A Digital Tool (Technology-Assisted Problem Management Plus) for Lay Health Workers to Address Common Mental Health Disorders: Co-production and Usability Study in Pakistan.

Background: Mental health remains among the top 10 leading causes of disease burden globally, and there is a significant treatment gap due to limited resources, stigma, limited accessibility, and low perceived need for treatment. Problem Management Plus, a World Health Organization-endorsed brief psychological intervention for mental health disorders, has been shown to be effective and cost-effective in various countries globally but faces implementation challenges, such as quality control in training, supervision, and delivery. While digital technologies to foster mental health care have the potential to close treatment gaps and address the issues of quality control, their development requires context-specific, interdisciplinary, and participatory approaches to enhance impact and acceptance.

A Review of Bavachinin and Its Derivatives as Multi-therapeutic Agents.

Extracting natural active ingredients from plants is an effective way to develop and screen modern drugs. Psoralea corylifolia is a leguminous plant whose seeds have long been used as a Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat psoriasis, rheumatism, dermatitis, and other diseases. To date, several main compounds, including coumarins, flavonoids, monoterpene phenols, and benzofurans, have been identified from the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia.

Investigation of the Effect of Lymphedema Self-Care Patient School on Functionality, Quality of Life, Lymphedema Volume, and Body Value in Patients with Lower Extremity Lymphedema: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

This study examined the effect of lymphedema self-care patient school education on patient functionality, quality of life, body value, and lymphedema volume in patients with lower extremity lymphedema. The study utilized a single-group quasi-experimental design. The study sample included 21 patients with primary and secondary lower extremity lymphedema.

Current Role of Pneumatic Compression Therapy in Lymphedema Care: A Scoping Review of Persistent Debates and New Applications.

Access to trained lymphedema care providers remains limited making patient-driven management solutions essential. One such option, sequential intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC), has gained traction as a supportive tool for lymphedema management. While newer IPC devices and innovative applications are being introduced to the market, questions regarding the safety and efficacy of this technology persist.

Entangled Illnesses: Embodied Experiences of Managing Multimorbidity.

Multimorbidity, meaning multiple long-term conditions impacting a person's health, has become a rising societal and public health issue. The article contributes to the sociological study of chronic illness and multimorbidity by analysing how the blurriness of illnesses and entanglement of symptoms in multimorbidity is experienced and negotiated by people with coexisting chronic conditions. Drawing on qualitative interviews with people who live with endometriosis, fibromyalgia or hormonal migraine in Finland, we show how people with multiple chronic conditions distinguish between evolving symptoms based on past embodied experiences to make decisions about how to best manage their health.

A comprehensive assessment of membrane bioreactor contaminant removal efficacy through analytical chemistry, fish exposures, and microbiome characterization.

Treated municipal wastewater effluent is an important pathway for Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) to enter aquatic ecosystems. As the aging wastewater infrastructure in many industrialized countries requires upgrades or replacement, assessing new treatment technologies in the context of CEC effects may provide additional support for science-based resource management. Here, we used three lines of evidence, analytical chemistry, fish exposure experiments, and fish and water microbiome analysis, to assess the effectiveness of membrane bioreactor treatment (MBR) to replace traditional activated sludge treatment.

Enhancing Medication Safety: Reducing Administration Errors in Oncology Setting.

Purpose: This project aimed to minimize medication errors and improve safe medication administration in an oncology setting in Muscat, Oman.

Methods: The study, spanning from the second quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023, employed a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, assessing key performance indicators (medication error and medication administration errors rates per 1000 patient days) on quarterly basis before and after implementing targeted interventions.  Interventions focused on medication management processes and Healthcare Informatics System (HIS), Environment and equipment, and Education The project utilized the FOCUS PDCA (find, organize, clarify, understand, select, plan, do, check and act) methodology.

Preoperative Nutritional Status Influences Enteral Nutrition Weaning 6 Months Post-Surgery in Patients with Esophageal Cancer.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify whether nutritional status at admission affects enteral nutrition weaning 6 months after surgery in patients with esophageal cancer.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of 81 patients who underwent subtotal esophageal cancer resection between April 2014 and February 2016. The survey items were as follows: 1) sex, 2) age, 3) presence or absence of family members living together, 4) clinical stage, 5) surgical procedure, 6) reconstructed organs, 7) nutritional status at admission, 8) presence or absence of postoperative complications (anastomotic leakage, chylothorax, and recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis), and 9) presence or absence of treatment other than surgery (chemo- or radiotherapy).

Analyzing Secondary Cancer Risk: A Machine Learning Approach.

Objective: Addressing the rising cancer rates through timely diagnosis and treatment is crucial. Additionally, cancer survivors need to understand the potential risk of developing secondary cancer (SC), which can be influenced by several factors including treatment modalities, lifestyle choices, and habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption. This study aims to establish a novel relationship using linear regression models between dose and the risk of SC, comparing different prediction methods for lung, colon, and breast cancer.

Development of Mobile Application Based System for Improving Population Based Cancer Screening by Community Health Workers.

Objective: Cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, with India experiencing a significant cancer burden. Effective population-based cancer screening is crucial for early detection and reduction of cancer-related deaths. This study aims to develop a mobile application-based Cancer Screening and Surveillance System (CSMS) to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of population-based cancer screening by community health workers (CHWs).

Acceptability and Determinants of Opportunistic Screening for Breast Cancer in Indian Women.

