by Temitope Akinjogbin  , Jacob Parnell  and Maria C. Duggan

Received: 05 May 2020;  Published: 13 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2003128

Delirium is an acute change in mental status with key features of inattention and disorganized thinking. It is particularly common in older adults, with multiple and varied causes. Delirium increases the risk of morbidity, mortality, institutionalization, and healthcare costs; however, it is often missed because it is difficult to recognize without the use of a validated screening tool. The Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) initiative highlights the need for implementation of a delirium monitoring program in hospi [...]

by Demelza Emmerton  , Samra Khan  , Joanne Conway  , Daniel Mosby  and Ahmed H. Abdelhafiz

Received: 31 May 2020;  Published: 10 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2003127

With life-expectancy rising globally, the prevalence of ageing, comorbidity and frailty is likely to increase especially in the low and middle income countries. The emergence of the new COVID-19 pandemic has been concentrated in this group of patients and has led to worse outcomes compared to younger and less comorbid populations. This group of patients is at an increased risk of multi-organ consequences of systemic disease. Therefore, systemic assessment of these patients from the outset and optimisation of their [...]

by Jamie Zhen  and M. Ines Pinto-Sanchez

Received: 17 May 2020;  Published: 10 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2003065

Celiac disease (CeD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy triggered by gluten ingestion and affects nearly 1% of the population worldwide. CeD has typically been associated with gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea and abdominal pain; however, its extra-intestinal manifestations are becoming widely recognized. In particular, CeD patients may present with various neurological manifestations and oftentimes, without evidence of gastrointestinal symptoms. The pathophysiology behind these manifestations is not well k [...]

by Maya Kudo  , Misa Hayashi  , Peng Tian  , Danyang Liu  , Lili Wu  , Wei Li  , Zhaoyang Hong  , Yitang Zhao  , Toshiaki Nishigaki  , Masaaki Nishihara  , Kazuo Koike  , Tonghua Liu  and Ming Gao

Received: 13 April 2020;  Published: 09 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2003033

Increased body fat mass can lead to lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increases the onset of multiple diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, which are closely related to lipid metabolism; therefore, new prevention approaches and treatments are needed. Our study investigated the effects and mechanism of YNCRG on anti-obesity in metabolic syndrome model SHR.Cg-Leprcp/NDmcr (SHRCP) rats. Eight-week- [...]

by Enrico Facco

Received: 04 February 2020;  Published: 08 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2003032

The topic of resilience is of paramount importance. Although the term resilience was coined in the fields of physics and engineering, its use has spread to the fields of social sciences, biology, psychology, and psychiatry, as well as to the industry. Moreover, the term is now endowed with a wide range of meanings. The topic of resilience plays a central role in all critical life events. It is of paramount importance in medicine as well as in psychology and psychotherapy, where it is involved in both psychiatric di [...]

by Khawla F. Ali  and Betul Hatipoglu

Received: 07 June 2020;  Published: 07 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003115

Pancreatic islet transplantation is a rapidly evolving field. It has been increasingly regarded as a promising approach for the correction of dysglycemia associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus (allogenic islet transplantation), or the prevention of surgical diabetes in chronic pancreatitis subjects undergoing total pancreatectomy (autologous islet transplantation). In this review, we discuss the latest literature pertaining to metabolic outcomes of autologous and allogenic islet transplantation, shedding close li [...]

by Dominic Emerson  , Jon Kobashigawa  , Ryan Levine  , Jamie Moriguchi  , Dominick Megna  , Joshua Chung  , Dany Ramzy  , Alfredo Trento  and Fardad Esmailian

Received: 14 April 2020;  Published: 06 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2003114

In advanced heart failure, orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) remains the standard for definitive treatment. Patients with heart failure and concomitant pulmonary hypertension (PH) represent a challenging subgroup, with poor outcomes following OHT. Recently, Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) devices have been utilized as a bridge to OHT for these patients. Patients with MCS devices who underwent OHT were evaluated at a single center. Patients were stratified into three groups, depending on baseline pulmonary [...]

by Steve Liebich

Received: 16 March 2020;  Published: 02 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2003113

Multicellularity has gained the advantage over the unicellular world by expanding the number of increasingly more complex tissues that achieve advanced and specific functions. This same event gave rise to the most evolved group of organisms, namely mammals. Even though the complexity of multicellular organisms does not necessarily provide them with excellent adaptation modes performed by unicellular and prokaryotic organisms, this complexity per se stands as one of the greatest phenomena in biology. However, there [...]

by Noa Sylvetsky  , Chen Futeran Shahar  , Meir Frankel  and Gabriel Munter

Received: 01 April 2020;  Published: 02 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2003126

