Poor medication adherence among older adults is a widespread problem worldwide. As the population ages, the design of smartphone medication management apps is critical to improving medication adherence among older adults. Taking the design of an elderly medication reminder APP as an example, this study proposes a sustainable design research method that integrates the KANO model, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Quality Function Deployment (QFD), and PUGH decision matrix. The method collects user demands through in-depth interviews, and applies the KANO model to classify these demands. The hierarchical structure of user needs is established by using AHP, and the priority is sorted according to the weight and importance determined by the judgment matrix. QFD is used to translate user needs into design requirements, and the house of quality matrix identifies key design requirements. Finally, design alternatives are evaluated using Pugh's concept selection method. The results of this study demonstrate that the integration of KANO-AHP-QFD-PUGH can be effective as a sustainable optimal design approach for the user experience of a medication reminder application for the elderly. This integrated method not only facilitates innovative optimization and sustainability of application design methods but also provides valuable theoretical and practical insights for future drug-assisted design for elderly users.

Frontal Polymerization (FP) is recognized as a polymer synthesis method capable of generating a highly localized and self-propagating exothermic front, considered a more rapid and energy-efficient manufacturing scheme for polymer-based fiber-reinforced composite materials. This study conducts a numerical investigation based on the Finite Element Method into the initiation and propagation of frontal polymerization of acrylamide. Utilizing Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) experiments, the study phenomenologically tests the curing kinetics reactions of acrylamide (AM) in deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based polymerizable systems, thereby establishing a curing kinetics model for the autocatalytic reaction of polyacrylamide. By coupling the heat conduction diffusion equation of the frontal polymerization reaction, the Finite Element Method is employed to solve the reaction-diffusion model, aiming to explore the evolution of temperature and degree of curing during the manufacturing process. The results demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of the nth-order autocatalytic model in the study of curing kinetics for DES-based synthesis, indicating that the front propagation speed of the AM-based FP reaction is influenced by the activation temperature, duration of activation temperature, and initial temperature of the solution. Experimental validation of the polyacrylamide manufacturing through frontal polymerization corroborates the accuracy and reliability of the model predictions, providing a reference for the numerical model study and temperature control in the synthesis of acrylamide composite hydrogels via FP.

Spermatogenesis is critical for insect reproduction and is regulated by many different genes. In this study, we found that Forkhead transcription factor Fd59a functions as a key factor in spermatogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster. Fd59a contains a conversed Forkhead domain, and it is clustered to the FoxD subfamily with other FoxD members from some insect and vertebrate species. Mutation in Fd59a caused swelling in the apical region of the testis. More importantly, only a few mature sperm were present in the seminal vesicle of Fd59a mutant flies compared to the control flies, and the fertility of Fd59a2/2 mutant males was significantly lower than that of the control flies. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the homeostasis of testis stem cell niche in Fd59a2/2 mutant and Fd59a RNAi flies was disrupted, and apoptosis of sperm bundles was increased. Furthermore, results from RNA-sequencing and qRT-PCR suggest that Fd59a can regulate expression of genes related to reproductive process and cell death. Taken together, our results indicated that Fd59a plays a key role in the spermatogenesis of Drosophila.

This study focuses on the potential medicinal properties of Campsis radicans L. extracts and its aim is to investigate the antioxidant and antiproliferative effects of these extracts on the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29). Cytotoxic activity in the HT-29 cell line was evaluated, and the 3-dimensional structures of phenolic compounds were obtained using the GC-MS method. Docking simulations were performed with AutoDock Vina, targeting proteins that are crucial in the apoptotic pathway (Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3). Drug similarities and ADMET estimates of the phenolic compounds were obtained from databases. The highest antioxidant activity of Campsis radicans L. plant was observed in ethanol and water extracts, with notable inhibition capacities. While the total phenolic content was highest in ethanol, water, and ether extracts respectively the total flavonoid content was highest in ethanol, then ether, and water extracts. Certain elements were undetectable in mineral determination, and others exceeded the toxic doses for plants. The water extract exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxic activity in the HT-29 cell line, with an IC50 value of 4.47 mg/mL. Molecular docking results revealed the binding of phenolic molecules to the active sites of apoptotic pathway proteins. The findings suggest that Campsis radicans L. plant possesses cytotoxic properties, significant phenolic and flavonoid content, and a high antioxidant capacity. These properties make it a potential candidate for treatment use, emphasizing its potential therapeutic value in the HT-29 cell line. Further research and exploration on the identified phenolic compounds could contribute to the development of novel therapeutic agents.

Background: The practice of self-medication is common worldwide and is an important component of medical self-care. However, the practice can be dangerous and is linked to various risks for the patients and the entire community. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with self-medication among Bangladeshi adults. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and June 2021 among Bangladeshi adults (aged >19 years) using convenient sampling. A total of 1320 data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with self-medication practice (SMP). Results: Overall, 41% of adults in our survey reported SMP. The most common illnesses that prompted SMP were common cold/flu (66.4%), gastric problems (65%), and headache (64.4%). The most frequent reasons for SMP were to get better services (30.59%), perceive SMP without side effects (23.28%), and save time with effectiveness (14.56%). Potential risk factors included 10 years (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.04 - 3.50) and >12 years of schooling (AOR = 5.03; 95% CI: 2.27 - 11.15), being a businessman (AOR = 4.64; 95% CI: 1.74 - 12.37), having ≤6 family members (AOR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.40 - 3.24), being a member of a social group (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10 - 2.12), a health status check after every six months (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.08 - 2.13), and current ill-health (AOR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.06 - 1.87). Protective factors identified included ≤30 years of age (AOR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.17 - 0.93), and practice of modern (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.22- 0.69) and herbal (AOR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.21- 0.97) healing types. Conclusion: More than one-third of the study participants reported practicing self-medication. Increasing the community’s awareness of the extreme consequences of SMP and not just the average experience might sway individuals away from SMP, and implementing strict jurisdiction could be a way to minimize the SMP.

Taiwan’s auditors have suffered from processing excessive audit data, including drawing audit evidence. This study advances sampling techniques by integrating machine learning with sampling. This machine learning integration helps avoid sampling bias, keep randomness and variability, and target the risker samples. We first apply a Naive Bayes classifier to classify data into some classes. Next, a user-based, item-based, or hybrid approach is employed to draw audit evidence. The representativeness index is the primary metric for measuring the representativeness of audit evidence. The user-based approach denotes the selection of samples between two percentiles in a class as audit evidence. It may be equivalent to a combination of monetary and variable sampling methods. The item-based approach represents the choice of risky samples as audit evidence. It may be identical to a combination of non-statistical and monetary sampling methods. Auditors can hybridize those user-based and item-based approaches to balance representativeness and riskiness in selecting audit evidence. Three experiments show that sampling using machine learning integration has the benefits of drawing unbiased samples, handling complex patterns, correlations, and unstructured data, and improving efficiency in sampling big data. However, the limitations are the classification accuracy output by machine learning algorithms and the range of prior probabilities.

(1) Background: As part of the Scottish Governments five-year recovery plan to address the backlog in NHS care following the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacies in Scotland are planned to provide a Hospital Discharge Medicines Supply and Medicines Reconciliation Service. We aimed to qualitatively explore patients’ experience of this new service; (2) Method: Adult patients (≥18yrs age) who consented to participate in the Community Pharmacy Hospital Dis-charge and Medicines Reconciliation Service were invited for interview within 21 days of dis-charge from hospital. Qualitative, one-to-one, semi-structured, patient interviews were conducted by telephone and audio-recorded using Microsoft Teams®. The interview audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and underwent thematic analysis; (3) Results: 12 patients were inter-viewed, evenly split by sex and with a median age of 62 years (range; 36 to 88 years). Analysis generated main five themes; Patient Engagement, Stakeholder Communication, Practical Factors, Human Factors, and Comparative Experiences. Many of these were interdependent; (4) Con-clusions: Patients appreciated that the service ensured a quicker discharge from hospital. Good stakeholder communication, practical factors (including choice, location, and the realities of ob-taining their medication from the community pharmacy), and a pre-existing and trusted rela-tionship in their usual community pharmacy were the key factors that regulated the patient ex-perience. In the main, patients were positive about the introduction of this new service. However, a lack of previous relationship or trust with a community pharmacy, and previous experiences with medication supply problems were factors which had the potential to negatively impact on patient experiences.

Polypharmacy and malnutrition are common health issues among older adults. In older people, there is a high prevalence of polypharmacy and malnutrition, and preliminary data also indicates that there is a significant of Food Supplements (FS) use, increasing the risk of duplication of thera-pies and several adverse reactions and drug-FS and FS-FS interactions. The intervention of health professionals in mitigating these risks is essential. This review not only underscores and discusses the potential association between polypharmacy, malnutrition, and food supplements but also presents current scientific evidence on polypharmacy, malnutrition, and the use of food supplements by the elderly. The work reviews the challenges, advantages and risks of using FS for the elderly who are polymedicated and/or malnourished, focusing on the good practices needed to support healthy ageing. In this regard, the paper intends to help health professionals better deal with the issue of polypharmacy and the use of multiple FS to overcome the malnutrition problem and improve the health and well-being of older adults.

Virtual Reality (VR) can be useful in efforts that aim to improve wellbeing of older members of the society. Within this context, the work presented in this paper aims to provide to elderly a user-friendly and enjoyable Virtual Reality (VR) application incorporating memory recalling and storytelling activities that can promote mental awareness, so that negative side effects related to brain inactivity are prevented. An important aspect of the proposed VR application is the presence of a virtual audience that listens to the stories presented by elderly users, and interacts with the user. In an effort to maximize the impact of the VR application, research was conducted to study whether the elderly are willing to use the VR application and whether they believe it can help to improve well-being and reduce the effects of loneliness and social isolation. The results show that elderly users are positive towards the use of such an application in everyday life, as a means of improving their overall well-being.

Microwave technology has a potential application in the extraction of zinc from sulphide ores, knowledge of the dielectric properties of these ores plays a major role in the microwave design and simulation for any process. The dielectric properties of zinc sulfide concentrate for two different apparent densities—1.54 and 1.63 g/cm³—have been measured by using the resonance cavity perturbation technique at 915 and 2450 MHz during the roasting process for the temperature ranging from room temperature to 850 °C. The variations of dielectric constant, the dielectric loss factor, the dielectric loss tangent and the penetration depth with the temperature, frequency and apparent density have been investigated numerically. The results indicate that the dielectric constant increases as the temperature increases and temperature has a pivotal effect on the dielectric constant, while the dielectric loss factor has a complicated change and all of the temperature, frequency and apparent density have a significant impact to dielectric loss factor. Zinc sulfide concentrate is high loss material from 450 to 800 °C on the basis of theoretical analyses of dielectric loss tangent and penetration depth, its ability of absorbing microwave energy would be enhanced by increasing the apparent density as well. The experimental results also have proved that zinc sulfide concentrate is easy to be heated by microwave energy from 450 to 800 °C. In addition, the experimental date of dielectric constant and loss factor can be fitted perfectly by Boltzmann model and Gauss model, respectively.

During choriogenesis in insects, chorion (eggshell) is formed by surrounding follicular epithelial cells in ovarioles. However, the regulatory endocrine factor(s) activating choriogenesis and the chemical components on eggshell deserve further exploration. In two representative Coleopterans, a Coccinellid Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata and a Chrysomelid Leptinotarsa decemlineata, genes encoding the 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) receptor heterodimer, ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP), and two chitin biosynthesis enzymes UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase (UAP) and chitin synthase (ChS1), were highly expressed in ovaries of the young females. RNA interference (RNAi)-aided knockdown of either HvEcR or Hvusp in H. vigintioctopunctata inhibited oviposition, suppressed the expression of HvChS1, and lessened the positive signal of Calcofluor staining on the chorions, which suggests the reduction of a chitin-like substance (CLS) deposited on eggshells. Similarly, RNAi of LdEcR or Ldusp in L. decemlineata constrained oviposition, decreased the expression of LdUAP1 and LdChS1, and declined CLS contents in the resultant ovaries. Knockdown of LdUAP1 or LdChS1 caused similar defective phenotypes, i.e., reduced oviposition and CLS contents in the L. decemlineata ovaries. These results, for the first time, indicate that 20E signaling activates choriogenesis in two Coleopteran species. Moreover, our findings propose the deposition of a CLS on the chorions.

Robotic systems have been widely used in various industries, so the security of communication between robots and their components has become an issue that needs to be focused on. As a framework for developing robotic systems, the security of ROS2 can directly affect the security of the upper-level robotic systems. Therefore, it is a worthwhile research topic to detect and analyze the security of ROS2. In this paper, we adopt a formal approach to analyze the security of the communication mechanism of ROS2. First, we use a state transition system to model the potential vulnerabilities of ROS2 based on the ROS2 communication mechanism and the basic process of penetration testing. Secondly, we introduce the CIA model on the basis of the established vulnerability model and use LTL to define its security properties. Then, we design and implement a vulnerability detection tool for ROS2 applications based on the vulnerability model and security properties. Finally, we experimentally test some ROS2-based applications, and the results show that ROS2 has vulnerabilities without additional protection safeguards.

