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BMC Medical Ethics Aug 2022Vulnerability is a key concept in traditional and contemporary bioethics. In the philosophical literature, vulnerability is understood not only to be an ontological...
BACKGROUND
Vulnerability is a key concept in traditional and contemporary bioethics. In the philosophical literature, vulnerability is understood not only to be an ontological condition of humanity, but also to be a consequence of contingent factors. Within bioethics debates, vulnerable populations are defined in relation to compromised capacity to consent, increased susceptibility to harm, and/or exploitation. Although vulnerability has historically been associated with older adults, to date, no comprehensive or systematic work exists on the meaning of their vulnerability. To fill this gap, we analysed the literature on aged care for the meaning, foundations, and uses of vulnerability as an ethical concept.
METHODS
Using PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of argument-based ethics literature in four major databases: PubMed, Embase®, Web of Science™, and Philosopher's Index. These covered biomedical, philosophy, bioethical, and anthropological literature. Titles, abstracts, and full texts of identified papers were screened for relevance. The snowball technique and citation tracking were used to identify relevant publications. Data analysis and synthesis followed the preparatory steps of the coding process detailed in the QUAGOL methodology.
RESULTS
Thirty-eight publications met our criteria and were included. Publication dates ranged from 1984 to 2020, with 17 publications appearing between 2015 and 2020. Publications originated from all five major continents, as indicated by the affiliation of the first author. Our analyses revealed that the concept of vulnerability could be distinguished in terms of basic human and situational vulnerability. Six dimensions of older adults' vulnerability were identified: physical; psychological; relational/interpersonal; moral; sociocultural, political, and economic; and existential/spiritual. This analysis suggested three ways to relate to older adults' vulnerability: understanding older adults' vulnerability, taking care of vulnerable older adults, and intervening through socio-political-economic measures.
CONCLUSIONS
The way in which vulnerability was conceptualised in the included publications overlaps with distinctions used within contemporary bioethics literature. Dimensions of aged care vulnerability map onto defining features of humans, giving weight to the claim that vulnerability represents an inherent characteristic of humans. Vulnerability is mostly a value-laden concept, endowed with positive and negative connotations. Most publications focused on and promoted aged care, strengthening the idea that care is a defining practice of being human.
Topics: Aged; Bioethics; Dissent and Disputes; Existentialism; Humans; Morals; Vulnerable Populations
PubMed: 35974362
DOI: 10.1186/s12910-022-00819-3 -
BMC Obesity 2018While sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has declined in the last 15 years, consumption of SSBs is still high among children and adolescents. This research... (Review)
Review
While sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has declined in the last 15 years, consumption of SSBs is still high among children and adolescents. This research synthesis updates a prior review on this topic and examines the evidence regarding the various health impacts of SSBs on children's health (overweight/obesity, insulin resistance, dental caries, and caffeine-related effects). We searched PubMed, CAB Abstracts and PAIS International to identify cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies examining the health impacts of SSBs in children published after January 1, 2007. We also searched reference lists of relevant articles. Overall, most studies found consistent evidence for the negative impact of SSBs on children's health, with the strongest support for overweight/obesity risk and dental caries, and emerging evidence for insulin resistance and caffeine-related effects. The majority of evidence was cross-sectional highlighting the need for more longitudinal and intervention studies to address this research question. There is substantial evidence that SSBs increase the risk of overweight/obesity and dental caries and developing evidence for the negative impact of SSBs on insulin resistance and caffeine-related effects. The vast majority of literature supports the idea that a reduction in SSB consumption would improve children's health.
PubMed: 29484192
DOI: 10.1186/s40608-017-0178-9 -
Bulletin de L'Academie Nationale de... Dec 2020Antipsychotic drugs are one of the oldest drugs that can change the brain activity. These drugs are mainly used in schizophrenia and the first drug that was judged as... (Review)
Review
Antipsychotic drugs are one of the oldest drugs that can change the brain activity. These drugs are mainly used in schizophrenia and the first drug that was judged as efficacious in the treatment of psychosis has been chlorpromazine. This is a decade later that it has been shown that these drugs were antagonists at the dopamine transmission by blocking the dopamine D2/D3 receptors. Several other pharmacological targets have been tested during the last decades as glutamatergic, serotoninergic, cholinergic and neuropeptidergic agents but none has been shown to improve symptoms of schizophrenia. Three main issues could explain this failure: the exact causes of schizophrenia is still unknown, we still used the idea that one drug could improve all the symptoms of schizophrenia and it is clear that the group of schizophrenics disease could be different disease with different causes. We propose to review the different drugs that have been tested and we will discuss why the most recent genetic studies could help us to propose new pharmacological targets to treat schizophrenia.
PubMed: 33071288
DOI: 10.1016/j.banm.2020.10.005 -
Topics in Cognitive Science Jul 2017Analogy researchers do not often examine gesture, and gesture researchers do not often borrow ideas from the study of analogy. One borrowable idea from the world of...
