Parental involvement and mental well-being of Indian adolescents.

This study examined the association between parental involvement and mental well being among the 6721 school going adolescents aged 13 to 15 years who participated in Indias nationally representative Global School based Student Health Survey (GSHS) in 2007. Parental involvement (homework checking, parental understanding of their childrens problems, and parental knowledge of their childrens freetime activities) was reported by students to decrease with age, while poor mental health (loneliness, insomnia due to anxiety, and sadness and hopelessness) increased with age. Age adjusted Logistic regression models showed that high levels of reported parental involvement were significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of poor mental health.

Ensemble fractional sensitivity: a quantitative approach to neuron selection for decoding motor tasks.

A robust method to help identify the population of neurons used for decoding motor tasks is developed. We use sensitivity analysis to develop a new metric for quantifying the relative contribution of a neuron towards the decoded output, called "fractional sensitivity." Previous model-based approaches for neuron ranking have been shown to largely depend on the collection of training data.

Predicting EMG with generalized Volterra kernel model.

Generalized Volterra kernel model (GVM) is developed in spirits of the generalized linear model (GLM) and used to predict EMG signals based on M1 cortical spike trains during a prehension task. The GVM for EMG consists of a cascade of a multiple-input-single-output Volterra kernel model (VM) and an exponential activation function. Without loss of generality, the exponential activation function constrains the unbounded VM output within the positive range, which fully covers the dynamic range of the rectified EMG signals.

Laparoscopic incisional hernia repair as a day surgery procedure: audit of 127 consecutive cases in a university hospital.

Background: Findings have shown that laparoscopic incisional hernia repair is superior to conventional open techniques. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the results of laparoscopic surgery on incisional hernias in an outpatient surgery unit in a university hospital.

Methods: Data were gathered prospectively for all laparoscopic incisional hernia repairs from January 1997 to December 2006.

Bringing adolescents into substance abuse treatment through community outreach and engagement: the Hartford Youth Project.

While outreach and case management services have been shown to improve retention of at-risk youth in behavioral health treatment, these important support services are challenging to implement. The Hartford Youth Project (HYP), established by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families as a pilot for the state adolescent substance abuse treatment system, made outreach and engagement integral to its system of care. HYPbrought together a network of stakeholders: referral sources (juvenile justice, schools, community agencies, child welfare, and families); community-based outreach agencies; treatment providers; and an administrative service organization responsible for project coordination.

[Society and surgery. Burnout and surgeons].

Burnout syndrome is a mental and emotional state of tiredness, characterised by feelings of emptiness and negative attitudes to work and life. It appears particularly in care professionals associated with human interactions, and starts progressive, affecting the professional as well as the organisation. It is currently the most common cause of absence from work.

[Treatment of non-midline ventral hernia: experience in an abdominal wall unit and literature review].

Introduction: Lateral ventral hernia is an interesting surgical problem. However, few data are available on this entity.

Objective: To review current knowledge of lateral ventral hernia and present our experience of this entity in a multidisciplinary abdominal wall unit.

[Conceptual reformulation of the double mesh repair technique: a simple solution for highly complex abdominal wall defects].

Introduction: Repair of complex abdominal wall defects remains a challenge for the general surgeon. The aim of the present study was to validate the double mesh repair technique in complex hernias.

Material And Method: We performed a prospective study of 15 patients with complex abdominal wall defects who underwent surgery in a university hospital.

[Adrenal incidentalomas. A disease on the increase].

Introduction: Adrenal incidentalomas are unsuspected, clinically silent adrenal lesions discovered incidentally by imaging tests performed a priori for problems unrelated to the adrenal glands. The aim of this study was to present a series of incidentalomas and review the diagnostic process and treatment techniques.

Patients And Method: Of a series of 63 patients studied and/or treated for adrenal disease, there were 34 patients with adrenal incidentalomas.

[Clinical pathway for the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in a general surgery department].

Introduction: Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is a common entity. Treatment varies widely across different health systems and even among doctors in the same department. In our general surgery department 30 to 40 patients with PSP are treated each year and there is significant variability in care delivery.

[Laparoscopic repair of secondary lumbar hernias: open vs. laparoscopic surgery. A prospective, nonrandomized study].

Introduction: Lumbar hernia is an uncommon defect of the posterior abdominal wall and its surgical treatment remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of laparoscopy versus open surgery.

Patients And Method: We performed a prospective, nonrandomized study of 16 patients with secondary lumbar hernias who underwent surgery between January 1997 and January 2003.

Clinical pathway for the treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in a general surgery department.

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is a common abnormality for which there is a variety of treatments. This study presents the results of a year's evaluation of a clinical pathway (CP). A series of 34 patients treated during 1 year before CP development was analyzed to identify the weak points.

Evaluation of the clinical pathway for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Clinical pathways are comprehensive systematized patient care plans for specific procedures. The clinical pathway for laparoscopic cholecystectomy was implemented in our department in March 2002. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical pathway for this procedure 1 year after implementation.

Immediate, early, and late morbidity with laparoscopic ventral hernia repair and tolerance to composite mesh.

The laparoscopic repair of ventral hernias is still a controversial therapeutic option, and little is known of its medium- and long-term morbidity. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the postoperative morbidity of laparoscopic ventral hernia repair and analyze the clinical factors that might be related to it. 86 consecutive patients who had ventral hernia and underwent endoscopic surgery in a Universitary teaching hospital.

Open vs laparoscopic repair of spigelian hernia: a prospective randomized trial.

Hypothesis: The elective treatment of a spigelian hernia is still under discussion, fundamentally owing to its rarity. The purpose of the study is to analyze the elective surgical treatment of spigelian hernia.

Design: A prospective, randomized controlled trial.

Outpatient laparoscopic incisional/ventral hernioplasty: our experience in 55 cases.

Laparoscopic repair of ventral and incisional hernias is still a controversial therapeutic option. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the results of laparoscopic surgery on ventral hernias in an outpatient surgery unit of a university hospital. Fifty-five patients consecutively underwent laparoscopic surgery for ventral/incisional hernias in the outpatient unit.