Measurement of residual stresses using fracture mechanics weight functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Y.

2001-01-01

A residual stress measurement method has been developed to quantify through-the-thickness residual stresses. Accurate measurement of residual stresses is crucial for many engineering structures. Fabrication processes such as welding and machining generate residual stresses that are difficult to predict. Residual stresses affect the integrity of structures through promoting failures due to brittle fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and wear. In this work, the weight function theory of fracture mechanics is used to measure residual stresses. The weight function theory is an important development in computational fracture mechanics. Stress intensity factors for arbitrary stress distribution on the crack faces can be accurately and efficiently computed for predicting crack growth. This paper demonstrates that the weight functions are equally useful in measuring residual stresses. In this method, an artificial crack is created by a thin cut in a structure containing residual stresses. The cut relieves the residual stresses normal to the crack-face and allows the relieved residual stresses to deform the structure. Strain gages placed adjacent to the cut measure the relieved strains corresponding to incrementally increasing depths of the cut. The weight functions of the cracked body relate the measured strains to the residual stresses normal to the cut within the structure. The procedure details, such as numerical integration of the singular functions in applying the weight function method, will be discussed. (author)

Weights and linear measurements of the body and some organs of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The absolute weights of the body, heart, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, liver, gonads, digestive tract and adrenal glands, as well as the absolute linear measurements of the body, digestive tract and oviduct were determined in adult female and male African white-bellied tree pangolins. The relative weights, relative lengths and ...

Validity of parent-reported weight and height of preschool children measured at home or estimated without home measurement: a validation study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cox Bianca

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Parental reports are often used in large-scale surveys to assess children's body mass index (BMI. Therefore, it is important to know to what extent these parental reports are valid and whether it makes a difference if the parents measured their children's weight and height at home or whether they simply estimated these values. The aim of this study is to compare the validity of parent-reported height, weight and BMI values of preschool children (3-7 y-old, when measured at home or estimated by parents without actual measurement. Methods The subjects were 297 Belgian preschool children (52.9% male. Participation rate was 73%. A questionnaire including questions about height and weight of the children was completed by the parents. Nurses measured height and weight following standardised procedures. International age- and sex-specific BMI cut-off values were employed to determine categories of weight status and obesity. Results On the group level, no important differences in accuracy of reported height, weight and BMI were identified between parent-measured or estimated values. However, for all 3 parameters, the correlations between parental reports and nurse measurements were higher in the group of children whose body dimensions were measured by the parents. Sensitivity for underweight and overweight/obesity were respectively 73% and 47% when parents measured their child's height and weight, and 55% and 47% when parents estimated values without measurement. Specificity for underweight and overweight/obesity were respectively 82% and 97% when parents measured the children, and 75% and 93% with parent estimations. Conclusions Diagnostic measures were more accurate when parents measured their child's weight and height at home than when those dimensions were based on parental judgements. When parent-reported data on an individual level is used, the accuracy could be improved by encouraging the parents to measure weight and height

Development and validation of a preference weight multiattribute health outcome measure for rheumatoid arthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiou, Chiun-Fang; Suarez-Almazor, Maria E; Sherbourne, Cathy D; Chang, Chih-Hung; Reyes, Carolina; Dylan, Michelle; Ofman, Joshua; Wallace, Daniel J; Mizutani, Wesley; Weisman, Michael

2006-12-01

To develop and validate multiattribute measures for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to report health states and estimate preference weights. Survey materials were mailed to 748 patients. Factor analysis, an item response theory-based model, and an internal consistency test were used to identify attributes and evaluate items. Two multiattribute preference weight functions (MAPWF) were constructed. Construct validity of the new measures was then tested. Four hundred eighty-seven patients returned the survey; 24 items on 6 health attributes were selected to form the new outcomes measure. Two MAPWF were derived with preference weights measured with time tradeoff and visual analog scales as dependent variables. All validity test results were statistically significant. Our results reveal that the new measures are reliable and valid in assessing health states and associated preference weights of patients with RA.

Measuring Outcomes in Adult Weight Loss Studies That Include Diet and Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

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Rachel A. Millstein

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Measuring success of obesity interventions is critical. Several methods measure weight loss outcomes but there is no consensus on best practices. This systematic review evaluates relevant outcomes (weight loss, BMI, % body fat, and fat mass to determine which might be the best indicator(s of success. Methods. Eligible articles described adult weight loss interventions that included diet and physical activity and a measure of weight or BMI change and body composition change. Results. 28 full-text articles met inclusion criteria. Subjects, settings, intervention lengths, and intensities varied. All studies measured body weight (−2.9 to −17.3 kg, 9 studies measured BMI (−1.1 to −5.1 kg/m2, 20 studies measured % body fat (−0.7 to −10.2%, and 22 studies measured fat mass (−0.9 to −14.9 kg. All studies found agreement between weight or BMI and body fat mass or body fat % decreases, though there were discrepancies in degree of significance between measures. Conclusions. Nearly all weight or BMI and body composition measures agreed. Since body fat is the most metabolically harmful tissue type, it may be a more meaningful measure of health change. Future studies should consider primarily measuring % body fat, rather than or in addition to weight or BMI.

Concordance of self-report and measured height and weight of college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Quick, Virginia; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Shoff, Suzanne; White, Adrienne A; Lohse, Barbara; Horacek, Tanya; Kattelmann, Kendra; Phillips, Beatrice; Hoerr, Sharon L; Greene, Geoffrey

2015-01-01

This study examined associations between college students' self-report and measured height and weight. Participants (N = 1,686) were 77% white, 62% female, aged 18-24 years (mean ± SD, 19.1 ± 1.1 years), and enrolled at 8 US universities. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for self-report (via online survey); trained researchers measured height and weight and categorized them as normal (18.5 to obese (30 to obese (≥ 35). Concordance of self-report vs objectively measured BMI groups using chi-square revealed that 93% were accurate, 4% were underestimated, and 2.7% were overestimated. Pearson correlations and adjusted linear regression revealed significant associations between self-report and measured BMI (r = .97; P students. Copyright © 2015 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Volume-weighted measure for eternal inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winitzki, Sergei

2008-01-01

I propose a new volume-weighted probability measure for cosmological 'multiverse' scenarios involving eternal inflation. The 'reheating-volume (RV) cutoff' calculates the distribution of observable quantities on a portion of the reheating hypersurface that is conditioned to be finite. The RV measure is gauge-invariant, does not suffer from the 'youngness paradox', and is independent of initial conditions at the beginning of inflation. In slow-roll inflationary models with a scalar inflaton, the RV-regulated probability distributions can be obtained by solving nonlinear diffusion equations. I discuss possible applications of the new measure to 'landscape' scenarios with bubble nucleation. As an illustration, I compute the predictions of the RV measure in a simple toy landscape.

Cortisol Measures Across the Weight Spectrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Schorr, Melanie; Lawson, Elizabeth A; Dichtel, Laura E; Klibanski, Anne; Miller, Karen K

2015-09-01

There are conflicting reports of increased vs decreased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation in obesity; the most consistent finding is an inverse relationship between body mass index (BMI) and morning cortisol. In anorexia nervosa (AN), a low-BMI state, cortisol measures are elevated. This study aimed to investigate cortisol measures across the weight spectrum. This was a cross-sectional study at a clinical research center. This study included 60 women, 18-45 years of age: overweight/obese (OB; N = 21); AN (N = 18); and normal-weight controls (HC; N = 21). HPA dynamics were assessed by urinary free cortisol, mean overnight serum cortisol obtained by pooled frequent sampling every 20 minutes from 2000-0800 h, 0800 h serum cortisol and cortisol-binding globulin, morning and late-night salivary cortisol, and dexamethasone-CRH testing. Body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Cortisol measures demonstrated a U-shaped relationship with BMI, nadiring in the overweight-class I obese range, and were similarly associated with visceral adipose tissue and total fat mass. Mean cortisol levels were higher in AN than OB. There were weak negative linear relationships between lean mass and some cortisol measures. Most cortisol measures were negatively associated with postero-anterior spine and total hip BMD. Cortisol measures are lowest in overweight-class I obese women-lower than in lean women. With more significant obesity, cortisol levels increase, although not to as high as in AN. Therefore, extreme underweight and overweight states may activate the HPA axis, and hypercortisolemia may contribute to increased adiposity in the setting of caloric excess. Hypercortisolemia may also contribute to decreased BMD and muscle wasting in the setting of both caloric restriction and excess.

40 CFR 63.9525 - What are the installation, operation, and maintenance requirements for my weight measurement device?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... measurement device? (a) If you use a solvent recovery system, you must install, operate, and maintain a weight... solvent mixer. If the weight measurement device cannot reproduce the value of the calibration weight..., and maintenance requirements for my weight measurement device? 63.9525 Section 63.9525 Protection of...

The value of body weight measurement to assess dehydration in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Pruvost, Isabelle; Dubos, François; Chazard, Emmanuel; Hue, Valérie; Duhamel, Alain; Martinot, Alain

2013-01-01

Dehydration secondary to gastroenteritis is one of the most common reasons for office visits and hospital admissions. The indicator most commonly used to estimate dehydration status is acute weight loss. Post-illness weight gain is considered as the gold-standard to determine the true level of dehydration and is widely used to estimate weight loss in research. To determine the value of post-illness weight gain as a gold standard for acute dehydration, we conducted a prospective cohort study in which 293 children, aged 1 month to 2 years, with acute diarrhea were followed for 7 days during a 3-year period. The main outcome measures were an accurate pre-illness weight (if available within 8 days before the diarrhea), post-illness weight, and theoretical weight (predicted from the child's individual growth chart). Post-illness weight was measured for 231 (79%) and both theoretical and post-illness weights were obtained for 111 (39%). Only 62 (21%) had an accurate pre-illness weight. The correlation between post-illness and theoretical weight was excellent (0.978), but bootstrapped linear regression analysis showed that post-illness weight underestimated theoretical weight by 0.48 kg (95% CI: 0.06-0.79, pdehydration according to post-illness weight (21%) was significantly lower than the prevalence estimated by either theoretical weight (60%) or clinical assessment (66%, pdehydration. The performance of dehydration signs or scales determined by using post-illness weight as a gold standard has to be reconsidered.

The weight of racism: Vigilance and racial inequalities in weight-related measures

Science.gov (United States)

Hicken, Margaret T.; Lee, Hedwig; Hing, Anna K.

2017-01-01

In the United States, racial/ethnic inequalities in obesity are well-documented, particularly among women. Using the Chicago Community Adult Health Study, a probability-based sample in 2001–2003 (N=3,105), we examined the roles of discrimination and vigilance in racial inequalities in two weight-related measures, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), viewed through a cultural racism lens. Cultural racism creates a social environment in which Black Americans bear the stigma burden of their racial group while White Americans are allowed to view themselves as individuals. We propose that in this context, interpersonal discrimination holds a different meaning for Blacks and Whites, while vigilance captures the coping style for Blacks who carry the stigma burden of the racial group. By placing discrimination and vigilance within the context of cultural racism, we operationalize existing survey measures and utilize statistical models to clarify the ambiguous associations between discrimination and weight-related inequalities in the extant literature. Multivariate models were estimated for BMI and WC separately and were stratified by gender. Black women had higher mean BMI and WC than any other group, as well as highest levels of vigilance. White women did not show an association between vigilance and WC but did show a strong positive association between discrimination and WC. Conversely, Black women displayed an association between vigilance and WC, but not between discrimination and WC. These results demonstrate that vigilance and discrimination may hold different meanings for obesity by ethnoracial group that are concealed when all women are examined together and viewed without considering a cultural racism lens. PMID:28372829

The weight of racism: Vigilance and racial inequalities in weight-related measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hicken, Margaret T; Lee, Hedwig; Hing, Anna K

2018-02-01

In the United States, racial/ethnic inequalities in obesity are well-documented, particularly among women. Using the Chicago Community Adult Health Study, a probability-based sample in 2001-2003 (N = 3105), we examined the roles of discrimination and vigilance in racial inequalities in two weight-related measures, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), viewed through a cultural racism lens. Cultural racism creates a social environment in which Black Americans bear the stigma burden of their racial group while White Americans are allowed to view themselves as individuals. We propose that in this context, interpersonal discrimination holds a different meaning for Blacks and Whites, while vigilance captures the coping style for Blacks who carry the stigma burden of the racial group. By placing discrimination and vigilance within the context of cultural racism, we operationalize existing survey measures and utilize statistical models to clarify the ambiguous associations between discrimination and weight-related inequalities in the extant literature. Multivariate models were estimated for BMI and WC separately and were stratified by gender. Black women had higher mean BMI and WC than any other group, as well as highest levels of vigilance. White women did not show an association between vigilance and WC but did show a strong positive association between discrimination and WC. Conversely, Black women displayed an association between vigilance and WC, but not between discrimination and WC. These results demonstrate that vigilance and discrimination may hold different meanings for obesity by ethnoracial group that are concealed when all women are examined together and viewed without considering a cultural racism lens. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Objectively measured walkability and active transport and weight-related outcomes in adults: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Grasser, Gerlinde; Van Dyck, Delfien; Titze, Sylvia; Stronegger, Willibald

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to investigate which GIS-based measures of walkability (density, land-use mix, connectivity and walkability indexes) in urban and suburban neighbourhoods are used in research and which of them are consistently associated with walking and cycling for transport, overall active transportation and weight-related measures in adults. A systematic review of English publications using PubMed, Science Direct, Active Living Research Literature Database, the Transportation Research Information Service and reference lists was conducted. The search terms utilised were synonyms for GIS in combination with synonyms for the outcomes. Thirty-four publications based on 19 different studies were eligible. Walkability measures such as gross population density, intersection density and walkability indexes most consistently correlated with measures of physical activity for transport. Results on weight-related measures were inconsistent. More research is needed to determine whether walkability is an appropriate measure for predicting weight-related measures and overall active transportation. As most of the consistent correlates, gross population density, intersection density and the walkability indexes have the potential to be used in planning and monitoring.

Estimating tree bole and log weights from green densities measured with the Bergstrom Xylodensimeter.

Science.gov (United States)

Dale R. Waddell; Michael B. Lambert; W.Y. Pong

1984-01-01

The performance of the Bergstrom xylodensimeter, designed to measure the green density of wood, was investigated and compared with a technique that derived green densities from wood disk samples. In addition, log and bole weights of old-growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock were calculated by various formulas and compared with lifted weights measured with a load cell...

Comparison of Broselow tape measurements versus mother estimations of pediatric weights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sherafat Akaberian

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background Pediatric resuscitation is challenging for therapeutic group. The most physicians have limited experience in dealing with this situation. Appropriate dosing of the drugs depends on the body weight of the children that it is usually not feasible. There is need for a fast, convenient and reliable method for body weight estimation in children. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of Broselow tape in children of Bushehr city. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency department of Aliasghar hospital. Children were between 1 month and 14 years. Children with chronic disease, 334, ill children were excluded from study. Estimated weight measured based on Broselow tape and actual weight measured by digital scale, then estimated and actual weight were compared. The results were analyzed by SPSS Software Ver 18 and T-Test, Chi-Square Test. Results: findings showed that 43.2% of total subjects were female Mean of age were 43 months. 72.5% of tape body weights were within  10% error of actual body weights. 78.9% of tape body weight was within  15% error of actual body weights. There was no significant difference between boys and girls. Conclusion: Broslow tape was easy, fast and exact for body weight estimation in emergency situation .it is more exact of body weight estimation by parents or therapeutic group so it helps therapeutic group in emergency department for accounting of medication dosage and equipment sizes.

Determination of Viscosity-Average Molecular Weight of Chitosan using Intrinsic Viscosity Measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norzita Yacob; Norhashidah Talip; Maznah Mahmud

2011-01-01

Molecular weight of chitosan can be determined by different techniques such as Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), Static Light Scattering (SLS) and intrinsic viscosity measurement. Determination of molecular weight by intrinsic viscosity measurement is a simple method for characterization of chitosan. Different concentrations of chitosan were prepared and measurement was done at room temperature. The flow time data was used to calculate the intrinsic viscosity by extrapolating the reduced viscosity to zero concentration. The value of intrinsic viscosity was then recalculated into the viscosity-average molecular weight using Mark-Houwink equation. (author)

Estimation of Live Weight of Calves from Body Measurements within ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

All phenotypic correlations between body measurements were positive and significant (P<0.001). The highest correlation coefficient was found between chest girth and body weight. The polynomial equation using chest girth as an independent variable predicted body weight more accurately within breed as compared to the ...

Determination of viscosity-average molecular weight of chitosan using intrinsic viscosity measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norzita Yacob; Norhashidah Talip; Maznah Mahmud; Nurul Aizam Idayu Mat Sani; Nor Akma Samsuddin; Norafifah Ahmad Fabillah

2013-01-01

Determination of molecular weight by intrinsic viscosity measurement is a simple method for characterization of chitosan. To study the effect of radiation on molecular weight, chitosan was first irradiated using electron beam at different doses prior to measurement. Different concentrations of chitosan were prepared and measurement was done at room temperature. The flow time data was used to calculate the intrinsic viscosity by extrapolating the reduced viscosity to zero concentration. The value of intrinsic viscosity was then recalculated into the viscosity-average molecular weight using Mark-Houwink equation. (Author)

Height and Weight Estimation From Anthropometric Measurements Using Machine Learning Regressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Rativa, Diego; Fernandes, Bruno J T; Roque, Alexandre

2018-01-01

Height and weight are measurements explored to tracking nutritional diseases, energy expenditure, clinical conditions, drug dosages, and infusion rates. Many patients are not ambulant or may be unable to communicate, and a sequence of these factors may not allow accurate estimation or measurements; in those cases, it can be estimated approximately by anthropometric means. Different groups have proposed different linear or non-linear equations which coefficients are obtained by using single or multiple linear regressions. In this paper, we present a complete study of the application of different learning models to estimate height and weight from anthropometric measurements: support vector regression, Gaussian process, and artificial neural networks. The predicted values are significantly more accurate than that obtained with conventional linear regressions. In all the cases, the predictions are non-sensitive to ethnicity, and to gender, if more than two anthropometric parameters are analyzed. The learning model analysis creates new opportunities for anthropometric applications in industry, textile technology, security, and health care.

Constructing Better Classifier Ensemble Based on Weighted Accuracy and Diversity Measure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaodong Zeng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A weighted accuracy and diversity (WAD method is presented, a novel measure used to evaluate the quality of the classifier ensemble, assisting in the ensemble selection task. The proposed measure is motivated by a commonly accepted hypothesis; that is, a robust classifier ensemble should not only be accurate but also different from every other member. In fact, accuracy and diversity are mutual restraint factors; that is, an ensemble with high accuracy may have low diversity, and an overly diverse ensemble may negatively affect accuracy. This study proposes a method to find the balance between accuracy and diversity that enhances the predictive ability of an ensemble for unknown data. The quality assessment for an ensemble is performed such that the final score is achieved by computing the harmonic mean of accuracy and diversity, where two weight parameters are used to balance them. The measure is compared to two representative measures, Kappa-Error and GenDiv, and two threshold measures that consider only accuracy or diversity, with two heuristic search algorithms, genetic algorithm, and forward hill-climbing algorithm, in ensemble selection tasks performed on 15 UCI benchmark datasets. The empirical results demonstrate that the WAD measure is superior to others in most cases.

Measurement of Weight of Kernels in a Simulated Cylindrical Fuel Compact for HTGR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Woong Ki; Lee, Young Woo; Kim, Young Min; Kim, Yeon Ku; Eom, Sung Ho; Jeong, Kyung Chai; Cho, Moon Sung; Cho, Hyo Jin; Kim, Joo Hee

2011-01-01

The TRISO-coated fuel particle for the high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) is composed of a nuclear fuel kernel and outer coating layers. The coated particles are mixed with graphite matrix to make HTGR fuel element. The weight of fuel kernels in an element is generally measured by the chemical analysis or a gamma-ray spectrometer. Although it is accurate to measure the weight of kernels by the chemical analysis, the samples used in the analysis cannot be put again in the fabrication process. Furthermore, radioactive wastes are generated during the inspection procedure. The gamma-ray spectrometer requires an elaborate reference sample to reduce measurement errors induced from the different geometric shape of test sample from that of reference sample. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is an alternative to measure the weight of kernels in a compact nondestructively. In this study, X-ray CT is applied to measure the weight of kernels in a cylindrical compact containing simulated TRISO-coated particles with ZrO 2 kernels. The volume of kernels as well as the number of kernels in the simulated compact is measured from the 3-D density information. The weight of kernels was calculated from the volume of kernels or the number of kernels. Also, the weight of kernels was measured by extracting the kernels from a compact to review the result of the X-ray CT application

Model ZD-I paper base weight measuring and controlling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Nianzu; Song Debin; Wu Guoliang; Hou Yaoxin; Li Dazhen

1988-01-01

Model ZD-I Base Weight Measuring and Controlling System has been developed for the automation process in paper-making industry. A single-board microprocessor is installed in the system. The mass thickness can be controlled within 1 g/m 2 if the changing range of concentration and water content is less than 10%

Measurement of H'(0.07) with pulse height weighting integration method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liye, LIU; Gang, JIN; Jizeng, MA

2002-01-01

H'(0.07) is an important quantity for radiation field measurement in health physics. One of the plastic scintillator measurement methods is employing the weak current produced by PMT. However, there are some weaknesses in the current method. For instance: sensitive to environment humidity and temperature, non-linearity energy response. In order to increase the precision of H'(0.07) measurement, a Pulse Height Weighting Integration Method is introduced for its advantages: low noise, high sensitivity, data processable, wide measurement range. Pulse Height Weighting Integration Method seems to be acceptable to measure directional dose equivalent. The representative theoretical energy response of the pre-described method accords with the preliminary experiment result

Weighted radial dimension: an improved fractal measurement for highway transportation networks distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yongjiu; Liu, Miaolong; Tong, Xiaohua

2007-06-01

An improved fractal measurement, the weighted radial dimension, is put forward for highway transportation networks distribution. The radial dimension (DL), originated from subway investigation in Stuttgart, is a fractal measurement for transportation systems under ideal assumption considering all the network lines to be homogeneous curves, ignoring the difference on spatial structure, quality and level, especially the highway networks. Considering these defects of radial dimension, an improved fractal measurement called weighted radial dimension (D WL) is introduced and the transportation system in Guangdong province is studied in detail using this novel method. Weighted radial dimensions are measured and calculated, and the spatial structure, intensity and connectivity of transportation networks are discussed in Guangdong province and the four sub-areas: the Pearl River Delta area, the East Costal area, the West Costal area and the Northern Guangdong area. In Guangdong province, the fractal spatial pattern characteristics of transportation system vary remarkably: it is the highest in the Pearl River Delta area, moderate in Costal area and lowest in the Northern Guangdong area. With the Pearl River Delta area as the centre, the weighted radial dimensions decrease with the distance increasing, while the decline level is smaller in the costal area and greater in the Northern Guangdong province. By analysis of the conic of highway density, it is recognized that the density decrease with the distance increasing from the calculation centre (Guangzhou), demonstrating the same trend as weighted radial dimensions shown. Evidently, the improved fractal measurement, weighted radial dimension, is an indictor describing the characteristics of highway transportation system more effectively and accurately.

Estimation Of Body Weight From Linear Body Measurements In Two ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The prediction of body weight from body girth, keel length and thigh length was studied using one hundred Ross and one hundred Anak Titan broilers. Data were collected on the birds from day-old to 9 weeks of age. Body measurement was regressed against body weight at 9 weeks of age using simple linear and ...

Growth and relationship of live weight to body measurements in semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauri Nieminen

1990-09-01

Full Text Available Estimation of live weight from measurements of body dimensions is useful in many management activities with domestic animals. In present study live weight was measured from 2932 female and 1037 male semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus L. during different seasons in 1969-85. The age of reindeer varied between 1 day and 14 yrs. Back length (along back from second spinous process to base of tail and chest girth (just behind front legs were taken also from 1490 female and 510 male reindeer. The growth of reindeer from birth to adulthood was cumulative consisting of a rapid weight accretion during summers followed by a weight loss or stasis during winters. The mathematical analyses of the growth based on exponential solutions gave average values for growth of female and male reindeer. Body weight of females increased until the age of 4.5 yrs and that of males until the age of 5.5 yrs. During winter and spring body weight of hinds decreased 10 to 15 kg and that of stags 30 to 50 kg in different age groups. Significant linear regressions were found between live weight and back length (r = 0.809 and 0.892, live weight and chest girth (r = 0.860 and 0.872 and live weight and combined body measure (back length + chest girth (r = 0.877 and 0.941 and live weight and body volume (r = 0.905 and 0.954, respectively in female and male reindeer. Exponential regressions gave, however, the best estimations of live weight with combined body measure.

Measuring polyethylene wear in total knee arthroplasty by RSA: differences between weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing positioning.

Science.gov (United States)

van Ijsseldijk, Emiel A; Valstar, Edward R; Stoel, Berend C; de Ridder, Ruud; Nelissen, Rob G H H; Kaptein, Bart L

2014-04-01

Measuring the minimum-joint-space-width (mJSW) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) provides valuable information on polyethylene wear, a leading cause for TKA failure. Most existing studies use non-weight-bearing (NWB) patient positioning. The latter may compromise mJSW measurements due to knee laxity with subsequent non-contact between the TKA components. We investigated the difference in mJSW between weight-bearing (WB) and NWB images and the association with mediolateral (ML) knee stability. At one-year follow-up, 23 TKAs were included from an ongoing RSA study, and ML stability was evaluated. For each examination, the mJSW and femoral-tibial contact locations were measured. A linear regression model was used to analyze the association between the mJSW difference (NWB-WB) with the ML stability and contact locations. The mean mJSW difference was 0.28 mm medially and 0.20 mm laterally. Four TKAs had medium (5-9°) and 19 TKAs had high (RSA studies are influenced by knee laxity, but may still provide information on wear progression based on TKA with high ML stability. A direct comparison of mJSW measurements from WB and NWB data is not possible. © 2014 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Proceedings of the 66th National Conference on Weights and Measures, 1981

Science.gov (United States)

Wollin, H. F.; Barbrow, L. E.; Heffernan, A. P.

1981-12-01

Major issues discussed included measurement science education, enforcement uniformly, national type approval, inch pound and metric labeling provisions, new design and performance requirements for weighing and measuring technology, metric conversion of retail gasoline dispensers, weights and measures program evaluation studies of model State laws and regulations and their adoption by citation or other means by State and local jurisdictions, and report of States conducting grain moisture meter testing programs.

Weight Measurements and Standards for Soldiers, Phase 2

Science.gov (United States)

2016-10-01

achieving healthy management of body weight, healthy nutrition, physical fitness, and combat readiness. The H.E.A.L.T.H. study is a cluster (group...of nutrition, fitness, sleep and mind / body health. During Year 7, final analyses for the LANG study will be conducted and further dissemination of...entry – start weight)/start weight 21 Key Lessons Key Lessons to date indicate: • Novel interventions are needed to promote healthy body weight

Placental weight, birth measurements, and blood pressure at age 8 years.

OpenAIRE

Moore, V M; Miller, A G; Boulton, T J; Cockington, R A; Craig, I H; Magarey, A M; Robinson, J S

1996-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine relationships between blood pressure during childhood and both placental weight and body size at birth, in an Australian population. DESIGN: A follow up study of a birth cohort, undertaken when cohort members were aged 8 years. SETTING: Adelaide, South Australia. SUBJECTS: 830 children born in the Queen Victoria Hospital in Adelaide, South Australia, during 1975-6. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure measured when the children were aged 8 years. ...

Association between birth weight and objectively measured sedentary time is mediated by central adiposity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hildebrand, Maria; Kolle, Elin; Hansen, Bjørge H

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Birth weight is an early correlate of disease later in life, and animal studies suggest that low birth weight is associated with reduced activity and increased sedentary time. Whether birth weight predicts later sedentary time in humans is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: We examined the relation...... between birth weight and sedentary time in youth and examined whether this association was mediated by central adiposity. DESIGN: We used pooled cross-sectional data from 8 observational studies conducted between 1997 and 2007 that consisted of 10,793 youth (boys: 47%) aged 6-18 y from the International...... Children's Accelerometry Database. Birth weight was measured in hospitals or maternally reported, sedentary time was assessed by using accelerometry (

Analysis of Vertical Weighting Functions for Lidar Measurements of Atmospheric CO2 and O2

Science.gov (United States)

Kooi, S.; Mao, J.; Abshire, J. B.; Browell, E. V.; Weaver, C. J.; Kawa, S. R.

2011-12-01

Several NASA groups have developed integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar approaches to measure atmospheric CO2 concentrations from space as a candidates for NASA's ASCENDS space mission. For example, the Goddard CO2 Sounder approach uses two pulsed lasers to simultaneously measure both CO2 and O2 absorption in the vertical path to the surface at a number of wavelengths across a CO2 line near 1572 nm and an O2 line doublet near 764 nm. The measurements of CO2 and O2 absorption allow computing their vertically weighted number densities and then their ratios for estimating CO2 concentration relative to dry air. Since both the CO2 and O2 densities and their absorption line-width decrease with altitude, the absorption response (or weighting function) varies with both altitude and absorption wavelength. We have used some standard atmospheres and HITRAN 2008 spectroscopy to calculate the vertical weighting functions for two CO2 lines near 1571 nm and the O2 lines near 764.7 and 1260 nm for candidate online wavelength selections for ASCENDS. For CO2, the primary candidate on-line wavelengths are 10-12 pm away from line center with the weighting function peaking in the atmospheric boundary layer to measure CO2 sources and sinks at the surface. Using another on-line wavelength 3-5 pm away from line center allows the weighting function to peak in the mid- to upper troposphere, which is sensitive to CO2 transport in the free atmosphere. The Goddard CO2 sounder team developed an airborne precursor version of a space instrument. During the summers of 2009, 2010 and 2011 it has participated in airborne measurement campaigns over a variety of different sites in the US, flying with other NASA ASCENDS lidar candidates along with accurate in-situ atmospheric sensors. All flights used altitude patterns with measurements at steps in altitudes between 3 and 13 km, along with spirals from 13 km altitude to near the surface. Measurements from in-situ sensors allowed an

Measuring device for weight of glass of glass solidification product to be charged

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasutake, Nobuhiro; Arai, Masaki; Akashi, Ken-ichi

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a device for accurately calculating the weight of molten glass to be charged during manufacturing glass solidification products of radioactive liquid wastes. Namely, a discharge nozzle at the lower end of a glass melting furnace and an upper end of a vessel for glass solidification materials are connected by a connecting device extensible vertically in a cylindrical shape. Molten glasses are flown down by way of the connecting device and filled into the vessel for solidification products. A first scale is constituted so as to measure the weight of load, and the vessel for solidification products are loaded. A second scale is constituted so as to measure the own weight and a weight of load, and is interposed between a flange at the circumference of a charging port and the lower end of the connecting device, and has an opening for flowing down the molten glass at the central portion. With such a constitution, the first scale can weigh the total of the weight of molten glass charged to the vessel for solidification products, the weight of the vessel for solidification products, the counterforce from the connecting device and the weight of the second scale. If the measured value of the secondary scale and the weight of the vessel for solidification products are subtracted from the former value, the weight of the charged molten glass can be determined. (I.S.)

Mindfulness Approaches and Weight Loss, Weight Maintenance, and Weight Regain.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunn, Carolyn; Haubenreiser, Megan; Johnson, Madison; Nordby, Kelly; Aggarwal, Surabhi; Myer, Sarah; Thomas, Cathy

2018-03-01

There is an urgent need for effective weight management techniques, as more than one third of US adults are overweight or obese. Recommendations for weight loss include a combination of reducing caloric intake, increasing physical activity, and behavior modification. Behavior modification includes mindful eating or eating with awareness. The purpose of this review was to summarize the literature and examine the impact of mindful eating on weight management. The practice of mindful eating has been applied to the reduction of food cravings, portion control, body mass index, and body weight. Past reviews evaluating the relationship between mindfulness and weight management did not focus on change in mindful eating as the primary outcome or mindful eating as a measured variable. This review demonstrates strong support for inclusion of mindful eating as a component of weight management programs and may provide substantial benefit to the treatment of overweight and obesity.

Estimating body weight and body composition of chickens by using noninvasive measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Latshaw, J D; Bishop, B L

2001-07-01

The major objective of this research was to develop equations to estimate BW and body composition using measurements taken with inexpensive instruments. We used five groups of chickens that were created with different genetic stocks and feeding programs. Four of the five groups were from broiler genetic stock, and one was from sex-linked heavy layers. The goal was to sample six males from each group when the group weight was 1.20, 1.75, and 2.30 kg. Each male was weighed and measured for back length, pelvis width, circumference, breast width, keel length, and abdominal skinfold thickness. A cloth tape measure, calipers, and skinfold calipers were used for measurement. Chickens were scanned for total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) before being euthanized and frozen. Six females were selected at weights similar to those for males and were measured in the same way. Each whole chicken was ground, and a portion of ground material of each was used to measure water, fat, ash, and energy content. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate BW from body measurements. The best single measurement was pelvis width, with an R2 = 0.67. Inclusion of three body measurements in an equation resulted in R2 = 0.78 and the following equation: BW (g) = -930.0 + 68.5 (breast, cm) + 48.5 (circumference, cm) + 62.8 (pelvis, cm). The best single measurement to estimate body fat was abdominal skinfold thickness, expressed as a natural logarithm. Inclusion of weight and skinfold thickness resulted in R2 = 0.63 for body fat according to the following equation: fat (%) = 24.83 + 6.75 (skinfold, ln cm) - 3.87 (wt, kg). Inclusion of the result of TOBEC and the effect of sex improved the R2 to 0.78 for body fat. Regression analysis was used to develop additional equations, based on fat, to estimate water and energy contents of the body. The body water content (%) = 72.1 - 0.60 (body fat, %), and body energy (kcal/g) = 1.097 + 0.080 (body fat, %). The results of the present study

Obesity and weight control measures: Findings from female college students of Agra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H K Thakkar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Obesity has negative health impacts. Obese people have higher risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs. Overweight and obesity during young adulthood can track into later adulthood along with its higher risk for NCDs. Aims: To identify the weight control intention and dietary practices used among normal, overweight, and obese college females and to know the reasons for discontinuation among ever tried subjects. Settings and Design : A cross-sectional study conducted in urban and rural colleges of Agra. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 400 female college students. Height and weight were measured to assess body composition according to BMI (Body Mass Index criteria (WHO 2002. Study included a semi-structured and semi-open-ended instrument to assess practices related to weight control. Their responses were collected, tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted. Statistical analysis used: Frequency. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 18.5% and 4.5%, respectively, according to BMI (WHO 2002. One third of the subjects were recording their weight monthly. Slightly less than half of the subjects (46% were trying to maintain optimum weight. Almost one third of these subjects (33.5% were presently trying to lose weight. About one fifth of total 400 subjects (20.5% were not concerned about their weight status. Majority of the subjects (85% irrespective of their obesity status did not take any professional advice. More than half (52.7% were resorting to physical activity to lose weight. Taking more fruits/vegetables (44.7% was found to be the most common healthy dieting practices and most unhealthy was fasting (15.3%. More than one fourth (28.8% of the subjects abandoned weight control practices because of shortage of time followed by 22.4% due to physical weakness. Conclusions: Collectively, results indicate female college students, regardless of weight status, would benefit from open discussions

[Joint effect of birth weight and obesity measures on abnormal glucose metabolism at adulthood].

