Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 770 in total

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  1. Won KY, Gass K, Biamonte M, Dagne DA, Ducker C, Hanna C, et al.
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2021 11;15(11):e0009968.
    PMID: 34780503 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009968
    As lymphatic filariasis (LF) programs move closer to established targets for validation elimination of LF as a public health problem, diagnostic tools capable of supporting the needs of the programs are critical for success. Known limitations of existing diagnostic tools make it challenging to have confidence that program endpoints have been achieved. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) for Neglected Tropical Diseases tasked with prioritizing diagnostic needs including defining use-cases and target product profiles (TPPs) for needed tools. Subsequently, disease-specific DTAG subgroups, including one focused on LF, were established to develop TPPs and use-case analyses to be used by product developers. Here, we describe the development of two priority TPPs for LF diagnostics needed for making decisions for stopping mass drug administration (MDA) of a triple drug regimen and surveillance. Utilizing the WHO core TPP development process as the framework, the LF subgroup convened to discuss and determine attributes required for each use case. TPPs considered the following parameters: product use, design, performance, product configuration and cost, and access and equity. Version 1.0 TPPs for two use cases were published by WHO on 12 March 2021 within the WHO Global Observatory on Health Research and Development. A common TPP characteristic that emerged in both use cases was the need to identify new biomarkers that would allow for greater precision in program delivery. As LF diagnostic tests are rarely used for individual clinical diagnosis, it became apparent that reliance on population-based surveys for decision making requires consideration of test performance in the context of such surveys. In low prevalence settings, the number of false positive test results may lead to unnecessary continuation or resumption of MDA, thus wasting valuable resources and time. Therefore, highly specific diagnostic tools are paramount when used to measure low thresholds. The TPP process brought to the forefront the importance of linking use case, program platform and diagnostic performance characteristics when defining required criteria for diagnostic tools.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  2. Boedeker W, Watts M, Clausing P, Marquez E
    BMC Public Health, 2021 10 27;21(1):1943.
    PMID: 34702250 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11941-z
    In a correspondence to BMC Public Health, Dunn et al. (Dunn SE, Reed J and Neumann C. BMC Public Health (n.d)) respond to our review on the occurrence of unintentional, acute pesticide poisoning (UAPP). Based on a systematic review and further data sources we estimated that about 385 million cases of UAPP occur annually world-wide including around 11,000 fatalities (Boedeker W. et al. BMC Public Health:1875, 2020).
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health*
  3. Baker P, Zambrano P, Mathisen R, Singh-Vergeire MR, Escober AE, Mialon M, et al.
    Global Health, 2021 10 26;17(1):125.
    PMID: 34702285 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-021-00774-5
    BACKGROUND: The aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) reduces breastfeeding, and harms child and maternal health globally. Yet forty years after the World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (The Code), many countries are still to fully implement its provisions into national law. Furthermore, despite The Code, commercial milk formula (CMF) markets have markedly expanded. In this paper, we adopt the Philippines as a case study to understand the battle for national Code implementation. In particular, we investigate the market and political strategies used by the baby food industry to shape the country's 'first-food system', and in doing so, promote and sustain CMF consumption. We further investigate how breastfeeding coalitions and advocates have resisted these strategies, and generated political commitment for a world-leading breastfeeding policy framework and protection law (the 'Milk Code'). We used a case study design and process tracing method, drawing from documentary and interview data.

    RESULTS: The decline in breastfeeding in the Philippines in the mid-twentieth Century associated with intensive BMS marketing via health systems and consumer advertising. As regulations tightened, the industry more aggressively promoted CMFs for older infants and young children, thereby 'marketing around' the Milk Code. It established front groups to implement political strategies intended to weaken the country's breastfeeding policy framework while also fostering a favourable image. This included lobbying government officials and international organizations, emphasising its economic importance and threats to foreign investment and trade, direct litigation against the government, messaging that framed marketing in terms of women's choice and empowerment, and forging partnerships. A resurgence in breastfeeding from the mid-1980s onwards reflected strengthening political commitment for a national breastfeeding policy framework and Milk Code, resulting in-turn, from collective actions by breastfeeding coalitions, advocates and mothers.

