21 research outputs found
Southeast Sulawesi : Island of Surprises
No full textJudyth Gregory-Smith, the author, taught for several years in Papua New Guine, Peninsula Malaysia and Sarawak.xx, 250 hlm. ; ilus. ; 23 cm
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Developing new levels of edit
No full textSince 1985, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) staff have had four levels of edit to choose from for technical reports. When a CQI survey showed that both authors and editors felt the levels were not meeting author needs, LANL set about revising them. The goals were to simplify the editing process, focus editing on improving technical clarity, and ensure value added in editing. This paper describes the revision process and product--three author-based levels of edit
Obligatory medical insurance in Russia: the participants' perspective
No full textThe Russian Federation adopted a nation-wide system of obligatory medical insurance in 1993 in an effort to earmark a targeted source of funding for health care and to reverse a steep decline in health outcomes. The author conducted a survey in 1995-1996 of managers of two of the new institutional participants in Russia's health insurance scheme: Territorial Health Insurance Funds and private medical insurance companies. The survey results reveal deep dissatisfaction with the level of financing provided by the new system; continuing confusion and substantial regional variation in the implementation of the insurance legislation; fierce bureaucratic and institutional infighting between the major players, stemming primarily from controversy over delineation of responsibilities and ongoing battles for control over resources; promising hints of competition and other market-based incentives emerging from the current chaos; and broad agreement that further structural reform must accompany increased infusions of resources in order for significant systemic improvements to be realized.Russia Insurance Finance Institutions Survey
Environ Health Perspect
No full textBackground:Phthalate exposures are hypothesized to increase obesity; however, prior research has been largely cross-sectional.Objective:We evaluated associations between prenatal phthalate exposures and body mass index (BMI) at child ages 5 and 7 years.Methods:Nine metabolites of six phthalates\ue2\u20ac\u201ddi(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-octyl-, di-iso-butyl-, di-n-butyl-, butylbenzyl-, and diethyl phthalates\ue2\u20ac\u201dwere measured in spot urine samples collected from pregnant African-American and Dominican women during their third trimester, and from their children at ages 3 and 5 years. To reduce multiple comparison issues, we initially used principal component analysis (PCA) to identify major patterns of natural log (ln)-transformed metabolite concentrations. Height and weight were assessed at ages 5 and 7 years, and fat mass and waist circumference at age 7. Linearized generalized estimating equation analyses related maternal component scores to child anthropometric outcomes at ages 5 (n = 326) and 7 (n = 330) years.Results:PCA identified a DEHP component and a non-DEHP component. In boys, higher maternal non-DEHP, but not DEHP, component scores were associated with lower BMI z-score (\uce\ub2 = \ue2\u20ac\u201c0.30; 95% CI: \ue2\u20ac\u201c0.50, \ue2\u20ac\u201c0.10, n = 156), lower fat percentage (\uce\ub2 = \ue2\u20ac\u201c1.62; 95% CI: \ue2\u20ac\u201c2.91, \ue2\u20ac\u201c0.34, n = 142), and smaller waist circumference (\uce\ub2 = \ue2\u20ac\u201c2.02; 95% CI: \ue2\u20ac\u201c3.71, \ue2\u20ac\u201c0.32, n = 124). No significant associations with anthropometric outcomes were seen in girls (for BMI z-score, \uce\ub2 = 0.07; 95% CI: \ue2\u20ac\u201c0.18, 0.31, n = 181). Interactions between sex and non-DEHP component association with outcomes were statistically significant (p < 0.01).Conclusions:Contrary to hypotheses, prenatal non-DEHP phthalate exposures were associated with lower BMI z-score, waist circumference, and fat mass in boys during early childhood.Citation:Maresca MM, Hoepner LA, Hassoun A, Oberfield SE, Mooney SJ, Calafat AM, Ramirez J, Freyer G, Perera FP, Whyatt RM, Rundle AG. 2016. Prenatal exposure to phthalates and childhood body size in an urban cohort. Environ Health Perspect 124:514\ue2\u20ac\u201c520; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408750P30 ES009089/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States26069025PMC482997
Implementation of a system for documentary procedures in public institutions applying Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
No full textThe research has shown that, in Peru, public institutions have a deficient service in document management, as a result, it generates loss of time, accumulation and low security of documents, which affects citizens. Therefore, this paper proposes to implement RPA technology through a web system, which has been developed, as objective of automating the workflow and avoiding performing repetitive tasks. This technological solution will generate great improvements for public institutions such as the reduction of the attention time for a procedure in order to prevent the dissatisfaction of citizens. The proposed solution is verified through evaluations based on the indicators presented. Finally, a considerable improvement was shown in the procedures, improving the experience of citizens and workers by reducing the attention time from 516 minutes to 490 minutes on average, which implies a saving of approximately 26 minutes, but it should be noted that the attention time for a procedure may vary depending on the type of procedure.Revisión por paresODS 16: Paz, Justicia e Instituciones SólidasODS 9: Industria, Innovación e InfraestructuraODS 11: Ciudades y Comunidades Sostenible
Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with long-term body fat and weight retention at 7 y postpartum in African American and Dominican mothers with underweight, normal, and overweight prepregnancy BMI.