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Bo; Cheng, Hong; Chen, Fangfang; Zhao, Xiaoyuan; Mi, Jie

2016-01-01

To investigate the joint effect of birth weight and each of obesity measures (body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)) on abnormal glucose metabolism (including diabetes) at adulthood. Using the historical cohort study design and the convenience sampling method, 1 921 infants who were born in Beijing Union Medical College Hospital from June 1948 to December 1954 were selected to do the follow-up in 1995 and 2001 respectively. Through Beijing Household Registration and Management System, they were invited to participate in this study. A total of 972 subjects (627 were followed up in 1995 and 345 were followed up in 2001) with complete information on genders, age, birth weight, family history of diabetes, BMI, WC, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-hour plasma glucose (2 h PG) met the study inclusion criteria at the follow-up visits. In the data analysis, they were divided into low, normal, and high birth weight, respectively. The ANOVA and Chi-squared tests were used to compare the differences in their characteristics by birth weight group. In addition, multiple binary Logistic regression model was used to investigate the single effect of birth weight, BMI, and waist circumference on abnormal glucose metabolism at adulthood. Stratification analysis was used to investigate the joint effect of birth weight and each of obesity measures (BMI and WC) on abnormal glucose metabolism. There were 972 subjects (males: 50.7%, mean age: (46.0±2.2) years) included in the final data analysis. The 2 h PG in low birth weight group was (7.6±3.2) mmol/L , which was higher than that in normal birth weight group (6.9±2.1) mmol/L and high birth weight group (6.4±1.3) mmol/L (F=3.88, P=0.021). After adjustment for genders, age, body length, gestation age, family history of diabetes, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption, and duration of follow-up, subjects with overweight and obesity at adulthood had 2.73 (95% confidence interval (CI) =2.06- 3.62) times risk

Associations between nine family dinner frequency measures and child weight, dietary and psychosocial outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Fulkerson, Jayne A.; Friend, Sarah E.; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

2015-01-01

Background Family meal frequency has been consistently and significantly associated with positive youth dietary and psychosocial outcomes but less consistently associated with weight outcomes. Family meal frequency measurement has varied widely and it is unclear how this variation may impact relationships with youth weight, dietary, and psychosocial outcomes. Objective This study assesses how five parent/caregiver-reported and four child-reported family dinner frequency measures correlate with each other and are associated with health-related outcomes. Design/Participants This secondary, cross-sectional analysis uses baseline, parent/caregiver (n=160) and 8–12 year old child (n=160) data from the Healthy Home Offerings via the Mealtime Environment (HOME) Plus trial (collected 2011–2012). Data were obtained from objective measurements, dietary recall interviews, and psychosocial surveys. Outcome measures Outcomes included child body mass index z-scores (BMIz), fruit, vegetable and sugar-sweetened beverage intake, dietary quality (Healthy Eating Index-2010 [HEI-2010]), family connectedness, and meal conversations. Statistical analyses performed Pearson correlations and general linear models were used to assess associations between family dinner frequency measures and outcomes. Results All family dinner frequency measures had comparable means and were correlated within and across parent/caregiver- and child-reporters (r=0.17–0.94, pdinner frequency measures were significantly associated with BMIz scores and 100% were significantly associated with fruit/vegetable intake and HEI-2010. In adjusted models, most significant associations with dietary and psychosocial outcomes remained but associations with child BMIz remained significant only for parent/caregiver- (β±SE= −0.07±0.03; pdinner frequency measures asking about ‘sitting and eating’ dinner. Conclusions In spite of phrasing variations in family dinner frequency measures (e.g., which family members

The validity of self-reported vs. measured body weight and height and the effect of self-perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Gokler, Mehmet Enes; Bugrul, Necati; Sarı, Ahu Ozturk; Metintas, Selma

2018-01-01

The objective was to assess the validity of self-reported body weight and height and the possible influence of self-perception of body mass index (BMI) status on the actual BMI during the adolescent period. This cross sectional study was conducted on 3918 high school students. Accurate BMI perception occurred when the student's self-perception of their BMI status did not differ from their actual BMI based on measured height and weight. Agreement between the measured and self-reported body height and weight and BMI values was determined using the Bland-Altman metod. To determine the effects of "a good level of agreement", hierarchical logistic regression models were used. Among male students who reported their BMI in the normal region, 2.8% were measured as overweight while 0.6% of them were measured as obese. For females in the same group, these percentages were 1.3% and 0.4% respectively. Among male students who perceived their BMI in the normal region, 8.5% were measured as overweight while 0.4% of them were measured as obese. For females these percentages were 25.6% and 1.8% respectively. According to logistic regression analysis, residence and accurate BMI perception were significantly associated with "good agreement" ( p ≤ 0.001). The results of this study demonstrated that in determining obesity and overweight statuses, non-accurate weight perception is a potential risk for students.

Live weight and body measurements of male and female native ducks raised in different raising systems

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Kadir Önk

2018-05-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine live weight and body measurements of male and female native ducks raised in different raising systems. One hundred and twenty native ducks (60 males, 60 females were used in the study. The ducks were raised in deep litter floor and cage systems. Live weight and body values were measured every two weeks, until they were 56 days old. Three-parameter logistic regression and Gompertz model were used to determine growth model of male and female ducks. Interactions of time-raising system and time-sex were statistically significant in terms of live weight. At the end of eight weeks, live weights of ducks raised in deep litter floor were higher than ducks raised in cage system. In addition, live weights of male ducks were higher than female ducks. Consequently, deep litter floor is more appropriate for live weight in native ducks. Accuracy rate of Three-parameter Logistic and Gompertz models for estimation of growth in ducks was between 0.91-0.95 and similar results were obtained from both models. The Gompertz model is appropriate for the data structure of this study because it contains fewer iterations than the Three-Parameter Logistic model.

Societal objectives as drivers in the search for criteria weights when ranking energy efficiency measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sousa, José L.; Martins, António G.; Jorge, Humberto M.

2012-01-01

In this paper we address a ranking problem from a tender mechanism established by the Portuguese energy regulator to promote energy efficiency measures in electricity consumption. Measures candidates to this tender are subjected to previously known assessment rules, and weighted criteria. Our proposal has explicitly taken avoided consumption and cost of saved kWh as decision variables for defining two societal objectives. In order to define ranges for the weights of the criteria and reference performance values, the search for the most suitable sets of weights is done by an evolutionary algorithm. Measures were used that applied for funding in previous tender calls. The results demonstrate that in face of different sets of measures, the range of weights for each criterion may vary significantly. The proposal, besides helping to obtain a more suitable set of criteria weights, can also assist in the very process of formulating the criteria, in view of the regulator’s societal objectives, since it was found that some of the used criteria actually lack the ability to discriminate between candidate measures. After a post-processing analysis, the DM is presented with a set of criteria weights from which he can select the one that better reflects his preferences. - Highlights: ► We address a Portuguese energy efficiency fostering tender mechanism. ► We used a genetic algorithm to search for sets of criteria weights. ► We used societal objectives to guide the selection of energy efficiency measures. ► Flexibility in the weights can help finding the best possible use of public money.

One-year health-related quality of life outcomes in weight loss trial participants: comparison of three measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolotkin Ronette L

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The literature on changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL in weight loss studies is inconsistent, and few studies use more than one type of measure. The purpose of the current study was to compare one-year changes in HRQOL as a function of weight change using three different measures: a weight-related measure (Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite [IWQOL-Lite] and two generic measures (SF-36; EQ-5D. Methods Data were obtained from 926 participants (mean Body Mass Index (BMI (kg/m2 = 35.4; 84% female; mean age = 49.5 years in a placebo-controlled randomized trial for weight loss. At baseline and one-year, participants completed all three HRQOL measures. HRQOL was compared across weight change categories (≥ 5% and 0–4.9% gain, 0–4.9%, 5.0–9.9% and ≥ 10% loss, using effect sizes. Results The weight-related measure of HRQOL exhibited greater improvements with one-year weight loss than either of the generic instruments, with effect sizes ranging from 0.24 to 0.62 for 5–9.9% weight reductions and 0.44 to 0.95 for ≥ 10% reductions. IWQOL-Lite Self-Esteem also showed a small improvement with weight gain. Changes in the two generic measures of HRQOL were inconsistent with each other, and in the case of the SF-36, variable across domains. For participants gaining ≥ 5% of weight, the greatest reductions in HRQOL occurred with respect to SF-36 Mental Health, MCS, and Vitality, with effect sizes of -0.82, -0.70, and -0.63 respectively. Conclusion This study found differences between weight-related and generic measures of health-related quality of life in a one-year weight loss trial, reflecting the potential value of using more than one measure in a trial. Although weight loss was generally associated with improved IWQOL-Lite, physical SF-36 subscale and EQ-5D scores, a small amount of weight gain was associated with a slight improvement on weight-specific HRQOL and almost no change on the EQ-5D, suggesting the

Step Complexity Measure for Emergency Operating Procedures - Determining Weighting Factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea; Kim, Jaewhan; Ha, Jaejoo

2003-01-01

In complex systems, such as nuclear power plants (NPPs) or airplane control systems, human error has been regarded as the primary cause of many events. Therefore, to ensure system safety, extensive effort has been made to identify the significant factors that can cause human error. According to related studies, written manuals or operating procedures are revealed as one of the important factors, and the understandability is pointed out as one of the major reasons for procedure-related human errors.Many qualitative checklists have been suggested to evaluate emergency operating procedures (EOPs) of NPPs so as to minimize procedure-related human errors. However, since qualitative evaluations using checklists have some drawbacks, a quantitative measure that can quantify the complexity of EOPs is indispensable.From this necessity, Park et al. suggested the step complexity (SC) measure to quantify the complexity of procedural steps included in EOPs. To verify the appropriateness of the SC measure, averaged step performance time data obtained from emergency training records of the loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and the excess steam demand event were compared with estimated SC scores. However, although averaged step performance time data and estimated SC scores show meaningful correlation, some important issues such as determining proper weighting factors have to be clarified to ensure the appropriateness of the SC measure. These were not properly dealt with due to a lack of backup data.In this paper, to resolve one of the important issues, emergency training records are additionally collected and analyzed in order to determine proper weighting factors. The total number of collected records is 66, and the training scenarios cover five emergency conditions including the LOCA, the steam generator tube rupture, the loss of all feedwater, the loss of off-site power, and the station blackout. From these records, average step performance time data are retrieved, and new

[Correlative analysis on metatarsalgia and the X-ray measurement indexes under weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing of hallux valgus].

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Hao; Sang, Zhi-Cheng; Wen, Jian-Min; Sun, Wei-Dong; Hu, Hai-Wei; Zhang, Yong-Chao; Zuo, Jian-Gang; Wang, Hai-Xiong

2014-04-01

To study changes in the radiographic appearance during weight-bearing and non-weigh-bearing in hallux valgus, and to analyse the correlation between the elasticity of plantar soft tissue of hallux valgus and the pain under the metatarsal head. From May 2012 to October 2012, 240 feet of 120 patients with hallux valgus were enrolled in the study. The degrees of the pian under the metatarsal head of all the patients were observed. AP and lateral X-ray films of feet were taken on the condition of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing. So the hallux valgus angle (HVA), the inter-metatarsal angle between the first and second metatarsals (IM1-2), the inter-metatarsal angle between the first and fifth metatarsals (IM1-5), top angle of the medial longitudinal arch (TAOTMLA),and anterior angle of the medial longitudinal arch (AAOTMLA) were measured on the X-ray films. The differences of HVA, IM1-2, IM1-5, TAOTMLA and AAOTMLA between two groups were compared, and the correlation between the changes of IM1-2, IM 1-5, TAOTMLA, AAOTMLA and the degree of the pain under the metatarsal head were analysed. One hundred and forty-eight feet had the pain under the metatarsal head. The IM1-2, IM1-5 and TAOTMLA increased on weight-bearing position compared with those on non-weight-bearing position, but the HVA and AAOTMLA decreased on weight-bearing position compared with those on non-weight-bearing position. There was a moderate relationship between the changes of IM 1-2,IM1-5 and the degree of the hallux valgus deformity, as well as the relationship between the different of IM1-5 and the degree of the pian under the metatarsal head. The degree of the collapse of the arch of foot with hallux valgus becomes serious with its deformity increasing. The pain under the metatarsal head of hallux valgus increases with the increased changes of IM 1-2,IM 1-5 and TAOTMLA. Analysis of the X-ray observation indexes of hallux valgus on weight-bearing position and non-weight-bearing position has

A Longitudinal Analysis of Adolescent Smoking: Using Smoking Status to Differentiate the Influence of Body Weight Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Traci; Johnson, Carolyn

2013-01-01

Background: Previous research has reported mixed results on the association between body weight measures (ie, perception of weight and weight loss goal) and cigarette smoking prevalence--and how these associations vary by sex and race. This longitudinal study assessed the relationship between these 2 body weight measures and smoking prevalence by…

Predicting live weight using body measurements in Afar goats in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bheema

Predicting live weight using body measurements in Afar goats in north eastern. Ethiopia ... farmers get value for their stock rather than the middlemen. However ..... of West African long-legged and West African dwarf sheep in Northern Ghana.

The measurement of activity-weighted size distributions of radon progeny: methods and laboratory intercomparison studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopke, P.K.; Strydom, R.; Ramamurthi, M.; Knutson, E.O.; Tu, K.W.; Scofield, P.; Holub, R.F.; Cheng, Y.S.; Su, Y.F.; Winklmayr, W.

1992-01-01

Over the past 5 y, there have been significant improvements in measurement of activity-weighted size distributions of airborne radon decay products. The modification of screen diffusion batteries to incorporate multiple screens of differing mesh number, called graded screen arrays, have permitted improved size resolution below 10 nm such that the size distributions can now be determined down to molecular sized activities (0.5 nm). In order to ascertain the utility and reliability of such systems, several intercomparison tests have been performed in a 2.4 m3 radon chamber in which particles of varying size have been produced by introducing SO2 and H2O along with the radon to the chamber. In April 1988, intercomparison studies were performed between direct measurements of the activity-weighted size distributions as measured by graded screen arrays and an indirect measurement of the distribution obtained by measuring the number size distribution with a differential mobility analyzer and multiplying by the theoretical attachment rate. Good agreement was obtained in these measurements. A second set of intercomparison studies among a number of groups with graded screen array systems was made in April 1989 with the objective of resolving spectral structure below 10 nm. Again, generally good agreement among the various groups was obtained although some differences were noted. It is thus concluded that such systems can be constructed and can be useful in making routine measurements of activity-weighted size distributions with reasonable confidence in the results obtained

Web Supplement to "Teaching Chain-Weight Real GDP Measures."

Science.gov (United States)

Cahill, Miles B.

2003-01-01

Describes a Web site that is a companion to the Miles Cahill article, "Teaching Chain-Weight Real GDP Measures." States that the exercises are useful because intermediate level textbooks treat this topic casually. Indicates that the Web site contains the comment tool, an overview of the concepts, and links to article references. (JEH)

Measurement of Self-Monitoring Web Technology Acceptance and Use in an e-Health Weight-Loss Trial

OpenAIRE

Ma, Jun; Xiao, Lan; Blonstein, Andrea C.

2013-01-01

Background: Research on technology acceptance and use in e-health weight-loss interventions is limited. Using data from a randomized controlled trial of two e-health interventions, we evaluated the acceptance and use of a self-monitoring Web site for weight loss. Materials and Methods: We examined eight theoretical constructs about technology acceptance using adapted 5-point Likert scales and the association of measured Web site usage and weight loss. Results: All scales had hi...

Peso medido, peso percebido e fatores associados em adolescentes Measured weight, self-perceived weight, and associated factors in adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cora L. Araújo

2010-05-01

-perception and nutritional status based on objective measurements of weight, height, and skin folds in adolescents, and to evaluate factors associated with disagreement between these measures. METHODS: The sample included the 1993 birth cohort from the city of Pelotas, Brazil, who were interviewed at home in 2004 and 2005. The study outcome resulted from the comparison between nutritional status and the weight self-perception of adolescents, and was divided into three categories: underestimation, agreement, and overestimation. The explanatory variables were sex, skin color, accumulated goods index, physical activity, eating habits, discrimination, dieting, feeling of well-being, and opinion of the adolescent concerning the perception of his/her parents regarding the adolescent's weight. Multivariate logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 4 452 interviews were conducted (87.5% of original cohort. Mean age was 11 years. The analysis of nutritional status revealed that 7.1% were underweight, 69.8% normal weight, 11.6% overweight, and 11.6% obese. The analysis of self-perceived weight revealed that 19% saw themselves as thin or very thin, 56% believed their weight was normal, and 25% saw themselves as fat or very fat. Global agreement between weight self-perception and nutritional status was 65% (kappa = 0.36. Weight underestimation occurred in 24.9% of boys vs. 20.3% of girls. Overestimation occurred in 15.8% of girls vs. 8.5% of boys. CONCLUSIONS: Girls tended to overestimate their weight, and boys, to underestimate it. There was a strong association between the opinion of adolescents concerning their parents' view of the adolescent's body and self-perceived weight.

RELIABILITY TESTING OF AN ON-HARVESTER COTTON WEIGHT MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

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A system for weighing seed cotton onboard stripper harvesters was developed and installed on several producer owned and operated machines. The weight measurement system provides critical information to producers when in the process of calibrating yield monitors or conducting on-farm research. The ...

Does objectively measured physical activity modify the association between early weight gain and fat mass in young adulthood?

Science.gov (United States)

Kolle, Elin; Horta, Bernardo L; Wells, Jonathan; Brage, Soren; Barros, Fernando C; Ekelund, Ulf; Hallal, Pedro C

2017-11-25

Substantial evidence suggests that weight gain in early life is associated with increased adiposity and other metabolic disorders later in life. It is, however, unknown whether physical activity (PA) may modify these associations. We aimed to examine whether objectively measured PA at 30 years modified the associations between conditional weight gain in infancy (0-2 y) and childhood (2-4 y) with fat mass index (FMI) and visceral abdominal fat measured at age 30 years. Prospective birth cohort study in Pelotas, Brazil, including 1874 participants with weight data at birth, two and four years of age, and measures of FMI, visceral abdominal fat and PA at a mean age of 30.2 years. At age 30, time spent (min/day) in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was measured objectively using a wrist-worn accelerometer worn for four to seven consecutive days.. Multiple linear regression analyses was performed to assess the associations between conditional weight gain and outcome variables at 30 years, adjusting for covariates. We examined whether PA modified the association between conditional weight gain and the outcomes of interest by introducing an interaction term (conditional weight gain × PA) in the models. Conditional weight gain in infancy and childhood were both positively associated with later FMI (infancy weight gain: β = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.88; P gain: β = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.70, 1.11; P gain and later FMI (β = -0.006, 95% CI: -0.011, -0.001; P = 0.029), suggesting stronger associations between weight gain and FMI in those with lower levels of MVPA. Conditional weight gain in childhood was also positively associated with visceral abdominal fat (β = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.15, 0424, P gain between 2 and 4 years of age is associated with increased FMI at age 30 years. However, higher levels of MVPA appear to attenuate this detrimental association.

CT- and MRI-based volumetry of resected liver specimen: Comparison to intraoperative volume and weight measurements and calculation of conversion factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karlo, C.; Reiner, C.S.; Stolzmann, P.; Breitenstein, S.; Marincek, B.; Weishaupt, D.; Frauenfelder, T.

2010-01-01

Objective: To compare virtual volume to intraoperative volume and weight measurements of resected liver specimen and calculate appropriate conversion factors to reach better correlation. Methods: Preoperative (CT-group, n = 30; MRI-group, n = 30) and postoperative MRI (n = 60) imaging was performed in 60 patients undergoing partial liver resection. Intraoperative volume and weight of the resected liver specimen was measured. Virtual volume measurements were performed by two readers (R1,R2) using dedicated software. Conversion factors were calculated. Results: Mean intraoperative resection weight/volume: CT: 855 g/852 mL; MRI: 872 g/860 mL. Virtual resection volume: CT: 960 mL(R1), 982 mL(R2); MRI: 1112 mL(R1), 1115 mL(R2). Strong positive correlation for both readers between intraoperative and virtual measurements, mean of both readers: CT: R = 0.88(volume), R = 0.89(weight); MRI: R = 0.95(volume), R = 0.92(weight). Conversion factors: 0.85(CT), 0.78(MRI). Conclusion: CT- or MRI-based volumetry of resected liver specimen is accurate and recommended for preoperative planning. A conversion of the result is necessary to improve intraoperative and virtual measurement correlation. We found 0.85 for CT- and 0.78 for MRI-based volumetry the most appropriate conversion factors.

Using personality as a predictor of diet induced weight loss and weight management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Munro Irene A

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A major challenge for successful weight management is tailoring weight loss programs to individual needs. The aim of this study was to investigate whether personality traits could be used to match individuals to a compatible weight loss program that would maximize weight loss. Method Two different weight loss trials were conducted, both with a weight loss greater than 5% the measure of success. Fifty-four individuals, BMI 30-40 kg/m2, either followed a slow, healthy eating weight loss diet (HEWLD of 5000-6000 kJ/day for 12 weeks (n = 22, or a fast, very low energy diet (VLED of 3000 kJ/day for 4 weeks (n = 32. Anthropometric measurements were recorded at baseline, at the end of the weight loss period and, for VLED, at the end of 10 weeks of weight maintenance. Personality traits were measured at baseline using the Tangney Self Control Scale plus 3 of the scales from the Five Factor Model - Neuroticism, Conscientiousness and Extraversion. Results The percentage weight loss was significantly greater in VLED (-7.38% compared to HEWLD (-4.11%, (p Conclusion The personality factor, Neuroticism, was linked to successful weight loss (that is ≥ 5% with a particular weight loss treatment, suggesting that there is a potential to use measures of personality to identify appropriate weight loss/management strategies for individuals. Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR: ACTRN12611000716965

A simple technique for measuring buoyant weight increment of entire, transplanted coral colonies in the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Herler, Jürgen; Dirnwöber, Markus

2011-10-31

Estimating the impacts of global and local threats on coral reefs requires monitoring reef health and measuring coral growth and calcification rates at different time scales. This has traditionally been mostly performed in short-term experimental studies in which coral fragments were grown in the laboratory or in the field but measured ex situ. Practical techniques in which growth and measurements are performed over the long term in situ are rare. Apart from photographic approaches, weight increment measurements have also been applied. Past buoyant weight measurements under water involved a complicated and little-used apparatus. We introduce a new method that combines previous field and laboratory techniques to measure the buoyant weight of entire, transplanted corals under water. This method uses an electronic balance fitted into an acrylic glass underwater housing and placed atop of an acrylic glass cube. Within this cube, corals transplanted onto artificial bases can be attached to the balance and weighed at predetermined intervals while they continue growth in the field. We also provide a set of simple equations for the volume and weight determinations required to calculate net growth rates. The new technique is highly accurate: low error of weight determinations due to variation of coral density (corals. We outline a transplantation technique for properly preparing corals for such long-term in situ experiments and measurements.

Accuracy of a digital weight scale relative to the nintendo wii in measuring limb load asymmetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ns Senthil; Omar, Baharudin; Joseph, Leonard H; Hamdan, Nor; Htwe, Ohnmar; Hamidun, Nursalbiyah

2014-08-01

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of a digital weight scale relative to the Wii in limb loading measurement during static standing. [Methods] This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a public university teaching hospital. The sample consisted of 24 participants (12 with osteoarthritis and 12 healthy) recruited through convenient sampling. Limb loading measurements were obtained using a digital weight scale and the Nintendo Wii in static standing with three trials under an eyes-open condition. The limb load asymmetry was computed as the symmetry index. [Results] The accuracy of measurement with the digital weight scale relative to the Nintendo Wii was analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (K-S test). The area under the ROC curve was found to be 0.67. Logistic regression confirmed the validity of digital weight scale relative to the Nintendo Wii. The D statistics value from the K-S test was found to be 0.16, which confirmed that there was no significant difference in measurement between the equipment. [Conclusion] The digital weight scale is an accurate tool for measuring limb load asymmetry. The low price, easy availability, and maneuverability make it a good potential tool in clinical settings for measuring limb load asymmetry.

Midupper Arm Circumference Outperforms Weight-Based Measures of Nutritional Status in Children with Diarrhea.

Science.gov (United States)

Modi, Payal; Nasrin, Sabiha; Hawes, Meagan; Glavis-Bloom, Justin; Alam, Nur H; Hossain, M Iqbal; Levine, Adam C

2015-07-01

Undernutrition contributes to 45% of all deaths in children children with diarrhea and possible dehydration. This study assessed the validity of different measures of undernutrition in children with diarrhea. A prospective cohort study was conducted at an urban hospital in Bangladesh. Children children for screening, of which 1025 were eligible, 850 were enrolled, and 721 had complete data for analysis. Anthropometric measurements, including weight-for-age z score (WAZ), weight-for-length z score (WLZ), midupper arm circumference (MUAC), and midupper arm circumference z score (MUACZ), were calculated pre- and posthydration in all patients. Measurements were evaluated for their ability to correctly identify undernutrition in children with varying degrees of dehydration. Of the 721 patients with full data for analysis, the median percent dehydration was 4%. Of the 4 measures evaluated, MUAC and MUACZ demonstrated 92-94% agreement pre- and posthydration compared with 69-76% for WAZ and WLZ. Although each 1% change in hydration status was found to change weight-for-age by 0.0895 z scores and weight-for-length by 0.1304 z scores, MUAC and MUACZ were not significantly affected by dehydration status. Weight-based measures misclassified 12% of children with severe underweight and 14% with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) compared with only 1-2% for MUAC and MUACZ. MUAC and MUACZ were the most accurate predictors of undernutrition in children with diarrhea. WAZ and WLZ were significantly affected by dehydration status, leading to the misdiagnosis of many patients on arrival with severe underweight and SAM. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02007733. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Legacy tree data: A national database of detailed tree measurements for volume, weight, and physical properties

Science.gov (United States)

P.J. Radtke; D.M. Walker; A.R. Weiskittel; J. Frank; J.W. Coulston; J.A. Westfall

2015-01-01

Forest mensurationists in the United States have expended considerable effort over the past century making detailed observations of trees’ dimensions. In recent decades efforts have focused increasingly on weights and physical properties. Work is underway to compile original measurements from past volume, taper, and weight or biomass studies for North American tree...

In vivo measurement of aerodynamic weight support in freely flying birds

Science.gov (United States)

Lentink, David; Haselsteiner, Andreas; Ingersoll, Rivers

2014-11-01

Birds dynamically change the shape of their wing during the stroke to support their body weight aerodynamically. The wing is partially folded during the upstroke, which suggests that the upstroke of birds might not actively contribute to aerodynamic force production. This hypothesis is supported by the significant mass difference between the large pectoralis muscle that powers the down-stroke and the much smaller supracoracoideus that drives the upstroke. Previous works used indirect or incomplete techniques to measure the total force generated by bird wings ranging from muscle force, airflow, wing surface pressure, to detailed kinematics measurements coupled with bird mass-distribution models to derive net force through second derivatives. We have validated a new method that measures aerodynamic force in vivo time-resolved directly in freely flying birds which can resolve this question. The validation of the method, using independent force measurements on a quadcopter with pulsating thrust, show the aerodynamic force and impulse are measured within 2% accuracy and time-resolved. We demonstrate results for quad-copters and birds of similar weight and size. The method is scalable and can be applied to both engineered and natural flyers across taxa. The first author invented the method, the second and third authors validated the method and present results for quadcopters and birds.

Effects of weight loss diet therapy on anthropometric measurements and biochemical variables in schizophrenic patients.

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Urhan, Murat; Ergün, Can; Aksoy, Meral; Ayer, Ahmet

2015-07-01

Prevalence of obesity in schizophrenic patients is two to three times higher than in the general population and unhealthy dietary patterns, a sedentary lifestyle and antipsychotic medication use may contribute to the higher levels of obesity among schizophrenic patients. We evaluated the effects of diet therapy on weight loss, anthropometric and biochemical variables in overweight or obese (body mass index, BMI ≥ 27 kg/m(2)) female schizophrenic patients who use antipsychotic medications and in healthy volunteers. Primary demographic variables were collected via questionnaire; blood samples and anthropometric measurements were obtained. Personalized diet recipes were prepared and nutritional education was shared. We logged the physical activity of the patients and maintained food consumption records at 3-day intervals. Participants were weighed every week; anthropometric measurements and blood samples were collected at the end of the first and second months. At the end of the study, reductions in body weight and other anthropometric measurements were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Reductions in body weight and BMI values for patient group were - 4.05 ± 1.73 kg and - 1.62 ± 0.73 kg/m(2) and for the control group were - 6.79 ± 1.80 kg and - 2.55 ± 0.64 kg/m(2), respectively. When compared with the patient group, reductions in the anthropometric variables of the control group were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Fasting glucose, blood lipids, albumin and leptin levels were decreased; insulin and homeostatic model assessment-measured insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels were increased insignificantly. Increases in the blood ghrelin levels for both groups were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Improvements to the diets of schizophrenic patient led to improvements in anthropometric measurements and biochemical variables and reduced the health risks caused by antipsychotic medications. Furthermore, we hypothesize that antipsychotic medications do not

Variation in Body Weight, Organ Weight and Haematological ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The rats fed raw kudzu and negative control diet showed negative mean weight changes(- 6.50g and -10.0g )while those fed with positive control and treated kudzu diet showed positive mean weight ... The result showed that the treated flour supported growth but had no definite effect on other parameters measured.

Measuring Restriction Sizes Using Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Martin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This article reviews a new concept in magnetic resonance as applied to cellular and biological systems. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging can be used to infer information about restriction sizes of samples being measured. The measurements rely on the apparent diffusion coefficient changing with diffusion times as measurements move from restricted to free diffusion regimes. Pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE measurements are limited in the ability to shorten diffusion times and thus are limited in restriction sizes which can be probed. Oscillating gradient spin echo (OGSE measurements could provide shorter diffusion times so smaller restriction sizes could be probed.

Multiple measures of physical activity, dietary habits and weight status in African American and Hispanic or Latina women.

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Lee, Rebecca E; Mama, Scherezade K; Medina, Ashley V; Reese-Smith, Jacqueline Y; Banda, Jorge A; Layne, Charles S; Baxter, Meggin; O'Connor, Daniel P; McNeill, Lorna; Estabrooks, Paul A

2011-12-01

Compared measures of physical activity and dietary habits used in the Health Is Power (HIP) study, and described the associations of physical activity and dietary habits among African American and Hispanic or Latino women, adjusted for weight status. Cross-sectional baseline data were compared for community dwelling, healthy African American (N = 262) and Hispanic or Latina women (N = 148) who participated in HIP. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) long form, the Check And Line Questionnaire (CALQ) log and accelerometry. Dietary habits were measured using NCI 24-h recall screeners, vegetable and fruit (VF) logs and the NCI Diet History Questionnaire (DHQ). Differences in physical activity and dietary habits were assessed using simultaneous 2 (ethnicity) × 3 (weight status) ANCOVAs adjusted for age and socioeconomic status. Women (M age = 44.4 ± 10.9 years) were obese (M = 34.0 ± 9.7 kg/m(2)), did not meet physical activity guidelines as measured by accelerometry (M = 19.4 ± 19.1 min MVPA/day) and ate few VF (M = 2.8 ± 2.7 servings/day). DHQ variables differed by weight status. IPAQ was associated with CALQ, and CALQ with accelerometry (P habits depending on measure used.

A method for measuring quality of life through subjective weighting of functional status.

Science.gov (United States)

Stineman, Margaret G; Wechsler, Barbara; Ross, Richard; Maislin, Greg

2003-04-01

To apply a new tool to understand the quality of life (QOL) implications of patients' functional status. Results from the Features-Resource Trade-Off Game were used to form utility weights by ranking functional activities by the relative value of achieving independence in each activity compared with all other component activities. The utility weights were combined with patients' actual levels of performance across the same activities to produce QOL-weighted functional status scores and to form "value rulers" to order activities by perceived importance. Persons with severe disabilities living in the community and clinicians practicing in various rehabilitation disciplines. Two panels of 5 consumers with disabilities and 2 panels of 5 rehabilitation clinicians. The 4 panels played the Features Resource Trade-Off Game by using the FIMT(TM) instrument definitions. Utility weights for each of the 18 FIM items, QOL-weighted FIM scores, and value rulers. All 4 panels valued the achievement of independence in cognitive and communication activities more than independence in physical activities. Consequently, the unweighted FIM scores of patients who have severe physical disabilities but relatively intact cognitive skills will underestimate QOL, while inflating QOL in those with low levels of independence in cognition and communication but higher physical function. Independence in some activities is more valued than in others; thus, 2 people with the same numeric functional status score could experience very different QOL. QOL-weighted functional status scores translate objectively measured functional status into its subjective meaning. This new technology for measuring subjective function-related QOL has a variety of applications to clinical, educational, and research practices.

Automated egg grading system using computer vision: Investigation on weight measure versus shape parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Nasir, Ahmad Fakhri Ab; Suhaila Sabarudin, Siti; Majeed, Anwar P. P. Abdul; Ghani, Ahmad Shahrizan Abdul

2018-04-01

Chicken egg is a source of food of high demand by humans. Human operators cannot work perfectly and continuously when conducting egg grading. Instead of an egg grading system using weight measure, an automatic system for egg grading using computer vision (using egg shape parameter) can be used to improve the productivity of egg grading. However, early hypothesis has indicated that more number of egg classes will change when using egg shape parameter compared with using weight measure. This paper presents the comparison of egg classification by the two above-mentioned methods. Firstly, 120 images of chicken eggs of various grades (A–D) produced in Malaysia are captured. Then, the egg images are processed using image pre-processing techniques, such as image cropping, smoothing and segmentation. Thereafter, eight egg shape features, including area, major axis length, minor axis length, volume, diameter and perimeter, are extracted. Lastly, feature selection (information gain ratio) and feature extraction (principal component analysis) are performed using k-nearest neighbour classifier in the classification process. Two methods, namely, supervised learning (using weight measure as graded by egg supplier) and unsupervised learning (using egg shape parameters as graded by ourselves), are conducted to execute the experiment. Clustering results reveal many changes in egg classes after performing shape-based grading. On average, the best recognition results using shape-based grading label is 94.16% while using weight-based label is 44.17%. As conclusion, automated egg grading system using computer vision is better by implementing shape-based features since it uses image meanwhile the weight parameter is more suitable by using weight grading system.