Background: Screening for breast cancer has been effective in decreasing mortality. Mammography is not readily available in resource-limited countries like India. Annual clinical breast examination has been demonstrated to be as effective as biennial mammography in reducing mortality with much less cost.

Effect of Education on Nutritional Knowledge of Cancer Prevention based on Health Belief Model: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This systematic review was conducted to examine the impact of education on nutritional knowledge for cancer prevention using the Health Belief Model.

Methods: Comprehensive searches were performed in international electronic databases, including Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science, from their inception until June 16, 2024. Keywords derived from Medical Subject Headings such as "Nutrition Knowledge," "Education," "Health Belief Model," and "Cancer" were utilized.

Regular Use of Oral Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in a Population of Polish Seniors: Findings from the PolSenior2 Cross-Sectional Survey.

Introduction: Older adults represent a growing proportion of the general population. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) constitute a group of medicines that are both necessary, owing to their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and cardioprotective abilities, and potentially harmful, owing to their side effects.

Objectives: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of NSAID usage patterns among Polish adults aged 60 years and older.

Emotional Reflexivity and Lifelong Leisure Time Physical Activity: Managing 'Successful Womanhood' for Busy Middle-Class Women.

This article examines leisure time physical activity (LTPA) for middle-class women as relational, intricately linked with societal understandings of personal responsibility to work, to family and to health and entangled with the emotion management of 'successful' middle-class womanhood. We focus on middle-class Danish women who engage in routinised participation in LTPA. We illuminate through our qualitative study how emotional reflexivity involves dispersed practices that are entangled with this lifelong physical activity and how these entangled, mutually evolving practices enable women to dutifully enact 'successful' womanhood, in line with contemporary ideals.

Genomic profiling at a single center cracks the code in inborn errors of immunity.

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) entail a diverse group of disorders resulting from hereditary or de novo mutations in single genes, leading to immune dysregulation. This study explores the clinical utility of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques in diagnosing monogenic immune defects. Eight patients attending the immunodeficiency clinic and with unclassified antibody deficiency were included in the analysis.

Kidney function estimation equations: a narrative review.

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) as a marker of kidney function is important in health and disease management because decreased kidney function is associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, progression of kidney disease, predisposition to acute kidney injury (AKI), and for drug dosage modification. While measured glomerular filtration rate (mGFR) is acknowledged as the most accurate method for evaluating kidney function, it is at present not feasible to be applied in the clinical arena. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is preferred due to its convenience, cost-effectiveness, and seamless integration into standard clinical practice for kidney function evaluation.

Efficacy and Safety of Proactive Therapy with 2% Crisaborole Ointment in Children with Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Background: The effectiveness of crisaborole for proactive treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) is not well established.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of a proactive treatment strategy with 2% crisaborole ointment for managing mild-to-moderate AD in children.

Patients And Methods: In this 16-week randomized-controlled trial, children aged 2-17 years with mild-to-moderate AD were enrolled.

Pharmacological Aspects in the Management of Children and Adolescents with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts the musculoskeletal, endocrine, pulmonary, neurologic, ocular, and gastrointestinal systems. In addition, individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome have issues with cognitive development, characteristic behavioral problems, and perhaps most profoundly, appetite control. Currently, the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy for Prader-Willi syndrome is growth hormone, which has been Food and Drug Administration approved for > 20 years for the treatment of growth failure in Prader-Willi syndrome.

The Value and Importance of a Professional Ethical Code for Medicines Development: IFAPP International Ethics Framework.

Pharmaceutical medicine professionals have to face many ethical problems during the entire life span of new medicines extending from animal studies to broad clinical practice. The primary aim of the general ethical principles governing research conducted in humans is to diminish the physical and psychological burdens of the participants in human drug studies but overlooks many additional social and ethical problems faced by medicine developers. These arise mainly at the interface connecting the profit-oriented pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare-centered medical profession cooperating in medicines development.

Reduction of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol by Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Mouse Model of Exogenous Cushing's Syndrome.

Background: Exogenous Cushing's syndrome, which results from prolonged glucocorticoid treatment, is associated with metabolic abnormalities. Previously, we reported the inhibitory effect of tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium (T-MSC CM) on glucocorticoid signal transduction. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of T-MSCs in a mouse model of exogenous Cushing's syndrome.

Hydrogeochemical characterization of shallow and deep groundwater for drinking and irrigation water quality index of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

A comprehensive hydrogeochemical analysis of 156 groundwater samples (106 shallow and 50 deep) was conducted in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. This study addresses a significant research gap by focusing on the hydro-geochemical composition and contamination of groundwater in the Kathmandu Valley, an area with limited detailed assessments. The novelty of this work lies in its comprehensive analysis of both shallow and deep groundwater, particularly concerning the high concentration of contaminants like arsenic, microbial pathogens, and ammonium, which are critical for public health.

In this current wildfire crisis, acknowledge widespread suffering.

With climate change causing more extreme weather events globally, climate scientists have argued that societies have three options: mitigation, adaptation or suffering. In recent years, devastating wildfires have caused significant suffering, yet the extent of this suffering has not been defined. To encapsulate this suffering, we determined impacts and effects of extreme wildfires through two systematic literature reviews.

A fatal case of accidental asphyxia following nitrous oxide inhalation and alcohol consumption.

Nitrous oxide (NO) abuse is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Moreover, the use of NO combined with other substances, such as alcohol, is also common. Accidental deaths associated with NO abuse are rare in forensic practice, with most fatal cases involving continuous inhalation equipment or exposure in a confined space.