437 research outputs found
Factors Associated with Mindful Food Parenting Practices
Background and Purpose: The prevalence of childhood obesity remains a concern in the United States and puts children at risk for poor health. As parents are the primary caretakers of their children, the practice of mindful food parenting may help parents moderate their child’s food consumption and food choices. The purpose of this research was to identify the factors associated with mindful food parenting practices among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white parents in two low-income schools in rural northern California. Methods: Two hundred ninety three parents of 3rd through 5th grade elementary school children completed a four part mindful food parenting practices survey developed to measure the factors associated with mindful food parenting practices. Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed four mindful food parenting practices domains which were positively associated with several mindful food parenting practices such as eating family meals together and present-centered awareness (p=0.001) and cooking meals at home and hungerfullness awareness (p=0.001). Several demographic variables were associated with the mindful food parenting practices. Conclusions: As parents are more mindful and attentive to their child’s eating behaviors, there is a greater potential for a positive parental impact on their child’s food intake and types of foods consumed, and indirectly, the health of their child
Information compression at the turbulent-phase transition in cold atom gases
The statistical properties of physical systems in thermal equilibrium are
blatantly different from their far-from-equilibrium counterparts. In the
latter, fluctuations often dominate the dynamics and might cluster in ordered
patterns in the form of dissipative coherent structures. Here, we study the
transition of a cold atomic cloud, driven close to a sharp electronic
resonance, from a stable to a turbulent phase. From the atomic density
distribution -- measured using a spatially-resolved pump-probe technique -- we
have computed the Shannon entropy on two different basis sets. Information
compression, corresponding to a minimum in the Shannon entropy, has been
observed at criticality, where the system fluctuations organize into high-order
(low-entropy) patterns. Being independent of the representation used, this
feature is a property shared by a vast class of physical systems undergoing
phase transitions.Comment: information compression, turbulent-phase transition, cold atoms,
critical opalescence, second-order phase transitio
Stem cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in a preclinical model of cerebral ischemia: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Introduction: Although there is an increase in clinical trials assessing the efficacy of cell therapy in structural and functional regeneration after stroke, there are not enough data in the literature describing the best cell type to be used, the best route, and also the best nanoparticle to analyze these stem cells in vivo. This review analyzed published data on superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION)-labeled stem cells used for ischemic stroke therapy.Method: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from experiments testing the efficacy of cellular treatment with SPION versus no treatment to improve behavioral or modified neural scale outcomes in animal models of stroke by the Cochrane Collaboration and indexed in EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science since 2000. To test the impact of study quality and design characteristics, we used random-effects meta-regression. in addition, trim and fill were used to assess publication bias.Results: the search retrieved 258 articles. After application of the inclusion criteria, 24 reports published between January 2000 and October 2014 were selected. These 24 articles were analyzed for nanoparticle characteristics, stem cell types, and efficacy in animal models.Conclusion: This study highlights the therapeutic role of stem cells in stroke and emphasizes nanotechnology as an important tool for monitoring stem cell migration to the affected neurological locus.Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert EinsteinCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPEGHosp Israelita Albert Einstein, BR-05651901 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, BR-04021001 São Paulo, SP, BrazilSanta Casa Misericordia São Paulo, BR-01221020 São Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Matemat & Estat, BR-05508090 São Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, LIM44, BR-05403000 São Paulo, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, BR-04021001 São Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc
Comparison between "In-bore" MRI guided prostate biopsy and standard ultrasound guided biopsy in the patient with suspicious prostate cancer: Preliminary results.
OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate the detection rate of prostate cancer (PCa) in patients who underwent to "in bore" Magnetic Resonance Imaging -guided prostate (MRI-GB) biopsy compared to the standard transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy (TRUS-GB).
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Between January 2017 and March 2015 a cohort of 39 consecutive patients was prospectively enrolled. All the patients underwent an "in-bore" guided MRI prostatic biopsy and subsequently ultrasound-guided standard prostate biopsy.
RESULTS:
Median age of patients was 65.5 years (SD \ub1 6.6), median total PSA serum level was 6.6 ng/ml (SD \ub1 4.1), median prostate total volume was 51.1 cc (SD \ub1 26.7). Thirty of 39 (76.9%) were biopsy-na\uefve patients while 7/39 (17.9%) had at least one previous negative random TRUS-GB; 2/39 (5.1%) patients were already diagnosed as PCa and were on active surveillance. In 18/39 (53.8%) men Pca was diagnosed; as regards the MRI-GB results related to the PI-RADS score, biopsies of PIRADS 3 lesions were positive in 5/18 cases (27.8%), while the number of positive cases of PI-RADS 4 and 5 lesions was 7/11 (63.6%) and 6/10 (60%)respectively. At the histological examination, 4/39 (10.3%) had a PCa ISUP grade group 1, 11/39 (28.2%) had a ISUP 2, 6/39(15.4%) had a ISUP grade group 3 and 2/39 (5.1%) had a ISUP 4-5.
CONCLUSIONS:
MRI-GB represents a promising technique that may offer some of advantages compared to standard systematic TRUSGB. Our preliminary experience in MRI-GB resulted safe and feasible and represents a viable procedure for the diagnosis and characterization of PCa
An international comparative study of blood pressure in populations of European vs. African descent
Background: The consistent finding of higher prevalence of hypertension in US blacks compared
to whites has led to speculation that African-origin populations are particularly susceptible to this
condition. Large surveys now provide new information on this issue.