Weighted least-square approach for simultaneous measurement of multiple reflective surfaces

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Tang, Shouhong; Bills, Richard E.; Freischlad, Klaus

2007-09-01

Phase shifting interferometry (PSI) is a highly accurate method for measuring the nanometer-scale relative surface height of a semi-reflective test surface. PSI is effectively used in conjunction with Fizeau interferometers for optical testing, hard disk inspection, and semiconductor wafer flatness. However, commonly-used PSI algorithms are unable to produce an accurate phase measurement if more than one reflective surface is present in the Fizeau interferometer test cavity. Examples of test parts that fall into this category include lithography mask blanks and their protective pellicles, and plane parallel optical beam splitters. The plane parallel surfaces of these parts generate multiple interferograms that are superimposed in the recording plane of the Fizeau interferometer. When using wavelength shifting in PSI the phase shifting speed of each interferogram is proportional to the optical path difference (OPD) between the two reflective surfaces. The proposed method is able to differentiate each underlying interferogram from each other in an optimal manner. In this paper, we present a method for simultaneously measuring the multiple test surfaces of all underlying interferograms from these superimposed interferograms through the use of a weighted least-square fitting technique. The theoretical analysis of weighted least-square technique and the measurement results will be described in this paper.

Analysis of photosynthate translocation velocity and measurement of weighted average velocity in transporting pathway of crops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Cailin; Luo Shishi; Gong Jian; Zhang Hao; Ma Fei

1996-08-01

The translocation profile pattern of 14 C-photosynthate along the transporting pathway in crops were monitored by pulse-labelling a mature leaf with 14 CO 2 . The progressive spreading of translocation profile pattern along the sheath or stem indicates that the translocation of photosynthate along the sheath or stem proceed with a range of velocities rather than with just a single velocity. The method for measuring the weighted average velocity of photosynthate translocation along the sheath or stem was established in living crops. The weighted average velocity and the maximum velocity of photosynthate translocation along the sheath in rice and maize were measured actually. (4 figs., 3 tabs.)

Self-weight effect in the measurement of the volume of silicon spheres

Science.gov (United States)

Mari, D.; Massa, E.; Kuramoto, N.; Mana, G.

2018-04-01

The volume of 28Si spheres about 94 mm in diameter is an input datum for the determination of the Avogadro constant. We report a finite element analysis of the self-weight effect on the volume determination via optical interferometric measurements of the sphere diameters. The self-weight expansion or shrinkage of the equatorial diameters, which ranges from  -31 pm to  +180 pm, depends on the southern latitude of the supports.

Midupper Arm Circumference Outperforms Weight-Based Measures of Nutritional Status in Children with Diarrhea12

Science.gov (United States)

Modi, Payal; Nasrin, Sabiha; Hawes, Meagan; Glavis-Bloom, Justin; Alam, Nur H; Hossain, M Iqbal; Levine, Adam C

2015-01-01

Background: Undernutrition contributes to 45% of all deaths in children children with diarrhea and possible dehydration. Objective: This study assessed the validity of different measures of undernutrition in children with diarrhea. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted at an urban hospital in Bangladesh. Children children for screening, of which 1025 were eligible, 850 were enrolled, and 721 had complete data for analysis. Anthropometric measurements, including weight-for-age z score (WAZ), weight-for-length z score (WLZ), midupper arm circumference (MUAC), and midupper arm circumference z score (MUACZ), were calculated pre- and posthydration in all patients. Measurements were evaluated for their ability to correctly identify undernutrition in children with varying degrees of dehydration. Results: Of the 721 patients with full data for analysis, the median percent dehydration was 4%. Of the 4 measures evaluated, MUAC and MUACZ demonstrated 92–94% agreement pre- and posthydration compared with 69–76% for WAZ and WLZ. Although each 1% change in hydration status was found to change weight-for-age by 0.0895 z scores and weight-for-length by 0.1304 z scores, MUAC and MUACZ were not significantly affected by dehydration status. Weight-based measures misclassified 12% of children with severe underweight and 14% with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) compared with only 1–2% for MUAC and MUACZ. Conclusions: MUAC and MUACZ were the most accurate predictors of undernutrition in children with diarrhea. WAZ and WLZ were significantly affected by dehydration status, leading to the misdiagnosis of many patients on arrival with severe underweight and SAM. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02007733. PMID:25972523

Accuracy and usefulness of BMI measures based on self-reported weight and height: findings from the NHANES & NHIS 2001-2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schoenborn Charlotte A

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Body Mass Index (BMI based on self-reported height and weight ("self-reported BMI" in epidemiologic studies is subject to measurement error. However, because of the ease and efficiency in gathering height and weight information through interviews, it remains important to assess the extent of error present in self-reported BMI measures and to explore possible adjustment factors as well as valid uses of such self-reported measures. Methods Using the combined 2001-2006 data from the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, discrepancies between BMI measures based on self-reported and physical height and weight measures are estimated and socio-demographic predictors of such discrepancies are identified. Employing adjustments derived from the socio-demographic predictors, the self-reported measures of height and weight in the 2001-2006 National Health Interview Survey are used for population estimates of overweight & obesity as well as the prediction of health risks associated with large BMI values. The analysis relies on two-way frequency tables as well as linear and logistic regression models. All point and variance estimates take into account the complex survey design of the studies involved. Results Self-reported BMI values tend to overestimate measured BMI values at the low end of the BMI scale ( 28. The discrepancies also vary systematically with age (younger and older respondents underestimate their BMI more than respondents aged 42-55, gender and the ethnic/racial background of the respondents. BMI scores, adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, tend to narrow, but do not eliminate misclassification of obese people as merely overweight, but health risk estimates associated with variations in BMI values are virtually the same, whether based on self-report or measured BMI values. Conclusion BMI values based on self-reported height and weight, if corrected for biases

Accuracy and usefulness of BMI measures based on self-reported weight and height: findings from the NHANES & NHIS 2001-2006.

Science.gov (United States)

Stommel, Manfred; Schoenborn, Charlotte A

2009-11-19

The Body Mass Index (BMI) based on self-reported height and weight ("self-reported BMI") in epidemiologic studies is subject to measurement error. However, because of the ease and efficiency in gathering height and weight information through interviews, it remains important to assess the extent of error present in self-reported BMI measures and to explore possible adjustment factors as well as valid uses of such self-reported measures. Using the combined 2001-2006 data from the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, discrepancies between BMI measures based on self-reported and physical height and weight measures are estimated and socio-demographic predictors of such discrepancies are identified. Employing adjustments derived from the socio-demographic predictors, the self-reported measures of height and weight in the 2001-2006 National Health Interview Survey are used for population estimates of overweight & obesity as well as the prediction of health risks associated with large BMI values. The analysis relies on two-way frequency tables as well as linear and logistic regression models. All point and variance estimates take into account the complex survey design of the studies involved. Self-reported BMI values tend to overestimate measured BMI values at the low end of the BMI scale ( 28. The discrepancies also vary systematically with age (younger and older respondents underestimate their BMI more than respondents aged 42-55), gender and the ethnic/racial background of the respondents. BMI scores, adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, tend to narrow, but do not eliminate misclassification of obese people as merely overweight, but health risk estimates associated with variations in BMI values are virtually the same, whether based on self-report or measured BMI values. BMI values based on self-reported height and weight, if corrected for biases associated with socio-demographic characteristics of the survey

Weight Rhythms: Weight Increases during Weekends and Decreases during Weekdays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna-Leena Orsama

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: The week's cycle influences sleep, exercise, and eating habits. An accurate description of weekly weight rhythms has not been reported yet - especially across people who lose weight versus those who maintain or gain weight. Methods: The daily weight in 80 adults (BMI 20.0-33.5 kg/m2; age, 25-62 years was recorded and analysed to determine if a group-level weekly weight fluctuation exists. This was a retrospective study of 4,657 measurements during 15-330 monitoring days. Semi-parametric regression was used to model the rhythm. Results: A pattern of daily weight changes was found (p Conclusion: Weight variations between weekends and weekdays should be considered as normal instead of signs of weight gain. Those who compensate the most are most likely to either lose or maintain weight over time. Long-term habits may make more of a difference than short-term splurges. People prone to weight gain could be counselled about the importance of weekday compensation.

Accurate measurement of imaging photoplethysmographic signals based camera using weighted average

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Zongguang; Kong, Lingqin; Zhao, Yuejin; Sun, Huijuan; Dong, Liquan; Hui, Mei; Liu, Ming; Liu, Xiaohua; Liu, Lingling; Li, Xiaohui; Li, Rongji

2018-01-01

Imaging Photoplethysmography (IPPG) is an emerging technique for the extraction of vital signs of human being using video recordings. IPPG technology with its advantages like non-contact measurement, low cost and easy operation has become one research hot spot in the field of biomedicine. However, the noise disturbance caused by non-microarterial area cannot be removed because of the uneven distribution of micro-arterial, different signal strength of each region, which results in a low signal noise ratio of IPPG signals and low accuracy of heart rate. In this paper, we propose a method of improving the signal noise ratio of camera-based IPPG signals of each sub-region of the face using a weighted average. Firstly, we obtain the region of interest (ROI) of a subject's face based camera. Secondly, each region of interest is tracked and feature-based matched in each frame of the video. Each tracked region of face is divided into 60x60 pixel block. Thirdly, the weights of PPG signal of each sub-region are calculated, based on the signal-to-noise ratio of each sub-region. Finally, we combine the IPPG signal from all the tracked ROI using weighted average. Compared with the existing approaches, the result shows that the proposed method takes modest but significant effects on improvement of signal noise ratio of camera-based PPG estimated and accuracy of heart rate measurement.

Accuracy of the CT-estimated weight of the right hepatic lobe prior to living related liver donation (LRLD) for predicting the intraoperatively measured weight of the graft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemke, A.-J.; Brinkmann, M.; Felix, R.; Pascher, A.; Steinmueller, T.; Settmacher, U.; Neuhaus, P.

2003-01-01

Purpose: Due to the shortage of cadaver donors, living related liver donation (LRLD) has emerged as an alternative to cadaver donation. The expected graft weight is one of the main determinants for donor selection. This study investigates the accuracy of preoperatively performed CT-volumetry to predict the actual weight of the right liver lobe graft. Materials and methods: In a prospective study the weight of the right hepatic lobe was calculated by volumetric analysis based on CT in 33 patients (21 females, 12 males, mean age 42.1 years, median age 41 years) prior to living related liver donation. Graft weight was calculated as the product of CT-based graft volume and 1.00 g/ml (the approximated density of healthy liver parenchyma). The calculated weight was compared with the intraoperatively measured weight of the harvested right hepatic lobe. The difference was used to determine a correction factor for estimating the actual graft weight. Results: Based on the assumption of a parenchymal density of 1.00 g/ml, the preoperatively estimated graft weight (mean 980 g ± 168 g) deviated + 33% from the intraoperatively measured right hepatic lobe weight (mean 749 g ± 170 g). By reducing the preoperatively predicted weight of the right hepatic lobe with a correction factor of 0.75, the actual graft weight can be calculated [de

Weighted Evidence Combination Rule Based on Evidence Distance and Uncertainty Measure: An Application in Fault Diagnosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Chen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Conflict management in Dempster-Shafer theory (D-S theory is a hot topic in information fusion. In this paper, a novel weighted evidence combination rule based on evidence distance and uncertainty measure is proposed. The proposed approach consists of two steps. First, the weight is determined based on the evidence distance. Then, the weight value obtained in first step is modified by taking advantage of uncertainty. Our proposed method can efficiently handle high conflicting evidences with better performance of convergence. A numerical example and an application based on sensor fusion in fault diagnosis are given to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed method.

Direct and self-reported measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviours by weight status in school-aged children: results from ISCOLE-Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthuri, Stella K; Wachira, Lucy-Joy M; Onywera, Vincent O; Tremblay, Mark S

2015-01-01

Previous work has shown little association between self-report and directly measured physical activity. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-reported and directly assessed measures of physical activity and sedentary time by weight status in Kenyan children. Direct assessment of body weight, physical activity and sedentary time of 563 children was collected through anthropometry and accelerometry, while self-reported assessment was achieved by administering a questionnaire. Under/healthy weight children had significantly higher directly measured mean daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to overweight/obese children (39 vs 20 minutes); had lower mean weekend-day minutes of sedentary time (346 vs 365 minutes); had a higher proportion who met accepted physical activity guidelines (15.3% vs 2.6%); and a higher number reported using active transportation to/from school (49.2% vs 32.4%). Self-reported time spent outside before and after school and active transport to/from school were significantly associated with mean weekday minutes of MVPA (r-value range = 0.12-0.36), but only for the under/healthy weight children. The results of this study found a number of differences in the accumulation of MVPA and sedentary time by weight status and weak-to-moderate correlations between self-report and direct measures of weekday and weekend-day physical activity among the under/healthy weight children.

Factors Affecting Estimated Fetal Weight Measured by Ultrasound

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Hasan Energin

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the fac­tors that affect the accuracy of estimated fetal weight in ultrasound. Methods: This study was conducted in 3rd degree hospi­tal antenatal outpatient clinic and perinatology inpatient clinic between June 2011 and January 2012. The data were obtained from 165 pregnant women. Inclusion cri­teria were; no additional diseases, giving birth within 48 hours after ultrasound. The same physician executed all ultrasound process. Age, height, weight, obstetric history and obstetric follow –up findings were recorded. Results: Fetal gender, fetal presentation, presence of meconium in amniotic fluid, maternal parity, did not sig­nificantly affect the accuracy of fetal weight estimation by ultrasound. The mean difference between estimated fetal weight and birth weight was 104.48±84 gr in nullipars and 94.2±81 gr in multipars (p=0.44; mean difference was 98.22±79 gr in male babies and 98.15±86 gr in female babies (p=0.99. Mean difference between estimated fetal weight and birth weight was 96.92±81 gr in babies with cephalic presentation and 110.9±90 gr in babies with breech presentation (p=0.53; this difference was 95.36±79 gr in babies with amniotic fluid with meconium and 98.82± 83 gr in babies with amniotic fluid without me­conium (p=0.83. Conclusion: Fetal weight is estimation is one of key points in the obstetrician’s intrapartum managament. And it is important to make fetal weight estimation accurately. In our study, consistent with literature, we observed that fetal gender; meconium presence in amniotic fluid, fetal presentation, maternal parity does not significantly effect the accuracy of fetal weight estimation by ultrasound.

Comparison among T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, modified dixon method, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in measuring bone marrow fat.

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Shen, Wei; Gong, Xiuqun; Weiss, Jessica; Jin, Ye

2013-01-01

An increasing number of studies are utilizing different magnetic resonance (MR) methods to quantify bone marrow fat due to its potential role in osteoporosis. Our aim is to compare the measurements of bone marrow fat among T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), modified Dixon method (also called fat fraction MRI (FFMRI)), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Contiguous MRI scans were acquired in 27 Caucasian postmenopausal women with a modified Dixon method (i.e., FFMRI). Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT) of T1-weighted MRI and bone marrow fat fraction of the L3 vertebra and femoral necks were quantified using SliceOmatic and Matlab. MRS was also acquired at the L3 vertebra. Correlation among the three MR methods measured bone marrow fat fraction and BMAT ranges from 0.78 to 0.88 (P BMAT measured by T1-weighted MRI and bone marrow fat fraction measured by modified FFMRI is 0.86 (P < 0.001) in femoral necks. There are good correlations among T1-weighted MRI, FFMRI, and MRS for bone marrow fat quantification. The inhomogeneous distribution of bone marrow fat, the threshold segmentation of the T1-weighted MRI, and the ambiguity of the FFMRI may partially explain the difference among the three methods.

Effects of Weight Loss, Weight Cycling, and Weight Loss Maintenance on Diabetes Incidence and Change in Cardiometabolic Traits in the Diabetes Prevention Program

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Qing; Jablonski, Kathleen A.; Aroda, Vanita R.; Watson, Karol E.; Bray, George A.; Kahn, Steven E.; Florez, Jose C.; Perreault, Leigh; Franks, Paul W.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE This study examined specific measures of weight loss in relation to incident diabetes and improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This prospective, observational study analyzed nine weight measures, characterizing baseline weight, short- versus long-term weight loss, short- versus long-term weight regain, and weight cycling, within the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) lifestyle intervention arm (n = 1,000) for predictors of incident diabetes and improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors over 2 years. RESULTS Although weight loss in the first 6 months was protective of diabetes (hazard ratio [HR] 0.94 per kg, 95% CI 0.90, 0.98; P weight loss from 0 to 2 years was the strongest predictor of reduced diabetes incidence (HR 0.90 per kg, 95% CI 0.87, 0.93; P Weight cycling (defined as number of 5-lb [2.25-kg] weight cycles) ranged 0–6 times per participant and was positively associated with incident diabetes (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.12, 1.58; P weight, the effect of weight cycling remained statistically significant for diabetes risk (HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.02, 1.47; P = 0.03) but not for cardiometabolic traits. CONCLUSIONS Two-year weight loss was the strongest predictor of reduced diabetes risk and improvements in cardiometabolic traits. PMID:25024396

Molecular weight distribution of electron and γ-ray irradiated PEEK measured by very high temperature GPC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakahara, H.

1996-01-01

Poly(ether ether ketone)(PEEK) films were irradiated with electron beam in air and in helium. Gel fractions of the PEEK samples were determined as the ratio of the weight of insoluble fraction/total weigh by extracting the samples with 1-chloronaphthalene (1-CN) at 260degC. While unirradiated PEEK samples were dissolved in 1-CN completely, PEEK samples highly (10 - 50 MGy) irradiated in air were almost insoluble in the solvent. The weight-average molecular weight M w of soluble fractions of the samples were measured by very high temperature gel permeation chromatography (VHTGPC): it was found that the M w decreases with increasing dose. On the other hand, PEEK samples irradiated in helium gave gel fractions at lower doses (0 - 5 MGy) than in air. The PEEK films were also irradiated with 60 Co γ-rays in the dose range, i.e. from 0 to 5 MGy. The γ-irradiated PEEK samples were completely dissolved in 1-CN at 260degC. Their M w measured by VHTGPC decreases with increasing dose. (author)

Measurement of energy expenditure in overweight men and women using [C-14]-bicarbonate-urea before and after weight loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luscombe, N.; Kirkwood, I.D.; Bellon, M.; Tsopelas, C.; Wittert, G.A.

2002-01-01

Full text: Many studies have demonstrated significant declines in 24-hour energy expenditure (TEE) measured by whole body calorimetry with either the process of weight loss or the maintenance of reduced body weight. The aims of this study were to determine the effect of weight loss and two weeks of weight maintenance on TEE using [ 14 C]-bicarbonate-urea, Eleven subjects (6 males, 5 females), mean (±SE) age 50 ± 3 years, BMI 34.1 ± 2.1 kg/m2 and body fat 38.7 ± 3% were studied before and after a decrease in body weight of > 8% over a period of 8 weeks, followed by two weeks of weight maintenance. Weight loss was induced using the combination of Modifast and one small meal a day (∼3.34 MJ/day). Body composition (DEXA), resting energy expenditure (REE) and the thermic effect of a 2.7 MJ test meal (TEF) were measured in addition to TEE at week 2 and again at week 12. Diet was assessed using diaries and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) was calculated from the equation: 0.9 x TEE-REE, which assumes that 10% of TEE is accounted for by the TEE. Body weight decreased by 11.8 ± 1.0% from week 2 to 10, and remained stable thereafter. Total fat mass, abdominal fat mass and lean mass decreased by 19.7 ± 1.8%, 21.8 ± 2.3% and 6.0 ± 1.1 % respectively. At week 12, REE decreased by 5.7 ± 1.3% (p < 0.002). The decreases in TEF (13.3 ± 13.7%), PAEE (31 ± 57.5%) and TEE (0.18 + 3.68%) were not significant. There was a significant relationship between the change in REE and overall body weight (p < 0.026) but not lean mass. It is concluded that in free-living subjects, after weight loss and two weeks of weight maintenance, REE but not TEE decreases, although there is substantial variability between individuals.Copyright (2002) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

Comparison among T1-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Modified Dixon Method, and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Measuring Bone Marrow Fat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Shen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. An increasing number of studies are utilizing different magnetic resonance (MR methods to quantify bone marrow fat due to its potential role in osteoporosis. Our aim is to compare the measurements of bone marrow fat among T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, modified Dixon method (also called fat fraction MRI (FFMRI, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS. Methods. Contiguous MRI scans were acquired in 27 Caucasian postmenopausal women with a modified Dixon method (i.e., FFMRI. Bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT of T1-weighted MRI and bone marrow fat fraction of the L3 vertebra and femoral necks were quantified using SliceOmatic and Matlab. MRS was also acquired at the L3 vertebra. Results. Correlation among the three MR methods measured bone marrow fat fraction and BMAT ranges from 0.78 to 0.88 in the L3 vertebra. Correlation between BMAT measured by T1-weighted MRI and bone marrow fat fraction measured by modified FFMRI is 0.86 in femoral necks. Conclusion. There are good correlations among T1-weighted MRI, FFMRI, and MRS for bone marrow fat quantification. The inhomogeneous distribution of bone marrow fat, the threshold segmentation of the T1-weighted MRI, and the ambiguity of the FFMRI may partially explain the difference among the three methods.

On stochastic inequalities and comparisons of reliability measures for weighted distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oluyede Broderick O.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Inequalities, relations and stochastic orderings, as well as useful ageing notions for weighted distributions are established. Also presented are preservation and stability results and comparisons for weighted and length-biased distributions. Relations for length-biased and equilibrium distributions as examples of weighted distributions are also presented.

A Novel Approach to Semantic Similarity Measurement Based on a Weighted Concept Lattice: Exemplifying Geo-Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Xiao

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The measurement of semantic similarity has been widely recognized as having a fundamental and key role in information science and information systems. Although various models have been proposed to measure semantic similarity, these models are not able effectively to quantify the weights of relevant factors that impact on the judgement of semantic similarity, such as the attributes of concepts, application context, and concept hierarchy. In this paper, we propose a novel approach that comprehensively considers the effects of various factors on semantic similarity judgment, which we name semantic similarity measurement based on a weighted concept lattice (SSMWCL. A feature model and network model are integrated together in SSMWCL. Based on the feature model, the combined weight of each attribute of the concepts is calculated by merging its information entropy and inclusion-degree importance in a specific application context. By establishing the weighted concept lattice, the relative hierarchical depths of concepts for comparison are computed according to the principle of the network model. The integration of feature model and network model enables SSMWCL to take account of differences in concepts more comprehensively in semantic similarity measurement. Additionally, a workflow of SSMWCL is designed to demonstrate these procedures and a case study of geo-information is conducted to assess the approach.

Combined Influence of Gestational Weight Gain and Estimated Fetal Weight on Risk Assessment for Small- or Large-for-Gestational-Age Birth Weight: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pugh, Sarah J; Hinkle, Stefanie N; Kim, Sungduk; Albert, Paul S; Newman, Roger; Grobman, William A; Wing, Deborah A; Grantz, Katherine L

2018-04-01

To evaluate the frequency with which gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight do not track across gestation and to assess the risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) birth weight as a function of tracking. This study included a pregnancy cohort (2009-2013) of 2438 women from 4 racial/ethnic groups in the United States. We calculated race- and trimester-specific gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight z scores. The prevalence of how often gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight did not or did directly track was examined by grouping z scores into measure-specific categories (1 SD) and then examining 2-measure combinations. Trimester-specific relative risks for SGA and LGA births were estimated with a gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight z score interaction. We estimated coefficients for selected gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight values (-1 SD, 0 SD, and +1 SD) compared with the referent of 0 SD for both measures. Small and large for gestational age were calculated as birth weight below the 10th and at or above the 90th percentiles, respectively. Gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight were within 1 SD 55.5%, 51.5%, and 48.2% of the time in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. There was no significant interaction between gestational weight gain and estimated fetal weight on the risk of SGA in the first and second trimesters (interaction term P = .48; P = .79). In the third trimester, there was a significant interaction (P = .002), resulting in a 71% (95% confidence interval, 1.45-2.02) increased risk of SGA when estimated fetal weight was low and gestational weight gain was high. These relationships were similar for the risk of LGA. Deviations in either measure, even in the presence of average gestational weight gain or estimated fetal weight, still suggest an increased risk of SGA and LGA. © 2017 by the American Institute of

Caloric restriction induces changes in insulin and body weight measurements that are inversely associated with subsequent weight regain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wong, Monica H T; Holst, Claus; Astrup, Arne

2012-01-01

Successful weight maintenance following weight loss is challenging for many people. Identifying predictors of longer-term success will help target clinical resources more effectively. To date, focus has been predominantly on the identification of predictors of weight loss. The goal of the current...

The relative associations of shape and weight over-evaluation, preoccupation, dissatisfaction, and fear of weight gain with measures of psychopathology: An extension study in individuals with anorexia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Linardon, Jake; Phillipou, Andrea; Castle, David; Newton, Richard; Harrison, Philippa; Cistullo, Leonardo L; Griffiths, Scott; Hindle, Annemarie; Brennan, Leah

2018-04-01

Recent research has demonstrated that certain components of body image (i.e., shape and weight over-evaluation, preoccupation, and dissatisfaction) in secondary school students shared a distinct clinical significance because of their differential relation to measures of psychopathology. The present study aimed to replicate and extend on these findings by examining the distinctiveness of these body image constructs, in addition to a fear of weight gain, in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN)-a disorder this is facilitated and maintained by extreme body image concerns. Treatment-seeking females with AN (n = 124) completed a questionnaire battery that measured these constructs. Findings demonstrated that once any shared variance between body image components was removed in regression analyses, fear of weight gain was the only unique predictor of eating disorder psychopathology (e.g., dietary restraint and compulsive exercise), while over-evaluation and preoccupation were the only unique predictors of general psychopathology (e.g., depressive and anxiety symptoms). Overall, these findings demonstrate certain components of body image may operate differently in AN, and reinforce previous calls to consider and assess for distinct facets of body image in this population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relating shape/weight based self-esteem, depression, and anxiety with weight and perceived physical health among young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamody, Rebecca C; Thurston, Idia B; Decker, Kristina M; Kaufman, Caroline C; Sonneville, Kendrin R; Richmond, Tracy K

2018-06-01

Simultaneous contributions of self-esteem, depression, and anxiety to weight and perceived physical health in young adults is understudied. A diverse sample of 424 young adults completed measures of shape/weight based self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and perceived physical health. Height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI). Latent profile analysis was conducted to derive patterns of depression, anxiety, and shape/weight based self-esteem. Then, we examined the association of the profiles with weight status and perceived physical health. Three profiles emerged: (1) High Shape/Weight Influence (HSWI); (2) Low Shape/Weight, Depression, & Anxiety Influence (LSWDAI); and (3) High Depression & Anxiety Influence (HDAI). The HSWI profile had significantly higher BMI than the LSWDAI and HDAI profiles, and significantly lower perceived physical health than the LSWDAI profile. Over emphasis on shape/weight, regardless of depression and anxiety, is associated with elevated weight and negative internalized health views. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The association between Placental T2* measured by MRI in dichorionic twin pregnancies and intertwin birth weight differences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Anne Nødgaard Weidemann; Sinding, Marianne Munk; Peters, David Alberg

ABSTRACT FINAL ID: P22.06 TITLE: The association between Placental T2* measured by MRI in dichorionic twin pregnancies and intertwin birth weight differences AUTHORS (FIRST NAME, LAST NAME): Anne Sørensen1, 2, Marianne Sinding1, David Peters3, Jens B. Frøkjær4, 2, Astrid Petersen6, Niels Uldbjerg5...... with an increased risk of adverse neonatal outcome, and new methods to predict the intertwin birth weight difference are highly clinical relevant. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) variable placentalT2* reflects placental oxygenation and thereby placental function. Therefore, we aimed to investigate...... the association between the intertwin placental T2* difference and the intertwin birth weight difference Methods: A total of 21 dichorionic twin pregnancies (gestational age 20.1 – 34.1 weeks) were included in this study and placental T2* was measured using a gradient recalled echo MRI sequence with readout at 16...

Robustness of weighted networks

Science.gov (United States)

Bellingeri, Michele; Cassi, Davide

2018-01-01

Complex network response to node loss is a central question in different fields of network science because node failure can cause the fragmentation of the network, thus compromising the system functioning. Previous studies considered binary networks where the intensity (weight) of the links is not accounted for, i.e. a link is either present or absent. However, in real-world networks the weights of connections, and thus their importance for network functioning, can be widely different. Here, we analyzed the response of real-world and model networks to node loss accounting for link intensity and the weighted structure of the network. We used both classic binary node properties and network functioning measure, introduced a weighted rank for node importance (node strength), and used a measure for network functioning that accounts for the weight of the links (weighted efficiency). We find that: (i) the efficiency of the attack strategies changed using binary or weighted network functioning measures, both for real-world or model networks; (ii) in some cases, removing nodes according to weighted rank produced the highest damage when functioning was measured by the weighted efficiency; (iii) adopting weighted measure for the network damage changed the efficacy of the attack strategy with respect the binary analyses. Our results show that if the weighted structure of complex networks is not taken into account, this may produce misleading models to forecast the system response to node failure, i.e. consider binary links may not unveil the real damage induced in the system. Last, once weighted measures are introduced, in order to discover the best attack strategy, it is important to analyze the network response to node loss using nodes rank accounting the intensity of the links to the node.

Tail-weighted dependence measures with limit being the tail dependence coefficient

KAUST Repository

Lee, David

2017-12-02

For bivariate continuous data, measures of monotonic dependence are based on the rank transformations of the two variables. For bivariate extreme value copulas, there is a family of estimators (Formula presented.), for (Formula presented.), of the extremal coefficient, based on a transform of the absolute difference of the α power of the ranks. In the case of general bivariate copulas, we obtain the probability limit (Formula presented.) of (Formula presented.) as the sample size goes to infinity and show that (i) (Formula presented.) for (Formula presented.) is a measure of central dependence with properties similar to Kendall\\'s tau and Spearman\\'s rank correlation, (ii) (Formula presented.) is a tail-weighted dependence measure for large α, and (iii) the limit as (Formula presented.) is the upper tail dependence coefficient. We obtain asymptotic properties for the rank-based measure (Formula presented.) and estimate tail dependence coefficients through extrapolation on (Formula presented.). A data example illustrates the use of the new dependence measures for tail inference.

Tail-weighted dependence measures with limit being the tail dependence coefficient

KAUST Repository

Lee, David; Joe, Harry; Krupskii, Pavel

2017-01-01

For bivariate continuous data, measures of monotonic dependence are based on the rank transformations of the two variables. For bivariate extreme value copulas, there is a family of estimators (Formula presented.), for (Formula presented.), of the extremal coefficient, based on a transform of the absolute difference of the α power of the ranks. In the case of general bivariate copulas, we obtain the probability limit (Formula presented.) of (Formula presented.) as the sample size goes to infinity and show that (i) (Formula presented.) for (Formula presented.) is a measure of central dependence with properties similar to Kendall's tau and Spearman's rank correlation, (ii) (Formula presented.) is a tail-weighted dependence measure for large α, and (iii) the limit as (Formula presented.) is the upper tail dependence coefficient. We obtain asymptotic properties for the rank-based measure (Formula presented.) and estimate tail dependence coefficients through extrapolation on (Formula presented.). A data example illustrates the use of the new dependence measures for tail inference.

PubMed-supported clinical term weighting approach for improving inter-patient similarity measure in diagnosis prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Lawrence Wc; Liu, Ying; Chan, Tao; Law, Helen Kw; Wong, S C Cesar; Yeung, Andy Ph; Lo, K F; Yeung, S W; Kwok, K Y; Chan, William Yl; Lau, Thomas Yh; Shyu, Chi-Ren

2015-06-02

Similarity-based retrieval of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) from large clinical information systems provides physicians the evidence support in making diagnoses or referring examinations for the suspected cases. Clinical Terms in EHRs represent high-level conceptual information and the similarity measure established based on these terms reflects the chance of inter-patient disease co-occurrence. The assumption that clinical terms are equally relevant to a disease is unrealistic, reducing the prediction accuracy. Here we propose a term weighting approach supported by PubMed search engine to address this issue. We collected and studied 112 abdominal computed tomography imaging examination reports from four hospitals in Hong Kong. Clinical terms, which are the image findings related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), were extracted from the reports. Through two systematic PubMed search methods, the generic and specific term weightings were established by estimating the conditional probabilities of clinical terms given HCC. Each report was characterized by an ontological feature vector and there were totally 6216 vector pairs. We optimized the modified direction cosine (mDC) with respect to a regularization constant embedded into the feature vector. Equal, generic and specific term weighting approaches were applied to measure the similarity of each pair and their performances for predicting inter-patient co-occurrence of HCC diagnoses were compared by using Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis. The Areas under the curves (AUROCs) of similarity scores based on equal, generic and specific term weighting approaches were 0.735, 0.728 and 0.743 respectively (p PubMed. Our findings suggest that the optimized similarity measure with specific term weighting to EHRs can improve significantly the accuracy for predicting the inter-patient co-occurrence of diagnosis when compared with equal and generic term weighting approaches.

The Cucker-Smale Equation: Singular Communication Weight, Measure-Valued Solutions and Weak-Atomic Uniqueness

Science.gov (United States)

Mucha, Piotr B.; Peszek, Jan

2018-01-01

The Cucker-Smale flocking model belongs to a wide class of kinetic models that describe a collective motion of interacting particles that exhibit some specific tendency, e.g. to aggregate, flock or disperse. This paper examines the kinetic Cucker-Smale equation with a singular communication weight. Given a compactly supported measure as an initial datum we construct a global in time weak measure-valued solution in the space {C_{weak}(0,∞M)}. The solution is defined as a mean-field limit of the empirical distributions of particles, the dynamics of which is governed by the Cucker-Smale particle system. The studied communication weight is {ψ(s)=|s|^{-α}} with {α \\in (0,1/2)}. This range of singularity admits the sticking of characteristics/trajectories. The second result concerns the weak-atomic uniqueness property stating that a weak solution initiated by a finite sum of atoms, i.e. Dirac deltas in the form {m_i δ_{x_i} ⊗ δ_{v_i}}, preserves its atomic structure. Hence these coincide with unique solutions to the system of ODEs associated with the Cucker-Smale particle system.

