Childhood obesity has been an increasing problem in the United States, especially in rural areas. Effective prevention approaches are needed. This article describes the development, implementation, effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of a school-based obesity prevention pilot project, Winning with Wellness. The program was based on the coordinated school health model and included a community-based participatory research approach aimed at promoting healthy eating and physical activity in a rural Appalachian elementary school. Findings from this preliminary project revealed improvements in nutrition offerings and increased physical activity during the school day. In addition, the program was found to be acceptable to teachers, successfully implemented utilizing both existing and newly developed resources, and sustainable as evidenced in continued practice and expansion to other area schools.

INTRODUCTION: High prevalence rates of obesity, particularly among those residing in US rural areas, and associated physical and psychosocial health consequences, direct attention to the need for effective prevention programs. The current study describes an initial step in developing a school-based obesity prevention program in rural Appalachia, USA. The program, modeled on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coordinated School Health (CSH) Program, includes a community-based participatory research approach to addressing the health needs specific to this region. METHODS: Focus groups with teachers, parents, and 4th grade students were used to understand perceptions and school policy related to nutrition, physical activity, and the role of the school in obesity prevention. RESULTS: Results revealed that these community stakeholders were concerned about the problem of child obesity and supported the idea of their school doing more to improve the diet and physical activity of its students. Specifically, all groups thought that foods and drinks consumed by students at school should be healthier and that they should have more opportunities for physical activity. However, they cited limitations of the school environment, academic pressures, and lack of parental support as potential barriers to making such changes. Parents were most concerned that their children were not getting enough to eat and they and the teachers were not in favor of BMI screening at the school. Parents were in favor of increasing physical activity during school and thought that parent volunteers should help students select foods in the cafeteria. Students cited examples of how diet and physical activity affect their health and school performance, and thought that they should have more physical education time and recess. CONCLUSIONS: The data collected in the current study contributed to the limited knowledge base regarding rural populations as well as identified strengths and potential barriers to assist with the development of a pilot program based on the CSH model, Winning with Wellness.

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Introduction: The purpose of this study was to identify mentoring practices of new faculty members in Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) accredited respiratory care programs in the U.S. and to identify the perceptions of program directors regarding the observed impact of program mentoring practices. Methods: The method for the study was quantitative non-experimental survey research. The survey instrument was an electronic questionnaire titled Respiratory Care Faculty (RCF) Mentoring Survey. The 25-item survey was divided into three dimensions: mentoring practices, mentor/mentee relationship, and perceptions of the impact of new faculty mentoring. Of the 410 possible program director participants, 126 (30%) responded to the survey. Data from the survey were used to analyze three primary research questions on four independent variables (12 total research questions). Results: Testing of the null hypotheses associated with the 12 research questions resulted in three significant findings and 9 findings that were not significant. Significant findings included female program directors reported greater opportunities for mentoring within their programs and greater levels of expectation concerning mentoring as compared to male program directors. Program directors from associate degree programs also reported a higher level of expectation concerning mentoring than program directors in bachelor’s degree programs. There was overwhelming agreement regarding the potential impact and benefit of mentoring new faculty to improve job performance, reduce turnover, improve job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Conclusion: The results of this study may benefit administrators and educators in respiratory care in efforts to support new faculty who possibly feel underprepared or overwhelmed in the new role. Because other allied health fields of study are similar in nature to respiratory care, the findings of the study could have potential implications across a range of health-related professions.

Ethanol and n-hexane extracts obtained from the leaves and inflorescences of Gnaphalium gracile, were tested at different concentrations to evaluate their antineoplastic activities on pancreatic, colon, and prostate cancer cell lines by examining mitochondrial function. The polar extracts of both, leaves and inflorescences which contain gnaphalin, quercetin, and 3-methoxy quercetin, exhibited cytotoxicity against every cell line tested with EC50 values ranging between 20.23±1.185 µg/mL and 70.71±1.1419 µg/mL. The most remarkable values were observed in pancreatic cancer Panc 28 and androgen-dependent prostate LnCaP cells, with EC50 values of 20.23±1.185 and ˂25µg/mL, and androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3, colon HCT-116 and pancreatic MIA PaCa cells with values ranging between 28.84±1.1766 and 34.41±1.057 µg/mL. The non-polar extract derived from leaves demonstrated significant cytotoxicity towards colon cancer HCT-116 cells, with an EC50 of 39.46±1.0617 µg/mL. However, the non-polar extract from the inflorescences did not have an appreciable effect on cell proliferation of any of the cell lines tested except for androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells with an EC50 of 62.05±1.237 µg/mL. The data obtained support the traditional use of G. gracile and suggest the polar extracts from aerial parts, as an interesting source for the development of novel antineoplastic agents.

