International patterns of the public awareness of aphasia.

Background: It has been suggested that public awareness of aphasia is vital for extending services, research support, social inclusion and targeted raising of awareness. Earlier studies show that knowledge of aphasia varies across a range of variables, but is very low compared with other conditions.

Aims: To report a series of surveys of public awareness of aphasia from six countries, the largest study conducted this far.

Predicting protein complexes from weighted protein-protein interaction graphs with a novel unsupervised methodology: Evolutionary enhanced Markov clustering.

Objective: Proteins are considered to be the most important individual components of biological systems and they combine to form physical protein complexes which are responsible for certain molecular functions. Despite the large availability of protein-protein interaction (PPI) information, not much information is available about protein complexes. Experimental methods are limited in terms of time, efficiency, cost and performance constraints.

Epidemiology of active tuberculosis in lung cancer patients: a systematic review.

Objectives: The aim of this review article is to evaluate the available literature concerning the prevalence of active tuberculosis in lung cancer patients.

Data Source: MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE and Medscape databases were searched for studies with quantitative data on the interaction between tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer, published since 1952. We used the Medical Subject Headings' term 'tuberculosis' and the text-word terms 'TB' and 'Mycobacterium infection', and also, the Medical Subject Headings' terms 'neoplasm' and 'lung neoplasm', or the text-word term 'lung cancer'.

The effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on perception of effort in an isolated isometric elbow flexion task.

The purported ergogenic actions of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to motor cortex (M1) on force production and perception of effort were investigated using a 10-item numerical rating scale (0-10 NRS) in nonfatiguing bouts of a force-matching task utilizing isometric elbow flexion. Using a crossover design, 12 healthy volunteers received sham, anodal, and cathodal tDCS randomly for 10 min (1.5 mA, 62 μA/cm2) to the left M1 in a double-blind manner.

Unplanned extubation in critically ill adults: clinical review.

Aims And Objectives: To investigate and synthesize the evidence on the incidence and consequences of unplanned extubation (UE) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, and on risk factors for UE.

Background: ICU patients generally spend considerable time being intubated via the endotracheal route. Non-planned endotracheal tube removal, either deliberate or accidental, may pose significant safety risks for them.

Fever effects and treatment in critical care: literature review.

Considering that the incidence of fever may reach up to 75% among critically ill adults, healthcare professionals employed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are called to evaluate and manage patient temperature elevation on a daily basis. This literature review synthesizes the evidence about the effects of fever and antipyretic treatment in ICU patients. Although the febrile response acts protectively against infections, noxious effects are possible for patients with cerebral damage, neuropsychiatric disorders or limited cardiorespiratory reserve.

Inter-tester reliability of discriminatory examination items for sub-classifying non-specific low back pain.

Objective: To investigate the inter-tester reliability of a non-specific low back pain examination procedure, for sub-classifying non-specific low back pain.

Design: Reliability study.

Participants: Thirty patients with non-specific low back pain (12 males, 18 females, mean age: 27.

Investigation of the effects of a centrally applied lumbar sustained natural apophyseal glide mobilization on lower limb sympathetic nervous system activity in asymptomatic subjects.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a manual mobilization technique on indirect measures of sympathetic nervous system activity.

Methods: Forty-five healthy volunteers participated in this randomized, single-blinded, parallel-group 3-arm design (experimental, sham [placebo], and control group), comprising 15 subjects each. For the experimental group, lumbar mobilization involving an active movement, the Mulligan sustained natural apophyseal glide (SNAG), was applied on L4 spinous process by an experienced manual therapist.

Managing urinary incontinence through hand-held real-time decision support aid.

In this paper, we present an intelligent system for the diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence (UI) for males as well as females, called e-URIN. e-URIN is an intelligent system for diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence according to symptoms that are realized in one patient and usually recorded through his clinical examination as well as specific test results. The user-friendly proposed intelligent system is accommodated on a hospital server supporting e-health tools, for use through pocket PCs under wireless connection as a decision support system for resident doctors, as well as an educational tool for medical students.

Knowledge is power: studying critical incidents in intensive care.

Despite their difficult definition and taxonomy, it is imperative to study critical incidents in intensive care, since they may be followed by adverse events and compromised patient safety. Identifying recurring patterns and factors contributing to critical incidents constitutes a prerequisite for developing effective preventive strategies. Self-reporting methodology, although widely used for studying critical incidents, has been criticized in terms of reliability and may considerably underestimate both overall frequency and specific types of them.

TiO2/palygorskite composite nanocrystalline films prepared by surfactant templating route: synergistic effect to the photocatalytic degradation of an azo-dye in water.

Microfibrous palygorskite clay mineral and nanocrystalline TiO(2) are incorporating in the preparation of nanocomposite films on glass substrates via sol-gel route at 500°C. The synthesis involves a simple chemical method employing nonionic surfactant molecule as pore directing agent along with the acetic acid-based sol-gel route without direct addition of water molecules. Drying and thermal treatment of composite films lead to the elimination of organic material while ensure the formation of TiO(2) nanoparticles homogeneously distributed on the surface of the palygorskite microfibers.

A critical view of the general public's awareness and physicians' opinion of the trends and potential pitfalls of genetic testing in Greece.

Aim: Progress in deciphering the functionality of the human genome sequence in the wake of technological advances in the field of genomic medicine have dramatically reduced the overall costs of genetic analysis, thereby facilitating the incorporation of genetic testing services into mainstream clinical practice. Although Greek genetic testing laboratories offer a variety of different genetic tests, relatively little is known about how either the general public or medical practitioners perceive genetic testing services.

Materials & Methods: We have therefore performed a nationwide survey of the views of 1717 members of the general public, divided into three age groups, from all over Greece, and residing in both large and small cities and villages, in order to acquire a better understanding of how they perceive genetic testing.

Evaluation of the numeric rating scale for perception of effort during isometric elbow flexion exercise.

The aim of the study was to examine the reliability and validity of the numerical rating scale (0-10 NRS) for rating perception of effort during isometric elbow flexion in healthy people. 33 individuals (32 ± 8 years) participated in the study. Three re-test measurements within one session and three weekly sessions were undertaken to determine the reliability of the scale.

Cross-cultural validation of the Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) in Greek community-dwelling older adults.

Purpose:  The cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) in community-dwelling seniors in Greece.

Method:  For cross-cultural adaptation, the back-translation procedure was utilised by four bi-lingual translators. For validation, 89 community-dwellings (50 males, 39 females) aged 61-90 years old (mean: 72.

Medication errors in critically ill adults: a review of direct observation evidence.

Objective: To systematically review clinical evidence gathered by direct observation of medication errors in adult patients in intensive care units.

Methods: Articles published between 1985 and 2008 in English-language journals indexed by the Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature and PUBMED were searched for studies on medication errors made by intensive care unit nurses. Studies in which errors were detected via direct observation were included.

Lower limb strength in professional soccer players: profile, asymmetry, and training age.

Kicking and cutting skills in soccer are clearly unilateral, require asymmetrical motor patterns and lead to the development of asymmetrical adaptations in the musculoskeletal function of the lower limbs. Assuming that these adaptations constitute a chronicity-dependent process, this study examined the effects of professional training age (PTA) on the composite strength profile of the knee and ankle joint in soccer players. One hundred soccer players (n=100) with short (5-7 years), intermediate (8-10 years) and long (>11 years) PTA were tested bilaterally for isokinetic concentric and eccentric strength of the knee and ankle muscles.

Diagnosis support using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps combined with Genetic Algorithms.

A new hybrid modeling methodology to support medical diagnosis decisions is developed here. It extends previous work on Competitive Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for Medical Diagnosis Support Systems by complementing them with Genetic Algorithms Methods for concept interaction. The synergy of these methodologies is accomplished by a new proposed algorithm that leads to more dependable Advanced Medical Diagnosis Support Systems that are suitable to handle situations where the decisions are not clearly distinct.

A fuzzy cognitive map hierarchical model for differential diagnosis of dysarthrias and apraxia of speech.

This paper presents a novel soft computing system for differential diagnosis of the dysarthrias and apraxia of speech based on well accepted dysarthrias' classification system used by speech and language pathologists. The dysarthrias and apraxia are complex disorders of speech because they represent a variety of neurological disturbances that can potentially affect every component of speech production. Since an accurate diagnosis is a very challenging task for the clinician, the under development system based on hierarchical Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) will be used as a "second opinion" or training system.

Past tense formation and comprehension of passive sentences in Parkinson's disease: evidence from Greek.

The present study investigates the production of regular and irregular verbs in the past tense and the comprehension of passive sentences by Greek-speaking PD patients, and compares their behavior to that of normal speakers. Although the two groups manifest large scale differences at all the above constructions, the behavior of PDs is not different at regular vs. irregular past tense formation neither did we obtain strong evidence that they do not comprehend passives, most importantly, they certainly do not perform at chance.

A fuzzy cognitive map approach to differential diagnosis of specific language impairment.

This paper presents a computer-based model for differential diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI), a language disorder that, in many cases, cannot be easily diagnosed. This difficulty necessitates the development of a methodology to assist the speech therapist in the diagnostic process. The methodology tool is based on fuzzy cognitive maps and constitutes a qualitative and quantitative computer model comprised of the experience and knowledge of specialists.

The nonlinear predictability of the electrotelluric field variations data analyzed with support vector machines as an earthquake precursor.

This work investigates the nonlinear predictability of the Electro Telluric Field (ETF) variations data in order to develop new intelligent tools for the difficult task of earthquake prediction. Support Vector Machines trained on a signal window have been used to predict the next sample. We observe a significant increase at this short-term unpredictability of the ETF signal at about two weeks time period before the major earthquakes that took place in regions near the recording devices.