Central Hemodynamics Measured During 5 Repetition Maximum Free Weight Resistance Exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Jonathan S; McLester, Cherilyn N; Evans, Thomas W; McLester, John R; Calloway, Jimmy P

2018-01-01

The PhysioFlow™ is a piece of equipment that uses bioimpedance cardiography to measure central hemodynamics. The purpose of this research was to explore the novel approach of monitoring central hemodynamics during free weight resistance exercise using bioimpedance cardiography throughout a 5 repetition maximum (5RM). Thirty participants ranging from beginner to advanced lifters (16 males and 14 females) completed a 5RM for back squat, seated push press, and bicep curl while connected to the PhysioFlow™ to assess the response of heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (Q), and ejection fraction (EF). Participants were cued for form and to breathe normally throughout the lifts. The PhysioFlow™ detected an increase in HR and Q for all lifts between rest and each repetition ( p 0.05) and no changes in EF or SV were detected when all repetitions were compared to each other for all lifts ( p > 0.05). In conclusion, the PhysioFlow™ was able to detect changes in HR and Q during dynamic free weight resistance exercise. This novel approach may provide a mechanism for monitoring central hemodynamics during free weight resistance training. However, more research needs to be conducted as the exercise protocol for this investigation did not allow for a comparison to a reference method.

History of Smoking and Postcessation Weight Gain among Weight Loss Surgery Candidates

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Michele D.; Kalarchian, Melissa A.; Courcoulas, Anita P.; Wisinski, Meghan S.C.; Marcus, Marsha D.

2007-01-01

Smoking cessation often results in weight gain. Although smoking cessation frequently is recommended to patients presenting for weight loss surgery (WLS), the relationship between smoking cessation and weight gain among WLS candidates is poorly understood. Thus, we sought to document the history and prevalence of smoking and smoking-related weight gain among WLS candidates. Subjects (N = 67) presenting for bariatric surgery provided demographic information, were interviewed about smoking, and weighed and measured prior to operation. Sixty-seven percent of patients reported a lifetime history of smoking, and 26.9% were current smokers. Among lifetime smokers who had attempted to quit, the average maximum amount of weight gained following smoking cessation was 28.1 pounds, but there was wide variability in postcessation weight gain. These data suggest that smoking among candidates for bariatric surgery is prevalent, and that previous cessation attempts were associated with considerable weight gain. Because patients often receive recommendations to quit smoking and lose weight prior to surgery, additional information on the impact of presurgical smoking cessation on long-tem weight control in this population is needed. PMID:17408868

Does birth weight influence physical activity in youth? A combined analysis of four studies using objectively measured physical activity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ridgway, Charlotte L; Brage, Søren; Sharp, Stephen J

2011-01-01

Animal models suggest growth restriction in utero leads to lower levels of motor activity. Furthermore, individuals with very low birth weight report lower levels of physical activity as adults. The aim of this study was to examine whether birth weight acts as a biological determinant of physical...... activity and sedentary time. This study uses combined analysis of three European cohorts and one from South America (n = 4,170). Birth weight was measured or parentally reported. Height and weight were measured and used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). PA was objectively measured using accelerometry...... for ≥3 days, ≥10 hours day. Data was standardized to allow comparisons between different monitors. Total physical activity was assessed as counts per minute (cpm), with time spent above moderate activity (MVPA) >2,000 counts and time spent sedentary (...

Maternal concern about child weight in a study of weight-discordant siblings.

Science.gov (United States)

Kral, Tanja V E; Moore, Reneé H; Compher, Charlene W

2015-01-01

This study examined concern about child weight in mothers of weight-discordant siblings and determined the accuracy of maternal self-report versus measured child height, weight, and corresponding body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2) ) z-score. Discordant sibling design. Forty-seven mothers of 5- to 12-year-old, weight-discordant siblings. Mothers self-reported their concern about child weight for each child separately and for a subset of children, self-reported their heights and weights. Siblings' height, weight, waist circumference, and adiposity were measured. The majority (83%) of mothers expressed concern about their overweight/obese child's weight and 20% of mothers expressed concern about their normal-weight child's weight (p concern about child weight were positively associated with difference scores in sibling BMI z-score (r = 0.42; p = .01) and percent body fat (r = 0.56; p concern for their overweight/obese child's weight was greater for sibling pairs who were more discordant in their weight. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Am I overweight? A longitudinal study on parental and peers weight-related perceptions on dietary behaviors and weight status among adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karolina eZarychta

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: An investigation of the interplay between various types of adolescents’ perceptions of weight status in predicting adolescents’ nutrition behavior and their body weight was conducted. In particular, it was hypothesized that the relationship between parental and peers’ perceptions of their own weight status (reported by adolescents and objectively measured weight status of adolescents would be mediated by three types of adolescents’ weight status perceptions (adolescents’ own weight perceptions, parental perceptions of adolescents’ weight status perceived by participants, and peers’ perceptions of adolescents’ weight status perceived by participants and by adolescents’ nutrition behaviors. Design: Data were collected twice, with a 13-month follow-up. Participants (N = 1096 were aged 14-20, with BMI ranging from 16.20 to 41.21. Multiple mediation analysis with two sequential mediators was applied.Main outcome measures: At the baseline adolescents completed the questionnaire assessing their nutrition behaviors and weight status perceptions. Weight and height were measured objectively at baseline and follow-up.Results: Two types of weight perceptions (adolescents’ own weight status perceptions, peers’ perceptions of adolescents’ weight status reported by participants, and adolescents’ nutrition behaviors mediated the relationship between the others’ own weight perceptions and adolescents’ weight status. No indirect effects of others’ own weight perceptions on adolescents’ weight status through parental perceptions were found.Conclusion: Adolescents’ nutrition behaviors and body weight status depend on what they think about their own weight status and what they think of their peers’ perceptions, but do not depend on what adolescents think of their parents’ perceptions.

Stores, Weight and Inertial System Facility

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — This facility provides stores weight, center of gravity, and inertia measurements in support of weapon/aircraft compatibility testing. System provides store weight...

Importance weighting of local flux measurements to improve reactivity predictions in nuclear systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dulla, Sandra; Hoh, Siew Sin; Nervo, Marta; Ravetto, Piero [Politecnico di Torino, Dipt. Energia (Italy)

2015-07-15

The reactivity monitoring is a key aspect for the safe operation of nuclear reactors, especially for subcritical source-driven systems. Various methods are available for both, off-line and on-line reactivity determination from direct measurements carried out on the reactor. Usually the methods are based on the inverse point kinetic model applied to signals from neutron detectors and results may be severely affected by space and spectral effects. Such effects need to be compensated and correction procedures have to be applied. In this work, a new approach is proposed, by using the full information from different local measurements to generate a global signal through a proper weighting of the signals provided by single neutron detectors. A weighting techique based on the use of the adjoint flux proves to be efficient in improving the prediction capability of inverse techniques. The idea is applied to the recently developed algorithm, named MAρTA, that can be used in both off-line and online modes.

Prevalence of overweight misperception and weight control behaviors among normal weight adolescents in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen S. Talamayan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Weight perceptions and weight control behaviors have been documented with underweight and overweight adolescents, yet limited information is available on normal weight adolescents. This study investigates the prevalence of overweight misperceptions and weight control behaviors among normal weight adolescents in the U.S. by sociodemographic and geographic characteristics. We examined data from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS. A total of 9,714 normal weight U.S. high school students were included in this study. Outcome measures included self-reported height and weight measurements, overweight misperceptions, and weight control behaviors. Weighted prevalence estimates and odds ratios were computed. There were 16.2% of normal weight students who perceived themselves as overweight. Females (25.3% were more likely to perceive themselves as overweight than males (6.7% (p < 0.05. Misperceptions of overweight were highest among white (18.3% and Hispanic students (15.2% and lowest among black students (5.8%. Females (16.8% outnumbered males (6.8% in practicing at least one unhealthy weight control behavior (use of diet pills, laxatives, and fasting in the past 30 days. The percentage of students who practiced at least one weight control behavior was similar by ethnicity. There were no significant differences in overweight misperception and weight control behaviors by grade level, geographic region, or metropolitan status. A significant portion of normal weight adolescents misperceive themselves as overweight and are engaging in unhealthy weight control behaviors. These data suggest that obesity prevention programs should address weight misperceptions and the harmful effects of unhealthy weight control methods even among normal weight adolescents.

Serial fetal abdominal circumference measurements in predicting normal birth weight in gestational diabetes mellitus.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Neff, Karl J

2013-06-24

To construct a clinical management matrix using serial fetal abdominal circumference measurements (ACMs) that will predict normal birth weight in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes (GDM) and reduce unnecessary ultrasound examination in women with GDM.

Drop weight impact strength measurement method for porous concrete using laser doppler velocimetry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agar-Ozbek, A.S.; Weerheijm, J.; Schlangen, E.; Breugel, K. van

2012-01-01

In this study, an experimental configuration that reveals the dynamic response of porous concretes in a drop weight impact test was introduced. Through the measurement of particle velocity at the interface, between the impactor and the concrete target, the dynamic response was obtained in an easily

WAIST-HIP RATIO AND WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE AS SIMPLE MEASURES OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISK ASSESSMENT AND WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarbjit Singh

2018-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND The Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR and Waist Circumference (WC were used to identify people at health risk both from being overweight and having visceral fat distribution. The aim of this study was to determine the association of WHR and WC in measuring the abdominal obesity, cardiovascular risk and weight management. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study involved 200 medical students (102 boys and 98 girls in the age group of 18-23 years (mean age 20.43 ± 8.9 years of Government Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab. WHR was divided into three groups in females- ≤0.80, 0.81-0.85 and >0.86 and males- ≤0.90, 0.90-1.0 and >1.0. WC was also divided into three groups in females- 88 cm and males- 102 cm. RESULTS The results of measurement of Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR of females were ≤0.80 (2%, 0.81-85 (10% and >0.86 (88% and males ≤90 (82%, 0.90-1.0 (15% and >1.0 (3%. Waist Circumference (WC of females was 88 cm (19% and males 102 cm (4%. CONCLUSION WHR is a better predictor of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD than WC. WHR and WC are measures of abdominal obesity and should be incorporated in weight management. WHR 0.81-0.86 in girls and 0.90-1.0 in males have moderate health risk, while >0.86 in females and >1.0 in males have high health risk. Men with WC ≥94 cm and women ≥80 cm should gain no further weight while men with WC ≥102 cm and women with ≥88cm should reduce their weight to avoid cardiovascular risks. Waist circumference is another alternative.

The experience of weight management in normal weight adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, Cheri Ann; Hernandez, David A; Wellington, Christine M; Kidd, Art

2016-11-01

No prior research has been done with normal weight persons specific to their experience of weight management. The purpose of this research was to discover the experience of weight management in normal weight individuals. Glaserian grounded theory was used. Qualitative data (focus group) and quantitative data (food diary, study questionnaire, and anthropometric measures) were collected. Weight management was an ongoing process of trying to focus on living (family, work, and social), while maintaining their normal weight targets through five consciously and unconsciously used strategies. Despite maintaining normal weights, the nutritional composition of foods eaten was grossly inadequate. These five strategies can be used to develop new weight management strategies that could be integrated into existing weight management programs, or could be developed into novel weight management interventions. Surprisingly, normal weight individuals require dietary assessment and nutrition education to prevent future negative health consequences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Intake of added sugars is not associated with weight measures in children 6 to 18 years: NHANES 2003–2006

Science.gov (United States)

The association between intakes of added sugars and weight measures in children continues to be under scrutiny because the evidence is inconclusive. This study examined the association between intake of added sugars and five weight measures using a nationally representative sample of children. NHANE...

Self-perception of body weight status and weight control practices among adolescents in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Zainuddin, Ahmad Ali; Manickam, Mala A; Baharudin, Azli; Omar, Azahadi; Cheong, Siew Man; Ambak, Rashidah; Ahmad, Mohamad Hasnan; Ghaffar, Suhaila Abdul

2014-09-01

The prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents is rising rapidly in many countries, including Malaysia. This article aims to present the associations between body mass index-based body weight status, body weight perception, and weight control practices among adolescents in Malaysia. The Malaysia School Based Nutrition Survey 2012, which included a body weight perception questionnaire and anthropometric measurements, was conducted on a representative sample of 40 011 students from Standard 4 until Form 5, with a 90.5% response rate. Comparing actual and perceived body weight status, the findings show that 13.8% of adolescents underestimated their weight, 35.0% overestimated, and 51.2% correctly judged their own weight. Significantly more normal weight girls felt they were overweight, whereas significantly more overweight boys perceived themselves as underweight. The overall appropriateness of weight control practices to body weight was 72.6%. Adolescents attempting to lose or gain weight need to have better understanding toward desirable behavioral changes. © 2014 APJPH.

An apparatus for on-line measuring of the coating weight on art paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Meifen; Mao Shunjuan

1986-01-01

The method and apparatus for on-line measuring of the coating weight on art paper are described. The design of the coating gauge was based on the technique of charcateristic X-ray fluorescence preferential absorption. The gauge was equipped with a TP-801 micro-computer which makes the gauge capable of showing and typing the data in different forms. The measurement is quick, continuous, accurate and non-destructive. Analysis period is 10 seconds. In on-line measuring, the reproducibility is +- 1 g/m 2 and the relative error of this method amounts to +- 5% with the weighing method as a standard

Intake of added sugars is not associated with weight measures in children 6 to 18 years: National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2003-2006

Science.gov (United States)

Studies examining an association between consumption of added sugars (AS) and weight measures in children are inconclusive. This study examined the association between intake of AS and 5 measures of weight or adiposity using a nationally recent representative sample of children. National Health and ...

A study on body-weight perception, future intention and weight-management behaviour among normal-weight, overweight and obese women in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Praween; Gupta, Kamla; Mishra, Vinod; Agrawal, Sutapa

2014-04-01

We examined the socio-economic differential in the self-perception of body weight, future intention for weight management and actual weight-management behaviour among normal-weight, overweight and obese women in India. A population-based follow-up survey of ever-married women, systematically selected from the second round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2, 1998-99) samples, who were re-interviewed after four years in 2003. Information on women's perception about their own weight, intention of weight management and actual weight-management behaviour were collected through personal interview. Anthropometric measurements were obtained from women to compute their current BMI. Three hundred and twenty-five ever-married women aged 20-54 years residing in the national capital territory of Delhi in India. Discrepancy between self-perceived body weight and women's actual body weight was reported. One-quarter of overweight women and one in ten obese women perceived themselves as normal weight. Although a majority of overweight and obese women wanted to reduce their weight, a significant proportion of overweight (one in four) and 4 % of obese women also wanted to maintain their weight as it is. Only one in three overweight and one in four obese women were performing any physical activity to reduce their weight. These findings are important for public health interventions in obesity care. Implementation of health promotion and health education in the community should use effective school education and mass-media programmes to raise awareness of appropriate body weight to combat the growing level of obesity among Indian women.

Evaluation of Carcass Production of PO Cattle Based on Heart Girth Measurement, Body Condition Score and Slaughter Weight

OpenAIRE

Haryoko, I; Suparman, P

2009-01-01

The objective of study was to evaluate of carcass production of PO beef cattle based on measurement of heart girth, body condition score (BCS), and slaughter weight. It was conducted in the slaughtering house at Mersi Purwokerto city. The materials for this study were 60 heads of male PO breed cattle. Simple random sampling was used for taking samples. Data was analyzed by using multiple regression equation to determine the effects of heart girth, BCS, and slaughter weight on carcass weig...

Distinct contributions of explicit and implicit memory processes to weight prediction when lifting objects and judging their weights: an aging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Trewartha, Kevin M; Flanagan, J Randall

2016-09-01

Weight predictions used to scale lifting forces adapt quickly when repeatedly lifting unusually weighted objects and are readily updated by explicit information provided about weight. In contrast, weight predictions used when making perceptual judgments about weight are more resistant to change and are largely unaffected by explicit information about weight. These observations suggest that distinct memory systems underlie weight prediction when lifting objects and judging their weights. Here we examined whether these weight predictions differ in their reliance on declarative and nondeclarative memory resources by comparing the adaptability of these predictions in older adults, who exhibit relatively impaired declarative memory processes, to those in younger adults. In the size condition, we measured lift forces as participants repeatedly lifted a pair of size-weight inverted objects in alternation. To assess weight judgments, we measured the size-weight illusion every 10 lifts. The material condition was similar, except that we used material-weight inverted objects and measured the material-weight illusion. The strengths of these illusions prior to lifting, and the attenuation of the illusions that arise when lifting inverted objects, were similar for both groups. The magnitude of the change in the illusions was positively correlated with implicit memory performance in both groups, suggesting that predictions used when judging weight rely on nondeclarative memory resources. Updating of lifting forces also did not differ between groups. However, within the older group the success with which lifting forces were updated was positively correlated with working memory performance, suggesting that weight predictions used when lifting rely on declarative memory resources. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Wheelchair pushrim kinetics measurement: A method to cancel inaccuracies due to pushrim weight and wheel camber.

Science.gov (United States)

Chénier, Félix; Aissaoui, Rachid; Gauthier, Cindy; Gagnon, Dany H

2017-02-01

The commercially available SmartWheel TM is largely used in research and increasingly used in clinical practice to measure the forces and moments applied on the wheelchair pushrims by the user. However, in some situations (i.e. cambered wheels or increased pushrim weight), the recorded kinetics may include dynamic offsets that affect the accuracy of the measurements. In this work, an automatic method to identify and cancel these offsets is proposed and tested. First, the method was tested on an experimental bench with different cambers and pushrim weights. Then, the method was generalized to wheelchair propulsion. Nine experienced wheelchair users propelled their own wheelchairs instrumented with two SmartWheels with anti-slip pushrim covers. The dynamic offsets were correctly identified using the propulsion acquisition, without needing a separate baseline acquisition. A kinetic analysis was performed with and without dynamic offset cancellation using the proposed method. The most altered kinetic variables during propulsion were the vertical and total forces, with errors of up to 9N (p<0.001, large effect size of 5). This method is simple to implement, fully automatic and requires no further acquisitions. Therefore, we advise to use it systematically to enhance the accuracy of existing and future kinetic measurements. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Birth Weight, Postnatal Weight Gain, and Childhood Adiposity in Relation to Lipid Profile and Blood Pressure During Early Adolescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulst, Andraea Van; Barnett, Tracie A; Paradis, Gilles; Roy-Gagnon, Marie-Hélène; Gomez-Lopez, Lilianne; Henderson, Mélanie

2017-08-04

Different pathways likely underlie the association between early weight gain and cardiovascular disease risk. We examined whether birth weight for length relationship and weight gain up to 2 years of age are associated with lipid profiles and blood pressure (BP) in early adolescence and determined whether childhood adiposity mediates these associations. Data from QUALITY (Quebec Adipose and Lifestyle Investigation in Youth), a cohort of white children with parental history of obesity, were analyzed (n=395). Sex-specific weight for length z scores from birth to 2 years were computed. Rate of postnatal weight gain was estimated using individual slopes of weight for length z -score measurements. Percentage of body fat was measured at 8 to 10 years. Fasting lipids and BP were measured at 10 to 12 years. Using path analysis, we found indirect effects of postnatal weight gain, through childhood adiposity, on all outcomes: Rate of postnatal weight for length gain was positively associated with childhood adiposity, which in turn was associated with unfavorable lipid and BP levels in early adolescence. In contrast, small beneficial direct effects on diastolic BP z scores, independent of weight at other time points, were found for birth weight for length (β=-0.05, 95% CI, -0.09 to -0.002) and for postnatal weight gain (β=-0.02, 95% CI, -0.03 to -0.002). Among children with at least 1 obese parent, faster postnatal weight gain leads to cardiovascular risk factors in early adolescence through its effect on childhood adiposity. Although heavier newborns may have lower BP in early adolescence, this protective direct effect could be offset by a deleterious indirect effect linking birth weight to later adiposity. © 2017 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

The effect of holiday weight gain on body weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoeller, Dale A

2014-07-01

The topic of holiday weight gain has been a frequent subject of the lay media; however, scientific interest has only been recent. Multiple studies in Western societies have reported average weight gains among adults during the period between mid-November and mid-January that were about 0.5 kg. The range in individual weight changes was large, however, and the already overweight and obese gain more weight than those who are healthy weight. When the average gain across the year was also measured, the holiday weight was the major contributor to annual excess weight gain. Efforts patterned to increase awareness to energy balance and body weight have been shown to be successful at reducing such gain. An exception to holiday weight gain being a major contributor to annual excess gain has been children, in whom summer weight gains have been observed to be the major contributor to average excess weight gain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unhealthy weight control behaviors mediate the association between weight status and weight-specific health-related quality of life in treatment-seeking youth who are obese.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Crystal S; Gowey, Marissa A; Cohen, Megan J; Silverstein, Janet; Janicke, David M

2017-03-01

Examine whether unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors (WCBs) mediate the relationship between youth weight status and disease-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in treatment-seeking youth who are overweight and obese (OV/OB). 82 youth 10-17 years of age who were OV/OB and attending an outpatient obesity-related medical appointment completed measures assessing unhealthy and extreme WCBs and disease-specific HRQOL. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire and medical staff measured youth height and weight. Regression analyses revealed that unhealthy WCBs mediated the associations between youth weight status and emotional and social avoidance disease-specific HRQOL, such that higher body mass index (BMI) predicted unhealthy WCBs, which were ultimately associated with poorer emotional and social HRQOL. Mediation analyses were not significant for total, physical, teasing/marginalization, and positive attributes disease-specific HRQOL. In addition, extreme WCBs did not mediate the association between youth weight status and any subscales of the disease-specific HRQOL measure. Weight status is an important predictor of disease-specific HRQOL in OV/OB youth; however, the association with emotional and social HRQOL is partially accounted for by youth engagement in unhealthy WCBs. Clinicians and researchers should assess WCBs and further research should explore and evaluate appropriate intervention strategies to address unhealthy WCBs in pediatric weight management prevention and treatment efforts.

Reproducibility, and age, body-weight and gender dependency of candidate skeletal muscle MRI outcome measures in healthy volunteers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrow, Jasper M.; Reilly, Mary M.; Hanna, Michael G.; Sinclair, Christopher D.J.; Yousry, Tarek A.; Thornton, John S.; Fischmann, Arne

2014-01-01

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can potentially meet the pressing need for objective, sensitive, reproducible outcome measures in neuromuscular disease trials. We tested, in healthy volunteers, the consistency, reliability and sensitivity to normal inter-subject variation of MRI methods targeted to lower limb muscle pathology to inform the design of practical but comprehensive MRI outcome measure protocols for use in imminent patient studies. Forty-seven healthy volunteers, age 21-81 years, were subject at 3T to three-point Dixon fat-fraction measurement, T 1 -relaxometry, T 2 -relaxometry and magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) imaging at mid-thigh and mid-calf level bilaterally. Fifteen subjects underwent repeat imaging at 2 weeks. Mean between-muscle fat fraction and T 2 differences were small, but significant (p 2 correlated positively, and MTR negatively with subject age in both the thigh and calf, with similar significant correlations with weight at thigh level only (p < 0.001 to p < 0.05). Scan-rescan and inter-observer intra-class correlation coefficients ranged between 0.62-0.84 and 0.79-0.99 respectively. Quantitative lower-limb muscle MRI using readily implementable methods was sensitive enough to demonstrate inter-muscle differences (small in health), and correlations with subject age and weight. In combination with high reliability, this strongly supports the suitability of these methods to provide longitudinal outcome measures in neuromuscular disease treatment trials. (orig.)

Effect of psychological distress on weight concern and weight control behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Roohafza, Hamidreza; Kabir, Ali; Sadeghi, Masoumeh; Shokouh, Pedram; Aalaei-Andabili, Seyed Hossein; Mehrabi, Yadollah; Sarrafzadegan, Nizal

2014-09-01

Obesity is associated with chronic disorders like coronary artery diseases, metabolic syndrome, cancers, and psychiatric disorders. Stress may contribute to weight gain by disrupting weight concern, and lead to uncontrolled eating behavior. This study aimed to investigate the effects of stress on weight concern and control behaviors in normal weight and obese adults. A total of 9544 subjects were selected by multi-stage random sampling from three provinces in central Iran. Information related to weight concern and control behavior was registered in normal weight and obese participants. Psychological distress was measured by a 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and subjects were divided into high and low stress groups. Logistic regression was used for analysis. The mean age of participants was 38.7 ± 15.5 years and 50% (4772) of them were males. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for age, sex and education of high stress to low stress level for weight concern, weight control behavior and acceptable physical activity behavior was more than 1; but the OR was less than 1 for waist circumference, obesity and healthy diet behavior. Among obese participants, higher levels of stress were associated with lower weight concern with OR, 95%CI: 0.821, (0.682 - 0.988), lower acceptable physical activity with OR = 0.833, 95%CI: (0.624 - 0.912), but higher rates of healthy diet behavior with OR = 1.360, 95% CI: (1.040 - 1.780). Individuals with high stress level have lower weight concern and lower physical activity; therefore, they are prone to weight gain and obesity. It could be concluded that stress management should be considered as a crucial component of obesity prevention and control programs.

The field measurements of the activity-weighted size distributions of radon decay products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wasiolek, P.; Montassier, N.; Hopke, P.K.

1991-01-01

Because of the importance of particle size in the calculations of dose deposited in the respiratory tract by radon progeny, the determination of the size distribution of radon decay products in indoor air had increased in interest in recent years. A system for the measurement of the activity-weighted size distribution of radon decay products at environmental levels has been developed. The system (ASC-GSA) utilizes a combination of six multiple wire screens (Graded Screen Array) sampler detector units operated in parallel. The cut off points of the samplers and the data deconvolution procedure allow to obtain the activity fractions of radon progeny in the size range 0.5-500 mn. The computer control of sampling, alpha counting and data storage permits the operation of the system on the semi-continuous basis. The primary application of the ASC-GSA system has been to collect data of activity-weighted size distributions of radon progeny in real house environments. The results of field measurements in several houses with elevated radon levels are presented

Measurement of the Top Quark Mass in Dilepton Final States with the Neutrino Weighting Method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ilchenko, Yuriy [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States)

2012-12-15

The top quark is the heaviest fundamental particle observed to date. The mass of the top quark is a free parameter in the Standard Model (SM). A precise measurement of its mass is particularly important as it sets an indirect constraint on the mass of the Higgs boson. It is also a useful constraint on contributions from physics beyond the SM and may play a fundamental role in the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism. I present a measurement of the top quark mass in the dilepton channel using the Neutrino Weighting Method. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.3 fb^-1 of p$\\bar{p}$ collisions at Tevatron with √s = 1.96 TeV, collected with the DØ detector. Kinematically under-constrained dilepton events are analyzed by integrating over neutrino rapidity. Weight distributions of t$\\bar{t}$ signal and background are produced as a function of the top quark mass for different top quark mass hypotheses. The measurement is performed by constructing templates from the moments of the weight distributions and input top quark mass, followed by a subsequent likelihood t to data. The dominant systematic uncertainties from jet energy calibration is reduced by using a correction from `+jets channel. To replicate the quark avor dependence of the jet response in data, jets in the simulated events are additionally corrected. The result is combined with our preceding measurement on 1 fb^-1 and yields m_t = 174.0± 2.4 (stat.) ±1.4 (syst.) GeV.

Measurement of transepidermal water loss in Tanzanian cot-nursed neonates and its relation to postnatal weight loss

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thijs, HFH; Massawe, AW; Okken, A; Coenraads, PJ; Muskiet, FAJ; Huisman, M; Boersma, ER

In healthy cot-nursed Tanzanian neonates (n = 92, gestation 26-42 weeks) measurements of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and weight change were performed during the first 24 h after birth at an average ambient humidity of 70% and an environmental temperature of 32 degrees C. Urine production on day

Measurement of the polarized forward-backward asymmetry of B quarks using momentum-weighted track charge at SLD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junk, T.R.

1995-11-01

This thesis presents a direct measurement of the parity-violating parameter A b by analyzing the polarized forward-backward asymmetry of b quarks in e + e - → Z 0 → b bar b. Data were taken at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), with the Stanford Large Detector (SLD), which records the products of e + e - interactions at a center of mass energy √s = 91.2 GeV/c 2 at the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC). The SLC/SLD experimental apparatus provides a unique and ideal environment for measuring electroweak asymmetries. Heavy flavor decays of the Z 0 were identified inclusively by taking advantage of the long lifetime of B hadrons, the small, stable SLC beam spot, and SLD's precise tracking detectors. Two analysis techniques for measuring A b are presented: a binned fit to the left-right forward-backwards asymmetry of tagged events signed with momentum-weighted track charge, and a self-calibrating maximum-likelihood technique using momentum-weighted charge from the two hemispheres in each tagged event. From our 1994-1995 sample of 3.6 pb -1 , having a luminosity-weighted average e - polarization of 77.3%, and our 1993 sample of 1.8 pb -1 , having a luminosity-weighted polarization of 63.1%, we obtain A b = 0.848 ± 0.046(stat.) ± 0.050(syst.)

A correlational method to concurrently measure envelope and temporal fine structure weights: effects of age, cochlear pathology, and spectral shaping.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogerty, Daniel; Humes, Larry E

2012-09-01

The speech signal may be divided into spectral frequency-bands, each band containing temporal properties of the envelope and fine structure. This study measured the perceptual weights for the envelope and fine structure in each of three frequency bands for sentence materials in young normal-hearing listeners, older normal-hearing listeners, aided older hearing-impaired listeners, and spectrally matched young normal-hearing listeners. The availability of each acoustic property was independently varied through noisy signal extraction. Thus, the full speech stimulus was presented with noise used to mask six different auditory channels. Perceptual weights were determined by correlating a listener's performance with the signal-to-noise ratio of each acoustic property on a trial-by-trial basis. Results demonstrate that temporal fine structure perceptual weights remain stable across the four listener groups. However, a different weighting typography was observed across the listener groups for envelope cues. Results suggest that spectral shaping used to preserve the audibility of the speech stimulus may alter the allocation of perceptual resources. The relative perceptual weighting of envelope cues may also change with age. Concurrent testing of sentences repeated once on a previous day demonstrated that weighting strategies for all listener groups can change, suggesting an initial stabilization period or susceptibility to auditory training.

Combination of Evidence with Different Weighting Factors: A Novel Probabilistic-Based Dissimilarity Measure Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mengmeng Ma

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To solve the invalidation problem of Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence (DS with high conflict in multisensor data fusion, this paper presents a novel combination approach of conflict evidence with different weighting factors using a new probabilistic dissimilarity measure. Firstly, an improved probabilistic transformation function is proposed to map basic belief assignments (BBAs to probabilities. Then, a new dissimilarity measure integrating fuzzy nearness and introduced correlation coefficient is proposed to characterize not only the difference between basic belief functions (BBAs but also the divergence degree of the hypothesis that two BBAs support. Finally, the weighting factors used to reassign conflicts on BBAs are developed and Dempster’s rule is chosen to combine the discounted sources. Simple numerical examples are employed to demonstrate the merit of the proposed method. Through analysis and comparison of the results, the new combination approach can effectively solve the problem of conflict management with better convergence performance and robustness.

LENGTH-WEIGHT RELATIONSHIP AND CONDITION FACTOR OF ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Data Collection and Analysis. The measurements of length (cm), weight (g) and the condition factor of individual fish sampled were recorded. The relationship between length and weight of the fish was examined by simple linear regression using WINKS software. The variations in the length-weight represented by 'b' were.

Changes in job strain and subsequent weight gain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vesterlund, Gitte Kingo; Keller, Amélie Cléo; Heitmann, Berit Lilienthal

2018-01-01

in 1999 between those who were rarely v. sometimes v. often busy in 1993 (P=0·03), with the largest weight gain in individuals with sustained high busyness in both years. Loss of influence between 1993 and 1999 was associated with larger subsequent weight gain than sustained high influence (P=0......Objective: Obesity as well as job strain is increasing, and job strain might contribute to weight gain. The objective of the current study was to examine associations between longitudinal alterations in the components of job strain and subsequent weight gain. Design: The study was designed...... as a prospective cohort study with three questionnaire surveys enabling measurement of job-strain alterations over 6 years and subsequent measurements of weight gain after further 10 years of follow-up. ANCOVA and trend analyses were conducted. Job demands were measured as job busyness and speed, and control...

Height, weight, weight change and risk of breast cancer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anelise Bezerra de Vasconcelos

Full Text Available CONTEXT: The relationship between body size and breast cancer still remains controversial in considering menopausal status. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of height, weight and weight changes with breast cancer in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: National Cancer Institute (INCA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ. SAMPLE: 177 incident cases of invasive breast cancer admitted to the main hospital of INCA between May 1995 and February 1996, and 377 controls recruited from among female visitors to the same hospital. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Height and weight were measured and information on maximum weight, weight at ages 18 and 30 years, and potential risk factors were ascertained by interview at the hospital. RESULTS: Height was not related to risk of breast cancer among both pre and postmenopausal women. Nevertheless, women in this study were shorter than in studies that have found a positive association. Premenopausal women in the upper quartile of recent body mass index (BMI and maximum BMI showed a reduced risk of breast cancer (P for trend <= 0.03. Weight loss between ages 18 and 30 years and from 18 years to present was also associated with breast cancer among premenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may merely indicate the known association between leanness and breast cancer. Further studies should explore the role of weight loss on breast cancer risk.

Misperception of weight status and associated factors among undergraduate students.