No full textBackground: Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with postpartum weight retention (PPWR) and abdominal adiposity, but long-term effects are understudied in low-income and minority populations at high risk of obesity and associated sequelae.
Objective: We examined associations between GWG and long-term PPWR and adiposity in a prospective cohort of African American and Dominican mothers in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan.
Design: Women (n = 302) were enrolled during pregnancy and were followed for 7 y postpartum. Linear regression was used to relate excessive GWG [greater than 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines] to outcomes [percentage body fat and long-term PPWR (change in weight from prepregnancy to 7 y postpartum)], adjusting for covariates and included an interaction term between prepregnancy body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) and GWG.
Results: Mean ± SD prepregnancy BMI and total GWG were 25.6 ± 5.8 (42% of women had BMI ≥25) and 16.6 ± 7.8 kg (64% of women had total GWG greater than IOM guidelines), respectively. Associations between GWG and long-term PPWR and the percentage body fat varied by prepregnancy BMI (P-interaction ≤ 0.06); excessive GWG was associated with a higher percentage body fat and greater long-term PPWR in mothers with lower prepregnancy BMI. To illustrate the interaction, a predicted covariate-adjusted model, which was used to derive estimates for the percentage body fat and PPWR associated with excessive GWG, was estimated for 2 prepregnancy BMI examples. For a woman with prepregnancy BMI of 22, excessive GWG was associated with 3.0% higher body fat (P < 0.001) and a 5.6-kg higher PPWR (P < 0.001); however, for a woman with a prepregnancy BMI of 30, excessive GWG was associated with 0.58% higher body fat (P = 0.55) and 2.06 kg PPWR (P = 0.24).
Conclusions: Long-term adiposity and PPWR in low-income African American and Dominican mothers were predicted by interacting effects of prepregnancy BMI and excessive GWG. The provision of support for mothers to begin pregnancy at a healthy weight and to gain weight appropriately during pregnancy may have important lasting implications for weight-related health in this population. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00043498.VoRSUNY DownstateEnvironmental and Occupational Health SciencesN/
Gestational weight gain and obesity, adiposity and body size in African-American and Dominican children in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan.
No full textGestational weight gain (GWG) is potentially modifiable and is associated with infant size and body composition; however, long-term effects on childhood obesity have not been reported among multi-ethnic urban populations. We examined the association between GWG and child anthropometric measures and body composition at 7 years [waist circumference (WC), body mass index z-score (BMIZ), obesity (BMIZ ≥95%ile) and bioelectrical impedance analysis estimates of percentage body fat (%fat)] in African-American and Dominican dyads (n = 323) in the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health prospective birth cohort study from 1998 to 2013. Linear and logistic regression evaluated associations between excessive GWG [>Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009 guidelines] and outcomes, adjusting for pre-pregnancy BMI and covariates. Pre-pregnancy BMI (mean ± standard deviation, all such values) and total GWG were 25.8 ± 6.2 kg m(-2) (45% overweight/obese) and 16.4 ± 7.9 kg (64% > IOM guidelines), respectively. Excessive GWG was associated with higher BMIZ {0.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2, 0.7], P < 0.001}, WC [β: 2.9 cm (95% CI: 1.1, 4.6), P = 0.002], %fat at 7 years [β: 2.2% (95% CI: 1.0, 3.5), P = 0.001)] and obesity [odds ratio: 2.93 (95% CI: 1.5, 5.8), P = 0.002]. Pre-pregnancy BMI was positively associated with child size, adiposity and obesity (all P < 0.05). Excessive GWG was highly prevalent and was associated with child obesity, greater percentage body fat and abdominal adiposity. Strategies to support healthy GWG are warranted to promote healthy growth and prevent childhood obesity.VoRSUNY DownstateEnvironmental and Occupational Health SciencesN/
Prenatal Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Serum Concentrations Are Associated with Intrinsic Functional Network Organization and Executive Functioning in Childhood
No full textMolecular evidence of an interaction between prenatal environmental exposures and birth outcomes in a multiethnic population.
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The Pattern and Timing of Weight Changes in Pregnancy Impact Child Growth and Weight Trajectories for Girls but not Boys
No full textCurrent obesity prevalence in the U.S. is 14% among preschool aged children, 18% among school aged children, 21% among adolescents, and 40% among adults. Pregnancy is a critical period that can shape later health and obesity risk for both the woman carrying the pregnancy and the eventual child. The Institute of Medicine recommends that researchers explore how the pattern of prenatal weight gain, rather than total prenatal weight gain, impacts children’s health outcomes. Responding to this call, PRC faculty scholar Beth Widen and colleagues designed a study to understand how patterns of weight changes over the course of pregnancy are linked to body composition and growth patterns of the children born of these pregnancies. They found that unlike boys, girls exposed to high prenatal weight changes are likely more vulnerable to excess body fat across childhood and into early adolescence. These findings will likely be included in future Institute of Medicine recommendations for healthy weight changes throughout pregnancy.Population Research Cente
