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Objective: This longitudinal cross-sectional study was designed to give a picture of the Northeast Tennessee rural health care providers’ information needs. Methods: The population of this study was the health care providers in Northeast Tennessee outside the TriCities urban area. It is in the 15-county service area of the East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine Library’s outreach and includes no one from a community larger than 25,000. The names of physicians were gathered from the Tennessee State Licensing Verification Database and personal knowledge of the librarians. The surveys were administered to registered nurses (RNs) from a list from the Tennessee Center for Nursing. A P=0.05 was obtained. The questionnaires were sent out by mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope. A cutoff date was set for 2 weeks for the return of the surveys. Surveys that came in after the cutoff date were accepted up to 1 month. A cover letter was included to explain the purpose of the survey. The data were analyzed in terms of central tendencies and dispersions of distributions. The data are displayed in the report by means of frequencies and percentages. Results: This study compared rural information needs and practices in the same geographic area twelve years apart. This has given valuable information as to how the information needs and practices of this group have changed. This study will enable the librarians to change their outreach strategies to reflect the new reality. Conclusions: Our purposes as medical librarians do not change. However, the environment of our service changes constantly. Longitudinal cross-sectional studies give the opportunity to obtain “snapshots” of a service environment to see how they change over time

Using the concept of bone functional adaptation, this study analyzes femoral and humeral cross-sectional properties of human skeletal materials from Morton Shell Mound on the Louisiana coast. This work helps fill a gap in such analyses in the southern U.S. and contributes to an understanding of the functional adaptation of the human skeleton. Properties were compared to those of other prehistoric Southeastern fisher-hunter-gatherers from Gold Mine, Plash Island, and several Georgia coast sites to assess mobility and activity patterns among inland and coastal groups. Less sexual dimorphism of femoral midshaft shape among coastal Morton and Plash, compared to inland Gold Mine, indicates lower terrestrial logistic mobility. Greater robusticity (not significant) in coastal samples is linked to an expanded subpersiosteum, rather than terrestrial logistic mobility. Both coastal and inland samples exhibit round humeral shape, typical of fisher-hunter-gatherers.

It is estimated that up to 85% of premenopausal women experience at least one premenstrual symptom and 15-20% meet clinical criteria for premenstrual syndrome (PMS). PMS has a high morbidity level and reduces the quality of life for many women of reproductive age, with pharmaceutical treatments having limited efficacy and substantial side effects. Physical activity has been recommended as a method of reducing menstrual symptom severity. However, little evidence exists to support a clear relationship between physical activity and PMS. Using a cross-sectional design, we evaluated the relationship between physical activity and PMS and menstrual symptoms among 186 women aged 18-30 who participated in the University of Massachusetts Vitamin D Study. PMS and menstrual symptoms were assessed with a modified version of the Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences. A total of 44 women met established criteria for PMS, while 46 met criteria for controls. Physical activity was assessed using a validated questionnaire and calculated as metabolic equivalent task-hours (METs) per week. Diet and other lifestyle factors were assessed by questionnaire. After adjusting for age and depression diagnosis, we found that each 10 MET-hour/week increase in physical activity was associated with a non-significant 3% increase in prevalence of PMS (95% CI: 0.94-1.14). After adjusting for BMI and percent body fat, results were similar (OR=1.02, 95% CI: 0.93-1.13). We found no evidence that physical activity was associated with the occurrence of specific menstrual symptoms among all 186 women. Results do not support a significant relationship between physical activity and prevalent PMS.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第24541号 / 人健博第112号 / 新制||人健||8(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 黒木 裕士, 教授 青山 朋樹, 教授 松田 秀一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

