Relationship between platelet parameters and sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Sudden deafness or sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHO is defined as sensorineural hearing loss of greater than 30 dB over 3 contiguous puretone frequencies occurring within 3 days' periodObjective: To investigate the relationship of some platelet parameters including platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet distribution width (PDW) with the occurrence of SSNHL.Data source: A PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, OVID, EMBASE and Google Scholar search (date last searchedApril2016) search was done. No restrictions of time, language and location were placed.Study selection: All case-control studies which have been studied the relationship of PC, MPV and PDW with the occurrence of SSNHL were included in the meta-analysis.Data extraction: The required data from selected studies including the title, authors, publication date, location of study, sample size of patients and control groups, number of withdrawals, the mean and standard deviation of PC, MPV and PDW for patients and control groups and the result of different tests were extracted and entered to EX CELL.Data synthesis: A total of 9 case-control studies were r found in our search from them 8 studies have reported mean PC, 7 studies have reported mean MPV and 4 studies have reported mean PDW. Our analysis showed that mean PC of patients is 0.03 (-0.14-0.20) unit higher than that of controls with 95% CI which is not statistically significant. Also, mean MPV of patients is 0.31 (-0.03-0.65) unit higher than that of controls with 95% CI which is statistically not significant too. Finally, mean PDW of patients is 0.70 (0.03- 1.37) unit higher than that of controls with 95% CI which is statistically significant.Conclusions: Our study confirmed only the probable relationship of PDW and SSNHL but due to the limited studies on this subject more studies is needed

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4 (62.3 (55.1�70.8) million) to 6.4 (58.3 (47.6�70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization�s Global Nutrition Target of <5 in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2 (30 (22.8�38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0 (55.5 (44.8�67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic. © 2020, The Author(s)

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Author Correction: Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 (Nature Medicine, (2020), 26, 5, (750-759), 10.1038/s41591-020-0807-6)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. © 2020, The Author(s)

Author Correction: Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017 (Nature Medicine, (2020), 26, 5, (750-759), 10.1038/s41591-020-0807-6)

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. © 2020, The Author(s)

Traveling wave solutions for some important coupled nonlinear physical models via the coupled Higgs equation and the Maccari system

In this article, the exp(−Φ(ξ))-expansion method has been successfully implemented to seek traveling wave solutions of the coupled Higgs field equation and the Maccari system. The result reveals that the method together with the first order ordinary differential equation is a very influential and effective tool for solving coupled nonlinear partial differential equations in mathematical physics and engineering. The obtained solutions have been articulated by the hyperbolic functions, trigonometric functions and rational functions with arbitrary constants. Numerical results together with the graphical representation explicitly reveal the high efficiency and reliability of the proposed algorithm