1.Facilitators and barriers to achieving dietary and physical activity goals : focus group interviews with city bus drivers and counseling dietitians
Yongmin JO ; Suhyeun CHO ; Young-Hee HAN ; Taisun HYUN
Korean Journal of Community Nutrition 2023;28(5):376-391
Objectives:
Our previously published study showed that a workplace nutrition intervention program with personalized goal setting and smartphone-based nutrition counseling improved dietary habits and physical activity in city bus drivers who were overweight/obese. This study explored the facilitators and barriers that participants faced in achieving their dietary and physical activity goals six months after the intervention.
Methods:
The study included bus drivers and dietitians who participated in the intervention program. Three focus group interviews were conducted with 10 bus drivers (divided by two groups based on their achievement of set goals) and five dietitians who had provided nutrition counseling.
Results:
Willpower was the most important intrapersonal facilitator for drivers to achieve their goals. Other factors that promoted behavioral changes were nutrition counseling by dietitians, trackable physical activity using smartwatches, and setting of practical and achievable goals. Meanwhile, the most important barriers identified were occupational factors such as long driving hours, short breaks, and shift work. Other barriers were environmental factors such as availability of snackable food, accessibility to convenience stores, and cold weather. Family and colleagues were perceived as both facilitators and barriers. In addition, dietitians identified a lack of knowledge about healthy diet as one of the barriers.
Conclusions
Our results suggested that the workplace environment should be improved and that nutrition intervention programs at the workplace could encourage bus drivers to practice healthy eating habits. The facilitators and barriers identified in this study should be considered when planning a nutrition intervention program for bus drivers.
2.In vivo Imaging Biodistribution Profile of a New Macrocyclic Gadolinium Chelate as a Highly Stable Multifunctional MRI Contrast Agent
Bo Kyung SUNG ; Yeong Woo JO ; Yongmin CHANG
Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging 2019;23(1):34-37
Gadolinium contrast agents (CAs) are integral components of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, safety concerns have arisen regarding the use of gadolinium CAs, due to their association with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF). Furthermore, recently the long-term retention of Gd²⁺-based CAs in brains patients with normal renal function raised another possible safety issue. The safety concerns of Gd²⁺-based CAs have been based on the ligand structure of Gd²⁺-based CAs, and findings that Gd²⁺-based CAs with linear ligand structures showed much higher incidences of NSF and brain retention of CAs than Gd²⁺-based CAs with macrocyclic ligand structure. In the current study, we report the in vivo biodistribution profile of a new highly stable multifunctional Gd²⁺-based CA, with macrocyclic ligand structure (HNP-2006). MR imaging using HNP-2006 demonstrated a significant contrast enhancement in many different organs. Furthermore, the contrast enhanced tumor imaging using HNP-2006 confirmed that this new macrocyclic CA can be used for detecting tumor in the central nervous system. Therefore, this new multifunctional HNP-2006 with macrocyclic ligand structure shows great promise for whole-body clinical application.
Brain
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Central Nervous System
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Contrast Media
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Gadolinium
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Humans
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Incidence
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Nephrogenic Fibrosing Dermopathy