Science.gov (United States)

Mogre, Victor; Aleyira, Samuel; Nyaba, Rauf

2015-01-01

We compared participants' self-perception of their weight with the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition for BMI categories among undergraduate university students undertaking health related academic programmes in Ghana. Also, we investigated factors associated to the underestimation of weight status in this sample. This cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 368 undergraduate students. Anthropometric measurements of weight and height were measured with appropriate tools and computed into Body Mass Index (BMI) categorised based on WHO classifications. Waist and hip circumferences were also measured appropriately. Participants' self-perception of weight status was assessed by the question: How do you perceive your weight? (a) Underweight, (b) normal weight, (c) overweight, and (d) obese. The BMI-measured weight status was compared to the self-perceived weight status by cross-tabulation, Kappa statistics of agreement and χ(2) for trend analysis. Factors associated with misperception of weight status was measured using univariate and multivariable analysis. Thirteen percent (n=48) of the participants were overweight/obesity (BMI) and 31.5% had central obesity. Overall, 20.6% of the participants misperceived their weight status in which 78.9% of them underestimated it. Among overweight/obese participants, 41.7% self-perceived themselves accurately. Whereas 10.6% of normal weight participants underestimated their weight status, over half (58.3%) of overweight/obese participants did so. Factors that were associated with underestimation of weight status were having overweight/obesity (BMI) and central obesity. Underestimation of weight status was frequent. Health professionals and related government agencies should develop intervention programmes to empower young people to have accurate weight status perception. Copyright © 2015 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health and happiness is more important than weight': a qualitative investigation of the views of parents receiving written feedback on their child's weight as part of the National Child Measurement Programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Syrad, H; Falconer, C; Cooke, L; Saxena, S; Kessel, A S; Viner, R; Kinra, S; Wardle, J

2015-02-01

The present study aimed to explore parental perceptions of overweight children and associated health risks after receiving National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) weight feedback. Fifty-two parents of overweight and obese children aged 4-5 years and 10-11 years enrolled in the NCMP programme in England in 2010-2011 participated in qualitative, semi-structured interviews about their perceptions of their child's weight and health risk after receiving weight feedback. Interviews were audio tape recorded and were conducted either by telephone (n = 9) or in the respondents' homes (n = 41). Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative thematic analysis. Parents who received NCMP written feedback informing them that their child was overweight disregarded the results because they viewed 'health and happiness as being more important than weight'. The feedback was viewed as less credible because it did not consider the individual child's lifestyle.'Broad definitions of healthy' were described that did not include weight,such as reference to the child having good emotional and physical health and a healthy diet. Parents attributed weight to 'inherited/acquired factors' such as genetics or puppy fat, or did not regard their child's 'appearance' as reflecting being overweight. 'Cultural influence' also meant that being overweight was not viewed negatively by some non-white parents. After receiving written weight feedback, parents use methods other than actual weight when evaluating their child's weight status and health risks. Parents' conceptions of health and weight should be considered when communicating with parents, with the aim of bridging the gap between parental recognition of being overweight and subsequent behaviour change.

Measuring decision weights in recognition experiments with multiple response alternatives: comparing the correlation and multinomial-logistic-regression methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Huanping; Micheyl, Christophe

2012-11-01

Psychophysical "reverse-correlation" methods allow researchers to gain insight into the perceptual representations and decision weighting strategies of individual subjects in perceptual tasks. Although these methods have gained momentum, until recently their development was limited to experiments involving only two response categories. Recently, two approaches for estimating decision weights in m-alternative experiments have been put forward. One approach extends the two-category correlation method to m > 2 alternatives; the second uses multinomial logistic regression (MLR). In this article, the relative merits of the two methods are discussed, and the issues of convergence and statistical efficiency of the methods are evaluated quantitatively using Monte Carlo simulations. The results indicate that, for a range of values of the number of trials, the estimated weighting patterns are closer to their asymptotic values for the correlation method than for the MLR method. Moreover, for the MLR method, weight estimates for different stimulus components can exhibit strong correlations, making the analysis and interpretation of measured weighting patterns less straightforward than for the correlation method. These and other advantages of the correlation method, which include computational simplicity and a close relationship to other well-established psychophysical reverse-correlation methods, make it an attractive tool to uncover decision strategies in m-alternative experiments.

Directed weighted network structure analysis of complex impedance measurements for characterizing oil-in-water bubbly flow.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zhong-Ke; Dang, Wei-Dong; Xue, Le; Zhang, Shan-Shan

2017-03-01

Characterizing the flow structure underlying the evolution of oil-in-water bubbly flow remains a contemporary challenge of great interests and complexity. In particular, the oil droplets dispersing in a water continuum with diverse size make the study of oil-in-water bubbly flow really difficult. To study this issue, we first design a novel complex impedance sensor and systematically conduct vertical oil-water flow experiments. Based on the multivariate complex impedance measurements, we define modalities associated with the spatial transient flow structures and construct modality transition-based network for each flow condition to study the evolution of flow structures. In order to reveal the unique flow structures underlying the oil-in-water bubbly flow, we filter the inferred modality transition-based network by removing the edges with small weight and resulting isolated nodes. Then, the weighted clustering coefficient entropy and weighted average path length are employed for quantitatively assessing the original network and filtered network. The differences in network measures enable to efficiently characterize the evolution of the oil-in-water bubbly flow structures.

Associations of lifetime walking and weight bearing exercise with accelerometer-measured high impact physical activity in later life.

Science.gov (United States)

Elhakeem, Ahmed; Hannam, Kimberly; Deere, Kevin C; Hartley, April; Clark, Emma M; Moss, Charlotte; Edwards, Mark H; Dennison, Elaine; Gaysin, Tim; Kuh, Diana; Wong, Andrew; Fox, Kenneth R; Cooper, Cyrus; Cooper, Rachel; Tobias, Jon H

2017-12-01

High impact physical activity (PA) is thought to benefit bone. We examined associations of lifetime walking and weight bearing exercise with accelerometer-measured high impact and overall PA in later life. Data were from 848 participants (66.2% female, mean age = 72.4 years) from the Cohort for Skeletal Health in Bristol and Avon, Hertfordshire Cohort Study and MRC National Survey of Health and Development. Acceleration peaks from seven-day hip-worn accelerometer recordings were used to derive counts of high impact and overall PA. Walking and weight bearing exercise up to age 18, between 18-29, 30-49 and since age 50 were recalled using questionnaires. Responses in each age category were dichotomised and cumulative scores derived. Linear regression was used for analysis. Greater lifetime walking was related to higher overall, but not high impact PA, whereas greater lifetime weight bearing exercise was related to higher overall and high impact PA. For example, fully-adjusted differences in log-overall and log-high impact PA respectively for highest versus lowest lifetime scores were: walking [0.224 (0.087, 0.362) and 0.239 (- 0.058, 0.536)], and weight bearing exercise [0.754 (0.432, 1.076) and 0.587 (0.270, 0.904)]. For both walking and weight bearing exercise, associations were strongest in the 'since age 50' category. Those reporting the most walking and weight bearing exercise since age 50 had highest overall and high impact PA, e.g. fully-adjusted difference in log-high impact PA versus least walking and weight bearing exercise = 0.588 (0.226, 0.951). Promoting walking and weight bearing exercise from midlife may help increase potentially osteogenic PA levels in later life.

Reproducibility, and age, body-weight and gender dependency of candidate skeletal muscle MRI outcome measures in healthy volunteers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrow, Jasper M.; Reilly, Mary M.; Hanna, Michael G. [UCL Institute of Neurology, Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, Department of Molecular Neuroscience, London (United Kingdom); Sinclair, Christopher D.J.; Yousry, Tarek A.; Thornton, John S. [UCL Institute of Neurology, Medical Research Council Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases, Department of Molecular Neuroscience, London (United Kingdom); UCL Institute of Neurology, Neuroradiological Academic Unit, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, London (United Kingdom); Fischmann, Arne [University of Basel Hospital, Department of Radiology, Division of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Basel (Switzerland)

2014-07-15

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can potentially meet the pressing need for objective, sensitive, reproducible outcome measures in neuromuscular disease trials. We tested, in healthy volunteers, the consistency, reliability and sensitivity to normal inter-subject variation of MRI methods targeted to lower limb muscle pathology to inform the design of practical but comprehensive MRI outcome measure protocols for use in imminent patient studies. Forty-seven healthy volunteers, age 21-81 years, were subject at 3T to three-point Dixon fat-fraction measurement, T{sub 1}-relaxometry, T{sub 2}-relaxometry and magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) imaging at mid-thigh and mid-calf level bilaterally. Fifteen subjects underwent repeat imaging at 2 weeks. Mean between-muscle fat fraction and T{sub 2} differences were small, but significant (p < 0.001). Fat fraction and T{sub 2} correlated positively, and MTR negatively with subject age in both the thigh and calf, with similar significant correlations with weight at thigh level only (p < 0.001 to p < 0.05). Scan-rescan and inter-observer intra-class correlation coefficients ranged between 0.62-0.84 and 0.79-0.99 respectively. Quantitative lower-limb muscle MRI using readily implementable methods was sensitive enough to demonstrate inter-muscle differences (small in health), and correlations with subject age and weight. In combination with high reliability, this strongly supports the suitability of these methods to provide longitudinal outcome measures in neuromuscular disease treatment trials. (orig.)

Asymmetry and coherence weight of quantum states

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Bu, Kaifeng; Anand, Namit; Singh, Uttam

2018-03-01

The asymmetry of quantum states is an important resource in quantum information processing tasks such as quantum metrology and quantum communication. In this paper, we introduce the notion of asymmetry weight—an operationally motivated asymmetry quantifier in the resource theory of asymmetry. We study the convexity and monotonicity properties of asymmetry weight and focus on its interplay with the corresponding semidefinite programming (SDP) forms along with its connection to other asymmetry measures. Since the SDP form of asymmetry weight is closely related to asymmetry witnesses, we find that the asymmetry weight can be regarded as a (state-dependent) asymmetry witness. Moreover, some specific entanglement witnesses can be viewed as a special case of an asymmetry witness—which indicates a potential connection between asymmetry and entanglement. We also provide an operationally meaningful coherence measure, which we term coherence weight, and investigate its relationship to other coherence measures like the robustness of coherence and the l1 norm of coherence. In particular, we show that for Werner states in any dimension d all three coherence quantifiers, namely, the coherence weight, the robustness of coherence, and the l1 norm of coherence, are equal and are given by a single letter formula.

Gender and Socioeconomic Status in Relation to Weight Perception and Weight Control Behavior in Korean Adults

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Hee-Kyung Joh

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Aim: In Korea, obesity is more prevalent among men and lower socioeconomic groups. To explain this obesity disparity, we compared weight perception and weight control behavior across gender and socioeconomic status (SES. Methods: We analyzed data from 16,260 participants aged 20 years or older in a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. SES indicators included education and income levels. Weight under-perception was defined when participants considered themselves lighter than their measured BMI status. Either no active or inappropriate weight control (i.e., trying to gain weight in obese individuals was considered to be unhealthy patterns. Multivariate prevalence ratios were calculated using log-binomial regressions. Results: Men had a higher prevalence of weight under-perception (24.5 vs. 11.9% and unhealthy patterns of weight control behavior (57 vs. 40% than women. Low education level was associated with weight under-perception (ptrend = 0.022 in men, ptrend trend trend = 0.047 in men, ptrend Conclusion: Weight perception and weight control behavior significantly varied by gender and SES. Public actions should be directed toward improving perception and behavior of high-risk populations.

The TiltMeter app is a novel and accurate measurement tool for the weight bearing lunge test.

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Williams, Cylie M; Caserta, Antoni J; Haines, Terry P

2013-09-01

The weight bearing lunge test is increasing being used by health care clinicians who treat lower limb and foot pathology. This measure is commonly established accurately and reliably with the use of expensive equipment. This study aims to compare the digital inclinometer with a free app, TiltMeter on an Apple iPhone. This was an intra-rater and inter-rater reliability study. Two raters (novice and experienced) conducted the measurements in both a bent knee and straight leg position to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability. Concurrent validity was also established. Allied health practitioners were recruited as participants from the workplace. A preconditioning stretch was conducted and the ankle range of motion was established with the weight bearing lunge test position with firstly the leg straight and secondly with the knee bent. The measurement device and each participant were randomised during measurement. The intra-rater reliability and inter-rater reliability for the devices and in both positions were all over ICC 0.8 except for one intra-rater measure (Digital inclinometer, novice, ICC 0.65). The inter-rater reliability between the digital inclinometer and the tilmeter was near perfect, ICC 0.96 (CI: 0.898-0.983); Concurrent validity ICC between the two devices was 0.83 (CI: -0.740 to 0.445). The use of the Tiltmeter app on the iPhone is a reliable and inexpensive tool to measure the available ankle range of motion. Health practitioners should use caution in applying these findings to other smart phone equipment if surface areas are not comparable. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recognition of the dosimetric calibration capacities of Cuba by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walwyn S, G.; Gutierrez L, S.; Tamayo G, J.A.; Gonzalez R, N.; Alonso V, G.

2006-01-01

The declared mission of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures are the world uniformity of the measurement, however until some years ago a formal mechanism didn't exist for its complete implementation. With this end arose the Mutual Recognition Agreement whose specific objective is to establish the grade of equivalence of the national standards, the one of mutually recognizing the calibration and measurement certificates and the one of providing to the governments of a sure technical tool in its commercial negotiations and regulatory matters at international level. Cuba like an associated country to the Meter Convention, signed the agreement and it intended to demonstrate the international equivalence of its standards. The best measurement and calibration capacities of the country in the dosimetric magnitudes are in the Secondary Laboratory of Dosimetric Calibration of the Protection and Hygiene of Radiations Center. This capacities were included in the Regional Metrological Organization COOMET in the year 2003. In June of the 2005 the metrological capacities have been approved and published in the databases of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures as demonstration of the high competition of the calibration works that its are carried out in the laboratory. This approval is one of the maximum international recognitions that the patterns of a country can receive and its are the result of 10 years of work of the laboratory like part of the international net OIEA/OMS, which has given it the possibility to gauge the patterns and of adopting internationally validated calibration methodologies. On the other hand, it has been decisive the participation of the laboratory in multiple international comparisons of their patterns, as well as the implementation of a system of administration of the quality credited by the competent national organ. The article reviews the technical work of the laboratory during several years that it gave as result this

Conformity of pre-gestational weight measurement and agreement of anthropometric data reported by pregnant women and those recorded in prenatal cards, City of Rio de Janeiro, 2007-2008.

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Niquini, Roberta Pereira; Bittencourt, Sonia Azevedo; Leal, Maria do Carmo

2013-09-01

To assess the conformity of the weight measurement process in the pre-gestational care offered in the city of Rio de Janeiro by primary units and hospitals of the National Health System, as well as to verify the agreement between the anthropometric data reported by pregnant women and those recorded in prenatal cards. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2007 - 2008 with two cluster samples: one to obtain a sample of pregnant women to be interviewed and another one for the weight measurement procedures to be observed. The conformity of the weight measurement process was evaluated according to the Ministry of Health standards, and the agreement between the two sources of anthropometric data was evaluated using mean differences, Bland-Altman method, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and weighted Kappa. Out of the twelve criteria for weight measurement evaluation (n = 159 observations), three weren't in conformity (conformity), two of them only need to be assessed when the scale is mechanical. For the interviewed pregnant women (n = 2,148), who had the two sources of anthropometric data, there was a tendency of self-reported height overestimation and pre-gestational and current weight and Body Mass Index underestimation. Accordance between the two sources of anthropometric information, according to ICC and weighted Kappa, were high (> 0.80). Studies may use weight and height information reported by pregnant women, in the absence of prenatal cards records, when it is an important economy to their execution, although the improvement of these two sources of information by means of better anthropometric process is necessary.

Weight status and weight-related behaviors of children commencing school.

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Hardy, Louise L; King, Lesley; Hector, Debra; Lloyd, Beverley

2012-11-01

To describe the weight status and weight-related behaviors of children commencing school. This study is a representative cross-sectional survey of Australian children in their first year of schooling (n=1141) in 2010. Height and weight were measured, and parents reported their child's diet, physical activity and screen-time. 18.7% of children were overweight/obese. Compared with non-overweight/obese peers, overweight/obese boys were 1.73 times (95% CI 1.08, 2.79) as likely to exceed recommended screen time and 2.07 times (95% CI 1.11, 3.87) as likely to eat dinner three or more times/week in front of the TV. Overweight/obese girls were twice as likely to have a TV in their bedroom (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.12, 3.59) and usually be rewarded with sweets for good behavior (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.09, 3.51) and were 1.65 times as likely to be inactive (95% CI 1.08, 2.55). We showed that many children begin school with established weight-related behaviors that occur in the home environment. The inclusion of parents and the home environment in intervention strategies will be important to support changes to reduce childhood obesity. The weight status and weight-related behaviors of children entering school may potentially be a general indicator of the overall effectiveness of obesity prevention interventions among preschool-aged children. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Green Space and Child Weight Status: Does Outcome Measurement Matter? Evidence from an Australian Longitudinal Study

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Taren Sanders

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To examine whether neighbourhood green space is beneficially associated with (i waist circumference (WC and (ii waist-to-height ratio (WtHR across childhood. Methods. Gender-stratified multilevel linear regressions were used to examine associations between green space and objective measures of weight status in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a nationally representative source of data on 4,423 children aged 6 y to 13 y. WC and WtHR were measured objectively. Percentage green space within the local area of residence was calculated. Effect modification by age was explored, adjusting for socioeconomic confounding. Results. Compared to peers with 0–5% green space locally, boys and girls with >40% green space tended to have lower WC (βboys  −1.15, 95% CI −2.44, 0.14; βgirls  −0.21, 95% CI −1.47, 1.05 and WtHR (βboys  −0.82, 95% CI −1.65, 0.01; βgirls  −0.32, 95% CI −1.13, 0.49. Associations among boys were contingent upon age (p  valuesage∗green  space40% green space at 73.85 cm and 45.75% compared to those with 0–5% green space at 75.18 cm and 46.62%, respectively. Conclusions. Greener neighbourhoods appear beneficial to alternative child weight status measures, particularly among boys.

Evidence of radiation-induced reduction of height and body weight from repeated measurements of adults exposed in childhood to the atomic bombs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otake, Masanori; Funamoto, Sachiyo; Fujikoshi, Yasunori; Schull, W.J.

1994-01-01

Reduction of growth from exposure to atomic bomb radiation has been examined using individuals under 10 years old at the time of the bombing (ATB) and a growth curve analysis based on measurements of height and weight made in the course of the 4th-7th cycles of the Adult Health Study examinations (1964-1972). As expected, the largest difference in growth to emerge is between males and females. However, a highly significant reduction of growth associated with dose (DS86) was observed among those survivors for whom four repeated measurements of height and weight were available. Longitudinal analysis of a more extended data set (n = 821), using expected values based on simple linear regression models fitted to the three available sets of measurements of height and weight on the 254 individuals with a missing measurement, also indicates a significant radiation-related growth reduction. The possible contribution of such factors as poor nutrition and disruption of normal family life in the years immediately after the war is difficult to evaluate, but the effects of socioeconomic factors on the analysis of these data are discussed. 33 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

The impact of aging, hearing loss, and body weight on mouse hippocampal redox state, measured in brain slices using fluorescence imaging.

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Stebbings, Kevin A; Choi, Hyun W; Ravindra, Aditya; Llano, Daniel Adolfo

2016-06-01

The relationships between oxidative stress in the hippocampus and other aging-related changes such as hearing loss, cortical thinning, or changes in body weight are not yet known. We measured the redox ratio in a number of neural structures in brain slices taken from young and aged mice. Hearing thresholds, body weight, and cortical thickness were also measured. We found striking aging-related increases in the redox ratio that were isolated to the stratum pyramidale, while such changes were not observed in thalamus or cortex. These changes were driven primarily by changes in flavin adenine dinucleotide, not nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydride. Multiple regression analysis suggested that neither hearing threshold nor cortical thickness independently contributed to this change in hippocampal redox ratio. However, body weight did independently contribute to predicted changes in hippocampal redox ratio. These data suggest that aging-related changes in hippocampal redox ratio are not a general reflection of overall brain oxidative state but are highly localized, while still being related to at least one marker of late aging, weight loss at the end of life. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reliability of the measures of weight-bearing distribution obtained during quiet stance by digital scales in subjects with and without hemiparesis.

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de Araujo-Barbosa, Paulo Henrique Ferreira; de Menezes, Lidiane Teles; Costa, Abraão Souza; Couto Paz, Clarissa Cardoso Dos Santos; Fachin-Martins, Emerson

2015-05-01

Described as an alternative way of assessing weight-bearing asymmetries, the measures obtained from digital scales have been used as an index to classify weight-bearing distribution. This study aimed to describe the intra-test and the test/retest reliability of measures in subjects with and without hemiparesis during quiet stance. The percentage of body weight borne by one limb was calculated for a sample of subjects with hemiparesis and for a control group that was matched by gender and age. A two-way analysis of variance was used to verify the intra-test reliability. This analysis was calculated using the differences between the averages of the measures obtained during single, double or triple trials. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was utilized and data plotted using the Bland-Altman method. The intra-test analysis showed significant differences, only observed in the hemiparesis group, between the measures obtained by single and triple trials. Excellent and moderate ICC values (0.69-0.84) between test and retest were observed in the hemiparesis group, while for control groups ICC values (0.41-0.74) were classified as moderate, progressing from almost poor for measures obtained by a single trial to almost excellent for those obtained by triple trials. In conclusion, good reliability ranging from moderate to excellent classifications was found for participants with and without hemiparesis. Moreover, an improvement of the repeatability was observed with fewer trials for participants with hemiparesis, and with more trials for participants without hemiparesis.

The relationship between weight stigma and eating behavior is explained by weight bias internalization and psychological distress.

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O'Brien, Kerry S; Latner, Janet D; Puhl, Rebecca M; Vartanian, Lenny R; Giles, Claudia; Griva, Konstadina; Carter, Adrian

2016-07-01

Weight stigma is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including disordered eating, but the psychological mechanisms underlying these associations are not well understood. The present study tested whether the association between weight stigma experiences and disordered eating behaviors (emotional eating, uncontrolled eating, and loss-of-control eating) are mediated by weight bias internalization and psychological distress. Six-hundred and thirty-four undergraduate university students completed an online survey assessing weight stigma, weight bias internalization, psychological distress, disordered eating, along with demographic characteristics (i.e., age, gender, weight status). Statistical analyses found that weight stigma was significantly associated with all measures of disordered eating, and with weight bias internalization and psychological distress. In regression and mediation analyses accounting for age, gender and weight status, weight bias internalization and psychological distress mediated the relationship between weight stigma and disordered eating behavior. Thus, weight bias internalization and psychological distress appear to be important factors underpinning the relationship between weight stigma and disordered eating behaviors, and could be targets for interventions, such as, psychological acceptance and mindfulness therapy, which have been shown to reduce the impact of weight stigma. The evidence for the health consequences resulting from weight stigma is becoming clear. It is important that health and social policy makers are informed of this literature and encouraged develop anti-weight stigma policies for school, work, and medical settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement of glycosaminoglycans in canine synovial fluid and its correlation with the cause of secondary osteoarthritis, age and body weight

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Radka Andrysíková

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Glycosaminoglycans are natural components of healthy joint cartilage and they also appear in healthy synovial fluid. An increased amount of glycosaminoglycans in synovial fluid is believed to be a marker of secondary osteoarthritis, regardless of its primary cause. The aim of our study was to define the relationship between glycosaminoglycans in the synovial fluid and joint disorders, age, and body weight. The samples of synovial fluid were obtained from dogs suffering from secondary secondary osteoarthritis (n = 35 and from control dogs (n = 18; control dogs had normal body weight. The results were compared among joints of dogs with secondary osteoarthritis divided into groups according to the criteria mentioned above and control dogs. Glycosaminoglycan concentrations in synovial fluid were measured using dimethylmethylene blue assay. The lowest mean value of glycosaminoglycans in synovial fluid was measured in the control group. Significantly higher glycosaminoglycan content (P < 0.05 was found in synovial fluid isolated from obese dogs compared to control dogs. Furthermore, we observed an age-related trend, in which the highest mean values were reached either in old dogs or pups. Despite the absence of significant differences in glycosaminoglycan values among dogs suffering from various types of secondary secondary osteoarthritis, the highest mean values were measured in fragmented coronoid processus group. Our data suggest that abnormally increased body weight has an impact on glycosaminoglycan concentration in synovial fluid which may imply faster degradation and turnover of joint cartilage. Such observation has not yet been published in veterinary medicine.

Discordance Between Body Mass Index (BMI) and a Novel Body Composition Change Index (BCCI) as Outcome Measures in Weight Change Interventions.

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Nugent, Stephen D; Kaats, Gilbert R; Preuss, Harry G

2018-01-01

A general assumption is that the body mass index (BMI) reflects changes in fat mass (FM). However, it fails to distinguish the type of weight that is lost or gained-fat mass (FM) or fat-free mass (FFM). The BMI treats both changes the same although they have opposite health consequences. The objective of this study was to propose a more precise measure, a body composition change index (BCCI), which distinguishes between changes in FM and FFM, and this study compares it with using the BMI as an outcome measure. Data were obtained from 3,870 subjects who had completed dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) total body scans at baseline and end-of-study when participating in a variety of weight-loss interventions. Since height remained constant in this adult cohort, changes in the BMI corresponded with scale weight changes (r = 0.994), allowing BMI changes to be converted to "lbs." to match the statistic used for calculation of the BCCI. The BCCI is calculated by scoring increases in FFM (lbs.) and decreases in FM (lbs.) as positive outcomes and scoring decreases in FFM and increases in FM as negative outcomes. The BCCI is the net sum of these calculations. Differences between scale weight changes and BCCI values were subsequently compared to obtain "discordance scores." Discordance scores ranged from 0.0 lbs. to >30.0 lbs. with a mean absolute value of between the two measures of 7.79 lbs. (99% confidence interval: 7.49-8.10, p BCCI and the BMI to evaluate the efficacy of weight loss interventions. If assessing changes in body composition is a treatment goal, use of the BMI could result in significantly erroneous conclusions.

Measurement of the polarized forward-backward asymmetry of B quarks using momentum-weighted track charge at SLD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Junk, Thomas Robert [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

1995-11-01

This thesis presents a direct measurement of the parity-violating parameter A_b by analyzing the polarized forward-backward asymmetry of b quarks in e⁺e^- → Z⁰ → b$\\bar{b}$. Data were taken at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), with the Stanford Large Detector (SLD), which records the products of e⁺e^- interactions at a center of mass energy √s = 91.2 GeV/c² at the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC). The SLC/SLD experimental apparatus provides a unique and ideal environment for measuring electroweak asymmetries. Heavy flavor decays of the Z⁰ were identified inclusively by taking advantage of the long lifetime of B hadrons, the small, stable SLC beam spot, and SLD`s precise tracking detectors. Two analysis techniques for measuring A_b are presented: a binned fit to the left-right forward-backwards asymmetry of tagged events signed with momentum-weighted track charge, and a self-calibrating maximum-likelihood technique using momentum-weighted charge from the two hemispheres in each tagged event. From our 1994-1995 sample of 3.6 pb^-1, having a luminosity-weighted average e^- polarization of 77.3%, and our 1993 sample of 1.8 pb^-1, having a luminosity-weighted polarization of 63.1%, we obtain A_b = 0.848 ± 0.046(stat.) ± 0.050(syst.).

Volume weighting the measure of the universe from classical slow-roll expansion

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Sloan, David; Silk, Joseph

2016-05-01

One of the most frustrating issues in early universe cosmology centers on how to reconcile the vast choice of universes in string theory and in its most plausible high energy sibling, eternal inflation, which jointly generate the string landscape with the fine-tuned and hence relatively small number of universes that have undergone a large expansion and can accommodate observers and, in particular, galaxies. We show that such observations are highly favored for any system whereby physical parameters are distributed at a high energy scale, due to the conservation of the Liouville measure and the gauge nature of volume, asymptotically approaching a period of large isotropic expansion characterized by w =-1 . Our interpretation predicts that all observational probes for deviations from w =-1 in the foreseeable future are doomed to failure. The purpose of this paper is not to introduce a new measure for the multiverse, but rather to show how what is perhaps the most natural and well-known measure, volume weighting, arises as a consequence of the conservation of the Liouville measure on phase space during the classical slow-roll expansion.

The effects of maternal weight gain patterns on term birth weight in African-American women

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Vinod K.; Hobel, Calvin J.; Sing, Charles F.

2010-01-01

Objective The goals of our study were 1) to estimate the trends in maternal weight gain patterns and 2) to estimate the influence of variation in maternal weight and rate of weight gain over different time periods in gestation on variation in birth weight in African-American and non-African-American gravidas. Study Design and Setting Data from a prospective cohort study in which pregnant women were monitored at multiple time points during pregnancy were analyzed. Maternal weight was measured at three times during pregnancy, preconception (W0); 16-20 weeks gestation (W1); and 30-36 weeks gestation (W2), in a cohort of 435 women with full-term singleton pregnancies. The relationship between gestational age-adjusted birth weight (aBW) and measures of maternal weight and rate of weight gain across pregnancy was estimated using a multivariable longitudinal regression analysis stratified on African-American race. Results The aBW was significantly associated with maternal weight measured at any visit in both strata. For African-American women, variation in aBW was significantly associated with variation in the rate of maternal weight gain in the first half of pregnancy (W01) but not the rate of maternal weight gain in the second half of pregnancy (W12); while for non-African-American women, variation in aBW was significantly associated with W12 but not W01. Conclusion Factors influencing the relationship between aBW and maternal weight gain patterns depend on the context of the pregnancy defined by race. Clinical decisions and recommendations about maternal weight and weight gain during pregnancy may need to account for such heterogeneity. PMID:20632908

The measurement of the molecular weight of humic acid by ultracentrifugation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardner, M.P.

1989-07-01

This report is concerned with the application of ultracentrifuge methods to the determination of humic acid molecular weights. The work has been undertaken as part of the Co-Co club intercomparison exercise on humic acid characterisation. Knowledge of the molecular weight distribution of humic acid will be an important parameter in assessing the likely physical and chemical behaviour under the near-field environment. Molecular weights of a sample of purified Aldrich humic acid have been obtained by sedimentation velocity and sedimentation equilibrium studies using an analytical ultracentrifuge. The results have shown the material to be polydisperse with a weight average molecular weight in the region 2700 to 4000. (author)

Serum Concentration of Leptin in Pregnant Adolescents Correlated with Gestational Weight Gain, Postpartum Weight Retention and Newborn Weight/Length

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Reyna Sámano

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Gestational weight gain is an important modifiable factor known to influence fetal outcomes including birth weight and adiposity. Leptin is normally correlated with adiposity and is also known to increase throughout pregnancy, as the placenta becomes a source of leptin synthesis. Several studies have reported positive correlations between cord blood leptin level and either birthweight or size for gestational age, as well as body mass index (BMI. Objective: To determine the correlation of prenatal leptin concentration in pregnant adolescents with their gestational weight gain, postpartum weight retention, and weight/length of their newborn. Methods: A cohort study was conducted on pregnant Mexican adolescents from Gestational Week 26–28 to three months postpartum (n = 168 mother–child dyads. An anthropometric assessment was made of each pregnant adolescent, and the serum level of leptin and the intake of energy were determined. The newborn was evaluated each month during postpartum. Clinical records were reviewed to obtain sociodemographic data. Bivariate correlations, tests for repeating measurements and logistic regression models were performed. Results: Leptin concentration gradually increased during the third trimester of pregnancy. At Gestation Week 36, leptin level correlated with gestational weight gain. When comparing adolescents that had the lowest and highest concentration of leptin, the former presented a mean of 6 kg less in gestational weight gain (inter-subject leptin concentration, p = 0.001; inter-subject energy intake, p = 0.497. Leptin concentration and gestational weight gain exerted an effect on the weight of the newborn (inter-subject leptin concentration for Week 32, p = 0.024; inter-subject gestational weight gain, p = 0.011. Newborn length was associated with leptin concentration at Week 28 (leptin effect, p = 0.003; effect of gestational weight gain, p = 0.722. Conclusions: Pregnant adolescents with

Serum Concentration of Leptin in Pregnant Adolescents Correlated with Gestational Weight Gain, Postpartum Weight Retention and Newborn Weight/Length.

Science.gov (United States)

Sámano, Reyna; Martínez-Rojano, Hugo; Chico-Barba, Gabriela; Godínez-Martínez, Estela; Sánchez-Jiménez, Bernarda; Montiel-Ojeda, Diana; Tolentino, Maricruz

2017-09-27

Introduction : Gestational weight gain is an important modifiable factor known to influence fetal outcomes including birth weight and adiposity. Leptin is normally correlated with adiposity and is also known to increase throughout pregnancy, as the placenta becomes a source of leptin synthesis. Several studies have reported positive correlations between cord blood leptin level and either birthweight or size for gestational age, as well as body mass index (BMI). Objective : To determine the correlation of prenatal leptin concentration in pregnant adolescents with their gestational weight gain, postpartum weight retention, and weight/length of their newborn. Methods : A cohort study was conducted on pregnant Mexican adolescents from Gestational Week 26-28 to three months postpartum ( n = 168 mother-child dyads). An anthropometric assessment was made of each pregnant adolescent, and the serum level of leptin and the intake of energy were determined. The newborn was evaluated each month during postpartum. Clinical records were reviewed to obtain sociodemographic data. Bivariate correlations, tests for repeating measurements and logistic regression models were performed. Results : Leptin concentration gradually increased during the third trimester of pregnancy. At Gestation Week 36, leptin level correlated with gestational weight gain. When comparing adolescents that had the lowest and highest concentration of leptin, the former presented a mean of 6 kg less in gestational weight gain (inter-subject leptin concentration, p = 0.001; inter-subject energy intake, p = 0.497). Leptin concentration and gestational weight gain exerted an effect on the weight of the newborn (inter-subject leptin concentration for Week 32, p = 0.024; inter-subject gestational weight gain, p = 0.011). Newborn length was associated with leptin concentration at Week 28 (leptin effect, p = 0.003; effect of gestational weight gain, p = 0.722). Conclusions : Pregnant adolescents with leptin

Association of Timing of Weight Gain in Pregnancy With Infant Birth Weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Retnakaran, Ravi; Wen, Shi Wu; Tan, Hongzhuan; Zhou, Shujin; Ye, Chang; Shen, Minxue; Smith, Graeme N; Walker, Mark C

2018-02-01

Gestational weight gain is a determinant of infant birth weight, but it is unclear whether its timing in pregnancy may hold implications in this regard. Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings on the association of maternal weight gain in early pregnancy with birth weight. However, as these studies have typically recruited women during the first trimester, they are inherently limited by a reliance on self-reported pregravid weight. To evaluate the associations of directly measured maternal pregravid weight and the timing of subsequent weight gain across pregnancy with infant birth weight. In this prospective, preconception, observational cohort study, 1164 newly married women in Liuyang, China, underwent pregravid evaluation at a median of 19.9 weeks before a singleton pregnancy during which they underwent serial weight measurements. The study was conducted from February 1, 2009, to November 4, 2015. Data analysis was performed between September 1, 2016, and May 6, 2017. Maternal weight gain was calculated for the following 10 gestational intervals: from pregravid to less than 14, 14 to 18, 19 to 23, 24 to 28, 29 to 30, 31 to 32, 33 to 34, 35 to 36, 37 to 38, and 39 to 40 weeks. Associations of pregravid weight and weight gain within each of the 10 gestational intervals with the outcome of infant birth weight. The mean (SD) age of the 1164 women included in the study was 25.3 (3.1) years. Pregravid weight was consistently associated with infant birth weight. However, among the 10 gestational intervals, only weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and from 14 to 18 weeks was associated with birth weight. Birth weight increased by 13.6 g/kg (95% CI, 3.2-24.1 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from pregravid to 14 weeks and by 26.1 g/kg (95% CI, 3.8-48.4 g/kg) of maternal weight gain from 14 to 18 weeks. Maternal weight only in the first half of gestation is a determinant of infant birth weight. Before pregnancy and early gestation may be a critical window for

Misreporting of energy intake in the elderly using doubly labeled water to measure total energy expenditure and weight change.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahar, Danit R; Yu, Binbing; Houston, Denise K; Kritchevsky, Stephen B; Newman, Anne B; Sellmeyer, Deborah E; Tylavsky, Frances A; Lee, Jung Sun; Harris, Tamara B

2010-02-01

One of the major problems in dietary assessment is inaccuracy in reporting diet. To examine the association between self-reported energy intake (EI) by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and energy expenditure (EE), measured by doubly labeled water (DLW), among older persons. EE was assessed in 298 high-functioning, community-dwelling older adults (70-79 years of age) over a 2-week period using DLW. Dietary intake was assessed using a Block FFQ. The ratio between reported EI and total energy expenditure (TEE) was calculated. Misreporting was defined as follows: participants with an EI/TEE ratio of reporters, while participants with an EI/TEE ratio >1.28 were categorized as high energy reporters. Participants with an EI/TEE ratio of 0.77-1.28 were categorized as "true" energy reporters. One-year percent weight change prior to EE visit was used as another validation indicator. Participants who were low energy reporters but lost >2% of their body weight were categorized as undereaters. Two hundred ninety-six participants provided both FFQ and DLW measurements. Forty-three percent of participants were low energy reporters; among them, almost 30% lost weight and, therefore, were categorized as undereaters. The undereaters consumed significantly fewer calories. No difference in the frequency of low energy reporting was detected between genders or racial groups. Underreporters had significantly higher body weight than "true" or high reporters. Undereaters tended to have higher body mass index than the underreporters. Undereating is prevalent in the elderly and may be falsely perceived as underreporting. It should be further addressed and characterized in future studies.

