Age Criteria Research Articles

EFFECTS OF MODERATE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON GLYCEMIC CONTROL IN TYPE-2 DIABETES MELLITUS

Background: Sedentary lifestyle cause obesity that can disturb body composition, metabolic profiles and insulin resistance which may then lead to ectopic fat in organs and thus leads to diabetes. Physical activity and life style modification was found to be very effective in reducing diabetes and its risk in adults. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of moderate physical activity on glycemic control in Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus. Methodology: The participants with the age criteria of 35 years and above and non-insulin dependent type II diabetic mellitus were included in a study. A total of n=45 diabetic patient were assigned to three groups i.e. group 1 (brisk walk, n=16), Group 2 (aerobic training, n=16) and group 3 (resistance training, n=13). Each group performed these exercises for three months for five days a week, a total of 150 minutes per week. HbA1c test was used to determine the glucose level in blood. The data was presented in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, and mode. Depending on normality of the data, MANCOVA test was used for within group changes while paired sample T test was used for between group comparisons. Paired sample T test was used to determine correlation. Results: The mean age of n=45 study participants were 49.75 ±7.86 years. Between groups analysis showed that all groups significantly improved (p<0.001) regarding HBA1c level after 12 weeks intervention. However, no significant difference {F(2,39), p=0.117} was observed among the groups regarding HBA1c level after 12 week intervention. Conclusion: Moderate physical activity showed significant improvement on HbA1c levels. Keywords: Type 2 diabetes mellitus, moderate physical activity, HbA1c

EFFECTIVENESS OF LATERAL WEDGE INSOLE ON KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS OUTCOMES IN PAKISTANI POPULATION

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a persistent joint disorder, which normally affects the weight bearing joints especially knee joint. Lateral wedge insole is one such approach suggested by professionals to manage the knee osteoarthritis. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of lateral wedge insoles on knee osteoarthritis outcomes in Pakistani population Design: A single-blinded, pretest-posttest comparison. Setting: District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital, Bahawalnagar and National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM), for a time period of one month. Population: Patients with the age criteria of 40-70 years, and who had knee OA were included in the study. Methods: Participants were randomly divided in two groups; lateral wedge insoles (LWI) group (n=20), and conventional physical therapy (CPT) group (n=20). Pain, stiffness, activities of daily living, sports and recreational activities, and quality of life was assessed on Urdu version of Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score scale (KOOS) on every week till 4th week of intervention. Mixed ANOVA was used for interaction effect of between-subject factor (group) and within-subject factor (time) with-in group analysis and one way ANOVA for between group comparisons with their effect size (ɳp2). Results: Significant improvement with large effect size was observed in Symptoms and stiffness (p<0.001, ɳp2=.329} , pain (p<0.001, ɳp2=.559), functional activities (p<0.001, ɳp2=.394), recreational activities (p<0.001, ɳp2=.369) and quality of life (p<0.001, ɳp2=.280). The CPT group showed more significant improvement (p<0.001) in all domains of KOOS as compared to LWI group. Conclusion: Lateral wedge insoles (LWI) and conventional physical therapy (CPT) both have positive impact on knee osteoarthritis outcomes. But conventional physical therapy was more effective in improving functional independence. Clinical rehabilitation impact: This study provides the evidence on the use of LWI and CPT as alternative strategies to improving Knee OA outcome measures. Keywords: Knee osteoarthritis, functional independence, geriatric population, musculoskeletal physiotherapy, orthotics, quality of life, rehabilitation.

Characteristics of corporate governance and companies’ investment activity

Subject. We consider characteristics of corporate governance and determinants of companies' investments. Objectives. The purpose is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and companies’ level of investment activity; to reveal the level of correlation between companies’ investments and selected determinants. Methods. The study draws on statistical analysis of data, econometric analysis of panel data with fixed or random effects. Results. Overall corporate investment activity varies across regions and countries and differs in subgroups formed on the basis of age, gender, or ownership criteria. We identified the key determinants of investments, depending on company’s geographic location and characteristics of corporate governance. The findings confirm that the latter plays a significant role in corporate investment activity. Relevance. This paper contributes to academic literature on investment activity, corporate governance, and other relevant empirical studies on corporate finance. It also discloses problems of geographical and country-level differences of the issue under consideration.