It is not new in medical history to propose a global concern to be classified as a disease. Defining a concern into disease allows to assign ethical responsibilities to develop powerful and effective interventions. It also allow to appropriate distribute the resources uniformly economically and morally. In 2003, World Health Organization report stated that 30-50 % of patients do not take their medications as prescribed associated with morbidity, mortality and health cost. It was considered a global concern, however, irrespective of decades of researches conducted on medication adherence, we are still unable to state that medication adherence issues are being resolved. In this review, we have described few apprehensions in current understandings of medication adherence that have limited its research. We have also proposed medication adherence as disorder and provided its’ definition and classification

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of patients with hypertension about their condition, adherence to antihypertensive medication, and the factors influencing it. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two cardiology outpatient clinics of two tertiary hospitals, in Greece. The study included 188 patients diagnosed with hypertension. The patient’s knowledge about their disease and adherence to medication were assessed by using the HK-LS and A-14 scales, respectively. Patients had sufficient knowledge levels about their disease, but significantly low levels of adherence to medication. Patients with higher knowledge levels were more adherent to medications [r(188) = 0.885, p < 0.001]. By using multivariate analysis, higher age (p = 0.018), residence in a more populous area (p = 0.041), more years with the disease (p = 0.012), and a lower number of medications (p = 0.03) were associated with higher levels of knowledge. Conversely, younger age (p = 0.036), lower educational levels (p = 0.048), fewer years with the disease (p = 0.001), and a higher number of medications (p = 0.003) were associated with lower adherence to medication. The Greek patients' hypertension knowledge was sufficient, however, adherence to medication was significantly low. Healthcare managers could utilize our findings to design targeted interventions for improving adherence to medication for these patients.

In recent decades, as eutrophication in inland and coastal waters (ICWs) has increased due to anthropogenic activities and global warming, so has the need for timely monitoring. Compared with traditional sampling and laboratory analysis methods, satellite remote sensing technology can provide macro-scale, low-cost, and near real-time water quality monitoring services. The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), integrated onboard the Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) from the Republic of Korea, was the first geostationary ocean color observation satellite and was operational from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2021. Over ten years, GOCI has observed oceans, coastal waters, and inland waters within its 2,500 km×2,500 km target area centered on the Korean Peninsula. The most attractive feature of GOCI, compared with other commonly used watercolor sensors, was its high temporal resolution (1h, eight times daily from 0 UTC to 7 UTC), providing the opportunity to monitor the quality of ICWs, where optical properties can change rapidly throughout the day. This systematic review aims to comprehensively review GOCI features and applications in ICWs, analyzing progress in atmospheric correction algorithms and water quality monitoring. Analyzing 123 articles from the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) through a bibliometric quantitative approach, we examined GOCI’s strength and performance with different processing methods. These articles reveal that GOCI played an essential role in monitoring the ecological health of ICWs in its observation area in East Asia. GOCI has led the way to a new era of geostationary ocean satellites, providing new technical means for monitoring water quality in oceans, coastal zones, and inland lakes. We also discuss the challenges encountered by geostationary satellites in monitoring water quality and provide suggestions for improvements.

Malaysian healthcare institutions still use ineffective paper-based vaccination systems to manage childhood immunization schedules. This may lead to missed appointments, incomplete vaccinations, and outbreaks of preventable diseases among infants. To address this issue, we proposed a text messaging vaccination reminder and recall system named Virtual Health Connect (VHC) to simplify and accelerate the immunization administration for nurses that may result in improving the completion and timeliness of immunizations among infants. Considering the narrow research about the acceptance of these systems in the healthcare sector, we examined factors influencing nurses’ attitude and intention to use VHC using the extended technology acceptance model (TAM). The novelty of the conceptual model is proposing new predictors of attitude, namely, perceived compatibility and perceived privacy and security issues. We conducted a survey among 121 nurses in Malaysian government hospitals and clinics to test the model. We analyzed the collected data using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the significant factors influencing nurses’ attitude and intention to use VHC. Moreover, we applied artificial neural network (ANN) to determine the most significant factors of acceptance with higher accuracy. Therefore, we could offer more accurate insights to decision-makers in the healthcare sector for the advancement of health services. Our results highlighted that the compatibility of VHC with the current work setting of nurses developed their positive perspectives toward the system. Moreover, the nurses felt optimistic about the system when considering it to be useful and easy to use in the workplace. Finally, their attitude toward using VHC played a pivotal role in raising their intention. Based on the ANN models, we also found that perceived compatibility was the most significant factor influencing nurses' attitude towards using VHC, followed by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness.

Background: The Stability Index estimation algorithm was derived and applied to develop and implement a balance ability diagnosis system that can be used at daily life. Methods: The system integrated an approach based on sensory function interaction, called the clinical test of sensory interaction with balance (CTSIB). The piezo-resistive force mat was fabricated, and a Stability Index prediction algorithm was developed and applied using the center of pressure (CoP) variables. The Stability Index prediction algorithm derived a CoP variable for 103 elderly people by Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) to predict the Stability Index of the Balance System (Biodex SD). And, the accuracy was confirmed through the correlation between the real and predicted value. Results: As a result of testing with the test-set, the linear regression model confirmed that the r value ranged between 0.943 to 0.983. To confirm the similarity between the WBB and flexible force mat, each measured CoP value was input and calculated into the developed regression model, and the result of the correlation coefficient validation ​​confirmed an r value of 0.96. Conclusion: The system developed in this study will be applicable to the daily life of the home in the form of a floor mat.

(1) Background: This article reviews the available scientific literature on drug-related problems and negative outcomes associated with medications identified by medication review with follow-up for end-stage renal disease and discussed with the physicians; (2) Methods: A systematic review was conducted of the scientific literature retrieved from the following databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library: The Cochrane Central Register and Control Trials (CENTRAL) and Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe (LILACS), Medicina en Español (MEDES), and the SciELO bibliographic database (collection of scientific journals). The following terms were used as descriptors and searched in free text: "end-stage renal disease", "medication review", and "drug-related problems” and “negative outcomes associated with medication". The following limits were applied: "humans" and "adults (more than 18 years)”; (3) Results: A total of 59 references were recovered and after applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 16 articles were selected. Of these selected articles, 15 provided information on drug-related problems and only 1 on negative outcomes associated with medications; (4) Conclusions: It can be concluded that drug-related problems and negative outcomes associated with medication affect patients with end-stage renal disease, mainly those receiving renal replacement therapy. More evidence is needed, especially on negative outcomes associated with medication.

Introduction: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is a secondary headache that occurs 15 or more days per month in patients with preexisting headache. This can result from the excessive (10 or 15 days/month) use of drugs for acute or symptomatic headache therapy. Aim: To examine the relationships between demographic parameters, illnesses and habits of life, clinical type and length of previous headache and MOH and clinical features of MOH. Materials and methods: This study was conducted at the Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Center of Niš, and included 83 patients (11 men and 72 women) who were first diagnosed with MOH. The mean age of the patients in the study cohort was 40.5 ± 11.6 years. The study was performed in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki after informed consent was obtained from each participant in the study. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Results: In the study cohort, there were more women (86.7%), nonsmokers (59%), those who did not consume alcohol (95.2%), those who were physically inactive (90.4%), those who consumed caffeinated beverages (89.2%), and those with diseases of the cardiovascular (12%) or osseous joint system (10.8%). MOH was most commonly generated by chronic migraine (64%). The duration of MOH until diagnosis was 5.1 ± 5.5 years. The following MOH characteristics were observed: moderate pain (45.8%), bilateral localization (56.6%), temporal presentation (65.1%), and neck tightness (81.9%). Common (41%) and combination analgesics (48.2%) were used most frequently, 15 to 25 days per month. The impact of MOH on daily life was assessed as significant (HIT - 65.4 ± 5.5), correlating with the duration of earlier chronic headaches (r = 0.327, p = 0.003). Conclusion: MOH can be generated by the transformation of a previous chronic headache due to overuse of analgesic therapy. The MOH significantly affects all aspects of a patient's life. MOH can be prevented by educating patients by limiting the use of analgesic therapy, especially in the at-risk group (middle-aged women with chronic migraines).

This review provides a comprehensive and updated information on chalcones, presenting their sources, methods of identification and properties putting emphasis on applications in agricultural industry. Vast exploitation of synthetic pesticides led to the weed and pest resistance issue, causing economic loss but more importantly health risk due to pesticide overuse. Because one of the aim of the European Green Deal 2030 is the Farm to Fork strategy which targets on reducing by 50% the use of chemical pesticides by 2030, and push towards natural pesticides which are more environmentally friendly and restore natural resources, chalcones and their derivatives seem to fit perfectly. They have herbicidal, fungicidal, bactericidal and antiviral properties. Moreover, chalcones are naturally occurring substances, known for their favorable health effect for years, working on many areas. This review is complementary to the previous ones describing chalcones use in agriculture, updates them but additionally shows methods of detection.

One way to reduce the negative impact of human activity on the natural environment is to use natural, easily available and relatively cheap to produce compounds in industrial processes. One such compound is naturally occurring calcium carbonate (CaCO3). This compound has adsorption properties so that it can be an alternative to commonly used adsorbents. The aim of this work is to determine the possibility of using CaCO3 to remove pharmaceutical substances such as sulfadiazine and tetracycline from water. The CaCO3 used in this work was synthesised using our own method, which allows the production of CaCO3 particles with nanometric size. In the conducted research, calcium carbonate was used in the form of a suspension in purified solutions and as an inorganic filling of the developed membranes. The mass of pharmaceutical substances removed from their aqueous solutions was determined in the tests carried out. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that CaCO3 has the ability to adsorb both tetracycline and sulfadiazine. In suspension tests, the mass of the removed substances per unit mass of adsorbent was 1.52 mg/g and 6.85 mg/g, respectively. In turn, in the case of the process using the developed membranes, the mass of the removed substances per unit mass of adsorbent was 232 mg/m2 and 524 mg/g, which is a several times greater increase in the mass of the removed substance compared to the process using an unmodified membrane.

Surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) is one of the most versatile technique to modify the surface properties of material. Recent developed metal free SI-ATRP makes such technique more widely applicable. Herein photo-induced metal-free SI-ATRP of methacrylates, such as methyl methacrylate, N-isopropanyl acrylamide, and N,N- dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, on the surface of SBA-15 was reported to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid materials. SBA-15 based polymeric composite with adjustable graft ratio was obtained. The structure evolution during the SI-ATRP modification of SBA-15 was monitored and verified by FT-IR, XPS, TGA, BET, and TEM. The obtained polymeric composite showed enhanced adsorption ability for the model compound toluene in aqueous. This procedure provides a low cost, ready availability, and facile modification way to synthesize the polymeric composites without the contamination of metal.

The effective Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system can improve the reliability, safety and economic benefits of microgrid operation. In this research, the lower central controller and upper WEB monitoring system are connected by the SCADA system which is as the hub of microgrid intelligent monitoring platform. This system contains a set of specific functions programmed by Java as a middleware which can provide control and communication between the central controller and the upper monitoring system. The system realizes the real-time data acquisition and storage, the control instructions parsing and transmitting, the microgrid security and stability, the load balancing and resource recovery of the microgrid. All that functions have been tested and verified in the actual operation.

With the development of organizational biology and forced from the EU Cosmetic Regulation (EU/1223/2009) with the complete ban of animal testing for cosmetic purposes, 3D skin models have been widely developed due to their similar physiological structure and metabolic function to native human tissue. 3D skin models for in vitro cosmetic evaluation are still promising alternative methods for evaluating phototoxicity, corrosivity and irritation. These models have been used for early screening and later validation of toxicity and efficacy evaluation by many well-known cosmetic companies. 3D skin models have become an important tool in cosmetic evaluation research. This article reviews the development of 3D skin models and their application in cosmetic evaluation. An outlook on the current application and future technological development directions in the cosmetic field is also presented.

This paper describes the first results of an Image Recognition Based Location (IRBL) for mobile application focusing on the procedure to generate a Database of range images (RGB-D). In an indoor environment, to estimate the camera position and orientation, a prior spatial knowledge of the surrounding is needed. In order to achieve this objective a complete 3D survey of two different environment (Bangbae metro station of Seoul and E.T.R.I. building in Daejeon – Republic of Korea) was performed using LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) instrument and the obtained scans were processed in order to obtain a spatial model of the environments. From this, two databases of reference images were generated using a specific software realized by the Geomatics group of Politecnico di Torino (ScanToRGBDImage). This tool allow to generate synthetically different RGB-D images) centered in the each scan position in the environment. Later, the external parameters (X, Y, Z, ω, φ, κ) and the range information extracted from the DB images retrieved, are used as reference information for pose estimation of a set of acquired mobile pictures in the IRBL procedure. In this paper the survey operations, the approach for generating the RGB-D images and the IRB strategy are reported. Finally the analysis of the results and the validation test are described.

