Please login first

List of accepted submissions

 
 
Show results per page
Find papers
 
  • Open access
  • 77 Reads
Development of a novel coaxial wet-spinning method to produce AAPV-loaded fibers for chronic wound care
Published: 21 February 2022 by MDPI in The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Healthcare session Student Session

Chronic wounds (CW) are a worldwide concern, causing serious strives on the health and quality of patients’ life. In CW, human neutrophil elastase (HNE) enzyme gets highly expressed during inflammation, reaching abnormally elevated concentrations. Additionally, prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus-induced infections remains very high and difficult to treat. Considering these phenomena, a drug delivery system made of co-axial wet-spun fibers, loaded with the tetrapeptide Ala-Ala-Pro-Val (AAPV, a known inhibitor of HNE activity) and N-carboxymethyl chitosan (NCMC, responsive to neutral-basic pH’s, characteristic of CW and endowed with antibacterial features), was proposed.

AAPV was synthesized by solid-phase peptide synthesis, whereas NCMC was synthesized from low molecular weight chitosan in a chloroacetic acid mixture. HNE inhibition tests were conducted to establish the AAPV IC50 in 1.50 µg/mL and the NCMC minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against S. aureus in 6.40 mg/mL. These determinations were used to establish fiber loading amounts. Core-shell structures were produced with 10% w/v polycaprolactone (PCL) at the core and 2% w/v sodium alginate (SA) solutions at the shell. NCMC was mixed with SA at 2xMBC so neutral-basic pH-triggered solubility (characteristic of CW) would allow pores to be opened in the outer layer for accessing the core, where AAPV was combined with PCL.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and brightfield microscopy were used to confirm the presence of the four components on the fibers and the co-axial architecture, respectively. Fibers presented maximum elongations of over 100%. Release kinetics studies conducted via UV-visible absorption spectroscopy mapped NCMC liberation overtime but were uncapable of detecting AAPV, since polymer degradation masked AAPV absorption peaks. Time-kill kinetics studies against S. aureus demonstrated the effectiveness of NCMC in eliminating this bacterium, particularly after 6 h of incubation. On its turn, AAPV guaranteed HNE inhibition. Data demonstrated the potential of SA-NCMC-PCL-AAPV co-axial systems to work as stepwise, pH-triggered delivery platforms.

  • Open access
  • 868 Reads
A Study of Disease Diagnosis Using Machine Learning
Published: 22 February 2022 by MDPI in The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Healthcare session Student Session

Machine Learning (ML), a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI), has been successfully applied in healthcare domain to diagnosing diseases. The ML techniques have not only been able to diagnose the common diseases but are also equally capable of diagnosing the rare diseases. Although ML offers systematic and sophisticated algorithms of multi-dimensional clinical data, the accuracy of the ML in diagnosing the diseases is still a concern. And the improvement in the performance of ML to diagnose disease is a hot topic in this domain. As different ML approach perform differently for different healthcare dataset, we need an approach to apply multiple state of art algorithms in reasonable time using few lines of codes, so that the search of best ML method to diagnose a particular disease can be pursued efficiently. In our work we show that, the use of libraries like AutoGluon can help to find the best performing ML approach out of many approaches in diagnosing the disease for a given dataset in reasonable time and with optimal lines of code. This will decrease the probability of inaccurate diagnosis, which is a significantly important consideration while dealing with the health of the people. We have tested the performance of ML approaches like Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machine (SVD), K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), perceptron and robust deep neural networks in AutoGluon like LightGBM, XGBoost, MXNet etc. based on a public diabetes dataset.

  • Open access
  • 111 Reads
The correlation between different types and intensities of physical activity and children's Sports performance Research
Published: 24 February 2022 by MDPI in The 2nd International Electronic Conference on Healthcare session Sport Performance

"Sports performance" refers to the collective display of various physical qualities when people participate in a certain sport or perform a certain physical activity.Children's "Sports performance" during school age can intuitively reflect their athletic talent, which is essential for the development of children's physical fitness and athletic ability in the future.However, current research lacks in-depth discussions on the different effects of different types and intensities of physical activity on children's Sports performance and other related relationships.This study adopts the method of literature data to make a systematic review of the correlation research of Sports performance of school-age children aged 7-12 years.Summarized and sorted out 27 related documents, including 15 cross-sectional and 12 controlled experimental studies.The results show that: most of the studies used (ActiGraph GT3X+)accelerometer to measure physical activity intensity, and a small part of them used the <Children's Physical Activity Intensity Evaluation Scale>;Most studies measure Sports performance based on changes in various physical fitness indicators to reflect differences in Sports performance;Low-intensity comprehensive Sports programs seem to be more helpful to improve the Sports performance of school-age children;At present, it is necessary to further compare the difference in the effect of various physical activities on the improvement of children's Sports performance, and finally to refine effective suggestions for the further development of related fields.The research results can provide scientific theoretical guidance for the selection of children's physical activities and exercise methods, school sports activities and other comprehensive courses, as well as help children's Sports performance and the effective development of physical and mental health.