Hospitalists are at risk for vitamin D deficiency during their active years due to indoor working conditions and insufficient sunlight exposure. The impairment of bone mineral density (BMD) in this group has not been studied. A total of 50 male hospitalists aged ≥ 65 years were enrolled. Their BMD was measured at the femoral neck (FN), lumbar spine (LS), and distal radius (DR), and their medical history and risk factors were assessed through a detailed questionnaire. The FRAX® (Fracture risk assessment tool) [...]

by Hanneke van der Wal- Huisman  , Henk Groen  , Erik Heineman  and Barbara L. van Leeuwen

Received: 08 April 2020;  Published: 01 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2003125

Postoperative pain has a negative influence on physical and mental recovery and may result in a variety of postoperative complications. Listening to recorded music has been revealed to reduce pain, but in addition to that, live bedside music further offers the possibility to interact with the patient, respond to their emotions, and help them in adapting their conditions. It, therefore, seems appropriate for older surgical patients. This study examines the effect of live bedside music on postoperative elderly patien [...]

by Vardan Apinyan  and Mane Sahakyan

Received: 17 March 2020;  Published: 01 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2003016

The present report provides a phenomenological theory for monolayer graphene, in which two worlds, the quantum and the classical, meet and complete each other in the most natural manner. In the present report, electron mass-vortex representation is introduced, and the surface tension excitation states in the monolayer graphene are defined. The band-mass of the electrons at the Dirac’s point was calculated through the mathematical introduction of a mass-dispersion relation. As a consequence, the Dirac’s [...]

by Razieh Sadraei

Received: 25 April 2020;  Published: 01 July 2020;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2003017

A literature survey shows that the valorization of urban and/or agricultural biowastes into chemicals has caught the attention of experts and is gradually becoming quite an important issue. This review presents the application of the Bio-Based Substances (BBS) isolated from the compost of bio-wastes from urban gardening and park trimming residues. The non-cost BBS has been well studied in the literature. BBS are biological macromolecules with a complex lignin-derived structure containing several functional groups, [...]

by Alvin Ho Kwan Cheung  , Nancy Bo-Yin Tsui  , William Chi Shing Cho  , Xiao-Meng Pei  , Yin-Kwan Evelyn Wong  , Hin-Fung Andy Tsang  , Gilberto Ka-Kit Leung  and Sze-Chuen Cesar Wong

Received: 02 May 2020;  Published: 28 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2002112

Background: Vestibular schwannoma is an intracranial tumor which can lead to devastating neurological deficit and is prone to recurrence after surgery. Patients with inherited neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) syndrome are particularly susceptible to bilateral and aggressive schwannomas. However, the genome of vestibular schwannomas is not well known. There is an imminent need of developing effective chemotherapeutic agents either as a primary treatment modality or as adjuvant therapy for these patients. Methods: Here [...]

by Ian W. Stone  , Ashim Gupta  , Hugo C. Rodriguez  , R. Justin Mistovich  , Manu Gupta  , Anish G. Potty  and Jorge R. Serrato

Received: 03 May 2020;  Published: 24 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002064

Obesity is on the rise around the world, carrying along with it a wide range of comorbidities and complications. We report on a super-super morbidly obese 43-year-old female, with a body mass index (BMI) of 77.85 kg/m2 (173cm, 233kg), who presented for a scheduled suboccipital craniectomy with C-1 laminectomy secondary to symptoms from an Arnold-Chiari type-I malformation. Already a challenging type of surgery, due to the patient’s extreme BMI and positioning, the surgery became more difficult. There are many [...]

by Joep Geraedts

Received: 02 May 2020;  Published: 23 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2002111

This article reviews the genetic testing of infertility disorders. Genetic abnormalities can lead to disturbances of sexual development and hamper reproduction by influencing gamete production and maturation, fertilization, and embryonic development. Until now, the vast majority of detectable genetic abnormalities causing infertility were chromosomal abnormalities in both males and females. However, the number of monogenetic disorders, which play a role in disturbing fertility, such as single gene defects or comple [...]

by Julia M. Robertson  and Barbara E. Kingsley

Received: 16 February 2020;  Published: 23 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2002124

The ability to situate individuals within social categories provides an important social function, allowing people to navigate problems of survival and reproduction within highly complex social structures. This categorization of people with apparently shared characteristics is facilitated by various cues, one of the most important being facial information. There has been a wealth of literature that reports on perceptions of characteristics informed by faciometrics (or the measurement of facial features and associat [...]

by C. Aris Chatzidimitriou-Dreismann

Received: 31 March 2020;  Published: 23 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2002015

