• Hoffmann Vazquez posted an update 1 week ago

    Medical Fear Survey (MFS) was designed to assess the fear of medical treatments and related factors through five dimensions including fears of injections and blood draws, sharp objects, blood, mutilation, medical examination and physical symptoms. We analysed the factor structure and validity of a short version of MFS in Hungarian, on a large sample (2631 participants; 558 men, 2067 women) focusing on possible age and gender differences (aged Mean = 30.4, SD = 13.4), which were not reported for the original version. Furthermore, using discriminant analysis, potential screening function of the MFS-short was examined. Results supported construct and convergent validity and scale-reliability for the five-factor structure of the MFS-short. Further analyses demonstrated excellent discriminatory power for four subscales, while one subscale had acceptable power. Our findings provide implications for the utility of MFS-short as a screening measure in assessing the severity of medical fears controlling for gender differences and age-biases.

    Lipedema is characterized by the deposition of abnormal fat in the lower and upper limbs bilaterally. It is a disease with high prevalence and genetic characteristics. Non-specific and non-quantified increases in the thickness of the subcutaneous tissue have previously been demonstrated using magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography.

    To evaluate the thickness of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue in predetermined areas as a distinguishing feature between individuals with and without lipedema using ultrasound.

    Ultrasound images of 89 female patients were analyzed, including patients undergoing clinical investigation for venous insufficiency or lipedema who underwent ultrasound evaluations at our institution. Patients were divided in two groups with lipedema clinically diagnosed and those without lipedema. They underwent a common Doppler protocol for venous mapping to assess venous insufficiency associated with the evaluation of dermis and subcutaneous thickness at pre-defined points of the lower limbs.

    There were 63 patients with lipedema. Anterior thigh, pre-tibial and lateral aspect of the leg and supra-just medial malleolar region were significantly different. Supra-just medial malleolar region was significantly different with BMI above 25. An optimal cutoff value was calculated for the ultrasound diagnosis of lipedema using thickness of the dermis and subcutaneous tissues.

    Studied criteria allow use of simple and reproducible ultrasound cutoff values to diagnose lipedema in the lower limbs. Pre-tibial region thickness measurement, followed by thigh and lateral leg thickness are recommended for the ultrasound diagnosis of lipedema.