Reducing the hardness of hard water is of great concern nowadays due to some adverse effects on water pipes, boilers and soap consumption. Using the method of biomineralization to precipitate calcium and magnesium ions to become carbonate minerals was one of the most important innovations for reducing the hardness of hard water. The present study sought to explore the physical and chemical conditions of carbonates bio-precipitation and the potential use of Bacillus licheniformis SRB2 strain (GenBank: KM884945.1) isolated from sludge sample of Moshui River (Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, China) in reducing the hardness of hard waters by the induction of carbonate minerals. In this study, B. licheniformis SRB2 strain was identified based on the morphological, biochemical and 16S rDNA gene sequence homology analysis. The carbonate minerals induced by B. licheniformis bacteria in the liquid culture medium with 3% NaCl and Mg/Ca molar ratio of 0, 6, 8, 10 and 12 were investigated. The culture medium was inoculated with the bacterial liquid seed was set as the experimental group and the other culture medium was inoculated with the same volume of distilled water was set as the control group. The mineral phases, micromorphologies, and crystal structures were analyzed using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray detector, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction. The bacterial concentrations and pH values of the solution were measured by a spectrophotometer and a pH meter, respectively. The urease secreted by B. licheniformis SRB2 was found to greatly increase the pH values of the liquid medium, which favored the formation of calcium carbonate.As a result, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ion concentrations decreased greatly due to the biomineralization of calcium carbonate and nesquehonite minerals in the presence of B. licheniformis SRB2 bacterium. There were only few calcium carbonates and no nesquehonite minerals in the control groups. It was also found that the minerals of nesquehonite induced by B. licheniformis SRB2 had a phenomenon of preferred orientation. What was more, even though Mg²⁺ ions inhibited the precipitation of Ca²⁺ ions, but under the action of B. licheniformis SRB2 bacteria, the inhibition effect was significantly declined. The bio-precipitation of calcium carbonate and nesquehonite minerals may represent a new method of pretreatment for the hardness reduction of hard water. The accomplished study is of certain interest for interpretation of the carbonates biomineralization in natural environment, and maybe also has a certain application value in the former processing of hard water

Background and objective. Globally, disposing of unused medicines has become a source of concern, as pharmaceutical waste enters the ecosystem, posing a threat to human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess the disposal practice of unused medication among pharmacists in Libya. This study also seeks to determine if pharmacists plan to have their pharmacies serve as assembly points for potential take-back initiatives. Methods. A random sample of 150 pharmacists from various government and private pharmacies in Tripoli participated in a self-administered questionnaire about their disposal practices, and knowledge on pharmacies serving as collection points for ideal disposal of unused medicines. Descriptive statistics were used to interpret the data. Results. A total of 128 pharmacists completed the survey. The majority of respondents said that throwing discarded drugs in the trash bin was their preferred method of disposal (53.1%), followed by discarding via burn and drug wholesalers (17.2%, 14.8%, respectively). Only 2.1% of the respondents disposed unused medicines according to the WHO guidelines of drug disposal. Moreover, about 65.6% had poor knowledge about Take-Back program. Conclusion. Failure to follow the WHO guidelines for drug disposal raises the risk of contamination of our environment and the likelihood of humans and animals ingesting harmful pharmaceutical wastes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of Retrieval-Augmented Gen- 14 eration (RAG) technology with open-source Large Language Models (LLMs). For this purpose, a 15 web-based application named PaSSER that integrates RAG with three models - Mistral:7b, 16 Llama2:7b: Orca2:7b, is developed. In its development various technologies are used, including 17 Blockchain for managing and storing assessment results of built-in testing modules. PaSSER em- 18 ploys a set of evaluation metrics for LLMs’ performance - METEOR, ROUGE, BLEU, Perplexity, 19 Cosine similarity, Pearson correlation, and F1 score. The specialized knowledge base is in the smart 20 agriculture domain. As an illustration, the paper presents results and analysis of two tests. First one 21 is assessing the performance of LLMs across different hardware configurations, the other is deter- 22 mining the model that delivers most accurate and contextually relevant responses within the RAG. 23 The paper also discusses the integration of blockchain technology with LLMs to manage and store 24 assessment results within a blockchain environment. The tests revealed that Mistral:7b demon- 25 strates the best results across most of the evaluated metrics. The discussion section comments on 26 technical and hardware considerations that affect the performance of LLMs. Future development 27 will focus in leveraging new larger pre-trained open-source LLMs, exploring different finetuning 28 approaches, and further integration with Blockchain and IPFS.

Abstract: Medication overuse headaches is a frequent phenomenon observed in individuals suf-fering from chronic headaches. It arises due to the excessive consumption of pain-relief medica-tions, resulting in the escalation and continuous persistence of headache symptoms. Nevertheless, the prevalence and distinctive characteristics of medication overuse headaches in the pediatric population have not been comprehensively explored. The primary objective of this research is to delineate the features of medication overuse headaches in children, particularly emphasizing the investigation of its epidemiology and the diagnostic patterns for headaches. We conducted a ret-rospective study by and analyzed the medical records of children and adolescents who were evaluated at outpatient pediatric headache clinic at the Bnai Zion medical center for headache during the period spanning 2007 to 2017. Our study encompassed a cohort of 1008 patients expe-riencing headaches. Among these participants, 268 individuals (26.6%) were diagnosed with mi-graine, 250 (24.8%) exhibited tension-type headaches (TTH), and 490 (48.6%) were classified as having undifferentiated headaches. Out of the whole group, 65 had chronic headaches: 35 (54%) with migraine, 20 (30%) with tension-type headaches (TTH), and 10 (15%) with undifferentiated headache of childhood, with the majority (73%) being female.In summary, medication overuse headaches are a prevalent issue among children grappling with chronic headaches. Intriguingly, they appear to be more pronounced within the tension-type headache (TTH) group compared to migraine sufferers, and exhibit a higher prevalence among females. This study underscores the significance of early detection and careful management of medication overuse headaches in pedi-atric cases, shedding light on its distinct characteristics in the realm of childhood headache disor-ders. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying factors contributing to the ob-served gender disparity and the distinct prevalence rates among different headache subtypes.

Cloud computing refers to applications delivered as services over the Internet. Cloud systems employ policies that are inherently dynamic in nature and that depend on temporal conditions defined in terms of external events, such as the measurement of bandwidth, use of hosts, intrusion detection or specific time events. In this paper, we investigate an optimized resource management scheme named v-Mapper. The basic premise of v-Mapper is to exploit application-awareness concepts using software-defined networking (SDN) features. This paper makes three key contributions to the field: (1) We propose a virtual machine (VM) placement scheme that can effectively mitigate the VM placement issues for data-intensive applications; (2) We propose a validation scheme that will ensure that a service is entertained only if there are sufficient resources available for its execution and (3) We present a scheduling policy that aims to eliminate network load constraints. An evaluation was carried out with various benchmarks and demonstrated that v-Mapper shows improved performance over other state-of-the-art approaches in terms of average task completion time, service delay time and bandwidth utilization. Given the growing importance of supporting large-scale data processing and analysis in datacentres, the v-Mapper system has the potential to make a positive impact in improving datacentre performance in the future.

(1) Background: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD ) are major global health issues, impacting morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Despite the proven benefits of pharmacist involvement in managing these conditions, their potential in hospitals remains underused. This study aimed to identify patients at high risk of rehospitalisation post-exacerbation of asthma or COPD, to target pharmaceutical interventions. (2) Methods: Data from the University Hospital for January-December 2019 on adult admissions for asthma/COPD were analyzed, focusing on demographics, hospitalization, and clinical outcomes. (3) Results: Among the 140 patients enrolled, a significant majority (91%) underwent adjustments in their treatment regimens during their hospital stay, and nearly 59% faced readmission within six months. A survival analysis highlighted a notable disparity in the rates of rehospitalisation-free survival between patients with asthma and those with COPD, identifying COPD patients as having a higher susceptibility to rehospitalisation. (4) Conclusion: The study found COPD pa-tients at greater risk but didn't specify a priority profile, suggesting the necessity for broad, cus-tomized interventions to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare strain.

Objective: To evaluate the use of CDK4/6 inhibitors as a risk factor for medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) in a cohort of patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with denosumab. Methods: multicentre, retrospective, observational study. All patients with breast cancer treated with denosumab (January 2011-December 2022) were included. The relationship between CDK4/6 inhibitors and MRONJ was analysed. Results: 243 patients were included, ninety-five (44.2%) used a CDK4/6 inhibitor. There were 21 patients with MRONJ. In patients treated with denosumab without CDK4/6 inhibitors the incidence of MRONJ and mean time to the occurrence of MRONJ was 6.6% (8/120) and 16.8 months (SD 7.8) respectively. In patients treated with denosumab and CDK4/6 inhibitor 13.7% (13/95) and 15.4 month (SD 8.7) respectively. The difference in the incidence was not significant (p=0.085). Conclusion: it suggest that the incidence of MRONJ in patients with metastatic breast cancer treated with denosumab was higher and the onset of MRONJ occurred earlier in the presence of CDK4/6 inhibitors. Although the difference was not significant, given that the use of this combination is very common in routine clinical practice, it would be advisable to carry out larger prospective studies to clarify the risk of this association.

Background and Objectives: In Libya, prescription medicines can easily be dispensed without a prescription, as self-medication with the subsequent of potential misuse and unnecessary risk for patients. This systematic review and meta-analysis explored the prevalence of self-medication among citizens in Libya. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, EMBASE, Medline, Scopus, google scholar and ResearchGate databases for studies published in Libya reporting the prevalence of non-prescription use of medicines in community pharmacies, targeting studies published from Jan 2008 until Dec 2019. A random meta-analysis was performed to analyze pooled estimates of non-prescription usage of medicines. Results: Out of 63 articles identified, a total of 13 papers from 7 cities were met the inclusion criteria and involved a total of 4741 subjects. The overall pooled proportion of self-medication of drugs was 53.6% (95% CI: 0.93% - 1.08%), with low heterogeneity and the P-value of the whole population tasted was found to be = 1.000 (df = 12). Seven out of the 13 studies reported data on self-medication for antibiotics without prescription. The records ranged from 15.3% (95% CI 0.61–1.65) in Misurata to 76.6% (95% CI 0.80–1.25) in Tripoli. Conclusion: Self-medication use of medicines among Libyan population is a common phenomenon involving a high proportion use of antibiotics. This misuse of medications could enhance the development and spread of antibiotic resistance.

Institutionalized older adults often face complex medication regimens, increasing their risk of adverse drug events due to polypharmacy, overprescribing, medication interactions or the use of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIM). However, data on medication use and associated risks in this population remain scarce. This pilot study aimed to characterize the sociodemographic, clinical and pharmacotherapeutic profiles and the use of PIM among institutionalized elders residing in Residential Structures for Elderly People (ERPI) in the Faro municipality, located in the Portuguese region of the Algarve. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a non-randomized sample of 96 participants (mean age: 86.6 ±7.86 years) where trained researchers reviewed medication profiles and identified potentially inappropriate medications using the EU(7)-PIM list. Over 90% of participants exhibited polypharmacy (≥5 medications), with an average of 9.1 ± 4.15 medications per person. About 92% had potential drug interactions, including major and moderate interactions. More than 86% used at least one potentially inappropriate medication, most commonly central nervous system drugs. This pilot study demonstrates that institutionalized older adults may be at high risk of potential medication-related problems. Implementing comprehensive medication review programs and promoting adapted prescribing practices are crucial to optimize medication use and improve the well-being of this vulnerable population.

Shear dynamics simulation under extreme pressure was used to optimise the composition of ester-based lubricant base oil and extreme pressure additives. As a result, the ester-based lubricant in the weak-gel drilling fluid achieves reduction and increases the efficiency in drilling construction, and the field operation efficiency improves. The results of base oil lubrication simulation show that three base oils, namely, methyl oleate, ethyl oleate and butyl oleate, can be stably adsorbed on the surface layer of the shear surface. Methyl oleate has the lowest system temperature after shear stabilisation and has a high load-bearing capacity. The shear stress of methyl oleate decreases by changing the initial shear temperature and speed. It increases by 6.36 MPa when the speed increases from 10 m/s to 30 m/s. At this time, the shear stress of butyl oleate increases by 10.11 MPa. The results of the four-ball friction experiments show that the radius of the abrasion spot of methyl oleate is 179.83 μm, which is smaller than that of the other two base oils. Moreover, the friction coefficient of methyl oleate is 0.0018, which is approximately 1/3 of that of butyl oleate. Methyl oleate has better lubrication efficiency. The shear simulation results are consistent with the experimental results. The simulation can be used for the molecular design of lubricant materials. The oleic acid amide–containing amine group and the glyceride oleic–containing hydroxyl group were selected as the extreme pressure functional components for shear simulation. Results show that the shear stress of oleic acid amide is much lower than that of oleic acid glyceride when the initial shear temperature and speed change. The extreme pressure lubrication component–containing amine group is better than the extreme pressure lubrication material–containing hydroxyl group. The effects of different oleamide contents in the two-component mixtures on the lubricating properties were investigated through shear simulation, with methyl oleate as the base oil and oleamide as the extreme pressure functional component. The simulation results show that the lubricant has the optimal shear stress when 10% oleamide is added to the lubricant. The base properties of the lubricant were tested using a mixture of 90% methyl oleate and 10% oleamide, formulated as a lubricant. Results show that the friction coefficient can be reduced to 0.03 when 0.5% of the lubricant is added to the base mud. Moreover, the lubricant film formed shows high strength. Then, 1% lubricant was added to the weak-gel drilling fluid to evaluate the effect of the lubricant on the gel structure of the drilling fluid. Results show that adding lubricant does not affect the rheological properties of the drilling fluid. The gel structure of the system also remains stable even after 7 days of continuous ageing. The results of the field experiments in Hua3-01 well show that adding 1% ester-based lubricant to the field drilling fluid reduces the drilling friction by 33%. Thus, the efficiency of directional side drilling can be effectively improved, complicated accidents, such as poor starting and stopping of drilling and stuck jamming, can be avoided, and the goals of reducing quantity and increasing efficiency can be completed.

