To describe the relationships between non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) patient’s disease consequences and treatment perceptions, self-efficacy, and healthy lifestyle maintenance.METHODSA cross-sectional stud...To describe the relationships between non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) patient’s disease consequences and treatment perceptions, self-efficacy, and healthy lifestyle maintenance.METHODSA cross-sectional study among 146 ultrasound diagnosed NAFLD patients who visited the fatty liver clinic at the Tel-Aviv Medical Center. Eighty-seven of these individuals, participated in a clinical trial of physical activity and underwent fasting blood tests, analyzed at the same lab. Exclusion criteria included positivity for serum HBsAg or anti-HCV antibodies; fatty liver suspected to be secondary to hepatotoxic drugs; excessive alcohol consumption (≥ 30 g/d in men or ≥ 20 g/d in women) and positive markers of genetic or immune-mediated liver diseases. Patients were asked to complete a self-report structured questionnaire, assembled by the Israeli Center for Disease Control. Nutrition habits were measured using six yes/no questions (0 = no, 1 = yes) adopted from the national survey questionnaire. Participants in the clinical trial completed a detailed semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) reporting their habitual nutritional intake during the past year. Self-efficacy was assessed by the Self-Efficacy Scale questionnaire, emotional representation, degree of illness understanding, timeline perception, treatment perception and symptoms were measured by the Brief Illness Perception questionnaire. Illness consequences were measured by the Personal Models of Diabetes Interview questionnaire. A path analysis was performed to describe the interrelationships between the patients’ illness perceptions, and assess the extent to which the data fit a prediction of nutritional habits.RESULTSThe study sample included 54.1% men, with a mean age of 47.76 ± 11.68 years (range: 20-60) and mean body mass index of 31.56 ± 4.6. The average perceived nutrition habits score was 4.73 ± 1.45 on a scale between 0-6, where 6 represents the healthiest eating habits. Most of the study participants (57.2%) did not feel they fully understood what NAFLD is. Better nutritional habits were positively predicted by the degree of illness understanding (β = 0.26; P = 0.002) and self-efficacy (β = 0.25; P = 0.003). Perceptions of more severe illness consequences were related with higher emotional representation (β = 0.55; P < 0.001), which was related with lower self-efficacy (β = -0.17; P = 0.034). The perception of treatment effectiveness was positively related with self-efficacy (β = 0.32; P < 0.001). In accordance with the correlation between self-efficacy and the perceived nutrition habits score, self-efficacy was also correlated with nutrient intake evaluated by the FFQ; negatively with saturated fat (percent of saturated fat calories from total calories) (r = -0.28, P = 0.010) and positively with fiber (r = 0.22, P = 0.047) and vitamin C intake (r = 0.34, P = 0.002). In a sub analysis of the clinical trial participants, objectively measured compliance to physical activity regimen was positively correlated with the self-efficacy level (r = 0.34, P = 0.046).CONCLUSIONSelf-efficacy and illness understanding are major determinants of lifestyle-modification among NAFLD patients. This information can assist clinicians in improving compliance with lifestyle changes among these patients.展开更多
Objective：To investigate the reliability for kinetic assay of substance with background predicted by the integrated method using uricase reaction as model. Methods： Absorbance before uricase action （Δ0） was estim...Objective：To investigate the reliability for kinetic assay of substance with background predicted by the integrated method using uricase reaction as model. Methods： Absorbance before uricase action （Δ0） was estimated by extrapolation with given lag time of steady-state reaction. With Km fixed at 12.5μmol/L, background absorbance （Δb） was predicted by nonlinearly fitting integrated Michaelis-Menten equation to Candida utilis uricase reaction curve. Uric acid in reaction solution was determined by the difference （ΔA） between Δ0 and Δb. Results .Ab usually showed deviation 〈3% from direct assay with residual substrate done fifth of initial substrate for analysis. ΔA showed CV 〈5% with resistance to common interferences except xanthine, and it linearly responded to uric acid with slope consistent to the absorptivity of uric acid. The lower limit was 2.0 μmol/L and upper limit reached 30 μmol/L in reaction solution with data monitored within 8 min reaction at 0. 015 U/ml uricase. Preliminary application to serum and urine gave better precision than the direct equilibrium method without the removal of proteins before analysis. Conclusion .This kinetic method with background predicted by the integrated method was reliable for enzymatic analysis, and it showed resistance to common interferences and enhanced efficiency at much lower cost.展开更多
Clinical medicine and experiments have shown that electrophysiological activities on neuronal disease systems such as the epilepsy and Parkinson can exhibit the evolutions of complex dynamical behaviors and their tran...Clinical medicine and experiments have shown that electrophysiological activities on neuronal disease systems such as the epilepsy and Parkinson can exhibit the evolutions of complex dynamical behaviors and their transitions, which are closely related to the generation mechanism of neuronal diseases. Traditionally, electrophysiological activities have been analyzed from the statistical methods. Although some ideal results have been obtained, mechanisms of complex electrophysiological activities in neuronal systems cannot yet be disclosed. Dynamics modelling can help researchers to explore the mechanisms of electro- physiological activities of neuronal disease systems. By constructing reasonable physiological dynamical model, inner relation between the dynamics model and representation behaviors of the neuronal disease systems can be further studied. In addition, based on the constructed network model, we can also explore mechanisms of the evolutions of dynamical behaviors and their transitions of the initiation, propagation and termination of different kinds of the seizures. Finally, we can design the feasible control method to regulate dynamics behaviors of the seizures so as to realize the healthy neuronal firings.展开更多
