The associations between dietary practices and dietary quality, biological health indicators, perceived stress, religiosity, culture, and gender in multicultural Singapore

Rachel Yi-Xin Ng,Yi-Sheng Wong,Joshua-Yi Yeo,Crystal Ling-Zhen Koh,Cynthia Wilson,Samuel Ken-En Gan 한국식품연구원 2018 Journal of Ethnic Foods Vol.5 No.3

Background: Dietary quality, biological health, culture, religiosity, and perceived stress are co-related. However, there is a dearth of research conducted on Asian populations in secularized and harmonious multicultural societies. Methods: This study addresses these gaps by conducting an investigation in the multicultural and multireligious Singapore to examine the parameters of culture and gender and the associations with (1) dietary quality, (2) biological health indicators, (3) religiosity, and (4) perceived stress. One hundred fifty participants (18e60 years old) were recruited, and their blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage (BF%) were also measured along with a 5-part questionnaire on demographics, dietary practice, food frequency, religiosity, and perceived stress. Results and conclusion: Results showed that cultural differences are associated with certain dietary practices, where the three ethnic groups of Chinese, Malays, and Indians significantly differed in their choices of meal locations such as Western fast food restaurants (H ¼ 12.369, p ¼ .002061*). Our analysis revealed that perceived stress significantly correlated with fat intake (rs ¼ .169, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .03865) and sugar intake (rs ¼ .172, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .03575). On the other hand, biological parameters such as diastolic BP (rs ¼ .0473, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .565), systolic BP (rs¼ .00972, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .906), BMI (rs ¼ .0403, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .6246), and BF% (rs ¼ .110, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .1811) did not have significant correlations with perceived stress. Similarly, religiosity did not significantly correlate with perceived stress (rs ¼ .025, N ¼ 150, p ¼ .7616). In conclusion, our findings provide insights into the changing intersection of food practices mitigated by ethnicity, religiosity, stress, and gender in the harmonious multiracial and multicultural Singapore.

Temperature dependence of GaSb and AlGaSb solar cells

Ehsan Vadiee,Yi Fang,Chaomin Zhang,Alec M. Fischer,Joshua J. Williams,Emma J. Renteria,Ganesh Balakrishnan,Christiana B. Honsberg 한국물리학회 2018 Current Applied Physics Vol.18 No.6

Sb-based alloys offer great potential for photovoltaic and thermophotovoltaic applications. In this paper, we study the performance of AlxGa1-xSb (x=0, 0.15, and 0.50) single-junction solar cells over a temperature range of 25–250 °C. The dark current-voltage, one-sun current-voltage, and external quantum efficiency measurements were acquired at different temperatures. Correlations between experimental and numerical results are made to draw conclusions about the thermal behavior of the cells. It is shown that, while the bandgaps decrease linearly with temperature leading to the reduction of open-circuit voltages, the short-circuit current densities decrease with non-linear trends. The temperature-dependent dark current densities were extracted by fitting the dark current-voltage curves to single- and double-diode models to give an insight into the effect of intrinsic carrier concentration (ni) on the cell performance. We find that the ni has a significant impact on temperature-dependent cell performance. These findings could lay a groundwork for the future Sb-based photovoltaic systems that operate at high temperatures.

Conditional Replication of a Recombinant Adenovirus Studied Using Neomycin as a Selective Marker

( Feng Xue ),( Yi Peng Qi ),( Mallam Nock Joshua ),( Ping Lan ),( Chang Yuan Dong ) 생화학분자생물학회 2003 BMB Reports Vol.36 No.3

An E1B-defective adenovirus, named r2/Ad carrying the neo expression cassette, was constructed by homologous recombination. The construction, selection (using neomycin as a seletive marker), and propagation of the recombinant virus was performed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK 293). An in vitro study demonstrated that this recombinant virus has the ability to replicate in and lyse some p53-deficient human bladder cells (EJ), but not in some cells with functional p53, such as human adenocarcinoma cells (A549) and human fibroblast cells (MRC-5). Also, based on the cytopathic effect (CPE), it was demonstrated, under identical conditions, that the U251 cells were more sensitive to r2/Ad replication than the EJ cells. In this paper, we report that r2/Ad could be very useful in studying the in vitro selective replication of EIB-defective adenovirus and has great potential in cancer gene therapy.

