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International Journal of Environmental... Feb 2023The regulation of prescription drugs is an important health, safety, and equity issue. However, regulatory processes do not always consider evidence on sex, gender, and... (Review)
Review
The regulation of prescription drugs is an important health, safety, and equity issue. However, regulatory processes do not always consider evidence on sex, gender, and factors such as age and race, omissions that advocates have highlighted for several decades. Assessing the impact of sex-related factors is critical to ensuring drug safety and efficacy for females and males, and for informing clinical product monographs and consumer information. Gender-related factors affect prescribing, access to drugs, needs and desires for specific prescribed therapies. This article draws on a policy-research partnership project that examined the lifecycle management of prescription drugs in Canada using a sex and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+) lens. In the same time period, Health Canada created a Scientific Advisory Committee on Health Products for Women, in part to examine drug regulation. We report on grey literature and selected regulatory documents to illustrate the extent to which sex and gender-based analysis plus (SGBA+) is utilized in regulation and policy. We identify omissions in the management of prescription drugs, and name opportunities for improvements by integrating SGBA+ into drug sponsor applications, clinical trials development, and pharmacovigilance. We report on recent efforts to incorporate sex disaggregated data and recommend ways that the management of prescription drugs can benefit from more integration of sex, gender, and equity.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Prescription Drugs; Sex Factors; Advisory Committees; Prescriptions; Canada
PubMed: 36833654
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20042962 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2023The ultimate objective of this review is to encourage a multi-disciplinary and integrated methodological approach that, starting from the recognition of some current... (Review)
Review
The ultimate objective of this review is to encourage a multi-disciplinary and integrated methodological approach that, starting from the recognition of some current uncertainties, helps to deepen the molecular bases of ozone treatment effects on human and animal well-being and to optimize their performance in terms of reproducibility of results, quality, and safety. In fact, the common therapeutic treatments are normally documented by healthcare professionals' prescriptions. The same applies to medicinal gases (whose uses are based on their pharmacological effects) that are intended for patients for treatment, diagnostic, or preventive purposes and that have been produced and inspected in accordance with good manufacturing practices and pharmacopoeia monographs. On the contrary, it is the responsibility of healthcare professionals, who thoughtfully choose to use ozone as a medicinal product, to achieve the following objectives: (i) to understand the molecular basis of the mechanism of action; (ii) to adjust the treatment according to the clinical responses obtained in accordance with the principles of precision medicine and personalized therapy; (iii) to ensure all quality standards.
Topics: Humans; Ozone; Reproducibility of Results; Uncertainty
PubMed: 37239818
DOI: 10.3390/ijms24108465 -
Studies in Mycology Dec 2022section encompasses white- or yellow-sporulating species mostly isolated from indoor and cave environments, food, feed, clinical material, soil and dung. Their...
section encompasses white- or yellow-sporulating species mostly isolated from indoor and cave environments, food, feed, clinical material, soil and dung. Their identification is non-trivial due to largely uniform morphology. This study aims to re-evaluate the species boundaries in the section and present an overview of all existing species along with information on their ecology. For the analyses, we assembled a set of 113 strains with diverse origin. For the molecular analyses, we used DNA sequences of three house-keeping genes (, and ) and employed species delimitation methods based on a multispecies coalescent model. Classical phylogenetic methods and genealogical concordance phylogenetic species recognition (GCPSR) approaches were used for comparison. Phenotypic studies involved comparisons of macromorphology on four cultivation media, seven micromorphological characters and growth at temperatures ranging from 10 to 45 °C. Based on the integrative approach comprising four criteria (phylogenetic and phenotypic), all currently accepted species gained support, while two new species are proposed ( and ). In addition, we proposed the new name to replace an invalidly described . The revised section now encompasses nine species, some of which manifest a high level of intraspecific genetic and/or phenotypic variability (, and ) while others are more uniform (, or ). The growth rates on different media and at different temperatures, colony colours, production of soluble pigments, stipe dimensions and vesicle diameters contributed the most to the phenotypic species differentiation. Glässnerová & Hubka; Glässnerová & Hubka; Houbraken, Glässnerová & Hubka. Glässnerová K, Sklenář F, Jurjević Ž, Houbraken J, Yaguchi T, Visagie CM, Gené J, Siqueira JPZ, Kubátová A, Kolařík M, Hubka V (2022). A monograph of section . : 1-51. doi: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.01.
