1,441 research outputs found
Systematic review of the use of financial incentives in treatments for obesity and overweight
Nine studies met the criteria for inclusion in this systematic review of randomized controlled trials of treatments for obesity and overweight involving the use of financial incentives, with reported follow-up of at least 1 year. All included trials were of behavioural obesity treatments. Justification of sample size and blinding procedure were not mentioned in any study. Attrition was well described in three studies and no study was analysed on an intention to treat basis. Participants were mostly women recruited through media advertisements. Mean age ranged from 35.7 to 52.8 years, and mean body mass index from 29.3 to 31.8 kg m−2. Results from meta-analysis showed no significant effect of use of financial incentives on weight loss or maintenance at 12 months and 18 months. Further sub-analysis by mode of delivery and amount of incentives although also non-statistically significant were suggestive of very weak trends in favour of use of amounts greater than 1.2% personal disposable income, rewards for behaviour change rather than for weight, rewards based on group performance rather than for individual performance and rewards delivered by non-psychologists rather than delivered by psychologists.The Health Services Research Unit is funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive Health Department. The views expressed here are those of the authors. Alison Avenell is funded by a Career Scientist Award from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive Health Departmen
Use of noninvasive imaging in the management of skin cancer
6Purpose of review: To evaluate noninvasive imaging techniques in the management of skin cancers.
Recent findings: In the last decades, a wide range of noninvasive imaging methods has been developed in the field of dermatooncology with the aim to detect and assess the several structural and molecular changes that characterize skin cancer development and progression.
Summary: In this review, we discuss the current and emerging applications of noninvasive imaging approaches in skin cancer management, such as digital photography, dermoscopy, ultrasound sonography, reflectance confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography, electrical impedance techniques, Raman spectroscopy, multispectral imaging, fluorescence imaging, and multispectral optoacustic tomography.partially_openopenGiuffrida, Roberta; Conforti, Claudio; Di Meo, Nicola; Deinlein, Teresa; Guida, Stefania; Zalaudek, IrisGiuffrida, Roberta; Conforti, Claudio; Di Meo, Nicola; Deinlein, Teresa; Guida, Stefania; Zalaudek, Iri
Integrating the concept of field cancerization in the classification and risk assessment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: proposal for a new classification and terminology of keratinocyte skin cancer.
The term keratinocyte skin cancer (KC) stands as an umbrella for different stages within the progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). 1\u20102 Its earliest form is named actinic keratosis (AK), while for the in\u2010situ form different synonyms, namely intraepidermal carcinoma (IEC), Bowen's Diseases (BD) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ [cSCC(Tis)] or intraepithelial squamous cell carcinoma (iSCC) are used.3 Instead, cSCC is histopathologically classified into well, moderately and poorly differentiated subtypes
Investigating halo substructures with annual modulation signature
Galaxy hierarchical formation theories, numerical simulations, the discovery
of the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG) in 1994 and more recent
investigations suggest that the dark halo of the Milky Way can have a rich
phenomenology containing non thermalized substructures. In the present
preliminary study, we investigate the case of the SagDEG (the best known
satellite galaxy in the Milky Way crossing the solar neighbourhood) analyzing
the consequences of its dark matter stream contribution to the galactic halo on
the basis of the DAMA/NaI annual modulation data. The present analysis is
restricted to some WIMP candidates and to some of the astrophysical, nuclear
and particle Physics scenarios. Other candidates such as e.g. the light bosonic
ones, we discussed elsewhere, and other non thermalized substructures are not
yet addressed here.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Eur. Phys. J.
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