Rebar cages form the skeletal framework of reinforced concrete structural members. They comprise longitudinal and transverse reinforcing bars, usually connected by tie wires. Past studies have identified tie-wire connections as the "weak links" in large, prefabricated rebar cages, leading to their failure during site handling and construction stages. Recent research has explored the use of mechanical U-bolt connectors to bolster stability and safety of rebar cages while reducing their vulnerability and risk of failure. This paper presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of a new type of mechanical connector, referred to as "Cage Clamp", to enhance rebar cage stability and safety. Component-level experimental tests are conducted to determine the force-displacement response of Cage Clamp connectors for crossbar connections in different degrees of freedom. The results highlight the remarkable strength and stiffness of Cage Clamp connectors, significantly outperforming traditional tie-wire connections. Furthermore, full-scale experimental tests are performed on a circular underground pile-shaft rebar cage with Cage Clamp connectors to assess its behavior under various site handling conditions. The data obtained from these experiments are used to construct and refine detailed 3D finite element models of the rebar cages, capable of capturing the complex behavior of rebar cages with Cage Clamp connectors. Using the numerical model, a sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the effect of the number of Cage Clamps on the deflection and stability of the rebar cage. The findings show that using cage clamps to connect pick-up rebar with lateral reinforcement at every 8 to 10 feet is sufficient to ensure the stability of the cage during typical site handling conditions. The results of this study serve as a basis for establishing analysis, design, fabrication, and handling guidelines for rebar cages, contributing to safe and efficient construction practices.

Pheochromocytoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor that affects people in the 4th and 5th decades of life. It can be benign or malignant, and present as isolated tumors or along with other neuroendocrine syndromes. We present a case of an elderly man who underwent laparoscopic adrenalectomy for pheochromocytoma when he was 58 years only to have a recurrence of metastatic malignant pheochromocytoma in his seventies. We also conducted a literature review to understand the epidemiology and presentation of the tumor and to emphasize that there should be a low threshold of suspicion for timely diagnosis and management of recurrent pheochromocytoma.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that often causes progressive complications in the elderly. Along with the decline in cognitive function in the elderly, it causes dependence on disciplined management of diabetes mellitus. This dependence causes a very important mentoring role to be given. The purpose of this study is to provide knowledge, attitudes, and family skills to care for the elderly with diabetes mellitus at home through the empowerment of elderly cadres in Lampung. This research method is a quasi-experimental research with a control group design with a total of 64 elderly respondents and 64 families selected by simple random sampling technique. The assessment used an instrument for assessing family abilities that the researcher developed included aspects of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. The results of the dependent t-test analysis showed a significant increase in the knowledge and skills variable in the intervention group (0.000) but decreased in the attitude variable with p 0.198. Meanwhile, the increase in value also occurred in the attitude and skill variables in the control group. So that the results of the independent t-test only showed a significant difference in the attitude score (0.000) with the highest score in the control group. So that there is no significant increase in the ability of the family after the implementation of elderly cadres empowerment.

Background and objectives: Only a few studies analyzed the physical activity level of elderly people living alone in local communities and evaluated the relationship between it and mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical activity and depression in the elderly living alone and to provide basic data for the prevention of depression in the elderly. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 256 elderly people living alone aged 65 years or older who completed the 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Depression was defined as a score of 10 or higher using Patient Health Questionnaire-10(PHQ-9). This study investigated walking per week, days of muscular strength exercise performance in the past one week, days of flexibility exercise in the past one week, mean hours in a sitting position per day, the numbers of days and hours conducting a high intensity physical activity in the past one week, and numbers of days and hours conducting a medium intensity physical activity in the past one week to define physical activity. Our study presented prevalence odds ratios (pOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) by using complex sample logistic regression analysis in order to identify the relationship between physical activity and depression. Results: The results of complex sample logistic regression analysis showed that flexibility exercise was significantly related to depression (p <0.05). On the other hand, the mean hours in a sitting position per day, aerobic physical activity, walking, and muscular strength exercise were not significantly related to geriatric depression. Conclusions: The results of our study implied that persistent flexibility exercise might be more effective to maintain a healthy mental status than muscular strength exercise. A longitudinal study is required to prove the causal relationship between physical activity and depression in the old age.

(1) Background: Resilience has been presented as a potential protective factor to be promoted in difficult experiences in the elderly. However, further clarification of the concept of resilience is needed about this population, as this is of critical interest for nursing care. (2) Aim: To develop the concept of resilience in the elderly to establish the elements that refer to the nursing outcome Personal resilience (1309) from the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC), specifically in the elderly. (3) Methods: Concept analysis using Beth Rodgers' evolutionary model. The attributes, antecedents, consequents and empirical elements were described in the integrative review, with searches in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, LILACS and Embase databases. A total of 2431 citations have been identified and 110 studies were included. (4) Results: The concept of “resilience in the elderly” is composed of two attributes: available resources and positive behaviours and is defined as positive attitudes of older people with the assistance of resources available from experiences of adversity. Conclusion: This analysis and concept development of resilience in the elderly provided sensitive indicators for nursing care in the context of adversity, considering available resources and with positive attitudes during this phase of life span.

The rapid growth rate of the elderly population is a serious current issue in most countries, affecting them economically through needed medical treatment and healthcare planning. The priority concern is how to reduce the number of elderly people requiring long-term healthcare and raise the number who are able to live independently. This study executed a behavior assessment of elderly person’s self-reported use of electric scooters and analyzed their degree of acceptance of these assisted living tools, partly through a related factor analysis of our survey instrument. We used this questionnaire survey as our research method, applying SPSS22 software for factor analysis that revealed five survey facets.

Purpose of review: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is an important problem worlwide areas of different controversy regarding its entity. This article reviews the risk factors, comorbidities, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, effective management and prognosis of MOH, by summaries and integrates the results and finding in previously performed more than 15000 studies (from the year of 2010 to 2023) available from the scientific database of the University Medical Library in the University Clinical centre of Niš, which aimed to investigate and define a complexcity of this type of headache. Recent finding: It has been proposed that all acute migraine medications can lead to MOH, with differences in the propensity of different agents to cause the problem. Early data suggests that triptans and other pain killers used for the acute treatment of migraine, may be an exception. Recent studies show that practicioners and the general public are still largely unaware of the problem of medication overuse and its damaging effects. Summary: Although it is likely that MOH does occur and restricting the amount of acute medications is necessary to prevent it. It is also possible that increasing amounts of acute medications are simply a reflection of poorly controlled headaches, rather than a couse. Further researches need to be developed to identify more precisious mechanism in MOH effecitive management and its evolution. Key word: medication overuse headache (MOH)

Purpose of review: Medication overuse headache (MOH) is an important problem worlwide areas of different controversy regarding its entity. This article reviews the risk factors, comorbidities, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, effective management and prognosis of MOH, by summaries and integrates the results and finding in previously performed more than 15000 studies (from the year of 2010 to 2023) available from the scientific database of the University Medical Library in the University Clinical centre of Niš, which aimed to investigate and define a complexcity of this type of headache. Recent finding: It has been proposed that all acute migraine medications can lead to MOH, with differences in the propensity of different agents to cause the problem. Early data suggests that triptans and other pain killers used for the acute treatment of migraine, may be an exception. Recent studies show that practicioners and the general public are still largely unaware of the problem of medication overuse and its damaging effects. Summary: Although it is likely that MOH does occur and restricting the amount of acute medications is necessary to prevent it. It is also possible that increasing amounts of acute medications are simply a reflection of poorly controlled headaches, rather than a couse. Further researches need to be developed to identify more precisious mechanism in MOH effecitive management and its evolution.

In this study, the impact of the addition of high-aspect-ratio nano-ettringite to photocurable epoxy acrylate resin was explored, with a specific focus on the changes observed in viscosity, shrinkage, tensile strength, and elongation at the break of composites formed. Herein, the nano-ettringite samples were modified using KH-570. The 3 wt% or 6 wt% KH-570-modified and unmodified nano-ettringite were dispersed into the resin by ultrasonic treatment in conjunction with mechanical stirring. The grafting effects of nano-ettringite onto KH-570 were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results demonstrate that increased dosages of unmodified and modified nano-ettringite led to increased viscosity of the composite while reducing shrinkage. At the same dosage, the photocurable resin with modified nano-ettringite demonstrated a lower shrinkage and a higher tensile strength. Notably, when the amount of modified nano-ettringite was 3 wt%, the highest tensile strength of the composite was 64.61 MPa, presenting a 72.57% increase compared to the blank sample. Furthermore, the incorporation of modified nano-ettringite as a filler provides a new perspective for improving the performance of photocurable epoxy acrylate resin composites.

Predictive numerical models in the study of ground-borne vibrations generated by railway sys-tems have traditionally relied on the segmented approach of subsystems. In this approach, loads are individually applied, and the cumulative effect of rolling stock is obtained through superposi-tion. While this method serves to mitigate computational costs, it may not fully capture the com-plex interactions involved in ground-borne vibrations. Recent advancements in computational and software tools have enabled the development of more sophisticated vibrational pollution models. These advanced models encompass the entire dynamic system, from the rolling stock to the terrain, allowing for continuous simulations with a defined time step. Furthermore, the incorporation of computational contact tools between various ele-ments not only ensures temporal accuracy but also extends the analysis to the frequency domain. This paper explores the evolution of predictive numerical models in the context of ground-borne vibrations generated by trains on ballasted tracks. It highlights the shift from segmented models to continuous simulations, demonstrating the progressive advancement towards more comprehen-sive and accurate representations of railway-induced and generated vibrations in the track sur-roundings as an additional way of evaluate sustainability of infrastructures. In particular, this development of a numerical model from its inception aimed to expand upon ex-isting emission - prediction models by enriching the data with frequency-domain information. This approach has been driven by the aspiration to bridge the gap between numerical predictions and measured signals, striving for a higher level of accuracy in our obtained results. This model can predict the impact of a high-speed rail (HSR) vehicle passing on its own track. It possesses sufficient information in both the time and frequency domains to precisely characterize vibrations. This initiative marks a pivotal advancement, enabling us to more effectively capture the intricacies of ground-borne vibrations and their impact on the surrounding environment due to a deeper comprehension of the occurrences in the frequency domain, there's a heightened ca-pability to accurately characterize vibrations.

Fingerprints are essential for human identification and are valuable tools in criminal investigations. The pursuit of new materials for digital printing is expanding, with increasing interest in natural compounds such as bixin, sourced from annatto seeds. Despite its traditional use as a natural dye with medicinal properties, the potential of bixin in papilloscopy remains largely untapped. In this study, we meticulously extracted bixin from annatto seeds and meticulously developed composites incorporating zinc carbonate (bixin/ZnCO3) and kaolinite (bixin/kaolinite). UV-visible spectroscopy was used for characterization, and the extracted bixin showed absorption peaks at 429, 453, and 481 nm, which were very similar to standard peaks at 429, 457, and 487 nm. The two samples also had the same retention times (7.07 min) according to further liquid chromatography analysis. Sweat pores were easier to detect thanks to the effectiveness of the bixin/ZnCO3 and bixin/kaolinite composites in creating high contrast sebaceous and natural latent fingerprints. These results highlight the composites’ potential as novel and fascinating instruments for papilloscopy applications, which might also improve forensic investigations.

When dealing with limited sample sizes or missing values in time series data, achieving high accuracy in forecasting becomes challenging. This challenge is particularly common in wind energy forecasting, where many wind farms lack complete data. In this paper, we employ the widely-used ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) model for time series forecasting. To address the difficulties posed by limited sample sizes and missing values, we adopt a unique approach by utilizing multiple ARIMA models for different datasets. A key distinction from other multiple models methods for time series forecasting lies in each model within our approach using its own dataset, making the fusion process more intricate. To overcome this, we incorporate neural networks and two techniques for model fusion: direct fusion with a learning mechanism and compensation for missing data through training. For each ARIMA model, we introduce a noise estimation method to circumvent the white noise assumptions inherent in ARIMA models. Finally, we apply these methods to wind energy prediction, and our experimental results showcase a significant enhancement in forecasting accuracy.

This paper focuses on optimal sensor positioning for monitoring activities of daily living and investigates different combinations of features and models on different sensor positions, i.e., the side of the waist, front of the waist, chest, thigh, head, upper arm, wrist, and ankle. Sixteen features are extracted and the feature importance is measured by using the Relief-F feature selection algorithm. Eight classification algorithms are evaluated on a dataset collected from young subjects and that collected from elderly subjects, with two different experimental settings. To deal with different sampling rates, signals with a high data rate are down-sampled and a transformation matrix is used for aligning signals to the same coordinate system. The thigh, chest, side of the waist, and front of the waist are the best four sensor positions for the first dataset (young subjects), with average accuracy values being greater than 95%. The best model obtained from the first dataset for the side of the waist is validated on the second dataset (elderly subjects). The most appropriate number of features for each sensor position is reported. The results provide a reference for building activity recognition models for different sensor positions, as well as for data acquired from different hardware platforms and subject groups.

