2,602 research outputs found
Quality and Validity of Diet Quality Indices for Use in Australian Contexts: A Systematic Review
No full textDiet quality indices (DQIs) are tools used to evaluate the overall diet quality against dietary guidelines or known healthy dietary patterns. This review aimed to evaluate DQIs and their validation processes to facilitate decision-making in the selection of appropriate DQIs for use in Australian contexts. A search of CINAHL, PubMed and Scopus electronic databases was conducted for studies published between January 2010 - May 2020, which validated a DQI, measuring >1 dimension of diet quality (adequacy, balance, moderation, variety) and was applicable to the Australian context. Data on constructs, scoring, weighting and validation methods (construct validity, criterion validity, reliability and reproducibility) were extracted and summarised. The quality of the validation process was evaluated using COSMIN Risk of Bias and Joanna Briggs Appraisal checklists. The review identified 27 indices measuring adherence to: national dietary guidelines (n=13), Mediterranean diet (n=8), and specific population recommendations and chronic disease risk (n=6). Extensiveness of the validation process varied widely across and within categories. Construct validity was the most strongly assessed measurement property, while evaluation of measurement error was frequently inadequate. DQIs should capture multiple dimensions of diet quality, possess a reliable scoring system, and demonstrate adequate evidence in their validation framework to support use in the intended context. Researchers need to understand the limitations of newly developed DQIs and interpret results in view of the validation evidence. Future research on DQIs is indicated to improve evaluation of measurement error, reproducibility and reliability.Full Tex
Performances of the HL (Hyperloop) transport system
No full textThis paper deals with an analysis of performances of the HL (Hyperloop) transport system considered as an advanced transport alternative to the existing APT (Air Passenger Transport) and HSR (High Speed Rail) systems. The considered performances are operational, financial, social and environmental. The operational performance include capacity and quality of service provided to the system’s users-passengers with attributes such as door-to-door travel time consisting of the access and egress time, schedule delay, in-vehicle time, and interchange time. The economic performances embrace the costs and revenues of operating the system. The costs include that for infrastructure, vehicles, traffic management facilities and equipment, and employees. The revenues embrace earnings from pricing users/passengers. The environmental performances include energy consumption and related emissions of GHGs (Green House Gases), and land use. The social performances are considered to be noise and safety. The analytical models of indicators of these performances are developed and applied to the scenario of operating the HL system on the short- to medium-haul travel distances/routes. These are then compared to the corresponding performances of the HSR and APT. This comparison has shown that the HL system may possess some advantages but also disadvantages regarding particular performances.Transport and PlanningOLD Urban and Regional Developmen
Standardised Outcome Reporting for the Nutrition Management of Complex Chronic Disease: A Rapid Review
No full textIndividuals with coexisting chronic diseases or with complex chronic disease are among the most challenging and costly patients to treat, placing a growing demand on healthcare systems. Recommending effective treatments, including nutrition interventions, relies on standardised outcome reporting from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to enable data synthesis. This rapid review sought to determine how the scope and consistency of the outcomes reported by RCTs investigating nutrition interventions for the management of complex chronic disease compared to what is recommended by the core outcome sets (COS) for individual disease states. Peer-reviewed RCTs published between January 2010 and July 2020 were systematically sourced from PubMed, CINAHL and Embase, and COS were sourced from the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurements (ICHOM) and the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) database. A total of 45 RCTs (43 studies) and 7 COS were identified. Outcomes were extracted from both the RCTs and COS and were organised using COMET Taxonomy Core Areas. A total of 66 outcomes and 439 outcome measures were reported by the RCTs. The RCTs demonstrated extensive outcome heterogeneity, with only five outcomes (5/66, 8%) being reported with relative consistency (cited by ≥50% of publications). Furthermore, the scope of the outcomes reported by studies was limited, with a notable paucity of patient-reported outcomes. Poor agreement (25%) was observed between the outcomes reported in the RCTs and those recommended by the COS. This review urges greater uptake of the existing COS and the development of a COS for complex chronic disease to be considered so that evidence can be better synthesised regarding effective nutrition interventions
Analysis and modelling of performances of the HL (Hyperloop) transport system