Clinical decision-support for acute burn referral and triage at specialized centres – Contribution from routine and digital health tools

ABSTRACT Background Specialized care is crucial for severe burn injuries whereas minor burns should be handled at point-of-care. Misdiagnosis is common which leads to overburdening the system and to a lack of treatment for others due to resources shortage. Objectives The overarching aim was to evaluate four decision-support tools for diagnosis, referral, and triage of acute burns injuries in South Africa and Sweden: referral criteria, mortality prediction scores, image-based remote consultation and automated diagnosis. Methods Study I retrospectively assessed adherence to referral criteria of 1165 patients admitted to the paediatric burns centre of the Western Cape of South Africa. Study II assessed mortality prediction of 372 patients admitted to the adults burns centre by evaluating an existing score (ABSI), and by using logistic regression. In study III, an online survey was used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of burn experts’ image-based estimations using their smartphone or tablet. In study IV, two deep-learning algorithms were developed using 1105 acute burn images in order to identify the burn, and to classify burn depth. Results Adherence to referral criteria was of 93.4%, and the age and severity criteria were associated with patient care. In adults, the ABSI score was a good predictor of mortality which affected a fifth of the patients and which was associated with gender, burn size and referral status. Experts were able to diagnose burn size, and burn depth using handheld devices. Finally, both a wound identifier and a depth classifier algorithm could be developed with relatively high accuracy. Conclusions Altogether the findings inform on the use of four tools along the care trajectory of patients with acute burns by assisting with the diagnosis, referral and triage from point-of-care to burns centres. This will assist with reducing inequities by improving access to the most appropriate care for patients.

Binge Watching on OTT Platforms: Loneliness in Adolescents

In largest population country every fifth person is adolescent in age between 10 to 19 years. As they grow with many basic issues like reproductive health problem, sexually transmitted diseases, nutritional deficiencies & mental health problems. Different problems are faced on the basis of rural or urban area. In urban area problems are more related to abuse of alcohol, less sex education, inferiority complex, exam or education stress, social relationship, habit forming drugs & so on. In this sensitive age, they get stuck unintentionally in chaos where they find harsh & difficulties. In addition, binge watching is highly trendy in all age group & it was found greater in the lockdown. Every single person indulges in binge watching for their own reason & entertainment. Firstly, no research was done on adolescent in terms of binge watching. As we are well versed this time every teenager using cell phone & electronic device. Most probably their decision making can be stumble that how to use in appropriate way, what to watch, read & listen, play game and etc. The purpose of the research is to find out binge watching among adolescent & to find out correlation between binge watching & loneliness. A mass of sample is 60 where 30 were boys & 30 were girls respectively. A purposive sampling was used & age criteria was 14 to 18 adolescents. Here independent variable are adolescents (Boys and Girls) & dependent variables are binge watching & loneliness. The two questionnaires were used a self-made questionnaire for binge watching & Loneliness Scale (Social relationship, Interpersonal relationship, Distreved reaction, social isolation, Emptiness) by Adnan Hamid & Mohammad Parvez. A descriptive statistical analysis was done for the result. The research has shown significant correlation between binge watching & loneliness among adolescents.

Low titer Group O whole blood utilization in pediatric trauma resuscitation: A National Survey.

Renewed interest in low titer group O whole blood (LTOWB) transfusion has led to increased utilization in adult trauma centers; little is known regarding LTOWB use in pediatric centers. A survey of LTOWB utilization at American pediatric level 1 trauma centers. Responses were received from 43/72 (60%) centers. These institutions were primarily urban (84%) and pediatric-specific (58%). There were 16% (7/43) centers using LTOWB, 7% (3/43) imminently initiating an LTOWB program, 47% (20/43) with interest but no current plan to develop a LTOWB program, and 30% (13/43) with no immediate interest in an LTOWB program. For the hospitals actively or imminently using LTOWB, 70% (3/10) have a minimum recipient weight criterion, 60% (6/10) have a minimum age criterion, and 70% (7/10) restrict the maximum volume transfused. Before the patient's RhD type becomes known, 30% (3/10) use RhD negative LTOWB for males and females, 40% (4/10) use RhD positive LTOWB for males and RhD negative LTOWB for females, 20% (2/10) use RhD positive LTOWB for males and RhD negative RBCs for females, and 10% (1/10) use RhD positive LTOWB for both males and females. Maximum LTOWB storage duration was 14-35 days and units nearing expiration were used for non-trauma patients (40%), processed to RBC (40%), and/or discarded (40%). The most common barriers to implementation were concerns about inventory management (37%), wastage (35%), infrequent use (33%), cost (21%) and unclear efficacy (14%). LTOWB utilization is increasing in pediatric level 1 trauma centers in the United States.

