scholarly journals A Scoping Review on Minimum Foot Clearance: An Exploration of Level-Ground Clearance in Individuals with Abnormal Gait

Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Al Bochi ◽  
Ghazaleh Delfi ◽  
Tilak Dutta

Background: Falls are a major health concern, with one in three adults over the age of 65 falling each year. A key gait parameter that is indicative of tripping is minimum foot clearance (MFC), which occurs during the mid-swing phase of gait. This is the second of a two-part scoping review on MFC literature. The aim of this paper is to identify vulnerable populations and conditions that impact MFC mean or median relative to controls. This information will inform future design/maintenance standards and outdoor built environment guidelines. Methods: Four electronic databases were searched to identify journal articles and conference papers that report level-ground MFC characteristics. Two independent reviewers screened papers for inclusion. Results: Out of 1571 papers, 43 relevant papers were included in this review. Twenty-eight conditions have been studied for effects on MFC. Eleven of the 28 conditions led to a decrease in mean or median MFC including dual-task walking in older adults, fallers with multiple sclerosis, and treadmill walking. All studies were conducted indoors. Conclusions: The lack of standardized research methods and covariates such as gait speed made it difficult to compare MFC values between studies for the purpose of defining design and maintenance standards for the outdoor built environment. Standardized methods for defining MFC and an emphasis on outdoor trials are needed in future studies.

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2193
Author(s):  
Juan Luis Higuera-Trujillo ◽  
Carmen Llinares ◽  
Eduardo Macagno

Humans respond cognitively and emotionally to the built environment. The modern possibility of recording the neural activity of subjects during exposure to environmental situations, using neuroscientific techniques and virtual reality, provides a promising framework for future design and studies of the built environment. The discipline derived is termed “neuroarchitecture”. Given neuroarchitecture’s transdisciplinary nature, it progresses needs to be reviewed in a contextualised way, together with its precursor approaches. The present article presents a scoping review, which maps out the broad areas on which the new discipline is based. The limitations, controversies, benefits, impact on the professional sectors involved, and potential of neuroarchitecture and its precursors’ approaches are critically addressed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. L. Shaw ◽  
Sruthi Kuriakose ◽  
Samuel Cheeseman ◽  
Michael D. Dickey ◽  
Jan Genzer ◽  
...  

AbstractA major health concern of the 21st century is the rise of multi-drug resistant pathogenic microbial species. Recent technological advancements have led to considerable opportunities for low-dimensional materials (LDMs) as potential next-generation antimicrobials. LDMs have demonstrated antimicrobial behaviour towards a variety of pathogenic bacterial and fungal cells, due to their unique physicochemical properties. This review provides a critical assessment of current LDMs that have exhibited antimicrobial behaviour and their mechanism of action. Future design considerations and constraints in deploying LDMs for antimicrobial applications are discussed. It is envisioned that this review will guide future design parameters for LDM-based antimicrobial applications.


Author(s):  
Greget Kalla Buana ◽  
Fahmi Ali Hudaefi ◽  
Rezzy Eko Caraka

Islamic banks (IBs) have been criticized as not being genuinely Islamic, and the methods in measuring their performances have been debatable. While the literature on IBs performance has been emerging, such studies precisely assess its recent development remains absent. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the development of scholarly articles that measure IBs’ performances. We employ bibliometric analysis and sample related articles from the Scopus database. We find that the development of IBs performance literature may be understood by 111 peer-reviewed journal articles, 4 conference papers, 1 book, and 1 book series. We analyze these materials based on publication sources, country and institution affiliation, keywords association, and cluster dendrogram. Our model that quantifies the keywords association and cluster dendrogram provides a novelty in assessing IBs performance literature development. Future studies may replicate our model to cluster and identify the keyword associations from the unstructured data sources.


Author(s):  
Amal Chakraborty ◽  
Mark Daniel ◽  
Natasha J. Howard ◽  
Alwin Chong ◽  
Nicola Slavin ◽  
...  

The high prevalence of preventable infectious and chronic diseases in Australian Indigenous populations is a major public health concern. Existing research has rarely examined the role of built and socio-political environmental factors relating to remote Indigenous health and wellbeing. This research identified built and socio-political environmental indicators from publicly available grey literature documents locally-relevant to remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. Existing planning documents with evidence of community input were used to reduce the response burden on Indigenous communities. A scoping review of community-focused planning documents resulted in the identification of 1120 built and 2215 socio-political environmental indicators. Indicators were systematically classified using an Indigenous indicator classification system (IICS). Applying the IICS yielded indicators prominently featuring the “community infrastructure” domain within the built environment, and the “community capacity” domain within the socio-political environment. This research demonstrates the utility of utilizing existing planning documents and a culturally appropriate systematic classification system to consolidate environmental determinants that influence health and disease occurrence. The findings also support understanding of which features of community-level built and socio-political environments amenable to public health and social policy actions might be targeted to help reduce the prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases in Indigenous communities.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 423
Author(s):  
Anisha Dayaram ◽  
Peter A. Seeber ◽  
Alex D. Greenwood

