| 1. |
- Pandey, Nidhi, et al.
(författare)
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Structural and magnetic properties of Co-N thin films deposited using magnetron sputtering at 523 K
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Alloys and Compounds. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-8388 .- 1873-4669. ; 694, s. 1209-1213
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, we studied cobalt nitride (Co-N) thin films deposited using a dc magnetron sputtering method at a substrate temperature (T-s) of 523 K. We find that independent of the reactive gas flow (R-N2) used during sputtering, the phases of Co-N formed at this temperature seems to be identical having N at.% similar to 5. This is contrary to Co-N phases formed at lower T-s. For example at T-s similar to 300 K, an evolution of Co-N phases starting from Co(N) -> Co4N -> Co-3 N -> CoN can be seen as R-N2 increases gradually to 100%, whereas when T-s increases to 523 K, the phase formed is fcc Co along with a minuscule Co4N phase for R-N2 >= 25%. We used x-ray diffraction (XRD) to probe long range ordering, x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at Co absorption edge for the local structure, Magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) and polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR) to measure the magnetization of samples. Quantification of N at.% was done using secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). Measurements suggest that the magnetic moment of Co N samples deposited at 523 K is slightly higher than the bulk Co moment and does not get affected with the R-N2 used for reactive sputtering. Our results provide an important insight about the phase formation of Co-N thin films which is discussed in this work.
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| 2. |
- Blodgett, Joanna M., et al.
(författare)
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Device-measured physical activity and cardiometabolic health : the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium
- 2023
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Ingår i: European Heart Journal. - 0195-668X .- 1522-9645.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and Aims: Physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour (SB), and inadequate sleep are key behavioural risk factors of cardiometabolic diseases. Each behaviour is mainly considered in isolation, despite clear behavioural and biological interdependencies. The aim of this study was to investigate associations of five-part movement compositions with adiposity and cardiometabolic biomarkers.Methods: Cross-sectional data from six studies (n = 15 253 participants; five countries) from the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep consortium were analysed. Device-measured time spent in sleep, SB, standing, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) made up the composition. Outcomes included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, total:HDL cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Compositional linear regression examined associations between compositions and outcomes, including modelling time reallocation between behaviours.Results: The average daily composition of the sample (age: 53.7 ± 9.7 years; 54.7% female) was 7.7 h sleeping, 10.4 h sedentary, 3.1 h standing, 1.5 h LIPA, and 1.3 h MVPA. A greater MVPA proportion and smaller SB proportion were associated with better outcomes. Reallocating time from SB, standing, LIPA, or sleep into MVPA resulted in better scores across all outcomes. For example, replacing 30 min of SB, sleep, standing, or LIPA with MVPA was associated with −0.63 (95% confidence interval −0.48, −0.79), −0.43 (−0.25, −0.59), −0.40 (−0.25, −0.56), and −0.15 (0.05, −0.34) kg/m2 lower BMI, respectively. Greater relative standing time was beneficial, whereas sleep had a detrimental association when replacing LIPA/MVPA and positive association when replacing SB. The minimal displacement of any behaviour into MVPA for improved cardiometabolic health ranged from 3.8 (HbA1c) to 12.7 (triglycerides) min/day.Conclusions: Compositional data analyses revealed a distinct hierarchy of behaviours. Moderate-vigorous physical activity demonstrated the strongest, most time-efficient protective associations with cardiometabolic outcomes. Theoretical benefits from reallocating SB into sleep, standing, or LIPA required substantial changes in daily activity.
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| 3. |
- Brusaca, Luiz Augusto, et al.
