Which Electronic Health Record System Should We Use? A Systematic Review

The UK government had intended to introduce a comprehensive Electronic Health Record (EHR) system in England by 2020. These EHRs would run across primary, secondary, and social care, linking data in a single digital platform. The objectives of this systematic review were to identify studies that compare EHR in terms of direct comparison between systems and to evaluate them using System and Software Quality Requirements and Evaluation (SQuaRE) ISO/IEC 25010. A systematic review was performed by searching Embase and Ovid MEDLINE databases between 1974 and April 2021. All original studies that appraised EHR systems and their providers were included. The main outcome measures were EHR system comparison and the eight characteristics of SQuaRE: functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability. A total of 724 studies were identified using the search criteria. After a review of titles and abstracts, this was filtered down to 40 studies as per the exclusion and inclusion criteria set out in our study. Seven studies compared more than one EHR. The following number of studies looked at the various aspects of the SQuaRE, respectively − 19 studies: functional suitability, performance efficiency: 18 studies, compatibility: 12 studies, usability: 25 studies, reliability: 6 studies, security: 2 studies, maintainability: 16 studies, portability: 13 studies. Epic was the most studied EHR system and one of the most implemented systems in the US market and one of the top ten in the UK. It is difficult to assess which is the most advantageous EHR system when they are assessed by SQuaRE''s 8 characteristics for software evaluation.     

Microencapsulation of Citrus aurantifolia essential oil with the optimized CaCl2 crosslinker and its antibacterial study for cosmetic textiles

A functional fabric immobilized by the microcapsules of C. aurantifolia lime essential oil (LO) was prepared and characterized. A varied amount of CaCl₂ crosslinker was optimized to coacervate LO using alginate–gelatin biopolymers and Tween 80 emulsifier. A further evaluation of the immobilized LO microcapsules for the antibacterial effect against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was conducted. The optimized alginate/gelatin-based microcapsules were effectively crosslinked by 15% CaCl₂ with an yield, oil content (OC), and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 39.91 ± 3.10%, 78.33 ± 7.53%, and 90.27 ± 5.84%, respectively. A spherical shape of LO microcapsules was homogeneously found with an average particle size of 1.394 μm. A first-order kinetics mechanism for the release of LO out of the microcapsules was modeled by Avrami''s kinetic equation (k = 1.60 ± 3.68 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹). The LO microcapsules demonstrated good thermal stability up to 100 °C and maintained 51.07% OC and 43.56% EE at ambient temperature for three weeks. Using a pad dry method and citric acid binder, LO microcapsules were successfully immobilized on a cloth with a % add on 30.60 ± 1.80%. The LO microcapsules and the immobilized one exhibited a moderate ZoI of bacterial growth for Gram-positive S. aureus and S. epidermidis as well as Gram-negative E. coli and K. pneumonia. Further washing test toward the functional fabric showed that the LO microcapsules incorporated into the fabric were resistant to five cycles of normal washing with a mass reduction of 22.01 ± 1.69%.

A functional fabric immobilized by the microcapsules of C. aurantifolia lime essential oil (LO) was prepared and characterized.     

Weekly Nowcasting of New COVID-19 Cases Using Past Viral Load Measurements

The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 has imposed clinical and financial burdens on hospitals and governments attempting to provide patients with medical care and implement disease-controlling policies. The transmissibility of the disease was shown to be correlated with the patient’s viral load, which can be measured during testing using the cycle threshold (Ct). Previous models have utilized Ct to forecast the trajectory of the spread, which can provide valuable information to better allocate resources and change policies. However, these models combined other variables specific to medical institutions or came in the form of compartmental models that rely on epidemiological assumptions, all of which could impose prediction uncertainties. In this study, we overcome these limitations using data-driven modeling that utilizes Ct and previous number of cases, two institution-independent variables. We collected three groups of patients (n = 6296, n = 3228, and n = 12,096) from different time periods to train, validate, and independently validate the models. We used three machine learning algorithms and three deep learning algorithms that can model the temporal dynamic behavior of the number of cases. The endpoint was 7-week forward number of cases, and the prediction was evaluated using mean square error (MSE). The sequence-to-sequence model showed the best prediction during validation (MSE = 0.025), while polynomial regression (OLS) and support vector machine regression (SVR) had better performance during independent validation (MSE = 0.1596, and MSE = 0.16754, respectively), which exhibited better generalizability of the latter. The OLS and SVR models were used on a dataset from an external institution and showed promise in predicting COVID-19 incidences across institutions. These models may support clinical and logistic decision-making after prospective validation.     

