Beyond COVID-19, the case for collecting, analysing and using sex-disaggregated data and gendered data to inform outbreak response: a scoping review.

Introduction: Understanding sex and gender differences during outbreaks is critical to delivering an effective response. Although recommendations and minimum requirements exist, the incorporation of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis into outbreak analytics and response for informed decision-making remains infrequent. A scoping review was conducted to provide an overview of the extent of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis in outbreak response within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

A recurrent neural network and parallel hidden Markov model algorithm to segment and detect heart murmurs in phonocardiograms.

The detection of heart disease using a stethoscope requires significant skill and time, making it expensive and impractical for widespread screening in low-resource environments. Machine learning analysis of heart sound recordings can improve upon the accessibility and accuracy of diagnoses, but existing approaches require further validation on larger and more representative clinical datasets. For many previous algorithms, segmenting the signal into its individual sound components is a key first step.

"N-Acetylcysteine for Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Review".

Objective: To evaluate clinical data using oral n-acetylcysteine (NAC) in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCDRD) treatment.

Data Sources: PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE (1946-July 2022), and the Cochrane Library database were searched using the terms NAC, children, adolescent, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), trichotillomania (TTM), excoriation, hoarding disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder. Bibliographies were reviewed for relevant trials and case studies.

A Survey of Primary Care Practices on Their Use of the Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Obese Medicare Patients.

Objective: To fill the gap in knowledge on systematic differences between primary care practices (PCP) that do or do not provide intensive behavioral therapy (IBT) for obese Medicare patients.

Methods: A mixed modality survey (paper and online) of primary care practices obtained from a random sample of Medicare databases and a convenience sample of practice-based research network practices.

Key Results: A total of 287 practices responded to the survey, including 140 (7.

Quantification of the relative orientation and position of the mandibular condyles.

The human temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is involved in vital functions such as feeding and talking, while its disorder prevalence is reported to be between 5% and 12%. Functional evaluation using quantitative motion analysis tools is interesting in order to better understand normal and abnormal TMJ behavior. But, for the same mandibular displacement, left and right condyles will most certainly give different motion representation: both condyles showing a different shape and volume, being most of the time asymmetric and highly individual.

Inhaled Amphotericin B as Aspergillosis Prophylaxis in Hematologic Disease: An Update.

This review summarizes the literature on inhaled amphotericin B for invasive aspergillosis prophylaxis in patients with neutropenia secondary to hematologic malignancy treatment or stem cell transplant. Six trials, 2 randomized controlled and 4 with historical controls, were identified. Three inhaled amphotericin B deoxycholate trials found a reduced invasive aspergillosis incidence, 1 reaching statistical significance.

Bumetanide for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: To evaluate clinical trials using bumetanide in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) treatment.

Data Sources: PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE (1946 to October 2018) were searched using terms bumetanide and autism. Bibliographies were reviewed for other relevant trials.

Extended duration vancomycin in recurrent infection: a systematic review.

Clostridium difficile infections have a high recurrence rate following acute treatment. Extended duration vancomycin (EDV) is a mainstay for the treatment of recurrent infections (rCDI). Clinical disease guidelines recommend a variety of different vancomycin treatment regimens though based on weak, low-quality evidence.

Increased Enoxaparin Dosing for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in General Trauma Patients.

Objective: To review the evidence regarding increased enoxaparin dosing for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in the general trauma patient population.

Data Sources: A search of MEDLINE databases (1946 to October 2016) was conducted using the search terms enoxaparin, thromboembolism prophylaxis, venous thromboembolism, trauma, anti-factor Xa, and weight-based dosing. Additional references were identified from a review of literature citations.

Melatonin Receptor Agonists for Delirium Prevention.

Objective: To review the prospective controlled trials available for the use of melatonin receptor agonists for delirium prevention.

Data Sources: A MEDLINE literature search (1946 to July 2016) was conducted using the search terms delirium, melatonin, ramelteon, tryptophan, and melatonin-receptor agonist. Prospective controlled clinical trials with delirium prevention as an outcome were included.

Potassium-Binding Agents to Facilitate Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Inhibitor Therapy.

Objective: To evaluate safety and efficacy data for potassium-binding resins in renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS)-associated hyperkalemia.

Data Sources: A search of MEDLINE (EBSCOhost; 1946 to February 2016) was conducted using the terms hyperkalemia, rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin receptor blocker, aldosterone antagonists, resin, and binder Results were limited to human trials in English language journals. References of identified articles were reviewed to identify other relevant articles.

Gabapentin in Alcohol Dependence.

To review the literature related to the use of gabapentin in alcohol dependence following acute alcohol withdrawal. Searches of MEDLINE (1946-January 2015) and Cochrane Database (2005-January 2015) were performed using , and as MeSH terms and keywords. Results were limited to human trials in English-language journals.

Acetaminophen for patent ductus arteriosus.

Objective: To evaluate the literature describing acetaminophen use in treatment of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

Data Sources: Searches were conducted in MEDLINE with full text (EBSCOhost; 1946 to September 2014) using the search terms acetaminophen, paracetamol, and patent ductus arteriosus. The references of identified articles were reviewed to identify other relevant articles.

Impact of pest control strategies on the arthropodofauna living in bird nests built in nestboxes in pear and apple orchards.