    CONCLUSION: The Philippines illustrates the continuing battle for worldwide Code implementation, and in particular, how the baby food industry uses and adapts its market and political practices to promote and sustain CMF markets. Our results demonstrate that this industry's political practices require much greater scrutiny. Furthermore, that mobilizing breastfeeding coalitions, advocacy groups and mothers is crucial to continually strengthen and protect national breastfeeding policy frameworks and Code implementation.

    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  4. Ariffin MRK, Gopal K, Krishnarajah I, Che Ilias IS, Adam MB, Arasan J, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2021 Oct 20;11(1):20739.
    PMID: 34671103 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99541-0
    Since the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak appeared in Wuhan, mainland China on December 31, 2019, the geographical spread of the epidemic was swift. Malaysia is one of the countries that were hit substantially by the outbreak, particularly in the second wave. This study aims to simulate the infectious trend and trajectory of COVID-19 to understand the severity of the disease and determine the approximate number of days required for the trend to decline. The number of confirmed positive infectious cases [as reported by Ministry of Health, Malaysia (MOH)] were used from January 25, 2020 to March 31, 2020. This study simulated the infectious count for the same duration to assess the predictive capability of the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model. The same model was used to project the simulation trajectory of confirmed positive infectious cases for 80 days from the beginning of the outbreak and extended the trajectory for another 30 days to obtain an overall picture of the severity of the disease in Malaysia. The transmission rate, β also been utilized to predict the cumulative number of infectious individuals. Using the SIR model, the simulated infectious cases count obtained was not far from the actual count. The simulated trend was able to mimic the actual count and capture the actual spikes approximately. The infectious trajectory simulation for 80 days and the extended trajectory for 110 days depicts that the inclining trend has peaked and ended and will decline towards late April 2020. Furthermore, the predicted cumulative number of infectious individuals tallies with the preparations undertaken by the MOH. The simulation indicates the severity of COVID-19 disease in Malaysia, suggesting a peak of infectiousness in mid-March 2020 and a probable decline in late April 2020. Overall, the study findings indicate that outbreak control measures such as the Movement Control Order (MCO), social distancing and increased hygienic awareness is needed to control the transmission of the outbreak in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health; Public Health Informatics/methods*
  5. Mohidem NA, Osman M, Muharam FM, Mohd Elias S, Shaharudin R, Hashim Z
    Geospat Health, 2021 Oct 19;16(2).
    PMID: 34672178 DOI: 10.4081/gh.2021.980
    In the last few decades, public health surveillance has increasingly applied statistical methods to analyze the spatial disease distributions. Nevertheless, contact tracing and follow up control measures for tuberculosis (TB) patients remain challenging because public health officers often lack the programming skills needed to utilize the software appropriately. This study aimed to develop a more user-friendly application by applying the CodeIgniter framework for server development, ArcGIS JavaScript for data display and a web application based on JavaScript and Hypertext Preprocessor to build the server's interface, while a webGIS technology was used for mapping. The performance of this approach was tested based on 3325 TB cases and their sociodemographic data, such as age, gender, race, nationality, country of origin, educational level, employment status, health care worker status, income status, residency status, and smoking status between 1st January 2013 and 31st December 2017 in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. These data were collected from the Gombak District Health Office and Rawang Health Clinic. Latitude and longitude of the location for each case was geocoded by uploading spatial data using Google Earth and the main output was an interactive map displaying location of each case. Filters are available for the selection of the various sociodemographic factors of interest. The application developed should assist public health experts to utilize spatial data for the surveillance purposes comprehensively as well as for the drafting of regulations aimed at to reducing mortality and morbidity and thus minimizing the public health impact of the disease.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health; Public Health Surveillance
  6. Lee YP, Yoon SE, Song Y, Kim SJ, Yoon DH, Chen TY, et al.
    Int J Hematol, 2021 Sep;114(3):355-362.
