradation, Fenton oxidation, hydrogen peroxide oxidation, and plasma oxidation are increasingly being used to degrade refractory biodegradable organic contaminants. The plasma oxidation method has the advantage of direct in situ production of multiple types of high-reactive chemical species, including molecules and radicals that facilitate the degradation reaction. In addition, plasma oxidation does not produce any secondary pollution. Compared to other plasma technologies, the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has been considered as a promising technology for removing toxic compounds because of its stability and its treatability property of biologically recalcitrant compounds in wastewater. However, the energy efficiency of DBD requires improvement for economic reasons. This paper reported on an experimental study that investigated the electrical characteristics of a parallel plate DBD reactor using a high frequency power supply for the removal of pentachlorophenol (PCP) adsorbed on activated carbon (AC). This study examined the effects of AC with different mass on discharge characteristics and compared the voltage and current waveforms, and discharge images of DBD reactors with different dielectric configurations. When the DBD reactor filled with AC, the applied voltage of discharge decreased regardless of the DBD reactor configuration in terms of having a single barrier or two barriers. The discharge characteristics had no significant change with AC mass increasing. The discharge images and current waveforms showed that DBD reactor configuration consisting of two dielectrics is more homogeneous and stable than the one consisting of a single dielectric. Under the same electric field condition, the degradation efficiency of PCP in two barriers reactor is higher than that in single barrier reactor. It was concluded that the findings from this study may be instrumental in treating

  11. [Current Status of Home Visit Programs: Activities and Barriers of Home Care Nursing Services].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Eui Geum; Lee, Hyun Joo; Kim, Yukyung; Sung, Ji Hyun; Park, Young Su; Yoo, Jae Yong; Woo, Soohee

    2015-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of home care nursing services provided by community health nurses and to identify barriers to the services. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with three types of community health care nurses. Participants were 257 nurses, 46 of whom were hospital based home care nurses, 176 were community based visiting nurses, and 35 were long term care insurance based visiting nurses. A structured questionnaire on 7 domains of home care nursing services with a 4-point Likert scale was used to measure activities and barriers to care. Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 21.0 program. Hospital based home care nurses showed a high level of service performance activity in the domain of clinical laboratory tests, medications and injections, therapeutic nursing, and education. Community based visiting nurses had a high level of service performance in the reference domain. Long term care insurance based visiting nurses showed a high level of performance in the service domains of fundamental nursing and counseling. The results show that although health care service provided by the three types of community health nurse overlapped, the focus of the service is differentiated. Therefore, these results suggest that existing home care services will need to be utilized efficiently in the development of a new nursing care service for patients living in the community after hospital discharge.

  12. Ensino da oralidade em Língua Estrangeira na EaD através de programas de comunicação síncrona. L2 speech teaching in Distance Education (EaD through synchronous communication softwares

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Estivalet, Gustavo L.

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available From the increasing growth of foreign language courses in distance education (EaD, information and communication technology (TIC have been playing a key role for the success of teaching and learning of speaking skills. Hence, synchronous communication softwares such as MSN, GoogleTalk, Skype, Voip, Dim-Dim, VZO Chat, Facebook, among others, have become essential tools for developing this skill in the interaction between students and teachers. Thus, this paper a makes a brief theoretical review of these softwares’ use in teaching speaking skills, b evaluates their use in the UFSC undergraduate distance course on Literature – Bachelor in English Language Teaching, and c discusses the use of synchronous communication softwares for teaching foreign languages in distance education. The adopted methodology included 1 observation on the use of these softwares during the course, 2 a questionnaire answered by the students, and 3 interviews with the teachers. It was observed that these softwares were used mostly in evaluation situations and that there is a demand from the students for broader interaction in foreign language through these tools in a didactic manner. Therefore, in order to develop speaking skills in foreign language in distance education, it is necessary an effective teaching practice through synchronous communication softwares. A partir do grande crescimento dos cursos de línguas estrangeiras (LE na educação a distância (EaD, as tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC passaram a desempenhar um papel fundamental nos processos de ensino e aprendizagem da oralidade em LE. Logo, os programas de comunicação síncrona, como MSN, GoogleTalk, Skype, Voip, Dim-Dim, VZO Chat, Facebook, entre outros, tornaram-se ferramentas essenciais na interação entre alunos e professores no desenvolvimento dessa habilidade. Este artigo realiza a uma breve revisão teórica da utilização desses programas no ensino da oralidade em LE, b avalia

  13. An enhanced rate of tidal disruptions in the centrally overdense E+A galaxy NGC 3156

    OpenAIRE

    Stone, Nicholas C.; van Velzen, Sjoert

    2016-01-01

    Time domain optical surveys have discovered roughly a dozen candidate stellar tidal disruption flares in the last five years, and future surveys like the {\\it Large Synoptic Survey Telescope} will likely find hundreds to thousands more. These tidal disruption events (TDEs) present an interesting puzzle: a majority of the current TDE sample is hosted by rare post-starburst galaxies, and tens of percent are hosted in even rarer E+A galaxies, which make up $\\sim 0.1\\%$ of all galaxies in the loc...

