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Topic Review
Long-Term Effects of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination
The preventive effect of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines against anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers has been proven in both clinical trials and real-world data. The longest period of preventive effect for the bivalent, 4-valent, and 9-valent vaccine were 11 years in the Costa Rica trial, 14 years in the FUTURE II, and 8 years in the LTFU extension study of V503-002 and the Scandinavian study, respectively. The sustained clinical effect during the observation period was longest for the 4-valent vaccine. In real-world data, the longest observation period of the vaccine effectiveness was 12 years in an Australian study for the 4-valent vaccine. For the bivalent vaccine, additional long-term follow-up studies may not have been planned due to the launch of the 4-valent and 9-valent vaccines. In some studies of the 9-valent vaccine, the results have not yet been published because of the short observation period. The additional results are expected in the future. In a national immunization program, most girls and boys are inoculated with HPV vaccine by the time puberty begins; thus, it is important to monitor the vaccine effect at least until the sexually active period in their 20s and 30s.
  • 1.1K
  • 25 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Motor Fitness and Flexibility Tests in Older Adults
Strong evidence indicated that (i) slower gait speed predicts falls and institutionalization/hospitalization in adults over 60 years old, cognitive decline/impairment over 55 years old, mobility disability over 50 years old, disability in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) over 54 years old, cardiovascular disease risk over 45 years old, and all-cause mortality over 35 years old; (ii) impaired balance predicts falls and disability in IADL/mobility disability in adults over 40 years old and all-cause mortality over 53 years old; (iii) worse timed up&go test (TUG) predicts falls and fear of falling over 40 years old. Evidence supports that slower gait speed, impaired balance, and worse TUG performance are significantly associated with an increased risk of adverse health outcomes in adults. 
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Framework for Training Parkinson Nurses
Delivering healthcare to people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) may be challenging in face of changing care needs during a PD journey and a growing complexity. In this regard, integrative and personalized care models may foster flexible solutions to patients’ care needs whereas Parkinson Nurses (PN) may be pivotal facilitators. However, existing training frameworks do not include aspects of personalized care for PD although there is a great deal of literature on patient needs and the resulting care requirements. The conceptualization of a need-based training framework may thus be achieved by synthesizing theoretical concepts on care priorities from existing literature. Following, a novel framework for training PN is presented, which is based on a line of reasoning. In this approach, different hypotheses are formulated which then are integrated into a proposed model.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Update on Domestic Violence and Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is the leading cause of all deaths for Americans less than 44 years old, is defined as “an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force that may result in cognitive impairment". Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a type of domestic violence that is defined as “behaviors that are intended to exert power and control over another individual, including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and financial abuse, and/or stalking".
  • 1.1K
  • 21 Feb 2022
Biography
Roy (Robert Alexander) McConkey
Roy McConkey is Emeritus Professor of Developmental Disabilities at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. A psychologist by training and a native of Belfast, with degrees from Queen’s University, Belfast (BA) and the Victoria University of Manchester, England (Ph.D). He has previously held posts in England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland in both academia and as director of support service
  • 1.1K
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Income Inequality and Race/Ethnicity Drive Obesity
Obesity is a major public health problem both globally and within the U.S. It varies by multiple factors, including but not limited to income and sex. After controlling for potential covariates, there is little evidence to determine the association between income and obesity and how obesity may be moderated by sex and family income. We examined the association between income and obesity in U.S. adults aged 20 years and older, and tested whether this relationship differs by race or ethnicity groups. For this analysis, we used data from the 1999–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). Obesity was determined using Body Mass Index ≥ 30 kg/m2; the Gini coefficient (GC) was calculated to measure income inequality using the Poverty Income Ratio (PIR). We categorized the PIR into five quintiles to examine the relationship between income inequality and obesity. For the first set of analyses, we used a modified Poisson regression in a sample of 36,665 adults, with an almost equal number of men and women (women’s ratio was 50.6%), including 17,303 white non-Hispanics (WNH), 7475 black non-Hispanics (BNHs), and 6281 Mexican Americans. The models included age, racial/ethnic groups, marital status, education, health behaviors (smoking and drinking status and physical activities), health insurance coverage, self-reported health, and household structure (live alone and size of household). Adjusting for potential confounders, our findings showed that the association between PIR and obesity was positive and significant more frequently among WNH and BNH in middle and top PIR quintiles than among lower-PIR quintiles; this association was not significant in Mexican Americans (MAs). Results of GC in obese women showed that in comparison with WNHs (GC: 0.34, S.E.: 0.002), BNHs (GC: 0.38, S.E.: 0.004) and MAs (GC: 0.41, S.E.: 0.006) experienced higher income inequality, and that BNH obese men experienced the highest income inequality (GC: 0.45, S.E.: 0.011). The association between PIR and obesity was significant among WNHs and BNHs men in the 3rd, 4th and 5th PIR quintiles. The same association was not found for women. In treating obesity, policymakers should consider not only race/ethnicity and sex, but also strategies to reduce inequality in income. 
