Risk factors for potential drug interactions in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerrum, Lars; Gonzalez Lopez-Valcarcel, Beatriz; Petersen, Gert

2008-01-01

interactions during 1 year. Patient factors associated with increased risk of potential drug interactions were high age, a high number of concurrently used drugs, and a high number of prescribers. Practice factors associated with potential drug interactions were a high percentage of elderly patients and a low......Objective: To identify patient- and practice-related factors associated with potential drug interactions. Methods: A register analysis study in general practices in the county of Funen, Denmark. Prescription data were retrieved from a population-based prescription database (Odense University......, depending on the severity of outcome and the quality of documentation. A two-level random coefficient logistic regression model was used to investigate factors related to potential drug interactions. Results: One-third of the population was exposed to polypharmacy, and 6% were exposed to potential drug...

Potential drug-drug interactions with direct oral anticoagulants in elderly hospitalized patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Heather L; Polasek, Thomas M

2017-10-01

To determine the prevalence and nature of potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in elderly hospitalized patients. This was a retrospective observational study. Inclusion criteria were: aged over 65 years; taking apixaban, rivaroxaban or dabigatran; and admitted to the Repatriation General Hospital between April 2014 and July 2015. A list of clinically relevant 'perpetrator' drugs was compiled from product information, the Australian Medicines Handbook, the Australian National Prescribing Service resources, and local health network guidelines. The prevalence and nature of potential DDIs with DOACs was determined by comparing inpatient drug charts with the list of perpetrator drugs. There were 122 patients in the study with a mean age of 82 years. Most patients had nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and were taking DOACs to prevent thrombotic stroke (83%). Overall, 45 patients (37%) had a total of 54 potential DDIs. Thirty-five patients had potential pharmacodynamic DDIs with antidepressants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antiplatelets (35/122, 29%). Nineteen patients had potential pharmacokinetic DDIs (19/122, 16%). Of these, 68% (13/19) were taking drugs that increase DOAC plasma concentrations (amiodarone, erythromycin, diltiazem or verapamil) and 32% (6/19) were taking drugs that decrease DOAC plasma concentrations (carbamazepine, primidone or phenytoin). There were no cases of patients taking contraindicated interacting drugs. Potential DDIs with DOACs in elderly hospital inpatients are relatively common, particularly interactions that may increase the risk of bleeding. The risk-benefit ratio of DOACs in elderly patients on polypharmacy should always be carefully considered.

Metastable He (n=2) - Ne potential interaction calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahal, H.

1983-10-01

Diabatic potential terms corresponding to He (2 1 S)-Ne and He (2 3 S)-Ne interactions are calculated. These potentials reproduce the experimental results thermal metastable atom elastic scattering on Ne target. A model which reduces the interaction to a one-electron problem is proposed: the He excited electron. Its interaction with the He + center is reproduced by a ''l'' dependent potential model with a 1/2 behaviour at short range. The electron interaction facing the Ne is described by a l-dependent pseudopotential reproducing with accuracy the electron elastic scattering on a Ne atom. The importance of the corrective term related to the Ne polarizations by the electron and the He + ion is showed in this work. In the modelling problems, the accuracy cannot be better than 0.1 MeV [fr

"Musical co-creation"? Exploring health-promoting potentials on the use of musical and interactive tangibles for families with children with disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Stensæth, Karette

2013-08-07

The point of departure in this text is the ongoing qualitative interdisciplinary research project RHYME (www.RHYME.no), which addresses the lack of health-promoting interactive and musical Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for families with children with severe disabilities. The project explores a new treatment paradigm based on collaborative, tangible, interactive net-based musical "smart things" with multimedia capabilities. The goal in RHYME is twofold: (1) to reduce isolation and passivity, and (2) to promote health and well-being. Co-creation is suggested as a possible path to achieving these goals, by evoking feelings, for example, or accommodating the needs to act and to create social relations; co-creation also motivates users to communicate and collaborate within (new) social relations. This article engages co-creation by incorporating aspects connected to interaction design and the field of music and health. Empirical observations will be referred to. The research question is as follows: What might co-creation imply for families of children with disabilities when musical and interactive tangibles are used as health-promoting implements?

Athlete social support, negative social interactions and psychological health across a competitive sport season.

Science.gov (United States)

DeFreese, J D; Smith, Alan L

2014-12-01

Social support and negative social interactions have implications for athlete psychological health, with potential to influence the links of stress-related experiences with burnout and well-being over time. Using a longitudinal design, perceived social support and negative social interactions were examined as potential moderators of the temporal stress-burnout and burnout-well-being relationships. American collegiate athletes (N = 465) completed reliable and valid online assessments of study variables at four time points during the competitive season. After controlling for dispositional and conceptually important variables, social support and negative social interactions did not moderate the stress-burnout or burnout-well-being relationships, respectively, but did simultaneously contribute to burnout and well-being across the competitive season. The results showcase the importance of sport-related social perceptions to athlete psychological outcomes over time and inform development of socially driven interventions to improve the psychological health of competitive athletes.

Weak interaction potentials of nucleons in the Weinberg-Salam model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lobov, G.A.

1979-01-01

Weak interaction potentials of nucleons due to the nonet vector meson exchange are obtained in the Weinberg-Salam model using the vector-meson dominance. Contribution from the hadronic neutral currents to the weak interaction potential due to the charged pion exchange is obtained. The isotopic structure of the obtained potentials, that is unambiguous in the Weinberg-Salam model, is investigated. Enhancement of the nucleon weak interaction in nuclei resulting from the hadronic neutral currents is discussed. A nuclear one-particle weak interaction potential is presented that is a result of averaging of the two-particle potential over the states of the nuclear core. An approach to the nucleon weak interaction based on the quark model, is discussed. Effects of the nucleon weak interaction in the radiative capture of a thermal neutron by a proton, are considered

Negotiating substance use stigma: the role of cultural health capital in provider-patient interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Jamie; Dubbin, Leslie; Shim, Janet

2016-01-01

Diverse aspects of life and lifestyles, including stigmatised attributes and behaviors are revealed as providers and patients discuss health. In this article, we examine how the stigma associated with substance use issues shapes clinical interactions. We use the theoretical framework of cultural health capital (CHC) to explain how substance use stigma is created, reinforced and sometimes negotiated as providers and patients engage in health interactions. We present two main findings using examples. First, two theoretical concepts--habitus and field--set the social position and expectations of providers and patients in ways that facilitate the stigmatisation of substance use. Second, we found both providers and patients actively exchanged CHC as a key strategy to reduce the negative effects of stigma. In some clinical encounters, patients possessed and activated CHC, providers acknowledged patient's CHC and CHC was successfully exchanged. These interactions were productive and mutually satisfying, even when patients were actively using substances. However, when CHC was not activated, acknowledged and exchanged, stigma was unchallenged and dominated the interaction. The CHC theoretical framework allows us to examine how the stigma process is operationalized and potentially even counteracted in clinical interactions. © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Essential multimeric enzymes in kinetoplastid parasites: A host of potentially druggable protein-protein interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wachsmuth, Leah M; Johnson, Meredith G; Gavenonis, Jason

2017-06-01

Parasitic diseases caused by kinetoplastid parasites of the genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania are an urgent public health crisis in the developing world. These closely related species possess a number of multimeric enzymes in highly conserved pathways involved in vital functions, such as redox homeostasis and nucleotide synthesis. Computational alanine scanning of these protein-protein interfaces has revealed a host of potentially ligandable sites on several established and emerging anti-parasitic drug targets. Analysis of interfaces with multiple clustered hotspots has suggested several potentially inhibitable protein-protein interactions that may have been overlooked by previous large-scale analyses focusing solely on secondary structure. These protein-protein interactions provide a promising lead for the development of new peptide and macrocycle inhibitors of these enzymes.

Ion mobilities and ion-atom interaction potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gatland, I.R.

1982-01-01

The techniques for measuring the mobilities of ions in gases, relating interaction potentials to mobilities, and determining potentials from experimental mobilities are reviewed. Applications are presented for positive alkali ions and negative halogen ions in inert gases. (Auth.)

Potential intravenous drug interactions in intensive care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maiara Benevides Moreira

Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To analyze potential intravenous drug interactions, and their level of severity associated with the administration of these drugs based on the prescriptions of an intensive care unit. METHOD Quantitative study, with aretrospective exploratory design, and descriptive statistical analysis of the ICU prescriptions of a teaching hospital from March to June 2014. RESULTS The sample consisted of 319 prescriptions and subsamples of 50 prescriptions. The mean number of drugs per patient was 9.3 records, and a higher probability of drug interaction inherent to polypharmacy was evidenced. The study identified severe drug interactions, such as concomitant administration of Tramadol with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs (e.g., Metoclopramide and Fluconazole, increasing the risk of seizures due to their epileptogenic actions, as well as the simultaneous use of Ranitidine-Fentanyl®, which can lead to respiratory depression. CONCLUSION A previous mapping of prescriptions enables the characterization of the drug therapy, contributing to prevent potential drug interactions and their clinical consequences.

Localization of weakly interacting Bose gas in quasiperiodic potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, Sayak; Pandey, Mohit; Ghosh, Anandamohan; Sinha, Subhasis

2016-01-01

We study the localization properties of weakly interacting Bose gas in a quasiperiodic potential. The Hamiltonian of the non-interacting system reduces to the well known ‘Aubry–André model’, which shows the localization transition at a critical strength of the potential. In the presence of repulsive interaction we observe multi-site localization and obtain a phase diagram of the dilute Bose gas by computing the superfluid fraction and the inverse participation ratio. We construct a low-dimensional classical Hamiltonian map and show that the onset of localization is manifested by the chaotic phase space dynamics. The level spacing statistics also identify the transition to localized states resembling a Poisson distribution that are ubiquitous for both non-interacting and interacting systems. We also study the quantum fluctuations within the Bogoliubov approximation and compute the quasiparticle energy spectrum. Enhanced quantum fluctuation and multi-site localization phenomenon of non-condensate density are observed above the critical coupling of the potential. We briefly discuss the effect of the trapping potential on the localization of matter wave. (paper)

“Musical co-creation”? Exploring health-promoting potentials on the use of musical and interactive tangibles for families with children with disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

The point of departure in this text is the ongoing qualitative interdisciplinary research project RHYME (www.RHYME.no), which addresses the lack of health-promoting interactive and musical Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for families with children with severe disabilities. The project explores a new treatment paradigm based on collaborative, tangible, interactive net-based musical “smart things” with multimedia capabilities. The goal in RHYME is twofold: (1) to reduce isolation and passivity, and (2) to promote health and well-being. Co-creation is suggested as a possible path to achieving these goals, by evoking feelings, for example, or accommodating the needs to act and to create social relations; co-creation also motivates users to communicate and collaborate within (new) social relations. This article engages co-creation by incorporating aspects connected to interaction design and the field of music and health. Empirical observations will be referred to. The research question is as follows: What might co-creation imply for families of children with disabilities when musical and interactive tangibles are used as health-promoting implements? PMID:23930992

Functional interactivity in social media: an examination of Chinese health care organizations' microblog profiles.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shaohai

2017-09-08

Social media hold enormous potentials as a communication tool for health care due to its interactive nature. However, prior research mainly focused on contingency interactivity of social media, by examining messages sent from health care organizations to audiences, while little is known about functional interactivity, which refers to social media's presence of functions for facilitating communication between users and its interface. That is, how health care organizations use interactive features on social media to communicate with the public. Thus, with a general basis of the functional interactivity framework proposed by Waters et al. (Engaging stakeholders through social networking: how nonprofit organizations are using Facebook. Pub Relat Rev 2009;35:102-106), the current study investigated three aspects of functional interactivity in microblogging, and its subsequent effects. Specifically, this study analyzed 500 Chinese hospitals' profiles on Sina Weibo, the most popular microblogging platform in China. The results showed that the most common functional interactivity feature was organization disclosure, followed by information dissemination, and audience involvement. These interactive features all positively predicted the number of followers. Also, Chinese private hospitals scored significantly higher than public hospitals to use interactive features offered by social media. The findings of this study provide important implications for health care organizations to understand new communicative functions available on social media, incorporate more functions into their profiles and thus provide audiences with greater opportunity to interact with them via social media. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Networked Learning and Network Science: Potential Applications to Health Professionals' Continuing Education and Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Margolis, Alvaro; Parboosingh, John

2015-01-01

Prior interpersonal relationships and interactivity among members of professional associations may impact the learning process in continuing medical education (CME). On the other hand, CME programs that encourage interactivity between participants may impact structures and behaviors in these professional associations. With the advent of information and communication technologies, new communication spaces have emerged that have the potential to enhance networked learning in national and international professional associations and increase the effectiveness of CME for health professionals. In this article, network science, based on the application of network theory and other theories, is proposed as an approach to better understand the contribution networking and interactivity between health professionals in professional communities make to their learning and adoption of new practices over time. © 2015 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

Interaction potential for two different atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzmichev, V.E.; Peresypkin, V.V.

1991-01-01

Using the rigorous approach to the nonrelativistic four Coulomb particle problem the interaction potentials between an ordinary hydrogen and muonic-hydrogen atoms at large: R>a e +a μ (1), and intermediate: a e >R>>a μ (2) distances, where a e and a μ are the Bohr radii, are calculated in the adiabatic approximation. The van der Waals potential constants in the region (1) and an explicit potential form in the region (2) taking into account both the polarization effects and the electron screening corrections are determined. 10 refs

Interactive map communication: pilot study of the visual perceptions and preferences of public health practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, A; Samarasundera, E; Cheng, T

2011-08-01

To conduct a pilot study into the comprehension and visualisation preferences of geographic information by public health practitioners (PHPs), particularly in the context of interactive, Internet-based atlases. Structured human-computer interaction interviews. Seven academia-based PHPs were interviewed as information service users based on a structured questionnaire to assess their understanding of geographic representations of morbidity data, and identify their visualisation preferences in a geographic information systems environment. Awareness of area-based deprivation indices and the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007 health and disability domain was near-universal. However, novice users of disease maps had difficulties in interpreting data classifications, in understanding supplementary information in the form of box plots and histograms, and in making use of links between interactive tabular and cartographic information. Choices for colour plans when viewing maps showed little agreement between users, although pre-viewing comments showed preferences for red-blue diverging schema. PHPs new to geographic information would benefit from enhanced interpretive support documentation to meet their needs when using Internet-based, interactive public health atlases, which are rarely provided at such sites. Technical, software-related support alone is insufficient. Increased interaction between PHPs and mapmakers would be beneficial to maximise the potential of the current growth in interactive, electronic atlases, and improve geographic information support for public health decision-making and informing the wider public. Copyright © 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carotenoids: potential allies of cardiovascular health?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Alessandra Gammone

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Carotenoids are a class of natural, fat-soluble pigments found principally in plants. They have potential antioxidant biological properties because of their chemical structure and interaction with biological membranes. Epidemiologic studies supported the hypothesis that antioxidants could be used as an inexpensive means of both primary and secondary cardiovascular disease (CVD prevention. In fact, the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins (LDL in the vessels plays a key role in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. The resistance of LDL to oxidation is increased by high dietary antioxidant intake, so that carotenoids, as part of food patterns such as the Mediterranean diet, may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health too. Further properties of carotenoids leading to a potential reduction of cardiovascular risk are represented by lowering of blood pressure, reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and markers of inflammation (such as C-reactive protein, and improvement of insulin sensitivity in muscle, liver, and adipose tissues. In addition, recent nutrigenomics studies have focused on the exceptional ability of carotenoids in modulating the expression of specific genes involved in cell metabolism. The aim of this review is to focus attention to this effect of some carotenoids to prevent CVD.

Nucleus-nucleus potential with repulsive core and elastic scattering. Part 1. Nucleus-nucleus interaction potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidovs'ka, O.Yi.; Denisov, V.Yu.; Nesterov, V.O.

2010-01-01

Various approaches for nucleus-nucleus interaction potential evaluation are discussed in details. It is shown that the antisymmetrization of nucleons belonging to different nuclei and the Pauli principle give the essential contribution into the nucleus-nucleus potential at distances, when nuclei are strongly overlapping, and lead to appearance of the repulsive core of nucleus nucleus interaction at small distances between nuclei.

An Interactive Website to Reduce Sexual Risk Behavior: Process Evaluation of TeensTalkHealth.

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Sonya S; Sieving, Renee E; Terveen, Loren G; Rosser, B R Simon; Kodet, Amy J; Rothberg, Vienna D

2015-09-02

Different theoretical frameworks support the use of interactive websites to promote sexual health. Although several Web-based interventions have been developed to address sexual risk taking among young people, no evaluated interventions have attempted to foster behavior change through moderated interaction among a virtual network of adolescents (who remain anonymous to one another) and health professionals. The objective was to conduct a summative process evaluation of TeensTalkHealth, an interactive sexual health website designed to promote condom use and other healthy decision making in the context of romantic and sexual relationships. Evaluation data were obtained from 147 adolescents who participated in a feasibility and acceptability study. Video vignettes, teen-friendly articles, and other content served as conversation catalysts between adolescents and health educators on message boards. Adolescents' perceptions that the website encouraged condom use across a variety of relationship situations were very high. Almost 60% (54/92, 59%) of intervention participants completed two-thirds or more of requested tasks across the 4-month intervention. Adolescents reported high levels of comfort, perceived privacy, ease of website access and use, and perceived credibility of health educators. Potential strategies to enhance engagement and completion of intervention tasks during future implementations of TeensTalkHealth are discussed, including tailoring of content, periodic website chats with health educators and anonymous peers, and greater incorporation of features from popular social networking websites. TeensTalkHealth is a feasible, acceptable, and promising approach to complement and enhance existing services for youth.

Health Educational Potentials of Technologies.

OpenAIRE

Magnussen, Rikke; Aagaard-Hansen, Jens

2012-01-01

The field of health promotion technology has been in an exponential growth in recent years and smart phone applications, exer-games and self-monitoring devices has become part of fitness activities and health education. In this work-in-progress-paper theoretical perspectives for categorising and analysing health educational potentials of technologies are presented.

Solitary wave exchange potential and nucleon-nucleon interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prema, K.; Raghavan, S.S.; Sekhar Raghavan

1986-11-01

Nucleon-nucleon interaction is studied using a phenomenological potential model called solitary wave exchange potential model. It is shown that this simple model reproduces the singlet and triplet scattering data and the deuteron parameters reasonably well. (author). 6 refs, 2 figs, 1 tab

Study of interaction in silica glass via model potential approach

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Sarita; Rani, Pooja

2016-05-01

Silica is one of the most commonly encountered substances in daily life and in electronics industry. Crystalline SiO2 (in several forms: quartz, cristobalite, tridymite) is an important constituent of many minerals and gemstones, both in pure form and mixed with related oxides. Cohesive energy of amorphous SiO2 has been investigated via intermolecular potentials i.e weak Van der Waals interaction and Morse type short-range interaction. We suggest a simple atom-atom based Van der Waals as well as Morse potential to find cohesive energy of glass. It has been found that the study of silica structure using two different model potentials is significantly different. Van der Waals potential is too weak (P.E =0.142eV/molecule) to describe the interaction between silica molecules. Morse potential is a strong potential, earlier given for intramolecular bonding, but if applied for intermolecular bonding, it gives a value of P.E (=-21.92eV/molecule) to appropriately describe the structure of silica.

Potential disruption of protein-protein interactions by graphene oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Mei; Kang, Hongsuk; Luan, Binquan; Yang, Zaixing; Zhou, Ruhong

2016-01-01

Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising novel nanomaterial with a wide range of potential biomedical applications due to its many intriguing properties. However, very little research has been conducted to study its possible adverse effects on protein-protein interactions (and thus subsequent toxicity to human). Here, the potential cytotoxicity of GO is investigated at molecular level using large-scale, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to explore the interaction mechanism between a protein dimer and a GO nanosheet oxidized at different levels. Our theoretical results reveal that GO nanosheet could intercalate between the two monomers of HIV-1 integrase dimer, disrupting the protein-protein interactions and eventually lead to dimer disassociation as graphene does [B. Luan et al., ACS Nano 9(1), 663 (2015)], albeit its insertion process is slower when compared with graphene due to the additional steric and attractive interactions. This study helps to better understand the toxicity of GO to cell functions which could shed light on how to improve its biocompatibility and biosafety for its wide potential biomedical applications.

Potential disruption of protein-protein interactions by graphene oxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Mei [Department of Physics, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Kang, Hongsuk; Luan, Binquan [Computational Biological Center, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States); Yang, Zaixing [Institute of Quantitative Biology and Medicine, SRMP and RAD-X, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Radiation Medicine of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123 (China); Zhou, Ruhong, E-mail: ruhong@us.ibm.com [Department of Physics, Institute of Quantitative Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Computational Biological Center, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States); Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)

2016-06-14

Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising novel nanomaterial with a wide range of potential biomedical applications due to its many intriguing properties. However, very little research has been conducted to study its possible adverse effects on protein-protein interactions (and thus subsequent toxicity to human). Here, the potential cytotoxicity of GO is investigated at molecular level using large-scale, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to explore the interaction mechanism between a protein dimer and a GO nanosheet oxidized at different levels. Our theoretical results reveal that GO nanosheet could intercalate between the two monomers of HIV-1 integrase dimer, disrupting the protein-protein interactions and eventually lead to dimer disassociation as graphene does [B. Luan et al., ACS Nano 9(1), 663 (2015)], albeit its insertion process is slower when compared with graphene due to the additional steric and attractive interactions. This study helps to better understand the toxicity of GO to cell functions which could shed light on how to improve its biocompatibility and biosafety for its wide potential biomedical applications.

Diabatic interaction potential for nucleus-nucleus collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noerenberg, W.; Lukasiak, A.

1984-01-01

Within a refined method for the construction of diabatic states allowing for the treatment of the full spin-orbit coupling, characteristic features of the diabatic potential for nucleus-nucleus collisions are investigated. Approximately 90% of the strong repulsion results from diabatic particle-hole excitations, while only 10% is due to compression. The diabatic interaction potential describes a physical situation intermediate between adiabatic and sudden approximations. (orig.)

Binaural interaction in auditory evoked potentials: Brainstem, middle- and long-latency components

OpenAIRE

McPherson, DL; Starr, A

1993-01-01

Binaural interaction occurs in the auditory evoked potentials when the sum of the monaural auditory evoked potentials are not equivalent to the binaural evoked auditory potentials. Binaural interaction of the early- (0-10 ms), middle- (10-50 ms) and long-latency (50-200 ms) auditory evoked potentials was studied in 17 normal young adults. For the early components, binaural interaction was maximal at 7.35 ms accounting for a reduction of 21% of the amplitude of the binaural evoked potentials. ...

Potential health impact of wind turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-05-01

In response to public health concerns about wind turbines, a study was conducted to review the scientific evidence on the potential health effects of wind turbines. Several research questions were examined, including scientific evidence on the potential health impacts of wind turbines; the relationship between wind turbine noise and health; the relationship between low frequency sound, infrasound and health; assessment of exposure to wind turbines; wind turbine health and safety hazards and Ontario wind turbine setbacks; community consultation prior to wind farm construction and data gaps and research needs. The study showed that although some people living near wind turbines reported symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance, the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects. The sound level from wind turbines at common residential setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing impairment or other direct health effects, although some people may find it annoying. 41 refs., 1 appendix.

An Interactive Website to Reduce Sexual Risk Behavior: Process Evaluation of TeensTalkHealth

Science.gov (United States)

Sieving, Renee E; Terveen, Loren G; Rosser, BR Simon; Kodet, Amy J; Rothberg, Vienna D

2015-01-01

Background Different theoretical frameworks support the use of interactive websites to promote sexual health. Although several Web-based interventions have been developed to address sexual risk taking among young people, no evaluated interventions have attempted to foster behavior change through moderated interaction among a virtual network of adolescents (who remain anonymous to one another) and health professionals. Objective The objective was to conduct a summative process evaluation of TeensTalkHealth, an interactive sexual health website designed to promote condom use and other healthy decision making in the context of romantic and sexual relationships. Methods Evaluation data were obtained from 147 adolescents who participated in a feasibility and acceptability study. Video vignettes, teen-friendly articles, and other content served as conversation catalysts between adolescents and health educators on message boards. Results Adolescents’ perceptions that the website encouraged condom use across a variety of relationship situations were very high. Almost 60% (54/92, 59%) of intervention participants completed two-thirds or more of requested tasks across the 4-month intervention. Adolescents reported high levels of comfort, perceived privacy, ease of website access and use, and perceived credibility of health educators. Potential strategies to enhance engagement and completion of intervention tasks during future implementations of TeensTalkHealth are discussed, including tailoring of content, periodic website chats with health educators and anonymous peers, and greater incorporation of features from popular social networking websites. Conclusions TeensTalkHealth is a feasible, acceptable, and promising approach to complement and enhance existing services for youth. PMID:26336157

Study of interaction in silica glass via model potential approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mann, Sarita, E-mail: saritaiitr2003@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh-160014 (India); Rani, Pooja [D.A.V. College, Sec-10, Chandigarh-160010 (India)

2016-05-06

Silica is one of the most commonly encountered substances in daily life and in electronics industry. Crystalline SiO{sub 2} (in several forms: quartz, cristobalite, tridymite) is an important constituent of many minerals and gemstones, both in pure form and mixed with related oxides. Cohesive energy of amorphous SiO{sub 2} has been investigated via intermolecular potentials i.e weak Van der Waals interaction and Morse type short-range interaction. We suggest a simple atom-atom based Van der Waals as well as Morse potential to find cohesive energy of glass. It has been found that the study of silica structure using two different model potentials is significantly different. Van der Waals potential is too weak (P.E =0.142eV/molecule) to describe the interaction between silica molecules. Morse potential is a strong potential, earlier given for intramolecular bonding, but if applied for intermolecular bonding, it gives a value of P.E (=−21.92eV/molecule) to appropriately describe the structure of silica.

Stability of stationary states of non-local equations with singular interaction potentials

KAUST Repository

Fellner, Klemens

2011-04-01

We study the large-time behaviour of a non-local evolution equation for the density of particles or individuals subject to an external and an interaction potential. In particular, we consider interaction potentials which are singular in the sense that their first derivative is discontinuous at the origin.For locally attractive singular interaction potentials we prove under a linear stability condition local non-linear stability of stationary states consisting of a finite sum of Dirac masses. For singular repulsive interaction potentials we show the stability of stationary states of uniformly bounded solutions under a convexity condition.Finally, we present numerical simulations to illustrate our results. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Positive technology–A powerful partnership between positive psychology and interactive technology. A discussion of potential and challenges.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Diefenbach

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Under the umbrella term "positive computing" concepts of positive psychology are transferred to the domain of human-computer interaction (HCI. In an interdisciplinary community psychologist, computer scientists, designers and others are exploring promising ways how to utilize interactive technology to support wellbeing and human flourishing. Along with this, the recent popularity of smartphone apps aiming at the improvement of health behavior, mindfulness and positive routines, suggests the general acceptance of technology as a facilitator of personal development. Given this, there generally seems a high potential for a technology mediated trigger of positive behavior change, especially in context of positive psychology and resource oriented approaches such as solution-focused coaching. At the same time, there is still a lack of well-founded approaches to design such technology which consider its responsible role as an "interactive coach" and systematically integrate the needed expertise of different disciplines. The present article discusses the general potential and particular challenges to support the goals of positive psychology and human desire for self-improvement through interactive technology and highlights critical steps for a successful partnership between both.

Calculation of Rydberg interaction potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weber, Sebastian; Tresp, Christoph; Menke, Henri

2017-01-01

for calculating the required electric multipole moments and the inclusion of electromagnetic fields with arbitrary direction. We focus specifically on symmetry arguments and selection rules, which greatly reduce the size of the Hamiltonian matrix, enabling the direct diagonalization of the Hamiltonian up...... to higher multipole orders on a desktop computer. Finally, we present example calculations showing the relevance of the full interaction calculation to current experiments. Our software for calculating Rydberg potentials including all features discussed in this tutorial is available as open source....

Dental biofilm: ecological interactions in health and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsh, P D; Zaura, Egija

2017-03-01

The oral microbiome is diverse and exists as multispecies microbial communities on oral surfaces in structurally and functionally organized biofilms. To describe the network of microbial interactions (both synergistic and antagonistic) occurring within these biofilms and assess their role in oral health and dental disease. PubMed database was searched for studies on microbial ecological interactions in dental biofilms. The search results did not lend themselves to systematic review and have been summarized in a narrative review instead. Five hundred and forty-seven original research articles and 212 reviews were identified. The majority (86%) of research articles addressed bacterial-bacterial interactions, while inter-kingdom microbial interactions were the least studied. The interactions included physical and nutritional synergistic associations, antagonism, cell-to-cell communication and gene transfer. Oral microbial communities display emergent properties that cannot be inferred from studies of single species. Individual organisms grow in environments they would not tolerate in pure culture. The networks of multiple synergistic and antagonistic interactions generate microbial inter-dependencies and give biofilms a resilience to minor environmental perturbations, and this contributes to oral health. If key environmental pressures exceed thresholds associated with health, then the competitiveness among oral microorganisms is altered and dysbiosis can occur, increasing the risk of dental disease. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Interactions between social/ behavioral factors and ADRB2 genotypes may be associated with health at advanced ages in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Yi; Cheng, Lingguo; Zhao, Ling; Tan, Qihua; Feng, Qiushi; Chen, Huashuai; Shen, Ke; Li, Jianxin; Zhang, Fengyu; Cao, Huiqing; Gregory, Simon G; Yang, Ze; Gu, Jun; Tao, Wei; Tian, Xiao-Li; Hauser, Elizabeth R

2013-09-09

Existing literature indicates that ADRB2 gene is associated with health and longevity, but none of previous studies investigated associations of carrying the ADRB2 minor alleles and interactions between ADRB2 genotypes and social/behavioral factors(GxE) with health outcomes at advanced ages. This study intends to fill in this research gap. We conducted an exploratory analysis, using longitudinal survey phenotype/genotype data from 877 oldest-old aged 90+. To estimate association of GxE interactions with health outcome, adjusted for the potential correlation between genotypes and social/behavioral factors and various other potentially confounding factors, we develop and test an innovative three-step procedure which combines logistic regression and structural equation methods. Interaction between regular exercise and carrying rs1042718 minor allele is significantly and positively associated with good cognitive function; interaction between regular exercise and carrying rs1042718 or rs1042719 minor allele is significantly and positively associated with self-reported good health; and interaction between social-leisure activities and carrying rs1042719 minor allele is significantly and positively associated with self-reported good health. Carrying rs1042718 or rs1042719 minor alleles is significantly and negatively associated with negative emotion, but the ADRB2 SNPs are not significantly associated with cognitive function and self-reported health. Our structural equation analysis found that, adjusted for the confounding effects of correlation of the ADRB2 SNPs with negative emotion, interaction between negative emotion and carrying rs1042718 or rs1042719 minor allele is significantly and negatively associated with cognitive function. The positive association of regular exercise and social-leisure activities with cognitive function and self-reported health, and negative association of negative emotion with cognitive function, were much stronger among carriers of rs

Potential drug-drug interactions on in-patient medication ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Potential drug-drug interactions on in-patient medication prescriptions at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in western Uganda: prevalence, clinical importance and associated factors. SJ Lubinga, E Uwiduhaye ...

Analytical local electron-electron interaction model potentials for atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neugebauer, Johannes; Reiher, Markus; Hinze, Juergen

2002-01-01

Analytical local potentials for modeling the electron-electron interaction in an atom reduce significantly the computational effort in electronic structure calculations. The development of such potentials has a long history, but some promising ideas have not yet been taken into account for further improvements. We determine a local electron-electron interaction potential akin to those suggested by Green et al. [Phys. Rev. 184, 1 (1969)], which are widely used in atom-ion scattering calculations, electron-capture processes, and electronic structure calculations. Generalized Yukawa-type model potentials are introduced. This leads, however, to shell-dependent local potentials, because the origin behavior of such potentials is different for different shells as has been explicated analytically [J. Neugebauer, M. Reiher, and J. Hinze, Phys. Rev. A 65, 032518 (2002)]. It is found that the parameters that characterize these local potentials can be interpolated and extrapolated reliably for different nuclear charges and different numbers of electrons. The analytical behavior of the corresponding localized Hartree-Fock potentials at the origin and at long distances is utilized in order to reduce the number of fit parameters. It turns out that the shell-dependent form of Green's potential, which we also derive, yields results of comparable accuracy using only one shell-dependent parameter

Guidelines and Recommendations for Developing Interactive eHealth Apps for Complex Messaging in Health Promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Heffernan, Kayla Joanne; Chang, Shanton; Maclean, Skye Tamara; Callegari, Emma Teresa; Garland, Suzanne Marie; Reavley, Nicola Jane; Varigos, George Andrew; Wark, John Dennis

2016-02-09

The now ubiquitous catchphrase, "There's an app for that," rings true owing to the growing number of mobile phone apps. In excess of 97,000 eHealth apps are available in major app stores. Yet the effectiveness of these apps varies greatly. While a minority of apps are developed grounded in theory and in conjunction with health care experts, the vast majority are not. This is concerning given the Hippocratic notion of "do no harm." There is currently no unified formal theory for developing interactive eHealth apps, and development is especially difficult when complex messaging is required, such as in health promotion and prevention. This paper aims to provide insight into the creation of interactive eHealth apps for complex messaging, by leveraging the Safe-D case study, which involved complex messaging required to guide safe but sufficient UV exposure for vitamin D synthesis in users. We aim to create recommendations for developing interactive eHealth apps for complex messages based on the lessons learned during Safe-D app development. For this case study we developed an Apple and Android app, both named Safe-D, to safely improve vitamin D status in young women through encouraging safe ultraviolet radiation exposure. The app was developed through participatory action research involving medical and human computer interaction researchers, subject matter expert clinicians, external developers, and target users. The recommendations for development were created from analysis of the development process. By working with clinicians and implementing disparate design examples from the literature, we developed the Safe-D app. From this development process, recommendations for developing interactive eHealth apps for complex messaging were created: (1) involve a multidisciplinary team in the development process, (2) manage complex messages to engage users, and (3) design for interactivity (tailor recommendations, remove barriers to use, design for simplicity). This research has

Patient-professional interactions in mental health institutions in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ringer, Agnes

Although qualitative research within the field of mental health is growing, few studies of everyday communication between service users and multidisciplinary professionals within mental health institutions exist. This study examines the everyday interactions between mental health professionals...... by discursive and narrative approaches, the aim of the study is to shed light on how the professionals and users construct patient identities. How are the users and the professionals positioned in their interactions? How are concepts such as psychiatric diagnosis and mental illness negotiated within...

Potential of human health in the modern conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. V. Dobryden

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article proves that man’s relationship to their health  in each case have varying traits under the influence of sociocultural, psychological and physiological factors  which the world outlook is created from childhood, which implies the appropriate type of behavior that is fixed through the media and social authorities. It is established that scientific knowledge should not be against a man, and should enhance the power of man over nature, but can be transformed into a powerful weapon against humanity. It is noted that science is neutral in terms of values. Will it carry a positive or negative charge to human health depends on the social and cultural markers specific historical era and behavior of the individual. It was found that in addition to the economic crisis, which requires long-term joint economic and political transformations, the most important factor and more accessible to maintaining high adaptive potential health functions at all levels is valeological literacy social subjects and, therefore, imperative the systematic distribution of hygiene recommendations is a significant component of preventive medicine. With the growth of social and technological factors with their aggressive effect on psychophysiological state of man is seen timely more  talk even not about health in general, but should talk about  potential health, which underlines  the  difficulties adaptive and protective processes and susceptibility factors and resistance to pathological changes in the human body. All the more so when we following the formal standards of medicine is unlikely, unfortunately, we be found absolutely healthy people. Under the proposed potential health understood as a set of quantitative and qualitative structural and functional characteristics of the organism, which determine the level of adaptation and protection of human capabilities in adverse conditions, internal and external environment. It is proposed to examine potential

Comparison of biomolecules on the basis of Molecular Interaction Potentials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Jordi

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Molecular Interaction Potentials (MIP are frequently used for the comparison of series of compounds displaying related biological behaviors. These potentials are interaction energies between the considered compounds and relevant probes. The interaction energies are computed in the nodes of grids defined around the compounds. There is a need of detailed and objective comparative analyses of MIP distributions in the framework of structure-activity studies. On the other hand, MIP-based studies do not have to be restricted to series of small ligands, since such studies present also interesting possibilities for the analysis and comparison of biological macromolecules. Such analyses can benefit from the application of new methods and computational approaches. The new software MIPSim (Molecular Interaction Potentials Similarity analysis has recently been introduced with the purpose of analyzing and comparing MIP distributions of series of biomolecules. This program is transparently integrated with other programs, like GAMESS or GRID, which can be used for the computation of the potentials to be analyzed or compared. MIPSim incorporates several definitions of similarity coefficients, and is capable of combining several similarity measures into a single one. On the other hand, MIPSim can perform automatic explorations of the maximum similarity alignments between pairs of molecules.

Ethically sound technology? Guidelines for interactive ethical assessment of personal health monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Palm, Elin; Nordgren, Anders; Verweij, Marcel; Collste, Göran

2013-01-01

Novel care-technologies possess a transformational potential. Future care and support may be provided via monitoring technologies such as smart devices, sensors, actors (robots) and Information and Communication Technologies. Such technologies enable care provision outside traditional care institutions, for instance in the homes of patients. Health monitoring may become "personalized" i.e. tailored to the needs of individual care recipients' but may also alter relations between care providers and care recipents, shape and form the care environment and influence values central to health-care. Starting out from a social constructivist theory of technology, an interactive ethical assessment-model is offered. The suggested model supplements a traditional analysis based on normative ethical theory (top-down approach) with interviews including relevant stakeholders (a bottom-up approach). This method has been piloted by small-scale interviews encircling stakeholder perspectives on three emerging technologies: (1) Careousel, a smart medicine-management device, (2) Robot Giraff, an interactive and mobile communication-device and (3) I-Care, a care-software that combines alarm and register system. By incorporating stakeholder perspectives into the analysis, the interactive ethical assessment model provides a richer understanding of the impact of PHM-technologies on ethical values than a traditional top-down model. If the assessment is conducted before the technology has reached the market - preferably in close interaction with developers and users - ethically sound technologies may be obtained.

Market potential for interactive audio-visual media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leurdijk, A.; Limonard, S.

2005-01-01

NM2 (New Media for a New Millennium) develops tools for interactive, personalised and non-linear audio-visual content that will be tested in seven pilot productions. This paper looks at the market potential for these productions from a technological, a business and a users' perspective. It shows

Cultural health capital and the interactional dynamics of patient-centered care.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubbin, Leslie A; Chang, Jamie Suki; Shim, Janet K

2013-09-01

As intuitive and inviting as it may appear, the concept of patient-centered care has been difficult to conceptualize, institutionalize and operationalize. Informed by Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and habitus, we employ the framework of cultural health capital to uncover the ways in which both patients' and providers' cultural resources, assets, and interactional styles influence their abilities to mutually achieve patient-centered care. Cultural health capital is defined as a specialized collection of cultural skills, attitudes, behaviors and interactional styles that are valued, leveraged, and exchanged by both patients and providers during clinical interactions. In this paper, we report the findings of a qualitative study conducted from 2010 to 2011 in the Western United States. We investigated the various elements of cultural health capital, how patients and providers used cultural health capital to engage with each other, and how this process shaped the patient-centeredness of interactions. We find that the accomplishment of patient-centered care is highly dependent upon habitus and the cultural health capital that both patients and providers bring to health care interactions. Not only are some cultural resources more highly valued than others, their differential mobilization can facilitate or impede engagement and communication between patients and their providers. The focus of cultural health capital on the ways fundamental social inequalities are manifest in clinical interactions enables providers, patients, and health care organizations to consider how such inequalities can confound patient-centered care. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The potential of protein-nanomaterial interaction for advanced drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Qiang; Mu, Huiling

2016-03-10

Nanomaterials, like nanoparticles, micelles, nano-sheets, nanotubes and quantum dots, have great potentials in biomedical fields. However, their delivery is highly limited by the formation of protein corona upon interaction with endogenous proteins. This new identity, instead of nanomaterial itself, would be the real substance the organs and cells firstly encounter. Consequently, the behavior of nanomaterials in vivo is uncontrollable and some undesired effects may occur, like rapid clearance from blood stream; risk of capillary blockage; loss of targeting capacity; and potential toxicity. Therefore, protein-nanomaterial interaction is a great challenge for nanomaterial systems and should be inhibited. However, this interaction can also be used to functionalize nanomaterials by forming a selected protein corona. Unlike other decoration using exogenous molecules, nanomaterials functionalized by selected protein corona using endogenous proteins would have greater promise for clinical use. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of protein-nanomaterial interaction. Importantly, a discussion about how to use such interaction is launched and some possible applications of such interaction for advanced drug delivery are presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Soy and Gut Microbiota: Interaction and Implication for Human Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Haiqiu; Krishnan, Hari B; Pham, Quynhchi; Yu, Liangli Lucy; Wang, Thomas T Y

2016-11-23

Soy (Glycine max) is a major commodity in the United States, and soy foods are gaining popularity due to their reported health-promoting effects. In the past two decades, soy and soy bioactive components have been studied for their health-promoting/disease-preventing activities and potential mechanisms of action. Recent studies have identified gut microbiota as an important component in the human body ecosystem and possibly a critical modulator of human health. Soy foods' interaction with the gut microbiota may critically influence many aspects of human development, physiology, immunity, and nutrition at different stages of life. This review summarizes current knowledge on the effects of soy foods and soy components on gut microbiota population and composition. It was found, although results vary in different studies, in general, both animal and human studies have shown that consumption of soy foods can increase the levels of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli and alter the ratio between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. These changes in microbiota are consistent with reported reductions in pathogenic bacteria populations in the gut, thereby lowering the risk of diseases and leading to beneficial effects on human health.

The interaction between nutrition and exercise for promoting health and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Witard, Oliver C; Ball, Derek

2018-02-01

The theme of The Nutrition Society Spring Conference 2017 was on the interaction between nutrition and exercise for promoting healthy ageing, maintaining cognitive function and improving the metabolic health of the population. The importance of this theme is highlighted by the public health issues surrounding obesity, diabetes and the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia). The opening symposium provided a historical perspective of both invasive and non-invasive methodologies for measuring exercise energetics and energy balance. Data derived from these techniques underpin current understanding regarding the metabolic response to nutrition and exercise. Further symposia examined the importance of skeletal muscle for healthy ageing in older men and postmenopausal women. From a nutritional perspective, the potential for animal- v. plant-based protein sources to offset the age-related decline in muscle mass was discussed. The day concluded by discussing the link(s) between nutrition, exercise and brain function. Day 2 commenced with examples of applied equine research illustrating the link between nutrition/exercise and insulin resistance to those of a human model. The final symposium examined the combined role of nutrition and exercise in reducing risk of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidaemia. The overall conclusion from the meeting was that the interaction between diet and physical activity confers greater benefits to human health and performance than either component alone.

Potential drug interactions in patients given antiretroviral therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Wendel Mombaque Dos; Secoli, Silvia Regina; Padoin, Stela Maris de Mello

2016-11-21

to investigate potential drug-drug interactions (PDDI) in patients with HIV infection on antiretroviral therapy. a cross-sectional study was conducted on 161 adults with HIV infection. Clinical, socio demographic, and antiretroviral treatment data were collected. To analyze the potential drug interactions, we used the software Micromedex(r). Statistical analysis was performed by binary logistic regression, with a p-value of ≤0.05 considered statistically significant. of the participants, 52.2% were exposed to potential drug-drug interactions. In total, there were 218 potential drug-drug interactions, of which 79.8% occurred between drugs used for antiretroviral therapy. There was an association between the use of five or more medications and potential drug-drug interactions (p = 0.000) and between the time period of antiretroviral therapy being over six years and potential drug-drug interactions (p central nervous and cardiovascular systems, but also can interfere in tests used for detection of HIV resistance to antiretroviral drugs. investigar potenciais interações droga-droga (PDDI) em pacientes infectados com HIV em terapia de antirretroviral. um estudo de corte transversal foi conduzido em 161 pessoas infectadas com o HIV. Dados de tratamentos clínicos, sociodemográficos e antirretrovirais foram coletados. Para analisar a possível interação medicamentosa, nós usamos o software Micromedex(r). A análise estatística foi feita por regressão logística binária, com um valor P de ≤0.05, considerado estatisticamente significativo. dos participantes, 52.2% foram expostos a potenciais interações droga-droga. No total, houve 218 interações droga-droga, das quais 79.8% ocorreram entre drogas usadas para a terapia antirretroviral. Houve uma associação entre o uso de cinco ou mais medicamentos e possíveis interações droga-droga (p = 0.000), e entre o período de tempo de terapia antirretroviral acima de seis anos e possíveis interações droga

A protocol for a randomized clinical trial of interactive video dance: potential for effects on cognitive function.

Science.gov (United States)

Jovancevic, Jelena; Rosano, Caterina; Perera, Subashan; Erickson, Kirk I; Studenski, Stephanie

2012-06-06

Physical exercise has the potential to affect cognitive function, but most evidence to date focuses on cognitive effects of fitness training. Cognitive exercise also may influence cognitive function, but many cognitive training paradigms have failed to provide carry-over to daily cognitive function. Video games provide a broader, more contextual approach to cognitive training that may induce cognitive gains and have carry over to daily function. Most video games do not involve physical exercise, but some novel forms of interactive video games combine physical activity and cognitive challenge. This paper describes a randomized clinical trial in 168 postmenopausal sedentary overweight women that compares an interactive video dance game with brisk walking and delayed entry controls. The primary endpoint is adherence to activity at six months. Additional endpoints include aspects of physical and mental health. We focus this report primarily on the rationale and plans for assessment of multiple cognitive functions. This randomized clinical trial may provide new information about the cognitive effects of interactive videodance. It is also the first trial to examine physical and cognitive effects in older women. Interactive video games may offer novel strategies to promote physical activity and health across the life span.The study is IRB approved and the number is: PRO08080012ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01443455.

Repulsive baryonic interactions and lattice QCD observables at imaginary chemical potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Volodymyr Vovchenko

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The first principle lattice QCD methods allow to calculate the thermodynamic observables at finite temperature and imaginary chemical potential. These can be compared to the predictions of various phenomenological models. We argue that Fourier coefficients with respect to imaginary baryochemical potential are sensitive to modeling of baryonic interactions. As a first application of this sensitivity, we consider the hadron resonance gas (HRG model with repulsive baryonic interactions, which are modeled by means of the excluded volume correction. The Fourier coefficients of the imaginary part of the net-baryon density at imaginary baryochemical potential – corresponding to the fugacity or virial expansion at real chemical potential – are calculated within this model, and compared with the Nt=12 lattice data. The lattice QCD behavior of the first four Fourier coefficients up to T≃185 MeV is described fairly well by an interacting HRG with a single baryon–baryon eigenvolume interaction parameter b≃1 fm3, while the available lattice data on the difference χ2B−χ4B of baryon number susceptibilities is reproduced up to T≃175 MeV. Keywords: Hadron resonance gas, Excluded volume, Imaginary chemical potential

Interaction potentials and their effect on crystal nucleation and symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, C.S.; Rahman, A.

