by admin | Sep 7, 2022 | health and medicine
Orthodox Christians often use tactile gestures during acts of religious devotion. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, such gestures had the potential to increase the spread of the virus. Dr Timothy Carroll, Dr Nicholas Lackenby and Ms Jenia Gorbanenko at University College London undertook an ethnographic study focused on how Orthodox Christian communities responded to public health advice that conflicted with their long-standing sacred practices.
by admin | Sep 2, 2022 | health and medicine
Lights and sirens on ambulances are used in emergencies to accelerate the transport of critical patients to hospital but unfortunately, can increase the risk of motor vehicle collisions. Emergency medical service personnel are those most commonly injured during these collisions and the general public account for the majority of fatalities. Shane Urban at UC Health University of Colorado Hospital, USA, set out to develop a novel, prehospital triage tool that can determine when best to use lights and sirens during the transport of trauma patients.
by admin | Aug 24, 2022 | health and medicine
The pH inside our cells is constantly changing, but also carefully controlled within certain limits. Dynamic intracellular pH (pHi) is essential for normal cell behaviours, but when it becomes dysregulated, it can enable an array of diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s. Dr Diane Barber from the University of California San Francisco has carried out extensive research into how normal pHi dynamics regulate cell behaviours and the impact that dysregulated pHi can have in different diseases.
by admin | Aug 24, 2022 | health and medicine
The relatively new field of paediatric pharmacovigilance aims to improve the clinical care of children by understanding and appropriately managing the risks of medicines administered to this group of patients. Dr Beate Aurich is an established expert in this field, and with colleagues, has published an article on the practical aspects of paediatric pharmacovigilance. She notes that the assessment of the benefit-risk balance of available treatment options should be based on multidisciplinary efforts and include both children and their families.
by admin | Aug 24, 2022 | health and medicine
As the strains of bacteria that are not killed by antibiotics proliferate, increasing numbers of people are at risk of severe illness and even death. Dr Rogier Hopstaken from Star-shl Diagnostic Centres in the Netherlands has shown that a simple, yet effective technique may be the answer to antibiotic over-prescription. A C-reactive protein test at primary points of care can indicate whether a patient with a respiratory tract infection has a severe (bacterial) infection and thus, whether antibiotics are required. This test may be our best tool yet to help combat antibiotic resistance in primary care.
by admin | Aug 9, 2022 | biology, health and medicine, King's College London
The greatest challenge for ageing populations is that vaccines can be less protective for the elderly due to the age-related decline of the immune system. This means that improving the efficacy of vaccines in the ageing population is crucial to public health. Dr Lei Jin and colleagues from the University of Florida set out to develop a novel strategy to directly address this key issue.