No full textIntroduction: Hyperloop (HL) is presented as an efficient alternative of HSR (High Speed Rail) and APT (Air Passenger Transport) systems for long-distance passenger transport. This paper explores the performances of HL and compares these performances to HSR and APT. Methods: The following performances of the HL system are analytically modeled and compared to HSR and APT: (i) operational performance; (ii) financial performance; (iii) social/environmental performance. Results: The main operational result is that the capacity of HL is low which implies a low utilization of the infrastructure. Because the infrastructure costs dominate the total costs, the costs per passenger km are high compared to those for HSR and APT. The HL performs very well regarding the social/environmental aspects because of low energy use, no GHG emissions and hardly any noise. The safety performance needs further consideration. Conclusions: The HL system is promising for relieving the environmental pressure of long-distance travelling, but has disadvantages regarding the operational and financial performances.Transport and PlanningOLD Urban and Regional Developmen
Diet quality, Self-efficacy and Health Literacy in Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study
No full textObjective: Adherence to high-quality dietary patterns is associated with lower risk of disease progression and all-cause mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Self-efficacy and health literacy are recognized as factors that may lead to better adherence to high-quality diets. However, these associations are not well studied in CKD. This study aims to explore the relationship between health literacy, self-efficacy, and diet quality in CKD. Methods: Participants with CKD stages 3a-5 recruited from 3 large tertiary hospitals were assessed using the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-item scale, the Health Literacy Questionnaire, and the Australian Eating Survey Food Frequency Questionnaire. Diet quality was measured using the Australian Recommended Food Score. Associations were examined using multivariable linear regression models, adjusted for sex and type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Results: Sixty participants were included in the analysis. Mean age of participants was 74.5 years and 58% were male. The mean Australian Recommended Food Score was poor (mean = 29.9 ± 9.1/73) and characterized by high intake of Processed foods and animal protein, and low intake of fruit and vegetables. Mean Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-item scale was high (7.12 ± 2.07/10). Self-efficacy and health literacy domains 6 - Actively engage with healthcare providers and 7 - Navigating healthcare system independently predicted diet quality in the adjusted model for sex and type 2 diabetes. Conclusion: Adults with CKD report suboptimal diet quality. The results suggest that self-efficacy and aspects of health literacy should be considered when designing interventions aimed at improving diet quality in people with CKD.No Full Tex
Associations between diet composition, dietary pattern, and weight outcomes after bariatric surgery: a systematic review
No full textIntroduction: Literature describing the impact of dietary intake on weight outcomes after bariatric surgery has not been synthesized. This study aimed to synthesize the evidence regarding any association between diet composition and weight outcomes post-bariatric surgery. Methods: CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, MEDLINE and Scopus were searched for adult studies up to June 2021 that assessed any association between dietary intakes (≥1-macronutrient, food group, or dietary pattern) and weight outcomes at 12-months or longer after bariatric surgery. Risk of bias and quality assessments were conducted using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network checklists and the NHMRC’s Level of Evidence and Grades for Recommendations. Study findings were presented according to the time of post-surgery dietary intake assessment (≤12months, between 12 and 24 months, ≥24months). Results: 5923 articles were identified, 260 were retrieved for full text screening, and 36 were eligible for inclusion (9 interventional including five randomized-controlled trials, and 27 observational cohort studies; sample sizes: 20–1610; total sample: 5065; follow-up periods: 1 year–12 years; level of evidence: II to IV, risk of bias: low to high). Findings on the association between long-term weight outcomes and dietary composition up to 24-months were mixed. After 24-months, studies consistently suggested no significant associations between weight loss and macronutrient composition or core food group patterns, or between carbohydrate, protein or food group patterns and weight recurrence. A single cohort study reported a weak association between diet quality score and weight-recurrence after 24-months. Conclusion: There was no strong evidence to support significant associations between diet composition and weight outcomes post-bariatric surgery. The heterogeneity in study design and quality may reduce generalizability to external populations. Individualized dietary recommendations may be useful to support long-term post-surgery weight outcomes. More studies are needed to define and measure diet quality in this patient cohort. Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021264120)Full Tex
Obesity as a barrier to kidney transplantation: Time to eliminate the body weight bias?
