Access to the full text of the published version may require a subscription. Rights © The Authors 2016. Published by Cambridge University Press(CUP) on behalf of The Nutrition Society.Embargo information Access to this item is restricted until 12 months after publication by the request of the publisher. (24HDR) method is currently the most utilised method for the collection of dietary intake data at a national level. Recently there have been many developments using web-based platforms to collect food intake data using the principles of the 24HDR method. This review identifies web-and computer-based 24HDR tools that have been developed for both children and adult population groups, and examines common design features and the methods used to investigate the performance and validity of these tools. Overall, there is generally good to strong agreement between web-based 24HDR and respective reference measures for intakes of macro-and micronutrients. Embargo lift date

Objectives Increased air pollutant concentrations have been linked to several asthma-related outcomes in children, including respiratory symptoms, medication use, and hospital visits. However, few studies have examined effects of ultrafine particles in a pediatric population. Our primary objective was to examine the effects of ambient concentrations of ultrafine particles on asthma exacerbation among urban children and determine whether consistent treatment with inhaled corticosteroids could attenuate these effects. We also explored the relationship between asthma exacerbation and ambient concentrations of accumulation mode particles, fine particles (≤ 2.5 micrograms [μm]; PM2.5), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. We hypothesized that increased 1 to 7 day concentrations of ultrafine particles and other pollutants would be associated with increases in the relative odds of an asthma exacerbation, but that this increase in risk would be attenuated among children receiving school-based corticosteroid therapy. Methods We conducted a pilot study using data from 3–10 year-old children participating in the School-Based Asthma Therapy trial. Using a time-stratified case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression, we estimated the relative odds of a pediatric asthma visit treated with prednisone (n=96 visits among 74 children) associated with increased pollutant concentrations in the previous 7 days. We re-ran these analyses separately for children receiving medications through the school-based intervention and children in a usual care control group. Results Interquartile range increases in ultrafine particles and carbon monoxide concentrations in the previous 7 days were associated with increases in the relative odds of a pediatric asthma visit, with the largest increases observed for 4-day mean ultrafine particles (interquartile range=2088 p/cm3; OR=1.27; 95% CI=0.90–1.79) and 7-day mean carbon monoxide (interquartile range=0.17 ppm; OR=1.63; 95% CI=1.03–2.59). Relative odds estimates were larger among children receiving school-based inhaled corticosteroid treatment. We observed no such associations with accumulation mode particles, black carbon, fine particles (≤ 2.5 μm), or sulfur dioxide. Ozone concentrations were inversely associated with the relative odds of a pediatric asthma visit. Conclusions These findings suggest a response to markers of traffic pollution among urban asthmatic children. Effects were strongest among children receiving preventive medications through school, suggesting that this group of children was particularly sensitive to environmental triggers. Medication adherence alone may be insufficient to protect the most vulnerable from environmental asthma triggers. However, further research is necessary to confirm this finding.

BackgroundThe application of technology in the area of dietary assessment has resulted in the development of an array of tools, which are often specifically designed for a particular country or region.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to describe the development, validation, and user evaluation of a Web-based dietary assessment tool “Foodbook24.”MethodsFoodbook24 is a Web-based, dietary assessment tool consisting of a 24-hour dietary recall (24HDR) and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) alongside supplementary questionnaires. Validity of the 24HDR component was assessed by 40 participants, who completed 3 nonconsecutive, self-administered 24HDR using Foodbook24 and a 4-day semi-weighed food diary at separate time points. Participants also provided fasted blood samples and 24-hour urine collections for the identification of biomarkers of nutrient and food group intake during each recording period. Statistical analyses on the nutrient and food group intake data derived from each method were performed in SPSS version 20.0 (SPSS Inc). Mean nutrient intakes (and standard deviations) recorded using each method of dietary assessment were calculated. Spearman and Pearson correlations, Wilcoxon Signed Rank and Paired t test were used to investigate the agreement and differences between the nutritional output from Foodbook24 (test method) and the 4-day semi-weighed food diary (reference method). Urinary and plasma biomarkers of nutrient intake were used as an objective validation of Foodbook24. To investigate the user acceptability of Foodbook24, participants from different studies involved with Foodbook24 were asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire.ResultsFor nutrient intake, correlations between the dietary assessment methods were acceptable to very good in strength and statistically significant (range r=.32 to .75). There were some significant differences between reported mean intakes of micronutrients recorded by both methods; however, with the exception of protein (P=.03), there were no significant differences in the reporting of energy or macronutrient intake. Of the 19 food groups investigated in this analysis, there were significant differences between 6 food groups reported by both methods. Spearman correlations for biomarkers of nutrient and food group intake and reported intake were similar for both methods. A total of 118 participants evaluated the acceptability of Foodbook24. The tool was well-received and the majority, 67.8% (80/118), opted for Foodbook24 as the preferred method for future dietary intake assessment when compared against a traditional interviewer led recall and semi-weighed food diary.ConclusionsThe results of this study demonstrate the validity and user acceptability of Foodbook24. The results also highlight the potential of Foodbook24, a Web-based dietary assessment method, and present a viable alternative to nutritional surveillance in Ireland.

