A Child With Radius Aplasia, Cleft of Lip and Palate, Microcephaly, and Unusual Chromosome Findings

We report a child with malformation syndrome of microcephaly, asymmetrical radius aplasia, and cleft of lip and palate, who was mosaic for a chromosome marker and/or ring of unknown origin. In view of the reported cases of limb deficiency with chromosome abnormalities and the unlikelihood that the patient has a recognized genetic syndrome, the cause of the patient’s syndrome may well be the extra chromosomal material

Measuring physical activity during pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Currently, little is known about physical activity patterns in pregnancy with prior estimates predominantly based on subjective assessment measures that are prone to error. Given the increasing obesity rates and the importance of physical activity in pregnancy, we evaluated the relationship and agreement between subjective and objective physical activity assessment tools to inform researchers and clinicians on optimal assessment of physical activity in pregnancy. METHODS: 48 pregnant women between 26-28 weeks gestation were recruited. The Yamax pedometer and Actigraph accelerometer were worn for 5-7 days under free living conditions and thereafter the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was completed. IPAQ and pedometer estimates of activity were compared to the more robust and accurate accelerometer data. RESULTS: Of 48 women recruited, 30 women completed the study (mean age: 33.6 ± 4.7 years; mean BMI: 31.2 ± 5.1 kg/m(2)) and 18 were excluded (failure to wear [n = 8] and incomplete data [n = 10]). The accelerometer and pedometer correlated significantly on estimation of daily steps (ρ = 0.69, p < 0.01) and had good absolute agreement with low systematic error (mean difference: 505 ± 1498 steps/day). Accelerometer and IPAQ estimates of total, light and moderate Metabolic Equivalent minutes/day (MET min(-1) day(-1)) were not significantly correlated and there was poor absolute agreement. Relative to the accelerometer, the IPAQ under predicted daily total METs (105.76 ± 259.13 min(-1) day(-1)) and light METs (255.55 ± 128.41 min(-1) day(-1)) and over predicted moderate METs (-112.25 ± 166.41 min(-1) day(-1)). CONCLUSION: Compared with the accelerometer, the pedometer appears to provide a reliable estimate of physical activity in pregnancy, whereas the subjective IPAQ measure performed less accurately in this setting. Future research measuring activity in pregnancy should optimally encompass objective measures of physical activity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry Number: ACTRN12608000233325. Registered 7/5/2008

An investigation of sensory specific satiety and food size when children consume a whole or diced vegetable

Children\u27s vegetable consumption is often lower than that needed to promote optimal health and development, and practical approaches for increasing vegetable consumption are needed. Sensory Specific Satiety (SSS) reduces the liking and consumption of a consumed food over the course of an eating occasion and is an important factor in meal termination. The present study aimed to investigate the development of SSS when children ate vegetables of different sizes. The absence of SSS would be an encouraging sign to provide children more vegetables during a meal. Seventy-two children (33 boys, ages 8.8 &plusmn; 1.5 years) were recruited from Australian primary schools. Participating children consumed either whole or diced carrots for a maximum period of 10-min from a 500 g box. Cucumber was used as a control vegetable. Children\u27s liking of carrots and cucumber was measured with a 5-point child friendly hedonic scale prior to and after carrot consumption. In comparison to cucumber, liking for neither diced (p = 0.57) nor whole carrots (p = 0.18) changed during ad libitum consumption of carrots, indicating that SSS did not occur. However, children (n = 36) who finished eating carrots within the 10-min time limit, spent more time eating the whole carrots compared to the diced carrots (p &lt; 0.05), which tended to result in a higher consumption of whole carrots (p &lt; 0.06). This suggests that, in order to increase vegetable consumption, it is better to present children whole carrots than diced carrots. These findings might aid in the development of strategies to promote children\u27s greater vegetable consumption

Organizational Change Management (OCM): Preliminary position paper

This paper describes the initial steps in the development of Organizational Change Management (OCM), a new Critical Capability (CC) of the IT Capability Maturity Framework (IT-CMF). OCM consists of a maturity assessment and an accompanying Body of Knowledge to support an organization’s improvement efforts. An initial overview of the literature related to managing organizational change is described, based on a review of 30+ academic and practitioner publications. Core themes are identified and used to define an initial taxonomy for OCM. This initial structure was further refined and developed in collaboration with industry and academic experts to ensure it both reflects and supports contemporary organizational realities and best practices in organizational change management

