Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Biomed Inform 2021 Apr 13:103787. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Dept. of Mechanical Engg., Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Maharashtra-400076, IN. Electronic address:

The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing, and the innovative and efficient contributions of the emerging modern technologies to the pandemic responses are too early and cannot be completely quantified at this moment. Digital technologies are not a final solution but are the tools that facilitate a quick and effective pandemic response. In accordance, mobile applications, robots and drones, social media platforms (such as search engines, Twitter, and Facebook), television, and associated technologies deployed in tackling the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak are discussed adequately, emphasizing the current-state-of-art. Read More

Protein J 2021 Feb 24. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Department of Chemistry, San Antonio, TX, 78249-0698, USA.

The global pandemic that shut down the world in 2020 was caused by the virus, SARS CoV-2. The chemistry of the various nonstructural proteins (NSP3, NSP5, NSP12, NSP13, NSP14, NSP15, NSP16) of SARS CoV-2 is discussed. Secondly, a recent major focus of this pandemic is the variant strains of SARS CoV-2 that are increasingly occurring and more transmissible. Read More

J Interpers Violence 2020 Dec 15:886260520978177. Epub 2020 Dec 15.

Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

This article identifies coping strategies used by economically empowered Bangladeshi women who are victims of intimate partner violence. Interviews were conducted with 19 employed women who experience abuse at the hands of their husbands and with eight community leaders. A "Cultural Biography" approach was used to determine respondents' understanding of cultural phenomena and to gain life histories from victims in order to explore coping strategies in response to the harm experienced. Read More

J Bodyw Mov Ther 2020 Oct 13;24(4):118-123. Epub 2020 Jul 13.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Electronic address:

Background: To investigate the impact of physical therapists' instructions on the perception of post dry needling (DN) soreness and function in patients with mechanical neck pain.

Methods: Seventy-five patients with neck pain were randomly assigned to three groups: "positive" group (n = 25) received positive verbal input; "negative" group (n = 25) received negative verbal input, and control group (n = 25) did not receive any input about post-needling soreness. All three groups received DN of a trigger point in the upper trapezius muscle. Read More

Genes (Basel) 2020 Oct 27;11(11). Epub 2020 Oct 27.

Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Delft University of Technology, 2628XE Delft, The Netherlands.

The current rate at which new DNA and protein sequences are being generated is too fast to experimentally discover the functions of those sequences, emphasizing the need for accurate Automatic Function Prediction (AFP) methods. AFP has been an active and growing research field for decades and has made considerable progress in that time. However, it is certainly not solved. Read More

J Interprof Care 2020 Sep 11:1-8. Epub 2020 Sep 11.

, Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.

Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to prepare health-care students to provide patient care in a collaborative team environment. However, much health-care education is delivered in places and spaces which do not support interprofessional interaction. To examine the consequences of this, we explored how a relatively new health-care education center (the "space" and "place") impacted interprofessional learning. Read More

MedEdPORTAL 2020 08 21;16:10938. Epub 2020 Aug 21.

Associate Professor, Section of Critical Care Medicine, Center for Research, Innovation and Scholarship in Medical Education, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital.

Introduction: There is a need for a standardized approach to understand and assess clinical reasoning in medical learners. The Assessment of Reasoning Tool was developed based on prevalent theories and frameworks using a multidisciplinary expert panel. As the tool provides a standardized rubric for assessing clinical reasoning, we designed an interactive train-the-trainer workshop for clinical educators and education leaders interested in improving their teaching skills and/or introducing curricula surrounding diagnostic reasoning. Read More

Chronobiol Int 2020 08 1;37(8):1270-1272. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

Bioengineering & Chronobiology Laboratories; Atlantic Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (atlanTTic), University of Vigo , Vigo, Spain.

The purpose of this communication is to respond to the continuing invalid criticism by Lemmer and Middeke of the MAPEC and Hygia Chronotherapy Trial by emphasizing the: (i) already unambiguously reported ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM)-based definition of hypertension utilized as inclusion criterion of both investigations and (ii) impact of bedtime hypertension chronotherapy on ABPM-assessed parameters and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcome for participants further categorized by influential markers of CVD risk. In so doing, we call attention to apparent unethical misconduct of Lemmer and Middeke of multiple duplicated publications of the very same unfounded criticisms. Read More

Curr Treat Options Infect Dis 2020 Jun 29:1-11. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Hospital Infection Prevention Program, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, VA USA.

Purpose Of Review: There is a continuing debate regarding contact precaution (CP) usage for endemic multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). In this review, we examine current recommendations for CP and highlight differences in CP use between endemic and non-endemic MDROs.

Recent Findings: The discontinuation of CP had no effect on the incidence of methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-resistant . Read More

JAMA Intern Med 2020 09;180(9):1225-1231

Clinical Trials and Outcomes Branch, National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.

Importance: Age-adjusted hip fracture incidence is decreasing in the US. The decrease has been attributed to osteoporosis treatment, but the cause is unknown.