  14. The ethyl acetate fraction of corn silk exhibits dual antioxidant and anti-glycation activities and protects insulin-secreting cells from glucotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chia-Chuan; Yuan, Wei; Roan, Hsiao-Yuh; Chang, Jia-Ling; Huang, Hsiu-Chen; Lee, Yu-Ching; Tsay, Huey Jen; Liu, Hui-Kang

    2016-11-03

    In this study, we aimed to develop a Stigmata Maydis (corn silk) fraction with dual bio-activities against oxidative stress and protein glycation to protect β-cells from diabetes-induced failure. Corn silk fractions were prepared by partition and chemically characterised by thin-layer chromatography. Free radical scavenging assay, glycation assay, and cell-based viability test (neutral red) were employed to decide the best fraction. Cell death analysis was executed by annexin V/ Propidium iodide staining. Cell proliferation was measured by WST-1. Finally, β-cell function was evaluated by β-cell marker gene expression (RT-PCR) and acute insulin secretion test. Four corn silk fractions were prepared from an ethanolic crude extract of corn silk. In vitro assays indicate ethyl acetate fraction (YMS-EA) was the most potent fraction. YMS-EA also attenuated the hydrogen peroxide- or methylglyoxal-induced induction of reactive oxygen species, reduction of cell viability, and inhibition of cell proliferation. However, YMS-EA was unable to prevent hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis or advanced glycation end-products-induced toxicity. Under hyperglycemic conditions, YMS-EA effectively reduced ROS levels, improved mRNA expression of insulin, glucokinase, and PDX-1, and enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. The similarity of bioactivities among apigenin, luteolin, and YMS-EA indicated that dual activities of YMS-EA might be derived from those compounds. We concluded that YMS-EA fraction could be developed as a preventive food agent against the glucotoxicity to β-cells in Type 2 diabetes.

  15. Characteristics of powdered activated carbon treated with dielectric barrier discharge for electric double-layer capacitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tashima, Daisuke; Yoshitama, Hiromu; Sakoda, Tatsuya; Okazaki, Akihito; Kawaji, Takayuki

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The specific capacitance of the EDLCs could be improved by oxygen plasma treatment. ► 15 s treated EDLCs showed a 20% increase in capacitance relative to untreated EDLCs. ► The plasma treatment yields EDLCs that are suitable for high-energy applications. - Abstract: The electrochemical properties of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) made with plasma-treated powdered activated carbon (treated using a dielectric barrier discharge) were examined using cyclic voltammetry (CV), Cole–Cole plots, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The dielectric barrier discharge method, which operates at atmospheric pressure, dramatically reduces the processing time and does not require vacuum equipment, making it a more practical alternative than low-pressure plasma treatment. The experimental data indicate that the specific capacitance of the EDLCs could be improved by oxygen plasma treatment. Capacitance of EDLCs made with activated carbon treated for 15 s showed 193.5 F/g that 20% increase in the specific capacitance relative to untreated EDLCs. This result indicates that the plasma treatment yields EDLCs that are suitable for high-energy applications. The enhancement of capacitance was mainly attributed to an increase in the BET surface area of the activated carbon and the creation of carboxyl groups on the surface of the carbon. The carboxyl groups induced oxidation–reduction reactions in the presence of O 2 which was included in the operation gas. In addition, the carboxyl groups improved the penetration of the electrolyte solution into the carbon electrodes.

  16. Análise da utilização das tecnologias da informação e comunicação na educação a distância (EaD.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carla Simone Pires

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available A EaD se caracteriza por docentes e discentes fisicamente separados, conectados por TICs. No Brasil a EaD não é recente, entretanto, tem aumentado nos últimos anos devido a políticas públicas e à evolução das TICs, entretanto, a sua aplicação normalmente tem foco na economia de recursos. Apesar das dificuldades encontradas, é tendência mundial e converge para o uso de tecnologias. Neste sentido, TICs podem causar inclusão/exclusão social, dependendo de como sua utilização é planejadas. O mesmo ocorre com processos avaliativos, que mostram fragilidades. Os resultados permitem concluir que a transição para EaD não apresenta mudanças de práticas pedagógicas. Apesar disto, tem importante papel social, uma vez que vem suprir demandas reprimidas no que tange o acesso à educação superior, além de incentivar o desenvolvimento de municípios com Baixos Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano (IDH e Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (IDEB. Ainda, mostra a necessidade de redimensionar as práticas de ensino (reinventando usos para TICs na transição entre ensino presencial e EaD, possibilitando que a EaD assuma sua função social na educação brasileira. Neste sentido,  Este trabalho teve como objetivo fazer um estudo analítico do contexto da Educação a Distância (EaD no Brasil, as práticas pedagógicas usadas e o papel das Tecnologias de Informação (TICs neste processo.