1979-01-01

Molecular dynamics technique has been used to study the effect of the interaction potential on crystal nucleation and the symmetry of the nucleated phase. Four systems, namely rubidium, Lennard-Jones, rubidium-truncated, and Lennard-Jones-truncated, have been studied each at reduced density 0.95. Two types of calculations were performed. Firstly, starting from a liquid state, each system was quenched rapidly to a reduced temperature of approx.0.1. The nucleation process for these systems was monitored by studying the time dependence of temperature and the pair correlation function, and the resulting crystalline structure analyzed using among other properties the Voronoi polyhedra. Only in the case of rubidium was a b.c.c. structure nucleated. In the other three cases we obtained a f.c.c. ordering. Secondly, we have studied the effect of changing the interaction potential in a system which has already achieved an ordered state under the action of some other potential. After establishing a b.c.c. structure in a rubidium system, the change in the symmetry of the system was studied when the pair potential was modified to one of the other three forms. The results from both types of calculations are consistent: the rubidium potential leads to a b.c.c. structure while the other three potentials give an f.c.c. structure. Metastable disordered structures were not obtained in any of the calculations. However, the time elapse between the moment when the system is quick-quenched and the moment when nucleation occurs appears to depend upon the potential of interaction

[Prevalence of Avoidable Potential Interactions Between Antidepressants and Other Drugs in Colombian Patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Machado-Alba, Jorge E; Morales-Plaza, Cristhian David

2013-06-01

To determine the possible drugs interactions with antidepressive agents in data bases of patients in the Health Insurance System of Colombia. From data bases of about 4 million users in Colombia, a systematic review of drugs dispensation statistics was made to identify drug interactions between antidepressive agents, cholinergic antagonists and tramadol in 2010. We identified 114,465 monthly users of antidepressive agents. Of these, 5776 (5.0%) received two, and 178 (0.2%) received three antidepressive agents simultaneously. The most frequent combination was fluoxetine+trazodone (n=3235; 56.9% of cases). About 1127 (1.0%) patients were prescribed a cholinergic antagonist simultaneously; 2523 (2.1%) users were dispensed tramadol at the same time, while raising the risk of serotonin syndrome. Drug interactions represent a potential risk that is often underestimated by physicians. Pharmacovigilance is a useful tool to optimize resources and prevent negative outcomes associated with medication. It is recommended that systematic search is made to enhance surveillance programs for the rational use of medicines in this country. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

[Potential antimicrobial drug interactions in clinical practice: consequences of polypharmacy and multidrug resistance].

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Múgica, Cristina

2015-12-01

Polypharmacy is a growing problem nowadays, which can increase the risk of potential drug interactions, and result in a loss of effectiveness. This is particularly relevant to the anti-infective therapy, especially when infection is produced by resistant bacteria, because therapeutic options are limited and interactions can cause treatment failure. All antimicrobial prescriptions were retrospectively reviewed during a week in the Pharmacy Department, in order to detect potential drug-interactions and analysing their clinical significance. A total of 314 antimicrobial prescriptions from 151 patients were checked. There was at least one potential interaction detected in 40% of patients, being more frequent and severe in those infected with multidrug-resistant microorganisms. Drugs most commonly involved were quinolones, azoles, linezolid and vancomycin. Potential drug interactions with antimicrobial agents are a frequent problem that can result in a loss of effectiveness. This is why they should be detected and avoided when possible, in order to optimize antimicrobial therapy, especially in case of multidrug resistant infections.

Potential games and interactive decisions with multiple criteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voorneveld, M.

1999-01-01

Game theory is a mathematical theory for analyzing strategic interaction between decision makers. This thesis covers two game-theoretic topics. The first part of this thesis deals with potential games: noncooperative games in which the information about the goals of the separate players that is

The potential of protein-nanomaterial interaction for advanced drug delivery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peng, Qiang; Mu, Huiling

2016-01-01

Nanomaterials, like nanoparticles, micelles, nano-sheets, nanotubes and quantum dots, have great potentials in biomedical fields. However, their delivery is highly limited by the formation of protein corona upon interaction with endogenous proteins. This new identity, instead of nanomaterial itself...... of such interaction for advanced drug delivery are presented........ Therefore, protein-nanomaterial interaction is a great challenge for nanomaterial systems and should be inhibited. However, this interaction can also be used to functionalize nanomaterials by forming a selected protein corona. Unlike other decoration using exogenous molecules, nanomaterials functionalized...

A reactive empirical bond order (REBO) potential for hydrocarbon-oxygen interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Boris; Lee, Ki-Ho; Sinnott, Susan B

2004-01-01

The expansion of the second-generation reactive empirical bond order (REBO) potential for hydrocarbons, as parametrized by Brenner and co-workers, to include oxygen is presented. This involves the explicit inclusion of C-O, H-O, and O-O interactions to the existing C-C, C-H, and H-H interactions in the REBO potential. The details of the expansion, including all parameters, are given. The new, expanded potential is then applied to the study of the structure and chemical stability of several molecules and polymer chains, and to modelling chemical reactions among a series of molecules, within classical molecular dynamics simulations

Interactions of C+(2PJ) with rare gas atoms: incipient chemical interactions, potentials and transport coefficients

Science.gov (United States)

Tuttle, William D.; Thorington, Rebecca L.; Viehland, Larry A.; Breckenridge, W. H.; Wright, Timothy G.

2018-03-01

Accurate interatomic potentials were calculated for the interaction of a singly charged carbon cation, C+, with a single rare gas atom, RG (RG = Ne-Xe). The RCCSD(T) method and basis sets of quadruple-ζ and quintuple-ζ quality were employed; each interaction energy was counterpoise corrected and extrapolated to the basis set limit. The lowest C+(2P) electronic term of the carbon cation was considered, and the interatomic potentials calculated for the diatomic terms that arise from these: 2Π and 2Σ+. Additionally, the interatomic potentials for the respective spin-orbit levels were calculated, and the effect on the spectroscopic parameters was examined. In doing this, anomalously large spin-orbit splittings for RG = Ar-Xe were found, and this was investigated using multi-reference configuration interaction calculations. The latter indicated a small amount of RG → C+ electron transfer and this was used to rationalize the observations. This is taken as evidence of an incipient chemical interaction, which was also examined via contour plots, Birge-Sponer plots and various population analyses across the C+-RG series (RG = He-Xe), with the latter showing unexpected results. Trends in several spectroscopic parameters were examined as a function of the increasing atomic number of the RG atom. Finally, each set of RCCSD(T) potentials was employed, including spin-orbit coupling to calculate the transport coefficients for C+ in RG, and the results were compared with the limited available data. This article is part of the theme issue `Modern theoretical chemistry'.

Citizen centered health and lifestyle management via interactive TV: The PANACEIA-ITV health system.

Science.gov (United States)

Maglaveras, N; Chouvarda, I; Koutkias, V; Lekka, I; Tsakali, M; Tsetoglou, S; Maglavera, S; Leondaridis, L; Zeevi, B; Danelli, V; Kotis, T; De Moore, G; Balas, E A

2003-01-01

In the context of an IST European project with acronym PANACEIA-ITV, a home care service provisioning system is described, based on interactive TV technology. The purpose of PANACEIA-ITV is to facilitate essential lifestyle changes and to promote compliance with scientifically sound self-care recommendations, through the application of interactive digital television for family health maintenance. The means to achieve these goals are based on technological, health services and business models. PANACEIA-ITV is looking for communication of monitoring micro-devices with I-TV set-top-boxes using infrared technology, and embodiment of analogous H/W and S/W in the I-TV set-top-boxes. Intelligent agents are used to regulate data flow, user queries as well as service provisions from and to the household through the satellite digital platform, the portal and the back-end decision support mechanisms, using predominantly the Active Service Provision (ASP) model. Moreover, interactive digital TV services are developed for the delivery of health care in the home care environment.

Improved Interaction Potentials for Charged Residues in Proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kepp, Kasper Planeta

2008-01-01

Electrostatic interactions dominate the structure and free energy of biomolecules. To obtain accurate free energies involving charged groups from molecular simulations, OPLS-AA parameters have been reoptimized using Monte Carlo free energy perturbation. New parameters fit a self-consistent, exper......Electrostatic interactions dominate the structure and free energy of biomolecules. To obtain accurate free energies involving charged groups from molecular simulations, OPLS-AA parameters have been reoptimized using Monte Carlo free energy perturbation. New parameters fit a self......, TIP4P or TIP3P; i.e., each water model requires specific water-charged molecule interaction potentials. New models (models 1 and 3) are thus described for both water models. Uncertainties in relative free energies of charged residues are ~2 kcal/mol with the new parameters, due to variations in system...

Double folded Yukawa interaction potential between two heavy ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulgac, A.; Carstoiu, F.; Dumitrescu, O.

1980-02-01

A simple semi-analytical formula for the heavy ion interaction potential within the double-folding model approximation is obtained. The folded interaction is assumed to be expressed in Yukawa terms or the derivatives of them. The densities used can be both experimental or theoretical (of simple ''step-wise'', ''Fermi-Saxon-Woods'' or complicated ''shell model'' structure) densities. A way of inserting the exchange terms is discussed. Numerical calculations for some colliding partners are reported. (author)

Building policy capacities: an interactive approach for linking knowledge to action in health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rütten, Alfred; Gelius, Peter

2014-09-01

This article outlines a theoretical framework for an interactive, research-driven approach to building policy capacities in health promotion. First, it illustrates how two important issues in the recent public health debate, capacity building and linking scientific knowledge to policy action, are connected to each other theoretically. It then introduces an international study on an interactive approach to capacity building in health promotion policy. The approach combines the ADEPT model of policy capacities with a co-operative planning process to foster the exchange of knowledge between policy-makers and researchers, thus improving intra- and inter-organizational capacities. A regional-level physical activity promotion project involving governmental and public-law institutions, NGOs and university researchers serves as a case study to illustrate the potential of the approach for capacity building. Analysis and comparison with a similar local-level project indicate that the approach provides an effective means of linking scientific knowledge to policy action and to planning concrete measures for capacity building in health promotion, but that it requires sufficiently long timelines and adequate resources to achieve adequate implementation and sustainability. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Potential drug–drug interactions in Alzheimer patients with behavioral symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasqualetti G

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Giuseppe Pasqualetti, Sara Tognini, Valeria Calsolaro, Antonio Polini, Fabio Monzani Geriatrics Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy Abstract: The use of multi drug regimens among the elderly population has increased tremendously over the last decade although the benefits of medications are always accompanied by potential harm, even when prescribed at recommended doses. The elderly populations are particularly at an increased risk of adverse drug reactions considering comorbidity, poly-therapy, physiological changes affecting the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of many drugs and, in some cases, poor compliance due to cognitive impairment and/or depression. In this setting, drug–drug interaction may represent a serious and even life-threatening clinical condition. Moreover, the inability to distinguish drug-induced symptoms from a definitive medical diagnosis often results in addition of yet another drug to treat the symptoms, which in turn increases drug–drug interactions. Cognitive enhancers, including acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, are the most widely prescribed agents for Alzheimer’s disease (AD patients. Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, including psychotic symptoms and behavioral disorders, represent noncognitive disturbances frequently observed in AD patients. Antipsychotic drugs are at high risk of adverse events, even at modest doses, and may interfere with the progression of cognitive impairment and interact with several drugs including anti-arrhythmics and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Other medications often used in AD patients are represented by anxiolytic, like benzodiazepine, or antidepressant agents. These agents also might interfere with other concomitant drugs through both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms. In this review we focus on the most frequent drug–drug interactions, potentially harmful, in AD patients with

Expanding Interaction Potentials within Virtual Environments: Investigating the Usability of Speech and Manual Input Modes for Decoupled Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Stedmon

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Distributed technologies and ubiquitous computing now support users who may be detached or decoupled from traditional interactions. In order to investigate the potential usability of speech and manual input devices, an evaluation of speech input across different user groups and a usability assessment of independent-user and collaborative-user interactions was conducted. Whilst the primary focus was on a formative usability evaluation, the user group evaluation provided a formal basis to underpin the academic rigor of the exercise. The results illustrate that using a speech interface is important in understanding user acceptance of such technologies. From the usability assessment it was possible to translate interactions and make them compatible with innovative input devices. This approach to interaction is still at an early stage of development, and the potential or validity of this interfacing concept is still under evaluation; however, as a concept demonstrator, the results of these initial evaluations demonstrate the potential usability issues of both input devices as well as highlighting their suitability for advanced virtual applications.

Interactive social media interventions to promote health equity: an overview of reviews

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, V.; Petkovic, J.; Pardo, J. Pardo; Rader, T.; Tugwell, P.

2016-01-01

Abstract Introduction: Social media use has been increasing in public health and health promotion because it can remove geographic and physical access barriers. However, these interventions also have the potential to increase health inequities for people who do not have access to or do not use social media. In this paper, we aim to assess the effects of interactive social media interventions on health outcomes, behaviour change and health equity. Methods: We conducted a rapid response overview of systematic reviews. We used a sensitive search strategy to identify systematic reviews and included those that focussed on interventions allowing two-way interaction such as discussion forums, social networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), blogging, applications linked to online communities and media sharing. Results: Eleven systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria. Most interventions addressed by the reviews included online discussion boards or similar strategies, either as stand-alone interventions or in combination with other interventions. Seven reviews reported mixed effects on health outcomes and healthy behaviours. We did not find disaggregated analyses across characteristics associated with disadvantage, such as lower socioeconomic status or age. However, some targeted studies reported that social media interventions were effective in specific populations in terms of age, socioeconomic status, ethnicities and place of residence. Four reviews reported qualitative benefits such as satisfaction, finding information and improved social support. Conclusion: Social media interventions were effective in certain populations at risk for disadvantage (youth, older adults, low socioeconomic status, rural), which indicates that these interventions may be effective for promoting health equity. However, confirmation of effectiveness would require further study. Several reviews raised the issue of acceptability of social media interventions. Only four studies reported on the

Interactive social media interventions to promote health equity: an overview of reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Welch

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Social media use has been increasing in public health and health promotion because it can remove geographic and physical access barriers. However, these interventions also have the potential to increase health inequities for people who do not have access to or do not use social media. In this paper, we aim to assess the effects of interactive social media interventions on health outcomes, behaviour change and health equity. Methods: We conducted a rapid response overview of systematic reviews. We used a sensitive search strategy to identify systematic reviews and included those that focussed on interventions allowing two-way interaction such as discussion forums, social networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter, blogging, applications linked to online communities and media sharing. Results: Eleven systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria. Most interventions addressed by the reviews included online discussion boards or similar strategies, either as stand-alone interventions or in combination with other interventions. Seven reviews reported mixed effects on health outcomes and healthy behaviours. We did not find disaggregated analyses across characteristics associated with disadvantage, such as lower socioeconomic status or age. However, some targeted studies reported that social media interventions were effective in specific populations in terms of age, socioeconomic status, ethnicities and place of residence. Four reviews reported qualitative benefits such as satisfaction, finding information and improved social support. Conclusion: Social media interventions were effective in certain populations at risk for disadvantage (youth, older adults, low socioeconomic status, rural, which indicates that these interventions may be effective for promoting health equity. However, confirmation of effectiveness would require further study. Several reviews raised the issue of acceptability of social media interventions. Only four studies reported

Interactive social media interventions to promote health equity: an overview of reviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, V; Petkovic, J; Pardo Pardo, J; Rader, T; Tugwell, P

2016-04-01

Social media use has been increasing in public health and health promotion because it can remove geographic and physical access barriers. However, these interventions also have the potential to increase health inequities for people who do not have access to or do not use social media. In this paper, we aim to assess the effects of interactive social media interventions on health outcomes, behaviour change and health equity. We conducted a rapid response overview of systematic reviews. We used a sensitive search strategy to identify systematic reviews and included those that focussed on interventions allowing two-way interaction such as discussion forums, social networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), blogging, applications linked to online communities and media sharing. Eleven systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria. Most interventions addressed by the reviews included online discussion boards or similar strategies, either as stand-alone interventions or in combination with other interventions. Seven reviews reported mixed effects on health outcomes and healthy behaviours. We did not find disaggregated analyses across characteristics associated with disadvantage, such as lower socioeconomic status or age. However, some targeted studies reported that social media interventions were effective in specific populations in terms of age, socioeconomic status, ethnicities and place of residence. Four reviews reported qualitative benefits such as satisfaction, finding information and improved social support. Social media interventions were effective in certain populations at risk for disadvantage (youth, older adults, low socioeconomic status, rural), which indicates that these interventions may be effective for promoting health equity. However, confirmation of effectiveness would require further study. Several reviews raised the issue of acceptability of social media interventions. Only four studies reported on the level of intervention use and all of these reported

A protocol for a randomized clinical trial of interactive video dance: potential for effects on cognitive function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovancevic Jelena

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Physical exercise has the potential to affect cognitive function, but most evidence to date focuses on cognitive effects of fitness training. Cognitive exercise also may influence cognitive function, but many cognitive training paradigms have failed to provide carry-over to daily cognitive function. Video games provide a broader, more contextual approach to cognitive training that may induce cognitive gains and have carry over to daily function. Most video games do not involve physical exercise, but some novel forms of interactive video games combine physical activity and cognitive challenge. Methods/Design This paper describes a randomized clinical trial in 168 postmenopausal sedentary overweight women that compares an interactive video dance game with brisk walking and delayed entry controls. The primary endpoint is adherence to activity at six months. Additional endpoints include aspects of physical and mental health. We focus this report primarily on the rationale and plans for assessment of multiple cognitive functions. Discussion This randomized clinical trial may provide new information about the cognitive effects of interactive videodance. It is also the first trial to examine physical and cognitive effects in older women. Interactive video games may offer novel strategies to promote physical activity and health across the life span. The study is IRB approved and the number is: PRO08080012 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01443455

Public health relevance of drug–nutrition interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Péter, Szabolcs; Navis, Gerjan; Borst, de Martin H.; Schacky, von Clemens; Orten-Luiten, van Anne Claire B.; Zhernakova, Alexandra; Witkamp, Renger F.; Janse, André; Weber, Peter; Bakker, Stephan L.J.; Eggersdorfer, Manfred

2017-01-01

The public health relevance of drug–nutrition interactions is currently highly undervalued and overlooked. This is particularly the case for elderly persons where multi-morbidity and consequently polypharmacy is very common. Vitamins and other micronutrients have central functions in metabolism, and

Public health relevance of drug-nutrition interactions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Péter, Szabolcs; Navis, Gerjan; de Borst, Martin H; von Schacky, Clemens; van Orten-Luiten, Anne Claire B; Zhernakova, Alexandra; Witkamp, Renger F; Janse, André; Weber, Peter; Bakker, Stephan J L; Eggersdorfer, Manfred

The public health relevance of drug-nutrition interactions is currently highly undervalued and overlooked. This is particularly the case for elderly persons where multi-morbidity and consequently polypharmacy is very common. Vitamins and other micronutrients have central functions in metabolism, and

Potential health effects associated with dermal exposure to occupational chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Stacey E; Meade, B Jean

2014-01-01

There are a large number of workers in the United States, spanning a variety of occupational industries and sectors, who are potentially exposed to chemicals that can be absorbed through the skin. Occupational skin exposures can result in numerous diseases that can adversely affect an individual's health and capacity to perform at work. In general, there are three types of chemical-skin interactions of concern: direct skin effects, immune-mediated skin effects, and systemic effects. While hundreds of chemicals (metals, epoxy and acrylic resins, rubber additives, and chemical intermediates) present in virtually every industry have been identified to cause direct and immune-mediated effects such as contact dermatitis or urticaria, less is known about the number and types of chemicals contributing to systemic effects. In an attempt to raise awareness, skin notation assignments communicate the potential for dermal absorption; however, there is a need for standardization among agencies to communicate an accurate description of occupational hazards. Studies have suggested that exposure to complex mixtures, excessive hand washing, use of hand sanitizers, high frequency of wet work, and environmental or other factors may enhance penetration and stimulate other biological responses altering the outcomes of dermal chemical exposure. Understanding the hazards of dermal exposure is essential for the proper implementation of protective measures to ensure worker safety and health.

Statistical analysis of simulation calculation of sputtering for two interaction potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shao Qiyun

1992-01-01

The effects of the interaction potentials (Moliere potential and Universal potential) are presented on computer simulation results of sputtering via Monte Carlo simulation based on the binary collision approximation. By means of Wilcoxon two-Sample paired sign rank test, the statistically significant difference for the above results is obtained

Health promoting interactive technology: Finnish, Norwegian, Russian and Swedish students' reflections.

Science.gov (United States)

Kostenius, Catrine; Hertting, Krister

2016-09-01

The aim of this study was to elucidate Finnish, Norwegian, Russian and Swedish students' reflections and ideas on how interactive technology can be used to promote health in school. The data were collected in the northern part of these four countries, and 630 students aged 13-15 filled out the World Health Organization's 'Health Behavior in School-Aged Children' self-completion questionnaire with one additional open question, which is analyzed in this article (n = 419). The phenomenological analysis resulted in four themes: A sense of control, Balancing enjoyable options, Sharing with others and Learning made easier. The students point out that interactive technology promotes empowerment and independence, reduces stress and makes learning easier. They argue for a healthy balance of Internet use for it to be health promoting. According to the students, good relationships increase well-being; and interactive technology can offer a way to socialize, provide a tool for meeting and making new friends, help when not feeling well and give support when encouraging classmates. We argue, based on the findings of the present study and previous research, that students need a combination of freedom and meaningful relationships with adults who have an empowered child perspective, to fully take advantage of the empowering effects of interactive technology. We suggest, as implications for practice, that teachers, school leaders and health care professionals find ways to act as partners using an appreciative process, asking questions on what works well, to make interactive technology an enabling technology to increase health literacy, thus improving health and well-being in students. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Choice of single-particle potential and the convergence of the effective interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hjorth-Jensen, M.; Osnes, E.; Muether, H.; Schmid, K.W.

1990-02-01

The convergence of the expansion for the effective interaction is studied considering as example the shell model for the nuclei 18 O and 18 F. In this work the effective interaction is computed through third order in the Brueckner G matrix, using both a harmonic-oscillator (HO) basis and a Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) basis. The significant differences in the convergence behavior of the effective interaction in these two cases are reported. The results indicate that the choice of the BHF single-particle potential facilitates the convergence of the effective interaction in low-orders of the expansion, whereas the HO results exhibit a non-convergent behavior. The implications for the HO approach are discussed. All calculations have been performed considering a modern version of the Bonn one-boson-exchange potential for the nucleon-nucleon interaction. 23 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Interactive web-based mapping: bridging technology and data for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Highfield, Linda; Arthasarnprasit, Jutas; Ottenweller, Cecelia A; Dasprez, Arnaud

2011-12-23

The Community Health Information System (CHIS) online mapping system was first launched in 1998. Its overarching goal was to provide researchers, residents and organizations access to health related data reflecting the overall health and well-being of their communities within the Greater Houston area. In September 2009, initial planning and development began for the next generation of CHIS. The overarching goal for the new version remained to make health data easily accessible for a wide variety of research audiences. However, in the new version we specifically sought to make the CHIS truly interactive and give the user more control over data selection and reporting. In July 2011, a beta version of the next-generation of the application was launched. This next-generation is also a web based interactive mapping tool comprised of two distinct portals: the Breast Health Portal and Project Safety Net. Both are accessed via a Google mapping interface. Geographic coverage for the portals is currently an 8 county region centered on Harris County, Texas. Data accessed by the application include Census 2000, Census 2010 (underway), cancer incidence from the Texas Cancer Registry (TX Dept. of State Health Services), death data from Texas Vital Statistics, clinic locations for free and low-cost health services, along with service lists, hours of operation, payment options and languages spoken, uninsured and poverty data. The system features query on the fly technology, which means the data is not generated until the query is provided to the system. This allows users to interact in real-time with the databases and generate customized reports and maps. To the author's knowledge, the Breast Health Portal and Project Safety Net are the first local-scale interactive online mapping interfaces for public health data which allow users to control the data generated. For example, users may generate breast cancer incidence rates by Census tract, in real time, for women aged 40

Interactive web-based mapping: bridging technology and data for health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Highfield Linda

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Community Health Information System (CHIS online mapping system was first launched in 1998. Its overarching goal was to provide researchers, residents and organizations access to health related data reflecting the overall health and well-being of their communities within the Greater Houston area. In September 2009, initial planning and development began for the next generation of CHIS. The overarching goal for the new version remained to make health data easily accessible for a wide variety of research audiences. However, in the new version we specifically sought to make the CHIS truly interactive and give the user more control over data selection and reporting. Results In July 2011, a beta version of the next-generation of the application was launched. This next-generation is also a web based interactive mapping tool comprised of two distinct portals: the Breast Health Portal and Project Safety Net. Both are accessed via a Google mapping interface. Geographic coverage for the portals is currently an 8 county region centered on Harris County, Texas. Data accessed by the application include Census 2000, Census 2010 (underway, cancer incidence from the Texas Cancer Registry (TX Dept. of State Health Services, death data from Texas Vital Statistics, clinic locations for free and low-cost health services, along with service lists, hours of operation, payment options and languages spoken, uninsured and poverty data. Conclusions The system features query on the fly technology, which means the data is not generated until the query is provided to the system. This allows users to interact in real-time with the databases and generate customized reports and maps. To the author's knowledge, the Breast Health Portal and Project Safety Net are the first local-scale interactive online mapping interfaces for public health data which allow users to control the data generated. For example, users may generate breast cancer incidence rates

Interactions between Social/ behavioral factors and ADRB2 genotypes may be associated with health at advanced ages in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeng, Y.; Cheng, L. G.; Zhao, L.

2013-01-01

ages. This study intends to fill in this research gap. Method: We conducted an exploratory analysis, using longitudinal survey phenotype/genotype data from 877 oldest-old aged 90+. To estimate association of GxE interactions with health outcome, adjusted for the potential correlation between genotypes...... and social/behavioral factors and various other potentially confounding factors, we develop and test an innovative three-step procedure which combines logistic regression and structural equation methods. Results: Interaction between regular exercise and carrying rs1042718 minor allele is significantly...... analysis found that, adjusted for the confounding effects of correlation of the ADRB2 SNPs with negative emotion, interaction between negative emotion and carrying rs1042718 or rs1042719 minor allele is significantly and negatively associated with cognitive function. The positive association of regular...

A Measure of the Potential Impact of Hospital Community Health Activities on Population Health and Equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Begun, James W; Kahn, Linda M; Cunningham, Brooke A; Malcolm, Jan K; Potthoff, Sandra

2017-12-13

Many hospitals in the United States are exploring greater investment in community health activities that address upstream causes of poor health. Develop and apply a measure to categorize and estimate the potential impact of hospitals' community health activities on population health and equity. We propose a scale of potential impact on population health and equity, based on the cliff analogy developed by Jones and colleagues. The scale is applied to the 317 activities reported in the community health needs assessment implementation plan reports of 23 health care organizations in the Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area in 2015. Using a 5-point ordinal scale, we assigned a score of potential impact on population health and equity to each community health activity. A majority (50.2%) of health care organizations' community health activities are classified as addressing social determinants of health (level 4 on the 5-point scale), though very few (5.4%) address structural causes of health equity (level 5 on the 5-point scale). Activities that score highest on potential impact fall into the topic categories of "community health and connectedness" and "healthy lifestyles and wellness." Lower-scoring activities focus on sick or at-risk individuals, such as the topic category of "chronic disease prevention, management, and screening." Health care organizations in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area vary substantially in the potential impact of their aggregated community health activities. Hospitals can be significant contributors to investment in upstream community health programs. This article provides a scale that can be used not only by hospitals but by other health care and public health organizations to better align their community health strategies, investments, and partnerships with programming and policies that address the foundational causes of population health and equity within the communities they serve.

Potential impact of climate change on air pollution-related human health effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Tagaris, Efthimios; Liao, Kuo-Jen; Delucia, Anthony J; Deck, Leland; Amar, Praveen; Russell, Armistead G

2009-07-01

The potential health impact of ambient ozone and PM2.5 concentrations modulated by climate change over the United States is investigated using combined atmospheric and health modeling. Regional air quality modeling for 2001 and 2050 was conducted using CMAQ Modeling System with meteorology from the GISS Global Climate Model, downscaled regionally using MM5,keeping boundary conditions of air pollutants, emission sources, population, activity levels, and pollution controls constant. BenMap was employed to estimate the air pollution health outcomes at the county, state, and national level for 2050 caused by the effect of meteorology on future ozone and PM2.5 concentrations. The changes in calculated annual mean PM2.5 concentrations show a relatively modest change with positive and negative responses (increasing PM2.5 levels across the northeastern U.S.) although average ozone levels slightly decrease across the northern sections of the U.S., and increase across the southern tier. Results suggest that climate change driven air quality-related health effects will be adversely affected in more then 2/3 of the continental U.S. Changes in health effects induced by PM2.5 dominate compared to those caused by ozone. PM2.5-induced premature mortality is about 15 times higher then that due to ozone. Nationally the analysis suggests approximately 4000 additional annual premature deaths due to climate change impacts on PM2.5 vs 300 due to climate change-induced ozone changes. However, the impacts vary spatially. Increased premature mortality due to elevated ozone concentrations will be offset by lower mortality from reductions in PM2.5 in 11 states. Uncertainties related to different emissions projections used to simulate future climate, and the uncertainties forecasting the meteorology, are large although there are potentially important unaddressed uncertainties (e.g., downscaling, speciation, interaction, exposure, and concentration-response function of the human health studies).

Prevalence of potentially serious drug-drug interactions among South African elderly private health sector patients using the Mimica Matanović/Vlahović-Palčevski protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

van Heerden, Julandi A; Burger, Johanita R; Gerber, Jan J; Vlahović-Palčevski, Vera

2018-04-01

To determine the prevalence of potentially serious drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and their relationship with gender and age, among elderly in South Africa. A cross-sectional study was conducted using pharmaceutical claims data for 2013, for a total of 103 420 medical scheme beneficiaries' ≥65 years. All medications dispensed within one calendar month where the days' supply of medication dispensed overlapped, were grouped as one prescription. DDIs per prescription were then identified using the Mimica Matanović/Vlahović-Palčevski DDI protocol. Results were interpreted using effect sizes, that is Cramér's V, Cohen's d and Cohen's ƒ 2 . A total of 331 659 DDIs were identified on 235 870 (25.8%, N = 912 713) prescriptions (mean 0.36 (SD 0.7) (95% CI, 0.36 to 0.37)). Women encountered 63.5% of all DDIs. Effect sizes for the association between DDIs and age group (Cramér's V = 0.06), and gender (Cramér's V = 0.05) was negligible. There was no difference between men and women regarding the mean number of DDIs identified per prescription (Cohen's d = 0.10). The number of medicine per prescription (ƒ 2 = 0.51) was the biggest predictor of the DDIs. The most frequent interacting drug combinations were between central nervous system medicines (30.6%). Our study is the first to report the prevalence of potentially serious DDIs among an elderly population in the South African private health sector utilising the Mimica Matanović/Vlahović-Palčevski DDI protocol. Overall, we identified DDIs in approximately 26% of the prescriptions in our study. Age and gender were not found to be predictors of potentially serious DDIs. © 2017 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulos, Maged N Kamel; Hetherington, Lee; Wheeler, Steve

2007-12-01

This hybrid review-case study introduces three-dimensional (3-D) virtual worlds and their educational potential to medical/health librarians and educators. Second life (http://secondlife.com/) is perhaps the most popular virtual world platform in use today, with an emphasis on social interaction. We describe some medical and health education examples from Second Life, including Second Life Medical and Consumer Health Libraries (Healthinfo Island-funded by a grant from the US National Library of Medicine), and VNEC (Virtual Neurological Education Centre-developed at the University of Plymouth, UK), which we present as two detailed 'case studies'. The pedagogical potentials of Second Life are then discussed, as well as some issues and challenges related to the use of virtual worlds. We have also compiled an up-to-date resource page (http://healthcybermap.org/sl.htm), with additional online material and pointers to support and extend this study.

On modelling adiabatic N-soliton interactions and perturbations. Effects of external potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerdjikov, V.; Baizakov, B.

2005-01-01

We analyze several perturbed versions of the complex Toda chain (CTC) in an attempt to describe the adiabatic N-soliton train interactions of the perturbed nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLS). Particular types of perturbations, including quadratic and periodic external potentials are treated by both analytical and numerical means. We show that the perturbed CTC model provides a good description for the N-soliton interactions in the presence of a weak external potential. (authors)

Discourse with Visual Health Data: Design of Human-Data Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oluwakemi Ola

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Previous work has suggested that large repositories of data can revolutionize healthcare activities; however, there remains a disconnection between data collection and its effective usage. The way in which users interact with data strongly impacts their ability to not only complete tasks but also capitalize on the purported benefits of such data. Interactive visualizations can provide a means by which many data-driven tasks can be performed. Recent surveys, however, suggest that many visualizations mostly enable users to perform simple manipulations, thus limiting their ability to complete tasks. Researchers have called for tools that allow for richer discourse with data. Nonetheless, systematic design of human-data interaction for visualization tools is a non-trivial task. It requires taking into consideration a myriad of issues. Creation of visualization tools that incorporate rich human-data discourse would benefit from the use of design frameworks. In this paper, we examine and present a design process that is based on a conceptual human-data interaction framework. We discuss and describe the design of interaction for a visualization tool intended for sensemaking of public health data. We demonstrate the utility of systematic interaction design in two ways. First, we use scenarios to highlight how our design approach supports a rich and meaningful discourse with data. Second, we present results from a study that details how users were able to perform various tasks with health data and learn about global health trends.

MONITORING POTENTIAL DRUG INTERACTIONS AND REACTIONS VIA NETWORK ANALYSIS OF INSTAGRAM USER TIMELINES.

Science.gov (United States)

Correia, Rion Brattig; Li, Lang; Rocha, Luis M

2016-01-01

Much recent research aims to identify evidence for Drug-Drug Interactions (DDI) and Adverse Drug reactions (ADR) from the biomedical scientific literature. In addition to this "Bibliome", the universe of social media provides a very promising source of large-scale data that can help identify DDI and ADR in ways that have not been hitherto possible. Given the large number of users, analysis of social media data may be useful to identify under-reported, population-level pathology associated with DDI, thus further contributing to improvements in population health. Moreover, tapping into this data allows us to infer drug interactions with natural products-including cannabis-which constitute an array of DDI very poorly explored by biomedical research thus far. Our goal is to determine the potential of Instagram for public health monitoring and surveillance for DDI, ADR, and behavioral pathology at large. Most social media analysis focuses on Twitter and Facebook, but Instagram is an increasingly important platform, especially among teens, with unrestricted access of public posts, high availability of posts with geolocation coordinates, and images to supplement textual analysis. Using drug, symptom, and natural product dictionaries for identification of the various types of DDI and ADR evidence, we have collected close to 7000 user timelines spanning from October 2010 to June 2015.We report on 1) the development of a monitoring tool to easily observe user-level timelines associated with drug and symptom terms of interest, and 2) population-level behavior via the analysis of co-occurrence networks computed from user timelines at three different scales: monthly, weekly, and daily occurrences. Analysis of these networks further reveals 3) drug and symptom direct and indirect associations with greater support in user timelines, as well as 4) clusters of symptoms and drugs revealed by the collective behavior of the observed population. This demonstrates that Instagram

Nucleon-nucleon interaction with quark exchanges and prediction to colour van der Waals potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, A.

1985-11-01

The nucleon-nucleon interaction is considered by including the colour nucleon clusters. The nucleon-nucleon system is treated as a six-quark system. The obtained local potentials reduce the short-range repulsion. The resulted nucleon-nucleon potential by using a quark-quark potential well agrees with the central-force potentials. The phase shifts calculated by using these local potentials are in good agreement with those obtained from other methods. Introducing the quark-quark potential in the nucleon-nucleon interaction, leads to a colour van der Waals potential very strong compared with that predicted by experiments. (author)

Interaction Potential between Parabolic Rotator and an Outside Particle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available At micro/nanoscale, the interaction potential between parabolic rotator and a particle located outside the rotator is studied on the basis of the negative exponential pair potential 1/Rn between particles. Similar to two-dimensional curved surfaces, we confirm that the potential of the three-dimensional parabolic rotator and outside particle can also be expressed as a unified form of curvatures; that is, it can be written as the function of curvatures. Furthermore, we verify that the driving forces acting on the particle may be induced by the highly curved micro/nano-parabolic rotator. Curvatures and the gradient of curvatures are the essential elements forming the driving forces. Through the idealized numerical experiments, the accuracy of the curvature-based potential is preliminarily proved.

Interactive video gaming compared with health education in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Tiffany F; Flatt, Jason D; Fu, Bo; Butters, Meryl A; Chang, Chung-Chou H; Ganguli, Mary

2014-09-01

We evaluated the feasibility of a trial of Wii interactive video gaming, and its potential efficacy at improving cognitive functioning compared with health education, in a community sample of older adults with neuropsychologically defined mild cognitive impairment. Twenty older adults were equally randomized to either group-based interactive video gaming or health education for 90 min each week for 24 weeks. Although the primary outcomes were related to study feasibility, we also explored the effect of the intervention on neuropsychological performance and other secondary outcomes. All 20 participants completed the intervention, and 18 attended at least 80% of the sessions. The majority (80%) of participants were "very much" satisfied with the intervention. Bowling was enjoyed by the most participants and was also rated the highest among the games for mental, social, and physical stimulation. We observed medium effect sizes for cognitive and physical functioning in favor of the interactive video gaming condition, but these effects were not statistically significant in this small sample. Interactive video gaming is feasible for older adults with mild cognitive impairment, and medium effect sizes in favor of the Wii group warrant a larger efficacy trial. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Short range part of the NN interaction: Equivalent local potentials from quark exchange kernels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuk, Y.; Hecht, K.T.

1983-01-01

To focus on the nature of the short range part of the NN interaction, the intrinsically nonlocal interaction among the quark constituents of colorless nucleons is converted to an equivalent local potential using resonating group kernels which can be evaluated in analytic form. The WKB approximation based on the Wigner transform of the nonlocal kernels has been used to construct the equivalent potentials without recourse to the long range part of the NN interaction. The relative importance of the various components of the exchange kernels can be examined: The results indicate the importance of the color magnetic part of the exchange kernel for the repulsive part in the (ST) = (10), (01) channels, in particular since the energy dependence of the effective local potentials seems to be set by this term. Large cancellations of color Coulombic and quark confining contributions, together with the kinetic energy and norm exchange terms, indicate that the exact nature of the equivalent local potential may be sensitive to the details of the parametrization of the underlying quark-quark interaction. The equivalent local potentials show some of the characteristics of the phenomenological short range terms of the Paris potential

The interaction between informal cancer caregivers and health care professionals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Line; Ross, Lone; Petersen, Morten Aagaard

2015-01-01

PURPOSE: In order to meet the caregiving challenges, informal caregivers often need a substantial level of interaction with health care professionals (HCPs). This study investigated to which extent the cancer caregivers' needs regarding the interaction with HCPs are met and the associations betwe...

The Effect of Doctor-Consumer Interaction on Social Media on Consumers’ Health Behaviors: Cross-Sectional Study

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Gaskin, Darrell J; Zhang, Donglan; Wang, Ruoxi

2018-01-01

Background Both doctors and consumers have engaged in using social media for health purposes. Social media has changed traditional one-to-one communication between doctors and patients to many-to-many communication between doctors and consumers. However, little is known about the effect of doctor-consumer interaction on consumers’ health behaviors. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers’ health behaviors. Methods On the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interactions influence consumers’ health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method and developed corresponding measurement instruments for constructs in our research model. A total of 352 valid answers were collected, and partial least square was performed to analyze the data. Results Instrumental doctor-consumer interaction was found to influence consumers’ DK (t294=5.763, Pinteraction also impacted consumers’ DK (t294=4.025, Peffect of instrumental interaction on health behaviors, whereas the three mediators fully mediated the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors. Conclusions Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers’ health behaviors. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction. PMID:29490892

Collisional effects on interaction potential in complex plasma in presence of magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezbaruah, Pratikshya; Das, Nilakshi

2016-01-01

Interaction potential in complex plasma with streaming ions is derived analytically in presence of ion-neutral collision and magnetic field. The linear dielectric response function obtained describes the behavior of charged micron sized dust particles in strong collisional limit. A new type of repulsive potential is found to be operative among the dust grains apart from the normal Debye–Hückel potential. The amplitude and shielding length involved in the potential are substantially affected by the parameters describing ion cyclotron frequency, collision frequency among ions and neutrals, and ion streaming. It is also observed that the usual mechanism of ion focusing surrounding the grain is inhibited due to collision. As a result, the attractive wake potential structure is destroyed in the ion flow direction. The horizontal interaction involves only Debye–Hückel potential.

Collisional effects on interaction potential in complex plasma in presence of magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bezbaruah, Pratikshya, E-mail: pratphd@tezu.ernet.in; Das, Nilakshi [Department of Physics, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam 784028 (India)

2016-04-15

Interaction potential in complex plasma with streaming ions is derived analytically in presence of ion-neutral collision and magnetic field. The linear dielectric response function obtained describes the behavior of charged micron sized dust particles in strong collisional limit. A new type of repulsive potential is found to be operative among the dust grains apart from the normal Debye–Hückel potential. The amplitude and shielding length involved in the potential are substantially affected by the parameters describing ion cyclotron frequency, collision frequency among ions and neutrals, and ion streaming. It is also observed that the usual mechanism of ion focusing surrounding the grain is inhibited due to collision. As a result, the attractive wake potential structure is destroyed in the ion flow direction. The horizontal interaction involves only Debye–Hückel potential.

Association of COMT and COMT-DRD2 interaction with creative potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shun eZhang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Several lines of evidence suggest that genes involved in dopamine (DA transmission may contribute to creativity. Among these genes, the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT and the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2 are the most promising candidates. Our previous study has revealed evidence for the involvement of DRD2 in creative potential. The present study extended our previous study by systematically exploring the association of COMT with creative potential as well as the interaction between COMT and DRD2. Twelve single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs covering COMT were genotyped in 543 healthy Chinese college students whose creative potentials were assessed by divergent thinking tests. Single SNP analysis showed that rs174697 was nominally associated with verbal originality, two SNPs (rs737865 and rs5993883 were nominally associated with figural fluency, and two SNPs (rs737865 and rs4680 were nominally associated with figural originality. Haplotype analysis showed that, the TCT and CCT haplotype (rs737865-rs174675-rs5993882 were nominally associated with figural originality, and the TATGCAG and CGCGGGA haplotype (rs4646312-rs6269-rs4633-rs6267-rs4818-rs4680-rs769224 were nominally associated with figural originality and verbal flexibility, respectively. However, none of these nominal findings survived correction for multiple testing. Gene-gene interaction analysis identified one significant four-way interaction of rs174675 (COMT, rs174697 (COMT, rs1076560 (DRD2 and rs4436578 (DRD2 on verbal fluency, one significant four-way interaction of rs174675 (COMT, rs4818 (COMT, rs1076560 (DRD2 and rs4648317 (DRD2 on verbal flexibility, and one significant three-way interaction of rs5993883 (COMT, rs4648319 (DRD2 and rs4648317 (DRD2 on figural flexibility. In conclusion, the present study provides nominal evidence for the involvement of COMT in creative potential and suggests that DA related genes may act in coordination to contribute to creativity.

Interactive, open source, travel time scenario modelling: tools to facilitate participation in health service access analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Rohan; Lassa, Jonatan

2017-04-18

Modelling travel time to services has become a common public health tool for planning service provision but the usefulness of these analyses is constrained by the availability of accurate input data and limitations inherent in the assumptions and parameterisation. This is particularly an issue in the developing world where access to basic data is limited and travel is often complex and multi-modal. Improving the accuracy and relevance in this context requires greater accessibility to, and flexibility in, travel time modelling tools to facilitate the incorporation of local knowledge and the rapid exploration of multiple travel scenarios. The aim of this work was to develop simple open source, adaptable, interactive travel time modelling tools to allow greater access to and participation in service access analysis. Described are three interconnected applications designed to reduce some of the barriers to the more wide-spread use of GIS analysis of service access and allow for complex spatial and temporal variations in service availability. These applications are an open source GIS tool-kit and two geo-simulation models. The development of these tools was guided by health service issues from a developing world context but they present a general approach to enabling greater access to and flexibility in health access modelling. The tools demonstrate a method that substantially simplifies the process for conducting travel time assessments and demonstrate a dynamic, interactive approach in an open source GIS format. In addition this paper provides examples from empirical experience where these tools have informed better policy and planning. Travel and health service access is complex and cannot be reduced to a few static modeled outputs. The approaches described in this paper use a unique set of tools to explore this complexity, promote discussion and build understanding with the goal of producing better planning outcomes. The accessible, flexible, interactive and

Reducing health care costs - potential and limitations of local ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Reducing health care costs - potential and limitations of local authority health services. ... both the quality and the cost-effectiveness of health care would be improved. ... LAs offer an appropriate structure for effective community control over the ...

Nucleon-nucleon interaction with quark exchange and prediction of the color van der Waals potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osman, A.

1988-01-01

The nucleon-nucleon interaction is considered by including the color nucleon clusters. The nucleon-nucleon system is treated as a six-quark system. The obtained local potentials reduce the short-range repulsion. The resulting nucleon-nucleon potential, using a quark-quark potential, agress well with the central-force potentials. The phase shifts calculated by using these local potentials are in good agreement with those obtained from other methods. Introducing the quark-quark potential in the nucleon-nucleon interaction leads to a color van der Waals potential much stronger than that implied by experiments

Nuclear interaction potential in a folded-Yukawa model with diffuse densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Randrup, J.

1975-09-01

The folded-Yukawa model for the nuclear interaction potential is generalized to diffuse density distributions which are generated by folding a Yukawa function into sharp generating distributions. The effect of a finite density diffuseness or of a finite interaction range is studied. The Proximity Formula corresponding to the generalized model is derived and numerical comparison is made with the exact results. (8 figures)

Health and identity-related interactions between lesbian, bisexual, queer and pansexual women and their healthcare providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Aleta; Dodge, Brian; Schick, Vanessa; Herbenick, Debra; Sanders, Stephanie A; Dhoot, Roshni; Fortenberry, J Dennis

2017-11-01

Disclosure of sexual identity among sexual minority women is related to better outcomes and improved quality of care. The existing literature on sexual minority women's experiences of identity disclosure and related interactions with healthcare providers draws little distinction between different groups of sexual minority women, despite the different barriers, stigma and health outcomes that exist between them. This paper presents factors influencing identity disclosure and describes the characteristics of interactions that sexual minority women have with their healthcare providers around sexual identity and health. Using a mixed-methods approach, both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered using an online survey. The sample included lesbian, bisexual, queer and pansexual women from across the USA. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed concurrently, and qualitative themes were quantified and integrated into quantitative analyses. Identity disclosure, reasons for disclosing identity and characteristics of interactions with providers varied by identity, but often overlapped. Bisexual and pansexual participants were significantly less likely to disclose identity than lesbian participants. There were no significant differences related to age or ethnicity. Findings from this study have the potential to inform ethical medical practices and improve healthcare quality among sexual minority women.

The potential of educational comics as a health information medium.

Science.gov (United States)

McNicol, Sarah

2017-03-01

To investigate ways in which educational comics might provide support in dealing with feelings and attitudes towards health conditions, as well as improving understanding of factual information and to identify potential weakness of comics as a medium for health information. Semi-structured interviewees with eleven university students who either had a mental or physical health condition themselves or had a family member with a health condition. The result highlighted the potential value of comics as a format for health information. In addition to conveying factual information, comics offer opportunities for self-awareness, reassurance, empathy, companionship and a means to explore the impact of illness on family relationships. However, there are notable barriers to the greater use of comics to provide health information, namely, a lack of awareness of, and easy access to, educational comics, along with the perception that comics are exclusively light-hearted and for children. Currently, the full potential of comics in health settings is not being realised. Health information professionals may be in a position to address this issue through identifying, cataloguing, indexing and promoting comics as a legitimate format for health information. © 2016 The Author. Health Information and Libraries Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Health Libraries Group.