    PMID: 34302593 DOI: 10.1007/s12185-021-03179-7
    Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) are a group of T-cell lymphomas with low incidence. Due to their indolent characteristics, treatment strategies have not yet been established for advanced CTCLs. In this study, relative incidence of CTCLs in Asia was estimated and the therapeutic outcomes presented based on various treatments currently used in clinics for advanced CTCLs. As part of a prospective registry study of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) conducted across Asia, including Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, subgroup analysis was performed for patients with CTCLs. Among 486 patients with PTCL, 37 with CTCL (7.6%) were identified between April 2016 and February 2019. Primary cutaneous ALK-negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL, 35.1%) was the most common subtype. With a median follow-up period of 32.1 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 53.5 months (95% CI 0.0-122.5), and overall survival was not reached. 14 patients (48.2%) underwent subsequent treatment after the first relapse, but the response rate was 20% with a PFS of 2.2 months (95% CI 0.3-4.0). Six patients received autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT). However, auto-SCT did not result in better outcomes. Additional studies are needed on standard care treatment of advanced or refractory and relapsed CTCLs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health Surveillance
  7. Aung MN, Stein C, Chen WT, Garg V, Saraswati Sitepu M, Thu NTD, et al.
    J Infect Dev Ctries, 2021 08 31;15(8):1107-1116.
    PMID: 34516418 DOI: 10.3855/jidc.15254
    INTRODUCTION: National strategies to control COVID-19 pandemic consisted mostly of social distancing measures such as lockdowns, curfews, and stay-home guidelines, personal protection such as hand hygiene and mask wearing, as well as contact tracing, isolation and quarantine. Whilst policy interventions were broadly similar across the globe, there were some differences in individual and community responses. This study explored community responses to COVID-19 containment measures in different countries and synthesized a model. This exaplains the community response to pandemic containment measures in the local context, so as to be suitably prepared for future interventions and research.

    METHODOLOGY: A mutlinational study was conducted from April-June 2020 involving researchers from 12 countries (Japan, Austria, U.S., Taiwan, India, Sudan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand). Steps in this research consisted of carrying out open-ended questionnaires, qualitative analyses in NVivo, and a multinational meeting to reflect, exchange, and validate results. Lastly, a commuinty response model was synthesized from multinational experiences.

    RESULTS: Effective communication is key in promoting collective action for preventing virus transmission. Health literacy, habits and social norms in different populations are core components of public health interventions. To enable people to stay home while sustaining livelihoods, economic and social support are essential. Countries could benefit from previous pandemic experience in their community response. Whilst contact tracing and isolation are crucial intervention components, issues of privacy and human rights need to be considered.

    CONCLUSIONS: Understanding community responses to containment policies will help in ending current and future pandemics in the world.

    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/methods; Public Health/statistics & numerical data*
  8. Balqis-Ali NZ, Fun WH, Ismail M, Ng RJ, Jaaffar FSA, Low LL
    PMID: 34501637 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18179047
    Strengthening the health systems through gaps identification is necessary to ensure sustainable improvements especially in facing a debilitating outbreak such as COVID-19. This study aims to explore public perspective on health systems' response towards COVID-19, and to identify gaps for health systems strengthening by leveraging on WHO health systems' building blocks. A qualitative study was conducted using open-ended questions survey among public followed by in-depth interviews with key informants. Opinions on Malaysia's health systems response towards COVID-19 were gathered. Data were exported to NVIVO version 12 and analysed using content analysis approach. The study identified various issues on health systems' response towards COVID-19, which were then mapped into health systems' building blocks. The study showed the gaps were embedded among complex interactions between the health systems building blocks. The leadership and governance building block had cross-cutting effects, and all building blocks influenced service deliveries. Understanding the complexities in fostering whole-systems strengthening through a holistic measure in facing an outbreak was paramount. Applying systems thinking in addressing gaps could help addressing the complexity at a macro level, including consideration of how an action implicates other building blocks and approaching the governance effort in a more adaptive manner to develop resilient systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  9. Wong RSY
    Malays J Pathol, 2021 Aug;43(2):203-217.
