As age increases among food service workers, the odds of having a BMI in the overweight and obese ranges increases.

Food service workers in general were not at higher risk for high BMI, but those between the ages of 41 and 64 are at higher risk of having a BMI in the overweight or obese ranges. The findings suggest that proximity to food service outlets may not be the most salient factor in explaining BMI.

Food service workers in general were not at higher risk for high BMI, but those between the ages of 41 and 64 are at higher risk of having a BMI in the overweight or obese ranges. The findings suggest that proximity to food service outlets may not be the most salient factor in explaining BMI.

Bottling workers maintain awkward postures while performing machine paced repetitive motions in many of their job tasks and therefore are predisposed to work related musculoskeletal discomfort (WMSD). There is a paucity of literature on prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal discomfort among this occupational group.

This study was conducted among Eastern Nigerian beverage factory workers to investigate prevalence of WMSD as a first step towards risk factors investigation and ergonomic future intervention.

A total of 301 workers (8 workstations) completed a modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire in this cross sectional survey.

Twelve month prevalence of WMSD was 91.4% and 65.1% had been prevented from doing activity at home or workplace by WMSD in the past 12 months. Shoulder, neck and upper back in that order were the most common complaints. Prevalence of WMSD in body regions were associated with age but not with gender except for neck, upper back, shoulder, and ankle/foot complaints.

WMSDs are very high among beverage bottling workers. Investigation into the prevailing risk factors especially the work posture and work organization/work psychosocial factors for possible risk exposure in these workers is essential for ergonomic intervention towards work injury prevention.

WMSDs are very high among beverage bottling workers. Investigation into the prevailing risk factors especially the work posture and work organization/work psychosocial factors for possible risk exposure in these workers is essential for ergonomic intervention towards work injury prevention.We investigate the catalytic activity of the subnanometer-sized bimetallic Au19Pt cluster for oxidation of CO via first-principles density functional theory calculations. For this purpose we consider two structurally similar and energetically close homotops of the Au19Pt cluster with the Pt atom occupying an edge (Td-E) or a facet (Td-S) site of a 20-atom tetrahedron. Using these homotops as catalysts we calculate the complete reaction paths and the thermodynamic functions corresponding to the oxidation of CO to CO2. It is found that the oxidation of CO on the Td-S isomer occurs through a smaller reaction barrier (0.38 eV) as compared with that on the Td-E isomer (0.70 eV), although the activation of O2 on the latter is much higher than that on the former. Therefore, a clear conclusion is that a higher O2 activation, which is generally believed to be the key factor for CO oxidation, solely cannot determine the catalytic efficiency of the Au-Pt bimetallic clusters. In addition, we find a stronger CO adsorption on the Td-E isomer (2.06 eV) as compared with that on the Td-S isomer (1.68 eV). Although stronger CO adsorption on the Td-E isomer leads to a higher O2 activation; however, high value of CO adsorption energy deteriorates the catalytic activity of the Td-E isomer towards the CO oxidation reaction.Advances in molecular and structural and functional neuroimaging are rapidly expanding the complexity of neurobiological understanding of Parkinson’s disease (PD). This review article begins with an introduction to PD neurobiology as a foundation for interpreting neuroimaging findings that may further lead to more integrated and comprehensive understanding of PD. Diverse areas of PD neuroimaging are then reviewed and summarized, including positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging, transcranial sonography, magnetoencephalography, and multimodal imaging, with focus on human studies published over the last five years. These included studies on differential diagnosis, co-morbidity, genetic and prodromal PD, and treatments from L-DOPA to brain stimulation approaches, transplantation and gene therapies. Overall, neuroimaging has shown that PD is a neurodegenerative disorder involving many neurotransmitters, brain regions, structural and functional connections, and neurocognitive systems. A broad neurobiological understanding of PD will be essential for translational efforts to develop better treatments and preventive strategies. Many questions remain and we conclude with some suggestions for future directions of neuroimaging of PD.The flexible integration of segregated neural processes is essential to healthy brain function. Advances in neuroimaging techniques have revealed that psychiatric and neurological disorders are characterized by anomalies in the dynamic integration of widespread neural populations. Re-establishing optimal neural activity is an important component of the treatment of such disorders. Non-invasive brain stimulation is emerging as a viable tool to selectively restore both local and widespread neural activity in patients affected by psychiatric and neurological disorders. Importantly, the different forms of non-invasive brain stimulation affect neural activity in distinct ways, which has important ramifications for their clinical efficacy. In this review, we discuss how non-invasive brain stimulation techniques influence widespread neural integration across brain regions. We suggest that the efficacy of such techniques in the treatment of psychiatric and neurological conditions is contingent on applying the appropriate stimulation paradigm to restore specific aspects of altered neural integration.Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is commonly used to assess body composition. Cross-mode (left hand to right foot, Z(CR)) BIA presumably uses the longest current path in the human body, which may generate better results when estimating fat-free mass (FFM). We compared the cross-mode with the hand-to-foot mode (right hand to right foot, Z(HF)) using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as the reference. We hypothesized that when comparing anthropometric parameters using stepwise regression analysis, the impedance value from the cross-mode analysis would have better prediction accuracy than that from the hand-to-foot mode analysis. We studied 264 men and 232 women (mean ages, 32.19 ± 14.95 and 34.51 ± 14.96 years, respectively; mean body mass indexes, 24.54 ± 3.74 and 23.44 ± 4.61 kg/m2, respectively). The DXA-measured FFMs in men and women were 58.85 ± 8.15 and 40.48 ± 5.64 kg, respectively. Multiple stepwise linear regression analyses were performed to construct sex-specific FFM equations. The correlations of FFM measured by DXA vs. FFM from hand-to-foot mode and estimated FFM by cross-mode were 0.85 and 0.86 in women, with standard errors of estimate of 2.96 and 2.92 kg, respectively. In men, they were 0.91 and 0.91, with standard errors of the estimates of 3.34 and 3.48 kg, respectively. Bland-Altman plots showed limits of agreement of -6.78 to 6.78 kg for FFM from hand-to-foot mode and -7.06 to 7.06 kg for estimated FFM by cross-mode for men, and -5.91 to 5.91 and -5.84 to 5.84 kg, respectively, for women. Paired t tests showed no significant differences between the 2 modes (P > .05). Hence, cross-mode BIA appears to represent a reasonable and practical application for assessing FFM in Chinese populations.