Clarifying atomic weights: A 2016 four-figure table of standard and conventional atomic weights

Science.gov (United States)

Coplen, Tyler B.; Meyers, Fabienne; Holden, Norman E.

2017-01-01

To indicate that atomic weights of many elements are not constants of nature, in 2009 and 2011 the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) replaced single-value standard atomic weight values with atomic weight intervals for 12 elements (hydrogen, lithium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, magnesium, silicon, sulfur, chlorine, bromine, and thallium); for example, the standard atomic weight of nitrogen became the interval [14.00643, 14.00728]. CIAAW recognized that some users of atomic weight data only need representative values for these 12 elements, such as for trade and commerce. For this purpose, CIAAW provided conventional atomic weight values, such as 14.007 for nitrogen, and these values can serve in education when a single representative value is needed, such as for molecular weight calculations. Because atomic weight values abridged to four figures are preferred by many educational users and are no longer provided by CIAAW as of 2015, we provide a table containing both standard atomic weight values and conventional atomic weight values abridged to four figures for the chemical elements. A retrospective review of changes in four-digit atomic weights since 1961 indicates that changes in these values are due to more accurate measurements over time or to the recognition of the impact of natural isotopic fractionation in normal terrestrial materials upon atomic weight values of many elements. Use of the unit “u” (unified atomic mass unit on the carbon mass scale) with atomic weight is incorrect because the quantity atomic weight is dimensionless, and the unit “amu” (atomic mass unit on the oxygen scale) is an obsolete term: Both should be avoided.

Prospect theory and body mass: characterizing psychological parameters for weight-related risk attitudes and weight-gain aversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Seung-Lark; Bruce, Amanda S

2015-01-01

We developed a novel decision-making paradigm that allows us to apply prospect theory in behavioral economics to body mass. 67 healthy young adults completed self-report measures and two decision-making tasks for weight-loss, as well as for monetary rewards. We estimated risk-related preference and loss aversion parameters for each individual, separately for weight-loss and monetary rewards choice data. Risk-seeking tendency for weight-loss was positively correlated with body mass index in individuals who desired to lose body weight, whereas the risk-seeking for momentary rewards was not. Risk-seeking for weight-loss was correlated to excessive body shape preoccupations, while aversion to weight-gain was correlated with self-reports of behavioral involvement for successful weight-loss. We demonstrated that prospect theory can be useful in explaining the decision-making process related to body mass. Applying prospect theory is expected to advance our understanding of decision-making mechanisms in obesity, which might prove helpful for improving healthy choices.

Prospect theory and body mass: Characterizing psychological parameters for weight-related risk attitudes and weight-gain aversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seung-Lark eLim

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We developed a novel decision-making paradigm that allows us to apply prospect theory in behavioral economics to body mass. 67 healthy young adults completed self-report measures and two decision-making tasks for weight-loss, as well as for monetary rewards. We estimated risk-related preference and loss aversion parameters for each individual, separately for weight-loss and monetary rewards choice data. Risk-seeking tendency for weight-loss was positively correlated with body mass index in individuals who desired to lose body weight, whereas the risk-seeking for momentary rewards was not. Risk-seeking for weight-loss was correlated to excessive body shape preoccupations, while aversion to weight-gain was correlated with self-reports of behavioral involvement for successful weight-loss. We demonstrated that prospect theory can be useful in explaining the decision-making process related to body mass. Applying prospect theory is expected to advance our understanding of decision-making mechanisms in obesity, which might prove helpful for improving healthy choices.

Method for assessing coal-floor water-inrush risk based on the variable-weight model and unascertained measure theory

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Qiang; Zhao, Dekang; Wang, Yang; Shen, Jianjun; Mu, Wenping; Liu, Honglei

2017-11-01

Water inrush from coal-seam floors greatly threatens mining safety in North China and is a complex process controlled by multiple factors. This study presents a mathematical assessment system for coal-floor water-inrush risk based on the variable-weight model (VWM) and unascertained measure theory (UMT). In contrast to the traditional constant-weight model (CWM), which assigns a fixed weight to each factor, the VWM varies with the factor-state value. The UMT employs the confidence principle, which is more effective in ordered partition problems than the maximum membership principle adopted in the former mathematical theory. The method is applied to the Datang Tashan Coal Mine in North China. First, eight main controlling factors are selected to construct the comprehensive evaluation index system. Subsequently, an incentive-penalty variable-weight model is built to calculate the variable weights of each factor. Then, the VWM-UMT model is established using the quantitative risk-grade divide of each factor according to the UMT. On this basis, the risk of coal-floor water inrush in Tashan Mine No. 8 is divided into five grades. For comparison, the CWM is also adopted for the risk assessment, and a differences distribution map is obtained between the two methods. Finally, the verification of water-inrush points indicates that the VWM-UMT model is powerful and more feasible and reasonable. The model has great potential and practical significance in future engineering applications.

COMPARATIVE KINEMATIC MEASURES OF TREADMILL RUNNING WITH OR WITHOUT BODY WEIGHT SUPPORT IN RUNNERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duane Millslagle

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Treadmill walking and running using a supportive harness has been used as a training method to rehabilitate injured patients' walking or running gait. Comparison of full weight support (FWS and body weight support (BWS kinematic measures in competitive runners has received little attention. The purpose of this study was to compare selected FWS to BWS kinematic measures in healthy competitive runners. Ten male runners (age = 21.4 ± 1.5 years with a training regimen averaging 64 km per week at 3.8 m·s-1 participated. All participants ran three 3-minute trials. The randomized trial conditions were: FWS, 20% BWS, and 40% BWS. All conditions were videotaped with 2 cameras and a 21-point, 3-D model was generated for analysis. From the position-time data, cycle length (CL, cycle frequency (CF, time of contact (TC, hip-, knee-, ankle- range of motion in degrees (H-ROM, K-ROM, and A-ROM, respectively, and vertical displacement of the center of mass (COM were derived and compared. With increasing support conditions, cycle length increased. Cycle frequency, hip and ankle angle ranges, and COM vertical displacement decreased (p 0.05. BWS running produced significant changes in selected kinematic measures. These changes may provide insight into runners' behavior when using BWS in training or recovery from competition. Additional investigation of BWS training affect with competitive runners would be recommended

The measurement of chest girth as an alternative to weight determination in the performance recording of meat sheep

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesco Panella

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess, for two Italian meat sheep breeds (Appenninica and Merinizzata italiana, the relationshipbetween an easily recorded measurement (girth of chest and the character used for selection purposes (weight,and to define the most appropriate mathematical methods to infer the second from the first.For the Appenninica 1392 lambs were measured, for the Merinizzata italiana 1559 lambs were measured. The possibilityof estimating weight through chest girth (CG measurement was evaluated, separately for each breed, by taking themost suitable model between those including different kinds of regression effect. The model was chosen in relation to thevalue of the determination coefficient and the sum of square residuals. The prediction accuracy of the model was assessedby comparing the expected values with the observed ones through a number of statistical tests.A further prediction analysis was carried out using the mean values of the observed weights that fell in each 1 cm classof girth, in order to reduce the error derived by the varying numbers of observations per unit of chest girth.The model including the square regression nested within the sex effect and the flock random effect nested within the sexeffect was observed to be the most suitable one to predict the weight from the chest girth; the determination coefficientsranged between 0.944 (Appenninica and 0.955 (Merinizzata. The prediction parameters were: -10.458+ 0.241 (CG +0.004 (CG2 for the Appenninica males; -6.121 + 0.093 (CG + 0.005 (CG2 for the Appenninica females; -6.325 + 0.189(CG + 0.004 (CG2 for the Merinizzata males; -4.676 + 0.078 (CG + 0.005 (CG2 for the Merinizzata females. The correlationbetween the observed and expected values was always higher than 0.97. The equations estimated using themean weights for each girth showed extremely high determination coefficients (˜ = 0.99 due to the reduction of variabilityimplied by this method. Choosing between the

Evaluation of the effect of alternative measurements of body weight gain and dry matter intake for the calculation of residual feed intake in growing purebred Charolais and Red Angus cattle.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayser, W; Glaze, J B; Welch, C M; Kerley, M; Hill, R A

2015-07-01

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of alternative-measurements of body weight and DMI used to evaluate residual feed intake (RFI). Weaning weight (WW), ADG, and DMI were recorded on 970 growing purebred Charolais bulls (n = 519) and heifers (n = 451) and 153 Red Angus growing steers (n = 69) and heifers (n = 84) using a GrowSafe (GrowSafe, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada) system. Averages of individual DMI were calculated in 10-d increments and compared to the overall DMI to identify the magnitude of the errors associated with measuring DMI. These incremental measurements were also used in calculation of RFI, computed from the linear regression of DMI on ADG and midtest body weight0.75 (MMWT). RFI_Regress was calculated using ADG_Regress (ADG calculated as the response of BW gain and DOF) and MMWT_PWG (metabolic midweight calculated throughout the postweaning gain test), considered the control in Red Angus. A similar calculation served as control for Charolais; RFI was calculated using 2-d consecutive start and finish weights (RFI_Calc). The RFI weaning weight (RFI_WW) was calculated using ADG_WW (ADG from weaning till the final out weight of the postweaning gain test) and MMWT_WW, calculated similarly. Overall average estimated DMI was highly correlated to the measurements derived over shorter periods, with 10 d being the least correlated and 60 d being the most correlated. The ADG_Calc (calculated using 2-d consecutive start and finish weight/DOF) and ADG_WW were highly correlated in Charolais. The ADG_Regress and ADG_Calc were highly correlated, and ADG_Regress and ADG_WW were moderately correlated in Red Angus. The control measures of RFI were highly correlated with the RFI_WW in Charolais and Red Angus. The outcomes of including abbreviated period DMI in the model with the weaning weight gain measurements showed that the model using 10 d of intake (RFI WW_10) was the least correlated with the control measures. The model with 60 d of intake had

Marital status and body weight, weight perception, and weight management among U.S. adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Klos, Lori A; Sobal, Jeffery

2013-12-01

Married individuals often have higher body weights than unmarried individuals, but it is unclear how marital roles affect body weight-related perceptions, desires, and behaviors. This study analyzed cross-sectional data for 4,089 adult men and 3,989 adult women using multinomial logistic regression to examine associations between marital status, perceived body weight, desired body weight, and weight management approach. Controlling for demographics and current weight, married or cohabiting women and divorced or separated women more often perceived themselves as overweight and desired to weigh less than women who had never married. Marital status was unrelated to men's weight perception and desired weight change. Marital status was also generally unrelated to weight management approach, except that divorced or separated women were more likely to have intentionally lost weight within the past year compared to never married women. Additionally, never married men were more likely to be attempting to prevent weight gain than married or cohabiting men and widowed men. Overall, married and formerly married women more often perceived themselves as overweight and desired a lower weight. Men's marital status was generally unassociated with weight-related perceptions, desires, and behaviors. Women's but not men's marital roles appear to influence their perceived and desired weight, suggesting that weight management interventions should be sensitive to both marital status and gender differences. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Executive functions predict weight loss in a medically supervised weight loss programme

OpenAIRE

Galioto, R.; Bond, D.; Gunstad, J.; Pera, V.; Rathier, L.; Tremont, G.

2016-01-01

Summary Background Deficits in executive functions are related to poorer weight loss after bariatric surgery; however, less is known about the role that these deficits may play during participation in nonsurgical weight loss programmes. This study examined associations between objectively measured executive functions and weight loss during participation in a medically supervised weight loss programme. Methods Twenty?three adult patients (age 50.4???15.1, BMI 44.2???8.8, 68% female, 92% White)...

Comparison of Circumference Measures and Height-Weight Tables With Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Assessment of Body Composition in R.O.T.C. Cadets.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Katherine M; Pritchett, Robert C; Gee, David L; Pritchett, Kelly L

2017-09-01

Mitchell, KM, Pritchett, RC, Gee, DL, and Pritchett, KL. Comparison of circumference measures and height-weight tables with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry assessment of body composition in R.O.T.C. cadets. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2552-2556, 2017-Height-weight tables and circumference measures are used by the U.S. Army to predict body composition because they require little equipment or expertise. However, agreement between the Army's new 2002 circumference equation and an established laboratory technique has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to quantify agreement in body fat percentages between the Army's circumference measures (taping) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); second to determine categorical agreement between height-weight tables and DXA. Male Reserve Officer Training Corps (R.O.T.C.) cadets (N = 23; 20.6 ± 1.6 years, 179.1 ± 6.6 cm; 81.4 ± 10.3 kg) were taped according to Army protocol to predict body fat. The % body fat prediction was compared with DXA through a Bland-Altman Plot with ±2-4% body fat established as a zone of agreement (ZOA). Thirteen out of 23 cadets fell outside the ZOA. No cadet was over the compliance threshold (20-22% fat) using the tape method, however, with DXA, 7 out of 23 cadets were noncompliant. Height-weight tables provided a moderate level of categorical agreement with DXA. The results depict poor agreement between taping and DXA, as taping generally underestimated % body fat. Compared with taping, height-weight tables were better able to identify excess fat weight.

The benefits and harms of providing parents with weight feedback as part of the national child measurement programme: a prospective cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Small-scale evaluations suggest that the provision of feedback to parents about their child’s weight status may improve recognition of overweight, but the effects on lifestyle behaviour are unclear and there are concerns that informing parents that their child is overweight may have harmful effects. The aims of this study were to describe the benefits and harms of providing weight feedback to parents as part of a national school-based weight-screening programme in England. Methods We conducted a pre-post survey of 1,844 parents of children aged 4–5 and 10–11 years who received weight feedback as part of the 2010–2011 National Child Measurement Programme. Questionnaires assessed general knowledge about the health risks associated with child overweight, parental recognition of overweight and the associated health risks in their child, child lifestyle behaviour, child self-esteem and weight-related teasing, parental experience of the feedback, and parental help-seeking behaviour. Differences in the pre-post proportions of parents reporting each outcome were assessed using a McNemar’s test. Results General knowledge about child overweight as a health issue was high at baseline and increased further after weight feedback. After feedback, the proportion of parents that correctly recognised their child was overweight increased from 21.9% to 37.7%, and more than a third of parents of overweight children sought further information regarding their child’s weight. However, parent-reported changes in lifestyle behaviours among children were minimal, and limited to increases in physical activity in the obese children only. There was some suggestion that weight feedback had a greater impact upon changing parental recognition of the health risks associated with child overweight in non-white ethnic groups. Conclusions In this population-based sample of parents of children participating in the National Child Measurement Programme, provision of weight feedback

Perceived weight discrimination and obesity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelina R Sutin

Full Text Available Weight discrimination is prevalent in American society. Although associated consistently with psychological and economic outcomes, less is known about whether weight discrimination is associated with longitudinal changes in obesity. The objectives of this research are (1 to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of becoming obese (Body Mass Index≥30; BMI by follow-up among those not obese at baseline, and (2 to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of remaining obese at follow-up among those already obese at baseline. Participants were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey of community-dwelling US residents. A total of 6,157 participants (58.6% female completed the discrimination measure and had weight and height available from the 2006 and 2010 assessments. Participants who experienced weight discrimination were approximately 2.5 times more likely to become obese by follow-up (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.58-4.08 and participants who were obese at baseline were three times more likely to remain obese at follow up (OR = 3.20, 95% CI = 2.06-4.97 than those who had not experienced such discrimination. These effects held when controlling for demographic factors (age, sex, ethnicity, education and when baseline BMI was included as a covariate. These effects were also specific to weight discrimination; other forms of discrimination (e.g., sex, race were unrelated to risk of obesity at follow-up. The present research demonstrates that, in addition to poorer mental health outcomes, weight discrimination has implications for obesity. Rather than motivating individuals to lose weight, weight discrimination increases risk for obesity.

Reciprocity of weighted networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Squartini, Tiziano; Picciolo, Francesco; Ruzzenenti, Franco; Garlaschelli, Diego

2013-01-01

In directed networks, reciprocal links have dramatic effects on dynamical processes, network growth, and higher-order structures such as motifs and communities. While the reciprocity of binary networks has been extensively studied, that of weighted networks is still poorly understood, implying an ever-increasing gap between the availability of weighted network data and our understanding of their dyadic properties. Here we introduce a general approach to the reciprocity of weighted networks, and define quantities and null models that consistently capture empirical reciprocity patterns at different structural levels. We show that, counter-intuitively, previous reciprocity measures based on the similarity of mutual weights are uninformative. By contrast, our measures allow to consistently classify different weighted networks according to their reciprocity, track the evolution of a network's reciprocity over time, identify patterns at the level of dyads and vertices, and distinguish the effects of flux (im)balances or other (a)symmetries from a true tendency towards (anti-)reciprocation.

Measurement of low molecular weight silicon AMC to protect UV optics in photo-lithography environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lobert, Jürgen M.; Miller, Charles M.; Grayfer, Anatoly; Tivin, Anne M.

2009-03-01

A new analytical method for semiconductor-specific applications is presented for the accurate measurement of low molecular weight, silicon-containing, organic compounds TMS, HMDSO and D3. Low molecular weight / low boiling point silicon-containing compounds are not captured for extended periods of time by traditional chemical filters but have the same potential to degrade exposure tool optical surfaces as their high molecular weight counterparts. Likewise, we show that capturing these compounds on sample traps that are commonly used for organic AMC analysis does not work for various reasons. Using the analytical method described here, TMS, HMDSO and D3 can be measured artifact-free, with at least a 50:1 peak-to-noise ratio at the method detection limit, determined through the Hubaux-Vos method and satisfying a conservative 99% statistical confidence. Method detection limits for the compounds are 1-6 ppt in air. We present calibration curve, capacity, capture efficiency, break-through and repeatability data to demonstrate robustness of method. Seventy-one real-world samples from 26 projects taken in several fab environments show that TMS is found in concentrations 100 times higher than those of HMDSO and D3. All compounds are found in all environments in concentrations ranging from zero to 12 ppm, but most concentrations were below 50 ppb. All compounds are noticeably higher in litho-bays than in sub-fabs and we found all three compounds inside of two exposure tools, suggesting cleanroom and/or tool-internal contamination sources.

Maternal weight and body composition in the first trimester of pregnancy.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Fattah, Chro

2012-02-01

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies on weight gain in pregnancy suggested that maternal weight on average increased by 0.5-2.0 kg in the first trimester of pregnancy. This study examined whether mean maternal weight or body composition changes in the first trimester of pregnancy. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. POPULATION: We studied 1,000 Caucasian women booking for antenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy. SETTING: Large university teaching hospital. METHODS: Maternal height and weight were measured digitally in a standardized way and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Maternal body composition was measured using segmental multifrequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). Sonographic examination confirmed the gestational age and a normal ongoing singleton pregnancy in all subjects. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maternal weight, maternal body composition. RESULTS: The mean BMI was 25.7 kg\\/m(2) and 19.0% of the women were in the obese category (> or =30.0 kg\\/m(2)). Cross-sectional analysis by gestational age showed that there was no change in mean maternal weight, BMI, total body water, fat mass, fat-free mass or bone mass before 14 weeks gestation. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to previous reports, mean maternal weight and mean body composition values remain unchanged in the first trimester of pregnancy. This has implications for guidelines on maternal weight gain during pregnancy. We also recommend that calculation of BMI in pregnancy and gestational weight gain should be based on accurate early pregnancy measurements, and not on self-reported or prepregnancy measurements.

The relationship between doctors' and nurses' own weight status and their weight management practices: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, D Q; Norman, I J; While, A E

2011-06-01

It has been established that health professionals' smoking and physical activity influence their related health-promoting behaviours, but it is unclear whether health professionals' weight status also influences their related professional practices. A systematic review was conducted to understand the relationship between personal weight status and weight management practices. Nine eligible studies were identified from a search of the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Chinese databases. All included studies were cross-sectional surveys employing self-reported questionnaires. Weight management practice variables studied were classified under six practice indicators, developed from weight management guidelines. Syntheses of the findings from the selected studies suggest that: normal weight doctors and nurses were more likely than those who were overweight to use strategies to prevent obesity in-patients, and, also, provide overweight or obese patients with general advice to achieve weight loss. Doctors' and nurses' own weight status was not found to be significantly related to their referral and assessment of overweight or obese patients, and associations with their relevant knowledge/skills and specific treatment behaviours were inconsistent. Additionally, in female, primary care providers, relevant knowledge and training, self-efficacy and a clear professional identity emerged as positive predictors of weight management practices. This review's findings will need to be confirmed by prospective theoretically driven studies, which employ objective measures of weight status and weight management practices and involve multivariate analyses to identify the relative contribution of weight status to weight management. © 2011 The Authors. obesity reviews © 2011 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

Measurement of m_top via neutrino weighting in the dilepton decay channels at DØ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Temple, Jeffrey Willard [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

2006-01-01

A measurement of the top quark mass from dilepton decay channels is presented, using approximately 360 pb^-1 of data colleced by the DØ experiment at Fermilab. The mass is measured from a total of 21 candidate dilepton events, using the neutrino weighting scheme. The measured mass is found to be 175.6±10.7 (stat.)±6.0(syst.) GeV. This result eement with the current world average of the top quark mass.

How do pregnancy-related weight changes and breastfeeding relate to maternal weight and BMI-adjusted waist circumference 7 y after delivery?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirkegaard, Helene; Stovring, Henrik; Rasmussen, Kathleen M

2014-01-01

of breastfeeding are unknown. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine how prepregnancy weight, gestational weight gain, postpartum weight changes, and breastfeeding influence maternal weight and body mass index-adjusted waist circumference (WCBMI) 7 y after delivery. DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort study......; 87% of this effect was mediated through later weight changes. For both outcomes, a small inverse association was observed for breastfeeding duration. This was strongest for WCBMI, for which 97% of the effect was direct, ie, not mediated through postpartum weight. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show...... that postpartum weight retention at 6 mo and weight gain from 6 to 18 mo postpartum contribute equally to adverse maternal anthropometric measures 7 y after delivery. Breastfeeding duration may have a beneficial effect....

Calorie Estimation in Adults Differing in Body Weight Class and Weight Loss Status.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Ruth E; Canning, Karissa L; Fung, Michael; Jiandani, Dishay; Riddell, Michael C; Macpherson, Alison K; Kuk, Jennifer L

2016-03-01

Ability to accurately estimate calories is important for weight management, yet few studies have investigated whether individuals can accurately estimate calories during exercise or in a meal. The objective of this study was to determine if accuracy of estimation of moderate or vigorous exercise energy expenditure and calories in food is associated with body weight class or weight loss status. Fifty-eight adults who were either normal weight (NW) or overweight (OW), and either attempting (WL) or not attempting weight loss (noWL), exercised on a treadmill at a moderate (60% HRmax) and a vigorous intensity (75% HRmax) for 25 min. Subsequently, participants estimated the number of calories they expended through exercise and created a meal that they believed to be calorically equivalent to the exercise energy expenditure. The mean difference between estimated and measured calories in exercise and food did not differ within or between groups after moderate exercise. After vigorous exercise, OW-noWL overestimated energy expenditure by 72% and overestimated the calories in their food by 37% (P food compared with both WL groups (P food. There was a wide range of underestimation and overestimation of calories during exercise and in a meal. Error in calorie estimation may be greater in overweight adults who are not attempting weight loss.

Long-range weight functions in fundamental measure theory of the non-uniform hard-sphere fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen-Goos, Hendrik

2016-01-01

We introduce long-range weight functions to the framework of fundamental measure theory (FMT) of the non-uniform, single-component hard-sphere fluid. While the range of the usual weight functions is equal to the hard-sphere radius R , the modified weight functions have range 3 R . Based on the augmented FMT, we calculate the radial distribution function g (r) up to second order in the density within Percus’ test particle theory. Consistency of the compressibility and virial routes on this level allows us to determine the free parameter γ of the theory. As a side result, we obtain a value for the fourth virial coefficient B 4 which deviates by only 0.01% from the exact result. The augmented FMT is tested for the dense fluid by comparing results for g (r) calculated via the test particle route to existing results from molecular dynamics simulations. The agreement at large distances (r   >  6 R) is significantly improved when the FMT with long-range weight functions is used. In order to improve agreement close to contact (r   =  2 R) we construct a free energy which is based on the accurate Carnahan–Starling equation of state, rather than the Percus–Yevick compressibility equation underlying standard FMT. (paper)

Generalized weighted ratio method for accurate turbidity measurement over a wide range.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hongbo; Yang, Ping; Song, Hong; Guo, Yilu; Zhan, Shuyue; Huang, Hui; Wang, Hangzhou; Tao, Bangyi; Mu, Quanquan; Xu, Jing; Li, Dejun; Chen, Ying

2015-12-14

Turbidity measurement is important for water quality assessment, food safety, medicine, ocean monitoring, etc. In this paper, a method that accurately estimates the turbidity over a wide range is proposed, where the turbidity of the sample is represented as a weighted ratio of the scattered light intensities at a series of angles. An improvement in the accuracy is achieved by expanding the structure of the ratio function, thus adding more flexibility to the turbidity-intensity fitting. Experiments have been carried out with an 850 nm laser and a power meter fixed on a turntable to measure the light intensity at different angles. The results show that the relative estimation error of the proposed method is 0.58% on average for a four-angle intensity combination for all test samples with a turbidity ranging from 160 NTU to 4000 NTU.

Sociocultural and Familial Factors Associated with Weight Bias Internalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca L. Pearl

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Sociocultural and familial factors associated with weight bias internalization (WBI are currently unknown. The present study explored the relationship between interpersonal sources of weight stigma, family weight history, and WBI. Methods: Participants with obesity (N = 178, 87.6% female, 71.3% black completed questionnaires that assessed the frequency with which they experienced weight stigma from various interpersonal sources. Participants also reported the weight status of their family members and completed measures of WBI, depression, and demographics. Participant height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI. Results: Linear regression results (controlling for demographics, BMI, and depression showed that stigmatizing experiences from family and work predicted greater WBI. Experiencing weight stigma at work was associated with WBI above and beyond the effects of other sources of stigma. Participants who reported higher BMIs for their mothers had lower levels of WBI. Conclusion: Experiencing weight stigma from family and at work may heighten WBI, while having a mother with a higher BMI may be a protective factor against WBI. Prospective research is needed to understand WBI's developmental course and identify mechanisms that increase or mitigate its risk.

Weight loss and weight maintenance obtained with or without GLP-1 analogue treatment decrease branched chain amino acid levels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Engelbrechtsen, Line; Iepsen, Eva Pers Winning; Galijatovic, Ehm Astrid Andersson

2016-01-01

increased during weight loss (p = 5.2 × 10−15) and showed inverse correlation with insulin resistance measured by HOMA–IR levels (r = −0.318, p = 0.025). Valine concentrations were lower in the control group compared to the GLP-1RA group during weight maintenance (p = 0.005). Conclusion Weight loss...

Accelerometer-measured physical activity is not associated with two-year weight change in African-origin adults from five diverse populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lara R. Dugas

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background Increasing population-levels of physical activity (PA is a controversial strategy for managing the obesity epidemic, given the conflicting evidence for weight loss from PA alone per se. We measured PA and weight change in a three-year prospective cohort study in young adults from five countries (Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles and USA. Methods A total of 1,944 men and women had baseline data, and at least 1 follow-up examination including measures of anthropometry (weight/BMI, and objective PA (accelerometer, 7-day following the three-year study period. PA was explored as 1-minute bouts of moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA as well as daily sedentary time. Results At baseline; Ghanaian and South African men had the lowest body weights (63.4 ± 9.5, 64.9 ± 11.8 kg, respectively and men and women from the USA the highest (93.6 ± 25.9, 91.7 ± 23.4 kg, respectively. Prevalence of normal weight ranged from 85% in Ghanaian men to 29% in USA men and 52% in Ghanaian women to 15% in USA women. Over the two-year follow-up period, USA men and Jamaican women experienced the smallest yearly weight change rate (0.1 ± 3.3 kg/yr; −0.03 ± 3.0 kg/yr, respectively, compared to South African men and Ghanaian women greatest yearly change (0.6.0 ± 3.0 kg/yr; 1.22 ± 2.6 kg/yr, respectively. Mean yearly weight gain tended to be larger among normal weight participants at baseline than overweight/obese at baseline. Neither baseline MVPA nor sedentary time were associated with weight gain. Using multiple linear regression, only baseline weight, age and gender were significantly associated with weight gain. Discussion From our study it is not evident that higher volumes of PA alone are protective against future weight gain, and by deduction our data suggest that other environmental factors such as the food environment may have a more critical role.

The role of weight teasing and weight bias internalization in psychological functioning: a prospective study among school-aged children.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuba, Anna; Warschburger, Petra

2017-10-01

Weight-related teasing is a widespread phenomenon in childhood, and might foster the internalization of weight bias. The goal of this study was to examine the role of weight teasing and weight bias internalization as mediators between weight status and negative psychological sequelae, such as restrained eating and emotional and conduct problems in childhood. Participants included 546 female (52%) and 501 (48%) male children aged 7-11 and their parents, who completed surveys assessing weight teasing, weight bias internalization, restrained eating behaviors, and emotional and conduct problems at two points of measurement, approximately 2 years apart. To examine the hypothesized mediation, a prospective design using structural equation modeling was applied. As expected, the experience of weight teasing and the internalization of weight bias were mediators in the relationship between weight status and psychosocial problems. This pattern was observed independently of gender or weight status. Our findings suggest that the experience of weight teasing and internalization of weight bias is more important than weight status in explaining psychological functioning among children and indicate a need for appropriate prevention and intervention approaches.

The Impact of Feeding Diets of High or Low Energy Concentration on Carcass Measurements and the Weight of Primal and Subprimal Lean Cuts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. P. Schinckel

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Pigs from four sire lines were allocated to a series of low energy (LE, 3.15 to 3.21 Mcal ME/kg corn-soybean meal-based diets with 16% wheat midds or high energy diets (HE, 3.41 to 3.45 Mcal ME/kg with 4.5 to 4.95% choice white grease. All diets contained 6% DDGS. The HE and LE diets of each of the four phases were formulated to have equal lysine:Mcal ME ratios. Barrows (N = 2,178 and gilts (N = 2,274 were fed either high energy (HE or low energy (LE diets from 27 kg BW to target BWs of 118, 127, 131.5 and 140.6 kg. Carcass primal and subprimal cut weights were collected. The cut weights and carcass measurements were fitted to allometric functions (Y = A CWB of carcass weight. The significance of diet, sex or sire line with A and B was evaluated by linearizing the equations by log to log transformation. The effect of diet on A and B did not interact with sex or sire line. Thus, the final model was B where Diet = −0.5 for the LE and 0.5 for HE diets and A and B are sire line-sex specific parameters. cut weight = (1+bD(Diet A(CW Diet had no affect on loin, Boston butt, picnic, baby back rib, or sparerib weights (p>0.10, bD = −0.003, −0.0029, 0.0002, 0.0047, −0.0025, respectively. Diet affected ham weight (bD = −0.0046, p = 0.01, belly weight (bD = 0.0188, p = 0.001 three-muscle ham weight (bD = −0.014, p = 0.001, boneless loin weight (bD = −0.010, p = 0.001, tenderloin weight (bD = −0.023, p = 0.001, sirloin weight (bD = −0.009, p = 0.034, and fat-free lean mass (bD = −0.0145, p = 0.001. Overall, feeding the LE diets had little impact on primal cut weight except to decrease belly weight. Feeding LE diets increased the weight of lean trimmed cuts by 1 to 2 percent at the same carcass weight.

Holiday Weight Management by Successful Weight Losers and Normal Weight Individuals

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Phelan, Suzanne; Wing, Rena R.; Raynor, Hollie A.; Dibello, Julia; Nedeau, Kim; Peng, Wanfeng

2008-01-01

This study compared weight control strategies during the winter holidays among successful weight losers (SWL) in the National Weight Control Registry and normal weight individuals (NW) with no history of obesity. SWL (n = 178) had lost a mean of 34.9 kg and had kept greater than or equal to 13.6 kg off for a mean of 5.9 years. NW (n = 101) had a…

Weight Constrained DEA Measurement of the Quality of Life in Spanish Municipalities in 2011.

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González, Eduardo; Cárcaba, Ana; Ventura, Juan

2018-01-01

This paper measures quality of life (QoL) in the 393 largest Spanish municipalities in 2011. We follow recent descriptions of QoL dimensions to propose an integrated framework composed of eight dimensions: material living conditions, health, education, environment, economic and physical safety, governance and political voice, social interaction, and personal activities. Using different sources of information we construct 16 indicators, two per each of the QoL dimensions considered. Weight constrained data envelopment analysis (DEA) is then used to estimate a composite indicator of the QoL of each municipality. Robustness is checked by altering the weight ranges introduced within the DEA specification. Results show that the Northern and Central regions in Spain attain the highest levels of QoL, while the Southern and Mediterranean regions report lower scores. These figures are consistent with those obtained by González et al. ( Soc Ind Res 82:111-145 2011) for the Spanish municipalities in 2001, although both the sample and the indicators used are different. The analysis also shows that, while it is important to restrict weights in DEA, the specific restrictions used are less important, since all the composite indicators computed are highly correlated. The results also show important differences between per capita gross domestic product and QoL at the provincial level.