(författare)
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Temporal patterns of sitting and non-sitting in normal-weight and overweight Brazilian office workers working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the ICAMPAM2022 conference.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: This study documented the temporal patterns of sitting, non-sitting and time-in-bed (TIB) of Brazilian office workers working from home during the pandemic; and also determined the extent to which these patterns differed between normal-weight (NWW) and overweight workers (OWW). Methods: Behaviors were monitored over 5 days using accelerometers in 33 NWW (BMI <25 kg/m2) and 40 OWW (BMI ≥25 kg/m2). Time-use compositions were described in terms of sitting, non-sitting and TIB. Temporal patterns of sitting/non-sitting were quantified according to Exposure Variation Analysis into short (≤5 min), moderate (>5 and ≤20) and long uninterrupted bouts (>20). Following a compositional data analysis, isometric log-ratios (ilr) were calculated; ilr1–TIB relative to time spent awake, ilr2–sitting (all bouts) relative to non-sitting (all bouts), ilr3–sitting in short relative to moderate and long bouts, ilr4–sitting in moderate relative to long bouts; ilr5 and ilr6 represent the same behavior contrasts as ilr3 and ilr4, but for non-sitting. We examined differences between groups using MANOVA, followed by univariate post-hoc tests of pairwise differences. Results: NWW spent more time sitting in short bouts (50 min) and less time in moderate and long bouts (154 and 552) than OWW (42, 155 and 585). For non-sitting, NWW spent more time in short and moderate bouts (71 and 96) and less time in long bouts (45) than OWW (60, 83 and 54). NWW had longer TIB (473) than OWW (461). NWW and OWW differed in the set of ilrs as a whole (p=0.05). The post-hoc tests showed that time spent sitting in short relative to longer bouts (ilr3) was smaller for OWW than for NWW (p=0.05). This indicates that OWW had less variation in sitting behaviors. Conclusions: OWW spent less time at work sitting in short uninterrupted bouts, relative to sitting for longer bouts, than NWW, while the relative time-use did not differ for other behaviors.
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| 4. |
- Brusaca, Luiz Augusto, et al.
(författare)
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Working at the office or from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study of temporal patterns of sitting and non-sitting among normal-weight and overweight Brazilian office workers
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviors. - : Springer. - 2731-4391. ; 2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: This study documents and compares temporal patterns of physical behaviours, assessed using accelerometry, on working and non-working days among normal-weight (body mass index [BMI] <25 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) office workers who were either working exclusively at the office (WAO) or exclusively from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, behaviours were measured over 7 days using a thigh-worn accelerometer in 43 workers WAO (21 normal-weight and 22 overweight) and 73 workers WFH (33 normal-weight and 40 overweight). 24-hour behaviours were completely described in terms of sitting in short (≤5 min), moderate (>5 and ≤30 min) and long bouts (>30 min), non-sitting in short (≤5 min) and long bouts (>5 min), and time-in-bed. These behaviour compositions were transformed into five isometric log-ratios (ilr) coordinates according to compositional data analysis procedures. Differences between workplace (WAO vs. WFH) and BMI groups (normal-weight vs. overweight) were tested using ANCOVA with adjustment for age and gender.Results: Compared to workers WAO, workers WFH spent more time-in-bed relative to time awake during working days, more time sitting relative to non-sitting, less time in short bouts of sitting relative to moderate and long bouts, less time in moderate bouts of sitting relative to long bouts, and more time non-sitting in short bouts relative to long bouts. Effect sizes [ηp2] were between 0.05 and 0.21 and p-values between <0.001 and 0.04. Irrespective of workplace, overweight workers spent less time sitting in short relative to moderate and long bouts (ηp2=0.06, p=0.01) than normal-weight workers, while differences in the other ilr coordinates were insignificant. During non-working days, behaviours did not differ significantly by workplace, while overweight workers spent more time sitting relative to non-sitting (ηp2=0.10, p<0.001), less time sitting in short relative to moderate and long bouts (ηp2=0.13, p<0.001), and less time sitting in moderate relative to long bouts (ηp2=0.04, p=0.03) than normal-weight workers. We found no interactions between workplace and BMI.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that WFH and being overweight predispose to more time sitting and less temporal variation in behaviours, thus reinforcing that these workers could likely benefit from interventions to reduce prolonged sitting time and increase variation.
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| 5. |
- Cillekens, Bart, et al.
