Duration Research Articles

Effect of Time of Exposure to Prolonged War on Resilience of Soldiers

The armed forces of a country face numerous challenges in their professional lives which affect both their physical and mental health. Literature provides evidence that exposure to war like situations and conflicts exert stress amongst the military personnel. Despite such high intensity conflict situations cases of impaired mental health are low among the armed forces personnel which can be explained as resilient behaviour. Therefore the objective of the present study was to study the effect of time of exposure to prolonged war on the resilience levels of military personnel, specifically the Indian army personnel. The sample of the study included N=106 Indian army personnel serving in the high intensity conflict regions of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The sample was assessed quantitatively using the resilience questionnaire by Lakshmi and Narain and results were calculated. The results were quantitatively analysed using one-way ANOVAstatistical method and it was found that soldiers with 3 to 10 months of exposure to high intensity conflict region had low to average levels of resilience whereas soldiers with 10 to 24months of exposure had resilience levels ranging from average to high. Hence it was revealed that resilience of soldiers with more exposure to prolonged war was higher than those who had less duration of prolonged war. Furthermore, the need for more research in importance of resilience building as part of combat training is discussed in the research.

Cluster analysis and damage identification for FRP/steel-confined RC column using AE technique

This article presents the damage evaluation and pattern recognition for the newly proposed fiber reinforced polymer (FRP)/steel-confined reinforced concrete columns. The interaction of FRP material, steel tube, and reinforced concrete lead to complex damage mechanisms and invisible damage modes. The prevailing acoustic emission (AE) technique was applied to monitor the damage process and detect the sheltered damages under cyclic loading. Characteristic AE parameters, such as energy and duration, were extracted to disclose the damage evolution and evaluate the damage state. Three typical damage stages were identified. The fuzzy C.means (FCM) algorithm and particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm were applied as efficient clustering tools to discriminate different damage signals of FRP/steel-confined RC columns. Five types of damage mechanisms were identified and illustrated based on the statistical analysis of typical AE features. Furthermore, typical damage waveforms were extracted, the frequency content of each damage signal was discussed on the basis of wavelet transform.

ES13.06 Developing a Care Board

Interprofessional supportive care improves patient’s quality of life and might even impact overall survival In the Department of Oncology at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) we developed and introduced an interprofessional board called “Care-Board” during early treatment phase that is organized in parallel to the Tumor-Board The aim of the Care-Board is to facilitate a standardised interprofessional consensus process and agreement on supportive care recommendations for patients Between 2017-2018, we piloted the Care-Board targeted on patients diagnosed with lung cancer This pilot study showed promising results for the feasibility and acceptability of the Care-Board Indeed all participating health care professionals declared to be favorable to continue the Care-Board in the future and integrate this model in the usual care for lung cancer patients It was also found that the goal of the Care-Board needed clarification and clear inclusion criteria evaluating the complexity of patients’ supportive care needs was recommended It was also recommended to open the Care Board to other patient groups and to increase the frequency of Care Boards to allow a rapid action to address problems and needs In 2020 we introduced a new model of the Care Board open to all cancer patients fulfilling the following inclusion criteria: clinical evidence of moderate / high distress (score >4 on the NCCN distress thermometer) and/or a high number of problems on the problem checklist, and/ or management by the oncology team and available resources / referral to specialist does not sufficiently allow to address the distress / problems The Care Board is led by an oncology nurse (Care Board Coordinator) and includes oncologists, oncology nurses, oncology APNs, palliative care specialists, psycho-oncologists, integrative medicine, social worker, nutritionists, spiritual care They meet weekly for one hour, each member can refer patients to the board Between February and November 2020 we held 29 care boards (main reason for missed care-boards: 1st wave of COVID-19 (n=10), lack of referred cases (n=9) The average time duration of weekly Care Board was 50 min and on average one new patient was discussed per Care Board, in total 33 new patients were discussed Of these, 48% (n=16) were previously screened with the NCCN Distress Thermometer These screened patients showed a mean distress score of 4 and indicated on average 15 problems on the problem checklist Most cases were referred by oncology nurses (n=11;33%) and oncology APNs (n=17;55%) 55% of referred patient situations were lung cancer patients, followed by brain tumor patients (15%) and gastro-intestinal cancer patients (12%) The main supportive care areas discussed in the Care Board were psychological problems (anxiety, fear, worry, nervousness, isolation) physical problems (fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite, sleep disorders) and financial problems These early results show that the Care Board is feasible and is accepted by health care professionals caring for lung cancer patients Early feasibility results for other patient groups are promising We continue the development and have the intention to conduct research to enable the development of an evidence based Care Board model