  17. Observation of lateral substructures in EAS by measurement of the time distribution of atmospheric Cerenkov light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bosia, G.; Navarra, G.; Saavedra, O.

    1975-01-01

    The lateral structure of EAS is derived from the arrival time distribution of atmospheric Cerenkov light assuming a strict correlation between time structure and lateral particle distribution. Results of the Pic du Midi experiment are presented. Substructures in the time distribution of the Cerenkov light can be related to structures in the lateral density distribution of electrons. The frequency (a few %) of substructures can be explained within conventional models of high energy interactions. (orig.) [de

  18. Linking algal growth inhibition to chemical activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Stine N.; Mayer, Philipp

    2015-01-01

    for baseline toxicity. First, the reported effective concentrations (EC50) were divided by the respective water solubilities (Swater), since the obtained EC50/Swater ratio essentially equals the effective chemical activity (Ea50). The majority of EC50/Swater ratios were within the expected chemical activity...

  19. Permeable reactive barrier of surface hydrophobic granular activated carbon coupled with elemental iron for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ji; Cao, Limei; Guo, Rui; Jia, Jinping

    2010-12-15

    Granular activated carbon was modified with dimethyl dichlorosilane to improve its surface hydrophobicity, and therefore to improve the performance of permeable reactive barrier constructed with the modified granular activated carbon and elemental iron. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface silicon concentration of the modified granular activated carbon is higher than that of the original one, leading to the increased surface hydrophobicity. Although the specific surface area decreased from 895 to 835 m(2)g(-1), the modified granular activated carbon could adsorb 20% more 2,4-dichlorophenol than the original one did in water. It is also proven that the permeable reactive barrier with the modified granular activated carbon is more efficient at 2,4-dichlorophenol dechlorination, in which process 2,4-dichlorophenol is transformed to 2-chlorophenol or 4-chlorophenol then to phenol, or to phenol directly. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Physical Activity Enjoyment, Perceived Barriers, and Beliefs Among Adolescents With and Without Intellectual Disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanish, Heidi I; Curtin, Carol; Must, Aviva; Phillips, Sarah; Maslin, Melissa; Bandini, Linda G

    2016-01-01

    Youths with intellectual disabilities (ID) exhibit low levels of physical activity, but the underlying contributors to behavior are unclear. We compared physical activity enjoyment, perceived barriers, beliefs, and self-efficacy among adolescents with ID and typically developing (TD) adolescents. A questionnaire was administered to 38 adolescents with ID (mean age, 16.8 years) and 60 TD adolescents (mean age, 15.3 years). Of the original 33 questionnaire items, 23 met the test-retest reliability criteria and were included in the group comparisons. Fewer adolescents with ID reported that they have someone with whom to do physical activity (64% vs 93%: P physical activities were too hard to learn (41% vs 0%; P physical activity would be good for their health (92% vs 100%; P = .05). More adolescents with ID reported a dislike of individual physical activities (P = .02). A large percentage of adolescents with ID (84%) responded that they were good at doing physical activities, but the difference between groups was only of borderline significance (95% of TD adolescents, P = .06). Adolescents shared many of the same perceptions about physical activity, but some important differences between groups were identified.

  1. The barriers, benefits and facilitators of leisure time physical activity among people with spinal cord injury: a meta-synthesis of qualitative findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Toni Louise; Smith, Brett; Papathomas, Anthony

    2014-01-01

    Physical activity (PA) can have a positive impact upon health and well-being for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Despite these benefits, people with SCI are within the most physically inactive segment of society that comprises disabled people. This original meta-synthesis of qualitative research was undertaken to explore the barriers, benefits and facilitators of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among people with SCI. Articles published since 2000 were identified through a rigorous search of electronic databases, supported with a hand search of relevant journals and papers. In total, 64 papers were read in full, and based on inclusion criteria, 18 were relevant for review. The key themes constructed from the data were summarised, compared and synthesised. Eight interrelated concepts were identified as barriers, benefits and/or facilitators of LTPA: (i) well-being (WB); (ii) environment; (iii) physical body; (iv) body-self relationship; (v) physically active identity; (vi) knowledge; (vii) restitution narrative; (viii) perceived absences. Based on the synthesised evidence, healthcare professionals need to appreciate the relationships between the barriers, benefits and facilitators of LTPA in order to successfully promote a physically active lifestyle. Equally, a more critical attitude to PA promotion is called for in terms of possible adverse consequences.