We construct a Bayesian estimator for the dilution of a wastewater sample. When wastewater is diluted by rainwater an estimate of the level of dilution is required if we are to normalise sample measurements of disease markers such as SARS-CoV-2 RNA. We consider the situation where flow measurements are available, but will regularly be unreliable because of the action of combined sewer outflows (CSOs) and wastewater storage tanks, which divert wastewater away from treatment plants when the flow is excessive. However, we also have proxies for the flow from various chemical markers (e.g.\ phosphate, ammonium, electrical conductivity), whose level per unit of population is fixed. The new flow estimator has multiple advantages compared to existing procedures: credible intervals for the estimates; optimal weighting of the chemical markers; systematic handling of missing and censored values; and model based smoothing without lags.

Genetic engineering has become an essential element in developing climate-resilient crops and environmental sustainable solutions to respond to the increasing need for global food security. Genome editing using CRISPR/Cas [Clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein (Cas)] technology is being applied to a variety of organisms, including plants. This technique has become popular because of its high specificity, effectiveness, and low production cost. Therefore, this technology has the potential to revolutionize agriculture and contribute to global food security. Over the past few years, increasing efforts have been seen in its application in developing higher-yielding, nutrition rich, disease resistant, stress-tolerant “crops” fruits and vegetables. Cas proteins such as Cas9, Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14, among others, have distinct architectures and have been used to create new genetic tools that improve features that are important for agriculture. The versatility of Cas has accelerated genomic analysis and facilitated the use of CRISPR/Cas to manipulate and alter nucleic acid sequences in cells of different organisms. This review provides the evolution of CRISPR technology exploring its mechanisms and contrasting it with traditional breeding and transgenic approaches to improve different stress tolerance. We have also discussed the CRISPR/Cas system and explored three Cas proteins that are currently known to exist: Cas12, Cas13, and Cas14 and their potential to generate foreign DNA free or non-transgenic crops that could be easily regulated for commercialization in most countries.

Adherence with multidrug therapy (MDT) is one of the keys to successful treatment of leprosy. In order to understand the treatment behavior, reasons for non-adherence, and efforts to improve medication adherence, it is necessary to use a valid and reliable instrument to measure adherence to MDT in multibacillary leprosy patients on regular basis. This study used a mixed method de-sign. The instrument development phase involved 10 experts using 4 rounds of Delphi method. Assessment items that are considered relevant are those that meet 4-5 Likert scale by a minimum of 75% of experts or meet assessment score >3.75. We did the pilot testing and the questionnaire was revised if invalid. After obtaining a valid and reliable instrument, it was tested to 100 sub-jects in 4 health centers. For internal validity test, 9 valid assessment items were obtained, with the correlation coefficient values of each item >0.3, and -Cronbach's reliability of 0.723. The instru-ment produced had sensitivity of 88.46% and specificity of 78.37%. From 100 subjects enrolled, 61% had good adherence and 39% had poor adherence based on questionnaire assessment. A valid and reliable questionnaire for evaluating adherence with MDT in Indonesian patients has been composed.

This study was conducted on elderly over 65 years of age to verify that healing garden activities control stress in the elderly. The experimental group performed garden activities once a week for 12 weeks, 2 hours each, and the control group continued their daily lives. Each group's cumulative stress at the beginning and end, total power (TP), the standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval (SDNN), and root mean square differences of successive R-R intervals (RMSSD) were measured using a stress index meter, u-bio MACPA. As a result of the analysis, the experimental group had a statistically significant decrease in cumulative stress compared to the control group, and TP significantly increased compared to the control group. SDNN and RMSSD of the experimental group increased, respectively, and the control group decreased, respectively, but it was not statistically significant. The fact that cumulative stress decreased, and stress evaluation indicators increased shows that daily stress can be controlled through healing garden activities. This confirms that the value of the garden can extend to healing.

This research is aimed at the knowledge of the effectiveness of the material resources in the sensa-tions of exploratory procedures in 365 older people who take part in the physical activity that the Sport Municipal Institute (SMI) offers in the different sports centers assigned to it in the city of Se-ville, using a descriptive design and with a questionnaire developed and validated previously by the Delphi method; showing the relationship between the basic emotions that seniors experience when handling sport, and the materials. So it is claimed that exist a relation between older people, which practice exercise with the materials that they use on it.

The severity and outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) largely depends on a patient’s age. Over 80% of hospitalizations are of those over 65 years of age with a 23-fold greater risk of death. In the clinic, COVID-19 patients most commonly present with fever, cough and dyspnea. Particularly in those over 65, it can progress to pneumonia, lung consolidation, cytokine release syndrome, endotheliitis, coagulopathy, multiple organ failure and death. Comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and hypertension increase the chances of fatal disease, but they alone do not explain the variability in COVID-19 symptoms. Here, we present the molecular differences between the young, middle-aged and elderly that may determine whether COVID-19 is a mild or life-threatening illness. We also discuss several biological age clocks that could be used in conjunction with genetic tests to identify both the mechanisms of the disease and individuals most at risk. Finally, based on these mechanisms, we discuss treatments that could increase survival in the elderly, not simply by inhibiting the virus, but by restoring patients’ ability to clear the infection.

Large-scale hydrological modeling in China is challenging given the sparse meteorological stations and large uncertainties associated with atmospheric forcing data.Here we introduce the development and use of the China Meteorological Assimilation Driving Datasets for the SWAT model (CMADS) in the Heihe River Basin(HRB) for improving hydrologic modeling, by leveraging the datasets from the China Meteorological Administration Land Data Assimilation System (CLDAS)(including climate data from nearly 40000 area encryption stations, 2700 national automatic weather stations, FengYun (FY) 2 satellite and radar stations). CMADS uses the Space Time Multiscale Analysis System (STMAS) to fuse data based on ECWMF ambient field and ensure data accuracy. In addition, compared with CLDAS, CMADS includes relative humidity and climate data of varied resolutions to drive hydrological models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Here, we compared climate data from CMADS, Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and traditional weather station (TWS) climate forcing data and evaluatedtheir applicability for driving large scale hydrologic modeling with SWAT. In general, CMADS has higher accuracy than CFRS when evaluated against observations at TWS; CMADS also provides spatially continuous climate field to drive distributed hydrologic models, which is an important advantage over TWS climate data, particular in regions with sparse weather stations. Therefore, SWAT model simulations driven with CMADS and TWS achieved similar performances in terms of monthly and daily stream flow simulations, and both of them outperformed CFRS. For example, for the three hydrological stations (Ying Luoxia, Qilian Mountain, and ZhaMasheke) in the HRB at the monthly and daily Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency ranges of 0.75-0.95 and 0.58-0.78, respectively, which are much higher than corresponding efficiency statistics achieved with CFSR (monthly: 0.32-0.49 and daily: 0.26 – 0.45). The CMADS dataset is available free of charge and is expected to a valuable addition to the existing climate reanalysis datasets for deriving distributed hydrologic modeling in China and other countries in East Asia.

This narrative review provides a thorough examination of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), encompassing its etiology, the role of drug holidays, and contemporary treatment approaches. By systematically analyzing literature from 2022 to 2023, this paper synthesizes the latest findings and trends in MRONJ research. The study emphasizes the importance of a holistic understanding of MRONJ, beginning with its etiological factors, assessing the therapeutic implications of drug holidays, and evaluating the efficacy of current treatment modalities. This review aims to offer clinicians and researchers a consolidated resource, highlighting the intricacies of MRONJ management and proposing directions for future research. Through this comprehensive approach, the paper seeks to advance the understanding and treatment of MRONJ, ensuring an evidence-based, patient-centric approach in clinical practice.

Properties of time domain parameters of the vibration signal have been extensively studied for the fault diagnosis of rolling element bearings (REB). Parameters like kurtosis and Envelope Harmonic-to-Noise Ratio are most widely applied in this field and some important progress has been made. However, since only one-sided information is contained in these parameters respectively, problems still exist in practice when the signals collected are of complicated structure and/or contaminated by strong background noises. A new parameter, named Shock pulse index (SPI), is proposed in this paper. It integrates the mutual advantage of both parameters above and can help effectively identify fault related impulse components under the interference of strong background noises, unrelated harmonic components and random impulses. The SPI optimizes the parameters of Maximum Correlated Kurtosis Deconvolution (MCKD), which is used to filter the signals under consideration. Finally, the interested transient information contained in the filtered signal can be highlighted through demodulation with Teager Energy Operator (TEO). Fault related impulse components can therefore be extracted accurately. Simulations and experiment analyses verify the effectiveness and correctness of the SPI.

The oil and gas industry in Nigeria, a vital contributor to the nation's economy, has long been associated with significant environmental challenges. Pollution, habitat destruction, and greenhouse gas emissions have raised global concerns about sustainability and corporate responsibility. This empirical study explores the relationship between environmental accounting practices and the financial performance of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. We investigated eight oil and gas companies that are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market (NGX) as of January 17, 2022, from 2011 to 2022. The study employs Driscoll-Kraay standard errors and reveals that environmental accounting had significant effects on returns on assets, earnings per share, and liquidity ratio. The study revealed that the implementation of environmental accounting practices had diverse effects on the performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The findings encourage policymakers and stakeholders in the sector to utilise the insights and design more effective regulations and incentives that promote environmental corporate responsibility. Also, valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges associated with adopting environmental accounting practices, and influencing the decision-making processes of corporate stakeholders were provided to ensure sustainability in terms of improved financial performance of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

The teaching and learning environment have changed significantly over the last decade with the integration of an increasing amount of information and communication technologies, especially in distance education due to global pandemics, total lockdowns, isolation, and quarantine periods. The number of numerous virtual and non-virtual tools involved in educational processes is growing day by day. In terms of technological innovations used in learning environments, many researchers and educators are trying their best to bring more creative ideas into the technology- based learning environments. Although higher educational institutions have greatly benefited from the growing number of hardware and software resources in the educational process, they have also faced some setbacks that have harmed the learning processes. These technologies have in turn complicated some of the processes in the learning atmosphere. Therefore, we take Spanish teaching course as an example to present the challenging smarter teaching and learning systems that higher educational institutions face today.

Background: This study aimed to develop a highly consumable collagen-containing bar that contributes to enriching the diets of elderly individuals in terms of energy and nutrients. Method: For this purpose, after the development of 5 different bar samples (C, P1, P2, D1, D2) containing different amounts of collagen, date puree, and pumpkin puree, they were evaluated in terms of sensory and nutritional properties. Results: The highest flavor score bars were those with high levels of pumpkin puree (P2) and date puree (D2). By applying the TOPSIS technique, which is used when there are multiple crite-ria among multiple samples, to the snack bar samples with different contents, the most liked sample was found to be the snack bar (D2) with a high level of date puree. One serving of the developed bars contains approximately 300-400 kcal of energy and 6.8-8.8 g of protein. Consid-ering age-related decreased appetite and chewing and swallowing problems in elderly individ-uals, regular consumption of nutrient-rich small meals or snacks with enhanced sensory charac-teristics will contribute to improving their nutritional and functional status.

This manuscript employs a surface stress-driven nonlocal model to explore the combined effects of long-range interaction and surface energy on higher vibration modes of functionally graded nanobeams. The nanobeam theory, based on Bernoulli-Euler kinematics, incorporates surface effects such as surface elasticity, surface residual stresses, surface density, and rotary inertia. Hamilton's principle is applied to derive the governing equation with size-dependent considerations. The main outcomes of a parametric investigation, considering four different kinematic boundary conditions (Cantilever, Simply-Supported, Clamped-Pinned, and Doubly-Clamped) while varying the nonlocal parameter and material gradient index, are presented and discussed. Additionally, the normalized natural frequencies for the second, third, fourth and fifth modes of vibrations are provided and analyzed for each case under study. The results underscore the model's effectiveness in capturing surface energy effects on the overall dynamic behavior of functionally graded Bernoulli-Euler nanobeams, offering a cost-effective approach for designing and optimizing nano-scaled structures.

Agricultural greenhouse is largely answered in the agricultural sphere, despite the shortcomings it has, including overheating during the day and night cooling which sometimes results in the thermal inversion mainly due to its low inertia. The glasshouse dressed chapel is relatively more efficient than the conventional tunnel greenhouse. Its proliferation on the ground is more or less timid because of its relatively high cost[14-22]. Agricultural greenhouse aims to create a favorable microclimate to the requirements of growth and development of culture, from the surrounding weather conditions, produce according to the cropping calendars fruits, vegetables and flower species out of season and widely available along the year. It is defined by its structural and functional architecture, the quality thermal, mechanical and optical of its wall, with its sealing level and the technical and technological accompanying[12-13]. The greenhouse is a very confined environment, where multiple components are exchanged between key stakeholders and them factors are light, temperature and relative humidity[8]. This state of thermal evolution is the level sealing of the cover of its physical characteristics to be transparent to solar, absorbent and reflective of infrared radiation emitted by the enclosure where the solar radiation trapping effect otherwise called "greenhouse effect" and its technical and technological means of air that accompany. The socio-economic analysis of populations in the world leaves appear especially the last two decades of rapid and profound transformations These changes are accompanied by changes in eating habits, mainly characterized by rising consumption spread along the year[14]. To effectively meet this demand, greenhouse-systems have evolved, particularly towards greater control of production conditions (climate, irrigation, ventilation techniques, CO2 supply, etc ...). Technological progress has allowed the development of greenhouses so that they become increasingly sophisticated and of an industrial nature (heating, air conditioning, control, computer, regulation, etc ...). New climate driving techniques have emerged, including the use of control devices from the classic to the use of artificial intelligence[10-11] such as neural networks and / or fuzzy logic, etc... As a result, the greenhouse growers prefer these new technologies while optimizing the investment in the field to effectively meet the supply and demand of these fresh products cheaply and widely available throughout the year.

