Psychological Profile of Taiwanese Female Cosmetic Surgery Candidates: Understanding Their Motivation for Cosmetic Surgery

Background  

Psychological processes consisting of body image and self-esteem are considered key to the motivation for cosmetic surgery (CS). The current study aimed to investigate such processes as well as social support, perception of other people’s opinion, and sex life satisfaction of Taiwanese female CS candidates. Further analyses were conducted to identify which processes predicted motivation for CS.     

Term delivery of the second twin after miscarriage of the first: a case report

BACKGROUND: Term delivery of the second twin after miscarriage of the first twin is rare. There is always a risk of preterm delivery as well as infection leading to chorioamnionitis. CASE: The second twin was delivered at term after miscarriage of the first twin at 17 weeks'gestation. The pregnancy was carefully monitored for prevention and early detection of chorioamnionitis. Delivery was delayed to 30 weeks after the miscarriage of the first twin, with a good outcome. CONCLUSION: Delayed delivery of the second twin with conservative management clearly is of benefit.     

Methods,units and quality requirements for the analysis of haemoglobin A1c in diabetes mellitus

The formation of glycohemoglobin, especially the hemoglobin A_1c (HbA_1c) fraction, occurs when glucose becomes coupled with the amino acid valine in the β-chain of Hb; this reaction is dependent on the plasma concentration of glucose. Since the early 1970s it has been known that diabetics display higher values OF HbA_1C because they have elevated blood glucose concentrations. Thus HbA_1c has acquired a very important role in the treatment and diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. After the introduction of the first quantitative measurement OF HbA_1C, numerous methods for glycohemoglobin have been introduced with different assay principles: From a simple mini-column technique to the very accurate automated high-pressure chromatography and lastly to many automated immunochemical or enzymatic assays. In early days, the results of the quality control reports for HbA_1c varied extensively between laboratories, therefore in United States and Canada working groups (WG) of the Diabetes Controls and Complications Trial (DCCT) were set up to standardize the HbA_1c assays against the DCCT/National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program reference method based on liquid chromatography. In the 1990s, the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) appointed a new WG to plan a reference preparation and method for the HBA_1c measurement. When the reference procedures were established, in 2004 IFCC recommended that all manufacturers for equipment used in HbA_1c assays should calibrate their methods to their proposals. This led to an improvement in the coefficient of variation (CV%) associated with the assay. In this review, we describe the glycation of Hb, methods, standardization of the HbA_1c assays, analytical problems, problems with the units in which HbA_1c values are expressed, reference values, quality control aspects, target requirements for HbA_1c, and the relationship of the plasma glucose values to HbA_1c concentrations. We also note that the acceptance of the mmol/mol system for HbA_1c as recommended by IFCC, i.e., the new unit and reference ranges, are becoming only slowly accepted outside of Europe where it seems that expressing HbA_1c values either only in per cent units or with parallel reporting of percent and mmol/mol will continue. We believe that these issues should be resolved in the future and that it would avoid confusion if mmol/mol unit for HbA_1c were to gain worldwide acceptance.     

Estimating multilevel regional variation in excess mortality of cancer patients using integrated nested Laplace approximation

Models of excess mortality with random effects were used to estimate regional variation in relative or net survival of cancer patients. Statistical inference for these models based on the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods is computationally intensive and, therefore, not feasible for routine analyses of cancer register data. This study assessed the performance of the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) in monitoring regional variation in cancer survival. Poisson regression model of excess mortality including both spatially correlated and unstructured random effects was fitted to the data of patients diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer in Finland during 1955-2014 with follow up from 1960 through 2014 by using the period approach with five-year calendar time windows. We estimated standard deviations associated with variation (i) between hospital districts and (ii) between municipalities within hospital districts. Posterior estimates based on the INLA approach were compared to those based on the MCMC simulation. The estimates of the variation parameters were similar between the two approaches. Variation within hospital districts dominated in the total variation between municipalities. In 2000-2014, the proportion of the average variation within hospital districts was 68% (95% posterior interval: 35%-93%) and 82% (60%-98%) out of the total variation in ovarian and breast cancer, respectively. In the estimation of regional variation, the INLA approach was accurate, fast, and easy to implement by using the R-INLA package.     

Severe seborrhoeic dermatitis: side-effect of the Mirena intra-uterine system.

A case of seborrhoeic dermatitis is described following insertion of a Mirena levonorgestrel intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) in a 36-year-old woman, which resolved completely after removal of the IUS and the application of topical treatment.     

Sense of coherence and intentions to retire early among Finnish women and men

Background  

Previous studies have shown that age, physical and mental health status and working circumstances, along with different socio-economic and psychosocial factors affect the retirement process. However, the role of psychological resources, such as sense of coherence (SOC), on the retirement process is still poorly understood. This study investigated the associations between SOC and intentions to retire early and whether these associations were explained by socio-economic, psychosocial and work and health related factors.     

The Association Between Puberty Timing and Body Mass Index in a Longitudinal Setting: The Contribution of Genetic Factors

Behavior Genetics - We analyzed the contribution of genetic factors on the association between puberty timing and body mass index (BMI) using longitudinal data and two approaches: (i) genetic twin...     

Overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor-B in mouse heart alters cardiac lipid metabolism and induces myocardial hypertrophy

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-B is poorly angiogenic but prominently expressed in metabolically highly active tissues, including the heart. We produced mice expressing a cardiac-specific VEGF-B transgene via the alpha-myosin heavy chain promoter. Surprisingly, the hearts of the VEGF-B transgenic mice showed concentric cardiac hypertrophy without significant changes in heart function. The cardiac hypertrophy was attributable to an increased size of the cardiomyocytes. Blood capillary size was increased, whereas the number of blood vessels per cell nucleus remained unchanged. Despite the cardiac hypertrophy, the transgenic mice had lower heart rate and blood pressure than their littermates, and they responded similarly to angiotensin II-induced hypertension, confirming that the hypertrophy does not compromise heart function. Interestingly, the isolated transgenic hearts had less cardiomyocyte damage after ischemia. Significantly increased ceramide and decreased triglyceride levels were found in the transgenic hearts. This was associated with structural changes and eventual lysis of mitochondria, resulting in accumulation of intracellular vacuoles in cardiomyocytes and increased death of the transgenic mice, apparently because of mitochondrial lipotoxicity in the heart. These results suggest that VEGF-B regulates lipid metabolism, an unexpected function for an angiogenic growth factor.