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Iona Munjal,1 Joanna Dobroszycki,2 Esra Fakioglu,1 Michael G Rosenberg,2 Andrew A Wiznia,2 Mindy Katz,3 Aileen Steiner,3 Jorge Sansary,2 Moonseong Heo,4 Jacobo Abadi21Department of Pediatrics, Montefiore Medical Center, 2Department of Pediatrics, 3Department of Medicine, Jacobi Medical Center, 4Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USABackground: The introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy has resulted in improved survival and quality of life for individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There is, as expected, a growing population of perinatally HIV-infected women who are, have been, or will become pregnant. We describe a large cohort of perinatally infected women, compare it with a similar age-matched behaviorally HIV-infected group, and examine factors affecting maternal and infant health.Methods: We reviewed the records of 30 perinatally infected women who gave birth at two hospitals between January 2000 and December 2011. The comparison group comprised behaviorally infected women who delivered at these hospitals during the same period. The outcome measures were differences in CD4 counts and viral load between the cohorts, and comparisons of maternal morbidity, mortality, and mother-to-child HIV transmission.Results: Median CD4 counts were significantly lower in the perinatal group before, during, and after pregnancy. The median viral load was significantly higher in the perinatal group. Interval prepregnancy to post partum viral load decline was also greater in the behavioral group. Viral load decreases in the perinatal population were not sustained in the post partum period, at which time viral load trended back to prepregnancy levels. There was one mother-to-child HIV transmission in a perinatally infected woman. Over an extended 4 years of follow-up, there were four deaths in the perinatal group and none in the behavioral group.Conclusion: After delivery, the differences between perinatally and behaviorally infected mothers accentuate, with immunologic deterioration in the former group. The perinatal population may require novel management strategies to ensure outcomes comparable with those observed in the behavioral group.Keywords: human immunodeficiency virus infection, pregnancy, maternal health, perinatal infection, behavioral infection

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The relationship between obesity and circulating levels of antioxidants is poorly understood. Most studies that have examined the association of adiposity with blood or tissue concentrations of antioxidant micronutrients have been cross-sectional, and few have compared the associations for indices of overall obesity and central obesity. Our aim was to prospectively examine the longitudinal association of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist circumference-height ratio (WCHtR) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) with major serum antioxidants in a population of postmenopausal women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We used a subsample of participants in the Women's Health Initiative aged 50-79 years at entry with available fasting blood samples and anthropometric measurements obtained at multiple time points over 12.8 years of follow-up (N =2672). Blood samples were used to measure [alpha]-carotene, [beta]-carotene, [beta]-cryptoxanthin, lutein+zeaxanthin, [alpha]-tocopherol, [gamma]-tocopherol and retinol at baseline, and at years 1,3 and 6. We used mixed-effects linear regression analyses to examine associations between anthropometric measures and serum antioxidants at baseline and over time, controlling for covariates. RESULTS: In longitudinal analyses, carotenoids, and particularly [beta]-carotene, were strongly and inversely associated with BMI, WC and WCHtR and less so with WHR. [alpha]-Tocopherol showed a strong positive association with WHR but not with other anthropometric measures, whereas [gamma]-tocopherol was positively and strongly associated with BMI, WC, WCHtR and less so with WHR. Retinol was positively associated with WHR. The inverse association of several carotenoids with anthropometric measures was stronger in never and former smokers compared with current smokers and in women without the metabolic syndrome. The inverse association of carotenoids with obesity measures may reflect reduced micronutrient concentrations owing to inflammation associated with obesity. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the strongest observed associations between anthropometric variables and micronutrients were an inverse association of WC with serum [beta]-carotene and a positive association of WC with [gamma]-tocopherol. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2015.74;published online 27 May 2015, INTRODUCTION Obesity and central obesity are established risk factors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers. (1-3) Obesity is associated with chronic systemic inflammation and increased oxidative stress, (4,5) which [...]

Silicon is the dominant material in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) imaging devices because of its outstanding electrical and optical properties, well-established fabrication methods, and abundance in nature. However, with the ongoing trend toward electronic miniaturization, which demands smaller pixel sizes in CMOS image sensors, issues, such as crosstalk and reduced optical efficiency, have become critical. These problems stem from the intrinsic properties of Si, particularly its low absorption in the long wavelength range of the visible spectrum, which makes it difficult to devise effective solutions unless the material itself is changed. Recent advances in optical metasurfaces have offered new possibilities for solving these problems. In this study, we propose color arrestor pixels (CAPs) as a new class of color image sensors whose composite spectral responses directly mimic those of the human eye. The key idea is to employ linearly independent combinations of standardized color matching functions. These new basis functions allow our device to reproduce colors more accurately than the currently available image sensors with red-green-blue filters or other metasurface-based sensors, demonstrating an average CIEDE2000 color difference value of only 1.79 when evaluating 24 colors from the Gretag-Macbeth chart under standard illuminant D65. Owing to their high fidelity to the human eye response, CAPs consistently exhibit exceptional color reproduction accuracy under various spectral illumination compositions. With a small footprint of 860 nm height and 221 nm full-color pixel pitch, the CAPs demonstrated high absorption efficiencies of 79 %, 81 %, and 63 % at wavelengths of 452 nm, 544 nm, and 603 nm, respectively, and good angular tolerance. With such a high density of pixels efficiently capturing accurate colors, CAPs present a new direction for optical image sensor research and their applications.

