The Intersection of Technology and Everyday Life

27 pagesGrowing up in the age of technology, mobile phones and tablets are all that we've ever known. As a society, we have become reliant on the connectedness that our phones give us to people from all across the world. In some cases, we have become addicted to how we interact with screen-based technology. Built into phones and apps are different techniques to keep us looking longer and scrolling more. I am going to analyze how our use of screen-based technology and phones has changed over time and examine the impact that this has had on society—specifically with Generation Z. With my background in computer science and coding, I will develop an app that focuses on bringing people back into real life. After certain intervals of time of continuous use of your phone, the app will pop up a reminder to take a break, drink some water, and bring yourself back into the moment. With this gentle reminder, I'm hoping to enable people to relieve their dependency to screen-based technology a bit. With the research that I gather, I will interpret the importance of the app and the potential applications it will have to daily life and the impacts it could bring to my generation

Pubertal timing and breast density in young women: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND:Earlier age at onset of pubertal events and longer intervals between them (tempo) have been associated with increased breast cancer risk. It is unknown whether the timing and tempo of puberty are associated with adult breast density, which could mediate the increased risk. METHODS:From 1988 to 1997, girls participating in the Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC) were clinically assessed annually between ages 8 and 17 years for Tanner stages of breast development (thelarche) and pubic hair (pubarche), and onset of menses (menarche) was self-reported. In 2006-2008, 182 participants then aged 25-29 years had their percent dense breast volume (%DBV) measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Multivariable, linear mixed-effects regression models adjusted for reproductive factors, demographics, and body size were used to evaluate associations of age and tempo of puberty events with %DBV. RESULTS:The mean (standard deviation) and range of %DBV were 27.6 (20.5) and 0.2-86.1. Age at thelarche was negatively associated with %DBV (p trend = 0.04), while pubertal tempo between thelarche and menarche was positively associated with %DBV (p trend = 0.007). %DBV was 40% higher in women whose thelarche-to-menarche tempo was 2.9 years or longer (geometric mean (95%CI) = 21.8% (18.2-26.2%)) compared to women whose thelarche-to-menarche tempo was less than 1.6 years (geometric mean (95%CI) = 15.6% (13.9-17.5%)). CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that a slower pubertal tempo, i.e., greater number of months between thelarche and menarche, is associated with higher percent breast density in young women. Future research should examine whether breast density mediates the association between slower tempo and increased breast cancer risk

Dietary Fat and Fatty Acid Intake in Nulliparous Women: Associations with Preterm Birth and Distinctions by Maternal BMI

Background: Evidence documenting whether diet quality, particularly dietary fatty acids, is associated with preterm birth (PTB) is limited. Objective: The aim was to measure associations between dietary fatty acid intake prior to pregnancy, specifically n-3 (ɷ-3) PUFAs and odds of PTB in US women and determine if associations differed by prepregnancy BMI. Methods: We designed a secondary analysis of dietary intake in nulliparous women enrolled in a longitudinal cohort (NCT01322529). Participants completed an FFQ, modified to assess detailed PUFA intake, during the 3 mo preceding pregnancy. Inclusion in this analytic cohort required total energy intake within 2 SDs of the group mean. Prepregnancy BMI was categorized as underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. The primary exposure was estimated intake of EPA and DHA (combined EPA+DHA), in the context of a recommended intake of 250 mg. The primary outcome was PTB (<37 wk). Adjusted regression models controlled for maternal factors relevant to PTB and evaluated associations with PUFAs. Interaction terms estimated effect modification of BMI. A false discovery rate (FDR) correction accounted for multiple comparisons. Results: Median daily intake of combined EPA+DHA in 7365 women was 70 mg (IQR: 32, 145 mg). A significant interaction term indicated the effects of EPA+DHA on odds of PTB were different for different BMI categories (P < 0.01). Specifically, higher intake of combined EPA+DHA was nominally associated with reduced odds of PTB in women with underweight (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.46-0.98) and normal BMI (OR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.78-0.96), yet was associated with increased odds of overweight BMI (OR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.02-1.44). Associations remained significant after FDR correction. Conclusions: Based on a cohort of US women designed to identify predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes, dietary intake of combined EPA+DHA was considerably lower than recommended. Associations between intake of these recommended n-3 fatty acids and risk of PTB differ by maternal BMI

Lead-DBS v3.0: Mapping Deep Brain Stimulation Effects to Local Anatomy and Global Networks.