Role of altered fractionation in radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy in management of carcinoma cervix: Time to revisit in the current COVID-19 pandemic

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 as COVID-19 virus has affected the entire world and so to the cancer care and health-care facility. Cancer cervix is one of the common malignancies among women in developing and underdeveloped countries. Various challenges are being faced by patients and health-care providers to deliver optimal treatment under prescribed time frame. Faster delivery of whole treatment is desirable in the current pandemic. Overall treatment time in cancer cervix has prognostic value. Adoption of altered fractionation to delivered external beam radiation therapy could be a method for faster delivery of whole treatment. Altered fractionation such as hyperfractionation (HFX), hypofractionation, and accelerated fraction alone or with HFX has already been experimented for the past three decades. The total duration of treatment has been significantly reduced without addition of much toxicity. Few studies had also highlighted the feasibility of addition of chemotherapy to such fractionation schedule. However, prospective studies are still warranted to generate data to further support its use in the future.

Outpatient Clinic Practice of Hospice and Palliative Care in Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Objective To share the outpatient clinic practice of hospice and palliative care at the Department of Geriatrics,Peking Union Medical College Hospital.Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis on the consecutive clinic data of doctor N in Geriatric Outpatient Clinic,Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1,2016 to December 31,2019.The patients aged 85 years and older,as well as those with end stage malignant tumor,non-tumor dysfunction due to chronic diseases or primary diseases without effective treatment were defined as patients with palliative care need.The basic information,symptoms,consultation purposes and treatments of these patients were collected.Results Among the 2502 visits during the study period,1388 patients with palliative care needs were admitted and recorded,with an average age of(69.7±13.5)years(8-105 years),among which 73.3% were patients over 60 years old and 712(51.3%)were males.Among these patients,63.4% visited specifically to seek for palliative care service and 87.2% of the visits were due to distress caused by advanced malignant tumors.Of the 221 patients with non-tumor diseases,frailty and neurodegenerative diseases were the leading life-threating cause.Of the 5483 symptoms recorded,pain(21.2%),anorexia(13.1%),fatigue(11.6%),constipation(6.9%),insomnia(4.6%),and abdominal distension(4.6%)were the six common symptoms.In the 2502 visits,26.2% of the patients had mutiple visits,and 50.3% of the patients with multiple visits had more than three visits;38.6% of patients visited the clinic themselves,and 65.7% of visits were attended by two or more family members(including the patients).The average duration of visit was(19.6±8.5)min(2-85 min),and 13.5%,53.0%,25.6% and 7.9% of the patients completed the consultation within 10,11-20,21-30 and over 30 min,respectively.Conclusion There is strong demand of palliative care in the outpatient clinic of Department of Geriatrics in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and it is feasible to provide palliative care service for patients with serious diseases in geriatric outpatient clinics.

