Individualized protocol for radiation and contrast medium dose reduction in one-stop assessment for kidney transplantation patients.

OBJECTIVE: To compare image quality, radiation, and contrast medium (CM) doses between individualized and conventional scan protocols in combined coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and iliac artery CTA for kidney transplantation patients. METHODS: 148 patients needing assessment for coronary and iliac arteries before kidney transplantation were prospectively enrolled and randomly divided into the conventional and individualized groups. All patients underwent one-stop combined scans on a 256-row CT scanner with automatic tube current modulation, 50 % pre-ASIR-V to control radiation dose. CCTA was performed first using one heartbeat axial scan mode with bolus tracking technique and iliac CTA was performed 3 s after CCTA using a spiral scan. The conventional group (n = 72) used the standard protocol: 100 kVp, 60 mL of 350 mgI/mL CM at 4.5 mL/s flow rate. The individualized group (n = 76) used a body-mass-index (BMI)-dependent protocol: kVp: 80 (BMI < 24) and 100 (BMI ≥ 24) and CM: 19 mgI/kg (BMI < 18); 21 mgI/kg (18 ≤ BMI < 24); and 22 mgI/kg (BMI ≥ 24). Image quality radiation and CM doses of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in patient demographic data. Compared with the conventional group, the individualized group reduced contrast flow rate (in mL/s) by 14.4 % (3.85 ±â€¯0.72 vs. 4.5), contrast dose (in mL) by 35.8 % (38.53 ±â€¯7.18 vs. 60) and radiation dose (in mSv) by 34.3 % (4.30 ±â€¯1.73 vs. 6.54 ±â€¯1.45). The individualized group had significantly higher subjective image quality score (P ＜ 0.05), lower noise (17.30 ±â€¯4.97 HU vs. 19.13 ±â€¯4.73 HU, P = 0.02) and higher signal-to-noise ratio (22.09 ±â€¯7.41 vs. 19.55 ±â€¯6.18, P = 0.03) for the three main vessels in CCTA compared with the conventional group. There were no differences in both subjective scores and objective measurements in iliac artery CTA between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The individualized scanning protocol in the one-stop assessment of coronary and iliac arteries before kidney transplantation significantly reduces both radiation and CM doses while maintaining image quality in iliac artery CTA and providing better coronary artery images in CCTA.

What Makes Her a Material Girl?: The Influence of Childhood Economic Background and Sex Ratio on Female Preference for Male Resource Availability.

Drawing on life history theory, this research explores the moderating role of childhood economic background in the relationship between sex ratio and the female's mate preference for male resource availability. Using different priming materials, three experiments consistently found that women with a rich childhood economic background showed a stable level of mate preference for good resource-this applied regardless of male- or female-biased sex ratio. But females with a poor childhood economic background showed a higher level of preference for male resource availability under the condition of female-biased sex ratio (vs. the condition of male-biased sex ratio). These findings support the moderating role of female childhood economic background in the relationship between sex ratio and their mating preference of good resources.

Coping Styles Mediate the Relationship Between Self-esteem, Health Locus of Control, and Health-Promoting Behavior in Chinese Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND: Health-promoting behavior plays an important role in reducing the burden of coronary heart disease. Self-esteem and health locus of control may contribute to health-promoting behavior, and coping styles may mediate these associations. OBJECTIVE: The aims of our study were to examine whether self-esteem and health locus of control are associated with health-promoting behavior and examine the possible mediating effect of coping styles in patients with coronary heart disease. METHODS: Health-promoting behavior, self-esteem, health locus of control, and coping styles were assessed in 272 hospitalized patients (60 ± 12 years, 61% male) with coronary heart disease. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to analyze the relationships between health-promoting behavior and other variables. Mediation effect was examined according to the methods of Baron and Kenny. RESULTS: The mean score for health-promoting behavior was 2.57 ± 0.51; 38.2% of patients (n = 104) scored lower than 2.5. Self-esteem (ß = .139, P < .05), confrontation coping style (ß = .491, P < .001), disease duration (≥6 months, ß = .147, P < .05), and monthly income (≥1000 RMB [approximately US$154], ß = .111, P < .05) were positively associated with health-promoting behavior, accounting for 47.5% of its variance (F = 19.828). Confrontation partly mediated the association between self-esteem and health-promoting behavior and completely mediated the relationship between internal health locus of control and health-promoting behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Confrontation plays a mediating role in the association among self-esteem, internal health locus of control, and health-promoting behavior. Strategies should be undertaken to encourage the use of confrontation coping style, which will facilitate health-promoting behavior.

[Pollution Characteristics and Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Water and Sediment from Daye Lake].

The surface water and surface sediments were collected from Daye Lake in April 2014. The concentrations of heavy metals were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The pollution potential health risk and ecological risk of heavy metals in water and sediment were assessed by the health risk assessment model and the potential ecological risk index method. The results showed that the concentrations of the heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Cu and Pb) was 49.27 µg·L-1, 2.19 µg·L-1, 12.18 µg·L-1, 12.13 µg·L-1(water) and 78.46 mg·kg-1, 77.13 mg·kg-1, 650.13 mg·kg-1 and 134.22 mg·kg-1 (sediment). Enrichment coefficient indicated that the enrichment of Cd, Cu and Pb was more serious, especially the accumulation of Cd was the most obvious. Compared to typical lakes in China, the contents of heavy metals in water and sediment were relatively high. The spatial pollutant distribution of the heavy metals in water and sediment all presented that the concentrations of the heavy metals were relatively higher in east and west of Daye Lake, relatively more uniform in the middle, and their origins were mainly from human activities. The results of environmental risk indicated that the carcinogens and chemical non-carcinogens health risk values of heavy metals by drinking water pathway were 9.77E-08~1.63E-05a-1. Therefore, the pollution of Ni and Cd should be the primary control target for environmental health risk management. The descending order of pollution degree of four metals in sediment was Cd> Cu> Pb> Ni, and Cd was the main contributor of the potential ecological risk elements.