Purpose To assess radiography faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of online courses. Methods An original survey instrument was created by selecting items from 3 instruments used in prior research and adding unique questions designed to elicit demographic data from faculty. The sample included a national dataset of radiography faculty members employed in Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology–accredited programs in the United States. Results Findings showed that faculty perceptions of online course effectiveness are not affected significantly by faculty position, type of institution, faculty age, or years of teaching experience. Positive perceptions of the effectiveness of online courses moderately increased with years of teaching online courses, number of online courses taught in the past 5 years, and perceived competence with the use of technology. Faculty satisfaction with interaction in online courses moderately increased as the years of teaching online courses increased. However, the number of years of teaching online courses was not related to faculty satisfaction with teaching online courses or faculty satisfaction with institutional support. Online technology acceptance had a moderately positive relationship with perceived ease of use and a strong positive relationship with perceived usefulness of online technology. In addition, the use of technology-enhanced learning methods had a strong positive relationship with technological self-efficacy. Conclusion Radiography faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of online courses improved with experience in teaching online courses and competence with use of technology. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of online technology were related directly to online technology acceptance. Furthermore, faculty members with technological self-efficacy were more likely to use technology-enhanced learning methods in the online environment.

BACKGROUND: South Africa bares a significant burden of HIV and imaging is commonly performed as part of the workup for respiratory distress. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to document the prevalence of pulmonary thrombo-embolic disease (PTED) and other findings in HIV-infected patients referred for CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for suspected PTED. METHOD: Forty CTPA studies of documented HIV-infected individuals investigated for suspected PTED during a 1-year period were retrieved, anonymised and interpreted by three consultant radiologists. Inter-reader reliability was calculated using Free Marginal multi-rater Kappa. RESULTS: Fourteen of the forty cases (35%) were positive for PTED. In the pulmonary embolism (PE)-positive group, 57.14% had peripheral disease and 42.86% had both peripheral and central disease. Associated findings in the PE-positive cases were pulmonary infarcts (17.5%), mosaic attenuation (17.5%) and linear atelectasis (7.5%). The most common incidental findings were solid pulmonary nodules (52.5%), non-wedge-shaped consolidation (45%), cardiomegaly (52.5%) and enlarged intra-thoracic lymph nodes (52.5%). Thirty per cent of the study population had findings related directly to the presence of PTED, whilst most cases in the study (77.5%) had pulmonary findings unrelated to PTED. In the PE-negative cases, 55% reported emergent findings that warranted immediate or urgent medical attention. CONCLUSION: Computed tomography pulmonary angiography imaging is critical for diagnosing PE. However, further investigation into the judicious application of CTPA in HIV-infected patients with suspected PTED is required, as CTPA findings in most of the cases in this study were unrelated to PE.

The dexterity of computer systems to resemble and mimic human intelligence is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence has reformed the diagnostic and therapeutic precision and competence in various fields of medicine. Artificial intelligence appears to play a bright role in medical diagnosis. Computer systems using artificial intelligence help in the assessment of medical images and enormous data. This research aims to identify how artificial intelligence-based technology is reforming the art of medicine. Artificial intelligence empowers providers in improving efficiency and overall healthcare. Newer machine learning techniques lead the automatic diagnostic systems. Areas of medicine such as medical imaging, automated clinical decision-making support have made significant advances with respect to artificial intelligence technology. With improved diagnosis and prognosis, artificial intelligence possesses the capability to revolutionize various fields of medicine. Artificial intelligence has its own limitations and cannot replace a bedside clinician. In the evolving modern medical digital world, physicians need to support artificial intelligence rather than fear it replacing trained physicians for improved healthcare.

Renal hypoperfusion from renal artery stenosis (RAS) activates the renin-angiotensin system, which in turn causes volume overload and hypertension. Atherosclerosis and fibromuscular dysplasia are the most common causes of renal artery stenosis. Recurrent flash pulmonary edema, also known as Pickering syndrome, is commonly associated with bilateral renal artery stenosis. There should be a high index of clinical suspicion for renal artery stenosis in the setting of recurrent flash pulmonary edema and severe hypertension in patients with atherosclerotic disease. Duplex ultrasonography is commonly recommended as the best initial test for the detection of renal artery stenosis. Computed tomography (CT) angiography (CTA) or magnetic resonance (MR) angiography (MRA) are useful diagnostic imaging studies for the detection of renal artery stenosis in patients where duplex ultrasonography is difficult. If duplex ultrasound, CTA, and MRA are indeterminate or pose a risk of significant renal impairment, renal angiography is useful for a definitive diagnosis of RAS. The focus of medical management for RAS relies on controlling renovascular hypertension and aggressive lifestyle modification with control of atherosclerotic disease risk factors. The restoration of renal artery patency by revascularization in the setting of RAS due to atherosclerosis may help in the management of hypertension and minimize renal dysfunction.