No full textThere is clear evidence that survival rates following transplantation far exceed those for remaining on dialysis, regardless of body size measured by body mass index (BMI). Studies over the past 15 years also suggest little to no difference in long-term outcomes, including graft survival and mortality, irrespective of BMI, in contrast to earlier evidence. However, weight bias still exists, as access to kidney transplantation remains inequitable in centers using arbitrary BMI limits. Clinicians faced with the decision regarding listing based on body size are not helped by conflicting recommendations in national and international guidelines. Therefore, in clinical practice, obesity, and recommendations for weight loss, remain a controversial issue when assessing suitability for kidney transplantation. Obesity management interventions in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), whether for weight loss for transplantation listing or for slowing kidney disease progression, are under-explored in trial settings. Bariatric surgery is the most successful treatment for obesity, but carries increased risk in the ESKD population, and the desired outcome of kidney transplant listing is not guaranteed. Centers that limit transplants to those meeting arbitrary levels of body mass, rather than adopting an individualized assessment approach, may be unfairly depriving many ESKD patients of the survival and quality of life benefits derived from kidney transplantation. However, robotic kidney transplantation surgery holds promise for reducing perioperative risks related to obesity, and may therefore represent an opportunity to remove listing criteria based on size.</p
Studies on the HL--A antigens Distributions among Normal Korean Population and Gastric Cancer Patients
No full textEven though the HL-A antigens as the major
histocompatibility antigens have been contributing
an important role in the immunological aspect of the
clinical transplantation. and recently considerable
attentions are focusing on the possible association
of various disease or malignant disease with the
certain HL-A specifities, any datas for the distribution
of the HL-A antigens in Korean population and
the HL-A serotyping for the kidney transplant is
not available at present time.
This present report is a studies on the HL-A
antigens distribution among 155 normal Korean
population and 76 gastric cancer patients with the
method of Boyum's lymphocyte isolation technic
with Ficoll and Isopaque mixture and the method
of Terasaki's microlymphocytotoxicity test with 29
NIH standard antisera for 16 HL-A specificities at
Seoul National University Hospital.
The results are as following;
1. The HL-A antigens are rather evenly distributed
throughout the first and second series in both normal
Koreans and gastric cancer patient which is a good
evidence of diversity in the polymorphism of HL-A
antigens.
2. The most frequent HL-A antigens are HL-A 2,13.12 and 10 in normal control group. and HL-A
10.5.2 and 13 in gastric cancer patient. HL-A 9 is
rather infrequent compared to other Oriental populations,
and HL-A 1 which has heen recognized to be
absent from Orientals occurs 17.4%.
3. It is interesting findings that in gastric cancer
group HL~A 10 from first sublocus and 5 from second
sublocus are markedly increased than normal control
group and HL-A 11 from first sublocus and 12 from
second sublocus are markedly decreased than normal
control group. The author strongly feels that
. additional study to confirm the above findings
should be done.
4. There is a relatively large proportion of blank
alleles: 24% (first series) and 15% (second series) in
normal control group, and 22% (first series) and
15% (second series) in gastric cancer group, which
seems to be related to the limited number of antisera
and the limited number of serum panels used in this
study, and related to the probable existence of
unknown specifities in OUf native Korean population
Sawtooth-driven neoclassical tearing modes in HL-2A plasmas
No full textNeoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) of m = 2, n = 1 induced by sawtooth crashes in tokamak plasmas are studied based on the results of HL-2A tokamak experiments. A model of sawtooth-driven Delta' for NTMs due to the toroidal coupling effect is proposed and applied to the observed growth of 2/1 islands with the sawtooth oscillation observed in the HL-2A experiment. The neoclassical tearing island growth is calculated based on the model and the result is found to be in good agreement with experimental data.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000312579500002&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Physics, Fluids & PlasmasPhysics, NuclearSCI(E)EI4ARTICLE12null5
Mesoscopic counterpart of a hyperchaos
No full textThe effect of intrinsic fluctuations was analyzed on hyperchaos having positive Lyapunov exponents using Stochastic simulations. Individual simulations of the Markov processes were derived from the deterministic hyperchaos. The chemical master equation was examined to determine the effect of intrinsic fluctuations on hyperchaos. The individual simulations were found in close accordance with the deterministic hyperchaos.Physics, Atomic, Molecular & ChemicalSCI(E)EI1ARTICLE115099-510111
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