Equine herpesviruses (EHV) are a major health concern for domestic and wild equids and represent one of the most economically important disease agents of horses. Most known EHVs are transmitted directly between individuals as a result of direct exposure to exudates and aerosols. However, accumulating evidence suggests that environmental transmission may play a role including air, water, and fomites. Here, we reviewed studies on environmental stability and transmission of EHVs, which may influence viral dynamics and the use of environmental samples for monitoring EHV shedding.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3026
Author(s):  
Hyuk Moon ◽  
Simon-Weonsang Ro

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health concern worldwide, and its incidence is increasing steadily. Recently, the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in HCC has gained renewed attention from basic and clinical researchers. The MAPK/ERK signaling pathway is activated in more than 50% of human HCC cases; however, activating mutations in RAS and RAF genes are rarely found in HCC, which are major genetic events leading to the activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in other cancers. This suggests that there is an alternative mechanism behind the activation of the signaling pathway in HCC. Here, we will review recent advances in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway and discuss potential therapeutic strategies targeting the signaling pathway in the context of HCC.


Pharmacology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 100 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 246-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiping Liu ◽  
Jianye Wang ◽  
Lianbing Sheng ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Ning Tang ◽  
...  

Uterine leiomyomas are common clinical gynecological tumors, which are a major health concern for many women. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the effect of paclitaxel (PTX) on uterine leiomyomas. A mouse model of uterine leiomyomas was established by estradiol benzoate, followed by treatment with increasing doses of PTX. PTX showed no dose-limiting toxicity that affected the survival of mice, and was able to restore the apoptosis level of uterus tissues of the model mice to normal levels. In this study, we discovered that PTX played a critical role in promoting apoptosis in the mouse model of uterine leiomyomas, which provides a new insight into the therapy of uterine leiomyomas.


2017 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda B. Click ◽  
Claire Walker Wiley ◽  
Meggan Houlihan

This study is a systematic review of the library and information science (LIS) literature related to international students and academic libraries. A systematic review involves the methodical collection and analysis of a body of literature and is growing in popularity in the LIS field. Three well-known LIS databases were systematically searched for articles related to the topic, and manual bibliography searches were conducted to find additional publications. Journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers were included or excluded based on established criteria. Findings show that articles published about international students and academic libraries have increased steadily between 1990 and 2014. The majority of authors are affiliated with universities and institutions in the United States, although an increase in represented countries is apparent. Fewer than half of the articles can be considered original research, and surveys are the most popular method for data collection. The LIS field—and international students—would benefit from further exploration of this topic, particularly from original research with practical implications.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliany Rivera Calo ◽  
Christopher A. Baker ◽  
Si Hong Park ◽  
Steven C. Ricke

<em>Salmonella</em> are one of the more prominent foodborne pathogens that represent a major health risk to humans. <em>Salmonella </em>serovar Heidelberg strains are increasingly becoming an important public health concern, since they have been identified as one of the primary <em>Salmonella </em>serovars responsible for human outbreaks. Over the years, <em>Salmonella </em>Heidelberg isolates have exhibited higher rates of resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents compared to other <em>Salmonella </em>serovars. Essential oils (EOs) have been widely used as alternatives to chemical-based antimicrobials. In the current research, five EOs were screened to determine their antimicrobial activity against 15 <em>S. </em>Heidelberg strains from different sources. Oils tested were R(+)-limonene, orange terpenes, cold compressed orange oil, trans-cinnamaldehyde and carvacrol. EOs were stabilized in nutrient broth by adding 0.15% (w/v) agar. Tube dilution assays and minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by observing color changes in samples during exposure to EOs. Carvacrol and <em>trans-</em>cinnamaldehyde completely inhibited the growth of <em>S.</em> Heidelberg strains, while R(+)-limonene and orange terpenes did not show any inhibitory activity against the strains tested. Cold compressed orange oil only inhibited growth of two of the strains exhibiting an MIC of 1%. All <em>S</em>. Heidelberg isolates evaluated exhibited similar responses to the respective EOs. The use of all natural antimicrobials such as specific EOs offers the potential to limit the majority of <em>S. </em>Heidelberg isolates that may occur in food production.


Author(s):  
Alfred Maroyi

Heteromorpha arborescens is an important medicinal plant species throughout its distributional range in tropical Africa. This study evaluated the botany, medicinal uses, and pharmacological activities of H. arborescens. Literature focusing on the botany, phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of H. arborescens were obtained from scientific databases such as SCOPUS, Science Direct, PubMed, SciFinder, Medline, and Google Scholar. Pre-electronic literature sources such as book chapters, books, journal articles, conference papers, and other scientific documents were obtained from the University library. Literature search revealed that H. arborescens is used as an aphrodisiac, as herbal medicine for shortness of breath, intestinal worms, inflammation, pain, respiratory problems, skin infections, headache, fever, and malaria. Pharmacological studies of compounds and H. arborescens extracts revealed anthelmintic, antiarthritic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antimycobacterial, antinociceptive, antioxidant, antipeptic ulcer, anti-scabies, antispasmodic, antiviral, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and uterotonic activities. More detailed research is needed aimed at assessing phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of different plant parts and phytochemical compounds isolated from the species.


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