Search

BackgroundMammography is considered the best imaging technique for breast cancer screening, and the radiographer plays an important role in its performance. Therefore, continuing education is critical to improving the performance of these professionals and thus providing better health care services. ObjectiveOur goal was to develop an e-learning course on breast imaging for radiographers, assessing its efficacy, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. MethodsA stratified randomized controlled trial was performed with radiographers and radiology students who already had mammography training, using pre- and post-knowledge tests, and satisfaction questionnaires. The primary outcome was the improvement in test results (percentage of correct answers), using intention-to-treat and per-protocol analysis. ResultsA total of 54 participants were assigned to the intervention (20 students plus 34 radiographers) with 53 controls (19+34). The intervention was completed by 40 participants (11+29), with 4 (2+2) discontinued interventions, and 10 (7+3) lost to follow-up. Differences in the primary outcome were found between intervention and control: 21 versus 4 percentage points (pp), P

ObjectivesAnxiety is prevalent in pregnancy and predicts risk of adverse birth outcomes. Many instruments measure anxiety in pregnancy, some of which assess pregnancy anxiety defined as maternal concerns about a current pregnancy (e.g., baby, childbirth). The present study examined covariance among four anxiety or distress measures at two times in pregnancy and tested joint and individual effects on gestational length. We hypothesized that the common variance of the measures in each trimester would predict earlier delivery.MethodResearch staff interviewed 196 women in first and third trimester utilizing a clinical screener of anxiety severity/impairment, two instruments measuring pregnancy anxiety, and one on prenatal distress. Birth outcomes and medical risk factors were obtained from medical records after birth. Structural equation modeling fit latent factors for each trimester from the four measures. Subsequent models tested whether the latent factors predicted gestational length, and unique effects of each measure.ResultsThe third-trimester pregnancy anxiety latent factor predicted shorter gestational length adjusting for mother's age, education, parity, and obstetric risk. Scores on a four-item pregnancy-specific anxiety measure (PSAS) in third trimester added uniquely to prediction of gestational length. In first trimester, scores on the clinical screener (OASIS) uniquely predicted shorter gestational length whereas the latent factor did not.ConclusionThese results support existing evidence indicating that pregnancy anxiety is a reliable risk factor for earlier birth. Findings point to possible screening for clinically significant anxiety symptoms in the first trimester, and pregnancy-specific anxiety thereafter to advance efforts to prevent earlier delivery. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

ObjectiveHigh pregnancy anxiety is a consistent predictor of earlier labor and delivery. Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) predicts earlier delivery consistently and it has been identified as a biological mediator of the association between pregnancy anxiety and gestational length. However, studies have not examined whether changes in pregnancy anxiety are associated with earlier birth as mediated by changes in pCRH during pregnancy. Accordingly, this study tests whether linear changes in pregnancy anxiety are associated with length of gestation indirectly through nonlinear increases in pCRH over pregnancy.MethodsA sample of pregnant women (n=233) completed prenatal assessments in early pregnancy, second trimester, and third trimester that included a 4-item assessment of pregnancy anxiety and collection of blood samples assayed for pCRH using radioimmunoassay. Length of gestation was abstracted from medical records after birth.ResultsIncreases in pregnancy anxiety from early pregnancy to third trimester predicted shorted length of gestation, as did nonlinear increases in pCRH over pregnancy. However, there was no evidence of an indirect effect of changes in pregnancy anxiety on length of gestation via changes in pCRH.ConclusionsThese results indicate that linear changes in pregnancy anxiety and nonlinear changes in pCRH during pregnancy are independent risk factors for shortened gestational length. This study adds to a small but growing body of work on biopsychological processes in pregnancy and length of gestation. Modeling changes in psychological and biological processes during pregnancy could provide more insight into understanding risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions have revolutionized our world, using extensive datasets and computational resources to create automatic tools for complex tasks that, until now, have been performed by humans. Massive data is a fundamental aspect of the most powerful AI-based algorithms. However, for AI-based healthcare solutions, there are several socioeconomic, technical/infrastructural, and most importantly, legal restrictions, which limit the large collection and access of biomedical data, especially medical imaging. To overcome this important limitation, several alternative solutions have been suggested, including transfer learning approaches, generation of artificial data, adoption of blockchain technology, and creation of an infrastructure composed of anonymous and abstract data. However, none of these strategies is currently able to completely solve this challenge. The need to build large datasets that can be used to develop healthcare solutions deserves special attention from the scientific community, clinicians, all the healthcare players, engineers, ethicists, legislators, and society in general. This paper offers an overview of the data limitation in medical predictive models; its impact on the development of healthcare solutions; benefits and barriers of sharing data; and finally, suggests future directions to overcome data limitations in the medical field and enable AI to enhance healthcare. This perspective is dedicated to the technical requirements of the learning models, and it explains the limitation that comes from poor and small datasets in the medical domain and the technical options that try or can solve the problem related to the lack of massive healthcare data.

