Background: The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in Slovenia has increased substantially over the last decade as a consequence of unhealthy contemporary lifestyle. The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between health related quality of life (HRQOL) and body weight in a group of obese children/adolescents compared with normal weight controls. Methods: The study included 69 obese children/adolescents between 3 and 18 years, as well as 64 children/adolescents with normal weight. The questionnaire was developed to assess the main aspects of HRQOL: general health, physical activity, social status, psychological and specific aspects (including eating habits). Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the risks associated with child obesity. Results: Results showed that parental educational level is an important risk factor for the development of obesity in children/adolescents. Children and adolescents who were obese had significantly less physical strength and were less physically active. Obese children and adolescents were breast fed for a shorter period of time and solid foods were introduced earlier than in the group of children with normal weight. Conclusion: Obese children/adolescents had lower scores on a number of HRQOL domains. However, they dont feel excluded from societyand are predominantly satisfied with their HRQOL. They did not feel depressed, nor sad.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4791359
Aim. To determine the activity of pseudocholinesterase (PChE) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum in children with solid central nervous system (CNS) tumor and to assess whether PChE activity could be a valid biomarker for solid CNS tumors in children. Methods. The study and control group included 30 children each. Children in the study group had a solid CNS tumor, while those from the control group had never suffered from any tumor diseases. CSF and serum samples were collected from all participants and PChE activity was determined using the Ellman's spectrophotometric method. PChE activity in CSF was shown as a cerebrospinal fluid/serum ratio expressed in percentage, ie, PChE CSF/serum ratio. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess whether PChE activity can be used as a biomarker for identifying children with solid CNS tumors. Results. Children with solid CNS tumor had significantly higher PChE activity in CSF and serum, as well as PChE CSF/serum ratio (P=0.001). PChE CSF/serum ratio in the study group was 2.38% (interquartile range [IQR] 1.14-3.97) and 1.09% (IQR 0.95-1.45) in the control group. ROC curve analysis of PChE CSF/serum ratio resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.76 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-0.88) and a cut-off of 1.09. Twenty five of 29 patients with elevated PChE CSF/serum ratio had a tumor, corresponding to a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 53%. Conclusion. PChE CSF/serum ratio may be used as a test or biomarker with good sensitivity for solid CNS tumors in children.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4809791
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess the use and acceptance of information technology (IT) in Slovenian public healthcare institutions. To our knowledge, this is the first national survey to estimate the willingness of employees to welcome new technology into their work routine. Methods: The survey was based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) methodology, according to which we designed a questionnaire. It consisted of 37 closed-ended questions and participants were asked to choose the single best answer to each. Out of one hundred public healthcare institutions across the country, 52 replied. We received 1,575 validly completed questionnaires. The results were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Statistically significant value of p was set at ( 0.05. Results: The data revealed a high degree of acceptance and use of IT among healthcare professionals. Health IT use showed the highest degree of coincidence with previous IT experience (p( 0.001). Respondents graded highly the usefulness of IT (4.50 of 5) and their own IT skills (4.28). They were slightly less content with the performance of their workplace IT and the availability of technical help in case of difficulty (both 3.57). Conclusions: The results show a positive attitude toward IT among Slovenian healthcare professionals. These findings are especially relevant in view of the fact that all types of healthcare professionals from all kinds of public healthcare institutions across the country were included in the survey.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2888677
Novel ways to synthesize CaCO3 based matrices to increase the dissolution rateof naproxen are investigated. The composites were prepared using 3 methods, all starting from aqueous solutions of CaCl2 6H2O and NaHCO3, while the differences were in how the solutions were mixed and dried. The fast disintegration of the matrix from the composites was explained by swift dispersion of the matrix into tiny drug particles, thus allowing for their fast dissolution. Modifications in the preparation procedures resulted in formation of different portions of CaCO3 crystal forms. Despite the identical drug composition, dissolution of naproxen from the composites was considerably faster than the dissolution of pure naproxen. The dissolution was the fastest in the samples containing the highest amount of the less stable CaCO3 crystal form, vaterite. The proposed composite formulation could be interesting for per os applications where fast attainment of high blood concentration and its preservation is required.
COBISS.SI-ID: 5120026
Non Celiac Gluten sensitivity (NCGS) was originally described in the 1980s and recently a re-discovered disorder characterized by intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms related to the ingestion of gluten-containing food, in subjects that are not affected with either celiac disease (CD) or wheat allergy (WA). Although NCGS frequency is still unclear, epidemiological data have been generated that can help establishing the magnitude of the problem. Clinical studies further defined the identity of NCGS and its implications in human disease. An overlap between the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and NCGS has been detected, requiring even more stringent diagnostic criteria. Several studies suggested a relationship between NCGS and neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly autism and schizophrenia. The first case reports of NCGS in children have been described. Lack of biomarkers is still a major limitation of clinical studies, making it difficult to differentiate NCGS from other gluten related disorders. Recent studies raised the possibility that, beside gluten, wheat amylase-trypsin inhibitors and low-fermentable, poorly-absorbed, short-chain carbohydrates can contribute to symptoms (at least those related to IBS) experienced by NCGS patients. In this paper we report the major advances and current trends on NCGS.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4889407