N-of-1 study of weight loss maintenance assessing predictors of physical activity, adherence to weight loss plan and weight change.

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Kwasnicka, Dominika; Dombrowski, Stephan U; White, Martin; Sniehotta, Falko F

2017-06-01

Behaviour change interventions are effective in supporting individuals to achieve clinically significant weight loss, but weight loss maintenance (WLM) is less often attained. This study examined predictive variables associated with WLM. N-of-1 study with daily ecological momentary assessment combined with objective measurement of weight and physical activity, collected with wireless devices (Fitbit™) for six months. Eight previously obese adults who had lost over 5% of their body weight in the past year took part. Data were analysed using time series methods. Predictor variables were based on five theoretical themes: maintenance motives, self-regulation, personal resources, habits, and environmental influences. Dependent variables were: objectively estimated step count and weight, and self-reported WLM plan adherence. For all participants, daily fluctuations in self-reported adherence to their WLM plan were significantly associated with most of the explanatory variables, including maintenance motivation and satisfaction with outcomes, self-regulation, habit, and stable environment. Personal resources were not a consistent predictor of plan adherence. This is the first study to assess theoretical predictions of WLM within individuals. WLM is a dynamic process including the interplay of motivation, self-regulation, habit, resources, and perceptions of environmental context. Individuals maintaining their weight have unique psychological profiles which could be accounted for in interventions.

Understanding the Essential Meaning of Measured Changes in Weight and Body Composition Among Women During and After Adjuvant Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Mixed-Methods Study.

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Pedersen, Birgith; Groenkjaer, Mette; Falkmer, Ursula; Delmar, Charlotte

Changes in weight and body composition among women during and after adjuvant antineoplastic treatment for breast cancer may influence long-term survival and quality of life. Research on factual weight changes is diverse and contrasting, and their influence on women's perception of body and self seems to be insufficiently explored. The aim of this study was to expand the understanding of the association between changes in weight and body composition and the women's perception of body and selves. A mixed-methods research design was used. Data consisted of weight and body composition measures from 95 women with breast cancer during 18 months past surgery. Twelve women from this cohort were interviewed individually at 12 months. Linear mixed model and logistic regression were used to estimate changes of repeated measures and odds ratio. Interviews were analyzed guided by existential phenomenology. Joint displays and integrative mixed-methods interpretation demonstrated that even small weight gains, extended waist, and weight loss were associated with fearing recurrence of breast cancer. Perceiving an ambiguous transforming body, the women moved between a unified body subject and the body as an object dissociated in "I" and "it" while fighting against or accepting the body changes. Integrating findings demonstrated that factual weight changes do not correspond with the perceived changes and may trigger existential threats. Transition to a new habitual body demand health practitioners to enter a joint narrative work to reveal how the changes impact on the women's body and self-perception independent of how they are displayed quantitatively.

Perfluoroalkyl substances and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate in response to weight-loss diets: A prospective study

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Furtado, Jeremy D.; Liang, Liming; Qi, Lu; Bray, George A.; DeJonge, Lilian; Coull, Brent

2018-01-01

Background The potential endocrine-disrupting effects of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been demonstrated in animal studies, but whether PFASs may interfere with body weight regulation in humans is largely unknown. This study aimed to examine the associations of PFAS exposure with changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in a diet-induced weight-loss setting. Methods and findings In the 2-year POUNDS Lost randomized clinical trial based in Boston, Massachusetts, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that examined the effects of energy-restricted diets on weight changes, baseline plasma concentrations of major PFASs were measured among 621 overweight and obese participants aged 30–70 years. Body weight was measured at baseline and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. RMR and other metabolic parameters, including glucose, lipids, thyroid hormones, and leptin, were measured at baseline and 6 and 24 months. Participants lost an average of 6.4 kg of body weight during the first 6 months (weight-loss period) and subsequently regained an average of 2.7 kg of body weight during the period of 6–24 months (weight regain period). After multivariate adjustment, baseline PFAS concentrations were not significantly associated with concurrent body weight or weight loss during the first 6 months. In contrast, higher baseline levels of PFASs were significantly associated with a greater weight regain, primarily in women. In women, comparing the highest to the lowest tertiles of PFAS concentrations, the multivariate-adjusted mean weight regain (SE) was 4.0 (0.8) versus 2.1 (0.9) kg for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) (Ptrend = 0.01); 4.3 (0.9) versus 2.2 (0.8) kg for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) (Ptrend = 0.007); 4.7 (0.9) versus 2.5 (0.9) kg for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (Ptrend = 0.006); 4.9 (0.9) versus 2.7 (0.8) kg for perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) (Ptrend = 0.009); and 4.2 (0.8) versus 2.5 (0.9) kg for perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) (Ptrend = 0.03). When

Does Successful Weight Loss in an Internet-Based Worksite Weight Loss Program Improve Employee Presenteeism and Absenteeism?

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Harden, Samantha M.; You, Wen; Almeida, Fabio A.; Hill, Jennie L.; Linnan, Laura A.; Allen, Kacie C.; Estabrooks, Paul A.

2017-01-01

Certain risk factors associated with overweight and obesity may lead to reduced productivity in the workforce (i.e., increased absenteeism and presenteeism). Participants in a large, Internet-based worksite weight loss intervention, who were present at follow-up (N = 1,030), completed a self-reported productivity measure (World Health Organization’s Health and Work Performance Questionnaire) at baseline and postintervention. Twenty-two percent of the participants lost a clinically meaningful amount of weight (≥5% weight loss). There were no statistically significant (p absenteeism or for absolute or relative presenteeism. Within a modestly successful Internet-based, worksite weight loss intervention, weight loss did not improve self-reported absenteeism or presenteeism. Further studies are needed to explore the sensitivity of the World Health Organization’s Health and Work Performance Questionnaire and the long-term effects of weight loss on productivity. PMID:25842385

The CHOP postnatal weight gain, birth weight, and gestational age retinopathy of prematurity risk model.

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Binenbaum, Gil; Ying, Gui-Shuang; Quinn, Graham E; Huang, Jiayan; Dreiseitl, Stephan; Antigua, Jules; Foroughi, Negar; Abbasi, Soraya

2012-12-01

To develop a birth weight (BW), gestational age (GA), and postnatal-weight gain retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) prediction model in a cohort of infants meeting current screening guidelines. Multivariate logistic regression was applied retrospectively to data from infants born with BW less than 1501 g or GA of 30 weeks or less at a single Philadelphia hospital between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2009. In the model, BW, GA, and daily weight gain rate were used repeatedly each week to predict risk of Early Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity type 1 or 2 ROP. If risk was above a cut-point level, examinations would be indicated. Of 524 infants, 20 (4%) had type 1 ROP and received laser treatment; 28 (5%) had type 2 ROP. The model (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia [CHOP]) accurately predicted all infants with type 1 ROP; missed 1 infant with type 2 ROP, who did not require laser treatment; and would have reduced the number of infants requiring examinations by 49%. Raising the cut point to miss one type 1 ROP case would have reduced the need for examinations by 79%. Using daily weight measurements to calculate weight gain rate resulted in slightly higher examination reduction than weekly measurements. The BW-GA-weight gain CHOP ROP model demonstrated accurate ROP risk assessment and a large reduction in the number of ROP examinations compared with current screening guidelines. As a simple logistic equation, it can be calculated by hand or represented as a nomogram for easy clinical use. However, larger studies are needed to achieve a highly precise estimate of sensitivity prior to clinical application.

Accuracy of Self-Reported Weight Among Adolescent and Young Adults Following Bariatric Surgery.

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Jenkins, Todd M; Boyce, Tawny W; Ralph Buncher, C; Zeller, Meg H; Courcoulas, Anita P; Evans, Mary; Inge, Thomas H

2017-06-01

This study evaluates accuracy of self-reported weight in adolescent bariatric surgery patients. During follow-up visits, participants self-reported weight and had weight measured. The differences between self-reported and measured weights were analyzed from 60 participants. Participants were 70% (n = 42) female, 72% (n = 43) white, mean age of 20.8 years and a median body mass index of 36.6 kg/m 2 . At an average of 3.5 years following surgery, females underestimated weight (0.5 kg, range: -18.7 to 5.6 kg), while males overestimated (1.1 kg, range: -7.8 to 15.2 kg). Most (80%, n = 48) reported within 5 kg of measured weight. The majority of adolescents who previously underwent bariatric surgery reported reasonably accurate weights, but direction of misreporting varied by gender. Self-reported weights could be utilized when measured values are unavailable without markedly biasing the interpretation of outcomes.

Regression Equations for Birth Weight Estimation using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this study, Birth Weight has been estimated from anthropometric measurements of hand and foot. Linear regression equations were formed from each of the measured variables. These simple equations can be used to estimate Birth Weight of new born babies, in order to identify those with low birth weight and referred to ...

Measurements of Weight Bearing Asymmetry Using the Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board Are Not Reliable for Older Adults and Individuals With Stroke.

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Liuzzo, Derek M; Peters, Denise M; Middleton, Addie; Lanier, Wes; Chain, Rebecca; Barksdale, Brittany; Fritz, Stacy L

Clinicians and researchers have used bathroom scales, balance performance monitors with feedback, postural scale analysis, and force platforms to evaluate weight bearing asymmetry (WBA). Now video game consoles offer a novel alternative for assessing this construct. By using specialized software, the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board can provide reliable measurements of WBA in healthy, young adults. However, reliability of measurements obtained using only the factory settings to assess WBA in older adults and individuals with stroke has not been established. To determine whether measurements of WBA obtained using the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board and default settings are reliable in older adults and individuals with stroke. Weight bearing asymmetry was assessed using the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board in 2 groups of participants-individuals older than 65 years (n = 41) and individuals with stroke (n = 41). Participants were given a standardized set of instructions and were not provided auditory or visual feedback. Two trials were performed. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), standard error of measure (SEM), and minimal detectable change (MDC) scores were determined for each group. The ICC for the older adults sample was 0.59 (0.35-0.76) with SEM95 = 6.2% and MDC95 = 8.8%. The ICC for the sample including individuals with stroke was 0.60 (0.47-0.70) with SEM95 = 9.6% and MDC95 = 13.6%. Although measurements of WBA obtained using the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board, and its default factory settings, demonstrate moderate reliability in older adults and individuals with stroke, the relatively high associated SEM and MDC values substantially reduce the clinical utility of the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board as an assessment tool for WBA. Weight bearing asymmetry cannot be measured reliably in older adults and individuals with stroke using the Nintendo Wii Fit balance board without the use of specialized software.

[Weight loss in overweight or obese patients and family functioning].

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Jaramillo-Sánchez, Rosalba; Espinosa-de Santillana, Irene; Espíndola-Jaramillo, Ilia Angélica

2012-01-01

to determine the association between weight loss and family functioning. a cohort of 168 persons with overweight or obesity from 20-49 years, either sex, with no comorbidity was studied at the nutrition department. A sociodemographic data was obtained and FACES III instrument to measure family functioning was applied. At the third month a new assessment of the body mass index was measured. Descriptive statistical analysis and relative risk were done. obesity presented in 50.6 %, 59.53 % of them did not lose weight. Family dysfunction was present in 56.6 % of which 50 % did not lose weight. From 43.4 % of functional families, 9.52 % did not lose weight (p = 0.001). The probability or risk of not losing weight was to belong to a dysfunctional family is 4.03 % (CI = 2.60-6.25). A significant association was found between the variables: weight loss and family functioning. Belonging to a dysfunctional family may be a risk factor for not losing weight.

Weight concerns in male low birth weight adolescents: relation to body mass index, self-esteem, and depression.

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Blond, Anna; Whitaker, Agnes H; Lorenz, John M; Feldman, Judith F; Nieto, Marlon; Pinto-Martin, Jennifer A; Paneth, Nigel

2008-06-01

To compare weight concerns and self-reported body mass index (BMI) of low birth weight (LBW) adolescent boys to those of a normative sample and examine relationships among BMI, weight concerns, self-esteem, and depression in the LBW cohort. LBW boys (n = 260; mean age, 16.0) belong to the Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage Study birth cohort. Normative boys (n = 305; mean age, 16.5) belong to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Both samples were assessed in 2001-2004 with self-report questionnaires. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight. Weight perception and weight dissatisfaction were assessed with the Eating Symptoms Inventory. In LBW boys, self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and depression with the Beck Depression Inventory. Based on self-reported height and weight, LBW boys were more likely to be healthy weight or underweight and less likely to be overweight than normative boys. Despite having healthier self-reported BMIs, LBW boys reported more weight concerns than the normative sample. A total of 46.9% of LBW boys perceived their weight as abnormal, and 76.5% desired weight change. Weight concerns in LBW boys mostly reflected a perception of being underweight (31.2% of the cohort) and a desire to gain weight (47.5% of the cohort), although only 6.5% were clinically underweight. Weight concerns, but not BMI, were related to clinical depression and lower self-esteem. LBW adolescent boys are at high risk of experiencing weight concerns. Weight concerns rather than BMI are associated with emotional problems in LBW boys.

Acoustic Monitor for Liquid-Solid Slurries Measurements at Low Weight Fractions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavlarides, L. L.; Sangani, A.; Shcherbakov, A.; Lee, J. S.; Dievendorf, E.

2003-01-01

The principal objective of the project is to develop an acoustic probe for determining the weight fraction of particles in a flowing suspension. The suspension can be solid-liquid (S-L) or solid-gas-liquid (S-G-L). The work will include testing the theory of acoustic wave propagation in suspensions and demonstrating the application of the probe by installing it on a flow loop through which a suspension is flowing and determining the particle weight fraction. The signal from the probe must be processed such that the noise arising from the presence of gas bubbles is removed to yield an accurate estimate of the particle weight fraction. Particular attention will be given to testing suspensions with low particle weight fractions since slurries to be transported in nuclear waste processing will have low particle weight fractions. Originally, the probe was to be developed and tested at Syracuse University (SU) then installed and tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) for surrogate slurries from the Hanford Nuclear site. However, after discussions between SU and ORNL in June 2002 it was agreed that all tests would be conducted at SU

Acoustic Monitor for Liquid-Solid Slurries Measurements at Low Weight Fractions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavlarides, L. L.; Sangani, A.; Shcherbakov, A.; Lee, J. S.; Dievendorf, E.

2002-01-01

The principal objective of the project is to develop an acoustic probe for determining the weight fraction of particles in a flowing suspension. The suspension can be solid-liquid (S-L) or solid-gas-liquid (S-G-L). The work will include testing the theory of acoustic wave propagation in suspensions and demonstrating the application of the probe by installing it on a flow loop through which a suspension is flowing and determining the particle weight fraction. The signal from the probe must be processed such that the noise arising from the presence of gas bubbles is removed to yield an accurate estimate of the particle weight fraction. Particular attention will be given to testing suspensions with low particle weight fractions since slurries to be transported in nuclear waste processing will have low particle weight fractions. Originally, the probe was to be developed and tested at Syracuse University (SU) then installed and tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) for surrogate slurries from the Hanford Nuclear site. However, after discussions between SU and ORNL in June 2002 it was agreed that all tests would be conducted at SU

Neighborhood racial composition and poverty in association with pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dara D. Mendez

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Studies of neighborhood racial composition or neighborhood poverty in association with pregnancy-related weight are limited. Prior studies of neighborhood racial density and poverty has been in association with adverse birth outcomes and suggest that neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and racial composition of black residents are typically segregated and systematically isolated from opportunities and resources. These neighborhood factors may help explain the racial disparities in pre-pregnancy weight and inadequate weight gain. This study examined whether neighborhood racial composition and neighborhood poverty was associated with weight before pregnancy and weight gain during pregnancy and if this association differed by race. Methods: We used vital birth records of singleton births of 73,061 non-Hispanic black and white women in Allegheny County, PA (2003–2010. Maternal race and ethnicity, pre-pregnancy body-mass-index (BMI, gestational weight gain and other individual-level characteristics were derived from vital birth record data, and measures of neighborhood racial composition (percentage of black residents in the neighborhood and poverty (percentage of households in the neighborhood below the federal poverty were derived using US Census data. Multilevel log binomial regression models were performed to estimate neighborhood racial composition and poverty in association with pre-pregnancy weight (i.e., overweight/obese and gestational weight gain (i.e., inadequate and excessive. Results: Black women as compared to white women were more likely to be overweight/obese before pregnancy and to have inadequate gestational weight gain (53.6% vs. 38.8%; 22.5% vs. 14.75 respectively. Black women living in predominately black neighborhoods were slightly more likely to be obese prior to pregnancy compared to black women living in predominately white neighborhoods (PR 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.16. Black and white women living in high

Weight-loss surgery and children

Science.gov (United States)

... to the extra body weight. The body mass index (BMI) measures below are used by many doctors ... Saunders; 2015:chap 29. Mechanick JI, Youdim A, Jones DB, et al. Clinical practice guidelines for the ...

Does Successful Weight Loss in an Internet-Based Worksite Weight Loss Program Improve Employee Presenteeism and Absenteeism?

Science.gov (United States)

Harden, Samantha M; You, Wen; Almeida, Fabio A; Hill, Jennie L; Linnan, Laura A; Allen, Kacie C; Estabrooks, Paul A

2015-12-01

Certain risk factors associated with overweight and obesity may lead to reduced productivity in the workforce (i.e., increased absenteeism and presenteeism). Participants in a large, Internet-based worksite weight loss intervention, who were present at follow-up (N = 1,030), completed a self-reported productivity measure (World Health Organization's Health and Work Performance Questionnaire) at baseline and postintervention. Twenty-two percent of the participants lost a clinically meaningful amount of weight (≥5% weight loss). There were no statistically significant (p absenteeism or for absolute or relative presenteeism. Within a modestly successful Internet-based, worksite weight loss intervention, weight loss did not improve self-reported absenteeism or presenteeism. Further studies are needed to explore the sensitivity of the World Health Organization's Health and Work Performance Questionnaire and the long-term effects of weight loss on productivity. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Body Mass Index Self-Perception and Weight Management Behaviors during Late Adolescence

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Yang, Kyeongra; Turk, Melanie T.; Allison, Virginia L.; James, Khara A.; Chasens, Eileen

2014-01-01

Background: This study examined the relationship between actual body weight and self-perceived weight, and how perception of one's weight affects weight management behaviors among US adolescents. Methods: Adolescents ages 16-19 years with objectively-measured weight and height and self-reported perception of weight, weight-loss efforts, and…

Theoretical value of Newtonian constant G confirmed by the International Bureau of Weights & Measures in Paris, France

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Omerbashich, Mensur

2015-01-01

World oldest authority for scientific constants and the keeper of the original metre standard, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Paris, France has accomplished a historic confirmation of the Omerbashich's (first-ever) scientific prediction of value of the Newtonian gravitational constant G.

Impact of parental weight status on a school-based weight management programme designed for Mexican-American children.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, J P; Johnston, C A; Hernandez, D C; LeNoble, J; Papaioannou, M A; Foreyt, J P

2016-10-01

While overweight and obese children are more likely to have overweight or obese parents, less is known about the effect of parental weight status on children's success in weight management programmes. This study was a secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial and investigated the impact of having zero, one or two obese parents on children's success in a school-based weight management programme. Sixty-one Mexican-American children participated in a 24-week school-based weight management intervention which took place in 2005-2006. Children's heights and weights were measured at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. Parental weight status was assessed at baseline. Repeated measures anova and ancova were conducted to compare changes in children's weight within and between groups, respectively. Within-group comparisons revealed that the intervention led to significant decreases in standardized body mass index (zBMI) for children with zero (F = 23.16, P weight management programme appears to be most efficacious for children with one or no obese parents compared to children with two obese parents. These results demonstrate the need to consider parental weight status when engaging in childhood weight management efforts. © 2015 World Obesity.

Universal equation for estimating ideal body weight and body weight at any BMI.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Courtney M; Thomas, Diana M; Blackburn, George L; Heymsfield, Steven B

2016-05-01

Ideal body weight (IBW) equations and body mass index (BMI) ranges have both been used to delineate healthy or normal weight ranges, although these 2 different approaches are at odds with each other. In particular, past IBW equations are misaligned with BMI values, and unlike BMI, the equations have failed to recognize that there is a range of ideal or target body weights. For the first time, to our knowledge, we merged the concepts of a linear IBW equation and of defining target body weights in terms of BMI. With the use of calculus and approximations, we derived an easy-to-use linear equation that clinicians can use to calculate both IBW and body weight at any target BMI value. We measured the empirical accuracy of the equation with the use of NHANES data and performed a comparative analysis with past IBW equations. Our linear equation allowed us to calculate body weights for any BMI and height with a mean empirical accuracy of 0.5-0.7% on the basis of NHANES data. Moreover, we showed that our body weight equation directly aligns with BMI values for both men and women, which avoids the overestimation and underestimation problems at the upper and lower ends of the height spectrum that have plagued past IBW equations. Our linear equation increases the sophistication of IBW equations by replacing them with a single universal equation that calculates both IBW and body weight at any target BMI and height. Therefore, our equation is compatible with BMI and can be applied with the use of mental math or a calculator without the need for an app, which makes it a useful tool for both health practitioners and the general public. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

What Behaviors Are Important for Successful Weight Maintenance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makiko Nakade

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To examine behavioral factors related to successful weight maintenance. Methods. Subjects were 90 middle-aged participants who attended a weight loss program and were followed for one year. The subjects were classified into either successful weight maintainers (maintained a weight loss of 5% or more from their initial weight for one year (SWM or unsuccessful weight maintainers (USWM, and weight control practice, stress, obstacles, support, and self-efficacy during the program and follow-up period were compared. Results. SWM had mean loss of 12% from their initial weight during the program. They showed a greater improvement in their regularity of eating, walked more, and felt less stress regarding their increased physical activity than the USWM. During the follow-up period, significantly more SWM participants had self-efficacy (for measuring weight, practicing dietary objective, and assessing the practice and keeping records, actually kept records and measured weight more than the USWM participants. In contrast, more USWM participants felt stress about measuring weight. Conclusion. In addition to a substantial initial weight loss due to an increased amount of physical activity, having a higher self-efficacy and consistently keeping records of one's activities, as well as regularly weighing themselves, may be important for successful weight maintenance.

Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control.

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Pedro J; Silva, Marlene N; Mata, Jutta; Palmeira, António L; Markland, David

2012-03-02

This article explores the topics of motivation and self-regulation in the context of weight management and related behaviors. We focus on the role of a qualitative approach to address motivation--not only considering the level but also type of motivation--in weight control and related behaviors. We critically discuss the operationalization of motivation in current weight control programs, present a complementary approach to understanding motivation based on self-determination theory, and review empirical findings from weight control studies that have used self-determination theory measures and assessed their association with weight outcomes. Weight loss studies which used Motivational Interviewing (MI) are also reviewed, considering MI's focus on enhancing internal motivation. We hypothesize that current weight control interventions may have been less successful with weight maintenance in part due to their relative disregard of qualitative dimensions of motivation, such as level of perceived autonomy, often resulting in a motivational disconnect between weight loss and weight-related behaviors. We suggest that if individuals fully endorse weight loss-related behavioral goals and feel not just competent but also autonomous about reaching them, as suggested by self-determination theory, their efforts are more likely to result in long-lasting behavior change.

Physical activity and post-treatment weight trajectory in anorexia nervosa

Science.gov (United States)

Gianini, Loren M; Klein, Diane A; Call, Christine; Walsh, B. Timothy; Wang, Yuanjia; Wu, Peng; Attia, Evelyn

2015-01-01

Objective This study compared an objective measurement of physical activity (PA) in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) at low-weight, weight-restored, and post-treatment time points, and also compared PA in AN with that of healthy controls (HC). Method Sixty-one female inpatients with AN wore a novel accelerometer (the IDEEA) which measured PA at three time points: a) low-weight, b) weight-restored, and c) one month post-hospital discharge. Twenty-four HCs wore the IDEEA at one time point. Results Inpatients with AN became more physically active than they were at low-weight at weight restoration and following treatment discharge. Post-treatment patients with AN were more physically active than HCs during the day and less active at night, which was primarily accounted for by amount of time spent on feet, including standing and walking. Greater time spent on feet during the weight-restoration time point of inpatient treatment was associated with more rapid decrease in BMI over the 12 months following treatment discharge. Fidgeting did not differ between patients and controls, did not change with weight restoration, and did not predict post-treatment weight change. Discussion Use of a novel accelerometer demonstrated greater PA in AN than in healthy controls. PA following weight restoration in AN, particularly time spent in standing postures, may contribute to weight loss in the year following hospitalization. PMID:26712105

Relationship between impulsivity, snack consumption and children's weight.

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Eline W M Scholten

Full Text Available Childhood overweight is a public health problem associated with psychosocial and physical problems. Personality traits, such as impulsivity, may contribute to the development of overweight.This study examines 1 the association between general impulsivity traits (reward sensitivity and disinhibition and children's weight, 2 the association between impulsivity traits and unhealthy snack consumption, and 3 the potential mediating role of unhealthy snack consumption in the relationship between impulsivity traits and children's weight.Included were 1,377 parent-child dyads participating in the IVO Nutrition and Physical Activity Child cohorT (INPACT. Children had a mean age of 10 years. Parents completed a questionnaire to measure children's unhealthy snack consumption. Children completed a door-opening task to assess reward sensitivity and completed a questionnaire to measure disinhibition. Children's height and weight were measured to calculate their BMI z-scores. Cross-sectional linear regression analyses were performed to test the associations.Disinhibition was positively associated with unhealthy snack consumption but not with BMI z-scores. Reward sensitivity was not related to unhealthy snack consumption or to BMI z-scores.No evidence was found for a mediating effect of unhealthy snack consumption in the relation between impulsivity traits and children's weight. However, disinhibition appears to have a negative influence on children's unhealthy snack consumption. Future research focusing on food-related impulsivity in addition to general impulsivity will provide additional insight into factors that influence children's unhealthy snack consumption and weight.

Relationship between impulsivity, snack consumption and children's weight.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholten, Eline W M; Schrijvers, Carola T M; Nederkoorn, Chantal; Kremers, Stef P J; Rodenburg, Gerda

2014-01-01

Childhood overweight is a public health problem associated with psychosocial and physical problems. Personality traits, such as impulsivity, may contribute to the development of overweight. This study examines 1) the association between general impulsivity traits (reward sensitivity and disinhibition) and children's weight, 2) the association between impulsivity traits and unhealthy snack consumption, and 3) the potential mediating role of unhealthy snack consumption in the relationship between impulsivity traits and children's weight. Included were 1,377 parent-child dyads participating in the IVO Nutrition and Physical Activity Child cohorT (INPACT). Children had a mean age of 10 years. Parents completed a questionnaire to measure children's unhealthy snack consumption. Children completed a door-opening task to assess reward sensitivity and completed a questionnaire to measure disinhibition. Children's height and weight were measured to calculate their BMI z-scores. Cross-sectional linear regression analyses were performed to test the associations. Disinhibition was positively associated with unhealthy snack consumption but not with BMI z-scores. Reward sensitivity was not related to unhealthy snack consumption or to BMI z-scores. No evidence was found for a mediating effect of unhealthy snack consumption in the relation between impulsivity traits and children's weight. However, disinhibition appears to have a negative influence on children's unhealthy snack consumption. Future research focusing on food-related impulsivity in addition to general impulsivity will provide additional insight into factors that influence children's unhealthy snack consumption and weight.

Validity of self-reported weight and height: a cross-sectional study among Malaysian adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Kee, C C; Lim, K H; Sumarni, M G; Teh, C H; Chan, Y Y; Nuur Hafizah, M I; Cheah, Y K; Tee, E O; Ahmad Faudzi, Y; Amal Nasir, M

2017-06-02

Self-reported weight and height are commonly used in lieu of direct measurements of weight and height in large epidemiological surveys due to inevitable constraints such as budget and human resource. However, the validity of self-reported weight and height, particularly among adolescents, needs to be verified as misreporting could lead to misclassification of body mass index and therefore overestimation or underestimation of the burden of BMI-related diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the validity of self-reported weight and height among Malaysian secondary school children. Both self-reported and directly measured weight and height of a subgroup of 663 apparently healthy schoolchildren from the Malaysian Adolescent Health Risk Behaviour (MyAHRB) survey 2013/2014 were analysed. Respondents were required to report their current body weight and height via a self-administrative questionnaire before they were measured by investigators. The validity of self-reported against directly measured weight and height was examined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the Bland-Altman plot and weighted Kappa statistics. There was very good intraclass correlation between self-reported and directly measured weight [r = 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.93, 0.97] and height (r = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90, 0.96). In addition the Bland-Altman plots indicated that the mean difference between self-reported and direct measurement was relatively small. The mean difference (self-reported minus direct measurements) was, for boys: weight, -2.1 kg; height, -1.6 cm; BMI, -0.44 kg/m 2 and girls: weight, -1.2 kg; height, -0.9 cm; BMI, -0.3 kg/m 2 . However, 95% limits of agreement were wide which indicated substantial discrepancies between self-reported and direct measurements method at the individual level. Nonetheless, the weighted Kappa statistics demonstrated a substantial agreement between BMI status categorised based on self-reported weight and height

Neighborhood racial composition and poverty in association with pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendez, Dara D; Thorpe, Roland J; Amutah, Ndidi; Davis, Esa M; Walker, Renee E; Chapple-McGruder, Theresa; Bodnar, Lisa

2016-12-01

Studies of neighborhood racial composition or neighborhood poverty in association with pregnancy-related weight are limited. Prior studies of neighborhood racial density and poverty has been in association with adverse birth outcomes and suggest that neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and racial composition of black residents are typically segregated and systematically isolated from opportunities and resources. These neighborhood factors may help explain the racial disparities in pre-pregnancy weight and inadequate weight gain. This study examined whether neighborhood racial composition and neighborhood poverty was associated with weight before pregnancy and weight gain during pregnancy and if this association differed by race. We used vital birth records of singleton births of 73,061 non-Hispanic black and white women in Allegheny County, PA (2003-2010). Maternal race and ethnicity, pre-pregnancy body-mass-index (BMI), gestational weight gain and other individual-level characteristics were derived from vital birth record data, and measures of neighborhood racial composition (percentage of black residents in the neighborhood) and poverty (percentage of households in the neighborhood below the federal poverty) were derived using US Census data. Multilevel log binomial regression models were performed to estimate neighborhood racial composition and poverty in association with pre-pregnancy weight (i.e., overweight/obese) and gestational weight gain (i.e., inadequate and excessive). Black women as compared to white women were more likely to be overweight/obese before pregnancy and to have inadequate gestational weight gain (53.6% vs. 38.8%; 22.5% vs. 14.75 respectively). Black women living in predominately black neighborhoods were slightly more likely to be obese prior to pregnancy compared to black women living in predominately white neighborhoods (PR 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.16). Black and white women living in high poverty areas compared with women living in

Weight-related concerns and weight-control behaviors among overweight adolescents in Delhi, India: A cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shrivastav Radhika

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Obesity is emerging as a public health problem among adolescents in India. The aim of this study was to describe specific weight-related concerns among school-going youth in Delhi, India and to assess the prevalence of weight control behaviors, including healthy and unhealthy ones. Differences by weight status, gender, grade level, and school-type (a proxy for SES in this setting are considered. Methods This study is cross-sectional by design. A sample of eighth and tenth graders (n = 1818 enrolled in Private (middle-high SES and Government (low SES schools (n = 8 in Delhi, India participated. All students' height and weight were measured. Students participated in a survey of weight-related concerns and weight-control behaviors, as well. Mixed-effects regression models were used to test for differences in weight-related concerns and weight-control behaviors across key factors of interest (i.e., weight status, gender, grade level, and SES. Results The combined prevalence of obesity and overweight was 16.6%, overall. Controlling one's weight was important to overweight and non-overweight youth, alike (94.2% v. 84.8%, p p Conclusions Interventions to promote healthy weight control should be pertinent to and well-received by school-going youth in India. Healthy weight control practices need to be explicitly encouraged and unhealthy practices reduced. Future interventions should address issues specific to body image, too, as body dissatisfaction was not uncommon among youth.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced quantitative perfusion measurement of the brain using T-1-weighted MRI at 3T

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsson, H.B.W.; Hansen, A.E.; Berg, H.K.

2008-01-01

Purpose: To develop a method for the measurement of brain perfusion based on dynamic contrast-enhanced T-1-weighted MR imaging. Materials and Methods: Dynamic imaging of the first pass of a bolus of a paramagnetic contrast agent was performed using a 3T whole-body magnet and a T-1-weighted fast...... field echo sequence. The input function was obtained from the internal carotid artery. An initial T-1 measurement was performed in order to convert the MR signal to concentration of the contrast agent. Pixelwise and region of interest (ROI)based calculation of cerebral perfusion (CBF) was performed...... inside the infarct core was, 9 mL/100g/min in one of the stroke patients. The other stroke patient had postischemic hyperperfusion and CBF was 140 mL/100g/min. Conclusion: Absolute values of brain perfusion can be obtained using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. These values correspond,to expected values...

A model of objective weighting for EIA.

Science.gov (United States)

Ying, L G; Liu, Y C

1995-06-01

In spite of progress achieved in the research of environmental impact assessment (EIA), the problem of weight distribution for a set of parameters has not as yet, been properly solved. This paper presents an approach of objective weighting by using a procedure of P ij principal component-factor analysis (P ij PCFA), which suits specifically those parameters measured directly by physical scales. The P ij PCFA weighting procedure reforms the conventional weighting practice in two aspects: first, the expert subjective judgment is replaced by the standardized measure P ij as the original input of weight processing and, secondly, the principal component-factor analysis is introduced to approach the environmental parameters for their respective contributions to the totality of the regional ecosystem. Not only is the P ij PCFA weighting logical in theoretical reasoning, it also suits practically all levels of professional routines in natural environmental assessment and impact analysis. Having been assured of objectivity and accuracy in the EIA case study of the Chuansha County in Shanghai, China, the P ij PCFA weighting procedure has the potential to be applied in other geographical fields that need assigning weights to parameters that are measured by physical scales.

Predicting the Parturition Date in Bitches of Different Body Weight by Ultrasonographic Measurements of Inner Chorionic Cavity Diameter and Biparietal Diameter.