Much is known about survival after traumatic brain injury (TBI), yet relatively little about survival after anoxic brain injury (ABI).

To determine whether long-term survival after ABI is comparable to that after TBI.

We identified 237 patients with ABI and 1,620 with TBI in California who were aged 15 to 35, survived at least 1 year post injury, and were injured in 1986 or later. We analyzed the long-term follow-up data using the Cox Proportional Hazards Regression Model, controlling for age, sex, and severity of disability.

After adjustment for risk factors, no significant differences in long-term survival between ABI and TBI were found (hazard ratio = 0.97; 95% c.i. 0.57-1.65).

In adolescents and young adults, long-term survival after ABI appears to be similar to that after TBI.

In adolescents and young adults, long-term survival after ABI appears to be similar to that after TBI.

Attention deficits are common after acquired brain injury (ABI) and adversely impact academic, vocational and social outcomes. The role of cognitive interventions in post-ABI attention rehabilitation remains unclear.

To evaluate effectiveness of cognitive interventions in treating attention deficits following ABI and to explore differences in treatment effect between ABI etiologies.

MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CENTRAL databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Studies were selected by three reviewers. Study quality was assessed using Cochrane Collaboration tool for RCTs. Effect sizes (Hedge’s g) for each attentional domain were meta-analyzed with subgroup analysis by ABI etiology.

Twelve RCTs with 584 participants were included, representing individuals with stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and CNS-impacting malignancy. Cognitive rehabilitation improved divided attention in stroke survivors (g 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.35-0.98; p <  0.0001) but not other ABI populations. Sustained, selective and alternating attention, and inhibition were not significantly improved in any ABI population. Follow-up data showed no evidence of long-term benefit.

Cognitive rehabilitation resulted in short-term improvements in divided attention following stroke, but not after TBI or CNS-impacting malignancy. Cognitive interventions did not significantly improve other attentional domains in participants with stroke, TBI or CNS-impacting malignancy.

Cognitive rehabilitation resulted in short-term improvements in divided attention following stroke, but not after TBI or CNS-impacting malignancy. Cognitive interventions did not significantly improve other attentional domains in participants with stroke, TBI or CNS-impacting malignancy.

Eye-tracking communication devices and brain-computer interfaces are the two resources available to help people with advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) avoid isolation and passivity.

This study was aimed at assessing a technology-aided program (i.e., a third possible resource) for five patients with advanced ALS who needed support for communication and leisure activities.

The participants were exposed to baseline and intervention conditions. The technology-aided program, which was used during the intervention, (a) included the communication and leisure options that each participant considered important for him or her (e.g., music, videos, statements/requests, and text messaging) and (b) allowed the participant to access those options with minimal responses (e.g., finger movement or eyelid closure) monitored via microswitches.

The participants started leisure and communication engagement independently only during the intervention (i.e., when the program was used). The mean percentages of session time spent in those forms of engagement were between about 60 and 80.