Solid pancreas transplant outcomes with increased donor and recipient ages compared with reference ages: a systematic review.

Increased recipient and donor age are associated with worse solid organ pancreas transplant outcomes. However, donor and recipient age criteria vary between jurisdictions. We systematically reviewed studies reporting the association between transplanting older recipients and donors beyond current Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) limits with solid pancreas transplant outcomes. To review current outcomes of solid pancreas transplantation in recipients and donors over the TSANZ reference ages. Studies comparing transplant outcomes between a reference-age and an older-age donor (>45 years) or recipient (≥50 years) cohort for solid pancreas transplantation were included. Primary outcomes were pancreas/kidney graft and patient survival at 1 and 5 years. Secondary outcomes were post-transplant complications (graft thrombosis, acute rejection and relaparotomy rates). Eleven studies were included (two studies assessing solid pancreas outcomes between older vs reference-aged donors and nine studies assessing outcomes between older vs reference-aged recipients). Seven of 11 studies were judged to be at high risk of bias. Primary and secondary outcomes were not significantly different between recipient age groups in nine studies. A sensitivity analysis of older versus reference-aged studies excluding studies at high risk of bias also showed non-inferior primary and secondary outcomes at 1year. Two studies comparing outcomes by donor age showed worse graft survival but non-inferior patient survival with older donors. Increased donor or recipient age alone should not absolutely contraindicate solid pancreas transplantation, especially if other risk predictors are minimised.

Clinical Data, Chest Radiograph and Electrocardiography in the Screening for Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: The CAR2E2 Score.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is associated with adverse clinical outcomes and implicates clinical decision-making. The aim of our study was to assess the importance of different approaches in the screening for LVH. We included patients who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging and had available chest radiograph in medical documentation. Cardiothoracic ratio (CTR), transverse cardiac diameter (TCD), clinical and selected electrocardiographic (ECG)-LVH data, including the Peguero-Lo Presti criterion, were assessed. CMR–LVH was defined based on indexed left ventricular mass-to-body surface area. Receiver operating characteristics analyses showed that both the CTR and TCD (CTR: area under the curve: [AUC] = 0.857, p < 0.001; TCD: AUC = 0.788, p = 0.001) were predictors for CMR–LVH. However, analyses have shown that diagnoses made with TCD, but not CTR, were consistent with CMR–LVH. From the analyzed ECG–LVH criteria, the Peguero-Lo Presti criterion was the best predictor of LVH. The best sensitivity for screening for LVH was observed when the presence of heart failure, ≥40 years in age (each is assigned 1 point), increased TCD and positive Peguero-Lo Presti criterion (each is assigned 2 points) were combined (CAR2E2 score ≥ 3 points). CAR2E2 score may improve prediction of LVH compared to other approaches. Therefore, it may be useful in the screening for LVH in everyday clinical practice in patients with prevalent cardiovascular diseases.

Molecular epidemiological study of germline APC variant associated with hereditary gastrointestinal polyposis in dogs: current frequency in Jack Russell Terriers in Japan and breed distribution

BackgroundCases of gastrointestinal (GI) neoplastic polyps in Jack Russell Terriers (JRTs) have increased in Japan since the late 2000s. We recently demonstrated that JRTs with GI polyps heterozygously harbor an identical germline variant in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene, c.[462_463delinsTT]; therefore, this is an autosomal dominant hereditary disease. We conducted a molecular epidemiological study to explore the current frequency of the APC variant in JRTs in Japan and the breed distribution of this disease.ResultsPeripheral blood samples from 792 JRTs were collected at 93 veterinary hospitals in Japan in 2020. Using an established polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay, the germline APC variant was detected in 15 JRTs, with an overall frequency of 1.89%. The frequency was not significantly different for sex, age, and coat type criteria. Notably, the variant carriers had a current or previous history of GI neoplastic polyps, providing further evidence of the association of the germline APC variant with GI polyposis. Pedigree analysis of carrier dogs revealed that the germline APC variant was no longer confined to a few specific families but was widely spread among JRTs in Japan. Furthermore, some ancestors of the carriers were from Australia or New Zealand, suggesting the possible presence of carriers in countries other than Japan. Next, we retrospectively investigated the germline APC variant status of dogs with GI epithelial tumors using genomic DNA samples extracted from archived pathological specimens (28 purebred dogs of 14 breeds and four mixed-breed dog), as well as those stored in a canine genome bank (38 dogs of 18 breeds and a mixed-breed dogs). In total, 66 purebred dogs of 25 breeds, including another four JRTs, and five mixed-breed dogs were examined. While three variant carriers were found in JRTs, the germline APC variant was not detected in any of the other breeds.ConclusionThe current frequency of the germline APC variant was approximately 2% in JRTs in Japan and the frequency remained roughly flat during the last 15 years. In addition, hereditary GI polyposis associated with the variant was virtually specific to JRTs.