Objective Parents faced with the choice between postnatal management and prenatal surgery for spina bifida need to have up‐to‐date information on the expected outcomes. The aim of this study was to report the long‐term physical and neurological outcomes of infants with prenatally diagnosed isolated spina bifida that underwent postnatal surgical repair and were managed by a multidisciplinary team from a large tertiary center. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of all cases of fetal spina bifida managed in a tertiary unit between October 1999 and January 2018. All cases of fetal spina bifida from the local health region were routinely referred to the tertiary unit for further perinatal management. Details on surgical procedures and neonatal neurological outcomes were obtained from institutional case records. Ambulatory status, bladder and bowel continence and neurodevelopment were assessed at a minimum of 3 years. Results During the study period, 241 pregnancies with isolated spina bifida were seen in the unit. Of these, 84 (34.9%) women opted to continue with the pregnancy after multidisciplinary counseling by clinicians. Sixty‐seven infants underwent postnatal repair of spina bifida aperta and were included in the analysis. After birth, hindbrain herniation was observed in 91.5% of infants with only seven requiring surgical decompression. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement was needed in 64.2% of infants, while normal cognitive development or mild impairment was demonstrated in 85.4% of cases with data for this outcome available, at a mean age of 8 years. Cumulatively, 40% of infants were walking independently or using minor support, and normal or mild impairment of bladder and bowel function was reported in 45.5% and 44.4% of infants, respectively. Conclusions Neurodevelopmental and neurological outcomes between prenatal and postnatal repair are similar. As with fetal surgery, conventional postnatal surgery is associated with the reversal of hindbrain herniation. Similarly, postnatal ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement appears to be required mainly in fetuses without evidence of significant fetal ventriculomegaly. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Background Increased particulate air pollution has been associated with both an increased risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and adverse changes in cardiac biomarkers. Up to 30% of ambient wintertime fine particles (PM2.5) in Rochester, NY are from wood burning. Our study examined associations between ambient levels of a marker of wood smoke (Delta-C) and other particulate air pollutants and biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation and thrombosis. Methods We measured blood concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), d-dimer, fibrinogen, P-selectin, platelet factor 4 (PF-4), von Willebrand factor (vWF), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) of 135 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization during the winters of 2011–2013. We coupled these data with hourly ambient concentrations of Delta-C, black carbon (BC; marker of traffic pollution), and ultrafine (10–100 nm; UFP), accumulation mode (100–500 nm; AMP), and fine particles (< 2.5 μm; PM2.5). Using linear regression models, we estimated the change in each biomarker associated with increased pollutant concentrations at intervals between 1 and 96 h preceding blood collection. Results Each 0.13 μg/m3 increase in Delta-C concentration in the prior 12 h was associated with a 0.91% increase in fibrinogen levels (95% CI=0.23%, 1.59%), but unexpectedly in the prior 48 h, each 0.17 μg/m3 increase in Delta-C concentration was associated with a 2.75% decrease in MPO levels (95% CI=−5.13%,−0.37%). We did not see associations between Delta-C concentrations and any other biomarkers. Interquartile range (IQR) increases in PM2.5, BC, UFP, and AMP concentrations were generally associated with increased CRP and fibrinogen, but not PF4, d-dimer, vWF, or P-selectin. Conclusions In a population of cardiac patients, we noted adverse changes in fibrinogen associated with increased concentrations of a marker of wood smoke. Increases in PM2.5, BC, AMP, and UFP concentrations in the previous 96 h were also associated with adverse changes in markers of systemic inflammation and coagulation, but not with markers of endothelial cell dysfunction or platelet activation.