Fast and Efficient Root Phenotyping via Pose Estimation.

Image segmentation is commonly used to estimate the location and shape of plants and their external structures. Segmentation masks are then used to localize landmarks of interest and compute other geometric features that correspond to the plant's phenotype. Despite its prevalence, segmentation-based approaches are laborious (requiring extensive annotation to train) and error-prone (derived geometric features are sensitive to instance mask integrity).

Obesity attenuates the beneficial effect of an intrauterine infusion of autologous platelet-rich plasma during in vitro fertilization.

Objective: To assess how obesity, normal weight (NW) versus overweight/obese (OW/OB), impacts platelet-rich plasma's (PRP) effectiveness during fertilization and how obesity affects platelets during the menstrual cycle.

Methods: Endometrial mean thickness (EMT), embryo implantation, and clinical pregnancy were assessed using a self-controlled retrospective study that enrolled 59 patients with two failed cycles and treated with autologous PRP (three-dose scheme). The NHANES dataset was used to assess platelet changes during the menstrual cycle, using the mean platelet volume to platelet count ratio (MPR) index.

Development of a Vaping Cessation Text Messaging Intervention for Latino Young Adults: A Participatory Research Approach.

Objective: Describe the participatory research procedures of developing , a vaping cessation text messaging intervention for Latino young adults, available in English and Spanish.

Methods: Using community-based recruitment strategies, we convened a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of eight Latino young adults (ages 18-25) with different vaping experiences (never users, ex-users, and current users of e-cigarettes). Members held a series of working meetings to adapt , a smoking cessation text messaging intervention, for vaping cessation.

Fast and efficient root phenotyping via pose estimation.

Image segmentation is commonly used to estimate the location and shape of plants and their external structures. Segmentation masks are then used to localize landmarks of interest and compute other geometric features that correspond to the plant's phenotype. Despite its prevalence, segmentation-based approaches are laborious (requiring extensive annotation to train), and error-prone (derived geometric features are sensitive to instance mask integrity).

Identifying Strategies for Improving Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Adherence: Perspectives from a Sample of Highly Adherent Young Men Who have Sex with Men.

Most research on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence and persistence uses a deficit-based approach to identify negative influences on PrEP adherence; however, an alternative set of approaches (such as resilience, asset-based, and positive variation) may identify equally important positive influences on PrEP adherence. Thus, the current study presents qualitative perspectives of PrEP adherence strategies from a sample of adherent YMSM. PrEP-using YMSM living in the Chicago area from a larger cohort study were recruited into a 90-day diary study that measured sexual health behaviors including PrEP use.

Comparison of Improved Unidirectional Dual Velocity-Encoding MRI Methods.

Background: In phase-contrast (PC) MRI, several dual velocity encoding methods have been proposed to robustly increase velocity-to-noise ratio (VNR), including a standard dual-VENC (SDV), an optimal dual-VENC (ODV), and bi- and triconditional methods.

Purpose: To develop a correction method for the ODV approach and to perform a comparison between methods.

Study Type: Case-control study.

Multiple motion encoding in phase-contrast MRI: A general theory and application to elastography imaging.

While MRI allows to encode the motion of tissue in the magnetization's phase, it remains yet a challenge to obtain high fidelity motion images due to wraps in the phase for high encoding efficiencies. Therefore, we propose an optimal multiple motion encoding method (OMME) and exemplify it in Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) data. OMME is formulated as a non-convex least-squares problem for the motion using an arbitrary number of phase-contrast measurements with different motion encoding gradients (MEGs).

A descriptive ranking of blood pressure and physical fitness of Latin-American ethnic schoolchildren.

Background: There is a general lack of information about how insufficient physical activity impacts blood pressure and physical fitness in Latin-American ethnic minorities.

Aims: To describe the interactions between insufficient physical activity, blood pressure, and physical fitness outcomes in Latin-American schoolchildren of different ethnicity.

Methods: This was a prospective, international, multi-center, and cross-sectional study of three Latin-American countries involving schoolchildren from seven ethnic groups of Colombia (Tikuna, Nasa, Embera), Brazil (African, Mulato), and Chile (Mapuche), and also European schoolchildren from Brazil and Chile.

Integrating multiple lines of evidence to assess freshwater ecosystem health in a tropical river basin.

Degradation of freshwater ecosystems by uncontrolled human activities is a growing concern in the tropics. In this regard, we aimed at testing an integrative framework based on the IFEQ index to assess freshwater ecosystem health of river basins impacted by intense livestock and agricultural activities, using the Muchacho River Basin (MRB) as a case study. The IFEQ combine multiple lines of evidence such as riverine hydromorphological analysis (LOE 1), physicochemical characterization using ions and pesticides (LOE 2), aquatic macroinvertebrate monitoring (LOE 3), and phytotoxicological essays with L.

Associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and obesity parameters with blood pressure: fitness and fatness in youth Latin-American ethnic minority.

In spite of wide international evidence about cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and adiposity in association with cardiovascular disease, there is poor evidence about this relationship in schoolchildren of ethnic minorities. To examine the relationship between CRF and body composition on blood pressure (BP) in a sample of ethnic minority schoolchildren from three Latin-American countries. A descriptive cross sectional study of total = 3866, mean age 12.

Microbial biodiversity in the throats of pulmonary tuberculosis patients and tuberculin skin test (TST) positive and negative healthy individuals in Malaysia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the composition of throat microbiota in pulmonary tuberculosis patients (PTB) in comparison to healthy tuberculin skin test positive (TSTp) and negative (TSTn) individuals. Throat swabs samples were collected, and the microbiota was characterized. Richer operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were present in PTB group, compared to TSTp and TSTn.

[Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in a sample of Colombian schoolchildren: an evaluation of the psychometric properties of the KIDMED questionnaire].

Objective: since childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the acquisition of eating habits and lifestyles that will persist into adulthood, having a questionnaire that estimates adherence to the Mediterranean diet among the school-age population is necessary. The aim of this study was to assess the validity, reliability, and factor structure of the KIDMED questionnaire in a group of children and adolescents from Cali, Colombia. Methods: this was a cross-sectional study using a self-reported questionnaire in 167 schoolchildren (53.

Muscle mass to visceral fat ratio is an important predictor of the metabolic syndrome in college students.

This study aimed to evaluate the associations between the muscle mass to visceral fat (MVF) ratio and cardiometabolic risk factors in a large population of college students in Colombia and to propose cut-off points of this index for the metabolic syndrome (MetS). A total of 1464 young adults recruited from the FUPRECOL (Asociación de la Fuerza Prensil con Manifestaciones Tempranas de Riesgo Cardiovascular en Jóvenes y Adultos Colombianos) study were categorised into four groups based on their MVF ratio. Muscle mass and visceral fat level of the participants were measured using a bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Optimal Dual-VENC Unwrapping in Phase-Contrast MRI.

Dual-VENC strategies have been proposed to improve the velocity-to-noise ratio in phase-contrast MRI. However, they are based on aliasing-free high-VENC data. The aim of this paper is to propose a dual-VENC velocity estimation method allowing high-VENC aliased data.

Fat-to-Muscle Ratio: A New Anthropometric Indicator as a Screening Tool for Metabolic Syndrome in Young Colombian People.

Fat-to-muscle ratio has been proposed as an alternative approach for assessing body fat. The objective of this study was to explore fat-to-muscle ratio thresholds in metabolic syndrome (MetS) diagnosis; it was hypothesised that the fat-to-muscle ratio is a good predictive indicator of MetS in a large population of young Colombian adults. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 1416 subjects (66.

Optimal Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet and High Muscular Fitness Are Associated with a Healthier Cardiometabolic Profile in Collegiate Students.

The aim of the study was to investigate the combined association of adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and muscular fitness (MF) with cardiometabolic health in collegiate students. The present cross-sectional analysis consisted of 1248 (714 females) healthy collegiate students (20.1 ± 2.

Tri-Ponderal Mass Index vs. Fat Mass/Height³ as a Screening Tool for Metabolic Syndrome Prediction in Colombian Children and Young People.

Tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) and fat mass index (FMI) have been proposed as alternative approaches for assessing body fat since BMI does not ensure an accurate screening for obesity and overweight status in children and adolescents. This study proposes thresholds of the TMI and FMI for the prediction of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in children and young people. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 4673 participants (57.

Comparison of Three Adiposity Indexes and Cutoff Values to Predict Metabolic Syndrome Among University Students.

Purpose: Obesity and high body fat are related to diabetes and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in all ethnic groups. Based on the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition of MetS, the aim of the present study was to compare body adiposity indexes (BAIs) and to assess their various cutoff values for the prediction of MetS in university students from Colombia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 886 volunteers (51.

Fatness mediates the influence of muscular fitness on metabolic syndrome in Colombian collegiate students.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: to analyze the association between muscular fitness (MF) and clustering of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components, and to determine if fatness parameters mediate the association between MF and MetS clustering in Colombian collegiate students. This cross-sectional study included a total of 886 (51.9% women) healthy collegiate students (21.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Associated Factors in Colombian Collegiate Students: The FUPRECOL-Adults Study.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is one of the major public health problems worldwide. The objective of the present study is to investigate the prevalence and the associated variables of MetS in Colombian collegiate students. This cross-sectional study included a total of 890 (52% women) healthy collegiate students (21.

Body Adiposity Index Performance in Estimating Body Fat Percentage in Colombian College Students: Findings from the FUPRECOL-Adults Study.

Recently, a body adiposity index (BAI = (hip circumference)/((height)(1.5))) was developed and validated in adult populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of BAI in estimating percentage body fat (BF%) in a sample of Colombian collegiate young adults.

[Not Available].

Objetivo: evaluar la relación entre la percepción de las barreras para la práctica de la actividad física (AF) con la presencia de obesidad abdominal (OA) en universitarios de Colombia.Métodos :estudio descriptivo y transversal en 5.663 sujetos entre 18 y 30 años de edad (3.

From MSM to heteroflexibilities: Non-exclusive straight male identities and their implications for HIV prevention and health promotion.

This article examines the logics of self-identification among men who have same-sex desires and behaviours and consider themselves to be straight. We draw from interviews conducted in the USA with 100 straight-identified men who have same-sex desires and 40 partners of such men. Our data allow us to reject two misconceptions.

A cross-sectional study of Colombian University students' self-perceived lifestyle.

Background: The Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire was designed for enabling staff working in health sciences and physical activity (PA) areas to measure lifestyles (LS) in the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the lifestyle in a sample of university students.

Method: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, observational study involving 5,921 subjects' aged 18- to 30-years-old (3,471 females) from three Colombian cities.

Immigrant Sexual Citizenship: Intersectional Templates among Mexican Gay Immigrants to the United States.

Existing literature on sexual citizenship has emphasized the sexuality-related claims of citizens of nation-states, generally ignoring immigrants. Conversely, the literature on immigration rarely attends to the salience of sexual issues in understanding the social incorporation of migrants. This article seeks to fill the gap by theorizing and analyzing .