Using evidence from civil society in national and subnational health policy processes: a qualitative evidence synthesis.

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (qualitative). The objectives are as follows: To explore the use of evidence from civil society in national and subnational health policy processes. The specific research questions will include the following.

Enhanced detection of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) using a reduced graphene oxide field-effect transistor aptasensor.

Neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by the progressive deterioration of neuronal function and structure, pose significant global public health and economic challenges. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), a key regulator of neuroplasticity and neuronal survival, has emerged as a critical biomarker for various neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Traditional diagnostic methods, such as Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assays, face limitations in terms of sensitivity, stability, reproducibility, and cost-effectiveness.

A Mobile App for Promoting Breastfeeding-Friendly Communities in Hong Kong: Design and Development Study.

Background: Breastfeeding is vital for the health and well-being of both mothers and infants, and it is crucial to create supportive environments that promote and maintain breastfeeding practices.

Objective: The objective of this paper was to describe the development of a breastfeeding-friendly app called "bfGPS" (HKU TALIC), which provides comprehensive territory-wide information on breastfeeding facilities in Hong Kong, with the goal of fostering a breastfeeding-friendly community.

Methods: The development of bfGPS can be categorized into three phases, which are (1) planning, prototype development, and preimplementation evaluation; (2) implementation and updates; and (3) usability evaluation.

Metaverse technologies in acute care medical education: A scoping review.

Background: The concept of the metaverse is a virtual world that immerses users, allowing them to interact with the digital environment. Due to metaverse's utility in collaborative and immersive simulation, it can be advantageous for medical education in high-stakes care settings such as emergency, critical, and acute care. Consequently, there has been a growth in educational metaverse use, which has yet to be characterized alongside other simulation modalities literature.

Educational Interventions to Improve Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination and Cervical Cancer Screening Among Japanese University Students.

Aim This study evaluates university students' knowledge and attitudes toward Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening and assesses the impact of educational interventions. Methods Participants from Osaka Metropolitan University, Osaka City University, and Osaka Prefecture University completed questionnaires before and after receiving educational materials, including cartoons and a video featuring medical professionals. We compared the correct answer rates for knowledge-related questions and evaluated changes in behavioral characteristics and attitudes toward HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening before and after distributing the educational materials.

Predictive accuracy of the Violence Risk Assessment Checklist for Youth in acute institutions: A prospective naturalistic multicenter study.

Background: Acute health and social services for children and adolescents often struggle with youth aggression and violence. Early identification of violence risk during institutional stay can help prevent violent incidents. As such, this study assessed the predictive accuracy of the Violence Risk Assessment Checklist for Youth (V-RISK-Y) aged 12-18 in two different juvenile settings providing 24-hour services for youth.

Impact of 5-Aminosalicylic Acid on Ustekinumab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Retrospective Medical Claims Analysis.

Background: The efficacy of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) in combination with advanced therapies (ADTs), particularly ustekinumab (UST), for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear.

Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis used data from the Medical Data Vision database, including patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) who had initiated UST therapy. Cumulative UST continuation rates and factors associated with UST failure were analyzed, and post hoc subgroup analyses based on prior ADT use were conducted.

β-alanine supplementation in adults with overweight and obesity: a randomized controlled feasibility trial.

Objective: Overweight and obesity are characterized by excess adiposity and systemic, chronic, low-grade inflammation, which is associated with several metabolic disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and tolerability of β-alanine supplementation and to explore the effects on cardiometabolic health and cardiovascular, hepatic, and renal function in adults with overweight and obesity.

Methods: A total of 27 adults (44% female; mean [SD], age: 58 [10] years, BMI: 31.

Aedes-borne arboviral human infections in Europe from 2000 to 2023: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Aedes-borne arboviral infections, both imported and autochthonous, are reported in Europe. We evaluated the landscape of these infections in Europe over 23 years and attempted to pre-empt the trajectory of impact of these infections in the climatic context of Aedes mosquito expansion in Europe.

Methods: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and registered in Prospero (CRD42023360259).

A self-expandable nitinol frame for cable-driven parallel mechanisms in minimally invasive cardiovascular interventions.

The integration of self-expandable nitinol frames with cable-driven parallel mechanisms offers a promising advancement in minimally invasive cardiovascular interventions. This study presents the design, fabrication, and verification of a miniaturized self-expandable nitinol frame to enhance catheter tip steerability and navigation within complex vascular anatomies. The frame is reduced in size for delivery through 7-8 Fr sheaths while accommodating diverse vascular diameters, allowing up to a maximum expansion of 15 mm.

Impact of grazing by multiple Daphnia species on wastewater bacterial communities.

Understanding the dynamics of fecal bacterial communities is crucial for managing public health risks and protecting drinking water resources. While extensive research exists on how abiotic factors influence the survival of fecal microbial communities in water, less attention has been paid to the impact of predation by higher organisms, such as the widely distributed grazer Daphnia. Nevertheless, Daphnia plays a significant role in regulating bacterial communities in natural aquatic ecosystems, and recent studies highlighted its potential as a biofilter in alternative tertiary wastewater treatment systems.

Cowden Syndrome and Oral Lesions: A Case Report Using MLPA.

BACKGROUND Cowden syndrome is a genetic disorder that predisposes individuals to cancer and is characterized by hamartomas derived from 3 germ layers. Although the clinical signs can be pathognomonic, diagnosis is often aided by biopsies, histopathological examination of oral and cutaneous lesions, and genetic studies, including multiple ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). CASE REPORT We report a case of a 35-year-old woman who manifested with multiple lesions in the buccal mucosa, dorsum of the tongue, and gums, along with papillomatous papules on her facial skin and the dorsal surfaces of her hands.

