The effect of arm positions used during radiography on spinal alignment parameters assessed by 3D ultrasound imaging in adolescents with and volunteers without idiopathic scoliosis.

Purpose: Clinicians monitor scoliosis progression using multiple radiographs during growth. During imaging, arms must be elevated to visualize vertebrae, possibly affecting sagittal alignment. This study aimed to determine the arm position that best represents habitual standing (and possibly allowing hand-based skeletal maturity assessment) to obtain frontal and lateral stereo-radiographs as measured using frontal, sagittal, and transverse angles.

Correction: Investigating the Best Practices for Engagement in Remote Participatory Design: Mixed Methods Analysis of 4 Remote Studies With Family Caregivers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/60353.].

Investigating the Best Practices for Engagement in Remote Participatory Design: Mixed Methods Analysis of 4 Remote Studies With Family Caregivers.

Background: Digital health interventions are a promising method for delivering timely support to underresourced family caregivers. The uptake of digital health interventions among caregivers may be improved by engaging caregivers in participatory design (PD). In recent years, there has been a shift toward conducting PD remotely, which may enable participation by previously hard-to-reach groups.

The test-retest reliability of frontal, sagittal, and transverse spinal measurements during three standing arm positions in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis measured using ultrasound imaging.

Purpose: Clinicians monitor scoliosis progression using radiographs during growth. Three standing positions were assessed because the arms must be elevated to visualize all vertebrae on radiographs, possibly affecting sagittal parameters. 3D Ultrasound (3DUS) is safe to assess positions without radiation, but its test-retest reliability has not been established for common radiograph positions.

Prognostic Value of a Laboratory Index of Frailty in Older Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: The COMEPA Study.

Background: Several indexes based on clinical and laboratory tests to identify frailty and to predict mortality have been produced. Only two studies, mixing clinical and laboratory parameters were made about a frailty index made of laboratory tests (FI-Lab) and mortality in older patients hospitalized for COVID-19. The aim of this study was to explore the accuracy and precision of an FI-Lab constructed with some common bio-humoral tests and mortality in a cohort of patients hospitalized for COVID-19.

Statin-induced autoimmune myositis: a proposal of an "experience-based" diagnostic algorithm from the analysis of 69 patients.

Statin-induced autoimmune myositis (SIAM) represents a rare clinical entity that can be triggered by prolonged statin treatment. Its pathogenetic substrate consists of an autoimmune-mediated mechanism, evidenced by the detection of antibodies directed against the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (anti-HMGCR Ab), the target enzyme of statin therapies. To facilitate the diagnosis of nuanced SIAM clinical cases, the present study proposes an "experience-based" diagnostic algorithm for SIAM.

Prognostic Value of Magnesium in COVID-19: Findings from the COMEPA Study.

Magnesium (Mg) plays a key role in infections. However, its role in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still underexplored, particularly in long-term sequelae. The aim of the present study was to examine the prognostic value of serum Mg levels in older people affected by COVID-19.

Helping the Helpers - A research protocol for user-centered technology to aid caregiver management of medications for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Background And Objective: Systematically supporting caregiver-assisted medication management through IT interventions is a critical area of need toward improving outcomes for people living with ADRD and their caregivers, but a significant gap exists in the evidence base from which IT interventions to support caregivers' medication tasks can be built. User-centered design can address the user needs evidence gap and provide a scientific mechanism for developing IT interventions that meet caregivers' needs. The present study employs the three phases of user-centered design to address the first two stages of the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development.

Diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia in a large cohort of Italian genotyped hypercholesterolemic patients.

Background And Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most relevant genetic cause of early cardiovascular disease (CVD). FH is suspected when low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels exceed the 95th percentile of the population distribution. Different diagnostic scoring systems have been developed, as the Dutch Lipid Clinic Network (DLCN) score, used worldwide.

Validation of a MS Based Proteomics Method for Milk and Egg Quantification in Cookies at the Lowest VITAL Levels: An Alternative to the Use of Precautionary Labeling.

The prevalence of food allergy has increased over the last decades and consequently the food labeling policies have improved over the time in different countries to regulate allergen presence in foods. In particular, Reg 1169 in EU mandates the labelling of 14 allergens whenever intentionally added to foods, but the inadvertent contamination by allergens still remains an uncovered topic. In order to warn consumers on the risk of cross-contamination occurring in certain categories of foods, a precautionary allergen labelling system has been put in place by food industries on a voluntary basis.

The Feasibility of a Using a Smart Button Mobile Health System to Self-Track Medication Adherence and Deliver Tailored Short Message Service Text Message Feedback.

Background: As many as 50% of people experience medication nonadherence, yet studies for detecting nonadherence and delivering real-time interventions to improve adherence are lacking. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies show promise to track and support medication adherence.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of using an mHealth system for medication adherence tracking and intervention delivery.

Legacy PBDEs and NBFRs in sediments of the tidal River Thames using liquid chromatography coupled to a high resolution accurate mass Orbitrap mass spectrometer.

