Search results

The dual epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased substantially in recent years, with cardiovascular disease representing a significant contributor to the regional burden of disease. Very little is known about the cardiovascular health of people deprived of their liberty in the region. The purpose of this study was to collate extant literature on the topic.

A scoping review mapped and described what is known about cardiovascular disease in prison populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. A systematic search of empirical literature with no date limitation was conducted in English. Sixteen studies representing six Sub-Saharan African countries (Cameroon, Nigeria, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Ethiopia) were charted, categorised and thematically analysed.

Seven key themes were identified: custodial deaths and autopsy; cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise; cardiovascular disease and elderly people in prison; cardiovascular disease and women in prison; dietary deficiencies; influence of sleep patterns on cardiovascular disease; and other associated risk factors. Most natural deaths at autopsy of custodial deaths were due to cardiovascular disease. Cardiorespiratory fitness was low in prisons, and poor sleep patterns and dietary deficiencies are likely contributors to the burden of cardiovascular disease in prisons. The needs of elderly and female prison populations are ill-considered.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known attempt to scope extant literature on cardiovascular disease in Sub-Saharan African prisons. A strategic focus on the cardiovascular health of people in prison is warranted. Routine monitoring and expansion of existing prison health-care services and integration of NCD services with infectious disease (HIV and tuberculosis) programmes in prisons are required.

This study aims to synthesize the existing serious games designed to promote mental health in adolescents with chronic illnesses.

This study conducted a review following the guidelines of Joanna Briggs Institute and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Searches were conducted in databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, cumulative index to nursing and allied health literature, PsycINFO, China national knowledge infrastructure Wanfang, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals and SinoMed from inception to February 12, 2023.

A total of 14 studies (describing 14 serious games) for improving the mental health of adolescents with chronic diseases were included. Of all the included games, 12 were not described as adopting any theoretical framework or model. The main diseases applicable to serious games are cancer, type 1 diabetes and autism spectrum disorder. For interventional studies, more than half of the study types were feasibility or pilot trials. Furthermore, the dosage of serious games also differs in each experiment. For the game elements, most game elements were in the category “reward and punishment features” (n = 50) and last was “social features” (n = 4).

Adolescence is a critical period in a person’s physical and mental development throughout life. Diagnosed with chronic diseases during this period will cause great trauma to the adolescents and their families. Serious game interventions have been developed and applied to promote the psychological health field of healthy adolescents. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to scope review the serious game of promoting mental health in the population of adolescents with chronically ill. At the same time, the current study also extracted and qualitatively analyzed the elements of the serious game.

This systematic review examined the emerging threat of indoor and outdoor pollutants to public health in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Pollutants and pollution levels are becoming an increasing cause for concern within the LAC region, primarily because of the rapid increase in urbanization and the use of fossil fuels. The rise in indoor and outdoor air pollutants impacts public health, and there are limited regional studies on the impact of these pollutants and how they affect public health. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOhost, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases. Significant search terms included “indoor air pollution,” “outdoor air pollution,” “pollution,” “Latin America,” “Central America,” “South America” and “Caribbean was used.” The systematic review utilized the Rayyan systematic software for uploading and sorting study references.

Database searches produced 1,674 results, of which, after using the inclusion–exclusion criteria and assessing for bias, 16 studies were included and used for the systematic review. These studies covered both indoor and outdoor pollution. Various indoor and outdoor air pollutants linked to low birth weight, asthma, cancer and DNA impairment were reported in this review. Even though only some intervention programs are available within the region to mitigate the harmful effects of pollution, these programs need to be robust and appropriately implemented, causing possible threats to public health. Significant gaps in the research were identified, especially in the Caribbean.

Limitations of the study include limited available research done within LAC, with most of the research quantifying pollutants rather than addressing their impacts. Additionally, most studies focus on air pollution but neglect water and land pollution’s effects on public health. For this reason, the 16 studies included limited robustness of the review.

Although available studies quantifying pollution threats in LAC were identified in this review, research on the adverse impacts of pollution, especially concerning public health, is limited. LAC countries should explore making cities more energy-efficient, compact and green while improving the transportation sector by utilizing clean power generation. In order to properly lessen the effects of pollution on public health, more research needs to be done and implemented programs that are working need to be strengthened and expanded.

Synthetic patient data produced by Synthea was described in Chapter 6. That data is used to create a baseline for all patients, palliative patients, and deceased palliative patients. Distributions of comorbidities across the patient groups are examined and demographic characteristics. The factors used in palliative care groupings are presented with the synthesized data fields used. The size of the palliative population is again estimated to establish validity.