    PMID: 34448786
    The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is one of the biggest public health threats in the 21st century. Nearly every country in the world has been affected by COVID-19. The magnitude of the problem, with over 179 million confirmed cases and 3.8 million deaths worldwide, has driven researchers to search for vaccines to combat the disease. The discovery and development of a new vaccine, from the initial stage to the vaccine finally reaching the patients, usually take many years. However, given the urgency of the situation, many clinical trials on the COVID-19 vaccines have been conducted at extraordinary speed, whereas several vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are being administered worldwide. This article gives an overview of the different types of COVID-19 vaccines, with a focus on those with promising results and are commonly used worldwide. It also gives an overview of herd immunity and discusses the challenges in achieving herd immunity through the global vaccination campaigns. Last but not least, some strategies that may be used to address these challenges are discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/statistics & numerical data*
  10. Lin CN, Chan KR, Ooi EE, Chiou MT, Hoang M, Hsueh PR, et al.
    Viruses, 2021 07 30;13(8).
    PMID: 34452372 DOI: 10.3390/v13081507
    Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus in humans, has expanded globally over the past year. COVID-19 remains an important subject of intensive research owing to its huge impact on economic and public health globally. Based on historical archives, the first coronavirus-related disease recorded was possibly animal-related, a case of feline infectious peritonitis described as early as 1912. Despite over a century of documented coronaviruses in animals, the global animal industry still suffers from outbreaks. Knowledge and experience handling animal coronaviruses provide a valuable tool to complement our understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we present an overview of coronaviruses, clinical signs, COVID-19 in animals, genome organization and recombination, immunopathogenesis, transmission, viral shedding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. By drawing parallels between COVID-19 in animals and humans, we provide perspectives on the pathophysiological mechanisms by which coronaviruses cause diseases in both animals and humans, providing a critical basis for the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against these deadly viruses.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  11. Byrne I, Aure W, Manin BO, Vythilingam I, Ferguson HM, Drakeley CJ, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2021 Jun 03;11(1):11810.
    PMID: 34083582 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90893-1
    Land-use changes, such as deforestation and agriculture, can influence mosquito vector populations and malaria transmission. These land-use changes have been linked to increased incidence in human cases of the zoonotic malaria Plasmodium knowlesi in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. This study investigates whether these associations are partially driven by fine-scale land-use changes creating more favourable aquatic breeding habitats for P. knowlesi anopheline vectors. Using aerial remote sensing data, we developed a sampling frame representative of all land use types within a major focus of P. knowlesi transmission. From 2015 to 2016 monthly longitudinal surveys of larval habitats were collected in randomly selected areas stratified by land use type. Additional remote sensing data on environmental variables, land cover and landscape configuration were assembled for the study site. Risk factor analyses were performed over multiple spatial scales to determine associations between environmental and spatial variables and anopheline larval presence. Habitat fragmentation (300 m), aspect (350 m), distance to rubber plantations (100 m) and Culex larval presence were identified as risk factors for Anopheles breeding. Additionally, models were fit to determine the presence of potential larval habitats within the areas surveyed and used to generate a time-series of monthly predictive maps. These results indicate that land-use change and topography influence the suitability of larval habitats, and may partially explain the link between P. knowlesi incidence and deforestation. The predictive maps, and identification of the spatial scales at which risk factors are most influential may aid spatio-temporally targeted vector control interventions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health Surveillance
  12. Mohd Hanafiah K, Ng C, Wan AM
    Viruses, 2021 Jun 03;13(6).
