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The classification of ACC is based on the area affected, type of skin irregularity, associated congenital defects and mode of inheritance.1,3 Scalp ACC without multiple anomalies (Category 1) is generally associated with an autosomal dominant or sporadic pattern of inheritance.3 ACC can also be associated with foetus papyraceus or placental infarct.4 This is less likely in our case, as only two embryos were transferred and the pregnancy was dichorionic. Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is a rare, heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by the absence of a portion of skin in a localized or widespread area at birth. ACC is often sporadic but familial cases have been reported.1,2 We report a case of a dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) twin pregnancy in which both the male and female twins had matching areas of aplasia cutis on their scalps. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibition with sacubitril/valsartan (S/V) in a large cohort of patients supported with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). This was a longitudinal, retrospective cohort study evaluating LVAD patients who were prescribed S/V at a single non-transplant center from January 2019 to September 2020. The primary objectives were to evaluate improvement in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and continued use without clinically significant adverse events. Concomitant medication changes at S/V initiation and reasons for S/V discontinuation were also evaluated. Continuous data were compared using paired t-tests. S/V was initiated in 46 patients (45% of all LVAD patients managed by the program) during the study period. Most patients were Black (30, 65%) males (30, 65%) supported as destination therapy (44, 96%). A total of 18 patients (39%) were converted to S/V from other renin-angiotensin inhibitors. Adjustments were made to concomitant blood pressure therapies in 31 patients (67%) upon initiation of S/V, primarily the discontinuation of non-goal directed therapies (Table 1). MAP was significantly reduced at 1, 3, and 6 months and at last follow-up (Figure 1). The average decrease in MAP at last follow-up was 12.2 mmHg (p<0.001). Eight patients (17%) discontinued S/V due to mild adverse events or renal insufficiency unrelated to S/V (Table 2). The average time on S/V until discontinuation/last follow-up was 224 days with most patients remaining on 24/26mg (22, 48%). In the largest cohort of LVAD patients reported to date, S/V was shown to significantly and safely reduce blood pressure. S/V was well tolerated with no discontinuations for significant adverse events. Further prospective evaluation will confirm these results, assess opportunities for dosage titration, and determine if S/V is associated with improved clinical outcomes in LVAD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1H NMR relaxometry is used in earth science as a non-destructive and time-saving method to determine pore size distributions (PSD) in porous media with pore sizes ranging from nm to mm. This is a broader range than generally reported for results from X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) scanning, which is a slower method. For successful application of 1H NMR relaxometry in soil science, it is necessary to compare PSD results with those determined from conventional methods. The PSD of six disturbed soil samples with various textures and soil organic matter (SOM) content were determined by conventional soil water retention at matric potentials between −3 and −390 kPa (pF 1.5–3.6). These PSD were compared with those estimated from transverse relaxation time ( T2) distributions of water in soil samples at pF 1.5 using two different approaches. In the first, pore sizes were estimated using a mean surface relaxivity of each soil sample determined from the specific surface area. In the second and new approach, two surface relaxivities for each soil sample, determined from the T2 distributions of the soil samples at different matric potentials, were used. The T2 distributions of water in the samples changed with increasing soil matric potential and consisted of two peaks at pF 1.5 and one at pF 3.6. The shape of the T2 distributions at pF 1.5 was strongly affected by soil texture and SOM content ( R2 = 0.51 − 0.95). The second approach ( R2 = 0.98) resulted in good consistency between PSD, determined by soil water retention, and 1H NMR relaxometry, whereas the first approach resulted in poor consistency. Pore sizes calculated from the NMR data ranged from 100 μm to 10 nm. Therefore, the new approach allows 1H NMR relaxometry to be applied for the determination of PSD in soil samples and for studying swelling of SOM and clay and its effects on pore size in a fast and non-destructive way. This is not, or only partly, possible by conventional soil water retention or X-ray CT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voltage controlled modification of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy in a hybrid piezoelectric/ ferromagnet device has been studied using Photoemission Electron Microscopy with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism as the contrast mechanism. The experimental results demonstrate that the large magnetostriction of the epitaxial Fe81Ga19 layer enables significant modification of the domain pattern in laterally confined disc structures. In addition, micromagnetic simulations demonstrate that the strain induced modification of the magnetic anisotropy allows for voltage tuneability of the natural resonance of both the confined spin wave modes and the vortex motion. These results demonstrate the possibility for using voltage induced strain in low-power voltage tuneable magnetic microwave oscillators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:To assess the prevalence of overweight, obesity and underweight among Vietnamese adults living in urban areas of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam.Design:This cross-sectional survey was conducted in the local health stations of 30 randomly selected wards, which represent all 13 urban districts of HCMC, over a period of 2 months from March to April 2004.Subjects:A total of 1488 participants aged 20–60 years completed the interview, physical examination and venous blood collection.Measurements:Anthropometric measurements of body weight, height, waist and hip circumference were taken to construct indicators of adiposity including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-height and waist-to-hip ratios. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and biochemical indicators of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes risk (lipid profile and fasting blood glucose) were also measured.Results:The age and sex standardized prevalence of overweight and obesity using Asian specific BMI cutoffs of 23.0 and 27.5 kg/m2 was 26.2 and 6.4%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was slightly higher in females (33.6%) than males (31.6%), and progressively increased with age. The age and sex-standardized prevalence of underweight (BMI <18.5 kg/m2) among Vietnamese adults living in HCMC was 20.4%. The prevalence was slightly higher in males (22.0%) than in females (18.9%), and there was a much higher prevalence in all underweight categories in younger women than in men but this was reversed for older men.Conclusion:The adult population in HCMC Vietnam is in an early ‘nutrition transition’ with approximately equal prevalence of low and high BMI. The prevalence of overweight and obesity of Vietnamese urban adults was lower than that reported for other east and southeast Asian countries.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 673–681. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602563; published online 13 December 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In higher income countries, social disadvantage is associated with higher arthritis prevalence; however, less is known about arthritis prevalence or determinants in low to middle income countries (LMICs). We assessed arthritis prevalence by age and sex, and marital status and occupation, as two key parameters of socioeconomic position (SEP), using data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE).Methods: SAGE Wave 1 (2007-10) includes nationally-representative samples of older adults (≥50 yrs), plus smaller samples of adults aged 18-49 yrs., from China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa (n = 44,747). Arthritis was defined by self-reported healthcare professional diagnosis, and a symptom-based algorithm. Marital status and education were self-reported. Arthritis prevalence data were extracted for each country by 10-year age strata, sex and SEP. Country-specific survey weightings were applied and weighted prevalences calculated.Results: Self-reported (lifetime) diagnosed arthritis was reported by 5003 women and 2664 men (19.9% and 14.1%, respectively), whilst 1220 women and 594 men had current symptom-based arthritis (4.8% and 3.1%, respectively). For men, standardised arthritis rates were approximately two- to three-fold greater than for women. The highest rates were observed in Russia: 38% (95% CI 36%-39%) for men, and 17% (95% CI 14%-20%) for women. For both sexes and in all LMICs, arthritis was more prevalent among those with least education, and in separated/divorced/widowed women.Conclusions: High arthritis prevalence in LMICs is concerning and may worsen poverty by impacting the ability to work and fulfil community roles. These findings have implications for national efforts to prioritise arthritis prevention and management, and improve healthcare access in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background It is important to assess young children's perceived Fundamental Movement Skill (FMS) competence in order to examine the role of perceived FMS competence in motivation toward physical activity. Children's perceptions of motor competence may vary according to the culture/country of origin; therefore, it is also important to measure perceptions in different cultural contexts. The purpose was to assess the face validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and construct validity of the 12 FMS items in the Pictorial Scale for Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children (PMSC) in a Portuguese sample. Methods Two hundred one Portuguese children (girls, n = 112), 5 to 10 years of age (7.6 ± 1.4), participated. All children completed the PMSC once. Ordinal alpha assessed internal consistency. A random subsamples ( n = 47) were reassessed one week later to determine test-retest reliability with Bland-Altman method. Children were asked questions after the second administration to determine face validity. Construct validity was assessed on the whole sample with a Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling (BSEM) approach. The hypothesized theoretical model used the 12 items and two hypothesized factors: object control and locomotor skills. Results The majority of children correctly identified the skills and could understand most of the pictures. Test-retest reliability analysis was good, with an agreement ration between 0.99 and 1.02. Ordinal alpha values ranged from acceptable (object control 0.73, locomotor 0.68) to good (all FMS 0.81). The hypothesized BSEM model had an adequate fit. Conclusions The PMSC can be used to investigate perceptions of children's FMS competence. This instrument can also be satisfactorily used among Portuguese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the role of lithographically-induced strain relaxation in a micron-scaled device fabricated from epitaxial thin films of the magnetostrictive alloy Fe81Ga19. The strain relaxation due to lithographic patterning induces a magnetic anisotropy that competes with the magnetocrystalline and shape induced anisotropies to play a crucial role in stabilising a flux-closing domain pattern. We use magnetic imaging, micromagnetic calculations and linear elastic modelling to investigate a region close to the edges of an etched structure. This highly-strained edge region has a significant influence on the magnetic domain configuration due to an induced magnetic anisotropy resulting from the inverse magnetostriction effect. We investigate the competition between the strain-induced and shape-induced anisotropy energies, and the resultant stable domain configurations, as the width of the bar is reduced to the nanoscale range. Understanding this behaviour will be important when designing hybrid magneto-electric spintronic devices based on highly magnetostrictive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]