Following its introduction in 2014 and with support of a broad international community, the open-source toolbox Lead-DBS has evolved into a comprehensive neuroimaging platform dedicated to localizing, reconstructing, and visualizing electrodes implanted in the human brain, in the context of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and epilepsy monitoring. Expanding clinical indications for DBS, increasing availability of related research tools, and a growing community of clinician-scientist researchers, however, have led to an ongoing need to maintain, update, and standardize the codebase of Lead-DBS. Major development efforts of the platform in recent years have now yielded an end-to-end solution for DBS-based neuroimaging analysis allowing comprehensive image preprocessing, lead localization, stimulation volume modeling, and statistical analysis within a single tool. The aim of the present manuscript is to introduce fundamental additions to the Lead-DBS pipeline including a deformation warpfield editor and novel algorithms for electrode localization. Furthermore, we introduce a total of three comprehensive tools to map DBS effects to local, tract- and brain network-levels. These updates are demonstrated using a single patient example (for subject-level analysis), as well as a retrospective cohort of 51 Parkinson's disease patients who underwent DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (for group-level analysis). Their applicability is further demonstrated by comparing the various methodological choices and the amount of explained variance in clinical outcomes across analysis streams. Finally, based on an increasing need to standardize folder and file naming specifications across research groups in neuroscience, we introduce the brain imaging data structure (BIDS) derivative standard for Lead-DBS. Thus, this multi-institutional collaborative effort represents an important stage in the evolution of a comprehensive, open-source pipeline for DBS imaging and connectomics

Pubertal timing and breast density in young women: a prospective cohort study

Background Earlier age at onset of pubertal events and longer intervals between them (tempo) have been associated with increased breast cancer risk. It is unknown whether the timing and tempo of puberty are associated with adult breast density, which could mediate the increased risk. Methods From 1988 to 1997, girls participating in the Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC) were clinically assessed annually between ages 8 and 17 years for Tanner stages of breast development (thelarche) and pubic hair (pubarche), and onset of menses (menarche) was self-reported. In 2006–2008, 182 participants then aged 25–29 years had their percent dense breast volume (%DBV) measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Multivariable, linear mixed-effects regression models adjusted for reproductive factors, demographics, and body size were used to evaluate associations of age and tempo of puberty events with %DBV. Results The mean (standard deviation) and range of %DBV were 27.6 (20.5) and 0.2–86.1. Age at thelarche was negatively associated with %DBV (p trend = 0.04), while pubertal tempo between thelarche and menarche was positively associated with %DBV (p trend = 0.007). %DBV was 40% higher in women whose thelarche-to-menarche tempo was 2.9 years or longer (geometric mean (95%CI) = 21.8% (18.2–26.2%)) compared to women whose thelarche-to-menarche tempo was less than 1.6 years (geometric mean (95%CI) = 15.6% (13.9–17.5%)). Conclusions Our results suggest that a slower pubertal tempo, i.e., greater number of months between thelarche and menarche, is associated with higher percent breast density in young women. Future research should examine whether breast density mediates the association between slower tempo and increased breast cancer risk