  2. Optimization of on-line hydrogen stable isotope ratio measurements of halogen- and sulfur-bearing organic compounds using elemental analyzer-chromium/high-temperature conversion isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-Cr/HTC-IRMS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gehre, Matthias; Renpenning, Julian; Geilmann, Heike; Qi, Haiping; Coplen, Tyler B; Kümmel, Steffen; Ivdra, Natalija; Brand, Willi A; Schimmelmann, Arndt

    2017-03-30

    Accurate hydrogen isotopic analysis of halogen- and sulfur-bearing organics has not been possible with traditional high-temperature conversion (HTC) because the formation of hydrogen-bearing reaction products other than molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) is responsible for non-quantitative H 2 yields and possible hydrogen isotopic fractionation. Our previously introduced, new chromium-based EA-Cr/HTC-IRMS (Elemental Analyzer-Chromium/High-Temperature Conversion Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) technique focused primarily on nitrogen-bearing compounds. Several technical and analytical issues concerning halogen- and sulfur-bearing samples, however, remained unresolved and required further refinement of the reactor systems. The EA-Cr/HTC reactor was substantially modified for the conversion of halogen- and sulfur-bearing samples. The performance of the novel conversion setup for solid and liquid samples was monitored and optimized using a simultaneously operating dual-detection system of IRMS and ion trap MS. The method with several variants in the reactor, including the addition of manganese metal chips, was evaluated in three laboratories using EA-Cr/HTC-IRMS (on-line method) and compared with traditional uranium-reduction-based conversion combined with manual dual-inlet IRMS analysis (off-line method) in one laboratory. The modified EA-Cr/HTC reactor setup showed an overall H 2 -recovery of more than 96% for all halogen- and sulfur-bearing organic compounds. All results were successfully normalized via two-point calibration with VSMOW-SLAP reference waters. Precise and accurate hydrogen isotopic analysis was achieved for a variety of organics containing F-, Cl-, Br-, I-, and S-bearing heteroelements. The robust nature of the on-line EA-Cr/HTC technique was demonstrated by a series of 196 consecutive measurements with a single reactor filling. The optimized EA-Cr/HTC reactor design can be implemented in existing analytical equipment using commercially available material and

  3. Systematics of complex fragment emission from La induced reactions at E/A = 47 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kehoe, W.L.; Mignerey, A.C.; Bradley, S.

    1989-03-01

    Complex fragment (Z > 2) emission was studied in the reverse kinematics reactions of 139 La on 27 Al and /sup nat./Cu at a bombarding energy of E/A = 47 MeV. Experimental results from inclusive and coincidence measurements for two- and three-fold complex fragments events are presented. Measured cross sections and Z 1 -Z 2 correlations show a predominately binary-decay process for the La + Al reaction, while the La + Cu reaction is dominated by multi-body decay. 18 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

  4. Antioxidative Activities and Active Compounds of Extracts from Catalpa Plant Leaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongyu Xu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to screen the Catalpa plant with high antioxidant activity and confirm the corresponding active fractions from Catalpa ovata G. Don, C. fargesii Bur., and C. bungei C. A. Mey., total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities of the extracts/fractions of Catalpa plant leaves were determined. The determined total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity were used as assessment criteria. Those compounds with antioxidant activity were isolated with silica gel column chromatography and ODS column chromatography. Our results showed that the total flavonoid content in C. bungei C. A. Mey. (30.07 mg/g·DW was the highest, followed by those in C. fargesii Bur. (25.55 mg/g·DW and C. ovata G. Don (24.96 mg/g·DW. According to the determination results of total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in 3 clones of leaves of C. bungei C. A. Mey., the total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity in crude extracts from C. bungei C. A. Mey. 6 (CA6 leaves were the highest. Moreover, the results showed that the total flavonoid content and antioxidant activities of ethyl acetate (EA fraction in ethanol crude extracts in CA6 leaves were the highest, followed by n-butanol, petroleum ether (PE, and water fractions. Two flavonoid compounds with antioxidant activity were firstly isolated based on EA fraction. The two compounds were luteolin (1 and apigenin (2, respectively.

  5. Barriers, facilitators and preferences for the physical activity of school children. Rationale and methods of a mixed study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martínez-Andrés María

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical activity interventions in schools environment seem to have shown some effectiveness in the control of the current obesity epidemic in children. However the complexity of behaviors and the diversity of influences related to this problem suggest that we urgently need new lines of insight about how to support comprehensive population strategies of intervention. The aim of this study was to know the perceptions of the children from Cuenca, about their environmental barriers, facilitators and preferences for physical activity. Methods/Design We used a mixed-method design by combining two qualitative methods (analysis of individual drawings and focus groups together with the quantitative measurement of physical activity through accelerometers, in a theoretical sample of 121 children aged 9 and 11 years of schools in the province of Cuenca, Spain. Conclusions Mixed-method study is an appropriate strategy to know the perceptions of children about barriers and facilitators for physical activity, using both qualitative methods for a deeply understanding of their points of view, and quantitative methods for triangulate the discourse of participants with empirical data. We consider that this is an innovative approach that could provide knowledges for the development of more effective interventions to prevent childhood overweight.