文摘To describe the relationships between non-alcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD) patient’s disease consequences and treatment perceptions, self-efficacy, and healthy lifestyle maintenance.METHODSA cross-sectional study among 146 ultrasound diagnosed NAFLD patients who visited the fatty liver clinic at the Tel-Aviv Medical Center. Eighty-seven of these individuals, participated in a clinical trial of physical activity and underwent fasting blood tests, analyzed at the same lab. Exclusion criteria included positivity for serum HBsAg or anti-HCV antibodies; fatty liver suspected to be secondary to hepatotoxic drugs; excessive alcohol consumption (≥ 30 g/d in men or ≥ 20 g/d in women) and positive markers of genetic or immune-mediated liver diseases. Patients were asked to complete a self-report structured questionnaire, assembled by the Israeli Center for Disease Control. Nutrition habits were measured using six yes/no questions (0 = no, 1 = yes) adopted from the national survey questionnaire. Participants in the clinical trial completed a detailed semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) reporting their habitual nutritional intake during the past year. Self-efficacy was assessed by the Self-Efficacy Scale questionnaire, emotional representation, degree of illness understanding, timeline perception, treatment perception and symptoms were measured by the Brief Illness Perception questionnaire. Illness consequences were measured by the Personal Models of Diabetes Interview questionnaire. A path analysis was performed to describe the interrelationships between the patients’ illness perceptions, and assess the extent to which the data fit a prediction of nutritional habits.RESULTSThe study sample included 54.1% men, with a mean age of 47.76 ± 11.68 years (range: 20-60) and mean body mass index of 31.56 ± 4.6. The average perceived nutrition habits score was 4.73 ± 1.45 on a scale between 0-6, where 6 represents the healthiest eating habits. Most of the study participants (57.2%) did not feel they fully understood what NAFLD is. Better nutritional habits were positively predicted by the degree of illness understanding (β = 0.26; P = 0.002) and self-efficacy (β = 0.25; P = 0.003). Perceptions of more severe illness consequences were related with higher emotional representation (β = 0.55; P < 0.001), which was related with lower self-efficacy (β = -0.17; P = 0.034). The perception of treatment effectiveness was positively related with self-efficacy (β = 0.32; P < 0.001). In accordance with the correlation between self-efficacy and the perceived nutrition habits score, self-efficacy was also correlated with nutrient intake evaluated by the FFQ; negatively with saturated fat (percent of saturated fat calories from total calories) (r = -0.28, P = 0.010) and positively with fiber (r = 0.22, P = 0.047) and vitamin C intake (r = 0.34, P = 0.002). In a sub analysis of the clinical trial participants, objectively measured compliance to physical activity regimen was positively correlated with the self-efficacy level (r = 0.34, P = 0.046).CONCLUSIONSelf-efficacy and illness understanding are major determinants of lifestyle-modification among NAFLD patients. This information can assist clinicians in improving compliance with lifestyle changes among these patients.
文摘Objective：To investigate the reliability for kinetic assay of substance with background predicted by the integrated method using uricase reaction as model. Methods： Absorbance before uricase action （Δ0） was estimated by extrapolation with given lag time of steady-state reaction. With Km fixed at 12.5μmol/L, background absorbance （Δb） was predicted by nonlinearly fitting integrated Michaelis-Menten equation to Candida utilis uricase reaction curve. Uric acid in reaction solution was determined by the difference （ΔA） between Δ0 and Δb. Results .Ab usually showed deviation 〈3% from direct assay with residual substrate done fifth of initial substrate for analysis. ΔA showed CV 〈5% with resistance to common interferences except xanthine, and it linearly responded to uric acid with slope consistent to the absorptivity of uric acid. The lower limit was 2.0 μmol/L and upper limit reached 30 μmol/L in reaction solution with data monitored within 8 min reaction at 0. 015 U/ml uricase. Preliminary application to serum and urine gave better precision than the direct equilibrium method without the removal of proteins before analysis. Conclusion .This kinetic method with background predicted by the integrated method was reliable for enzymatic analysis, and it showed resistance to common interferences and enhanced efficiency at much lower cost.
文摘Clinical medicine and experiments have shown that electrophysiological activities on neuronal disease systems such as the epilepsy and Parkinson can exhibit the evolutions of complex dynamical behaviors and their transitions, which are closely related to the generation mechanism of neuronal diseases. Traditionally, electrophysiological activities have been analyzed from the statistical methods. Although some ideal results have been obtained, mechanisms of complex electrophysiological activities in neuronal systems cannot yet be disclosed. Dynamics modelling can help researchers to explore the mechanisms of electro- physiological activities of neuronal disease systems. By constructing reasonable physiological dynamical model, inner relation between the dynamics model and representation behaviors of the neuronal disease systems can be further studied. In addition, based on the constructed network model, we can also explore mechanisms of the evolutions of dynamical behaviors and their transitions of the initiation, propagation and termination of different kinds of the seizures. Finally, we can design the feasible control method to regulate dynamics behaviors of the seizures so as to realize the healthy neuronal firings.
