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Dermatology Online Journal Apr 2024Febrile ulceronecrotic Mucha-Habermann disease is a rare and severe variant of pityriasis lichenoides, characterized by sudden onset of generalized ulceronecrotic... (Review)
Review
Febrile ulceronecrotic Mucha-Habermann disease is a rare and severe variant of pityriasis lichenoides, characterized by sudden onset of generalized ulceronecrotic papules that rapidly coalesce into ulcers associated with high fever. Systemic manifestations such as intravascular disseminated coagulation and pulmonary, cardiac, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system involvement are common. Treatment is based on oral corticosteroids, immunosuppressive drugs such as methotrexate, and general supportive treatment. The present case describes a stepwise approach to a patient with Mucha-Habermann disease with insufficient response to methotrexate.
Topics: Humans; Pityriasis Lichenoides; Methotrexate; Immunosuppressive Agents; Male; Female; Fever; Skin Ulcer; Herpes Simplex
PubMed: 38959922
DOI: 10.5070/D330263582 -
Dermatology Online Journal Apr 2024Tuberculosis is one of the oldest known diseases and it remains one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. It is associated...
Tuberculosis is one of the oldest known diseases and it remains one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. It is associated with social inequalities and affects different age groups. Tuberculosis in children and adolescents should be considered a sentinel event, since it is linked to a recent infection through contact with bacilliferous adults. We report an immunocompetent 15-year-old adolescent with tuberculosis, exhibiting pulmonary, osteoarticular, and cutaneous involvement. Conventional treatment with tuberculostatic drugs for a year had satisfactory results without sequelae.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Immunocompetence; Antitubercular Agents; Male; Tuberculosis, Cutaneous; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary; Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular
PubMed: 38959918
DOI: 10.5070/D330263578 -
JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting Jul 2024Parent training interventions support and strengthen parenting practices and parent-child relationships and improve child behavior. Between March 2018 and February 2020,...
BACKGROUND
Parent training interventions support and strengthen parenting practices and parent-child relationships and improve child behavior. Between March 2018 and February 2020, a community-based parenting program conducted 38 in-person Chicago Parent Program (CPP) groups. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we modified the delivery of the in-person CPP to hybrid delivery using the self-administered, web-based version of the CPP (ezParent) paired with web-based, videoconferenced group sessions.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to describe the delivery transition and implementation outcomes of the hybrid delivery of the CPP (ezParent+group) during community-based dissemination.
METHODS
This single-group, mixed methods retrospective evaluation examined the implementation outcomes using the RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework. We report on data from hybrid ezParent delivery between September 2020 and August 2022. Parents completed pre- and postprogram surveys that included motivation to participate and perceived changes in parent-child behavior. Digital analytics captured ezParent completion. Facilitators completed fidelity assessments and participated in postintervention interviews.
RESULTS
In total, 24 hybrid ezParent groups (n=240 parents) were delivered by 13 CPP-trained facilitators. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program and improvements in their feelings of parenting self-efficacy and their child's behavior following their participation in hybrid ezParent. On average, parents completed 4.58 (SD 2.43) 6 ezParent modules. The average group attendance across the 4 sessions was 71.2%. Facilitators found the hybrid delivery easy to implement and reported high parent engagement and understanding of CPP strategies.
CONCLUSIONS
Using the hybrid ezParent intervention is a feasible and effective way to engage parents. Lessons learned included the importance of academic and community-based organization partnerships for delivering and evaluating robust programs. Implementation facilitators and barriers and future research recommendations are discussed.
PubMed: 38959504
DOI: 10.2196/55280 -
PloS One 2024In recent years, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) including...
BACKGROUND
In recent years, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) including positive symptoms such as auditory hallucinations (AH). However, clinical trials predominantly examine general treatment effects for positive symptoms. Therefore, previous research is lacking in comprehensive and clear evidence about psychological and psychosocial approaches that are primarily tailored to treat AH. To overcome this knowledge gap in the current literature, we will conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of clearly targeted psychological and psychosocial interventions for AH in persons with SSD.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS
This study protocol has been developed according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocols. We will include all randomized controlled trials analyzing the efficacy of targeted psychological and psychosocial interventions especially aimed at treating AH in SSD. We will include studies on adult patients with SSD experiencing AH. The primary outcome will be the change on a published rating scale measuring AH. Secondary outcomes will be delusions, overall symptoms, negative symptoms, depression, social functioning, quality of life, and acceptability (drop-out). We will search relevant databases and the reference lists of included literature. The study selection process will be conducted by two independent reviewers. We will conduct a random-effect meta-analysis to consider heterogeneity across studies. Analyses will be carried out by software packages in R. The risk of bias in each study will be evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Assessment of heterogeneity and sensitivity analysis will be conducted.
