scholarly journals Increased heart rate functions as a signal of acute distress in non-communicating persons with intellectual disability

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Kildal ◽  
Kristine Stadskleiv ◽  
Elin S. Boysen ◽  
Tone Øderud ◽  
Inger-Lise Dahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Acute Pain ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Passive Stretching ◽  
Acute Distress ◽  
Rate Functions ◽  
Major Health Issue

AbstractIntellectual disability (ID) affects approximately 1% of the population. Some patients with severe or profound ID are essentially non-communicating and therefore risk experiencing pain and distress without being able to notify their caregivers, which is a major health issue. This real-world proof of concept study aimed to see if heart rate (HR) monitoring could reveal whether non-communicating persons with ID experience acute pain or distress in their daily lives. We monitored HR in 14 non-communicating participants with ID in their daily environment to see if specific situations were associated with increased HR. We defined increased HR as being > 1 standard deviation above the daily mean and lasting > 5 s. In 11 out of 14 participants, increased HR indicated pain or distress in situations that were not previously suspected to be stressful, e.g. passive stretching of spastic limbs or being transported in patient lifts. Increased HR suggesting joy was detected in three participants (during car rides, movies). In some situations that were previously suspected to be stressful, absence of HR increase suggested absence of pain or distress. We conclude that HR monitoring may identify acute pain and distress in non-communicating persons with ID, allowing for improved health care for this patient group.

scholarly journals Increased heart rate as a signal of acute distress in non-communicating persons with intellectual disability. A real-world study.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Kildal ◽  
Kristine Stadskleiv ◽  
Elin Boysen ◽  
Tone Øderud ◽  
Inger-Lise Dahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Acute Pain ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Passive Stretching ◽  
Acute Distress ◽  
Major Health Issue

Abstract Intellectual disability (ID) affects approximately 1% of the population. Some patients with severe or profound ID are essentially non-communicating and therefore risk experiencing pain and distress without being able to notify their caregivers, which is a major health issue. This study aimed to see if heart rate (HR) monitoring could reveal whether non-communicating persons with ID experience acute pain or distress in their daily lives. We monitored HR in 14 non-communicating participants with ID in their daily environment to see if specific situations were associated with increased HR. We defined increased HR as being > 1 standard deviation above the daily mean and lasting > 5 seconds. In 11 out of 14 participants, increased HR indicated pain or distress in situations that were not previously suspected to be stressful, e.g. passive stretching of spastic limbs or being transported in patient lifts. Increased HR suggesting joy was detected in three participants (during car rides, movies). In some situations that were previously suspected to be stressful, absence of HR increase suggested absence of pain or distress. We conclude that HR monitoring may identify acute pain and distress in non-communicating persons with ID, allowing for improved health care for this patient group.

Exciting Potential of Nanoparticlized Lipidic System for Effective Treatment of Breast Cancer and Clinical Updates: A Translational Prospective

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 1191-1205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjit K. Harwansh ◽  
Shiv Bahadur ◽  
Rohitas Deshmukh ◽  
Md. A. Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Traditional Drug ◽  
Present Context ◽  
Exciting Potential ◽  
Transcriptional Changes ◽  
Deadly Disease ◽  
Targeted Approach ◽  
Major Health Issue

: Breast cancer (BC) is a multifactorial disease and becoming a major health issue in women throughout the globe. BC is a malignant type of cancer which results from transcriptional changes in proteins and genes. Besides the availability of modern medicines and detection tools, BC has become a topmost deadly disease and its cure still remains challenging. Nanotechnology based approaches are being employed for the diagnosis and treatment of BC at clinical stages. Nanosystems have a significant role in the study of the interaction of malignant cells with their microenvironment through receptor-based targeted approach. Nowadays, lipid-based nanocarriers are being popularized in the domain of pharmaceutical and medical biology for cancer therapy. Lipidic nanoparticlized systems (LNPs) have proven to have high loading efficiency, less toxicity, improved therapeutic efficacy, enhanced bioavailability and stability of the bioactive compounds compared to traditional drug delivery systems. In the present context, several LNPs based formulations have been undertaken in various phases of clinical trials in different countries. This review highlights the importance of chemotherapeutics based lipidic nanocarriers and their anticipated use for the treatment of BC. Furthermore, the clinical trials and future prospective of LNPs have been widely elaborated.

scholarly journals Characterisation of Textile Embedded Electrodes for Use in a Neonatal Smart Mattress Electrocardiography System

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 999
Author(s):  
Henry Dore ◽  
Rodrigo Aviles-Espinosa ◽  
Zhenhua Luo ◽  
Oana Anton ◽  
Heike Rabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Delivery Room ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Heart Rate Monitoring

