Extending Cellulose-Based Polymers Application in Additive Manufacturing Technology: A Review of Recent Approaches.

The materials for additive manufacturing (AM) technology have grown substantially over the last few years to fulfill industrial needs. Despite that, the use of bio-based composites for improved mechanical properties and biodegradation is still not fully explored. This limits the universal expansion of AM-fabricated products due to the incompatibility of the products made from petroleum-derived resources.

A New Standard for Advance Care Planning (ACP) Conversations in the Hospital: Results from a Delphi Panel.

Background: Fewer than half of the US population has an advance healthcare directive. Hospitalizations offer a key opportunity for clinicians to engage patients in advance care planning (ACP) conversations. Guidelines suggest screening for the presence of "serious illness" but do not further specify how to prioritize the 12.

SELAdb: A database of exonic variants in a Brazilian population referred to a quaternary medical center in São Paulo.

Objectives: High-throughput sequencing of genomes, exomes, and disease-focused gene panels is becoming increasingly common for molecular diagnostics. However, identifying a single clinically relevant pathogenic variant among thousands of genetic polymorphisms is a challenging task. Publicly available genomic databases are useful resources to filter out common genetic variants present in the population and enable the identification of each disease-causing variant.

Outcome of Microsurgical Clipping for Multiple Versus Single Intracranial Aneurysms: A Single-Institution Retrospective Comparative Cohort Study.

Objective: To evaluate the results of microsurgical clipping for single intracranial aneurysm (SIA) and multiple intracranial aneurysms (MIA) and compare the outcomes.

Methods: All patients who underwent surgery for intracranial aneurysm (IA) at our institution over a 3-year period (June 2013 to May 2016) were included in this study.

Results: A total of 157 patients with 225 IAs were included.

Using Machine Learning to Optimize the Quality of Survey Data: Protocol for a Use Case in India.

Background: Data quality is vital for ensuring the accuracy, reliability, and validity of survey findings. Strategies for ensuring survey data quality have traditionally used quality assurance procedures. Data analytics is an increasingly vital part of survey quality assurance, particularly in light of the increasing use of tablets and other electronic tools, which enable rapid, if not real-time, data access.

Does having a mobile phone matter? Linking phone access among women to health in India: An exploratory analysis of the National Family Health Survey.

Background: The disruptive potential of mobile phones in catalyzing development is increasingly being recognized. However, numerous gaps remain in access to phones and their influence on health care utilization. In this cross-sectional study from India, we assess the gaps in women's access to phones, their influencing factors, and their influence on health care utilization.

Batch and Continuous Fixed-Bed Lead Removal Using Himalayan Pine Needle Biochar: Isotherm and Kinetic Studies.

Pine needle litter in Himalayan forests leads to forest fires, ground water recharge inhibition, soil acidification and contamination, and stops the growth of grass and plants. This study provides a possible solution for pine needle litter problem by converting it to biochar. Pine needle litter lying on the ground for approximately a month was collected from the Himalayan region.

Link Between Dietary Sodium Intake, Cognitive Function, and Dementia Risk in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Background: A key focus for dementia risk-reduction is the prevention of socio-demographic, lifestyle, and nutritional risk factors. High sodium intake is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular disease (both are linked to dementia), generating numerous recommendations for salt reduction to improve cardiovascular health.

Objective: This systematic review aimed to assess, in middle- and older-aged people, the relationship between dietary sodium intake and cognitive outcomes including cognitive function, risk of cognitive decline, or dementia.

Novel approaches to measuring knowledge among frontline health workers in India: Are phone surveys a reliable option?

Background: In 2017, India was home to nearly 20% of maternal and child deaths occurring globally. Accredited social health activists (ASHAs) act as the frontline for health services delivery in India, providing a range of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child health, and nutrition (RMNCH&N) services. Empirical evidence on ASHAs' knowledge is limited, yet is a critical determinant of the quality of health services provided.

Do male engagement and couples' communication influence maternal health care-seeking? Findings from a household survey in Mozambique.

Background: This study explored effects of couples' communication and male participation in birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR) on delivery in a health facility ("institutional delivery"). A cross-sectional, baseline household survey was conducted in November 2016 prior to an integrated maternal and child health project in Nampula and Sofala Provinces in Mozambique.

Methods: The study used the Knowledge, Practices and Coverage survey tool, a condensed version of the Demographic and Health Survey and other tools.

Estimating Human Wrist Stiffness during a Tooling Task.

In this work, we propose a practical approach to estimate human joint stiffness during tooling tasks for the purpose of programming a robot by demonstration. More specifically, we estimate the stiffness along the wrist radial-ulnar deviation while a human operator performs flexion-extension movements during a polishing task. The joint stiffness information allows to transfer skills from expert human operators to industrial robots.

Forensic psychiatry and Covid-19: accelerating transformation in forensic psychiatry.