Every day, small and big incidents happen all over the world, and given the human, financial and spiritual damage they cause, proper planning should be sought to deal with them so they can be appropriately managed in times of crisis. This study aims to examine humanitarian supply chain models.

A new model is developed to pursue the necessary relations in an optimal way that will minimize human, financial and moral losses. In this developed model, in order to optimize the problem and minimize the amount of human and financial losses, the following subjects have been applied: magnitude of the areas in which an accident may occur as obtained by multiple attribute decision-making methods, the distances between relief centers, the number of available rescuers, the number of rescuers required and the risk level of each patient which is determined using previous data and machine learning (ML) algorithms.

For this purpose, a case study in the east of Tehran has been conducted. According to the results obtained from the algorithms, problem modeling and case study, the accuracy of the proposed model is evaluated very well.

Obtaining each injured person's priority using ML techniques and each area's importance or risk level, besides developing a bi-objective mathematical model and using multiple attribute decision-making methods, make this study unique among very few studies that concern ML in the humanitarian supply chain. Moreover, the findings validate the results and the model's functionality very well.

This study aims to offer a comprehensive exploration of the potential and challenges associated with sensor fusion-based virtual reality (VR) applications in the context of enhanced physical training. The main objective is to identify key advancements in sensor fusion technology, evaluate its application in VR systems and understand its impact on physical training.

The research initiates by providing context to the physical training environment in today’s technology-driven world, followed by an in-depth overview of VR. This overview includes a concise discussion on the advancements in sensor fusion technology and its application in VR systems for physical training. A systematic review of literature then follows, examining VR’s application in various facets of physical training: from exercise, skill development and technique enhancement to injury prevention, rehabilitation and psychological preparation.

Sensor fusion-based VR presents tangible advantages in the sphere of physical training, offering immersive experiences that could redefine traditional training methodologies. While the advantages are evident in domains such as exercise optimization, skill acquisition and mental preparation, challenges persist. The current research suggests there is a need for further studies to address these limitations to fully harness VR’s potential in physical training.

The integration of sensor fusion technology with VR in the domain of physical training remains a rapidly evolving field. Highlighting the advancements and challenges, this review makes a significant contribution by addressing gaps in knowledge and offering directions for future research.

The occupational health risk associated with the production of prefabricated concrete components is often overlooked. This paper will use a damage assessment and cyclic mitigation (DACM) model to provide individualized exposure risk assessment and corresponding mitigation management measures for workers who are being exposed.

The DACM model is proposed based on the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA). The model uses Monte-Carlo simulation for uncertainty risk assessment, followed by quantitative damage assessment using disability-adjusted life year (DALY). Lastly, sensitivity analysis is used to identify the parameters with the greatest impact on health risks.

The results show that the dust concentration is centered around the mean, and the fitting results are close to normal distribution, so the mean value can be used to carry out the calculation of risk. However, calculations using the DACM model revealed that there are still some work areas at risk. DALY damage is most severe in concrete production area. Meanwhile, the inhalation rate (IR), exposure duration (ED), exposure frequency (EF) and average exposure time (AT) showed greater impacts based on the sensitivity analysis.

Based on the comparison, the DACM model can determine that the potential occupational health risk of prefabricated concrete component (PC) factory and the risk is less than that of on-site construction. It synthesizes field research and simulation to form the entire assessment process into a case-base system with the depth of the cycle, which allows the model to be continuously adjusted to reduce the occupational health damage caused by production pollution exposure.

This study aims to systematically review the health risk assessment of the concentration of heavy metals in Pistacia species globally.

The authors systematically searched PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Google Scholar to identify all articles published between 1 January 2002 and 20 August 2022. A total of 33 studies met the authors’ inclusion criteria, and their data were extracted. Additionally, the potential risk to human health was assessed by calculating the target hazard quotient and hazard index for both child and adult consumers.

The estimated daily intake for heavy metals in the included studies ranged from 9.72 × 10^–9 to 7.35 (mg/day) in the following order: zinc (Zn) > mercury (Hg) > iron (Fe) > lead (Pb) > copper (Cu) > aluminum (Al) > nickel (Ni) > chromium (Cr) > manganese (Mn) > cadmium (Cd) > arsenic (As) > selenium (Se) > cobalt (Co). Among the studies that investigated heavy metals in Pistacia species around the world, the non-carcinogenic risk for all species of Pistacia was determined to be less than 1, except for Pb and Hg in Pistacia lentiscus.

The soil near the industrial area contained excessive amounts of heavy metals, which led to the transfer of heavy metals to plants. Owing to the insufficiency of the number of studies that examined heavy metals in Pistacia species, further monitoring and investigations were recommended.