    Studied criteria allow use of simple and reproducible ultrasound cutoff values to diagnose lipedema in the lower limbs. Pre-tibial region thickness measurement, followed by thigh and lateral leg thickness are recommended for the ultrasound diagnosis of lipedema.In the present study, we examined the relationship between mindfulness and rumination among student-athletes. Ninety-seven young adult student-athletes (38.1% female, 61.9% male; Mage = 22.52, SD = 3.53) completed both the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport and the Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire. Among these participants, we observed a significant positive correlation between rumination and the awareness sub-dimension of mindfulness. We also observed significant negative correlations between rumination and two scores from the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport non-judgment and overall mindfulness. Awareness, non-judgment, and mindfulness were all significant predictors of rumination in a linear regression analysis. While these are correlational data that do not permit causal inferences, these findings raise the possibility, in this population, that awareness triggers ruminative thoughts and overall mindfulness might represent a coping tool for rumination. Further research is needed to test this possibility.Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by progressive reductions in skeletal muscle function and size. The concept of muscle quality is increasingly being used to assess muscle health, although the best means of assessment remains unidentified. The use of muscle echogenicity is limited by an inability to be compared across devices. Gray level of co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), a form of image texture analysis, may provide a measure of muscle quality, robust to scanner settings. This study aimed to identify GLCM values from skeletal muscle images in CKD and investigate their association with physical performance and strength (a surrogate of muscle function). Transverse images of the rectus femoris muscle were obtained using B-mode 2D ultrasound imaging. Texture analysis (GLCM) was performed using ImageJ. Five different GLCM features were quantified energy or angular second moment (ASM), entropy, homogeneity, or inverse difference moment (IDM), correlation, and contrast. Physical function and strength were assessed using tests of handgrip strength, sit to stand-60, gait speed, incremental shuttle walk test, and timed up-and-go. ARV-825 molecular weight Correlation coefficients between GLCM indices were compared to each objective functional measure. A total of 90 CKD patients (age 64.6 (10.9) years, 44% male, eGFR 33.8 (15.7) mL/minutes/1.73 m2) were included. Better muscle function was largely associated with those values suggestive of greater image texture homogeneity (i.e., greater ASM, correlation, and IDM, lower entropy and contrast). Entropy showed the greatest association across all the functional assessments (r = -.177). All GLCM parameters, a form of higher-order texture analysis, were associated with muscle function, although the largest association as seen with image entropy. Image homogeneity likely indicates lower muscle infiltration of fat and fibrosis. Texture analysis may provide a novel indicator of muscle quality that is robust to changes in scanner settings. Further research is needed to substantiate our findings.Living in a neighborhood with dense HCBS organizations can promote older adults’ health and well-being and may mitigate health disparities generated by living in materially deprived urban neighborhoods. Using 2016 US County Business Patterns and the American Community Survey (2013-2017), focused on 516 ZIP Codes in Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Areas, this study examines the association between neighborhood characteristics and the relative density of businesses offering services for older adults and persons with disabilities (e.g., senior centers, adult day service centers, personal care) and businesses offering home health care. Results from a series of spatial econometric models show that social care organization density tends to be high in neighborhoods with a greater number of residents who have a bachelor’s degree, who are older, and who are in poverty. Home health care density was not explained by neighborhood factors. Multiple neighborhood socio-demographic indicators explain the spatial distribution of social care organizations.Narcissists have a relatively higher proclivity for displaying antisocial rather than prosocial behaviors, suggesting a comparatively higher tendency for unfavorably impacting societies. However, maintenance of social order also depends on appropriate responses to others’ social behavior. link2 Once we focus on narcissists as observers rather than actors, their impact on social functioning becomes less clear-cut. Theoretical arguments suggest that narcissists could be either hypo-responsive or hyper-responsive to others’ social behavior. Across four studies, we examined narcissists’ responsiveness to variations in others’ antisocial and prosocial behaviors. Results showed that narcissists differentiated less between others’ antisociality/prosociality, as reflected in their subsequent moral character evaluations (Studies 1-4) and reward and punishment (Studies 3 and 4). These results suggest that narcissists are hypo-responsive to others’ social behaviors. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.Little is known about support experiences and needs in the dyads of (1) terminally ill adult children and their parent caregivers and (2) terminally ill parents and their adult child caregivers. The current study aimed at investigating the experiences and needs of adult children and parents in end of life situations regarding their provision and receipt of support. The study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, combining explorative qualitative interviews with the quantitative self-report Berlin Social Support Scales. Sixty-five patients (dyad 1 19; dyad 2 46) and 42 family caregivers (dyad 1 13; dyad 2 29) participated in the study (02/2018-11/2019). Results show that ill adult children felt less (well) supported than ill parents. Parent caregivers were often limited in the support they could provide, due to their age and health conditions. Hypotheses were deduced from patients’ and family caregivers’ notions to inform dyad-specific recommendations for support interventions.One new 2-oxaspiro[4.5]decane, roussoellide, and one new α-pyrenocine, 2′,3′-dihydropyrenocine A, together with nine known compounds including known arthropsolide A, and pyrenocines A and E, were obtained from the culture broth of the endophytic fungus Roussoella sp. Their structures were determined using spectroscopic data. The absolute configuration of known arthropsolide A was assigned on the basis of X-ray diffraction data using Cu Kα radiation. link3 Known pyrenocine A displayed weak cytotoxic activity against breast cancer (MCF-7) cells with an IC50 value of 27.1 µM and weak antifungal activity against Microsporum gypseum SH-MU-4 with an MIC value of 615.2 µM.In this article, we describe a case of a 33-year-old female with Alagille syndrome complicated by bilateral branch pulmonary artery stenosis resulting in moderate pulmonary hypertension, end-stage liver disease complicated by portal hypertension, and chronic renal disease who presented for combined liver-kidney transplant. Alagille syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease affecting the liver, heart, and kidneys. Multidisciplinary preoperative evaluation was performed with a team consisting of a congenital heart disease cardiologist, a cardiac anesthesiologist, a nephrologist, and a transplant surgeon. We describe Alagille syndrome and our intraoperative management. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a combined liver-kidney transplant in an adult patient with Alagille syndrome.School nurses are seeing increased numbers of children who are living in poverty. The Missouri Community Action Program Poverty Simulation was presented to school nurses to increase their awareness of what it might be like to live in poverty and the related healthcare barriers. Participants shared their reactions and knowledge gained in the simulation in a postparticipation survey with the simulation facilitators. Some participants shared practice changes that they made as a result of their participation in the simulation, which included use of additional referral resources, being less judgmental, and increased empathy.