International journal of environmental research and public health
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Jul 2020
Urinary Biomarkers of Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Wave 1 (2013-2014).
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ubiquitous in the environment. In the United States (U. S.), tobacco smoke is the major non-occupational source of exposure to many harmful VOCs. ⋯ Small differences of VOCM levels among exclusive e-cigarette users and smokeless users were observed when compared to never users. Smokers showed higher VOCM concentrations than e-cigarette, smokeless, and never users. Urinary VOC metabolites are useful biomarkers of exposure to harmful VOCs.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Jul 2020
Consensus on Criteria for Good Practices in Video Consultation: A Delphi Study.
The use of telemedicine has greatly increased, largely derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created the need for a guide aimed towards the adequate management of a modality of health care: the video consultation. A Delphi study composed of three rounds was conducted with 16 experts in holding video consultations and managing non-technical skills from different specialties and nationalities to conceive a consensus on the criteria needed for properly managing video consultations by healthcare professionals. The consensus criteria were defined by three dimensions (preparation of video consultation, video consultation process, and post-video consultation) and their corresponding items. Excellent consensus data was obtained; therefore, use is recommended by any healthcare professional who is going to utilize a video consultation, in order to manage it effectively.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Jul 2020
Increased One-Year Recurrent Ischemic Stroke after First-Ever Ischemic Stroke in Males with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.
(1) Background: Patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were questioned about quality of life and sleep. Most BPH patients were treated with alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonists, which could improve cerebral blood flow for 1-2 months. Patients with ischemic stroke (IS) could experience cerebral autoregulation impairment for six months. ⋯ The risk factors associated with one-year recurrent IS were assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression. (3) Results: Patients with BPH had a higher risk of recurrent IS (12.11% versus 8.15%) (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 1.352; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.028-1.78, p = 0.031). Other risk factors included hyperlipidemia (adjusted HR: 1.338; 95% CI: 1.022-1.751, p = 0.034), coronary artery disease (adjusted HR: 1.487; 95% CI: 1.128-1.961, p = 0.005), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (adjusted HR: 1.499; 95% CI: 1.075-2.091, p = 0.017), and chronic kidney disease (adjusted HR: 1.523; 95% CI: 1.033-2.244, p = 0.033). (4) Conclusion: Patients with BPH who had these risk factors had an increased risk of one-year recurrent IS. The modification of risk factors may prevent recurrent IS.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Jul 2020
Changes in Eating Habits among Displaced and Non-Displaced University Students.
Nowadays the younger generations are moving their food habits from the traditional diet to a Western diet, which is low in fruits and vegetables and high in fat and sugary drinks. University students are a particularly vulnerable population once, with the entrance to university, they are subjected to new influences and responsibilities; in particular, those who live far from their parents' houses are more predisposed to unhealthy eating habits. To assess the influence that admission to university has had on the frequency of intake of certain foods and meals as well as their adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), self-administered questionnaires were applied. ⋯ Most of the individuals did not smoke and the majority did not drink coffee. It was also observed that displaced students consume fast food more frequently compared to the period before they start university. Fish ingestion decreased and coffee consumption increased, in the same group, after starting their university studies.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Jul 2020
ReviewReview of Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Nature-Inspired Computing Models towards Accurate Detection of COVID-19 Pandemic Cases and Contact Tracing.
The emergence of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) which was declared a pandemic has spread to 210 countries worldwide. It has had a significant impact on health systems and economic, educational and social facets of contemporary society. As the rate of transmission increases, various collaborative approaches among stakeholders to develop innovative means of screening, detecting and diagnosing COVID-19's cases among human beings at a commensurate rate have evolved. ⋯ Similarly, big data platforms have also been applied for tracing contacts. However, the nature-inspired computing (NIC) models that have demonstrated good performance in feature selection of medical issues are yet to be explored for case detection and tracing of contacts in the current COVID-19 pandemic. This study holds salient implications for practitioners and researchers alike as it elucidates the potentials of NIC in the accurate detection of pandemic cases and optimized contact tracing.