  6. Suppression of surface barriers in superconductors by columnar defects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshelev, A. E.; Vinokur, V. M.

    2001-01-01

    We investigate the influence of columnar defects in layered superconductors on the thermally activated penetration of pancake vortices through the surface barrier. Columnar defects, located near the surface, facilitate penetration of vortices through the surface barrier, by creating ''weak spots,'' through which pancakes can penetrate into the superconductor. Penetration of a pancake mediated by an isolated column, located near the surface, is a two-stage process involving hopping from the surface to the column and the detachment from the column into the bulk; each stage is controlled by its own activation barrier. The resulting effective energy is equal to the maximum of those two barriers. For a given external field there exists an optimum location of the column for which the barriers for the both processes are equal and the reduction of the effective penetration barrier is maximal. At high fields the effective penetration field is approximately 2 times smaller than in unirradiated samples. We also estimate the suppression of the effective penetration field by column clusters. This mechanism provides further reduction of the penetration field at low temperatures

  7. Characteristics of EAS and primary particle mass composition in the energy region of 1017-3.1019 eV by Yakutsk data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knurenko, S.P.; Egorova, V.P.; Ivanov, A.A.; Kolosov, V.A.; Makarov, I.T.; Petrov, Z.E.; Sleptsov, I.Ye.; Struchkov, G.G.

    2006-01-01

    In this work the data of the Yakutsk complex EAS array and their comparison with calculation in the case of primary nuclei of different chemical elements are presented. The calculation by QGSJET model have been used interpreting experimental data

  8. Meteorologic and Geographic Barriers to Physical Activity in a Workplace Wellness Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Karen C; Michl, Griffin L; Katz, Jeffrey N; Losina, Elena

    2018-02-01

    Inclement weather and home environment can act as barriers to physical activity. However, it is unclear if they reduce the activity of persons participating in activity-promoting programs. Data from a 6-month workplace financial incentives program were used to establish the association between meteorologic (temperature, rain, snow, and wind) and geographic factors (urban/nonurban home location and distance between home and work) and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Multivariable models were built to estimate mean weekly minutes of MVPA adjusting for demographic factors, clinical factors, and impulsivity. The 292 participants had a mean age of 38 (SD = 11) years. Eighty-three percent were female and 62% were white. Twenty-nine percent lived within 3 miles of work, and 35% lived in urban areas. Participants who lived more than 3 miles from work averaged 75 [95% confidence interval (CI), 65-84] minutes of weekly MVPA compared with 105 (95% CI, 88-122) minutes for those who lived within 3 miles of work. Urban participants averaged 70 (95% CI, 57-83) minutes of MVPA compared with 91 (95% CI, 80-102) minutes for nonurban participants. Colder temperatures were associated with decreased MVPA, and impulsivity modified the effect. Colder temperatures, greater distance from work, and an urban residence are associated with fewer minutes of MVPA.

  9. Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a school-based physical activity policy in Canada: application of the theoretical domains framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weatherson, Katie A; McKay, Rhyann; Gainforth, Heather L; Jung, Mary E

    2017-10-23

    In British Columbia Canada, a Daily Physical Activity (DPA) policy was mandated that requires elementary school teachers to provide students with opportunities to achieve 30 min of physical activity during the school day. However, the implementation of school-based physical activity policies is influenced by many factors. A theoretical examination of the factors that impede and enhance teachers' implementation of physical activity policies is necessary in order to develop strategies to improve policy practice and achieve desired outcomes. This study used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to understand teachers' barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the DPA policy in one school district. Additionally, barriers and facilitators were examined and compared according to how the teacher implemented the DPA policy during the instructional school day. Interviews were conducted with thirteen teachers and transcribed verbatim. One researcher performed barrier and facilitator extraction, with double extraction occurring across a third of the interview transcripts by a second researcher. A deductive and inductive analytical approach in a two-stage process was employed whereby barriers and facilitators were deductively coded using TDF domains (content analysis) and analyzed for sub-themes within each domain. Two researchers performed coding. A total of 832 items were extracted from the interview transcripts. Some items were coded into multiple TDF domains, resulting in a total of 1422 observations. The most commonly coded TDF domains accounting for 75% of the total were Environmental context and resources (ECR; n = 250), Beliefs about consequences (n = 225), Social influences (n = 193), Knowledge (n = 100), and Intentions (n = 88). Teachers who implemented DPA during instructional time differed from those who relied on non-instructional time in relation to Goals, Behavioural regulation, Social/professional role and identity, Beliefs about

