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Background: Upper limb impairment affects activity and participation in children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). Pressure garment therapy (PGT) using compressive dynamic Lycra® garments is an innovative intervention proposed for the management of cerebral palsy consequences. The PROPENSIX study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a therapy using a Lycra® sleeve as compared to a placebo sleeve to improve bi-manual performance measured by the Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.Methods: The PROPENSIX trial is a multicenter, prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized study. One hundred children with UCP, aged from 5 to 10, are randomly assigned as soon as they are recruited in a 1:1 ratio to perform usual daily activities, especially activities involving bimanual performances, with Lycra® sleeve or placebo sleeve during 6 months. The primary endpoint is the change in bimanual performance from inclusion to 6 months, evaluated by AHA. The secondary endpoints evaluate changes from inclusion to 6 months in other dimensions of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), upper limb movement capacity assessed by Quality of Upper Extremity Skill Test (QUEST), and health-related quality of life evaluated by Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 3.0 Cerebral Palsy Module (PedsQLTM 3.0 CP Module) and in body structures and functions domain assessed by neuro-orthopedic examination and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP).Discussion: The PROPENSIX study is the largest randomized controlled trial (RCT) aiming to evaluate the efficacy of a PGT using compressive dynamic Lycra® sleeve in UCP. Enhancement of children's bimanual performance at the end of the 6 months wear of the Lycra® sleeve should improve evidence regarding this type of treatment and expand discussion about their recommendation in clinical practice. Data from secondary outcomes assessments should bring interesting arguments to discuss the Lycra® sleeve action on mobility, tonus, and sensory impairments in children with unilateral cerebral palsy.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02086214 . Retrospectively registered on March 13, 2014 TRIAL STATUS: Study start data: December 2012. Recruitment status: completed. Primary completion date: April 2021. Estimated study completion date: December 2022. Protocol version 10 (date: February 2018). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce a space fractional negative binomial process (SFNB) by time-changing the space fractional Poisson process by a gamma subordinator. Its one-dimensional distributions are derived in terms of generalized Wright functions and their governing equations are obtained. It is a Lévy process and the corresponding Lévy measure is given. Extensions to the case of distributed order SFNB, where the fractional index follows a two-point distribution, are investigated in detail. The relationship with space fractional Polya-type processes is also discussed. Moreover, we define and study multivariate versions, which we obtain by time-changing a d-dimensional space-fractional Poisson process by a common independent gamma subordinator. Some applications to population’s growth and epidemiology models are explored. Finally, we discuss algorithms for the simulation of the SFNB process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: Socioeconomic status has been associated with obesity in children and adolescents. This association may be dependent according with where adolescents lives. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between different socioeconomic indicators such as parental education and occupation and socioeconomic status with abdominal obesity in adolescents from two observational studies: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence cross‐sectional study (HELENA‐CSS) and the Brazilian Cardiovascular Adolescent Health (BRACAH) study. Methods: European (n = 3192, aged 12.5–17.5 years, with 53.1% girls from HELENA‐CSS) and Brazilian (n = 991, aged 14–18 years, with 54.5% girls from BRACAH study) adolescents from two cross‐sectional studies were included in this analysis. Complete data on waist circumference (WC), height, socioeconomic status indicators and several confounders were collected. Socioeconomic indicators were measured using a self‐reported questionnaire in order to assess the family social status of the adolescents. Multilevel linear regression models were used to examine associations, and results were adjusted for potential confounders. Results: Adjusted results showed inverse associations between mother's and father's education levels (p < 0.001) and father's occupation level (p < 0.001) with waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR) and WC in HELENA‐CSS girls. Similarly in European girls, socioeconomic indicators by socioeconomic status and maternal occupation level were associated with WHtR. In HELENA‐CSS boys, the same significant association was found between WHtR and WC with maternal occupation level. Moreover, in European boys WHtR was also associated with parental education. In Brazilian adolescents, both indicators of abdominal obesity did not remain associated with the independents variables, after adjustment for potential confounders. Conclusions: Abdominal obesity was associated with socioeconomic indicators in higher‐income countries, but this association was not observed in a lower‐middle‐income country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives:To assess dietary patterns (DPs) in European adolescents and to examine their relationship with several indicators of sedentary behaviour.Subjects/Methods:A multinational cross-sectional study was carried out in 2202 adolescents (45.4% boys) aged 12.5-17.5 years. A self-reported questionnaire with information on sedentary behaviours, separately for weekdays and weekend days, and two non-consecutive 24 h-recalls were used. Principal component analysis was used to obtain DPs, and linear regression examined the association between DPs scores and sedentary behaviour.Results:Four DPs for boys ('plant based', 'snacking', 'breakfast' and 'health conscious') and five DPs for girls ('confectionary and snacking', 'plant based', 'breakfast', 'animal protein' and 'health conscious') were obtained. Boys who spent >4 h/day watching television (TV) had lower adherence to the 'plant based', 'breakfast' and 'health conscious' DPs, and higher adherence to the 'snacking' DP. Higher computer use