Adolescents’ Engagement With Unhealthy Food And Beverage Brands On Social Media
According to an article in the latest issue (March 2019) of the journal Appetite, which still is in progress, 70% of adolescents reported engaging with any food/beverage brands on social media and 35% engaged with 5 + brands. Non-Hispanic Black and less-acculturated Hispanic adolescents were more likely than non-Hispanic White adolescents to engage with brands. Approximately one-half reported engaging with brands of fast food (54% of participants), sugary drinks (50%), candy (46%), and snacks (45%), while just 7% reported engaging with all other categories of food/beverage brands. Watching television more than 2 hours-per-day was associated with any brand engagement; while using other screens more than 2 hours-per-day was associated with following 5 + brands. The study surveyed U.S. teens in the age bracket 13-17 about their engagement (liking, sharing, or following) with food and beverage brands on social media, such as Facebook; their time spent watching TV and other screens (cellphones); and demographic characteristics.
Emergency Department Visits For Sport And Recreational Activity Injuries
National Health Statistics Reports on November 15, 2019 indicates that during 2010–2016, approximately 2.7 million annual ED visits for sports injuries were made by patients aged 5–24 years. The top five most frequent activities that caused ED visits for sports injuries were football (14.1%), basketball (12.5%), pedal cycling (9.9%), soccer (7.1%), and ice or roller skating or skateboarding (6.9%). Visits caused by playing football and basketball accounted for a higher percentage of visits by males than females (20.2% compared with 2.2%, and 14.3% compared with 8.9%, respectively), whereas visits caused by gymnastics and cheerleading accounted for a higher percentage of visits by females (11.8% compared with 2.1%). Visits for injuries to the upper extremities decreased with increasing age (37.1% for those aged 5–9 to 27.4% for those aged 20–24), whereas visits for injuries to the lower extremities increased with increasing age (16.2%) for those aged 5–9 to 41.0% for those aged 20–24).
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY CORNER
3D Bioprinting Of A Vascularized And Perfusable Skin Graft Using Human Keratinocytes
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a way to 3D print living skin, complete with blood vessels. The advancement, published online in the journal Tissue Engineering Part A on November 1, 2019 is considered a significant step toward creating grafts that are more like the skin that human bodies produce naturally. Presently, whatever is available as a clinical product is similar to a fancy Band-Aid, according to investigators participating in the study, because although it may provide some accelerated wound healing, it eventually just falls off and never really integrates with the host cells. A significant barrier to that integration has been the absence of a functioning vascular system in the skin grafts. More work will need to be done to address the challenges associated with burn patients, which include the loss of nerve and vascular endings. The grafts this study’s team has created bring researchers closer to helping individuals with more discrete issues, such as diabetic or pressure ulcers.
Jointly Optimized Microscope Hardware For Accurate Image Classification
Since its invention, the microscope has been optimized for interpretation by a human observer. With the recent development of deep learning algorithms for automated image analysis, there now is a clear need to re-design the microscope’s hardware for specific interpretation tasks. To increase the speed and accuracy of automated image classification, according to an article published on December 1, 2019 in the journal Biomedical Optics Express, engineers at Duke University present a method to co-optimize how a sample is illuminated in a microscope, along with a pipeline to classify automatically the resulting image, using a deep neural network. They demonstrate how their learned sensing approach for illumination design automatically can identify malaria-infected cells with up to 5-10% greater accuracy than standard and alternative microscope lighting designs and show how the new procedure can translate across different experimental setups while maintaining high accuracy.
More Articles from November 2019 TRENDS
TECHNOLOGICAL IMPERATIVE CHALLENGES
Indicates why technological developments warrant closer scrutiny from the standpoint of attempting to prevent unwanted negative consequences and disruptive impacts. Read More
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Phyllis King’s two-year term as ASAHP’s President became effective on October 18, 2019. She offers her thoughts on what she would like to see occur during that time period. Read More
MASS MEDIA FOCUS ON CAPITOL HILL
While the mass media devote considerable attention to efforts to impeach President Trump, reauthorizing both the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and funding for historically black colleges and other minority-serving institutions provide examples of other initiatives deserving of increased focus. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Discusses proposed health reform legislation by candidates running for the presidency, hospital compare data on quality, and a new hospital price disclosure rule. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Summarizes federal rules involving student assistance, recognition of accrediting agencies, and state agency procedures. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
Adolescents’ Engagement With Unhealthy Food And Beverage Brands On Social Media
Emergency Department Visits For Sport And Recreational Activities
3D Bioprinting Of A Vascularized And Perfusable Skin Graft Using Human Keratinocytes
Jointly Optimized Microscope Hardware For Accurate Image Classification Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
Dialogue About The Workforce For Population Health Improvement
Economic Consequences Of Millennial Health
Driving Toward Age-Friendly Care For The Future Read More
WHY AN INSECT APOCALYPSE MATTERS
Mentions the enormous influence that insects have on all other plant and animal species, and how the application of ants’ traffic management skills can benefit humans. Read More
HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AND RACIAL CANCER DISPARITIES
Refers to how mortgage discrimination is associated with larger black‐to‐white cancer mortality disparities resulting from a tendency to reduce black home ownership and increase the likelihood of renting, which has a negative effect on the accumulation of home equity that limits resources available to offset the financial burden of cancer. Read More