The prevalence of common mental disorders and PTSD in the UK military: using data from a clinical interview-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mental health of the Armed Forces is an important issue of both academic and public interest. The aims of this study are to: a) assess the prevalence and risk factors for common mental disorders and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, during the main fighting period of the Iraq War (TELIC 1) and later deployments to Iraq or elsewhere and enlistment status (regular or reserve), and b) compare the prevalence of depression, PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation in regular and reserve UK Army personnel who deployed to Iraq with their US counterparts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were drawn from a large UK military health study using a standard two phase survey technique stratified by deployment status and engagement type. Participants undertook a structured telephone interview including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and a short measure of PTSD (Primary Care PTSD, PC-PTSD). The response rate was 76% (821 participants).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The weighted prevalence of common mental disorders and PTSD symptoms was 27.2% and 4.8%, respectively. The most common diagnoses were alcohol abuse (18.0%) and neurotic disorders (13.5%). There was no health effect of deploying for regular personnel, but an increased risk of PTSD for reservists who deployed to Iraq and other recent deployments compared to reservists who did not deploy. The prevalence of depression, PTSD symptoms and subjective poor health were similar between regular US and UK Iraq combatants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The most common mental disorders in the UK military are alcohol abuse and neurotic disorders. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms remains low in the UK military, but reservists are at greater risk of psychiatric injury than regular personnel.</p

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

Is the Braden Scale an Appropriate Tool for Pressure Ulcer Prevention? [Poster]

Pressure ulcers (PU, also known as bedsores) are breakdowns of the skin resulting from undue pressure, particularly over bony prominences. There are various assessment tools to determine patient risk for developing skin breakdown; the Braden Scale (BS) is one. The population we researched was hospitalized patients, and our intervention was using the BS for pressure ulcer prevention versus not using the BS. The outcomes we predict are that BS implementation in a hospital setting will minimize the prevalence of PU in hospitalized patients, and the time varies, depending on length of stay. We searched through PubMed, CINAHL, NCBI at NCM, OVID, and Medline databases with the keywords Braden Scale, accuracy, pressure ulcer prevention, accuracy, hospital setting, and validation to find studies to use in this evidence-based presentation. These studies showed that without the involvement of clinical judgment, the BS alone might not be an effective means of PU prevention. [Poster

The Use of Food Images and Crowdsourcing to Capture Real-time Eating Behaviors: Acceptability and Usability Study

BackgroundAs poor diet quality is a significant risk factor for multiple noncommunicable diseases prevalent in the United States, it is important that methods be developed to accurately capture eating behavior data. There is growing interest in the use of ecological momentary assessments to collect data on health behaviors and their predictors on a micro timescale (at different points within or across days); however, documenting eating behaviors remains a challenge. ObjectiveThis pilot study (N=48) aims to examine the feasibility—usability and acceptability—of using smartphone-captured and crowdsource-labeled images to document eating behaviors in real time. MethodsParticipants completed the Block Fat/Sugar/Fruit/Vegetable Screener to provide a measure of their typical eating behavior, then took pictures of their meals and snacks and answered brief survey questions for 7 consecutive days using a commercially available smartphone app. Participant acceptability was determined through a questionnaire regarding their experiences administered at the end of the study. The images of meals and snacks were uploaded to Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), a crowdsourcing distributed human intelligence platform, where 2 Workers assigned a count of food categories to the images (fruits, vegetables, salty snacks, and sweet snacks). The agreement among MTurk Workers was assessed, and weekly food counts were calculated and compared with the Screener responses. ResultsParticipants reported little difficulty in uploading photographs and remembered to take photographs most of the time. Crowdsource-labeled images (n=1014) showed moderate agreement between the MTurk Worker responses for vegetables (688/1014, 67.85%) and high agreement for all other food categories (871/1014, 85.89% for fruits; 847/1014, 83.53% for salty snacks, and 833/1014, 81.15% for sweet snacks). There were no significant differences in weekly food consumption between the food images and the Block Screener, suggesting that this approach may measure typical eating behaviors as accurately as traditional methods, with lesser burden on participants. ConclusionsOur approach offers a potentially time-efficient and cost-effective strategy for capturing eating events in real time