Objective: To examine the decrease in hip fracture incidence over the past 40 years in the US. Read More

Pediatr Pulmonol 2021 Feb;56 Suppl 1:S97-S106

Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Attention should be given to individual and family well-being from a child's first interaction with the medical team and continuing throughout development, especially for families who experience chronic illnesses, such as cystic fibrosis (CF). While much attention has been given to the mental health of people with CF 12 years and older, this paper explores various areas for CF teams to assess and provide additional resources during the first 12 years of a child's life to promote child and family wellness. In this paper, we discuss parental mental health, social determinants of health, adherence/self-care, nutrition, attention to family lifestyle factors, engagement with school and peers, and modulator therapy for this age group of people with CF. Read More

Ann Am Thorac Soc 2020 11;17(11):1448-1454

Department of Family Medicine and the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois; and.

For an incapacitated patient who is difficult to liberate from mechanical ventilation, surrogates and physicians will decide to continue life support if they believe doing so is consistent with the patient's prognosis and values. Little is known about the factors that surrogates and physicians prioritize during this decision-making process, in part because there is not a validated method to assess their preferences. To evaluate trends in surrogate and physician preferences for continuing mechanical ventilation. Read More

Neurosurg Clin N Am 2020 Jul 23;31(3):395-405. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Neuroimaging of Epilepsy Laboratory, McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, 3801 Rue Université, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada. Electronic address:

Continuing advancements in neuroimaging methodology allow for increasingly detailed in vivo characterization of structural and functional brain networks, leading to the recognition of epilepsy as a disorder of large-scale networks. In surgical candidates, analysis of functional networks has proved invaluable for the identification of eloquent brain areas, such as hemispherical language dominance. More recently, connectome-based biomarkers have demonstrated potential to further inform clinical decision making in drug-refractory epilepsy. Read More

Water Res 2020 Jul 24;178:115854. Epub 2020 Apr 24.

Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.

Supplying safe drinking water in humanitarian emergencies is critical, and source water chlorination is a commonly implemented intervention to provide safe water. We evaluated three different source water chlorination programs (bucket, in-line, and piped water chlorination) in the ongoing humanitarian response in Cox's Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh. We used a mixed-methods research protocol including key informant interviews, water point observations, focus group discussions, household surveys, and water quality testing. Read More

Malar J 2020 Apr 10;19(1):150. Epub 2020 Apr 10.

Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK.

Background: Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is a key tool for controlling and eliminating malaria by targeting vectors. To support the development of effective intervention strategies it is important to understand the impact of vector control tools on malaria incidence and on the spread of insecticide resistance. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that countries should report on coverage and impact of IRS, yet IRS coverage data are still sparse and unspecific. Read More

Cureus 2020 Feb 10;12(2):e6942. Epub 2020 Feb 10.

Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA.

Introduction Effective debriefing during simulation-based training (SBT) is critical to promote learning outcomes. Despite debriefing's central role in learning and various published debriefing methods and techniques, little is known about faculty development structure for debriefing training among novice facilitators. Continuing medical education courses often use simulation-based methods but provide minimal training in debriefing techniques to novice facilitators. Read More

Rev Colomb Obstet Ginecol 2019 12;70(4):253-265

Residente de tercer año de Obstetricia y Ginecología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Objective: To review the concepts underlying breech presentation delivery as well as the semiology and the obstetric maneuvers contributing to a successful perinatal maternal outcome.

Methods: Based on a hypothetical scenario to set the stage for a practical approach to the topic, an explanatory paper built on a narrative review is created in order to examine the principles related to diagnosis, mechanism of delivery and maternal care, emphasizing maneuvers to ease fetal extraction.

Results: Breech presentation delivery must be managed through the vaginal canal when already in the expulsion phase with fetal engagement. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Jun 11;719:137236. Epub 2020 Feb 11.

City of East Chicago, Utilities Department, East Chicago, IN, USA.

Safe drinking water at the point of use (tapwater, TW) is a public-health priority. TW exposures and potential human-health concerns of 540 organics and 35 inorganics were assessed in 45 Chicago-area United States (US) homes in 2017. No US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level(s) (MCL) were exceeded in any residential or water treatment plant (WTP) pre-distribution TW sample. Read More

Thromb Haemost 2020 Feb 30;120(2):199-206. Epub 2019 Dec 30.

Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Current evidence supports the use of low-dose aspirin for secondary cardiovascular prevention. By contrast, the benefit-to-risk ratio of aspirin use in primary prevention is debated: three contemporary randomized control trials have been conflicting, and meta-analyses have concluded for an unclear clinical benefit, based on the consideration that the reduction in thromboembolic events is counterbalanced by increased bleeding. The primary prevention setting is, however, a heterogeneous mix of subjects at highly variable cardiovascular risk. Read More

J Cancer Surviv 2020 02 4;14(1):53-58. Epub 2019 Nov 4.

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd., NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.

Purpose: It is well-established that persistent tobacco use among patients with cancer results in numerous adverse outcomes. However, the assessment and treatment of tobacco use with evidence-based methods have been lacking in cancer care. Our cancer center has established its first tobacco treatment program, a multidisciplinary, evidence-based, clinical program for hematology/oncology patients. Read More

Front Psychol 2019 28;10:1790. Epub 2019 Aug 28.