Effect of Pregnancy on Sleep

Getting a good sleep is important to mother and child health, for pregnant women getting sleepless night lead to fatigue, day time sleeping, leading to change in sleep cycle and effecting maternal and fetal health mentally. Sleep plays important role in health of baby like memory, appetite, and learning. Now a day’s sleep duration has been declining in women priority list. Sleep deprivation have shown adverse effect on birth results like preterm delivery and mental issues like postpartum illness and depression. Pregnancy deals with different physical, hormonal and physiological changes effecting sleep, most of the women experience sleep disturbances during pregnancy. Insomnia, leg cramps, obstructive sleep Apnea, restless leg syndrome, gastro oesophageal reflux disorder majorly occurring problems during pregnancy. Lifestyle and prevention of things are considered

SARS-CoV-2 Reinfection with a Mutant Viral Variant: A Case Study

The rapid development of vaccines with high efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 has brought questions about duration of protection. The answers have been

Prevalence of Using Performance-enhancing Substances among Gym Users in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Performance-enhancing substances (PESs) have unfortunately become ubiquitous in numerous sports; some of these substances pose a serious threat to the health and well-being of athletes. This study aimed to: assess the prevalence and determinants of PESs use among gym attenders in Makkah, Saudi Arabia Research design: a cross-sectional study. Subjects: a number of 122 adult gymnasts in Makkah city. Tool: The data was collected through an on line self-administered questionnaire. Results: This study revealed that 40% of participants using PESs, 63.8 % of them knew the chemical composition of PESs, majority of them having PESs from online shopping and fitness stores. Participants using PESs for improving appearance, sexuality and power. The duration of usage was less than six months and stop for causes other than price or side effects. The most common used PESs were creatine, alagenin and beta alanine. There were a statistical significance difference between the type of PESs used and age, gender and education while there was no statistical significance difference between the type of PESs used and marital status. Conclusion: less than half of participants using PESs for less than six months, significant differences were found between PESs and gender, age and education. Recommendations: counseling and education for gym users about the adverse effects of PESs, strict regulations should be done for screening and manipulating these substances.

Simulation of Lueders bands using regularized large strain elasto-plasticity

This paper deals with the numerical simulation of an instability phenomenon called Lueders bands with two regularized material models: viscoplasticity and gradient-enhanced plasticity. The models are based on large strain kinematics and temperature-dependence is incorporated. The Huber–Mises–Hencky yield condition and multi-branch hardening are employed. After a brief presentation of the constitutive description, test computations are performed using AceGen and AceFEM symbolic packages for Wolfram Mathematica. The first benchmark is a rectangular tensile plate in plane strain isothermal conditions. For the viscoplastic model, simulation results for different values of viscosity, loading duration and enforced displacement are compared. For the gradient model different internal lengths are used. Mesh sensitivity of the results and the influence of boundary conditions are also examined. Next to the Lueders-type response to a softening-hardening yield strength function, an additional softening stage leading to failure is also considered. The second example concerns a bone-shape sample under tension, for which, next to mesh sensitivity and the effect of regularization, the influence of heat conduction on simulation results is evaluated.

Three Months of CAPOX Acceptable in High-Risk Stage II Colon Cancer

The International Duration of Adjuvant Chemotherapy (IDEA) collaboration, which compared 3 versus 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy in nearly 13,000

Physical exercise-induced thermoregulatory responses in trained rats: Effects of manipulating the duration and intensity of aerobic training sessions.

This study investigated the effects of increasing the intensity and/or duration of aerobic training sessions on thermoregulatory responses in rats subjected to exercises in temperate and warm environments. Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: a control (CON) group and three groups that were subjected to an 8-week aerobic training, during which the physical overload was achieved by predominantly increasing the exercise intensity (INT), duration (DUR) or by increasing both in an alternate manner (ID). During the last week of training, the rats received an abdominal sensor implant to measure their core body temperature (TCORE) by telemetry. After the training protocol, the 32 rats were subjected to incremental speed-exercises in temperate (23 °C) and warm (32 °C) environments. The rats had their TCORE recorded while running on a treadmill, and the ratio between the increase in TCORE and distance traveled was calculated to estimate thermoregulatory efficiency. All training protocols increased the rats' thermoregulatory efficiency during the incremental-speed exercise at 23°C; i.e., trained rats attained faster running speeds but unchanged TCORE at fatigue compared to CON rats. However, none of the load components of training sessions - intensity or duration - was more effective than the other in improving this efficiency. At 32°C, the aerobic training protocols did not influence the exercise-induced thermoregulatory responses. Our data indicate that different progressions in aerobic training performed at temperate conditions improved thermoregulatory efficiency during incremental exercise in the same environment; this training-induced adaptation was not clearly observed when running in warmer conditions.