Current developments of non-relativistic quantum mechanics appear to predict, and reveal, counter-intuitive dynamical effects of hydrogen in nanostructured materials that are of considerable importance for basic research as well as for technological applications. In this review, the experimental focus is on H2O and H molecules in carbon nanotubes and other nanocavities that have been experimentally investigated using the well-established technique of incoherent inelastic neutron scattering (INS). For instance, the [...]

by Debora Di Jorio

Received: 14 April 2020;  Published: 22 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002063

The story of each individual is essentially the story of their learning processes and relationships from the moment they were born. Indeed, the story of learning processes is merely a constant stratification of experiences based on biological and neurofunctional features that are influenced by genetic and cultural factors and subject to environmental stimuli constantly reshaping their behaviour.Neuroscientific studies conducted over the past decades have highlighted a unique feature of the human nervous system, cal [...]

by Zheer Al-Mashhadi  , Rikke Viggers  , Rasmus Fuglsang-Nielsen  , Bente Langdahl  , Peter Vestergaard  , Søren Gregersen  and Jakob Starup-Linde

Received: 02 April 2020;  Published: 18 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2002123

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and osteoporosis are two major public health concerns worldwide, contributing to morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Aging is one of the most significant risk factors for low bone mass, bone fragility, and fractures. Among the several comorbidities that affect the elderly with diabetes, increased fracture risk is a relatively recently discovered complication. Generally, individuals with T2DM exhibit higher bone mineral density, which complicates the assessment of fracture risk. D [...]

by Clarissa E.H. Fang  , Li Guo  , Daniel Hill  , Timothy E. Yap  and M. Francesca Cordeiro

Received: 16 April 2020;  Published: 15 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002062

Neuroprotection in glaucoma is any medical treatment by which decline in visual function can be slowed or prevented by supporting the health and survival of neural cells, independent of lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP). This is achieved by targeting mechanisms to inhibit or delay retinal ganglion cell death and promote cell survival pathways. Despite demonstrating promising results in preclinical trials, many neuroprotective strategies have failed to show success in subsequent clinical trials. Of the clinical [...]

by Yi-Chia Liao  , Chun-Hway Hsueh  and Wen-Shin Lee

Received: 16 May 2020;  Published: 15 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2002014

Inspired by the application of metallic glass sheet as face material for improving the performance of golf clubs, the present work was aimed to explore the application of thin-film metallic glass (TFMG) coatings for enhancing the performance of strings. In order to achieve this aim, badminton strings were coated with TFMG coatings of different thicknesses. The compositions of these TFMG coatings were analyzed using an electron probe micro-analyzer. The amorphous structure of the film was verified using X-ray diffra [...]

by Brian C. Keller  , Sadia Z. Shah  and Amy Pope-Harman

Received: 24 April 2020;  Published: 15 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2002113

Systemic capillary leak syndrome is a disorder characterized by recurrent, life-threatening episodes of acute capillary hyperpermeability resulting in edema and hypovolemic shock. We report a case of systemic capillary leak syndrome in a lung transplant recipient who developed recurrent episodes of volume overload, respiratory failure, and acute kidney injury in association with hypotension and hypoalbuminemia. Initiation of monthly high dose intravenous immunoglobulin prophylaxis effectively abrogated the syndrome [...]

by Ioannis Syros  , Panagiota Pervanidou  , Charis Liapi  , Filia Apostolakou  , George P Chrousos  and Gerasimos Kolaitis

Received: 01 March 2020;  Published: 11 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002060

Data available on possible associations of lipids, steroid levels, and depression are conflicting. This study investigated their possible associations in a sample of youth with depression. Ninety-eight youth with depression and individually matched healthy volunteers on the basis of age and sex were enrolled for the study. The two groups had nearly similar body mass index. After fasting overnight, they underwent blood sampling for triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprot [...]

by Tania Re  and Giuseppe Vitiello

Received: 30 April 2020;  Published: 11 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2002061

The present report discusses brain visual experiences in conditions of low degree of openness of the brain toward the environment, for example, while dreaming, during meditation, or in non-ordinary brain activity states such as under the effects of psychoactive substances, in the state of coma, or in other states of reduced sensory perception, among others. In the present report, for brevity, such states are referred to as brain-mind visual experiences, implying that such a visual activity is not one connected to t [...]

by Ryan J. Clarke  and David A. Miller

Received: 15 April 2020;  Published: 09 June 2020;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2002010

As wind turbine blades grow longer, new design parameters gain additional importance such as blade weight, tip deflection and material cost. These parameters require designers to relook at carbon fiber as a potential design solution. However, the composite materials in wind turbine blades are subjected to significant compressive loading, and the compressive strength of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites is much lower than its tensile strength. This reduction in compression strength is due to a change [...]