Games for health & mHealth apps for police & blue light personnel: A research review

Previous research has reported adverse health outcomes for emergency services personnel (ESP), outcomes that research more broadly has shown can be improved using a gamification and mobile health (mhealth) apps approach. We conducted a review of research on gamification and mhealth apps for ESP that had been published in the last 19 years using 6 major research databases. The results demonstrated that virtually no relevant research has been published, suggesting a significant gap in the evidence base of an approach that could potentially have significant benefits for the health of ESP

Use of menstruation and fertility app trackers: A scoping review of the evidence

Introduction: There has been a phenomenal worldwide increase in the development and use of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) that monitor menstruation and fertility. Critics argue that many of the apps are inaccurate and lack evidence from either clinical trials or user experience. The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of the research literature on mHealth apps that track menstruation and fertility. Methods: This project followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews. The ACM, CINAHL, Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for material published between 1 January 2010 and 30 April 2019. Data summary and synthesis were used to chart and analyse the data. Results: In total 654 records were reviewed. Subsequently, 135 duplicate records and 501 records that did not meet the inclusion criteria were removed. Eighteen records from 13 countries form the basis of this review. The papers reviewed cover a variety of disciplinary and methodological frameworks. Three main themes were identified: fertility and reproductive health tracking, pregnancy planning, and pregnancy prevention. Conclusions: Motivations for fertility app use are varied, overlap and change over time, although women want apps that are accurate and evidence-based regardless of whether they are tracking their fertility, planning a pregnancy or using the app as a form of contraception. There is a lack of critical debate and engagement in the development, evaluation, usage and regulation of fertility and menstruation apps. The paucity of evidence-based research and absence of fertility, health professionals and users in studies is raised

Revisiting the Twentieth Century Through the Lens of Generation X and Digital Games: A Scoping Review

Video games have been around since the 1960s and have impacted upon society in a myriad of different ways. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify existing literature within the domain of video games which recruited participants from the Generation X (1965–1980) cohort. Six databases were searched (ACM, CINHAL Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) focusing on published journal papers between 1970 and 2000. Search results identified 3186 articles guided by the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR); 4 papers were irretrievable, 138 duplicated papers were removed, leaving 3048 were assessed for eligibility and 3026 were excluded. Articles (n = 22) were included into this review, with four papers primarily published in 1997 and in 1999. Thematic analysis identified five primary themes: purpose and objectives, respective authors’ reporting, technology, ethics and environment) and seven secondary themes: populations, type of participants (e.g. children, students), ethical approval, study design, reimbursement, language, type of assessments. This scoping review is distinctive because it primarily focuses on Generation X, who have experienced and grown-up with videogames, and contributes to several disciplines including: game studies, gerontology and health, and has wider implications from a societal, design and development perspective of video games

First Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans DNA in Environmental Samples from South America

The occurrences of many environmentally-persistent and zoonotic infections are driven by ecosystem changes, which in turn are underpinned by land-use modifications that alter the governance of pathogen, biodiversity and human interactions. Our current understanding of these ecological changes on disease emergence however remains limited. Buruli ulcer is an emerging human skin disease caused by the mycobacterium, Mycobacterium ulcerans, for which the exact route of infection remains unclear. It can have a devastating impact on its human host, causing extensive necrosis of the skin and underlying tissue, often leading to permanent disability. The mycobacterium is associated with tropical aquatic environments and incidences of the disease are significantly higher on floodplains and where there is an increase of human aquatic activities. Although the disease has been previously diagnosed in South America, until now the presence of M. ulcerans DNA in the wild has only been identified in Australia where there have been significant outbreaks and in western and central regions of Africa where the disease is persistent. Here for the first time, we have identified the presence of the aetiological agent's DNA in environmental samples from South America. The DNA was positively identified using Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) on 163 environmental samples, taken from 23 freshwater bodies in French Guiana (Southern America), using primers for both IS2404 and for the ketoreductase-B domain of the M. ulcerans mycolactone polyketide synthase genes (KR). Five samples out of 163 were positive for both primers from three different water bodies. A further nine sites had low levels of IS2404 close to a standard CT of 35 and could potentially harbour M. ulcerans. The majority of our positive samples (8/14) came from filtered water. These results also reveal the Sinnamary River as a potential source of infection to humans. © 2014 Morris et al

Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health in patients with COPD

Cannot archive published pdf, only submitted/accepted version of the article. Full version published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (& BTS) under licence. First published by Thorax Online, on April 1, 2011. Doi:10.1136/thx.2010.155358

Landscape Diversity Related to Buruli Ulcer Disease in Côte d'Ivoire

Buruli ulcer (BU) is one of the most neglected but treatable tropical diseases. The causative organism, Mycobacterium ulcerans, is from the family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis and leprosy. This severe skin disease leads to long-term functional disability if not treated. BU has been reported in over 30 countries mainly with tropical and subtropical climates, but Côte d'Ivoire is one of the most affected countries. M. ulcerans is an environmental bacterium and its mode of transmission to humans is still unclear, such that the disease is often referred to as the “mysterious disease” or the “new leprosy”. Here, we explored the relationship between environmental and socioeconomic factors and BU cases on a nationwide scale. We found that irrigated rice field cultures areas, and, to a lesser extent, banana fields as well as areas in the vicinity of dams used for irrigation and aquaculture purposes, represent high risk zones for the human population to contract BU in Côte d'Ivoire. This work identifies high-risk areas for BU in Côte d'Ivoire and deserves to be extended to different countries. We need now to obtain a global vision and understanding of the route of transmission of M. ulcerans to humans in order to better implement control strategies

Transcriptome dynamics of a broad host-range cyanophage and its hosts

Cyanobacteria are highly abundant in the oceans and are constantly exposed to lytic viruses. The T4-like cyanomyoviruses are abundant in the marine environment and have broad host-ranges relative to other cyanophages. It is currently unknown whether broad host-range phages specifically tailor their infection program for each host, or employ the same program irrespective of the host infected. Also unknown is how different hosts respond to infection by the same phage. Here we used microarray and RNA-seq analyses to investigate the interaction between the Syn9 T4-like cyanophage and three phylogenetically, ecologically and genomically distinct marine Synechococcus strains: WH7803, WH8102 and WH8109. Strikingly, Syn9 led a nearly identical infection and transcriptional program in all three hosts. Different to previous assumptions for T4-like cyanophages, three temporally regulated gene expression classes were observed. Furthermore, a novel regulatory element controlled early-gene transcription, and host-like promoters drove middle gene transcription, different to the regulatory paradigm for T4. Similar results were found for the P-TIM40 phage during infection of Prochlorococcus NATL2A. Moreover, genomic and metagenomic analyses indicate that these regulatory elements are abundant and conserved among T4-like cyanophages. In contrast to the near-identical transcriptional program employed by Syn9, host responses to infection involved host-specific genes primarily located in hypervariable genomic islands, substantiating islands as a major axis of phage-cyanobacteria interactions. Our findings suggest that the ability of broad host-range phages to infect multiple hosts is more likely dependent on the effectiveness of host defense strategies than on differential tailoring of the infection process by the phage

Seasonal and Regional Dynamics of M. ulcerans Transmission in Environmental Context: Deciphering the Role of Water Bugs as Hosts and Vectors

Buruli ulcer, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is a devastating skin disease. Most cases of Buruli ulcer occur in poor rural communities. As a result, treatment is frequently sought too late and about 25% of those infected—particularly children—become permanently disabled. Outbreaks of Buruli ulcer have always been associated with swampy areas. However, the route(s) of bacillus transmission is (are) still unclear. This Mycobacterium species resides in water where it colonizes many ecological niches such as aquatic plants, herbivorous animals and predatory/carnivorous insects. For several years the role of water bugs as hosts and vectors of M. ulcerans was suspected and was demonstrated under laboratory conditions. The aim of this work was to further assess the role of water bugs as hosts and vectors of M. ulcerans in environmental context. This work identifies several water bug families as hosts of M. ulcerans in Buruli ulcer endemic area. The detection of bacilli in saliva of human biting insects provides further evidence for their role in M. ulcerans transmission. Interestingly, three of these insects are good flyers, and as such could participate in M. ulcerans dissemination