A software-based cost estimation technique in scrum using a developer's expertise

BackgroundScrum methodology is the most useful and adopted part of the agile methodology. Many organizations are adopting Scrum for the last decade to meet their software requirements. It is facilitating the software industries to develop software applications according to the user's requirements. ObjectiveScrum helps to fulfill the customer's requirements by interacting with the client and developer. Instead of this, scrum still has some challenges that influence the cost of a scrum. These challenging factors include coordination, team size, change request, complexity, and issues in daily meeting sessions. Due to these factors mostly the cost and time exceed scrum-based projects. To overcome these issues from the accurate and precise estimation in the scrum project we have developed a web-based software system to estimate the effort of a user story as well as the budget. MethodologyThere are some sophisticated cost estimation techniques for scrum-based projects. But all estimation techniques have some limitations that make them less useful for estimation and overcoming the effects of these factors in the scrum. We have surveyed the multiple software industries to get the static findings of the survey. We have designed the 30 hypotheses that main aim to reveal how much the proposed estimation technique is valuable for the accuracy of estimation. For the inclusion of participants, we have set the age criteria to get the opinions of the most experienced programmers. ResultsThe main aim of this paper is to provide knowledge about key challenging factors in Scrum that cause exceed in cost and time, and also briefly explain why existing scrum cost estimation techniques are not pertinent for projects. In the last, we propose a framework as a solution to manage these factors and control cost and time from exceeding. We also adopted this estimation technique in different case studies in software industries for findings and results. The technique calculates the efforts autonomously. We design a software-based estimation technique that collects inputs from team/s and estimates the cost and time of a project. ConclusionIn outcomes, we found that our cost estimation approach reduced the issues from scrum software project development and make it more proficient for estimation of projects. Our proposed estimation technique introduced the new concept of estimation that facilitate the client, software industry, and developers as well to meet the requirements of the client, fulfill the changes during the sprints/s development and deliver the project within the time and cost.

Rochester Criteria and Yale Observation Scale Score to Evaluate Febrile Neonates with Invasive Bacterial Infection

BackgroundFebrile neonates undergo lumbar puncture (LP), empiric antibiotic administration, and admission for increased risk of invasive bacterial infection (IBI), defined as bacteremia and meningitis. ObjectiveMeasure IBI prevalence in febrile neonates, and operating characteristics of Rochester Criteria (RC), Yale Observation Scale (YOS) score, and demographics as a low-risk screening tool. MethodsSecondary analysis of healthy febrile infants < 60 days old presenting to any of 26 emergency departments in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network between December 2008 and May 2013. Of 7334 infants, 1524 met our inclusion criteria of age ≤ 28 days. All had fevers and underwent evaluation for IBI. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve and transparent decision tree analysis were used to determine the applicability of reassuring RC, YOS, and age parameters as an IBI low-risk screening tool. ResultsOf 1524 neonates, 2.9% had bacteremia and 1.5% had meningitis. After applying RC and YOS, 15 neonates were incorrectly identified as low risk for IBI (10 bacteremia, 4 meningitis, 1 bacteremia, and meningitis). Age ≤ 18 days was a statistically significant variable ROC (area under curve 0.63, p < 0.05). Incorporating age > 18 days as low-risk criteria with reassuring RC and YOS misclassified 7 IBI patients (6 bacteremia, 1 meningitis). ConclusionThirty percent of febrile neonates met low-risk criteria, age > 18 days, reassuring RC and YOS, and could avoid LP and empiric antibiotics. Our low-risk guidelines may improve patient safety and reduce health care costs by decreasing lab testing for cerebrospinal fluid, empiric antibiotic administration, and prolonged hospitalization. These results are hypothesis-generating and should be verified with a randomized prospective study.

