Weight Reduction Interventions Using Digital Health for Employees with Obesity: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically review the literature on randomized controlled trials on weight reduction interventions using digital health for employees with obesity. Methods: All relevant articles published until September 2021 were systematically identified from six electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, RISS, and KISS. Data selection and extraction were independently performed by three researchers. Methodological quality was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials. The results were narratively synthesized. Results: Eleven studies were included in the systematic review. All studies had a low risk of bias. The settings and sample sizes of the included studies were different. The contents of the interventions included nutrition, physical activity, behavioral change, incentives, and motivation. Four studies were based on social cognitive theory. A total of ten studies delivered web-based intervention, while the other used tele-monitoring device. A wide range of intervention strategies was used including providing online resources, tele-counseling, and patient-tailored advice. As a result of the intervention, a total of seven studies showed a significant weight reduction in both the intervention and comparison groups, with significant differences between groups. Conclusion: Until now, use of digital health in weight reduction interventions for employees with obesity has been conducted on a web-based. Various contents such as nutrition, physical activity and theories were explored. Further study is required using more diverse delivery methods such as mobile application, use of wearable devices.

Demographic and Clinical Factors Associated With Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Levels After 2 BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine Doses.

Importance: The factors associated with long-term serum levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after COVID-19 vaccination in healthy individuals have rarely been investigated. Objective: To investigate factors associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cohort study included health care workers at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital (Daegu, Korea) with no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection who received 2 doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech; first dose, March 17-20, 2021; second dose, April 7-10, 2021). Serum samples were collected at 2, 4, and 6 months after the second injection. Interventions: SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Main Outcomes and Measures: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits up to 6 months after the receipt of 2 doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The main outcome was factors associated with anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels at 6 months. Results: All 50 participants (mean [SD] age, 34.7 [9.4] years; 10 [20.0%] male; mean [SD] body mass index, 21.8 [5.4]) acquired anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and maintained positive antibody (cutoff ≥30%) up to 6 months. The mean serum antibody level decreased with time (91.9%, 89.3%, and 81.5% at 2, 4, and 6 months, respectively). Serum antibody levels at 6 months were correlated with antibody levels at 2 months (R = 0.944; P < .001). The anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody level was inversely correlated with weight, body mass index, body fat amount, and body weight to height ratio in Spearman correlation analysis. A 1-SD increase in body weight, weight to height ratio, and body mass index was associated with a 4%- to 5%-decrease in anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in multiple linear regression analysis for women. In multivariate analysis for categorized variables, lower serum level of antibody (ie, <81.5%) was associated with weight (weight ≥55 kg: odds ratio, 9.01; 95% CI, 1.44-56.40). The probabilities of less than 70% and less than 80% antibody at 6 months were 0% and 11% in participants weighing less than 55 kg, respectively, but 16% and 42% in participants weighing 55 kg or greater. Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, the inverse correlation of anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels with weight was sustained up to 6 months after vaccination. A booster shot of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination may be given later than 6 months after the second dose in young and middle-aged healthy persons with low body weight.

Dopamine D2 receptor-mediated circuit from the central amygdala to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis regulates impulsive behavior.

Impulsivity is closely associated with addictive disorders, and changes in the brain dopamine system have been proposed to affect impulse control in reward-related behaviors. However, the central neural pathways through which the dopamine system controls impulsive behavior are still unclear. We found that the absence of the D2 dopamine receptor (D2R) increased impulsive behavior in mice, whereas restoration of D2R expression specifically in the central amygdala (CeA) of D2R knockout mice (Drd2-/-) normalized their enhanced impulsivity. Inhibitory synaptic output from D2R-expressing neurons in the CeA underlies modulation of impulsive behavior because optogenetic activation of D2R-positive inhibitory neurons that project from the CeA to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) attenuate such behavior. Our identification of the key contribution of D2R-expressing neurons in the CeA → BNST circuit to the control of impulsive behavior reveals a pathway that could serve as a target for approaches to the management of neuropsychiatric disorders associated with impulsivity.

Temperature variable luminescence and color tuning of Eu2+/Mn2+-codoped strontium magnesium phosphates as promising red-emitting phosphors for light emitting diodes.

Eu(2+) and Mn(2+) codoped violet-/red-emitting strontium magnesium phosphates, SrMgP2O7, SrMg2P2O8 and Sr2Mg3P4O15, were prepared and their emission properties, especially for color tuning with temperature variable luminescence, were investigated. Simply by changing the host composition of the SrO-MgO-P2O5 ternary system, we can control the Eu(2+)-sensitized Mn(2+) emission efficiency as well as the thermal quenching of incorporated activators. We can realize that the overall luminescence behavior is induced by the Mn(2+) center positioned at different coordination states with intermixed Sr(2+)/Mg(2+) sites in various hosts, which resulted in widely tunable colors from violet-red through orange-red to pure red. Finally, bright and stable reddish color illuminated light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be obtained by combining the proposed phosphates with ultraviolet LEDs, demonstrating the potential red-emitting phosphors for ultraviolet-pumped phosphor converted white-LEDs.