Search

BACKGROUND An expanding body of research documents the benefits of physical activity for cancer survivors' physical functioning and quality of life, but few successful models provide community-based physical activity programs to cancer survivors. This report presents an evaluation of Active Living After Cancer, an evidence-based physical activity program for breast cancer survivors, adapted for community delivery to minority and medically underserved survivors. METHODS Survivors were recruited from health care and community settings. The program consisted of 12 weekly group sessions providing training in cognitive and behavioral skills for behavior change, brief physical activity, and cancer survivorship-related content. At the baseline and follow-up, participants completed assessments of their physical activity, quality of life, and physical functioning (6-minute walk and 30-second sit-to-stand test). At follow-up, they also completed questionnaires to measure program content mastery and satisfaction. RESULTS The outcome analysis included 127 participants. Physical activity and quality of life (mental and physical) improved from the baseline to follow-up (all P < .01). Physical functioning improved, with increases in sit-to-stand repetitions (mean, 12.5 at the baseline vs 14.9 at the follow-up; P < .01) and 6-minute walk distances (mean, 428 m at the baseline vs 470 m at the follow-up; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS The results highlight the effectiveness of an evidence-based program adapted for community-based delivery to minority and medically underserved breast cancer survivors. The program could be delivered to improve outcomes in diverse survivor populations. LAY SUMMARY Physical activity in breast cancer survivors is related to better quality of life and longer cancer-free survival. However, there are few community-based programs to help breast cancer survivors to become more physically active. The Active Living After Cancer program was adapted from an evidence-based program and delivered in community-based settings to minority and medically underserved breast cancer survivors. It consisted of 12 weekly group sessions in which participants learned skills to increase their physical activity. The program participants increased their physical activity and improved their mental and physical well-being and physical functioning.

Full-waveform inversion (FWI) is today a standard process for the inverse problem of seismic imaging. PDE-constrained optimization is used to determine unknown parameters in a wave equation that represent geophysical properties. The objective function measures the misfit between the observed data and the calculated synthetic data, and it has traditionally been the least-squares norm. In a sequence of papers, we introduced the Wasserstein metric from optimal transport as an alternative misfit function for mitigating the so-called cycle skipping, which is the trapping of the optimization process in local minima. In this paper, we first give a sharper theorem regarding the convexity of the Wasserstein metric as the objective function. We then focus on two new issues. One is the necessary normalization of turning seismic signals into probability measures such that the theory of optimal transport applies. The other, which is beyond cycle skipping, is the inversion for parameters below reflecting interfaces. For the first, we propose a class of normalizations and prove several favorable properties for this class. For the latter, we demonstrate that FWI using optimal transport can recover geophysical properties from domains where no seismic waves travel through. We finally illustrate these properties by the realistic application of imaging salt inclusions, which has been a significant challenge in exploration geophysics.

Greater physical activity is associated with a decrease in risk of colorectal cancer for the general population; however, little is known about its relationship with colorectal cancer risk in people with Lynch syndrome, carriers of inherited pathogenic mutations in genes affecting DNA mismatch repair (MMR). We studied a cohort of 2,042 MMR gene mutations carriers (n = 807, diagnosed with colorectal cancer), from the Colon Cancer Family Registry. Self-reported physical activity in three age-periods (20-29, 30-49 and ≥50 years) was summarized as average metabolic equivalent of task hours per week (MET-hr/week) during the age-period of cancer diagnosis or censoring (near-term exposure) and across all age-periods preceding cancer diagnosis or censoring (long-term exposure). Weighted Cox regression was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between physical activity and colorectal cancer risk. Near-term physical activity was associated with a small reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer (HR ≥35 vs.

Ultrathin devices are rapidly developing for skin-compatible medical applications and wearable electronics. Powering skin-interfaced electronics requires thin and lightweight energy storage devices, where solution-processing enables scalable fabrication. To attain such devices, a sequential deposition is employed to achieve all spray-coated symmetric microsupercapacitors (mu SCs) on ultrathin parylene C substrates, where both electrode and gel electrolyte are based on the cheap and abundant biopolymer, cellulose. The optimized spraying procedure allows an overall device thickness of approximate to 11 mu m to be obtained with a 40% active material volume fraction and a resulting volumetric capacitance of 7 F cm(-3). Long-term operation capability (90% of capacitance retention after 10(4) cycles) and mechanical robustness are achieved (1000 cycles, capacitance retention of 98%) under extreme bending (rolling) conditions. Finite element analysis is utilized to simulate stresses and strains in real-sized mu SCs under different bending conditions. Moreover, an organic electrochromic display is printed and powered with two serially connected mu-SCs as an example of a wearable, skin-integrated, fully organic electronic application. Funding Agencies|European Research Council (ERC) under the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation programEuropean Research Council (ERC) [949191]; city council of Brno, Czech Republic

