by Michelle H. Dick  and Nayla M. Khoury

Received: 13 June 2019;  Published: 24 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903047

We explore how medical culture contributes to burnout. Highlighting specific programs aimed at developing compassion and mindfulness skills, we share our own perspectives and experiences implementing similarly focused programs. Promising results on the application of compassion-based programs show evidence of improvements to a number of measures of trainee wellbeing, particularly among the most vulnerable trainees, while results pertaining to mindfulness programs show improvements to performance as well [1, 2]. As [...]

by Sopnil Ahmed Jahin  , Biswajit Das  , Adrita Abdullah  , Sadia Akter  , Mohammad Abu Kawsar Sarower Siddique  and Mohammad Anwar Hossain

Received: 02 August 2024;  Published: 01 November 2024;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2404270

Drought and phosphorus (P) deficiency stress are two significant natural abiotic stresses restricting rice growth and yield worldwide. Developing rice varieties tolerant to drought and low P stress is crucial for sustainable agricultural production. To address these issues, two separate experiments were conducted using selected advanced rice breeding lines to study the impact of drought and low P stress on yield-attributing traits. The first experiment evaluated the drought stress tolerance of five advanced lines ( [...]

by Poppy L.A. Schoenberg

Received: 17 October 2023;  Published: 25 October 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2304046

The digital transformation of healthcare is accelerating. At the forefront of this revolution is the development of the "metaverse." This multidimensional digital universe, where virtual and physical realities converge, is reshaping the potential of integrative and complementary medicine. In this special edition journal series, we explore how metaverse technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, avatars, digital twins, blockchain smart contracts, and more, are poised to revolutionize holistic healthcar [...]

by Gabriela Martínez-Machado  , Laura Arely López-Gámez  , Litzy Yazmin Alvarado-Mata  , Roberto Muñoz-García  , Jenny Priscila Salinas-Mireles  , Ivan Artemio Corral-Guerrero  , Maria Jose Castro-Alonso  , Jazel Doménica Sosa-Martínez  , Miriam Paulina Luévanos Escareño  , Ayerim Yedid Hernández-Almanza  and Nagamani Balagurusamy

Received: 20 February 2025;  Published: 13 May 2025;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2502010

The global production of biomethane is rapidly emerging as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels for energy generation. Biogas, where methane (CH4) is usually one of the main components, is generated through the anaerobic digestion (AD) of various organic substrates, including animal manure, organic wastes, and wastewater. The efficiency of the AD process depends on key operational parameters and reactor designs that optimize microbial activity and gas yield. However, inhibitory compounds such as heavy metals, [...]

by Abhijit Jagdale  , C. Adam Banks  , Hayato Iwase  , David K.C. Cooper  and Hidetaka Hara

Received: 29 December 2020;  Published: 30 June 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2102146

It has been speculated that the immunomodulation associated with pregnancy, e.g., decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines, increasing anti-inflammatory cytokines, upregulation of T regulatory cells (Tregs), is in part due to the effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In this study, we tested the effect of hCG on proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated by irradiated pig PBMCs. Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was carried out with human PBMCs as responders and irradiated wild- [...]

by Becky Dafters  , Sarah Mackintosh  and Chris Irons

Received: 29 July 2022;  Published: 03 November 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2204048

The current paper explores the impact of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) when delivered in a group setting to people with a range of diagnoses presenting to a Community Mental Health Team. In total five groups of 14 to 18 sessions were run with an average of five participants completing each group. A range of self-report measures examining global psychological distress, self-criticism, depression, anxiety and stress, emotion regulation, social comparison, shame and compassionate attributes and skills were administ [...]

by Anna Passaro  , Antonio Zullo  , Mariacarla Di Gioia  , Enza Curcio  and Fabrizio Stasolla

Received: 27 January 2024;  Published: 05 July 2024;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2403250

