Health technology assessment

AIM: Treatment of periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory disease driven by biofilm dysbiosis, remains challenging due to patients' poor performance and adherence to the necessary oral hygiene procedures. Novel, artificial intelligence-enabled multimodal-sensing toothbrushes (AI-MST) can guide patients' oral hygiene practices in real-time and transmit valuable data to clinicians, thus enabling effective remote monitoring and guidance. The aim of this trial was to assess the effect of such a system as an adjunct to clinical practice guideline-conform treatment...

A simple new, rapid, sensitive and cost-effective HPLC-PDA method was developed and validated for the determination of tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) simultaneously. Chromatographic separations were carried out using a reversed-phase Shim-pack GIS C18 column (4.60 × 250.00 mm; 5.00 µm) at 30°C. Oxalic acid (0.05 M), acetonitrile and methanol were used as mobile phase under gradient elution conditions at the flow rate 1.50 mL min-1 . Detection wavelength was set at 330 nm...

BACKGROUND: The global COVID-19 crisis has underscored the critical role of effective decision-making in healthcare systems. Saudi Arabia has shown resilience by implementing comprehensive testing, tracing, and vaccination measures. Given the unique cultural and religious characteristics of Makkah, specific challenges have prompted efforts to uncover local pandemic responses. This qualitative assessment aims to delineate the challenges faced by decision-makers during COVID-19 in Makkah and identify key interventions implemented by the Makkah healthcare cluster to manage and coordinate care...

BACKGROUND: Healthy Davis Together was a program launched in September 2020 in the city of Davis, California, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and facilitate the return to normalcy. The program involved multiple interventions, including free saliva-based asymptomatic testing, targeted communication campaigns, education efforts, and distribution of personal protective equipment, community partnerships, and investments in the local economy. OBJECTIVE: This study identified demographic characteristics of individuals that underwent testing and assessed adherence to testing over time in a community pandemic-response program launched in a college town in California, United States...

BACKGROUND: The first 1000 days of life, encompassing pregnancy and the first 2 years after birth, represent a critical period for human health development. Despite this significance, there has been limited research into the associations between mixed exposure to air pollutants during this period and the development of asthma/wheezing in children. Furthermore, the finer sensitivity window of exposure during this crucial developmental phase remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the relationships between prenatal and postnatal exposures to various ambient air pollutants (particulate matter 2...

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a powerful tool in the field of therapeutic landscapes. For hospitalized patients or individuals with limited mobility, VR provides highly personalized therapy by simulating authentic natural environments within a safe, convenient, and engaging setting. This study investigated the effectiveness of immersing patients in virtual natural environments for health recovery and compared the varying impacts of different types of landscapes on patients' recovery levels...

The serotonin signaling system plays a crucial role in regulating the ontogeny of crustaceans. Here, we describe the effects of different concentrations of the 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptor antagonist (WAY-100635) on the induced antipredation ( Rhodeus ocellatus as the predator), morphological, behavioral, and life-history defenses of Daphnia magna and use transcriptomics to analyze the underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results indicate that exposure to WAY-100635 leads to changes in the expression of different defensive traits in D...

BACKGROUND: Fundus photography is the most important examination in eye disease screening. A facilitated self-service eye screening pattern based on the fully automatic fundus camera was developed in 2022 in Shanghai, China; it may help solve the problem of insufficient human resources in primary health care institutions. However, the service quality and residents' preference for this new pattern are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the service quality and residents' preferences between facilitated self-service eye screening and traditional manual screening and to explore the relationships between the screening service's quality and residents' preferences...

BACKGROUND: Existing literature on the association between the frequency of muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE) and depression among adolescents is limited and contradictory. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elucidate the association of MSE frequency with depression symptoms among middle and high school students in China. METHODS: A total of 27,070 students in grades 7-12 from 376 middle and high schools were surveyed using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire between April and June 2022...

