scholarly journals Palaeopathology and its relevance to understanding health and disease today: the impact of the environment on health, past and present

2016 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Ann Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Evolutionary Medicine ◽  
Lower Respiratory Tract Disease ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Urban Contexts ◽  
Tract Disease ◽  
Pathogen Dna ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This paper considers the discipline of palaeopathology, how it has developed, how it is studied, and what limitations present challenges to analysis. The study of disease has a long history and has probably most rapidly developed over the last 40-50 years with the development of methods, and particularly ancient pathogen DNA analysis. While emphasizing that palaeopathology has close synergies to evolutionary medicine, it focuses then on three ‘case studies’ that illustrate the close interaction people have had with their environments and how that has impacted their health. Upper and lower respiratory tract disease has affected sinuses and ribs, particularly in urban contexts, and tuberculosis in particular has been an ever present disease throughout thousands of years of our existence. Ancient DNA methods are now allowing us to explore how strains of the bacteria causing TB have changed through time. Vitamin D deficiency and ‘phossy jaw’ are also described, both potentially related to polluted environments, and possibly to working conditions in the industrial period. Access to UV light is emphasized as a preventative factor for rickets and where a person lives is important (latitude). The painful stigmatizing ‘phossy jaw’ appears to be a condition related to the match making industries. Finally, thoughts for the future are outlined, and two key concerns: a close consideration of ethical issues and human remains, especially with destructive analyses, and thinking more about how palaeopathological research can impact people beyond academia.

scholarly journals Human Metapneumovirus: A Largely Unrecognized Threat to Human Health

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. Russell ◽  
Rhiannon R. Penkert ◽  
Sonnie Kim ◽  
Julia L. Hurwitz
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Development ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Human Metapneumovirus ◽  
Respiratory Tract Disease ◽  
Lower Respiratory Tract Disease ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
High Risk Populations ◽  
Tract Disease ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infects most children by five years of age. The virus can cause both upper and lower respiratory tract disease and can be life threatening. High-risk populations include young children who are exposed to virus for the first time and the elderly. Currently, there is no standard treatment nor licensed vaccine for HMPV, although several attractive vaccine candidates have been developed for pre-clinical studies. A raised awareness of the impact of HMPV on public health is needed to drive research, complete vaccine development, and thereby prevent significant virus-associated morbidities and mortalities worldwide.

Drug Induced Changes in Cell Organelles

1968 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 110-111
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Luse
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Medicine ◽  
Cell Organelles ◽  
Riboflavin Deficiency ◽  
Drug Induced ◽  
New Era ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Cellular Pathology ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
The Impact

In the mid-nineteenth century Virchow revolutionized pathology by introduction of the concept of “cellular pathology”. Today, a century later, this term has increasing significance in health and disease. We now are in the beginning of a new era in pathology, one which might well be termed “organelle pathology” or “subcellular pathology”. The impact of lysosomal diseases on clinical medicine exemplifies this role of pathology of organelles in elucidation of disease today.Another aspect of cell organelles of prime importance is their pathologic alteration by drugs, toxins, hormones and malnutrition. The sensitivity of cell organelles to minute alterations in their environment offers an accurate evaluation of the site of action of drugs in the study of both function and toxicity. Examples of mitochondrial lesions include the effect of DDD on the adrenal cortex, riboflavin deficiency on liver cells, elevated blood ammonia on the neuron and some 8-aminoquinolines on myocardium.

The Laryngeal Epithelium in Reflux

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Erickson-Levendoski ◽  
Mahalakshmi Sivasankar
Keyword(s):  
Laryngopharyngeal Reflux ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Structure And Function ◽  
Laryngeal Disease ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Impact

The epithelium plays a critical role in the maintenance of laryngeal health. This is evident in that laryngeal disease may result when the integrity of the epithelium is compromised by insults such as laryngopharyngeal reflux. In this article, we will review the structure and function of the laryngeal epithelium and summarize the impact of laryngopharyngeal reflux on the epithelium. Research investigating the ramifications of reflux on the epithelium has improved our understanding of laryngeal disease associated with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It further highlights the need for continued research on the laryngeal epithelium in health and disease.

Research Participation Experiences of Informants of Suicide and Control Cases

Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. C. Wong ◽  
Wincy S. C. Chan ◽  
Philip S. L. Beh ◽  
Fiona W. S. Yau ◽  
Paul S. F. Yip ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Research Participation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Initial Contact ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study ◽  
The People ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact

Background: Ethical issues have been raised about using the psychological autopsy approach in the study of suicide. The impact on informants of control cases who participated in case-control psychological autopsy studies has not been investigated. Aims: (1) To investigate whether informants of suicide cases recruited by two approaches (coroners’ court and public mortuaries) respond differently to the initial contact by the research team. (2) To explore the reactions, reasons for participation, and comments of both the informants of suicide and control cases to psychological autopsy interviews. (3) To investigate the impact of the interviews on informants of suicide cases about a month after the interviews. Methods: A self-report questionnaire was used for the informants of both suicide and control cases. Telephone follow-up interviews were conducted with the informants of suicide cases. Results: The majority of the informants of suicide cases, regardless of the initial route of contact, as well as the control cases were positive about being approached to take part in the study. A minority of informants of suicide and control cases found the experience of talking about their family member to be more upsetting than expected. The telephone follow-up interviews showed that none of the informants of suicide cases reported being distressed by the psychological autopsy interviews. Limitations: The acceptance rate for our original psychological autopsy study was modest. Conclusions: The findings of this study are useful for future participants and researchers in measuring the potential benefits and risks of participating in similar sensitive research. Psychological autopsy interviews may be utilized as an active engagement approach to reach out to the people bereaved by suicide, especially in places where the postvention work is underdeveloped.

