Raising awareness and addressing inequities for people with Down syndrome in South Africa.

Globally, individuals with Down syndrome (DS) face profound inequities in social and health care access. These challenges are further compounded by racial disparities as well as a lack of awareness, research, and support, particularly in the Global South. This commentary discusses the multifaceted challenges and disparities encountered by people with DS in South Africa, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.

Determinants of healthcare utilization under the Indonesian national health insurance system - a cross-sectional study.

Background: Indonesia has implemented a series of healthcare reforms including its national health insurance scheme (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional, JKN) to achieve universal health coverage. However, there is evidence of inequitable healthcare utilization in Indonesia, raising concerns that the poor might not be benefiting fully from government subsidies. This study aims to identify factors affecting healthcare utilization in Indonesia.

The relationship between health-related quality of life and academic success in nursing students: the mediating role of academic burnout and academic motivation.

Background: The identification of the key factors that affect academic success in nursing students, including health-related quality of life, academic burnout, and academic motivation, has been of the utmost importance to date. In this context, the present study sought to examine the relationship between health-related quality of life and academic success, with academic burnout and academic motivation mediating that relationship.

Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study included 262 eligible nursing students selected through convenience sampling from the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Narratives of incarcerated women in a Prison in Malawi: a qualitative study.

Background: In Malawi, women in prisons make up 2.7% of the total prison population. However, the experiences of women incarcerated are not well documented in the literature.

Applying principles of adult learning to rural health electives in a medical school curriculum.

The health disparities between rural and urban populations in Australia, driven by socioeconomic, environmental, and healthcare access factors, highlight the urgent need for rural-focused medical education. The Melbourne Medical School's Rural Health Discovery program addresses this need by integrating adult learning principles within a redesigned curriculum that includes the Rural Health Foundations and Integrating Rural Health topics. These Discovery topics engage medical students from diverse backgrounds through a blend of self-directed learning, problem-solving, and immersive clinical placements in rural settings.

Bacterial wilt disease alters the structure and function of fungal communities around plant roots.

Background: Fungal communities around plant roots play crucial roles in maintaining plant health. Nonetheless, the responses of fungal communities to bacterial wilt disease remain poorly understood. Here, the structure and function of fungal communities across four consecutive compartments (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane and root endosphere) were investigated under the influence of bacterial wilt disease.

Effects of sleep quality on the risk of various long COVID symptoms among older adults following infection: an observational study.

Background: The long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its recovery have becoming significant public health concerns. Therefore, this study aimed to enhance the limited evidence regarding the relationship between sleep quality on long COVID among the older population aged 60 years or old.

Methods: Our study included 4,781 COVID-19 patients enrolled from April to May 2023, based on the Peking University Health Cohort.

Public hospital-based care for abortive events in Mexico: complication rates and socio-demographic factors, 2018-2022.

Background: Abortion-related complications are difficult to measure due to lack of standardized definitions and limited available data. We describe the proportion of abortive events that result in a documented complication in Mexico's public sector hospitals.

Methods: We used ICD-10 codes from Mexico's hospital discharge system (2018-2022), Subsistema Automatizado de Egresos Hospitalarios (SAEH), to describe abortive events admitted to hospitals: complications for excessive bleeding, infection, embolism, and unspecified; patient socio-demographic and clinical characteristics; and municipality-level structural vulnerability.

Balancing the solar irradiance needs: optimising growth in sphagnum palustre through tailored UV-B effects.

Background: The carbon sequestration potential and water retention capacity of peatlands are closely linked to the growth dynamics of Sphagnum mosses. However, few studies have focused on the response of Sphagnum moss growth dynamics to UV-B radiation, and existing research has emphasized species differences. In this study, Sphagnum palustre L.

The influencing factors of cognitive impairment in elderly individuals in Chengdu city: a cross-sectional study based on AD8.

Background: With the aging of society, cognitive impairment in elderly people is becoming increasingly common and has caused major public health problems. The screening of cognitive impairment in elderly people and its related influencing factors can aid in the development of relevant intervention and improvement strategies.

Methods: In this study, stratified random cluster sampling was used to conduct a cross-sectional survey of elderly individuals aged 65 years in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, through an electronic questionnaire from November 2022 to November 2023.

Minority stress in relation to biological outcomes among sexual and gender minority people: a systematic review and update.

Here we present an updated systematic review identifying studies published 2019-2024, since our prior systematic review in 2020, that examine the association between minority stress and a biological outcome among sexual and gender minority (SGM) people. Pubmed, Web of Science, and Embase were queried to identify studies that examined an association between minority stress (including prejudice events and conditions, anticipation of rejection and discrimination, concealment or disclosure of SGM identity(ies), internalized stigma, or structural stigma) and a biological health outcome among SGM people. Included studies were coded for methodological approaches, study population, minority stress measure, biological outcomes, count of overall analyses, and count of analyses where an association was detected.

Intraindividual correlations between nocturnal urination frequency and sleep blood pressure: the Nagahama Study.

Nocturnal urination frequency is associated with sleep blood pressure (BP). However, it was uncertain to what extent the sleep BP increases within individuals with each increase in the number of nocturnal urination. We calculated intraindividual differences in sleep BP between nights with different urination frequencies to clarify their relationship.