Nutritional and health status of a cohort of school-age children born to mothers treated for severe acute malnutrition in their childhood in The Democratic Republic of Congo.

BackgroundMalnutrition is a public health problem, but outside the theoretical framework, little is known about the concrete intergenerational effects of malnutrition.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to compare the nutritional status and health indicators of school children born to mothers who were treated for severe acute malnutrition (SAM).MethodologyThe study took place in Miti-Murhesa health zone in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a cohort study assessing the nutritional and health status of school children born to mothers who had been treated for SAM, based on WHZ or edema, in Lwiro hospital between 1988–2002 compared to children born to mothers who were not exposed to SAM. Stunting and thinness were evaluated by Height for Age Z-score (HAZ) and Body Mass Index by Age criteria (BMIAZ) respectively. On admission, blood samples were taken to assess anemia, HIV serology, hemogram and others biological indicators. Stool’s examinations were conducted by using Olympus optical microscope. Parametric and non-parametric tests were applied to compare the different variables in two groups.ResultsWe identified 106 children aged 5–16 years (103 exposed and 58 unexposed) and we received 83.5% and 91.4% children respectively for anthropometric parameters. The mean of age was 7.9 ± 2.4 year in exposed group and 7.4 ± 2.1 year in unexposed group (p = 0.26). The prevalence of stunting was 68.3% in the exposed group and 67.3% in the unexposed group (p = 0.90). The prevalence of thinness was 12.8% in the exposed group and 9.6% in the unexposed group (p = 0.57). The biological profile (glycemia, urea, creatinine and hemogram) and the prevalence of intestinal parasites were similar in the two groups.ConclusionIn this sample, in a malnutrition-endemic area, there was no statistically significant difference in nutrition and health indicators between school children born to mothers exposed to SAM and their community controls.

Relation between Selenium and Female Fertility: A Systematic Review.

To analyze the influence of selenium in female fertility. A search was performed in the following databases: MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, LILACS, MDPI, ScienceDirect, and Europe PMC. The descriptors selected were "selenium" AND "female" AND "fertility". The search interval was from 1996 to 2021. The evaluation was performed independently by two reviewers, and a third reviewer confirmed the inclusion of papers in case of divergence between the first two reviewers. Papers were selected after the title and abstract were read, and those that met the eligibility criteria had the full text read. The following data was extracted: author, year of publication, country, type of study, objective, method, sample size, follow-up period, patients' mean age, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and concentration of serum and capillary selenium. The data was organized in chronological order of paper publication. The number of papers identified totaled 3,800, out of which 7 were included in the systematic review. The studies indicated a positive correlation between serum selenium and antioxidant concentration in the follicular fluid, reduction in antithyroid antibodies, oocyte production and follicle number. Selenium supplementation is promising in women with this micronutrient deficiency to promote improvement of the reproductive efficiency and prevent damage to the pregnancy. Further studies on this theme are still required.

Skipping breakfast and excess weight among young people: the moderator role of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity

The present study aimed to test whether the daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) engaged moderate the relationship between breakfast status and excess weight (i.e., overweight and/or obesity) in a Spanish sample of young people. A cross-sectional study involving a total sample of 2890 Spanish schoolchildren (46% girls) aged 6−17 years (M = 12.3 ± 2.6) was conducted. To determine the habit of having breakfast, a dichotomous item about breakfast status (yes/no) from the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children and teenagers (KIDMED) was used. Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children and the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents were fulfilled to offer an estimation of the minutes of MVPA that individuals had in the last seven days. Body mass index (BMI) was converted into z-scores and, therefore, excess weight status (i.e., overweight and/or obesity) was established according to World Health Organization criteria for sex and age. Skipping breakfast was positively related with BMI (z-score) and excess weight. Moderation analyses suggested that daily MVPA minutes moderated the association between skipping breakfast and BMI (boys: β = − 0.175; girls: β = − 0.073) or the excess weight (boys: OR = 1.10; CI 95%, 1.02 to 1.07; girls: OR = 1.14; CI 95%, 1.04 to 1.24), meaning that physical activity of sufficient intensity seems to reduce the effect of skipping breakfast on the body weight status of young people.Conclusion: Our results indicate that promotion of having breakfast should be accompanied by daily MVPA, as young participants who have breakfast and with higher daily MVPA seem to be more likely to have no excess weight.What is Known:• Some of the well-studied factors associated with childhood obesity have been skipping breakfast and insufficient physical activity.• Some studies have pointed out the association between having breakfast and both body mass index and physical activity level, in isolation.What is New:• Daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity moderate the association between skipping breakfast and excess weight.• Breakfast promotion as a healthy eating habit should be accompanied by increases in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, since participants who have breakfast and with higher moderate-to-vigorous physical activity seem to be more likely to have no excess weight.

