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"Pilot projects"
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Adherence to Time-Restricted Feeding and Impact on Abdominal Obesity in Primary Care Patients: Results of a Pilot Study in a Pre–Post Design
The epidemic of lifestyle-dependent diseases and the failure of previous interventions to combat the main causes demand an alternative approach. Abdominal obesity is associated with most of these diseases and is a good target for therapeutic and preventive measures. Time-restricted feeding (TRF) offers a low-threshold, easy-to-implement lifestyle-modification concept with promising results from animal testing. Here, we describe a pilot study of TRF with abdominally obese participants (waist-to-height ratio, WHtR ≥0.5) in a general practitioner’s office. Participants (n = 40, aged 49.1 ± 12.4, 31 females) were asked to restrict their daily eating time to 8–9 hours in order to prolong their overnight fasting period to 15–16 hours. Questionnaires, anthropometrics, and blood samples were used at baseline and at follow-up. After three months of TRF, participants had reached the fasting target, on average, on 85.5 ± 15.2% of all days recorded. Waist circumference (WC) was reduced by −5.3 ± 3.1cm (p < 0.001), and three participants reached a WHtR <0.5. HbA1c was diminished by −1.4 ± 3.5 mmol/mol (p = 0.003). TRF may be an easily understandable and readily adoptable lifestyle change with the potential to reduce abdominal obesity and lower the risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Further well-designed studies are necessary to investigate the applicability and usefulness of TRF for public health.
Journal Article
A pilot study of a culturally-appropriate, educational intervention to increase participation in cancer clinical trials among African Americans and Latinos
Aim
Culturally-appropriate, educational programs are recommended to improve cancer clinical trial participation among African Americans and Latinos. This study investigated the effect of a culturally-appropriate, educational program on knowledge, trust in medical researchers, and intent for clinical trial participation among African Americans and Latinos in Middle Tennessee.
Method
Trained community health educators delivered a 30-min presentation with video testimonials to 198 participants in 13 town halls. A pre-post survey design was used to evaluate the intervention among 102 participants who completed both pre- and post-surveys one to two weeks after the session.
Results
Paired-sample
t
-test showed significant increases in unadjusted mean scores for knowledge (
p
< 0.001), trust in medical researchers (
p
< 0.001), and willingness to participate in clinical trials (
p
= 0.003) after the town halls in the overall sample. After adjusting for gender and education, all three outcomes remained significant for the overall sample (knowledge:
p
< 0.001; trust in medical researchers:
p
< 0.001; willingness:
p
= 0.001) and for African Americans (knowledge:
p
< 0.001; trust in medical researchers:
p
= 0.007; willingness:
p
= 0.005). However, willingness to participate was no longer significant for Latinos (knowledge:
p
< 0.001; trust in medical researchers:
p
= 0.034; willingness:
p
= 0.084).
Conclusions
The culturally-appropriate, educational program showed promising results for short-term, clinical trial outcomes. Further studies should examine efficacy to improve research participation outcomes.
Journal Article
In vivo wear of CAD-CAM composite versus lithium disilicate full coverage first-molar restorations: a pilot study over 2 years
ObjectivesTo present a digital approach to measure and compare material wear behavior of antagonistic first molar restorations made of an experimental CAD/CAM composite (COMP) and lithium disilicate ceramic (LS2) in patients with reconstructed vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) after generalized hard tissue loss.MethodsA total of 12 patients underwent complete full jaw rehabilitation with full occlusal coverage restorations made either of COMP or LS2. The first molar restorations (n = 48) were chosen for wear examination. At annual recall appointments, polyether impressions were taken, and resulting plaster casts were digitalized using a laboratory scanner. Mean observation period was 371 days for first and 769 days for second year. The resulting 96 datasets were analyzed by superimposition of 3-D datasets using an iterative best-fit method. Based on the superimposition data, the wear rates of the occlusal contact areas (OCAs) were calculated.ResultsFor antagonistic restorations made of COMP, the average wear rate was 24.8 ± 13.3 μm/month, while for LS2, it was 9.5 ± 4.3 μm/month in first year, with significant differences (p < 0.0001) between the materials. In second year, monthly wear rates decreased significantly for both materials: COMP (16.2 ± 10.7 μm/month) and LS2 (5.5 ± 3.3 μm/month). Statistical comparison between wear time showed significant differences for both materials: COMP p < 0.037 and LS2 p < 0.001. A logarithmic fit (COMP R2 = 0.081; LS2 R2 = 0.038) of the data was calculated to estimate the wear progression.SignificanceIn patients with reconstructed VDO, restorations made of LS2 show a more stable wear behavior than ones out of experimental CAD/CAM composite. In cases of complete rehabilitation, load bearing CAD/CAM-composite restorations should be critically considered for application due to their occlusal wear behavior. However, when choosing a restorative material, not only the functional occlusal stability should be taken into account but also the prospect of minimally invasive treatment with maximum preservation of natural tooth structures.
