Displaying publications 4821 - 4840 of 55765 in total

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  1. Podda M, Pacella D, Pellino G, Coccolini F, Giordano A, Di Saverio S, et al.
    Pancreatology, 2022 Nov;22(7):902-916.
    PMID: 35963665 DOI: 10.1016/j.pan.2022.07.007
    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Reports about the implementation of recommendations from acute pancreatitis guidelines are scant. This study aimed to evaluate, on a patient-data basis, the contemporary practice patterns of management of biliary acute pancreatitis and to compare these practices with the recommendations by the most updated guidelines.

    METHODS: All consecutive patients admitted to any of the 150 participating general surgery (GS), hepatopancreatobiliary surgery (HPB), internal medicine (IM) and gastroenterology (GA) departments with a diagnosis of biliary acute pancreatitis between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2020 were included in the study. Categorical data were reported as percentages representing the proportion of all study patients or different and well-defined cohorts for each variable. Continuous data were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Differences between the compliance obtained in the four different subgroups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U, Student's t, ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis tests for continuous data, and the Chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test for categorical data.

    RESULTS: Complete data were available for 5275 patients. The most commonly discordant gaps between daily clinical practice and recommendations included the optimal timing for the index CT scan (6.1%, χ2 6.71, P = 0.081), use of prophylactic antibiotics (44.2%, χ2 221.05, P 

    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  2. Dong CD, Huang CP, Chen CW, Lam SS, Sonne C, Kang CK, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2024 Feb 15;343:123173.
    PMID: 38110049 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123173
    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are critical environmental concerns due to their intrinsic toxic aromatic nature and concomitant circumstances that potentially harm the ecological and human health. In this study, converting mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) pericarps to value-added biochar by pyrolysis for evaluating the potential formation/destruction of biochar-bound PAHs was studied for the first time. This study designed and optimized the thermal processing conditions at 300-900 °C in the CO2 or N2 atmosphere, and heteroatoms (N, O, B, NB, and NS) were modified for mahogany pericarps biochar (MPBC) production. The MPBC500 exhibited significantly higher pyrolysis products of PAHs (2780 ± 38 ng g-1) than that of MPBC900 (78 ± 6 ng g-1) under N2 without introducing modified elements. Specifically, the inhibition capacity of MPBC500 for PAHs under CO2 was improved most efficiently by the active nitrogen species of the pyridinic N and pyrrolic N groups. The pyrolysis conditions and heteroatom modification of MPBC altered its physicochemical properties, that is, aromaticity and hydrophobicity, affecting the PAH concentration and composition in the pyrolysis products. This study reveals sustainable approaches to reduce the environmental footprint of biochar by focusing on increases in PAHs pollution in sustainable biochar produced from a low-carbon bioeconomy perspective.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  3. Yamao R, Babazono A, Liu N, Li Y, Ishihara R, Yoshida S, et al.
    Popul Health Manag, 2024 Feb;27(1):60-69.
    PMID: 37910804 DOI: 10.1089/pop.2023.0192
    This study aimed at examining the effect of continued use of home health care resources on end-of-life care at home in older patients with cancer. This retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical and long-term care claims data of 6435 older patients with cancer who died between April 2016 and March 2019 in Fukuoka Prefecture. The main explanatory variables were enhanced home care support clinics and hospitals (HCSCs), enhanced HCSCs with beds, conventional HCSCs, other HCSCs, and home visit nursing care. The covariates were sex, age, required level of care, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index. A logistic regression model was used. The results of the multilevel logistic regression analysis showed that the following were significantly associated with end-of-life care at home: use of enhanced HCSCs with beds (odds ratio, OR: 8.66; 95% confidence interval, CI: [4.31-17.40]), conventional HCSCs (OR: 5.78; 95% CI: [1.86-17.94]), enhanced HCSCs (OR: 4.44; 95% CI: [1.47-13.42]), home-visit nursing care (OR: 1.86; 95% CI: [1.42-2.44]), and a severe need for care (OR: 3.89; 95% CI: [2.92-5.18]). The results suggest that the continued use of home health care resources in older patients with cancer who require out-of-hospital care may lead to increased end-of-life care at home. Particularly, use of enhanced HCSCs with beds is most strongly associated with end-of-life care at home.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  4. Zhang K, Ting HN, Choo YM
    Comput Methods Programs Biomed, 2024 Mar;245:108043.
    PMID: 38306944 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2024.108043
    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Conflict may happen when more than one classifier is used to perform prediction or classification. The recognition model error leads to conflicting evidence. These conflicts can cause decision errors in a baby cry recognition and further decrease its recognition accuracy. Thus, the objective of this study is to propose a method that can effectively minimize the conflict among deep learning models and improve the accuracy of baby cry recognition.