DISCUSSION
The proposed study will augment the existing evidence by providing an overview of effective treatment approaches and their overall efficacy at treating AH in SSD. These findings will complement existing evidence that may impact future treatment implementations in clinical practice by addressing effective strategies to treat AH and therefore improve outcomes for the addressed population.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION
No ethical issues are foreseen. We will publish the results from this study in peer-reviewed journals and at relevant scientific conferences.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023475704.
Topics: Humans; Hallucinations; Psychotic Disorders; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Psychosocial Intervention; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Quality of Life; Schizophrenia; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Psychotherapy; Research Design
PubMed: 38959279
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306324 -
PloS One 2024While statistical analysis plays a crucial role in medical science, some published studies might have utilized suboptimal analysis methods, potentially undermining the...
OBJECTIVE
While statistical analysis plays a crucial role in medical science, some published studies might have utilized suboptimal analysis methods, potentially undermining the credibility of their findings. Critically appraising analytical approaches can help elevate the standard of evidence and ensure clinicians and other stakeholders have trustworthy results on which to base decisions. The aim of the present study was to examine the statistical characteristics of original articles published in Peruvian medical journals in 2021-2022.
DESIGN AND SETTING
We performed a methodological study of articles published between 2021 and 2022 from nine medical journals indexed in SciELO-Peru, Scopus, and Medline. We included original articles that conducted analytical analyses (i.e., association between variables). The statistical variables assessed were: statistical software used for analysis, sample size, and statistical methods employed (measures of effect), controlling for confounders, and the method employed for confounder control or epidemiological approaches.
RESULTS
We included 313 articles (ranging from 11 to 77 across journals), of which 67.7% were cross-sectional studies. While 90.7% of articles specified the statistical software used, 78.3% omitted details on sample size calculation. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were commonly employed, whereas measures of association were less common. Only 13.4% of articles (ranging from 0% to 39% across journals) presented measures of effect controlling for confounding and explained the criteria for selecting such confounders.
CONCLUSION
This study revealed important statistical deficiencies within analytical studies published in Peruvian journals, including inadequate reporting of sample sizes, absence of measures of association and confounding control, and suboptimal explanations regarding the methodologies employed for adjusted analyses. These findings highlight the need for better statistical reporting and researcher-editor collaboration to improve the quality of research production and dissemination in Peruvian journals.
Topics: Peru; Periodicals as Topic; Humans; Sample Size; Publishing; Research Design
PubMed: 38959247
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306334 -
JMIR Formative Research Jul 2024Developing a digital educational application focused on sexual health education necessitates a framework that integrates cultural considerations effectively. Drawing...
BACKGROUND
Developing a digital educational application focused on sexual health education necessitates a framework that integrates cultural considerations effectively. Drawing from previous research, we identified the problem and essential requirements to incorporate cultural insights into the development of a solution.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to explore the Solution Room of the self-established Intercultural Research Model, with a focus on creating a reusable framework for developing and implementing a widely accessible digital educational tool for sexual health. The study centers on advancing from a low-fidelity prototype (She!Masomo) to a high-fidelity prototype (We!Masomo), while evaluating its system usability through differentiation. This research contributes to the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, and 5.
METHODS
The research methodology is anchored in the Solution Room of the self-expanded Intercultural Research Model, which integrates cultural considerations. It uses a multimethod, user-centered design thinking approach, focusing on extensive human involvement for the open web-based application. This includes gathering self-assessed textual user feedback, conducting a System Usability Scale (SUS) analysis, and conducting 4 face-to-face semistructured expert interviews, following COREQ (Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research) guidelines.
RESULTS
Based on the identified limitations of the low-fidelity prototype, She!Masomo (SUS score 67), which were highlighted through textual user feedback (63/77) and prototype feature comparisons, iterative development and improvement were implemented. This process led to the creation of an enhanced high-fidelity prototype (We!Masomo). The improved effectiveness of the enhanced prototype was evaluated using the qualitative SUS analysis (82/90), resulting in a favorable score of 77.3, compared with the previous SUS score of 67 for the low-fidelity prototype. Highlighting the importance of accessible digital educational tools, this study conducted 4 expert interviews (4/4) and reported e-survey results following the CHERRIES (Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys) guideline. The digital educational platform, We!Masomo, is specifically designed to promote universal and inclusive free access to information. Therefore, the developed high-fidelity prototype was implemented in Kenya.
CONCLUSIONS
The primary outcome of this research provides a comprehensive exploration of utilizing a case study methodology to advance the development of digital educational web tools, particularly focusing on cultural sensitivity and sensitive educational subjects. It offers critical insights for effectively introducing such tools in regions with limited resources. Nonetheless, it is crucial to emphasize that the findings underscore the importance of integrating culture-specific components during the design phase. This highlights the necessity of conducting a thorough requirement engineering analysis and developing a low-fidelity prototype, followed by an SUS analysis. These measures are particularly critical when disseminating sensitive information, such as sexual health, through digital platforms.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)
RR2-10.1186/s12905-023-02839-6.