Low Intensity Resistance Exercise Training with Blood Flow Restriction: Insight into Cardiovascular Function, and Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy in Humans

Park, Song-Young,Kwak, Yi Sub,Harveson, Andrew,Weavil, Joshua C.,Seo, Kook E. The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2015 The Korean Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology Vol.19 No.3

Attenuated functional exercise capacity in elderly and diseased populations is a common problem, and stems primarily from physical inactivity. Decreased function and exercise capacity can be restored by maintaining muscular strength and mass, which are key factors in an independent and healthy life. Resistance exercise has been used to prevent muscle loss and improve muscular strength and mass. However, the intensities necessary for traditional resistance training to increase muscular strength and mass may be contraindicated for some at risk populations, such as diseased populations and the elderly. Therefore, an alternative exercise modality is required. Recently, blood flow restriction (BFR) with low intensity resistance exercise (LIRE) has been used for such special populations to improve their function and exercise capacity. Although BFR+LIRE has been intensively studied for a decade, a comprehensive review detailing the effects of BFR+LIRE on both skeletal muscle and vascular function is not available. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to discuss previous studies documenting the effects of BFR+LIRE on hormonal and transcriptional factors in muscle hypertrophy and vascular function, including changes in hemodynamics, and endothelial function.

Complex and novel determinants of empathy change in medical students

Gerald Sng Gui Ren,Joshua Tung Yi Min,Yeo Su Ping,Lee Shuh Shing,Ma Thin Mar Win,Hooi Shing Chuan,Dujeepa D. Samarasekera 한국의학교육학회 2016 Korean journal of medical education Vol.28 No.1

Purpose: Physician empathy is a core attribute in medical professionals, giving better patient outcomes. Medical school is an opportune time for building empathetic foundations. This study explores empathy change and focuses on contributory factors. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 881 students (63%) from Years 1 to 5 in a Singaporean medical school using the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student version (JSPE-S) and a questionnaire investigating the relationship between reported and novel personal-social empathy determinants. Results: Empathy declined significantly between preclinical and clinical years. Female and medical specialty interest respondents had higher scores than their counterparts. Despite strong internal consistency, factor analysis suggested that the JSPE model is not a perfect fit. Year 1 students had highest Perspective Taking scores and Year 2 students had highest Compassionate Care scores. High workload and inappropriate learning environments were the most relevant stressors. Time spent with family, arts, and community service correlated with higher empathy scores, whilst time spent with significant others and individual leisure correlated with lower scores. Thematic analysis revealed that the most common self-reported determinants were exposure to activity (community service) or socialisation, personal and family-related event as well as environment (high work-load). Conclusion: While the empathy construct in multicultural Singapore is congruent with a Western model, important differences remain. A more subtle understanding of the heterogeneity of the medical student experience is important. A greater breadth of determinants of empathy, such as engagement in arts-related activities should be considered.

Effects of Tributyrin on Intestinal Energy Status, Antioxidative Capacity and Immune Response to Lipopolysaccharide Challenge in Broilers

Li, Jiaolong,Hou, Yongqing,Yi, Dan,Zhang, Jun,Wang, Lei,Qiu, Hongyi,Ding, Binying,Gong, Joshua Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2015 Animal Bioscience Vol.28 No.12