    METHODS: An improved Dempster-Shafer evidence theory (DST) based on Wasserstein distance and Deng entropy was proposed to reduce the conflicts among the results by combining the credibility degree between evidence and the uncertainty degree of evidence. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, examples were analyzed, and applied in a baby cry recognition. The Whale optimization algorithm-Variational mode decomposition (WOA-VMD) was used to optimally decompose the baby cry signals. The deep features of decomposed components were extracted using the VGG16 model. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models were used to classify baby cry signals. An improved DST decision method was used to obtain the decision fusion.

    RESULTS: The proposed fusion method achieves an accuracy of 90.15% in classifying three types of baby cry. Improvement between 2.90% and 4.98% was obtained over the existing DST fusion methods. Recognition accuracy was improved by between 5.79% and 11.53% when compared to the latest methods used in baby cry recognition.

    CONCLUSION: The proposed method optimally decomposes baby cry signal, effectively reduces the conflict among the results of deep learning models and improves the accuracy of baby cry recognition.

    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  5. Lodz NA, Mat Tamizi NF, Abd Mutalip MH, Ganapathy SS, Lin CZ, Ismail R, et al.
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2024 Jan;36(1):96-103.
    PMID: 38166431 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231223332
    Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels can provide insights into a person's immunity to COVID-19 and inform decisions about vaccination and public health measures. Anti-S may be useful as an indicator of an effective immune response. Thus, we conducted this study that aimed to determine the immune response of anti-S antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 for all the vaccine types over time among adult recipients in Malaysia and to determine the associated factors. This study was a cohort that recruited 2513 respondents aged 18 years and above from June to December 2021. Each participant was followed-up for 1-year period from the initial vaccine dose (baseline). We found that the anti-S antibody generally increased for all vaccine types and peaked at two weeks after the second dose vaccination, with Pfizer recipients having the highest median of 100 (100.00-100.00). During the third-month follow-up, the seropositivity of anti-S antibody and the median level decreased for all vaccines. We found that type of vaccines, comorbid status, infection, and booster status were significantly associated with the anti-S antibody level after one year.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  6. Drewnowski A, Monsivais P, Mognard E, Ismail Noor M, Karim N, Laporte C, et al.
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2024 Jan;36(1):36-42.
    PMID: 38186372 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231219049
    The diversity of protein food sources, animal and plant, may be a proxy measure of protein quality and adequate protein nutrition. A population-based sample of 1604 Malaysians aged ≥18 y completed one 24-h dietary recall and a new 29-item protein diversity indicator (PDI). Socio-demographic data were obtained by self-report. Mean total protein intakes were 75.2 g/d from 24-h recalls and 74.9 g/d from PDI. Protein diversity indicator-estimated protein intakes were 36.2% from meat and poultry, 8.8% from fish, 16.0% from eggs and dairy, and 39.0% from plants. Intakes of animal proteins varied with socioeconomic status and ethnicity and were associated with higher protein quality, defined as the adequacy of essential amino acids (EAAs) relative to protein requirements. Protein intakes and protein quality in Malaysia were generally adequate. Protein diversity indicator metrics can complement current methods of dietary assessment and may be useful for monitoring protein diversity and quality in other countries currently undergoing nutrition transition.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  7. Zaman R, Ravichandran V, Tan CK
    Phytother Res, 2024 Feb;38(2):1071-1088.
    PMID: 38168043 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.8096
    A sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was a big blow to the world community on every level. Created by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was previously unknown to the human immune system. The expert opinion almost immediately united on the fact that the most effective way of fighting the pandemic would be by building immunity artificially via a mass immunization program. However, it took about a year for the approval of the first vaccine against COVID-19. In the meantime, a big part of the general population started adapting nutritious diet plans and dietary supplements to boost natural immunity as a potential prophylactic strategy against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Whether they originate from mainstream medicine, such as synthetic supplements, or traditional herbal remedies in the