(författare)
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O7-1 The association of occupational and leisure time physical activity with all-cause mortality. Using an individual participant dataset (N = 634,131)
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford Academic. - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 32:Suppl2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundPhysical activity is a key determinant for health and considered as an important factor in the prevention of lifestyle related-diseases. All physical activity domains are generally considered to be health enhancing. However, accumulating evidence in recent years suggests that occupational physical activity may not have the same beneficial health effect as leisure time physical activity. Our aim was to assess the association of occupational and leisure time physical activity and all-cause mortality.MethodsWe obtained individual participant data from published and unpublished cohort studies and assessed their risk of bias. We harmonized the data, and used Cox survival regression models to assess the association between occupational and leisure time physical activity with all-cause mortality, in a two-stage individual participant data meta-analysis. Different models were performed to assess the impact of relevant confounders including behavioral, health-related and socio-economic factors. Results of the data were reported with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).ResultsData from 22 prospective cohort studies showed that male workers with high occupational physical activity had an increased risk of all-cause mortality in comparison with sedentary occupational physical activity (HR: 1.12, 95%CI: 1.03- 1.23). For female workers, no such association was found (HR: 1.01, 95%CI: 0.85-1.19). when comparing high with sedentary occupational physical activity.Increasing levels of leisure time physical activity were inversely and dose-dependently associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality. For example, high compared with sedentary leisure time physical activity was associated with reduced risks for males (HR: 0.53, 95%CI: 0.36-0.79) and for females (HR: 0.49, 95%CI: 0.31-0.79).All associations remained robust when adjusting for additional relevant confounders, leaving one study out analysis, and when assessing the role of bias and reverse causality.ConclusionWe consistently found a reduced risk of all-cause mortality with increasing levels of leisure time physical activity, but not for occupational physical activity. These findings indicate that occupational activity may not be health-enhancing. These findings suggest that occupational physical activity may not be considered a suitable substitute to leisure time physical activity when striving for health enhancement.
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| 6. |
- Cillekins, Bart, et al.
(författare)
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O5-6 The relation between domain-specific physical behavior and cardiorespiratory fitness: a compositional data analysis on the physical activity health paradox using accelerometer-assessed data
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - : Oxford Academic. - 1101-1262 .- 1464-360X. ; 32:s2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundIn contrast to leisure time physical activity (LTPA), occupational physical activity (OPA) does not have similar beneficial health effects. These differential health effects, also known as the physical activity health paradox, might be explained by dissimilar effects of LTPA and OPA on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). This study aims to investigate the association between device-worn measures of physical behaviors during both work and leisure time and CRF among workers with high level of OPA.MethodsOur results are based on a sample of 309 workers employed within the service and production sector from the cross-sectional FEPA (Flemish Employees' Physical Activity) study. OPA and LTPA were measured using two Axivity AX3 accelerometers, worn on the back and right thigh for 2 to 4 consecutive working days. CRF levels were obtained by the Harvard step test. Compositional multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the relations, adjusted for age, sex, education, smoking, BMI, moderate-to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and physical work demands.ResultsDuring work time, more sedentary behavior (SB) was associated with higher CRF when compared relatively to time spent on other work behaviors, while more SB during leisure time was associated with lower CRF when compared to other leisure time behaviors. Reallocating more time to MVPA from the other behaviors within leisure time was positively associated with CRF, which was not the case for MVPA during work.ConclusionOur results emphasize the need for taking the domain-specific nature of physical activity into account to understand its relation to CRF. Guidelines usually do not differentiate between OPA and LTPA in their recommendation to participate in at least 150 min of physical activity per week, regardless of the OPA level. Workers already meeting this recommendations through OPA might therefore mistakenly think that they already meet the recommendations on physical activity and think they can spend their leisure time in a sedentary fashion. In reality, these types of workers might benefit from recommendations to take more sitting breaks during their work and to participate in leisure time MVPA to maintain or improve their CRF in order ‘to be fit for the job'.
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| 7. |
- Crowley, Patrick, et al.
