A Multi-facetted Visual Analytics Tool for Exploratory Analysis of Human Brain and Function Datasets

Brain research typically requires large amounts of data from different sources, and often of different nature. The use of different software tools adapted to the nature of each data source can make research work cumbersome and time consuming. It follows that data is not often used to its fullest potential thus limiting exploratory analysis. This paper presents an ancillary software tool called BRAVIZ that integrates interactive visualization with real-time statistical analyses, facilitating access to multi-facetted neuroscience data and automating many cumbersome and error-prone tasks required to explore such data. Rather than relying on abstract numerical indicators, BRAVIZ emphasizes brain images as the main object of the analysis process of individuals or groups. BRAVIZ facilitates exploration of trends or relationships to gain an integrated view of the phenomena studied, thus motivating discovery of new hypotheses. A case study is presented that incorporates brain structure and function outcomes together with different types of clinical data

Kangaroo mother care had a protective effect on the volume of brain structures in young adults born preterm

Q1Q1Jóvenes adultosAim: The protective effects of Kangaroo mother care (KMC) on the neurodevelop-ment of preterm infants are well established, but we do not know whether the ben-efits persist beyond infancy. Our aim was to determine whether providing KMC in infancy affected brain volumes in young adulthood. Method: Standardised cognitive, memory and motor skills tests were used to determine the brain volumes of 20-year-old adults who had formed part of a randomised controlled trial of KMC versus incubator care. Multivariate analysis of brain volumes was conducted according to KMC exposure. Results: The study comprised 178 adults born preterm: 97 had received KMC and 81 were incubator care controls. Bivariate analysis showed larger volumes of total grey matter, basal nuclei and cerebellum in those who had received KMC, and the white matter was better organised. This means that the volumes of the main brain structures associated with intelligence, attention, memory and coordination were larger in the KMC group. Multivariate lineal regression analysis demonstrated the direct rela-tionship between brain volumes and duration of KMC, after controlling for potential confounders. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the neuroprotective effects of KMC for pre-term infants persisted beyond childhood and improved their lifetime functionality and quality of life.https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6697-5837https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1923-3934https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5464-2701Revista Internacional - IndexadaA1N

Twenty-year follow-up of kangaroo mother care versus traditional care

Q1Q1e20162063BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a multifaceted intervention for preterm and low birth weight infants and their parents. Short- and mid-term benefits of KMC on survival, neurodevelopment, breastfeeding, and the quality of mother–infant bonding were documented in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in Colombia from 1993 to 1996. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the persistence of these results in young adulthood. METHODS: From 2012 to 2014, a total of 494 (69%) of the 716 participants of the original RCT known to be alive were identified; 441 (62% of the participants in the original RCT) were re-enrolled, and results for the 264 participants weighing ≤1800 g at birth were analyzed. The KMC and control groups were compared for health status and neurologic, cognitive, and social functioning with the use of neuroimaging, neurophysiological, and behavioral tests. RESULTS: The effects of KMC at 1 year on IQ and home environment were still present 20 years later in the most fragile individuals, and KMC parents were more protective and nurturing, reflected by reduced school absenteeism and reduced hyperactivity, aggressiveness, externalization, and socio-deviant conduct of young adults. Neuroimaging showed larger volume of the left caudate nucleus in the KMC group. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that KMC had significant, long-lasting social and behavioral protective effects 20 years after the intervention. Coverage with this efficient and scientifically based health care intervention should be extended to the 18 million infants born each year who are candidates for the method

Education and training in the implementation of kangaroo mother care

Q338-4

VALS: Supporting Visual Data Analysis in Longitudinal Clinical Studies

Visual data analysis helps to understand different types of phenomena by allowing experts to explore for relationships, patterns, outliers, unexpected changes, and more. Experts need tools that help them find useful and actionable information in the data so that they can test their hypotheses and develop new ones. This need becomes more evident in longitudinal studies, where there are usually a large number of variables and the process being analyzed can be complex as well. We present VALS (Visual Analytics in Longitudinal Studies), a framework for visually exploring longitudinal clinical data. VALS includes a data model, a task categorization model, and an approach to guidance through feature engineering techniques and interactive visualizations, all of which help analysts perform their analysis tasks. VALS was designed in collaboration with healthcare experts with experience in longitudinal studies. We have also developed a tool prototype for a case study using real-world datasets. The evidence collected in the case study shows the usefulness of a VALS-based visual analytics tool

A Multi-facetted Visual Analytics Tool for Exploratory Analysis of Human Brain and Function Datasets

