Social capital in the prevention and management of non-communicable diseases among migrants and refugees: a systematic review and meta-ethnography.

Globally, the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) falls disproportionately on underserved populations. Migrants and refugees are particularly vulnerable due to economic instability and systemic poverty. Despite the myriad of health risks faced by migrants and refugees, access to appropriate healthcare is hindered by structural, cultural and socioeconomic barriers. We conducted a systematic review and meta-ethnography to obtain critical insight into how the interplay of social capital and structural factors (eg, state policies and socioeconomic disadvantage) influences the prevention and treatment of NCDs in migrant and refugee populations. We included 26 studies of 14 794 identified articles, which reported qualitative findings on the structure and functions of social capital in NCD prevention and management among migrants and refugees. We synthesised findings, using the process outlined by Noblit and Hare, which indicated that migrants and refugees experienced weakened social networks in postmigration settings. They faced multiple barriers in healthcare access and difficulty navigating healthcare systems perceived as complex. Family as the core of social capital appeared of mixed value in their NCD prevention and management, interacting with cultural dissonance and economic stress. Community organisations were integral in brokering healthcare access, especially for information diffusion and logistics. Healthcare providers, especially general practitioners, were important bridges providing service-user education and ensuring a full continuum of quality care. While social capital reduced immediate barriers in healthcare access for NCD prevention and management, it was insufficient to address structural barriers. System-level interventions appear necessary to achieve equitable healthcare access in host countries. PROSPERO registration number: CCRD42020167846

In vitro antibacterial activity of crude medicinal plant extracts against ampicillin+penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause for foodborne diseases. Extensive use of antibiotics has led to emergence of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus. Hence, interest on natural plant-based alternative which limits the use of synthetic chemicals is growing. The present work evaluated the antibacterial capacity of garlic, aloe vera, galangal, pineapple peel, neem, papaya leaf, lemongrass, peppermint, nutmeg and clove separately extracted with hexane, ethanol and water to a final concentration of 10% w/v against ampicillin+penicillin-resistant isolates of S. aureus in vitro. Streptomycin was used as a drug control against the resistant isolates; BRS023, BRS068 and DRS072. According to the interpretive standards for inhibition zone diameter provided by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, isolates BRS068 and DRS072 were considered resistant (≤ 12 mm), and isolate BRS023 was considered intermediate (13-14 mm). Against these isolates, all crude plant extracts exhibited varying degrees of inhibition. However, a coherent trend was observed in the inhibition between resistant and intermediate isolates regardless of plants and solvents used. It was also found that extraction solvent types impacted the resulting antibacterial activity. In terms of positive inhibition, the solvents were ranked in the order of hexane (77%) > water (73%) > ethanol (57%). 10% hexane extract of galangal gave the overall highest inhibition zones (17.8 ± 1.4 mm) closely followed by 10% ethanol extract of nutmeg (16.3 ± 1.1 mm). Further phytochemical analyses of the antibacterial compounds from galangal and nutmeg, and their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) are needed. Potential applications of plant-based antibacterial compounds as natural, costeffective and less-toxic food preservatives against drug-resistant foodborne pathogens should be explored

Biomimetic Coating of Modified Titanium Surfaces with Hydroxyapatite Using Simulated Body Fluid

This study investigated the viability of coating commercially pure titanium (CPTi) surfaces, modified via sandblasting and acid etching, with hydroxyapatite (HA)/tricalcium phosphate coatings using a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution. The samples were immersed in SBF from 3 to 7 days. The morphology and the chemistry of the HA/tricalcium phosphate coating were then analysed. Prior to immersion in SBF, the samples were sandblasted and acid etched to mimic the morphology and roughness of commercially available dental implants. The SBF aided in the formation of crystalline HA/tricalcium phosphate coatings on all the samples. The coatings were uniform and had roughness values higher than the underlying substrate. The highest roughness values for the coatings on the surfaces were obtained at 7 days of immersion in SBF with average Sa values of 2.9 ± 0.2 µm. The presence of HA/tricalcium phosphate on the surfaces was confirmed by the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), the X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) analysis. This study shows that it is possible to obtain an adequate and uniform hydroxyapatite coating on pure titanium substrates in a shorter period of time with characteristics that favour the ultimate goal of implants therapy, that is, osseointegration

Effectiveness of Pandemic H1N1-2009 Vaccination in Reducing Laboratory Confirmed Influenza Infections among Military Recruits in Tropical Singapore

10.1371/journal.pone.0026572PLoS ONE610

Eye size and shape in newborn children and their relation to axial length and refraction at 3 years

10.1111/opo.12212Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics354414-423GUSTO (Growing up towards Healthy Outcomes

Intestinal parasitic infections and environmental water contamination in a rural village of northern Lao PDR

A field survey studying intestinal parasites in humans and microbial pathogen contamination at environment was performed in a Laotian rural village to identify potential risks for disease outbreaks. A parasitological investigation was conducted in Ban Lak Sip village, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR involving fecal samples from 305 inhabitants as well as water samples taken from 3 sites of the local stream. Water analysis indicated the presence of several enteric pathogens, i.e., Aeromonas spp., Vibrio spp., E. coli H7, E. coli O157: H7, verocytotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC), Shigella spp., and enteric adenovirus. The level of microbial pathogens contamination was associated with human activity, with greater levels of contamination found at the downstream site compared to the site at the village and upstream, respectively. Regarding intestinal parasites, the prevalence of helminth and protozoan infections were 68.9% and 27.2%, respectively. Eight helminth taxa were identified in fecal samples, i.e., 2 tapeworm species (Taenia sp. and Hymenolepis diminuta), 1 trematode (Opisthorchis sp.), and 5 nematodes (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Strongyloides stercoralis, trichostrongylids, and hookworms). Six species of intestinal protists were identified, i.e., Blastocystis hominis, Cyclospora spp., Endolimax nana, Entamoeba histolytica/E. dispar, Entamoeba coli, and Giardia lamblia. Questionnaires and interviews were also conducted to determine risk factors of infection. These analyses together with a prevailing infection level suggested that most of villagers were exposed to parasites in a similar degree due to limited socio-economic differences and sharing of similar practices. Limited access to effective public health facilities is also a significant contributing factor

