PLOS Glob Public Health
December 2024
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Low atrial voltage and slow conduction velocity (CV) have been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF); however, their interaction and relative importance as early disease markers remain incompletely understood. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between atrial voltage and CV using high-density electroanatomic (HDE) maps of patients with AF.
Methods: HDE maps obtained during sinus rhythm in 52 patients with AF and five healthy controls were analysed.
Objective: Obesity is related to the recurrence of breast cancer. In-person groups or individual telephone counseling currently comprise the behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs tested for cancer survivors. Group support via telehealth may be convenient and provide support from fellow survivors, but feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy testing are needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Design: Face and content validation of a surgical simulation model.
Objective: Accidental transection of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) during bilateral sagittal split osteotomies (BSSO) has a reported incidence of up to 7%, determining important sensory disturbances in patients. Proper repair demands the need of microsurgical anastomosis skills.
Purpose: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has limited treatment options. We compared the efficacy of comprehensive precision medicine against the conventional treatment in PDAC.
Methods: Phase III trial of advanced PDAC where patients were randomized (1:2) to a conventional treatment treated at physician's discretion (arm A), or to precision medicine (arm B).
Tumor immune modulation can be achieved using intratumoral injection of different immunomodulators during different phases of the cancer-immunity cycle. Intratumoral infusion catheters have been used in brain tumors, but these are not suitable outside the brain, where breathing motion results in catheter migration. Here, we use microstereolithography to manufacture a barbed sidehole catheter, modeled after the barbs in a bee stinger, where the barbs maintain the catheter position in the tumor, and sideholes within the barbs infuse drug into tumor tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Since 2015, malaria vector control on Bioko Island has relied heavily upon long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) to complement other interventions. Despite significant resources utilised, however, achieving and maintaining high coverage has been elusive. Here, core LLIN indicators were used to assess and redefine distribution strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Valgus deformity of the knee comprises upwards of 15 % of the deformities in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. 1,2 The two implants most commonly used in valgus deformed knees are posterior stabilizing (PS) and cruciate-retaining (CR) implants. CR implants may offer a more advantageous construct due to the retention of the PCL for proprioception and less bony resection compared to PS implants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Energy communities facilitate several advantages, including energy autonomy, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, poverty mitigation, and regional economic development. They also empower citizens with decision-making and co-ownership prospects in community renewable projects. Integrating renewable energy sources and sector coupling is a crucial strategy for flexible energy systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ER is the organelle of nucleated cells that produces lipids, sugars, and proteins. More than 20 ER-resident members of the protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) family regulate formation, isomerization, and disassembly of covalent bonds in newly synthesized polypeptides. The PDI family includes few membrane-bound members.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Black/African American adults are underrepresented in oncology clinical trials in the United States, despite efforts at narrowing this disparity.
Objective: This study aims to explore differences in how Black/African American oncology patients perceive clinical trials to improve support for the clinical trial participation decision-making process.
Methods: As part of a larger randomized controlled trial, a total of 244 adult oncology patients receiving active treatment or follow-up care completed a cross-sectional baseline survey on sociodemographic characteristics, clinical trial knowledge, health literacy, perceptions of cancer clinical trials, patient activation, patient advocacy, health care self-efficacy, decisional conflict, and clinical trial intentions.
Importation of malaria infections is a suspected driver of sustained malaria prevalence on areas of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Quantifying the impact of imported infections is difficult because of the dynamic nature of the disease and complexity of designing a randomized trial. We leverage a six-month travel moratorium in and out of Bioko Island during the initial COVID-19 pandemic response to evaluate the contribution of imported infections to malaria prevalence on Bioko Island.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed to characterize patient satisfaction with navigators and surgical care accessed through a novel navigation program for under-resourced communities.
Methods: PSN-I and PSQ-18 questionnaires assessed satisfaction with navigators and care, respectively. Primary outcomes were PSN-I and PSQ-18 scores.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. KRAS oncogenes are responsible for at least a quarter of lung adenocarcinomas, the main subtype of lung cancer. After four decades of intense research, selective inhibitors of KRAS oncoproteins are finally reaching the clinic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Adherence to anti-malarial treatment regimens is an important aspect of understanding and improving the impact of malaria case management. However, both adherence to artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and the factors driving it vary widely. While many other evaluation activities have been conducted on Bioko Island, until now adherence to anti-malarial treatments, and in particular ACT has not been evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study assesses exposure to malaria vector mosquitos that is nonpreventable through use of nets, the contribution of outdoor and indoor biting towards residual vector exposure, and the risk factors for being bitten and for being infected with malaria parasites on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.
Methods: Human behavior and malaria infection data were collected from 13,735 randomly selected residents during cross-sectional surveys, concomitantly with entomological human landing catches, indoors and outdoors, in 20 locations on the Island. Self-reported time of going indoors, going to bed and whether using a net were analyzed to impute for each respondent the number of bites received outdoors and indoors during the night before the survey.
Objective: To investigate the associations between family structure and social vulnerability with TDIs in children and adolescents.
Methods: An electronic search was conducted in seven databases (PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, Embase, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google Scholar) to retrieve observational studies that evaluated the prevalence of TDIs. The risk of bias was assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Tools.
This work elucidates several forms of reduced electron density gradient (RDG) to describe noncovalent interactions (NCIs). By interpreting the RDG as a local moment function, we systematically leveraged Weizacker's and Fermi's local moments. This resulted in high-fidelity RDG representations consistent with the NCI analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF