Magnetic resonance imaging of myocardial strain after acute ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction: a systematic review

The purpose of this systematic review is to provide a clinically relevant, disease-based perspective on myocardial strain imaging in patients with acute myocardial infarction or stable ischemic heart disease. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging uniquely integrates myocardial function with pathology. Therefore, this review focuses on strain imaging with cardiac magnetic resonance. We have specifically considered the relationships between left ventricular (LV) strain, infarct pathologies, and their associations with prognosis. A comprehensive literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Publications were identified that (1) described the relationship between strain and infarct pathologies, (2) assessed the relationship between strain and subsequent LV outcomes, and (3) assessed the relationship between strain and health outcomes. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, circumferential strain predicts the recovery of LV systolic function in the longer term. The prognostic value of longitudinal strain is less certain. Strain differentiates between infarcted versus noninfarcted myocardium, even in patients with stable ischemic heart disease with preserved LV ejection fraction. Strain recovery is impaired in infarcted segments with intramyocardial hemorrhage or microvascular obstruction. There are practical limitations to measuring strain with cardiac magnetic resonance in the acute setting, and knowledge gaps, including the lack of data showing incremental value in clinical practice. Critically, studies of cardiac magnetic resonance strain imaging in patients with ischemic heart disease have been limited by sample size and design. Strain imaging has potential as a tool to assess for early or subclinical changes in LV function, and strain is now being included as a surrogate measure of outcome in therapeutic trials

Online surveys-possibilities, pitfalls and practicalities: the experience of the TELA evaluation.

Surveys are a commonly used strategy for gaining insights into teacher perspectives. They are often seen as cost effective in terms of time and resources required, but the challenges involved in conducting and processing paper-based surveys can be considerable. Online surveys offer an alternative, particularly now that people have better access to computers and the Internet, and also since the available software has recently become more user-friendly and in some cases, free to the user. In this paper, the research process used in a large longitudinal evaluation study is discussed, where teachers increasingly opted to participate in an online survey in preference to a paper survey. The possibilities of choosing to use an online survey were attractive but they came with pitfalls. The practical strategies that proved effective in engaging teachers in an online survey process and in managing online responses are discussed and considered in the light of current research literature

Religious Activity Participation and Self-Rated Health Among Older Population in Indonesia

A number of studies have documented a positive and robust relationship between religious activity and health outcomes. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between religious activity participation and self-rated health (SRH) among older population in Indonesia. Data were obtained from 2,915 respondents 60 years and older from the Indonesian Family Life Survey 4 (2007). SRH was assessed by a single-item health measure with four options: “very healthy,” “somewhat healthy,” “somewhat unhealthy,” and “unhealthy”. Logistic regression were used to examine the relationship of the religious activity participation and SRH. Bivariate analysis revealed that religious activity participation was significantly associated with SRH. Multivariate analysis shows that among participants who participated in religious activity, the likehood of a better SRH is increased (OR = 1.422; 95% CI = 1.203 to 1.682) after controlling for sociodemographic variables, socio-economic status (SES), health behaviour and number of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). This findings suggest that religious activity participation has an important effect on self-rated health status. Longitudinal studies are needed to help elucidate mechanisms and the order and direction of effects

Sexting and Mental Health: A School-based Longitudinal Study Among Youth in Texas

Background: Sexting has emerged as a common socio-cultural problem in our society today. Few studies have estimated the prevalence of sexting among younger middle school youth and even fewer have assessed the relationship between sexting and mental health outcomes like anxiety and depression symptoms among middle school youth. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of sexting among sixth and seventh-grade middle school students in a large urban school district in Southeast Texas and to assess its relationship with mental health outcomes (both anxiety and depression) among these youth. Methods: A retrospective analysis of an existing three-year randomized, two-arm, nested longitudinal study was conducted. Associations between sexting and depression symptoms; and sexting and anxiety symptoms were assessed via univariate and multivariate logistic analysis. Results: The prevalence of sexting among sixth graders was found to be 12%. Compared to youth who were not engaged in sexting, engagement in sexting was associated with significantly increased odds of depression and anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: Sexting is common among youth and is associated with poorer mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression among these youth, but further validation of these findings is needed