Factors associated with preventive health services use by older war-displaced Japanese returning from China and by older Korean residents of Japan: a descriptive correlational study.

Background: Among the people with diverse backgrounds and cultural customs living in Japan, two important groups, namely, war-displaced Japanese returning from China and South and North Korean nationals who are naturalized citizens residing in Japan, will experience population aging in the same way as the general Japanese population. In old age, physical function generally declines, multiple diseases are more likely to occur, and health issues that need to be addressed increase in number. The aim of this study was to identify the factors associated with the use of preventive health services in Japan by older Korean residents and war-displaced Japanese returning from China.

Child and youth participation in child protection: Provincial harm reduction policy efforts in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick.

Background: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) affirms interdependent rights to protection and participation, but barriers continue to hinder participation in protection practices.

Objective: What can be learned from young people's participation in their own protection when it comes to harm reduction public policy efforts?

Participants And Setting: This study focused on provincial public policy in New Brunswick, Canada and involved both children and adults in research design and data collection. The provincial Youth Voice Committee was created to inform the development and implementation of the provincial harm reduction strategy.

Constitutive surface expression of the thromboxane A2 receptor is Pim kinase-dependent.

Background: The thromboxane A2 receptor (TPαR) plays an important role in the amplification of platelet responses during thrombosis. Receptor activity is regulated by internalization and receptor desensitization. The mechanism by which constitutive surface expression of the TPαR is regulated is unknown.

Development of an image quality evaluation system for bedside chest X-ray images using scatter correction processing.

In plain radiography, scattered X-ray correction processing (Virtual Grid: VG) is used to estimate and correct scattered rays in images. We developed an objective evaluation system for bedside chest X-ray images using VG and investigated its usefulness. First, we trained the blind/referenceless image spatial quality evaluator (BRISQUE) on 200 images obtained by portable chest radiography.

Partial Attention in Global Context and Local Interaction for Addressing Noisy Labels and Weighted Redundancies on Medical Images.

Recently, the application of deep neural networks to detect anomalies on medical images has been facing the appearance of noisy labels, including overlapping objects and similar classes. Therefore, this study aims to address this challenge by proposing a unique attention module that can assist deep neural networks in focusing on important object features in noisy medical image conditions. This module integrates global context modeling to create long-range dependencies and local interactions to enable channel attention ability by using 1D convolution that not only performs well with noisy labels but also consumes significantly less resources without any dimensionality reduction.

Event-Based Visual/Inertial Odometry for UAV Indoor Navigation.

Indoor navigation is becoming increasingly essential for multiple applications. It is complex and challenging due to dynamic scenes, limited space, and, more importantly, the unavailability of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals. Recently, new sensors have emerged, namely event cameras, which show great potential for indoor navigation due to their high dynamic range and low latency.

Postprandial Vascular Effects of a High Potassium Meal in Patients with Treated Hypertension.

Background: There is compelling evidence of an inverse association between potassium intake and blood pressure (BP). A potential mechanism for this effect may be dietary potassium-mediated augmentation of endothelium-dependent relaxation. To date, studies have investigated potassium intake supplementation over several weeks in healthy volunteers with variable results on vascular function.

The Association of Dining Companionship with Energy and Nutrient Intake Among Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults.

Background: Community-dwelling older adults are at risk of malnutrition due to age-related declines in energy and nutrient intake. While the positive effect of dining companions on energy and nutrient intake has been suggested, evidence remains inconclusive. This study investigated the association between the number of dining companions and energy and nutrient intake, as well as the contribution of specific food groups to higher intake in the presence of dining companions.

Characterizing Curing Efficiency of EGCG-Encapsulated Halloysite Nanotube Modified Adhesives for Durable Dentin-Resin Interfaces.

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-induced collagen degradation at the resin-dentin interface remains a significant challenge for maintaining the longevity of dental restorations. This study investigated the effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a potent MMP inhibitor, on dental adhesive curing efficiency when encapsulated in halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). EGCG-loaded HNTs were incorporated into a commercial dental adhesive (Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose) at 7.

A hybrid explainable model based on advanced machine learning and deep learning models for classifying brain tumors using MRI images.

Brain tumors present a significant global health challenge, and their early detection and accurate classification are crucial for effective treatment strategies. This study presents a novel approach combining a lightweight parallel depthwise separable convolutional neural network (PDSCNN) and a hybrid ridge regression extreme learning machine (RRELM) for accurately classifying four types of brain tumors (glioma, meningioma, no tumor, and pituitary) based on MRI images. The proposed approach enhances the visibility and clarity of tumor features in MRI images by employing contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE).

Qwen-2.5 Outperforms Other Large Language Models in the Chinese National Nursing Licensing Examination: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Comparative Study.

Background: Large language models (LLMs) have been proposed as valuable tools in medical education and practice. The Chinese National Nursing Licensing Examination (CNNLE) presents unique challenges for LLMs due to its requirement for both deep domain-specific nursing knowledge and the ability to make complex clinical decisions, which differentiates it from more general medical examinations. However, their potential application in the CNNLE remains unexplored.

Fluoride-Induced Autophagy and Apoptosis in the Mouse Ovary: Genomic Insights into IL-17 Signaling and Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis.

Chronic fluoride (F) exposure is linked to gonadotoxicity in females, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated fluoride-induced reprotoxicity using advanced genomic profiling. RNA-seq analysis identified significant activation of autophagy, apoptosis, and IL-17 signaling pathways in fluoride-exposed female mice.

Twelve tips on applying AI tools in HPE scholarship using Boyer's model.

AI has changed the landscape of health professions education. With the hype now behind us, we find ourselves in the phase of reckoning, considering what's next; where do we start and how can educators use these powerful tools for daily teaching and learning. We recognize the great need for training to use AI meaningfully for education.