Science.gov (United States)

Socha, P; Janowski, T

2014-04-01

Predicting the parturition date in dogs by taking ultrasonographic foetometry has opened interesting research areas of veterinary obstetrics. Recently developed calculation formulas of inner chorionic cavity diameter (ICC) and biparietal diameter (BP) are formulas by Luvoni and Grioni (2000). This study is one of the first reports referring to ICC and BP with the use of Luvoni and Grioni formulas for predicting the parturition time in dogs of different body weight in clinical practice conditions. The research material consists of 70 clinically healthy pregnant bitches of 27 breeds and cross-breeds. Bitches were divided into 4 groups according to their body weight. In each of the bitches, ultrasonographic examination of pregnancy was performed at least twice (ICC and BP measurements). Parturition dates for dogs with a body weight over 25 kg were calculated based on formulas intended for the group of medium dogs. It was caused by the lack of appropriate formulas for these groups of dogs. The predicting parturition dates were compared with the actual dates of delivery provided by the bitch owners. Generally, the results obtained in this study are very encouraging and similar or even better than those published by other authors using foetometric measurements. In our research, when comparing the effectiveness of predicting the delivery date based on foetometric formulas by Luvoni and Grioni (2000), it was proved that in all groups of dogs, even those over 25 kg, ICC and BP measurements at both accuracy levels were characterized similar reliability. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Assessing the effect of weight and weight loss in obese persons with type 2 diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradley Curtis

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Bradley Curtis1, Risa P Hayes1, Sheri Fehnel2, Laurie Zografos21Global Health Outcomes, Eli Lilly and Co, Indianapolis, IN, USA; 2RTI Health Solutions, Research Triangle Park, NC, USAAbstract: The objective of this study was to assess specific areas of life in which obesity affects individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, and changes that obese persons with T2DM experience with weight loss of varying degrees. Thirty in-depth interviews were conducted in persons identified as: age ≥40 years, diagnosed with T2DM for ≥2 years, on oral antihyperglycemic medications >3 months, BMI 30–35 kg/m2, having attempted to lose weight in the last 2 years. Participants (60% female, mean age 53 years, 53% Caucasian, mean BMI 32.2 kg/m2 agreed that 5% weight loss, while not reflective of an ultimate goal, would be meaningful and important; benefits were expected to accrue in physical functioning, self-confidence, blood glucose levels, and motivation to keep losing weight. Participants reported the greatest effect of weight loss on energy, physical activity, mobility, pain, and clothes/appearance. Participants reported weight affecting mood, with feelings of depression and frustration most commonly described. This research indicates that weight loss is likely to affect health-related quality of life in obese individuals with T2DM. Given the purported weight loss benefits of many emerging diabetic medications, it will be important to include measures of weight-related quality of life in future clinical trials of these agents.Keywords: health-related quality of life, obesity, type 2 diabetes, weight loss, patient-reported outcomes

The Impact of Acculturation Level on Weight Status and Weight Outcomes in Hispanic Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreno, Jennette P; Vaughan, Elizabeth; Hernandez, Daphne; Cameron, Ryan T; Foreyt, John P; Johnston, Craig A

2016-12-01

Previous studies revealed that higher levels of acculturation are related to obesity in Hispanic adults. Conflicting findings exist regarding this relationship in children, and little is known about the impact of acculturation on children's success in pediatric weight management programs. The purposes of the study were to (1) examine the relationship between acculturation and overweight/obese weight status and (2) determine the impact of acculturation on the changes in weight status among overweight/obese children 12 and 24 months after having participated in a weight management intervention. This is a secondary analysis of aggregated data from three randomized control trials that occurred between 2005 and 2009. Height, weight, and level of acculturation using the Child Short Scale for Hispanics (C-SASH) were measured in a sample of Hispanic children (n = 559). Logistic regression models were used to study phase 1 (n = 559) and phase 2 (n = 142), controlling for child and family characteristics. Children reporting high levels of acculturation had a 52 % lower odds of being overweight or obese. Among overweight/obese children who participated in the intervention, high levels of acculturation demonstrated greater reductions in standardized body mass index (zBMI) at 24 months. The results of this study indicate a need to tailor weight management programs for Hispanic children who have lower levels of acculturation.

Overvaluation of shape and weight as a mediator between self-esteem and weight bias internalization among patients with binge eating disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearl, Rebecca L; White, Marney A; Grilo, Carlos M

2014-04-01

This study aimed to evaluate the roles of self-esteem and overvaluation of shape and weight in accounting for the internalization of weight bias among patients with binge eating disorder (BED) and obesity. Two hundred forty-five treatment-seeking individuals with BED and obesity were evaluated with diagnostic and semi-structured interviews and completed the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Correlations and bootstrapping mediation analyses were computed to evaluate the relationships among self-esteem, overvaluation of shape/weight, and weight bias internalization. The effects of body mass index (BMI) and binge-eating frequency were also tested. Significant correlations emerged between WBIS, RSE, and overvaluation of shape and weight. BMI did not correlate with any measure, and binge-eating frequency only correlated with overvaluation. Mediation analyses provided support for the hypothesis that overvaluation of shape and weight mediates the relationship between self-esteem and weight bias internalization. These findings provide support to the proposed model that self-esteem and overvaluation of shape and weight contribute to weight bias internalization among patients with BED, which holds implications for clinical efforts to address weight bias and associated eating and weight-related psychopathology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weighing every day matters: daily weighing improves weight loss and adoption of weight control behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Dori M; Bennett, Gary G; Askew, Sandy; Tate, Deborah F

2015-04-01

Daily weighing is emerging as the recommended self-weighing frequency for weight loss. This is likely because it improves adoption of weight control behaviors. To examine whether weighing every day is associated with greater adoption of weight control behaviors compared with less frequent weighing. Longitudinal analysis of a previously conducted 6-month randomized controlled trial. Overweight men and women in Chapel Hill, NC, participated in the intervention arm (N=47). The intervention focused on daily weighing for weight loss using an e-scale that transmitted weights to a study website, along with weekly e-mailed lessons and tailored feedback on daily weighing adherence and weight loss progress. We gathered objective data on self-weighing frequency from the e-scales. At baseline and 6 months, weight change was measured in the clinic and weight control behaviors (total items=37), dietary strategies, and calorie expenditure from physical activity were assessed via questionnaires. Calorie intake was assessed using an online 24-hour recall tool. We used χ(2) tests to examine variation in discrete weight control behaviors and linear regression models to examine differences in weight, dietary strategies, and calorie intake and expenditure by self-weighing frequency. Fifty-one percent of participants weighed every day (n=24) over 6 months. The average self-weighing frequency among those weighing less than daily (n=23) was 5.4±1.2 days per week. Daily weighers lost significantly more weight compared with those weighing less than daily (mean difference=-6.1 kg; 95% CI -10.2 to -2.1; P=0.004). The total number of weight control behaviors adopted was greater among daily weighers (17.6±7.6 vs 11.2±6.4; P=0.004). There were no differences by self-weighing frequency in dietary strategies, calorie intake, or calorie expenditure. Weighing every day led to greater adoption of weight control behaviors and produced greater weight loss compared with weighing most days of the

Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teixeira Pedro J

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract This article explores the topics of motivation and self-regulation in the context of weight management and related behaviors. We focus on the role of a qualitative approach to address motivation - not only considering the level but also type of motivation - in weight control and related behaviors. We critically discuss the operationalization of motivation in current weight control programs, present a complementary approach to understanding motivation based on self-determination theory, and review empirical findings from weight control studies that have used self-determination theory measures and assessed their association with weight outcomes. Weight loss studies which used Motivational Interviewing (MI are also reviewed, considering MI's focus on enhancing internal motivation. We hypothesize that current weight control interventions may have been less successful with weight maintenance in part due to their relative disregard of qualitative dimensions of motivation, such as level of perceived autonomy, often resulting in a motivational disconnect between weight loss and weight-related behaviors. We suggest that if individuals fully endorse weight loss-related behavioral goals and feel not just competent but also autonomous about reaching them, as suggested by self-determination theory, their efforts are more likely to result in long-lasting behavior change.

Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

This article explores the topics of motivation and self-regulation in the context of weight management and related behaviors. We focus on the role of a qualitative approach to address motivation - not only considering the level but also type of motivation - in weight control and related behaviors. We critically discuss the operationalization of motivation in current weight control programs, present a complementary approach to understanding motivation based on self-determination theory, and review empirical findings from weight control studies that have used self-determination theory measures and assessed their association with weight outcomes. Weight loss studies which used Motivational Interviewing (MI) are also reviewed, considering MI's focus on enhancing internal motivation. We hypothesize that current weight control interventions may have been less successful with weight maintenance in part due to their relative disregard of qualitative dimensions of motivation, such as level of perceived autonomy, often resulting in a motivational disconnect between weight loss and weight-related behaviors. We suggest that if individuals fully endorse weight loss-related behavioral goals and feel not just competent but also autonomous about reaching them, as suggested by self-determination theory, their efforts are more likely to result in long-lasting behavior change. PMID:22385818

Comparative measurement of ghrelin, leptin, adiponectin, EGF and IGF-1 in breast milk of mothers with overweight/obese and normal-weight infants.

Science.gov (United States)

Khodabakhshi, A; Ghayour-Mobarhan, M; Rooki, H; Vakili, R; Hashemy, S-I; Mirhafez, S R; Shakeri, M-T; Kashanifar, R; Pourbafarani, R; Mirzaei, H; Dahri, M; Mazidi, M; Ferns, G; Safarian, M

2015-05-01

Obese infants are more susceptible to develop adulthood obesity and its related comorbidities. Previous studies have shown the presence of hormones and growth factors in maternal breast milk that may influence infant adiposity. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in concentrations of three hormones and two growth factors in the breast milk of mothers with obese and non-obese infants. In this cross-sectional study, 40 mothers with overweight or obese infants (weight for length percentile >97) and 40 age-matched mothers with normal-weight infant (-10 milk concentrations of ghrelin and adiponectin, leptin, epithelial growth factor (EGF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods. The mean breast milk concentration of ghrelin was higher in mothers with normal-weight infants, 137.50 pg/ml, than in mothers with obese infants, 132.00 pg/ml (P=0.001). This was also true regarding the concentration of EGF in mothers with (0/04 ng/ml) and without (0/038 ng/ml) normal-weight infants (P=0.01). No significant differences were observed in concentrations of leptin, adiponectin and IGF-1 between two groups (P > 0.05). There was also a significant positive correlation between EGF and ghrelin in both groups. This study revealed that there was a correlation between ghrelin and EGF level in breast milk of mothers with obese and non-obese infants, suggesting a possible regulatory effect of these two hormones on weight in infants.

Precise measurement of the top quark mass in dilepton decays using optimized neutrino weighting

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V.M. Abazov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We measure the top quark mass in dilepton final states of tt¯ events in pp¯ collisions at s=1.96 TeV, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.7 fb−1 at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The analysis features a comprehensive optimization of the neutrino weighting method to minimize the statistical uncertainties. We also improve the calibration of jet energies using the calibration determined in tt¯→lepton+jets events, which reduces the otherwise limiting systematic uncertainty from the jet energy scale. The measured top quark mass is mt=173.32±1.36(stat±0.85(syst GeV.

Weight and height prediction of immobilized patients

OpenAIRE

Rabito,Estela Iraci; Vannucchi,Gabriela Bergamini; Suen,Vivian Marques Miguel; Castilho Neto,Laércio Lopes; Marchini,Júlio Sérgio

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the adequacy of the formula suggested in the literature and/or to develop appropriate equations for the Brazilian population of immobilized patients based on simple anthropometric measurements. METHODS: Hospitalized patients were submitted to anthropometry and methods to estimate weight and height of bedridden patients were developed by multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Three hundred sixty eight persons were evaluated at two hospital centers and five weight-predicting...

Weighted divergence correction scheme and its fast implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, ChengYue; Gao, Qi; Wei, RunJie; Li, Tian; Wang, JinJun

2017-05-01

Forcing the experimental volumetric velocity fields to satisfy mass conversation principles has been proved beneficial for improving the quality of measured data. A number of correction methods including the divergence correction scheme (DCS) have been proposed to remove divergence errors from measurement velocity fields. For tomographic particle image velocimetry (TPIV) data, the measurement uncertainty for the velocity component along the light thickness direction is typically much larger than for the other two components. Such biased measurement errors would weaken the performance of traditional correction methods. The paper proposes a variant for the existing DCS by adding weighting coefficients to the three velocity components, named as the weighting DCS (WDCS). The generalized cross validation (GCV) method is employed to choose the suitable weighting coefficients. A fast algorithm for DCS or WDCS is developed, making the correction process significantly low-cost to implement. WDCS has strong advantages when correcting velocity components with biased noise levels. Numerical tests validate the accuracy and efficiency of the fast algorithm, the effectiveness of GCV method, and the advantages of WDCS. Lastly, DCS and WDCS are employed to process experimental velocity fields from the TPIV measurement of a turbulent boundary layer. This shows that WDCS achieves a better performance than DCS in improving some flow statistics.

Weight Watchers on prescription: An observational study of weight change among adults referred to Weight Watchers by the NHS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aston Louise M

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The scale of overweight and obesity in the UK places a considerable burden on the NHS. In some areas the NHS has formed partnerships with commercial companies to offer weight management services, but there has been little evaluation of these schemes. This study is an independent audit of the Weight Watchers NHS Referral scheme and evaluates the weight change of obese and overweight adults referred to Weight Watchers (WW by the NHS. Method Data was obtained from the WW NHS Referral Scheme database for 29,326 referral courses started after 2nd April 2007 and ending before 6th October 2009 [90% female; median age 49 years (IQR 38 - 61 years; median BMI 35.1 kg/m2 (IQR 31.8 - 39.5 kg/m2. Participants received vouchers (funded by the PCT following referral by a healthcare professional to attend 12 WW meetings. Body weight was measured at WW meetings and relayed to the central database. Results Median weight change for all referrals was -2.8 kg [IQR -5.9 - -0.7 kg] representing -3.1% initial weight. 33% of all courses resulted in loss of ≥5% initial weight. 54% of courses were completed. Median weight change for those completing a first course was -5.4 kg [IQR -7.8 - -3.1 kg] or -5.6% of initial weight. 57% lost ≥5% initial weight. Conclusions A third of all patients who were referred to WW through the WW NHS Referral Scheme and started a 12 session course achieved ≥5% weight loss, which is usually associated with clinical benefits. This is the largest audit of NHS referral to a commercial weight loss programme in the UK and results are comparable with other options for weight loss available through primary care.

Validity of self-reported weight and height: a cross-sectional study among Malaysian adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. C. Kee

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Self-reported weight and height are commonly used in lieu of direct measurements of weight and height in large epidemiological surveys due to inevitable constraints such as budget and human resource. However, the validity of self-reported weight and height, particularly among adolescents, needs to be verified as misreporting could lead to misclassification of body mass index and therefore overestimation or underestimation of the burden of BMI-related diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the validity of self-reported weight and height among Malaysian secondary school children. Methods Both self-reported and directly measured weight and height of a subgroup of 663 apparently healthy schoolchildren from the Malaysian Adolescent Health Risk Behaviour (MyAHRB survey 2013/2014 were analysed. Respondents were required to report their current body weight and height via a self-administrative questionnaire before they were measured by investigators. The validity of self-reported against directly measured weight and height was examined using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC, the Bland-Altman plot and weighted Kappa statistics. Results There was very good intraclass correlation between self-reported and directly measured weight [r = 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI: 0.93, 0.97] and height (r = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.90, 0.96. In addition the Bland-Altman plots indicated that the mean difference between self-reported and direct measurement was relatively small. The mean difference (self-reported minus direct measurements was, for boys: weight, −2.1 kg; height, −1.6 cm; BMI, −0.44 kg/m2 and girls: weight, −1.2 kg; height, −0.9 cm; BMI, −0.3 kg/m2. However, 95% limits of agreement were wide which indicated substantial discrepancies between self-reported and direct measurements method at the individual level. Nonetheless, the weighted Kappa statistics demonstrated a substantial agreement between BMI

Cognition and behavioural development in early childhood: the role of birth weight and postnatal growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Cheng; Martorell, Reynaldo; Ren, Aiguo; Li, Zhiwen

2013-02-01

We evaluate the relative importance of birth weight and postnatal growth for cognition and behavioural development in 8389 Chinese children, 4-7 years of age. Method Weight was the only size measure available at birth. Weight, height, head circumference and intelligence quotient (IQ) were measured between 4 and 7 years of age. Z-scores of birth weight and postnatal conditional weight gain to 4-7 years, as well as height and head circumference at 4-7 years of age, were the exposure variables. Z-scores of weight at 4-7 years were regressed on birth weight Z-scores, and the residual was used as the measure of postnatal conditional weight gain. The outcomes were child's IQ, measured by the Chinese Wechsler Young Children Scale of Intelligence, as well as internalizing behavioural problems, externalizing behavioural problems and other behavioural problems, evaluated by the Child Behavior Checklist 4-18. Multivariate regressions were conducted to investigate the relationship of birth weight and postnatal growth variables with the outcomes, separately for preterm children and term children. Both birth weight and postnatal weight gain were associated with IQ among term children; 1 unit increment in Z-score of birth weight (∼450 g) was associated with an increase of 1.60 [Confidence interval (CI): 1.18-2.02; P < 0.001] points in IQ, and 1 unit increment in conditional postnatal weight was associated with an increase of 0.46 (CI: 0.06-0.86; P = 0.02) points in IQ, after adjustment for confounders; similar patterns were observed when Z-scores of postnatal height and head circumference at age 4-7 years were used as alternative measurements of postnatal growth. Effect sizes of relationships with IQ were smaller than 0.1 of a standard deviation in all cases. Neither birth weight nor postnatal growth indicators were associated with behavioural outcomes among term children. In preterm children, neither birth weight nor postnatal growth measures were associated with IQ or

Accuracy of self-reported versus measured weight over adolescence and young adulthood: findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health, 1996-2008.

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Clarke, Philippa; Sastry, Narayan; Duffy, Denise; Ailshire, Jennifer

2014-07-15

Many studies rely on self-reports to capture population trends and trajectories in weight gain over adulthood, but the validity of self-reports is often considered a limitation. The purpose of this work was to examine long-term trajectories of self-reporting bias in a national sample of American youth. With 3 waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1996-2008), we used growth curve models to examine self-reporting bias in trajectories of weight gain across adolescence and early adulthood (ages 13-32 years). We investigated whether self-reporting bias is constant over time, or whether adolescents become more accurate in reporting their weight as they move into young adulthood, and we examined differences in self-reporting bias by sex, race/ethnicity, and attained education. Adolescent girls underreported their weight by 0.86 kg on average, and this rate of underreporting increased over early adulthood. In contrast, we found no evidence that boys underreported their weight either in adolescence or over the early adult years. For young men, self-reports of weight were unbiased estimates of measured weight among all racial/ethnic and educational subpopulations over adolescence and early adulthood. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Green tea for weight loss and weight maintenance in overweight or obese adults.

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Jurgens, Tannis M; Whelan, Anne Marie; Killian, Lara; Doucette, Steve; Kirk, Sara; Foy, Elizabeth

2012-12-12

enough to allow pooling of results and MD in weight loss ranged from -0.2 kg to -3.5 kg (1030 participants) in favour of green tea preparations. Meta-analysis of studies measuring change in body mass index (BMI) conducted outside Japan showed a MD in BMI of -0.2 kg/m(2) (95% CI -0.5 to 0.1; P = 0.21; I(2) = 38%; 222 participants). Differences among the eight studies conducted in Japan did not allow pooling of results and showed a reduction in BMI ranging from no effect to -1.3 kg/m(2) (1030 participants), in favour of green tea preparations over control. Meta-analysis of five studies conducted outside Japan and measuring waist circumference reported a MD of -0.2 cm (95% CI -1.4 to 0.9; P = 0.70; I(2) = 58%; 404 participants). Differences among the eight studies conducted in Japan did not allow pooling of results and showed effects on waist circumference ranging from a gain of 1 cm to a loss of 3.3 cm (1030 participants). Meta-analysis for three weight loss studies, conducted outside Japan, with waist-to-hip ratio data (144 participants) yielded no significant change (MD 0; 95% CI -0.02 to 0.01). Analysis of two studies conducted to determine if green tea could help to maintain weight after a period of weight loss (184 participants) showed a change in weight loss of 0.6 to -1.6 kg, a change in BMI from 0.2 to -0.5 kg/m(2) and a change in waist circumference from 0.3 to -1.7 cm. In the eight studies that recorded adverse events, four reported adverse events that were mild to moderate, with the exception of two (green tea preparations group) that required hospitalisation (reported as not associated with the intervention). Nine studies reported on compliance/adherence, one study assessed attitude towards eating as part of the health-related quality of life outcome. No studies reported on patient satisfaction, morbidity or cost. Green tea preparations appear to induce a small, statistically non-significant weight loss in overweight or obese adults. Because the amount of

Maternal Obesity, Gestational Weight Gain, and Asthma in Offspring.

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Polinski, Kristen J; Liu, Jihong; Boghossian, Nansi S; McLain, Alexander C

2017-11-09

Obesity is common among women of childbearing age; intrauterine exposure to maternal obesity or gestational weight gain may influence the development of asthma in early childhood. We examined the relationships of maternal obesity and gestational weight gain with asthma in offspring. We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, which has a nationally representative sample of children followed from birth in 2001 through age 4 (n = 6,450). Asthma was based on parental report of a medical professional's diagnosis. We used generalized estimating equation binomial models to compute adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of childhood asthma with maternal obesity and 4 measures of gestational weight gain. Compared with children of normal-weight mothers, children of obese mothers had increased risk of asthma (adjusted OR, 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-2.12) by age 4, and children born to overweight mothers had similar risk (adjusted OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 0.99-1.59). Extreme-low weight gain (gain (≥25 kg) were associated with increased risk of asthma; however, the following measures were not significant predictors of asthma: meeting gestational weight gain recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, total gestational weight gain, and weekly rate of weight gain in the second and third trimesters. Extreme-low or extreme-high gestational weight gain and maternal obesity are risk factors for early childhood asthma, further evidence of the long-term impact of intrauterine exposure on children and the need to target preconception care to improve child health indicators.

Bone metabolism in adolescent girls with eating disorders and weight loss: independent effects of weight change, insulin-like growth factor-1 and oestradiol.

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Swenne, Ingemar; Stridsberg, Mats

2015-03-01

Adolescents with eating disorders (ED) are at risk of developing osteoporosis if weight is not recovered. Previous investigations do not separate the effects of weight change per se from those of concomitant hormonal changes. In this investigation serum osteocalcin (OC), C-terminal telopeptide of collagen (CTX), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and oestradiol were measured at assessment of 498 girls with ED and during weight gain of 59 girls. At assessment, OC concentrations were associated independently with weight (change), IGF-1 and oestradiol. Low weight, a high rate of weight loss and the hormone concentrations were associated with low OC. Low weight and high rate of weight loss were associated with high CTX concentrations but there were no associations independent of weight (change) with the hormones. During weight recovery, OC and CTX were independently and positively associated with weight, weight gain, IGF-1 and oestradiol. Bone metabolism markers are related to weight change independently of IGF-1 and oestradiol during both weight loss and weight gain. During weight gain, when pubertal development and growth are resumed there is an additional independent positive association between the markers and IGF-1 and oestradiol. These relationships are strongest in premenarcheal girls.

Weight change in control group participants in behavioural weight loss interventions: a systematic review and meta-regression study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waters Lauren

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Unanticipated control group improvements have been observed in intervention trials targeting various health behaviours. This phenomenon has not been studied in the context of behavioural weight loss intervention trials. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-regression of behavioural weight loss interventions to quantify control group weight change, and relate the size of this effect to specific trial and sample characteristics. Methods Database searches identified reports of intervention trials meeting the inclusion criteria. Data on control group weight change and possible explanatory factors were abstracted and analysed descriptively and quantitatively. Results 85 trials were reviewed and 72 were included in the meta-regression. While there was no change in control group weight, control groups receiving usual care lost 1 kg more than control groups that received no intervention, beyond measurement. Conclusions There are several possible explanations why control group changes occur in intervention trials targeting other behaviours, but not for weight loss. Control group participation may prevent weight gain, although more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Myocardial area at risk after ST-elevation myocardial infarction measured with the late gadolinium enhancement after scar remodeling and T2-weighted cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lønborg, Jacob; Engstrøm, Thomas; Mathiasen, Anders B

2011-01-01

To evaluate the myocardial area at risk (AAR) measured by the endocardial surface area (ESA) method on late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) when applied after scar remodeling (3 months after index infarction) compared to T2-weighted CMR imaging. One hundred...... and sixty nine patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, underwent one CMR within 1 week after index treatment to determine the AAR with T2-weighted imaging and a second scan 3 months after to measure AAR with the ESA method...

Myocardial area at risk after ST-elevation myocardial infarction measured with the late gadolinium enhancement after scar remodeling and T2-weighted cardiac magnetic resonance imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lønborg, Jacob; Engstrøm, Thomas; Mathiasen, Anders B

2012-01-01

To evaluate the myocardial area at risk (AAR) measured by the endocardial surface area (ESA) method on late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) when applied after scar remodeling (3 months after index infarction) compared to T2-weighted CMR imaging. One hundred...... and sixty nine patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction, treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, underwent one CMR within 1 week after index treatment to determine the AAR with T2-weighted imaging and a second scan 3 months after to measure AAR with the ESA method...

16 CFR 500.8 - Units of weight or mass and measure.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) Statements of weight or mass shall be in terms of both avoirdupois pound and ounce and SI metric kilograms... be in terms of both the U.S. gallon of 231 cubic inches and quart, pint, and fluid ounce subdivisions... the declaration shall express the volume at 60 ° Fahrenheit (15.6 ° Celsius)) express the volume at 68...

Navy Nutrition and Weight Control Guide

Science.gov (United States)

1989-04-10

Sugars Used in Foods: sugar sucrose lactose mannitol glucose honey corn syrup dextrose sorbitol fructose maltose maple syrup molasses high- fructose corn...such as glucose , fructose , and sucrose. Another sugar, lactose, is found in milk and milk products. Legumes and cereals contain small amounts of...weeks. Weighing and measuring more frequently will only reflect water weight gains and losses, not true progress. Perform measurements mid-week if

Fetal size monitoring and birth-weight prediction: a new population-based approach.

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Gjessing, H K; Grøttum, P; Økland, I; Eik-Nes, S H

2017-04-01

To develop a complete, population-based system for ultrasound-based fetal size monitoring and birth-weight prediction for use in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Using 31 516 ultrasound examinations from a population-based Norwegian clinical database, we constructed fetal size charts for biparietal diameter, femur length and abdominal circumference from 24 to 42 weeks' gestation. A reference curve of median birth weight for gestational age was estimated using 45 037 birth weights. We determined how individual deviations from the expected ultrasound measures predicted individual percentage deviations from expected birth weight. The predictive quality was assessed by explained variance of birth weight and receiver-operating characteristics curves for prediction of small-for-gestational age. A curve for intrauterine estimated fetal weight was constructed. Charts were smoothed using the gamlss non-linear regression method. The population-based approach, using bias-free ultrasound gestational age, produces stable estimates of size-for-age and weight-for-age curves in the range 24-42 weeks' gestation. There is a close correspondence between percentage deviations and percentiles of birth weight by gestational age, making it easy to convert between the two. The variance of birth weight that can be 'explained' by ultrasound increases from 8% at 20 weeks up to 67% around term. Intrauterine estimated fetal weight is 0-106 g higher than median birth weight in the preterm period. The new population-based birth-weight prediction model provides a simple summary measure, the 'percentage birth-weight deviation', to be used for fetal size monitoring throughout the third trimester. Predictive quality of the model can be measured directly from the population data. The model computes both median observed birth weight and intrauterine estimated fetal weight. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John

Estimating correlation and covariance matrices by weighting of market similarity

OpenAIRE

Michael C. M\\"unnix; Rudi Sch\\"afer; Oliver Grothe

2010-01-01

We discuss a weighted estimation of correlation and covariance matrices from historical financial data. To this end, we introduce a weighting scheme that accounts for similarity of previous market conditions to the present one. The resulting estimators are less biased and show lower variance than either unweighted or exponentially weighted estimators. The weighting scheme is based on a similarity measure which compares the current correlation structure of the market to the structures at past ...

Weight suppression predicts total weight gain and rate of weight gain in outpatients with anorexia nervosa.

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Carter, Frances A; Boden, Joseph M; Jordan, Jennifer; McIntosh, Virginia V W; Bulik, Cynthia M; Joyce, Peter R

2015-11-01

The present study sought to replicate the finding of Wildes and Marcus, Behav Res Ther, 50, 266-274, 2012 that higher levels of weight suppression at pretreatment predict greater total weight gain, faster rate of weight gain, and bulimic symptoms amongst patients admitted with anorexia nervosa. Participants were 56 women with anorexia nervosa diagnosed by using strict or lenient weight criteria, who were participating in a randomized controlled psychotherapy trial (McIntosh et al., Am J Psychiatry, 162, 741-747, 2005). Thirty-five women completed outpatient treatment and post-treatment assessment. Weight suppression was the discrepancy between highest lifetime weight at adult height and weight at pretreatment assessment. Outcome variables were total weight gain, rate of weight gain, and bulimic symptoms in the month prior to post-treatment assessment [assessed using the Eating Disorders Examination (Fairburn et al., Binge-Eating: Nature, Assessment and Treatment. New York: Guilford, 1993)]. Weight suppression was positively associated with total weight gain and rate of weight gain over treatment. Regression models showed that this association could not be explained by covariates (age at onset of anorexia nervosa and treatment modality). Weight suppression was not significantly associated with bulimic symptoms in the month prior to post-treatment assessment, regardless of whether bulimic symptoms were examined as continuous or dichotomous variables. The present study reinforces the previous finding that weight suppression predicts total weight gain and rate of weight gain amongst patients being treated for anorexia nervosa. Methodological issues may explain the failure of the present study to find that weight suppression predicts bulimic symptoms. Weight suppression at pretreatment for anorexia nervosa should be assessed routinely and may inform treatment planning. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Validity of clinical outcome measures to evaluate ankle range of motion during the weight-bearing lunge test.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Emily A; Docherty, Carrie L

2017-07-01

To determine the concurrent validity of standard clinical outcome measures compared to laboratory outcome measure while performing the weight-bearing lunge test (WBLT). Cross-sectional study. Fifty participants performed the WBLT to determine dorsiflexion ROM using four different measurement techniques: dorsiflexion angle with digital inclinometer at 15cm distal to the tibial tuberosity (°), dorsiflexion angle with inclinometer at tibial tuberosity (°), maximum lunge distance (cm), and dorsiflexion angle using a 2D motion capture system (°). Outcome measures were recorded concurrently during each trial. To establish concurrent validity, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients (r) were conducted, comparing each dependent variable to the 2D motion capture analysis (identified as the reference standard). A higher correlation indicates strong concurrent validity. There was a high correlation between each measurement technique and the reference standard. Specifically the correlation between the inclinometer placement at 15cm below the tibial tuberosity (44.9°±5.5°) and the motion capture angle (27.0°±6.0°) was r=0.76 (p=0.001), between the inclinometer placement at the tibial tuberosity angle (39.0°±4.6°) and the motion capture angle was r=0.71 (p=0.001), and between the distance from the wall clinical measure (10.3±3.0cm) to the motion capture angle was r=0.74 (p=0.001). This study determined that the clinical measures used during the WBLT have a high correlation with the reference standard for assessing dorsiflexion range of motion. Therefore, obtaining maximum lunge distance and inclinometer angles are both valid assessments during the weight-bearing lunge test. Copyright © 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MEAL-BASED ENHANCEMENT OF PROTEIN QUALITY AND QUANTITY DURING WEIGHT LOSS IN OBESE OLDER ADULTS WITH MOBILITY LIMITATIONS: RATIONALE AND DESIGN FOR THE MEASUR-UP TRIAL

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Shelley R.; Starr, Kathryn N. Porter; Mauceri, Luisa; Orenduff, Melissa; Granville, Esther; Ocampo, Christine; Payne, Martha E.; Pieper, Carl F.; Bales, Connie W.

2015-01-01

Obese older adults with even modest functional limitations are at a disadvantage for maintaining their independence into late life. However, there is no established intervention for obesity in older individuals. The Measuring Eating, Activity and Strength: Understanding the Response --Using Protein (MEASUR-UP) trial is a randomized controlled pilot study of obese women and men aged ≥60 years with mild to moderate functional impairments. Changes in body composition (lean and fat mass) and function (Short Physical Performance Battery) in an enhanced protein weight reduction (Protein) arm will be compared to those in a traditional weight loss (Control) arm. The Protein intervention is based on evidence that older adults achieve optimal rates of muscle protein synthesis when consuming about 25-30 grams of high quality protein per meal; these participants will consume −30 g of animal protein at each meal via a combination of provided protein (beef) servings and diet counseling. This trial will provide information on the feasibility and efficacy of enhancing protein quantity and quality in the context of a weight reduction regimen and determine the impact of this intervention on body weight, functional status, and lean muscle mass. We hypothesize that the enhancement of protein quantity and quality in the Protein arm will result in better outcomes for function and/or lean muscle mass than in the Control arm. Ultimately, we hope our findings will help identify a safe weight loss approach that can delay or prevent late life disability by changing the trajectory of age-associated functional impairment associated with obesity. PMID:25461495

Thyroid hormones and changes in body weight and metabolic parameters in response to weight loss diets: the POUNDS LOST trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, G; Liang, L; Bray, G A; Qi, L; Hu, F B; Rood, J; Sacks, F M; Sun, Q

2017-06-01

The role of thyroid hormones in diet-induced weight loss and subsequent weight regain is largely unknown. To examine the associations between thyroid hormones and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in a diet-induced weight loss setting. Data analysis was conducted among 569 overweight and obese participants aged 30-70 years with normal thyroid function participating in the 2-year Prevention of Obesity Using Novel Dietary Strategies (POUNDS) LOST randomized clinical trial. Changes in body weight and RMR were assessed during the 2-year intervention. Thyroid hormones (free triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxine (T4), total T3, total T4 and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)), anthropometric measurements and biochemical parameters were assessed at baseline, 6 months and 24 months. Participants lost an average of 6.6 kg of body weight during the first 6 months and subsequently regained an average of 2.7 kg of body weight over the remaining period from 6 to 24 months. Baseline free T3 and total T3 were positively associated, whereas free T4 was inversely associated, with baseline body weight, body mass index and RMR. Total T4 and TSH were not associated with these parameters. Higher baseline free T3 and free T4 levels were significantly associated with a greater weight loss during the first 6 months (Ppressure, glucose, insulin, triglycerides and leptin at 6 months and 24 months (all P<0.05). In this diet-induced weight loss setting, higher baseline free T3 and free T4 predicted more weight loss, but not weight regain among overweight and obese adults with normal thyroid function. These findings reveal a novel role of thyroid hormones in body weight regulation and may help identify individuals more responsive to weight loss diets.