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Oct 2021
Topic Review
World-Renowned “Swiss” Pediatricians
The early and correct recognition of rare pediatric diseases is essential for decisions related to treatment options, the monitoring of treatment results, and the prevention of complications, as well as the estimation of prognosis and the counselling of patients, parents, and caregivers, including a risk estimation for recurrence in future pregnancies.
  • 1.1K
  • 04 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Homocysteine Solution-Induced Response in OECTs Devices
Homocysteine (Hcy) is a non-protein, sulfur-containing amino acid, which is recognized as a possible risk factor for coronary artery and other pathologies when its levels in the blood exceed the normal range of between 5 and 12 μmol/L (hyperhomocysteinemia). At present, standard procedures in laboratory medicine, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), are commonly employed for the quantitation of total Hcy (tHcy), i.e., the sum of the protein-bound (oxidized) and free (homocystine plus reduced Hcy) forms, in biological fluids (particularly, serum or plasma). Here, the response of Aerosol Jet-printed organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), in the presence of either reduced (free) and oxidized Hcy-based solutions, was analyzed. Two different experimental protocols were followed to this end: the former consisting of gold (Au) electrodes’ biothiol-induced thiolation, while the latter simply used bare platinum (Pt) electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis was performed both to validate the gold thiolation protocol and to gain insights into the reduced Hcy sensing mechanism by the Au-gated OECTs, which provided a final limit of detection (LoD) of 80 nM. For the OECT response based on Platinum gate electrodes, on the other hand, a LoD of 180 nM was found in the presence of albumin-bound Hcy, with this being the most abundant oxidized Hcy-form (i.e., the protein-bound form) in physiological fluids. Despite the lack of any biochemical functionalization supporting the response selectivity, the findings discussed in this work highlight the potential role of OECT in the development of low-cost point-of-care (POC) electronic platforms that are suitable for the evaluation, in humans, of Hcy levels within the physiological range and in cases of hyperhomocysteinemia.
  • 1.1K
  • 16 Nov 2021
Topic Review
High-Intensity Interval Training
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) could have effects on inflammatory biomarkers, based on the investigation conducted of an anti-inflammatory nature, provided that its characteristics are able to trigger the necessary impact to do so.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Apr 2025
Topic Review
Chitin and Chitinase Induction in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Increased levels of Chitinases, in particular Chitotriosidase (CHIT-1) and chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1), have been found increased in several neurodegenerative disorders. Although having important biological roles in inflammation, to date, the molecular mechanisms of Chitinase involvement in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders is not well-elucidated.
  • 1.1K
  • 13 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Ontology-Based Parkinson’s Disease Monitoring and Alerting with PHKG-GNNs
In the realm of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) research, the integration of wearable sensor data with personal health records (PHR) has emerged as a pivotal avenue for patient alerting and monitoring. The complex domain of PD patient care was delved into, with a specific emphasis on harnessing the potential of wearable sensors to capture, represent and semantically analyze crucial movement data and knowledge. The primary objective is to enhance the assessment of PD patients by establishing a robust foundation for personalized health insights through the development of Personal Health Knowledge Graphs (PHKGs) and the employment of personal health Graph Neural Networks (PHGNNs) that utilize PHKGs. The objective is to formalize the representation of related integrated data, unified sensor and PHR data in higher levels of abstraction, i.e., in a PHKG, to facilitate interoperability and support rule-based high-level event recognition such as patient’s missing dose or falling. This is an extension of researchers' previous related work, presents the Wear4PDmove ontology in detail and evaluates the ontology within the development of an experimental PHKG. Furthermore, the integration and evaluation of PHKG within the implementation of a Graph Neural Network (GNN) are focused on. The importance of integrating PD-related data for monitoring and alerting patients with appropriate notifications are emphasized. These notifications offer health experts precise and timely information for the continuous evaluation of personal health-related events, ultimately contributing to enhanced patient care and well-informed medical decision-making. Finally, a novel approach for integrating personal health KGs and GNNs for PD monitoring and alerting solutions is proposed.
