be healthy

Patients with Solid Organ Transplantations (SOTx) face long-term lifestyle adaptations, psychological and social adjustments, and complex self-care regimes to maintain health post-transplant. Self-management (SM) skills represent important aspects of nursing communication with SOTx patients; however, there is potential for SM to be defined narrowly in terms of medication adherence. The study presented here collated the existing definitions in a mixed method review in order to identify SM attributes for this group (including those unique to this population)...

The maintenance of oral health is a crucial aspect of general well-being; however, a significant proportion of the worldwide population experiences a range of oral diseases. Dental caries is a highly prevalent non-communicable disease globally, especially in children and adolescents. Fluoride is involved in the control of dental caries, primarily by decreasing the critical pH for dental hard tissue dissolution and decreasing enamel solubility. Due to the substantial data supporting the efficacy of fluoride in controlling dental caries, many community-level fluoridation initiatives have been devised and executed as global public health preventive interventions...

Secreted deoxyribonucleases (DNases), such as DNase-1 and DNase-IL3, degrade extracellular DNA, and endogenous DNases have roles in resolving airway inflammation and guarding against autoimmune responses to nucleotides. Subsets of patients with asthma have high airway DNA levels, but information about DNase activity in health and in asthma is lacking. To characterize DNase activity in health and in asthma, we developed a novel kinetic assay using a Taqman probe sequence that is quickly cleaved by DNase-I to produce a large product signal...

BACKGROUND: Neurological soft signs (NSSs), minor physical anomalies (MPAs), and oculomotor abnormalities were plausible biomarkers in bipolar disorder (BD). However, specific impairments in these markers in patients after the first episode mania (FEM), in comparison with first-degree relatives (high risk [HR]) of BD and healthy subjects (health control [HC]) are sparse. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed at examining NSSs, MPAs, and oculomotor abnormalities in remitted adult subjects following FEM and HR subjects in comparison with matched healthy controls...

Tarragon has a great potential to be a healthy functional food ingredient thanks to its rich antioxidant, phenolic compounds, and nutrient content. The possibility of enriching bread with tarragon was investigated. For this aim, tarragon powder was used at the rates of 0, 2, 4 and 6% instead of wheat flour. In this study, the effects of substitution on the rheological properties of bread dough and color, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, texture, sensory, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis of bread samples were performed...

Zinpentraxin alfa is a recombinant form of the human pentraxin-2 that was studied in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). To improve the purity and yield of the drug material, a 2nd-generation drug product was developed. To characterize and compare the pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of the 1st- and 2nd-generation zinpentraxin alfa, PK studies were conducted in healthy volunteers (HVs). In a phase 1 randomized, double-blind, 2-sequence crossover, sequential 2-stage study (ISRCTN59409907), single intravenous (IV) doses of 1st- and 2nd-generation zinpentraxin alfa at 10 mg/kg were studied with a blinded interim analysis (IA) at the end of stage 1...

Gefapixant (MK-7264, RO4926219, AF-219) is a first-in-class P2X3 antagonists being developed to treat refractory or unexplained chronic cough. The initial single- and multiple-dose safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of gefapixant at doses ranging from 7.5 to 1800 mg were assessed in four clinical trials. Following single-dose administration of 10-450 mg, the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of gefapixant in plasma and urine demonstrated low inter-subject variability and a dose-proportional exposure. Following administration of multiple doses twice daily, the plasma exposures were dose-proportional at doses ranging from 7...

OBJECTIVES: To provide a comprehensive summary of the different modalities available to measure soft tissue fibrosis after radiotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences. REVIEW METHODS: A search was conducted using a list of medical subject headings and terms related to head and neck oncology, radiation fibrosis, and quantitative measurements, including bioimpedance, MRI, and ultrasound. Original research related to quantitative measurement of neck fibrosis post-radiotherapy was included without time constraints, while reviews, case reports, non-English texts, and inaccessible studies were excluded...

INTRODUCTION: Hyperpolarized 129 Xe MRI and spectroscopy is a rapidly growing technique for assessing lung function, with applications in a wide range of obstructive, restrictive, and pulmonary vascular disease. However, normal variations in 129 Xe measures of gas exchange across healthy subjects are not well characterized, presenting an obstacle to differentiating disease processes from the consequences of expected physiological heterogeneity. Here, we use multivariate models to evaluate the role of age, sex, and BMI in a range of commonly used 129 Xe measures of gas exchange...

Introduction: Histological data on muscle fiber size and proportion in (very) young typically developing (TD) children is not well documented and data on capillarization and satellite cell content are also lacking. Aims: This study investigated the microscopic properties of the medial gastrocnemius muscle in growing TD children, grouped according to age and gender to provide normal reference values in healthy children. Methods: Microbiopsies of the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle were collected in 46 TD boys and girls aged 2-10 years subdivided into 4 age groups (2-4, 4-6, 6-8 and 8-10 years)...

