Effectiveness of a Prebariatric Surgery Insurance‐required Weight Loss Regimen and Relation to Postsurgical Weight Loss

Most US insurance companies require patients to participate in a medically supervised weight loss regimen prior to bariatric surgery. However, the utility of this requirement has not been documented. Data was collected from 94 bariatric surgery patients who were required, and 59 patients who were not required, by their insurance company to participate in a presurgical weight loss regimen. Weight change in the required group, as well as group differences in weight change, was examined from 3 and 6 months presurgery to 1 week presurgery, and from 1 week presurgery to 3 months postsurgery. Weight change presurgery was then used to predict weight loss postsurgery. In the 6 months prior to surgery, required patients gained 3.7 kg ± 5.9 (s.d.) (P < 0.0005), which did not differ from nonrequired patients. From surgery to 3 months postsurgery, required patients lost 23.6 ± 8 kg (P < 0.0005), also without differing from nonrequired patients. Patients who gained more weight prior to surgery, lost more weight postsurgery (P = 0.001), while controlling for initial weight. Findings suggest that the common weight loss regimen requirements of US insurance carriers were ineffective in producing presurgical weight loss in this sample. Most patients (>70%) in this sample gained weight prior to surgery, potentially taking advantage of final opportunities to overindulge in preferred foods. Required patients fared no better in terms of weight change postsurgically and, surprisingly, presurgical weight gain predicted better postsurgical weight loss outcome. Several potential explanations for this finding are offered.     

Environmental Product Declarations for plants and soils: how to quantify carbon uptake in landscape design and construction?

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Currently, no clear guidance exists for ISO and EN standards of calculating, verifying, and reporting the climate impacts of plants, mulches,...     

In vitro Clonal Multiplication of Acorus calamus L

Acorus calamus L (sweet flag) is a semi-aquatic perennial medicinal herb having a creeping and much branched aromatic rhizome. Rhizome buds cultured in MS basal medium supplemented with BAP (8.87μM) and NAA (5.37μM) at light intensity of 30μE m^?2 s^?1 and photoperiod of 12 h produced 8–10 multiple shoots by the eighth week of inoculation. Shoots could be rooted in MS basal medium without growth regulators. They were transplanted in sand and kept in shade for 4 to 5 weeks. 90–95% of the plants were established and were transferred to field after one month.