form of single or poly-herbs, these supplements may comprise various components that exhibit immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial characteristics. There is a substantial body of predictions and expert opinions suggesting that enhancing one's diet with dietary supplements containing additional nutrients and bioactive compounds like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, phytochemicals, and probiotics can enhance the immune system's ability to develop resistance against COVID-19, although none of them have any conclusive evidence nor officially recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). The current review critically acclaims the gap between public perception-based preference and real evidence-based study to weigh the actual benefit of dietary supplements in relation to COVID-19 prevention and management.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  8. Moradi F, Jalili M, Saraee KRE, Abdi MR, Rashid HAA
    Biomed Phys Eng Express, 2024 Feb 14;10(2).
    PMID: 38320327 DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/ad26d5
    The inherent biological hazards associated with ionizing radiation necessitate the implementation of effective shielding measures, particularly in medical applications. Interventional radiology, in particular, poses a unique challenge as it often exposes medical personnel to prolonged periods of high x-ray doses. Historically, lead and lead-based compounds have been the primary materials employed for shielding against photons. However, the drawbacks of lead, including its substantial weight causing personnel's inflexibility and its toxicity, have raised concerns regarding its long-term impact on both human health and the environment. Barium tantalate has emerged as a promising alternative, due to its unique attenuation properties against low-energy x-rays, specifically targeting the weak absorption area of lead. In the present study, we employ the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation tool to investigate various formulations of barium tantalate doped with rare earth elements. The aim is to identify the optimal composition for shielding x-rays in the context of interventional radiology. To achieve this, we employ a reference x-ray spectrum typical of interventional radiology procedures, with energies extending up to 90 keV, within a carefully designed simulation setup. Our primary performance indicator is the reduction in air kerma transmission. Furthermore, we assess the absorbed doses to critical organs at risk within a standard human body phantom protected by the shield. Our results demonstrate that specific concentrations of the examined rare earth impurities can enhance the shielding performance of barium tantalate. To mitigate x-ray exposure in interventional radiology, our analysis reveals that the most effective shielding performance is achieved when using barium tantalate compositions containing 15% Erbium or 10% Samarium by weight. These findings suggest the possibility of developing lead-free shielding solutions or apron for interventional radiology personnel, offering a remarkable reduction in weight (exceeding 30%) while maintaining shielding performance at levels comparable to traditional lead-based materials.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  9. Valerian Corda J, Shenoy BS, Ahmad KA, Lewis L, K P, Rao A, et al.
    Inhal Toxicol, 2024 Jan;36(1):44-56.
    PMID: 38343121 DOI: 10.1080/08958378.2024.2312801
    Objective: The nasal cavity effectively captures the particles present in inhaled air, thereby preventing harmful and toxic pollutants from reaching the lungs. This filtering ability of the nasal cavity can be effectively utilized for targeted nasal drug delivery applications. This study aims to understand the particle deposition patterns in three age groups: neonate, infant, and adult.Materials and methods: The CT scans are built using MIMICS 21.0, followed by CATIA V6 to generate a patient-specific airway model. Fluid flow is simulated using ANSYS FLUENT 2021 R2. Spherical monodisperse microparticles ranging from 2 to 60 µm and a density of 1100 kg/m3 are simulated at steady-state and sedentary inspiration conditions.Results: The highest nasal valve depositions for the neonate are 25% for 20 µm, for infants, 10% for 50 µm, 15% for adults, and 15% for 15 µm. At mid nasal region, deposition of 15% for 20 µm is observed for infant and 8% for neonate and adult nasal cavities at a particle size of 10 and 20 µm, respectively. The highest particle deposition at the olfactory region is about 2.7% for the adult nasal cavity for 20 µm, and it is <1% for neonate and infant nasal cavities.Discussion and conclusions: The study of preferred nasal depositions during natural sedentary breathing conditions is utilized to determine the size that allows medication particles to be targeted to specific nose regions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  10. Magam SM, Masood N, Alkhadher SAA, Alanazi TYA, Zakaria MP, Sidek LM, et al.
    Environ Geochem Health, 2024 Jan 16;46(2):38.
    PMID: 38227164 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01828-w