Analysis of raw pooled data from distinct studies of a single question generates a single statistical conclusion with greater power and precision than conventional metaanalysis based on within-study estimates. However, conducting analyses with pooled genetic data, in particular, is a daunting task that raises important statistical issues. In the process of analyzing data pooled from nine studies on the human leptin receptor (LEPR) gene for the association of three alleles (K109R, Q223R, and K656N) of LEPR with body mass index (BMI; kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) and waist circumference (WC), we encountered the following methodological challenges: data on relatives, missing data, multivariate analysis, multiallele analysis at multiple loci, heterogeneity, and epistasis. We propose herein statistical methods and procedures to deal with such issues. With a total of 3263 related and unrelated subjects from diverse ethnic backgrounds such as African-American, Caucasian, Danish, Finnish, French-Canadian, and Nigerian, we tested effects of individual alleles; joint effects of alleles at multiple loci; epistatic effects among alleles at different loci; effect modification by age, sex, diabetes, and ethnicity; and pleiotropic genotype effects on BMI and WC. The statistical methodologies were applied, before and after multiple imputation of missing observations, to pooled data as well as to individual data sets for estimates from each study, the latter leading to a metaanalysis. The results from the metaanalysis and the pooling analysis showed that none of the effects were significant at the 0.05 level of significance. Heterogeneity tests showed that the variations of the nonsignificant effects are within the range of sampling variation. Although certain genotypic effects could be population specific, there was no statistically compelling evidence that any of the three LEPR alleles is associated with BMI or waist circumference in the general population.

Myoung-Lyun Heo,1 Yang-Min Jang,2 Hyun-Young Kim1 1Department of Nursing, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, 55069, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Nursing, Shinsung University, Dangjin-si, 31801, Republic of KoreaCorrespondence: Hyun-Young Kim, Department of Nursing, Jeonju University, 303 Cheonjam-ro, Wansan-gu, Jeonju-si, 55069, Republic of Korea, Tel +82-63-220-2504, Email flowhykim@jj.ac.krPurpose: This study aims to develop and validate a health promotion behavior scale that reflects the lifestyle changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased use of digital devices among young adults.Methods: Questions were selected using a literature review and validated by a group of experts. The sample consisted of 446 young adults aged 19– 29 years living in South Korea who agreed to participate in the study and were surveyed online using Google Forms on September 19 and 20, 2022. Construct validity was confirmed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses; reliability was tested using Cronbach’s α, and interrater validity was confirmed with the Health Promoting Lifestyle II (HPLP-II) instrument.Results: After conducting an item analysis of 49 preliminary items and an exploratory factor analysis, six factors and 27 items were selected. The six factors were named psychosocial health, personal hygiene, dietary habits, health care, using mobile devices, and physical activity. The confirmatory factor analysis verified the model fit, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The correlation coefficient with the Health Promoting Lifestyle II (HPLP-II) instrument was 0.69, confirming criterion validity, and the reliability of the final instrument was high (Cronbach’s α = 0.90).Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the developed scale were confirmed. The scale can be used to measure the health promotion behavior of young adults in light of the lifestyle changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased use of digital devices. We hope that future studies will use the tool as a basis for improving the health promotion behavior of young adults.Keywords: young adults, health promotion behavior, scale development, scale validation

Myoung-Lyun Heo,1 Yang-Min Jang2 1Department of Nursing, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea; 2Department of Nursing, Shinsung University, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South KoreaCorrespondence: Yang-Min Jang, Department of Nursing Science, Shinsung University, 1, Daehak-ro Jeongmi-myeon, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, 31801, South Korea, Tel +82-41-350-1346, Fax +82-41-350-1345, Email sellrymin@gmail.comPurpose: This study examines the radical changes in the everyday life patterns of Gen Z college students and their health-related perceptions in the online era.Patients and Methods: Twelve Korean college students in their 20s attending online classes were included in this study. Online video interviews were conducted between September 2021 and January 2022, and content analysis was performed on the one-on-one interview transcripts.Results: Four main categories and ten subcategories were derived from the data analysis: (1) living in a mobile world, (2) new lifestyle transcending time and space and adaptation to the change, (3) expansion of the meaning of health, and (4) interest in health and health management.Conclusion: Gen Z college students have quickly adapted to the convenience of a non-face-to-face lifestyle, and their perceptions about health and methods of health management have also changed accordingly. Correspondingly, for the new generation of university students, providing customized health care that reflects the lifestyle of using mobile devices and includes self-management areas is necessary.Keywords: Gen Z, online era, nursing, interview

Mi-Eun Kim,* Myoung-Lyun Heo* Department of Nursing, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Myoung-Lyun Heo, Department of Nursing, Jeonju University, Jeonju-si, 55069, South Korea, Tel +82-63-2209, Fax +82-63-220-2054, Email prayerhj23@jj.ac.krPurpose: This study aimed to translate the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale into Korean and validate the translated instrument.Patients and Methods: After translating the instrument, seven items of two factors (preparedness and perinatal infection stress) were selected for content validity testing. Validity and reliability were evaluated using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0. An online survey, via Google Forms, was conducted from January 20 to January 26, 2022. Participants were 283 pregnant women in Korea who consented to participate in the study.Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed factor loadings on two factors of 0.64– 0.87 with a total variance explained of 69.77%. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit (RMR = 0.03, RMSEA = 0.06, GFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.03), and convergent and discriminant validity were established. Concurrent validity was established based on the correlation with the Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire (r = 0.45), and the reliability of the final instrument was indicated by Cronbach’s α = 0.87.Conclusion: The Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale was validated for use in the Korean population. The Korean version of the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale can be utilized to measure pandemic-related stress in pregnant women.Keywords: Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale, PREPS, Korean women, COVID-19, pregnancy stress