The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions : results of the international body project 1

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across highsocioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.<br />

Processes of task performance as measured by the assessment of motor and process skills (AMPS): a predictor of work-related outcomes for adults with schizophrenia?

Objective: To determine whether the processes of task performance as measured by the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) would discriminate between the employment levels of adults with schizophrenia. Participants: Twenty adults with schizophrenia who were engaged either in competitive employment, supported employment, prevocational training, or nonvocational activities, participated in this exploratory study. Methods: Each participant completed the AMPS, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), and theWorker Role Interview (WRI) to gather data about their occupational performance, symptoms, drug / alcohol use, and psychosocial / environmental factors that might influence their work related outcomes. Results: Analysis revealed a moderate correlation between the level of employment and the global scores of the process skills scale in the AMPS. Conclusions: This should be seen as preliminary evidence that beyond the basic cognitive functions, processes of task performance may also be a predictor of work related outcomes for this population. The results also highlighted the importance of considering personal causation and worker roles when assessing the work capacities of these clients. Finally, findings supported the four levels of employment used in this study, which appeared to form a continuum from nonvocational activities, prevocational training, supported employment, through to competitive employment.

Qualitative methods in early-phase drug trials : data and methods from a trial of N-acetylcysteine in schizophrenia

<b>Objective</b>: The pharmacokinetic profile of a drug often gives little indication of its potential therapeutic application, with many therapeutic uses of drugs being discovered serendipitously while being studied for different indications. As hypothesis-driven, quantitative research methodology is exclusively used in early-phase trials, unexpected but important phenomena may escape detection. In this context, this study aimed to examine the potential for integrating qualitative research methods with quantitative methods in early-phase drug trials. To our knowledge, this mixed methodology has not previously been applied to blinded psychopharmacologic trials.<br /><br /><b>Method</b>: We undertook qualitative data analysis of clinical observations on the dataset of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in patients with DSM-IV-TR&ndash;diagnosed schizophrenia (N = 140). Textual data on all participants, deliberately collected for this purpose, were coded using NVivo 2, and emergent themes were analyzed in a blinded manner in the NAC and placebo groups. The trial was conducted from November 2002 to July 2005.<br /><br /><b>Results</b>: The principal findings of the published trial could be replicated using a qualitative methodology. In addition, significant differences between NAC- and placebo-treated participants emerged for positive and affective symptoms, which had not been captured by the rating scales utilized in the quantitative trial. Qualitative data in this study subsequently led to a positive trial of NAC in bipolar disorder.<br /><br /><b>Conclusions</b>: The use of qualitative methods may yield broader data and has the potential to complement traditional quantitative methods and detect unexpected efficacy and safety signals, thereby maximizing the findings of early-phase clinical trial research.

Hormonal responses to extreme fasting in subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups

Surviving prolonged fasting implies closely regulated alterations in fuel provisioning to meet metabolic requirements, while preserving homeostasis. Little is known, however, of the endocrine regulations governing such metabolic adaptations in naturally fasting free-ranging animals. The hormonal responses to natural prolonged fasting and how they correlate to the metabolic adaptations observed, were investigated in subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) pups, which, because of the intermittent pattern of maternal attendance, repeatedly endure exceptionally long fasting episodes throughout their development (1&ndash;3 mo). Phase I fasting was characterized by a dramatic decrease in plasma insulin, glucagon, leptin, and total L-thyroxine (T4) associated with reductions in mass-specific resting metabolic rate (RMR), plasma triglycerides, glycerol, and urea-to-creatine ratio, while nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and &beta;-OHB increased. In contrast, the metabolic steady-state of phase II fasting reached within 6 days was associated with minimal concentrations of insulin, glucagon, and leptin; unchanged cortisol and triiodothyronine (T3); and moderately increased T4. The early fall in insulin and leptin may mediate the shift to the strategy of energy conservation, protein sparing, and primary reliance on body lipids observed in response to the cessation of feeding. In contrast to the typical mammalian starvation response, nonelevated cortisol and minimal glucagon levels may contribute to body protein preservation and downregulation of catabolic pathways, in general. Furthermore, thyroid hormones may be involved in a process of energy conservation, independent of pups' nutritional state. These original hormonal settings might reflect an adaptation to the otariid repeated fasting pattern and emphasize the crucial importance of a tight physiological control over metabolism to survive extreme energetic constraints.<br />

