Low fat loss response after medium-term supervised exercise in obese is associated with exercise-induced increase in food reward

Objective: To examine exercise-induced changes in the reward value of food during medium-term supervised exercise in obese individuals. ---------- Subjects/Methods: The study was a 12-week supervised exercise intervention prescribed to expend 500 kcal/day, 5 d/week. 34 sedentary obese males and females were identified as responders (R) or non-responders (NR) to the intervention according to changes in body composition relative to measured energy expended during exercise. Food reward (ratings of liking and wanting, and relative preference by forced choice pairs) for an array of food images was assessed before and after an acute exercise bout. ---------- Results. 20 responders and 14 non-responders were identified. R lost 5.2 kg±2.4 of total fat mass and NR lost 1.7 kg±1.4. After acute exercise, liking for all foods increased in NR compared to no change in R. Furthermore, NR showed an increase in wanting and relative preference for high-fat sweet foods. These differences were independent of 12-weeks regular exercise and weight loss. ---------- Conclusion. Individuals who showed an immediate post-exercise increase in liking and increased wanting and preference for high-fat sweet foods displayed a smaller reduction in fat mass with exercise. For some individuals, exercise increases the reward value of food and diminishes the impact of exercise on fat loss.

Post-tensioning and its effect on multi-level formwork load distribution

Multi-level concrete buildings requrre substantial temporary formwork structures to support the slabs during construction. The primary function of this formwork is to safely disperse the applied loads so that the slab being constructed, or the portion of the permanent structure already constructed, is not overloaded. Multi-level formwork is a procedure in which a limited number of formwork and shoring sets are cycled up the building as construction progresses. In this process, each new slab is supported by a number of lower level slabs. The new slab load is, essentially, distributed to these supporting slabs in direct proportion to their relative stiffness. When a slab is post-tensioned using draped tendons, slab lift occurs as a portion of the slab self-weight is balanced. The formwork and shores supporting that slab are unloaded by an amount equivalent to the load balanced by the post-tensioning. This produces a load distribution inherently different from that of a conventionally reinforced slab. Through , theoretical modelling and extensive on-site shore load measurement, this research examines the effects of post-tensioning on multilevel formwork load distribution. The research demonstrates that the load distribution process for post-tensioned slabs allows for improvements to current construction practice. These enhancements include a shortening of the construction period; an improvement in the safety of multi-level form work operations; and a reduction in the quantity of form work materials required for a project. These enhancements are achieved through the general improvement in safety offered by post-tensioning during the various formwork operations. The research demonstrates that there is generally a significant improvement in the factors of safety over those for conventionally reinforced slabs. This improvement in the factor of safety occurs at all stages of the multi-level formwork operation. The general improvement in the factors of safety with post-tensioned slabs allows for a shortening of the slab construction cycle time. Further, the low level of load redistribution that occurs during the stripping operations makes post-tensioned slabs ideally suited to reshoring procedures. Provided the overall number of interconnected levels remains unaltered, it is possible to increase the number of reshored levels while reducing the number of undisturbed shoring levels without altering the factors of safety, thereby, reducing the overall quantity of formwork and shoring materials.

Family-focused weight management program for five- to nine-year-olds incorporating parenting skills training with healthy lifestyle information to support behaviour modification

his case study aims to describe how general parenting principles can be used as part of parent-led, family-focused child weight management that is in line with current Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines. A parent-led, family-focused child weight management program was designed for use by dietitians with parents of young children (five- to nine-year-olds). The program utilises the cornerstones of overweight treatment: diet, activity, behaviour modification and family support delivered in an age-appropriate, family-focused manner. Parents participate in 16 sessions (4 parenting-focused, 8 lifestyle-focused and 4 individual telephone support calls) conducted weekly, fortnightly then monthly over six months. This case study illustrates how a family used the program, resulting in reduced degree of overweight and stabilised waist circumference in the child over 12 months. In conclusion, linking parenting skills to healthy family lifestyle education provides an innovative approach to family-focused child weight management. It addresses key Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines, works at the family level, and provides a means for dietitians to easily adopt age-appropriate behaviour modification as part of their practice.

