Parental encouragement of dieting promotes daughters’ early dieting

Dieting to lose weight is common among female adolescents. This research investigated the association between maternal and paternal encouragement to diet and their daughters' self-reported "early dieting" (prior to age 11 y) and adolescent dieting (between 11 y and 15 y), and how parental encouragement to diet is related to changes in daughters' BMI percentiles. Participants in this study were 174 non-Hispanic white girls and their parents, assessed when daughters were 9-, 11-, 13-, and 15 y. The Parent Encouragement of Child Weight Loss Scale was used to measure encouragement to diet. Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between parental encouragement to diet and daughters' reports of dieting by 11 y and by 15 y, adjusting for daughters' weight status at baseline. Compared with girls whose mothers didn't encourage dieting, girls who were encouraged to diet were twice as likely to diet by 11 y; girls who were encouraged by their fathers were also twice as likely to diet by 11 y. Girls who were encouraged to diet by both parents were 8 times more likely to report early dieting than girls who were not. Neither maternal nor paternal encouragement predicted the emergence of dieting during adolescence. Girls who dieted and had parental encouragement to do so had increases in BMI percentile from 9 y to 15 y. Findings reveal that parental encouragement to diet may be counterproductive and that parents need alternative approaches to promote healthy patterns of intake and growth among young girls.

Uncertainty treatment in expert information systems for maintenance policy assessment

This paper proposes a framework based on the Dempster-Shafer Theory of Evidence (DSTE), Possibility Theory (PT) and Fuzzy Random Variables (FRVs) to represent expert knowledge and propagate uncertainty through models. An example of application is given with reference to a check valve of a turbo-pump lubricating system in a Nuclear Power Plant, which is degrading due to mechanical fatigue and undergoes condition-based maintenance interventions. The component degradation-failure model used to evaluate the performance of the maintenance policy contains parameters subject to epistemic uncertainty.

ABCA1 gene variation and heart disease risk reduction in the elderly during pravastatin treatment

Our goals were to examine the relationships of a specific ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) variant, rs2230806 (R219K), on baseline lipids, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering due to pravastatin, baseline heart disease, and cardiac endpoints on trial.

Impact of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase signaling pathway on the cardioprotection induced by intermittent hypoxia

Vitamin D modulates the association of circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 with carotid artery intima-media thickness

Experimental evidence indicates that circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) counteracts vascular aging and atherosclerosis, for which increased carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) is a marker. Yet, IGF-1 concentrations have been inconsistently associated with carotid IMT in epidemiological studies. Since vitamin D is also implicated in vascular protection and affects IGF-1 biology, we hypothesized that it would influence the effect of IGF-1 on IMT.

b-Gamma-glutamyltransferase activity in human vulnerable carotid plaques

The atherosclerotic plaque that is vulnerable to rupture and to superimposed thrombosis is mainly represented by a thin-cap fibroatheroma with or without ulceration/thrombosis and inflammatory infiltrates. Total serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity is an independent predictor for cardiovascular events. Four GGT fractions have been identified in plasma and only one of them (b-GGT) in atherosclerotic plaques, but the possible role of GGT in plaque pathophysiology has not been assessed yet. We investigated the relationships between plaque b-GGT activity and the histological features of plaque vulnerability.

Preoperative Maximum Oxygen Consumption Is Associated With Prognosis After Pulmonary Resection in Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate whether maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) is a reliable prognostic factor after lung resection for pathologic stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Databases: Joint Standardization of Variable Definitions and Terminology

The European Society of Thoracic Surgery (ESTS) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) general thoracic surgery databases collect thoracic surgical data from Europe and North America, respectively. Their objectives are similar: to measure processes and outcomes so as to improve the quality of thoracic surgical care. Future collaboration between the two databases and their integration could generate significant new knowledge. However, important discrepancies exist in terminology and definitions between the two databases. The objective of this collaboration between the ESTS and STS is to identify important differences between databases and harmonize terminology and definitions to facilitate future endeavors.

Ring-Reinforced Sano Conduit at Norwood Stage I Reduces Proximal Conduit Obstruction

Reinterventions for proximal conduit obstruction or on the pulmonary arteries are frequent after the Sano-modified stage I Norwood palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome. We report our initial experience with a modified Sano technique using a ring-reinforced graft inserted transmurally through the right ventricle with a limited ventriculotomy.

Disentangling patch and landscape constraints of nested assemblages

The role of the matrix for the functionality of residual patches and therefore for species persistence has been recently recognised. However its influence on assemblage structure and composition is still unclear. We studied the effect of both patch and matrix attributes on community assemblage structure and composition in a fragmented landscape of central Italy. We used bird assemblages as a study model. Birds were sampled in 24 wood patches and distribution patterns were analysed considering both assemblage and guild-level responses. Patch composition and structure together with landscape patterns quantified with GIS were used as explanatory variables. The assemblages appeared to be strongly influenced by the landscape context, both in terms of composition and configuration. The functional connectivity of the patches, in terms of amount of neighbouring borders between woods and hedgerows, the shape of the woods in the matrix, together with the age of the patches, expressed as tree diameter, acted as the essential determinants, and even if the assemblages presented a significant nested structure, seven out of 40 species showed an idiosyncratic distribution. The study of the association between functional guilds and environmental parameters highlighted the influence of ecological constraints on the occurrence of unexpected presences and absences, suggesting the ability of some species to perceive and exploit matrix habitats. The matrix holds the capability to at least mitigate the effects of isolation and habitat loss, and the semi-natural elements of the mosaic may represent a biodiversity reservoir in an otherwise deprived landscape