Journal Article
An Assessment of the Sensory Function in the Maxillofacial Region: A Dual-Case Pilot Study
Trigeminal somatosensory-evoked potentials (TSEPs) provide valuable insight into neural responses to oral stimuli. This study investigates TSEP recording methods and their impact on interpreting results in clinical settings to improve the development process of neurostimulation-based therapies. The experiments and results presented here aim at identifying appropriate stimulation characteristics to design an active dental prosthesis capable of contributing to restoring the lost neurosensitive connection between the teeth and the brain. Two methods of TSEP acquisition, traditional and occluded, were used, each conducted by a different volunteer. Traditional TSEP acquisition involves stimulation at different sites with varying parameters to achieve a control base. In contrast, occluded TSEPs examine responses acquired under low- and high-force bite conditions to assess the influence of periodontal mechanoreceptors and muscle activation on measurements. Traditional TSEPs demonstrated methodological feasibility with satisfactory results despite a limited subject pool. However, occluded TSEPs presented challenges in interpreting results, with responses deviating from expected norms, particularly under high force conditions, due to the simultaneous occurrence of stimulation and dental occlusion. While traditional TSEPs highlight methodological feasibility, the occluded approach highlights complexities in outcome interpretation and urges caution in clinical application. Previously unreported results were achieved, which underscores the importance of conducting further research with larger sample sizes and refined protocols in order to strengthen the reliability and validity of TSEP assessments.
Journal Article
Health Disparities Investigator Development through a Team-Science Pilot Projects Program
Profound health disparities are widespread among Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, and Filipinos in Hawai‘i. Efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities are limited by a shortage of investigators trained in addressing the genetic, socio economic, and environmental factors that contribute to disparities. In this conference proceedings report from the 2022 RCMI Consortium National Conference, we describe our mentoring program, with an emphasis on community-engaged research. Elements include our encouragement of a team-science, customized Pilot Projects Program (PPP), a Mentoring Bootcamp, and a mentoring support network. During 2017–2022, we received 102 PPP preproposals. Of these, 45 (48%) were invited to submit full proposals, and 22 (19%) were awarded (8 basic biomedical, 7 clinical, 7 behavioral). Eighty-three percent of awards were made to early-career faculty (31% ethnic minority, 72% women). These 22 awards generated 77 related publications; 84 new grants were submitted, of which 31 were awarded with a resultant return on investment of 5.9. From 5 to 11 investigators were supported by PPP awards each year. A robust usage of core services was observed. Our descriptive report (as part of a scientific conference session on RCMI specialized centers) focuses on a mentoring vehicle and shows how it can support early-stage investigators in pursuing careers in health disparities research.
Journal Article
CardiOvascular examination in awake Orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus): Low-stress Echocardiography including Speckle Tracking imaging (the COOLEST method)
Heart morphology as well as global and regional myocardial function can be assessed in awake orangutans with good to excellent repeatability and reproducibility. Conclusions This non-stressful method may be used for longitudinal cardiac follow-up in awake orangutans.
Journal Article
The Impacts of Low-Carbon City Pilot Projects on Carbon Emissions in China
Here, we assessed the impact of low-carbon city pilot projects on carbon emissions across China through application of a series of econometric techniques to data on these three waves of low-carbon city construction. Our baseline results are obtained from a difference-in-differences estimator, comparing cities with and without introducing low-carbon city pilot projects, and show that low-carbon city pilot projects reduce carbon emissions by about 2 percentage points. We found a similar impact of low-carbon city pilot projects on carbon emissions when we controlled for the estimated propensity of a city to launch the low-carbon city pilot project based on a series of urban characteristics. We obtained comparable estimates when we instrumented whether a city would launch the low-carbon city pilot projects using regional waves of low-carbon city pilot projects. Our results also show that low-carbon city pilot projects have a larger impact on carbon emissions in northern, poorer, and less industrialized cities than those with the opposite characteristics. We found little evidence for the persistence of this impact on carbon emissions, implying that it is necessary to dynamically adjust the low-carbon city pilot projects for cities that have launched the project.
Journal Article