Interspecific variations in the gastrointestinal microbiota in penguins

Despite the enormous amount of data available on the importance of the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota in vertebrate (especially mammals), information on the GI microbiota of seabirds remains incomplete. As with many seabirds, penguins have a unique digestive physiology that enables them to store large reserves of adipose tissue, protein, and lipids. This study used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing to characterize the interspecific variations of the GI microbiota of four penguin species: the king, gentoo, macaroni, and little penguin. The qPCR results indicated that there were significant differences in the abundance of the major phyla Firmicutes, Bacteroides, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria. A total of 132,340, 18,336, 6324, and 4826 near full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences were amplified from fecal samples collected from king, gentoo, macaroni, and little penguins, respectively. A total of 13 phyla were identified with Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Fusobacteria dominating the composition; however, there were major differences in the relative abundance of the phyla. In addition, this study documented the presence of known human pathogens, such as Campylobacter, Helicobacter, Prevotella, Veillonella, Erysipelotrichaceae, Neisseria, and Mycoplasma. However, their role in disease in penguins remains unknown. To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide an in-depth investigation of the GI microbiota of penguins.<br />

Can smartphone users turn off tracking service settings?

Tracking services play a fundamental role in the smartphone ecosystem. While their primary purpose is to provide a smartphone user with the ability to regulate the extent of sharing private information with external parties, these services can also be misused by advertisers in order to boost revenues. In this paper, we investigate tracking services on the Android and iOS smartphone platforms. We present a simple and effective way to monitor traffic generated by tracking services to and from the smartphone and external servers. To evaluate our work, we dynamically execute a set of Android and iOS applications, collected from their respective official markets. Our empirical results indicate that even if the user disables or limits tracking services on the smartphone, applications can by-pass those settings and, consequently, leak private information to external parties. On the other hand, when testing the location 'on' setting, we notice that generally location is not tracked.

Trabecular and cortical bone density and architecture in women after 60 days of bed rest using high-resolution pQCT: WISE 2005

Prolonged bed rest is used to simulate the effects of spaceflight and causes disuse-related loss of bone. While bone density changes during bed rest have been described, there are no data on changes in bone microstructure. Twenty-four healthy women aged 25 to 40 years participated in 60 days of strict 6-degree head-down tilt bed rest (WISE 2005). Subjects were assigned to either a control group (CON, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;8), which performed no countermeasures; an exercise group (EXE, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;8), which undertook a combination of resistive and endurance training; or a nutrition group (NUT, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;8), which received a high-protein diet. Density and structural parameters of the distal tibia and radius were measured at baseline, during, and up to 1 year after bed rest by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Bed rest was associated with reductions in all distal tibial density parameters (p&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.001), whereas only distal radius trabecular density decreased. Trabecular separation increased at both the distal tibia and distal radius (p&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.001), but these effects were first significant after bed rest. Reduction in trabecular number was similar in magnitude at the distal radius (p&thinsp;=&thinsp;0.021) and distal tibia (p&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.001). Cortical thickness decreased at the distal tibia only (p&thinsp;&lt;&thinsp;0.001). There were no significant effects on bone structure or density of the countermeasures (p&thinsp;&ge;&thinsp;0.057). As measured with HR-pQCT, it is concluded that deterioration in bone microstructure and density occur in women during and after prolonged bed rest. The exercise and nutrition countermeasures were ineffective in preventing these changes.

Informa����o, comunica����o e sa��de: o avan��o tecnol��gico e uso de PDA (Personal Data Assistent) no mapeamento de situa����es de risco de dengue

artigo apresentado em congresso nacional de comunica����o

Comunica����o especializada e a estrat��gia de pre��o baixo.

Nos ��ltimos anos, o Brasil mostra novas atividades de marketing e comunica����o. Uma delas �� decorrente do aumento do poder aquisitivo dos segmentos sociais de menor renda. Corpora����es consideram esse novo nicho de mercado em sua comunica����o uma vez que possui grande potencial de consumo, fazendo com que empresas e anunciantes reestruturem seus produtos, servi��os e marcas tendo em vista o ���pre��o baixo���. O objetivo deste trabalho �� realizar, por meio de referencial te��rico e descri����o de an��ncios publicit��rios publicados na m��dia, limitada an��lise dos fatores que caracterizam a comunica����o de marketing de anunciantes focados na estrat��gia de pre��o baixo. Para isso s��o eleitos os eixos te��ricos da comunica����o de marketing, estrat��gia de pre��o baixo e consumidores emergentes. O resultado mostra que a comunica����o contextualizada no pre��o baixo re��ne elementos especiais no seu conte��do, caso da consci��ncia de pre��o como diferencial, figuras e personagens estereotipados, discurso linear, valores sociais aspirados pelos emergentes, apelos ao custo-benef��cio e rela����o pre��o-qualidade.

Gest��o do desempenho de pessoas com defici��ncia: um estudo em empresas industriais na regi��o do Grande ABC

Disserta����o de mestrado apresentada ao Programa de P��s-Gradua����o em Administra����o da Universidade Municipal de S��o Caetano do Sul