Beliefs regarding the consequences of obesity and ideal weight: an instrument development study

OBJECTIVE: To address the current lack of psychometrically sound measures of beliefs regarding the consequences of obesity and ideal weight that has limited research to-date. METHODS: In phase one, interviews with 22 healthy-weight, overweight and obese individuals were conducted, subjected to theme analysis and used to develop 40 items. In phase two, unsound items were removed following item and principal components analyses of data from a community sample of 188 participants. In phase three, the items selected in phase two were administered to a second workforce population (n=302) to ensure their excellent psychometric properties were stable. In phase four, data were collected from 104 obese clinic attendees to establish the subscales' construct validity. RESULTS: The resultant Obesity Beliefs Scale (OBS) is comprised of three short, reliable, unidimensional and valid subscales written in language suitable for individuals aged 12 years and above. CONCLUSION: The OBS is a psychometrically sound measure of beliefs regarding the consequences obesity and ideal weight. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The OBS has the potential to play a key role in prospective research designed to fully determine the role of beliefs in weight control behaviour. It can also be used to target and assess health education interventions.     

Prescribing medications in pediatrics: concerns regarding FDA approval and pharmacokinetics

Prescribing medications "off-label" is a common practice in pediatric health care since many medications lack U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for pediatric drug labeling due to insufficient drug testing in children. This clinical paper reviews the FDA laws regarding approval of medications in children and the pharmacokinetic differences in absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion between children and adults. Two commonly used pharmacology resources were reviewed to determine their identification of FDA approved indications in children and dosing recommendations by age or weight in children. Adhering to the "community's standard of care" is a common guideline for prescribing "off-label" in pediatrics, but must be used in combination with multiple respected pediatric resources and with full knowledge of pharmacokinetics in children, particularly in young children.     

Red cell distribution width is associated with mortality in kidney transplant recipients

Background

Red cell distribution width (RDW), a parameter routinely reported as part of the complete blood count, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality risk in different patient populations. No published data are available about the association between RDW and mortality in kidney transplant recipients.

Methods

We collected socio-demographic, clinical parameters, medical and transplant history and laboratory data at baseline in 723 prevalent kidney transplant recipients between June and October 2008 [mean age 51 ± 13 (SD) years, 56 % men, 21 % diabetics]. Associations between baseline RDW values and all-cause mortality over 3 years were examined in unadjusted and adjusted models.

Results

Increasing RDW was associated with increased mortality in both unadjusted [(HR_{1 % increase} = 1.63; 95 % CI 1.41–1.89) and (HR_>median = 2.74; 95 % CI 1.68–4.48)] and fully adjusted models [(HR_{1 % increase} = 1.60; 95 % CI 1.27–1.89) and (HR_>median = 1.33; 95 % CI 0.76–2.35)]. In reclassification analyses, RDW improved the predictive value of all-cause mortality prediction models [the net reclassification improvement (NRI) was 0.189; p < 0.001].

Conclusions

RDW, a cheap and readily available but largely neglected parameter independently, predicts mortality in prevalent kidney transplant recipients and could potentially been used in everyday risk assessment of kidney transplant recipients.     

Serum levels of galactose-deficient immunoglobulin (Ig) A1 and related immune complex are associated with disease activity of IgA nephropathy

Background

The primary abnormal manifestation in immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is recurring bouts of hematuria with or without proteinuria. Although immunohistochemical analysis of renal biopsy tissue remains the gold standard not only for diagnosis but also for evaluating the activity of IgAN, new sensitive and reasonably specific noninvasive tests are emerging to guide therapeutic strategy applicable to all stages of IgAN. The present study examined serum levels of galactose-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) and its immune complex (IgA/IgG-IC) as noninvasive markers for the disease activity.

Methods

We enrolled 50 IgAN patients (male 40 %, median age 37 years) showing complete or partial clinical remission after steroid pulse therapy with tonsillectomy (TSP) whose clinical data and serum could be followed up for 3–5 years.

Results

Cross-sectional analysis revealed that the degree of hematuria and proteinuria were significantly associated with levels of Gd-IgA1 and levels of IgA/IgG-IC. Longitudinal analysis further showed that from the group of 44 patients with heavy hematuria before TSP, 31 patients showed complete disappearance of hematuria (group A), but the remaining patients did not (group B). Although the levels of Gd-IgA1 and IgA/IgG-IC in the two groups before TSP were similar, percentage decrease of Gd-IgA1 and IgA/IgG-IC levels in group A was significantly higher than in group B.

Conclusion

Disease activity of IgAN assessed by hematuria and proteinuria correlated with serum levels and changes of Gd-IgA1 and IgA/IgG-IC. These new noninvasive disease activity markers can be useful for future activity scoring system and guiding therapeutic approaches.     

A Review of Impact of Textile Research on Protective Face Masks

COVID-19, classified as SARS-CoV-2, is causing an ongoing global pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in the loss of lives and has caused economic hardships. Most of the devices used to protect against the transmission of the novel COVID-19 disease are related to textile structures. Hence, the challenge for textile professionals is to design and develop suitable textile structures with multiple functionalities for capturing viruses, passivating them, and, at the same time, having no adverse effects on humans during the complete period of use. In addition to manufacturing efficient, biocompatible, and cost-effective protective face masks, it is also necessary to inform the public about the benefits and risks of protective face mask materials. The purpose of this article is to address the concerns of efficiency and efficacy of face masks by primarily reviewing the literature of research conducted at the Technical University of Liberec. The main focus is on the presentation of problems related to the specification of aims of face mask applications, mechanisms of capture, durability, and modes of sterilization. The recommendations, instead of conclusions, are addressed to the whole textile society because they should be leading players in the design, creation, and proper treatment of face masks due to their familiarity with the complex behavior of textile structures and targeted changes of structural hierarchy starting from polymeric chains (nano-level) and ending in planar textile structures (millimeter level) due to action by mechanical, physical and chemical fields. This becomes extremely critical to saving hundreds of thousands of lives from COVID-19.     

Use of spleen organ cultures to monitor hemopoietic progenitor cell regeneration following irradiation and marrow transplantation

After lethal irradiation of C57BL mice followed by the injection of 10(7) marrow cells, total cellularity and progenitor cell levels exceeded pretreatment levels within 12 days in the spleen, but regeneration remained incomplete in the marrow. The exceptional regenerative capacity of progenitor populations in the spleen was observed in organ cultures of spleen slices prepared 24 hr after irradiation and transplantation, excluding continuous repopulation from the marrow as a significant factor in splenic regeneration.