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder primarily affecting females, characterized by a spectrum of debilitating symptoms that impact neurological, cognitive, and motor functions. Eye-tracking technology (ETT) has emerged as a prominent tool in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems, particularly for neurological patients with motor and verbal impairments. This narrative review aimed to evaluate studies conducted on the use of ETT to improve cognitive abilities in girls with RTT [...]

by Enrico Capobianco

Received: 15 June 2020;  Published: 30 December 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2004077

Marks of brain disorders may be visible through abnormal networks characterized by states with distinct signatures or connectivity patterns. Apart from neurodegenerations, drug abuse or eventually addiction may exert complex perturbative effects over human health, including damage to various organs and especially brain inflammation, volume shrinkage and functional deficits. These can also be regarded as signs of accelerated ageing, which involve multiple comorbidities associated with long-lasting cognitive impairme [...]

by Mohammad Yaghoub Abdollahzadeh Jamalabadi

Received: 09 July 2022;  Published: 19 October 2022;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2204021

New lubrication events can be predicted using improved pathological non-Newtonian physiological fluids coupled to phospholipid-based bilayers in variable time-dependent magnetic fields under random non-steady conditions. In this study, we investigated nanofluid lubrication systems for synovial joints. The particles of PSPMA-g-HSNPs were used as nanoparticles. The hydrodynamic interaction between the knee bones separated by a nanofluid film was considered here for various nanofluid concentrations. The simulation ind [...]

by Sai Batchu  , Michael Joseph Diaz  , Keldon Lin  , Namrata Arya  , Karan Patel  and Brandon Lucke-Wold

Received: 04 September 2022;  Published: 20 February 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2301157

Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) are common intracranial tumors comprising numerous subtypes whose metabolic profiles have yet to be fully examined. The present in silico study analyzed single-cell expression profiles from 2311 PitNET cells from various lineages and subtypes to elucidate differences in metabolic activities. Gonadotroph tumors exhibited high activities with histidine metabolism, whose activity is low in lactotroph tumors. Somatotroph tumors enriched for sulfur and tyrosine metabolism, while [...]

by Christopher Lam

Received: 25 April 2019;  Published: 08 July 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1903044

Compassion and kindness can be cultivated and enhanced. Over the years in medical practice I have witnessed many healthcare workers, after having worked with kind and caring practitioners, become progressively more humane. Those of us who are teachers need to be mindful of that. In educating new physicians, compassion should play a central role and we as practicing doctors are well placed to model a caring and empathetic approach to our patients. There is also a fundamental need to look after ourselves and main [...]

by Evanthia Asimakopoulou  and Periklis Zavridis

Received: 11 April 2023;  Published: 08 November 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2304194

Chronic pain in post-critical care patients is a multifaceted issue with profound implications for patient well-being and quality of life. This review aims to address the rehabilitation of patients who suffer from chronic pain following discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). Despite growing awareness of the prevalence and impact of this condition, significant gaps in knowledge persist regarding the optimal rehabilitation strategies for these patients. To conduct this study, an extensive literature search was [...]

by Aaryan Gupta  , Arpita Roy  , Soumya Pandit  , Neha Pandey  and Sarvesh Rustagi

Received: 07 July 2023;  Published: 09 October 2023;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2304186

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) spreads rapidly across the globe, causing almost 2.8 million cases worldwide. Many drugs and inhibitors, such as dronabinol and nabilone, have been used to treat MS, but there is no effective treatment for MS till now as these medications can cause severe side effects. So, we tested different compounds from Ginkgo biloba to inhibit the symptoms caused by MS as an herbal treatment. We targeted the Crystal structure of Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein as it has shown some excellent results [...]

by Thales Almeida Barbosa  , Marcelo Costa Flores  and Katia Cecília de Souza Figueiredo

Received: 09 May 2022;  Published: 16 August 2022;  doi: 10.21926/aeer.2203030

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) consist of a polymeric phase and a dispersed solid filler such as zeolites or carbon nanotubes. We prepared symmetric and asymmetric polysulfone-based MMMs containing functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT-O) for CO2/N2 separation. Maxwell’s model was used to predict the permeabilities of MMMs. The permeability achieved using the model exhibited a good fit of the model in symmetric MMMs, especially for CO2. This can be potentially attributed to the high affinity of th [...]

