scholarly journals BONE ALUMINUM AS A BIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO ALUMINUM

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1SP) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Keyne Christa Monintja ◽  
Muhammad Ilyas

ABSTRACTThe current proposed biological monitoring of aluminum is based on the analysis of aluminum concentration in blood/serum or in urine, but both considered to be reflective of short-term exposure. Based on its toxic kinetics, aluminum has been demonstrated to be accumulated in the bone. The aim of this study is to find out whether by analyzing bone aluminum, we might have an overview of aluminum accumulation that might cause health problems in the future. This review was conducted through a method of search and selection of articles from Pubmed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases aimed to answer question rising from the problem statement of this study. The process of searching articles used the keywords “occupational aluminum” OR “bone aluminum” AND “biological monitoring” OR “biomonitoring”. The selection of articles was performed using the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Initially, 61 articles were obtained, but after the selection process and hand searching, four articles remained consisting of two case reports and two cross sectional studies. Based on the selected evidence-based resources, bone can be a promising potential biomarker of aluminum, especially for cumulative exposure assessment. The use of in vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) or X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology for the purpose of noninvasively quantifying aluminum concentration in the bone, is suitable enough to be performed in occupational settings. Keywords: Bone aluminum, occupational exposure, IVNAA, XRF, biomonitoring, biological monitoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Orlandini ◽  
Maria Carolina Serafim ◽  
Letícia Datrino ◽  
Clara Santos ◽  
Luca Tristão ◽  
...  

Abstract   Megaesophagus progress to sigmoid megaesophagus (SM) in 10–15% of patients, presenting tortuosity and sigmoid colon aspect. Esophagectomy is the choice treatment but is associated with high complications and mortality rates. To avoid the esophagectomy inherent morbidity, several authors recommend Heller myotomy (HM) with pull-down technique for SM, mainly for patients with comorbidities and the elderly. This systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to analyze the effectiveness of HM for treating SM. Methods A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library Central, Lilacs (BVS), and manual search of references. Inclusion criteria were: a) clinical trials, cohort studies, case series; b) patients with SM and esophageal diameter ≥ 6 cm; and c) patients undergoing primary myotomy. The exclusion criteria were: a) reviews, case reports, cross-sectional studies, editorials, letters, congress abstracts, full-text unavailability; b) animal studies, c) previous surgical treatment for achalasia; and d) pediatric studies. There were no restrictions on language or date of publication, and no filters were applied for the selection process. Random model and a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used. Results Sixteen articles were selected, encompassing 231 patients. The mean age ranged from 36 to 61 years old, and the mean follow-up ranged from 16 to 109 months. The analyzed outcomes include mortality, complications (pneumonia, pneumothorax, gastroesophageal reflux), need for reintervention (remyotomy, dilation and esophagectomy), and results classified as ‘good’ and ‘excellent’. Mortality rate was 0.035 (CI: 0.017–0.07; p < 0.01). Complications rate was 0.08 (CI: 0.04–0.153; p = 0.01). Need for retreatment rate was 0.161 (CI: 0.053–0.399; p < 0.01). Probability of good or excellent outcomes after myotomy was 0.762 (CI: 0.693–0.819; p < 0,01). Conclusion Heller myotomy is an option for avoiding esophagectomy in achalasia, with a low morbimortality rate and good results. It is effective for most patients but will fail in a minority of patients and demand retreatment, be it a remyotomy, endoscopic treatment or esophagectomy.


Author(s):  
Soraya Masthura Hasan ◽  
T Iqbal Faridiansyah

Mosque architectural design is based on Islamic culture as an approach to objects and products from the Islamic community by looking at their suitability and values and basic principles of Islam that explore more creative and innovative ideas. The purpose of this system is to help the team and the community in seeing the best mosque in the top order so that the system can be used as a reference for the team and the community. The variables used in the selection of modern mosques include facilities and infrastructure, building structure, roof structure, mosque area, level of security and facilities. The system model used is a fuzzy promethee model that is used for the modern mosque selection process. Fuzzy inference assessment is used to determine the value of each variable so that the value remains at normal limits. Fuzzy values will then be included in promethee assessment aspects. The highest promethee ranking results will be made a priority for the best mosque ranking. This fuzzy inference system and promethee system can help the management team and the community in determining the selection of modern mosques in aceh in accordance with modern mosque architecture. Intelligent System Modeling System In Determining Modern Mosque Architecture in the City of Aceh, this building will be web based so that all elements of society can see the best mosque in Aceh by being assessed by all elements of modern mosque architecture.Keywords: Fuzzy inference system, Promethe, Option of  Masjid


Author(s):  
Christian Zanza ◽  
Yaroslava Longhitano ◽  
Marco Artico ◽  
Gianmaria Cammarota ◽  
Andrea Barbanera ◽  
...  