Prevalence of Potential and Clinically Relevant Statin-Drug Interactions in Frail and Robust Older Inpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Thai, Michele; Hilmer, Sarah; Pearson, Sallie-Anne; Reeve, Emily; Gnjidic, Danijela

2015-10-01

A significant proportion of older people are prescribed statins and are also exposed to polypharmacy, placing them at increased risk of statin-drug interactions. To describe the prevalence rates of potential and clinically relevant statin-drug interactions in older inpatients according to frailty status. A cross-sectional study of patients aged ≥65 years who were prescribed a statin and were admitted to a teaching hospital between 30 July and 10 October 2014 in Sydney, Australia, was conducted. Data on socio-demographics, comorbidities and medications were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Potential statin-drug interactions were defined if listed in the Australian Medicines Handbook and three international drug information sources: the British National Formulary, Drug Interaction Facts and Drug-Reax(®). Clinically relevant statin-drug interactions were defined as interactions with the highest severity rating in at least two of the three international drug information sources. Frailty was assessed using the Reported Edmonton Frail Scale. A total of 180 participants were recruited (median age 78 years, interquartile range 14), 35.0% frail and 65.0% robust. Potential statin-drug interactions were identified in 10% of participants, 12.7% of frail participants and 8.5% of robust participants. Clinically relevant statin-drug interactions were identified in 7.8% of participants, 9.5% of frail participants and 6.8% of robust participants. Depending on the drug information source used, the prevalence rates of potential and clinically relevant statin-drug interactions ranged between 14.4 and 35.6% and between 14.4 and 20.6%, respectively. In our study of frail and robust older inpatients taking statins, the overall prevalence of potential statin-drug interactions was low and varied significantly according to the drug information source used.

Potential intravenous drug interactions in intensive care.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Maiara Benevides; Mesquita, Maria Gefé da Rosa; Stipp, Marluci Andrade Conceição; Paes, Graciele Oroski

2017-07-20

To analyze potential intravenous drug interactions, and their level of severity associated with the administration of these drugs based on the prescriptions of an intensive care unit. Quantitative study, with aretrospective exploratory design, and descriptive statistical analysis of the ICU prescriptions of a teaching hospital from March to June 2014. The sample consisted of 319 prescriptions and subsamples of 50 prescriptions. The mean number of drugs per patient was 9.3 records, and a higher probability of drug interaction inherent to polypharmacy was evidenced. The study identified severe drug interactions, such as concomitant administration of Tramadol with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drugs (e.g., Metoclopramide and Fluconazole), increasing the risk of seizures due to their epileptogenic actions, as well as the simultaneous use of Ranitidine-Fentanyl®, which can lead to respiratory depression. A previous mapping of prescriptions enables the characterization of the drug therapy, contributing to prevent potential drug interactions and their clinical consequences. Analisar as potenciais interações medicamentosas intravenosas e seu grau de severidade associadas à administração desses medicamentos a partir das prescrições do Centro de Terapia Intensiva. Estudo quantitativo, tipologia retrospectiva exploratória, com análise estatística descritiva das prescrições medicamentosas do Centro de Terapia Intensiva de um Hospital Universitário, no período de março-junho/2014. A amostra foi composta de 319 prescrições e subamostras de 50 prescrições. Constatou-se que a média de medicamentos por paciente foi de 9,3 registros, e evidenciou-se maior probabilidade para ocorrência de interação medicamentosa inerente à polifarmácia. O estudo identificou interações medicamentosas graves, como a administração concomitante de Tramadol com medicamentos inibidores seletivos da recaptação da serotonina, (exemplo: Metoclopramida e Fluconazol

Use of interactive teaching techniques to introduce mental health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: Teaching techniques included didactic lectures, case based discussion ... Conclusion: Interactive teaching provided a learning experience for both ... Keywords: Mental Health; Teaching; Resource-poor; Pilot; Innovative; Somaliland ...

A general transformation to canonical form for potentials in pairwise interatomic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, Jay R; Rivera-Rivera, Luis A; Lucchese, Robert R; Bevan, John W

2015-06-14

A generalized formulation of explicit force-based transformations is introduced to investigate the concept of a canonical potential in both fundamental chemical and intermolecular bonding. Different classes of representative ground electronic state pairwise interatomic interactions are referenced to a chosen canonical potential illustrating application of such transformations. Specifically, accurately determined potentials of the diatomic molecules H2, H2(+), HF, LiH, argon dimer, and one-dimensional dissociative coordinates in Ar-HBr, OC-HF, and OC-Cl2 are investigated throughout their bound potentials. Advantages of the current formulation for accurately evaluating equilibrium dissociation energies and a fundamentally different unified perspective on nature of intermolecular interactions will be emphasized. In particular, this canonical approach has significance to previous assertions that there is no very fundamental distinction between van der Waals bonding and covalent bonding or for that matter hydrogen and halogen bonds.

A systematic review of digital interactive television systems and their applications in the health and social care fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackburn, Steven; Brownsell, Simon; Hawley, Mark S

2011-01-01

We conducted a systematic review of the applications and technical features of digital interactive television (DITV) in the health and social care fields. The Web of Knowledge and IEEE Xplore databases were searched for articles published between January 2000 and March 2010 which related to DITV systems facilitating the communication of information to/from an individual's home with either a health or social care application. Out of 1679 articles retrieved, 42 met the inclusion criteria and were selected for review. An additional 20 articles were obtained from online grey literature sources. Twenty-five DITV systems operating in health and social care were identified, including seven commercial systems. The most common applications were related to health care, such as vital signs monitoring (68% of systems) and health information or advice (56% of systems). The most common technical features of DITV systems were two-way communication (88%), medical peripherals (68%), on-screen messaging (48%) and video communication (36%). Digital interactive television has the potential to deliver health and social care to people in their own homes. However, the requirement for a high-bandwidth communications infrastructure, the usability of the systems, their level of personalisation and the lack of evidence regarding clinical and cost-effectiveness will all need to be addressed if this approach is to flourish.

Interactive telemedicine solution based on a secure mHealth application.

Science.gov (United States)

Eldeib, Ayman M

2014-01-01

In dynamic healthcare environments, caregivers and patients are constantly moving. To increase the healthcare quality when it is necessary, caregivers need the ability to reach each other and securely access medical information and services from wherever they happened to be. This paper presents an Interactive Telemedicine Solution (ITS) to facilitate and automate the communication within a healthcare facility via Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), regular mobile phones, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Our system has the capability to exchange/provide securely healthcare information/services across geographic barriers through 3G/4G wireless communication network. Our system assumes the availability of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system locally in the healthcare organization and/or on the cloud network such as a nation-wide EHR system. This paper demonstrate the potential of our system to provide effectively and securely remote healthcare solution.

The Effect of Doctor-Consumer Interaction on Social Media on Consumers' Health Behaviors: Cross-Sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Feng, Zhanchun; Gaskin, Darrell J; Zhang, Donglan; Wang, Ruoxi

2018-02-28

Both doctors and consumers have engaged in using social media for health purposes. Social media has changed traditional one-to-one communication between doctors and patients to many-to-many communication between doctors and consumers. However, little is known about the effect of doctor-consumer interaction on consumers' health behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers' health behaviors. On the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interactions influence consumers' health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method and developed corresponding measurement instruments for constructs in our research model. A total of 352 valid answers were collected, and partial least square was performed to analyze the data. Instrumental doctor-consumer interaction was found to influence consumers' DK (t 294 =5.763, Pinteraction also impacted consumers' DK (t 294 =4.025, Pinteraction on health behaviors, whereas the three mediators fully mediated the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors. Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers' health behaviors. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction. ©Tailai Wu, Zhaohua Deng, Zhanchun Feng, Darrell J Gaskin, Donglan Zhang, Ruoxi Wang. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 28.02.2018.

Influence of Pauli principle and polarization on 16O + 16O interaction potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nesterov, V.A.

2012-01-01

In the work have studied the dependence of the interaction potential on taking into account the Pauli principle as well as monopole and quadrupole polarization within approaches based on the energy-density formalism and two-center shell model wave functions for 16 O + 16 O system. In the adiabatic approximation it is shown that the contribution of the Pauli principle and polarization in colliding nuclei radically changes the behavior of interaction potential

Interactions between masculinity--femininity and apparent health in face preferences

OpenAIRE

Finlay G. Smith; Benedict C. Jones; Lisa M. DeBruine; Anthony C. Little

2009-01-01

Consistent with Getty's (2002. Signaling health versus parasites. Am Nat. 159:363--371.) proposal that cues to long-term health and cues to current condition are at least partly independent, recent research on human face preferences has found divergent effects of masculinity--femininity, a cue to long-term health, and apparent health, a cue to current condition. In light of this, we tested for interactions between these 2 cues. Participants viewed composite images of opposite-sex faces that h...

Effective interactions for valence-hole nuclei with modern meson-exchange potential models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hjort-Jensen, M.; Osnes, E.; Kuo, E.

1991-10-01

Within the framework of the folded-diagram theory, the authors have studied the effective interaction appropriate for hole-hole nuclei in the mass regions of 16 O and 40 Ca, using the Bonn and Paris potential models. To sum up the folded diagrams the renormalization procedure of Lee and Suzuki has been employed, using a so-called Q-box in which were included all one-body and two-body irreducible valence-linked diagrams through third order in perturbation theory. Discrepancies for the mass dependence of the effective interaction for several JT configurations with respect to empirically deduced mass dependencies is reported. The role of core polarization processes through third order were found to be one of the mechanisms behind these discrepancies. Compared to the results obtained with the Paris potential, more attraction is introduced by the Bonn potential for all matrix elements of concerns, a result which agrees well with previous findings for the particle-particle interaction in the same mass regions. A qualitative agreements with experimental data is obtained. 31 refs., 6 figs., 8 tabs

Oral health technicians in Brazilian primary health care: potentials and constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguiar, Dulce Maria Lucena de; Tomita, Nilce Emy; Machado, Maria de Fátima Antero Sousa; Martins, Cleide Lavieri; Frazão, Paulo

2014-07-01

Different perspectives on the role of mid-level workers in health care might represent a constraint to health policies. This study aimed to investigate how different agents view the participation of oral health technicians in direct activities of oral healthcare with the goal of understanding the related symbolic dispositions. Theoretical assumptions related to inter-professional collaboration and conflicts in the field of healthcare were used for this analysis. A researcher conducted 24 in-depth interviews with general dental practitioners, oral health technicians and local managers. The concepts of Pierre Bourdieu supported the data interpretation. The results indicated inter-professional relations marked by collaboration and conflict that reflect an action space related to different perspectives of primary care delivery. They also unveiled the symbolic devices related to the participation of oral health technicians that represent a constraint to the implementation of oral health policy, thus reducing the potential of primary health care in Brazil.

MATERNAL MENTAL HEALTH MODERATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OXYTOCIN AND INTERACTIVE BEHAVIOR.

Science.gov (United States)

Samuel, Simcha; Hayton, Barbara; Gold, Ian; Feeley, Nancy; Carter, C Sue; Zelkowitz, Phyllis

2015-01-01

Mothers with mood or anxiety disorders exhibit less optimal interactive behavior. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) has been linked to more optimal interactive behaviors in mothers without mental illness, and it may play a particularly beneficial role in mothers with mood or anxiety disorders given its antidepressant and anxiolytic functions. We compared the relationship between OT and interactive behavior in mothers with and without mental health problems. Participants included 20 women diagnosed with postpartum mood or anxiety disorders (clinical sample) and 90 women with low levels of depression and anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum (community sample). At 2 months' postpartum, blood was drawn to assess maternal OT levels, and mother-infant interaction was coded for maternal sensitivity, intrusiveness, remoteness, and depressiveness. Clinical mothers exhibited less sensitive, more intrusive, and more depressive interactive behaviors than did community mothers. The groups did not differ in OT levels. Mothers with higher OT levels were less intrusive with their infants. Higher OT levels were associated with less depressive interactive behavior only in clinical mothers. OT was associated with positive interactive behaviors in both groups. In clinical mothers, the calming and soothing effects of OT may promote more relaxed, energetic, and infant-focused interactive behaviors. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

MONITORING POTENTIAL DRUG INTERACTIONS AND REACTIONS VIA NETWORK ANALYSIS OF INSTAGRAM USER TIMELINES

Science.gov (United States)

CORREIA, RION BRATTIG; LI, LANG; ROCHA, LUIS M.

2015-01-01

Much recent research aims to identify evidence for Drug-Drug Interactions (DDI) and Adverse Drug reactions (ADR) from the biomedical scientific literature. In addition to this “Bibliome”, the universe of social media provides a very promising source of large-scale data that can help identify DDI and ADR in ways that have not been hitherto possible. Given the large number of users, analysis of social media data may be useful to identify under-reported, population-level pathology associated with DDI, thus further contributing to improvements in population health. Moreover, tapping into this data allows us to infer drug interactions with natural products—including cannabis—which constitute an array of DDI very poorly explored by biomedical research thus far. Our goal is to determine the potential of Instagram for public health monitoring and surveillance for DDI, ADR, and behavioral pathology at large. Most social media analysis focuses on Twitter and Facebook, but Instagram is an increasingly important platform, especially among teens, with unrestricted access of public posts, high availability of posts with geolocation coordinates, and images to supplement textual analysis. Using drug, symptom, and natural product dictionaries for identification of the various types of DDI and ADR evidence, we have collected close to 7000 user timelines spanning from October 2010 to June 2015. We report on 1) the development of a monitoring tool to easily observe user-level timelines associated with drug and symptom terms of interest, and 2) population-level behavior via the analysis of co-occurrence networks computed from user timelines at three different scales: monthly, weekly, and daily occurrences. Analysis of these networks further reveals 3) drug and symptom direct and indirect associations with greater support in user timelines, as well as 4) clusters of symptoms and drugs revealed by the collective behavior of the observed population. This demonstrates that

White adipose tissue reference network: a knowledge resource for exploring potential health-relevant relations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kelder, T.; Summer, G.; Caspers, M.; Schothorst, van E.M.; Keijer, J.; Duivenvoorde, Loes; Klaus, S.; Volgt, A.; Bohnert, L.; Pico, C.; Palou, A.; Bonet, M.L.; Dembinska-Kiec, A.; Malczewska-Malec, M.; Kieć-Wilk, Beata; Bas, del J.M.; Caimari, A.; Arola, L.; Erk, van M.; Ommen, van Ben; Radonjic, M.

2015-01-01

Optimal health is maintained by interaction of multiple intrinsic and environmental factors at different levels of complexity-from molecular, to physiological, to social. Understanding and quantification of these interactions will aid design of successful health interventions. We introduce the

The Impact of an eHealth Portal on Health Care Professionals' Interaction with Patients: Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Anita; Faxvaag, Arild; Svanæs, Dag

2015-11-24

People who undergo weight loss surgery require a comprehensive treatment program to achieve successful outcomes. eHealth solutions, such as secure online portals, create new opportunities for improved health care delivery and care, but depend on the organizational delivery systems and on the health care professionals providing it. So far, these have received limited attention and the overall adoption of eHealth solutions remains low. In this study, a secure eHealth portal was implemented in a bariatric surgery clinic and offered to their patients. During the study period of 6 months, 60 patients and 5 health care professionals had access. The portal included patient information, self-management tools, and communication features for online dialog with peers and health care providers at the bariatric surgery clinic. The aim of this study was to characterize and assess the impact of an eHealth portal on health care professionals' interaction with patients in bariatric surgery. This qualitative case study involved a field study consisting of contextual interviews at the clinic involving observing and speaking with personnel in their actual work environment. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with health care professionals who interacted with patients through the portal. Analysis of the collected material was done inductively using thematic analysis. The analysis revealed two main dimensions of using an eHealth portal in bariatric surgery: the transparency it represents and the responsibility that follows by providing it. The professionals reported the eHealth portal as (1) a source of information, (2) a gateway to approach and facilitate the patients, (3) a medium for irrevocable postings, (4) a channel that exposes responsibility and competence, and (5) a tool in the clinic. By providing an eHealth portal to patients in a bariatric surgery program, health care professionals can observe patients' writings and revelations thereby capturing patient

Temperature-dependent optical potential and mean free path based on Skyrme interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Lingxiao; Zhuo Yizhong; Noerenberg, W.; Technische Hochschule Darmstadt

1986-03-01

Optical potentials and mean free paths of nucleons at finite temperatures are studied by utilizing effective Skyrme interactions which yield 'good' optical potentials at zero temperature. The results for nuclear matter (symmetric and asymmetric) are applied within the local density approximation of finite nuclei at various temperatures. Because of the limitation due to zero-range forces used and the assumptions of temperature independent nuclear densities and effective Skyrme interactions made, the calculations are expected to be limited to nucleon energies between 10 and 50 MeV above the Fermi energy and to nuclear temperatures of less than 8 MeV. (orig.)

The influence of regulatory fit and interactivity on brand satisfaction and trust in E-health marketing inside 3D virtual worlds (Second Life).

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Seung-A Annie; Lee, Kwan Min

2010-12-01

Interactive three-dimensional (3D) virtual environments like Second Life have great potential as venues for effective e-health marketing and e-brand management. Drawing from regulatory focus and interactivity literatures, this study examined the effects of the regulatory fit that consumers experience in interactive e-health marketing on their brand satisfaction and brand trust. The results of a two-group comparison experiment conducted within Second Life revealed that consumers in the regulatory fit condition show greater brand satisfaction and brand trust than those in the regulatory misfit condition, thus confirming the persuasive influence of regulatory fit in e-brand management inside 3D virtual worlds. In addition, a structural equation modeling analysis demonstrated the mediating role of consumers' perceived interactivity in explaining the processional link between regulatory fit and brand evaluation. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Potential of the neutron lloyd's mirror interferometer for the search for new interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pokotilovski, Yu. N., E-mail: pokot@nf.jinr.ru [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (Russian Federation)

2013-04-15

We discuss the potential of the neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer in a search for new interactions at small scales. We consider three hypothetical interactions that may be tested using the interferometer. The chameleon scalar field proposed to solve the enigma of accelerating expansion of the Universe produces interaction between particles and matter. The axion-like spin-dependent coupling between a neutron and nuclei or/and electrons may result in a P- and T-noninvariant interaction with matter. Hypothetical non-Newtonian gravitational interactions mediates an additional short-range potential between neutrons and bulk matter. These interactions between the neutron and the mirror of a Lloyd-type neutron interferometer cause a phase shift of neutron waves. We estimate the sensitivity and systematic effects of possible experiments.

Potentially traumatic events and mental health problems among children of Iraqi refugees: The roles of relationships with parents and feelings about school.

Science.gov (United States)

Trentacosta, Christopher J; McLear, Caitlin M; Ziadni, Maisa S; Lumley, Mark A; Arfken, Cynthia L

2016-01-01

This study examined mental health problems among children of Iraqi refugees, most of whom were Christian. Exposure to potentially traumatic events was hypothesized to predict more symptoms of depression and traumatic stress. Moreover, youth reports of supportive relationships with parents and positive feelings about school were examined in relation to mental health problems. These promotive factors were expected to mitigate the hypothesized association between traumatic event exposure and mental health problems. Participants were 211 youth recruited from agencies and programs serving Iraqi refugees in a large metropolitan area in the United States. The hypotheses were partially supported. Youth who reported experiencing more potentially traumatic events endorsed more traumatic stress and depression symptoms. After accounting for exposure to potentially traumatic events and other covariates, youth who reported more positive feelings about school endorsed fewer symptoms of traumatic stress, and youth who reported more supportive relationships with parents endorsed fewer symptoms of depression. In addition, there was an interaction between potentially traumatic events and relationships with parents when predicting depression symptoms. Youth endorsed higher levels of depression symptoms when they reported less supportive relationships, regardless of the amount of traumatic event exposure, whereas youth endorsed lower levels of depression symptoms when they reported more supportive relationships with parents, but only at low levels of traumatic event exposure. Otherwise, the main effects were not qualified by interactions between potentially traumatic event exposure and the promotive factors. The findings from this study have implications for future research, policy, and practice with children of refugees. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

PRESENTATION POTENTIAL USING IN PEDAGOGICAL INTERACTION PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga V. Ershova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The given article is aimed at considering multimedia presentation potential and its influence on strengthening classroom teacher-student interaction. In the article the importance of using this kind of activity in the study process is pointed in connection with educational state policy on the one hand. On the other hand, gained students’ skills as a final result of work with presentations met employers’ demand for both parent and world labour-markets and bring competitive benefit to the candidates. Scientific novelty and results. Multimedia presentation is considered as a specific complex of classroom activities. The students are oriented on the self analysis and presentation assessment. It is shown that well-organized process of peer students’ assessment allows to simultaneously helping in solving the didactic and methodical problems. To this purpose the system of assessment criteria should be developed. It has to be clear for students for making assessment feasible and time-saving. The example of a possible variant of criteria system is described; quality of the presentations prepared by students can be defined based on such system criteria. The author also analyzed software products of the three main platforms (Windows, Linux, MacOs which have different tools and allow to follow users’ needs for creating presentations. In the article there is a comparative table of the two most popular software development: the program Microsoft PowerPoint and the web-service Prezi for realizing the relevance of their use in the study process. Practical significance of the present article concludes in author’s suggestions of some recommendations for presentation potential use as a tool of improving pedagogical interaction process with contemporary students. 

[Dynamics and interactions between the university community and public health 2.0].

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Gómez, Rodolfo

2016-01-01

To explore the experiences of a group of participants in a university community with the web in general and with digital contents on public health, to describe their motivations and to understand how social networks influence their interaction with content on public health. Qualitative research. Deep semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the phenomenon. Five categories emerged after the study: socialization and internalization of the cyberculture, social marketing linked to the web and public health, culture of fear and distrust, the concept of health, and the health system and public health. Participants have internalized the web and have given it a strong symbolic capital. The challenges of public health 2.0 are not only to achieve interaction with users and to get a place in cyberspace, but also to fight against the stigma of the "public" and to take advantage of the influence of the web on small-world networks to communicate.

Interaction potential and repulsive force between atoms whose internuclear separations are small

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbaro, Jacques

1971-01-01

The Thomas-Fermi equation is solved for the homonuclear diatomic molecule. The electronic density and electrostatic potential at each point are used to calculate energies and interaction potentials for very small internuclear separation distances. The repulsive force between atoms is derived by means of the virial theorem. (author) [fr

Neuron-microglia interactions in mental health disorders: 'For better, and for worse'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric S Wohleb

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Persistent cognitive and behavioral symptoms that characterize many mental health disorders arise from impaired neuroplasticity in several key corticolimbic brain regions. Recent evidence suggest that reciprocal neuron-microglia interactions shape neuroplasticity during physiological conditions, implicating microglia in the neurobiology of mental health disorders. Neuron-microglia interactions are modulated by several molecular and cellular pathways and dysregulation of these pathways often have neurobiological consequences, including aberrant neuronal responses and microglia activation. The interactions between neurons and microglia have implications for mental health disorders as rodent stress models cause concomitant neuronal dystrophy and alterations in microglia morphology and function. In this context, functional changes in microglia may be indicative of an immune state termed parainflammation in which tissue-resident macrophages (i.e., microglia respond to malfunctioning cells by initiating modest inflammation in an attempt to restore homeostasis. Thus, aberrant neuronal activity and release of damage-associated signals during repeated stress exposure may contribute to functional changes in microglia and resultant parainflammation. Furthermore, accumulating evidence shows that uncoupling neuron-microglia interactions may contribute to altered neuroplasticity and associated anxiety- or depressive-like behaviors. Additional work shows that microglia have varied phenotypes in specific brain regions, which may underlie divergent neuroplasticity observed in corticolimbic structures following stress exposure. These findings indicate that neuron-microglia interactions are critical mediators of the interface between adaptive, homeostatic neuronal function and the neurobiology of mental health disorders.

TargetNet: a web service for predicting potential drug-target interaction profiling via multi-target SAR models

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Zhi-Jiang; Dong, Jie; Che, Yu-Jing; Zhu, Min-Feng; Wen, Ming; Wang, Ning-Ning; Wang, Shan; Lu, Ai-Ping; Cao, Dong-Sheng

2016-05-01

Drug-target interactions (DTIs) are central to current drug discovery processes and public health fields. Analyzing the DTI profiling of the drugs helps to infer drug indications, adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, and drug mode of actions. Therefore, it is of high importance to reliably and fast predict DTI profiling of the drugs on a genome-scale level. Here, we develop the TargetNet server, which can make real-time DTI predictions based only on molecular structures, following the spirit of multi-target SAR methodology. Naïve Bayes models together with various molecular fingerprints were employed to construct prediction models. Ensemble learning from these fingerprints was also provided to improve the prediction ability. When the user submits a molecule, the server will predict the activity of the user's molecule across 623 human proteins by the established high quality SAR model, thus generating a DTI profiling that can be used as a feature vector of chemicals for wide applications. The 623 SAR models related to 623 human proteins were strictly evaluated and validated by several model validation strategies, resulting in the AUC scores of 75-100 %. We applied the generated DTI profiling to successfully predict potential targets, toxicity classification, drug-drug interactions, and drug mode of action, which sufficiently demonstrated the wide application value of the potential DTI profiling. The TargetNet webserver is designed based on the Django framework in Python, and is freely accessible at http://targetnet.scbdd.com.

TargetNet: a web service for predicting potential drug-target interaction profiling via multi-target SAR models.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Zhi-Jiang; Dong, Jie; Che, Yu-Jing; Zhu, Min-Feng; Wen, Ming; Wang, Ning-Ning; Wang, Shan; Lu, Ai-Ping; Cao, Dong-Sheng

2016-05-01

Drug-target interactions (DTIs) are central to current drug discovery processes and public health fields. Analyzing the DTI profiling of the drugs helps to infer drug indications, adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, and drug mode of actions. Therefore, it is of high importance to reliably and fast predict DTI profiling of the drugs on a genome-scale level. Here, we develop the TargetNet server, which can make real-time DTI predictions based only on molecular structures, following the spirit of multi-target SAR methodology. Naïve Bayes models together with various molecular fingerprints were employed to construct prediction models. Ensemble learning from these fingerprints was also provided to improve the prediction ability. When the user submits a molecule, the server will predict the activity of the user's molecule across 623 human proteins by the established high quality SAR model, thus generating a DTI profiling that can be used as a feature vector of chemicals for wide applications. The 623 SAR models related to 623 human proteins were strictly evaluated and validated by several model validation strategies, resulting in the AUC scores of 75-100 %. We applied the generated DTI profiling to successfully predict potential targets, toxicity classification, drug-drug interactions, and drug mode of action, which sufficiently demonstrated the wide application value of the potential DTI profiling. The TargetNet webserver is designed based on the Django framework in Python, and is freely accessible at http://targetnet.scbdd.com .

Non-potential interactions and the origin of masses of elementary particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, J.

1982-01-01

We propose a fundamental assumption on internal states of particles. It follows from the fundamental assumption that: (1) the constituents of particles become non-particle objects; and (2) there appear naturally non-potential interactions. This non-potential interaction leads to a series of interesting results, one of which is that it yields the origin of masses of elementary particles. All mass values are given by the theory without pre-assumed mass values of the constituents (except the rest mass of the electron; mass is a physical quantity which appears only in particles but not in their constituents). The theoretically calculated mass values are in excellent agreement with the experimental values. In all calculations, only one constant b = 0.99935867 is introduced (bc being the speed of internal motion)

Child Obesity and Mental Health: A Complex Interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Small, Leigh; Aplasca, Alexis

2016-04-01

Prevalence rates of childhood obesity have risen steeply over the last 3 decades. Given the increased national focus, the frequency of this clinical problem, and the multiple mental health factors that coexist with it, make obesity a public health concern. The complex relationships between mental health and obesity serve to potentiate the severity and interdependency of each. The purpose of this review is to create a contextual connection for the 2 conditions as outlined by the research literature and consider treatment options that affect both health problems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Functional, interactive and critical health literacy: Varying relationships with control over care and number of GP visits.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Heide, Iris; Heijmans, Monique; Schuit, A Jantine; Uiters, Ellen; Rademakers, Jany

2015-08-01

The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which functional, interactive and critical health literacy are associated with patients' perceived control over care and frequency of GP visits. Data from the Dutch 'National Panel of People with Chronic Illness or Disability' was used (N=2508). Health literacy was assessed by the Functional, Communicative and Critical Health Literacy measure. Perceived control over care was indicated by perceived ability to organize care, interact with providers and to perform self-care. By multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses, associations between health literacy and perceived control over care and subsequently frequency of GP visits were studied. Mainly interactive health literacy was associated with patients' perceived ability to organize care, interact with healthcare providers and perform self-care, whereas only functional health literacy was associated with number of GP visits. The results imply that some patients' may be less able to exert control over their care because of lower health literacy. Functional, interactive and critical health literacy vary in their relevance for patients' ability to exert control. Initiatives for strengthening patients' role in healthcare may be improved by paying attention to patients' health literacy, specifically functional and interactive health literacy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bioaerosols in the Earth system: Climate, health, and ecosystem interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fröhlich-Nowoisky, Janine; Kampf, Christopher J.; Weber, Bettina; Huffman, J. Alex; Pöhlker, Christopher; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Lang-Yona, Naama; Burrows, Susannah M.; Gunthe, Sachin S.; Elbert, Wolfgang; Su, Hang; Hoor, Peter; Thines, Eckhard; Hoffmann, Thorsten; Després, Viviane R.; Pöschl, Ulrich

2016-12-01

Aerosols of biological origin play a vital role in the Earth system, particularly in the in-teractions between atmosphere, biosphere, climate, and public health. Airborne bacteria, fungal spores, pollen, and other bioparticles are essential for the reproduction and spread of organisms across various ecosystems, and they can cause or enhance human, animal, and plant diseases. Moreover, they can serve as nuclei for cloud droplets, ice crystals, and precipitation, thus influencing the hydrological cycle and climate. The actual formation, abundance, composition, and effects of biological aerosols and the atmospheric microbi-ome are, however, not yet well characterized and constitute a large gap in the scientific understanding of the interaction and co-evolution of life and climate in the Earth system. This review presents an overview of the state of bioaerosol research and highlights recent advances in terms of bioaerosol identification, characterization, transport, and transfor-mation processes, as well as their interactions with climate, health, and ecosystems, focus-ing on the role bioaerosols play in the Earth system.

Study of various models of nuclear interaction potentials: nucleon-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo, H.

1984-01-01

Several models, performed within a mean field theory, are developed for the calculation of nucleon-nucleus interaction potentials. The first part of the thesis deals with the nucleon-nucleus average interaction. It is mainly devoted to the calculation of dynamical corrections to the Hartree-Fock approximation. Two approaches are used: a microscopic model performed in the framework of the nuclear structure approach and a semi-phenomenological one, based on the application of the dispersion relations to the empirical imaginary potential. Both models take into account finite size effects like collectivity or threshold effects which are important at low energy. The Green's function properties are used for both models. The second part of this work is devoted to the interaction potential between two heavy ions. This calculation, which is performed in the framework of the sudden approximation, uses the energy density formalism (Thomas-Fermi approximation). It has been extended to finite temperature. At T=0 the experimental fusion barriers of heavy systems are reproduced within 4%. Their temperature dependence is studied. The proximity scaling is checked and a universal function is obtained at T=0 and at finite temperature. It is found that the proximity theorem is well satisfied on the average. The dispersion around the mean behaviour increases with increasing temperature. At last, P+A* and α+A* interaction potentials are calculated within a double folding model using a schematic effective interaction [fr

Interactions of Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Human Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinney, Patrick L

2018-03-01

I review literature on the impacts of climate change on air quality and human health, with a focus on articles published from 2013 on ozone and airborne particles. Selected previous literature is discussed where relevant in tracing the origins of our current knowledge. Climate and weather have strong influences on the spatial and temporal distribution of air pollution concentrations. Emissions of ozone and PM 2.5 precursors increase at higher ambient temperatures. The reactions that form ozone occur faster with greater sunlight and higher temperatures. Weather systems influence the movement and dispersion of air pollutants in the atmosphere through the action of winds, vertical mixing, and precipitation, all of which are likely to alter in a changing climate. Recent studies indicate that, holding anthropogenic air pollution emissions constant, ozone concentrations in populated regions will tend to increase in future climate scenarios. For the USA, the climate impact on ozone is most consistently seen in north-central and north-eastern states, with the potential for many thousands of additional ozone-related deaths. The sensitivity of anthropogenic PM 2.5 to climate is more variable across studies and regions, owing to the varied nature of PM constituents, as well as to less complete characterization of PM reaction chemistry in available atmospheric models. However, PM emitted by wildland fires is likely to become an increasing health risk in many parts of the world as climate continues to change. The complex interactions between climate change and air quality imply that future policies to mitigate these twin challenges will benefit from greater coordination. Assessing the health implications of alternative policy approaches towards climate and pollution mitigation will be a critical area of future work.

Potential health hazard of nuclear fuel waste and uranium ore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehta, K.; Sherman, G.R.; King, S.G.

1991-06-01

The variation of the radioactivity of nuclear fuel waste (used fuel and fuel reprocessing waste) with time, and the potential health hazard (or inherent radiotoxicity) resulting from its ingestion are estimated for CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) natural-uranium reactors. Four groups of radionuclides in the nuclear fuel waste are considered: actinides, fission products, activation products of zircaloy, and activation products of fuel impurities. Contributions from each of these groups to the radioactivity and to the potential health hazard are compared and discussed. The potential health hazard resulting from used fuel is then compared with that of uranium ore, mine tailings and refined uranium (fresh fuel) on the basis of equivalent amounts of uranium. The computer code HAZARD, specifically developed for these computations, is described

Hulthén and Coulomb-Like Potentials as a Tensor Interaction within the Relativistic Symmetries of the Manning-Rosen Potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokmehdashi, Hadi; Rajabi, Ali Akbar; Hamzavi, Majid

2014-01-01

The bound-state solutions of the Dirac equation for the Manning-Rosen potential are presented approximately for arbitrary spin-orbit quantum number κ with the Hulthén and Coulomb-like potentials as a tensor interaction. The generalized parametric Nikiforov-Uvarov (NU) method is used to obtain energy eigenvalues and corresponding two-component spinors of the two Dirac particles and these are obtained in the closed form by using the framework of the spin symmetry and p-spin symmetry concept. We have also shown that tensor interaction removes degeneracies between spin and p-spin doublets. Some numerical results are also given

Cosmological solutions in string theory with dilaton self interaction potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mora, C.; Pimentel, L.O.

2003-01-01

In this work we present homogeneous and isotropic cosmological solutions for the low energy limit of string theory with a self interacting potential for the scalar field. For a potential that is a linear combination of two exponential, a family of exact solutions are found for the different spatial curvatures. Among this family a non singular accelerating solution for positive curvature is singled out and the violation of the energy conditions for that solution is studied, and also its astrophysical consequences. The string coupling for this solution is finite. (Author)

Scattering at low energies by potentials containing power-law corrections to the Coulomb interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuitsinskii, A.A.

1986-01-01

The low-energy asymptotic behavior is found for the phase shifts and scattering amplitudes in the case of central potentials which decrease at infinity as n/r+ar /sup -a/,a 1. In problems of atomic and nuclear physics one is generally interested in collisions of clusters consisting of several charged particles. The effective interaction potential of such clusters contains long-range power law corrections to the Coulomb interaction that is presented

Improving Interactive Health Literacy Skills of Older Adults: Lessons Learned From Formative Organizational Research With Community Partners.

Science.gov (United States)

Parmer, John; Furtado, Debra; Rubin, Donald L; Freimuth, Vicki; Kaley, Terry; Okundaye, Mumbi

2015-01-01

Meals on Wheels (MOW) organizations are ideal community partners for delivering social support relating to health information exchange for vulnerable and home-bound older adults. This article illustrates how formative organizational evaluation can be used to adapt health literacy interventions delivered by community partners. Key informant interviews and ethnographic observations were conducted as part of a formative organizational evaluation of potential community partners. The observed brevity of volunteer-client interaction led program planners to incorporate substantial emphasis on communicating with older adults into the health literacy coach training curriculum. Ethnographic observations made clear that program materials had to be portable and fit it in with the mobile nature of MOW delivery. Formative organizational research can greatly increase the chance of successful implementation of public health interventions when those interventions will be implemented in partnerships with community-based organizations in diverse settings and with varying practices.

Optical potentials derived from microscopic separable interactions including binding and recoil effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siciliano, E.R.; Walker, G.E.

1976-01-01

We first consider a projectile scattering from a nucleon bound in a fixed potential. A separable Galilean invariant projectile-nucleon interaction is adopted. Without using the fixed scatterer approximation or using closure on the intermediate target nucleon states we obtain various forms for the projectile-bound nucleon t matrix. Effects due to intermediate target excitation and nucleon recoil are discussed. By making the further approximations of closure and fixed scatterers we make connection with the work of previous authors. By generalizing to projectile interaction with several bound nucleons and examining the appropriate multiple scattering series we identify the optical potential for projectile elastic scattering from the many-body system. Different optical potentials are obtained for different projectile-bound nucleon t matrices, and we study the differences predicted by these dissimilar optical potentials for elastic scattering. In a model problem, we study pion-nucleus elastic scattering and compare the predictions obtained by adopting procedures used by (1) Landau, Phatak, and Tabakin and (2) Piepho-Walker to the predictions obtained in a less restrictive, but computationally difficult treatment

Important interactional strategies for everyday public health nursing practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Porr, Caroline J

2015-01-01

This Clinical Concepts article concerns the relational tools required by public health nurses to establish relationships with single mothers living on public assistance, mothers who are vulnerable and often stigmatized. The implications of stigmatization for relationship building are highlighted based on previous research investigating how public health nurses working in Canadian jurisdictions establish professional caring relationships with this cohort of mothers. Public health nurses employed interactional strategies including engaging in a positive manner and offering verbal commendations which served as effective relational tools to break through mothers' walls of defensiveness and to resume the dynamic process of relationship building. Building Relationship is a key practice standard for public health nurses and is instrumental to their work at both individual and community levels to improve social determinants of health. The author concludes with recommendations to facilitate building relationships during everyday public health nursing practice. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The need for health impact assessment in China: Potential benefits for public health and steps forward

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Liming, E-mail: lmwu@scdc.sh.c [Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai 200336 (China); Center for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University, Nathan 4111 (Australia); Rutherford, Shannon; Chu, Cordia [Center for Environment and Population Health, Griffith University, Nathan 4111 (Australia)

2011-07-15

Health impact assessment (HIA) is a useful tool to predict and estimate the potential health impact associated with programs, projects, and policies by comprehensively identifying relevant health determinants and their consequences. China is undergoing massive and rapid socio-economic changes leading to environment and population health challenges such as a large increase in non-communicable diseases, the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, new health risks associated with environmental pollutants and escalating health inequality. These health issues are affected by multiple determinants which can be influenced by planned policies, programs, and projects. This paper discusses the needs for health impact assessment in China in order to minimize the negative health consequences from projects, programs and policies associated with rapid social and economic development. It first describes the scope of China's current impact assessment system and points out its inadequacy in meeting the requirements of population health protection and promotion. It then analyses the potential use of HIA and why China needs to develop and apply HIA as a tool to identify potential health impacts of proposed programs, projects and policies so as to influence decision-making early in the planning process. Thus, the paper recommends the development of HIA as a useful tool in China to enhance decision-making for the protection and promotion of population health. For this to happen, the paper outlines steps necessary for the establishment and successful implementation of HIA in China: beginning with the establishment of a HIA framework, followed by workforce capacity building, methodology design, and intersectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement.

The need for health impact assessment in China: Potential benefits for public health and steps forward

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Liming; Rutherford, Shannon; Chu, Cordia

2011-01-01

Health impact assessment (HIA) is a useful tool to predict and estimate the potential health impact associated with programs, projects, and policies by comprehensively identifying relevant health determinants and their consequences. China is undergoing massive and rapid socio-economic changes leading to environment and population health challenges such as a large increase in non-communicable diseases, the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases, new health risks associated with environmental pollutants and escalating health inequality. These health issues are affected by multiple determinants which can be influenced by planned policies, programs, and projects. This paper discusses the needs for health impact assessment in China in order to minimize the negative health consequences from projects, programs and policies associated with rapid social and economic development. It first describes the scope of China's current impact assessment system and points out its inadequacy in meeting the requirements of population health protection and promotion. It then analyses the potential use of HIA and why China needs to develop and apply HIA as a tool to identify potential health impacts of proposed programs, projects and policies so as to influence decision-making early in the planning process. Thus, the paper recommends the development of HIA as a useful tool in China to enhance decision-making for the protection and promotion of population health. For this to happen, the paper outlines steps necessary for the establishment and successful implementation of HIA in China: beginning with the establishment of a HIA framework, followed by workforce capacity building, methodology design, and intersectoral collaboration and stakeholder engagement.

Mechanisms of radiation interaction with DNA: Potential implications for radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the US Department of Energy conducts a broad multidisciplinary research program which includes basic biophysics, biophysical chemistry, molecular and cellular biology as well as experimental animal studies and opportunistic human studies. This research is directed at understanding how low levels of radiation of various qualities produce the spectrum of biological effects that are seen for such exposures. This workshop was entitled ''Mechanisms of Radiation Interaction with DNA: Potential Implications for Radiation Protection.'' It ws jointly sponsored by the Department of Energy and the Commission of European Communities. The aim of the workshop was to review the base of knowledge in the area of mechanisms of radiation action at the DNA level, and to explore ways in which this information can be applied to the development of scientifically sound concepts and procedures for use in the field of radiation protection. The overview of research provided by this multidisciplinary group will be helpful to the Office in program planning. This report includes a summary of the presentations, extended abstracts, the meeting agenda, research recommendations, and a list of participants. Individual papers are processed separately for the data base

Mechanisms of radiation interaction with DNA: Potential implications for radiation protection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-01-01

The Office of Health and Environmental Research (OHER) of the US Department of Energy conducts a broad multidisciplinary research program which includes basic biophysics, biophysical chemistry, molecular and cellular biology as well as experimental animal studies and opportunistic human studies. This research is directed at understanding how low levels of radiation of various qualities produce the spectrum of biological effects that are seen for such exposures. This workshop was entitled ''Mechanisms of Radiation Interaction with DNA: Potential Implications for Radiation Protection.'' It ws jointly sponsored by the Department of Energy and the Commission of European Communities. The aim of the workshop was to review the base of knowledge in the area of mechanisms of radiation action at the DNA level, and to explore ways in which this information can be applied to the development of scientifically sound concepts and procedures for use in the field of radiation protection. The overview of research provided by this multidisciplinary group will be helpful to the Office in program planning. This report includes a summary of the presentations, extended abstracts, the meeting agenda, research recommendations, and a list of participants. Individual papers are processed separately for the data base.

Patient preferences toward an interactive e-consent application for research using electronic health records.

Science.gov (United States)

Harle, Christopher A; Golembiewski, Elizabeth H; Rahmanian, Kiarash P; Krieger, Janice L; Hagmajer, Dorothy; Mainous, Arch G; Moseley, Ray E

2017-12-19

The purpose of this study was to assess patient perceptions of using an interactive electronic consent (e-consent) application when deciding whether or not to grant broad consent for research use of their identifiable electronic health record (EHR) information. For this qualitative study, we conducted a series of 42 think-aloud interviews with 32 adults. Interview transcripts were coded and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. We identified themes related to patient preferences, reservations, and mixed attitudes toward consenting electronically; low- and high-information-seeking behavior; and an emphasis on reassuring information, such as data protections and prohibitions against sharing data with pharmaceutical companies. Participants expressed interest in the types of information contained in their EHRs, safeguards protecting EHR data, and specifics on studies that might use their EHR data. This study supports the potential value of interactive e-consent applications that allow patients to customize their consent experience. This study also highlights that some people have concerns about e-consent platforms and desire more detailed information about administrative processes and safeguards that protect EHR data used in research. This study contributes new insights on how e-consent applications could be designed to ensure that patients' information needs are met when seeking consent for research use of health record information. Also, this study offers a potential electronic approach to meeting the new Common Rule requirement that consent documents contain a "concise and focused" presentation of key information followed by more details. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Knowledge translation in health care as a multimodal interactional accomplishment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjær, Malene

2014-01-01

of their education where they are in clinical practice. The analysis is made possible through video recordings of how student nurses translate their theoretical knowledge into a professional situational conduct in everyday interactional accomplishments among supervisors and patients. The analysis shows how some......In the theory of health care, knowledge translation is regarded as a crucial phenomenon that makes the whole health care system work in a desired manner. The present paper studies knowledge translation from the student nurses’ perspective and does that through a close analysis of the part...... knowledge gets translated through the use of rich multimodal embodied interactions, whereas the more abstract aspects of knowledge remain untranslated. Overall, the study contributes to the understanding of knowledge translation as a multimodal, locally situated accomplishment....

Negotiating substance use stigma: the role of cultural health capital in provider–patient interactions

OpenAIRE

Chang, Jamie; Dubbin, Leslie; Shim, Janet

2015-01-01

Diverse aspects of life and lifestyles, including stigmatised attributes and behaviors are revealed as providers and patients discuss health. In this article, we examine how the stigma associated with substance use issues shapes clinical interactions. We use the theoretical framework of cultural health capital (CHC) to explain how substance use stigma is created, reinforced and sometimes negotiated as providers and patients engage in health interactions. We present two main findings using exa...

Solid phase stability of a double-minimum interaction potential system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suematsu, Ayumi; Yoshimori, Akira; Saiki, Masafumi; Matsui, Jun; Odagaki, Takashi

2014-01-01

We study phase stability of a system with double-minimum interaction potential in a wide range of parameters by a thermodynamic perturbation theory. The present double-minimum potential is the Lennard-Jones-Gauss potential, which has a Gaussian pocket as well as a standard Lennard-Jones minimum. As a function of the depth and position of the Gaussian pocket in the potential, we determine the coexistence pressure of crystals (fcc and bcc). We show that the fcc crystallizes even at zero pressure when the position of the Gaussian pocket is coincident with the first or third nearest neighbor site of the fcc crystal. The bcc crystal is more stable than the fcc crystal when the position of the Gaussian pocket is coincident with the second nearest neighbor sites of the bcc crystal. The stable crystal structure is determined by the position of the Gaussian pocket. These results show that we can control the stability of the solid phase by tuning the potential function

Enhanced health E-decision literacy via interactive multi-criterial support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaltoft, Mette Kjer; Almeida, J.; Moncho Mas, Vicent

Healthcare lacks a generic language for decisional communication. We aim to enhance health decision literacy via specific e-decision support. Given the multi-criterial, preference-sensitive nature of decision-making, we implement the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) technique online...... in an interactive and visual template (Annalisa), developing decision-specific tools at the clinical/personal and group/policy levels. Our current nationally funded project on bone health caters for home-prepared, informed and preference-based consent and taps into existing e-health infrastructures towards person...

Interpersonal Interactions in the Marital Pair and Mental Health: A Comparative and Correlational Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gleiber Couto Santos

2015-12-01

Full Text Available AbstractInterpersonal interactions as social processes reflect and influence individuals' mental health. The aim of the study was to verify how marital interactions relate to mental health, and to investigate evidence for the validity of the Checklist for Interpersonal Transactions II (CLOIT-II. Participants were 169 couples from the southeast of the Brazilian state of Goiás, aged between 18 and 55 years ( M = 21; SD = 5.48. They responded to a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ and the CLOIT-II. Participants with low mental health problem scores in the GHQ (asymptomatic participants tended to occupy interpersonal positions in the range between Deference/Trust and Affective warmth/Friendliness. In the group with high scores (symptomatic participants, interactions were defined by Coldness/Hostility.Mental health problems were positively correlated with mistrust, coldness and hostility and negatively correlated with positions of Affiliation. These results, in addition to supporting the validity of the CLOIT-II, indicate that the study of interpersonal relationships is relevant for the understanding of mental health.