  10. Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of a school-based physical activity policy in Canada: application of the theoretical domains framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katie A. Weatherson

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In British Columbia Canada, a Daily Physical Activity (DPA policy was mandated that requires elementary school teachers to provide students with opportunities to achieve 30 min of physical activity during the school day. However, the implementation of school-based physical activity policies is influenced by many factors. A theoretical examination of the factors that impede and enhance teachers’ implementation of physical activity policies is necessary in order to develop strategies to improve policy practice and achieve desired outcomes. This study used the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF to understand teachers’ barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the DPA policy in one school district. Additionally, barriers and facilitators were examined and compared according to how the teacher implemented the DPA policy during the instructional school day. Methods Interviews were conducted with thirteen teachers and transcribed verbatim. One researcher performed barrier and facilitator extraction, with double extraction occurring across a third of the interview transcripts by a second researcher. A deductive and inductive analytical approach in a two-stage process was employed whereby barriers and facilitators were deductively coded using TDF domains (content analysis and analyzed for sub-themes within each domain. Two researchers performed coding. Results A total of 832 items were extracted from the interview transcripts. Some items were coded into multiple TDF domains, resulting in a total of 1422 observations. The most commonly coded TDF domains accounting for 75% of the total were Environmental context and resources (ECR; n = 250, Beliefs about consequences (n = 225, Social influences (n = 193, Knowledge (n = 100, and Intentions (n = 88. Teachers who implemented DPA during instructional time differed from those who relied on non-instructional time in relation to Goals, Behavioural regulation, Social

  11. Natural resource management activities at the Savannah River Site. Environmental Assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1993-07-01

    This environmental assessment (EA) reviews the environmental consequences of ongoing natural resource management activities on the Savannah River Site (SRS). Appendix A contains the Natural Resources Management Plant (NRMP). While several SRS organizations have primary responsibilities for different elements of the plan, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, Savannah River Forest Station (SRFS) is responsible for most elements. Of the river scenarios defined in 1985, the High-Intensity Management alternative established the upper bound of environmental consequences; it represents a more intense level of resource management than that being performed under current resource management activities. This alternative established compliance mechanisms for several natural resource-related requirements and maximum practical timber harvesting. Similarly, the Low-Intensity Management alternative established the lower bound of environmental consequences and represents a less intense level of resource management than that being performed under current resource management activities. This alternative also established compliance mechanisms, but defined a passively managed natural area. The Proposed Action of this EA describes the current level of multiple-natural resource management. This EA reviews the proposed action, and the high and low intensity alternative scenarios.

  12. Effect of medium components and culture conditions in Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 spore production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Posada-Uribe, Luisa F; Romero-Tabarez, Magally; Villegas-Escobar, Valeska

    2015-10-01

    Bacillus subtilis spores have important biotechnological applications; however, achieving both, high spore cell densities and sporulation efficiencies in fermentation, is poorly reported. In this study, medium components and culture conditions were optimized with different statistical methods to increase spore production of the plant growth promoting rhizobacteria B. subtilis EA-CB0575. Key medium components were determined with Plackett-Burman (PB) design, and the optimum concentration levels of two components (glucose, MgSO4·7H2O) were optimized with a full factorial and central composite design, achieving 1.37 × 10(9) CFU/mL of spore cell density and 93.5 % of sporulation efficiency in shake flask. The optimized medium was used to determine the effect of culture conditions on spore production at bioreactor level, finding that maintaining pH control did not affect significantly spore production, while the interaction of agitation and aeration rates had a significant effect on spore cell density. The overall optimization generated a 17.2-fold increase in spore cell density (8.78 × 10(9) CFU/mL) and 1.9-fold increase in sporulation efficiency (94.2 %) compared to that of PB design. These results indicate the potential of B. subtilis EA-CB0575 to produce both, high spore cell densities and sporulation efficiencies, with very low nutrient requirements and short incubation period which can represent savings of process production.

  13. After the Fall: The Dust and Gas in E+A Post-starburst Galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smercina, A.; Smith, J. D. T.; Dale, D. A.; French, K. D.; Croxall, K. V.; Zhukovska, S.; Togi, A.; Bell, E. F.; Crocker, A. F.; Draine, B. T.; Jarrett, T. H.; Tremonti, C.; Yang, Yujin; Zabludoff, A. I.

