Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.

[Biological effect of controlled fluid hyperthermia on rabbit healthy bones]

Fluid hyperthermia has been used to treat various types of cancers, but its effects on bone have not been determined. The purpose of this prospective study was to show the structural and metabolic changes of bone exposed to fluid hyperthermia and the effects of the latter on bone healing. Thirty New Zealand rabbits were used, weighting 2.8-3.2 kg; they were divided into 9 groups and 3 subgroups. An osteotomy was performed in the mid third of the right femur and this segment was exposed to hyperthermia at 15, 20 and 25 degrees centigrade for 50, 60 and 70 minutes. A bone scan was performed every 4 weeks and X-rays were taken every week up to week 13. The post-hoc Tukey test was used for the statistical analysis. Differences were found in the concentration of chemicals at temperatures above 60 degrees for 20 minutes with statistical significance; bone healing was delayed and there was evidence of metabolic activity. We conclude that exposure to temperatures above 60 degrees for 20 minutes resulted in morphologic alterations in potassium, magnesium, sulfur and phosphorus, and delayed bone healing. These results are used as parameters for the treatment of bone tumors with fluid hyperthermia.

A Software Tool for Reading DICOM Directory Files

DICOMDIR directory files are useful in medical software applications because they allow organized access to images and information sets that come from radiological studies that are stored in conformance with the digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) standard. During the medical application software development, specialized programming libraries are commonly used in order to solve the requirements of computation and scientific visualization. However, these libraries do not provide suitable tools for reading DICOMDIR files, making necessary the implementation of a flexible tool for reading these files, which can be also easily integrated into applications under development. To solve this problem, this work introduces an object-oriented design and an open-source implementation for such reading tool. It produces an output data tree containing the information of the DICOM images and their related radiological studies, which can be browsed easily in a structured way through navigation interfaces coupled to it.

[Telemedicine experiences in an urology educational institute]

The Telemedicine (TM) it is a viable alternative to improve the quality of the attention to the patient; in order to obtain the suitable efficiency is convenient that specialists must handle with naturalness the technical concepts related to the installation and operation of the equipment required in a TM session. In this work results on telemedicine teaching at the Center of Image Processing, are presented, showing the development of this medical-technology project. The objective of the course was to upgrade the academic formation of the students in the area of the TM, showing its versatility through varied experiences and medical practice. The experimental phase of telemedicine course was made for the Master Degree Program in Urology of Carabobo University. This activity was carried out at the Urology Teaching Institute (IDU). This article describes the experience and explains details of the videoconference equipment's configuration, the medical peripherals used in TM, the telecommunications services installation, the medical ambient in TM and the course programming. The course was twelve (12) weeks long. Some tutorials were given to make level the doctor's knowledge and soon teleconsulting were made which are explained later. Courses of this category have been made in several countries. This it is the first formal experience in TM in Venezuela having didactic goals. This course allowed us to observe the interaction between doctors and TM equipment's, related to teleradiology (RX and ultrasound) and telecitoscopy.

Electron microscopic studies of ion- and H2O-transporting epithelial cells in the horizontal ampulla of the pigeon

Earlier morphological studies of the epithelial structure in the semicircular canals of mammals have focused on the sensory cells of the crista ampullaris. This report draws attention to the fact that there exist at least seven further cell types in the horizontal ampulla walls of pigeon with various functions; the role of ion- and H2O-transporting epithelial cells is dealt with here in detail. While the dark cells appear to play a decisive role in the regulation of ionic composition, the cells in the planum semilunatum may transport H2O and assist in the regulation of endolymph volume. In addition, protein-secreting structures are located in the apical region of the cells of the planum semilunatum. The question whether the proteins are dispersed in the endolymph or contribute to cupula formation remains unclear. The morphology and possible functions of these two cell types are discussed on the basis of electron microscopic results.

Ultrastructural characteristics of Gardnerella vaginalis infection in the heterosexual couple

Adhesion and penetration of Gardnerella vaginalis into the male urethral and female vaginal epithelial cells were evaluated in a prospective cohort study of infected females and their sexual partners. Vaginal secretions of 10 women with culture proven G. vaginalis infection and semen samples of their asymptomatic husbands were analyzed with conventional optical and electron microscopy. G. vaginalis was isolated in 50% of the male sexual partners of women harboring the microorganism. G. vaginalis adheres to the plasmatic membrane and penetrates into the cytoplasm of both vaginal and urethral epithelial cells. The ability of G. vaginalis to colonize the male lower genital tract may have clinical relevance with respect to the role of the male partner in the reinfection of women.

