Dichotomous effect of methylphenidate on microglia and astrocytes: Insights from in vitro and animal studies.

Methylphenidate (MPH) has been used for decades to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. Moreover, several studies have shown that it is subject to misuse, particularly among college students and adolescents, for cognitive enhancement or as a recreational drug. This phenomenon causes concern, and it is critical to clarify better how MPH impacts brain cells.

Analysis of Pneumonia Occurrence in Relation to Climate Change in Tanga, Tanzania.

In 2018, 70% of global fatalities due to pneumonia occurred in about fifteen countries, with Tanzania being among the top eight countries contributing to these deaths. Environmental and individual factors contributing to these deaths may be multifaceted, but they have not yet been explored in Tanzania. Therefore, in this study, we explore the association between climate change and the occurrence of pneumonia in the Tanga Region, Tanzania.

Impacts of discriminated PM on global under-five and maternal mortality.

Globally, it was estimated that maternal and under-five deaths were high in low-income countries than that of high-income countries. Most studies, however, have focused only on the clinical causes of maternal and under-five deaths, and yet there could be other factors such as ambient particulate matter (PM). The current global estimates indicate that exposure to ambient PM (with ≤ 2.

Protective effect of neuropeptide Y2 receptor activation against methamphetamine-induced brain endothelial cell alterations.

Methamphetamine (METH) consumption is a health problem that leads to neurological and psychiatric disturbances. The cellular alterations behind these conditions have been extensively investigated and it is now well-established that METH causes cerebrovascular alterations being a key feature in drug-induced neuropathology. Although promising advances in understanding the blood-brain barrier (BBB) alterations induced by METH, there is still no available approach to counteract or diminish such effects.

Association of lifestyle factors with blood lipids and inflammation in adults aged 40 years and above: a population-based cross-sectional study in Taiwan.

Background: Lifestyle factors were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) occurrence. We explored the associations between lifestyle factors and CVD risk factors, and assessed the interactive effects of lifestyle factors on CVD risk factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional data of 114,082 (57,680 men and 56,402 women) middle-aged adults and elderly in Taiwan were collected from 2001 to 2010.

Ambient Particulate Matter Exposure and Under-Five and Maternal Deaths in Asia.

The Asian region is one of the major emission sources of air pollution. Although ambient PM has been linked to several health risks in high-, low-, and middle-income countries, the further analysis of type impact is still rare but significant. The PM distribution retrieved from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) aerosol optical depth products within 16 years thus explored the associations between under-five and maternal mortality for 45 countries in Asia.

Perceived Impact of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Allocation Strategy: Health Professionals' Perspective.

Studies on health care demand have indicated high levels of public satisfaction with Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI). However, the global budget allocation mechanism (GBAM) used by NHI has led to various adjustments in the providers' way of practice, quality of care, utilization of care, and health expenditure. Studies focusing on the satisfaction of providers with health care supply, however, remain limited.

Quality of care in six sub-Saharan Africa countries: a provider-based study on adherence to WHO's antenatal care guideline.

Objective: Quality of care may help explain the high burden of disease in maternal, newborn and child health in low- and middle-income countries even as access to care is improved. We explored the determinants of quality of antenatal care (ANC) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Gender Difference in the Association between Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Birth Weight in Africa.

The adverse health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on children are well-documented, and yet, gender difference in low birthweight among newborns whose mothers were exposed to ETS during pregnancy still remains contentious. We therefore explored the association between ETS exposure and risk of low birthweight, and further determined the gender difference in the association between exposure to ETS during pregnancy and birth weight in Africa. The Demographic Health Surveys of 23 African countries with information on 208,027 newborns were used.

Dietary patterns, gender, and weight status among middle-aged and older adults in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Diet has been associated with differences in weight and nutritional status of an individual. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased among adults in Taiwan. Hence, we examined the relationship between dietary patterns and weight status by gender among middle-aged and older adults in Taiwan.

Cooking fuel and risk of under-five mortality in 23 Sub-Saharan African countries: a population-based study.

Relationship between cooking fuel and under-five mortality has not been adequately established in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We therefore investigated the association between cooking fuel and risk of under-five mortality in SSA, and further investigated its interaction with smoking. Using the most recent Demographic Health Survey data of 23 SSA countries (n = 783,691), Cox proportional hazard was employed to determine the association between cooking fuel and risk of under-five deaths.

Indoor secondhand tobacco smoke and risk of under-five mortality in 23 sub-Saharan Africa countries: A population based study and meta-analysis.

Background: Inhalation of secondhand smoke from tobacco results in serious health outcomes among under-five children, and yet, few studies have assessed its effect on under-five mortality. We investigated the association between frequency of exposure to household tobacco smoke and risk of under-five mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Methods: Demographic Health Survey data of under-five children from 23 SSA countries (n = 787,484) were used.

Quality of maternity care and its determinants along the continuum in Kenya: A structural equation modeling analysis.