Incidence of bullying and victimisation among adolescents in New Zealand

Bullying and victimisation are highly prevalent among young people, and both bullies and victims exhibit negative outcomes (Stassen Berger, 2007). Adolescents are greatly involved in bullying and experience particularly adverse outcomes in comparison with children (Kim & Leventhal, 2008; Simon-Davies, 2011). Furthermore bullying phenomena are under-researched in New Zealand samples. This paper aims to describe the nature of bullying and victimisation in a large sample of New Zealand adolescents and compare the findings to results from international samples. Four types of bullying will be assessed: traditional bullying inside the school, traditional bullying outside the school, cyber bullying via text message and cyber bullying via the internet. The same four types of victimisation will also be assessed

Pilot Evaluation of an Internet-based Natural Family Planning Education and Service Program

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy, knowledge of fertility, and acceptability of a web-based natural family planning (NFP) education and service program. Design: A 6-month repeated measure longitudinal evaluation pilot study. Setting: A university based online website. Participants: The website was piloted with 468 volunteer women seeking NFP services. Of these participants, 222 used the automatic online fertility charting system to avoid pregnancy. The 222 charting participants had a mean age of 29.9 years (SD=5.6), 2.2 children (SD=1.9), 37% were postpartum, and 47% had regular menstrual cycle lengths. Intervention: Nurse-managed web-based NFP education and service program. Outcomes: Pregnancies were confirmed by an online self-assessed pregnancy evaluation form. A 10-item fertility quiz and 10-item acceptability survey was administered online. Results: Among the 222 users avoiding pregnancy, at 6 months of use, there were two correct-use unintended pregnancies that provided a pregnancy rate of 2% and seven total unintended pregnancies providing a typical use pregnancy rate of 7%. Mean knowledge of fertility increased significantly from time of registration (8.96, SD=1.10) to 1 month of use (9.46, SD=.10), t=4.60, pSD=8.98) to 6 months of use (48.4; SD=8.77). Conclusion: The nurse-managed online NFP system seems to provide adequate knowledge of fertility and help participants meet pregnancy intentions. Acceptability of such a system of NFP is still in question

Determinants of social and institutional beliefs about internet acceptance within developing country’s context: A structural evaluation of higher education systems in Pakistan

This study aims to extend a model of technology acceptance to suit in developing country’s context. The model attempts to identify relationship between social and institutional factors over behavioural intention and usage. Recently, ‘acceptance and adoption of information technology (IT) in multicultural setting’ is becoming topic of interest for IS researchers. In this line, numerous theories and models are proposed to contribute in examining factors of IT acceptance and reluctance. It is argued that the models in published literature are found culturally biased, which successfully present results in only American and European context, however, their validity became questionable when they were tested in south Asian countries context. Additionally, lack of research is observed to predict individual’s cognitive behaviour of acceptance, which are influenced by social factors (i.e. peer influence and superior influence, voluntariness, experience) and institutional factors (i.e. local institutional management influence and top-level governmental policies influence). This study used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) based on Partial Least Square (PLS) method to analyse the data. The results reveal that the proposed conceptual model achieves acceptable fit and the hypothesised paths are valid

Characterizing cardiac involvement in chronic kidney disease using CMR—a systematic review

Purpose of Review: The aim of the review was to identify and describe recent advances (over the last 3 years) in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We conducted a literature review in line with current guidelines. Recent Findings: The authors identified 22 studies. Patients with CKD had left ventricular global and regional dysfunction and adverse remodeling. Stress testing with CMR revealed a reduced stress-response in CKD patients. Native T1 relaxation times (as a surrogate markers of fibrosis) are elevated in CKD patients, proportional to disease duration. Patients with CKD have reduced strain magnitudes and reduced aortic distensibility. Summary: CMR has diagnostic utility to identify and characterize cardiac involvement in this patient group. A number of papers have described novel findings over the last 3 years, suggesting that CMR has potential to become more widely used in studies in this patient group