[Ultrastructural analysis of placentas with villitis. Retrospective study]

A villitis is a focal or multifocal inflammatory reaction of chorionic villi with infiltration of mononuclear cells and usually is associated with fibrinoid necrosis. The aetiology of villitis could be a transplacental infection of the fetus, especially with virus (VIV), in normal placentae however, the presence of villitis is referred as villitis of unknown ethiology (VED). This study was designed to characterize villitis lesions of 11 placentae, four VIV and seven VED, ultrastructural descriptive comparisons of both types of villitis are discussed. Biopsies were processed with the conventional optic and electronic microscopy techniques. Our ultrastructural observations confirmed the presence of virus in four placentae whereas no virus or bacteria were found in seven placentae. Microvilli were absent or markedly diminished, this finding was associated to the presence of fibrinoid necrosis in the stroma and clinically to intrauterine growth retardation, 4 preterm pregnancies and one obitus. Trophoblast alterations were found in both types of villitis, basal membrane thickness, is some cases associated to electrodense material similar to calcium deposites, vascuolization and the presence of edema in the stroma was observed. In some cases we noted the presence of focal fibrin deposits associated to necrosis zones in the stroma, calcium precipitates and mielinic bodies. Fetal vessels obliteration and intravascular thrombi were found in the syncitiotrophoblast placentae with viral particles CMV or rubivirus associated to an increment in Hofbauer cells and basal membrane calcifications. From our ultrastructural observations, we conclude that both types of villitis are associated to a typic immunologic reaction that induce lose of trophoblast microvilli, mononuclear infiltration and edema. This placental alterations reduce dramatically the maternofetal exchange of gases, nutrients and other active peptides and could be the cause of fetal growth retardation, inmadurity or death.

Electron microscopy of Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the male genital tract

Semen specimens and testicular and epididymis biopsy from a patient of an infertile marriage were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Intraepithelial vesicles containing C. trachomatis were present in remaining cytoplasmic droplets in spermatozoa, desquamated epithelial cells, and stereocilia from epididymis. Elementary bodies were demonstrated in connective tissue from testes and in Leydig cells. The association between the microorganisms and spermatozoa contribute to the decreased motility and necrospermia. The morphologic alterations in epididymis are responsible for decreased sperm maturation. The damage to Leydig cells can be demonstrated only by electron microscopy.

[Prevalence of microscopic coronary atheroma in young adults from Mexico City]

The prevalence of microscopic atheroma in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery was studied in thirty young males aged 20 to 29 years, living in Mexico City, who died in urban accidents. All of them were either unemployed or labor workers with a socioeconomical status considered to be representative of the majority of young males living in Mexico City. It was found that coronary atheroma was present in 11 of them (33%) with variable degrees of luminal obstruction. In two of them the luminal obstruction was greater than 75%. The prevalence found in this group was significantly different to that found in younger and older males who also died in accidents. Since the prevalence of coronary atheroma was not related to ventricular hypertrophy, valvular or congenital heart disease our findings indicate that in Mexico City as in other geographical regions, coronary atherosclerosis is not an unusual finding in males in the third decade of life, with a low socioeconomical status.

[Human fetal growth in Costa Rica, 1970-1975]

Costa Rica has experienced a marked reduction in infant mortality--both in the neonatal and post-neonatal components--in the last decade. The decline could be related to improvements in the pattern of fetal growth. The present report analyses the birth weight of newborns from a random sample of all births in the Republic of Costa Rica during 1970 and 1975. While the average birth weight in that period was 3100 grams, the prevalence of low birth weight neonates decreased from 9 to 7 per cent in five years. The provinces of Limon and San Jose exhibited the highest frequency of low birth weight. Women 20 to 29 years old had babies with better or optimal body weight. Age, marital status and occupation of the mother appeared correlated with birth weight. A relationship between changes in fetal growth and changes in maternal, perinatal and neonatal mortality is apparent. The present situation of birth weight places Costa Rica among the countries in transition with a clearer perspective to attain an even higher infant survival in the near future. In this regard, several measures oriented toward prevention of low birth weight are recommended.