Heart rate monitoring is the predominant quantitative health indicator of a newborn in the delivery room. A rapid and accurate heart rate measurement is vital during the first minutes after birth. Clinical recommendations suggest that electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring should be widely adopted in the neonatal intensive care unit to reduce infant mortality and improve long term health outcomes in births that require intervention. Novel non-contact electrocardiogram sensors can reduce the time from birth to heart rate reading as well as providing unobtrusive and continuous monitoring during intervention. In this work we report the design and development of a solution to provide high resolution, real time electrocardiogram data to the clinicians within the delivery room using non-contact electric potential sensors embedded in a neonatal intensive care unit mattress. A real-time high-resolution electrocardiogram acquisition solution based on a low power embedded system was developed and textile embedded electrodes were fabricated and characterised. Proof of concept tests were carried out on simulated and human cardiac signals, producing electrocardiograms suitable for the calculation of heart rate having an accuracy within ±1 beat per minute using a test ECG signal, ECG recordings from a human volunteer with a correlation coefficient of ~ 87% proved accurate beat to beat morphology reproduction of the waveform without morphological alterations and a time from application to heart rate display below 6 s. This provides evidence that flexible non-contact textile-based electrodes can be embedded in wearable devices for assisting births through heart rate monitoring and serves as a proof of concept for a complete neonate electrocardiogram monitoring system.

Gait Disorder among Elderly People, Psychomotor Disadaptation Syndrome: Post-Fall Syndrome, Risk Factors and Follow-Up – A Cohort Study of 70 Patients

Gerontology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Maxence Meyer ◽  
Florentin Constancias ◽  
Thomas Vogel ◽  
Georges Kaltenbach ◽  
Elise Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Fear Of Falling ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
General Physician ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Mobility Assessment ◽  
Control Study ◽  
Major Health Issue

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Falls among older people are a major health issue and the first cause of accidental death after 75 years of age. Post-fall syndrome (PFS) is commonly known and yet poorly studied. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> Identify risk factors for PFS and do a follow-up 1 year later. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We included all patients over 70 years of age hospitalized after suffering a fall in a case-control study, and then followed them in a cohort study. PFS was retained in case of functional mobility decline (transferring, walking) occurring following a fall in the absence of an acute neurological, orthopedic or rheumatic pathology directly responsible for the decline. The data initially collected were: clinical (anamnestic, emergency and departmental/ward evolution, medical history, lifestyle, treatments, clinical examination items); and imaging if the patient had been subjected to brain imaging in the last 3 years prior to inclusion. Regarding the follow-up at 1 year, we collected from the general physician the occurrence and the characteristics of new falls, functional mobility assessment, hospitalization and death. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Inclusion took place from March 29, 2016 to June 7, 2016 and follow-up until June 30, 2017. We included 70 patients. A total of 29 patients exhibited a PFS (41.4 %). Risk factors for PFS included age, walking disorder prior to the fall, the use of a walking aid prior to the fall, no unaccompanied outdoor walk in the week before the fall, visual impairment making close reading impossible, stiffness in ankle dorsiflexion, grip strength and the fear of falling. Among patients with PFS, 52.9% could still perform a transfer at 1 year and 64.7% could still walk against 80.7% and 85.2%, respectively, for patients without PFS. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The study showed the existence of body functions/structure impairments and activity limitations prior to the fall among patients exhibiting a PFS. This suggests the existence of a pre-fall syndrome, i.e., a psychomotor disadaptation syndrome existing prior to the fall. Among the 8 risk factors, fear of falling, vision impairment and muscle strength could be targeted for improvement. The diagnosis of PFS could be a marker of loss of functional mobility at 1 year.

scholarly journals Zinc and Sepsis

Nutrients ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiebke Alker ◽  
Hajo Haase
Keyword(s):  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Acute Phase Proteins ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Zinc Homeostasis ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Nutritional Immunity ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Zinc Concentrations ◽  
Severity Of The Disease ◽  
Major Health Issue

Sepsis, defined as a “life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host-response to infection” is a major health issue worldwide and still lacks a fully elucidated pathobiology and uniform diagnostic tests. The trace element zinc is known to be crucial to ensure an appropriate immune response. During sepsis a redistribution of zinc from serum into the liver has been observed and several studies imply a correlation between zinc and sepsis outcome. Therefore the alterations of zinc concentrations in different tissues might serve as one part of the host’s defense mechanism against pathogens during sepsis by diverse mechanisms. It has been suggested that zinc is involved in nutritional immunity, acts as a hepatoprotective agent, or a differentiation signal for innate immune cells, or supports the synthesis of acute phase proteins. Further knowledge about these events could help in the evaluation of how zinc could be optimally applied to improve treatment of septic patients. Moreover, the changes in zinc homeostasis are substantial and correlate with the severity of the disease, suggesting that zinc might also be useful as a diagnostic marker for evaluating the severity and predicting the outcome of sepsis.