Secondary and tertiary budbreak release is enhanced by extended dormancy chilling in 'Shiraz' grapevines

Limited information exists regarding the dormancy of secondary and tertiary buds within the compound bud of grapevines. We were interested to evaluate how extended chilling duration would affect the budbreak percentage of all three bud orders within the compound bud. Dormant potted 'Shiraz' grapevines, with thirty retained buds per vine, were placed in a cool room at 4 °C over a 20-month period to extend dormancy. Vines were then systematically removed over five dates and placed in a controlled growth environment to assess budbreak percentages and cane tissue concentrations of abscisic acid and cytokinins. Budbreak was hastened by at least 13 d with vines receiving any extra chilling compared to no initial chilling. Furthermore, the firstly observed correlative inhibition of basal buds was apparently removed with chilling. Removal of correlative inhibition within the compound bud with increased chilling duration was also observed with the increases of secondary (doubles) and tertiary (triples) buds breaking simultaneously with the primary bud at each node. This resulted in 91 % of the nodes having two developing shoots and 56 % of the nodes presenting three developing shoots by the end of the experiment. Furthermore, a sigmoidal relationship between percent secondary buds and chilling duration was observed. Possible phytohormone connections were observed with the decline of ABA as secondary and tertiary buds broke at 414 d of chilling and depletion of the CKs, which coincided with the greatest rate of primary bud break after 242 d of chilling. Other possible involvement of ABA and Cis-type cytokinin interactions with secondary and tertiary bud dormancy is discussed. The results suggest future investigations into secondary and tertiary bud release within the grapevine using similar techniques may help to better understand the biochemical mechanisms associated with dormancy.

Kinetics of Cd, Co and Ni Adsorption from Wastewater using Red and Black Tea Leaf Blend as a Bio-adsorbent

Every year there is deterioration in water quality. This is due to human activity. The current environmental strategies of many countries motivate the scientific community to develop reliable, economically viable and environmentally friendly technologies that are able to remove pollutants from the environment, including water. The study purpose is to determine of influence regularity of the bio-adsorbent composition and amount, which consists of red and black tea leaves mixture, on the Cd, Co and Ni adsorption process based on experimental data. As well as determine the most rational bio-adsorbent dose and the necessary red and black tea dose in bio-adsorbent to achieve MPC of heavy metals, with which process duration will be minimal. Initially, to study the adsorption process kinetics, the nature of the curve that describes the obtained experimental values was visually analyzed. To determine the adsorption process kinetic regularity, which most adequately and reliably describes the experimental data and to determine the values of the coefficients in the exponential regularity, the least squares method was used. It was observed that for Cd and Co, an increase in the black and red tea amount leads to a drastic reduction of the adsorption process time (up to 10 times); while for Ni the black tea addition slows down the adsorption process. Ni adsorption is the most complex and for certain bio-adsorbent composition values, complete Ni removal cannot be achieved in a technologically reasonable adsorption time. The technological process of Cd, Co and Ni adsorption can be expedient, if it is carried out in several stages with optimal red and black tea amounts for each of the metals. Adsorption process kinetic regularity, which was determined, can be used to calculate of adsorption process technological parameters in values wide range.

