Differential Maternal Feeding Practices, Eating Self-Regulation, and Adiposity in Young Twins

Restrictive feeding is associated with childhood obesity; however, this could be due to other factors that drive children to overeat and parents to restrict (eg, child genetics). Using a twin design to better control for confounders, we tested differences in restrictive feeding within families in relation to differences in twins’ self-regulatory eating and weight status

A protocol for Italian validation of DEMQoL-Proxy Scale: assessing the Quality of Life of people with moderate or mild dementia

In this paper, we propose an adaptation of a protocol for a tool's validation. We have utilized this phases-theory to validate in Italian language an instrument to assess Quality of Life for people with moderate or mild dementia. We will explain the example of our Italian validation of DEMQoL-Proxy considering each De Vellis's phase. We will explain our application of De Vellis's model to Italian example described. For the first three phases, we reproduced the original validating study in which authors (Smith et al., 2005) defined what to measure, how generate a set of items and the structure of the scale. Indeed, for the last five phases we explained the adaptation of De Vellis's model to Italian validation. We hope that this model could be effective to validating goals, for researchers and in particular for all professionals who deal with caregivers and patients with moderate and mild dementia. Furthermore, the measurement of the Quality of Life makes the scale widely useful within the various professional specialties and setting. Finally, thanks to the methodological assumptions adopted following the De Vellis's eight-phase model, we can affirm that this first Italian pre-validation of the DEMQoL-Proxy seems to be an excellent forerunner for its effective validation in the Italian context

Search for Associations Containing Young stars (SACY): I. Sample & Searching Method

We report results from a high-resolution optical spectroscopic survey aimed to search for nearby young associations and young stars among optical counterparts of ROSAT All-Sky Survey X-ray sources in the Southern Hemisphere. We selected 1953 late-type (B-V >= 0.6), potentially young, optical counterparts out of a total of 9574 1RXS sources for follow-up observations. At least one high-resolution spectrum was obtained for each of 1511 targets. This paper is the first in a series presenting the results of the SACY survey. Here we describe our sample and our observations. We describe a convergence method in the (UVW) velocity space to find associations. As an example, we discuss the validity of this method in the framework of the BetaPic Association.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of a Brazilian Version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire

Abstract: The Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) assesses parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness. This research aimed to translate and to test the reliability of the CFQ and to evaluate this instrument in Brazilian families. The participants were 300 mothers and 300 children, aging from 2 to 11 years old, of both sexes. The translation, synthesis, back-translation, evaluation by an expert committee and pre-test were performed. Besides the application of questionnaire to mothers, data regarding anthropometric measurements in mothers and children was collected. The indexes of content validity index, test-retest reliability and internal consistencies were good. The parental factors Perceived parent weight, Perceived child weight, Concern about child weight, Restriction, Pressure to eat and Monitoring on child feeding were associated with overweight in childhood. In conclusion, these results highlight the validity and utility of the Brazilian version of the CFQ

The MONITOR Robot with UHF-RFID Rotating Antennas enhancing Indoor Tag Localization

The MONITOR Project is born to respond to the increasing demand for highly accurate and quick inventorying operations. For this purpose, an automatic Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) system consisting of a mobile robot is conceived. Particularly, the robot is equipped with rotating arms allowing an antenna motion able to improve tag localization when Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) methods are applied. In this paper, the proof-of-concept of the mobile robot with rotating arms is firstly presented. Localization performance is shown in a realistic warehouse/store environment where RFID tags are attached to clothes arranged on dress racks. Also stray tags are considered in the indoor scenario, to make the environment more challenging. The experimental analysis demonstrates the system capability in improving localization performance thanks to rotating antennas

Observed parent-child feeding dynamics in relation to child body mass index and adiposity

BackgroundRestrictive feeding is associated with child overweight; however, the majority of studies used parent-report questionnaires.ObjectivesThe relationship between child adiposity measures and directly observed parent and child behaviours were tested using a novel behavioural coding system (BCS).MethodsData from 109 children, participants in a twin study and their mothers, were analyzed. Parent-child dyads were video-recorded twice in the laboratory, while children ate ad libitum from a buffet lunch. Mother and child behaviours were assessed using the BCS. Height, body weight and body fat were directly measured for each child. Associations between child adiposity measures and average BCS behaviour (i.e. pooled across visits) were tested using partial correlations adjusting for child age.ResultsRegarding discouragement prompts, child body mass index (BMI) z-score was significantly associated with a greater rate of total discouragements (per minute, min(-1)), nonverbal discouragements (min(-1)) and temporary (delay) discouragements (min(-1)) (p<0.05). Child percent body fat was associated with greater nonverbal discouragements (min(-1)). Regarding encouragement prompts, child BMI z-score was significantly associated with a greater rate of total encouragements (min(-1)), nonverbal encouragements (min(-1)) and reward encouragements (min(-1)). Child BMI z-score and percent body fat were both positively associated with greater maternal health encouragements (min(-1)). Associations with encouragement to eat prompts were no longer significant when accounting for the dependence among twins (being part of the same family).ConclusionsHeavier children received greater maternal discouragements to eat and, with qualifications, encouragements to eat. The role of nonverbal parenting cues warrants further research regarding child eating regulation and obesity

3D printing and 3D virtual models for surgical and percutaneous planning of congenital heart diseases

Despite increasing evidence of their utility, 3D models have never been extensively tested so far in pediatric cardiac surgery planning. 3D models may offer advantages over traditional imaging examinations: 1) a deeper understanding of 3D anatomy in complex defects allowing visual and tactile inspection from any point of view, 2) the possibility to interact with a tangible replica of the real organs, 3) the surgical planning and simulation maneuvers on the printed and virtual model, and 4) interaction with anatomical structures thank to Virtual Reality technologies. The work aims to test and compare the accuracy and the incremental diagnostic value of 3D printed and virtual models in patients undergoing cardiac surgery for CHDs