(författare)
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A Novel System for the Device-Based Measurement of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep (Motus): Usability Evaluation
- 2023
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Ingår i: JMIR Formative Research. - : JMIR Publications. - 2561-326X. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Device-based measurements of physical behavior, using the current methods, place a large burden on participants. The Motus system could reduce this burden by removing the necessity for in-person meetings, replacing diaries written on paper with digital diaries, and increasing the automation of feedback generation.Objective: This study aims to describe the development of the Motus system and evaluate its potential to reduce participant burden in a two-phase usability evaluation.Methods: Motus was developed around (1) a thigh-worn accelerometer with Bluetooth data transfer; (2) a smartphone app containing an attachment guide, a digital diary, and facilitating automated data transfer; (3) a cloud infrastructure for data storage; (4) an analysis software to generate feedback for participants; and (5) a web-based app for administrators. We recruited 19 adults with a mean age of 45 (SD 11; range 27-63) years, of which 11 were female, to assist in the two-phase evaluation of Motus. A total of 7 participants evaluated the usability of mockups for a smartphone app in phase 1. Participants interacted with the app while thinking aloud, and any issues raised were classified as critical, serious, or minor by observers. This information was used to create an improved and functional smartphone app for evaluation in phase 2. A total of 12 participants completed a 7-day free-living measurement with Motus in phase 2. On day 1, participants attempted 20 system-related tasks under observation, including registration on the study web page, reading the information letter, downloading and navigating the smartphone app, attaching an accelerometer on the thigh, and completing a diary entry for both work and sleep hours. Task completion success and any issues encountered were noted by the observer. On completion of the 7-day measurement, participants provided a rating from 0 to 100 on the System Usability Scale and participated in a semistructured interview aimed at understanding their experience in more detail.Results: The task completion rate for the 20 tasks was 100% for 13 tasks, >80% for 4 tasks, and <50% for 3 tasks. The average rating of system usability was 86 on a 0-100 scale. Thematic analysis indicated that participants perceived the system as easy to use and remember, and subjectively pleasing overall. Participants with shift work reported difficulty with entering sleep hours, and 66% (8/12) of the participants experienced slow data transfer between the app and the cloud infrastructure. Finally, a few participants desired a greater degree of detail in the generated feedback.Conclusions: Our two-phase usability evaluation indicated that the overall usability of the Motus system is high in free-living. Issues around the system’s slow data transfer, participants with atypical work shifts, and the degree of automation and detail of generated feedback should be addressed in future iterations of the Motus system.
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| 8. |
- Crowley, Patrick, et al.
(författare)
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The Surveillance of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep : Protocol for the Development and Feasibility Evaluation of a Novel Measurement System
- 2022
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Ingår i: JMIR Research Protocols. - : JMIR Publications Inc.. - 1929-0748. ; 11:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is increasing recognition of the need for more comprehensive surveillance data, including information on physical activity of all intensities, sedentary behavior, and sleep. However, meeting this need poses significant challenges for current surveillance systems, which are mainly reliant on self-report.Objective: The primary objective of this project is to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a sensor-based system for use in the surveillance of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep (SurPASS) at a national level in Denmark.Methods: The SurPASS project involves an international, multidisciplinary team of researchers collaborating with an industrial partner. The SurPASS system consists of (1) a thigh-worn accelerometer with Bluetooth connectivity, (2) a smartphone app, (3) an integrated back end, facilitating the automated upload, analysis, storage, and provision of individualized feedback in a manner compliant with European Union regulations on data privacy, and (4) an administrator web interface (web application) to monitor progress. The system development and evaluation will be performed in 3 phases. These phases will include gathering user input and specifications (phase 1), the iterative development, evaluation, and refinement of the system (phase 2), and the feasibility evaluation (phase 3).Results: The project started in September 2020 and completed phase 2 in February 2022. Phase 3 began in March 2022 and results will be made available in 2023.Conclusions: If feasible, the SurPASS system could be a catalyst toward large-scale, sensor-based surveillance of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep. It could also be adapted for cohort and interventional research, thus contributing to the generation of evidence for both interventions and public health policies and recommendations.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/35697
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| 9. |
- Dutta, Tanmoy, 1998, et al.