Non-Chemical Stressors and Cumulative Risk Assessment: An Overview of Current Initiatives and Potential Air Pollutant Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Ari S.; Sax, Sonja N.; Wason, Susan C.; Campleman, Sharan L.

2011-01-01

Regulatory agencies are under increased pressure to consider broader public health concerns that extend to multiple pollutant exposures, multiple exposure pathways, and vulnerable populations. Specifically, cumulative risk assessment initiatives have stressed the importance of considering both chemical and non-chemical stressors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and related psychosocial stress, in evaluating health risks. The integration of non-chemical stressors into a cumulative risk assessment framework has been largely driven by evidence of health disparities across different segments of society that may also bear a disproportionate risk from chemical exposures. This review will discuss current efforts to advance the field of cumulative risk assessment, highlighting some of the major challenges, discussed within the construct of the traditional risk assessment paradigm. Additionally, we present a summary of studies of potential interactions between social stressors and air pollutants on health as an example of current research that supports the incorporation of non-chemical stressors into risk assessment. The results from these studies, while suggestive of possible interactions, are mixed and hindered by inconsistent application of social stress indicators. Overall, while there have been significant advances, further developments across all of the risk assessment stages (i.e., hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response, and risk characterization) are necessary to provide a scientific basis for regulatory actions and effective community interventions, particularly when considering non-chemical stressors. A better understanding of the biological underpinnings of social stress on disease and implications for chemical-based dose-response relationships is needed. Furthermore, when considering non-chemical stressors, an appropriate metric, or series of metrics, for risk characterization is also needed. Cumulative risk assessment research will benefit

Successful aging - the nurse - aged person interaction process in primary health care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria João Soares Rodrigues de Sousa Fernandes

2013-12-01

Full Text Available With the aging population and the natural increase of nursing care within gerontology, there is increasing interest in how the nurse interacts with the aged person and utilizes their role to protect and promote successful aging behaviors. The goal lies in understanding the nurse−aged person interaction process. This is a naturalistic study of qualitative paradigm and inductive reasoning, developed in the context of primary health care. We observed the interaction process between nurse and older person in various Health Centers and Day/Socializing Centers and supplemented the information with an interview. The grounded theory analysis method of Corbin & Strauss was used, which provides the triangulation of data and uses theoretical sampling. The nurse−aged person interaction is established in a joint process of recreation of the gerontologic care predisposing, fostering and strengthening knowledge about the essence of life. The elderly person who is the object of nurse care, builds their lived experience by aiming towards integrity, establishing individual and social interaction and enhancing experiences. From this whole interaction process, a central concept emerges: clarification of the aged person’s lived experience.

Material interaction and art product in art therapy assessment in adult mental health

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pénzes, I.J.N.J.; Hooren, S. van; Dokter, D.; Smeijsters, H.; Hutschemaekers, G.J.M.

2016-01-01

Background: Art materials have a central role in art therapy. The way a client interacts with art materials - material interaction - is an important source of information in art therapy assessment in adult mental health. The aim of this study was to develop the categories of material interaction and

Stability of stationary states of non-local equations with singular interaction potentials

KAUST Repository

Fellner, Klemens; Raoul, Gaë l

2011-01-01

repulsive interaction potentials we show the stability of stationary states of uniformly bounded solutions under a convexity condition.Finally, we present numerical simulations to illustrate our results. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Proper construction of ab initio global potential surfaces with accurate long-range interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Tak-San; Rabitz, Herschel

2000-01-01

An efficient procedure based on the reproducing kernel Hilbert space interpolation method is presented for constructing intermolecular potential energy surfaces (PES) using not only calculated ab initio data but also a priori information on long-range interactions. Explicitly, use of the reciprocal power reproducing kernel on the semiinfinite interval [0,∞) yields a set of exact linear relations between dispersion (multipolar) coefficients and PES data points at finite internuclear separations. Consequently, given a combined set of ab initio data and the values of dispersion (multipolar) coefficients, the potential interpolation problem subject to long-range interaction constraints can be solved to render globally smooth, asymptotically accurate ab initio potential energy surfaces. Very good results have been obtained for the one-dimensional He-He potential curve and the two-dimensional Ne-CO PES. The construction of the Ne-CO PES was facilitated by invoking a new reproducing kernel for the angular coordinate based on the optimally stable and shape-preserving Bernstein basis functions. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

User-Centered Design and Interactive Health Technologies for Patients

Science.gov (United States)

De Vito Dabbs, Annette; Myers, Brad A.; Mc Curry, Kenneth R.; Dunbar-Jacob, Jacqueline; Hawkins, Robert P.; Begey, Alex; Dew, Mary Amanda

2010-01-01

Despite recommendations that patients be involved in the design and testing of health technologies, few reports describe how to involve patients in systematic and meaningful ways to ensure that applications are customized to meet their needs. User-centered design (UCD) is an approach that involves end-users throughout the development process so that technology support tasks, are easy to operate, and are of value to users. In this paper we provide an overview of UCD and use the development of Pocket Personal Assistant for Tracking Health (Pocket PATH), to illustrate how these principles and techniques were applied to involve patients in the development of this interactive health technology. Involving patient-users in the design and testing ensured functionality and usability, therefore increasing the likelihood of promoting the intended health outcomes. PMID:19411947

Potential Health Impacts of Bauxite Mining in Kuantan.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdullah, Noor Hisham; Mohamed, Norlen; Sulaiman, Lokman Hakim; Zakaria, Thahirahtul Asma; Rahim, Daud Abdul

2016-05-01

Bauxite mining is not known to most Malaysian except recently due to environmental pollution issues in Kuantan, Pahang. Potential impacts are expected to go beyond physical environment and physical illness if the situation is not controlled. Loss of economic potentials, and the presence of unpleasant red dust causing mental distress, anger and community outrage. More studies are needed to associate it with chronic physical illness. While evidences are vital for action, merely waiting for a disease to occur is a sign of failure in prevention. All responsible agencies should focus on a wider aspect of health determinants rather than merely on the occurrence of diseases to act and the need to emphasize on sustainable mining to ensure health of people is not compromised.

Potential Health Benefits of Deep Sea Water: A Review

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Samihah Zura Mohd Nani

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Deep sea water (DSW commonly refers to a body of seawater that is pumped up from a depth of over 200 m. It is usually associated with the following characteristics: low temperature, high purity, and being rich with nutrients, namely, beneficial elements, which include magnesium, calcium, potassium, chromium, selenium, zinc, and vanadium. Less photosynthesis of plant planktons, consumption of nutrients, and organic decomposition have caused lots of nutrients to remain there. Due to this, DSW has potential to become a good source for health. Research has proven that DSW can help overcome health problems especially related to lifestyle-associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and skin problems. This paper reviews the potential health benefits of DSW by referring to the findings from previous researches.

Use of total cross sections for obtaining the anisotropic interaction potential in atom--diatom system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eccles, J.; Secrest, D.

1977-01-01

A study is made of the ''conservation of the total cross section'' and the ''equivalence of the total cross section'' rules for scattering from H 2 . It is shown that these rules are a better approximation than the random phase approximation would indicate. Cross section formulas are given for scattering atoms from m/sub j/ state selected molecules and it is shown that total cross sections for state selected molecules depend on the anisotropic part of the interaction potential, while the spin-averaged total cross section often depends only on the spherically symmetric part of the interaction potential. The total spin-averaged cross section is thus independent of the initial rotation state of the molecule and depends only on the relative collision energy. It is further demonstrated that isotopic substitution, which shifts the center of mass changing the symmetric part of the interaction potential, has too small an effect on the total cross section to be useful as a means of determining the anisotropy of the potential

Forward detectors around the CMS interaction point at LHC and their physics potential

CERN Document Server

Grothe, Monika

2008-01-01

Forward physics with CMS at the LHC covers a wide range of physics subjects, including very low-x QCD, underlying event and multiple interactions characteristics, gamma-mediated processes, shower development at the energy scale of primary cosmic ray interactions with the atmosphere, diffraction in the presence of a hard scale and even MSSM Higgs discovery in central exclusive production. We describe the forward detector instrumentation around the CMS interaction point and present selected feasibility studies to illustrate their physics potential.

Developing a model for effects of climate change on human health and health-environment interactions: Heat stress in Austin, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Background/Question/Methods In December, 2010, a consortium of EPA, Centers for Disease Control, and state and local health officials convened in Austin, Texas for a “participatory modeling workshop” on climate change effects on human health and health-environment interactions. ...

Examining ecological validity in social interaction: problems of visual fidelity, gaze, and social potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Reader, Arran T; Holmes, Nicholas P

2016-01-01

Social interaction is an essential part of the human experience, and much work has been done to study it. However, several common approaches to examining social interactions in psychological research may inadvertently either unnaturally constrain the observed behaviour by causing it to deviate from naturalistic performance, or introduce unwanted sources of variance. In particular, these sources are the differences between naturalistic and experimental behaviour that occur from changes in visual fidelity (quality of the observed stimuli), gaze (whether it is controlled for in the stimuli), and social potential (potential for the stimuli to provide actual interaction). We expand on these possible sources of extraneous variance and why they may be important. We review the ways in which experimenters have developed novel designs to remove these sources of extraneous variance. New experimental designs using a 'two-person' approach are argued to be one of the most effective ways to develop more ecologically valid measures of social interaction, and we suggest that future work on social interaction should use these designs wherever possible.

Drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes: mechanisms and potential clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Randall; Funk, Ryan S; Axcell, Erick; Krise, Jeffrey P

2012-08-01

Many commercially available, weakly basic drugs have been shown to be lysosomotropic, meaning they are subject to extensive sequestration in lysosomes through an ion trapping-type mechanism. The extent of lysosomal trapping of a drug is an important therapeutic consideration because it can influence both activity and pharmacokinetic disposition. The administration of certain drugs can alter lysosomes such that their accumulation capacity for co-administered and/or secondarily administered drugs is altered. In this review the authors explore what is known regarding the mechanistic basis for drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes. Specifically, the authors address the influence of drugs on lysosomal pH, volume and lipid processing. Many drugs are known to extensively accumulate in lysosomes and significantly alter their structure and function; however, the therapeutic and toxicological implications of this remain controversial. The authors propose that drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes represent an important potential source of variability in drug activity and pharmacokinetics. Most evaluations of drug-drug interactions involving lysosomes have been performed in cultured cells and isolated tissues. More comprehensive in vivo evaluations are needed to fully explore the impact of this drug-drug interaction pathway on therapeutic outcomes.

The triel bond: a potential force for tuning anion-π interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Esrafili, Mehdi D.; Mousavian, Parisasadat

2018-02-01

Using ab-initio calculations, the mutual influence between anion-π and B···N or B···C triel bond interactions is investigated in some model complexes. The properties of these complexes are studied by molecular electrostatic potential, noncovalent interaction index, quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses. According to the results, the formation of B···N or B···C triel bond interactions in the multi-component systems makes a significant shortening of anion-π distance. Such remarkable variation in the anion-π distances has not been reported previously. The strengthening of the anion-π bonding in the multi-component systems depend significantly on the nature of the anion, and it becomes larger in the order Br- > Cl- > F-. The parameters derived from the QTAIM and NBO methodologies are used to study the mechanism of the cooperativity between the anion-π and triel bond interactions in the multi-component complexes.

Coupled dynamics of interacting spin-1 bosons in a double-well potential

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, D. W. S.; Foerster, A.; Gusmão, M. A.

2018-03-01

We present a detailed analysis of dynamical processes involving two or three particles in a double-well potential. Motivated by experimental realizations of such a system with optically trapped cold atoms, we focus on spin-1 bosons with special attention on the effects of a spin-dependent interaction in addition to the usual Hubbard-like repulsive one. For a sufficiently weak tunneling amplitude in comparison to the dominant Hubbard coupling, particle motion is strongly correlated, occurring only under fine-tuned relationships between well-depth asymmetry and interactions. We highlight processes involving tunneling of coupled particle pairs and triads, emphasizing the role of the spin-dependent interaction in resonance conditions.

Seeking and using intention of health information from doctors in social media: The effect of doctor-consumer interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Zhang, Donglan; Buchanan, Paula R; Zha, Dongqing; Wang, Ruoxi

2018-07-01

The aim of this study is to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media influences consumers' health information seeking and usage intention. Based on professional-client interaction theory and expectation confirmation theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interaction influence consumers' health information seeking and usage intention through consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors. To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method. The measurement instruments for all constructs were developed based on previous literatures, and 352 valid answers were collected by using these instruments. Our results reveal that consumers' intention to seek health information significantly predicts their intention to use health information from social media. Meanwhile, both consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors influences consumers' health information seeking and usage intention significantly. With regards to the impact of the interaction between doctors and consumers, the results show that both types of doctor-consumer interaction significantly affect consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors. The mediation analysis confirms the mediation role of consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors. Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as an effective intervention with low cost to promote consumers' health information seeking and usage. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. At last, consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors could be considered as the important working mechanisms for the effect of doctor-consumer interaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Botanical-drug interactions: a scientific perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

de Lima Toccafondo Vieira, Manuela; Huang, Shiew-Mei

2012-09-01

There is a continued predisposition of concurrent use of drugs and botanical products. A general lack of knowledge of the interaction potential together with an under-reporting of botanical use poses a challenge for the health care providers and a safety concern for patients. Botanical-drug interactions increase the patient risk, especially with regard to drugs with a narrow therapeutic index (e.g., warfarin, cyclosporine, and digoxin). Examples of case reports and clinical studies evaluating botanical-drug interactions of commonly used botanicals in the US are presented. The potential pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic bases of such interactions are discussed, as well as the challenges associated with the interpretation of the available data and prediction of botanical-drug interactions. Recent FDA experiences with botanical products and interactions including labeling implications as a risk management strategy are highlighted. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Potential effect of cationic liposomes on interactions with oral bacterial cells and biofilms.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugano, Marika; Morisaki, Hirobumi; Negishi, Yoichi; Endo-Takahashi, Yoko; Kuwata, Hirotaka; Miyazaki, Takashi; Yamamoto, Matsuo

2016-01-01

Although oral infectious diseases have been attributed to bacteria, drug treatments remain ineffective because bacteria and their products exist as biofilms. Cationic liposomes have been suggested to electrostatically interact with the negative charge on the bacterial surface, thereby improving the effects of conventional drug therapies. However, the electrostatic interaction between oral bacteria and cationic liposomes has not yet been examined in detail. The aim of the present study was to examine the behavior of cationic liposomes and Streptococcus mutans in planktonic cells and biofilms. Liposomes with or without cationic lipid were prepared using a reverse-phase evaporation method. The zeta potentials of conventional liposomes (without cationic lipid) and cationic liposomes were -13 and 8 mV, respectively, and both had a mean particle size of approximately 180 nm. We first assessed the interaction between liposomes and planktonic bacterial cells with a flow cytometer. We then used a surface plasmon resonance method to examine the binding of liposomes to biofilms. We confirmed the binding behavior of liposomes with biofilms using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The interactions between cationic liposomes and S. mutans cells and biofilms were stronger than those of conventional liposomes. Microscopic observations revealed that many cationic liposomes interacted with the bacterial mass and penetrated the deep layers of biofilms. In this study, we demonstrated that cationic liposomes had higher affinity not only to oral bacterial cells, but also biofilms than conventional liposomes. This electrostatic interaction may be useful as a potential drug delivery system to biofilms.

Health Promoting Schools: Consensus, Strategies, and Potential

Science.gov (United States)

Macnab, Andrew J.; Gagnon, Faith A.; Stewart, Donald

2014-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarize a consensus statement generated on the current challenges, strategies, and potential of health promoting schools (HPS) at a 2011 colloquium at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study where 40 people from five continents came together to share their global and regional experience surrounding…

Detection of Potential Drug-Drug Interactions for Outpatients across Hospitals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Ting Yeh

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA has adopted smart cards (or NHI-IC cards as health cards to carry patients’ medication histories across hospitals in Taiwan. The aims of this study are to enhance a computerized physician order entry system to support drug-drug interaction (DDI checking based on a patient’s medication history stored in his/her NHI-IC card. For performance evaluation, we developed a transaction tracking log to keep track of every operation on NHI-IC cards. Based on analysis of the transaction tracking log from 1 August to 31 October 2007, physicians read patients’ NHI-IC cards in 71.01% (8,246 of patient visits; 33.02% (2,723 of the card reads showed at least one medicine currently being taken by the patient, 82.94% of which were prescribed during the last visit. Among 10,036 issued prescriptions, seven prescriptions (0.09% contained at least one drug item that might interact with the currently-taken medicines stored in NHI-IC cards and triggered pop-up alerts. This study showed that the capacity of an NHI-IC card is adequate to support DDI checking across hospitals. Thus, the enhanced computerized physician order entry (CPOE system can support better DDI checking when physicians are making prescriptions and provide safer medication care, particularly for patients who receive medication care from different hospitals.

Detection of potential drug-drug interactions for outpatients across hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Yu-Ting; Hsu, Min-Hui; Chen, Chien-Yuan; Lo, Yu-Sheng; Liu, Chien-Tsai

2014-01-27

The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has adopted smart cards (or NHI-IC cards) as health cards to carry patients' medication histories across hospitals in Taiwan. The aims of this study are to enhance a computerized physician order entry system to support drug-drug interaction (DDI) checking based on a patient's medication history stored in his/her NHI-IC card. For performance evaluation, we developed a transaction tracking log to keep track of every operation on NHI-IC cards. Based on analysis of the transaction tracking log from 1 August to 31 October 2007, physicians read patients' NHI-IC cards in 71.01% (8,246) of patient visits; 33.02% (2,723) of the card reads showed at least one medicine currently being taken by the patient, 82.94% of which were prescribed during the last visit. Among 10,036 issued prescriptions, seven prescriptions (0.09%) contained at least one drug item that might interact with the currently-taken medicines stored in NHI-IC cards and triggered pop-up alerts. This study showed that the capacity of an NHI-IC card is adequate to support DDI checking across hospitals. Thus, the enhanced computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system can support better DDI checking when physicians are making prescriptions and provide safer medication care, particularly for patients who receive medication care from different hospitals.

Health insurance exchanges bring potential opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, M Orry; Eggbeer, Bill

2012-11-01

The introduction of the state health insurance exchanges, as provided for in the Affordable Care Act, has many strategic implications for healthcare providers: Unprecedented transparency; The "Walmart Effect", with patients playing a greater role as healthcare consumers; A rise in narrow networks spurred by low prices and narrow geographies; The potential end of the cross subsidy of Medicare and Medicaid by commercial plans; The possible end of not-for-profit status for hospitals

Advancing the right to health through global organizations: The potential role of a Framework Convention on Global Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Eric A; Gostin, Lawrence O; Buse, Kent

2013-06-14

Organizations, partnerships, and alliances form the building blocks of global governance. Global health organizations thus have the potential to play a formative role in determining the extent to which people are able to realize their right to health. This article examines how major global health organizations, such as WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS, and GAVI approach human rights concerns, including equality, accountability, and inclusive participation. We argue that organizational support for the right to health must transition from ad hoc and partial to permanent and comprehensive. Drawing on the literature and our knowledge of global health organizations, we offer good practices that point to ways in which such agencies can advance the right to health, covering nine areas: 1) participation and representation in governance processes; 2) leadership and organizational ethos; 3) internal policies; 4) norm-setting and promotion; 5) organizational leadership through advocacy and communication; 6) monitoring and accountability; 7) capacity building; 8) funding policies; and 9) partnerships and engagement. In each of these areas, we offer elements of a proposed Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH), which would commit state parties to support these standards through their board membership and other interactions with these agencies. We also explain how the FCGH could incorporate these organizations into its overall financing framework, initiate a new forum where they collaborate with each other, as well as organizations in other regimes, to advance the right to health, and ensure sufficient funding for right to health capacity building. We urge major global health organizations to follow the leadership of the UN Secretary-General and UNAIDS to champion the FCGH. It is only through a rights-based approach, enshrined in a new Convention, that we can expect to achieve health for all in our lifetimes. Copyright © 2013 Friedman, Gostin

Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in cancer patients treated with oral anticancer drugs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leeuwen, R. W. F.; Brundel, D. H. S.; Neef, C.; van Gelder, T.; Mathijssen, R. H. J.; Burger, D. M.; Jansman, F. G. A.

2013-01-01

Background: Potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) in patients with cancer are common, but have not previously been quantified for oral anticancer treatment. We assessed the prevalence and seriousness of potential PDDIs among ambulatory cancer patients on oral anticancer treatment. Methods: A

Prevalence of potential drug-drug interactions in cancer patients treated with oral anticancer drugs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.W.F. van Leeuwen (Roelof); D.H.S. Brundel (D. H S); C. Neef (Cees); T. van Gelder (Teun); A.H.J. Mathijssen (Ron); D.M. Burger (David); F.G.A. Jansman (Frank)

2013-01-01

textabstractBackground: Potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) in patients with cancer are common, but have not previously been quantified for oral anticancer treatment. We assessed the prevalence and seriousness of potential PDDIs among ambulatory cancer patients on oral anticancer treatment.

Keeping health facilities safe: one way of strengthening the interaction between disease-specific programmes and health systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Harries, Anthony D; Zachariah, Rony; Tayler-Smith, Katie; Schouten, Erik J; Chimbwandira, Frank; Van Damme, Wim; El-Sadr, Wafaa M

2010-12-01

The debate on the interaction between disease-specific programmes and health system strengthening in the last few years has intensified as experts seek to tease out common ground and find solutions and synergies to bridge the divide. Unfortunately, the debate continues to be largely academic and devoid of specificity, resulting in the issues being irrelevant to health care workers on the ground. Taking the theme 'What would entice HIV- and tuberculosis (TB)-programme managers to sit around the table on a Monday morning with health system experts', this viewpoint focuses on infection control and health facility safety as an important and highly relevant practical topic for both disease-specific programmes and health system strengthening. Our attentions, and the examples and lessons we draw on, are largely aimed at sub-Saharan Africa where the great burden of TB and HIV ⁄ AIDS resides, although the principles we outline would apply to other parts of the world as well. Health care infections, caused for example by poor hand hygiene, inadequate testing of donated blood, unsafe disposal of needles and syringes, poorly sterilized medical and surgical equipment and lack of adequate airborne infection control procedures, are responsible for a considerable burden of illness amongst patients and health care personnel, especially in resource-poor countries. Effective infection control in a district hospital requires that all the components of a health system function well: governance and stewardship, financing,infrastructure, procurement and supply chain management, human resources, health information systems, service delivery and finally supervision. We argue in this article that proper attention to infection control and an emphasis on safe health facilities is a concrete first step towards strengthening the interaction between disease-specific programmes and health systems where it really matters – for patients who are sick and for the health care workforce who provide

Intermolecular interaction of thiosemicarbazone derivatives to solvents and a potential Aedes aegypti target

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, João Bosco P.; Hallwass, Fernando; da Silva, Aluizio G.; Moreira, Diogo Rodrigo; Ramos, Mozart N.; Espíndola, José Wanderlan P.; de Oliveira, Ana Daura T.; Brondani, Dalci José; Leite, Ana Cristina L.; Merz, Kenneth M.

2015-08-01

DFT calculations were used to access information about structure, energy and electronic properties of series of phenyl- and phenoxymethyl-(thio)semicarbazone derivatives with demonstrated activity against the larvae of Aedes aegypti in stage L4. The way as the thiosemicarbazone derivatives can interact with solvents like DMSO and water were analyzed from the comparison between calculated and experimental 1H NMR chemical shifts. The evidences of thiosemicarbazone derivatives making H-bond interaction to solvent have provide us insights on how they can interact with a potential A. aegypti's biological target, the Sterol Carrier Protein-2.

Virus–Bacteria Interactions: Implications and Potential for the Applied and Agricultural Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew D. Moore

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Eukaryotic virus–bacteria interactions have recently become an emerging topic of study due to multiple significant examples related to human pathogens of clinical interest. However, such omnipresent and likely important interactions for viruses and bacteria relevant to the applied and agricultural sciences have not been reviewed or compiled. The fundamental basis of this review is that these interactions have importance and deserve more investigation, as numerous potential consequences and applications arising from their discovery are relevant to the applied sciences. The purpose of this review is to highlight and summarize eukaryotic virus–bacteria findings in the food/water, horticultural, and animal sciences. In many cases in the agricultural sciences, mechanistic understandings of the effects of virus–bacteria interactions remain unstudied, and many studies solely focus on co-infections of bacterial and viral pathogens. Given recent findings relative to human viral pathogens, further research related to virus–bacteria interactions would likely result in numerous discoveries and beneficial applications.

Virus-Bacteria Interactions: Implications and Potential for the Applied and Agricultural Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Matthew D; Jaykus, Lee-Ann

2018-02-02

Eukaryotic virus-bacteria interactions have recently become an emerging topic of study due to multiple significant examples related to human pathogens of clinical interest. However, such omnipresent and likely important interactions for viruses and bacteria relevant to the applied and agricultural sciences have not been reviewed or compiled. The fundamental basis of this review is that these interactions have importance and deserve more investigation, as numerous potential consequences and applications arising from their discovery are relevant to the applied sciences. The purpose of this review is to highlight and summarize eukaryotic virus-bacteria findings in the food/water, horticultural, and animal sciences. In many cases in the agricultural sciences, mechanistic understandings of the effects of virus-bacteria interactions remain unstudied, and many studies solely focus on co-infections of bacterial and viral pathogens. Given recent findings relative to human viral pathogens, further research related to virus-bacteria interactions would likely result in numerous discoveries and beneficial applications.

Temperature-dependent interaction potential between NF3 molecules and thermophysical properties of gaseous NF3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Damyanova, M; Balabanova, E; Hohm, U

2014-01-01

A temperature-dependent effective intermolecular interaction potential is applied to describe the interaction between two nitrogen fluoride (NF 3 ) molecules in gas phase. To this end, a spherically-symmetric (n-6) Lennard-Jones temperature-dependent potential (LJTDP) is used. The (n-6) LJTDP takes into account the influence of vibrational excitation of the molecules on the potential parameters, namely, the equilibrium distance r m and the potential well depth ε. The potential parameters at T = 0 K were obtained from the very small amount of existing thermophysical equilibrium and transport properties of low-density NF 3 gas. Fitting formulae are tabulated for a fast and reliable prediction of the thermophysical properties and potential parameters in the temperature range between 200 K and 1200 K. A comparison is also presented between our estimates for some thermophysical properties of the NF 3 gas with the available experimental and calculated data.

Calculation of parameters of the interaction potential between excited alkali atoms and mercury atoms: The Cs*, Pr*-Hg interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glushkov, A.V.

1994-01-01

Based on the method of effective potential involving the new polarization interaction potential calculated from polarization diagrams of the perturbation theory in the Thomas-Fermi approximation, the main parameters of the interatomic potentials (equilibrium distances, potential well depth) are evaluated for a system consisting of an alkali atom in the ground and excited states and of a mercury atom. The results of calculations of quasi-molecular terms for the A-Hg system, where A = Na, Cs, Fr, are reported, some of which are obtained for the first time. A comparison is made with available experimental and theoretical data. 29 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

Drivers potentially influencing host-bat fly interactions in anthropogenic neotropical landscapes at different spatial scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-Martínez, Jacqueline; Morales-Malacara, Juan B; Alvarez-Añorve, Mariana Yolotl; Amador-Hernández, Sergio; Oyama, Ken; Avila-Cabadilla, Luis Daniel

2018-05-21

The anthropogenic modification of natural landscapes, and the consequent changes in the environmental conditions and resources availability at multiple spatial scales can affect complex species interactions involving key-stone species such as bat-parasite interactions. In this study, we aimed to identify the drivers potentially influencing host-bat fly interactions at different spatial scales (at the host, vegetation stand and landscape level), in a tropical anthropogenic landscape. For this purpose, we mist-netted phyllostomid and moormopid bats and collected the bat flies (streblids) parasitizing them in 10 sites representing secondary and old growth forest. In general, the variation in fly communities largely mirrored the variation in bat communities as a result of the high level of specialization characterizing host-bat fly interaction networks. Nevertheless, we observed that: (1) bats roosting dynamics can shape bat-streblid interactions, modulating parasite prevalence and the intensity of infestation; (2) a degraded matrix could favor crowding and consequently the exchange of ectoparasites among bat species, lessening the level of specialization of the interaction networks and promoting novel interactions; and (3) bat-fly interaction can also be shaped by the dilution effect, as a decrease in bat diversity could be associated with a potential increase in the dissemination and prevalence of streblids.

The role of the ion-molecule and molecule-molecule interactions in the formation of the two-ion average force interaction potential

CERN Document Server

Ajrian, E A; Sidorenko, S N

2002-01-01

The effect of the ion-molecule and intermolecular interactions on the formation of inter-ion average force potentials is investigated within the framework of a classical ion-dipole model of electrolyte solutions. These potentials are shown to possess the Coulomb asymptotics at large distances while in the region of mean distances they reveal creation and disintegration of solvent-shared ion pairs. The calculation results provide a qualitatively authentic physical picture which is experimentally observed in strong electrolytes solutions. In particular, an increased interaction between an ion and a molecule enhances formation of ion pairs in which the ions are separated by one solvent molecule

Comparison of the effect of soft-core potentials and Coulombic potentials on bremsstrahlung during laser matter interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Pandit, Rishi R.; Becker, Valerie R.; Barrington, Kasey; Thurston, Jeremy; Ramunno, Lora; Ackad, Edward

2018-04-01

An intense, short laser pulse incident on rare-gas clusters can produce nano-plasmas containing energetic electrons. As these electrons undergo scattering, from both phonons and ions, they emit bremsstrahlung radiation. Here, we compare a theory of bremsstrahlung emission appropriate for the interaction of intense lasers with matter using soft-core potentials and Coulombic potentials. A new scaling for the radiation cross-section and the radiated power via bremsstrahlung is derived for a soft-core potential (which depends on the potential depth) and compared with the Coulomb potential. Calculations using the new scaling are performed for electrons in vacuum ultraviolet, infrared and mid-infrared laser pulses. The radiation cross-section and the radiation power via bremsstrahlung are found to increase rapidly with increases in the potential depth of up to around 200 eV and then become mostly saturated for larger depths while remaining constant for the Coulomb potential. In both cases, the radiation cross-section and the radiation power of bremsstrahlung decrease with increases in the laser wavelength. The ratio of the scattering amplitude for the soft-core potential and that for the Coulombic potential decreases exponentially with an increase in momentum transfer. The bremsstrahlung emission by electrons in plasmas may provide a broadband light source for diagnostics.

Single-particle potential of the Λ hyperon in nuclear matter with chiral effective field theory NLO interactions including effects of Y N N three-baryon interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Kohno, M.

2018-03-01

Adopting hyperon-nucleon and hyperon-nucleon-nucleon interactions parametrized in chiral effective field theory, single-particle potentials of the Λ and Σ hyperons are evaluated in symmetric nuclear matter and in pure neutron matter within the framework of lowest-order Bruckner theory. The chiral NLO interaction bears strong Λ N -Σ N coupling. Although the Λ potential is repulsive if the coupling is switched off, the Λ N -Σ N correlation brings about the attraction consistent with empirical data. The Σ potential is repulsive, which is also consistent with empirical information. The interesting result is that the Λ potential becomes shallower beyond normal density. This provides the possibility of solving the hyperon puzzle without introducing ad hoc assumptions. The effects of the Λ N N -Λ N N and Λ N N -Σ N N three-baryon forces are considered. These three-baryon forces are first reduced to normal-ordered effective two-baryon interactions in nuclear matter and then incorporated in the G -matrix equation. The repulsion from the Λ N N -Λ N N interaction is of the order of 5 MeV at normal density and becomes larger with increasing density. The effects of the Λ N N -Σ N N coupling compensate the repulsion at normal density. The net effect of the three-baryon interactions on the Λ single-particle potential is repulsive at higher densities.

"We'll Get to You When We Get to You": Exploring Potential Contributions of Health Care Staff Behaviors to Patient Perceptions of Discrimination and Satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Tajeu, Gabriel S; Cherrington, Andrea L; Andreae, Lynn; Prince, Candice; Holt, Cheryl L; Halanych, Jewell H

2015-10-01

We qualitatively assessed patients' perceptions of discrimination and patient satisfaction in the health care setting specific to interactions with nonphysician health care staff. We conducted 12 focus-group interviews with African American and European American participants, stratified by race and gender, from June to November 2008. We used a topic guide to facilitate discussion and identify factors contributing to perceived discrimination and analyzed transcripts for relevant themes using a codebook. We enrolled 92 participants: 55 African Americans and 37 European Americans, all of whom reported perceived discrimination and lower patient satisfaction as a result of interactions with nonphysician health care staff. Perceived discrimination was associated with 2 main characteristics: insurance or socioeconomic status and race. Both verbal and nonverbal communication style on the part of nonphysician health care staff were related to individuals' perceptions of how they were treated. The behaviors of nonphysician health care staff in the clinical setting can potentially contribute to patients' perceptions of discrimination and lowered patient satisfaction. Future interventions to reduce health care discrimination should include a focus on staff cultural competence and customer service skills.

Interaction potentials for multiquark states from instantons and other background gauge field configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warner, R.C.; Joshi, G.C.

1979-01-01

A simple rule is presented for calculating the contributions to the interaction potentials between constituent particles for a family of multiquark states, due to the presence of a semi-classical gauge field configuration which exists in a single SU(2) subgroup of colour SU(3). In multiquark states beyond the baryon many-body potential terms are found. The static (Wilson loop) limit is sufficient to elucidate the dependence of the potential on the colour structure of the multiquark state

Why health visiting? Examining the potential public health benefits from health visiting practice within a universal service: a narrative review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowley, Sarah; Whittaker, Karen; Malone, Mary; Donetto, Sara; Grigulis, Astrida; Maben, Jill

2015-01-01

There is increasing international interest in universal, health promoting services for pregnancy and the first three years of life and the concept of proportionate universalism. Drawing on a narrative review of literature, this paper explores mechanisms by which such services might contribute to health improvement and reducing health inequalities. Through a narrative review of empirical literature, to identify: (1) What are the key components of health visiting practice? (2) How are they reflected in implementing the universal service/provision envisaged in the English Health Visitor Implementation Plan (HVIP)? The paper draws upon a scoping study and narrative review. We used three complementary approaches to search the widely dispersed literature: (1) broad, general search, (2) structured search, using topic-specific search terms, (3) seminal paper search. Our key inclusion criterion was information about health visiting practice. We included empirical papers from United Kingdom (UK) from 2004 to February 2012 and older seminal papers identified in search (3), identifying a total of 348 papers for inclusion. A thematic content analysis compared the older (up to 2003) with more recent research (2004 onwards). The analysis revealed health visiting practice as potentially characterized by a particular 'orientation to practice.' This embodied the values, skills and attitudes needed to deliver universal health visiting services through salutogenesis (health creation), person-centredness (human valuing) and viewing the person in situation (human ecology). Research about health visiting actions focuses on home visiting, needs assessment and parent-health visitor relationships. The detailed description of health visitors' skills, attitudes, values, and their application in practice, provides an explanation of how universal provision can potentially help to promote health and shift the social gradient of health inequalities. Identification of needs across an

Climate Change in the US: Potential Consequences for Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Nancy G.

2001-01-01

The U.S. National Assessment identified five major areas of consequences of climate change in the United States: temperature-related illnesses and deaths, health effects related to extreme weather events, air pollution-related health effects, water- and food-borne diseases, and insect-, tick-, and rodent-borne diseases. The U.S. National Assessment final conclusions about these potential health effects will be described. In addition, a summary of some of the new tools for studying human health aspects of climate change as well as environment-health linkages through remotely sensed data and observations will be provided.

Promoting mother-infant interaction and infant mental health in low-income Korean families: attachment-based cognitive behavioral approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Gyungjoo; McCreary, Linda; Breitmayer, Bonnie; Kim, Mi Ja; Yang, Soo

2013-10-01

This study evaluated the attachment-based cognitive behavioral approach (ACBA) to enhance mother-infant interaction and infant mental health. This quasi-experimental study used a pre-posttest control group design. Participants were 40 low-income, mother-infant (infant ages 12-36 months) dyads, 20 dyads per group. The ACBA group received 10 weekly 90-min sessions. Dependent variables were changes in mother-infant interaction and infant mental health. Additionally, we explored changes in mothers' attachment security. The groups differed significantly in changes in mother-infant interaction, infant mental health problems, and mothers' attachment security. ACBA may enhance mother-infant interaction and infants' mental health. © 2013, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Intermolecular interaction potentials of the methane dimer from the local density approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xiangrong; Bai Yulin; Zhu Jun; Yang Xiangdong

2004-01-01

The intermolecular interaction potentials of methane (CH 4 ) dimer are calculated within the density functional theory in the local density approximation (LDA). It is found that the calculated potentials have minima when the intermolecular distance of CH 4 dimer is about 7.0 a.u., which is in good agreement with the experiment. The depth of the potential is 0.017 eV. The results obtained by our LDA calculations seem to agree well with those obtained by MP2, MP3, and CCSD from the Moeller-Plesset and coupled cluster methods by Tsuzuki et al. and with the experimental data

Influence of Solvent-Solvent and Solute-Solvent Interaction Properties on Solvent-Mediated Potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Shiqi

2005-01-01

A recently proposed universal calculational recipe for solvent-mediated potential is applied to calculate excess potential of mean force between two large Lennard-Jones (LJ) or hard core attractive Yukawa particles immersed in small LJ solvent bath at supercritical state. Comparison between the present prediction with a hypernetted chain approximation adopted for solute-solute correlation at infinitely dilute limit and existing simulation data shows high accuracy for the region with large separation, and qualitative reliability for the solute particle contact region. The calculational simplicity of the present recipe allows for a detailed investigation on the effect of the solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interaction details on the excess potential of mean force. The resultant conclusion is that gathering of solvent particles near a solute particle leads to repulsive excess PMF, while depletion of solvent particles away from the solute particle leads to attractive excess PMF, and minor change of the solvent-solvent interaction range has large influence on the excess PMF.

Adverse event potentially due to an interaction between ibrutinib and verapamil: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert Kuhn, E; Levêque, D; Lioure, B; Gourieux, B; Bilbault, P

2016-02-01

Ibrutinib is a recently approved oral anticancer agent with pharmacokinetics that is very sensitive to metabolic inhibition. We report a serious side effect of ibrutinib potentially attributable to interaction with the moderate CYP3A4 inhibitor verapamil. A patient with mantle cell lymphoma was admitted to our emergency department with severe diarrhoea. During a prescription review, the clinical pharmacist identified a potential drug interaction between ibrutinib and verapamil present in a branded combination product also containing trandolapril. Ibrutinib was discontinued for 5 days, and verapamil was stopped. Lercanidipine 10 mg daily was prescribed as an alternative antihypertensive drug. The patient was discharged after 3 days with symptomatic treatment for his diarrhoea. Three months later, the patient maintained control with ibrutinib and olmesartan, but without verapamil. This is the first description of a serious side effect of ibrutinib likely due to an interaction with the CYP3A4 inhibitor verapamil. Prescriptions of ibrutinib must be carefully checked to identify possible interactions with CYP3A4 inhibitors and patients monitored accordingly. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of Leptospira interrogans and Leptospira biflexa genomes: analysis of potential leptospiral-host interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehrotra, Prachi; Ramakrishnan, Gayatri; Dhandapani, Gunasekaran; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy; Madanan, Madathiparambil G

2017-05-02

Leptospirosis, a potentially life-threatening disease, remains the most widespread zoonosis caused by pathogenic species of Leptospira. The pathogenic spirochaete, Leptospira interrogans, is characterized by its ability to permeate human host tissues rapidly and colonize multiple organs in the host. In spite of the efforts taken to comprehend the pathophysiology of the pathogen and the heterogeneity posed by L. interrogans, the current knowledge on the mechanism of pathogenesis is modest. In an attempt to contribute towards the same, we demonstrate the use of an established structure-based protocol coupled with information on subcellular localization of proteins and their tissue-specificity, in recognizing a set of 49 biologically feasible interactions potentially mediated by proteins of L. interrogans in humans. We have also presented means to adjudge the physicochemical viability of the predicted host-pathogen interactions, for selected cases, in terms of interaction energies and geometric shape complementarity of the interacting proteins. Comparative analyses of proteins of L. interrogans and the saprophytic spirochaete, Leptospira biflexa, and their predicted involvement in interactions with human hosts, aided in underpinning the functional relevance of leptospiral-host protein-protein interactions specific to L. interrogans as well as those specific to L. biflexa. Our study presents characteristics of the pathogenic L. interrogans that are predicted to facilitate its ability to persist in human hosts.

Mitigation potential and global health impacts from emissions pricing of food commodities

Science.gov (United States)

Springmann, Marco; Mason-D'Croz, Daniel; Robinson, Sherman; Wiebe, Keith; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Rayner, Mike; Scarborough, Peter

2017-01-01

The projected rise in food-related greenhouse gas emissions could seriously impede efforts to limit global warming to acceptable levels. Despite that, food production and consumption have long been excluded from climate policies, in part due to concerns about the potential impact on food security. Using a coupled agriculture and health modelling framework, we show that the global climate change mitigation potential of emissions pricing of food commodities could be substantial, and that levying greenhouse gas taxes on food commodities could, if appropriately designed, be a health-promoting climate policy in high-income countries, as well as in most low- and middle-income countries. Sparing food groups known to be beneficial for health from taxation, selectively compensating for income losses associated with tax-related price increases, and using a portion of tax revenues for health promotion are potential policy options that could help avert most of the negative health impacts experienced by vulnerable groups, whilst still promoting changes towards diets which are more environmentally sustainable.

Specifying computer-based counseling systems in health care: a new approach to user-interface and interaction design.

Science.gov (United States)

Herzberg, Dominikus; Marsden, Nicola; Kübler, Peter; Leonhardt, Corinna; Thomanek, Sabine; Jung, Hartmut; Becker, Annette

2009-04-01

Computer-based counseling systems in health care play an important role in the toolset available for medical doctors to inform, motivate and challenge their patients according to a well-defined therapeutic goal. The design, development and implementation of such systems require close collaboration between users, i.e. patients, and developers. While this is true of any software development process, it can be particularly challenging in the health counseling field, where there are multiple specialties and extremely heterogeneous user groups. In order to facilitate a structured design approach for counseling systems in health care, we developed (a) an iterative three-staged specification process, which enables early involvement of potential users in the development process, and (b) a specification language, which enables an author to consistently describe and define user interfaces and interaction designs in a stepwise manner. Due to the formal nature of our specifications, our implementation has some unique features, like early execution of prototypes, automated system generation and verification capabilities.

Tunable interactions between paramagnetic colloidal particles driven in a modulated ratchet potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Straube, Arthur V; Tierno, Pietro

2014-06-14

We study experimentally and theoretically the interactions between paramagnetic particles dispersed in water and driven above the surface of a stripe patterned magnetic garnet film. An external rotating magnetic field modulates the stray field of the garnet film and generates a translating potential landscape which induces directed particle motion. By varying the ellipticity of the rotating field, we tune the inter-particle interactions from net repulsive to net attractive. For attractive interactions, we show that pairs of particles can approach each other and form stable doublets which afterwards travel along the modulated landscape at a constant mean speed. We measure the strength of the attractive force between the moving particles and propose an analytically tractable model that explains the observations and is in quantitative agreement with experiment.

Frequency of potential interactions between drugs in medical prescriptions in a city in southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Genici Weyh Bleich

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Drug interactions form part of current clinical practice and they affect between 3 and 5% of polypharmacy patients. The aim of this study was to identify the frequency of potential drug-drug interactions in prescriptions for adult and elderly patients. TYPE OF STUDY AND SETTING: Cross-sectional pharmacoepidemiological survey in the Parque Verde housing project, municipality of Cascavel, Paraná, Brazil, between December 2006 and February 2007. METHODS: Stratified cluster sampling, proportional to the total number of homes in the housing project, was used. The sample consisted of 95 homes and 96 male or female patients aged 19 or over, with medical prescriptions for at least two pharmaceutical drugs. Interactions were identified using DrugDigest, Medscape and Micromedex softwares. RESULTS: Most of the patients were female (69.8%, married (59.4% and in the age group of 60 years or over (56.3%, with an income less than or equal to three minimum monthly salaries (81.3% and less than eight years of schooling (69.8%; 90.6% of the patients were living with another person. The total number of pharmaceutical drugs was 406 (average of 4.2 medications per patient. The drugs most prescribed were antihypertensives (47.5%. The frequency of drug interactions was 66.6%. Among the 154 potential drug interactions, 4.6% were classified as major, 65.6% as moderate and 20.1% as minor. CONCLUSION: The high frequency of drug prescriptions with a potential for differentiated interactions indicates a situation that has so far been little explored, albeit a reality in household surveys.

The Prevalence of Potential Drug Interactions Among Critically Ill Elderly Patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Rafiei

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the research was to determine prevalence of potential drug interactions among elderly patients in the Shahid Bahonar ICU in Kerman. Methods & Materials: In this cross sectional study, data about all elderly patients who were admitted in the intensive care unit from 1/4/2009 to 1/4/2010 were retrieved from medical records and evaluated with regard to the number and type of drug interactions, the number of drugs administered, age, sex, length of stay in the ICU, and the number of doctors prescribing medications of medications administered. The extent and number of drug interactions were investigated based on the reference textbook Drug Interaction Facts and in order to analyze the data collected, using SPSS 18 and according to study goals, a descriptive test, Pierson's correlation test, an independent T-test and a one-way ANOVA were used. Results: In total, 77 types of drugs and 394 drugs were prescribed with a mean of 5.6(SD=1.5 drugs per patient. A total of 108 potential drug interactions were found related to drugs prescribed during the first twenty-four hours. In terms of the type of drug interactions, delayed, moderate and possible types comprised the highest proportion of drug interactions. The four major interactions were between cimetidine and methadone, furosemide and amikacine, phenytoin and dopamine, and heparin and aspirin. The results of Pierson's correlation test were inicative of a positive correlation between the number of potential drug interactions and that of the drugs prescribed (r=0.563, P<0.05. Results of a one-way ANOVA showed that the mean number of potential drug interaction were significantly higher in those who died than in other patients (P<0.05. Conclusion: Elderly patients who are admitted to the intensive care unit are at a high risk of developing drug interactions and better care must be taken by medical team members.

Health Care Expenditure among People with Disabilities: Potential Role of Workplace Health Promotion and Implications for Rehabilitation Counseling

Science.gov (United States)

Karpur, Arun; Bruyere, Susanne M.

2012-01-01

Workplace health-promotion programs have the potential to reduce health care expenditures, especially among people with disabilities. Utilizing nationally representative survey data, the authors provide estimates for health care expenditures related to secondary conditions, obesity, and health behaviors among working-age people with disabilities.…

Charged patchy particle models in explicit salt: Ion distributions, electrostatic potentials, and effective interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yigit, Cemil; Heyda, Jan; Dzubiella, Joachim

2015-08-14

We introduce a set of charged patchy particle models (CPPMs) in order to systematically study the influence of electrostatic charge patchiness and multipolarity on macromolecular interactions by means of implicit-solvent, explicit-ion Langevin dynamics simulations employing the Gromacs software. We consider well-defined zero-, one-, and two-patched spherical globules each of the same net charge and (nanometer) size which are composed of discrete atoms. The studied mono- and multipole moments of the CPPMs are comparable to those of globular proteins with similar size. We first characterize ion distributions and electrostatic potentials around a single CPPM. Although angle-resolved radial distribution functions reveal the expected local accumulation and depletion of counter- and co-ions around the patches, respectively, the orientation-averaged electrostatic potential shows only a small variation among the various CPPMs due to space charge cancellations. Furthermore, we study the orientation-averaged potential of mean force (PMF), the number of accumulated ions on the patches, as well as the CPPM orientations along the center-to-center distance of a pair of CPPMs. We compare the PMFs to the classical Derjaguin-Verwey-Landau-Overbeek theory and previously introduced orientation-averaged Debye-Hückel pair potentials including dipolar interactions. Our simulations confirm the adequacy of the theories in their respective regimes of validity, while low salt concentrations and large multipolar interactions remain a challenge for tractable theoretical descriptions.