Background: in the last years, ultrasound technology has entered in clinical practice as a tank and today, it has also allowed to no-cardiologists to extend and to deep their medical examination without the needing to call the consultant and having a good profile of diagnostic accuracy. The ultrasound bedside does not replace the consultant but it allows not to perform inappropriate consultations with more savings for hospitals. Objective: The aim was to review recently published literature to inform the clinician about the most up to date management of use bedside echography in emergency setting. In this short review we focused on two types of syndromes, no traumatichypotension and dyspnea, common to the three holistic disciplines of medicine, showing the main and basic questions and answers that ultrasound can give us for rapid identification of the problem Methods: We conducted a systematic review using Pubmed/Medline, Ovid/Willey and Cochrane Library, combining key terms such as “cardiac ultrasound, “cardiac diseases”,“emergency medicine”,“pocus”, “dyspnea”,“ hypotension”. We selected the most relevant clinical trials and review articles (excluding case reports) published in the last 19 years and in our opinion 59 publications appeared the best choice according to the PRISMA statement. In additional papers identified from individual article reference lists were also included. Conclusion: Recent studies have shown promise in establishing best practices for evaluation of heart, lung abdomen and deep vessels At the moment bedside US is widely used in an integrated ultrasound vision just like the holistic view have internal medicine, intensive care and emergency medicine and many medical schools in Europe and the USA are inserting ultrasonography into the core curriculum but we still have to find a standard method for the training program for minimum competence acquisition.


Homeopathy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 109 (04) ◽  
pp. 191-197
Author(s):  
Chetna Deep Lamba ◽  
Vishwa Kumar Gupta ◽  
Robbert van Haselen ◽  
Lex Rutten ◽  
Nidhi Mahajan ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to establish the reliability and content validity of the “Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy—Causal Attribution Inventory” as a tool for attributing a causal relationship between the homeopathic intervention and outcome in clinical case reports. Methods Purposive sampling was adopted for the selection of information-rich case reports using pre-defined criteria. Eligible case reports had to fulfil a minimum of nine items of the CARE Clinical Case Reporting Guideline checklist and a minimum of three of the homeopathic HOM-CASE CARE extension items. The Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy Inventory consists of 10 domains. Inter-rater agreement in the scoring of these domains was determined by calculating the percentage agreement and kappa (κ) values. A κ greater than 0.4, indicating fair agreement between raters, in conjunction with the absence of concerns regarding the face validity, was taken to indicate the validity of a given domain. Each domain was assessed by four raters for the selected case reports. Results Sixty case reports met the inclusion criteria. Inter-rater agreement/concordance per domain was “perfect” for domains 1 (100%, κ = 1.00) and 2 (100%, κ = 1.00); “almost perfect” for domain 8 (97.5%, κ = 0.86); “substantial” for domains 3 (96.7%, κ = 0.80) and 5 (91.1%, κ = 0.70); “moderate” for domains 4 (83.3%, κ = 0.60), 7 (67.8%, κ = 0.46) and 9 (99.2%, κ = 0.50); and “fair” for domain 10 (56.1%, κ = 0.38). For domains 6A (46.7%, κ = 0.03) and 6B (50.3%, κ = 0.18), there was “slight agreement” only. Thus, the validity of the Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy tool was established for each of its domains, except for the two that pertain to direction of cure (domains 6A and 6B). Conclusion The Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy—Causal Attribution Inventory was identified as a valid tool for assessing the likelihood of a causal relationship between a homeopathic intervention and clinical outcome. Improved wordings for several criteria have been proposed for the assessment tool, under the new acronym “MONARCH”. Further assessment of two MONARCH domains is required.


Author(s):  
Hamish Farquhar ◽  
Ana B Vargas-Santos ◽  
Huai Leng Pisaniello ◽  
Mark Fisher ◽  
Catherine Hill ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the efficacy, defined as achieving target serum urate <6.0 mg/dl, and safety of urate-lowering therapies (ULT) for people with gout and CKD stages 3–5. Methods PubMed, The Cochrane Library, and EMBASE, were searched from 1 January 1959 to 31 January 2018 for studies that enrolled people with gout, who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or creatinine clearance (CrCl) of < 60 mL/min, and exposure to allopurinol, febuxostat, probenecid, benzbromarone, lesinurad or pegloticase. All study designs other than case reports were included, except for people on dialysis, for which we did include case reports. Results There were 36 reports with an analysis of efficacy and/or safety based upon renal function – allopurinol (n = 12), febuxostat (n = 10), probenecid (n = 3), benzbromarone (n = 5), lesinurad (n = 5), and pegloticase (n = 1). There were 108 reports that involved people with gout and renal impairment but did not contain any analysis on efficacy and/or safety based upon renal function – allopurinol (n = 84), febuxostat (n = 14), benzbromarone (n = 1), lesinurad (n = 3), and pegloticase (n = 6). Most studies excluded people with more severe degrees of renal impairment (eGFR or CrCl of < 30mL/min). For allopurinol in particular, there was significant variability in the dose of drug used, and efficacy in terms of urate lowering, across all levels of renal impairment. Conclusion There is a lack of evidence regarding efficacy and/or safety of currently used ULT according to different levels of renal function. Future studies should include patients with CKD and should report study outcomes stratified by renal function.