  • Open access
  • 67 Reads
Mental health care and on line consultation during the covid – 19 pandemic: A literature review

Introduction

The outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic had negative effect on people's mental health. Also it resulted in many transformations in mental health care services delivery. Mental health professionals preferred to provide mental health services via telehealth in order to meet their client’s mental health needs. The purpose of this literature review is to analyze and evaluate the concept of online consultation throughout the covid-19 pandemic.

Methods

The literature search was conducted by using the following data bases: Medline, Scopus, Google scholar. All articles published in English language were selected. The key words used were Covid-19, online consultation and mental health professionals.

Results and discussion

This study is a review of mental health professionals’ (social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists) experience related to the online consultation process used during the covid-19 pandemic. The aim was twofold: First, to explore the mental health professionals’ attitudes and second, to investigate their client’s requests and their mental health needs and priorities. Also it is a holistic approach of the utility, ethical issues and difficulties of the online consultation from the point of view of professionals, clients and their families.

Conclusions

Online consultation might be a useful tool in mental health settings, especially during periods of crisis. Possible benefits of the study will be the assessment of the difficulties of online counseling and the evaluation of its effectiveness. However, it is an ongoing research subject given the challenges or issues that have been raised.

  • Open access
  • 165 Reads
The Efects of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Exercise Performance in Eumenorrheic Women: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis

Abstract:

Background: Concentrations of endogenous sex hormones fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle, which may affect a woman's athletic performance. Current data are conflicting and there is no consensus as to whether athletic performance is affected by the Menstrual Cycle stage.

Objective: To investigate the influence of menstrual cycle on women's exercise, and to provide evidence-based and practical suggestions for women's exercise performance.

Methods: This review followed the preferred reporting items of the Systematic review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Four databases were searched for published experimental studies of the effects of menstrual cycles on lung ventilation as well as power output, including at least one outcome measure taken over two or more defined menstrual cycle phases. All data were meta-analyzed using a multi-level model based on Bayesian principle. The meta-analysis pooled paired effect sizes to compare lung ventilation in early follicular and mid-luteal stages and performance of motor power output in late follicular and mid-luteal stages. Study quality was assessed using a modified Down's and Black Checklist, and additional questions about menstrual cycle phase confirmation were identified.

Results: Data from 10 studies were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The results showed that the menstrual cycle had no significant effect on women's athletic performance based on the analysis of lung ventilation and power output at different stages of menstruation. Comparison of lung ventilation between early follicular phase and middle luteal phase (ES0.5=-0.49 [95%CRI: -1.17 to 0.19]) and power output between late follicular phase and middle luteal phase (ES0.5=-0.12 [95%CRI: −5.92, 5.68]). The quality of the literature reviewed was classified as "medium".

Conclusions: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that the menstrual cycle stage had no significant effect on women's athletic performance.

  • Open access
  • 56 Reads
High blood lead levels and perceived societal and health issues amongst juvenile illegal miners: A call for multisectoral action.

The paper reports the blood lead levels amongst illegal juveniles miners and their perception of the role of illegal mining on societal and health issues. Ninety illegal miners aged between 14 and 19 years with the mean age of 17 years old. The blood lead mean was 15.58 µg/dL in the sampled population. Those that were involved in both going underground and draining the gold had higher blood lead levels (mean=26.03 µg/dL). Sixteen (84%) participants believed that being involved in illegal mining may lead to adverse health and they were concerned about injury due to violence. All participants believe that illegal mining-related activities contaminate the environment, yet all of them have conducted the same activities in their yard or household. It is safer and the need for running water to retrieve the gold. The majority of the illegal miners are aware of the danger of the chemicals used to get the gold. Out of 19, only two have ever received some sort of personal protective clothing/equipment. The others had to fend for themselves. The study findings highlight and raise critical public health, social and criminal issues. Therefore, there’s a need for multisectoral action especially the inclusion of public health.

  • Open access
  • 85 Reads
How Indonesian primary health care combat the spread of COVID-19

Background. Primary health care (PHC) in Indonesia plays an important role in combating the spread of COVID-19 in the community. While each PHC deals with different situations at the beginning of COVID-19, the purpose of this study is to investigate the roles of PHC in preventing COVID-19 spread and promoting healthy behavior in the community. Methods. Applying qualitative approach, this study collected data through focus group discussions and then analyzed the data using a thematic content analysis. PHC health officers from eight Indonesian regions, ranging from western to eastern Indonesia, took part in this study. Results. This study found that PHCs play crucial roles in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and promoting healthy behavior. They collaborated with the community to identify suspected COVID-19 cases, provided isolation facilities, and educate the public about COVID-19 prevention. The community contribution was somehow followed by stigmatization of COVID-19 patients, complicating PHC efforts to prevent COVID-19 spread. Using WHO building blocks, we identified lacking in leadership, health workforce, and access to essential medicine as another challenge for PHC to perform their tasks. Conclusion. PHC must employ strategies to provide comprehensive understanding and combat stigma associated with COVID-19 since community plays pivotal roles and presents hurdles in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

1 2
Top