Coffee: biochemistry and potential impact on health.

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, Iziar A; Clifford, Michael N; Lean, Michael E J; Ashihara, Hiroshi; Crozier, Alan

2014-08-01

This review provides details on the phytochemicals in green coffee beans and the changes that occur during roasting. Key compounds in the coffee beverage, produced from the ground, roasted beans, are volatile constituents responsible for the unique aroma, the alkaloids caffeine and trigonelline, chlorogenic acids, the diterpenes cafestol and kahweol, and melanoidins, which are Maillard reaction products. The fate of these compounds in the body following consumption of coffee is discussed along with evidence of the mechanisms by which they may impact on health. Finally, epidemiological findings linking coffee consumption to potential health benefits including prevention of several chronic and degenerative diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease, are evaluated.

Reconstruction of the Tip-Surface Interaction Potential by Analysis of the Brownian Motion of an Atomic Force Microscope Tip

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemsen, O.H.; Kuipers, L.; van der Werf, Kees; de Grooth, B.G.; Greve, Jan

2000-01-01

The thermal movement of an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip is used to reconstruct the tip-surface interaction potential. If a tip is brought into the vicinity of a surface, its movement is governed by the sum of the harmonic cantilever potential and the tip-surface interaction potential. By

Social marketing meets health literacy: Innovative improvement of health care providers’ comfort with patient interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Primack, Brian A.; Bui, Thuy; Fertman, Carl I.

2010-01-01

Objective It is essential to train health care providers to deliver care sensitive to the needs of diverse individuals with varying degrees of health literacy. We aimed to evaluate an innovative, theory-based, educational intervention involving social marketing and health literacy. Methods In 2006 at a large medical school, all first-year students were exposed to the intervention. They completed pre- and post-test anonymous surveys including demographic data, covariates, and key outcome variables. Paired t-tests and multiple linear regression were used to evaluate the intervention and to determine independent associations among the key outcome variables. Results Post-intervention scores were significantly higher than pre-intervention scores for social marketing (3.31 versus 1.90, p marketing and health literacy can improve skills that improve medical students’ comfort with patients of diverse backgrounds. Practice implications Health care providers can be taught educational principles and skills involved in developing effective patient education materials. These skills may improve providers’ comfort with direct patient interaction. PMID:17418522

Sense-antisense (complementary) peptide interactions and the proteomic code; potential opportunities in biology and pharmaceutical science.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Andrew D

2015-02-01

A sense peptide can be defined as a peptide whose sequence is coded by the nucleotide sequence (read 5' → 3') of the sense (positive) strand of DNA. Conversely, an antisense (complementary) peptide is coded by the corresponding nucleotide sequence (read 5' → 3') of the antisense (negative) strand of DNA. Research has been accumulating steadily to suggest that sense peptides are capable of specific interactions with their corresponding antisense peptides. Unfortunately, although more and more examples of specific sense-antisense peptide interactions are emerging, the very idea of such interactions does not conform to standard biology dogma and so there remains a sizeable challenge to lift this concept from being perceived as a peripheral phenomenon if not worse, into becoming part of the scientific mainstream. Specific interactions have now been exploited for the inhibition of number of widely different protein-protein and protein-receptor interactions in vitro and in vivo. Further, antisense peptides have also been used to induce the production of antibodies targeted to specific receptors or else the production of anti-idiotypic antibodies targeted against auto-antibodies. Such illustrations of utility would seem to suggest that observed sense-antisense peptide interactions are not just the consequence of a sequence of coincidental 'lucky-hits'. Indeed, at the very least, one might conclude that sense-antisense peptide interactions represent a potentially new and different source of leads for drug discovery. But could there be more to come from studies in this area? Studies on the potential mechanism of sense-antisense peptide interactions suggest that interactions may be driven by amino acid residue interactions specified from the genetic code. If so, such specified amino acid residue interactions could form the basis for an even wider amino acid residue interaction code (proteomic code) that links gene sequences to actual protein structure and function, even

Potential human health risk assessment of heavy metals intake via ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Potential human health risk assessment of heavy metals intake via consumption of some leafy vegetables obtained from four market in Lagos Metropolis, Nigeria. ... This result reflected the risk associated with exposure for the period of life expectancy considered, and the inhabitants are highly exposed to health risks ...

Mean Field Limits for Interacting Diffusions in a Two-Scale Potential

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, S. N.; Pavliotis, G. A.

2018-06-01

In this paper, we study the combined mean field and homogenization limits for a system of weakly interacting diffusions moving in a two-scale, locally periodic confining potential, of the form considered in Duncan et al. (Brownian motion in an N-scale periodic potential, arXiv:1605.05854, 2016b). We show that, although the mean field and homogenization limits commute for finite times, they do not, in general, commute in the long time limit. In particular, the bifurcation diagrams for the stationary states can be different depending on the order with which we take the two limits. Furthermore, we construct the bifurcation diagram for the stationary McKean-Vlasov equation in a two-scale potential, before passing to the homogenization limit, and we analyze the effect of the multiple local minima in the confining potential on the number and the stability of stationary solutions.

Potential effects on health of radioactive waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sousselier, Y.; Parmentier, N.

1983-07-01

Radioactive waste is considered to represent a potential health risk for future generation by a section of the public. The main point is that waste management must follow very strict guidelines. The radioactive waste treatment, packaging and disposal are rewieved and discussed from a safety point of view. Health physics aspects are then analysed. The major difficulties for the prediction of exposure are mainly due to the very long time periods involved. Models are studied and carried out for the prediction of radiological consequences for the transport of radioactivity through the different modules

Inelastic multiple scattering of interacting bosons in weak random potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geiger, Tobias

2013-01-01

Within the present thesis we develop a diagrammatic scattering theory for interacting bosons in a three-dimensional, weakly disordered potential. Based on a microscopic N-body scattering theory, we identify the relevant diagrams including elastic and inelastic collision processes that are sufficient to describe quantum transport in the regime of weak disorder. By taking advantage of the statistical properties of the weak disorder potential, we demonstrate how the N-body dynamics can be reduced to a nonlinear integral equation of Boltzmann type for the single-particle diffusive flux. A presently available alternative description - based on the Gross-Pitaevskii equation - only includes elastic collisions. In contrast, we show that far from equilibrium the presence of inelastic collisions - even for weak interaction strength - must be accounted for and can induce the full thermalization of the single-particle current. In addition, we also determine the coherent corrections to the incoherent transport, leading to the effect of coherent backscattering. For the first time, we are able to analyze the influence of inelastic collisions on the coherent backscattering signal, which lead to an enhancement of the backscattered cone in a narrow spectral window, even for increasing non-linearity. With a short recollection of the presently available experimental techniques we furthermore show how an immediate implementation of our suggested setup with confined Bose-Einstein condensates can be accomplished. Thereby, the emergence of collective and/or thermodynamic behavior from fundamental, microscopic constituents can also be assessed experimentally. In a second part of this thesis, we present first results for light scattering off strongly interacting Rydberg atoms trapped in a one-dimensional, chain-like configuration. In order to monitor the time-dependence of this interacting many-body system, we devise a weak measurement scenario for which we derive a master equation for the

Cubic–quintic long-range interactions with double well potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsilifis, Panagiotis A; Kevrekidis, Panayotis G; Rothos, Vassilis M

2014-01-01

In the present work, we examine the combined effects of cubic and quintic terms of the long-range type in the dynamics of a double well potential. Employing a two-mode approximation, we systematically develop two cubic–quintic ordinary differential equations and assess the contributions of the long-range interactions in each of the relevant prefactors, gauging how to simplify the ensuing dynamical system. Finally, we obtain a reduced canonical description for the conjugate variables of relative population imbalance and relative phase between the two wells and proceed to a dynamical systems analysis of the resulting pair of ordinary differential equations. While in the case of cubic and quintic interactions of the same kind (e.g. both attractive or both repulsive), only a symmetry-breaking bifurcation can be identified, a remarkable effect that emerges e.g. in the setting of repulsive cubic but attractive quintic interactions is a ‘symmetry-restoring’ bifurcation. Namely, in addition to the supercritical pitchfork that leads to a spontaneous symmetry breaking of the antisymmetric state, there is a subcritical pitchfork that eventually reunites the asymmetric daughter branch with the antisymmetric parent one. The relevant bifurcations, the stability of the branches and their dynamical implications are examined both in the reduced (ODE) and in the full (PDE) setting. The model is argued to be of physical relevance, especially so in the context of optical thermal media. (paper)

Potential pharmacokinetic interactions between antiretrovirals and medicinal plants used as complementary and African traditional medicines.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Adrienne C; Kanfer, Isadore

2011-11-01

The use of traditional/complementary/alternate medicines (TCAMs) in HIV/AIDS patients who reside in Southern Africa is quite common. Those who use TCAMs in addition to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment may be at risk of experiencing clinically significant pharmacokinetic (PK) interactions, particularly between the TCAMs and the protease inhibitors (PIs) and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs). Mechanisms of PK interactions include alterations to the normal functioning of drug efflux transporters, such as P-gp and/or CYP isoenzymes, such a CYP3A4 that mediate the absorption and elimination of drugs in the small intestine and liver. Specific mechanisms include inhibition and activation of these proteins and induction via the pregnane X receptor (PXR). Several clinical studies and case reports involving ARV-herb PK interactions have been reported. St John's Wort, Garlic and Cat's Claw exhibited potentially significant interactions, each with a PI or NNRTI. The potential for these herbs to induce PK interactions with drugs was first identified in reports of in vitro studies. Other in vitro studies have shown that several African traditional medicinal (ATM) plants and extracts may also demonstrate PK interactions with ARVs, through effects on CYP3A4, P-gp and PXR. The most complex effects were exhibited by Hypoxis hemerocallidea, Sutherlandia frutescens, Cyphostemma hildebrandtii, Acacia nilotica, Agauria salicifolia and Elaeodendron buchananii. Despite a high incidence of HIV/AIDs in the African region, only one clinical study, between efavirenz and Hypoxis hemerocallidea has been conducted. However, several issues/concerns still remain to be addressed and thus more studies on ATMs are warranted in order for more meaningful data to be generated and the true potential for such interactions to be determined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Unhealthy interactions: the role of stereotype threat in health disparities.

Science.gov (United States)

Aronson, Joshua; Burgess, Diana; Phelan, Sean M; Juarez, Lindsay

2013-01-01

Stereotype threat is the unpleasant psychological experience of confronting negative stereotypes about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or social status. Hundreds of published studies show how the experience of stereotype threat can impair intellectual functioning and interfere with test and school performance. Numerous published interventions derived from this research have improved the performance and motivation of individuals targeted by low-ability stereotypes. Stereotype threat theory and research provide a useful lens for understanding and reducing the negative health consequences of interracial interactions for African Americans and members of similarly stigmatized minority groups. Here we summarize the educational outcomes of stereotype threat and examine the implications of stereotype threat for health and health-related behaviors.

Research on the potential use of interactive materials on astronomy education

Science.gov (United States)

Voelzke, Marcos Rincon; Macedo, Josue

2016-07-01

This study presents results of a survey conducted at the Federal Institution of Education, Science and Technology in the North of Minas Gerais (IFNMG), and aimed to investigate the potentialities of the use of interactive materials in the teaching of astronomy. An advanced training course with involved learning activities about basic concepts of astronomy was offered to thirty-two Licenciate students in Physics, Mathematics and Biological Sciences, using the mixed methodology, combined with the three pedagogical moments. Among other aspects, the viability of the use of resources was noticed, involving digital technologies and interactive materials on teaching of astronomy, which may contribute to the broadening of methodological options for future teachers and meet their training needs.

Public health intelligence and the detection of potential pandemics.

Science.gov (United States)

French, Martin; Mykhalovskiy, Eric

2013-02-01

This article considers contemporary developments in public health intelligence (PHI), especially their focus on health events of pandemic potential. It argues that the sociological study of PHI can yield important insights for the sociology of pandemics. PHI aims to detect health events as (or even before) they unfold. Whilst its apparatuses envelope traditional public health activities, such as epidemiological surveillance, they increasingly extend to non-traditional public health activities such as data-mining in electronically mediated social networks. With a focus on non-traditional PHI activities, the article first situates the study of PHI in relation to the sociology of public health. It then discusses the conceptualisation and actualisation of pandemics, reflecting on how public health professionals and organisations must equip themselves with diverse allies in order to realise the claims they make about pandemic phenomena. Finally, using the analytic tools of actor-network theory, sites for future empirical research that can contribute to the sociology of pandemics are suggested. © 2012 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2012 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Media portrayals and health inequalities: a case study of characterizations of Gene x Environment interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Horwitz, Allan V

2005-10-01

This article examines how genetic and environmental interactions associated with health inequalities are constructed and framed in the presentation of scientific research. It uses the example of a major article about depression in a longitudinal study of young adults that appeared in Science in 2003. This portrayal of findings related to health inequalities uses a genetic lens that privileges genetic influences and diminishes environmental ones. The emphasis on the genetic side of Gene x Environment interactions can serve to deflect attention away from the important impact of social inequalities on health.

The representation of health care services in Mexican television: potential consequences for health subjectivities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soledad Rojas Rajs

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to analyze the representation of health services in Mexican television, considering that television plays an important role in the production and reproduction of the social meanings of health. A descriptive study analyzed the contents of 672 hours of continuous television (media flows broadcast in Mexico in 2011, examining advertising, television shows and newscasts. The analysis of all these messages shows that the representation of private care services predominates. When public care services are mentioned, the communication is mainly regarding the Seguro Popular de Salud [Popular Health Insurance, for those with low incomes], while the social security model of care is underrepresented. We therefore conclude that television favors the two first models of health care. This kind of representation could hold potential consequences for health subjectivities.

Mach-Zehnder interferometry with interacting Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berrada, T.

2014-01-01

Mach-Zehnder interferometry with interacting Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well potential Particle-wave duality has enabled the construction of interferometers for massive particles such as electrons, neutrons, atoms or molecules. Implementing atom interferometry has required the development of analogues to the optical beam-splitters, phase shifters or recombiners to enable the coherent, i.e. phase-preserving manipulation of quantum superpositions. While initially demonstrating the wave nature of particles, atom interferometers have evolved into some of the most advanced devices for precision measurement, both for technological applications and tests of the fundamental laws of nature. Bose- Einstein condensates (BEC) of ultracold atoms are particular matter waves: they exhibit a collective many-body wave function and macroscopic coherence properties. As such, they have often been considered as an analogue to optical laser elds and it is natural to wonder whether BECs can provide to atom interferometry a similar boost as the laser brought to optical interferometry. One fundamental dierence between atomic BECs and lasers elds is the presence of atomic interactions, yielding an intrinsic non-linearity. On one hand, interactions can lead to eects destroying the phase coherence and limiting the interrogation time of trapped BEC interferometers. On the other hand, they can be used to generate nonclassical (e.g. squeezed) states to improve the sensitivity of interferometric measurements beyond the standard quantum limit (SQL). In this thesis, we present the realization of a full Mach-Zehnder interferometric sequence with trapped, interacting BECs con ned on an atom chip. Our interferometer relies on the coherent manipulation of a BEC in a magnetic double-well potential. For this purpose, we developed a novel type of matter-wave recombiner, an element which so far was missing in BEC atom optics. We have been able to exploit interactions to generate a squeezed

Cultural health capital and the interactional dynamics of patient-centered care

OpenAIRE

Dubbin, Leslie A.; Chang, Jamie Suki; Shim, Janet K.

2013-01-01

As intuitive and inviting as it may appear, the concept of patient-centered care has been difficult to conceptualize, institutionalize and operationalize. Informed by Bourdieu's concepts of cultural capital and habitus, we employ the framework of cultural health capital to uncover the ways in which both patients' and providers' cultural resources, assets, and interactional styles influence their abilities to mutually achieve patient-centered care. Cultural health capital is defined as a speci...

Potential Effects of Domestic Energy on the Health of Women ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To highlight the various potential health problems women and others exposed to gases/substances emitted from domestic sources of energy are at risk of. A review of the literature on the health problems associated with use of various forms of energy fuels was done. Review: Not much literature has emanated ...

Calculation of Rydberg interaction potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weber, Sebastian; Tresp, Christoph; Menke, Henri

2017-01-01

The strong interaction between individual Rydberg atoms provides a powerful tool exploited in an ever-growing range of applications in quantum information science, quantum simulation and ultracold chemistry. One hallmark of the Rydberg interaction is that both its strength and angular dependence...... for calculating the required electric multipole moments and the inclusion of electromagnetic fields with arbitrary direction. We focus specifically on symmetry arguments and selection rules, which greatly reduce the size of the Hamiltonian matrix, enabling the direct diagonalization of the Hamiltonian up...

Young Malawians on the interaction between mental health and HIV ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... teenage mothers, and out-of-school youths, in both rural and urban settings. ... They showed awareness of a two-way interaction between HIV/AIDS and mental ... that the latter can increase thoughts of suicide and HIV risk-taking behaviour. ... of mental health provision within HIV prevention, education and care initiatives.

Current, future and potential use of mobile and wearable technologies and social media data in the ABCD study to increase understanding of contributors to child health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagot, K S; Matthews, S A; Mason, M; Squeglia, Lindsay M; Fowler, J; Gray, K; Herting, M; May, A; Colrain, I; Godino, J; Tapert, S; Brown, S; Patrick, K

2018-08-01

Mobile and wearable technologies and novel methods of data collection are innovating health-related research. These technologies and methods allow for multi-system level capture of data across environmental, physiological, behavioral, and psychological domains. In the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, there is great potential for harnessing the acceptability, accessibility, and functionality of mobile and social technologies for in-vivo data capture to precisely measure factors, and interactions between factors, that contribute to childhood and adolescent neurodevelopment and psychosocial and health outcomes. Here we discuss advances in mobile and wearable technologies and methods of analysis of geospatial, ecologic, social network and behavioral data. Incorporating these technologies into the ABCD study will allow for interdisciplinary research on the effects of place, social interactions, environment, and substance use on health and developmental outcomes in children and adolescents. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Collision kernels in the eikonal approximation for Lennard-Jones interaction potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zielinska, S.

1985-03-01

The velocity changing collisions are conveniently described by collisional kernels. These kernels depend on an interaction potential and there is a necessity for evaluating them for realistic interatomic potentials. Using the collision kernels, we are able to investigate the redistribution of atomic population's caused by the laser light and velocity changing collisions. In this paper we present the method of evaluating the collision kernels in the eikonal approximation. We discuss the influence of the potential parameters Rsub(o)sup(i), epsilonsub(o)sup(i) on kernel width for a given atomic state. It turns out that unlike the collision kernel for the hard sphere model of scattering the Lennard-Jones kernel is not so sensitive to changes of Rsub(o)sup(i) as the previous one. Contrary to the general tendency of approximating collisional kernels by the Gaussian curve, kernels for the Lennard-Jones potential do not exhibit such a behaviour. (author)

Probing nanomechanical interaction at the interface between biological membrane and potentially toxic chemical.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Chanoong; Park, Sohee; Park, Jinwoo; Ko, Jina; Lee, Dong Woog; Hwang, Dong Soo

2018-04-12

Various xenobiotics interact with biological membranes, and precise evaluations of the molecular interactions between them are essential to foresee the toxicity and bioavailability of existing or newly synthesized molecules. In this study, surface forces apparatus (SFA) measurement and Langmuir trough based tensiometry are performed to reveal nanomechanical interaction mechanisms between potential toxicants and biological membranes for ex vivo toxicity evaluation. As a toxicant, polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) was selected because PHMG containing humidifier disinfectant and Vodka caused lots of victims in both S. Korea and Russia, respectively, due to the lack of holistic toxicity evaluation of PHMG. Here, we measured strong attraction (Wad ∼4.2 mJ/m 2 ) between PHMG and head group of biological membranes while no detectable adhesion force between the head group and control molecules was measured. Moreover, significant changes in π-A isotherm of 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers were measured upon PHMG adsorption. These results indicate PHMG strongly binds to hydrophilic group of lipid membranes and alters the structural and phase behavior of them. More importantly, complementary utilization of SFA and Langmuir trough techniques are found to be useful to predict the potential toxicity of a chemical by evaluating the molecular interaction with biological membranes, the primary protective barrier for living organisms. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring functional, interactive and critical health literacy of Chinese secondary school students: reliable, valid and feasible?

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Shuaijun; Davis, Elise; Yu, Xiaoming; Naccarella, Lucio; Armstrong, Rebecca; Abel, Thomas; Browne, Geoffrey; Shi, Yanqin

2018-04-01

Health literacy is an increasingly important topic in the global context. In mainland China, health literacy measures mainly focus on health knowledge and practices or on the functional domain for adolescents. However, little is known about interactive and critical domains. This study aimed to adopt a skills-based and three-domain (functional, interactive and critical) instrument to measure health literacy in Chinese adolescents and to examine the status and determinants of each domain. Using a systematic review, the eight-item Health Literacy Assessment Tool (HLAT-8) was selected and translated from English to Chinese (c-HLAT-8). Following the translation process, a cross-sectional study was conducted in four secondary schools in Beijing, China. A total of 650 students in Years 7-9 were recruited to complete a self-administered questionnaire that assessed socio-demographics, self-efficacy, social support, school environment, community environment and health literacy. Results showed that the c-HLAT-8 had satisfactory reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.79; intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.72) and strong validity (translation validity index (TVI) ≥0.95; χ 2 / df = 3.388, p students had an average score of 26.37 (±5.89) for the c-HLAT-8. When the determinants of each domain of health literacy were examined, social support was the strongest predictor of interactive and critical health literacy. On the contrary, self-efficacy and school environment played more dominant roles in predicting functional health literacy. The c-HLAT-8 was demonstrated to be a reliable, valid and feasible instrument for measuring functional, interactive and critical health literacy among Chinese students. The current findings indicate that increasing self-efficacy, social support and creating supportive environments are important for promoting health literacy in secondary school settings in China.

Potential health impacts of burning coal beds and waste banks

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelman, R.B.

2004-01-01

Uncontrolled release of pollutants from burning coal beds and waste banks presents potential environmental and human health hazards. On a global scale, the emissions of large volumes of greenhouse gases from burning coal beds may contribute to climate change that alters ecosystems and patterns of disease occurrence. On regional and local scales, the emissions from burning coal beds and waste banks of acidic gases, particulates, organic compounds, and trace elements can contribute to a range of respiratory and other human health problems. Although there are few published reports of health problems caused by these emissions, the potential for problems can be significant. In India, large numbers of people have been displaced from their homes because of health problems caused by emissions from burning coal beds. Volatile elements such as arsenic, fluorine, mercury, and selenium are commonly enriched in coal deposits. Burning coal beds can volatilize these elements, which then can be inhaled, or adsorbed on crops and foods, taken up by livestock or bioaccumulated in birds and fish. Some of these elements can condense on dust particles that can be inhaled or ingested. In addition, selenium, arsenic, lead, tin, bismuth, fluorine, and other elements condense where the hot gaseous emissions come in contact with ambient air, forming mats of concentrated efflorescent minerals on the surface of the ground. These mats can be leached by rainwater and washed into local water bodies providing other potential routes of exposure. Although there are little data linking burning coal beds and waste banks to known health problems, a possibly analogous situation exists in rural China where mineralized coal burned in a residential environment has caused widespread and severe health problems such as fluorosis and arseniasis. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factors Associated with Potential Food-Drug Interaction in Hospitalized Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Northeast Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa Abdollahi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: The minimization of adverse food-drug interactions will improve patient care by optimizing the therapeutic effects and maintaining proper nutritional status. Aim: The aim of the present study was to find the main factors that may place the hospitalized patients at risk of potential food-drug interactions. Method: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted on 400 inpatients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine of a teaching hospital in Mashhad, Northeast Iran, within 20 March 2013 to 20 April 2013. The potential food-drug interactions were evaluated for 19 commonly prescribed medications. The main factors (e.g., age, gender, education level, number of medications, and duration of the disease that may place the patients at risk of potential food-drug interactions were analyzed for each patient. Results: Out of the 19 commonly prescribed medications, 17 drugs (89% were not properly used with respect to meal. Furthermore, 14 commonly prescribed drugs were found to have a high frequency (≥50% of potential food-drug interactions. Most of the patients (n=359, 89.8% consumed their medicines at inappropriate time with respect to meals. The results of a multiple logistic regression after adjustment for confounders revealed that the age [β=0.005, CI: 0.0-0.01; P=033], number of medications [β=0.1, CI: 0.083-0.117; P

Molecular interaction of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole with catalase reveals a potentially toxic mechanism of the inhibitor.

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Yue; Zou, Luyi; Huang, Ming; Zong, Wansong

2014-12-01

2-Mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI) is widely utilized as a corrosion inhibitor, copper-plating brightener and rubber accelerator. The residue of MBI in the environment possesses a potential risk to human health. In this work, the toxic interaction of MBI with the important antioxidant enzyme catalase (CAT) was investigated using spectroscopic and molecular docking methods under physiological conditions. MBI can spontaneously bind with CAT with one binding site through hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces to form MBI-CAT complex. The molecular docking study revealed that MBI bound into the CAT interface of chains B and C, which led to some conformational and microenvironmental changes of CAT and further resulted in the inhibition of CAT activity. This present study provides direct evidence at a molecular level to show that exposure to MBI could induce changes in the structure and function of the enzyme CAT. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consensus validation of the POSAMINO (POtentially Serious Alcohol-Medication INteractions in Older adults) criteria.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Holton, Alice E

2017-11-08

Older adults are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects from concurrent alcohol and medication use. However, there is limited evidence regarding the prevalence of these adverse outcomes among older adults, and there is a lack of consensus regarding what constitutes an alcohol-interactive medicine. The objective of this study was to develop an explicit list of potentially serious alcohol-medication interactions for use in older adults.

Whitebark pine facilitation at treeline: potential interactions for disruption by an invasive pathogen.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomback, Diana F; Blakeslee, Sarah C; Wagner, Aaron C; Wunder, Michael B; Resler, Lynn M; Pyatt, Jill C; Diaz, Soledad

2016-08-01

In stressful environments, facilitation often aids plant establishment, but invasive plant pathogens may potentially disrupt these interactions. In many treeline communities in the northern Rocky Mountains of the U.S. and Canada, Pinus albicaulis, a stress-tolerant pine, initiates tree islands at higher frequencies than other conifers - that is, leads to leeward tree establishment more frequently. The facilitation provided by a solitary (isolated) P. albicaulis leading to tree island initiation may be important for different life-history stages for leeward conifers, but it is not known which life-history stages are influenced and protection provided. However, P. albicaulis mortality from the non-native pathogen Cronartium ribicola potentially disrupts these facilitative interactions, reducing tree island initiation. In two Rocky Mountain eastern slope study areas, we experimentally examined fundamental plant-plant interactions which might facilitate tree island formation: the protection offered by P. albicaulis to leeward seed and seedling life-history stages, and to leeward krummholz conifers. In the latter case, we simulated mortality from C. ribicola for windward P. albicaulis to determine whether loss of P. albicaulis from C. ribicola impacts leeward conifers. Relative to other common solitary conifers at treeline, solitary P. albicaulis had higher abundance. More seeds germinated in leeward rock microsites than in conifer or exposed microsites, but the odds of cotyledon seedling survival during the growing season were highest in P. albicaulis microsites. Planted seedling survival was low among all microsites examined. Simulating death of windward P. albicaulis by C. ribicola reduced shoot growth of leeward trees. Loss of P. albicaulis to exotic disease may limit facilitation interactions and conifer community development at treeline and potentially impede upward movement as climate warms.

Chemical Potential Dependence of the Dressed-Quark Propagator from an Effective Quark-Quark Interaction

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZONG Hong-Shi; PING Jia-Lun; SUN Wei-Min; CHANG Chao-Hsi; WANG Fan

2002-01-01

We exhibit a method for obtaining the low chemical potential dependence of the dressed quark propagatorfrom an effective quark-quark interaction model. Within this approach we explore the chemical potential dependenceof the dressed-quark propagator, which provides a means of determining the behavior of the chiral and deconfinementorder parameters. A comparison with the results of previous researches is given.

Quality and quantity: the role of social interactions in individual health

OpenAIRE

Damiano, Fiorillo; Fabio, Sabatini

2011-01-01

The public health literature focusing on the detrimental effects of social isolation has shown that the quantity of social connections is positively correlated with individual health. Drawing on pooled cross-sectional data, we test this hypothesis on a representative sample of the Italian population. Our findings show that, besides the quantity of interactions, it is their quality – as measured by subjective satisfaction derived from relationships with friends – that works as the best pre...

Mechanisms of radiation interaction with DNA: Potential implications for radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinclair, W.K.; Fry, R.J.M.

1987-01-01

An overview of presentations and discussions which took place at the US Department of Energy/Commission of European Communities (DOE/CEC) workshop on ''Mechanisms of Radiation Interaction with DNA: Potential Implications for Radiation Protection,'' held at San Diego, California, January 21-22, 1987, is provided. The Department has traditionally supported fundamental research on interactions of ionizing radiation with different biological systems and at all levels of biological organization. The aim of this workshop was to review the base of knowledge in the area of mechanisms of radiation action at the DNA level, and to explore ways in which this information can be applied to the development of scientifically sound concepts and procedures for use in the field of radiation protection

Calculation of the real part of the interaction potential between two heavy ions in the sudden approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngo, H.; Ngo, C.

1980-04-01

We have calculated the interaction potential between two heavy ions using the energy density formalism and Fermi distributions for the nuclear densities. The experimental fusion barriers are rather well reproduced. The conditions for the observation of fusion between two heavy ions is discussed. As far as the nuclear part of the interaction potential is concerned, the proximity scaling is investigated in details. It is found that the proximity theorem is satisfied to a good extent. However, as far as the neutron excess is concerned, a disagreement with the proximity potential is observed

Main and interactive effects of shiftwork, age and work stress on health in an Italian sample of healthcare workers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conway, Paul Maurice; Campanini, P; Sartori, S

2008-01-01

Among healthcare workers, shiftwork (mostly if nightwork is also included), ageing and work-related stress may be factors leading to impaired health. Such risk factors may also operate in interaction, resulting in an even increased harm for health. The present study aims at evaluating...... gastrointestinal disorders, poor work ability and job dissatisfaction. Work stress was the risk factor with the highest relevance for poor health. Ageing was associated with lower physical health. Few significant interactions were observed. Shiftwork with nights and high work stress significantly interacted...

Mental health and social networks in early adolescence: a dynamic study of objectively-measured social interaction behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Pachucki, Mark C; Ozer, Emily J; Barrat, Alain; Cattuto, Ciro

2015-01-01

How are social interaction dynamics associated with mental health during early stages of adolescence? The goal of this study is to objectively measure social interactions and evaluate the roles that multiple aspects of the social environment--such as physical activity and food choice--may jointly play in shaping the structure of children's relationships and their mental health. The data in this study are drawn from a longitudinal network-behavior study conducted in 2012 at a private K-8 school in an urban setting in California. We recruited a highly complete network sample of sixth-graders (n = 40, 91% of grade, mean age = 12.3), and examined how two measures of distressed mental health (self-esteem and depressive symptoms) are positionally distributed in an early adolescent interaction network. We ascertained how distressed mental health shapes the structure of relationships over a three-month period, adjusting for relevant dimensions of the social environment. Cross-sectional analyses of interaction networks revealed that self-esteem and depressive symptoms are differentially stratified by gender. Specifically, girls with more depressive symptoms have interactions consistent with social inhibition, while boys' interactions suggest robustness to depressive symptoms. Girls higher in self-esteem tended towards greater sociability. Longitudinal network behavior models indicate that gender similarity and perceived popularity are influential in the formation of social ties. Greater school connectedness predicts the development of self-esteem, though social ties contribute to more self-esteem improvement among students who identify as European-American. Cross-sectional evidence shows associations between distressed mental health and students' network peers. However, there is no evidence that connected students' mental health status becomes more similar in their over time because of their network interactions. These findings suggest that mental health during early

Consumer Mobile Apps for Potential Drug-Drug Interaction Check: Systematic Review and Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS).

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ben Yb; Sharafoddini, Anis; Tran, Nam; Wen, Emily Y; Lee, Joon

2018-03-28

General consumers can now easily access drug information and quickly check for potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) through mobile health (mHealth) apps. With aging population in Canada, more people have chronic diseases and comorbidities leading to increasing numbers of medications. The use of mHealth apps for checking PDDIs can be helpful in ensuring patient safety and empowerment. The aim of this study was to review the characteristics and quality of publicly available mHealth apps that check for PDDIs. Apple App Store and Google Play were searched to identify apps with PDDI functionality. The apps' general and feature characteristics were extracted. The Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) was used to assess the quality. A total of 23 apps were included for the review-12 from Apple App Store and 11 from Google Play. Only 5 of these were paid apps, with an average price of $7.19 CAD. The mean MARS score was 3.23 out of 5 (interquartile range 1.34). The mean MARS scores for the apps from Google Play and Apple App Store were not statistically different (P=.84). The information dimension was associated with the highest score (3.63), whereas the engagement dimension resulted in the lowest score (2.75). The total number of features per app, average rating, and price were significantly associated with the total MARS score. Some apps provided accurate and comprehensive information about potential adverse drug effects from PDDIs. Given the potentially severe consequences of incorrect drug information, there is a need for oversight to eliminate low quality and potentially harmful apps. Because managing PDDIs is complex in the absence of complete information, secondary features such as medication reminder, refill reminder, medication history tracking, and pill identification could help enhance the effectiveness of PDDI apps. ©Ben YB Kim, Anis Sharafoddini, Nam Tran, Emily Y Wen, Joon Lee. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 28.03.2018.

Potential disturbance interactions with a single IGV in an F109 turbofan engine

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Joel F.

A common cause of aircraft engine failure is the high cycle fatigue of engine blades and stators. One of the primary causes of these failures is due to blade row interactions, which cause an aerodynamic excitation to be resonant with a mechanical natural frequency. Traditionally, the primary source of such aerodynamic excitations has been practically limited to viscous wakes from upstream components. However, more advanced designs require that blade rows be very highly loaded and closely spaced. This results in aerodynamic excitation from potential fields of down stream engine components, in addition to the known wake excitations. An experimental investigation of the potential field from the fan of a Honeywell F109 turbofan engine has been completed. The investigation included velocity measurements upstream of the fan, addition of an airfoil shaped probe upstream of the fan on which surface pressure measurements were acquired, and measurement of the velocity in the interaction region between the probe and the fan. This investigation sought to characterize the response on the upstream probe due to the fan potential field and the interaction between a viscous wake and the potential field; as such, all test conditions were for subsonic fan speeds. The results from the collected data show that fan-induced potential disturbances propagate upstream at acoustic velocities, to produce vane surface-pressure amplitudes as high as 40 percent Joel F. Kirk of the inlet, mean total pressure. Further, these fan-induced pressure amplitudes display large variations between the two vane surfaces. An argument is made that the structure of the pressure response is consistent with the presence of two distinct sources of unsteady forcing disturbances. The disturbances on the incoming-rotation-facing surface of the IGV propagated upstream at a different speed than those on the outgoing-rotation-facing surface, indicating that one originated from a rotating source and the other from a

Concerning the theory of radiation cascades of atomic collisions in a solid with an arbitrary interatomic interaction potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryazanov, A.I.; Metelkin, E.V.

1980-01-01

Cascades of atomic collisions created by high energy particles as a result of irradiation of solids by them are considered. The solution of the problem is based on the investigation of the Boltzmann stationary kinetic equation for moving atoms. For this equation a model scattering indicatrix is constructed with an arbitrary form of the potential of interaction of moving atoms with lattice atoms. The choice of the model scattering indicatrix of atoms is determined by the normalization, the average energy loss in a single collision and by the deviation of the energy losses really occurring in the collision from the mean value, as well as by the initial kinetic equation for moving atoms. The energy distribution of moving atoms for arbitrary interatomic interaction potentials has been obtained using the constructed model scattering indicatrix. On the basis of the theory constructed a cascade is calculated with an interatomic interaction potential in the form of the Thomas-Fermi potential and the power potential. (author)

Structural phases of colloids interacting via a flat-well potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa Campos, L Q; de Souza Silva, C C; Apolinario, S W S

2012-11-01

Using Langevin dynamics simulations we investigate the self-assembly of colloidal particles in two dimensions interacting via an isotropic potential, which comprises both a hard-core repulsion and an additional softened square-well potential of controllable width α. In dilute concentrations, the particles assemble in small clusters with a well-defined crystalline order. For small values of α the particles form triangular lattices. As α is increased, more particles can be captured by the potential well giving rise to different crystalline symmetries and the structural phase transitions between them. The main structures observed are triangular, square, and a mixture of square and triangular cells forming an Archimedean tiling. In the concentrated regime the particles form a single percolated cluster with essentially the same orderings at the same ranges of α values as observed in the dilute regime, thus showing that cluster boundary effects have a minor influence on the cluster crystal symmetry. By using energy analysis and geometry arguments we discuss how the different observed structures minimize the system energy at different values of α.

Potentials for health promotion at worksite

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nygaard, Rikke; Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg

2013-01-01

but also with the social and mental environment. Food and eating has increasingly become an object of public governance, especially when we are eating out of home as part of our work or educational life. Interventions aiming at improve our eating patterns have become mainstream in many of our everyday life......Eating has an immense impact on our health, and the contribution of research literature that tries to understand and explain our food habits has grown considerably over the past decades. These studies have showed that in our eating behaviour, we interact not only with the physical environment...... settings. This paper explores differences and similarities in the foodscapes of bus drivers in a multi-ethnic worksite. Our objective is to identify possibilities for creating healthier food environments and provide opportunities for healthy living. We will analyse how different ethnicities perceive...

Enculturating science: Community-centric design of behavior change interactions for accelerating health impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Vishwajeet; Kumar, Aarti; Ghosh, Amit Kumar; Samphel, Rigzin; Yadav, Ranjanaa; Yeung, Diana; Darmstadt, Gary L

2015-08-01

Despite significant advancements in the scientific evidence base of interventions to improve newborn survival, we have not yet been able to "bend the curve" to markedly accelerate global rates of reduction in newborn mortality. The ever-widening gap between discovery of scientific best practices and their mass adoption by families (the evidence-practice gap) is not just a matter of improving the coverage of health worker-community interactions. The design of the interactions themselves must be guided by sound behavioral science approaches such that they lead to mass adoption and impact at a large scale. The main barrier to the application of scientific approaches to behavior change is our inability to "unbox" the "black box" of family health behaviors in community settings. The authors argue that these are not black boxes, but in fact thoughtfully designed community systems that have been designed and upheld, and have evolved over many years keeping in mind a certain worldview and a common social purpose. An empathetic understanding of these community systems allows us to deconstruct the causal pathways of existing behaviors, and re-engineer them to achieve desired outcomes. One of the key reasons for the failure of interactions to translate into behavior change is our failure to recognize that the content, context, and process of interactions need to be designed keeping in mind an organized community system with a very different worldview and beliefs. In order to improve the adoption of scientific best practices by communities, we need to adapt them to their culture by leveraging existing beliefs, practices, people, context, and skills. The authors present a systems approach for community-centric design of interactions, highlighting key principles for achieving intrinsically motivated, sustained change in social norms and family health behaviors, elucidated with progressive theories from systems thinking, management sciences, cross-cultural psychology, learning

PHL13/484: A Systematic Review on the Use of Interactive Communication for Consumer Health Education and the Impact of the Internet on Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Eysenbach, G; Sa, ER; O'Connor, D; Jadad, A

1999-01-01

Introduction In an ongoing systematic review of the Cochrane Consumers & Communication Group we are compiling evidence on the impact of the Internet on public health. We include any "interactive health communication", i.e. any electronic interaction of an individual--consumer, patient, caregiver, or professional-with an electronic device or communication technology to access or transmit health information or to receive guidance on a health-related issue. Methods We will systematically search for and compile in an overview evidence for the effectiveness and impact of interactive communication for consumer health education. Evidence here means studies such as randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs), controlled before and after (CBA) studies, interrupted time series (ITS) studies. Interventions to be compared against each other include a) consumers having been exposed to Internet-based health information against consumers having been exposed to traditional ways of health information, such as face-to-face interpersonal interactions, courses, printed material, self-help groups etc., and b) consumers having been exposed to Internet-based education against consumers having been exposed to Internet-based education using a different approach/method. As outcome measures we are especially looking for studies determining, a change of health related knowledge, attitude and behavior of participants, a change of health status of participants, the satisfaction of participants and health professionals and the change of relationship between patients and health professionals. Results Up to now, only one RCT has been found, highlighting the urgent need for more sound studies to determine the impact of the Internet on Public Health. Discussion The systematic review is still in progress and we invite authors of published and unpublished research addressing these questions to submit their work to us for inclusion into the analysis.

Sources, potentials and fields in Lorenz and Coulomb gauge: Cancellation of instantaneous interactions for moving point charges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wundt, B.J.; Jentschura, U.D.

2012-01-01

We investigate the coupling of the electromagnetic sources (charge and current densities) to the scalar and vector potentials in classical electrodynamics, using Green function techniques. As is well known, the scalar potential shows an action-at-a-distance behavior in Coulomb gauge. The conundrum generated by the instantaneous interaction has intrigued physicists for a long time. Starting from the differential equations that couple the sources to the potentials, we here show in a concise derivation, using the retarded Green function, how the instantaneous interaction cancels in the calculation of the electric field. The time derivative of a specific additional term in the vector potential, present only in Coulomb gauge, yields a supplementary contribution to the electric field which cancels the gradient of the instantaneous Coulomb gauge scalar potential, as required by gauge invariance. This completely eliminates the contribution of the instantaneous interaction from the electric field. It turns out that a careful formulation of the retarded Green function, inspired by field theory, is required in order to correctly treat boundary terms in partial integrations. Finally, compact integral representations are derived for the Liénard–Wiechert potentials (scalar and vector) in Coulomb gauge which manifestly contain two compensating action-at-a-distance terms. - Highlights: ► We investigate action-at-a-distance effects in electrodynamics in detail. ► We calculate the instantaneous interactions for scalar and vector potentials. ► The cancellation mechanism involves the retarded Green function. ► The mechanism is confirmed on the example of moving point charges. ► The Green function has to be treated with care for nontrivial boundary terms.

War trauma and maternal-fetal attachment predicting maternal mental health, infant development, and dyadic interaction in Palestinian families.

Science.gov (United States)

Punamäki, Raija-Leena; Isosävi, Sanna; Qouta, Samir R; Kuittinen, Saija; Diab, Safwat Y

2017-10-01

Optimal maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) is believed to be beneficial for infant well-being and dyadic interaction, but research is scarce in general and among risk populations. Our study involved dyads living in war conditions and examined how traumatic war trauma associates with MFA and which factors mediate that association. It also modeled the role of MFA in predicting newborn health, infant development, mother-infant interaction, and maternal postpartum mental health. Palestinian women from the Gaza Strip (N = 511) participated during their second trimester (T1), and when their infants were 4 (T2) and 12 (T3) months. Mothers reported MFA (interaction with, attributions to, and fantasies about the fetus), social support, and prenatal mental health (post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety) at T1, newborn health at T2, and the postpartum mental health, infant's sensorimotor and language development, and mother-infant interaction (emotional availability) at T3. Results revealed, first, that war trauma was not directly associated with MFA but that it was mediated through a low level of social support and high level of maternal prenatal mental health problems. Second, intensive MFA predicted optimal mother-reported infant's sensorimotor and language development and mother-infant emotional availability but not newborn health or maternal postpartum mental health.

Hidden sources of grapefruit in beverages: potential interactions with immunosuppressant medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Auten, Ashley A; Beauchamp, Lauren N; Joshua Taylor; Hardinger, Karen L

2013-06-01

The interaction between grapefruit-containing beverages and immunosuppressants is not well defined in the literature. This study was conducted to investigate possible sources of grapefruit juice or grapefruit extract in common US-manufactured beverages. The goal was to identify those products that might serve as hidden sources of dietary grapefruit intake, increasing a transplant patient's risk for drug interactions. A careful review of the ingredients of the 3 largest US beverage manufacturer's product lines was conducted through manufacturer correspondence, product labeling examination, and online nutrition database research. Focus was placed on citrus-flavored soft drinks, teas, and juice products and their impact on a patient's immunosuppressant regimens. Twenty-three beverages were identified that contained grapefruit. Five did not contain the word "grapefruit" in the product name. In addition to the confirmed grapefruit-containing products, 17 products were identified as possibly containing grapefruit juice or grapefruit extract. A greater emphasis should be placed upon properly educating patients regarding hidden sources of grapefruit in popular US beverages and the potential for food-drug interactions.

Biological interactions and human health effects of static magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenforde, T.S.

1994-09-01

Mechanisms through which static magnetic fields interact with living systems will be described and illustrated by selected experimental observations. These mechanisms include electrodynamic interactions with moving ionic charges (blood flow and nerve impulse conduction), magnetomechanical interactions (orientation and translation of molecular structures and magnetic particles), and interactions with electronic spin states in charge transfer reactions (photo-induced electron transfer in photosynthesis). A general summary will also be presented of the biological effects of static magnetic fields studied in the laboratory and in natural settings. One aspect of magnetic field effects that merits special concern is their influence on implanted medical electronic devices such as cardiac pacemakers. Several extensive studies have demonstrated closure of the reed switch in pacemakers exposed to relatively weak static magnetic fields, thereby causing them to revert to an asynchronous mode of operation that is potentially hazardous. Recommendations for human exposure limits are provided

Public health informatics in India: the potential and the challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Athavale, A V; Zodpey, Sanjay P

2010-01-01

Public health informatics is emerging as a new and distinct specialty area in the global scenario within the broader discipline of health informatics. The potential role of informatics in reducing health disparities in underserved populations has been identified by a number of reports from all over the world. The article discusses the scope, the limitations, and future perspective of this novice discipline in context to India. It also highlights information and technology related tools namely Geographical Information Systems, Telemedicine and Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record. India needs to leverage its "technology" oriented growth until now (e.g., few satellite-based telemedicine projects, etc.) simultaneously toward development of "information"-based public health informatics systems in future. Under the rapidly evolving scenario of global public health, the future of the public health governance and population health in India would depend upon building and integrating the comprehensive and responsive domain of public health informatics.

On the conductivity of a one-dimensional system of interacting fermions in a random potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apel, W.

1981-01-01

A one-dimensional system of interacting fermions in an external potential is studied. The problem was for this purpose transformed to two classical models of statistical mechanics in two dimensions in which occasionally results were found in complementary ranges of the interaction constants of the fermion system. The conductivity appeared as a simple correlation function in both classical models. It was shown that the interaction in a one-dimensional polluted fermion system can cause an isolator-metal transition. (orig./HSI) [de

Complexity of health-care needs and interactions in multidisciplinary medical teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Molleman, E.; Broekhuis, Manda; Stoffels, A.M.R.R.; Jaspers, F.

By using an information processing and social identity approach, this study examines the relationships between the complexity of the health care needs of a patient and (1) the interactions among physicians during team meetings and (2) how the meeting participants evaluate the discussion. Three

Stochastic quantum inflation for a canonical scalar field with linear self-interaction potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panotopoulos, Grigoris [CENTRA, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa (Portugal)

2017-10-15

We apply Starobinsky's formalism of stochastic inflation to the case of a massless minimally coupled scalar field with linear self-interaction potential. We solve the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation exactly, and we obtain analytical expressions for the stochastic expectation values. (orig.)