    2018-03-01

    The traditional picture of post-starburst galaxies as dust- and gas-poor merger remnants, rapidly transitioning to quiescence, has been recently challenged. Unexpected detections of a significant interstellar medium (ISM) in many post-starburst galaxies raise important questions. Are they truly quiescent, and if so, what mechanisms inhibit further star formation? What processes dominate their ISM energetics? We present an infrared spectroscopic and photometric survey of 33 E+A post-starbursts selected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, aimed at resolving these questions. We find compact, warm dust reservoirs with high PAH abundances and total gas and dust masses significantly higher than expected from stellar recycling alone. Both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)/total infrared (TIR) and dust-to-burst stellar mass ratios are seen to decrease with post-burst age, indicative of the accumulating effects of dust destruction and an incipient transition to hot, early-type ISM properties. Their infrared spectral properties are unique, with dominant PAH emission, very weak nebular lines, unusually strong H2 rotational emission, and deep [C II] deficits. There is substantial scatter among star formation rate (SFR) indicators, and both PAH and TIR luminosities provide overestimates. Even as potential upper limits, all tracers show that the SFR has typically experienced a decline of more than two orders of magnitude since the starburst and that the SFR is considerably lower than expected given both their stellar masses and molecular gas densities. These results paint a coherent picture of systems in which star formation was, indeed, rapidly truncated, but in which the ISM was not completely expelled, and is instead supported against collapse by latent or continued injection of turbulent or mechanical heating. The resulting aging burst populations provide a “high-soft” radiation field that seemingly dominates the E+A galaxies’ unusual ISM energetics.

  14. Defining the ATM-mediated barrier to tumorigenesis in somatic mammary cells following ErbB2 activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, Jay P; Peddibhotla, Sirisha; Bu, Wen; Zhao, Jing; Haricharan, Svasti; Du, Yi-Chieh Nancy; Podsypanina, Katrina; Rosen, Jeffrey M; Donehower, Larry A; Li, Yi

    2010-02-23

    p53, apoptosis, and senescence are frequently activated in preneoplastic lesions and are barriers to progression to malignancy. These barriers have been suggested to result from an ATM-mediated DNA damage response (DDR), which may follow oncogene-induced hyperproliferation and ensuing DNA replication stress. To elucidate the currently untested role of DDR in breast cancer initiation, we examined the effect of oncogene expression in several murine models of breast cancer. We did not observe a detectable DDR in early hyperplastic lesions arising in transgenic mice expressing several different oncogenes. However, DDR signaling was strongly induced in preneoplastic lesions arising from individual mammary cells transduced in vivo by retroviruses expressing either PyMT or ErbB2. Thus, activation of an oncogene after normal tissue development causes a DDR. Furthermore, in this somatic ErbB2 tumor model, ATM, and thus DDR, is required for p53 stabilization, apoptosis, and senescence. In palpable tumors in this model, p53 stabilization and apoptosis are lost, but unexpectedly senescence remains in many tumor cells. Thus, this murine model fully recapitulates early DDR signaling; the eventual suppression of its endpoints in tumorigenesis provides compelling evidence that ErbB2-induced aberrant mammary cell proliferation leads to an ATM-mediated DDR that activates apoptosis and senescence, and at least the former must be overcome to progress to malignancy. This in vivo study also uncovers an unexpected effect of ErbB2 activation previously known for its prosurvival roles, and suggests that protection of the ATM-mediated DDR-p53 signaling pathway may be important in breast cancer prevention.

  15. Electroacupuncture Inhibits the Activation of p38MAPK in the Central Descending Facilitatory Pathway in Rats with Inflammatory Pain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Man-Li Hu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs, especially p38MAPK, play a pivotal role in chronic pain. Electroacupuncture (EA relieves inflammatory pain underlying the descending pathway, that is, the periaqueductal gray (PAG, the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM, and the spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH. However, whether EA antagonizes inflammatory pain through regulation of p38MAPK in this descending facilitatory pathway is unclear. Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA was injected into the hind paw of rats to establish inflammatory pain model. EA was administrated for 30 min at Zusanli and Kunlun acupoints at 0.5, 24.5, 48.5, and 72.5 h, respectively. The paw withdrawal threshold (PWT, paw edema, and Phosphor-p38MAPK-Immunoreactivity (p-p38MAPK-IR cells were measured before (0 h and at 1, 3, 5, 7, 25, and 73 h after CFA or saline injection. EA increased PWT at 1, 3, 25, and 73 h and inhibited paw edema at 25 and 73 h after CFA injection. Moreover, the increasing number of p-p38MAPK-IR cells which was induced by CFA was suppressed by EA stimulation in PAG and RVM at 3 and 5 h and in SCDH at 5, 7, 25, and 73 h. These results suggest that EA suppresses inflammation-induced hyperalgesia probably through inhibiting p38MAPK activation in the descending facilitatory pathway.