Effectiveness of Using Artificial Intelligence for Early Child Development Screening

This study presents a novel approach to recognizing emotions in infants using machine learning models. To address the lack of infant-specific datasets, a custom dataset of infants' faces was created by extracting images from the AffectNet dataset. The dataset was then used to train various machine learning models with different parameters. The best-performing model was evaluated on the City Infant Faces dataset. The proposed deep learning model achieved an accuracy of 94.63% in recognizing positive, negative, and neutral facial expressions. These results provide a benchmark for the performance of machine learning models in infant emotion recognition and suggest potential applications in developing emotion-sensitive technologies for infants. This study fills a gap in the literature on emotion recognition, which has largely focused on adults or children and highlights the importance of developing infant-specific datasets and evaluating different parameters to achieve accurate results

Potential medicinal herb for cardiovascular health : a comprehensive review on Salviae miltiorrhizae

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associated risk factors have been ranked the number 1 cause of mortality in noncommunicable diseases worldwide and Malaysia. The high statistic in CVD mortality indicates gaps and limitations in current treatment strategies using long-term drug prescription therapies. Hence, an immediate quest for alternative and effective treatments is needed. Medicinal herbs, which are ethnopharmacologically used to treat a wide range of conditions, have been used as an alternative or supplementary treatment for CVDs and their associated risk factors. The roots of Salviae miltiorrhizae have been traditionally used for centuries to treat various diseases including neurological disorders, cancer, and even coronary heart disease. Increasing evidence demonstrated a pharmacological basis for the action of S. miltiorrhizae and its active compounds, suggesting its potential in treating CVD. The objectives of this review were first to summarize published literature and synthesize the new body of knowledge on the use of S. miltiorrhizae as the potential medicinal herb that will positively impact the cardiovascular system, and secondly to elucidate the underlying mechanisms involved in promoting cardiovascular health. It is hoped that identification of key regulatory pathways by lipophilic and hydrophilic active compounds from S. miltiorrhizae will aid further investigation of its safety and efficacy to promote the use of evidence-based traditional medicinal herbs in alleviating symptoms and improve the prognosis of CVDs and their associated risk factors

A clinical diagnostic model for predicting influenza among young adult military personnel with febrile respiratory illness in Singapore

10.1371/journal.pone.0017468PLoS ONE63

Organ-specific metastatic landscape dissects PD-(L)1 blockade efficacy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: applicability from clinical trials to real-world practice

Background Organ-specific metastatic context has not been incorporated into the clinical practice of guiding programmed death-(ligand) 1 [PD-(L)1] blockade, due to a lack of understanding of its predictive versus prognostic value. We aim at delineating and then incorporating both the predictive and prognostic effects of the metastatic-organ landscape to dissect PD-(L)1 blockade efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods A total of 2062 NSCLC patients from a double-arm randomized trial (OAK), two immunotherapy trials (FIR, BIRCH), and a real-world cohort (NFyy) were included. The metastatic organs were stratified into two categories based on their treatment-dependent predictive significance versus treatment-independent prognosis. A metastasis-based scoring system (METscore) was developed and validated for guiding PD-(L)1 blockade in clinical trials and real-world practice. Results Patients harboring various organ-specific metastases presented significantly different responses to immunotherapy, and those with brain and adrenal gland metastases survived longer than others [overall survival (OS), p = 0.0105; progression-free survival (PFS), p = 0.0167]. In contrast, survival outcomes were similar in chemotherapy-treated patients regardless of metastatic sites (OS, p = 0.3742; PFS, p = 0.8242). Intriguingly, the immunotherapeutic predictive significance of the metastatic-organ landscape was specifically presented in PD-L1-positive populations (PD-L1 > 1%). Among them, a paradoxical coexistence of a favorable predictive effect coupled with an unfavorable prognostic effect was observed in metastases to adrenal glands, brain, and liver (category I organs), whereas metastases to bone, pleura, pleural effusion, and mediastinum yielded consistent unfavorable predictive and prognostic effects (category II organs). METscore was capable of integrating both predictive and prognostic effects of the entire landscape and dissected OS outcome of NSCLC patients received PD-(L)1 blockade (p < 0.0001) but not chemotherapy (p = 0.0805) in the OAK training cohort. Meanwhile, general performance of METscore was first validated in FIR (p = 0.0350) and BIRCH (p < 0.0001), and then in the real-world NFyy cohort (p = 0.0181). Notably, METscore was also applicable to patients received PD-(L)1 blockade as first-line treatment both in the clinical trials (OS, p = 0.0087; PFS, p = 0.0290) and in the real-world practice (OS, p = 0.0182; PFS, p = 0.0045). Conclusions Organ-specific metastatic landscape served as a potential predictor of immunotherapy, and METscore might enable noninvasive forecast of PD-(L)1 blockade efficacy using baseline radiologic assessments in advanced NSCLC