Activity

In the digital society, people need to make use of a range of everyday technology (ET) when engaging in activities in various places outside home. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the use of ET and places visited outside the home and, also, to describe the relationship between them in people with different severity of disability after acquired brain injury (ABI).

Instruments addressing ET use, places visited outside the home and severity of disability were used to assess 74 individuals with ABI. Relationships were analyzed statistically.

A significantly higher use of personal ET related to public space and public space ET, a higher ability to use ET and more places visited outside the home was found in those with good recovery (GR) compared to those with moderate disability/severe disability (MD/SD). The use of ET was significantly correlated with places visited in the total sample and in those with MD/SD, but for those with GR, no significant correlations were found.

To facilitate pawas positively significantly correlated with the total number of places visited outside the home in the sample of people with acquired brain injury (ABI).Those with severe or moderate disability after their ABI used significantly fewer ET and visited fewer places compared to those with good recovery.Evaluation of the use of ET and places visited outside the home is important in rehabilitation to support participation after ABI.Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming ever more common in children, due to the increasing global prevalence of obesity. The first-line treatment consists of weight loss through a combination of a healthy diet and exercise. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of a Mediterranean Diet or a low-fat diet on reducing hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance in children with NAFLD. This 12-week randomised clinical trial was conducted with children aged 9-17 years diagnosed with NAFLD and randomised into either a Mediterranean Diet or a low-fat diet group. By the end of the study, hepatic steatosis had decreased significantly in both groups (p  less then  0.001). Liver enzymes also improved significantly, while significant decreases were observed in insulin resistance in both groups, although this decrease was greater in the Mediterranean Diet group (p = 0.010). This study demonstrated that a decrease in hepatic steatosis and an improvement in insulin sensitivity can be achieved with both a Mediterranean Diet and a low-fat diet over 12 weeks, with no significant decrease in the energy required for growth, in children with NAFLD.Crotamiton (CRT) is a commonly approved drug prescribed for the scabies treatment in many countries across the globe. However, poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability, and side effects restrict its use. To avoid such issues, an appropriate carrier system is necessary which can address the aforementioned challenges for attaining enhanced biopharmaceutical attributes. The current study intends to provide a detailed account on the development and evaluation of CRT-loaded microemulsion (ME) hydrogel formulation containing tea tree oil (TTO) for improved drug delivery for scabies treatment in a safe and effective manner. Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed with TTO as the oily phase, and Cremophor®EL was used as the surfactant in a mass ratio 21 with co-surfactants (mixture of phospholipid 90G and Transcutol®P), and aqueous solution as the external phase. The optimized drug-loaded ME formulation was evaluated for skin penetration, retention, compliance, and dermatokinetics. The nonirritant behavior of the formulation was revealed by skin histopathology, which showed no changes in normal skin histology. In comparison to the conventional product, dermatokinetic experiments revealed that CRT has greater penetration and distribution in the epidermis of the mice skin. The findings imply that the proposed lipid-based ME hydrogel can aid in the resolution of CRT issues by providing a better and safer delivery option to epidermis and deeper epidermis in substantial quantities.The loss of a child greatly affects the dynamics of interpersonal relationships in bereaved families. This study explored the relationships in bereaved Korean families from the perspectives of mothers after the death of a child due to cancer. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 bereaved mothers of a deceased child with childhood cancer. Thematic analysis identified 12 subthemes related to bereaved mothers’ struggles in grief within three significant themes based on family relationships (a) relationship with husband; (b) relationship with surviving child or children; and (c) relationships with extended family members. Findings highlight bereaved mothers’ need to build supportive family relationships while acknowledging bereaved family members’ different grieving styles and their own challenges in grieving the loss of a child.We aimed to benchmark the quality of care and describe characteristics of patients newly attending the HIV clinic at differing time points over the past 10 years, against the Infectious Disease Society of America HIV/AIDS performance measures. We performed a retrospective analysis of records for patients newly attending the HIV clinic in 2011, 2016 and 2018. There was an increase in male attendees in 2018 and 2016 compared to 2011 (88%, 88% vs. 59% p less then .001), viral suppression rates were 97%, 83% and 99% (p less then .001), respectively. We observed an increase in patients of South American origin over time. Acquisition risk changed, with increased proportion of MSM (24% in 2011 vs 78% in 2018, p less then .001), lower rates of heterosexual (20% in 2018 vs 48% in 2011, p less then .001) and IDU transmission (1.5% in 2018 vs 24% in 2011, p less then .001). There were lower rates of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae testing in 2018 (72%, p less then .001), compared to 2016 (84%) and 2011 (83%). Hepatitis B virus vaccination and pneumococcal vaccine rates are declining (p less then .001). We demonstrate the changes in both ethnicity and risk of acquisition over time, high rates of antiretroviral therapy prescription and viral suppression, and highlight the importance of health prevention with sexual health screening and vaccination in this population.Despite the widespread use of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), HIV-associated neurocognitive impairment (NCI) remains a health concern. However, limited research has been done to identify factors associated with neurocognitive decline. We assessed risk factors associated with neurocognitive decline in people living with HIV using a definition of decline that is statistically easy to adopt, is based on a commonly used neuropsychological cut-off and may be clinically relevant. Cox proportional hazards modeling was performed using the CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) study database. 581 participants were followed for up to 12 years. Neurocognitive decline was defined as the first observed drop in global T-scores of at least 2.67. Lifetime methamphetamine use had the strongest association with neurocognitive decline (adjusted Hazard Ratio; aHR = 1.48; 95% CI = 0.92-2.39) followed by no current antiretroviral medication use (aHR = 1.32; 95% CI = 0.91-1.92). Other risk factors included Hispanic ethnicity, lifetime history of major depressive disorder, lifetime cannabis use, hepatitis-C infection, and difficulty eating, dressing, bathing, or using the toilet. Results indicate that consistent use of ART may be of high significance to preserving neurocognition. Furthermore, Hispanic patients, those with a history of depression and substance use, and those having difficulty in essential activities of daily living may require vigilant follow-up.Occupational exposure to silica dust is related to pulmonary inflammation and silicosis. Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) could aggravate apoptosis in alveolar macrophages (AMs) of human silicosis through autophagy, yet how the reduction of autophagy attenuated LPS-induced lung injury and the related mechanisms need to be investigated. In the study, we aim to understand the role of 3-methyladenine (3-MA), an inhibitor of autophagy, in LPS-mediated inflammatory responses and fibrosis. We collected AMs from observers/silicosis patients. The results showed that LPS induced NF-κB-related pulmonary inflammation in observers and silicosis patients, as confirmed by an increase in the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and p65, which could be inhibited by 3-MA treatment. In mice models, at the early stage (7d) of silicosis, but not the late (28d) stage, blocking autophagy reversed the increased levels of IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and p65 caused by LPS. Mechanism study revealed that LPS triggered the expression of LC3 II, p62, and cleaved caspase-3 at the early stage exposed to silica, which could be restored by 3-MA, while there was no difference in the expression of LAMP1 either at the early or late stage of silicosis in different groups. Similarly, 3-MA treatment did not prevent fibrosis characterized by destroyed alveoli, collagen deposition, and increased expression of α-SMA and Col-1 induced by LPS at the late stage of silicosis. Selleck Memantine The results suggested that 3-MA has a role in the protection of lung injury at the early stage of silicosis and provided an experimental basis for preventive strategies of pulmonary inflammation and silicosis.Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) holds the potential to mitigate increasing rates of syphilis among sexual minority men (SMM) in the US yet has received limited attention. Since evaluation of this intervention in actual populations is not currently feasible, we used agent-based models (ABM) to assess the population-level impact of this strategy. We adapted ABM of HIV and HPV transmission, representing a population of 10,230 SMM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. Parameter inputs were derived from the literature, and ABM outputs during the pre-intervention period were calibrated to local surveillance data. Intervention scenarios varied doxycycline uptake by 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%, while assuming continued condom use and syphilis screening and treatment. Under each intervention scenario, we incorporated treatment adherence at the following levels 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%. Long-term population impact of prophylactic doxycycline was measured using the cumulative incidence over the 10-year period and the percentage of infections prevented attributable to doxycycline at year 10. An uptake scenario of 20% with an adherence level of 80% would reduce the cumulative incidence of infections by 10% over the next decade, translating to 57 fewer cases per 1000 SMM. At year 10, under the same uptake and adherence level, 22% of infections would be prevented due to doxycycline PEP in the instances where condoms were not used or failed. Findings suggest that doxycycline PEP will have a modest impact on syphilis incidence when assuming a reasonable level of uptake and adherence. Doxycycline PEP may be most appropriate as a secondary prevention measure to condoms and enhanced syphilis screening for reducing infections among SMM.