Thesis (MA)--University of Montana, 2010. / Contents viewed on July 18, 2010. Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)-- Springfield College, 2006. / Bibliography: leaves 127-140.

The purpose of this study was to explore student athletes' weight-control behaviors. Data consisted of student athletes' responses to a modified version of the Michigan State Weight-Control Survey (Dummer, Rosen, Heusner, Roberts, & Counsilman, 1987). Specifically, the study was designed to explore the following research hypotheses: 1. There is no significant relationship between the weight-control behaviors of athletes competing in sports with weight restrictions (e.g., wrestling) and sports without weight restrictions (e.g., tennis). 2. There is no significant relationship between the weight-control behaviors of athletes competing in sports with subjective judging (e.g., diving) and sports with objective scoring (e.g., swimming). 3. There is no significant relationship between the weight-control behaviors of male athletes and female athletes. The sample was drawn from intact athletic teams at the university under study. All members of the selected teams were invited to participate. The results of this research contributed to both practice and research. Athletic department staff and coaches, student affairs practitioners, and health care practitioners were made more aware of weight-control issues for athletes and might design programs and services to address the issue. The study also lays the groundwork for future research. Scholars may wish to examine other elements of sport (e.g., level of competition, seasonal demands) and their effects on the weight-control behaviors of athletes. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between weight-control behaviors and the type of weight restrictions (weight restricted versus non-weight restricted) a sport places on athletes (p < .05). There is also a significant relationship between the sex of athletes and the weight-control behavior that they engage in (P < .05). The relationship between the weight-control behaviors and the type of judging (subjective versus objective scoring) involved in the sport was also examined. Though the relationship was not significant at the p = .05 level, it was significant at the p = .1 level. The results of this research addressed an existing gap in the current body of knowledge. There is very little research about weight-control behaviors of athletes in specific groups of sports. Better understanding the demands that different types of sports place on athletes may enable future scholars and practitioners to better serve the population. / Master of Arts

Wong Pui On Raymond. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-120). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Contents --- p.i / Abstract --- p.vi / Statement of originality --- p.xii / Acknowledgments --- p.xiii / List of figures and tables --- p.xiv / Abbreviations --- p.xvii / Publications --- p.xx / Text / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction and Objectives --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Neonatal Sepsis --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2 --- Markers of Infection --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2-1 --- Clinical markers for sepsis --- p.4 / Chapter 1.2-2 --- Cytokines as markers of sepsis --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2-3 --- Cell surface receptors as markers of sepsis --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3 --- The immune system in response to pathogen challenge --- p.10 / Chapter 1.3-1 --- Source of cytokines --- p.11 / Chapter 1.4 --- General outline of cytokines implicated in sepsis --- p.12 / Chapter 1.4-1 --- IL-2 --- p.13 / Chapter 1.4-2 --- IL-4 --- p.15 / Chapter 1.4-3 --- IL-5 --- p.16 / Chapter 1.4-4 --- IL-6 --- p.17 / Chapter 1.4-5 --- IL-10 --- p.18 / Chapter 1.4-6 --- IFN-γ --- p.19 / Chapter 1.4-7 --- TNF-α --- p.21 / Chapter 1.5 --- General outline of cell surface receptors implicated in sepsis --- p.23 / Chapter 1.5-1 --- CDllb --- p.23 / Chapter 1.5-2 --- CD64 --- p.24 / Chapter 1.5-3 --- CD45RO --- p.25 / Chapter 1.5-4 --- CD25 --- p.26 / Chapter 1.6 --- Aims of study --- p.27 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Materials and methods --- p.31 / Chapter 2.1 --- Patients inclusion criteria and classification --- p.32 / Chapter 2.2 --- Sample collection and sepsis screening --- p.33 / Chapter 2.3 --- Quantitation of cell surface antigens --- p.35 / Chapter 2.3-1 --- Cell acquisition and calculation --- p.37 / Chapter 2.4 --- Quantitation of plasma cytokines --- p.38 / Chapter 2.4-1 --- Cytometric Beads Array assay --- p.40 / Chapter 2.5 --- Statistical Analysis --- p.41 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- "Cell surface and plasma cytokine markers for the diagnosis of late-onset sepsis in preterm, very low birthweight (VLBW) infants" --- p.51 / Chapter 3.1 --- Results --- p.52 / Chapter 3.1-1 --- Lymphocyte markers: CD25 and CD45RO --- p.52 / Chapter 3.1-2 --- Neutrophil markers --- p.53 / Chapter 3.1-2a --- CD64 --- p.54 / Chapter 3.1-2b --- CDllb --- p.55 / Chapter 3.1-3 --- Purified CDllb --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1-4 --- Comparison of cell surface markers --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1-5 --- Interluekin 6 (IL-6) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) --- p.57 / Chapter 3.2 --- Combined analysis of diagnostic markers --- p.58 / Chapter 3.3 --- Discussion --- p.58 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine response in preterm very low birthweight infants (VLBW) with systemic infections --- p.82 / Chapter 4.1 --- Results --- p.83 / Chapter 4.1-1 --- Correlation of cytokine levels in infected patients --- p.84 / Chapter 4.2 --- Subgroup analysis --- p.85 / Chapter 4.2-1 --- Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine ratios --- p.85 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- The deceased case --- p.86 / Chapter 4.3 --- Discussion --- p.87 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- General Discussion and Conclusions --- p.97 / Chapter 5.1 --- General Discussion --- p.98 / Chapter 5.1-1 --- Cell surface markers --- p.98 / Chapter 5.1-2 --- Infection markers with prognostic significance --- p.100 / Chapter 5.1-3 --- Limitations of infection markers in clinical applications --- p.100 / Chapter 5.2 --- Conclusions and future development --- p.102 / Chapter 5.2-1 --- Conclusions --- p.102 / Chapter 5.2-2 --- The future development --- p.102 / References --- p.105

Men and women have similar rates of obesity but the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher among men. Men who are overweight are a high-risk group for many obesity-related chronic diseases, as they are more likely to carry excess weight in the abdomen, which is generally more harmful than weight stored in the lower body. Men are also less likely than women to perceive themselves as overweight, and thus are less likely to initiate weight loss through organized weight loss programs. On average, less than 27% of weight loss trial participants have been men. Internet-based research is a low-cost, efficient way to produce novel hypotheses related to weight loss that may have previously escaped weight loss professionals. Additionally, incentives are an effective tool to motivate behavior change, and there is ample evidence to support the use of incentives to encourage many health-promoting behaviors, such as weight loss. The purpose our initial study was to facilitate intervention development by using crowdsourcing to detect unexpected beliefs and unpredicted barriers to male weight loss. The aim of our main study was to evaluate the impact of financial incentives to facilitate weight loss in men, delivered as part of a weight loss intervention. Two separate studies were conducted. In the first project, participants were recruited to a crowdsourcing survey website which was used to generate hypotheses for behaviors related to overweight and obesity in men. Participants provided 21,846 responses to 193 questions. While several common themes seen in prior research were revealed such as previous health diagnoses and physical activity participation, other potential weight determinants such as dietary habits, sexual behaviors and self-perception were reported. Crowdsourcing in this context provides a mechanism to further investigate perceptions of weight and weight loss interventions in the male population that have not previously been documented. These insights will help guide future intervention design. For the main project, a randomized trial compared the Gutbusters weight loss program (based on the REFIT program) alone with Gutbusters with escalating incentives for successful weight loss. The six-month intervention was conducted online with weekly in-person weight collections for the first 12 weeks. Gutbusters encouraged participants to make six 100-calorie changes to their daily diet, utilizing a variety of online lessons targeting specific eating behaviors. Measures included demographic information, height, weight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage. Participants (N=102, 47. 0± 12. 3 yrs old, 32. 5 kg/m2, 80. 4% with at least two years of college) were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to Gutbusters or Gutbusters+Incentive. Significantly more Gutbusters+Incentive participants lost at least 5% of their baseline weight compared to the Gutbusters group at both 12 and 24 weeks. Similar to the aforementioned REFIT program, Gutbusters participants were able to achieve clinically significant weight loss. The Gutbusters+Incentive achieved greater rates of weight loss than the Gutbusters alone group, further supporting the value of incentives in promoting health behaviors.

Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-65). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2008. / Description based on contents viewed Feb. 11, 2009; title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-36).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-70).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Oct. 10, 2007). PDF text: viii, 178 p. UMI publication number: AAT 3258407. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.