Methods: Using a standardized analysis strategy we examined prevalence estimates for 8 white
and 3 black populations (N = 85,000 participants).
Results: The range in hypertension prevalence was from 27 to 55% for whites and 14 to 44% for
blacks.
Conclusions: These data demonstrate that not only is there a wide variation in hypertension
prevalence among both racial groups, the rates among blacks are not unusually high when viewed
internationally. These data suggest that the impact of environmental factors among both
populations may have been under-appreciated
Mini-invasive robotic assisted pyelolithotomy: Comparison between the transperitoneal and retroperitoneal approach.
OBJECTIVE:
To compare the retroperitoneal with the transperitoneal approach in a series of patients underwent to robotic-assisted pyelolithotomy (RP).
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
From January 2015 to December 2018 we evaluated 20 patients subjected to robotic pyelolithotomy; 11 patients were treated with retroperitoneal approach (RRP) and 9 with transperitoneal approach (TRP). For each patient intra and perioperative data were recorded: operative time (OT), blood loss (BL), length of hospital stay (LOS), stone clearance, post-operative complications and time to remove the drain. The presence of stone fragments < 4 mm was considered as stone free rate.
RESULTS:
The principal stone burden was greater in the TRP group than in the RRP group (48 ± 10 mm vs 32 ± 14 mm, p = 0.12). Preoperative hydronephrosis was present in 7 (64%) patients in RRP group and a mild hydronephrosis in 3 of TRP group (p = 0.04). The average operative time was higher in the RRP group than in the TRP group (203 ± 45 min vs 137 ± 31 min, p = 0.002). The average blood loss was 305 ± 175 ml in the RRP group versus 94 ± 104 ml in the TRP group (p = 0.005). The stone free rate was similar between the two groups, 36% (4 patients) in the RRP group and 44% (4 patients) in the TRP (p = 0.966).
CONCLUSIONS:
RP appears to be a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for some patients with renal staghorn calculi or urinary tract malformations. The TRP may give lower operative time and better results in terms of blood loss and length of hospital stay
How artificial intelligence tools can be used to assess individual patient risk in cardiovascular disease: problems with the current methods
BACKGROUND: In recent years a number of algorithms for cardiovascular risk assessment has been proposed to the medical community. These algorithms consider a number of variables and express their results as the percentage risk of developing a major fatal or non-fatal cardiovascular event in the following 10 to 20 years DISCUSSION: The author has identified three major pitfalls of these algorithms, linked to the limitation of the classical statistical approach in dealing with this kind of non linear and complex information. The pitfalls are the inability to capture the disease complexity, the inability to capture process dynamics, and the wide confidence interval of individual risk assessment. Artificial Intelligence tools can provide potential advantage in trying to overcome these limitations. The theoretical background and some application examples related to artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic have been reviewed and discussed. SUMMARY: The use of predictive algorithms to assess individual absolute risk of cardiovascular future events is currently hampered by methodological and mathematical flaws. The use of newer approaches, such as fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks, linked to artificial intelligence, seems to better address both the challenge of increasing complexity resulting from a correlation between predisposing factors, data on the occurrence of cardiovascular events, and the prediction of future events on an individual level
Stem cells labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in a preclinical model of cerebral ischemia: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Abstract\ud
\ud
Introduction\ud
Although there is an increase in clinical trials assessing the efficacy of cell therapy in structural and functional regeneration after stroke, there are not enough data in the literature describing the best cell type to be used, the best route, and also the best nanoparticle to analyze these stem cells in vivo. This review analyzed published data on superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION)-labeled stem cells used for ischemic stroke therapy.\ud
\ud
\ud
Method\ud
We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from experiments testing the efficacy of cellular treatment with SPION versus no treatment to improve behavioral or modified neural scale outcomes in animal models of stroke by the Cochrane Collaboration and indexed in EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science since 2000. To test the impact of study quality and design characteristics, we used random-effects meta-regression. In addition, trim and fill were used to assess publication bias.\ud
\ud
\ud
Results\ud
The search retrieved 258 articles. After application of the inclusion criteria, 24 reports published between January 2000 and October 2014 were selected. These 24 articles were analyzed for nanoparticle characteristics, stem cell types, and efficacy in animal models.\ud
\ud
\ud
Conclusion\ud
This study highlights the therapeutic role of stem cells in stroke and emphasizes nanotechnology as an important tool for monitoring stem cell migration to the affected neurological locus.Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein (IIEPAE)FINEPCAPESFAPESPFAPE
Exact expression for the diffusion propagator in a family of time-dependent anharmonic potentials
We have obtained the exact expression of the diffusion propagator in the
time-dependent anharmonic potential . The
underlying Euclidean metric of the problem allows us to obtain analytical
solutions for a whole family of the elastic parameter a(t), exploiting the
relation between the path integral representation of the short time propagator
and the modified Bessel functions. We have also analyzed the conditions for the
appearance of a non-zero flow of particles through the infinite barrier located
at the origin (b<0).Comment: RevTex, 19 pgs. Accepted in Physical Review
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