Author(s):  
Grace X Chen ◽  
Andrea’t Mannetje ◽  
Jeroen Douwes ◽  
Leonard H Berg ◽  
Neil Pearce ◽  
...  

Abstract In a New Zealand population-based case-control study we assessed associations with occupational exposure to electric shocks, extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) and motor neurone disease using job-exposure matrices to assess exposure. Participants were recruited between 2013 and 2016. Associations with ever/never, duration, and cumulative exposure were assessed using logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, sports, head or spine injury and solvents, and mutually adjusted for the other exposure. All analyses were repeated stratified by sex. An elevated risk was observed for having ever worked in a job with potential for electric shocks (odds ratio (OR)=1.35, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.98, 1.86), with the strongest association for the highest level of exposure (OR=2.01, 95%CI: 1.31, 3.09). Analysis by duration suggested a non-linear association: risk was increased for both short-duration (<3 years) (OR= 4.69, 95%CI: 2.25, 9.77) and long-duration in a job with high level of electric shock exposure (>24 years; OR=1.88; 95%CI: 1.05, 3.36), with less pronounced associations for intermediate durations. No association with ELF-MF was found. Our findings provide support for an association between occupational exposure to electric shocks and motor neurone disease but did not show associations with exposure to work-related ELF-MF.


Author(s):  
Nikita Mohan ◽  
Muhammad Ali Fayyaz ◽  
Christopher del Rio ◽  
Navpreet Kaur Rajinder Singh Khurana ◽  
Sampada Sandip Vaidya ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected everyone in a hit or miss manner. Since it began, evidence of the neuro-invasive potential of the virus has been intensifying significantly. Several pathways have been hypothesized to elucidate the neurotropic nature of SARS-CoV2. It is the need of the hour to collect vital information. Objective To evaluate and correlate the neuro-radiological and neurological manifestations in patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV2. To identify neuro-invasive pathways of COVID infection. Methods Relevant studies were identified through four databases—the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science. These were searched using relevant keywords—“COVID-19,” “SARS-CoV2,” “neurological manifestations,” “neuroimaging,” “CT,” and “MRI.” Relevant articles were screened according to a pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria from December 2019 to August 2020. Results Our review included a total of 63 full text publications with 584 patients, composed mainly of observational studies, case reports, and case series. The most common neurological manifestations associated with COVID-19 were altered mental status, stroke, and paralysis. About 17.85% patients who underwent neuroimaging were found to be having ischemic changes suggestive of a stroke. This was followed by hemorrhagic changes as the second most common finding. The most commonly involved vessel was the Middle Cerebral Artery. Besides stroke, we found that SARS-CoV2 could be the cause for new-onset seizures, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, encephalitis, and many other severe neurological diseases. Conclusion The information that we have obtained so far will prove dynamic to healthcare providers working against the COVID-19 pandemic. It is necessary to be aware of these atypical neurological findings for the early diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 infected patients. However, to completely understand the connection between SARS-CoV2 and the nervous system, further research is necessary.


2021 ◽  
pp. 106002802110299
Author(s):  
S. Lena Kang-Birken

Objective: To evaluate recent publications on efficacy of single-dose azithromycin and 7-day doxycycline when treating Chlamydia trachomatis. Data Sources: A literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane library was conducted (1990 to June 13, 2021) using the terms: Chlamydia trachomatis, genital chlamydia, rectal chlamydia, extragenital chlamydia, azithromycin, doxycycline, and treatment guidelines. ClinicalTrials.gov was searched to identify ongoing trials. Study Selection and Data Extraction: English language studies, including controlled studies, retrospective analyses, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and case reports, reporting microbiological or clinical outcomes in adolescents and adults were considered. Data Synthesis: Systemic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized trials reported azithromycin efficacy of 96% to 97% in genital chlamydia. However, reports of treatment failure have emerged, especially among symptomatic males, with an increased risk of microbiological failure after azithromycin than doxycycline (relative risk = 2.45; 95% CI = 1.36-4.41). Retrospective analyses and prospective observational cohort studies reported lower efficacy range following azithromycin than doxycycline (74%-87% vs 92%-100%, respectively) in rectal chlamydia. First randomized controlled trial comparing azithromycin and doxycycline reported significantly higher microbiological cure following doxycycline, with absolute difference of 26% (95% CI = 16%-36%; P < 0.001). The proposed 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention treatment guidelines designate doxycycline as the preferred agent for treatment at any site. Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice: A growing body of evidence for treatment failure following azithromycin, especially in rectal chlamydia supports updating current practice. Conclusions: Doxycycline continues to achieve high efficacy in genital and rectal chlamydia. Clinicians should consider efficacy with convenience of dosing regimen, medication compliance, and sexual behavior risks when treating chlamydia infections.


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