Design: A single-blinded, cross-sectional observational study. Objectives: Examine muscle cross-sectional area and symmetry of the lumbar multifidus muscle in elite ballroom dancers with and without low back pain (LBP). Background: The incidence of LBP among elite ballroom dancers is high and at Brigham Young University is 57%. Previous research has linked lumbar multifidus muscle atrophy to low back pain; however this relationship has not been examined in ballroom dancers. Methods and Measures: Lumbar multifidus cross-sectional area was assessed at rest on the right and left side at levels L1-L5. Thirty-seven subjects (age 24 ± 3.2 years; height, 172.8 ± 11.3 cm; mass, 54.6 ± 4.5 kg) were divided into one of three groups. Participants who reported LBP severe enough to interfere with dance training and daily living were allocated to the LBP group (reported pain at rest, during dance, and following dance) (n=15). Subjects who reported LBP that was not strong enough to interfere with training and daily living were allocated to the minimal pain group (reported pain during dance and following dance) (n= 6). And those who reported no back pain were put into the no pain group (n=16). Results: There were no significant difference in demographics between the groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference between groups in multifidus cross-sectional area (P = .437). Asymmetry was found in all groups with the left side being larger than the right (P < .002). Conclusion: This study provides new information on lumbar multifidus cross-sectional area in elite ballroom dancers. Future research needs to examine other causes of LBP in elite ballroom dancers in an attempt to decrease LBP in these athletes.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between hip bone mineral density (BMD), fat free mass (FFM), fat mass (FM), and total body mass (TBM) and the extent to which these relationships were modified by various confounding factors. The cross-sectional analysis included 262 healthy females (mean age 41.6±3.0 years). Methods: BMD of the hip and body composition were assessed by the Hologic 4500W dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) system. Total and intensity of physical activity (PA) were objectively measured using an Actigraph accelerometer. Dietary calcium and vitamin D from food and beverages, as well as from supplements, were measured separately using the Block food frequency questionnaire. Menopause status and prescription bone drug use were measured by a questionnaire. Results: The relationship between FFM and hip BMD was strong and robust (F=24.5, P<0.0001). Using the pooled standard deviation revealed a large effect size of 1.2 when comparing hip BMD of women with low FFM and high FFM. Potentially confounding variables, considered individually and collectively, did not change this relationship. The association between FM and hip BMD was also substantial (F=9.9, P<0.0001) and remained significant when controlling for all potentially confounding variables, except differences in FFM. The relationship between TBM and hip BMD was also strong and dose-response (F=21.5, P<0.0001) and remained significant, except when differences in FFM were controlled. Conclusion: The relationships between body mass (total, fat, and fat free) and BMD of the hip in middle-age women are strong and significant. The associations are not influenced by differences in age, height, menopause status, calcium or vitamin D intake, volume or intensity of PA, or the use of bone enhancing prescription drugs. The findings suggest that women with low body mass, particularly low FFM, tend to have low hip BMD and there is little that can be done to change this association.

Femoral and tibial diaphyseal geometry has frequently been used to evaluate mobility and other patterns of physical activity in past populations. The high antero-posterior (A-P) to medio-lateral (M-L) bending rigidity ratio (IX/IY) typical of many hunter-gatherer femora, for instance, may reflect mechanical loads associated with long distance travel. The possible confounding effect of physical terrain on lower limb diaphyseal morphology is rarely evaluated. This study investigated the possible effect of terrain on lower limb shape ratios (IX/IY) and bending and torsional strength (ZP) in adult skeletons from Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia, covering a time span from around 30,000 BP to the present. Midshaft femoral and tibial cross-sectional geometric properties for 3515 individuals were gathered from databases kindly provided by researchers. Geographic coordinates were found for each archaeological site. Local terrain for each site was quantified with ArcGIS 10 mapping software using USGS elevation data, and characterized as flat, hilly, or mountainous. Analysis of variance shows significant differences (pP) of both femoral and tibial midshaft among the three terrain categories, with more A-P oriented diaphyseal shapes and greater strength in hilly and mountainous groups, even after correcting for the effect of subsistence on these cross-sectional properties. These results suggest that terrain needs to be taken into account in analyses of lower limb diaphyseal structure and mobility. Latitude and coastal proximity were also investigated as possible biogeographic factors in the morphology of lower limb diaphyses.