Improving outcomes for women aged 70 years or above with early breast cancer: research programme including a cluster RCT

Improving outcomes for women aged 70 years or above with early breast cancer: research programme including a cluster RCT

Association of Diet Quality With Longevity and Successful Aging in Israeli Adults 65 Years or Older

To our knowledge, the role of overall diet quality in successful aging has not been conclusively demonstrated. To prospectively examine the association between diet quality and longevity and successful aging in a population-based cohort of older adults. Participants in "Mabat Zahav" (the Israeli National Health and Nutrition Survey of Older Adults), an older adult cohort (aged ≥65 years) consisting of a random sample of 1770 individuals, were recruited from July 2005 to December 2006 (time 1 [T1]). Survivors of T1 were again contacted and asked to participate in a second interview. From May 2017 to June 2019 (time 2 [T2]), an extensive face-to-face interview and a functional assessment were conducted in each participant's home in a subsample of 604 participants from T1, representing 72.7% of 820 surviving individuals who were able to complete interviews and assessments. A 24-hour dietary recall, assessed at T1, was used to calculate scores from the 2015 version of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015) (scores range from 0 [worst diet] to 100 [best diet]). Time to death, with follow-up lasting through June 2019, and successful aging. The latter, based on T2 assessment, was defined as (objectively measured) preserved physical and cognitive function and (subjective) mental well-being and favorable self-rated health. Inverse probability weighting was used in the analysis to minimize attrition bias. At T1, the study included 1770 participants (mean [SD] age, 74.6 [6.2] years; 943 women [53%]). On average, participants with higher HEI-2015 scores had healthier lifestyles and higher socioeconomic status at T1. During a median follow-up duration of 12.6 years (IQR, 7.6-13.2 years), 893 deaths occurred. Among the 596 T2 participants analyzed (mean [SD] age, 84.1 [4.4] years; 334 [56%] women), 242 (40%) met successful aging criteria. After adjustment for sociodemographic and lifestyle risk factors, a higher HEI-2015 score was inversely associated with mortality (hazard ratios, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.72-0.99 in the upper tertile and 0.83; 95% CI, 0.71-0.98 in the middle tertile vs the lower tertile; P = .04 for trend) and was positively associated with successful aging (odds ratios, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.10-2.72 in the upper tertile and 1.30; 95% CI, 0.83-2.03 in the middle tertile vs the lower tertile; P = .03 for trend). In this cohort study of older adults in Israel, improved diet quality was associated with increased longevity and successful aging in a dose-dependent manner. These data contribute to the body of literature that suggests diet quality is associated with aging in the older age group.

PROFIL PERESEPAN PENGGUNAAN ANTIHIPERTENSI PADA PASIEN RAWAT JALAN DI PUSKESMAS SUNGAI ULIN PERIODE OKTOBER 2020

Hypertension is a disease that often causes death because many people do not realize it. People have hypertension if the blood pressure above 140/90 mmHg after regular checking. In Sungai Ulin Public health center, hypertension is the second-highest disease. The study aimed to determine the characteristics of hypertensive patients and the profile of prescribing the use of anti-hypertensive drugs in outpatients in the period October 2020 at Sungai Ulin Public health center. This research is an observational descriptive study using retrospective data with the inclusion criteria. A population of all prescription anti-hypertensive drugs given to outpatients in the period October 2020 in Sungai Ulin Public health center (87 prescriptions). The results showed the percentage of prescription use of anti-hypertensive drugs, namely women who received more anti-hypertensive prescriptions as many as 59 (65,02%) prescriptions, while the age criteria from &gt; 65 years was (26,43%). The majority of drugs were given in Puskesmas Sungai Ulin was amlodipine with a percentage of 72,41%.