Pesticide applications have a strong impact on biodiversity in agroecosystems. The present study aimed to assess the impact of pest control strategies on the arthropodofauna of Parus major nests built within nestboxes installed in orchards. Unlike many studied groups, these arthropod communities are not in direct contact with pesticide sprays (on account of their being sheltered by nestboxes) and are also unable to move away from the treated area.

Syllable language models for Mandarin speech recognition: exploiting character language models.

Mandarin Chinese is based on characters which are syllabic in nature and morphological in meaning. All spoken languages have syllabiotactic rules which govern the construction of syllables and their allowed sequences. These constraints are not as restrictive as those learned from word sequences, but they can provide additional useful linguistic information.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers for the prevention of migraines.

Objective: To evaluate the literature examining the efficacy of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) for migraine prophylaxis.

Data Sources: MEDLINE (1966-October 2009) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched using the terms migraine, headache, renin-angiotensin system, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, angiotensin receptor blocker, aldosterone antagonist, and the individual agents in these classes.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: English-language human clinical trials, case reports, and systematic reviews were evaluated for efficacy and safety data.

Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors for lower urinary tract symptoms in men.

Objective: To review the efficacy of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms in men.

Data Sources: MEDLINE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched (1970-August 2007) using the terms phosphodiesterase inhibitor, sildenafil, vardenafil, tadalafil, lower urinary tract symptoms, and benign prostatic hypertrophy.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: English-language clinical trials, case reports, and background material were evaluated for safety and efficacy data.

Pyridostigmine in the treatment of orthostatic intolerance.

Objective: To review the efficacy of pyridostigmine bromide for the treatment of orthostatic intolerance.

Data Sources: MEDLINE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts were searched (1966-December 2006) using the terms pyridostigmine, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, orthostatic intolerance, orthostatic hypotension, neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, postural tachycardia syndrome, tachycardia, and orthostatic tachycardia.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: Pertinent English-language human clinical trials, case reports, and background material were evaluated for safety and efficacy data.

Comparison of Bayer Advia Centaur immunoassay results obtained on samples collected in four different Becton Dickinson Vacutainer tubes.

Background: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA's) Medical Device Alert MDA/2004/048 described bias in some endocrine test results obtained on a few immunoassay platforms, particularly the Bayer Advia Centaur instrument, when using blood specimens collected into Becton Dickinson (BD) Vacutainer SSTII Advance tubes. As users of BD tubes and the Advia Centaur instrument, we addressed our concerns about the quality of the results that we had previously reported by undertaking an independent study.

Method: We compared the results of 15 immunoassays performed on Bayer Advia Centaur using blood specimens collected into four different BD Vacutainer tubes (plain, old and newly released BD SSTII Advance, and BD PSTII).

Childhood asthma in the emergency department: trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Acute exacerbations of childhood asthma are frequently managed in the emergency department (ED). ED-based surveillance and intervention projects highlight the limitations and challenges of acute and chronic childhood asthma management. Because a significant number of asthmatic children currently receive and will likely continue to seek acute asthma care in the ED, provision of asthma education and initiation of controller medication therapy during the ED visit, although controversial, may contribute to improving asthma outcomes and eventually to reducing the burden of asthma on our overcrowded EDs.

The future of statins: Alzheimer's disease?

Objectives: To review available clinical trial data and discuss the potential role of statins on the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Data Sources: Searches of PubMed and MEDLINE (1985-February 2005) were conducted.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: English language articles, review papers, and human studies with special emphasis on those dealing with statin use and AD.

Sorbitol compared with xylitol in prevention of dental caries.

Objective: To summarize published data on the comparative efficacy of sorbitol and xylitol for prevention of dental caries.

Data Sources: Published double-blind comparative trials, using sorbitol and xylitol products, identified by MEDLINE (January 1966-December 1998) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (January 1970-December 1998) searches.

Data Synthesis: Clinical trials generally used sorbitol and xylitol gums, which patients chewed three to five times daily for 20-40 months.

Mirror neurons, procedural learning, and the positive new experience: a developmental systems self psychology approach.

In summary, we are impressed with the existence of a mirror neuron system in the prefrontal cortex that serves as part of a complex neural network, including afferent and efferent connections to the limbic system, in particular the amygdala, in addition to the premotor and motor cortex. We think it is possible to arrive at an integration that postulates the mirror neuron system and its many types of associated multimodal neurons as contributing significantly to implicit procedural learning, a process that underlies a range of complex nonconscious, unconscious, preconscious and conscious cognitive activities, from playing musical instruments to character formation and traumatic configurations. This type of brain circuitry may establish an external coherence with developmental systems self psychology which implies that positive new experience is meliorative and that the intentional revival of old-old traumatic relational configurations might enhance maladaptive procedural patterns that would lead to the opposite of the intended beneficial change.

Is rectally administered cisapride an effective prokinetic agent?

Objective: To summarize the published data on the efficacy of rectally administered cisapride.

Data Sources: Published double-blind, placebo-controlled trials on rectally administered cisapride identified by MEDLINE (January 1966-December 1998) and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (January 1970-December 1998) searches.

Data Synthesis: Cisapride is an oral prokinetic agent that increases lower esophageal sphincter tone, accelerates gastric emptying, and increases small-bowel motility.