Proof-of-concept for a segmented composite diving suit offering depth-independent thermal protection

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-298
Author(s):  
Aaron Demers ◽  
◽  
Shane Martin ◽  
Emil P Kartalov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Protection ◽  
Health Hazard ◽  
Organ Damage ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Major Health ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Higher Temperature ◽  
3D Scans ◽  
Resistive Composite

Heat loss is a major health hazard for divers. It can lead to hypothermia, organ damage, unconsciousness, and eventually death. Hence, thermal protection is essential for diver safety. Typically, protection is provided by wetsuits made of bubbled neoprene. However, neoprene shrinks with depth and loses thermal insulation capability, while thick neoprene suits make swimming exhausting. Herein, a proof-of-concept is presented for a solution to both problems: a ‘K-suit’ made of thermally-resistive composite segments attached to a thin neoprene suit. The segments are made of hollow glass microspheres embedded in carrier polymer thermally cured in 3D-printed molds based on 3D-scans of the diver’s body. The K-suit was compared in field trials with a 7 mm commercial neoprene suit by diving in pairs, while automated dataloggers registered pressure and temperature inside and outside both suits. The K-suit demonstrated +4ºC higher temperature difference than the 7 mm neoprene. Also, divers reported that the K-suit had the ergonomics of a 3 mm neoprene suit. These preliminary results represent a proof-of-concept for the K-suit and promise further improvements with potential impact on diver safety.

Prevention effects of black soybean polyphenols on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in three different model mice

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mio Yamamoto ◽  
Yasukiyo Yoshioka ◽  
Tomoya Kitakaze ◽  
Yoko Yamashita ◽  
Hitoshi Ashida
Keyword(s):  
Liver Disease ◽  
Fatty Liver ◽  
Fatty Liver Disease ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Black Soybean ◽  
Food Components ◽  
The World ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ◽  
Major Health Issue

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and its advanced stage, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are a major health issue throughout the world. Certain food components such as polyphenols are expected to possess...

scholarly journals A Review of Cytotoxic Plants of the Indian Subcontinent and a Broad-Spectrum Analysis of Their Bioactive Compounds

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kishor Mazumder ◽  
Biswajit Biswas ◽  
Iqbal Mahmud Raja ◽  
Koichi Fukase
Keyword(s):  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Cytotoxic Agents ◽  
Active Components ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Cytotoxic Compounds ◽  
Cause Of Deaths ◽  
New Compounds ◽  
Synthetic Derivatives ◽  
Major Health Issue

Cancer or uncontrolled cell proliferation is a major health issue worldwide and is the second leading cause of deaths globally. The high mortality rate and toxicity associated with cancer chemotherapy or radiation therapy have encouraged the investigation of complementary and alternative treatment methods, such as plant-based drugs. Moreover, over 60% of the anti-cancer drugs are molecules derived from plants or their synthetic derivatives. Therefore, in the present review, an attempt has been made to summarize the cytotoxic plants available in the Indian subcontinent along with a description of their bio-active components. The review covers 99 plants of 57 families as well as over 110 isolated bioactive cytotoxic compounds, amongst which at least 20 are new compounds. Among the reported phytoconstituents, artemisinin, lupeol, curcumin, and quercetin are under clinical trials, while brazilin, catechin, ursolic acid, β-sitosterol, and myricetin are under pharmacokinetic development. However, for the remaining compounds, there is little or no information available. Therefore, further investigations are warranted on these subcontinent medicinal plants as an important source of novel cytotoxic agents.

scholarly journals Management of a Difficult-to-Treat Diabetic Foot Wound Complicated by Osteomyelitis: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Maram Alkhatieb ◽  
Hatan Mortada ◽  
Hattan Aljaaly
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Foot ◽  
Correct Diagnosis ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Major Health ◽  
History Of ◽  
Major Health Issue

Introduction. Diabetic ulcers are a major health issue worldwide, causing significant economic burdens and affecting both the patient and the society as a whole. Predisposing factors in diabetic patients, known as the pathogenic triad, comprise trauma, ischemia, and neuropathy. Regardless of the cause, correct diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential in the management of leg ulcers. Case History. We report a case of a 51-year-old male patient, with a known history of type 2 diabetes mellitus who presented to our hospital with a history of two ulcers, one that he was mainly complaining of, which was actively infected and located at the posterior part of the distal left leg, and the second, dry ulcer caused by unrecognized trauma, located on the heel of the same limb. Magnetic resonance imaging showed osteomyelitis and degenerative changes in the calcaneonavicular and tarsal joints. The patient underwent multiple sessions of excisional debridement. He was started on negative pressure wound therapy with some improvements. However, after skin graft failure, Nanoflex powder was used, leading to complete wound closure within one month of treatment. Conclusion. A multidisciplinary holistic approach must be used when treating diabetic foot ulcers. Different modalities and sessions of debridement should be performed after optimizing the general condition of the patient.

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