(författare)
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Prolonged Inflammation and Infectious Changes in the Corneal Epithelium Are Associated with Persistent Epithelial Defect (PED)
- 2023
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Ingår i: Pathogens. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-0817. ; 12:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Failure of rapid re-epithelialization within 10-14 days after corneal injury, even with standard supportive treatment, is referred to as persistent corneal epithelial (CE) defect (PED). Though an array of genes regulates reepithelization, their mechanisms are poorly understood. We sought to understand the network of genes driving the re-epithelialization in PED. Method: After obtaining informed consent, patients underwent an ophthalmic examination. Epithelial scrapes and tears samples of six PED patients and six individuals (control) undergoing photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) were collected. RNA isolation and quantification were performed using either the epithelial scrape taken from PED patients or from HCLE cells treated with control tears or tears of PED patients. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression of a few important genes in CE homeostasis, inflammation, and cell-cell communication, viz., Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4), GPX4, IL6, TNF alpha, STING, IL8, desmoglein, and E-cadherin, among others. Their expressions were normalized with their respective housekeeping genes and fold changes were recorded. KLF4 localization and MMPs activity was carried out via immunofluorescence and zymography, respectively. Results: KLF4, a transcription factor important for CE homeostasis, was upregulated in tears-treated HCLE cells and downregulated in PED patients compared to the healthy PRK group. Cell-cell communication genes were also upregulated in tears-treated cells, whereas they were downregulated in the PED tissue group. Genes involved in proinflammation (IL6, 282-fold; TNF alpha, 43-fold; IL8, 4.2-fold) were highly upregulated in both conditions. MMP9 activity increased upon tears treatment. Conclusions: This study suggests that tears create an acute proinflammatory milieu driving the PED disease pathology, whereas the PED patients scrapes are an indicator of the chronic stage of the disease. Interferons, pro-inflammatory genes, and their pathways are involved in PED, which can be a potential target for inducing epithelialization of the cornea.
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| 10. |
- Gupta, Nidhi, et al.
(författare)
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A comparison of standard and compositional data analysis in studies addressing group differences in sedentary behavior and physical activity
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1479-5868. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background. Data on time spent in physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep during a day is compositional in nature, i.e. they add up to a constant value, typically 100% time. Compositional data have fundamentally different properties from unconstrained data in real space, and require other processing and analysis procedures, referred to as compositional data analysis (CoDA). Most physical activity and sedentary behavior studies, however, still apply analytical procedures adapted to data in real space, which can lead to misleading results. The present study describes a comparison of time spent sedentary and in physical activity between age groups and sexes, and investigates the extent to which results obtained by CoDA differ from those obtained using standard analytical procedures.Methods. Time spent sedentary, standing, and in physical activity (walking/running/stair climbing/cycling) during work and leisure was determined for 1-4 days among 677 blue-collar workers using accelerometry. Differences between sexes and age groups were tested using MANOVA, using both a standard approach and a CoDA approach based on isometric log-ratio transformed data. Results. When determining differences between sexes in time used for different activities at work, the effect size using standard analysis (η2=0.045, p<0.001) was 15% smaller than that obtained with CoDA (η2=0.052, p<0.001), although both approaches suggested a statistically significant difference. When determining corresponding differences between age groups, CoDA resulted in a 60% larger, and significant, effect size (η2=0.012, p=0.02) than that obtained with the standard approach (η2=0.008, p=0.07). During leisure, results with standard (age; η2=0.007, p=0.09; sex; η2=0.052, p<0.001) and CoDA (age; η2=0.007, p=0.09; sex; η2=0.051, p<0.001) analyses were similar.Conclusion. Results and, hence, inferences concerning differences by age and sex in time spent sedentary and in physical activity at work differed between CoDA and standard analysis. We encourage researchers to use CoDA in similar studies, in order to adequately account for the compositional nature of data on physical activity and sedentary behavior
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