Abstract PS2-18: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) mutation (mut) profile in relation to paboclicib (pal) efficacy in hormone receptor positive (HR+) and HER2 negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC)

Abstract Background: Cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) are now standard of care (SOC) for pts with HR+/HER2- MBC. However, aside from HR positivity, there are no biomarkers for pt selection. Although mutations (muts) in genes such as RB1, FAT1, or FGFR, are associated with CDK4/6i resistance, they are rare events in HR+/HER2- MBC. The goal of this study is to examine the ctDNA mut profile, and the impact of commonly mutated genes (ESR1, TP53 and PIK3CA) on progression free survival (PFS) in pts received pal as SOC in a real world experience. Methods: Chart review was performed for pts with HR+/HER2- MBC who received pal and ctDNA Guardant360® (G360) testing between 01/2015 and 06/2020 at Siteman Cancer Center. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to generate time-to-event curves with calculated mPFS. A stratified log-rank test was used for all comparisons with P-values reported. Hazard ratios (HRs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated with a stratified Cox proportional-hazards model. Results: Among the 73 pts identified, median age was 61.5 years (range 33.7-83.3). 15 (20.5%) pts received pal as 1st-line, 22 (30.1%) pts as 2nd-line, and 36 (49.3%) pts as 3rd-line and beyond. All 73 pts had muts by G360. Top 3 mutated genes are PIK3CA (n=25, 34.2%), TP53 (n=20, 27.4%) and ESR1 (n=17, 23.3%), followed by GATA3 (n=12, 16.4%) and MYC (n=6, 8.2%). For association analysis with PFS, 17 pts were excluded from further analysis due to having had multiple interim therapies between G360 testing and pal therapy, leaving 56 pts who had G360 immediately prior to pal (n=11), during pal (n=13), at progressive disease (PD) on pal (n=20), or had 1 additional therapy after PD on pal (n=12). Among the 56 pts, the median age on pal was 62.8 years (36.6-78.4). Median duration on pal was 7.7 months (mo). Pal was received as 1st-line in 14 (25.0%), 2nd-line in 17 (30.4%) and 3rd-line plus in 25 (44.6%) pts. Muts in PIK3CA, TP53 and ESR1, were identified in 18 (32.1%), 16 (28.6%), and 13 (23.2%) pts, respectively, with rates similar to the entire 73-pt cohort. Among 13 ESR1 mutant pts, 7 had letrozole and 6 had fulvestrant as pal’s endocrine partner. Concurrent muts in 2 of 3 genes were observed in 11 (19.6%) pts (6 with PIK3CA and TP53, and 5 with ESR1 and TP53). The mPFS was 7.4 and 12.6 mo (p=0.03) in pts with or without PIK3CA mut, 7.9 and 12.8 mo (p=0.85) with or without ESR1 mut, and 16.0 and 13.3 mo (p=0.46), with or without TP53 mut, respectively. mPFS for pts with concurrent muts in 2 of the 3 genes was 7.4 mo, compared to 11.7 mo and 13.3 mo in pts with 1 or no mut in these 3 genes (p=0.46). In multivariate analysis that included age, visceral mets and line of therapy, the HRs for PFS were <1 for pts without mut in PIK3CA or ESR1 (Table 1). Pts with 1-5 and 6-10 mut were 26% and 36% less likely to have PD compared to pts with >10 muts, respectively. Conclusions: In this retrospective real world experience, ctDNA muts in PIK3CA and ESR1 as well as higher number of muts in ctDNA were associated with worse outcome in pts received pal. Although several studies have shown CDK4/6i benefit regardless of PIK3CA or ESR1 mut status, our data indicates that muts in these genes render worse prognosis on CDK4/6i and supports PIK3CA and ESR1 muts as driver events in HR+ MBC. PI3Ki or novel ER targeted agents are combined with CDK4/6i in clinical trials and results are eagerly awaited. In addition, further study for pts with higher ctDNA mut number is warranted. Multivariate Cox Proportional Hazards Regression Model on PFSVariablesPFSHR (95% CI)P-valueESR1 (non-mut vs. mut)0.64 (0.26-1.56)0.32TP53 (non-mut vs. mut)1.70 (0.80-3.60)0.16PIK3CA (non-mut vs. mut)0.42 (0.17-1.02)0.06Age (<65 vs. >=65 yo)0.92 (0.45-1.87)0.81No. Lines of pal (1st- vs. 3rd-line)0.61 (0.25-1.48)0.28No. Lines of pal (2nd- vs. 3rd-line)0.46 (0.20-1.04)0.06No. of muts (1-5 vs. >10)0.74 (0.24-2.33)0.61No. of muts (6-10 vs. >10)0.64 (0.20-2.07)0.46Visceral mets (no vs. yes)1.25 (0.52-2.98)0.61 Citation Format: Jing Xi, Nusayba Bagegni, Foluso Ademuyiwa, Ashley Frith, Rama Suresh, Anna Roshal, Caron Rigden, Leonel Hernandez-Aya, Lindsay Peterson, Mateusz Opyrchal, Katherine Clifton, Katherine Weilbaecher, Ron Bose, Cynthia Ma. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) mutation (mut) profile in relation to paboclicib (pal) efficacy in hormone receptor positive (HR+) and HER2 negative (HER2-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Virtual Symposium; 2020 Dec 8-11; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS2-18.