PubMed: 38959047
DOI: 10.2196/58549 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jul 2024Efficient storage and sharing of massive biomedical data would open up their wide accessibility to different institutions and disciplines. However, compressors tailored...
Efficient storage and sharing of massive biomedical data would open up their wide accessibility to different institutions and disciplines. However, compressors tailored for natural photos/videos are rapidly limited for biomedical data, while emerging deep learning-based methods demand huge training data and are difficult to generalize. Here, we propose to conduct Biomedical data compRession with Implicit nEural Function (BRIEF) by representing the target data with compact neural networks, which are data specific and thus have no generalization issues. Benefiting from the strong representation capability of implicit neural function, BRIEF achieves 2[Formula: see text]3 orders of magnitude compression on diverse biomedical data at significantly higher fidelity than existing techniques. Besides, BRIEF is of consistent performance across the whole data volume, and supports customized spatially varying fidelity. BRIEF's multifold advantageous features also serve reliable downstream tasks at low bandwidth. Our approach will facilitate low-bandwidth data sharing and promote collaboration and progress in the biomedical field.
Topics: Humans; Information Dissemination; Neural Networks, Computer; Data Compression; Deep Learning; Biomedical Research
PubMed: 38959033
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320870121 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Jul 2024The proliferation and dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is an increasingly global challenge and is attributed mainly to the excessive or improper use of...
The proliferation and dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is an increasingly global challenge and is attributed mainly to the excessive or improper use of antibiotics. Currently, the gold-standard phenotypic methodology for detecting resistant strains is agar plating, which is a time-consuming process that involves multiple subculturing steps. Genotypic analysis techniques are fast, but they require pure starting samples and cannot differentiate between viable and non-viable organisms. Thus, there is a need to develop a better method to identify and prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance. This work presents a novel method for detecting and identifying antibiotic-resistant strains by combining a cell sorter for bacterial detection and an elastic-light-scattering method for bacterial classification. The cell sorter was equipped with safety mechanisms for handling pathogenic organisms and enabled precise placement of individual bacteria onto an agar plate. The patterning was performed on an antibiotic-gradient plate, where the growth of colonies in sections with high antibiotic concentrations confirmed the presence of a resistant strain. The antibiotic-gradient plate was also tested with an elastic-light-scattering device where each colony's unique colony scatter pattern was recorded and classified using machine learning for rapid identification of bacteria. Sorting and patterning bacteria on an antibiotic-gradient plate using a cell sorter reduced the number of subculturing steps and allowed direct qualitative binary detection of resistant strains. Elastic-light-scattering technology is a rapid, label-free, and non-destructive method that permits instantaneous classification of pathogenic strains based on the unique bacterial colony scatter pattern. KEY POINTS: • Individual bacteria cells are placed on gradient agar plates by a cell sorter • Laser-light scatter patterns are used to recognize antibiotic-resistant organisms • Scatter patterns formed by colonies correspond to AMR-associated phenotypes.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Phenotype; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Bacteria; Flow Cytometry; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Light
PubMed: 38958764
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-024-13232-0 -
Pediatric Allergy and Immunology :... Jul 2024
Topics: Humans; Granulomatous Disease, Chronic; Infant; Male; Female; Mutation; NADPH Oxidases
PubMed: 38958540
DOI: 10.1111/pai.14190 -
Ciencia & Saude Coletiva Jul 2024We aim to conduct a comparative analysis of the implementation of PHC in nine South American countries. Three dimensions were highlighted from documentary sources:... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
We aim to conduct a comparative analysis of the implementation of PHC in nine South American countries. Three dimensions were highlighted from documentary sources: political commitment, leadership, and governance; care model; and engagement of communities and other stakeholders. The results indicate a formal commitment that places PHC at the center of efforts to achieve universal access. The following can be observed: revitalization processes in public subsystems, based on guaranteeing preventive, promotional, curative and rehabilitation actions; PHC as gatekeeper; emphasis on family and community; assigned population and territory; multidisciplinary teams; and, in some cases, the accent on interculturality expressed in the concept of "buen vivir" (good living). The PHC revitalization processes were affected by political changes. Between progress and setbacks, the segmentation of coverage was not overcome. The current moment seeks to recover more inclusive and broad public policies in the context of the return of the progressive and democratic fields. The dissemination of country experiences can contribute to the development of a comprehensive, integrated, and quality approach to PHC in the Region.
Topics: Primary Health Care; Humans; South America; Public Policy; Health Policy; Leadership; Politics; Health Services Accessibility; Delivery of Health Care
PubMed: 38958327
DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232024297.03792024