OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed to determine the geospatial, seasonal, age and gender prevalence and intensity of UgS; and to establish disease maps in the Ase-Niger River communities for effective drug administration.
METHODS: This study employed a 24 months longitudinal study design for parasitological investigations in 11 riparian communities of the Ase-Niger River basin, taking into cognizance their GPS locations imported into QGIS software for schistosomiasis mapping.
METHODS: A total of 7,219 urine samples with WHO structured questionnaires were retrieved and subjected to parasitological evaluation using swinnex urine filtration techniques.
RESULTS: An overall prevalence of 48.10% was established. Geospatially, prevalence ranges from 34.27% (Ivrogbo) to 52.29% (Ase) with seasonal significant difference (p < 0.05) accounting for 76.19% of the total variance. Ashaka had the highest prevalence for both males (55.73%) and females (53.32%) with significant difference in the study sites (p < 0.05) accounting for 96.47% of the total variance. Age-group 11-20 years consistently maintain a high prevalence at all sites. The peak geometric mean intensity of 105.69 was obtained in the dry season at Lagos Iyede. Ashaka, Igbuku, Iyede-Ame, and Onogboko had heavy-intensity levels in both seasons. Overall, the intensity was lower during the wet season than the dry season, with significant variations (p < 0.05) at Awah and Itobi-Ige. Geospatial prevalence and intensity have a robust and strong positive correlation (r = 0.7178; p = 0.0129), with 51.53% of intensity variability being influenced by prevalence (R2 = 0.5153).
CONCLUSIONS: UgS is a significant public health issue in the Ase-Niger River basin, with prevalences surpassing the national average of 29.0% which calls for MDA in these settlements.

BACKGROUND: The Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) clinical practice guideline recommends administering an effluent volume of 20-25 mL/kg/h during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for acute kidney injury. Recent evidence on CRRT initiation showed that less intervention might be beneficial for renal recovery. This study aimed to explore the association between early-phase low CRRT intensity and acid-base balance corrections and clinical outcomes.
METHODS: This was a single-centre, retrospective, observational study at a tertiary intensive care unit (ICU) in Japan. All adult patients requiring CRRT in the ICU were included. Eligible patients were classified into the Low group (dialysate flow rate [QD] 10.0-19.9 mL/kg/h) and the Standard group (QD ≥20 mL/kg/h) by the intensity of CRRT at the beginning. The primary outcomes were acid-base parameters 6 h after CRRT initiation. We used an inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis to estimate the association between the intensity group and the outcomes.
RESULTS: Overall, 194 patients were classified into the Low group (n = 144) and the Standard group (n = 50). The Standard group presented with more severe acid-base disturbances, including lower pH and base excess (BE) at baseline. At 6 h after CRRT initiation, pH, BE, and strong ion difference values were comparable, even after adjusting for baseline severity. Despite the efficient correction, no evident differences were observed in clinical outcomes between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS: The initial standard intensity appeared to be efficient in correcting acid-base imbalance at the early phase of CRRT; however, further studies are needed to assess the impact on clinical outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting approximately 1% of the world\'s population. Increasing evidence suggests that aerobic physical exercise can be beneficial in mitigating both motor and nonmotor symptoms of the disease. In a recent pilot study of the role of exercise on PD, we sought to confirm exercise intensity by monitoring heart rate (HR). For this purpose, we asked participants to wear a chest strap HR monitor (Polar Electro Oy) and the Fitbit Charge 4 (Fitbit Inc) wrist-worn HR monitor as a potential proxy due to its convenience. Polar H10 has been shown to provide highly accurate R-R interval measurements. Therefore, we treated it as the gold standard in this study. It has been shown that Fitbit Charge 4 has comparable accuracy to Polar H10 in healthy participants. It has yet to be determined if the Fitbit is as accurate as Polar H10 in patients with PD during rest and exercise.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare Fitbit Charge 4 to Polar H10 for monitoring HR in patients with PD at rest and during an intensive exercise program.
METHODS: A total of 596 exercise sessions from 11 (6 male and 5 female) participants were collected simultaneously with both devices. Patients with early-stage PD (Hoehn and Yahr ≤2) were enrolled in a 6-month exercise program designed for patients with PD. They participated in 3 one-hour exercise sessions per week. They wore both Fitbit and Polar H10 during each session. Sessions included rest, warm-up, intense exercise, and cool-down periods. We calculated the bias in the HR of the Fitbit Charge 4 at rest (5 min) and during intense exercise (20 min) by comparing the mean HR during each of the periods to the respective means measured by Polar H10 (HRFitbit - HRPolar). We also measured the sensitivity and specificity of Fitbit Charge 4 to detect average HRs that exceed the threshold for intensive exercise, defined as 70% of an individual\'s theoretical maximum HR. Different types of correlations between the 2 devices were investigated.
RESULTS: The mean bias was 1.68 beats per minute (bpm) at rest and 6.29 bpm during high-intensity exercise, with an overestimation by Fitbit Charge 4 in both conditions. The mean bias of the Fitbit across both rest and intensive exercise periods was 3.98 bpm. The device\'s sensitivity in identifying high-intensity exercise sessions was 97.14%. The correlation between the 2 devices was nonlinear, suggesting Fitbit\'s tendency to saturate at high values of HR.
CONCLUSIONS: The performance of Fitbit Charge 4 is comparable to Polar H10 for assessing exercise intensity in a cohort of patients with PD (mean bias 3.98 bpm). The device could be considered a reasonable surrogate for more cumbersome chest-worn devices in future studies of clinical cohorts.

UNASSIGNED: With existing undernutrition in the developing world, the prevalence of obesity is increasing rapidly. Some studies reported an association of intestinal parasitic infection (IPIs) with undernutrition while few recent studies reported an inverse association of IPIs with overweight and obesity. This study evaluated the comparative risk and associated factors of IPIs among under (body mass index [BMI] < 18.5), normal (BMI: 18.5-24.9) and overweight (BMI > 24.9) school-aged adolescents.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 105 fecal samples were collected, with 35 samples from each group. The collected samples were tested for the presence of intestinal parasites via concentration method, and the parasites were identified morphologically.
UNASSIGNED: Overall prevalence of IPIs was 5.71% with 3 protozoa viz Giardia lamblia (2.86%), Entamoeba histolytica (1.90%) and Endolimax nana (0.95%). Univariate and multivariable regression analysis indicated none of the nutritional, socioeconomic status, demographic, lifestyle and behavioral characteristics were significantly associated with the prevalence of overall IPIs. Yet, significant numbers of male reported undernutrition and elevated risk of IPIs in this study population.
UNASSIGNED: Despite low prevalence of IPIs in this study, risk of IPIs is attributable to individual differences in behavior like \"not using soap for hand washing\". Relatively elevated malnutrition with risky hygiene behaviors, male adolescents appeared as risky cluster of school age population.

This crossover randomized controlled trial examined the acute psychological effects of a bout of moderate-intensity continuous aerobic exercise (MICE) and a bout of high-intensity functional exercise (HIFE), relative to a no-exercise sedentary control (SED), in participants (N = 21; 15 f; 24.7 ± 9.3 years) with subsyndromal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Affective state (Energy, Tiredness, Tension, Calmness) was assessed before (Pre), immediately after (Post 0), 20-min after (Post 20), and 40-min after (Post 40) each condition. Affective valence was assessed during each condition, and exercise enjoyment was assessed at Post 0. Enjoyment was significantly greater following HIFE and MICE relative to SED. Energy was significantly increased Post 0 HIFE and MICE but decreased Post 0 SED. Tension was reduced following all conditions and was significantly lower at Post 40 relative to Pre for HIFE, MICE, and SED. Tiredness was significantly reduced at Post 40 relative to Pre following MICE only, while Calmness was significantly lower at Post 40 relative to Pre following MICE and SED. Overall, both exercise conditions were enjoyed to a greater extent than the control, but MICE may provide greater psychological benefits with respect to Calmness and Tiredness. This study is among the first to assess acute changes in affective states relative to various exercise modes in individuals living with subsyndromal PTSD.