Swift medically led scientifically informed responses to the Covid-19 epidemic nationally have been demonstrably superior to other, non-scientific approaches. In forensic psychiatry and across all psychiatric services, urgent and clinically led responses have underlined redundancies and confusions in the governance of mental health services and a vacuum in policy makers. For the future, a greater emphasis on services for patients with schizophrenia and other severe, enduring mental disorders must aim at reducing standardised mortality ratios, managing risk of violence and improving hard outcomes such as symptomatic remission, functional recovery and forensic recovery of autonomy.

Adenosine-Induced transient asystole during surgical treatment of basilar artery aneurysms.

Aim: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of adenosine-induced transient asystole (AITA) during surgery for basilar artery aneurysms.

Materials And Methods: All the patients with basilar artery aneurysms operated using AITA at our institute during two years period (August 2013-July 2015) were included in this study.

Results: Adenosine was used in 11 patients with 13 basilar artery aneurysms.

Investigating the association between population density and travel patterns in Indian cities-An analysis of 2011 census data.

Many transport planners consider urban population density to be a significant determinant of travel behaviour. Much of the evidence for this comes from research in low-density, high-income settings. The 2011 Census of India reported mode of travel to work and distance for the first time.

3D Printed Laminated CaCO-Nanocellulose Films as Controlled-Release 5-Fluorouracil.

Drug delivery constitutes the formulations, technologies, and systems for the transport of pharmaceutical compounds to specific areas in the body to exert safe therapeutic effects. The main criteria for selecting the correct medium for drug delivery are the quantity of the drug being carried and the amount of time required to release the drug. Hence, this research aimed to improve the aforementioned criteria by synthesizing a medium based on calcium carbonate-nanocellulose composite and evaluating its efficiency as a medium for drug delivery.

Severe asthma and eligibility for biologics in a Brazilian cohort.

Objective: This study aims to describe the eligibility for biologic therapies for severe asthma (SA) in a cohort of patients attending the Program for Control of Asthma (ProAR) in Bahia, Brazil.

Methods: Data from SA patients (≥18 years old) attending the ProAR, that were included in a case-control study conducted from 2013 to 2015, were used to reassess patients according to a modified ERS/ATS 2014 SA criteria. Patients were then classified according to the eligibility for SA biological therapy based on current prescription labels.

New strategies for applying targeted therapies to adrenocortical carcinoma.

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare, aggressive, and frequently deadly cancer. Up to 75% of all patients will eventually develop metastatic disease, and our current medical therapies for ACC provide limited - if any - survival benefit. These statistics highlight a crucial need for novel approaches.

Regulation of stem and progenitor cells in the adrenal cortex.

The adrenal cortex is an endocrine organ comprised of three histological zones, the outermost zona glomerulosa, the intermediate zona fasciculata, and the innermost zona reticularis. High plasticity of the adrenal gland is supported by pools of stem and progenitor cells that are deployed to sustain physiological and homeostatic demands. In recent decades, exciting new discoveries elucidating the identity, function, and fate of these cell populations have emerged.

Community mobilisation to prevent violence against women and girls in eastern India through participatory learning and action with women's groups facilitated by accredited social health activists: a before-and-after pilot study.

Background: Almost one in three married Indian women have ever experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence from husbands in their lifetime. We aimed to investigate the preliminary effects of community mobilisation through participatory learning and action groups facilitated by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), coupled with access to counselling, to prevent violence against women and girls in Jharkhand, eastern India.

Methods: We piloted a cycle of 16 participatory learning and action meetings with women's groups facilitated by ASHAs in rural Jharkhand.

Prediction of dementia risk in low-income and middle-income countries (the 10/66 Study): an independent external validation of existing models.

Background: To date, dementia prediction models have been exclusively developed and tested in high-income countries (HICs). However, most people with dementia live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where dementia risk prediction research is almost non-existent and the ability of current models to predict dementia is unknown. This study investigated whether dementia prediction models developed in HICs are applicable to LMICs.

Testing the validity and feasibility of using a mobile phone-based method to assess the strength of implementation of family planning programs in Malawi.

Background: To effectively deliver on proposed objectives, it is vital that practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders are able to clearly understand how strongly their large-scale program is being implemented. This study sought to test the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and validity of a phone-based method as an innovative and cost-efficient approach to assessing program implementation strength (through an Implementation Strength Assessment - ISA), alternative to the traditional in-person field methods.

Methods: We conducted 701 mobile phone and 356 in-person interviews with facility in-Charges and two types of community health workers who provide family planning services in the Dowa and Ntcheu districts in Malawi.

PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of road safety interventions: An evidence and gap map.

The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, officially proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in March 2010, sought to reduce morbidity and mortality due to road traffic injuries (RTI) significantly. While there is reasonable agreement internationally on safer designs of motor vehicles (except locally produced vehicles like three-wheeled scooter taxis, tuk-tuks, jeepneys, etc.), there is a lack of evidence based interventions in road and infrastructure design, police enforcement and post-crash care.