Treatment Modalities for Chronic Pain in Elderly Patients With Depression: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To review the best pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions in the management of chronic pain in elderly patients with depression.Data Sources: A systematic review of the literature was performed following the PRISMA guidelines and using PubMed. Articles published from 2010 to 2020 were included in the search. Search terms included (major depressive disorder OR MDD OR unipolar depression) AND (chronic pain) AND (elderly).Study Selection: The PubMed search identified 540 articles. All studies were in English and included reports about pain and depression in elderly individuals aged ≥ 65 years.Data Extraction: Articles were reviewed in 2 phases: abstract review followed by full-text review.Results: Abstracts were reviewed for relevance, and a total of 37 articles were identified for full-text review. In this phase, articles not meeting the elderly age criteria (≥ 65 years) or not discussing any treatment modalities were excluded. Nine papers were included after full-text review. The results showed co-occurrence of chronic pain and depression in 13% of the elderly population. Common pain symptoms were related to cancer, back pain, and arthritis.Conclusions: The findings emphasize the importance of individualized assessment of chronic pain in elderly patients with mood disorders such as depression. Since chronic pain and depression are independent risk factors for suicide, it is crucial to complete a thorough history and physical examination and to apply relevant screening tools for both depression and pain.

Social group "65 plus": Pandemic's ethical dilemma

Background: The conditions of the emergency create an unprecedented, but legitimate approach, when the rights and freedoms of the individual can be limited in the public interest. From the first days of the pandemic, a special social group of the population began to stand out, with the code name "65+".&#x0D; Aim: to give an ethical assessment of the attitude of society to the population group "65+", to show the contradiction between medical and bioethical approaches to the criteria for selecting a group.&#x0D; Materials and methods: The review of fundamental and modern works in the problem field was carried out. The empirical basis of the work was the materials of a sociological survey using Google forms (N = 520).&#x0D; Results: According to the analysis of statistical indicators of employment in the Russia before the pandemic (2019), the share of employees aged 6064 years was 32,4 %, in the range of 6569 years 13,7% of the size of the age group, which indicates the high social activity of the 65+ group (approximately every third or fourth pensioner continues to work) and demonstrates the labor potential of the group. At the same time, anti-epidemic measures related to restrictions on labor and social activity primarily affected this group, which led to stigmatization based on the age criterion. The long-term confrontation with the pandemic has weakened the psychological tactics of treating older patients that have not been fully developed in the national health care, based on the ethics of care. A survey of medical students (aged 2124) conducted in March 2021 showed that the majority (82,8 %) of respondents viewed restrictions as unacceptable discrimination.&#x0D; Conclusion: The review of updated research and the analysis of the current situation have shown that the phenomenon of the aging of the nation and the vulnerability of the older age group of the population to a new coronavirus infection have led to a contradiction in approaches to the considered age group from the standpoint of medicine and bioethics. The inherently humane measure of protection for a group that is especially vulnerable in terms of medical indicators began to be perceived by the society as a reason for stigmatization. The solution to the dilemma is possible in the context of the convergence of medical and human sciences in the interdisciplinary problem field of gerontology and geriatrics.

ML-Based Aging Monitoring and Lifetime Prediction of IoT Devices With Cost-Effective Embedded Tags for Edge and Cloud Operability

The growing number of smart connected devices raises challenges in system reliability. Prediction of failures in IoT ecosystems is a significant problem, especially in smart healthcare or financial transfers. In this work, a novel framework and a costefficient (power consumption and area) aging tag for remaining useful life estimation of IoT devices are introduced. Utilizing the proposed comprehensive system prevents failures in large IoT ecosystems. We chose the threshold voltage, a fundamental parameter of transistors as the aging criterion. Also, we considered PVT effects on the threshold voltage in the creation or selection of the proper comparison profile. The proposed framework is implemented in three distinct types of cloud ML, edge ML, and a combination of proportion estimation and Zscore. Choosing between these three types is a trade-off between accuracy and minimum resources requirement. A sample tag is fabricated and simulation and fabrication results verified the performance of the proposed system. The cloud ML framework estimated the remaining useful life of various test scenarios with less than 1% error. This means the system estimates the remaining lifetime for the next ten years with two weeks error. Furthermore, the implementation of optimized anomaly detection methods eliminates probable errors of measurement, storage, and data transmission.