Waist-to-height ratio, waist circumference and BMI as indicators of percentage fat mass and cardiometabolic risk factors in children aged 3–7 years

SummaryObjectiveTo assess whether waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR) is a better estimate of body fat percentage (BF%) and a better indicator of cardiometabolic risk factors than BMI or waist circumference (WC) in young children.MethodsWHtR, WC and BMI were measured by trained staff according to standardized procedures. 2H2O and 2H218O isotope dilution were used to assess BF% in 61 children (3–7 years) from the general population, and bioelectrical impedance (Horlick equation) was used to assess BF% in 75 overweight/obese children (3–5 years). Cardiometabolic risk factors, including diastolic and systolic blood pressure, HOMA2-IR, leptin, adiponectin, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, TNFα and IL-6 were determined in the overweight/obese children.ResultsIn the children from the general population, after adjustments for age and gender, BMI had the highest explained variance for BF% compared to WC and WHtR (R2 = 0.32, 0.31 and 0.23, respectively). In the overweight/obese children, BMI and WC had a higher explained variance for BF% compared to WHtR (R2 = 0.68, 0.70 and 0.50, respectively). In the overweight/obese children, WHtR, WC and BMI were all significantly positively correlated with systolic blood pressure (r = 0.23, 0.30, 0.36, respectively), HOMA2-IR (r = 0.53, 0.62, 0.63, respectively), leptin (r = 0.70, 0.77, 0.78, respectively) and triglycerides (r = 0.33, 0.36, 0.24, respectively), but not consistently with other parameters.ConclusionIn young children, WHtR is not superior to WC or BMI in estimating BF%, nor is WHtR better correlated with cardiometabolic risk factors than WC or BMI in overweight/obese children. These data do not support the use of WHtR in young children

Divergent shifts in fear of terrorism

In this study, we examine how the two facets of the fear of terrorism—the affectiveand behavioural fears—shift over time. To this end, we use a unique longitudinal dataset of a representative sample of 755 Dutch respondents, recruited from theLongitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences panel, in the time periodbetween November 2017 and May 2020. We find that the reported affective fear ofterrorism is significantly lower during the COVID‐19 crisis in 2020 than it was in2017. Yet a divergent trend for behavioural fear of terrorism occurred. In spite ofdecreased affective fear of terrorism threats, respondents in 2020 reportedincreased protective and avoidance behaviours, similar to behaviours promoted tostop the spread of COVID‐19.Security and Global AffairsInstitutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviou

Cytotaxonomy of the Seychelles tree frog, Megalixalus seychellensis (Duméril and Bibron) (Amphibia: Hyperoliidae)

The Seychelles tree frog, Megalixalus seychellensis has 2n=24 chromosomes of gradually decreasing length. Pairs 2, 3, and 4 are submetacentric, and the remaining pairs are metacentric. The karyotype affirms hyperoliid assignment of this species, and indicates a link between the Seychellean fauna and the African-Madagascan faunas.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42716/1/18_2005_Article_BF01975110.pd

Prevalence and predictors of complementary and alternative medicine modalities in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Background & Aims The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) can interact with antiviral treatment or influence health‐seeking behaviour. We aimed to study the use of individual CAM modalities in CHB and explore determinants of use, particularly migration‐related, socio‐economic and clinical factors. Methods A total of 436 CHB outpatients who attended the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease in 2015‐2016 were included in this cross‐sectional study. Using the comprehensive I‐CAM questionnaire and health records, data were collected on socio‐demographic and clinical variables and on usage of 16 CAM modalities in the last year. Results Sixty percent of patients were male, 74% were Asian and 46% were using antiviral treatment. Three‐hundred and nine (71%) patients used CAM. Vitamin/mineral preparations (45% of patients) were most commonly used. Overall CAM use and the specific use of potentially injurious CAM, such as green tea extract (9.2%) and St. John's wort (0.2%), were not associated with liver disease severity. Female sex, family history of CHB, lower serum HBV DNA, and higher socio‐economic status were independently associated with bio‐holistic CAM use, the clinically most‐relevant CAM group (P < 0.05); ethnicity, antiviral therapy use and liver disease severity were not. Conclusions CAM use among CHB patients was extensive, especially use of vitamin and mineral preparations, but without direct influence on liver disease severity. Bio‐holistic CAM use appeared to be associated with socio‐economic status rather than with ethnicity or liver disease severity. Despite the rare use of hepatotoxins, physicians should actively inquire about it

Aerostructural design optimization of a 100-passenger regional jet with surrogate-based mission analysis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106481/1/AIAA2013-4372.pd

NEOnatal Central-venous Line Observational study on Thrombosis (NEOCLOT): evaluation of a national guideline on management of neonatal catheter-related thrombosis

Developmen

Prognostic value of total tumor volume in patients with colorectal liver metastases:A secondary analysis of the randomized CAIRO5 trial with external cohort validation

Background:This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of total tumor volume (TTV) for early recurrence (within 6 months) and overall survival (OS) in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), treated with induction systemic therapy followed by complete local treatment.Methods: Patients with initially unresectable CRLM from the multicenter randomized phase 3 CAIRO5 trial (NCT02162563) who received induction systemic therapy followed by local treatment were included. Baseline TTV and change in TTV as response to systemic therapy were calculated using the CT scan before and the first after systemic treatment, and were assessed for their added prognostic value. The findings were validated in an external cohort of patients treated at a tertiary center. Results:In total, 215 CAIRO5 patients were included. Baseline TTV and absolute change in TTV were significantly associated with early recurrence (P = 0.005 and P = 0.040, respectively) and OS in multivariable analyses (P = 0.024 and P = 0.006, respectively), whereas RECIST1.1 was not prognostic for early recurrence (P = 0.88) and OS (P = 0.35). In the validation cohort (n = 85), baseline TTV and absolute change in TTV remained prognostic for early recurrence (P = 0.041 and P = 0.021, respectively) and OS in multivariable analyses (P &lt; 0.0001 and P = 0.012, respectively), and showed added prognostic value over conventional clinicopathological variables (increase C-statistic, 0.06; 95 % CI, 0.02 to 0.14; P = 0.008). Conclusion: Total tumor volume is strongly prognostic for early recurrence and OS in patients who underwent complete local treatment of initially unresectable CRLM, both in the CAIRO5 trial and the validation cohort. In contrast, RECIST1.1 did not show prognostic value for neither early recurrence nor OS.</p