BACKGROUND: Maternal preeclampsia is associated with a risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in offspring. However, it is unknown whether the increased ASD risk associated with preeclampsia is due to preeclampsia onset or clinical management of preeclampsia after onset, as clinical expectant management of preeclampsia allows pregnant women with this complication to remain pregnant for potentially weeks depending on the onset and severity. Identifying the risk associated with preeclampsia onset and exposure provides evidence to support the care of high-risk pregnancies and reduce adverse effects on offspring...

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease-related dementia in the United States has amplified the health care burden and caregiving challenges, especially for caregivers of people living with dementia. A web-based care planning tool, Olera.care, was developed to aid caregivers in managing common challenges associated with dementia care. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to preliminarily evaluate the quality and usability of the Olera...

In recent decades, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased rapidly. To assess the relationship between ART and autism diagnosis, we linked California birth records from 2000 through 2016 with contemporaneous records from the National ART Surveillance System (NASS) and autism caseload records from California's Department of Developmental Services from 2000 through November 2019. All 95,149 birth records that were successfully linked to a NASS record, indicating an ART birth, were matched 1:1 using propensity scores to non-ART births...

Mycotoxins, ubiquitous contaminants in food, present a global threat to human health and well-being. Mitigation efforts, such as the implementation of sound agricultural practices, thorough food processing, and the advancement of mycotoxin control technologies, have been instrumental in reducing mycotoxin exposure and associated toxicity. To comprehensively assess mycotoxins and their toxicodynamic implications, the deployment of effective and predictive strategies is imperative. Understanding the manner of action, transformation, and cumulative toxic effects of mycotoxins, moreover, their interactions with food matrices can be gleaned through gene expression and transcriptome analyses at cellular and molecular levels...

Cyanobacterial blooms introduce autochthonous dissolved organic matter (DOM) into aquatic environments, but their impact on surface water photoreactivity has not been investigated through collaborative field sampling with comparative laboratory assessments. In this work, we quantified the apparent quantum yields (Φapp,RI ) of reactive intermediates (RIs), including excited triplet states of dissolved organic matter (3 DOM*), singlet oxygen (1 O2 ), and hydroxyl radicals (• OH), for whole water samples collected by citizen volunteers from more than 100 New York lakes...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a foremost global health concern, necessitating ongoing exploration of innovative therapeutic strategies. This review surveys the latest developments in cardiovascular therapeutics, offering a comprehensive overview of emerging approaches poised to transform disease management. The examination begins by elucidating the current epidemiological landscape of CVD and the economic challenges it poses to healthcare systems. It proceeds to scrutinize the limitations of traditional therapies, emphasizing the need for progressive interventions...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: To support a diverse sample of Australians to make recommendations about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in health care. STUDY DESIGN: Citizens' jury, deliberating the question: "Under which circumstances, if any, should artificial intelligence be used in Australian health systems to detect or diagnose disease?" SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Thirty Australian adults recruited by Sortition Foundation using random invitation and stratified selection to reflect population proportions by gender, age, ancestry, highest level of education, and residential location (state/territory; urban, regional, rural)...

OBJECTIVE: Determine the impact of limited implementation of a rapid blood culture identification (BCID) panel. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: From February to April 2022, positive blood cultures identified via e-Plex BCID (Roche, Carlsbad, CA) were compared to those identified using standard microbial identification techniques. The primary outcomes assessed were time to optimal therapy, time to de-escalation of anti-MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) agents, and time to de-escalation of anti-pseudomonal agents...

INTRODUCTION: Bone-anchored prostheses (BAP) are an advanced reconstructive surgical approach for individuals who had transfemoral amputation and are unable to use the conventional socket-suspension systems for their prostheses. Access to this technology has been limited in part due to the lag between the start of a new procedure and the availability of evidence that is required before making decisions about widespread provision. This systematic review presents as a single resource up-to-date information on aspects most relevant to decision makers, i...

Asparagus, a vital economic contributor, is a well-liked vegetable grown around the globe, and some secondary metabolites in its spear are beneficial to human health. Asparagus spears possess a significant quantity of nutrients and phytochemicals; however, the difference in these chemical compositions among various varieties has not been sufficiently studied. This work aimed to detect the chemical compositions of 30 varieties of asparagus and to assess them by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the contents of these chemical compositions varied in varieties...