Preliminary modelling outcomes : calculation of holding costs in greenfield residential development

Many of the costs associated with greenfield residential development are apparent and tangible. For example, regulatory fees, government taxes, acquisition costs, selling fees, commissions and others are all relatively easily identified since they represent actual costs incurred at a given point in time. However, identification of holding costs are not always immediately evident since by contrast they characteristically lack visibility. One reason for this is that, for the most part, they are typically assessed over time in an ever-changing environment. In addition, wide variations exist in development pipeline components: they are typically represented from anywhere between a two and over sixteen years time period - even if located within the same geographical region. Determination of the starting and end points, with regards holding cost computation, can also prove problematic. Furthermore, the choice between application of prevailing inflation, or interest rates, or a combination of both over time, adds further complexity. Although research is emerging in these areas, a review of the literature reveals attempts to identify holding cost components are limited. Their quantification (in terms of relative weight or proportionate cost to a development project) is even less apparent; in fact, the computation and methodology behind the calculation of holding costs varies widely and in some instances completely ignored. In addition, it may be demonstrated that ambiguities exists in terms of the inclusion of various elements of holding costs and assessment of their relative contribution. Yet their impact on housing affordability is widely acknowledged to be profound, with their quantification potentially maximising the opportunities for delivering affordable housing. This paper seeks to build on earlier investigations into those elements related to holding costs, providing theoretical modelling of the size of their impact - specifically on the end user. At this point the research is reliant upon quantitative data sets, however additional qualitative analysis (not included here) will be relevant to account for certain variations between expectations and actual outcomes achieved by developers. Although this research stops short of cross-referencing with a regional or international comparison study, an improved understanding of the relationship between holding costs, regulatory charges, and housing affordability results.

Effect of the Summer Months on Body Weight and Composition in College Women

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: College students and young adults are experiencing the greatest increases in rates of obesity, and 20% of college students are classified as obese. The objective of this study was to compare changes and rates of change in body weight and body composition between the freshman academic year and the summer after the freshman year among female college students. METHODS: Participants were recruited early in their freshman year of college to participate in a prospective longitudinal study examining changes in body weight and composition over the college years. Height and weight were measured, and body composition was assessed using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) at the beginning and end of the freshman year. Upon return from the summer for their sophomore year, participants returned to have all measurements repeated. Sixty-nine female participants completed all three visits. RESULTS: Body weight increased 1.3 kg during the academic period and an additional 0.1 kg during the summer period. Body mass index (BMI) increased between the first two visits but did not change between the last two visits. However, percent fat increased at each visit. Fat-free mass significantly increased 0.5 kg over the academic year but decreased by 1.1 kg over the summer (p<0.05). Greater rates of change were detected in percent fat, fat-free mass, and BMI during the summer compared with the academic year (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Differences in body composition between the academic and summer periods may reflect changes in living situations between these periods. Unfavorable changes during the summer suggest the need to promote healthy lifestyles to freshman women before they leave campus for the summer

The Eat Smart Study : a randomised controlled trial of a reduced carbohydrate versus a low fat diet for weight loss in obese adolescents