and internet use for recreational reason were associated with higher adherence to the 'snacking' DP. In girls, TV viewing and using internet for recreational reasons for >4 h/day was associated with higher adherence to the 'confectionary and snacking' and lower adherence with 'health conscious' DP. Also, studying between 2 and 4 h during weekend days was associated with lower adherence to the 'snacking' and with higher adherence to the 'plant based' and 'breakfast' DPs.Conclusion:Adolescents' DPs are related with the time spent in several sedentary behaviours. Such findings may help to generate interventions focusing on decreasing unhealthy dietary habits and specific sedentary behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the micronutrient status of children receiving prolonged enteral nutrition. Methods: This cross-sectional single-center study included all 64 children (median age 6.8 years) receiving enteral nutrition providing >50% of daily energy intake for more than 6 months (median duration of enteral nutrition 43 months). The characteristics of the patients and mode of enteral nutrition were recorded. The concentrations of iron, zinc, copper, selenium and vitamins A, D, E and C were measured in plasma. Results: Twelve children (19%) had iron deficiency. A high 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was recorded in 20% of the children, but none had associated hypercalcemia. Fifty-two children (81%) had low zinc concentrations in both plasma and erythrocytes. Plasma zinc, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D concentrations were significantly lower in children receiving fiber supplementation. Abnormal micronutrient concentrations were found more frequently in the children receiving fiber supplementation. No other predisposing factors were associated with micronutrient deficiencies. Conclusion: Long-term enteral nutrition can lead to micronutrient deficiencies in children, whose micronutrient concentrations may require regular checking. Fiber supplementation might reduce the bioavailability of zinc, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate food and nutrient intake assessment is essential for investigating diet–disease relationships. In the present study, food and nutrient intake assessment among European adolescents using 24 h recalls (mean of two recalls) and a FFQ (separately and the combination of both) were evaluated using concentration biomarkers. Biomarkers included were vitamin C, β-carotene, DHA+EPA, vitamin B12 (cobalamin and holo-transcobalamin) and folate (erythrocyte folate and plasma folate). For the evaluation of the food intake assessment 390 adolescents were included, while 697 were included for the nutrient intake assessment evaluation. Spearman rank and Pearson correlations, and validity coefficients, which are correlations between intake estimated and habitual true intake, were calculated. Correlations were higher between frequency of food consumption (from the FFQ) and concentration biomarkers than between mean food intake (from the recalls) and concentration biomarkers, especially for DHA+EPA (r 0·35 v. r 0·27). Most correlations were higher among girls than boys. For boys, the highest validity coefficients were found for frequency of fruit consumption (0·88) and for DHA+EPA biomarker (0·71). In girls, the highest validity coefficients were found for fruit consumption frequency (0·76), vegetable consumption frequency (0·74), mean fruit intake (0·90) and DHA+EPA biomarker (0·69). After exclusion of underreporters, correlations slightly improved. Correlations between usual food intakes, adjusted for food consumption frequency, and concentration biomarkers were higher than correlations between mean food intakes and concentration biomarkers. In conclusion, two non-consecutive 24 h recalls in combination with a FFQ seem to be appropriate to rank subjects according to their usual food intake. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parenteral nutrition (PN) is the treatment of choice for nutritional support of patients undergoing allo-SCT following myeloablative conditioning (MAC). Here we prospectively assessed the outcomes of early enteral nutrition (EN) in a paediatric cohort. From 2003 to 2010, all 65 consecutive children undergoing MAC allo-SCT at our referral centre began EN the day after transplantation. Post-transplant and nutritional outcomes of patients receiving only EN (EN group, n=50) were compared with those of patients requiring additional PN (EN-PN group, n=15). In the EN group time to platelet recovery (P=0.01) and length of hospitalisation (P<0.001) were shorter, while in the EN-PN group the proportion of unrelated donors (P=0.02) and the frequency of severe acute GVHD (aGVHD; P=0.004) were higher. All patients were alive at day 100. PN was started 14 days after transplant because of poor digestive tolerance to EN or severe gut aGVHD. The body mass index Z-score in the EN-PN group decreased from transplant to discharge (P=0.02). In only 23% of cases was PN required for severely ill patients. Our results suggest that EN might be considered to be an option for nutritional support in children undergoing MAC allo-SCT, while PN should be used only as a rescue option, possibly in combination with EN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze different forms of fractional relaxation equations of order v ε (0, 1), and we derive their solutions in both analytical and probabilistic forms. In particular, we show that these solutions can be expressed as random boundary crossing probabilities of various types of stochastic process, which are all related to the Brownian motion B. In the special case v = ½, the fractional relaxation is shown to coincide with Pr{sup0≤s≤t B(s) < U} for an exponential boundary U. When we generalize the distributions of the random boundary, passing from the exponential to the gamma density, we obtain more and more complicated fractional equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, different types of Poisson processes N subordinated to random time processes X, depending on Brownian motion, are analysed. In particular, the processes X considered here are the elastic Brownian motion , the Brownian sojourn time on the positive half-line the first-passage time (through the level t) of a Brownian motion, with or without drift, and the -Bessel process , for . In all these cases, we obtain the explicit state probability distributions , , , their governing difference-differential equations and some moments. The connections among different models and, in particular, of with birth and death processes are obtained and discussed. The models presented have probability distributions governed by higher order or fractional difference-differential equations. In the case of the Poisson process with Bessel times, equations with time-dependent coefficients appear. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We consider different types of processes obtained by composing Brownian motion B(t), fractional Brownian motion BH(t) and Cauchy processes C(t) in different manners. We study also multidimensional iterated processes in d, like, for example, (B1(|C(t)|),..., Bd(|C(t)|)) and (C1(|C(t)|),..., Cd(|C(t)|)), deriving the corresponding partial differential equations satisfied by their joint distribution. We show that many important partial differential equations, like wave equation, equation of vibration of rods, higher-order heat equation, are satisfied by the laws of the iterated processes considered in the work. Similarly, we prove that some processes like C(|B1(|B2(...|Bn+1(t)|...)|)|) are governed by fractional diffusion equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify the main knowledge gaps and to propose research lines that will be developed within the European Union-funded 'Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence' (HELENA) project, concerning the nutritional status, physical fitness and physical activity of adolescents in Europe.Design: Review of the currently existing literature.Results: The main gaps identified were: lack of harmonised and comparable data on food intake; lack of understanding regarding the role of eating attitudes, food choices and food preferences; lack of harmonised and comparable data on levels and patterns of physical activity and physical fitness; lack of comparable data about obesity prevalence and body composition; lack of comparable data about micronutrient and immunological status; and lack of effective intervention methodologies for healthier lifestyles.Conclusions: The HELENA Study Group should develop, test and describe harmonised and state-of-the-art methods to assess the nutritional status and lifestyle of adolescents across Europe; develop and evaluate an intervention on eating habits and physical activity; and develop and test new healthy food products attractive for European adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper odd-order heat-type equations with different random initial conditions are examined. In particular, we give rigorous conditions for the existence of the solutions in the case where the initial condition is represented by a strictly ϕ –subGaussian harmonizable process η = η ( x). Also the case where η is represented by a stochastic integral with respect to a process with independent increment is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find some logarithmic and exact small deviation asymptotics for the L2-norms of certain Gaussian processes closely connected with a Wiener process. In particular, processes obtained by centering and integrating Brownian motion and Brownian bridge are examined. Bibliography: 28 titles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total energy expenditure (EE) can be assessed in children by the heart-rate (HR) monitoring technique calibrated against open-circuit indirect calorimetry (IC). In this technique, sleeping EE is usually estimated as the lowest value of a 30 min resting EE measurement??0??90 to give an average for the total sleeping period. However, sleeping is a dynamic process in which sleeping EE is modulated by the effect of factors such as body movement and different sleep stages. The aim of the present study was to determine a new method to improve the sleeping EE measurement by taking into account body movements during sleep. Twenty-four non-obese children participated in the present study. All subjects passed through a calibration period. HR and EE measured by IC were simultaneously collected during resting, the postprandial period, and during different levels of activity. Different methods for computing sleeping EE (resting EE??0??90 with different breakpoints (???flex point??? HR with linear regression or ???inflection point??? (IP) HR with the third order polynomial regression equation (P3)) were compared with EE measured for least 2??0 h in eight sleeping children. The best method of calculation was then tested in sixteen children undergoing HR monitoring and with a body movement detector. In a subset of eight children undergoing simultaneous sleeping EE measurement by IC and HR, the use of the equation resting EE??0??8 when HRIP during the sleeping period gave the lowest difference (1 (SD 5??4) %) compared with other methods (linear or polynomial regressions). The new formula was tested in an independent subset of sixteen other children. The difference between sleeping ee computed with the formula resting EE??0??90 and sleeping EE computed with resting EE??0??8 when HRIP during sleeping periods was significant (13 (sd 5??9)%) only for active sleeping subjects (n 6 of 16 subjects). The correlation between the difference in the results from the two methods of calculation and body movements was close (r 0??63, P<0??005, Spearman test) as well as computed sleeping EE (Spearman test, r 0??679, P<0??001), indicating that this new method is reliable for computing sleeping EE with HR monitoring if children are moving during sleep and improves the total EE assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present some extensions of the distributions of the maximum of the Brownian bridge in [0, t] when the conditioning event is placed at a future time u> t or at an intermediate time u< t. The standard distributions of Brownian motion and Brownian bridge are obtained as limiting cases. These results permit us to derive also the distribution of the first-passage time of the Brownian bridge. Similar generalizations are carried out for the Brownian bridge with drift μ; in this case, it is shown that the maximal distribution is independent of μ (when u≥ t). Finally, the case of the two-sided maximal distribution of Brownian motion in [0, t], conditioned on B( u)=η (for both u>t and u

We compare various kind of independence tests based on samples with random size, in order to provide practitioners with some guidance for their choice based on approximate Bahadur efficiency. Such results are obtained for a wide class of distributions of the random index; the efficiency slopes of the statistics we consider are then expressed in terms of the parameters of these same distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]