ObjectiveUsing a conceptual model of postpartum depression risk in Latinas including both contextual and cultural stressors, we tested contributions to depressive symptom levels and trajectories over the course of 1 year following birth in a community sample of Latinas.MethodA multisite sample of low-income U.S.-born and foreign-born Latinas (n = 537; M age = 25.70) was interviewed on many topics including measures of stress and maternal health at 1, 6, and 12 months postpartum. Nested multilevel growth curve models were implemented to test associations of contextual stressors (poverty, domestic violence) with trajectories of depressive symptoms, adjusting for confounds. This model was compared to 1 that added cultural stress variables (everyday discrimination, foreign-born status, language preference, age at immigration) measured 1-month postpartum.ResultsThe best fitting model provided evidence for the independent effects of cultural and contextual stressors. Discrimination (β = .13 SE = .02, p = < .001) and domestic violence (β = .39 SE = .09, p = < .001) predicted trajectories with higher levels of depressive symptoms 1 month postpartum, but not linear change in symptoms over the year.ConclusionsThe present study provides evidence that discrimination, a cultural factor, and domestic violence, a contextual factor, each predict higher levels of early postpartum depressive symptoms. Interventions addressing discrimination and maternal safety are recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

BackgroundPregnancy anxiety predicts adverse developmental outcomes in offspring from infancy through late childhood, but studies have not examined associations with outcomes in early childhood, nor clarified ethnic or cultural variations in these processes.Aims(1) To examine differences in pregnancy anxiety and related concerns between non-Hispanic White women, Latina women who prefer to speak in English, and Latinas who prefer Spanish; (2) To test prospective associations between pregnancy anxiety and child negative affect and moderation by ethnicity and language preference, used as a proxy for acculturation.Study design and methodsThis longitudinal study included 95 women (40 Non-Hispanic Whites, 31 Spanish-preference Latinas, and 24 English-preference Latinas). Language preference was provided at study entry. Pregnancy anxiety was assessed in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy with two standardized measures. Mothers reported child negative affect at age 4.ResultsSpanish-preference Latinas had significantly more pregnancy-related anxiety about their health and safety in childbirth and concerning the medical system compared to English-preference Latinas and non-Hispanic White women. Adjusting for covariates, pregnancy anxiety in the second trimester, though not the third trimester, predicted significantly higher child negative affect in the full sample. A significant moderation effect indicated that the association was strongest among the lower acculturated Latinas, i.e., those who preferred Spanish.ConclusionThese results document higher risk for offspring associated with pregnancy anxiety in the second trimester especially among less acculturated Latina women, and suggest the need for culturally-sensitive screening tools and interventions to improve outcomes for Latina mothers and their children.