Tunneling of coupled methyl quantum rotors in 4-methylpyridine: Single rotor potential versus coupling interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Khazaei, Somayeh; Sebastiani, Daniel

2017-11-01

We study the influence of rotational coupling between a pair of methyl rotators on the tunneling spectrum in condensed phase. Two interacting adjacent methyl groups are simulated within a coupled-pair model composed of static rotational potential created by the chemical environment and the interaction potential between two methyl groups. We solve the two-dimensional time-independent Schrödinger equation analytically by expanding the wave functions on the basis set of two independent free-rotor functions. We investigate three scenarios which differ with respect to the relative strength of single-rotor and coupling potential. For each scenario, we illustrate the dependence of the energy level scheme on the coupling strength. It is found that the main determinant of splitting energy levels tends to be a function of the ratio of strengths of coupling and single-rotor potential. The tunnel splitting caused by coupling is maximized for the coupled rotors in which their total hindering potential is relatively shallow. Such a weakly hindered methyl rotational potential is predicted for 4-methylpyridine at low temperature. The experimental observation of multiple tunneling peaks arising from a single type of methyl group in 4-methylpyridine in the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum is widely attributed to the rotor-rotor coupling. In this regard, using a set of first-principles calculations combined with the nudged elastic band method, we investigate the rotational potential energy surface (PES) of the coaxial pairs of rotors in 4-methylpyridine. A Numerov-type method is used to numerically solve the two-dimensional time-independent Schrödinger equation for the calculated 2D-density functional theory profile. Our computed energy levels reproduce the observed tunneling transitions well. Moreover, the calculated density distribution of the three methyl protons resembles the experimental nuclear densities obtained from the Fourier difference method. By mapping the

Impact of maternal mental health on maternal-child interaction in attendees in a community health clinic in Lagos, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Motunrayo A Oyelohunnu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Maternal mental health, in particular depression, has been found to negatively impact mother-child interaction, attachment, stimulation, growth, and many important aspects of development in the young child. These early deficits if sustained and unattended may have negative immediate and long-term consequences on the outcomes in the child. The study aimed to assess psychological distress and postpartum depression in mothers, and their relationship to the mother-child interaction. Methodology: This is a descriptive clinic-based study. Eligible and consenting mothers are attending the child immunization clinic in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria participated. Consecutive mothers completed the interview questionnaires independently while those who were not literate had the questionnaires administered by trained interviewers. Instruments used were a sociodemographic proforma, the General Health Questionnaire-12, Mother and Infant Attachment Scale (MIAS, and the Zung Depression Scale. Results: In total, ninety-eight women were enrolled, 66.3% were aged between 26 and 35 years, and mean age of 30.9 years (±5.1 standard deviation. Most were aged between 26 and 35 years (66.3%. Over 90% had at secondary school education or more. Over a 10 th (13.3% was unemployed and 96% married. The children were aged between 6 weeks and 1 year, males (63.1%, and females (46.9%, and the majority were born by spontaneous vaginal delivery (82.7%. A 10 th (10.2% of the women had probable psychiatric morbidity, 14.3% had scores suggestive of postpartum depression, and 18 (16.3% scored below average attachment in interaction with their children on the MIAS. There was an association found between reduced maternal-child attachment interaction and maternal depression (P ≤ 0.05. Conclusions: Emotional disorders, such as depression, in mothers can be associated reduced maternal-child interaction. It is important that integrated mental health

Monopole-antimonopole interaction potential

Science.gov (United States)

Saurabh, Ayush; Vachaspati, Tanmay

2017-11-01

We numerically study the interactions of twisted monopole-antimonopole pairs in the 't Hooft-Polyakov model for a range of values of the scalar to vector mass ratio. We also recover the sphaleron solution at maximum twist discovered by Taubes [Commun. Math. Phys. 86, 257 (1982), 10.1007/BF01206014] and map out its energy and size as functions of parameters.

The importance of symbolic interaction in grounded theory research on women's health.

Science.gov (United States)

Crooks, D L

2001-01-01

A variety of grounded theory studies are presented in this issue of Health Care for Women International that attend to different factors and situations impacting women's health. In this paper I will provide the basic principles of symbolic interactionism (SI) for the reader unfamiliar with the conceptual underpinnings of the grounded theory research method. I will discuss why SI is a fitting perspective for use in the study of women, women's perspectives, and women's health. I will conclude with a brief discussion of challenges to researchers maintaining the symbolic interaction perspective in grounded theory research.

Drug-drug interactions among recently hospitalised patients--frequent but mostly clinically insignificant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glintborg, Bente; Andersen, Stig Ejdrup; Dalhoff, Kim

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Patients use and store considerable amounts of drugs. The aim of the present study was to identify potential drug-drug interactions between drugs used by patients recently discharged from the hospital and, subsequently, to estimate the clinical implications of these interactions. METHODS......: Patients were visited within 1 week following their discharge from hospital and interviewed about their drug use. Stored products were inspected. We used a bibliography (Hansten and Horn; Wolters Kluwer Health, St. Louis, Mo., 2004) to identify and classify potential drug-drug interactions. RESULTS......: eight per patient; range: 1-24). With respect to those drugs used daily or on demand, 476 potential interactions were identified (126 patients); none were class 1 (always avoid drug combination) and 25 were class 2 (usually avoid combination; 24 patients). Eleven of the potential class 2 interactions...

Ciprofloxacin and Clozapine: A Potentially Fatal but Underappreciated Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan M. Meyer

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Clozapine provides a 50%–60% response rate in refractory schizophrenia but has a narrow therapeutic index and is susceptible to pharmacokinetic interactions, particularly with strong inhibitors or inducers of cytochrome P450 (CYP 1A2. Case Report. We report the case of a 28-year-old nonsmoking female with intellectual disability who was maintained for 3 years on clozapine 100 mg orally twice daily. The patient was treated for presumptive urinary tract infection with ciprofloxacin 500 mg orally twice daily and two days later collapsed and died despite resuscitation efforts. The postmortem femoral clozapine plasma level was dramatically elevated at 2900 ng/mL, and the cause of death was listed as acute clozapine toxicity. Conclusion. Given the potentially fatal pharmacokinetic interaction between clozapine and ciprofloxacin, clinicians are advised to monitor baseline clozapine levels prior to adding strong CYP450 1A2 inhibitors, reduce the clozapine dose by at least two-thirds if adding a 1A2 inhibitor such as ciprofloxacin, check subsequent steady state clozapine levels, and adjust the clozapine dose to maintain levels close to those obtained at baseline.

Controlled, Constrained, or Flexible? How Self-Management Goals Are Shaped By Patient-Provider Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Franklin, Marika; Lewis, Sophie; Willis, Karen; Rogers, Anne; Venville, Annie; Smith, Lorraine

2018-06-01

A person-centered approach to goal-setting, involving collaboration between patients and health professionals, is advocated in policy to support self-management. However, this is difficult to achieve in practice, reducing the potential effectiveness of self-management support. Drawing on observations of consultations between patients and health professionals, we examined how goal-setting is shaped in patient-provider interactions. Analysis revealed three distinct interactional styles. In controlled interactions, health professionals determine patients' goals based on biomedical reference points and present these goals as something patients should do. In constrained interactions, patients are invited to present goals, yet health professionals' language and questions orientate goals toward biomedical issues. In flexible interactions, patients and professionals both contribute to goal-setting, as health professionals use less directive language, create openings, and allow patients to decide on their goals. Findings suggest that interactional style of health professionals could be the focus of interventions when aiming to increase the effectiveness of goal-setting.

Social autopsy: a potential health-promotion tool for preventing maternal mortality in low-income countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahato, Preeti K; Waithaka, Elizabeth; van Teijlingen, Edwin; Pant, Puspa Raj; Biswas, Animesh

2018-04-01

Despite significant global improvements, maternal mortality in low-income countries remains unacceptably high. Increasing attention in recent years has focused on how social factors, such as family and peer influences, the community context, health services, legal and policy environments, and cultural and social values, can shape and influence maternal outcomes. Whereas verbal autopsy is used to attribute a clinical cause to a maternal death, the aim of social autopsy is to determine the non-clinical contributing factors. A social autopsy of a maternal death is a group interaction with the family of the deceased woman and her wider local community, where facilitators explore the social causes of the death and identify improvements needed. Although still relatively new, the process has proved useful to capture data for policy-makers on the social determinants of maternal deaths. This article highlights a second aspect of social autopsy - its potential role in health promotion. A social autopsy facilitates "community self-diagnosis" and identification of modifiable social and cultural factors that are attributable to the death. Social autopsy therefore has the potential not only for increasing awareness among community members, but also for promoting behavioural change at the individual and community level. There has been little formal assessment of social autopsy as a tool for health promotion. Rigorous research is now needed to assess the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of social autopsy as a preventive community-based intervention, especially with respect to effects on social determinants. There is also a need to document how communities can take ownership of such activities and achieve a sustainable impact on preventable maternal deaths.

The diagnostic value of endothelial function as a potential sensor of fatigue in health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshiko Ohno

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Yoshiko Ohno1,2, Teruto Hashiguchi1, Ryuichi Maenosono1, Hidetoshi Yamashita3, Yukio Taira3, Kazufumi Minowa3, Yoshihito Yamashita3, Yuko Kato3, Ko-ichi Kawahara1, Ikuro Maruyama11Department of Laboratory and Vascular Medicine, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan; 2Department of Community Health Nursing/Nursing Informatics, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan; 3Kagoshima Seikyo General Hospital, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, JapanPurpose: Many epidemiological research studies have shown that vital exhaustion and psychosocial factors are associated with the occurrence of cerebrocardiovascular disease (CCVD. Fatigue is thought to induce endothelial dysfunction and may be linked to the occurrence of CCVD; however, no studies have investigated this potential link. We studied to determine the effect of fatigue on endothelial function in healthy subjects with no traditional CCVD risk factors or potential confounding factors to be controlled.Subjects and methods: Peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT was used to evaluate endothelial function. The influence of the following parameters on endothelial function was analyzed in 74 office workers without traditional CCVD risk factors at health check-ups: endothelial function before and after work, subjective fatigue, lifestyle factors such as sleeping time, and psychosocial factors such as depression and social support.Results: Twenty-five subjects (33.8% had low endothelial function; reactive hyperemia (RH-PAT index <1.67, even though no abnormalities were reported in the health check-ups. There was no significant difference in endothelial function before versus after labor. Of note, endothelial function was associated with the individual’s level of subjective fatigue (t = 2.98, P = 0.008 and showed a daily fluctuation, sometimes to a pathological

Comparing the Obvious: Interactional characteristics of staff in acute mental health nursing and forensic psychiatric nursing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gildberg, Frederik Alkier; Bradley, Stephen K.; Hounsgaard, Lise

2013-01-01

This article reports on and compares two separate studies of the interactional characteristics of forensic mental health staff and acute mental health staff as they interact with inpatients, respectively. Both studies were conducted using participant observation, along with informal and formal...... interviews. Findings show that both acute and forensic mental health nursing practice is characterized by two overriding themes; ‘trust and relationship-enabling care’ and ‘behavior and perception-corrective care.’ The comparison of the two studies shows no major differences in the characteristics of staff...

The importance of accurate interaction potentials in the melting of argon nanoclusters

Science.gov (United States)

Pahl, E.; Calvo, F.; Schwerdtfeger, P.

The melting temperatures of argon clusters ArN (N = 13, 55, 147, 309, 561, and 923) and of bulk argon have been obtained from exchange Monte Carlo simulations and are compared using different two-body interaction potentials, namely the standard Lennard-Jones (LJ), Aziz and extended Lennard-Jones (ELJ) potentials. The latter potential has many advantages: while maintaining the computational efficiency of the commonly used LJ potential, it is as accurate as the Aziz potential but the computer time scales more favorably with increasing cluster size. By applying the ELJ form and extrapolating the cluster data to the infinite system, we are able to extract the melting point of argon already in good agreement with experimental measurements. By considering the additional Axilrod-Teller three-body contribution as well, we calculate a melting temperature of T meltELJ = 84.7 K compared to the experimental value of T meltexp = 83.85 K, whereas the LJ potential underestimates the melting point by more than 7 K. Thus melting temperatures within 1 K accuracy are now feasible.

Intrinsic interactive reinforcement learning - Using error-related potentials for real world human-robot interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Su Kyoung; Kirchner, Elsa Andrea; Stefes, Arne; Kirchner, Frank

2017-12-14

Reinforcement learning (RL) enables robots to learn its optimal behavioral strategy in dynamic environments based on feedback. Explicit human feedback during robot RL is advantageous, since an explicit reward function can be easily adapted. However, it is very demanding and tiresome for a human to continuously and explicitly generate feedback. Therefore, the development of implicit approaches is of high relevance. In this paper, we used an error-related potential (ErrP), an event-related activity in the human electroencephalogram (EEG), as an intrinsically generated implicit feedback (rewards) for RL. Initially we validated our approach with seven subjects in a simulated robot learning scenario. ErrPs were detected online in single trial with a balanced accuracy (bACC) of 91%, which was sufficient to learn to recognize gestures and the correct mapping between human gestures and robot actions in parallel. Finally, we validated our approach in a real robot scenario, in which seven subjects freely chose gestures and the real robot correctly learned the mapping between gestures and actions (ErrP detection (90% bACC)). In this paper, we demonstrated that intrinsically generated EEG-based human feedback in RL can successfully be used to implicitly improve gesture-based robot control during human-robot interaction. We call our approach intrinsic interactive RL.

Power of Pets: Health Benefits of Human-Animal Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

... partnered with the Mars Corporation’s WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition to answer questions like these by funding research studies. Scientists are looking at what the potential physical and mental health benefits are for different animals—from fish to ...

Maximum flow approach to prioritize potential drug targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv from protein-protein interaction network.

Science.gov (United States)

Melak, Tilahun; Gakkhar, Sunita

2015-12-01

In spite of the implementations of several strategies, tuberculosis (TB) is overwhelmingly a serious global public health problem causing millions of infections and deaths every year. This is mainly due to the emergence of drug-resistance varieties of TB. The current treatment strategies for the drug-resistance TB are of longer duration, more expensive and have side effects. This highlights the importance of identification and prioritization of targets for new drugs. This study has been carried out to prioritize potential drug targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv based on their flow to resistance genes. The weighted proteome interaction network of the pathogen was constructed using a dataset from STRING database. Only a subset of the dataset with interactions that have a combined score value ≥770 was considered. Maximum flow approach has been used to prioritize potential drug targets. The potential drug targets were obtained through comparative genome and network centrality analysis. The curated set of resistance genes was retrieved from literatures. Detail literature review and additional assessment of the method were also carried out for validation. A list of 537 proteins which are essential to the pathogen and non-homologous with human was obtained from the comparative genome analysis. Through network centrality measures, 131 of them were found within the close neighborhood of the centre of gravity of the proteome network. These proteins were further prioritized based on their maximum flow value to resistance genes and they are proposed as reliable drug targets of the pathogen. Proteins which interact with the host were also identified in order to understand the infection mechanism. Potential drug targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv were successfully prioritized based on their flow to resistance genes of existing drugs which is believed to increase the druggability of the targets since inhibition of a protein that has a maximum flow to

Factors shaping interactions among community health workers in rural Ethiopia: rethinking workplace trust and teamwork.

Science.gov (United States)

Dynes, Michelle M; Stephenson, Rob; Hadley, Craig; Sibley, Lynn M

2014-01-01

Worldwide, a shortage of skilled health workers has prompted a shift toward community-based health workers taking on greater responsibility in the provision of select maternal and newborn health services. Research in mid- and high-income settings suggests that coworker collaboration increases productivity and performance. A major gap in this research, however, is the exploration of factors that influence teamwork among diverse community health worker cadres in rural, low-resource settings. The purpose of this study is to examine how sociodemographic and structural factors shape teamwork among community-based maternal and newborn health workers in Ethiopia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with health extension workers, community health development agents, and traditional birth attendants in 3 districts of the West Gojam Zone in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Communities were randomly selected from Maternal and Newborn Health in Ethiopia Partnership (MaNHEP) sites; health worker participants were recruited using a snowball sampling strategy. Fractional logit modeling and average marginal effects analyses were carried out to identify the influential factors for frequency of work interactions with each cadre. One hundred and ninety-four health workers participated in the study. A core set of factors-trust in coworkers, gender, and cadre-were influential for teamwork across groups. Greater geographic distance and perception of self-interested motivations were barriers to interactions with health extension workers, while greater food insecurity (a proxy for wealth) was associated with increased interactions with traditional birth attendants. Interventions that promote trust and gender sensitivity and improve perceptions of health worker motivations may help bridge the gap in health services delivery between low- and high-resource settings. Inter-cadre training may be one mechanism to increase trust and respect among diverse health workers, thereby increasing

Analysis of bound-state spectra near the threshold of neutral particle interaction potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ou Fang; Cao Zhuangqi; Chen Jianping; Xu Junjie

2006-01-01

It is understood that conventional semiclassical approximations deteriorate towards threshold in a typical neutral particle interaction potential which is important for the study of ultra-cold atoms and molecules. In this Letter we give an example of the Lennard-Jones potential with tuning of the strength parameter on the basis of the analytical transfer matrix (ATM) method. Highly accurate quantum mechanical results, such as number of the bound states, energy level density and the eigenvalues with extremely low energies have been derived

Influence of Three-square-well Interaction Potential on Isotope Effect Coefficient of High-TC Superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Udomsamuthirun, P.; Dokkaemklang, S.; Kumvongsa, C.; Maneeratanakul, S.

2005-10-01

In this research, the exact formula of the isotope effect coefficient of s wave and d-wave superconductor in weak-coupling limit are derived by using a three square- well interaction potential that pairing interaction consists of 3 parts : an attractive electron-phonon interaction, an attractive non-electron-phonon interaction , and a repulsive Coulomb interaction . op ac , w w and c w is the characteristic energy cutoff of the Debye phonon , non-phonon ,and Coulomb respectively and 2 / 1 ac M- a w , and c op , w w do not depend on isotope mass(M). We find that, in all case of consideration, the isotope coefficient converges to 0.5 at lower value of Coulomb coupling constant and larger values of phonon and non-phonon coupling constant

Computer games may be good for your health: shifting healthcare behavior via interactive drama videogames.

Science.gov (United States)

Silverman, Barry G; Mosley, Josh; Johns, Michael; Weaver, Ransom; Green, Melanie; Holmes, John; Kimmel, Stephen; Holmes, William

2003-01-01

There is increasing evidence that interactive learning systems have an important role in reducing health risks and improving general health status. This theater style demonstration is aimed at harnessing people's passions for videogames and the movies, and a major purpose of this research is to explore alternative ways for a game generator to help authors to introduce entertainment and free play as well as learning by teaching into role playing games and interactive dramas that are behavioral interventions in disguise.

Impact of maternal mental health on maternal-child interaction in attendees in a community health clinic in Lagos, Nigeria

OpenAIRE

Motunrayo A Oyelohunnu; Yewande O Oshodi; Elizabeth A Campbell; Mercy Eigbike; Kofoworola A Odeyemi

2016-01-01

Background: Maternal mental health, in particular depression, has been found to negatively impact mother-child interaction, attachment, stimulation, growth, and many important aspects of development in the young child. These early deficits if sustained and unattended may have negative immediate and long-term consequences on the outcomes in the child. The study aimed to assess psychological distress and postpartum depression in mothers, and their relationship to the mother-child interaction. M...

The potential of the system of interpersonal interaction in the formation of adolescent autonomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga A. Dorontsova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses a significant and actual issue of developing autonomy of the individual. Special attention is paid to adolescent age having high potential for developing autonomy in view of certain changes in the psychological and social sphere of the adolescents. The value of interpersonal interaction in the course of developing adolescent autonomy is shown. The approaches to the concept of interaction are analyzed, four main directions of explaining the essence of interaction are allocated: symbolical interactionism (J. Mid, social exchange (J. Homans, G. Blumer, sociodramatic touch (E. Goffman transaction analysis (E. Berne. Types of interaction, efficiency of interaction development are considered. The analysis of interpersonal interaction issues shows its communication with the categories of «relation», «communication» and «joint activity» (B.G. Ananyev, G.M. Andreyeva, S.V. Dukhnovsky, Ya.L. Kolominsky V.N. Kunitsyna, V.N. Myasishchev, B.D. Parygin, etc.. The concept of interpersonal interaction system of the autonomy causing development of adolescence in the paradigm of psychologist-teacher interaction, and also child-parent interaction is described. The advantage of psychological assistance and pedagogical support within the system of interpersonal interaction for further development of adolescent autonomy is proved. The value of cooperation as one of the types of interpersonal interaction in the course of adolescent autonomy development is shown. Mechanisms of interpersonal interaction, nature of contact in interpersonal interaction, components of a social situation are described.

Self-diffusion of particles interacting through a square-well or square-shoulder potential

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wilbertz, H.; Michels, J.; Beijeren, H. van; Leegwater, J.A.

1988-01-01

The diffusion coefficient and velocity autocorrelation function for a fluid of particles interacting through a square-well or square-shoulder potential are calculated from a kinetic theory similar to the Davis-Rice-Sengers theory and the results are compared to those of computer simulations. At low

Implementing Innovations in Global Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health: Realizing the Potential for Implementation Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Herbert B; Haidar, Joumana; Fixsen, Dean; Ramaswamy, Rohit; Weiner, Bryan J; Leatherman, Sheila

2018-03-01

The launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the new Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health are a window of opportunity for improving the health and well-being of women, children, and adolescents in the United States and around the world. Realizing the full potential of this historic moment will require that we improve our ability to successfully implement life-saving and life-enhancing innovations, particularly in low-resource settings. Implementation science, a new and rapidly evolving field that addresses the "how-to" component of providing sustainable quality services at scale, can make an important contribution on this front. A synthesis of the implementation science evidence indicates that three interrelated factors are required for successful, sustainable outcomes at scale: 1) effective innovations, 2) effective implementation, and 3) enabling contexts. Implementation science addresses the interaction among these factors to help make innovations more usable, to build ongoing capacity to assure the effective implementation of these innovations, and to ensure enabling contexts to sustain their full and effective use in practice. Improving access to quality services will require transforming health care systems and, therefore, much of the focus of implementation science in global health is on improving the ability of health systems to serve as enabling contexts. The field of implementation science is inherently interdisciplinary and academe will need to respond by facilitating collaboration among scientists from relevant disciplines, including evaluation, improvement, and systems sciences. Platforms and programs to facilitate collaborations among researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders are likewise essential.

A regulatory science viewpoint on botanical–drug interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Grimstein

2018-04-01

Full Text Available There is a continued predisposition of concurrent use of drugs and botanical products. Consumers often self-administer botanical products without informing their health care providers. The perceived safety of botanical products with lack of knowledge of the interaction potential poses a challenge for providers and both efficacy and safety concerns for patients. Botanical–drug combinations can produce untoward effects when botanical constituents modulate drug metabolizing enzymes and/or transporters impacting the systemic or tissue exposure of concomitant drugs. Examples of pertinent scientific literature evaluating the interaction potential of commonly used botanicals in the US are discussed. Current methodologies that can be applied to advance our efforts in predicting drug interaction liability is presented. This review also highlights the regulatory science viewpoint on botanical–drug interactions and labeling implications. Keywords: Drug interaction, Botanical product, St. John's wort, Fruit juices, Regulatory science

Understanding consumer motivations for interacting in online food communities – potential for innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Lina; Sørensen, Bjarne Taulo; Tudoran, Ana Alina

This study contributes to the understanding of online user communities as a potential source of innovation. That would require an interest from users in interacting in such communities. In order to establish interaction, users must provide as well as consume information. However, depending...... on the innovation task, one may be more important than the other. It is therefore important to understand, how companies can increase user willingness to engage in these different interaction forms. This study investigates the influence of various motivation factors and user interests on intention to provide...... or consume information in online food communities. A survey was conducted among 1009 respondents followed by analysis based on Structural Equation Modelling. Results revealed the effect of motivation factors to be stronger than basic consumer interests indicating that companies can influence the intended...

Effectiveness of personalized and interactive health risk calculators: a randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Harle, Christopher A; Downs, Julie S; Padman, Rema

2012-01-01

Risk calculators are popular websites that provide individualized disease risk assessments to the public. Little is known about their effect on risk perceptions and health behavior. This study sought to test whether risk calculator features-namely, personalized estimates of one's disease risk and feedback about the effects of risk-mitigating behaviors-improve risk perceptions and motivate healthy behavior. A web-based experimental study using simple randomization was conducted to compare the effects of 3 prediabetes risk communication websites. Setting The study was conducted in the context of ongoing health promotion activities sponsored by a university's human resources office. Patients Participants were adult university employees. Intervention The control website presented nonindividualized risk information. The personalized noninteractive website presented individualized risk calculations. The personalized interactive website presented individualized risk calculations and feedback about the effects of hypothetical risk-mitigating behaviors. Measurements Pre- and postintervention risk perceptions were measured in absolute and relative terms. Health behavior was measured by assessing participant interest in follow-up preventive health services. On average, risk perceptions decreased by 2%. There was no general effect of personalization or interactivity in aligning subjective risk perceptions with objective risk calculations or in increasing healthy behaviors. However, participants who previously overestimated their risk reduced their perceptions by 16%. This was a significantly larger change than the 2% increase by participants who underestimated their risk. Limitations Results may not generalize to different populations, different diseases, or longer-term outcomes. Compared to nonpersonalized information, individualized risk calculators had little positive effect on prediabetes risk perception accuracy or health behavior. Risk perception accuracy was improved in

Institutionalizing human-computer interaction for global health.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulliksen, Jan

2017-06-01

Digitalization is the societal change process in which new ICT-based solutions bring forward completely new ways of doing things, new businesses and new movements in the society. Digitalization also provides completely new ways of addressing issues related to global health. This paper provides an overview of the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) and in what way the field has contributed to international development in different regions of the world. Additionally, it outlines the United Nations' new sustainability goals from December 2015 and what these could contribute to the development of global health and its relationship to digitalization. Finally, it argues why and how HCI could be adopted and adapted to fit the contextual needs, the need for localization and for the development of new digital innovations. The research methodology is mostly qualitative following an action research paradigm in which the actual change process that the digitalization is evoking is equally important as the scientific conclusions that can be drawn. In conclusion, the paper argues that digitalization is fundamentally changing the society through the development and use of digital technologies and may have a profound effect on the digital development of every country in the world. But it needs to be developed based on local practices, it needs international support and to not be limited by any technological constraints. Particularly digitalization to support global health requires a profound understanding of the users and their context, arguing for user-centred systems design methodologies as particularly suitable.

Spin-dependent exciton-exciton interaction potential in two- and three-dimensional structure semiconductors under excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen Ba An; Hoang Ngoc Cam; Nguyen Trung Dan

1990-08-01

Analytical expressions of the exciton-exciton interaction potentials have been approximately derived in both 2D and 3D structure materials exhibiting explicit dependences on exciton momentum difference, momentum transfer, electron-hole effective mass ratio and two-exciton state spin symmetry. Numerical calculations show that the character of the exciton-exciton interaction is determined by all of the above-mentioned dependences. (author). 32 refs, 7 figs

Potenciais interações medicamentosas em pacientes com artrite reumatoide Potential drug interactions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

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Fabíola Bagatini

2011-02-01

risk of potential undesirable interactions between medications used for managing RA and those used for non-chronic diseases. METHODS: A cohort study was carried out with 103 RA patients registered at the Strategy of Access to Medications from the Brazilian Health Ministry, at the School of Pharmacy of the city of Florianópolis, state of Santa Catarina. Patients were monthly followed up by use of form completion. Drug interactions were identified by use of the Drugdex System - Thomson Micromedex® - Interactions database. RESULTS: Polypharmacy was found in 95.1% of the patients, and 19 potential undesirable interactions were observed between the drugs used by 74 patients (mean of 3.0 ± 1.2 interactions/patient. All potential interactions were related to methotrexate. Omeprazole was the major representative, accounting for 29.3% of the interactions, followed by diclofenac sodium (17.6%, and metamizole sodium (13.2%. CONCLUSION: Considering that this study confirms that polypharmacy is a common therapeutic practice in RA patients, it is worth emphasizing the need for greater surveillance regarding the adverse effects or effectiveness reduction of certain drugs due to drug interaction

Scientific and technological capabilities in health-related areas: opportunities, challenges, and interactions with the industrial sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas, Marco Antonio; Britto, Jorge

2016-11-03

Characterization of the scientific and technological infrastructure in health and its interactions with the industrial sector provides key elements for understanding the dynamics of innovation in health. This study conducts an exploratory analysis of the potentialities and limitations associated with scientific and technological capabilities in the health area in Brazil and the different links between the scientific and industrial sectors in health. The analysis points to important growth in internationally indexed research output, especially in certain areas such as pharmaceutics, public health, genetics, morphology, physiology, and microbiology. There has also been important growth in research groups that interact with the industrial sector in selected areas of health. The study highlights the importance of building more solid and permanent bridges between companies, research institutions, and the health system, linking the knowledge developed in research institutions to the dynamics of the industrial sector in health. Resumo: A caracterização da infraestrutura científica e tecnológica na área da saúde e das suas formas de articulação com a base produtiva representam elementos centrais na compreensão da dinâmica de inovação em saúde. Este estudo faz uma análise exploratória sobre as potencialidades e limitações associadas às capacitações científicas e tecnológicas na área da saúde no Brasil e as formas de articulação entre a base científica e a base produtiva em saúde. A análise aponta para o crescimento expressivo da produção bibliográfica com circulação internacional no campo da saúde, particularmente em determinadas áreas como farmácia, saúde coletiva, genética, morfologia, fisiologia e microbiologia. Além disso, observa-se um crescimento expressivo dos grupos de pesquisa com relacionamentos com o setor produtivo em áreas selecionadas da saúde. Destaca-se a importância da construção de pontes mais sólidas e

Do work relationships matter? Characteristics of workplace interactions that enhance or detract from employee perceptions of well-being and health behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Mastroianni, Karen; Storberg-Walker, Julia

2014-01-01

This qualitative case study adopted the position that health and health behaviors are complex social constructs influenced by multiple factors. Framed by the social ecological model, the study explored how work interactions enhanced or detracted from the perceptions of well-being and health behaviors. Despite the fact that previous studies indicated that the social workplace environment contributed to employee health, there was little information regarding the characteristics. Specifically, little was known about how employees perceived the connections between workplace interactions and health, or how social interactions enhanced or detracted from well-being and health behaviors. The participants included 19 volunteers recruited from four companies, who shared their experiences of workplace interactions through interviews and journaling assignments. The findings indicated that feelings of well-being were enhanced by work interactions, which were trusting, collaborative, and positive, as well as when participants felt valued and respected. The study also found that interactions detracted from well-being and health behaviors when interactions lacked the aforementioned characteristics, and also included lack of justice and empathy. The enhancing and detracting relationships generated physical symptoms, and influenced sleeping and eating patterns, socializing, exercise, personal relations, careers, and energy. Surprisingly, the study found that regardless of how broadly participants defined health, when they were asked to rate their health, participants uniformly rated theirs on physical attributes alone. The exclusive consideration of physical attributes suggests that participants may have unconsciously adopted the typical western medical view of health – an individually determined and physiologic characteristic. Despite research suggesting health is more than biology, and despite defining health broadly, participants uniformly adopted this traditional view. The

Do work relationships matter? Characteristics of workplace interactions that enhance or detract from employee perceptions of well-being and health behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mastroianni, Karen; Storberg-Walker, Julia

2014-01-01

This qualitative case study adopted the position that health and health behaviors are complex social constructs influenced by multiple factors. Framed by the social ecological model, the study explored how work interactions enhanced or detracted from the perceptions of well-being and health behaviors. Despite the fact that previous studies indicated that the social workplace environment contributed to employee health, there was little information regarding the characteristics. Specifically, little was known about how employees perceived the connections between workplace interactions and health, or how social interactions enhanced or detracted from well-being and health behaviors. The participants included 19 volunteers recruited from four companies, who shared their experiences of workplace interactions through interviews and journaling assignments. The findings indicated that feelings of well-being were enhanced by work interactions, which were trusting, collaborative, and positive, as well as when participants felt valued and respected. The study also found that interactions detracted from well-being and health behaviors when interactions lacked the aforementioned characteristics, and also included lack of justice and empathy. The enhancing and detracting relationships generated physical symptoms, and influenced sleeping and eating patterns, socializing, exercise, personal relations, careers, and energy. Surprisingly, the study found that regardless of how broadly participants defined health, when they were asked to rate their health, participants uniformly rated theirs on physical attributes alone. The exclusive consideration of physical attributes suggests that participants may have unconsciously adopted the typical western medical view of health - an individually determined and physiologic characteristic. Despite research suggesting health is more than biology, and despite defining health broadly, participants uniformly adopted this traditional view. The study

Inclusion of the strong interaction in low-energy hydrogen-antihydrogen scattering using a complex potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armour, E A G; Liu, Y; Vigier, A

2005-01-01

The aim of experimentalists currently working on the preparation of antihydrogen is to trap it at very low temperatures so that its properties can be studied. Any process that can lead to loss of antihydrogen is thus of great concern to them. In view of this, we have carried out a calculation of the antiproton annihilation cross section in very low-energy hydrogen-antihydrogen scattering using a complex potential to represent the strong interaction that brings about the annihilation. The potential takes into account the isotopic spin state of the proton and the antiproton and the possibility that they may be in either a singlet or a triplet spin state. The results for the annihilation cross section and the percentage change in the elastic cross section due to the inclusion of the strong interaction are similar to those obtained in a recent calculation (Jonsell et al 2004 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 37 1195), using an effective range expansion. They are smaller by a factor of 2 and 3, respectively, than those obtained in an earlier calculation (Voronin and Carbonell 2001 Nucl. Phys. A 689 529c), using a coupled channel method and a complex strong interaction potential. (letter to the editor)

Internalized HIV and Drug Stigmas: Interacting Forces Threatening Health Status and Health Service Utilization Among People with HIV Who Inject Drugs in St. Petersburg, Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, Sara E.; Dovidio, John F.; Levina, Olga S.; Uusküla, Anneli; Niccolai, Linda M.; Heimer, Robert

2016-01-01

Marked overlap between the HIV and injection drug use epidemics in St. Petersburg, Russia, puts many people in need of health services at risk for stigmatization based on both characteristics simultaneously. The current study examined the independent and interactive effects of internalized HIV and drug stigmas on health status and health service utilization among 383 people with HIV who inject drugs in St. Petersburg. Participants self-reported internalized HIV stigma, internalized drug stigma, health status (subjective rating and symptom count), health service utilization (HIV care and drug treatment), sociodemographic characteristics, and health/behavioral history. For both forms of internalized stigma, greater stigma was correlated with poorer health and lower likelihood of service utilization. HIV and drug stigmas interacted to predict symptom count, HIV care, and drug treatment such that individuals internalizing high levels of both stigmas were at elevated risk for experiencing poor health and less likely to access health services. PMID:26050155

A survey among potential employers for developing a curriculum in public health nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Torheim, Liv E; Granli, Gry I; Barikmo, Ingrid; Oshaug, Arne

2009-08-01

To describe which functions potential employers of public health nutritionists in Norway find important for a person trained in public health nutrition to be able to carry out. Further, to illustrate how the findings were used in the development of a curriculum for a bachelor in public health nutrition at Akershus University College. A non-random, cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire with both pre-coded and open-ended questions. Ninety-one establishments working in various fields more or less related to nutrition responded (response rate of 45 %). Local offices of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority were over-represented among respondents. Functions related to communication and food and nutrition laws and regulations were most frequently rated as important by the respondents. Functions in nutrition research, project work and policy and planning were also regarded important by more than half of the respondents. The priorities of the potential employers together with the additional comments and suggestions were taken into account when a new curriculum on public health nutrition was developed. The assessment of functions prioritized by employers of public health nutritionists gave a valuable input for developing a new curriculum in public health nutrition. It reflected the challenges of the real world that public health nutritionists will work in and therefore helped making the curriculum potentially more relevant.

Working with simulated forms of interaction in health care education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordentoft, Helle Merete; Olesen, Lektor Birgitte Ravn

This paper argues that role-play as a simulated form of interaction - live and performed on video - is a creative method which has the potential to generate and support authentic dialogues in practice. In the paper we draw on experiences from 6 interdisciplinary workshops at a Danish hospital...... in which role-play of practice situations - both live and performed on video - formed the launching-pad for participants’ oral and written reflections. Our findings show that role-play has the potential to 1) develop professionals’ sensitivity to the significance of unexpected, embodied and emotional...

An Introduction to Telemedicine; Interactive Television for Delivery of Health Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ben

Telemedicine is defined as the use of two-way or interactive television to conduct transactions in the field of health care. A history of its development to provide two-way communication between central facilities and remote locations is given, along with descriptions of pioneer systems. Technical, psychological and cultural aspects of the method…

Potential Human Health Risks of Tannery Waste-contaminated Poultry Feed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Latiful Bari

2015-01-01

Conclusions. The estimated daily intake value, THQ, along with the aggregate hazard index value, indicated a potential risk to consumers through consumption of contaminated chicken. Therefore, the study results clearly demonstrate heavy metals accumulation in chicken due to feeding SCW-based feed. The contaminated chicken further transfers these heavy metals to humans through ingestion. Hence, there is a potential human health risk through consumption of contaminated chicken meat.

The potential for research-based information in public health: Identifying unrecognised information needs

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Forsetlund Louise

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objective To explore whether there is a potential for greater use of research-based information in public health practice in a local setting. Secondly, if research-based information is relevant, to explore the extent to which this generates questioning behaviour. Design Qualitative study using focus group discussions, observation and interviews. Setting Public health practices in Norway. Participants 52 public health practitioners. Results In general, the public health practitioners had a positive attitude towards research-based information, but believed that they had few cases requiring this type of information. They did say, however, that there might be a potential for greater use. During five focus groups and six observation days we identified 28 questions/cases where it would have been appropriate to seek out research evidence according to our definition. Three of the public health practitioners identified three of these 28 cases as questions for which research-based information could have been relevant. This gap is interpreted as representing unrecognised information needs. Conclusions There is an unrealised potential in public health practice for more frequent and extensive use of research-based information. The practitioners did not appear to reflect on the need for scientific information when faced with new cases and few questions of this type were generated.

Possible Experiment for the Demonstration of Neutron Waves Interaction with Spatially Oscillating Potential

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Miloi Mădălina Mihaela

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A wide range of problems in neutron optics is well described by a theory based on application of the effective potential model. It was assumed that the concept of the effective potential in neutron optics have a limited region of validity and ceases to be correct in the case of the giant acceleration of a matter. To test this hypothesis a new Ultra Cold neutron experiment for the observation neutron interaction with potential structure oscillating in space was proposed. The report is focused on the model calculations of the topography of sample surface that oscillate in space. These calculations are necessary to find an optimal parameters and geometry of the planned experiment.

Evaluation of the Coulomb logarithm using cutoff and screened Coulomb interaction potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ordonez, C.A.; Molina, M.I.

1994-01-01

The Coulomb logarithm is a fundamental plasma parameter which is commonly derived within the framework of the binary collision approximation. The conventional formula for the Coulomb logarithm, λ=ln Λ, takes into account a pure Coulomb interaction potential for binary collisions and is not accurate at small values (λ D in place of λ D (the Debye length) in the conventional formula for the Coulomb logarithm

Strategy for prioritizing whistleblowing with potential risks related to health services

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Rafael Fernandes Barros

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The Sanitary Surveillance of Health Services receives daily denunciations that refer to situations of risk that can hardly be measured quantitatively and attribute to some type of specific damage, in a context of great uncertainty. Objective: Considering such situations should be adequately addressed under the health risk paradigm, this work had as objective identifying notions about risk and its forms of analysis in the scope of Sanitary Surveillance of Health Services, as well as the existence of strategies and models in the analysis and treatment of denunciations. Method: An extensive literature review (through the Regional Portal of the BVS, databases SciELO and SciELO Books, and the journal Visa em Debate was conducted. Results: Although the results point to a relatively recent discussion regarding the model of potential risk analysis as an operational concept for the field of health surveillance in health services, there is no description of strategies or models applied to the analysis or treatment of whistleblowing. Thus, it is discussed and proposed a strategy for the initial analysis of reports with potential risk, which seeks to bring minimally objective criteria, in a field marked by enormous subjectivity. Conclusions: We conclude by indicating that the presented strategy is an initial instrument for the management of whistleblowing that must be discussed and adapted to the reality and context of health surveillance agencies.

Potential for substitution of mental health care towards family practices: an observational study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Magnée, T.; Beurs, D.P. de; Boxem, R.; Bakker, D.H. de; Verhaak, P.F.

2017-01-01

Background: Substitution is the shift of care from specialized health care to less expensive and more accessible primary health care. It seems promising for restraining rising mental health care costs. The goal of this study was to investigate a potential for substitution of patients with

Impact of wall potential on the fluid-wall interaction in a cylindrical capillary and a generalized Kelvin equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakubov, T.S.; Mainwaring, D.E.

2006-01-01

In the present work a generalized Kelvin equation for a fluid confined in thick-walled cylindrical capillary is developed. This has been accomplished by including the potential energy function for interaction between a solid wall of a capillary and a confined fluid into the Kelvin equation. Using the Lennard-Jones 12-6 potential, an explicit form of the potential energy functions as expressed by hypergeometrical functions have been derived-firstly, for the interaction between a solid wall and a test atom placed at an arbitrary point in a long open-end capillary, and thereafter for the body-body interaction between the solid wall and a confined Lennard-Jones fluid. Further, this generalized Kelvin equation has been applied to detailed description hysteresis phenomena in such capillaries. All numerical calculations have been carried out for the model argon-graphite system at 90 K

Interaction of Occupational and Personal Risk Factors in Workforce Health and Safety

Science.gov (United States)

Pandalai, Sudha; Wulsin, Victoria; Chun, HeeKyoung

2012-01-01

Most diseases, injuries, and other health conditions experienced by working people are multifactorial, especially as the workforce ages. Evidence supporting the role of work and personal risk factors in the health of working people is frequently underused in developing interventions. Achieving a longer, healthy working life requires a comprehensive preventive approach. To help develop such an approach, we evaluated the influence of both occupational and personal risk factors on workforce health. We present 32 examples illustrating 4 combinatorial models of occupational hazards and personal risk factors (genetics, age, gender, chronic disease, obesity, smoking, alcohol use, prescription drug use). Models that address occupational and personal risk factors and their interactions can improve our understanding of health hazards and guide research and interventions. PMID:22021293

Effect of attractive interactions on the water-like anomalies of a core-softened model potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Pant, Shashank; Gera, Tarun; Choudhury, Niharendu

2013-12-28

It is now well established that water-like anomalies can be reproduced by a spherically symmetric potential with two length scales, popularly known as core-softened potential. In the present study we aim to investigate the effect of attractive interactions among the particles in a model fluid interacting with core-softened potential on the existence and location of various water-like anomalies in the temperature-pressure plane. We employ extensive molecular dynamic simulations to study anomalous nature of various order parameters and properties under isothermal compression. Order map analyses have also been done for all the potentials. We observe that all the systems with varying depth of attractive wells show structural, dynamic, and thermodynamic anomalies. As many of the previous studies involving model water and a class of core softened potentials have concluded that the structural anomaly region encloses the diffusion anomaly region, which in turn, encloses the density anomaly region, the same pattern has also been observed in the present study for the systems with less depth of attractive well. For the systems with deeper attractive well, we observe that the diffusion anomaly region shifts toward higher densities and is not always enclosed by the structural anomaly region. Also, density anomaly region is not completely enclosed by diffusion anomaly region in this case.

Routine health insurance data for scientific research: potential and limitations of the Agis Health Database.

Science.gov (United States)

Smeets, Hugo M; de Wit, Niek J; Hoes, Arno W

2011-04-01

Observational studies performed within routine health care databases have the advantage of their large size and, when the aim is to assess the effect of interventions, can offer a completion to randomized controlled trials with usually small samples from experimental situations. Institutional Health Insurance Databases (HIDs) are attractive for research because of their large size, their longitudinal perspective, and their practice-based information. As they are based on financial reimbursement, the information is generally reliable. The database of one of the major insurance companies in the Netherlands, the Agis Health Database (AHD), is described in detail. Whether the AHD data sets meet the specific requirements to conduct several types of clinical studies is discussed according to the classification of the four different types of clinical research; that is, diagnostic, etiologic, prognostic, and intervention research. The potential of the AHD for these various types of research is illustrated using examples of studies recently conducted in the AHD. HIDs such as the AHD offer large potential for several types of clinical research, in particular etiologic and intervention studies, but at present the lack of detailed clinical information is an important limitation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analytic ab initio-based molecular interaction potential for the BrO⋅H{sub 2}O complex

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoehn, Ross D.; Kais, Sabre [Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States); Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, HBKU, Doha (Qatar); Yeole, Sachin D. [Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States); Francisco, Joseph S., E-mail: jfrancisco3@unl.edu [Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (United States); Departments of Chemistry, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 (United States)

2016-05-28

Radical halogen oxide species play important roles within atmospheric processes, specifically those responsible for the removal of O{sub 3}. To facilitate future investigations on this family of compounds, RCCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ-level electronic structure calculations were employed to generate individual-molecule optimized geometries, as well as to determine the global minimum energy structure for the BrO⋅H{sub 2}O complex. This information facilitated the generation of several one-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) scans for the BrO⋅H{sub 2}O complex. Scans were performed for both the ground state and the first excited state; this inclusion is due to a low-lying first electronic excited-state energy. These rigid-geometry PES scans were used both to generate a novel analytic interaction potential by modifying the existing Thole-type model used for water and to the fitted potential function. This interaction potential features anisotropic atomic polarizabilities facilitating appropriate modeling of the physics regarding the unpaired electron residing within the p-orbitals of the oxygen atom of the bromine oxide radical. The intention of this work is to facilitate future molecular dynamics simulations involving the interaction between the BrO radical and water clusters as a first step in devising possible novel chemistries taking place at the water interface of clouds within the atmosphere.