Forecasting the Post-Pandemic Effects of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Using the Bullwhip Phenomenon Alongside Use of Nanosensors for Disease Containment and Cure

The COVID-19 pandemic has the tendency to affect various organizational paradigm alterations, which civilization hasyet to fully comprehend. Personal to professional, individual to corporate, and across most industries, the spectrum of transformations is vast. Economically, the globe has never been more intertwined, and it has never been subjected to such widespread disruption. While many people have felt and acknowledged the pandemic’s short-term repercussions, the resultant paradigm alterations will certainly have long-term consequences with an unknown range and severity. This review paper aims at acknowledging various approaches for the prevention, detection, and diagnosis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus using nanomaterials as a base material. A nanostructure is a material classification based on dimensionality, in proportion to the characteristic diameter and surface area. Nanoparticles, quantum dots, nanowires (NW), carbon nanotubes (CNT), thin films, and nanocomposites are some examples of various dimensions, each acting as a single unit, in terms of transport capacities. Top-down and bottom-up techniques are used to fabricate nanomaterials. The large surface-to-volume ratio of nanomaterials allows one to create extremely sensitive charge or field sensors (electrical sensors, chemical sensors, explosives detection, optical sensors, and gas sensing applications). Nanowires have potential applications in information and communication technologies, low-energy lightning, and medical sensors. Carbon nanotubes have the best environmental stability, electrical characteristics, and surface-to-volume ratio of any nanomaterial, making them ideal for bio-sensing applications. Traditional commercially available techniques have focused on clinical manifestations, as well as molecular and serological detection equipment that can identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Scientists are expressing a lot of interest in developing a portable and easy-to-use COVID-19 detection tool. Several unique methodologies and approaches are being investigated as feasible advanced systems capable of meeting the demands. This review article attempts to emphasize the pandemic’s aftereffects, utilising the notion of the bullwhip phenomenon’s short-term and long-term effects, and it specifies the use of nanomaterials and nanosensors for detection, prevention, diagnosis, and therapy in connection to the SARS-CoV-2.     

Causes of low vision and blindness in south western Saudi Arabia

The authors studied 1,681 consecutive patients who attended their ophthalmic outpatient clinics over a period of 12 months to determine the patients' visual acuity status and the causes of any visual loss. Using the World Health Organization criteria for definition of visual acuity status, 1004 (59.7%) patients had normal vision. Four hundred and thirty-one (25.6%) patients had low vision or visual impairment and 246 (14.6%) patients were blind. Twenty-eight (1.9%) patients had no light perception in both eyes. Cataract, both in isolation and co-existing with other ocular pathology, was the major cause of both low vision and blindness (58.5% and 81.7%, respectively). A concerted attack on cataract alone will markedly reduce blindness and low vision in this region.     

