The Effects of Childhood Fitness on Adult Metabolic Syndrome and Improving Health Outcomes Through Increasing Fitness In Childhood

The importance of childhood and adolescent fitness has shifted over time. In the US, physical fitness test batteries first started to emerge during times of war to assess military preparedness. However, as conscription became less necessary and the US turned to issues at home, these fitness assessments became more focused on health over performance.14 This leads to the question, how is fitness tied to overall health? With this literature review, I examine the relationships between childhood fitness and metabolic syndrome, a group of factors that together raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes, or stroke

Non-Insertive Acupuncture and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A Case Series from an Inner City Safety Net Hospital

OBJECTIVE: We report on the safety of non-insertive acupuncture (NIA) in 54 newborns diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) in a busy inner city hospital. METHODS: For this case series, a retrospective chart review was conducted. Data on participant demographics, number of NIA treatments, provider referrals, and outcomes of interest (sleeping, feeding, and adverse events) were collected. RESULTS: Of the 54 newborns receiving NIA, 86% were non-Hispanic White; 87% were on Medicaid, and gestational age ranged from 33.2 to 42.1 weeks. Out of 54 chart reviews, a total of 92 NIA sessions were documented ranging from 1 to 6 sessions per infant. Of the total number of treatments (n = 92), 73% were requested by a physician. Chart reviews reported restless infants calmed down during NIA, babies slept through or fell asleep immediately following NIA, and better feeding was noted following NIA. There were no adverse events noted in the medical records. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective chart review shows potential for the use of NIA as an adjunctive treatment in newborns with NAS symptoms during hospitalization. More research is necessary to study whether the incorporation of NIA can result in positive outcomes in newborns withdrawing from narcotics

Spinodal Decomposition in a Binary Polymer Mixture: Dynamic Self Consistent Field Theory and Monte Carlo Simulations

We investigate how the dynamics of a single chain influences the kinetics of early stage phase separation in a symmetric binary polymer mixture. We consider quenches from the disordered phase into the region of spinodal instability. On a mean field level we approach this problem with two methods: a dynamical extension of the self consistent field theory for Gaussian chains, with the density variables evolving in time, and the method of the external potential dynamics where the effective external fields are propagated in time. Different wave vector dependencies of the kinetic coefficient are taken into account. These early stages of spinodal decomposition are also studied through Monte Carlo simulations employing the bond fluctuation model that maps the chains -- in our case with 64 effective segments -- on a coarse grained lattice. The results obtained through self consistent field calculations and Monte Carlo simulations can be compared because the time, length, and temperature scales are mapped onto each other through the diffusion constant, the chain extension, and the energy of mixing. The quantitative comparison of the relaxation rate of the global structure factor shows that a kinetic coefficient according to the Rouse model gives a much better agreement than a local, i.e. wave vector independent, kinetic factor. Including fluctuations in the self consistent field calculations leads to a shorter time span of spinodal behaviour and a reduction of the relaxation rate for smaller wave vectors and prevents the relaxation rate from becoming negative for larger values of the wave vector. This is also in agreement with the simulation results.Comment: Phys.Rev.E in prin

Repair of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in COVID-19 by Stromal Cells (REALIST-COVID Trial):A Multicentre, Randomised, Controlled Trial

RationaleMesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) may modulate inflammation, promoting repair in COVID-19-related Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS).ObjectivesWe investigated safety and efficacy of ORBCEL-C (CD362-enriched, umbilical cord-derived MSCs) in COVID-related ARDS.MethodsThis multicentre, randomised, double-blind, allocation concealed, placebo-controlled trial (NCT03042143) randomised patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-related ARDS to receive ORBCEL-C (400million cells) or placebo (Plasma-Lyte148).MeasurementsThe primary safety and efficacy outcomes were incidence of serious adverse events and oxygenation index at day 7 respectively. Secondary outcomes included respiratory compliance, driving pressure, PaO2/FiO2 ratio and SOFA score. Clinical outcomes relating to duration of ventilation, length of intensive care unit and hospital stays, and mortality were collected. Long-term follow up included diagnosis of interstitial lung disease at 1 year, and significant medical events and mortality at 2 years. Transcriptomic analysis was performed on whole blood at day 0, 4 and 7.Main results60 participants were recruited (final analysis n=30 ORBCEL-C, n=29 placebo: 1 in placebo group withdrew consent). 6 serious adverse events occurred in the ORBCEL-C and 3 in the placebo group, RR 2.9(0.6-13.2)p=0.25. Day 7 mean[SD] oxygenation index did not differ (ORBCEL-C 98.357.2], placebo 96.667.3). There were no differences in secondary surrogate outcomes, nor mortality at day 28, day 90, 1 or 2 years. There was no difference in prevalence of interstitial lung disease at 1year nor significant medical events up to 2 years. ORBCEL-C modulated the peripheral blood transcriptome.ConclusionORBCEL-C MSCs were safe in moderate-to-severe COVID-related ARDS, but did not improve surrogates of pulmonary organ dysfunction. Clinical trial registration available at www.Clinicaltrialsgov, ID: NCT03042143. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Practicing a Musical Instrument in Childhood is Associated with Enhanced Verbal Ability and Nonverbal Reasoning

Background: In this study we investigated the association between instrumental music training in childhood and outcomes closely related to music training as well as those more distantly related. Methodology/Principal Findings: Children who received at least three years (M = 4.6 years) of instrumental music training outperformed their control counterparts on two outcomes closely related to music (auditory discrimination abilities and fine motor skills) and on two outcomes distantly related to music (vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning skills). Duration of training also predicted these outcomes. Contrary to previous research, instrumental music training was not associated with heightened spatial skills, phonemic awareness, or mathematical abilities. Conclusions/Significance: While these results are correlational only, the strong predictive effect of training duration suggests that instrumental music training may enhance auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and nonverba

Current practice and surgical outcomes of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer : UK NeST study

Funding Information: This work was funded by a grant from the Association of Breast SurgeryPeer reviewedPublisher PD