PURPOSE Compared to their urban counterparts, US residents in rural settings face an increased risk of premature mortality and health problems that have been linked to insufficient physical activity (PA) levels. There is limited literature regarding urban-rural differences in adherence to national guidelines for all 3 PA-related behaviors. METHODS We investigated urban-rural differences in aerobic PA, leisure-time muscle strengthening PA, and leisure screen-time sedentary behavior in a combined data set of the 2011-2014 waves (N = 14,188) of the nationally representative National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey. FINDINGS We found no evidence of a difference between large urban and rural residents' aerobic PA levels. The typical number of weekly bouts of leisure-time muscle strengthening PA was 25% lower for rural residents (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.751, P < .001); this relationship was no longer statistically significant after controlling for potentially confounding covariates. In adjusted models, we found rural residents to engage in 6.6% less daily leisure screen-time sedentary behavior than their large urban counterparts (IRR = 0.934, P = .031). CONCLUSIONS Taken together with previous literature, these results suggest that rural residents may engage in comparable levels of total PA, but less leisure-time PA, than their urban counterparts.

Mounting evidence suggests that weight management and physical activity (PA) improve overall health and well being, and reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality among cancer survivors. Although many opportunities exist to include weight management and PA in routine cancer care, several barriers remain. This review summarizes key topics addressed in a recent National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine workshop entitled, "Incorporating Weight Management and Physical Activity Throughout the Cancer Care Continuum." Discussions related to body weight and PA among cancer survivors included: 1) current knowledge and gaps related to health outcomes; 2) effective intervention approaches; 3) addressing the needs of diverse populations of cancer survivors; 4) opportunities and challenges of workforce, care coordination, and technologies for program implementation; 5) models of care; and 6) program coverage. While more discoveries are still needed for the provision of optimal weight-management and PA programs for cancer survivors, obesity and inactivity currently jeopardize their overall health and quality of life. Actionable future directions are presented for research; practice and policy changes required to assure the availability of effective, affordable, and feasible weight management; and PA services for all cancer survivors as a part of their routine cancer care. CA Cancer J Clin 2018;68:64-89. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Objective Despite the benefits of physical activity, many cancer survivors do not adhere to clinically recommended levels. This qualitative study investigated factors of self-regulation contributing to survivor physical activity patterns. Methods Participants attended focus groups with prompts on exercise habits and self-regulation on the basis of social cognitive theory, self-determination theory, and self-regulation theory. Content analysis with a priori codes was conducted to identify emergent themes. Results Participants (n = 35) were predominately older (63.7 y ± 10.8), female (69%), white (71%), and breast cancer (60%) survivors, with 41% not meeting activity guidelines. Emergent themes included exercise goal development, selection, and attainment; exercise planning; and self-reward. Participants tended to develop values-based, general goals rather than action-based, measurable goals. Goal attainment success emerged as a facilitator of future goal performance; completing a current goal facilitated subsequent goal attainment, while failure hindered future goal completion. Rather than having deliberate intentions to schedule exercise, participants exercised if expedient in the context of normal daily activities. Food consumption emerged as a major mechanism for self-reward. Conclusions Our findings suggest that values-based goals, unplanned activity, influence from previous goal attempts, and self-reward were important factors related to self-regulation. Interventions designed to improve self-regulation may consider facilitating development of autonomous, value-based goals, assisting in development of strategies for future goals if current goals are not met, endorsing exercise as a scheduled activity, and introducing healthy self-reward alternatives.

BACKGROUND The current randomized trial examined the effects of a Tibetan yoga program (TYP) versus a stretching program (STP) and usual care (UC) on sleep and fatigue in women with breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS Women with stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM) I to III breast cancer who were undergoing chemotherapy were randomized to TYP (74 women), STP (68 women), or UC (85 women). Participants in the TYP and STP groups participated in 4 sessions during chemotherapy, followed by 3 booster sessions over the subsequent 6 months, and were encouraged to practice at home. Self-report measures of sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), fatigue (Brief Fatigue Inventory), and actigraphy were collected at baseline; 1 week after treatment; and at 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS There were no group differences noted in total sleep disturbances or fatigue levels over time. However, patients in the TYP group reported fewer daily disturbances 1 week after treatment compared with those in the STP (difference, -0.43; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], -0.82 to -0.04 [P = .03]) and UC (difference, -0.41; 95% CI, -0.77 to -0.05 [P = .02]) groups. Group differences at the other time points were maintained for TYP versus STP. Actigraphy data revealed greater minutes awake after sleep onset for patients in the STP group 1 week after treatment versus those in the TYP (difference, 15.36; 95% CI, 7.25-23.48 [P = .0003]) and UC (difference, 14.48; 95% CI, 7.09-21.87 [P = .0002]) groups. Patients in the TYP group who practiced at least 2 times a week during follow-up reported better Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and actigraphy outcomes at 3 months and 6 months after treatment compared with those who did not and better outcomes compared with those in the UC group. CONCLUSIONS Participating in TYP during chemotherapy resulted in modest short-term benefits in sleep quality, with long-term benefits emerging over time for those who practiced TYP at least 2 times a week. Cancer 2018;124:36-45. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

Precise manipulation of light-matter interactions has enabled a wide variety of approaches to create bright and vivid structural colors. Techniques utilizing photonic crystals, Fabry-Perot cavities, plasmonics, or high-refractive-index dielectric metasurfaces have been studied for applications ranging from optical coatings to reflective displays. However, complicated fabrication procedures for sub-wavelength nanostructures, limited active areas, and inherent absence of tunability of these approaches impede their further development toward flexible, large-scale, and switchable devices compatible with facile and cost-effective production. Here, a novel method is presented to generate structural color images based on monochromic conducting polymer films prepared on metallic surfaces via vapor phase polymerization and ultraviolet (UV) light patterning. Varying the UV dose enables synergistic control of both nanoscale film thickness and polymer permittivity, which generates controllable structural colors from violet to red. Together with grayscale photomasks this enables facile fabrication of high-resolution structural color images. Dynamic tuning of colored surfaces and images via electrochemical modulation of the polymer redox state is further demonstrated. The simple structure, facile fabrication, wide color gamut, and dynamic color tuning make this concept competitive for applications like multifunctional displays. Funding Agencies|Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF)Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research; Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationKnut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation; Swedish Research Council (VR)Swedish Research Council; Wenner-Gren Foundations; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009 00971]

Objective This study evaluated the effect of two home-based exercise interventions (one culturally adapted and one standard) on changes in social cognitive theory (SCT) variables, physical activity (PA), and sedentary time (ST), and determined the association between changes in SCT variables and changes in PA and ST in Hispanic breast cancer survivors. Method Project VIVA! was a 16-week randomized controlled pilot study to test the effectiveness and feasibility of a culturally adapted exercise intervention for Mexican American and Puerto Rican breast cancer survivors in Houston, Texas and San Juan, Puerto Rico, respectively. Women (N = 89) completed questionnaires on SCT variables, PA, and ST and were then randomized to a 16-week culturally adapted exercise program, a non-culturally adapted standard exercise intervention or a wait-list control group. Multiple regression models were used to determine associations between changes in SCT variables and changes in PA and ST. Results Participants were in their late 50s (58.5 ± 9.2 years) and obese (31.0 ± 6.5 kg/m2). Women reported doing roughly 34.5 min/day of PA and spending over 11 h/day in sedentary activities. Across groups, women reported significant increases in exercise self-efficacy and moderate-intensity, vigorous-intensity, and total PA from baseline to follow-up (p

Background A cancer diagnosis may provide a ‘teachable moment’ in cancer recovery. To better understand factors influencing lifestyle choices following diagnosis, we examined associations between time since diagnosis and symptom burden with recommended dietary (e.g., five or more fruit/vegetable servings/day), physical activity (e.g., >150 active min, 3–5 times/week), and smoking behaviors (i.e., eliminate tobacco use) in cancer survivors. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional survey data collected from breast (n = 528), colorectal (n = 106), and prostate (n = 419) cancer survivors following active treatment at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Four regression models were tested for behaviors of interest. Additionally, we assessed symptom burden as a potential moderator and/or mediator between time since diagnosis and behaviors. Results Respondents were mostly female (55%) and non-Hispanic White (68%) with a mean age of 62.8 ± 11.4 years and mean time since diagnosis of 4.6 ± 3.1 years. In regression models, greater time since diagnosis predicted lower fruit and vegetable consumption (B = −0.05, p = 0.02) and more cigarette smoking (B = 0.06, p = 0.105). Greater symptom burden was a significant negative predictor for physical activity (B = −0.08, p

A supercapacitor made from organic and nature-based materials, such as conductive polymers (PEDOT:PSS), nanocellulose, and an the organic dye molecule (alizarin), is demonstrated. The dye molecule, ...