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Bacteria in Healthcare Units
Healthcare units consist of numerous people circulating daily, such as workers, patients, and companions, and these people are vehicles for the transmission of microorganisms, such as bacteria. Bacteria species may have different allergenic, pathogenic, infectious, or toxic properties that can affect humans.
  • 1.1K
  • 07 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Role of Blockchain Technology in COVID-19 Crisis
To obtain adequate performance in resolving issues that are associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, blockchain can be combined with other available technologies to establish a robust healthcare architecture.
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Caregiving in Parkinson´s Disease and Deep Brain Stimulation
In Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, the progressive nature of the disease and the variability of disabling motor and non-motor symptoms contribute to the growing caregiver burden (CB) of PD partners and conflicts in their relationships. In advanced stages of the disease, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) improves PD symptoms and patients quality of life but the effect of DBS on CB of PD partners seems to be heterogeneous. The CB in the context of DBS framing both pre-, peri- and postoperative aspects aims to be illuminated, and further recognition of caregiver burden in partners of PD patients with DBS will be stimulated.
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Virtual Reality and Its Influence on Brain Health
Dynamic technological development and its enormous impact on modern societies are posing new challenges for 21st-century neuroscience. A special place is occupied by technologies based on virtual reality (VR). VR tools have already played a significant role in both basic and clinical neuroscience due to their high accuracy, sensitivity and specificity and, above all, high ecological value. Being in a digital world affects the functioning of the body as a whole and its individual systems. The data obtained so far, both from experimental and modeling studies, as well as (clinical) observations, indicate their great and promising potential, but apart from the benefits, there are also losses and negative consequences for users.
  • 1.1K
  • 01 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Prevention of Pediatric OCD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by intrusive, repeated and persistent thoughts, desires or images, with subsequent repetitive behaviors or thinking patterns that the individual performs in an attempt to decrease the anxiety or distress or simply according to rigid rules (i.e. compulsions).As a distinctive subtype of OCD, pediatric-onset OCD affects around 2% to 4% of children and adolescents. Considering that children and adolescents are in a critical stage of physical and cognitive development, the onset of OCD during this period may lead to additional developmental disruptions.There is an urgent need for early diagnosis and treatment for OCD, especially the strategies targeting the childhood age group. 
  • 1.1K
  • 11 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Root Canal Irrigation Methods
According to contemporary dental standards, the primary goal of endodontic therapy is the chemo-mechanical cleaning of the complex root canal system. Watering root canals with approved solutions and activating them are essential parts of this operation.
  • 1.1K
  • 08 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Sleep Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients
Sleep is an important factor for human well being in order to maintain daily functions, while lack of sleep may lead to an increase in accidents, mood changes, impaired psychological functioning and concentration, and decreased immune response.Sleep problems appear to be rather common in COVID-19 patients and are related to higher levels of psychological distress such as traumatic stress, depression and anxiety and worse coronavirus related outcomes including severity and mortality.Effective programs for the treatment of sleep problems, may lead to the reduction of psychological distress and vice versa and improving the sleep quality of infected patients may improve their outcomes. There is a need for appropriate and tailored management strategies and interventions across different populations including the general public and high risk groups such as Healthcare providers and COVID-19 patients including improved sleep hygiene, identification of various risk factors at individual, interpersonal, institutional and community levels and early and accurate recognition of sleep dysfunction and psychological distress.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Pro-Inflammatory Profile of Adipokines in Obesity
Obesity is a disease which leads to the development of many other disorders. Excessive accumulation of lipids in adipose tissue (AT) leads to metabolic changes, including hypertrophy of adipocytes, macrophage migration, changes in the composition of immune cells, and impaired secretion of adipokines. Adipokines are cytokines produced by AT and greatly influence human health.
  • 1.1K
  • 20 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Structure of Help-Seeking Barriers Scale
Despite the high prevalence of adverse health and trauma-related outcomes associated with intimate partner violence (IPV), help-seeking and service utilization among survivors is low. A mixed methods legitimation strategy of integration was employed to evaluate the construct validation evidence of the Barriers to Help-Seeking for Trauma (BHS-TR) scale in samples of IPV survivors. The merging of qualitative (n = 17) and quantitative (n = 137) data through a joint display analysis revealed the conceptual structure of Structural Barriers (Financial Concerns; Unavailable/Not Helpful; External Constraints; Inconvenience; Discrimination) and Internal Barriers (Reveals Weakness; Problem Management Beliefs; Frozen/Confused; Shame; Mistrust/Rejection; Safeguard Yourself). Moreover, the analysis showed mainly complementarity findings, strengthening the BHS-TR scale’s overall trustworthiness and validity evidence.
  • 1.1K
  • 23 May 2022
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