Background: Research has demonstrated the critical role that early learning experiences play in shaping children's cognitive, social, and emotional development. Nevertheless, tools for assessing children's exposure to early learning experiences remain scarce. This paper describes the initial validation of the Early Learning (EL) tool, which captures the levels of stimulation with playthings and people available to children 0-3-year-old in low-resource, international settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmong persons with HIV (PWH), unhealthy alcohol use and polypharmacy contribute to bothersome symptoms (e.g., fatigue, dizziness, memory loss).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Interventions supporting parents of young children often target parenting or parental mental health separately. Multi-component parenting and parental mental health interventions have the potential to improve parenting practices, mental health, and early childhood development. We aimed to examine their impact on child and parent outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: House dust mite (HDM) sensitisation can contribute to the development of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (AR) or allergic asthma (AA). As treatment, allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a promising approach, since it aims building immunotolerance against allergens, therewith establishing long-term efficacy. The evaluation of AIT has been investigated in many randomised controlled trials, whereas few real-world evidence studies are available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study reports on the synthesis, characterization, and application of two acidic ionic liquids, namely, -carboxymethylpyridinium acetate ([HOCCHPy][CHCO] or ) and -carboxyethylpyridinium acetate ([HOC(CH)Py][CHCO] or ), as both extractants and catalysts for the oxidative and extractive desulfurization (OEDS) of model fuel oils containing heteroaromatic sulfur compounds. The structural properties of the synthesized acidic ionic liquids (ILs) were confirmed by H NMR, C NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopic analysis. To optimize the performance of the acidic AILs in the desulfurization process, the effects of different parameters, such as HO dosage, reaction time, and temperatures, were investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (SCIT) with depigmented, polymerized (DPP) birch pollen extract has been marketed at doses of up to 1000 DPP units/mL since 2001. We sought to determine the dose-dependent efficacy of a DPP birch pollen extract formulation in patients suffering from birch-pollen-induced allergic rhinitis or rhinoconjunctivitis with or without intermittent asthma.
Methods: A titrated conjunctival provocation test (CPT) was applied as a surrogate marker.
Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a widespread disease with increasing prevalence in developed countries. The only treatment that tackles the underlying causes is allergen immunotherapy (AIT). This treatment is performed through two application routes, the subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) or the sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMaterials (Basel)
December 2022
This study deals with the microstructure, mechanical, and wear properties of the extruded ZK60 matrix composites strengthened with 45 µm, 15% silicon carbide particle (SiC) and 760 nm, 0.2-0.5% aluminium nitride (AlN) nanoparticle reinforcements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Health Serv
October 2022
Hailed as a major reform, the No Surprises Act (NSA) is a profoundly conservative law that aims neither to reform design of insurance, to regulate fees, nor to limit health care spending. The NSA mitigates a perverse but narrow problem: unpredictable and uncontrollable high out-of-pocket bills for individuals who are unable to receive care within their insurance network. However, the NSA neglects to address the broader high medical costs, limited choice of caregivers, and the resulting insecurity and unfairness that characterize American health care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is an approved treatment for seasonal respiratory allergic diseases. A depigmented polymerized birch pollen extract for subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy (SCIT) has been demonstrated to be efficacious and safe in patients allergic to birch pollen and its homologous group.
Objective: To determine whether SCIT with a birch pollen formulation (5000 depigmented polymerized (DPP) units/mL) shows sustained and long-term efficacy in adults and adolescents with birch-pollen induced allergic rhinitis with or without intermittent asthma.
Background: The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology recommended the Combined Symptom and Medication Score (CSMS) as primary endpoint in clinical trials on allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) in allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Here, the correlation between the CSMS and the validated standardised Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ(S)), Rhinitis Control Assessment Test (RCAT) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was analysed.
Methods: Two prospective, multicentre, non-interventional studies on tree pollen, grass pollen and house dust mite allergic patients were performed.
This qualitative study documents and analyzes COVID-19's impacts on burn care in twelve nations. Burn care saw valuable improvements in surgical techniques, skin grafting, and other acute treatments during the decades before the COVID-19 pandemic which increased severely burned patients' survival rates and quality of life. Detailed interviews, conducted in the 12 nations reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the delivery of acute and rehabilitation services for burn patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Use of multimodal analgesia (MMA) prior to orthopedic surgery has been adopted by many practitioners as a strategy to minimize use of opioid medications. The purpose of this investigation was to quantify the effect of a preemptive three-drug regimen (acetaminophen, celecoxib, and gabapentin) in terms of post-operative opioid consumption and pain control in the field of total joint arthroplasty.
Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 1691 patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and stratified by whether they received a preemptive three medication analgesic therapy (acetaminophen, celecoxib, and gabapentin) within 30 to 60 min prior to entering the operating room.
Cases: This case report describes 3 pediatric patients presenting with acute calf or knee pain, calf swelling, and a ruptured popliteal cyst diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. Lyme disease was serologically confirmed in each case. In all instances, treatment was delayed because of atypical presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile remarkable improvements have been made to acute hospital burn care in recent decades, it is not matched by improvements in post-acute care, including physical rehabilitation and mental health. Progress in acute hospital treatment of burn survivors now highlights the next important step-addressing care once a patient leaves intensive treatment and is discharged to the community. Long-term physical rehabilitation and mental health services are vital to improving quality of life for burn survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAllergen exposure chambers (AECs) can be used for controlled exposure to allergenic and non-allergenic airborne particles in an enclosed environment, in order to (i) characterize the pathological features of respiratory diseases and (ii) contribute to and accelerate the clinical development of pharmacological treatments and allergen immunotherapy for allergic disease of the respiratory tract (such as allergic rhinitis, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and allergic asthma). In the guidelines of the European Medicines Agency for the clinical development of products for allergen immunotherapy (AIT), the role of AECs in determining primary endpoints in dose-finding Phase II trials is emphasized. Although methodologically insulated from the variability of natural pollen exposure, chamber models remain confined to supporting secondary, rather than primary, endpoints in Phase III registration trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Rosacea is a common inflammatory skin disorder with centrofacial erythema, flushing, telangiectasia, papules/pustules, and possible ocular or phymatous manifestation. Patients' skin is particularly sensitive to chemical and physical stimuli leading to burning, stinging, dryness, and skin tightness.
Objective: Dermatological evaluation of the efficacy and safety of skin care products designed for centrofacial erythema in rosacea patients, in comparison with a control group using objective measurements.
Background: Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (DBPCTs) have confirmed the efficacy of allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) with depigmented-polymerized allergen extracts (DPAEs). This systematic review evaluates the efficacy of AIT using different allergens in different severity stages of rhinoconjunctivitis with or without asthma in the pollen studies and asthma and rhinitis in the house dust mite studies in comparison to placebo.
Methods: We used MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL and LILACS databases to review DBPCTs published until July 2016.
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the second important cause of death worldwide caused by a bacterium called . There is a need to find and develop new Anti-TB medications that are effective, inexpensive and suitable with human immunodeficiency virus and other anti-TB drugs used in many countries and mainly the developing countries where the disease is widespread. These drugs must be designed to shorten treatment time and to be active against resistant forms of the mycobacteria that will help to increase the patients compliance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth professionals, including social workers, community health workers, public health workers, and licensed health care providers, share common interests and responsibilities in promoting health equity and improving social determinants of health-the conditions in which people live, work, play, and learn. We summarize the underlying causes of health inequity and comparatively poor health outcomes in the United States. We describe barriers to realizing the hope embedded in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that moving away from fee-for-service payments will naturally drive care upstream as providers respond to greater financial risk by undertaking greater prevention efforts for the health of their patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: House dust mite (HDM) allergens are major causes for the development of allergic diseases. A disease modifying effect and clinical benefit of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has been demonstrated in a number of clinical trials. Clinical trials, however, are carried out in selected populations under specific conditions based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and may not represent the entire patient population from medical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe tested the hypothesis that bidimensional measurements of right ventricular (RV) function obtained by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are faster than volumetric measures and highly reproducible, with comparable ability to predict patient survival. CMR-derived tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), RV fractional shortening (RVFS), RV fractional area change (RVFAC), standard functional and volumetric measures, and ventricular mass index (VMI) were compared with right heart catheterization data. CMR analysis time was recorded.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: The researchers used a quantitative pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group quasi-experimental design to determine if there is a significant difference in content knowledge acquisition between traditional and flipped classroom methods. Analysis revealed that the flipped classroom approach was significantly different for three unit exams. The results did not show a significant difference in the means for the final exam.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is effective treatment for allergic diseases, and subcutaneous use of depigmented polymerized extracts may allow rapid up-dosing and safe therapy. To date, there is little information on their safety and clinical effects for children and adolescents with allergic disease.
Methods: We performed a retrospective survey of patient notes of 2927 children and adolescents across 136 centres who had received subcutaneous AIT (SCIT) with depigmented polymerized extracts to pollen or mite allergens for at least 1 yr to collect documentation on safety and clinical symptoms.