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of tributyrin (TB) on the growth performance, pro-inflammatory cytokines, intestinal morphology, energy status, disaccharidase activity, and antioxidative capacity of broilers challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A total of 160 one-day-old Cobb broilers were allocated to 1 of 4 treatments, with 4 replicated pens per treatment and 10 birds per pen. The experiment consisted of a $2{\times}2$ factorial arrangements of treatments with TB supplementation (0 or 500 mg/kg) and LPS challenge (0 or $500{\mu}g/kg$ body weight [BW]). On days 22, 24, and 26 of the trial, broilers received an intraperitoneal administration of $500{\mu}g/kg$ BW LPS or saline. Dietary TB showed no effect on growth performance. However, LPS challenge decreased the average daily gain of broilers from day 22 to day 26 of the trial. Dietary TB supplementation inhibited the increase of interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (in the jejunum and ileum), interleukin-6 (in the duodenum and jejunum), and prostaglandin $E_2$ (in the duodenum) of LPS-challenged broilers. Similar inhibitory effects of TB in the activities of total nitric oxide synthase (in the ileum) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (in the jejunum) were also observed in birds challenged with LPS. Additionally, TB supplementation mitigated the decrease of ileal adenosine triphosphate, adenosine diphosphate and total adenine nucleotide and the reduction of jejunal catalase activity induced by LPS. Taken together, these results suggest that the TB supplementation was able to reduce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and improve the energy status and anti-oxidative capacity in the small intestine of LPS-challenged broilers.

Conditional Replication of a Recombinant Adenovirus Studied Using Neomycin as a Selective Marker

Xue, Feng,Qi, Yi-Peng,Joshua, Mallam Nock,Lan, Ping,Dong, Chang-Yuan Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2003 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.36 No.3

An E1B-defective adenovirus, named r2/Ad carrying the neo expression cassette, was constructed by homologous recombination. The construction, selection (using neomycin as a selective marker), and propagation of the recombinant virus was performed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK 293). An in vitro study demonstrated that this recombinant virus has the ability to replicate in and lyse some p53-deficient human tumor cells such as human glioma tumor cells (U251) and human bladder cells (EJ), but not in some cells with functional p53, such as human adenocarcinoma cells (A549) and human fibroblast cells (MRC-5). Also, based on the cytopathic effect (CPE), it was demonstrated, under identical conditions, that the U251 cells were more sensitive to r2/Ad replication than the EJ cells. In this paper, we report that r2/Ad could be very useful in studying the in vitro selective replication of E1B-defective adenovirus and has great potential in cancer gene therapy.

The Effects of Low Volume Versus High Volume Sled-Push Training on Muscular Adaptation

( Jeffrey R. Bernard ),( Yi-hung Liao ),( Christian O. Madrigal ),( Joshua D. Levesque ),( Matthew B. Fraze ),( Isaac Del Toro ),( Sukho Lee ) 한국운동생리학회(구 한국운동과학회) 2021 운동과학 Vol.30 No.2

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the effects of low-volume and high-volume sled-push resistance training on muscle strength, power, and body composition. METHODS: Twenty-four college students were recruited and matched based on baseline one-repetition maximum (1-RM) into one of the three groups: 1) low volume (LV) resistance training, 2) high volume (HV) resistance training, or 3) control (CON) (n=8 per group). The LV training consisted of five single repetitions of pushing a weighted sled for 9.1 m. The HV training consisted of three sets of five repetitions of pushing a weighted sled for 9.1 m. Training consisted of three weekly workouts performed on nonconsecutive days for 6 weeks. This study utilized a pre-test and post-test design consisting of 1-RM, Wingate power test, standing long jump, vertical jump, and body composition. RESULTS: After 6 weeks of training, there was a similar but significant increase in 1-RM in both training groups (pre-test: LV=226.8±14.8 kg vs. HV=217.7±19.5 kg; post-test: LV=298.5±15 kg vs. HV=286.9±16 kg, p< .001). However, no improvements were observed in the Wingate power test, standing long jump, vertical jump, or body composition in both training and CON groups (p >.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that low-volume resistance training was as effective as a high-volume protocol for improving muscle strength. However, the present study was unable to determine the effects on muscle power and body composition.

Best Core Stabilization for Anticipatory Postural Adjustment and Falls in Hemiparetic Stroke

Lee, Nam G.,You, Joshua (Sung) H.,Yi, Chung H.,Jeon, Hye S.,Choi, Bong S.,Lee, Dong R.,Park, Jae M.,Lee, Tae H.,Ryu, In T.,Yoon, Hyun S. Elsevier 2018 Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Vol.99 No.11

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P><B>Objectives</B></P> <P>To compare the effects of conventional core stabilization and dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) on anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) time, balance performance, and fear of falls in chronic hemiparetic stroke.</P> <P><B>Design</B></P> <P>Two-group randomized controlled trial with pretest-posttest design.</P> <P><B>Setting</B></P> <P>Hospital rehabilitation center.</P> <P><B>Participants</B></P> <P>Adults with chronic hemiparetic stroke (N=28).</P> <P><B>Interventions</B></P> <P>Participants were randomly divided into either conventional core stabilization (n=14) or DNS (n=14) groups. Both groups received a total of 20 sessions of conventional core stabilization or DNS training for 30 minutes per session 5 times a week during the 4-week period.</P> <P><B>Main Outcome Measures</B></P> <P>Electromyography was used to measure the APA time for bilateral external oblique (EO), transverse abdominis (TrA)/internal oblique (IO), and erector spinae (ES) activation during rapid shoulder flexion. Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Falls Efficacy Scale (FES) were used to measure trunk movement control, balance performance, and fear of falling.</P> <P><B>Results</B></P> <P>Baseline APA times were delayed and fear of falling was moderately high in both the conventional core stabilization and DNS groups. After the interventions, the APA times for EO, TrA/IO, and ES were shorter in the DNS group than in the conventional core stabilization group (<I>P</I><.008). The BBS and TIS scores (<I>P</I><.008) and the FES score (<I>P</I><.003) were improved compared with baseline in both groups, but FES remained stable through the 2-year follow-up period only in the DNS group (<I>P</I><.003).</P> <P><B>Conclusions</B></P> <P>This is the first clinical evidence highlighting the importance of core stabilization exercises for improving APA control, balance, and fear of falls in individuals with hemiparetic stroke.</P>

Effects of Robot-assisted Gait With Body Weight Support on Torque, Work, and Power of Quadriceps and Hamstring Muscles in Healthy Subjects

Jihun Hwang,Sung (Joshua) Hyun You,Woochol Joseph Choi,Chung-hwi Yi 한국전문물리치료학회 2021 한국전문물리치료학회지 Vol.28 No.3

Background: Robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) is an effective method for walking reha-bilitation. Additionally, the body weight support (BWS) system reduces muscle fatigue while walking. However, no previous studies have investigated the effects of RAGT with BWS on isokinetic strength of quadriceps and hamstring muscles. Objects: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of torque, work, and power on the quadriceps and hamstring muscles during RAGT, using the BWS of three conditions in healthy subjects. The three different BWS conditions were BWS 50%, BWS 20%, and full weight bearing (FWB). Methods: Eleven healthy subjects (7 males and 4 females) participated in this study. The Walkbot_S was used to cause fatigue of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles and the Biodex Systems 4 Pro was used to measure the isokinetic torque, work, and power of them. After RAGT trials of each of the three conditions, the subjects performed isokinetic concentric knee flexion and extension, five at an angular velocity of 60°/s and fifteen at an angular velocity of 180°/s. One-way repeated analysis of variance was used to determine significant differences in all the variables. The least significant difference test was used for post-hoc analysis. Results: On both sides, there were significant differences in peak torque (PT) of knee exten-sion and flexion between the three BWS conditions at an angular velocity of 60°/s and 180°/s conditions. A post-hoc comparison revealed that the PT in the BWS 50% was significantly greater than in the BWS 20% and the FWB and the PT in the BWS 20% was significantly greater than in the FWB. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the lower BWS during RAGT seems to lower the isokinetic torque, work, and power of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles be-cause of the muscle fatigue increase.