    The seasonal variation of petroleum pollution including n-alkanes in surface sediments of the Selangor River in Malaysia during all four climatic seasons was investigated using GC-MS. The concentrations of n-alkanes in the sediment samples did not significantly correlate with TOC (r = 0.34, p > 0.05). The concentrations of the 29 n-alkanes in the Selangor River ranged from 967 to 3711 µg g-1 dw, with higher concentrations detected during the dry season. The overall mean per cent of grain-sized particles in the Selangor River was 85.9 ± 2.85% sand, 13.5 ± 2.8% clay, and 0.59 ± 0.34% gravel, respectively. n-alkanes are derived from a variety of sources, including fresh oil, terrestrial plants, and heavy/degraded oil in estuaries. The results of this study highlight concerns and serve as a warning that hydrocarbon contamination is affecting human health. As a result, constant monitoring and assessment of aliphatic hydrocarbons in coastal and riverine environments are needed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  11. Anthony K, Wong HK, Lim A, Sow F, Janssen SM
    Q J Exp Psychol (Hove), 2024 Mar;77(3):447-460.
    PMID: 37649149 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231200724
    The retrieval of autobiographical memories involves the construction of mental representations of past personal events. Many researchers examining the processes underlying memory retrieval argue that visual imagery plays a fundamental role. Other researchers, however, have argued that working memory is an integral component involved in memory retrieval. The goal of this study was to resolve these conflicting arguments by comparing the relative contributions of visual imagery and working memory during the retrieval of autobiographical memories in a dual-task paradigm. While following a moving dot, viewing a dynamic visual noise (DVN), or viewing a blank screen, 95 participants recalled their memories and subsequently rated them on different memory characteristics. The results suggest that inhibiting visual imagery by having participants view DVN merely delayed memory retrieval but did not affect the phenomenological quality of the memories retrieved. Taxations to the working memory by having participants follow a moving dot, on the contrary, resulted in only longer retrieval latencies and no reductions in the specificity, vividness, or the emotional intensity of the memories retrieved. Whereas the role of visual imagery during retrieval is clear, future studies could further examine the role of working memory during retrieval by administering a task that is less difficult or by recruiting a larger sample than this study. The results of this study seem to suggest that both visual imagery and working memory play a role during the retrieval of autobiographical memory, but more research needs to be conducted to determine their exact roles.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  12. Ullah F, Ragazzoni L, Hubloue I, Barone-Adesi F, Valente M
    Disaster Med Public Health Prep, 2024 Feb 22;18:e34.
    PMID: 38384190 DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2024.26
    As heatwaves increase and intensify worldwide, so has the research aimed at outlining strategies to protect individuals from their impact. Interventions that promote adaptive measures to heatwaves are encouraged, but evidence on how to develop such interventions is still scarce. Although the Health Belief Model is one of the leading frameworks guiding behavioral change interventions, the evidence of its use in heatwave research is limited. This rapid review aims to identify and describe the main themes and key findings in the literature regarding the use of the Health Belief Model in heatwaves research. It also highlights important research gaps and future research priorities. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 10 articles were included, with a geographic distribution as follows: United States (n = 1), Australia (n = 1), Pakistan (n = 1), and China (n = 1), as well as Malaysia (n = 2), Germany (n = 1), and Austria (n = 1). Results showed a lack of research using the Health Belief Model to study heatwaves induced by climate change. Half of the studies assessed heatwave risk perception, with the 2 most frequently used constructs being Perceived Susceptibility and Perceived Severity. The Self-efficacy construct was instead used less often. Most of the research was conducted in urban communities. This review underscores the need for further research using the Health Belief Model.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  13. Wong WM, Tham YC, Simunovic MP, Chen FK, Luu CD, Chen H, et al.
    Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila), 2024;13(1):100030.
    PMID: 38233300 DOI: 10.1016/j.apjo.2023.100030
    PURPOSE: There are major gaps in our knowledge of hereditary ocular conditions in the Asia-Pacific population, which comprises approximately 60% of the world's population. Therefore, a concerted regional effort is urgently needed to close this critical knowledge gap and apply precision medicine technology to improve the quality of lives of these patients in the Asia-Pacific region.