    PMID: 34204909 DOI: 10.3390/v13061058
    In an age of globalisation and hyperconnectivity, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented and sustained impact worldwide. This article discusses issues related to (science) communication at different phases of the COVID-19 epidemic timeline. We consider the role of communication for prevention from the ecological perspective, taking into consideration that many emerging pathogens, including COVID-19, likely arise in part due to anthropogenic changes to natural environments. Communication forms part of the early response setting the scene for public buy-in of public health interventions at the start of an outbreak, as well as to maintain precautions over time. Finally, communication is a key element in increasing acceptance for new tools that require mass uptake to be effective, as seen with roll-out challenges for the COVID-19 vaccines, which faced heightened concerns of efficacy and safety while mired with rampant misinformation. Ultimately, strategies for prevention of viral epidemics such as COVID-19 must include communication strategies at the forefront to reduce the risk of the emergence of new diseases and enhance efforts to control their spread and burden. Despite key themes emerging, what constitutes effective communication strategies for different people and contexts needs to be investigated further.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health/education; Public Health/methods*
  13. Levin-Zamir D, Sorensen K, Su TT, Sentell T, Rowlands G, Messer M, et al.
    Glob Health Promot, 2021 06;28(2):27-37.
    PMID: 33775167 DOI: 10.1177/1757975921998639
    The current COVID-19 pandemic has exposed missing links between health promotion and national/global health emergency policies. In response, health promotion initiatives were urgently developed and applied around the world. A selection of case studies from five countries, based on the Socio-Ecological Model of Health Promotion, exemplify 'real-world' action and challenges for health promotion intervention, research, and policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions range from a focus on individuals/families, organizations, communities and in healthcare, public health, education and media systems, health-promoting settings, and policy. Lessons learned highlight the need for emphasizing equity, trust, systems approach, and sustained action in future health promotion preparedness strategies. Challenges and opportunities are highlighted regarding the need for rapid response, clear communication based on health literacy, and collaboration across countries, disciplines, and health and education systems for meaningful solutions to global health crises.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health*
  14. Leow BL, Khoo CK, Syamsiah Aini S, Roslina H, Faizah Hanim MS
    Trop Biomed, 2021 Jun 01;38(2):72-78.
    PMID: 33973576 DOI: 10.47665/tb.38.2.043
    Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease caused by rabies virus (RABV) and remains a public health problem in Malaysia. Malaysia was declared rabies-free in 2012, however rabies outbreaks occurred at few states in Peninsular Malaysia three years later; and for the first time, in Sarawak (East Malaysia) in 2017 which has caused more than 20 human deaths. This study describes the phylogenetic analysis of the complete nucleoprotein (N) gene of RABV from animal samples in Malaysia from year 2015 to 2018. The N gene of 17 RABVs from Perlis, Kedah and Sarawak were amplified and sequenced. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid similarities of N gene analysis indicated that there is high similarity among the local RABVs. Phylogenetic analysis of the N gene revealed that all Malaysia RABVs belonged to the Asian clade. Among these, RABVs from Peninsular Malaysia were clustered together with RABVs from Thailand, Vietnam and other Southeast Asia countries except Indonesia. However, RABVs from Sarawak were grouped together with Indonesian strains from Kalimantan. Our study provides baseline genetic information of the potential origins of the circulating RABVs in Malaysia. This crucial information helped the authority in policies making and strategies to be taken in outbreak control. Continuous surveillance program to monitor the disease trend, strict border control, vaccination of dog and cat population and public awareness are important steps to control the spread of the RABV.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  15. Md Hamzah N, Yu MM, See KF
    Health Care Manag Sci, 2021 Jun;24(2):273-285.