Visual communication design: a neglected factor in nutrition promotion via packaged food labels

Packaging design is a communication device and a critical component in branding strategy, and has relevance for food policy. Presently, packaging-related nutrition policy initiatives focus on the role of regulated claims, nutrition information panels and front-of-pack nutrition labels to help guide consumer food choices and address high prevalences of discretionary and ultra-processed food consumption in many countries. However, these nutrition labelling systems are not optimized as public health policy tools as many consumers do not use them to inform their food choices. Visual communication design theory posits that a designer orders the elements and principles of design into hierarchies that prioritize certain elements over others, and that some of these elements are more dominant and given more emphasis than others. The overall design of the package thereby directs consumer attention to some aspects of pack design (e.g., characters, contents of the package) and away from others (e.g., nutrition details). Dual processing frameworks propose that food decisions are made with the interplay between automatic and rational thinking processes. Packaging designs affect whether consumers rely predominantly on automatic or rational thinking to select a food. This narrative review outlines the role of food packaging design and how it impacts the clear communication of nutrition aspects of food products and how the use of nutrition information by consumers to make decisions may depend upon design structures in packaging. This article attests that nutrition scientists and policy makers should incorporate visual communication design into research on the food packaging as a public health promotion tool. A stronger focus on the communication of regulated front-of-pack nutrition information can be made with a re-evaluation of the hierarchy of elements in the front-of-pack design enabling consumers to make healthier decisions

Effects of the pattern of glucocorticoid replacement on neural processing, emotional reactivity and well-being in healthy male individuals:study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Deviation from the physiological glucocorticoid dynamics (circadian and underlying ultradian rhythmicity) is a common characteristic of various neuropsychiatric and endocrine disorders as well as glucocorticoid-based therapeutics. These states may be accompanied by neuropsychiatric symptomatology, suggesting continuous dynamic glucocorticoid equilibrium is essential for brain homeostasis. METHODS/DESIGN: The study consists of two parts. The preliminary stage of the study aims to validate (technically and pharmacologically) and optimise three different patterns of systemic cortisol administration in man. These patterns are based on the combinatory administration of metyrapone, to suppress endogenous cortisol production, and concurrent hydrocortisone replacement. The second, subsequent, core part of the study is a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study, where participants (healthy male individuals aged 18–60 years) will undergo all three hydrocortisone replacement schemes. During these infusion regimes, we plan a number of neurobehavioural tests and imaging of the brain to assess neural processing, emotional reactivity and perception, mood and self-perceived well-being. The psychological tests include: ecological momentary assessment, P1vital Oxford Emotional Test Battery and Emotional Potentiated Startle Test, Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire and the visual working memory task (n-back). The neuroimaging protocol combines magnetic resonance sequences that capture data related to the functional and perfusion status of the brain. DISCUSSION: Results of this clinical trial are designed to evaluate the impact (with possible mechanistic insights) of different patterns of daily glucocorticoid dynamics on neural processing and reactivity related to emotional perception and mood. This evidence should contribute to the optimisation of the clinical application of glucocorticoid-based therapeutics. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UK Clinical Research Network, IRAS Ref: 106181, UKCRN-ID-15236 (23 October 2013

RELICS: Strong Lens Models for Five Galaxy Clusters From the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey

Strong gravitational lensing by galaxy clusters magnifies background galaxies, enhancing our ability to discover statistically significant samples of galaxies at z>6, in order to constrain the high-redshift galaxy luminosity functions. Here, we present the first five lens models out of the Reionization Lensing Cluster Survey (RELICS) Hubble Treasury Program, based on new HST WFC3/IR and ACS imaging of the clusters RXC J0142.9+4438, Abell 2537, Abell 2163, RXC J2211.7-0349, and ACT-CLJ0102-49151. The derived lensing magnification is essential for estimating the intrinsic properties of high-redshift galaxy candidates, and properly accounting for the survey volume. We report on new spectroscopic redshifts of multiply imaged lensed galaxies behind these clusters, which are used as constraints, and detail our strategy to reduce systematic uncertainties due to lack of spectroscopic information. In addition, we quantify the uncertainty on the lensing magnification due to statistical and systematic errors related to the lens modeling process, and find that in all but one cluster, the magnification is constrained to better than 20% in at least 80% of the field of view, including statistical and systematic uncertainties. The five clusters presented in this paper span the range of masses and redshifts of the clusters in the RELICS program. We find that they exhibit similar strong lensing efficiencies to the clusters targeted by the Hubble Frontier Fields within the WFC3/IR field of view. Outputs of the lens models are made available to the community through the Mikulski Archive for Space TelescopesComment: Accepted to Ap