Brain research typically requires large amounts of data from different sources, and often of different nature. The use of different software tools adapted to the nature of each data source can make research work cumbersome and time consuming. It follows that data is not often used to its fullest potential thus limiting exploratory analysis. This paper presents an ancillary software tool called BRAVIZ that integrates interactive visualization with real-time statistical analyses, facilitating access to multi-facetted neuroscience data and automating many cumbersome and error-prone tasks required to explore such data. Rather than relying on abstract numerical indicators, BRAVIZ emphasizes brain images as the main object of the analysis process of individuals or groups. BRAVIZ facilitates exploration of trends or relationships to gain an integrated view of the phenomena studied, thus motivating discovery of new hypotheses. A case study is presented that incorporates brain structure and function outcomes together with different types of clinical data.This article is published as Angulo, Diego A., Cyril Schneider, James H. Oliver, Nathalie Charpak, and Jose T. Hernandez. "A multi-facetted visual analytics tool for exploratory analysis of human brain and function datasets." Frontiers in Neuroinformatics 10 (2016). doi: 10.3389/fninf.2016.00036. Posted with permission.</p

El efecto del programa Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) sobre los salarios: un modelo estructural

En este trabajo se analiza la relación entre las habilidades y algunos resultados en etapas posteriores de la vida para niños prematuros. Las habilidades pre-tratamiento y las características del hogar son buenos predictores de las habilidades y resultados durante la infancia y la adultez. El ingreso per cápita y la educación de los padres al nacer se correlaciona positivamente con el entorno familiar a los 6 y 12 meses de edad. Por otro lado, la educación de los padres y la proporción de personas que trabajan en el hogar están correlacionados con el número de años que los niños asisten a educación preescolar. Los indicadores de salud durante el primer año de vida son factores críticos para la decisión de inscribirse en una universidad, obtener mejores calificaciones en matemáticas y ganar mayores salarios.In this paper we analyze the relationship between skills and some outcomes later in life for a population of premature children. Pretreatment skills and characteristics are good predictors of childhood and adulthood skills and outcomes. Income per capita and parents education at birth are positively correlated with home environment at 6 and 12 months of corrected age. Moreover, parents education and the proportion of workers at home are correlated with the number of preschool years attended by children. Interestingly, health indicators taken during the first year of life are critical factors for decision to enroll into a university, to obtain better results in math scores and earn larger wages

Twenty-year follow-up of kangaroo mother care versus traditional care

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a multifaceted intervention for preterm and low birth weight infants and their parents. Short- and mid-term benefits of KMC on survival, neurodevelopment, breastfeeding, and the quality of mother-infant bonding were documented in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in Colombia from 1993 to 1996. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the persistence of these results in young adulthood. METHODS: From 2012 to 2014, a total of 494 (69%) of the 716 participants of the original RCT known to be alive were identified; 441 (62% of the participants in the original RCT) were re-enrolled, and results for the 264 participants weighing less than 1800 g at birth were analyzed. The KMC and control groups were compared for health status and neurologic, cognitive, and social functioning with the use of neuroimaging, neurophysiological, and behavioral tests. RESULTS: The effects of KMC at 1 year on IQ and home environment were still present 20 years later in the most fragile individuals, and KMC parents were more protective and nurturing, reflected by reduced school absenteeism and reduced hyperactivity, aggressiveness, externalization, and socio-deviant conduct of young adults. Neuroimaging showed larger volume of the left caudate nucleus in the KMC group. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that KMC had significant, long-lasting social and behavioral protective effects 20 years after the intervention. Coverage with this efficient and scientifically based health care intervention should be extended to the 18 million infants born each year who are candidates for the method. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Twenty-year follow-up of kangaroo mother care versus traditional care

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a multifaceted intervention for preterm and low birth weight infants and their parents. Short- and mid-term benefits of KMC on survival, neurodevelopment, breastfeeding, and the quality of mother-infant bonding were documented in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in Colombia from 1993 to 1996. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the persistence of these results in young adulthood. METHODS: From 2012 to 2014, a total of 494 (69%) of the 716 participants of the original RCT known to be alive were identified; 441 (62% of the participants in the original RCT) were re-enrolled, and results for the 264 participants weighing less than 1800 g at birth were analyzed. The KMC and control groups were compared for health status and neurologic, cognitive, and social functioning with the use of neuroimaging, neurophysiological, and behavioral tests. RESULTS: The effects of KMC at 1 year on IQ and home environment were still present 20 years later in the most fragile individuals, and KMC parents were more protective and nurturing, reflected by reduced school absenteeism and reduced hyperactivity, aggressiveness, externalization, and socio-deviant conduct of young adults. Neuroimaging showed larger volume of the left caudate nucleus in the KMC group. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that KMC had significant, long-lasting social and behavioral protective effects 20 years after the intervention. Coverage with this efficient and scientifically based health care intervention should be extended to the 18 million infants born each year who are candidates for the method. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics