Comfort

INTRODUCTION: Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity, with direct and indirect impacts on mental health, yet health impacts of climate change remain notably absent from most medical school curricula. We describe a timely interactive educational session on climate change and mental health that was implemented and studied on a medical student clinical psychiatry rotation. METHODS: We developed a 1-hour introductory session on the mental health impacts of climate change and potential solutions...

INTRODUCTION: The population of older adults is growing disproportionately, constituting 13% of the global population in 2022, and is expected to double by 2050. One of public health's priorities is healthy aging, the maintenance of functional ability aligned with well-being. As many as 50% of older adults report poor sleep quality, leading to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The quality and quantity of social relationships may broadly benefit sleep in older adults. However, the concept of socially-supported sleep is underdeveloped as a basis for intervention...

BACKGROUND: This study explored the approaches of Jordanian community pharmacists to identifying and counseling breastfeeding mothers regarding medication usage. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used self-administered questionnaires. A convenience sample (n=381) of Jordanian community pharmacists was recruited through social media. The responses were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS ver. 25.0 (IBM Corp., USA). RESULTS: The majority of recruited pharmacists were female (n=329, 86...

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory disorder characterized by painful, deep follicular nodules, abscesses, sinus tracts, and scarring, most commonly presenting in the inguinal, axillary, and anogenital regions. This condition substantially decreases quality of life in affected individuals, resulting in higher rates of psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance use. The detrimental effects of HS are well documented by dermatologists, as individuals with HS make up a large proportion of the patients that they see daily...

The widespread application of rare earth elements (REEs) in contemporary industries and agriculture, has caused emerging contaminant accumulation in aquatic environments. However, there is a limited scope of risk assessments, particularly in relation to human health associated with REEs. This study investigated the provenance, and contamination levels of REEs, further evaluating their environmental and human health risks in river sediments from an agricultural basin. The concentrations of REEs ranged from 30...

BACKGROUND: Our study presents a single center experience in resection of intradural spinal tumors either with or without using intraoperative CT (iCT)-based registration and microscope-based augmented reality (AR). Microscope-based AR was recently described for improved orientation in the operative field in spine surgery, using superimposed images of segmented structures of interest in a two- (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) mode. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All patients who underwent surgery for resection of intradural spinal tumors at our department were retrospectively included in the study...

In countries with pasture-based dairy systems and relatively cold winters, such as New Zealand, it is common to manage pregnant, nonlactating cows on forage crop paddocks rather than pasture due to slow pasture growth rates. Wintering dairy cattle on grazed crops can compromise welfare if wet and muddy underfoot conditions occur, which can reduce lying. This study investigated behavioral and physiological indicators of welfare of cows under 2 wintering practices: cows managed on and grazed kale crop (Brassica oleracea), and cows managed on pasture with baled hay...

Free stall comfort is reflected in various indicators, including the ability for dairy cattle to display unhindered posture transition movements in the cubicles. To ensure farm animal welfare, it is instrumental for the farm management to be able to continuously monitor occurrences of abnormal motions. Advances in computer vision have enabled accurate kinematic measurements in several fields such as human, equine and bovine biomechanics. An important step upstream to measuring displacement during posture transitions is to determine that the behavior is accurately detected...

BACKGROUND: Haemorrhoids are a common chronic anorectal disease, and haemorrhoidectomy is the standard treatment for advanced (grade III and IV) haemorrhoids. Warm water sitz has commonly been used to stimulate urination, cleanse wounds, and decrease pain. Although urinary retention and pain usually occur within the first 24 h after surgery, the warm water sitz bath is provided 24 h after haemorrhoidectomy, which might be a missed opportunity to optimize the quality and efficiency of the care provided...

BACKGROUND: The establishment of good facial esthetics is one of the main objectives of complete denture construction. Unfortunately, it may be the caused issue for patients having a prominent premaxilla due to excessive lip support by the labial flange of the maxillary denture. Open-face dentures (OFD) may suggest suitable prosthetic management for these patients. However, clinical evidence regarding the efficiency of OFD is scarce. METHODS: A total of 38 completely edentulous participants having prominent premaxilla and skeletal class I Angle's classification were enrolled in this study...