    PMID: 33651316 DOI: 10.1007/s10729-020-09539-9
    Malaysia was faced with a life-threatening crisis in combating COVID-19 with a number of positive cases reaching 5305 and 88 deaths by 18th April 2020 (the first detected case was on 25th January 2020). The government rapidly initiated a public health response and provided adequate medical care to manage the public health crisis during the implementation of movement restrictions, starting 18th March 2020, throughout the country. The objective of this study was to investigate the relative efficiency level of managing COVID-19 in Malaysia using network data envelopment analysis. Malaysia state-level data were extracted from secondary data sources which include variables such as total number of confirmed cases, death cases and recovered cases. These variables were used as inputs and outputs in a network process that consists of 3 sub processes i) community surveillance, ii) medical care I and iii) medical care II. A state-level analysis was performed according to low, medium and high population density categories. The efficiency level of community surveillance was highest compared to medical care processes, indicating that the overall inefficiency is greatly influenced by the inefficiency of the medical care processes rather than the community surveillance process. Results showed that high-density category performed well in both community surveillance and medical care II processes. Meanwhile, low-density category performed better in medical care I process. There was a good overall performance of the health system in Malaysia reflecting a strong preparedness and response level to this pandemic. Furthermore, resource allocation for rapid response was distributed effectively during this challenging period.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  16. Dahmash L, Tatarsky A, Espino FE, Chareonviriyaphap T, Macdonald MB, Prachumsri JS, et al.
    Parasit Vectors, 2021 May 29;14(1):290.
    PMID: 34051831 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04778-3
    The 2018 Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network's Vector Control Working Group (APMEN VCWG) annual meeting took place 3-5 September 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand. It was designed to be a forum for entomology and public health specialists from APMEN country programmes (over 90 participants from 30 countries) to discuss current progress and challenges related to planning, implementing, and sustaining effective vector control (VC) strategies for malaria elimination across the region, and to suggest practical and applicable solutions to these moving forward. The meeting was organised as a joint collaboration between the VCWG host institution-Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Thailand-and leading partner institutions within the VCWG: Malaria Consortium and the Malaria Elimination Initiative at the University of California, San Francisco, Global Health Group (UCSF Global Health Group), under the leadership of the APMEN Director and VCWG Co-Chairs from ministries of health in Malaysia and India. This report provides an introduction to the role and nature of the VCWG, highlights key themes and topics presented and discussed at the meeting, and outlines the future objectives and focal areas for the VCWG and APMEN at large.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  17. Ul Mustafa Z, Salman M, Aldeyab M, Kow CS, Hasan SS
    SN Compr Clin Med, 2021 May 28.
    PMID: 34095752 DOI: 10.1007/s42399-021-00966-5
    The discovery of different antimicrobial agents has revolutionized the treatment against a variety of infections for many decades, but the emergence of antimicrobial resistance require rigorous measures, even amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This retrospective study aimed to examine the consumption of antibiotics in patients with COVID-19 admitted into the five hospitals in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. We collected data on the consumption of antibiotics, classified using the World Health Organization (WHO) AWaRe (Access, Watch, and Reserve), within two months-August and September, 2020, and the corresponding months in 2019. Consumption of antibiotics was presented as daily define dose (DDD) per 100 occupied bed-days. Eight different classes of antibiotics were prescribed to patients with COVID-19 without culture tests being performed, with the prescribing of antibiotics of the Watch category was especially prevalent. The consumption of antibiotics was higher during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period: the consumption of azithromycin increased from 11.5 DDDs per 100 occupied bed-days in 2019 to 17.0 DDDs per 100 occupied bed-days in 2020, while the consumption of ceftriaxone increased from 20.2 DDDs per 100 occupied bed-days in 2019 to 25.1 DDDs per 100 occupied bed-days in 2020. The current study revealed non-evidence-based utilization of antibiotics among patients with COVID-19 admitted into the hospitals in Pakistan. Evidently, the current COVID-19 pandemic is a public health threat of notable dimensions which has compromised the ongoing antimicrobial stewardship program, potentially leading to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance among pathogens.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  18. Al-Salih M, Samsudin S, Arshad SS
    J Genet Eng Biotechnol, 2021 May 18;19(1):76.