Polyphenols and Their Role in Obesity Management: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

Polyphenols have been suggested to reduce body weight and modify body composition through different mechanisms. These effects have been extensively studied in animals and in vitro and to a lesser extent in humans. The aim of this review is to consider the association between polyphenols and body weight status by focusing on human intervention studies. We conducted a systematic literature search in MEDLINE (via EBSCOhost), ProQuest CENTRAL, and Cochrane CENTRAL without time restrictions. Randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of polyphenols on weight and/or body composition in the overweight and/or obese population were included. Nineteen studies met our inclusion criteria. Results suggest that further research is required before supporting a potential role of polyphenols in reducing weight in overweight and obese individuals (nine studies showed a significant decrease in weight by a mean of 1.47 ± 0.58 kg). Nevertheless, several studies indicated that polyphenols might be effective in preventing small increases in weight during periods of overfeeding rather than reducing weight as such. The outcomes noted do not yet support polyphenol supplementation as a complementary approach in weight loss diets. Further larger trials with a duration of 12 months or more are needed to elucidate the effect of polyphenols on body weight status. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antifungal Compounds from the Rhizome and Roots of Ferula hermonis

The antifungal activity of hexane, dichloromethane, methanol and aqueous extracts from the rhizome and root of Ferula hermonis was assayed in vitro by the agar disk diffusion method against a panel of human opportunistic and pathogenic fungi. Among them, the hexane and dichloromethane extracts showed the highest activity particularly against the dermatophytes Microsporum gypseum and Tricophyton mentagrophytes as well as the yeast Candida lactis‐condensi. Activity‐guided fractionation of both extracts using an agar overlay bioautographic method led to the isolation of two antifungal compounds which were identified as the daucane aryl esters jaeschkeanadiol p‐hydroxybenzoate (ferutinin) and jaeschkeanadiol benzoate (teferidin). Determination of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) values of both compounds evidenced a stronger antifungal activity for ferutinin than for teferidin. Particularly, T. mentagrophytes was the most sensitive strain with MIC and MFC values ranging from 8 to 256 µg/mL. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of the medicinal uses,phytochemistry and pharmacology of the genus Sapium

Ethnopharmacological relevance

Several species from the genus Sapium possess a broad range of medicinal properties and they have been used as traditional medicines by indigenous groups in several regions such as Malaysia, Africa, Southern China and Bolivia. Most of the species reported to possess therapeutic effects which are used for the treatment of skin-related diseases such as eczema and dermatitis, but they may also be used for overstrain, lumbago, constipation and hernia. Species of this genus are also used to treat wounds and snake bites. In addition, the saps/latex of Sapium glandulosum, Sapium indicum and Sapium sebiferum have/has toxic effects and are used as bird and fish poisons. This review discusses the current knowledge of the medicinal uses, phytochemistry, biological activities and toxicities of species from the genus Sapium to reveal their therapeutic potentials and gaps offering opportunities for future research.

Materials and methods

This review is based on a literature study of scientific journals and books from libraries and electronic sources, such as ScienceDirect, PubMed and ACS.

Results

As many as 65 compounds are included in this review. They belong to different classes of compounds including flavonoids, terpenoids and several other types of compounds, such as alkaloids, phenolic acids and amides. The pharmacological studies revealed that various types of preparations, extracts and single compounds of species from this genus exhibited a broad spectrum of biological activities including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities. However, Sapium glandulosum, Sapium indicum and Sapium sebiferum were reported to possess toxic effects and Sapium sebiferum was found to contain phorbol esters acting as a tumor-promoting agent.

Conclusion

The genus Sapium consists of 23 accepted (high confidence) species. However, only very few of species have been phytochemically and pharmacologically studied. There is great potential to discover new chemical constituents from this genus because only a few species have been phytochemically investigated thus far. Only 27 compounds of 65 identified compounds have been studied for their biological activities. Several extracts and single compounds from this genus were reported to exhibit interesting biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic effects. Furthermore, the toxicity studies of some phorbol esters suggested that the compounds acted as potential tumor-promoting agents by stimulating protein kinase C. This is an interesting fact in which a plant with medicinal properties also possesses toxic effects as well. Therefore, more clinical studies on the toxicity of the extracts of the plants and the compounds isolated from this genus are also crucial to ensure their safety and to assess their eligibility for use as sources for modern medicines.