Novel Coronavirus 2019 Outbreak: A Global Epidemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1458-1464
Author(s):  
Sweta Kamboj ◽  
Rohit Kamboj ◽  
Shikha Kamboj ◽  
Kumar Guarve ◽  
Rohit Dutt
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Global Epidemic ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Tract Disease ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Impact

Background: In the 1960s, the human coronavirus was designated, which is responsible for the upper respiratory tract disease in children. Back in 2003, mainly 5 new coronaviruses were recognized. This study directly pursues to govern knowledge, attitude and practice of viral and droplet infection isolation safeguard among the researchers during the outbreak of the COVID-19. Introduction: Coronavirus is a proteinaceous and infectious pathogen. It is an etiological agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Coronavirus, appeared in China from the seafood and poultry market last year, which has spread in various countries, and has caused several deaths. Methods: The literature data has been taken from different search platforms like PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Web of Science, who.int portal and complied. Results: Corona virology study will be more advanced and outstanding in recent years. COVID-19 epidemic is a threatening reminder not solely for one country but all over the universe. Conclusion: In this review article, we encapsulated the pathogenesis, geographical spread of coronavirus worldwide, also discussed the perspective of diagnosis, effective treatment, and primary recommendations by the World Health Organization, and guidelines of the government to slow down the impact of the virus are also optimistic, efficacious and obliging for the public health. However, it will take a prolonged time in the future to overcome this epidemic.

The Changing Nature of Knowledge and Service Work in the Age of Intelligent Machines

2020 ◽  
pp. 343-368
Author(s):  
Crispin Coombs ◽  
Donald Hislop ◽  
Stanimira Taneva ◽  
Sarah Barnard
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Service Work ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Academic Knowledge ◽  
Intelligent Machines ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Impact

One of the most significant recent technological developments concerns the application of intelligent machines to jobs that up to now have been considered safe from automation. These changes have generated considerable debate regarding the impacts that the widespread adoption of intelligent machines could have on the nature of work. This chapter provides a thematic review, across multiple academic disciplines, of the current state of academic knowledge regarding the impact of intelligent machines on knowledge and service work. Adopting a work-practice perspective, the chapter reviews the extant literature concerning changing relations between workers and intelligent machines, the adoption and acceptance of intelligent machines, and ethical issues associated with greater machine human collaboration. A key finding is that much of the research discusses intelligent machines complementing and extending human capabilities rather than removing humans from work processes. The concept of augmentation of humans and human work, rather than wholesale replacement from automation, flows through the literature across a range of domains. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the main gaps in existing knowledge and ways in which future research may provide a deeper understanding of how people (currently and in the near future) experience intelligent machines in their day-to-day work practice. These include the need for multi-disciplinary research, the role of contexts, the need for more and better empirical research, the changing relationships between humans and intelligent machines, the adoption and acceptance of the technology, and ethical issues.

scholarly journals BOARD INVITED REVIEW: The pig microbiota and the potential for harnessing the power of the microbiome to improve growth and health1

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (9) ◽  
pp. 3741-3757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirosh D Aluthge ◽  
Dana M Van Sambeek ◽  
Erin E Carney-Hinkle ◽  
Yanshuo S Li ◽  
Samodha C Fernando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastrointestinal Tract ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Microbial Colonization ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Specific Host ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Impact

Abstract A variety of microorganisms inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Pioneers in gut microbiology have stressed the critical importance of diet:microbe interactions and how these interactions may contribute to health status. As scientists have overcome the limitations of culture-based microbiology, the importance of these interactions has become more clear even to the extent that the gut microbiota has emerged as an important immunologic and metabolic organ. Recent advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have helped scientists to demonstrate that interactions among the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host to have profound effects on animal health and disease. However, although scientists have now accumulated a great deal of data with respect to what organisms comprise the gastrointestinal landscape, there is a need to look more closely at causative effects of the microbiome. The objective of this review is intended to provide: 1) a review of what is currently known with respect to the dynamics of microbial colonization of the porcine gastrointestinal tract; 2) a review of the impact of nutrient:microbe effects on growth and health; 3) examples of the therapeutic potential of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics; and 4) a discussion about what the future holds with respect to microbiome research opportunities and challenges. Taken together, by considering what is currently known in the four aforementioned areas, our overarching goal is to set the stage for narrowing the path towards discovering how the porcine gut microbiota (individually and collectively) may affect specific host phenotypes.

scholarly journals Ethics of Corporeal, Co-present Robots as Agents of Influence: a Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJung Moon ◽  
Shalaleh Rismani ◽  
H. F. Machiel Van der Loos
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Natural Tendency ◽  
Ai Ethics ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Purpose of Review To summarize the set of roboethics issues that uniquely arise due to the corporeality and physical interaction modalities afforded by robots, irrespective of the degree of artificial intelligence present in the system. Recent Findings One of the recent trends in the discussion of ethics of emerging technologies has been the treatment of roboethics issues as those of “embodied AI,” a subset of AI ethics. In contrast to AI, however, robots leverage human’s natural tendency to be influenced by our physical environment. Recent work in human-robot interaction highlights the impact a robot’s presence, capacity to touch, and move in our physical environment has on people, and helping to articulate the ethical issues particular to the design of interactive robotic systems. Summary The corporeality of interactive robots poses unique sets of ethical challenges. These issues should be considered in the design irrespective of and in addition to the ethics of artificial intelligence implemented in them.

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