Background Despite the recognition of obesity in young people as a key health issue, there is limited evidence to inform health professionals regarding the most appropriate treatment options. The Eat Smart study aims to contribute to the knowledge base of effective dietary strategies for the clinical management of the obese adolescent and examine the cardiometablic effects of a reduced carbohydrate diet versus a low fat diet. Methods and design Eat Smart is a randomised controlled trial and aims to recruit 100 adolescents over a 2½ year period. Families will be invited to participate following referral by their health professional who has recommended weight management. Participants will be overweight as defined by a body mass index (BMI) greater than the 90th percentile, using CDC 2000 growth charts. An accredited 6-week psychological life skills program ‘FRIENDS for Life’, which is designed to provide behaviour change and coping skills will be undertaken prior to volunteers being randomised to group. The intervention arms include a structured reduced carbohydrate or a structured low fat dietary program based on an individualised energy prescription. The intervention will involve a series of dietetic appointments over 24 weeks. The control group will commence the dietary program of their choice after a 12 week period. Outcome measures will be assessed at baseline, week 12 and week 24. The primary outcome measure will be change in BMI z-score. A range of secondary outcome measures including body composition, lipid fractions, inflammatory markers, social and psychological measures will be measured. Discussion The chronic and difficult nature of treating the obese adolescent is increasingly recognised by clinicians and has highlighted the need for research aimed at providing effective intervention strategies, particularly for use in the tertiary setting. A structured reduced carbohydrate approach may provide a dietary pattern that some families will find more sustainable and effective than the conventional low fat dietary approach currently advocated. This study aims to investigate the acceptability and effectiveness of a structured reduced dietary carbohydrate intervention and will compare the outcomes of this approach with a structured low fat eating plan. Trial Registration: The protocol for this study is registered with the International Clinical Trials Registry (ISRCTN49438757).

Applying SVMs and weight-based factor analysis to unsupervised adaptation for speaker verification

This paper presents an extended study on the implementation of support vector machine(SVM) based speaker verification in systems that employ continuous progressive model adaptation using the weight-based factor analysis model. The weight-based factor analysis model compensates for session variations in unsupervised scenarios by incorporating trial confidence measures in the general statistics used in the inter-session variability modelling process. Employing weight-based factor analysis in Gaussian mixture models (GMM) was recently found to provide significant performance gains to unsupervised classification. Further improvements in performance were found through the integration of SVM-based classification in the system by means of GMM supervectors. This study focuses particularly on the way in which a client is represented in the SVM kernel space using single and multiple target supervectors. Experimental results indicate that training client SVMs using a single target supervector maximises performance while exhibiting a certain robustness to the inclusion of impostor training data in the model. Furthermore, the inclusion of low-scoring target trials in the adaptation process is investigated where they were found to significantly aid performance.

Attractiveness of venture idea amongst expert entrepreneurs : a conjoint analysis

Principal Topic Venture ideas are at the heart of entrepreneurship (Davidsson, 2004). However, we are yet to learn what factors drive entrepreneurs’ perceptions of the attractiveness of venture ideas, and what the relative importance of these factors are for their decision to pursue an idea. The expected financial gain is one factor that will obviously influence the perceived attractiveness of a venture idea (Shepherd & DeTienne, 2005). In addition, the degree of novelty of venture ideas along one or more dimensions such as new products/services, new method of production, enter into new markets/customer and new method of promotion may affect their attractiveness (Schumpeter, 1934). Further, according to the notion of an individual-opportunity nexus venture ideas are closely associated with certain individual characteristics (relatedness). Shane (2000) empirically identified that individual’s prior knowledge is closely associated with the recognition of venture ideas. Sarasvathy’s (2001; 2008) Effectuation theory proposes a high degree of relatedness between venture ideas and the resource position of the individual. This study examines how entrepreneurs weigh considerations of different forms of novelty and relatedness as well as potential financial gain in assessing the attractiveness of venture ideas. Method I use conjoint analysis to determine how expert entrepreneurs develop preferences for venture ideas which involved with different degrees of novelty, relatedness and potential gain. The conjoint analysis estimates respondents’ preferences in terms of utilities (or part-worth) for each level of novelty, relatedness and potential gain of venture ideas. A sample of 32 expert entrepreneurs who were awarded young entrepreneurship awards were selected for the study. Each respondent was interviewed providing with 32 scenarios which explicate different combinations of possible profiles open them into consideration. Results and Implications Results indicate that while the respondents do not prefer mere imitation they receive higher utility for low to medium degree of newness suggesting that high degrees of newness are fraught with greater risk and/or greater resource needs. Respondents pay considerable weight on alignment with the knowledge and skills they already posses in choosing particular venture idea. The initial resource position of entrepreneurs is not equally important. Even though expected potential financial gain gives substantial utility, result indicate that it is not a dominant factor for the attractiveness of venture idea.