The feasibility of using Internet support for the maintenance of weight loss.

This pilot study examined the acceptability and feasibility of conducting a weight loss maintenance intervention over the Internet. Obese adults participated in a 15-week behavioral weight control intervention and were then randomly assigned to one of the following three maintenance conditions: (a) in-person, therapist-led (TL); (b) Internet, therapist-led (I); and (c) control (C). Both maintenance interventions met biweekly for 22 weeks using the same program content. Results showed that TL participants were more likely to attend their meetings and feel more satisfied with their group assignment. However, there were no differences between the TL and I groups in overall attrition or number of peer support contacts made. There was also no significant difference in weight loss between the groups. Thus, the Internet may hold promise as a method for maintaining contact with patients to facilitate long-term behavior change.

Branched-chain amino Acid plus glucose supplement reduces exercise-induced delayed onset muscle soreness in college-age females.

Supplementation with branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) has been used to stimulate muscle protein synthesis following exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine if supplementation with BCAAs in combination with glucose would reduce exercise-induced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Using a double-blind crossover design, 20 subjects (11 females, 9 males) were randomly assigned to either BCAA (n = 10) or placebo (n = 10) groups. Subjects performed a squatting exercise to elicit DOMS and rated their muscle soreness every 24 hours for four days following exercise while continuing to consume the BCAA or placebo. Following a three-week recovery period, subjects returned and received the alternate BCAA or placebo treatment, repeating the same exercise and DOMS rating protocol for the next four days. BCAA supplementation in female subjects resulted in a significant decrease in DOMS versus placebo at 24 hours following exercise (P = 0.018). No significant effect of BCAA supplementation versus placebo was noted in male subjects nor when male and female results were analyzed together. This gender difference may be related to dose per body weight differences between male and female subjects.

The effectiveness of web-based, multimedia tutorials for teaching methods of human body composition analysis.

This study examined the effectiveness of a series of Web-based, multimedia tutorials on methods of human body composition analysis. Tutorials were developed around four body composition topics: hydrodensitometry (underwater weighing), dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and total body electrical conductivity. Thirty-two students enrolled in the course were randomly assigned to learn the material through either the Web-based tutorials only ("Computer"), a traditional lecture format ("Lecture"), or lectures supplemented with Web-based tutorials ("Both"). All students were administered a validated pretest before randomization and an identical posttest at the completion of the course. The reliability of the test was 0.84. The mean score changes from pretest to posttest were not significantly different among the groups (65.4 plus minus 17.31, 78.82 plus minus 21.50, and 76 plus minus 21.22 for the Computer, Both, and Lecture groups, respectively). Additionally, a Likert-type assessment found equally positive attitudes toward all three formats. The results indicate that Web-based tutorials are as effective as the traditional lecture format for teaching these topics.

Comparison of Infectious Dose of Listeria monocytogenes F5817 as Determined for Normal Versus Compromised C57B1/6J Mice.

The infectious dose of Listeria monocytogenes F5817, a serotype 4b human patient isolate, was determined following oral challenge in normal and compromised C57B1/6J mice. In an attempt to mimic human populations previously shown to be at risk to ingestion of L. monocytogenes , groups of mice used in this study consisted of the following: mice pretreated with hydrocortisone acetate or cimetidine; pregnant mice (12-14 d gestation); or beige mutants of C57B1/6J mice (deficient in lysosome production within monocytes and granulocytes). Mice were gavaged with varying levels of L. monocytogenes suspended in sterile 11% non-fat milk solids (NFMS). Upon expiration, the spleen, liver, lung, and brain were aseptically removed from mice. Organs were plated on LPM agar, and colonies were enumerated and biochemically confirmed as L. monocytogenes . Mice were considered infected if L. monocytogenes was recovered from at least one of the examined organs. In normal resistant C57B1/6J mice, the infectious dose 50 (ID50) ranged from 3.24-4.55 log10 CFU. In comparison, the ID50 for mice treated with 2.5 mg hydrocortisone acetate/day for 3d prior to infection decreased to 0.41 log10 CFU (range -1.91-2.74 log10 CFU). Administration of 0.25 mg hydrocortisone acetate/day for 3d prior to infection resulted in an ID50 similar to that calculated for normal mice. The ID50 calculated for pregnant mice was 2.48 log10 CFU, a value not significantly different from that of normal control mice. The response of beige mutants and cimetidine treated mice was comparable to that of normal controls, with ID50 values of 4.00 and 3.30 log10 CFU, respectively.