Interrogating autism from a multidimensional perspective: an integrative framework.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition characterized by social and behavioral impairments, affecting approximately 1 in every 44 children in the United States. Common symptoms include difficulties in communication, interpersonal interactions, and behavior. While symptoms can manifest as early as infancy, obtaining an accurate diagnosis may require multiple visits to a pediatric specialist due to the subjective nature of the assessment, which may yield varying scores from different specialists. Despite growing evidence of the role of differences in brain development and/or environmental and/or genetic factors in autism development, the exact pathology of this disorder has yet to be fully elucidated by scientists. At present, the diagnosis of ASD typically involves a set of gold-standard diagnostic evaluations, such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), and the more cost-effective Social Responsive Scale (SRS). Administering these diagnostic tests, which involve assessing communication and behavioral patterns, along with obtaining a clinical history, requires the expertise of a team of qualified clinicians. This process is time-consuming, effortful, and involves a degree of subjectivity due to the reliance on clinical judgment. Aside from conventional observational assessments, recent developments in neuroimaging and machine learning offer a fast and objective alternative for diagnosing ASD using brain imaging. This comprehensive work explores the use of different imaging modalvities, namely structural MRI (sMRI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), to investigate their potential for autism diagnosis. The proposed study aims to offer a new approach and perspective in comprehending ASD as a multidimensional problem, within a behavioral space that is defined by one of the available ASD diagnostic tools. This dissertation introduces a thorough investigation of the utilization of feature engineering tools to extract distinctive insights from various brain imaging modalities, including the application of novel feature representations. Additionally, the use of a machine learning framework to aid in the precise classification of individuals with autism is also explored in detail. This extensive research, which draws upon large publicly available datasets, sheds light on the influence of various decisions made throughout the pipeline on diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, it identifies brain regions that may be impacted and contribute to an autism diagnosis. The attainment of high global state-of-the-art cross-validated, and hold-out set accuracy validates the advantages of feature representation and engineering in extracting valuable information, as well as the potential benefits of employing neuroimaging for autism diagnosis. Furthermore, a suggested diagnostic report has been put forth to assist physicians in mapping diagnoses to underlying neuroimaging markers. This approach could enable an earlier, automated, and more objective personalized diagnosis

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

This Special Issue on CFS/ME collects 18 papers with an interdisciplinary view on the current demographic and epidemiological data and immunological characteristics of CFS/ME and examines the different pathogenic hypotheses, as well as giving information about the latest knowledge on diagnostic investigations, pharmacological, integrative, physical, cognitive-behavioral and psychological curative approaches

Assessing physical fitness and physical activity in population-based surveys

Edited by Thomas F. Drury.Includes bibliographical references and index.National Center for Health Statistics. Assessing Physical Fitness and Physical Activity in Population-Based Surveys. Thomas F. Drury, ed. DHHS pub. No, (PHS) 89-1253. Public Health Service. Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1989Part I. Historical Perspectives -- 1. General Population Surveys of the National Center for Health Statistics: An Overview / Nancy D. Pearce -- 2. Cardiovascular Endurance, Strength, and Lung Function Tests in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys / Arthur J. McDowell -- 3. Assessments of Body Composition, Dietary Patterns, and Nutritional Status in the National Health Examination Surveys and National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys / Dorothy Blair,Jean-Pierre Habicht,andLeeAlekel -- -- Part II. Fundamental Perspectives on Health-Related Physical Fitness and Cardiopulmonary -- Health -- 4. Design Issues and Alternatives in Assessing Physical Fitness Among Apparently Healthy Adults in a Health Examination Survey of the General Population / Jack H. Wilmore -- 5. An Integrative Approach to the Noninvasive Assessment of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Function During Exercise / Karlman Wasserman -- -- Part III. Fundamental Perspectives on Energy Balance, Dietary Patterns, and Physical Activity -- 6. General Considerations Related to Assessing Energy Turnover: Energy Intake or Energy Expenditure / E. R. Buskirk -- 7. Issues Related to Measuring Energy Balance for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey / Dorothy Blair -- 8. Measuring Dietary Patterns in Surveys of Physical Fitness and Activity / Catherine E. Woteki -- 9. Design Issues and Alternatives in Assessing Physical Activity in General Population Surveys / Thomas Stephens -- -- Part IV. Special Subpopulation Issues -- 10. Fitness and Activity Assessment of Children and Adolescents / Oded Bar-Or -- 11, Evaluating Fitness and Activity Assessments From the National Children and Youth Fitness Studies I and II / James G. Ross -- 12. Assessing Fitness and Activity Patterns of Women in General Population Studies / Barbara L. Drinkwater -- 13. Exercise Testing and Physical Activity Assessment of Persons with Selected Cardiac Conditions / Nanette Kass Wenger -- 14. Health-Related Fitness of the Older Adult / Everett L. Smith and Catherine Gilligan -- -- Part V. Lessons From Community, National, and International Studies -- 15. Lessons from Tecumseh on the Assessment of Physical Activity and Fitness / Henry J. Montoye -- 16. Fitness and Activity Assessments Among U.S.Army Populations: Implications for NCHS General Population Surveys / James A. Vogel -- 17. Fitness and Activity Measurement in the 1981 Canada Fitness Survey / Thomas Stephens and Cora Lynn Craig -- 18. An International Perspective on Critical Issues in Fitness Testing of U.S. Adults / Roy J. Shephard -- -- Part VI. Contexts of Evaluation -- 19. Genetic Considerations in Physical Fitness / Robert M. Malina and Claude Bouchard -- 20. Biochemical Correlates of Fitness and Exercise / William L. Haskell -- 21. Evaluating the Health Effects of Demanding Work on and off the Job / James S. House and David A. Stiti -- 22. Effects of Physical Activity and Fitness on Health / Arthur S. Leon -- 23. Measurement and Evaluation of Health Behaviors in Relationship to Physical Fitness and Physical Activity Patterns / Steven N. Blair and Harold W. Kohl -- 24. Evaluating Interrelationships Among Physical Fitness and Activity Assessments / Ronald E. LaPorte -- 25. Cardiovascular Epidemiological Research Uses of Fitness Assessments / Erika S. Sivarajan and Victor F. Froelicher -- 26. Epidemiologic Uses of General Population Assessments of Physical Activity Patterns / Robert T. Hyde and Ralph S. Paffenbarger, Jr. -- -- Part VII. Measurement and Analysis Strategies -- 27. Use of Latent VariableModels in Measuring Physical Fitness and Physical Activity / George W. Bohrnstedt and Joseph Lucke -- 28. Applying Regression and Factor Analysis of Categorical Variables to Fitness and Exercise Data / Bengt Muthen and Lynn Short -- 29. Latent Class Analysis / Allan L. McCutcheon -- -- Appendix. Framingham Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire / Andrew L. Dannenberg and Peter W. F. Wilson1989833