The prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribing among Hong Kong older adults: a comparison among Beers 2003, Beers 2012, and STOPP/START criteria

INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: Inappropriate prescribing can lead to adverse drug events and older adults are at greater risk due to multiple chronic co-morbidities and multiple medications prescribed. Various criteria (eg Beers or STOPP [Screening Tool of Older Person’s Prescriptions]) on medication usage have been developed to assess prescribing appropriateness. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate prescribings (PIPs) among Hong Kong older adults using 2003 Beers, 2012 Beers, and STOPP criteria, and (2) to evaluate the association between …published_or_final_versio

Coping flexibility and psychological adjustment to stressful life changes: A meta-analytic review

Compared with the large body of literature on coping, coping flexibility has received relatively scant research attention, although more such studies have begun to emerge recently. Researchers have conceptualized coping flexibility in diverse ways: as a broad coping repertoire, a well-balanced coping profile, cross-situational variability in strategy deployment, a good strategy-situation fit, or the perceived ability to cope with environmental changes. This meta-analysis is the first to provide a summary estimate of the overall effect size and investigate cross-study sources of variation in the beneficial role of coping flexibility. The analysis covers all available studies conducted between 1978 and 2013 that empirically tested the relationship between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment. The results of a random-effects model revealed a small to moderate overall mean effect size (r = .23, 95% CI [.19, .28], 80% CRI [-.02, .49], k = 329, N = 58,946). More important, the magnitude of the positive link between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment varied with the conceptualization of such flexibility. Studies adopting the perceived ability or strategy-situation fit conceptualization yielded moderate effect sizes, whereas those adopting the broad repertoire, balanced profile, or cross-situational variability conceptualization yielded small effect sizes. In addition, the positive link between coping flexibility and psychological adjustment was stronger in samples from countries lower (vs. higher) in individualism and samples with higher (vs. lower) average ages. Individualism and age explained 10% and 13% of the variance, respectively. We discuss the conceptual problems and implications and propose a synthesized conceptualization of coping flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).postprin

Strong evidence for negligible methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) emissions from biomass burning

With the phase-out of industrial methyl chloroform (MCF) production, the atmospheric burden of this ozone-depleting gas has rapidly declined. Therefore any non-industrial sources are taking on greater significance in the MCF budget. The only natural MCF source that has been proposed, biomass burning, has been reported to emit up to 2-10 Gg MCF yr-1. We have re-examined MCF data for thousands of airborne and ground-based air samples collected by our group since 1990 that were directly impacted by major biomass burning sources. Without exception, we have found no positive evidence that MCF is released from biomass burning. Our results indicate that global biomass burning emissions of MCF have been significantly overestimated and are unlikely to exceed 0.014 Gg MCF yr-1. Lowering the uncertainty regarding the magnitude of the global MCF biomass burning source may extend its period of usefulness for determining global abundances and trends of the hydroxyl radical (OH). Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union

Recommendations for the management of MPS IVA: systematic evidence- and consensus-based guidance.

IntroductionMucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IVA or Morquio A syndrome is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) caused by deficiency of the N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS) enzyme, which impairs lysosomal degradation of keratan sulphate and chondroitin-6-sulphate. The multiple clinical manifestations of MPS IVA present numerous challenges for management and necessitate the need for individualised treatment. Although treatment guidelines are available, the methodology used to develop this guidance has come under increased scrutiny. This programme was conducted to provide evidence-based, expert-agreed recommendations to optimise management of MPS IVA.MethodsTwenty six international healthcare professionals across multiple disciplines, with expertise in managing MPS IVA, and three patient advocates formed the Steering Committee (SC) and contributed to the development of this guidance. Representatives from six Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs) were interviewed to gain insights on patient perspectives. A modified-Delphi methodology was used to demonstrate consensus among a wider group of healthcare professionals with experience managing patients with MPS IVA and the manuscript was evaluated against the validated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument by three independent reviewers.ResultsA total of 87 guidance statements were developed covering five domains: (1) general management principles; (2) recommended routine monitoring and assessments; (3) disease-modifying interventions (enzyme replacement therapy [ERT] and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation [HSCT]); (4) interventions to support respiratory and sleep disorders; (5) anaesthetics and surgical interventions (including spinal, limb, ophthalmic, cardio-thoracic and ear-nose-throat [ENT] surgeries). Consensus was reached on all statements after two rounds of voting. The overall guideline AGREE II assessment score obtained for the development of the guidance was 5.3/7 (where 1 represents the lowest quality and 7 represents the highest quality of guidance).ConclusionThis manuscript provides evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for the management of patients with MPS IVA and is for use by healthcare professionals that manage the holistic care of patients with the intention to improve clinical- and patient-reported outcomes and enhance patient quality of life. It is recognised that the guidance provided represents a point in time and further research is required to address current knowledge and evidence gaps

Recommendations for the management of MPS VI: systematic evidence- and consensus-based guidance.

IntroductionMucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) VI or Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome (253200) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficiency in N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase (arylsulfatase B). The heterogeneity and progressive nature of MPS VI necessitates a multidisciplinary team approach and there is a need for robust guidance to achieve optimal management. This programme was convened to develop evidence-based, expert-agreed recommendations for the general principles of management, routine monitoring requirements and the use of medical and surgical interventions in patients with MPS VI.Methods26 international healthcare professionals from various disciplines, all with expertise in managing MPS VI, and three patient advocates formed the Steering Committee group (SC) and contributed to the development of this guidance. Members from six Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs) acted as advisors and attended interviews to ensure representation of the patient perspective. A modified-Delphi methodology was used to demonstrate consensus among a wider group of healthcare professionals with expertise and experience managing patients with MPS VI and the manuscript has been evaluated against the validated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument by three independent reviewers.ResultsA total of 93 guidance statements were developed covering five domains: (1) general management principles; (2) recommended routine monitoring and assessments; (3) enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); (4) interventions to support respiratory and sleep disorders; (5) anaesthetics and surgical interventions. Consensus was reached on all statements after two rounds of voting. The greatest challenges faced by patients as relayed by consultation with PAGs were deficits in endurance, dexterity, hearing, vision and respiratory function. The overall guideline AGREE II assessment score obtained for the development of the guidance was 5.3/7 (where 1 represents the lowest quality and 7 represents the highest quality of guidance).ConclusionThis manuscript provides evidence- and consensus-based recommendations for the management of patients with MPS VI and is for use by healthcare professionals that manage the holistic care of patients with the intention to improve clinical- and patient-reported outcomes and enhance patient quality of life. It is recognised that the guidance provided represents a point in time and further research is required to address current knowledge and evidence gaps

Holy Name Catholic Chapel Postcard (2)

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/denis-mailhot-correspondence/1012/thumbnail.jp

Etiology and pathogenesis of anterior open bite: A review

Objective: To review the etiology and pathogenesis of anterior open bitemalocclusion.Data source: Review of literature was affected through Pubmed, Google scholar and Science direct. References identified from articles found from the primary search were also reviewed.Study selection: Published data on etiology and pathogenesis of anterior open bite over the last five decades (1960-2009) were utilised.Data extraction: Full articles, abstracts and relevant book chapters were read and analysed to determine the relevant material for this article.Data analysis: All relevant articles were reviewed in full and necessary information eextracted as necessary.Conclusion: A clear understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of anterior open bite is essential in the diagnosis, prevention and management of this malocclusion

Non-parametric clustering over user features and latent behavioral functions with dual-view mixture models

International audienceWe present a dual-view mixture model to cluster users based on their features and latent behavioral functions. Every component of the mixture model represents a probability density over a feature view for observed user attributes and a behavior view for latent behavioral functions that are indirectly observed through user actions or behaviors. Our task is to infer the groups of users as well as their latent behavioral functions. We also propose a non-parametric version based on a Dirichlet Process to automatically infer the number of clusters. We test the properties and performance of the model on a synthetic dataset that represents the participation of users in the threads of an online forum. Experiments show that dual-view models outperform single-view ones when one of the views lacks information

Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

Am I hurt?: Evaluating Psychological Pain Detection in Hindi Text using Transformer-based Models

The automated evaluation of pain is critical for developing effective pain management approaches that seek to alleviate while preserving patients’ functioning. Transformer-based models can aid in detecting pain from Hindi text data gathered from social media by leveraging their ability to capture complex language patterns and contextual information. By understanding the nuances and context of Hindi text, transformer models can effectively identify linguistic cues, sentiment and expressions associated with pain enabling the detection and analysis of pain-related content present in social media posts. The purpose of this research is to analyse the feasibility of utilizing NLP techniques to automatically identify pain within Hindi textual data, providing a valuable tool for pain assessment in Hindi-speaking populations. The research showcases the HindiPainNet model, a deep neural network that employs the IndicBERT model, classifying the dataset into two class labels {pain, no_pain} for detecting pain in Hindi textual data. The model is trained and tested using a novel dataset, दर्द-ए-शायरी (pronounced as Dard-e-Shayari) curated using posts from social media platforms. The results demonstrate the model’s effectiveness, achieving an accuracy of 70.5%. This pioneer research highlights the potential of utilizing textual data from diverse sources to identify and understand pain experiences based on psychosocial factors. This research could pave the path for the development of automated pain assessment tools that help medical professionals comprehend and treat pain in Hindi speaking populations. Additionally, it opens avenues to conduct further NLP-based multilingual pain detection research, addressing the needs of diverse language communities