BACKGROUND: During articulation the velopharynx needs to be opened and closed rapidly and a tight closure is needed. Based on the hypothesis that patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) produce lower pressures in the velopharynx than healthy individuals, this study compared pressure profiles of the velopharyngeal closure during articulation of different sounds between healthy participants and patients with surgically closed unilateral CLP (UCLP) using high resolution manometry (HRM)...

INTRODUCTION: Rhinophonia aperta may result from velopharyngeal insufficiency. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been discussed in the context of muscle strengthening. The aim of this study was to evaluate in healthy subjects whether NMES can change the velopharyngeal closure pattern during phonation and increase muscle strength. METHOD: Eleven healthy adult volunteers (21-57 years) were included. Pressure profiles were measured by high resolution manometry (HRM): isolated sustained articulation of /a/ over 5 s (protocol 1), isolated NMES applied to soft palate above motor threshold (protocol 2) and combined articulation with NMES (protocol 3)...

INTRODUCTION: Research has indicated that individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) might experience alterations in their olfaction or levels of serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), but no studies have investigated olfactory function and serum TNF-α in BD patients simultaneously. Moreover, there is a lack of existing research that compares the longitudinal olfactory function between individuals with manic and euthymic BD I. METHODS: Patients with manic BD I (BDM, n=44) and healthy controls (HCs, n=32) were evaluated symptoms (measured via the Young Manic Rating Scale, YRMS), social function (measured via the Global Assessment Function, GAF), serum TNF-α, and olfactory function (via the Sniffin' Sticks test) including olfactory sensitivity (OS) and olfactory identification (OI)...

BACKGROUND: Despite therapy advances, one of the leading causes of cancer deaths still remains lung cancer. To improve current treatments or prevent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the role of the nutrition in cancer onset and progression needs to be understood in more detail. While in colorectal cancer, the influence of local microbiota derived SCFAs have been well investigated, the influence of SCFA on lung cancer cells via peripheral blood immune system should be investigated more deeply...

Exhausted CD8 T cells (TEX ) are associated with worse outcome in cancer yet better outcome in autoimmunity. Building on our past findings of increased TIGIT+ KLRG1+ TEX with teplizumab therapy in type 1 diabetes (T1D), in the absence of treatment we found that the frequency of TIGIT+ KLRG1+ TEX is stable within an individual but differs across individuals in both T1D and healthy control (HC) cohorts. This TIGIT+ KLRG1+ CD8 TEX population shares an exhaustion-associated EOMES gene signature in HC, T1D, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and cancer subjects, expresses multiple inhibitory receptors, and is hyporesponsive in vitro , together suggesting co-expression of TIGIT and KLRG1 may broadly define human peripheral exhausted cells...

INTRODUCTION: With aging, dual task (DT) ability declines and is more cognitively demanding than single tasks. Rapidly declining DT performance is regarded as a predictor of neurodegenerative disease. Task training and non-invasive transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) are methods applied to optimize the DT ability of the elderly. METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in the PUBMED, TDCS (transcranial direct current stimulation) databases, as well as Web of Science, and a qualitative analysis was conducted in 56 included studies...

BACKGROUND: Manifestations of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) vary greatly. Few tools and indicators are available to assess TAO, restricting personalized diagnosis and treatment. AIM: To identify an aptamer targeting thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) and utilize this aptamer to evaluate clinical activity in patients with TAO. METHODS: An aptamer targeting TSHR was developed by exponential enrichment and systematic evaluation of TSHR ligands...

Background and aim A healthy lifestyle is defined as a way of living that reduces the likelihood of severe illness or early death. Factors required for a healthy lifestyle, such as regular physical activity, better sleep patterns, improved dietary habits, probable caffeine consumption, and decreased feelings of anxiety, are generally assumed to be important for high academic performance. This study aims to investigate the correlation between a healthy lifestyle and academic success among health profession students at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Declines in estradiol levels after menopause have been reported to be associated with several health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the effect of age at natural menopause (ANM) on some of the most common chronic diseases. METHODS: This historical cohort study was performed on 2636 postmenopausal women aged 40-70 years participating in phase one of the PERSIAN cohort study in Kharameh, Iran, during 2015-2017. The effect of early (<45 years), intermediate (45-53 years), and late menopause (>53 years) on chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart diseases, stroke, thyroid diseases, and depression was assessed using classic logistic regression for diseases with an incidence rate of more than 10% and Firth's logistic regression for diseases with an incidence of less than this amount...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP) among medical students and contextual factors such as gender, age, field of study, academic level, marital status, history of physical and mental illnesses, and smoking. METHODS: The present research was conducted in a cross-sectional method in 2021 on 500 students of Shiraz University of Medical Students. An e-questionnaire link was sent to them via email...