The analysis and simulation of water quality in distribution networks is a complex issue of great concern today. The analysis of the evolution of water age, as a simple indicator of water quality in the network, is of great interest in both design and operation phases. Understanding the factors that have the strongest influence on water quality is key to developing adequate strategies aimed at preserving it. This paper firstly analyses the factors with biggest influence in the tanks water age, to support the selection of the most appropriate configuration from the point of view of water quality during design phases. Then, the main considerations when modelling tanks following the different mixing models considered in Epanet have been presented. Also, a real tank behaviour has been characterised through field measurements and Epanet simulations in order to determine the best fitted mixing model.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common in middle aged and elderly individuals. DM may accelerate the aging process, and the age-related declines in the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), can pose a challenge to diagnose diabetic kidney disease (DKD) using standard diagnostic criteria especially with absence of severe albuminuria among the elderly. In the presence of CKD and DM, elderly patients may need multidisciplinary care due to susceptibility to various health issues e.g., cognitive decline, auditory or visual impairment, various comorbidities, complex medical regimens, and increased sensitivity to medication adverse effects. As a result, it can be challenging to apply recent therapeutic advancements for the general population to the elderly. We review the evidence that the benefits from these newer therapies apply equally to elderly and non-elderly patients and propose a framework for the management of DKD by discussing the nonpharmacological measures and pharmacological management with renin angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi), Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter two inhibitors (SGLT2i), non-steroidal mineralocorticoids receptor antagonists (MRAs), and Glucagon Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists (GLP1-RAs).

Background: Recommended CKD first-line diagnostics is based on GFR-determination by Creatinine. Cystatin C-use may provide better assessment. Methods: We compared creatinine- and cystatin C-derived eGFR determination in first-line di-agnostic of 112 hospital patients aged >60 years (median=76 years). Patients were judged kid-ney-sane according to first-line diagnostic recommendations (N=61, eGFR (CKD-EPI) ≥60ml/min/m2, total urine protein <150mg/g creatinine, urinary red and white blood cells not increased) or classified at-risk for kidney insufficiency due to aortic valve dysfunction (N=51). Plausibility of eGFR-values was evaluated retrospectively by final case diagnoses. Results: eGFR (CAPA) was found linearly correlated to eGFR (CKD-EPI) (R2=0.5, slope=0.69, p<0.0001). In 93/112 (>80%) cases, eGFR (CAPA) yielded lower values (on average ≈20%). In 55/112 (49%) cases CKD-stage decreased. CKD-reclassification from kidney-sane to kid-ney-insufficient state (i.e. CKD1/2 to CKD3a/b or 4) or reclassification to more severe kidney in-sufficiency (i.e. CKD3a3b/4 or 3b4) was found in 41/112 (37%) cases. Worsening of CKD-classification (kidney-sanekidney-insufficient) based on eGFR (CAPA) was in 30% of cases plausible in the light of final case-diagnoses. Conclusion: In elderly patients (>60 years), renal function appears systematically overestimated by creatinine-based eGFR (CKD-EPI) heralding for this group employment of cystatin C-based eGFR (CAPA) as first-line diagnostic.

Background: Indonesia is an archipelago with various cultured, will bee affects all aspects of people's lives, including beliefs related to health behavior and health care. One problem that needs serious attention is the elderly group because the elderly are a vulnerable group who have a high risk of experiencing health problems, such as anemia with hypertension, so they need good care management. The research objective was to determine self-management intervention for hypertensive elderly. Methods: This research is a literature review with five databases (Scopus, CINAHL, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Proquest), the study design used is an experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional, and review systematic, in March 2021. Guidelines for using JBI to measure quality and listing check out Prisma in this review guide. A feasibility study based on title, abstract, full text, and research methodology. The data analysis used narrative analysis based on the research findings. Results: Twelve articles met the predefined review inclusion criteria. The study found eight interventions for self-management in elderly hypertension, namely: 1) Knowledge of hypertension, 2) Regulation of physical activity, 3) Limitation of alcohol and cigarette consumption, 4) Sleep rest and stress management, 5) Diet and body weight management, 6) Blood pressure control, 7) Family and social support, 8) Adherence to therapy regimens. Conclusion: The conclusion of the study results obtained eight elderly self-management interventions, this done properly will affect compliance in optimizing the health of the elderly.

Hand gestures may play an important role in medical applications for health care of elderly people, where providing a natural interaction for different requests can be executed by making specific gestures. In this study we explored three different scenarios using a Microsoft Kinect V2 depth sensor then evaluated the effectiveness of the outcomes. The first scenario utilized the default system embedded in the Kinect V2 sensor, which depth metadata gives 11 parameters related to the tracked body with five gestures for each hand. The second scenario used joint tracking provided by Kinect depth metadata and depth threshold together to enhance hand segmentation and efficiently recognize the number of fingers extended. The third scenario used a simple convolutional neural network with joint tracking by depth metadata to recognize five categories of gestures. In this study, deaf-mute elderly people execute five different hand gestures to indicate a specific request, such as needing water, meal, toilet, help and medicine. Then, the requests were sent to the care provider’s smartphone because elderly people could not execute any activity independently. The system transferred these requests as a message through the global system for mobile communication (GSM) using a microcontroller.

A multimodal detection system with complementary capabilities for efficient detection was developed for impurity detection. The system consisted of a visible light camera, a multispectral camera, image correction and registration algorithms. It can obtain spectral feature and color feature at the same time, and has higher spatial resolution than a single spectral camera. This system was applied to detect impurities in Pu ’er tea to verify its high efficiency. The spectral and color features of each pixel in the images of Pu ’er tea were obtained by this system and used for pixel classification. The experimental results show that the accuracy of Support Vector Machine (SVM) model based on combined features is 93%, which is 7% higher than that based on only spectral features. By applying median filtering algorithm and contour detection algorithm to the label matrix extracted from pixel-classified images, 8 impurities except hair were detected successfully. Moreover, taking advantage of the high resolution of visible light camera, small impurities can be clearly imaged. By comparing the segmented color image with the pixel-classified image, small impurities such as hair could be detected successfully. Finally, it is proved that the system can obtain multiple images to allow a more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the detected items, and has excellent ability to detect small impurities.

Nowadays, animal breeders look for effective innovations to care animal health. Use of probiotics, postbiotics, parabiotics and the other beneficial natural substances are dominated. Mundticin-like substance EM 41/3 is thermo-stable bacteriocin (postbiotic) with a broad antimicrobial spectrum. In this study its effect in broiler rabbits was assessed. Rabbits represent food-derived animal and they are also suitable animal model. The parameters tested were analyzed by validated methods. Administration of MLS EM 41/3 produced by non-autochthonous strain Enterococcus mundtii EM 41/3 lead to significant increase of parameter immunity-phagocytic activity, while it did not influence microbiota composition. It also did not influence blood biochemistry and no oxidative stress was noted. Moreover, higher growth parameters were noted and also stimulated hydrolytic activity. Finally, no negative influence on rabbit meat quality was noted. Postbiotic MLS EM 41/3 administration in feeding strategy seems to be contributing fact for rabbit health status maintaining.

This study explores optimizing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite constellation scheduling for multi-imaging missions in densely targeted areas using an in-house developed Modified Dynamic Programming (MDP) algorithm. By employing Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) to define the mission planning problem, the research aims to maximize observation of high-value targets within restricted planning horizons. Numerical simulations, covering a wide range of target numbers and satellite configurations, reveal the MDP algorithm’s superior mission allocation efficiency, enhanced success rates, and reduced revisit times, compared to the Greedy algorithm. The findings underscore the MDP algorithm’s improved operational efficiency and planning robustness for complex imaging tasks, demonstrating significant advancements over traditional approaches.

Background: Frail elderly patients are exposed to suffering the consequences of heart diseases that are not managed timely such as receiving anticoagulation to prevent stroke associated to atrial fibrillation (AF). Referral to the cardiological outpatient department can be cumbersome as it often requires repeated visits. The aim of this project was to use AF as a showcase to develop and implement CardioShare, a shared-care model where primary care leads patient management, using an easy-to-use compact Holter monitor device with asynchronous remote support from cardiologists. Methods: This complex intervention has been developed during a feasibility phase, tested in a pragmatic cluster-randomization trial (primary care clinic as clusters) and its implementation potential evaluated with an escalation test. Mixed methods were used to evaluate the impact of the intervention, comprising quantitative observations, semi-structured interviews, and workshops. Results: Between February 2020 and December 2021, 314 patients (30% frail) were included of whom 75% had AF diagnosed/not found within 13 days. More than 80% in both groups avoided referral to cardiologists. Patients felt safe and primary care clinicians satisfied. In the escalation test, 58 primary-care doctors used CardioShare to manage 93 patients over three months with remote support from four hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Conclusions: CardioShare was successfully implemented for AF evaluation in primary care.

Bacground, the increasing number of elderly is a new challenge for health care systems around the world. The phenomenon of the complex health problems experienced by the elderly encourages families to bring the elderly to a nursing home. The purpose of this study was to describe the condition of the elderly living in nursing homes and their care needs. Methodology, this research design is a literature review, article search using 5 databases, namely Scopus, ProQuest, Pubmed, CINAHL and Scient Direct. Articles reviewed from 2019 to 2021. Protocol and evaluation of literature review using the PRISMA checklist, and the assessment guide using the Joanna Briggs Institute Guideline. Results, the health conditions of the elderly who live in the orphanage are mostly aged 60 years and over, physically experiencing disturbances in their daily activities and dependence. Psychologically experiencing anxiety, depression, loneliness and even mental disorders and socially need family support. The care needs of the elderly in nursing homes include services by competent and culturally sensitive staff and nurses, safe and comfortable nursing home environmental services, privacy needs and social interactions, spiritual needs services, social guidance services, and skills guidance services. Conclusion, based on the literature review, it can be seen that nursing services should be provided in a humanistic and holistic manner, the elderly are clients who have both bio-psycho-socio-cultural and spiritual needs. So that nursing services are aimed at meeting the needs of the elderly in a comprehensive manner.

Background: Post-operative delirium in elderly with hip fracture is associated with various adverse clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological processes underpinning delirium have remained elusive. The aim of this study is to explore the associations between delirium and its features and immune-inflammatory and blood gas biomarkers.Methods: In this prospective study we examined 65 patients who underwent a hip fracture surgery and assessed the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU), Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale (RASS), and Delirium Rating Scale Revised-98 (DRS-R-98) before and during 4 days after the surgery. Complete Blood Count (CBC) and venous blood gas markers were obtained at the same time points.Results: Delirium was observed in 19 patients and was accompanied by significantly increased pO2, number of white blood cells, neutrophil percentage, and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, and lower mean platelet volume (MPV) (after adjusting for age, central nervous system (CNS) disease, blood loss during surgery, sleep disorders, and body mass index. The severity of delirium was associated with lowered number of platelets and MPV. Psychomotor disorders were associated with lower bicarbonate levels. The requirement of physical restraint of the patients was predicted by increased percentages of neutrophils and lymphocytes. Prior CNS disease was together with these biomarkers a significant predictor of delirium and severity of delirium. Conclusion: Delirium and psychomotor disorders following hip fracture and surgery may be caused by immune-inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways probably attributable to an aseptic inflammatory process. Oxygen administration may aggravate these pathways.

The effective dissemination and implementation of health service interventions into practice requires a range of strategic and systematic approaches. This paper applies a conceptual implementation framework to the evaluation of a hospital-wide clinical pharmacy initiative, a redesign of the discharge medication prescription pathway. The influencing factors and strategies used to overcome potential negative influences are described and assessed.

The second article in the series presents the application of the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method to modelling of batch crystallisation in stirred tanks. A methodology to integrate the population balance equations (PBE) in parallel and independently from the Navier-Stokes equations is demonstrated. The benefits of the proposed methodology in terms of computational requirements, accuracy and availability of the crystal size distribution are discussed. The specific formulation of the SPH equations where the resulting system of ordinary differential equations is solved using the weighted contributions rather than numerically by solving a linear system of equations allows for massive parallelisation and a very loose coupling of the population balance and the fluid dynamics. It has been demonstrated, that the population balance equations can be solved on a Shared Memory Architecture (SMA) system using the OpenMP interface while the fluid dynamics equations being computed independently on a General Purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) using the NVidia CUDA technology. This way, a significant portion of the computational overhead due to the large number of additional transport equations resulting from the discretisation of the population balance was removed: the SPH simulation coupled with 200 population balance equations was only 40% slower compared to SPH-only simulation. Two methods for the solution of population balance equations that preserve full crystal size distribution were implemented: discretised population balance (DPB) and method of characteristics (MOCH). The DPB equations are solved using the high-resolution finite-volume method with flux limiter and the effect of a large number of different flux limiters have been investigated. Both methods were validated using the case studies from the literature where an analytical solution can be derived. The developed models were applied to a numerical solution of coupled computational fluid dynamics and population balance equations to model a batch crystallization process. The effect of the hydrodynamics on the local temperature/supersaturation and the resulting crystal size distribution was captured and compared to the ideal mixing case. The simulation results from the DPB and MOCH methods were compared in terms of computational requirements and accuracy and MOCH selected as computationally more efficient and accurate.