    PMID: 34003402 DOI: 10.1186/s43141-021-00161-y
    BACKGROUND: Environmental contamination by microbes is a major public health concern. A damp environment is one of the potential sources for microbe proliferation. Smart synthesis nanocatalytic coatings on surfaces, food, and material from different pathogen bacteria can inhibit using the Fe3O4/CNTs as anti-microbial growth can effectively curb this growing threat. In this present work, the anti-microbial efficacy of synthesis of a compound nanoparticle-containing iron oxide-multi-walled carbon nanotube was combined by laser ablation PLAL and explored the anti-bacterial action of colloidal solution of Fe3O4/CNTs NPs that was evaluated against bacteria which is classified as gram-negative (Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia), and also that is identified as gram-positive (Streptococcus pyogenes (S .pyogenes) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) under visible light irradiation.

    RESULTS: Doping of a minute fraction of iron(III) salt (0.5 mol%) in a volatile solvent (ethanol) was carried out via the sol-gel technique. Fe3O4 was further calcined at various temperatures (in the range of 500-700 °C) to evaluate the thermal stability of the Fe3O4 nanoporous oxidizer nanoparticles. The physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and UV-Visible spectroscopy techniques. XRD results revealed that the nanoparticles framework of Fe3O4 was maintained well up to 650 °C by the Fe dopant. UV-Vis results suggested that absorption property of combination Fe3O4/CNTs nanopowder by PLAL was enhanced and the band gap is reduced into 2.0 eV.

    CONCLUSIONS: Density functional theory (DFT) studies emphasize the introduction of Fe+ and Fe2+ ions by replacing other ions in the CNT lattice, therefore creating oxygen vacancies. These further promoted anti-microbial efficiency. A significantly high bacterial inactivation that indicates results was evaluated and that the mean estimations of restraint were determined from triple assessment in every appraisal at 400 ml which represent the best anti-bacterial action against gram-positive and gram-negative microbes.

    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  19. Mohd Yusop AY, Xiao L, Fu S
    Drug Test Anal, 2021 May;13(5):965-976.
    PMID: 32441056 DOI: 10.1002/dta.2861
    The lucrative market of herbal remedies spurs rampant adulteration, particularly with pharmaceutical drugs and their unapproved analogues. A comprehensive screening strategy is, therefore, warranted to detect these adulterants and, accordingly, to safeguard public health. This study uses the data-dependent acquisition of liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS) to screen phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors in herbal remedies using suspected-target and non-targeted strategies. For the suspected-target screening, we used a library comprising 95 PDE5 inhibitors. For the non-targeted screening, we adopted top-down and bottom-up approaches to flag novel PDE5 inhibitor analogues based on common fragmentation patterns. LC-QTOF-MS was optimised and validated for capsule and tablet dosage forms using 23 target analytes, selected to represent different groups of PDE5 inhibitors. The method exhibited excellent specificity and linearity with limit of detection and limit of quantification of <40 and 80 ng/mL, respectively. The accuracy ranged from 79.0% to 124.7% with a precision of <14.9% relative standard deviation. The modified, quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe extraction provided insignificant matrix effect within -9.1%-8.0% and satisfactory extraction recovery of 71.5%-105.8%. These strategies were used to screen 52 herbal remedy samples that claimed to enhance male sexual performance. The suspected-target screening resulted in 33 positive samples, revealing 10 target analytes and 2 suspected analytes. Systematic MS and tandem MS interrogations using the non-targeted screening returned insignificant signals, indicating the absence of potentially novel analogues. The target analytes were quantified from 0.03 to 121.31 mg per dose of each sample. The proposed strategies ensure that all PDE5 inhibitors are comprehensively screened, providing a useful tool to curb the widespread adulteration of herbal remedies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health
  20. Binns C, Low WY
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2021 05;33(4):333-334.
    PMID: 33938291 DOI: 10.1177/10105395211012844
    Matched MeSH terms: Public Health*
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