The effects of age on associations between preschool children’s eating behaviour traits and diet quality

Child eating behaviour traits are associated with several aspects of dietary intake of pre-school children, however the associations between child eating behaviour traits and overall dietary quality in pre-school children has not been examined. Additionally, it is unknown how these relationships vary by age. This study examines the associations between child eating behaviour traits and pre-school children's dietary quality and whether children's age moderates these associations. This study utilises cross-sectional online survey data collected from mothers (n = 1367) of pre-school aged children (2-5 years) from across Australia. The survey included a validated measure of four child eating behaviour traits and a validated measure of diet quality. Multiple linear regression assessed associations between child eating behaviour traits and dietary quality, including interactions between child eating behaviour traits and child age. The average age of the children was 3.3 years, with 50.2% reported as males. Enjoyment of food was positively associated with dietary quality (B coefficient: 2.51,

Update to the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness training programme in schools compared with normal school provision (MYRIAD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: MYRIAD (My Resilience in Adolescence) is a superiority, parallel group, cluster randomised controlled trial designed to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a mindfulness training (MT) programme, compared with normal social and emotional learning (SEL) school provision to enhance mental health, social-emotional-behavioural functioning and well-being in adolescence. The original trial protocol was published in Trials (accessible at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-1917-4 ). This included recruitment in two cohorts, enabling the learning from the smaller first cohort to be incorporated in the second cohort. Here we describe final amendments to the study protocol and discuss their underlying rationale. METHODS: Four major changes were introduced into the study protocol: (1) there were changes in eligibility criteria, including a clearer operational definition to assess the degree of SEL implementation in schools, and also new criteria to avoid experimental contamination; (2) the number of schools and pupils that had to be recruited was increased based on what we learned in the first cohort; (3) some changes were made to the secondary outcome measures to improve their validity and ability to measure constructs of interest and to reduce the burden on school staff; and (4) the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) pandemic both influences and makes it difficult to interpret the 2-year follow-up primary endpoint results, so we changed our primary endpoint to 1-year follow-up. DISCUSSION: These changes to the study protocol were approved by the Trial Management Group, Trial Steering Committee and Data and Ethics Monitoring Committees and improved the enrolment of participants and quality of measures. Furthermore, the change in the primary endpoint will give a more reliable answer to our primary question because it was collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in both cohort 1 and cohort 2. Nevertheless, the longer 2-year follow-up data will still be acquired, although this time-point will be now framed as a second major investigation to answer some new important questions presented by the combination of the pandemic and our study design. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials ISRCTN86619085 . Registered on 3 June 2016

Simian hemorrhagic fever virus infection of rhesus macaques as a model of viral hemorrhagic fever: Clinical characterization and risk factors for severe disease

AbstractSimian Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (SHFV) has caused sporadic outbreaks of hemorrhagic fevers in macaques at primate research facilities. SHFV is a BSL-2 pathogen that has not been linked to human disease; as such, investigation of SHFV pathogenesis in non-human primates (NHPs) could serve as a model for hemorrhagic fever viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa viruses. Here we describe the pathogenesis of SHFV in rhesus macaques inoculated with doses ranging from 50PFU to 500,000PFU. Disease severity was independent of dose with an overall mortality rate of 64% with signs of hemorrhagic fever and multiple organ system involvement. Analyses comparing survivors and non-survivors were performed to identify factors associated with survival revealing differences in the kinetics of viremia, immunosuppression, and regulation of hemostasis. Notable similarities between the pathogenesis of SHFV in NHPs and hemorrhagic fever viruses in humans suggest that SHFV may serve as a suitable model of BSL-4 pathogens