We tested the feasibility of a school-based, liking-based behavioral screener (Pediatric Adapted Liking Survey (PALS)) and message program to motivate healthy diet and activity behaviors. Students, recruited from middle- (n = 195) or low-income (n = 310) schools, online-reported: likes/dislikes of foods/beverages and physical/sedentary activities, scored into healthy behavior indexes (HBI); perceived food insecurity; and sleep indicators. Students received tailored motivating or reinforcing messages (aligned with behavior change theories) and indicated their willingness to improve target behaviors as well as program feasibility (acceptability; usefulness). Although HBIs averaged lower in the lower versus middle-income school, frequencies of food insecurity were similar (39–44% of students). Students in both schools reported sleep concerns (middle-income school—43% reported insufficient hours of sleep/night; low-income school—55% reported excessive daytime sleepiness). Students across both schools confirmed the PALS acceptability (>85% agreement to answering questions quickly and completion without help) and usefulness (≥73% agreed PALS got them thinking about their behaviors) as well as the tailored message acceptability (≥73% reported the messages as helpful; learning new information; wanting to receive more messages) and usefulness (73% reported “liking” to try one behavioral improvement). Neither message type nor response varied significantly by food insecurity or sleep measures. Thus, this program feasibly delivered students acceptable and useful messages to motivate healthier behaviors and identified areas for school-wide health promotion.

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Purpose Our objective was to evaluate image quality (IQ) and material decomposition in patients with large body habitus undergoing portal venous phase abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans on dual-source dual-energy CT (dsDECT) scanners. Methods This retrospective analysis included 30 scans from consecutive patients (19 males/11 females, mean ± SD age = 55.3 ± 17.5 years, range = 27–87 years) with large body habitus (≥90 kg, mean ± SD weight = 105.4 ± 12.35, range = 91–145 kg) who underwent portal venous phase abdominal DECT examinations on dsDECT scanner between Jan 2015 and Dec 2015. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of IQ of DECT data sets (blended, iodine, and virtual noncontrast images) was performed. The patients were categorized into 2 groups (group A, ≤104 kg; group B, >104 kg). Results The mean ± SD patient body weight in group A was 97.2 ± 4.5 kg (range = 91–104 kg) and 114.8 ± 11.7 kg (range = 104.3–145.2 kg) for patients in group B. The diagnostic acceptability of the blended images in patients > 104 kg was lower (3.6 vs 4, <3 in 4/14 vs 0/16, P = 0.03). The extension of visceral anatomy beyond DE field of view (DEFOV) was seen in 60% (28 organs in 18 patients), the most common organs being liver and spleen. The incidence of visceral organs outside DEFOV was significantly higher in patients > 104 kg (18 vs 10, P = 0.03). Outside the DEFOV, blended images demonstrated higher image noise (mean: 14.48, range = 10.09–26.83 vs mean: 9.5, range = 7.3–15.8) P < 0.001) and lower signal-to-noise ratio (mean: 4.15, range = 1.5–7.6 vs mean: 7.5, range = 4.2–9.9) P < 0.001), and material-specific information was not available in this region. Within the DEFOV, the IQ of iodine maps and virtual non-contrast images were diagnostically acceptable with diagnostic acceptability of 3 or greater in nearly all patients. A 40-cm transverse diameter cut-off provided a good predictor of extension of visceral anatomy outside the effective DEFOV. Conclusions Dual-source DECT allows diagnostically acceptable IQ and material separation in patients with large body habitus with the major limitation of exclusion of patient anatomy and organs outside the effective dual-energy field of view.

A 9-fold growth in annual MR scan volume contributed to a nearly 2-fold rise in yearly cross-sectional imaging utilization in Crohn's patients between 2006 and 2015. Rising trend in imaging utilization paralleled a 60% reduction of CT radiation exposure.