PubMed: 36760463
DOI: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.01 -
Safety and Health At Work Mar 2024The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph conducted a systematic review of the relationship between asbestos and ovarian cancer. However, there... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monograph conducted a systematic review of the relationship between asbestos and ovarian cancer. However, there may have been information bias due to the undue weight given to few articles. To address this limitation, the present study performed a meta-analysis integrating studies published both before and after the 2012 IARC Monograph on Asbestos, with the aim of investigating the association between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer.
METHODS
A comprehensive search of major journal databases was conducted to identify studies examining the relationship between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer, including those featured in the 2012 IARC Monograph on Asbestos. A meta-analysis on asbestos exposure and cancer risk was performed.
RESULTS
The meta-analysis of studies published after the 2012 IARC Monograph on Asbestos found a summary Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) of 2.04 (95% CI: 1.03-4.05; = 0.0123; 5 studies), with a significant degree of heterogeneity among the studies (I = 72.99%). The combined analysis of 15 studies before and after the 2012 IARC Monograph showed an overall summary SMR of 1.72 (95% CI: 1.43-2.06; = 0.0349; 15 studies), with a moderate degree of heterogeneity (I = 42.99%).
CONCLUSION
This meta-analysis provides evidence of a significant association between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer mortality. While the possibility of misdiagnosis in earlier studies cannot be completely ruled out, recent findings suggest a robust correlation between asbestos exposure and ovarian cancer. This highlights the importance of sustained efforts to minimize asbestos exposure and protect public health.
PubMed: 38496274
DOI: 10.1016/j.shaw.2023.11.002 -
Current Oncology Reports Jul 2020The concept of value-based health care (VBHC) was articulated more than a decade ago. However, its clinical implementation remains an on-going process and a particularly... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The concept of value-based health care (VBHC) was articulated more than a decade ago. However, its clinical implementation remains an on-going process and a particularly demanding one for the domain of head and neck cancer (HNC). These cancers often present with fast growing tumors in functionally and cosmetically sensitive sites and afflict patients with differing circumstances and comorbidity. Moreover, the various treatment modalities and protocols have different effects on functional outcomes. Hence, the interpretation of what constitutes VBHC in head and neck oncology remains challenging.
RECENT FINDINGS
This monograph reviews developments in specific aspects of VBHC for HNC patients, including establishment of registries and quality indices (such as infrastructure, process, and outcome indicators). It emphasizes the importance of the multidisciplinary team, "time to treatment intervals," and adherence to guidelines. The discussion addresses major indicators including survival, quality of life and functional outcomes, and adverse events. Also, strengths and weaknesses of nomograms, prognostic and decision models, and variation of care warrant attention. Health care professionals, together with patients, must properly define quality and relevant outcomes, both for the individual patient as well as the HNC population. It is essential to capture and organize the relevant data so that they can be analyzed and the results used to improve both outcomes and value.
Topics: Clinical Decision-Making; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Humans; Medical Oncology; Nomograms; Patient Care Team; Quality Indicators, Health Care; Quality of Health Care; Quality of Life; Registries; Survival Rate; Time-to-Treatment
PubMed: 32651680
DOI: 10.1007/s11912-020-00952-5 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2022In a dynamic and rapidly changing world, customers' often conflicting demands have continued to evolve, outstripping the ability of the traditional factory to address... (Review)
Review
In a dynamic and rapidly changing world, customers' often conflicting demands have continued to evolve, outstripping the ability of the traditional factory to address modern-day production challenges. To fix these challenges, several manufacturing paradigms have been proposed. Some of these have monikers such as the smart factory, intelligent factory, digital factory, and cloud-based factory. Due to a lack of consensus on general nomenclature, the term (or Future Factory) has been used in this paper as a collective euphemism for these paradigms. The constitutes a creative convergence of multiple technologies, techniques, and capabilities that represent a significant change in current production capabilities, models, and practices. Using the semi-narrative research methodology in concert with the snowballing approach, the authors reviewed the open literature to understand the organizing principles behind the most common smart manufacturing paradigms with a view to developing a creative reference that articulates their shared characteristics and features under a collective lingua franca, viz., . Serving as a review article and a reference monograph, the paper details the meanings, characteristics, technological framework, and applications of the modern factory and its various connotations. Amongst other objectives, it characterizes the next-generation factory and provides an overview of reference architectures/models that guide their structured development and deployment. Three advanced communication technologies capable of advancing the goals of the and rapidly scaling advancements in the field are discussed. It was established that next-generation factories would be data rich environments. The realization of their ultimate value would depend on the ability of stakeholders to develop the appropriate infrastructure to extract, store, and process data to support decision making and process optimization.