Effects of social isolation on COVID-19 trends

Social isolation is the most common and effective way to control disease transmission during pandemics with the specific implementations great impacting the results This study used the SEIRS model to analyze the pandemic conditions in 4 countries to investigate the effectiveness of various social isolation schemes on the spread of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to prepare for additional future outbreaks with emphasis on the effects of the isolation duration and degree The results show that for short-term social isolation, longer isolation time and lower isolation degree worked better for countries with good medical facilities and small populations while shorter isolation time and higher isolation degree worked better for countries with general medical facilities and large populations For long-term social isolation until COVID-19 is disappeared, a 50% degree of isolation provided effective results Overall, long-term social isolation is more effective than short-term isolation © 2021, Tsinghua University Press All right reserved

The effect of ovulation induction of GnRH following a short-term estrous induction protocol in Saanen goats

The current study was to compare the effect on the ovulation time and estrus parameters of a GnRH agonist (buserelin acetate) administered 24 or 36 h following a short-term estrus induction and synchronization treatment in non-lactating Saanen goats during the transitional period. Goats received 20 mg FGA sponges during 6 days plus 300 IU eCG and 125 µg d-cloprostenol 24 h prior to sponge removal. After removal of the sponges, goats were given either 1 ml physiological saline (0.9% NaCI) solution (Group 1 ; n = 9) after 12 h, 0.004 mg GnRH (buserelin acetate, Group 2 ; n = 10) after 24 h or 0.004 mg GnRH (Group 3 ; n = 10) after 36 h. The follicle development and ovulation in the ovaries were monitored by transrectal ultrasonography starting from the sponge application until the fifth day of the estrus cycle. Blood samples were collected on the same days to determine the plasma concentrations of progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E 2 ). As no statistical differences was detected in any synchronization parameters, ultrasonic evaluations and plasma P4 and E 2 concentrations among all groups, thus averages were assessed. The total estrus response, duration of the induced estrus, interval from sponge removal to onset of the induced estrus, time occurrence of ovulation from sponge removal and estrus onset to ovulation were recorded to be 93.10%, 33.66 ± 2.85 h, 27.48 ± 2.71 h, 48.05 ± 1.24 h and 21.51±2.37 h, respectively. The total ovulation rate, total number of ovulations per doe, largest follicle diameter and second largest follicle diameter were recorded to be 93.10%, 2.01±0.22, 6.85 ± 0.26 mm and 6.12 ± 0.24 mm, respectively. Results of this study indicate that administration of GnRH at 24 h or 36 h after sponge removal does not affect plasma P4 and E 2 concentrations, estrus parameters and ovulation time in estrus induction and synchronization in goats during the transition period.

The effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cognitive and Executive Function in Children with Language Impairment

Background: Existence of a language disorder can directly affect various aspects of social life of children. This study aimed to examining effectiveness of tDCS on cognitive and executive functions in children with language impairment. Materials and Methods: The present study is quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. Twenty-four children with language impairment were selected from 1st to 3rd grade elementary school students in Gorgan. In pre-test, participants performed a simple selective and divided attention test and an overarm throwing test including 10 throws. After pre-test, participants were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (each 12 participants). Participants in experimental group underwent transcranial direct current stimulation intervention for one-day interval of three sessions. Anodal electrode was placed on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the cathodal electrode on the participant’s right shoulder. The duration of stimulation in each session was 20 minutes, and the intensity of stimulation was 1.5 mA. Control group performed no particular intervention. Following intervention, post-test was performed. Results:The mean age of participants was 7.78 years; the mean weight was 34.33 kg and the mean height was 131.29 cm. The results showed in terms of simple selective (p=0.001) and divided (p=0.011) attention and overarm throwing (p=0.001), there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups, and the function of the experimental group was better than the control group due to different averages. Conclusions:In general, it can be stated that the use of tDCS intervention in three sessions of 20 minutes with an intensity of 1.5 mA can improve cognitive and executive functions in children with language disorders.

Conventional Echocardiography changes in Children with Diabetes Mellitus Type I with Lipid Profiles the Variation

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus type I (DMTI) is a highlighted endocrine and digestion issue that involved heart organs with more effect when lipid profiles considered. The study aimed to assess the conventional echocardiographic changes in children with diabetes mellitus type I with their lipid profiles variation. Materials and Methods: This analytical and comparison study performed on 96 DMTI and 96 healthy children. The examination run with collaboration of endocrinology and cardiology between March 2018 and April 2019. The DMTI confirmed by the clinical manifestation and laboratory measures. Both groups underwent conventional echocardiography and HbA1c, diabetic duration and lipid profiles measured for the children with diabetes. Data analyzed via SPSS 18.0 and P < 0.05 was considered significant level. Results: About 52.6% and 47.9% were boys in participants and patients respectively. Mean age of participants was 10.82± 3.15 years and 10.87±3.46 and 10.77±2.82 years for patients and controls respectively. Left MPI was higher in patients (p=0.001). Patients with poor controlled had higher LVMI and left DT (p<0.05). Patients with abnormal CHO had higher EF, FS, left E/A, LAd/Aod, LAs/Aos, left ET and PWD when right DT, aortic diameter in diastole, aortic diameter in systole, left MPI and left DT had lower levels. LDL effects on aorta diameter in diastole, right deceleration time, aorta diameter in systole, left MPI and left DT, FS, Left E/A, LAd / Aod, LAs/Aos, and PWD. Patients with abnormal HDL, had higher left MPI and lower left ET. Conclusion: It was concluded that more conventional echocardiography involvement in DMTI children who have abnormal lipids profile as well as abnormal HbA1c and longer diabetes duration.

Middle and long-term follow-up of 101 children with giant coronary artery aneurysm of Kawasaki disease