Department of Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti Marche Nord, Pesaro, Italy.

In 1895 in the Project for a Scientific Psychology, Freud tried to integrate psychology and neurology in order to develop a neuroscientific psychology. Since 1880, Freud made no distinction between psychology and physiology. His papers from the end of the 1880s to 1890 were very clear on this scientific overlap: as with many of his contemporaries, Freud thought about psychology essentially as the physiology of the brain. Read More

Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 2019 09;84(3):7-185

University of Kentucky.

In this monograph, we argue for the establishment of a developmental science of politics that describes, explains, and predicts the formation and change of individuals' political knowledge, attitudes, and behavior beginning in childhood and continuing across the life course. Reflecting our goal of contributing both theoretical conceptualizations and empirical data, we have organized the monograph into two broad sections. In the first section, we outline theoretical contributions that the study of politics may make to developmental science and provide practical reasons that empirical research in the domain of politics is important (e. Read More

Neuromuscul Disord 2019 09 21;29(9):693-697. Epub 2019 Aug 21.

Highly Specialised Mitochondrial Diagnostic Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.

We report a novel mitochondrial m.4414T>C variant in the mt-tRNA (MT-TM) gene in an adult patient with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia and myopathy whose muscle biopsy revealed focal cytochrome c oxidase (COX)-deficient and ragged red fibres. The m. Read More

Crit Care Nurse 2019 Aug;39(4):e1-e7

Julia McSweeney, Emily Rosenholm, and Katherine Penny are nurse practitioners, Cardiology Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. Mary P. Mullen is Associate Director, Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Program, Boston Children's Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Thomas J. Kulik is Director, Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Program, Boston Children's Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension is a rare, life-threatening disease with limited therapeutic options and no definitive cure. Continuous intravenous prostacyclin therapy is indicated for treatment of severe disease. These medications have a narrow therapeutic index and a brief half-life; therefore, administration errors can be lethal. Read More

Rand Health Q 2019 May 16;8(3). Epub 2019 May 16.

The RAND Arroyo Center conducted a 2014 formal needs assessment survey of active component soldiers at 40 installations. The original study described a broad landscape of needs in such areas as quality of life support services provided to help families cope with a variety of challenges. In this study, new analysis of those survey data explores differences at the garrison level and includes additional focus group data. Read More

Curr Opin Psychiatry 2019 09;32(5):409-415

Department of Clinical Psychiatry, CHU de Besançon, CIC-1431 INSERM, CHU de Besançon, EA481 Neurosciences, University Bourgogne Franche-Comte, FondaMental Foundation, 94000 Creteil, France.

Purpose Of Review: After three decades of clinical research on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), major depressive disorder (MDD) has proven to be the primary field of application. MDD poses a major challenge for health systems worldwide, emphasizing the need for improving clinical efficacy of existing rTMS applications and promoting the development of novel evidence-based rTMS treatment approaches.

Recent Findings: Several promising new avenues have been proposed: novel stimulation patterns, targets, and coils; combinatory treatments and maintenance; and personalization and stratification of rTMS parameters, and treatment of subpopulations. Read More

Semin Neurol 2019 Feb 11;39(1):102-114. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Functional Neurology Research Group, Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

Functional neurological disorders (FND) are complex and prevalent neuropsychiatric conditions. Importantly, some patients with FND develop acute onset symptoms requiring emergency department (ED) evaluations. Historically, FND was a "rule-out" diagnosis, making assessment and management in the ED difficult. Read More

Paediatr Child Health 2018 07 12;23(4):271-277. Epub 2018 Jun 12.

Canadian Paediatric Society, Adolescent Health Committee, Ottawa, Ontario.

Sexual and reproductive health is an important component of comprehensive health care for youth. This statement provides guidance for selecting and prescribing contraceptives for youth, including commonly prescribed hormonal contraceptives-the pill, patch, ring and injectable progestin-and long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). LARCs, including subdermal implants (which are not available in Canada) and intrauterine contraceptives (IUCs), are substantially more effective during typical use than hormonal contraceptives. Read More

Environ Sci Technol 2018 12 27;52(24):14402-14410. Epub 2018 Nov 27.

Independent Consultant, Amman 11181 , Jordan.

To provide safe drinking water and reduce the risk of disease, emergency responders in southern Syria are implementing a multilevel risk reduction strategy with the aim of ensuring free chlorine residual (FCR) in household drinking water. Responders implemented activities across the water chain (from chlorination station and well operators to water vendors to household members), including distribution of supplies for chlorination and training on chlorine use; activities varied by responder. We evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions in a cross-sectional observation study including interviews and observations with 24 chlorination station operators and 63 well owners/managers; interviews, observations, and water quality testing with 220 water truckers; and surveys and water quality testing with 1006 households. Read More

Nephrol Nurs J 2018 Jul-Aug;45(4):357-368

Professor, Korea University College of Nursing, Republic of Korea, Korea University, 145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-Gu, 02841, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

This study explored subjectivity frames of reference of resilience of patients on hemodialysis by using Q methodology. Participants included 35 patients on hemodialysis. Data were obtained from October to December 2016 and were analyzed by the PQ method. Read More