ObjectivePrevious research has shown that a woman's anxiety about her pregnancy predicts gestational length. Placental corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) is a stress-responsive peptide proposed as a mechanism. We examined placental CRH as a physiological mediator of the association between pregnancy anxiety and gestational length in Latina and non-Latina White women to replicate evidence of associations between pregnancy anxiety, placental CRH and gestational length; to test whether placental CRH levels or changes mediate effects of pregnancy anxiety on gestational length; to examine ethnic differences in pregnancy anxiety, placental CRH, and gestational length; and to explore whether the effects of pregnancy anxiety on gestational length as mediated by placental CRH vary by ethnicity.MethodsIn a prospective study of 337 pregnant Latina and non-Latina White women, participants completed in-person interviews that included a 10-item measure of pregnancy anxiety and provided blood samples assayed using radioimmunoassay at three timepoints (19, 25, and 31 weeks gestation).ResultsPregnancy anxiety at 19 and 31 weeks and levels of placental CRH at 31 weeks predicted gestational length. Tests of indirect effects were consistent with mediation such that both pregnancy anxiety at 19 weeks and increases from 19 to 31 weeks predicted placental CRH at 31 weeks, which in turn predicted gestational length. Tests of moderated mediation by ethnicity showed that the mediated effect of placental CRH at 31 weeks was significant for Latinas only.ConclusionsThese findings add to growing evidence of the involvement of pregnancy anxiety in the timing of birth, address mechanisms, and suggest possible ethnic differences.

A family of Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) based on the ligands pyrazine (pyz) and dicyanamide (dca) and the metal centers Fe, Co and Ni with the unit formula M(dca)2pyz has been studied as anodes for Li-Ion Batteries (LIBs). These compounds are analogs of transition metal nitrides (TMNs) but synthesized following an environmentally friendly process. Fe(dca)2pyz provides the best electrochemical performance with a specific capacity of 519 mA h g−1 and 375 mA h cm−3 after 450 cycles at 200 mA g−1 and a capacity retention of 90% with respect to the first cycle. This performance is better than most of the Fe nitrides reported to date, highlighting its potential as an anode for LIBs. The high capacity is due to the conversion and displacement reaction occurring with the Fe atoms and the insertion of Li+ into the ligands. In contrast, the specific capacities of Co(dca)2pyz and Ni(dca)2pyz are lower due to a partial reduction of the Co atoms in the first case, and to the oxidation of the Ni atoms which hinders the Li+ intercalation process in the second. As a result, the specific capacities after 450 cycles at 200 mA g−1 are 148 mA h g−1 for Co(dca)2pyz and 57 mA h g−1 for Ni(dca)2pyz. Powder-XRD and TEM characterizations after cycling of the three samples reveal that Fe(dca)2pyz and Co(dca)2pyz samples become amorphous while the Ni(dca)2pyz material does not. This suggests that the amorphization process is relevant for obtaining anodes with improved electrochemical performance. This study demonstrates that MOFs obtained by a cost-effective and environmentally friendly method can act as precursors for obtaining high performance anodes for LIBs without the need for an energy intensive carbonization process, since they undergo an in situ amorphization process, giving rise to AMorphous Organometallic (AMO) electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundHispanic Americans consistently exhibit an intergenerational increase in the prevalence of many noncommunicable chronic physical and mental disorders.MethodsWe review and synthesize evidence suggesting that a constellation of prenatal and postnatal factors may play crucial roles in explaining this trend. We draw from relevant literature across several disciplines, including epidemiology, anthropology, psychology, medicine (obstetrics, neonatology), and developmental biology.ResultsOur resulting model is based on evidence that among women, the process of postmigration cultural adjustment (i.e., acculturation) is associated, during pregnancy and after delivery, with psychological and behavioral states that can affect offspring development in ways that may alter susceptibility to noncommunicable chronic disease risk in subsequent-generation Hispanic Americans. We propose one integrated process model that specifies the biological, behavioral, psychological, and sociocultural pathways by which maternal acculturation may influence the child's long-term health. We synthesize evidence from previous studies to describe how acculturation among Hispanic American mothers is associated with alterations to the same biobehavioral systems known to participate in the processes of prenatal and postnatal developmental programming of disease risk. In this manner, we focus on the concepts of biological and cultural mother-to-child transmission across the prenatal and postnatal life phases. We critique and draw from previous hypotheses that have sought to explain this phenomenon (of declining health across generations). We offer recommendations for examining the transgenerational effects of acculturation.ConclusionA life course model with a greater focus on maternal health and well-being may be key to understanding transgenerational epidemiological trends in minority populations, and interventions that promote women's wellness may contribute to the elimination or reduction of health disparities.