Objective: To summarize the clinical features, middle-and long-term prognosis of Kawasaki disease (KD) with giant coronary artery aneurysm (GCAA). Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, a cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 101 KD children with GCAA in the KD with GCAA database established by Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University in 2004. GCAA was diagnosed as coronary artery absolute lumen diameter ≥8.0 mm. All patients were followed up regularly. The endpoint was the time of last follow-up or the death time. T test or χ2 test was used for comparison between groups. Results: A total of 101 KD children with GCAA were enrolled, including 82 males (81.2%) and 19 females (18.8%). The age of disease onset was 2.5 (1.0, 4.5) years. The follow-up duration was 4.5 (2.7, 7.5) years, with a longest of 19 years. All children received routine treatment with aspirin and warfarin, and clopidogrel was added in severe cases. At the end of follow-up, 13 cases (12.9%) had cardiac enlargement, 11 cases (10.9%) developed heart failure, 13 cases (12.9%) experienced myocardial infarction, 2 cases (2.0%) underwent coronary artery bypass graft and 6 cases (5.9%) died. A total of 170 coronary arteries were involved, including 24 (14.1%) GCAAs on the main trunk of left coronary artery, 10 (5.9%) GCAAs on left circumflex, 57 (33.5%) GCAAs on left anterior descending, 78 (45.9%) GCAAs on the middle segments of right coronary artery, and 1 (0.6%) GCAA in the distal segments of right coronary artery. Eleven cases (10.9%) recovered with the coronary artery absolute lumen diameter of all GCAAs below 4.0 mm. Among 170 branches with GCAAs, 28 (16.5%) regressed below 4.0 mm. No significant difference was found in the regression rates between right and left GCAA (18.7% (17/91) vs. 13.9% (11/79), χ²=2.473, P=0.116). There was no statistically significant difference in retraction between unilateral GCAA and bilateral GCAA (16.1% (9/56) vs. 4.4% (2/45), χ2=2.381, P=0.123). Conclusions: GCAA of KD occurred more common in the middle segments of right and left anterior descending coronary arteries. The incidence of adverse cardiac events and the mortality rate in children with GCAA complicated with KD was high. Their long-term prognosis was poor.

Upper limbs actions in successive front crawl swimming at sprint pace

Propulsive swimming mechanics mainly depends on upper limbs' actions that perform three-dimensional movements in each cycle. Considering that hydrodynamic drag is proportional to the square of velocity, technical execution of segmental displacement at maximal exertions should be effective to ensure high and stable propulsive forces per cycle. Nevertheless, human movement is characterized by constraints that imply variability of motor solutions to optimise kinematic patterns and performance (Newell, 1986). The aim of the study is to characterize upper limbs phases when swimming front crawl at maximal velocity. Thirteen high-level swimmers participated in the study (16.2 ± 0.7 years of age and 171.6 ± 6 cm of height) that took place in a 25 m indoor pool after the main competition of the macrocycle. After a standardized warm-up, swimmers performed a 25 m front crawl at maximal intensity and were recorded in the sagittal plane for 2D kinematical analyses using a double camera set-up (Go Pro 6, 120 Hz) fixed laterally and pushed on a chariot. Upper limbs cycles were divided by counting frames using Blender software, and phases (entry, downsweep, insweep, upsweep, and recovery) were identified. The first seven cycles of each swimmer were analysed, and the relative duration of each phase was obtained as a percentage of the cycle duration. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to verify differences between cycles, and ICC allowed investigating the relationship between them. The significance level was set at 5%. Figure 1 presents the relative duration of front crawl upper limbs phases (entry, downsweep, insweep, upsweep, and recovery = 18, 12, 20, 23, and 26 % respectively), being possible to observe that downsweep was the shortest even though non-propulsive phases prevailed in relation to the propulsive ones. Table 1 presents the mean values ± SD of the relative duration of seven successive upper limbs cycles. Although swimmers have presented variable relative duration of front crawl upper limbs phases, no differences were reported between cycles. Complementarily, ICC demonstrated high consistency in intraindividual performance (entry, downsweep, insweep, upsweep and recovery = 0.97, 0.90, 0.97, 0.93. 0.90, respectively). Despite the well-known decrease of non-propulsive phases at sprint pace due to the fastest hand velocity/acceleration (McCabe et al., 2011), a predominance was still observed. These results were expected since a higher increase in the relative duration of the propulsive phases could reduce the efficiency, and consequently, could be a technical mistake if its increase was not mandatory for the swimmers' high velocity. In becoming skilled, the neuromuscular system ensures that movement is performed consistently well while, at the same time, develops the ability to adapt to changing constraints. In the present study, we highlighted this statement, as a slight variability is observed between cycles. However, ANOVA and ICC showed a great consistency during the swimming, supporting that the relative duration of upper limbs phases was maintained, probably due to the swimmers' high level in response to the swimming constraints.