Analogy researchers do not often examine gesture, and gesture researchers do not often borrow ideas from the study of analogy. One borrowable idea from the world of analogy is the importance of distinguishing between attributes and relations. Gentner (, ) observed that some metaphors highlight attributes and others highlight relations, and called the latter analogies. Mirroring this logic, we observe that some metaphoric gestures represent attributes and others represent relations, and propose to call the latter analogical gestures. We provide examples of such analogical gestures and show how they relate to the categories of iconic and metaphoric gestures described previously. Analogical gestures represent different types of relations and different degrees of relational complexity, and sometimes cohere into larger analogical models. Treating analogical gestures as a distinct phenomenon prompts new questions and predictions, and illustrates one way that the study of gesture and the study of analogy can be mutually informative.
Topics: Gestures; Humans; Logic; Metaphor; Thinking
PubMed: 28627011
DOI: 10.1111/tops.12276 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2022With the development trend of healthy aging and intelligent integration, escort products have become a new means of healthy aging. Healthy old-age care pays attention to...
BACKGROUND
With the development trend of healthy aging and intelligent integration, escort products have become a new means of healthy aging. Healthy old-age care pays attention to the convenience and informatization of life. To meet the needs, designers often design multiple accompanying product solutions, and it is very important to use reasonable evaluation methods to decide on the optimal solution.
PURPOSES
A new comprehensive evaluation method is proposed to reduce the subjectivity and one-sidedness of the selection process of intelligent escort product design solutions, and to make the decision more objective and reasonable. Such decisions can enhance the experience and naturalness of the elderly using intelligent products.
METHODS
First, a large number of user interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory, gradually refine through theoretical coding, and abstracted with the design scheme evaluation index. Second, the idea of game-theoretic weighting is used to optimize a linear combination of subjective and objective weights to determine the final weights of each evaluation indicator. Finally, the evaluation and selection are completed based on the solution ranking determined by the approximate ideal solution ranking method (TOPSIS). It is applied for the selection of the elderly escort robot design, and the usability test is conducted using the PSSUQ to verify the selection results.
RESULTS
A new comprehensive evaluation method can better complete the preferential selection of product design solutions for healthy aging escorts, and reduce the subjectivity and one-sidedness of the evaluation.
CONCLUSION
This method compensates for the reliance on personal experience in the selection of options, and improve the subjectivity of the evaluation index determination process and the deviation of index weighting. Improving the objectivity and scientificity of decision-making reduces the blindness of design and production. It also provides a theoretical reference for the research scholars of healthy aging companion products.
Topics: Aged; Healthy Aging; Humans
PubMed: 36203692
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.919300 -
JMIR Medical Informatics Mar 2017Physicians and health policy makers are required to make predictions during their decision making in various medical problems. Many advances have been made in predictive... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Physicians and health policy makers are required to make predictions during their decision making in various medical problems. Many advances have been made in predictive modeling toward outcome prediction, but these innovations target an average patient and are insufficiently adjustable for individual patients. One developing idea in this field is individualized predictive analytics based on patient similarity. The goal of this approach is to identify patients who are similar to an index patient and derive insights from the records of similar patients to provide personalized predictions..
OBJECTIVE
The aim is to summarize and review published studies describing computer-based approaches for predicting patients' future health status based on health data and patient similarity, identify gaps, and provide a starting point for related future research.
METHODS
The method involved (1) conducting the review by performing automated searches in Scopus, PubMed, and ISI Web of Science, selecting relevant studies by first screening titles and abstracts then analyzing full-texts, and (2) documenting by extracting publication details and information on context, predictors, missing data, modeling algorithm, outcome, and evaluation methods into a matrix table, synthesizing data, and reporting results.
RESULTS
After duplicate removal, 1339 articles were screened in abstracts and titles and 67 were selected for full-text review. In total, 22 articles met the inclusion criteria. Within included articles, hospitals were the main source of data (n=10). Cardiovascular disease (n=7) and diabetes (n=4) were the dominant patient diseases. Most studies (n=18) used neighborhood-based approaches in devising prediction models. Two studies showed that patient similarity-based modeling outperformed population-based predictive methods.
CONCLUSIONS
Interest in patient similarity-based predictive modeling for diagnosis and prognosis has been growing. In addition to raw/coded health data, wavelet transform and term frequency-inverse document frequency methods were employed to extract predictors. Selecting predictors with potential to highlight special cases and defining new patient similarity metrics were among the gaps identified in the existing literature that provide starting points for future work. Patient status prediction models based on patient similarity and health data offer exciting potential for personalizing and ultimately improving health care, leading to better patient outcomes.
PubMed: 28258046
DOI: 10.2196/medinform.6730 -
Indian Journal of Dental Research :... 2020This systematic review has been undertaken to highlight the unforgettable contributions of Prof. Brånemark Per-Ingvar (PI). It could be understood that reviewing his... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE
This systematic review has been undertaken to highlight the unforgettable contributions of Prof. Brånemark Per-Ingvar (PI). It could be understood that reviewing his work would give an idea of growth of this treatment modality. Materials and Methods: An electronic search on the PubMed/Medline, Ebscohost, and Cochrane database was done using search term "Brånemark PI" to identify his publications. Articles published in English and only related to implants and osseointegration were included. Screening of the titles and abstracts were done according to inclusion criteria and suitable studies were included in the review.