    DESIGN: Multi-national, multi-center collaborative network.

    METHODS: The Research Standing Committee of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and the Asia-Pacific Society of Eye Genetics fostered this research collaboration, which brings together renowned institutions and experts for inherited eye diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. The immediate priority of the network will be inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), where there is a lack of detailed characterization of these conditions and in the number of established registries.

    RESULTS: The network comprises 55 members from 35 centers, spanning 12 countries and regions, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The steering committee comprises ophthalmologists with experience in consortia for eye diseases in the Asia-Pacific region, leading ophthalmologists and vision scientists in the field of IRDs internationally, and ophthalmic geneticists.

    CONCLUSIONS: The Asia Pacific Inherited Eye Disease (APIED) network aims to (1) improve genotyping capabilities and expertise to increase early and accurate genetic diagnosis of IRDs, (2) harmonise deep phenotyping practices and utilization of ontological terms, and (3) establish high-quality, multi-user, federated disease registries that will facilitate patient care, genetic counseling, and research of IRDs regionally and internationally.

    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  14. Karin BR, Lough-Stevens M, Lin TE, Reilly SB, Barley AJ, Das I, et al.
    BMC Ecol Evol, 2024 Feb 20;24(1):25.
    PMID: 38378475 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02212-7
    BACKGROUND: Human-commensal species often display deep ancestral genetic structure within their native range and founder-effects and/or evidence of multiple introductions and admixture in newly established areas. We investigated the phylogeography of Eutropis multifasciata, an abundant human-commensal scincid lizard that occurs across Southeast Asia, to determine the extent of its native range and to assess the sources and signatures of human introduction outside of the native range. We sequenced over 350 samples of E. multifasciata for the mitochondrial ND2 gene and reanalyzed a previous RADseq population genetic dataset in a phylogenetic framework.

    RESULTS: Nuclear and mitochondrial trees are concordant and show that E. multifasciata has retained high levels of genetic structure across Southeast Asia despite being frequently moved by humans. Lineage boundaries in the native range roughly correspond to several major biogeographic barriers, including Wallace's Line and the Isthmus of Kra. Islands at the outer fringe of the range show evidence of founder-effects and multiple introductions.

    CONCLUSIONS: Most of enormous range of E. multifasciata across Southeast Asia is native and it only displays signs of human-introduction or recent expansion along the eastern and northern fringe of its range. There were at least three events of human-introductions to Taiwan and offshore islands, and several oceanic islands in eastern Indonesia show a similar pattern. In Myanmar and Hainan, there is a founder-effect consistent with post-warming expansion after the last glacial maxima or human introduction.

    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  15. Cuk A, Bezdan T, Jovanovic L, Antonijevic M, Stankovic M, Simic V, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2024 Feb 21;14(1):4309.
    PMID: 38383690 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54680-y
    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressively debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects the dopaminergic system in the basal ganglia, impacting millions of individuals globally. The clinical manifestations of the disease include resting tremors, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability. Diagnosis relies mainly on clinical evaluation, lacking reliable diagnostic tests and being inherently imprecise and subjective. Early detection of PD is crucial for initiating treatments that, while unable to cure the chronic condition, can enhance the life quality of patients and alleviate symptoms. This study explores the potential of utilizing long-short term memory neural networks (LSTM) with attention mechanisms to detect Parkinson's disease based on dual-task walking test data. Given that the performance of networks is significantly inductance by architecture and training parameter choices, a modified version of the recently introduced crayfish optimization algorithm (COA) is proposed, specifically tailored to the requirements of this investigation. The proposed optimizer is assessed on a publicly accessible real-world clinical gait in Parkinson's disease dataset, and the results demonstrate its promise, achieving an accuracy of 87.4187 % for the best-constructed models.
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
  16. Rahimi M, Mohamad IS, Yahya MM, Mohammad Azmi MAF, Voon Meng L
    Endoscopy, 2024 Dec;56(S 01):E195-E196.
    PMID: 38388953 DOI: 10.1055/a-2258-8436
    Matched MeSH terms: Humans
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