A space charge density wireless measurement system based on the idea of distributed measurement is proposed for collecting and monitoring the space charge density in an ultra-high-voltage direct-current (UHVDC) environment. The proposed system architecture is composed of a number of wireless nodes connected with space charge density sensors and a base station. The space charge density sensor based on atmospheric ion counter method is elaborated and developed, and the ARM microprocessor and Zigbee radio frequency module are applied. The wireless network communication quality and the relationship between energy consumption and transmission distance in the complicated electromagnetic environment is tested. Based on the experimental results, the proposed measurement system demonstrates that it can adapt to the complex electromagnetic environment under the UHVDC transmission lines and can accurately measure the space charge density.

The development of sarcopenia in the elderly is associated to many potential factors and/or processes, that impair the renovation and the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass and strength as ageing progresses. Among them, a defect by skeletal muscle to respond to anabolic stimuli is to be considered. Common anabolic stimuli/signals in skeletal muscle are hormones (insulin, growth hormones, IGF-1, androgens, β-agonists such epinephrine), substrates (amino acids as protein precursors on top, but also glucose and fat, as source of energy), metabolites (such as β-agonists and HMB), some cytokines, various biochemical/ intracellular mediators), physical exercise, neurogenic and immune-modulating factors, etc. Each of them may exhibit a reduced effect upon skeletal muscle as ageing progresses. In this review article, we will concisely overview the effects of anabolic signals on muscle metabolism, as well as currently available evidence of a resistance, at skeletal muscle level, to any of the above-mentioned anabolic factors, from both in vitro and in vivo studies.

The elderly present age-related morphological and histological changes of the oral cavity; Literature displays many studies regarding the specific pathologies of the oral cavity in elderly patients, but no etiologically based classification is available. The aim of this study was to analyze the series of patients over 65 who were treated by our Unit of Pathology between 2020 and 2022 for a suspicion of oral lesion or for preventive dental evaluation (in anticipation of cardiac surgery, anti-resorptive drugs intake, chemotherapy, radiotherapy of the head-neck district or transplantation). The analysis was conducted by dividing oral lesions into 5 groups depending on the etiology: reactive, immunological, traumatic, benign and malignant degenerative. The sixth group consisted of patients undergoing preventive dental evaluation. The study included 435 patients; 91 of them were diagnosed with a reactive origin pathology, 174 with immunological origin pathology, 48 with traumatic pathology and 86 with degenerative pathology (42 benign and 44 malignant). 36 patients went to our Unit for preventive specialist evaluation. Oral health has a major impact on the daily life of the elderly; The examination of oral mucosa in geriatric patients is a fundamental diagnostic moment to report lesions early, thus allowing easier prevention and treatment.

The human virome is an area of increasing interest with relation to human health and disease. It has been demonstrated to alter in concert with the bacterial microbiome in early life and was also found to be different in patients with certain diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. However, all virome analyses are hampered by a lack of annotated representative database sequences, often referred to as the ‘viral dark matter’. Here we provide the first description of the gut DNA virome in elderly individuals (>65 years old) as well as the description of novel bacteriophages not present in current reference databases. Diversity analysis comparing elderly persons from different residence locations (community living vs long term care facilities) did not reveal any difference in their virome diversity profiles despite the reported differences at the bacteriome level. An abundance of Microviridae of the subfamily Gokushovirinae were present in the faeces of elderly individuals. Several novel members of the order Caudovirales were also characterized and annotated. Assignment of host bacteria to detected viral genomes was attempted using a combination of CRISPR spacers, tRNA genes and a probabilistic approach. Further characterization of the viral dark matter is necessary for developing tools and expanding databases to study the human virome. This study focused on the virome of an aging human cohort with the goal of illuminating part of the viral dark matter.

The human virome is an area of increasing interest with relation to human health and disease. It has been demonstrated to alter in concert with the bacterial microbiome in early life and was also found to be different in patients with certain diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. However, all virome analyses are hampered by a lack of annotated representative database sequences, often referred to as the ‘viral dark matter’. Here we provide the first description of the gut DNA virome in elderly individuals (>65 years old) as well as the description of novel bacteriophages not present in current reference databases. Diversity analysis comparing elderly persons from different residence locations (community living vs long term care facilities) did not reveal any difference in their virome diversity profiles despite the reported differences at the bacteriome level. An abundance of Microviridae of the subfamily Gokushovirinae were present in the faeces of elderly individuals. Several novel members of the order Caudovirales were also characterized and annotated. Assignment of host bacteria to detected viral genomes was attempted using a combination of CRISPR spacers, tRNA genes and a probabilistic approach. Further characterization of the viral dark matter is necessary for developing tools and expanding databases to study the human virome. This study focused on the virome of an aging human cohort with the goal of illuminating part of the viral dark matter.

The consequences of a fall on an elderly person can be reduced if the accident is attended by medical personnel within the first hour. Independent elderly people use to stay alone for long periods of time, being in more risk if they suffer a fall. The literature offers several approaches for detecting falls with embedded devices or smartphones using a triaxial accelerometer. Most of these approaches were not tested with the target population, or are not feasible to be implemented in real-life conditions. In this work, we propose a fall detection methodology based on a non-linear classification feature and a Kalman filter with a periodicity detector to reduce the false positive rate. This methodology requires a sampling rate of only 25 Hz; it does not require large computations or memory and it is robust among devices. We test our approach with the SisFall dataset achieving 99.4% of accuracy. Then, we validate it with a new round of simulated activities with young adults and an elderly person. Finally, we give the devices to three elderly persons for full-day validations. They continued with their normal life and the devices behaved as expected.

Functional gastro-intestinal disorders (FGID) including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are frequently handled by self-management with over the counter (OTC) products such as hyoscine butylbromide (HBB), alone or in combination with paracetamol, and natural products such as peppermint oil. To obtain real-world information, we have performed an anonymous pharmacy-based patient survey among 1686 users of HBB, HBB + paracetamol and peppermint oil. Based on the distinct but overlapping indications for the three OTC products, multiple logistic regression was applied to compare them in users reporting gastrointestinal cramps and pain, bloating, flatulence, or IBS as cardinal symptom. All three treatments reduced symptoms and associated impairments of work/daily chores, leisure activities, and sleep by approximately 50%. Based on the four cardinal symptoms and the four dependent continuous variables of interest (change of intensity of symptoms and of the three impairment domains) a total of 16 logistic regression models were applied. HBB, HBB + paracetamol, and peppermint oil had similar reported overall effectiveness in those models. Gender, age, baseline symptom severity and impairment in one of three domains had small and inconsistent effects on perceived treatment success. We provide evidence that HBB, HBB + paracetamol, and peppermint oil have comparable effectiveness in their approved indications under real-world conditions in an OTC setting.

Objective tools to track medication adherence are lacking. A tool to monitor pill intake that can be implemented in mHealth apps without the need for additional devices was developed. We propose a pill intake detection tool that uses digital image processing to analyze images of a blister to detect the presence of pills. The tool uses the circular Hough transform as a feature extraction technique and is therefore primarily useful for the detection of pills with a round shape. This pill detection tool is composed of two steps. First, the registration of a full blister and storing of reference values in a local database. Second, the detection and classification of taken and remaining pills in similar blisters, to determine the actual number of untaken pills. In the registration of round pills in full blisters, 100% of pills in gray blisters or blisters with a transparent cover were successfully detected. In counting of untaken pills in partially opened blisters, 95.2% of remaining and 95.1% of taken pills were detected in gray blisters, while 88.2% of remaining and 80.8% of taken pills were detected in blisters with a transparent cover. The proposed tool provides promising results for the detection of round pills. However, the classification of taken and remaining pills need to be further improved, in particular for the detection of pills with non-oval shapes.

Barcode medication administration (BCMA) is advocated as a technology that reduces medication errors relating to incorrect patient identity, drug or dose. Little is known, however, about the impact it has on nursing workflow. Our aim was to investigate the impact of BCMA on nursing activity and workflow. A comparative study was conducted on two similar surgical wards within an acute UK hospital. We observed nurses during drug rounds on a non-BCMA ward and a BCMA ward. Data were collected on drug round duration, timeliness of medication administration, patient identification, medication verification and general workflow patterns. BCMA appears not to alter drug round duration, although it may reduce the administration time per dose. Workflow was streamlined, with a reduction in use of the medicines room. The rate of patient identification increased from 74% (of 47) patients to 100% (of 43), with 95% of 255 scannable medication doses verified using the system. This study suggests that BCMA does not affect drug round duration; further research is required to determine the impact it has on timeliness of medication administration. There was reduced variability in the medication administration workflow of nurses, along with an increased patient identification rate and high medication scan rate, representing potential benefits to patient safety.

Bat feces were reported in ancient Chinese medicine books to have the effect of reducing heat and improving eyesight, but the mechanism of vision improvement still needs further research. To this end, we used 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to analyze the antioxidant capacity of and the types of vitamins in bat feces. We hoped to screen the pharmacological components of bat feces, and to explain the role that these components may play in the treatment of visual deterioration. Our results found that bat feces had a good antioxidant capacity and mainly contain vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinamide), B3 (nicotinic acid), and B5 (pantothenic acid). Although these vitamins may help maintain the health of the optic nerve and cornea, the vitamin content of bat feces is low, but the heavy metal content is high, as shown using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. Therefore, we suggest that the use of bat feces as traditional Chinese medicine to improve vision should be strictly restricted.

The ongoing challenge to ensure a sustainable and affordable energy supply forces industrial companies to implement appropriate measures. These measures typically lead to an increased system complexity, which has to be addressed during operation. Whereas existing approaches from the field of supervisory and optimal control appear to be capable of mastering this issue, these are still not adopted in industry. Therefore, this work presents a procedure model for the systematic development of application-oriented operating strategies for industrial energy supply systems. The procedure model combines research approaches from the fields of sequencing control and approximate MPC to extract rule-based operating strategies. By splitting the procedure model into five phases, expert knowledge can be integrated in a target-oriented manner. Subsequently to the description, the procedure model is exemplary applied to the example of an industrial heating supply system. Throughout an optimization study, the developed operating strategy is compared to a MPC strategy as well as a baseline strategy. Whereas the conventional MPC approach is the upper bound with regard to optimality, the developed operating strategy is able to generate comparable results. Compared to the baseline strategy, a relative reduction in operating expenses of 5.4 % to 37.0 % are achieved in this specific use case.

This study reports on the development of bio-based hydrophobic coatings for packaging papers through deposition of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) particles in combination with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and plant wax. In a first approach, PHB particles in micrometer range (PHB-MP) were prepared through a phase-separation technique providing internally nanosized structures. The particles were transferred as a coating by dip-coating filter papers in the particle suspension, followed by sizing with a carnauba wax solution. This approach allowed partial to almost full surface coverage of PHB-MP over the paper surface resulting in static water contact angles of 105° to 122° and 129° to 144° after additional wax coating. In a second approach, PHB particles with submicron sizes (PHB-SP) were synthesized by an oil-in-emulsion (o/w) solvent evaporation method, and mixed in aqueous suspensions with 0 to 7 wt% NFC. After dip-coating filter papers in PHB-SP/NFC suspensions and sizing with a carnauba wax solution, static water contact angles of 112° to 152° were obtained. The intrinsic properties of the particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy, indicating higher crystallinity for PHB-SP than PHB-MP. The chemical interactions between the more amorphous PHB-MP particles and paper fibers were identified as an esterification reaction, while the morphology of the NFC fibrillar network was playing a key role as binding agent in the retention of more crystalline PHB-SP at the paper surface, hence contributing to higher hydrophobicity.

Antipsychotic drug (APD) medication can lead to metabolic dysfunctions and weight gain, which together increase morbidity and mortality. Metabolically active visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in particular plays a crucial role in the etiopathology of these metabolic dysregulations. Here we studied the effect of 12 weeks drug medication by daily oral feeding of clozapine and haloperidol on the perirenal fat tissue as part of VAT of male and female Sprague Dawley rats in the context of complex former investigations on brain, liver, and blood. Adipocyte area values were determined as well as triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), glucose, glycogen, lactate, malondialdehyde equivalents, ferric iron and protein levels of Perilipin-A, hormone-sensitive-lipase (HSL), hepcidin, glucose transporter-4 (Glut-4) and insulin receptor-ß (IR-ß). We found increased adipocyte mass in males with slightly higher adipocyte area values in both males and females under clozapine medication. Triglycerides, NEFAs, glucose and oxidative stress in the medicated groups were unchanged or slightly decreased. In contrast to controls and haloperidol medicated rats, perirenal adipocyte mass and serum leptin levels were not correlated under clozapine. Protein expressions of perilipin-A, Glut-4 and HSL were decreased under clozapine medication. IR-ß expression changed sex-specifically in the clozapine medicated groups associated with higher hepcidin levels in the perirenal adipose tissue of clozapine-medicated females. Taken together, clozapine and haloperidol have a smaller effect than expected on perirenal adipose tissue. The perirenal adipose tissue shows only weak changes in lipid and glucose metabolism. The main changes can be seen in the proteins examined and probably in their effect on liver metabolism.