  16. Herbal medicines that benefit epidermal permeability barrier function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lizhi Hu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Epidermal permeability barrier function plays a critical role in regulating cutaneous functions. Hence, researchers have been searching for effective and affordable regimens to enhance epidermal permeability barrier function. In addition to topical stratum corneum lipids, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, and liver X receptor ligands, herbal medicines have been proven to benefit epidermal permeability barrier function in both normal and diseased skin, including atopic dermatitis, glucocorticoid-induced skin damage, and UVB-damaged skin. The potential mechanisms by which herbal medicines improve the permeability barrier include stimulation of epidermal differentiation, lipid production, antimicrobial peptide expression, and antioxidation. Therefore, utilization of herbal medicines could be a valuable alternative approach to enhance epidermal permeability barrier function in order to prevent and/or treat skin disorders associated with permeability barrier abnormalities.

  17. Electron-Muon Identification by Atmospheric Shower and Electron Beam in a New EAS Detector Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iori, M.; Denizli, H.; Yilmaz, A.; Ferrarotto, F.; Russ, J.

    2015-03-01

    We present results demonstrating the time resolution and μ/e separation capabilities of a new concept for an EAS detector capable of measuring cosmic rays arriving with large zenith angles. This kind of detector has been designed to be part of a large area (several square kilometer) surface array designed to measure ultra high energy (10-200 PeV) τ neutrinos using the Earth-skimming technique. A criterion to identify electron-gammas is also shown and the particle identification capability is tested by measurements in coincidence with the KASKADE-GRANDE experiment in Karlsruhe, Germany.

  18. Population Size vs. Mutation Strength for the (1+λ) EA on OneMax

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gießen, Christian; Witt, Carsten

    2015-01-01

    The (1+1) EA with mutation probability c/n, where c>0 is an arbitrary constant, is studied for the classical OneMax function. Its expected optimization time is analyzed exactly (up to lower order terms) as a function of c and λ. It turns out that 1/n is the only optimal mutation probability if λ......=o(ln n ln ln n/ln ln ln n), which is the cut-off point for linear mnspeed-up. However, if λ is above this cut-off point then the standard mutation probability 1/n is no longer the only optimal choice. Instead, the expected number of generations is (up to lower order terms) independent of c...

  19. In vitro anthelmintic and cytotoxicity activities the Digitaria insularis (Poaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Francianne Oliveira; de Lima, Hélimar Gonçalves; de Souza Santos, Nathália Silva; Serra, Taiane Menezes; Uzeda, Rosângela Soares; Reis, Isabella Mary Alves; Botura, Mariana Borges; Branco, Alexsandro; Batatinha, Maria José Moreira

    2017-10-15

    This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro activity of D. insularis extracts and fractions against gastrointestinal nematodes of goats and its cytotoxicity on Vero cells. The egg hatch (EHT) and larval motility (LMT) tests were conducted to investigate the anthelmintic effects of the crude hydroethanolic (CH), ethyl acetate (EA), butanolic (BT) and residual hydroethanolic (RH) extracts. The elution of the active extract (EA) on column chromatography (SiO 2 ) using organic solvents furnished six fractions (FR1 to FR6), which were also tested. Cytotoxicity was determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Trypan Blue exclusion assays. All extracts, FR2 and FR3, inhibited egg hatching in a concentration-dependent manner. The EHT led to EC 50 values (effective concentration 50%) of 0.64; 0.69; 0.77; 0.96; 0.27 and 0.65mg/mL for CH, EA, BT, RH, FR2 and FR3, respectively. However, the extracts exhibited low effect on the motility of L 3. In the cytotoxicity evaluation (MTT assay), the IC 50 (inhibitory concentration 50%) was 1.18 (EA), 1.65 (FR2) and 1.59mg/mL (FR3), which was relatively high (low toxicity) in comparison to the EC 50 values in EHT, mainly for FR2. The chemical analyses of most active fractions (FR2) by Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) led the characterization of the flavones tricin and diosmetin. These results showed the high anthelmintic effect and low cytotoxicity of D. insularis and also that the flavones can be probably responsible for the nematocidal activity of this plant. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. ROS-activated calcium signaling mechanisms regulating endothelial barrier function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di, Anke; Mehta, Dolly; Malik, Asrar B

    2016-09-01

    Increased vascular permeability is a common pathogenic feature in many inflammatory diseases. For example in acute lung injury (ALI) and its most severe form, the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), lung microvessel endothelia lose their junctional integrity resulting in leakiness of the endothelial barrier and accumulation of protein rich edema. Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by neutrophils (PMNs) and other inflammatory cells play an important role in increasing endothelial permeability. In essence, multiple inflammatory syndromes are caused by dysfunction and compromise of the barrier properties of the endothelium as a consequence of unregulated acute inflammatory response. This review focuses on the role of ROS signaling in controlling endothelial permeability with particular focus on ALI. We summarize below recent progress in defining signaling events leading to increased endothelial permeability and ALI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.