RESULTS
The initial literature search resulted in 187 articles, out of which 92 articles were excluded due to not meeting the inclusion criteria and 16 articles excluded due to non-availability of even abstract also. A total of 79 articles were finally included in this review.
CONCLUSION
Brånemark PI had a great vision of future; who considered edentulism as equal to amputation and came up with the concept of osseointegrated implants to overcome them. The innovations of Brånemark had assured the world that it is very much possible to provide implant-supported prosthesis in any situations for the rehabilitation of the individuals.
Topics: Dental Implantation, Endosseous; Dental Implants; Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported; Dental Restoration Failure; Humans; Osseointegration
PubMed: 33753667
DOI: 10.4103/ijdr.IJDR_587_18 -
Neurological Sciences : Official... Oct 2022Here, we review the morphological taxonomy of neurons proposed by Enrique Ramón-Moliner in the vertebrate central nervous system based on "dendroarchitectonics" and... (Review)
Review
Here, we review the morphological taxonomy of neurons proposed by Enrique Ramón-Moliner in the vertebrate central nervous system based on "dendroarchitectonics" and compare these findings with Santiago Ramón y Cajal's work. Ramón-Moliner distinguished three main groups of nerve cells situated on a spectrum of dendritic configuration in the mammalian central nervous system with decreasing degree of morphological specialization, i.e., idiodendritic, allodendritic, and isodendritic neurons. Leptodendritic neurons would be an even more primitive type, and lophodendritic nerve cells would develop into pyramidal neurons. Using two developmental lines (i.e., telencephalic and rhombencephalic trends), Ramón-Moliner reconstructed the probable course of events in the phylogenetic history that led to the dendroarchitectonic families. While an increasing morphological specialization is associated with the projected phylogenetic development as an abstract "whole," phylogenetically "primitive neurons" such as the reticular formation may be present in later phylogenetic stages, and vice versa, phylogenetical "new arrivals," such as the cortical pyramidal cell, may be found early in phylogeny. Thus, Ramón-Moliner adopted the notion of an in-parallel neuronal development during phylogeny and ontogeny. In contrast, Cajal argued earlier in favor of the idea that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, focusing on the pyramidal neuron. In ontogeny, the early developmental features show a higher degree of similarity than the comparison of their adult forms. These results corroborate the rejection of the interpretative framework of ontogeny as a simple, speedy repetition of the phylogeny. Understanding morphological findings with the change in their interpretation and the historic underpinnings provide a framework for refined scientific hypotheses.
Topics: Animals; Central Nervous System; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; Humans; Mammals; Neurons; Phylogeny; Spain
PubMed: 35674996
DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06151-3 -
Neuropsychologia Jun 2023The hippocampus plays a critical role in episodic memory and imagination. One theoretical model posits that the hippocampus is important for scene construction, namely,...
The hippocampus plays a critical role in episodic memory and imagination. One theoretical model posits that the hippocampus is important for scene construction, namely, the ability to conjure and maintain a scene-based representation in one's mind. To test one idea put forth by this view, we examined whether amnesia is associated with more severe impairment in memory when the to-be-remembered content places high demands on scene construction. To do so, we examined free recall performance for abstract (i.e., low scene imagery) and concrete, high scene-imagery single words in seven amnesic patients with hippocampal lesions and concomitant scene-construction deficits, and compared their performance to demographically matched healthy controls. As expected, amnesic patients were severely impaired in their free recall performance; however, their impairment did not differ as a function of word type. That is, their impairment was equally severe for words that evoke high versus low scene imagery. These findings suggest that the role of the hippocampus in verbal memory extends to content that does not place high demands on scene construction. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Mental Recall; Amnesia; Hippocampus; Imagination; Memory, Episodic
PubMed: 36931459
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108543 -
Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao.... Aug 2023Immune-mediated dermatoses are the skin diseases caused by the breakdown of immune tolerance,including lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis.The imbalance between... (Review)
Review
Immune-mediated dermatoses are the skin diseases caused by the breakdown of immune tolerance,including lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis.The imbalance between regulatory T cells (Tregs) and effector T cells (Teffs) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.Low-dose interleukin-2 can preferentially activate Tregs and reverse the imbalance between Tregs and Teffs to recover the immune tolerance,which has attracted attention in the treatment of immune-mediated dermatoses.This review summarizes the research progress in the immunomodulatory mechanism and clinical application of low-dose interleukin-2 in immune-mediated dermatoses,providing a new idea for the clinical treatment of these diseases.
Topics: Humans; Interleukin-2; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory; Skin Diseases
PubMed: 37654150
DOI: 10.3881/j.issn.1000-503X.15198