In this paper, we propose a novel approach named EmbedHDP to enhance the evaluation models used to assess sentence suggestions within nursing care record applications. The key focus is determining whether these suggestions garner assessments that align with caregivers as human evaluators. It is crucial due to the direct relevance of the information provided to the health or condition of the elderly. The motivation behind this proposal stems from challenges observed in previous models, such as BERTScore, which encountered difficulties in effectively evaluating the nurse care record domain, consistently providing quality assessments of generated sentence suggestions above 60%. Additionally, while widely used, cosine similarity exhibits limitations concerning word order, leading to potential misjudgments of semantical differences within similar word sets. Similarly, relying on lexical overlap, ROUGE tends to overlook semantic accuracy. Furthermore, despite its utility, BLEU neglects semantic coherence in its evaluations. EmbedHDP excels in evaluating nurse care records by effectively handling a variety of sentence structures and medical terminology and providing differentiated and contextually relevant assessments. We used a dataset comprising 320 pairs of sentences with correspondingly equivalent lengths. The results revealed that EmbedHDP outperformed other evaluation models, achieving a coefficient score of 61%, followed by cosine similarity with a score of 59%, and BERTScore with 58%. This shows the effectiveness of our proposed approach in improving the evaluation of sentence suggestions in nursing care record applications.

There are several causes of hypoxia during and after surgery, and atelectasis is a common symptom that occurs during surgery. In particular, elderly patients are more vulnerable to hypoxia due to their existing lung diseases or respiratory muscle weakness. This study presents the cases of two elderly patients who developed hypoxia during total hip arthroplasty under general anesthesia. Positive end expiratory pressure, recruitment maneuver, and increased fraction of inspired oxygen improved hypoxia only temporarily, and patients’ oxygen saturation level again dropped to 79%–80%. We suspected that hypoxia was caused by atelectasis and, therefore, re-sumed spontaneous respiration. Thereafter, both the patients showed an improvement in hypoxia. Intraopera-tive hypoxia that is suspected to be caused by atelectasis can be improved by securing sufficient lung volume for respiration through increased muscle tone with spontaneous respiration

Electromyostimulation (EMS) has been shown to improve body composition, but what biomarkers it affects has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to compare the EMS-effect of aerobic dance on fatness and biomarkers’ levels in obese elderly women. Methods: Twenty-five women with obesity were randomly classified into a control group (CON; n = 12) and EMS group (EMSG; n = 13). EMS suits used in this study enabled the simultaneous activation of eight muscles with selectable intensities. Program sessions of EMS were combined with aerobic dance three times a week for 8 weeks. Although both groups received the same program, CON did not receive electrical stimuli. Results: Compared with CON, a significant effect of the EMS intervention concerning decreased fatness, as well as an increased skeletal muscle mass and basal metabolic rate, were evident. Compared with CON, aerobic dancing with an EMS suit also improved biomarkers in EMSG. Cytokines, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor, C-reactive protein, resistin, and carcinoembryonic antigen were significantly changed in EMSG, whereas those of CON did not change from the baseline to the end of the experiment. These results showed significant differences between groups. Similarly, the changes caused by EMS were represented in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol. Conclusions: The results indicate that a significant effect due to the EMS intervention was found concerning body composition and biomarkers in obese elderly women.

Green public space immensely provides ecological soundness (ES), social resilience, social inclusiveness, mental health, self-esteem, and cultural prosperity from privileged class to lower ones. This research aims at estimating the effect of social services, safety, and infrastructural amenity in green space (parks) on mental health building self-esteem for elderly population. Data were collected from four parks out of 21 in Dhaka selected by systematic random sampling. Two-hundred and three elderly participants were picked up for survey using snowball sampling. The survey was conducted in a pre-structured questionnaire consisted of 40 close-ended questions. Data was analyzed applying ordinal logistic model, multivariate regression analysis, and Partial Least Square (PLS) -Path Modeling. The study explored several key findings-1) Infrastructural amenities impacted social services of parks; 2) Social services contributed positively to mental health boosting up self-esteem for elderly population. 3) Likewise, mental health for elderly population was affected by safety measure of green space. Dhaka requires constructing age-friendly parks to promote elderly mental health.

In Europe we can see a change in the social structure in the last period. Average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 50 years. Because of the improved life situation and advanced level of health care, older people are slower. With advancing age, the likelihood of experiencing a variety of constraints such as visual impairment, reduced hearing or physical ability increases. In such a life stage tenants are often forced to leave their long-term living space because these homes can not serve "new" individual needs and the resulting personal protection goal. This transition from the privacy of their home to the new environment often appears to be a painful change. They will take their familiar and well-known surroundings, because their homes can not be adapted to serve new needs. It must be the policy’s role to create a new inclusive social space and the requirement for architects and designers to create new goals for the design of an adaptable environment. This is a comprehensive approach to the design of the outer and inner space that could serve people even if there is an unexpected situation and changes in movement and physiological limitations of older people. The contribution shows the results of the survey conducted in Germany and Slovakia. In the survey respondents expressed their opinion on what they considered important in creating an adaptive environment. Results are processed graphically with explanation. The results were mainly for designers and developers of the indoor environment. Based on the results of the questionnaire survey, studies of possible modifications in the interior of the flats were then prepared. The contribution yielded these results in three age groups of respondents; i. people aged 35, 50 and over 50.

Self-medication with natural products during disease outbreaks in developing countries poses significant public health challenges yet remains relatively unexplored in the published literature. This study aims to assess the implications of such practices, address the state and quality of evidence, identify gaps in the literature, explore determinants and contributing factors, elucidating the implications, and propose possible solutions. Using a modified systematic literature review methodology, 20 articles were selected from 1,683 reports after applying rigorous selection criteria and quality assessment using the AXIS critical evaluation tool. The findings revealed a dearth of literature concerning the implications of self-medication with natural products during disease outbreaks, highlighting the need for further investigation in this domain. Key determinants included gender, acquisition, and ideological factors, while common side effects comprised diarrhoea, stomach pain, sweating, headache, and nausea/vomiting. Notably, self-medication with natural products was associated with reduced communication with healthcare providers, leading to underreported side effects. It also creates a false sense of safety which may potentially exacerbate the spread of the prevailing disease. In conclusion, the rampant use of natural products for self-medication necessitates increased awareness among the population, encouraging individuals to seek professional medical care and support when faced with disease outbreaks.

Background: Best Possible Medication History (BPMH) collected by clinical pharmacists is crucial for effective medication review but, in Italy, it is often left to the nursing staff. This study aims to compare the quality and accuracy of a clinical pharmacist-documented BPMH with the current standard practice of ward staff-collected BPMH at an Italian perioperative surgical setting. Methods: A 20-week prospective observational non-profit study was conducted in a major University hospital. The study comprised a feasibility, an observational, and an interventional phase. During the feasibility phase, 10 items for obtaining a correct BPMH were identified. The control group consisted of retrospectively analyzed BPMHs collected by the ward staff during the observational phase, while interventions included BPMHs collected by the clinical pharmacist during the third phase. Omissions between the two groups were compared. Results: 14 (2%) omissions were found in the intervention group, compared with 400 (57.4%) found in the controls (p<0.05); data collection was more complete when collected by pharmacists compared to the current modalities (98.0% versus 42.6%; p<0.05). Conclusions: The involvement of a pharmacist significantly reduced the number of omissions in perioperative surgical-collected BPMHs. This intervention holds the potential to decrease the risk of medication errors associated with inaccurate or incomplete BPMHs prior to surgical hospitalization.

Migraine is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide [1,2]and patients with acute migraine frequently present to emergency departments (ED)[3]. The current literature suggests that ED treatment of migraine headache varies across institutions [4-7]. Considering this, we conducted a scoping review to summarize trends in medication prescribing patterns for acute migraine treatment in the ED setting. Trends were evaluated for factors influencing treatment choices, with particular attention placed on opioids and migraine specific therapy. This scoping review was based on the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework[8]and included studies published between 1 January 2000 until 31 May 2020. 14 publications met the inclusion criteria. The most common classes of medication prescribed were often anti-emetics or Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), but rates varied between studies. There was a concerning trend towards an underutilization of triptans and overutilization of opiates. The use of specific clinical goals of treatment (e.g. two-hour pain free freedom response) was also not evident. Additionally, 88% (n=8) of the 9 studies commenting on adherence to hospital or evidence-based guidelines stated that practices were non-adherent. Overall, the reviewed literature reveals treatment practices for acute migraine in the ED are heterogeneous and deviate from established international recommendations.

Combining modern thermodynamics theory branches, including finite time thermodynamics or entropy generation minimization, constructal theory and entransy theory, with metallurgical process engineering, this paper provides a new exploration on generalized thermodynamic optimization theory for iron and steel production processes. The theoretical core is to thermodynamically optimize performances of elemental packages, working procedure modules, functional subsystems, and whole process of iron and steel production processes with real finite-resource and/or finite-size constraints with various irreversibilities toward saving energy, decreasing consumption, reducing emission and increasing yield, and to achieve the comprehensive coordination among the material flow, energy flow and environment of the hierarchical process systems. A series of application cases of the theory are reviewed. It can provide a new angle of view for the iron and steel production processes from thermodynamics, and can also provide some guidelines for other process industries.

The Double U-pipe ground heat exchanger, recognized for its straightforward process, cost-effectiveness, high heat exchange efficiency, and low thermal resistance, stands as the predominant ground heat exchanger type in today's shallow geothermal energy development and utilization. Recent years have seen significant research into the heat transfer influencing factors and heat exchange performance of Double U-pipe ground heat ex-changers via experimental testing methods. Yet, studies integrating numerical simulation with in-situ testing have been less frequent. Drawing on the cylindrical heat source model theory and the outcomes of regional in-situ thermal response tests, this paper develops a Double U-pipe ground heat transfer model by establishing physical, mathematical, and heat transfer geometric models. It assesses the impact of varying inlet temperatures, flow rates, and initial ground temperatures on heat exchange efficiency under heating conditions. The results validate the precision of the double U-pipe ground heat exchanger model based on in-situ testing. They show that enhancing the temperature differential between the inlet and initial temperatures, elevating the initial ground temperature, and moderately increasing the flow rate can boost the system's heat exchange efficiency.

Objective: Lower extremity ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) may occur with trauma-related vascular injury and various vascular diseases, during the use of a tourniquet, temporary clamping of the aorta in aortic surgery, and acute or bilateral acute femoral artery occlusion. Mitochondrial dysfunction and increased basal oxidative stress in diabetes may cause an increase in the effects of increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial dysfunction due to IRI. It is of great importance to examine therapeutic approaches that can minimize the effects of IRI, especially for patient groups under chronic oxidative stress. Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles mimic the antioxidant enzymes and act as a catalyst that scavenges ROS. In this study, it was aimed to investigate whether CeO2 has protective effects on skeletal muscles in lower extremity IRI in mice with streptozocin-induced diabetes. Methods: A total of 38 Swiss albino mice were divided into six groups as follows: control group (group C, n=6), diabetes group (group D, n=8), diabetes-CeO2 (group DCO, n=8), diabetes-ischemia/reperfusion (group DIR, n=8), and diabetes-ischemia/reperfusion-CeO2 (group DIRCO, n=8). DCO and DIRCO groups were given doses of CeO2 0.5mg/kg intraperitoneally 30 minutes before the IR procedure. A 120-minute ischemia-120-minute reperfusion period with 100% O2 was performed. At the end of the reperfusion period, muscle tissues were removed for histopathological and biochemical examinations. Results: Total antioxidant status (TAS) levels were found to be significantly lower in group DIR compared with group D (p=0.047 and p=0.022, respectively). In group DIRCO and total oxidant status (TOS) levels were found to be significantly higher than in group DIR (p

Background: This study aimed to describe the frequency and duration of sedentary bouts and assess the bidirectional cross-sectional associations between these characteristics and adiposity in elderly women. Methods: Data from 314 elderly community-dwelling women (mean age 66.6±6.5 years) from Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia were analyzed. Measures were collected in 2008–2017. Fat mass percentage (FM%) was used as an indicator of adiposity. The patterns of sedentary behaviour were monitored using an accelerometer, and ≥5, ≥10, ≥20, ≥30, ≥40, and ≥60 minute bouts were analyzed. The exponent alpha was also calculated to express the accumulation of sedentary time in bouts. We performed a multiple linear regression analysis to assess the bidirectional causal association between variables. Results: There was a significant association of FM% with time spent in bouts with a duration ≥5, ≥10, ≥20min (β ranging 0.11–0.28, p≤0.01) and the frequency of bouts with a length ≥5, ≥10, ≥20, and ≥30min (β ranging 0.03–0.74, p≤0.05) in fully-adjusted models. In contrast, a strong negative association was observed between FM% and alpha (bout distribution) in both directions (p≤0.001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the sedentary characteristics such as bout duration, bout frequency, and distribution (alpha) are bidirectionally associated with adiposity and they should be considered in further research in older adults.