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS is a global health challenge and continues to threaten lives in sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana. One of the important interventions for controlling its transmission is through testing and receiving medication. In this study, we present findings on the prevalence and factors associated with HIV testing among young women in Ghana. METHODS: We used data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey comprising young women aged 15-24 years...

PURPOSE: Swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) scans of eyes with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were used to replace color, autofluorescence, infrared reflectance, and dye-based fundus angiographic imaging for the diagnosis and staging of AMD. Through the use of different algorithms with the SS-OCTA scans, both structural and angiographic information can be viewed and assessed using both cross-sectional and en face imaging strategies. DESIGN: Presented at the 2022 Charles L...

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding patterns in 12-month-old children play a central role in the mother-infant dyad, but studies describing the patterns are scarce. AIM: To investigate breastfeeding patterns in 12-month-old infants before and after a breastfeeding support programme. STUDY DESIGN: A baseline/intervention design as part of a larger implementation project aiming to revive the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding programme. SUBJECTS: During a 24-h period, 28 mothers from a baseline group and 24 mothers from an intervention group recorded all breastfeeding sessions on a pen and paper form...

Continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMs) are critical toward closed-loop diabetes management. The field's progress urges next-generation CGMs with enhanced antinoise ability, reliability, and wearability. Here, we propose a coin-sized, fully integrated, and wearable CGM, achieved by holistically synergizing state-of-the-art interdisciplinary technologies of biosensors, minimally invasive tools, and hydrogels. The proposed CGM consists of three major parts: (i) an emerging biochemical signal amplifier, the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT), improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) beyond traditional electrochemical sensors; (ii) a microneedle array to facilitate subcutaneous glucose sampling with minimized pain; and (iii) a soft hydrogel to stabilize the skin-device interface...

The article presents comparative analysis of demographic, social and professional characteristics of general practitioners and district therapists in state and private medical organizations. Sociological, statistical and analytical research methods were applied. The study was carried out on the basis of polyclinics of both Moscow Health Department and Moscow private health care sector. The sampling consisted of 399 questionnaires subjected to statistical processing. It is established that in state and private medical organizations, in this group of physicians prevail women 36-55 years old, born in the Russian Federation, in Moscow, married, having children and assessing one's income level as average...

Animal welfare encompasses the overall well-being of an animal, spanning both its physical and mental health, assessable through potential measurements. It stands in contrast to mistreatment, which involves actions, direct or indirect, that endanger an animal's well-being. This study sought to appraise the factors influencing the Brazilian population's understanding of dog welfare and mistreatment. The survey questions were adapted from the Animal Welfare Examination Protocol, utilized by veterinarians to evaluate suspected passive abuse cases in dogs...

Dystonia, typically characterized by slow repetitive involuntary movements, stiff abnormal postures, and hypertonia, is common among individuals with cerebral palsy (CP). Dystonia can interfere with activities and have considerable impact on motor function, pain/comfort, and ease of caregiving. Although pharmacological and neurosurgical approaches are used clinically in individuals with CP and dystonia that is causing interference, evidence to support these options is limited. This clinical practice guideline update comprises 10 evidence-based recommendations on the use of pharmacological and neurosurgical interventions for individuals with CP and dystonia causing interference, developed by an international expert panel following the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach...

For physician associate/assistant (PA) educators, the path of least resistance often is to focus our cognitive energies on topics with which we are most comfortable and to deliver content in the style in which we are most accustomed. The consequence of this approach is that many didactic curricula are delivered in a traditional, lecture-based format, which then aligns with how the faculty were taught. Studies show that lecture-based teaching may not be the most effective and that blending teaching modalities can improve knowledge acquisition...

In this systematic review, we searched electronic databases for literature addressing physician use of chaperones during examinations of patients undergoing plastic surgery from the perspective of the patient, physician, and chaperone from inception of the database until April 2023. After screening 939 articles, we included seven studies in a systematic review. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis of four domains (physician perspective, patient perspective, chaperone perspective, and chaperone documentation)...

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