Topics: Technology
PubMed: 35957390
DOI: 10.3390/s22155834 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2022The past couple of decades have witnessed the global resurgence of medicinal plants in the field of herbal-based health care. Increased consumption of medicinal plants... (Review)
Review
The past couple of decades have witnessed the global resurgence of medicinal plants in the field of herbal-based health care. Increased consumption of medicinal plants and their derivative products is the major cause of the adulteration issues in herbal industries. As a result, the quality of herbal products is affected by spurious and unauthorized raw materials. Recent development in molecular plant identification using DNA barcodes has become a robust methodology to identify and authenticate the adulterants in herbal samples. Hence, rapid and accurate identification of medicinal plants is the key to success for the herbal industry. Aim of the study: This paper provides a comprehensive review of the application of DNA barcoding and advanced technologies that have emerged over the past 10 years related to medicinal plant identification and authentication and the future prospects of this technology. Information on DNA barcodes was compiled from scientific databases (Google Scholar, Web of Science, SciFinder and PubMed). Additional information was obtained from books, Ph.D. thesis and MSc. Dissertations. Working out an appropriate DNA barcode for plants is challenging; the single locus-based DNA barcodes (, ITS, ITS2, ) to multi-locus DNA barcodes have become the successful species-level identification among herbal plants. Additionally, multi-loci have become efficient in the authentication of herbal products. Emerging advances in DNA barcoding and related technologies such as next-generation sequencing, high-resolution melting curve analysis, meta barcodes and mini barcodes have paved the way for successful herbal plant/samples identification. DNA barcoding needs to be employed together with other techniques to check and rationally and effectively quality control the herbal drugs. It is suggested that DNA barcoding techniques combined with metabolomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics could authenticate the herbal products. The invention of simple, cost-effective and improved DNA barcoding techniques to identify herbal drugs and their associated products of medicinal value in a fool-proof manner will be the future thrust of Pharmacopoeial monograph development for herbal drugs.
PubMed: 36339543
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.947512 -
Hospital Pharmacy Apr 2023Each month, subscribers to receive 5 to 6 well-documented monographs on drugs that are newly released or are in late phase 3 trials. The monographs are targeted to...
Each month, subscribers to receive 5 to 6 well-documented monographs on drugs that are newly released or are in late phase 3 trials. The monographs are targeted to Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committees. Subscribers also receive monthly 1-page summary monographs on agents that are useful for agendas and pharmacy/nursing in-services. A comprehensive target drug utilization evaluation/medication use evaluation (DUE/MUE) is also provided each month. With a subscription, the monographs are available online to subscribers. Monographs can be customized to meet the needs of a facility. Through the cooperation of publishes selected reviews in this column. For more information about , contact Wolters Kluwer customer service at 866-397-3433.
PubMed: 36890950
DOI: 10.1177/00185787211069036 -
Central European Journal of Public... Jun 2020The main objective of this study is to describe the most common childhood diseases occurring in the Theresienstadt ghetto during the Second World War as well as applied...
The main objective of this study is to describe the most common childhood diseases occurring in the Theresienstadt ghetto during the Second World War as well as applied anti-epidemic measures. A partial objective is to describe medical and nursing care of sick child prisoners. The data was obtained by the method of synthesis of primary and secondary data with the highest importance after adequate external source criticism using selected monographs, memoirs, survivor diaries, Orders of the day by the Council of the Elders and Reports of the Jewish self-government of the Theresienstadt ghetto from 1941 to 1945, the Archives of the Jewish Museum in Prague, the Ghetto Museum, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Post Bellum online electronic collection of oral historical interviews, and witness accounts. The validity of the presented conclusions is ensured by comparing data from several sources. The most common infections in Theresienstadt children were enteritis, scarlet fever, infectious jaundice, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, black cough, pneumonia, otitis media, and typhoid fever. Most of these infections had entirely atypical symptomatology or complications. Children were hospitalized in children's hospitals, in children's rooms of hospitals for adults and infirmaries in children's homes. Albeit diagnostic methods had a high standard, options of treatment were very limited. The most common treatments included bed rest, diet and cold compress. Occasionally, chemotherapeutic agents (e.g. a sulphonamide drug Prontosil) and Aspirin were available. The anti-epidemic measures in the ghetto focused on hygiene, enhancing children's immunity, vaccination and pest control.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Child; Communicable Disease Control; Communicable Diseases; Humans; Jews; Pediatrics; Poland; Poverty Areas
PubMed: 32592562
DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a5557