Surface sediment samples (n = 45) were collected along a 110 km transect of the river Thames in October 2011, starting from Teddington Lock out through the industrial area of London to the southern North Sea. Several legacy and novel brominated flame retardants (NBFRs) were analysed, including 13 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) (congeners 17, 28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183, 196, 197, 206, 207 and 209), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDDs), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), hexabromobenzene (HBB), 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP), 2-ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB or TBB), bis(2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP or TBPH), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), anti/syn-dechlorane plus (a/s-DP), 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexabromobiphenyl (BB153) and α-,β-1,2-dibromo-4-(1,2-dibromoethyl) cyclohexane (α-,β-DBE-DBCH or TBECH). A novel analysis method based on liquid chromatographic separation, followed by high resolution accurate mass detection using the Orbitrap platform was used for quantification.

Characteristics of Adults Managing Vitamins/Supplements and Prescribed Medications-Who Is Using, Not Using, and Abandoning Use of Pillboxes?: A Descriptive Study.

Purpose: Evidence suggests pillboxes are effective for improving medication adherence. However, prior descriptive studies about pillbox use are limited to studies of older adults or condition-specific studies. This study describes characteristics of adults with chronic conditions and their use of pillboxes.

Identification of a novel LMF1 nonsense mutation responsible for severe hypertriglyceridemia by targeted next-generation sequencing.

Background: Severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) may result from mutations in genes affecting the intravascular lipolysis of triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a targeted next-generation sequencing panel for the molecular diagnosis of disorders characterized by severe HTG.

Methods: We developed a targeted customized panel for next-generation sequencing Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine to capture the coding exons and intron/exon boundaries of 18 genes affecting the main pathways of TG synthesis and metabolism.

Baseline metabolic disturbances and the twenty-five years risk of incident cancer in a Mediterranean population.

Background And Aims: Obesity is predictive of metabolic syndrome (metS), type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular (CV) disease and cancer. The aim of the study is to assess the risk of incident cancer connected to obesity and metS in a Mediterranean population characterized by a high prevalence of obesity.

Methods And Results: As many as 1133 subjects were enrolled in two phases and followed for 25 years (859 subjects) or 11 years (274 subjects) and incident cancer was registered in the follow-up period.

Novel CREB3L3 Nonsense Mutation in a Family With Dominant Hypertriglyceridemia.

Objective: Cyclic AMP responsive element-binding protein 3-like 3 (CREB3L3) is a novel candidate gene for dominant hypertriglyceridemia. To date, only 4 kindred with dominant hypertriglyceridemia have been found to be carriers of 2 nonsense mutations in CREB3L3 gene (245fs and W46X). We investigated a family in which hypertriglyceridemia displayed an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance.

Heparin induces an accumulation of atherogenic lipoproteins during hemodialysis in normolipidemic end-stage renal disease patients.

Dyslipidemias may account for the excess of cardiovascular mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Lipoprotein studies in ESRD patients are usually relative to prehemodialysis samples even if significative changes may occur after dialysis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ESRD on triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRL) subpopulations distribution and acute change following hemodialytic procedures, including the relative contribution of heparin administration.

Enhanced lipid peroxidation and platelet activation as potential contributors to increased cardiovascular risk in the low-HDL phenotype.

Background: Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels are major predictors of cardiovascular (CV) events, even in patients on statin treatment with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) at target. In animal models HDLs protect LDL from oxidation and blunt platelet activation. Our study aimed to examine whether HDL levels are related to in vivo oxidative stress and platelet activation, as determinants of atherothrombosis.

Prediction of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus based on a twenty-year follow-up of the Ventimiglia heart study.

A novel algorithm to predict incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (iT2DM) is presented considering data from a 20-year prospective study in a Southern Italy population. Eight hundred and fifty-eight out of 1,351 subjects (24-85 years range of age) were selected. Incident type 2 diabetes was diagnosed in 103 patients in a 20-year follow-up.

Postprandial hyperglycemia is a determinant of platelet activation in early type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Chronic hyperglycemia is a major contributor to in vivo platelet activation in diabetes mellitus.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of acarbose, an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, on platelet activation and its determinants in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: Forty-eight subjects (26 males, aged 61 +/- 8 years) with early type 2 diabetes (baseline hemoglobin A(1c) < or = 7% and no previous hypoglycemic treatment) were randomly assigned to acarbose up to 100 mg three times a day or placebo, and evaluated every 4 weeks for 20 weeks.

Giant fibrothecoma--an interesting case.

A 45-year-old woman came for specialized medical attention due to intraabdominal pathology that began in 2003. Studies indicated the presence of a cyst in the right ovary, for which she was referred for surgery. She did not undergo the surgery and for a period of two years she suffered from an excessively enlarged abdomin.

Relapses of hyperthyroidism in patients treated with radioiodine for nodular toxic goiter: relation to thyroid autoimmunity.

Relapses of hyperthyroidism after treatment with radioiodine for uni- or multi-nodular goiter may be accompanied by the appearance of TSAb. However, this phenomenon has only emerged from one retrospective study on Northern European patients, in which it was not possible to determine whether TSAb also appeared in treated patients who did not relapse. The present study aimed to assess the appearance, immunogenic nature and clinical characteristics of hyperthyroidism relapse after treatment with 131I for nodular toxic goiter in patients from the Mediterranean area.