Interaction between functional health literacy, patient activation, and glycemic control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woodard LD

2014-07-01

Full Text Available LeChauncy D Woodard, Cassie R Landrum, Amber B Amspoker, David Ramsey, Aanand D Naik Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Section of Health Services Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA Background: Functional health literacy (FHL and patient activation can impact diabetes control through enhanced diabetes self-management. Less is known about the combined effect of these characteristics on diabetes outcomes. Using brief, validated measures, we examined the interaction between FHL and patient activation in predicting glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c control among a cohort of multimorbid diabetic patients.Methods: We administered a survey via mail to 387 diabetic patients with coexisting ­hypertension and ischemic heart disease who received outpatient care at one regional VA medical center between November 2010 and December 2010. We identified patients with the study conditions using the International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical ­Modification (ICD-9-CM diagnoses codes and Current Procedure Terminology (CPT ­procedures codes. Surveys were returned by 195 (50.4% patients. We determined patient activation levels based on participant responses to the 13-item Patient Activation Measure and FHL levels using the single-item screening question, “How confident are you filling out medical forms by yourself?” We reviewed patient medical records to assess glycemic control. We used multiple logistic regression to examine whether activation and FHL were individually or jointly related to HbA1c control.Results: Neither patient activation nor FHL was independently related to glycemic control in the unadjusted main effects model; however, the interaction between the two was significantly associated with glycemic control (odds ratio 1.05 [95% confidence

Guns, schools, and mental illness: potential concerns for physicians and mental health professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Ryan Chaloner Winton; Friedman, Susan Hatters

2013-11-01

Since the recent shootings in Tucson, Arizona; Aurora, Colorado; and Newtown, Connecticut, there has been an ever-increasing state and national debate regarding gun control. All 3 shootings involved an alleged shooter who attended college, and in hindsight, evidence of a mental illness was potentially present in these individuals while in school. What appears to be different about the current round of debate is that both pro-gun control and anti-gun control advocates are focusing on mentally ill individuals, early detection of mental illness during school years, and the interactions of such individuals with physicians and the mental health system as a way to solve gun violence. This raises multiple questions for our profession about the apparent increase in these types of events, dangerousness in mentally ill individuals, when to intervene (voluntary vs involuntary), and what role physicians should play in the debate and ongoing prevention. As is evident from the historic Tarasoff court case, physicians and mental health professionals often have new regulations/duties, changes in the physician-patient relationship, and increased liability resulting from high-profile events such as these. Given that in many ways the prediction of who will actually commit a violent act is difficult to determine with accuracy, physicians need to be cautious with how the current gun debate evolves not only for ourselves (eg, increased liability, becoming de facto agents of the state) but for our patients as well (eg, increased stigma, erosion of civil liberties, and changes in the physician-patient relationship). We provide examples of potential troublesome legislation and suggestions on what can be done to improve safety for our patients and for the public. Copyright © 2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Asymmetric Partner Pronoun Use and Demand-Withdraw Interaction in Couples Coping with Health Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Rentscher, Kelly E.; Rohrbaugh, Michael J.; Shoham, Varda; Mehl, Matthias R.

2014-01-01

Recent research links first-person plural pronoun use (we-talk) by individual romantic partners to adaptive relationship functioning and individual health outcomes. To examine a possible boundary condition of adaptive we-talk in couples coping with health problems, we correlated asymmetric couple-level we/I-ratios (more we-talk relative to I-talk by the spouse than the patient) with a concurrent pattern of directional demand-withdraw (D-W) interaction in which the spouse demands change while the patient withdraws. Couples in which a partner who abused alcohol (n = 65), smoked cigarettes despite having heart or lung disease (n = 24), or had congestive heart failure (n = 58) discussed a health-related disagreement during a video-recorded interaction task. Transcripts of these conversations provided measures of pronoun use for each partner, and trained observers coded D-W patterns from the recordings. As expected, partner asymmetry in we/I-ratio scores predicted directional demand-withdraw, such that spouses who used more we-talk (relative to I-talk) than patients tended to assume the demand role in concurrent D-W interaction. Asymmetric I-talk rather than we-talk accounted for this association, and asymmetric you-talk contributed independently as well. In contrast to previous studies of we-talk by individual partners, the present results identify dyad-level pronoun patterns that clearly do not mark beneficent processes: asymmetric partner we/I-ratios and you-talk reflect problematic demand-withdraw interaction. PMID:24098961

Evidence Report: Risk of Adverse Health Effects Due to Host-Microorganism Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Ott, C. Mark; Oubre, Cherie; Wallace, Sarah; Mehta, Satish; Pierson, Duane

2016-01-01

While preventive measures limit the presence of many medically significant microorganisms during spaceflight missions, microbial infection of crewmembers cannot be completely prevented. Spaceflight experiments over the past 50 years have demonstrated a unique microbial response to spaceflight culture, although the mechanisms behind those responses and their operational relevance were unclear. In 2007, the operational importance of these microbial responses was emphasized as the results of an experiment aboard STS-115 demonstrated that the enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) increased in virulence in a murine model of infection. The experiment was reproduced in 2008 aboard STS-123 confirming this finding. In response to these findings, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommended that NASA investigate this risk and its potential impact on the health of the crew during spaceflight. NASA assigned this risk to the Human Research Program. To better understand this risk, evidence has been collected and reported from both spaceflight analog systems and actual spaceflight including Mir, Space Shuttle, and ISS missions. Although the performance of virulence studies during spaceflight are challenging and often impractical, additional information has been and continues to be collected to better understand the risk to crew health. Still, the uncertainty concerning the extent and severity of these alterations in host-microorganism interactions is very large and requires more investigation as the focus of human spaceflight shifts to longer-duration exploration class missions.

Multireference configuration interaction calculations of the first six ionization potentials of the uranium atom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bross, David H.; Parmar, Payal; Peterson, Kirk A., E-mail: kipeters@wsu.edu [Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4630 (United States)

2015-11-14

The first 6 ionization potentials (IPs) of the uranium atom have been calculated using multireference configuration interaction (MRCI+Q) with extrapolations to the complete basis set limit using new all-electron correlation consistent basis sets. The latter was carried out with the third-order Douglas-Kroll-Hess Hamiltonian. Correlation down through the 5s5p5d electrons has been taken into account, as well as contributions to the IPs due to the Lamb shift. Spin-orbit coupling contributions calculated at the 4-component Kramers restricted configuration interaction level, as well as the Gaunt term computed at the Dirac-Hartree-Fock level, were added to the best scalar relativistic results. The final ionization potentials are expected to be accurate to at least 5 kcal/mol (0.2 eV) and thus more reliable than the current experimental values of IP{sub 3} through IP{sub 6}.

Final Report - Assessment of Potential Phosphate Ion-Cementitious Materials Interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naus, Dan J.; Mattus, Catherine H.; Dole, Leslie Robert

2007-01-01

The objectives of this limited study were to: (1) review the potential for degradation of cementitious materials due to exposure to high concentrations of phosphate ions; (2) provide an improved understanding of any significant factors that may lead to a requirement to establish exposure limits for concrete structures exposed to soils or ground waters containing high levels of phosphate ions; (3) recommend, as appropriate, whether a limitation on phosphate ion concentration in soils or ground water is required to avoid degradation of concrete structures; and (4) provide a 'primer' on factors that can affect the durability of concrete materials and structures in nuclear power plants. An assessment of the potential effects of phosphate ions on cementitious materials was made through a review of the literature, contacts with concrete research personnel, and conduct of a 'bench-scale' laboratory investigation. Results of these activities indicate that: no harmful interactions occur between phosphates and cementitious materials unless phosphates are present in the form of phosphoric acid; phosphates have been incorporated into concrete as set retarders, and phosphate cements have been used for infrastructure repair; no standards or guidelines exist pertaining to applications of reinforced concrete structures in high-phosphate environments; interactions of phosphate ions and cementitious materials has not been a concern of the research community; and laboratory results indicate similar performance of specimens cured in phosphate solutions and those cured in a calcium hydroxide solution after exposure periods of up to eighteen months. Relative to the 'primer,' a separate NUREG report has been prepared that provides a review of pertinent factors that can affect the durability of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete structures

HA/CD44 interactions as potential targets for cancer therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Misra, Suniti; Heldin, Paraskevi; Hascall, Vincent C.; Karamanos, Nikos K.; Skandalis, Spyros S.; Markwald, Roger R.; Ghatak, Shibnath

2011-01-01

It is becoming increasingly clear that signals generated in tumor microenvironments are crucial to tumor cell behavior, such as, survival progression, and metastasis. The establishment of these malignant behaviors requires that tumor cells acquire novel adhesion and migration properties to detach from their original sites for localizing into distant organs. CD44, an adhesion/homing molecule is a major receptor for the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan, which is one of the major components of the tumor extracellular matrix (ECM). CD44, a multi structural and multifunctional molecule, detects changes in ECM components, and thus is well positioned to provide appropriate responses to changes in the microenvironment, i.e. engagement in cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions, cell traffic, lymph node homing, and presentation of growth factors/cytokines/chemokines to co-ordinate signaling events that enable the cell responses that change in the tissue environment. The potential involvement of CD44variants (CD44v), especially CD44v4-v7 and CD44v6-v9 in tumor progression was confirmed for many tumor types in numerous clinical studies. Down regulation of the standard CD44 isoform (CD44s) in colon cancer is postulated to result in increased tumorigenicity. CD44v-specific functions could be due to their higher binding affinity for hyaluronan than CD44s. Alternatively, CD44v-specific functions could be due to differences in associating molecules, which may bind selectively to the CD44v exon. This review summarizes how the interaction between hyaluronan and CD44v can serve as a potential target for cancer therapy, in particular how silencing the CD44v can target multiple metastatic tumors. PMID:21362138

Final Report - Assessment of Potential Phosphate Ion-Cementitious Materials Interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naus, Dan J [ORNL; Mattus, Catherine H [ORNL; Dole, Leslie Robert [ORNL

2007-06-01

The objectives of this limited study were to: (1) review the potential for degradation of cementitious materials due to exposure to high concentrations of phosphate ions; (2) provide an improved understanding of any significant factors that may lead to a requirement to establish exposure limits for concrete structures exposed to soils or ground waters containing high levels of phosphate ions; (3) recommend, as appropriate, whether a limitation on phosphate ion concentration in soils or ground water is required to avoid degradation of concrete structures; and (4) provide a "primer" on factors that can affect the durability of concrete materials and structures in nuclear power plants. An assessment of the potential effects of phosphate ions on cementitious materials was made through a review of the literature, contacts with concrete research personnel, and conduct of a "bench-scale" laboratory investigation. Results of these activities indicate that: no harmful interactions occur between phosphates and cementitious materials unless phosphates are present in the form of phosphoric acid; phosphates have been incorporated into concrete as set retarders, and phosphate cements have been used for infrastructure repair; no standards or guidelines exist pertaining to applications of reinforced concrete structures in high-phosphate environments; interactions of phosphate ions and cementitious materials has not been a concern of the research community; and laboratory results indicate similar performance of specimens cured in phosphate solutions and those cured in a calcium hydroxide solution after exposure periods of up to eighteen months. Relative to the "primer," a separate NUREG report has been prepared that provides a review of pertinent factors that can affect the durability of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete structures.

[Sustainable Implementation of Evidence-Based Programmes in Health Promotion: A Theoretical Framework and Concept of Interactive Knowledge to Action].

Science.gov (United States)

Rütten, A; Wolff, A; Streber, A

2016-03-01

This article discusses 2 current issues in the field of public health research: (i) transfer of scientific knowledge into practice and (ii) sustainable implementation of good practice projects. It also supports integration of scientific and practice-based evidence production. Furthermore, it supports utilisation of interactive models that transcend deductive approaches to the process of knowledge transfer. Existing theoretical approaches, pilot studies and thoughtful conceptual considerations are incorporated into a framework showing the interplay of science, politics and prevention practice, which fosters a more sustainable implementation of health promotion programmes. The framework depicts 4 key processes of interaction between science and prevention practice: interactive knowledge to action, capacity building, programme adaptation and adaptation of the implementation context. Ensuring sustainability of health promotion programmes requires a concentrated process of integrating scientific and practice-based evidence production in the context of implementation. Central to the integration process is the approach of interactive knowledge to action, which especially benefits from capacity building processes that facilitate participation and systematic interaction between relevant stakeholders. Intense cooperation also induces a dynamic interaction between multiple actors and components such as health promotion programmes, target groups, relevant organisations and social, cultural and political contexts. The reciprocal adaptation of programmes and key components of the implementation context can foster effectiveness and sustainability of programmes. Sustainable implementation of evidence-based health promotion programmes requires alternatives to recent deductive models of knowledge transfer. Interactive approaches prove to be promising alternatives. Simultaneously, they change the responsibilities of science, policy and public health practice. Existing boundaries

A regulatory science viewpoint on botanical-drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Grimstein, Manuela; Huang, Shiew-Mei

2018-04-01

There is a continued predisposition of concurrent use of drugs and botanical products. Consumers often self-administer botanical products without informing their health care providers. The perceived safety of botanical products with lack of knowledge of the interaction potential poses a challenge for providers and both efficacy and safety concerns for patients. Botanical-drug combinations can produce untoward effects when botanical constituents modulate drug metabolizing enzymes and/or transporters impacting the systemic or tissue exposure of concomitant drugs. Examples of pertinent scientific literature evaluating the interaction potential of commonly used botanicals in the US are discussed. Current methodologies that can be applied to advance our efforts in predicting drug interaction liability is presented. This review also highlights the regulatory science viewpoint on botanical-drug interactions and labeling implications. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A new method for detecting interactions between the senses in event-related potentials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gondan, Matthias; Röder, B.

2006-01-01

Event-related potentials (ERPs) can be used in multisensory research to determine the point in time when different senses start to interact, for example, the auditory and the visual system. For this purpose, the ERP to bimodal stimuli (AV) is often compared to the sum of the ERPs to auditory (A......) and visual (V) stimuli: AV - (A + V). If the result is non-zero, this is interpreted as an indicator for multisensory interactions. Using this method, several studies have demonstrated auditory-visual interactions as early as 50 ms after stimulus onset. The subtraction requires that A, V, and AV do...... not contain common activity: This activity would be subtracted twice from one ERP and would, therefore, contaminate the result. In the present study, ERPs to unimodal, bimodal, and trimodal auditory, visual, and tactile stimuli (T) were recorded. We demonstrate that (T + TAV) - (TA + TV) is equivalent to AV...

Data Mashups: Potential Contribution to Decision Support on Climate Change and Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lora E. Fleming

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Linking environmental, socioeconomic and health datasets provides new insights into the potential associations between climate change and human health and wellbeing, and underpins the development of decision support tools that will promote resilience to climate change, and thus enable more effective adaptation. This paper outlines the challenges and opportunities presented by advances in data collection, storage, analysis, and access, particularly focusing on “data mashups”. These data mashups are integrations of different types and sources of data, frequently using open application programming interfaces and data sources, to produce enriched results that were not necessarily the original reason for assembling the raw source data. As an illustration of this potential, this paper describes a recently funded initiative to create such a facility in the UK for use in decision support around climate change and health, and provides examples of suitable sources of data and the purposes to which they can be directed, particularly for policy makers and public health decision makers.

Data mashups: potential contribution to decision support on climate change and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Lora E; Haines, Andy; Golding, Brian; Kessel, Anthony; Cichowska, Anna; Sabel, Clive E; Depledge, Michael H; Sarran, Christophe; Osborne, Nicholas J; Whitmore, Ceri; Cocksedge, Nicola; Bloomfield, Daniel

2014-02-04

Linking environmental, socioeconomic and health datasets provides new insights into the potential associations between climate change and human health and wellbeing, and underpins the development of decision support tools that will promote resilience to climate change, and thus enable more effective adaptation. This paper outlines the challenges and opportunities presented by advances in data collection, storage, analysis, and access, particularly focusing on "data mashups". These data mashups are integrations of different types and sources of data, frequently using open application programming interfaces and data sources, to produce enriched results that were not necessarily the original reason for assembling the raw source data. As an illustration of this potential, this paper describes a recently funded initiative to create such a facility in the UK for use in decision support around climate change and health, and provides examples of suitable sources of data and the purposes to which they can be directed, particularly for policy makers and public health decision makers.

Nutrigenomics of essential oils and their potential domestic use for improving health.

Science.gov (United States)

Cayuela Sánchez, José Antonio; Elamrani, Abdelaziz

2014-11-01

The use of essential oils as industrial food additives is notorious, like their medicinal properties. However, their use in household food spicing is for now limited. In this work, we have made a review to reveal the nutrigenomic actions exerted by their bioactive components, to promote awareness of their modulating gene expression ability and the potential that this implies. Also considered is how essential oils can be used as flavoring and seasoning after cooking and before consumption, such as diet components which can improve human health. Genetic mechanisms involved in the medicinal properties of essential oils for food use are identified from literature. These genetic mechanisms reveal nutrigenomic actions. Reviews on the medicinal properties of essential oils have been particularly considered. A wide diversity of nutrigenomic effects from essential oils useful potentially for food spicing is reviewed. General ideas are discussed about essential oils and their properties, such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, immunomodulatory, anticancer, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, anti-diabetic, antioxidant, bone-reparation, anti-depressant and mitigatory for Alzheimer's disease. The essential oils for food use are potentially promoting health agents, and, therefore, worth using as flavoring and condiments. Becoming aware of the modulating gene expression actions from essential oils is important for understanding their potential for use in household dishes as spices to improve health.

Evaluation of potential interactions between mycophenolic acid derivatives and proton pump inhibitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabardi, Steven; Olyaei, Ali

2012-01-01

To evaluate the incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) complications in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, impact of the complications on transplant outcomes, and the potential interactions between mycophenolic acid (MPA) derivatives and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). An unrestricted literature search (1980-January 2012) was performed with MEDLINE and EMBASE using the following key words: drug-drug interaction, enteric-coated mycophenolic acid, GI complications, mycophenolate mofetil, solid organ transplant, and proton pump inhibitor, including individual agents within the class. Abstracts from scientific meetings were also evaluated. Additionally, reference citations from identified publications were reviewed. Relevant English-language, original research articles and review articles were evaluated if they focused on any of the topics identified in the search or included substantial content addressing GI complications in SOT recipients or drug interactions. GI complications are frequent among SOT recipients, with some studies showing prevalence rates as high as 70%. Transplant outcomes among renal transplant recipients are significantly impacted by GI complications, especially in patients requiring immunosuppressant dosage reductions or premature discontinuation. To this end, PPI use among patients receiving transplants is common. Recent data demonstrate that PPIs significantly reduce the overall exposure to MPA after oral administration of mycophenolate mofetil. Similar studies show this interaction does not exist between PPIs and enteric-coated mycophenolic acid (EC-MPA). Unfortunately, most of the available data evaluating this interaction are pharmacokinetic analyses that do not investigate the clinical impact of this interaction. A significant interaction exists between PPIs and mycophenolate mofetil secondary to reduced dissolution of mycophenolate mofetil in higher pH environments. EC-MPA is not absorbed in the stomach; therefore, low intragastric acidity

Comparison of permutationally invariant polynomials, neural networks, and Gaussian approximation potentials in representing water interactions through many-body expansions

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Thuong T.; Székely, Eszter; Imbalzano, Giulio; Behler, Jörg; Csányi, Gábor; Ceriotti, Michele; Götz, Andreas W.; Paesani, Francesco

2018-06-01

The accurate representation of multidimensional potential energy surfaces is a necessary requirement for realistic computer simulations of molecular systems. The continued increase in computer power accompanied by advances in correlated electronic structure methods nowadays enables routine calculations of accurate interaction energies for small systems, which can then be used as references for the development of analytical potential energy functions (PEFs) rigorously derived from many-body (MB) expansions. Building on the accuracy of the MB-pol many-body PEF, we investigate here the performance of permutationally invariant polynomials (PIPs), neural networks, and Gaussian approximation potentials (GAPs) in representing water two-body and three-body interaction energies, denoting the resulting potentials PIP-MB-pol, Behler-Parrinello neural network-MB-pol, and GAP-MB-pol, respectively. Our analysis shows that all three analytical representations exhibit similar levels of accuracy in reproducing both two-body and three-body reference data as well as interaction energies of small water clusters obtained from calculations carried out at the coupled cluster level of theory, the current gold standard for chemical accuracy. These results demonstrate the synergy between interatomic potentials formulated in terms of a many-body expansion, such as MB-pol, that are physically sound and transferable, and machine-learning techniques that provide a flexible framework to approximate the short-range interaction energy terms.

The interaction between nitrobenzene and Microcystis aeruginosa and its potential to impact water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhiquan; Cui, Fuyi; Ma, Hua; Fan, Zhenqiang; Zhao, Zhiwei; Hou, Zhenling; Liu, Dongmei; Jia, Xuebin

2013-08-01

The potential water quality problems caused by the interaction between nitrobezene (NB) and Microcystis aeruginosa was investigated by studying the growth inhibition, the haloacetic acids formation potential (HAAFP) and the secretion of microcystin-LR (MC-LR). The results showed that NB can inhibit the growth of M. aeruginosa, and the value of EC50 increased with the increase of initial algal density. Although NB can hardly react with chlorine to form HAAs, the presence of NB can enhance the HAAFP productivity. The secretion of the intracellular MC-LR is constant under the steady experimental conditions. However, the presence of NB can reduce the MC-LR productivity of M. aeruginosa. Overall, the increased disinfection risk caused by the interaction has more important effect on the safety of drinking water quality than the benefit of the decreased MC-LR productivity, and should be serious considered when the water contained NB and M. aeruginosa is used as drinking water source. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactive Two-Way mHealth Interventions for Improving Medication Adherence: An Evaluation Using The Behaviour Change Wheel Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Amico, K Rivet; Atkins, Lou; Lester, Richard T

2018-01-01

potential mechanisms of action. Results Our evaluation of WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel suggests that most of its impact is delivered primarily through its personalized communication component, in which 8 different behavior change techniques were identified and linked with 5 intervention functions (environmental restructuring, enablement, education, persuasion, and training). Its mechanisms of action in promoting antiretroviral therapy adherence may involve addressing all Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior influences on behavior (physical and psychological capability, physical and social opportunity, reflective and automatic motivation). Conclusions Systematically unpacking the potential active ingredients of effective interventions facilitates the creation and implementation of more parsimonious, tailored, and targeted approaches. Evaluating WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel has provided valuable insights into how and why such interactive two-way mHealth interventions may produce greater impact than one-way in addressing both nonintentional and intentional forms of nonadherence. The application of the Behavior Change Wheel for evidence synthesis across mHealth interventions targeting various conditions would contribute to strengthening the knowledge base regarding how they may work to impact medication adherence behavior. PMID:29650504

On the analysis of protein-protein interactions via knowledge-based potentials for the prediction of protein-protein docking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feliu, Elisenda; Aloy, Patrick; Oliva, Baldo

2011-01-01

Development of effective methods to screen binary interactions obtained by rigid-body protein-protein docking is key for structure prediction of complexes and for elucidating physicochemical principles of protein-protein binding. We have derived empirical knowledge-based potential functions for s...... and with independence of the partner. This information is encoded at the residue level and could be easily incorporated in the initial grid scoring for Fast Fourier Transform rigid-body docking methods.......Development of effective methods to screen binary interactions obtained by rigid-body protein-protein docking is key for structure prediction of complexes and for elucidating physicochemical principles of protein-protein binding. We have derived empirical knowledge-based potential functions...... for selecting rigid-body docking poses. These potentials include the energetic component that provides the residues with a particular secondary structure and surface accessibility. These scoring functions have been tested on a state-of-art benchmark dataset and on a decoy dataset of permanent interactions. Our...

Challenges of Health Games in the Social Network Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Paredes, Hugo; Pinho, Anabela; Zagalo, Nelson

2012-04-01

Virtual communities and their benefits have been widely exploited to support patients, caregivers, families, and healthcare providers. The complexity of the social organization evolved the concept of virtual community to social networks, exploring the establishment of ties and relations between people. These technological platforms provide a way to keep up with one's connections network, through a set of communication and interaction tools. Games, as social interactive technologies, have great potential, ensuring a supportive community and thereby reducing social isolation. Serious social health games bring forward several research challenges. This article examines the potential benefits of the triad "health-serious games-social networks" and discusses some research challenges and opportunities of the liaison of serious health games and social networks.

Story Immersion of Videogames for Youth Health Promotion: A Review of Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Amy Shirong; Baranowski, Tom; Thompson, Debbe; Buday, Richard

2012-06-01

This article reviews research in the fields of psychology, literature, communication, human-computer interaction, public health, and consumer behavior on narrative and its potential relationships with videogames and story immersion. It also reviews a narrative's role in complementing behavioral change theories and the potential of story immersion for health promotion through videogames. Videogames have potential for health promotion and may be especially promising when attempting to reach youth. An understudied characteristic of videogames is that many contain a narrative, or story. Story immersion (transportation) is a mechanism through which a narrative influences players' cognition, affect, and, potentially, health behavior. Immersion promotes the suspension of disbelief and the reduction of counterarguments, enables the story experience as a personal experience, and creates the player's deep affection for narrative protagonists. Story immersion complements behavioral change theories, including the Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory, and Self-Determination Theory. Systematic investigations are needed to realize the powerful potential of interactive narratives within theory-driven research.

Evaluation of the Stillinger-Weber classical interaction potential for tetragonal semiconductors in nonideal atomic configurations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodson, B.W.

1986-01-01

A classical potential incorporating two- and three-body interaction terms has recently been introduced by Stillinger and Weber (SW) for simulation of the liquefaction transition of silicon. The equilibrium mechanical properties of this potential are determined and found to agree well with experimental values. The potential also seems to be adequate for problems involving computation of defect energies, such as the stability of strained-layer superlattice interfaces. However, inadequate treatment of configurations with low coordination number makes modeling of the epitaxial growth of (111) silicon impossible. Simple modifications of the SW potential form do allow for (111) epitaxial growth, but the earliest stages of growth then become unphysical

Cyclin D3 interacts with human activating transcription factor 5 and potentiates its transcription activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Wenjin; Sun Maoyun; Jiang Jianhai; Shen Xiaoyun; Sun Qing; Liu Weicheng; Shen Hailian; Gu Jianxin

2004-01-01

The Cyclin D3 protein is a member of the D-type cyclins. Besides serving as cell cycle regulators, D-type cyclins have been reported to be able to interact with several transcription factors and modulate their transcriptional activations. Here we report that human activating transcription factor 5 (hATF5) is a new interacting partner of Cyclin D3. The interaction was confirmed by in vivo coimmunoprecipitation and in vitro binding analysis. Neither interaction between Cyclin D1 and hATF5 nor interaction between Cyclin D2 and hATF5 was observed. Confocal microscopy analysis showed that Cyclin D3 could colocalize with hATF5 in the nuclear region. Cyclin D3 could potentiate hATF5 transcriptional activity independently of its Cdk4 partner. But Cyclin D1 and Cyclin D2 had no effect on hATF5 transcriptional activity. These data provide a new clue to understand the new role of Cyclin D3 as a transcriptional regulator

Social inequalities in health: measuring the contribution of housing deprivation and social interactions for Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbanos-Garrido, Rosa M

2012-12-14

Social factors have been proved to be main determinants of individuals' health. Recent studies have also analyzed the contribution of some of those factors, such as education and job status, to socioeconomic inequalities in health. The aim of this paper is to provide new evidence about the factors driving socioeconomic inequalities in health for the Spanish population by including housing deprivation and social interactions as health determinants. Cross-sectional study based on the Spanish sample of European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) for 2006. The concentration index measuring income-related inequality in health is decomposed into the contribution of each determinant. Several models are estimated to test the influence of different regressors for three proxies of ill-health. Health inequality favouring the better-off is observed in the distribution of self-assessed health, presence of chronic diseases and presence of limiting conditions. Inequality is mainly explained, besides age, by social factors such as labour status and financial deprivation. Housing deprivation contributes to pro-rich inequality in a percentage ranging from 7.17% to 13.85%, and social interactions from 6.16% to 10.19%. The contribution of some groups of determinants significantly differs depending on the ill-health variable used. Health inequalities can be mostly reduced or shaped by policy, as they are mainly explained by social determinants such as labour status, education and other socioeconomic conditions. The major role played on health inequality by variables taking part in social exclusion points to the need to focus on the most vulnerable groups.

Global Health Education: a cross-sectional study among German medical students to identify needs, deficits and potential benefits (Part 2 of 2: Knowledge gaps and potential benefits).

Science.gov (United States)

Bozorgmehr, Kayvan; Menzel-Severing, Johannes; Schubert, Kirsten; Tinnemann, Peter

2010-10-08

In Germany, educational deficits or potential benefits involved in global health education have not been analysed till now. We assess the importance medical students place on learning about social determinants of health (SDH) and assess their knowledge of global health topics in relation to (i) mobility patterns, their education in (ii) tropical medicine or (iii) global health. Cross-sectional study among medical students from all 36 medical schools in Germany using a web-based, semi-structured questionnaire. Participants were recruited via mailing-lists of students' unions, all medical students registered in 2007 were eligible to participate in the study. We captured international mobility patterns, exposure to global health learning opportunities and attitudes to learning about SDH. Both an objective and subjective knowledge assessment were performed. 1126 online-replies were received and analysed. International health electives in developing countries correlated significantly with a higher importance placed on all provided SDH (p ≤ 0.006). Participation in tropical medicine (p educational system' (p = 0.007) and the 'health system structure' (p = 0.007), while the item 'politics' was marginally significant (p = 0.053).In the knowledge assessment students achieved an average score of 3.6 (SD 1.5; Mdn 4.0), 75% achieved a score of 4.0 or less (Q25 = 3.0; Q75 = 4.0) from a maximum achievable score of 8.0. A better performance was associated with international health electives (p = 0.032), participation in tropical medicine (p = 0.038) and global health (p = 0.258) courses. The importance medical students in our sample placed on learning about SDH strongly interacts with students' mobility, and participation in tropical medicine and global health courses. The knowledge assessment revealed deficits and outlined needs to further analyse education gaps in global health. Developing concerted educational interventions aimed at fostering students' engagement with SDH

Potential for alcohol and drug interactions in older adults: evidence from the Irish longitudinal study on ageing

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Older adults are susceptible to adverse effects from the concomitant use of prescription medications and alcohol. This study estimates the prevalence of exposure to alcohol interactive (AI) medications and concomitant alcohol use by therapeutic class in a large, nationally representative sample of older adults. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of a population based sample of older Irish adults aged ≥60 years using data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) (N = 3,815). AI medications were identified using Stockley’s Drug Interactions, the British National Formulary and the Irish Medicines Formulary. An in-home inventory of medications was used to characterise AI drug exposure by therapeutic class. Self-reported alcohol use was classified as non-drinker, light/moderate and heavy drinking. Comorbidities known to be exacerbated by alcohol were also recorded (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, peptic ulcer disease, liver disease, depression, gout or breast cancer), as well as sociodemographic and health factors. Results Seventy-two per cent of participants were exposed to AI medications, with greatest exposure to cardiovascular and CNS agents. Overall, 60% of participants exposed to AI medications reported concomitant alcohol use, compared with 69.5% of non-AI exposed people (p alcohol consumption (both light/moderate and heavier) and AI medications. Current smokers and people with increasing co-morbidities were also at greatest risk for heavy drinking in combination with AI medications. Conclusions The concurrent use of alcohol with AI medications, or with conditions known to be exacerbated by alcohol, is common among older Irish adults. Prescribers should be aware of potential interactions, and screen patients for alcohol use and provide warnings to minimize patient risk. PMID:24766969

Educational games for brain health: revealing their unexplored potential through a neurocognitive approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick eFissler

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Educational games link the motivational nature of games with learning of knowledge and skills. Here, we go beyond effects on these learning outcomes. We review two lines of evidence which indicate the currently unexplored potential of educational games to promote brain health: First, gaming with specific neurocognitive demands (e.g., executive control, and second, educational learning experiences (e.g., studying foreign languages improve brain health markers. These markers include cognitive ability, brain function, and brain structure. As educational games allow the combination of specific neurocognitive demands with educational learning experiences, they seem to be optimally suited for promoting brain health. We propose a neurocognitive approach to reveal this unexplored potential of educational games in future research.

A systematic review of interactive multimedia interventions to promote children’s communication with health professionals: implications for communicating with overweight children

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Interactive multimedia is an emerging technology that is being used to facilitate interactions between patients and health professionals. The purpose of this review was to identify and evaluate the impact of multimedia interventions (MIs), delivered in the context of paediatric healthcare, in order to inform the development of a MI to promote the communication of dietetic messages with overweight preadolescent children. Of particular interest were the effects of these MIs on child engagement and participation in treatment, and the subsequent effect on health-related treatment outcomes. Methods An extensive search of 12 bibliographic databases was conducted in April 2012. Studies were included if: one or more child-participant was 7 to 11-years-of-age; a MI was used to improve health-related behaviour; child-participants were diagnosed with a health condition and were receiving treatment for that condition at the time of the study. Data describing study characteristics and intervention effects on communication, satisfaction, knowledge acquisition, changes in self-efficacy, healthcare utilisation, and health outcomes were extracted and summarised using qualitative and quantitative methods. Results A total of 14 controlled trials, published between 1997 and 2006 met the selection criteria. Several MIs had the capacity to facilitate engagement between the child and a clinician, but only one sought to utilise the MI to improve communication between the child and health professional. In spite of concerns over the quality of some studies and small study populations, MIs were found useful in educating children about their health, and they demonstrated potential to improve children’s health-related self-efficacy, which could make them more able partners in face-to-face communications with health professionals. Conclusions The findings of this review suggest that MIs have the capacity to support preadolescent child-clinician communication, but further research

Chew-Low model and the potential description of the πN interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuda, M.G.

1983-01-01

The inverse scattering problem for the Chew-Low model is solved and the solution is used to construct three different forms for the off-shell πN T matrix. The three forms differ in their treatment of the nucleon pole and the crossing cut. One of the forms is shown to be equivalent to a separable potential model with an energy dependent strength. The analysis gives some insight into the question of the range of the πN interaction

Optical model potential analysis of n ¯A and n A interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Teck-Ghee; Wong, Cheuk-Yin

2018-05-01

We use a momentum-dependent optical model potential to analyze the annihilation cross sections of the antineutron n ¯ on C, Al, Fe, Cu, Ag, Sn, and Pb nuclei for projectile momenta plab ≲500 MeV /c . We obtain a good description of annihilation cross section data of Barbina et al. [Nucl. Phys. A 612, 346 (1997), 10.1016/S0375-9474(96)00331-4] and of Astrua et al. [Nucl. Phys. A 697, 209 (2002), 10.1016/S0375-9474(01)01252-0] which exhibit an interesting dependence of the cross sections on plab as well as on the target mass number A . We also obtain the neutron (n ) nonelastic reaction cross sections for the same targets. Comparing the n A reaction cross sections σrecn A to the n ¯A annihilation cross sections σannn ¯A, we find that σannn ¯A is significantly larger than σrecn A, that is, the σannn ¯A/σrecn A cross section ratio lies between the values of about 1.5 to 4.0 in the momentum region where comparison is possible. The dependence of the n ¯ annihilation cross section on the projectile charge is also examined in comparison with the antiproton p ¯. Here we predict the p ¯A annihilation cross section on the simplest assumption that both p ¯A and n ¯A interactions have the same nuclear part of the optical potential but differ only in the electrostatic Coulomb interaction. Deviation from a such simple model extrapolation in measurements will provide new information on the difference between n ¯A and p ¯A potentials.

Indolealkylamines: biotransformations and potential drug-drug interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Ai-Ming

2008-06-01

Indolealkylamine (IAA) drugs are 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT or serotonin) analogs that mainly act on the serotonin system. Some IAAs are clinically utilized for antimigraine therapy, whereas other substances are notable as drugs of abuse. In the clinical evaluation of antimigraine triptan drugs, studies on their biotransformations and pharmacokinetics would facilitate the understanding and prevention of unwanted drug-drug interactions (DDIs). A stable, principal metabolite of an IAA drug of abuse could serve as a useful biomarker in assessing intoxication of the IAA substance. Studies on the metabolism of IAA drugs of abuse including lysergic acid amides, tryptamine derivatives and beta-carbolines are therefore emerging. An important role for polymorphic cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) in the metabolism of IAA drugs of abuse has been revealed by recent studies, suggesting that variations in IAA metabolism, pharmaco- or toxicokinetics and dynamics can arise from distinct CYP2D6 status, and CYP2D6 polymorphism may represent an additional risk factor in the use of these IAA drugs. Furthermore, DDIs with IAA agents could occur additively at the pharmaco/toxicokinetic and dynamic levels, leading to severe or even fatal serotonin toxicity. In this review, the metabolism and potential DDIs of these therapeutic and abused IAA drugs are described.

The SADI Personal Health Lens: A Web Browser-Based System for Identifying Personally Relevant Drug Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vandervalk, Ben; McCarthy, E Luke; Cruz-Toledo, José; Klein, Artjom; Baker, Christopher J O; Dumontier, Michel; Wilkinson, Mark D

2013-04-05

The Web provides widespread access to vast quantities of health-related information that can improve quality-of-life through better understanding of personal symptoms, medical conditions, and available treatments. Unfortunately, identifying a credible and personally relevant subset of information can be a time-consuming and challenging task for users without a medical background. The objective of the Personal Health Lens system is to aid users when reading health-related webpages by providing warnings about personally relevant drug interactions. More broadly, we wish to present a prototype for a novel, generalizable approach to facilitating interactions between a patient, their practitioner(s), and the Web. We utilized a distributed, Semantic Web-based architecture for recognizing personally dangerous drugs consisting of: (1) a private, local triple store of personal health information, (2) Semantic Web services, following the Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) design pattern, for text mining and identifying substance interactions, (3) a bookmarklet to trigger analysis of a webpage and annotate it with personalized warnings, and (4) a semantic query that acts as an abstract template of the analytical workflow to be enacted by the system. A prototype implementation of the system is provided in the form of a Java standalone executable JAR file. The JAR file bundles all components of the system: the personal health database, locally-running versions of the SADI services, and a javascript bookmarklet that triggers analysis of a webpage. In addition, the demonstration includes a hypothetical personal health profile, allowing the system to be used immediately without configuration. Usage instructions are provided. The main strength of the Personal Health Lens system is its ability to organize medical information and to present it to the user in a personalized and contextually relevant manner. While this prototype was limited to a single knowledge domain

The SADI Personal Health Lens: A Web Browser-Based System for Identifying Personally Relevant Drug Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Vandervalk, Ben; McCarthy, E Luke; Cruz-Toledo, José; Klein, Artjom; Baker, Christopher J O; Dumontier, Michel

2013-01-01

Background The Web provides widespread access to vast quantities of health-related information that can improve quality-of-life through better understanding of personal symptoms, medical conditions, and available treatments. Unfortunately, identifying a credible and personally relevant subset of information can be a time-consuming and challenging task for users without a medical background. Objective The objective of the Personal Health Lens system is to aid users when reading health-related webpages by providing warnings about personally relevant drug interactions. More broadly, we wish to present a prototype for a novel, generalizable approach to facilitating interactions between a patient, their practitioner(s), and the Web. Methods We utilized a distributed, Semantic Web-based architecture for recognizing personally dangerous drugs consisting of: (1) a private, local triple store of personal health information, (2) Semantic Web services, following the Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (SADI) design pattern, for text mining and identifying substance interactions, (3) a bookmarklet to trigger analysis of a webpage and annotate it with personalized warnings, and (4) a semantic query that acts as an abstract template of the analytical workflow to be enacted by the system. Results A prototype implementation of the system is provided in the form of a Java standalone executable JAR file. The JAR file bundles all components of the system: the personal health database, locally-running versions of the SADI services, and a javascript bookmarklet that triggers analysis of a webpage. In addition, the demonstration includes a hypothetical personal health profile, allowing the system to be used immediately without configuration. Usage instructions are provided. Conclusions The main strength of the Personal Health Lens system is its ability to organize medical information and to present it to the user in a personalized and contextually relevant manner. While this

The impact of oral health on body image and social interactions among elders in long-term care.

Science.gov (United States)

Donnelly, Leeann R; Clarke, Laura Hurd; Phinney, Alison; MacEntee, Michael I

2016-12-01

The objective of this study was to explore how social interactions and body image are influenced by perceived oral health among older people who live in long-term care facilities. Social interactions among frail elders in long-term care (LTC) facilities are limited, but to what extent body image and oral health influence their social relations is poorly understood. A positive body image and the perception of adequate oral health are linked to increased social contacts, as well as improved health and well-being irrespective of age. However, as frailty increases, it is unclear whether appearance and oral health priorities remain stable. Open-ended interviews were conducted with a purposefully selected group of cognitively intact, older men and women who exhibited varying degrees of frailty, social engagement and oral health conditions and lived in one of seven long-term care facilities. The interviews were analysed using a constant comparative technique, and a second interview with participants checked the trustworthiness of the analysis. Three major categories were expressed by the participants: (1) My mouth is fine; (2) It depends; and (3) Not that important. Within each category, there were several contributing and influencing factors. Social interactions among residents in LTC may be negatively impacted by poor oral health, but only if other personal and social issues are less bothersome than conditions with the mouth. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S and The Gerodontology Association. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Improving intermolecular interactions in DFTB3 using extended polarization from chemical-potential equalization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christensen, Anders S., E-mail: andersx@chem.wisc.edu, E-mail: cui@chem.wisc.edu; Cui, Qiang, E-mail: andersx@chem.wisc.edu, E-mail: cui@chem.wisc.edu [Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1101 University Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53706 (United States); Elstner, Marcus [Theoretische Chemische Biologie, Universität Karlsruhe, Kaiserstr. 12, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-08-28

Semi-empirical quantum mechanical methods traditionally expand the electron density in a minimal, valence-only electron basis set. The minimal-basis approximation causes molecular polarization to be underestimated, and hence intermolecular interaction energies are also underestimated, especially for intermolecular interactions involving charged species. In this work, the third-order self-consistent charge density functional tight-binding method (DFTB3) is augmented with an auxiliary response density using the chemical-potential equalization (CPE) method and an empirical dispersion correction (D3). The parameters in the CPE and D3 models are fitted to high-level CCSD(T) reference interaction energies for a broad range of chemical species, as well as dipole moments calculated at the DFT level; the impact of including polarizabilities of molecules in the parameterization is also considered. Parameters for the elements H, C, N, O, and S are presented. The Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) interaction energy is improved from 6.07 kcal/mol to 1.49 kcal/mol for interactions with one charged species, whereas the RMSD is improved from 5.60 kcal/mol to 1.73 for a set of 9 salt bridges, compared to uncorrected DFTB3. For large water clusters and complexes that are dominated by dispersion interactions, the already satisfactory performance of the DFTB3-D3 model is retained; polarizabilities of neutral molecules are also notably improved. Overall, the CPE extension of DFTB3-D3 provides a more balanced description of different types of non-covalent interactions than Neglect of Diatomic Differential Overlap type of semi-empirical methods (e.g., PM6-D3H4) and PBE-D3 with modest basis sets.

Fungal-bacterial interactions and their relevance to oral health: linking the clinic and the bench.

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz, Patricia I; Strausbaugh, Linda D; Dongari-Bagtzoglou, Anna

2014-01-01

High throughput sequencing has accelerated knowledge on the oral microbiome. While the bacterial component of oral communities has been extensively characterized, the role of the fungal microbiota in the oral cavity is largely unknown. Interactions among fungi and bacteria are likely to influence oral health as exemplified by the synergistic relationship between Candida albicans and oral streptococci. In this perspective, we discuss the current state of the field of fungal-bacterial interactions in the context of the oral cavity. We highlight the need to conduct longitudinal clinical studies to simultaneously characterize the bacterial and fungal components of the human oral microbiome in health and during disease progression. Such studies need to be coupled with investigations using disease-relevant models to mechanistically test the associations observed in humans and eventually identify fungal-bacterial interactions that could serve as preventive or therapeutic targets for oral diseases.

Fungal-bacterial interactions and their relevance to oral health: linking the clinic and the bench

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia I Diaz

2014-07-01

Full Text Available High throughput sequencing has accelerated knowledge on the oral microbiome. While the bacterial component of oral communities has been extensively characterized, the role of the fungal microbiota in the oral cavity is largely unknown. Interactions among fungi and bacteria are likely to influence oral health as exemplified by the synergistic relationship between Candida albicans and oral streptococci. In this perspective, we discuss the current state of the field of fungal-bacterial interactions in the context of the oral cavity. We highlight the need to conduct longitudinal clinical studies to simultaneously characterize the bacterial and fungal components of the human oral microbiome in health and during disease progression. Such studies need to be coupled with investigations using disease-relevant models to mechanistically test the associations observed in humans and eventually identify fungal-bacterial interactions that could serve as preventive or therapeutic targets for oral diseases.

Structure factor of polymers interacting via a short range repulsive potential: Application to hairy wormlike micelles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massiera, Gladys; Ramos, Laurence; Ligoure, Christian; Pitard, Estelle

2003-01-01

We use the random phase approximation to compute the structure factor S(q) of a solution of chains interacting through a soft and short range repulsive potential V. Above a threshold polymer concentration, whose magnitude is essentially controlled by the range of the potential, S(q) exhibits a peak whose position depends on the concentration. We take advantage of the close analogy between polymers and wormlike micelles and apply our model, using a Gaussian function for V, to quantitatively analyze experimental small angle neutron scattering profiles of solutions of hairy wormlike micelles. These samples, which consist in surfactant self-assembled flexible cylinders decorated by amphiphilic copolymer, provide indeed an appropriate experimental model system to study the structure of sterically interacting polymer solutions

Reward-prospect interacts with trial-by-trial preparation for potential distraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Marini, Francesco; van den Berg, Berry; Woldorff, Marty G

2015-02-01

When attending for impending visual stimuli, cognitive systems prepare to identify relevant information while ignoring irrelevant, potentially distracting input. Recent work (Marini et al., 2013) showed that a supramodal distracter-filtering mechanism is invoked in blocked designs involving expectation of possible distracter stimuli, although this entails a cost ( distraction-filtering cost ) on speeded performance when distracters are expected but not presented. Here we used an arrow-flanker task to study whether an analogous cost, potentially reflecting the recruitment of a specific distraction-filtering mechanism, occurs dynamically when potential distraction is cued trial-to-trial ( cued distracter-expectation cost ). In order to promote the maximal utilization of cue information by participants, in some experimental conditions the cue also signaled the possibility of earning a monetary reward for fast and accurate performance. This design also allowed us to investigate the interplay between anticipation for distracters and anticipation of reward, which is known to engender attentional preparation. Only in reward contexts did participants show a cued distracter-expectation cost, which was larger with higher reward prospect and when anticipation for both distracters and reward were manipulated trial-to-trial. Thus, these results indicate that reward prospect interacts with the distracter expectation during trial-by-trial preparatory processes for potential distraction. These findings highlight how reward guides cue-driven attentional preparation.

PEPSI-Dock: a detailed data-driven protein-protein interaction potential accelerated by polar Fourier correlation.

Science.gov (United States)

Neveu, Emilie; Ritchie, David W; Popov, Petr; Grudinin, Sergei

2016-09-01

Docking prediction algorithms aim to find the native conformation of a complex of proteins from knowledge of their unbound structures. They rely on a combination of sampling and scoring methods, adapted to different scales. Polynomial Expansion of Protein Structures and Interactions for Docking (PEPSI-Dock) improves the accuracy of the first stage of the docking pipeline, which will sharpen up the final predictions. Indeed, PEPSI-Dock benefits from the precision of a very detailed data-driven model of the binding free energy used with a global and exhaustive rigid-body search space. As well as being accurate, our computations are among the fastest by virtue of the sparse representation of the pre-computed potentials and FFT-accelerated sampling techniques. Overall, this is the first demonstration of a FFT-accelerated docking method coupled with an arbitrary-shaped distance-dependent interaction potential. First, we present a novel learning process to compute data-driven distant-dependent pairwise potentials, adapted from our previous method used for rescoring of putative protein-protein binding poses. The potential coefficients are learned by combining machine-learning techniques with physically interpretable descriptors. Then, we describe the integration of the deduced potentials into a FFT-accelerated spherical sampling provided by the Hex library. Overall, on a training set of 163 heterodimers, PEPSI-Dock achieves a success rate of 91% mid-quality predictions in the top-10 solutions. On a subset of the protein docking benchmark v5, it achieves 44.4% mid-quality predictions in the top-10 solutions when starting from bound structures and 20.5% when starting from unbound structures. The method runs in 5-15 min on a modern laptop and can easily be extended to other types of interactions. https://team.inria.fr/nano-d/software/PEPSI-Dock sergei.grudinin@inria.fr. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e

Contextual and individual predictors of physical activity: Interactions between environmental factors and health cognitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Schüz, Benjamin; Wurm, Susanne; Ziegelmann, Jochen P; Wolff, Julia K; Warner, Lisa M; Schwarzer, Ralf; Tesch-Römer, Clemens

2012-11-01

Although health behavior theories assume a role of the context in health behavior self-regulation, this role is often weakly specified and rarely examined. The two studies in this article test whether properties of the environment (districts) affect if and how health-related cognitions are translated into physical activity. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the assumed cross-level interactions. Study 1 is a large-scale survey representative of the German adult population (N = 6,201). Gross domestic product (GDP) on the level of administrative districts was used to indicate environmental opportunities and barriers. Study 2 examined cross-level interactions of proximal predictors of physical activity (intentions, action planning, and coping planning) in older adults with multiple illnesses (N = 309), a high-risk group for health deteriorations. Study 1 showed that on the individual level, health attitudes (B = .11) and education (B = .71) were significantly associated with physical activity. GDP moderated the attitudes-behavior relation (B = .01), with higher attitude-behavior relations in districts with higher GDP. Study 2 finds that intention (B = .16), action planning (B = .17), and coping planning (B = .13) significantly predict activity. In addition, district-level GDP significantly moderated the relations between action planning and coping planning, but not intention, on physical activity. Results suggest that the effects of health attitudes and planning on physical activity are moderated by environmental factors. Districts with higher GDP provide better contextual opportunities for the enactment of concrete if-then plans for physical activity. This has implications for both theory and health promotion.