Background: Improving access to delivery services does not guarantee access to quality obstetric care and better survival, and therefore, concerns for quality of maternal and newborn care in low- and middle-income countries have been raised. Our study explored characteristics associated with the quality of initial assessment, intrapartum, and immediate postpartum and newborn care, and further assessed the relationships along the continuum of care.

Methods: The 2010 Service Provision Assessment data of Kenya for 627 routine deliveries of women aged 15-49 were used.

The Associations between Types of Ambient PM and Under-Five and Maternal Mortality in Africa.

Exploring the effects of different types of PM is necessary to reduce associated deaths, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Hence we determined types of ambient PM before exploring their effects on under-five and maternal mortality in Africa. The spectral derivate of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products from 2000 to 2015 were employed to determine the aerosol types before using Generalized Linear and Additive Mixed-Effect models with Poisson link function to explore the associations and penalized spline for dose-response relationships.

Relationship between women's characteristics and continuum of care for maternal health in Kenya: Complex survey analysis using structural equation modeling.

The objective of this study was to understand and estimate the complex relationships in the continuum of care for maternal health to provide information to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. Women (n = 4,082) aged 15-49 years in the 2008/2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data were used to explore the complex relationships in the continuum of care for maternal health (i.e.

Association between Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study from 2003 to 2012.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of mortality and loss of disability-adjusted life years in developed countries. This study derived a dietary pattern using an a priori method and additionally derived dietary patterns using a posteriori methods, and assessed the relationship with CVD risk factors in Taiwanese middle-aged and elderly adults.

Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of 62,965 subjects aged 40 years and above from the Mei Jau (MJ) database collected between 2003 and 2012 in Taiwan.

Family Structure Types and Adequate Utilization of Antenatal Care in Kenya.

Features of the health care delivery system may not be the only expounding factors of adequate utilization of antenatal care among women. Other social factors such as the family structure and its environment contribute toward pregnant women's utilization of antenatal care. An understanding of how women in different family structure types and social groups use basic maternal health services is important toward developing and implementing maternal health care policy in the post-Millennium Development Goal era, especially in the sub-Saharan Africa where maternal mortality still remains high.

Associations in the continuum of care for maternal, newborn and child health: a population-based study of 12 sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Background: Despite the progress in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, inequity in the utilization of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) care services still remain high in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The continuum of care for MNCH that recognizes a tight inter-relationship between maternal, newborn and child health at different time periods and location is key towards reducing inequity in health. In this study, we explored the distributions in the utilization MNCH services in 12 SSA countries and further investigated the associations in the continuum of care for MNCH.

Perceptions and attitudes of health professionals in kenya on national health care resource allocation mechanisms: a structural equation modeling.

Background: Health care resource allocation is key towards attaining equity in the health system. However, health professionals' perceived impact and attitude towards health care resource allocation in Sub-Saharan Africa is unknown; furthermore, they occupy a position which makes them notice the impact of different policies in their health system. This study explored perceptions and attitudes of health professionals in Kenya on health care resource allocation mechanism.

Effects of fish oil and spirulina on oxidative stress and inflammation in hypercholesterolemic hamsters.

Background: Altered plasma lipids, oxidative stress, and inflammation have been involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Fish oil has shown inconclusive effects on plasma lipids and oxidative stress. Spirulina has both cholesterol lowering and antioxidant properties.

Organochlorine compounds and concentrations of thyroid stimulating hormone in newborns.

Aims: To assess the association between prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds and thyroid status in newborns from an area with high levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB).

Methods: A total of 98 mother-infant pairs (83.1% of all children born during the period 1997-99 in a specific area polluted with HCB) were recruited.

Association of hexachlorobenzene and other organochlorine compounds with anthropometric measures at birth.

The aim of the present study was to assess the association of prenatal exposure to hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and other organochlorine compounds with anthropometric measures at birth. A total of 98 mother-infant pairs (83% of all children born in a specific area polluted with HCB in the period 1997-1999) were recruited after giving written consent. Levels of organochlorine compounds were measured in 72 maternal serum samples at delivery and in 70 cord serum samples.

Studies on parasitemia courses and mortality in mice infected with genetically distant Trypanosoma cruzi clonets.

The biological characterization of bloodstream forms of eleven Trypanosoma cruzi cloned stocks, corresponding to two genetically similar clonets (19 and 20) and one distant clonet (39), according to multilocus enzyme electrophoresis analysis, showed dissimilar parasitemia in an experimental isogenic mouse model. While clonet 39 stocks gave low parasitemias, clonets 19 or 20 stocks gave high parasitemias, independently of the inocula (10(2) and 10(4) bloodstream forms) used. High parasitemia did not always associate with greater mortality.

Levels of hexachlorobenzene and other organochlorine compounds in cord blood: exposure across placenta.

Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is an organochlorine compound widespread in the environment, highly lipophilic, that accumulates in biological systems. It has been suggested that it should be classified as a dioxin-like compound. Newborns are exposed to organochlorine compounds across the placenta and through breastfeeding.