Physical activity is universally acknowledged for its benefits to mental health; however, the specific intensities and timings that best benefit adolescents\' mental health, crucial due to their significant influence on daily schedules, have not been thoroughly investigated. This study addresses the substantive research gap by exploring the varied effects of physical activity intensity (light versus moderate to vigorous) and timing (weekdays versus weekends and holidays) on adolescent mental health. Utilizing a large-scale longitudinal dataset (NT1 = 84,054; NT2 = 44,623) from 158 schools, this research describes the current state of adolescent physical activity and investigates the effects of physical activity on mental health outcomes, including positive (i.e., life satisfaction, positive mental health) and negative indicators (depression, anxiety), over a 6-month period. Participants were adolescents aged 9-19 years (mean age = 12.73 ± 2.43 years, 48.9% female), with the analysis adjusted for potential confounding factors. Results showed that as adolescents grow older, their engagement in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during both weekdays and weekends/holidays tends to decrease, while light physical activity during weekdays increases. Multilevel regression analysis indicated that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during weekends/holidays at Time 1 positively correlated with better mental health outcomes at Time 2 (six months later), featuring enhanced positive indicators and reduced negative ones. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on weekdays at Time 1 was positively linked to mental health at Time 2. Light physical activity during weekends/holidays at Time 1 positively predicted life satisfaction and positive mental health at Time 2. In contrast, light physical activity on weekdays at Time 1 negatively correlated with life satisfaction at Time 2. The study underscores the importance of promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, particularly on weekends and holidays, to improve mental health outcomes among adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging has been shown to be a new and innovative way to illustrate the optimal resection margin in hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. This study investigated its accuracy in resection margin determination by looking into the correlation of ICG intensity gradients with pathological examination results of resected specimens.
METHODS: This was a prospective, single-center, non-randomized controlled study. Patients who had liver tumors indicating liver resection were recruited. The hypothesis was that the use of intraoperative near-infrared/ICG fluorescence imaging would be a promising guiding tool for removing hepatocellular carcinoma with a better resection margin. Patients were given ICG (0.25 mg/kg) 1 day before operation. Resected specimens were inspected under a fluorescent imaging system. Biopsies were taken from tumors and normal tissue. Color signals obtained from ICG fluorescence imaging were compared with biopsies for analysis.
RESULTS: Twenty-two patients were recruited for study. The median size of their tumors was 2.25 cm. One patient had resection margin involvement. Under ICG fluorescence, the tumors typically lighted up as yellow color, wrapped by a zone of green color. Tumors of 17 patients (77.3%) displayed yellow color and were confirmed malignancy, while tumors of 12 patients (54.5%) displayed green color and were confirmed malignancy. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to measure the sensitivity and specificity of the green color to look for a clear resection margin. The area under the curve was 85.3% (p = 0.019, 95% confidence interval 0.696-1.000), with a sensitivity of 0.706 and specificity of 1.000.
CONCLUSIONS: The use of ICG fluorescence can be helpful in determining resection margins. Resection of tumor should include complete resection of the green zone shown in the fluorescence image.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the characteristics of responders and nonresponders to 8 weeks of exercise training to determine differences in key cardiovascular disease outcomes in people with coronary artery disease (CAD).
METHODS: Secondary analysis of data from the HIIT or MISS UK trial.
METHODS: Six outpatient National Health Service cardiac rehabilitation (CR) centers in the UK. In people with CAD attending CR, the HIIT or MISS UK trial reported that short-term, low-volume, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) was more effective than moderate-intensity steady state (MISS) exercise training for improving peak oxygen uptake (V̇o2peak).
METHODS: 382 participants with CAD (N=382) (mean age: 58.8±9.6y; mean body mass index: 29.0±4.3 kg/m2).
METHODS: We identified responders and nonresponders based on a meaningful change in V̇o2peak, using 2 established methods. Key clinical, quality of life (QoL), and cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET)-derived outcomes were compared between groups.
RESULTS: Responders were more likely to be younger (P<.05), and demonstrate greater improvement in CPET-related outcomes, for example, oxygen uptake efficiency slope, ventilatory efficiency, and peak power output (all comparisons, P<.001). Responders were more likely to observe improvements in QoL (EQ-5D-5L; mean Δ 13.6 vs mean Δ 9.4; P=.045), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (mean Δ 0.09 mmol/L vs mean Δ 0.04 mmol/L; P=.004), compared to nonresponders.
CONCLUSIONS: In people with CAD attending CR, responders to exercise training were more likely to be younger and demonstrate greater improvements in health-related QoL and HDL-c.

The study aimed to assess potential effects of vaping on individual taste and smell perception in a sample of young adult New Zealanders.
This cross-sectional study measured taste and smell perception using intensity and hedonic ratings to two olfactory (i.e., vanillin, methional) and two gustatory stimuli (i.e., sucrose, monosodium glutamate), representing sweet and savoury flavours. Detection sensitivities to sucrose and vanillin were also assessed using a forced choice detection paradigm aligned with the signal detection framework. MANCOVAs were employed to compare sensory perception between groups based on vaping use frequency. Additional regression analyses were conducted to identify potential predictors of intensity and hedonic sensory ratings.
Participants were recruited from the University of Otago student population and surrounding neighbourhoods of Dunedin, New Zealand in 2023.
The study included 213 university students (98 vapers and 115 non-vapers) RESULTS: We found a significant difference in hedonic ratings for vanillin, indicating a stronger preference among non-vapers. However, no other differences between the two groups were significant. Notably, the use of tobacco and mint flavours were emerged as significant predictors for hedonic responses to the savoury smell and sweet taste stimulus, respectively. No significant differences were observed between groups in the ability to detect weak stimuli.
Our findings suggest that vape use, particularly with specific flavours, may be associated with alterations in hedonic responses to smells. This finding may have potential implications for how vaping affects on food preferences and dietary choices.

UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to investigate the impact of acupuncture on Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) symptoms among individuals with diabetic neuropathy.
UNASSIGNED: In a single-blind, randomized trial conducted between 2019 and 2020, 60 patients diagnosed with diabetic neuropathy were enrolled. These participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group received real acupuncture alongside routine treatment once a week for seven sessions, each lasting 20 min. Meanwhile, the control group received sham acupuncture as an adjunct to their routine treatment, following the same schedule. To evaluate treatment efficacy, the study assessed primary outcomes, such as pain intensity measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes included evaluating fatigue severity and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) side effects, measured using the multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI-20) and a standard questionnaire after each session.
UNASSIGNED: No statistically significant differences in pain and fatigue scores were observed between the two groups throughout all visits, even after adjusting for baseline characteristics, age, sex, type of diabetes, discopathy, and carpal tunnel syndrome parameters (P > 0.05). The findings did not provide strong evidence supporting a significant effect of real acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture on pain and fatigue values (P = 0.267 and 0.634, respectively). However, the 95% confidence interval for pain scores (-0.35, 1.28) was inconclusive, encompassing effect sizes favoring sham acupuncture.
UNASSIGNED: Findings suggest that using acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy alongside routine treatment may not lead to a significant reduction in the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and fatigue severity among individuals with diabetic neuropathy.
UNASSIGNED: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01314-1.