Understanding the Medical Education Experiences of Low-Income Students Through a Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Lens: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

Background: Diversity in the physician workforce is critical for quality patient care. Students from low-income backgrounds represent an increasing proportion of medical school matriculants, yet little research has addressed their medical school experiences.

Objective: To explore the medical school experiences of students from low-income backgrounds using a modified version of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (physiologic, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization) as a theoretical framework.

Advanced control parameter optimization in DC motors and liquid level systems.

In recent times, there has been notable progress in control systems across various industrial domains, necessitating effective management of dynamic systems for optimal functionality. A crucial research focus has emerged in optimizing control parameters to augment controller performance. Among the plethora of optimization algorithms, the mountain gazelle optimizer (MGO) stands out for its capacity to emulate the agile movements and behavioral strategies observed in mountain gazelles.

Empagliflozin-based quadruple oral therapy for type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study.

The management of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) remains challenging in cases of poor glycemic control despite triple Oral Hypoglycemic Agent (OHA) therapy. This prospective cohort study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Empagliflozin as part of a quadruple OHA regimen over a 7-year follow-up period in 575 adult patients with uncontrolled T2DM on a triple OHA regimen and who were unwilling to initiate insulin therapy. Overall, 92.

The impact of brain-systemic oxygenation coupling in sleep-disordered breathing on cognitive function in elderly.

Background: Intermittent hypoxia, a consequence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), may contribute to an increased risk of cognitive decline. However, the association between SDB and cognition remains highly variable.

Methods: Fifty-two community-dwelling healthy older adults (28 women) were recruited.

Incremental benefit of high dose compared to standard dose influenza vaccine in reducing hospitalizations.

Evidence regarding the high-dose (HD) vaccine's relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) and absolute benefit in reducing influenza-related hospitalizations compared to the standard-dose (SD) vaccine is warranted. We estimated the adjusted rVE and the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) of the HD vaccine compared to the SD vaccine among Clalit Health Services members aged ≥65 years. Among 418,603 and 393,125 members vaccinated in the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 influenza seasons, the adjusted rVE was 27% (95% CI: -12% to 61%) for 2022-2023 and 7% (95% CI: -36% to 42%) for 2023-2024, with NNV to prevent one hospitalization event being 2262 (95% CI: 1004 to ∞) and 7662 (95% CI: 1293 to ∞), respectively.

Deep sequencing-derived Metagenome Assembled Genomes from the gut microbiome of liver transplant patients.

Recurrence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) after liver transplantation (LT) is a continuing concern. The role of gut microbiome dysbiosis in MASLD initiation and progression has been well established. However, there is a lack of comprehensive gut microbiome shotgun sequence data for patients experiencing MASLD recurrence after LT.

Balancing Data Quality and Bias: Investigating Functional Connectivity Exclusions in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ (ABCD Study) Across Quality Control Pathways.

Analysis of resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) typically excludes images substantially degraded by subject motion. However, data quality, including degree of motion, relates to a broad set of participant characteristics, particularly in pediatric neuroimaging. Consequently, when planning quality control (QC) procedures researchers must balance data quality concerns against the possibility of biasing results by eliminating data.

A Qualitative Evaluation of Two Electronic-Rehabilitation Programmes for Managing Persistent Knee Pain.

Introduction: Persistent knee pain often due to knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a highly prevalent and disabling condition. Electronic-rehabilitation (e-rehab) programmes have the potential to support self-management of knee OA. This study aimed to evaluate user engagement and acceptability of two e-rehab programmes, Group e-rehab, a remote physiotherapy-led programme and My Knee UK, a self-directed web-based exercise programme.

Do mental and physical health trajectories change around transitions into sandwich care? Results from the UK household longitudinal study.

Objectives: Sandwich carers provide care to ageing parents or older relatives while simultaneously raising dependent children. There has been little focus on how mental and physical health trajectories change around becoming a sandwich carer - a gap this study aims to fill.

Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study.

Disability-Related Disparities in Screening for Intimate Partner Violence During the Perinatal Period: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Persons with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) during the perinatal period than persons without disabilities. Although screening for IPV during the perinatal period is recommended by many organizations, little is known about screening rates for IPV by disability status.

Methods: Our objective was to compare rates of IPV screening during the perinatal period among persons with and without disabilities in the United States.

Powerful together with diabetes, a group-based self-management intervention for patients with type 2 diabetes from lower educational groups: study protocol for a hybrid type 2 evaluation.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major burden on public health worldwide. To reduce adverse events and complications, effective T2DM self-management is required. Self-management and glycaemic control are generally poorer in lower educated people compared with higher educated people.

Development of a predictive model for loss of functional and cognitive abilities in long-term care home residents: a protocol.

Introduction: Long-term care (LTC) residents require extensive assistance with daily activities due to physical and cognitive impairments. Medical treatment for LTC residents, when not aligned with residents' wishes, can cause discomfort without providing substantial benefits. Predictive models can equip providers with tools to guide treatment recommendations that support person-centred medical decision-making.