Young Malawians on the interaction between mental health and HIV/AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Jerome; Lubben, Fred; Mkandawire, Mac Bain

2007-11-01

Previous research has identified high levels of mental health problems among people affected by HIV. This study surveys specifically adolescents in southern Malawi on their experience of the impacts of living with HIV or AIDS on one's mental health. At the same time, the study explores the link between mental health problems and subsequent HIV-risk behaviour. Short texts relating everyday scenarios that depicted symptoms of three mental health problems (i.e.depression, anxiety and HIV-related brain impairment) formed the basis of in-depth discussions in 12 existing groups of secondary school students, orphans and vulnerable children, teenage mothers, and out-of-school youths, in both rural and urban settings. The responses show that these young people recognised the mental health sequelae of HIV/AIDS as impacting upon many aspects of one's life. The young people traced these 'interruptions' and 'disruptions' through deteriorating psychological and socio-economic conditions. They showed awareness of a two-way interaction between HIV/AIDS and mental illness, indicating that the latter can increase thoughts of suicide and HIV risk-taking behaviour. More importantly, they identified a number of locally derived community interventions, which if supported by statutory health and education services, can significantly ameliorate their situations. The findings provide avenues for practical integration of mental health provision within HIV prevention, education and care initiatives.

Willingness to pay for health insurance: an analysis of the potential market for new low-cost health insurance products in Namibia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gustafsson-Wright, Emily; Asfaw, Abay; van der Gaag, Jacques

2009-11-01

This study analyzes the willingness to pay for health insurance and hence the potential market for new low-cost health insurance product in Namibia, using the double bounded contingent valuation (DBCV) method. The findings suggest that 87 percent of the uninsured respondents are willing to join the proposed health insurance scheme and on average are willing to insure 3.2 individuals (around 90 percent of the average family size). On average respondents are willing to pay NAD 48 per capita per month and respondents in the poorest income quintile are willing to pay up to 11.4 percent of their income. This implies that private voluntary health insurance schemes, in addition to the potential for protecting the poor against the negative financial shock of illness, may be able to serve as a reliable income flow for health care providers in this setting.

Fokker-action principle for a system of particles interacting through a linear potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivacoba, A.

1984-01-01

A Fokker-action principle for a system of scalar particles interacting through their time-symmetric relativistic generalization of linear potential is obtained. From this action, motion equations and conservation laws for the total energy and angular momentum of the system, in which field contributions are included, are derived. These equations are exactly applied to the problem suggested by Schild of two particles moving in circular concentric orbits

Tritium-surface interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkaldy, J.S.

1983-06-01

The report deals broadly with tritium-surface interactions as they relate to a fusion power reactor enterprise, viz., the vacuum chamber, first wall, peripherals, pumping, fuel recycling, isotope separation, repair and maintenance, decontamination and safety. The main emphasis is on plasma-surface interactions and the selection of materials for fusion chamber duty. A comprehensive review of the international (particularly U.S.) research and development is presented based upon a literature review (about 1 000 reports and papers) and upon visits to key laboratories, Sandia, Albuquerque, Sandia, Livermore and EGβG Idaho. An inventory of Canadian expertise and facilities for RβD on tritium-surface interactions is also presented. A number of proposals are made for the direction of an optimal Canadian RβD program, emphasizing the importance of building on strength in both the technological and fundamental areas. A compendium of specific projects and project areas is presented dealing primarily with plasma-wall interactions and permeation, anti-permeation materials and surfaces and health, safety and environmental considerations. Potential areas of industrial spinoff are identified

High volume hydraulic fracturing operations: potential impacts on surface water and human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Mrdjen, Igor; Lee, Jiyoung

2016-08-01

High volume, hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) processes, used to extract natural gas and oil from underground shale deposits, pose many potential hazards to the environment and human health. HVHF can negatively affect the environment by contaminating soil, water, and air matrices with potential pollutants. Due to the relatively novel nature of the process, hazards to surface waters and human health are not well known. The purpose of this article is to link the impacts of HVHF operations on surface water integrity, with human health consequences. Surface water contamination risks include: increased structural failure rates of unconventional wells, issues with wastewater treatment, and accidental discharge of contaminated fluids. Human health risks associated with exposure to surface water contaminated with HVHF chemicals include increased cancer risk and turbidity of water, leading to increased pathogen survival time. Future research should focus on modeling contamination spread throughout the environment, and minimizing occupational exposure to harmful chemicals.

Diets and Health: How Food Decisions Are Shaped by Biology, Economics, Geography, and Social Interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Drewnowski, Adam; Kawachi, Ichiro

2015-09-01

Health is shaped by both personal choices and features of the food environment. Food-choice decisions depend on complex interactions between biology and behavior, and are further modulated by the built environment and community structure. That lower-income families have lower-quality diets is well established. Yet, diet quality also varies across small geographic neighborhoods and can be influenced by transportation, retail, and ease of access to healthy foods, as well as by attitudes, beliefs, and social interactions. The learnings from the Seattle Obesity Study (SOS II) can be usefully applied to the much larger, more complex, and far more socially and ethnically diverse urban environment of New York City. The Kavli HUMAN Project (KHP) is ideally positioned to advance the understanding of health disparities by exploring the multiple underpinnings of food decision making. By combining geo-localized food shopping and consumption data with health behaviors, diet quality measures, and biomarkers, also coded by geographic location, the KHP will create the first-of-its-kind bio-behavioral, economic, and cultural atlas of diet quality and health for New York City.

Interface bonding in silicon oxide nanocontacts: interaction potentials and force measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Wierez-Kien, M.; Craciun, A. D.; Pinon, A. V.; Le Roux, S.; Gallani, J. L.; Rastei, M. V.

2018-04-01

The interface bonding between two silicon-oxide nanoscale surfaces has been studied as a function of atomic nature and size of contacting asperities. The binding forces obtained using various interaction potentials are compared with experimental force curves measured in vacuum with an atomic force microscope. In the limit of small nanocontacts (typically contact area which is altered by stretching speeds. The mean unbinding force is found to decrease as the contact spends time in the attractive regime. This contact weakening is featured by a negative aging coefficient which broadens and shifts the thermal-induced force distribution at low stretching speeds.

Mandating nutrient menu labeling in restaurants: potential public health benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Stran, Kimberly A; Turner, Lori W; Knol, Linda

2013-03-01

Many Americans have replaced home-cooked meals with fast food and restaurants meals. This contributes to increased incidences of overweight and obesity. Implementing policies that require restaurants to disclose nutrition information has the potential to improve nutrition knowledge and food behaviors. The purpose of this paper was to examine the potential health benefits of nutrient menu labeling in restaurants, the progress of this legislation and to provide results regarding the implementation of these policies. Data sources were obtained from a search of multiple databases including PubMed, Science Direct, Academic Search Premier, and Google Scholar. Study inclusion criteria were publication in the past ten years, obesity prevention, and utilization of nutrition labeling on menus in restaurants. The initial policies to provide consumers with nutrition information in restaurant settings began at the state levels in 2006. These laws demonstrated success, other states followed, and a national law was passed and is being implemented. Mandating nutrient menu disclosure has the potential to influence a large number of people; this legislation has the opportunity to impact Americans who dine at a fast food or chain restaurant. Given the growing obesity epidemic, continued research is necessary to gauge the effectiveness of this new law and its effects on the health status of the American people.

Solutions of the Dirac Equation with the Shifted DENG-FAN Potential Including Yukawa-Like Tensor Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Yahya, W. A.; Falaye, B. J.; Oluwadare, O. J.; Oyewumi, K. J.

2013-08-01

By using the Nikiforov-Uvarov method, we give the approximate analytical solutions of the Dirac equation with the shifted Deng-Fan potential including the Yukawa-like tensor interaction under the spin and pseudospin symmetry conditions. After using an improved approximation scheme, we solved the resulting schr\\"{o}dinger-like equation analytically. Numerical results of the energy eigenvalues are also obtained, as expected, the tensor interaction removes degeneracies between spin and pseudospin doublets.

Potential health and environmental impacts attributable to the nuclear and coal fuel cycles: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gotchy, R.L.

1987-06-01

Estimates of mortality and morbidity are presented based on present-day knowledge of health effects resulting from current component designs and operations of the nuclear and coal fuel cycles, and anticipated emission rates and occupational exposure for the various fuel cycle facilities expected to go into operation during the next decade. The author concluded that, although there are large uncertainties in the estimates of potential health effects, the coal fuel cycle alternative has a greater health impact on man than the uranium fuel fycle. However, the increased risk of health effects for either fuel cycle represents a very small incremental risk to the average individual in the public for the balance of this century. The potential for large impacts exists in both fuel cycles, but the potential impacts associated with a runaway Greenhouse Effect from combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, cannot yet be reasonably quantified. Some of the potential environmental impacts of the coal fuel cycle cannot currently be realistically estimated, but those that can appear greater than those from the nuclear fuel cycle. 103 refs., 1 fig., 18 tabs

Potential toxicity of phthalic acid esters plasticizer: interaction of dimethyl phthalate with trypsin in vitro.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yaping; Zhang, Guowen; Wang, Langhong

2015-01-14

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is widely used as a plasticizer in industrial processes and has been reported to possess potential toxicity to the human body. In this study, the interaction between DMP and trypsin in vitro was investigated. The results of fluorescence, UV–vis, circular dichroism, and Fourier transform infrared spectra along with cyclic voltammetric measurements indicated that the remarkable fluorescence quenching and conformational changes of trypsin resulted from the formation of a DMP–trypsin complex, which was driven mainly by hydrophobic interactions. The molecular docking and trypsin activity assay showed that DMP primarily interacted with the catalytic triad of trypsin and led to the inhibition of trypsin activity. The dimensions of the individual trypsin molecules were found to become larger after binding with DMP by atomic force microscopy imaging. This study offers a comprehensive picture of DMP–trypsin interaction, which is expected to provide insights into the toxicological effect of DMP.

The Reliability and Validity of the Dominic Interactive: A Computerized Child Report Instrument for Mental Health Problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuijpers, R.C.W.M.; Otten, R.; Krol, N.P.C.M.; Vermulst, A.A.; Engels, R.C.M.E.

2013-01-01

Children and youths' self-report of mental health problems is considered essential but complicated. This study examines the psychometric properties of the Dominic Interactive, a computerized DSM-IV based self-report questionnaire and explores informant correspondence. The Dominic Interactive was

The Role of Water Distribution Controlled by Transmembrane Potentials in the Cytochrome c-Cardiolipin Interaction: Revealing from Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Li; Wu, Lie; Liu, Li; Jiang, Xiue

2017-11-02

The interaction of cytochrome c (cyt c) with cardiolipin (CL) plays a crucial role in apoptotic functions, however, the changes of the transmembrane potential in governing the protein behavior at the membrane-water interface have not been studied due to the difficulties in simultaneously monitoring the interaction and regulating the electric field. Herein, surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroelectrochemistry is employed to study the mechanism of how the transmembrane potentials control the interaction of cyt c with CL membranes by regulating the electrode potentials of an Au film. When the transmembrane potential decreases, the water content at the interface of the membranes can be increased to slow down protein adsorption through decreasing the hydrogen-bond and hydrophobic interactions, but regulates the redox behavior of CL-bound cyt c through a possible water-facilitated proton-coupled electron transfer process. Our results suggest that the potential drop-induced restructure of the CL conformation and the hydration state could modify the structure and function of CL-bound cyt c on the lipid membrane. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

How does leadership manifest in the patient-therapist interaction among physiotherapists in primary health care? A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen-Barr, Eva; Savage, Mairi; Von Knorring, Mia

2018-05-18

Health care is undergoing changes and this requires the participation and leadership of all health-care professions. While numerous studies have explored leadership competence among physicians and nurses, the physiotherapy profession has received but limited attention. The aim of this study was to explore how leadership manifests in the patient-therapist interaction among physiotherapists in primary health care and how the physiotherapists themselves relate their perception of leadership to their clinical practice. A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was conducted with a purposive sample of 10 physiotherapists working in primary health care. The interviews were analyzed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Five themes were identified related to how leadership manifests in the patient-therapist interaction: (1) establishing resonant relationships; (2) engaging patients to build ownership; (3) drawing on authority; (4) building on professionalism; and (5) relating physiotherapists clinical practice to leadership. This study describes how leadership manifests in the patient-physiotherapist interaction. The findings can be used to empower physiotherapists in their clinical leadership and to give them confidence in taking on formal leadership roles, thus becoming active participants in improving health care. Future studies are needed to explore other aspects of leadership used in physiotherapy clinical practice.

Health Care Professionals' Understandings of Cross-Cultural Interaction in End-of-Life Care: A Focus Group Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Milberg, Anna; Torres, Sandra; Ågård, Pernilla

2016-01-01

The academic debate on cross-cultural interaction within the context of end-of-life care takes for granted that this interaction is challenging. However, few empirical studies have actually focused on what health care professionals think about this interaction. This study aimed to explore health care professionals' understandings of cross-cultural interaction during end-of-life care. Sixty end-of-life care professionals were recruited from eleven care units in Sweden to take part in focus group interviews. These interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The health care professionals interviewed talked about cross-cultural interaction in end-of-life care as interaction that brings about uncertainty, stress and frustration even though they had limited experience of this type of interaction. The focus group discussions brought attention to four specific challenges that they expected to meet when they care for patients with migrant backgrounds since they took for granted that they would have an ethno-cultural background that is different to their own. These challenges had to do with communication barriers, 'unusual' emotional and pain expressions, the expectation that these patients' families would be 'different' and the anticipation that these patients and their families lack knowledge. At the core of the challenges in question is the idea that cross-cultural interaction means meeting "the unknown". In addition, the end-of-life care professionals interviewed talked about patients whose backgrounds they did not share in homogenizing terms. It is against this backdrop that they worried about their ability to provide end-of-life care that is individualized enough to meet the needs of these patients. The study suggests that end-of-life care professionals who regard cross-cultural interaction in this manner could face actual challenges when caring for patients whose backgrounds they regard as "the unknown" since they anticipate a variety of challenges

Health Care Professionals’ Understandings of Cross-Cultural Interaction in End-of-Life Care: A Focus Group Study

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Sandra; Ågård, Pernilla

2016-01-01

Objective The academic debate on cross-cultural interaction within the context of end-of-life care takes for granted that this interaction is challenging. However, few empirical studies have actually focused on what health care professionals think about this interaction. This study aimed to explore health care professionals’ understandings of cross-cultural interaction during end-of-life care. Methods Sixty end-of-life care professionals were recruited from eleven care units in Sweden to take part in focus group interviews. These interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results The health care professionals interviewed talked about cross-cultural interaction in end-of-life care as interaction that brings about uncertainty, stress and frustration even though they had limited experience of this type of interaction. The focus group discussions brought attention to four specific challenges that they expected to meet when they care for patients with migrant backgrounds since they took for granted that they would have an ethno-cultural background that is different to their own. These challenges had to do with communication barriers, ‘unusual’ emotional and pain expressions, the expectation that these patients’ families would be ‘different’ and the anticipation that these patients and their families lack knowledge. At the core of the challenges in question is the idea that cross-cultural interaction means meeting “the unknown”. In addition, the end-of-life care professionals interviewed talked about patients whose backgrounds they did not share in homogenizing terms. It is against this backdrop that they worried about their ability to provide end-of-life care that is individualized enough to meet the needs of these patients. Conclusions The study suggests that end-of-life care professionals who regard cross-cultural interaction in this manner could face actual challenges when caring for patients whose backgrounds they regard as �

Health Care Professionals' Understandings of Cross-Cultural Interaction in End-of-Life Care: A Focus Group Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Milberg

Full Text Available The academic debate on cross-cultural interaction within the context of end-of-life care takes for granted that this interaction is challenging. However, few empirical studies have actually focused on what health care professionals think about this interaction. This study aimed to explore health care professionals' understandings of cross-cultural interaction during end-of-life care.Sixty end-of-life care professionals were recruited from eleven care units in Sweden to take part in focus group interviews. These interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.The health care professionals interviewed talked about cross-cultural interaction in end-of-life care as interaction that brings about uncertainty, stress and frustration even though they had limited experience of this type of interaction. The focus group discussions brought attention to four specific challenges that they expected to meet when they care for patients with migrant backgrounds since they took for granted that they would have an ethno-cultural background that is different to their own. These challenges had to do with communication barriers, 'unusual' emotional and pain expressions, the expectation that these patients' families would be 'different' and the anticipation that these patients and their families lack knowledge. At the core of the challenges in question is the idea that cross-cultural interaction means meeting "the unknown". In addition, the end-of-life care professionals interviewed talked about patients whose backgrounds they did not share in homogenizing terms. It is against this backdrop that they worried about their ability to provide end-of-life care that is individualized enough to meet the needs of these patients.The study suggests that end-of-life care professionals who regard cross-cultural interaction in this manner could face actual challenges when caring for patients whose backgrounds they regard as "the unknown" since they anticipate a variety

Pathway Linking Internet Health Information Seeking to Better Health: A Moderated Mediation Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Shaohai; Street, Richard L

2017-08-01

The Internet increasingly has been recognized as an important medium with respect to population health. However, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the potential impact of health-related Internet use on health outcomes. Based on the three-stage model of health promotion using interactive media, this study empirically tested a moderated mediation pathway model. Results showed that the effect of Internet health information seeking on three health outcomes (general, emotional, and physical) was completely mediated by respondents' access to social support resources. In addition, users' online health information seeking experience positively moderated this mediation path. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for the design of Internet-based health promotion resources to improve health outcomes.

Propagation-of-uncertainty from contact angle and streaming potential measurements to XDLVO model assessments of membrane-colloid interactions.

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Muthu, Satish; Childress, Amy; Brant, Jonathan

2014-08-15

Membrane fouling assessed from a fundamental standpoint within the context of the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) model. The DLVO model requires that the properties of the membrane and foulant(s) be quantified. Membrane surface charge (zeta potential) and free energy values are characterized using streaming potential and contact angle measurements, respectively. Comparing theoretical assessments for membrane-colloid interactions between research groups requires that the variability of the measured inputs be established. The impact that such variability in input values on the outcome from interfacial models must be quantified to determine an acceptable variance in inputs. An interlaboratory study was conducted to quantify the variability in streaming potential and contact angle measurements when using standard protocols. The propagation of uncertainty from these errors was evaluated in terms of their impact on the quantitative and qualitative conclusions on extended DLVO (XDLVO) calculated interaction terms. The error introduced into XDLVO calculated values was of the same magnitude as the calculated free energy values at contact and at any given separation distance. For two independent laboratories to draw similar quantitative conclusions regarding membrane-foulant interfacial interactions the standard error in contact angle values must be⩽2.5°, while that for the zeta potential values must be⩽7 mV. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The future of health economics: The potential of behavioral and experimental economics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fredrik Hansen

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Health care systems around the globe are facing great challenges. The demand for health care is increasing due to the continuous development of new medical technologies, changing demographics, increasing income levels, and greater expectations from patients. The possibilities and willingness to expand health care resources, however, are limited. Consequently, health care organizations are increasingly required to take economic restrictions into account, and there is an urgent need for improved efficiency. It is reasonable to ask whether the health economics field of today is prepared and equipped to help us meet these challenges. Our aim with this article is twofold: to introduce the fields of behavioral and experimental economics and to then identify and characterize health economics areas where these two fields have a promising potential. We also discuss the advantages of a pluralistic view in health economics research, and we anticipate a dynamic future for health economics.

Potential challenges facing distributed leadership in health care: evidence from the UK National Health Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Graeme; Beech, Nic; MacIntosh, Robert; Bushfield, Stacey

2015-01-01

The discourse of leaderism in health care has been a subject of much academic and practical debate. Recently, distributed leadership (DL) has been adopted as a key strand of policy in the UK National Health Service (NHS). However, there is some confusion over the meaning of DL and uncertainty over its application to clinical and non-clinical staff. This article examines the potential for DL in the NHS by drawing on qualitative data from three co-located health-care organisations that embraced DL as part of their organisational strategy. Recent theorising positions DL as a hybrid model combining focused and dispersed leadership; however, our data raise important challenges for policymakers and senior managers who are implementing such a leadership policy. We show that there are three distinct forms of disconnect and that these pose a significant problem for DL. However, we argue that instead of these disconnects posing a significant problem for the discourse of leaderism, they enable a fantasy of leadership that draws on and supports the discourse. © 2014 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mobile health (mHealth) for mental health in Asia: objectives, strategies, and limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

Brian, Rachel M; Ben-Zeev, Dror

2014-08-01

Mobile technologies are transforming the way in which we interact with one another, access resources, find information, and conduct business around the world. Harnessing the capabilities of mobile technologies to support health care initiatives worldwide has developed into a new interdisciplinary field called mobile health (mHealth). In the current paper, we review the penetration of mobile technology in Asia, and consider the integration of mobile technologies into the study, diagnoses, and treatment of mental disorders in the region. We outline how mHealth programs could improve mental health literacy, provide greater access to mental health services, extend community-based outreach and engagement, support self-management of illness, and regulate medication distribution. We end with a consideration of the potential barriers and limitations of mHealth for mental health, including funding, language and literacy barriers, power supply considerations, data security, and privacy issues. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Iterated interactions method. Realistic NN potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorbatov, A.M.; Skopich, V.L.; Kolganova, E.A.

1991-01-01

The method of iterated potential is tested in the case of realistic fermionic systems. As a base for comparison calculations of the 16 O system (using various versions of realistic NN potentials) by means of the angular potential-function method as well as operators of pairing correlation were used. The convergence of genealogical series is studied for the central Malfliet-Tjon potential. In addition the mathematical technique of microscopical calculations is improved: new equations for correlators in odd states are suggested and the technique of leading terms was applied for the first time to calculations of heavy p-shell nuclei in the basis of angular potential functions

Food, health, and complexity: towards a conceptual understanding to guide collaborative public health action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shannon E. Majowicz

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background What we eat simultaneously impacts our exposure to pathogens, allergens, and contaminants, our nutritional status and body composition, our risks for and the progression of chronic diseases, and other outcomes. Furthermore, what we eat is influenced by a complex web of drivers, including culture, politics, economics, and our built and natural environments. To date, public health initiatives aimed at improving food-related population health outcomes have primarily been developed within ‘practice silos’, and the potential for complex interactions among such initiatives is not well understood. Therefore, our objective was to develop a conceptual model depicting how infectious foodborne illness, food insecurity, dietary contaminants, obesity, and food allergy can be linked via shared drivers, to illustrate potential complex interactions and support future collaboration across public health practice silos. Methods We developed the conceptual model by first conducting a systematic literature search to identify review articles containing schematics that depicted relationships between drivers and the issues of interest. Next, we synthesized drivers into a common model using a modified thematic synthesis approach that combined an inductive thematic analysis and mapping to synthesize findings. Results The literature search yielded 83 relevant references containing 101 schematics. The conceptual model contained 49 shared drivers and 227 interconnections. Each of the five issues was connected to all others. Obesity and food insecurity shared the most drivers (n = 28. Obesity shared several drivers with food allergy (n = 11, infectious foodborne illness (n = 7, and dietary contamination (n = 6. Food insecurity shared several drivers with infectious foodborne illness (n = 9 and dietary contamination (n = 9. Infectious foodborne illness shared drivers with dietary contamination (n = 8. Fewer drivers were

An interactive technology for health: New possibilities for the field of music and health and for music therapy? A case study of two children with disabilities playing with ‘ORFI’

OpenAIRE

Stensæth, Karette; Ruud, Even

2014-01-01

Digital music technology represents new challenges as well as new possibilities for the discipline and practice of music therapy. When such technology also incorporates interactivity, even further steps are taken in our efforts to improve health and wellbeing through musical means. This article explores how interaction with a new type of interactive musical tangibles can contribute to health and life quality for certain children with disabilities and developmental disorders. Its point of depa...

Studies of P-matrix formalism on the basis of the potential description of two-particle interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babenko, V.A.; Petrov, N.M.

1991-01-01

A study is made of mathematical and physical aspects of the P-matrix approach within the framework of the potential description of two particle interaction when the dynamics is based on the nonrelativistic Schroedinger equation. A dispersion formula for the P-matrix is derived correctly, different ways of its expansion by means of which it is possible to develop different methods of an approximate description of the quantities characterizing the two-particle interaction are suggested. 15 refs. (author)

Identifying factors for optimal development of health-related websites: a delphi study among experts and potential future users.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Francine; van Osch, Liesbeth; de Vries, Hein

2012-02-14

The Internet has become a popular medium for offering tailored and targeted health promotion programs to the general public. However, suboptimal levels of program use in the target population limit the public health impact of these programs. Optimizing program development is considered as one of the main processes to increase usage rates. To distinguish factors potentially related to optimal development of health-related websites by involving both experts and potential users. By considering and incorporating the opinions of experts and potential users in the development process, involvement in the program is expected to increase, consequently resulting in increased appreciation, lower levels of attrition, and higher levels of sustained use. We conducted a systematic three-round Delphi study through the Internet. Both national and international experts (from the fields of health promotion, health psychology, e-communication, and technical Web design) and potential users were invited via email to participate. During this study an extensive list of factors potentially related to optimal development of health-related websites was identified, by focusing on factors related to layout, general and risk information provision, questionnaire use, additional services, and ease of use. Furthermore, we assessed the extent to which experts and potential users agreed on the importance of these factors. Differences as well as similarities among experts and potentials users were deduced. In total, 20 of 62 contacted experts participated in the first round (32% response rate); 60 of 200 contacted experts (30% response rate) and 210 potential users (95% response rate) completed the second-round questionnaire, and 32 of 60 contacted experts completed the third round (53% response rate). Results revealed important factors consented upon by experts and potential users (eg, ease of use, clear structure, and detailed health information provision), as well as differences regarding

Potential impact of fireworks on respiratory health

Science.gov (United States)

Gouder, Caroline; Montefort, Stephen

2014-01-01

The world-wide use of fireworks with their consequent detrimental effect on the air quality is widely recognized with elevated ambient air levels of particulate matter and its several metallic components and gases identified in several studies carried out during such events. Exposed individuals may be at risk following inhalation of such produced pollutants. This review focuses on the impact of fireworks on air quality and the potential effect of fireworks on the respiratory system of healthy individuals as well as those suffering from underlying respiratory diseases, particularly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This applies not only to spectators including children but also to pyrotechnicians themselves. An extensive Medline search revealed that a strong evidence of the impact of fireworks on respiratory health is lacking in susceptible as well as healthy individuals with no formal studies on COPD or asthma, other than a few case reports in the latter. The implementation of global strategies to control the use of fireworks and hence improve air quality could possibly reduce their likely detrimental effect on human respiratory health in exposed individuals, but clearly a more targeted research is needed. PMID:25378846

Radiation pathways and potential health impacts from inactive uranium mill tailings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-07-01

Radiation exposure pathways and potential health impacts were estimated as part of the evaluation of radioactive uranium mill tailings at the sites of inactive mills in eight western states. The purpose of this report is to describe in detail the methodology used in performing the pathway analysis and health effects estimations. In addition, specific parameters are presented for each of the 22 uranium mill sites that were evaluated. A computer program, RADAD, developed as part of this program, is described and listed

Interactive Two-Way mHealth Interventions for Improving Medication Adherence: An Evaluation Using The Behaviour Change Wheel Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Nicole; Guo, Michael; Amico, K Rivet; Atkins, Lou; Lester, Richard T

2018-04-12

Medication adherence is an important but highly complex set of behaviors, which for life-threatening and infectious diseases such as HIV carry critical consequences for individual and public health. There is growing evidence that mobile phone text messaging interventions (mHealth) connecting providers with patients positively impact medication adherence, particularly two-way engagement platforms that require bidirectional communication versus one-way in which responses are not mandatory. However, mechanisms of action have not been well defined. The Behavior Change Wheel is a comprehensive framework for behavior change that includes an all-encompassing model of behavior known as Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior and is complemented by a taxonomy of behavior change techniques. Evaluating mHealth interventions for medication adherence using these tools could provide useful insights that may contribute to optimizing their integration into the healthcare system and successful scaling-up. This study aimed to help address the current knowledge gap regarding how two-way mHealth interventions for medication adherence may work by applying the Behavior Change Wheel to characterize WelTel: an interactive digital health outreach platform with robust evidence for improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy. To characterize how WelTel may promote medication adherence, we applied the Behavior Change Wheel to systematically (1) generate a behavioral diagnosis through mapping known antiretroviral therapy adherence barriers onto the Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior model of behavior, (2) specify the behavior change techniques that WelTel delivers, (3) link identified behavior change techniques to corresponding intervention functions of the Behavior Change Wheel, and (4) connect these behavior change techniques and intervention functions to respective Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior influences on behavior to determine potential mechanisms of action. Our

Microorganisms in potential host rocks for geological disposal of nuclear waste and their interactions with radionuclides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cherkouk, A.; Liebe, M.; Luetke, L.; Moll, H.; Stumpf, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden (Germany). Inst. of Resource Ecology

2015-07-01

The long-term safety of nuclear waste in a deep geological repository is an important issue in our society. Microorganisms indigenous to potential host rocks are able to influence the oxidation state, speciation and therefore the mobility of radionuclides as well as gas generation or canister corrosion. Therefore, for the safety assessment of such a repository it is necessary to know which microorganisms are present in the potential host rocks (e.g. clay, salt) and if these microorganisms can influence the performance of a repository. Microbial diversity in potential host rocks for geological disposal of nuclear waste was analyzed by culture-independent molecular biological methods (e.g. 16S rRNA gene retrieval) as well as enrichment and isolation of indigenous microbes. Among other isolates, a Paenibacillus strain, as a representative of Firmicutes, was recovered in R2A media under anaerobic conditions from Opalinus clay from the Mont Terri in Switzerland. Accumulation experiments and potentiometric titrations showed a strong interaction of Paenibacillus sp. cells with U(VI) within a broad pH range (3-7). Additionally, the interactions of the halophilic archaeal strain Halobacterium noricense DSM 15987, a salt rock representative reference strain, with U(VI) at high ionic strength was investigated. After 48 h the cells were still alive at uranium concentrations up to 60 μM, which demonstrates that Halobacterium noricense can tolerate uranium concentrations up to this level. The formed uranium sorption species were examined with time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The results about the microbial communities present in potential host rocks for nuclear waste repositories and their interactions with radionuclides contribute to the safety assessment of a prospective nuclear waste repository.

Microorganisms in potential host rocks for geological disposal of nuclear waste and their interactions with radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cherkouk, A.; Liebe, M.; Luetke, L.; Moll, H.; Stumpf, T.

2015-01-01

The long-term safety of nuclear waste in a deep geological repository is an important issue in our society. Microorganisms indigenous to potential host rocks are able to influence the oxidation state, speciation and therefore the mobility of radionuclides as well as gas generation or canister corrosion. Therefore, for the safety assessment of such a repository it is necessary to know which microorganisms are present in the potential host rocks (e.g. clay, salt) and if these microorganisms can influence the performance of a repository. Microbial diversity in potential host rocks for geological disposal of nuclear waste was analyzed by culture-independent molecular biological methods (e.g. 16S rRNA gene retrieval) as well as enrichment and isolation of indigenous microbes. Among other isolates, a Paenibacillus strain, as a representative of Firmicutes, was recovered in R2A media under anaerobic conditions from Opalinus clay from the Mont Terri in Switzerland. Accumulation experiments and potentiometric titrations showed a strong interaction of Paenibacillus sp. cells with U(VI) within a broad pH range (3-7). Additionally, the interactions of the halophilic archaeal strain Halobacterium noricense DSM 15987, a salt rock representative reference strain, with U(VI) at high ionic strength was investigated. After 48 h the cells were still alive at uranium concentrations up to 60 μM, which demonstrates that Halobacterium noricense can tolerate uranium concentrations up to this level. The formed uranium sorption species were examined with time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). The results about the microbial communities present in potential host rocks for nuclear waste repositories and their interactions with radionuclides contribute to the safety assessment of a prospective nuclear waste repository.

Critical interactions between the Global Fund-supported HIV programs and the health system in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Atun, Rifat; Pothapregada, Sai Kumar; Kwansah, Janet; Degbotse, D; Lazarus, Jeffrey V

2011-08-01

The support of global health initiatives in recipient countries has been vigorously debated. Critics are concerned that disease-specific programs may be creating vertical and parallel service delivery structures that to some extent undermine health systems. This case study of Ghana aimed to explore how the Global Fund-supported HIV program interacts with the health system there and to map the extent and nature of integration of the national disease program across 6 key health systems functions. Qualitative interviews of national stakeholders were conducted to understand the perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the relationship between Global Fund-supported activities and the health system and to identify positive synergies and unintended consequences of integration. Ghana has a well-functioning sector-wide approach to financing its health system, with a strong emphasis on integrated care delivery. Ghana has benefited from US $175 million of approved Global Fund support to address the HIV epidemic, accounting for almost 85% of the National AIDS Control Program budget. Investments in infrastructure, human resources, and commodities have enabled HIV interventions to increase exponentially. Global Fund-supported activities have been well integrated into key health system functions to strengthen them, especially financing, planning, service delivery, and demand generation. Yet, with governance and monitoring and evaluation functions, parallel structures to national systems have emerged, leading to inefficiencies. This case study demonstrates that interactions and integration are highly varied across different health system functions, and strong government leadership has facilitated the integration of Global Fund-supported activities within national programs.

Chemical compounds from anthropogenic environment and immune evasion mechanisms: potential interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Kravchenko, Julia; Corsini, Emanuela; Williams, Marc A.; Decker, William; Manjili, Masoud H.; Otsuki, Takemi; Singh, Neetu; Al-Mulla, Faha; Al-Temaimi, Rabeah; Amedei, Amedeo; Colacci, Anna Maria; Vaccari, Monica; Mondello, Chiara; Scovassi, A. Ivana; Raju, Jayadev; Hamid, Roslida A.; Memeo, Lorenzo; Forte, Stefano; Roy, Rabindra; Woodrick, Jordan; Salem, Hosni K.; Ryan, Elizabeth P.; Brown, Dustin G.; Lowe, Leroy; Lyerly, H.Kim

2015-01-01

An increasing number of studies suggest an important role of host immunity as a barrier to tumor formation and progression. Complex mechanisms and multiple pathways are involved in evading innate and adaptive immune responses, with a broad spectrum of chemicals displaying the potential to adversely influence immunosurveillance. The evaluation of the cumulative effects of low-dose exposures from the occupational and natural environment, especially if multiple chemicals target the same gene(s) or pathway(s), is a challenge. We reviewed common environmental chemicals and discussed their potential effects on immunosurveillance. Our overarching objective was to review related signaling pathways influencing immune surveillance such as the pathways involving PI3K/Akt, chemokines, TGF-β, FAK, IGF-1, HIF-1α, IL-6, IL-1α, CTLA-4 and PD-1/PDL-1 could individually or collectively impact immunosurveillance. A number of chemicals that are common in the anthropogenic environment such as fungicides (maneb, fluoxastrobin and pyroclostrobin), herbicides (atrazine), insecticides (pyridaben and azamethiphos), the components of personal care products (triclosan and bisphenol A) and diethylhexylphthalate with pathways critical to tumor immunosurveillance. At this time, these chemicals are not recognized as human carcinogens; however, it is known that they these chemicalscan simultaneously persist in the environment and appear to have some potential interfere with the host immune response, therefore potentially contributing to promotion interacting with of immune evasion mechanisms, and promoting subsequent tumor growth and progression. PMID:26002081

Engineering chemical interactions in microbial communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenny, Douglas J; Balskus, Emily P

2018-03-05

Microbes living within host-associated microbial communities (microbiotas) rely on chemical communication to interact with surrounding organisms. These interactions serve many purposes, from supplying the multicellular host with nutrients to antagonizing invading pathogens, and breakdown of chemical signaling has potentially negative consequences for both the host and microbiota. Efforts to engineer microbes to take part in chemical interactions represent a promising strategy for modulating chemical signaling within these complex communities. In this review, we discuss prominent examples of chemical interactions found within host-associated microbial communities, with an emphasis on the plant-root microbiota and the intestinal microbiota of animals. We then highlight how an understanding of such interactions has guided efforts to engineer microbes to participate in chemical signaling in these habitats. We discuss engineering efforts in the context of chemical interactions that enable host colonization, promote host health, and exclude pathogens. Finally, we describe prominent challenges facing this field and propose new directions for future engineering efforts.

"Bring Your Own Device": Considering Potential Risks to Student Health

Science.gov (United States)

Merga, Margaret K.

2016-01-01

Background and context: Schools in Australia and internationally are increasingly adopting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) approach to teaching and learning. The review: While discussion of a BYOD approach has taken place, there is a dearth of consideration of the potential impact of BYOD policy on student health. Implementation of a BYOD policy…

Potential Moderators of Physical Activity on Brain Health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regina L. Leckie

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Age-related cognitive decline is linked to numerous molecular, structural, and functional changes in the brain. However, physical activity is a promising method of reducing unfavorable age-related changes. Physical activity exerts its effects on the brain through many molecular pathways, some of which are regulated by genetic variants in humans. In this paper, we highlight genes including apolipoprotein E (APOE, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF, and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT along with dietary omega-3 fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, as potential moderators of the effect of physical activity on brain health. There are a growing number of studies indicating that physical activity might mitigate the genetic risks for disease and brain dysfunction and that the combination of greater amounts of DHA intake with physical activity might promote better brain function than either treatment alone. Understanding whether genes or other lifestyles moderate the effects of physical activity on neurocognitive health is necessary for delineating the pathways by which brain health can be enhanced and for grasping the individual variation in the effectiveness of physical activity interventions on the brain and cognition. There is a need for future research to continue to assess the factors that moderate the effects of physical activity on neurocognitive function.

The potential of eHealth in otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery: patients' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Holderried, Martin; Ernst, C; Holderried, F; Rieger, M; Blumenstock, G; Tropitzsch, A

2017-07-01

The use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) in daily life has significantly increased during the last several years. These essential online technologies have also found their way into the healthcare system. The use of modern ICT for health reasons can be summarized by the term 'eHealth'. Despite the potential importance of eHealth in the field of otorhinolaryngology (ORL), there is little understanding of patients' attitudes towards the deeper integration of these technologies into intersectoral care. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of patients' attitudes towards the use of modern ICT for intersectoral communication and information transfer in the field of ORL. Therefore, a structured interview was developed by an interdisciplinary team of otorhinolaryngologists, public health researchers, and information technology (IT) specialists. Overall, 211 ORL patients were interviewed at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tuebingen University Hospital, Germany, and 203 of these patients completed the interview. This study revealed ORL patients' perspectives on the potential of eHealth, especially for appointment scheduling, appointment reminders, and intersectoral communication of personal medical information. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that data security and the impacts of eHealth on the physician-patient relationship and on treatment quality warrant special attention in future research.

Bioavailability, metabolism and potential health protective effects of dietary flavonoids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bredsdorff, Lea

Dietary flavonoids constitute an important group of potential health protective compounds from fruits, vegetables, and plant-based products such as tea and wine. The beneficial effects of a diet high in flavonoids on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) have been shown in several epidemiologi......Dietary flavonoids constitute an important group of potential health protective compounds from fruits, vegetables, and plant-based products such as tea and wine. The beneficial effects of a diet high in flavonoids on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) have been shown in several...... of their content. In addition, variation in individual metabolic genotype and microflora may greatly affect the actual flavonoid exposure. The preventive effects of flavonoids on CHD are mainly ascribed to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Several mechanisms of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant...... effective absorption of hesperetin and naringenin from the small intestine when consumed as glucosides compared to absorption in the colon VII after microbial degradation of the rhamnoglucosides. In addition it was shown that the conjugate profile was neither affected by the absorption site nor by a 3-fold...

Reducing drug–herb interaction risk with a computerized reminder system

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Sheng-Shing; Tsai, Chiu-Lin; Tu, Ching-Yeh; Hsieh, Ching-Liang

2015-01-01

Background Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine are both popular in Taiwan. Approximately 14.1% of Taiwanese residents use Western drugs and Chinese herbs concurrently; therefore, drug–herb interaction is critical to patient safety. This paper presents a new procedure for reducing the risk of drug interactions. Methods Hospital computer systems are modified to ensure that drug–herb interactions are automatically detected when a TCM practitioner is writing a prescription. A pop-up reminder appears, warning of interactions, and the practitioner may adjust doses, delete herbs, or leave the prescription unchanged. A pharmacist will receive interaction information through the system and provide health education to the patient. Results During the 2011–2013 study period, 256 patients received 891 herbal prescriptions with potential drug–herb interactions. Three of the 50 patients who concurrently used ginseng and antidiabetic drugs manifested hypoglycemia (fasting blood sugar level ≤70 mg/dL). Conclusion Drug–herb interactions can cause adverse reactions. A computerized reminder system can enable TCM practitioners to reduce the risk of drug–herb interactions. In addition, health education for patients is crucial in avoiding adverse reaction by the interactions. PMID:25733840

Herb-drug interactions. Interactions between saw palmetto and prescription medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bressler, Rubin

2005-11-01

Patients over age 50 typically present with one chronic disease per decade. Each chronic disease typically requires long-term drug therapy, meaning most older patients require several drugs to maintain health. Simultaneously, use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased in the United States in the last 20 years, reaching 36% in 2002; herbal medicine use accounts for approximately 22% of all CAM use. Older adults often add herbal medicines to prescription medications, yet do not always inform their physicians. The drug metabolizing enzyme systems process all compounds foreign to the body, including prescription and herbal medications. Therefore use of both medicinals simultaneously has a potential for adverse interactions. This review, which discusses saw palmetto, is the last in a series covering the documented interactions among the top 5 efficacious herbal medicines and prescription drugs.

Radiative bound-state-formation cross-sections for dark matter interacting via a Yukawa potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petraki, Kalliopi [LPTHE, CNRS, UMR 7589,4 Place Jussieu, F-75252, Paris (France); Nikhef,Science Park 105, 1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands); Postma, Marieke; Vries, Jordy de [Nikhef,Science Park 105, 1098 XG Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2017-04-13

We calculate the cross-sections for the radiative formation of bound states by dark matter whose interactions are described in the non-relativistic regime by a Yukawa potential. These cross-sections are important for cosmological and phenomenological studies of dark matter with long-range interactions, residing in a hidden sector, as well as for TeV-scale WIMP dark matter. We provide the leading-order contributions to the cross-sections for the dominant capture processes occurring via emission of a vector or a scalar boson. We offer a detailed inspection of their features, including their velocity dependence within and outside the Coulomb regime, and their resonance structure. For pairs of annihilating particles, we compare bound-state formation with annihilation.

Potential allergy and irritation incidents among health care workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alamgir, Hasanat; Yu, Shicheng; Chavoshi, Negar; Ngan, Karen

2008-07-01

This study describes the types, causes, and outcomes of potential irritation and allergy incidents among workers in British Columbia's health care industry. Data on occupation-induced allergy and irritation incidents were extracted from a standardized database using the number of productive hours obtained from payroll data as a denominator during a 1-year period from three British Columbia health regions. Younger workers, female workers, facility support service workers, laboratory assistants and technicians, and maintenance and acute care workers were found to be at higher risk for allergy and irritation incidents. Major causes of allergy and irritation incidents included chemicals, blood and body fluids, food and objects, communicable diseases, air quality, and latex. A larger proportion of chemically induced incidents resulted in first aid care only, whereas non-chemical incidents required more emergency room visits.

Synergistic effect of interaction between perceived health and social activity on depressive symptoms in the middle-aged and elderly: a population-based longitudinal study.

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Chun, Sung-Youn; Han, Kyu-Tae; Lee, Seo Yoon; Kim, Chan Ok; Park, Eun-Cheol

2015-03-13

To examine the synergistic effect of interaction between perceived health and social activity on depressive symptoms. We investigated whether the interaction between perceived health and social activity has a synergistic effect on depressive symptoms in the middle-aged and elderly using data from 6590 respondents aged 45 and older in the Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging (KLoSA), 2006-2012. A generalised linear mixed-effects model was used to investigate the association in a longitudinal data form. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression 10 Scale (CES-D10). Perceived health and level of social activity were categorical variables with three values. Participation in six social activities was assessed. Interactions between perceived health status and social activity were statistically significant for almost all social activity/perceived health combinations. Addition of the interaction term significantly decreased CES-D10 scores, confirming the synergistic effect of the interaction between perceived health status and social activity ('normal×moderate', β=-0.1826; 'poor×moderate', β=-0.5739; 'poor×active', β=-0.8935). In addition, we performed stratified analyses by region: urban or rural. In urban respondents, the additional effect of the interaction term decreased CES-D10 scores and all social activity/perceived health combinations were statistically significant ('normal×moderate', β=-0.2578; 'normal×active', β=-0.3945; 'poor×moderate', β=-0.5739; 'poor×active', β=-0.8935). In rural respondents, only one social activity/perceived health combination was statistically significant, and the additional effect of the interaction term showed no consistent trend on CES-D10 scores. The interaction between perceived health and social activity has a synergistic effect on depressive symptoms; the additional effect of the interaction term significantly decreased CES-D10 scores in our models. Published by the BMJ

Interactive machine learning for health informatics: when do we need the human-in-the-loop?

Science.gov (United States)

Holzinger, Andreas

2016-06-01

Machine learning (ML) is the fastest growing field in computer science, and health informatics is among the greatest challenges. The goal of ML is to develop algorithms which can learn and improve over time and can be used for predictions. Most ML researchers concentrate on automatic machine learning (aML), where great advances have been made, for example, in speech recognition, recommender systems, or autonomous vehicles. Automatic approaches greatly benefit from big data with many training sets. However, in the health domain, sometimes we are confronted with a small number of data sets or rare events, where aML-approaches suffer of insufficient training samples. Here interactive machine learning (iML) may be of help, having its roots in reinforcement learning, preference learning, and active learning. The term iML is not yet well used, so we define it as "algorithms that can interact with agents and can optimize their learning behavior through these interactions, where the agents can also be human." This "human-in-the-loop" can be beneficial in solving computationally hard problems, e.g., subspace clustering, protein folding, or k-anonymization of health data, where human expertise can help to reduce an exponential search space through heuristic selection of samples. Therefore, what would otherwise be an NP-hard problem, reduces greatly in complexity through the input and the assistance of a human agent involved in the learning phase.

Interactions between global processes and local health problems. A human ecology approach to health among indigenous groups in the Amazon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maj-Lis Follér

Full Text Available This article deals with methodological issues and how to link global processes - social and ecological - with environmental changes and human health in local communities. The discussion concerns how interdisciplinary approaches can help us find tools to develop new knowledge. Scientific knowledge and local knowledge are not seen as opposite epistemological forms, but as socially and culturally constructed. Power and social legitimacy have to be included when analyzing how to deal with the interaction between global processes and local environmental change and the health/disease interface.