by Bernard Nicolardot  , Mae Guinet  , Anne-Sophie Voisin  and Catherine Hénault

Received: 26 January 2023;  Published: 26 April 2023;  doi: 10.21926/aeer.2302029

Legumes provide several ecological services to agroecosystems, but there is a lack of references on services related to N flows for a wide range of legume crops. N2O emissions were measured in two field experiments using a two-year legume-cereal crop sequence. In the first year (2014 and 2016), different legume crops were grown (lupin, pea, fava bean, common bean, soybean, chickpea) and compared to fertilized cereals (barley and sorghum). Once the seeds were harvested and the residues incorporated in the soil, unfe [...]

by Abdulmaleek Sado  , Rahul Kalla  and Simon Campbell

Received: 20 May 2019;  Published: 14 August 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.hg.1903032

Crohn's disease is part of a group of diseases termed inflammatory bowel disease. Guidelines have long advocated the use of steroids for acute flare up and Current goals of treatment include enhancing long-lasting remission, preventing relapse, reducing the need for surgery, preventing complications and slowing disease progression. No cure currently exists for the disease. Traditionally, the clinical approach to treatment has been symptom-based where patients have had to ‘earn’ their next treatment escalation. Howe [...]

by Katie Conlon

Received: 04 September 2023;  Published: 04 January 2024;  doi: 10.21926/aeer.2401002

Unsustainable material extraction, use and disposal - the ‘take-make-waste’ model - places communities globally in a state of social inequalities and environmental conflict (the slow violence of polluting the air, water, and soil we all depend). Current waste management practices are designed for efficiency of disposal but do not address increasing waste generation and waste externalities. The present global waste situation is magnified by exponential increases in plastic production; misconceptions of recycling; an [...]

by Mega Obukohwo Oyovwi  , Gregory Joseph Uchechukwu  , Bolape Adeola Oyekanmi  , Emmanuel Igho Odokuma  and Ugushida Thankgod Ogenma

Received: 08 June 2024;  Published: 20 November 2024;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2404254

The gut microbiota, a complex ecosystem of billions of microorganisms in the human digestive tract, plays a crucial role in maintaining health. Recent studies have highlighted a bidirectional communication pathway called the gut-brain axis between the gut and the brain. This communication is significantly influenced by gut microbiota and its interactions with the immune system, which can affect brain function and contribute to inflammation. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship bet [...]

by James David Adams

Received: 25 February 2019;  Published: 27 February 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1901014

The nervous system is everywhere in the body, especially in the skin. Ancient Chinese acupuncture charts show us that the nerves are all connected and can work together to promote health. This connection occurs through the brain and brain stem. It is clear that acupuncture is analgesic by inhibition of transient receptor potential cation channels in the skin [1]. The role of chemokines in pain is becoming understood. Chemokines promote pain in the skin and activate ascending neural pathways that regulate chemo [...]

by Mariette Kokolo  and Montse Bach-Elias

Received: 25 June 2020;  Published: 16 November 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2004118

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as one of the most abundant regulatory molecules. However, their roles and functions are significantly different from those of proteins. Moreover, around 95% of the human genome contains non-coding DNA. ncRNAs contribute by far the majority of human transcriptional units, and the functions of the most are yet unknown. Here, we highlight that an important RNA sequence region, encompassing an exon-intron hairpin loop (also called IDX-rasISS1), of the H-Ras pre-mRNA may encode an [...]

by Steven R. Potter

Received: 10 February 2020;  Published: 13 February 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.transplant.2001100

by Steven K. H. Aung

Received: 02 May 2017;  Published: 20 July 2017;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.1703003

Spirituality may be generally conceptualized as the precious, personal path of our apparently soulful vital energy within the context of the power of our compassionate consciousness. The body, mind and spirit encompasses a constantly inspiring vital energetic field that must be in diligent interaction and harmony in the interest of past, present and future generations. In the clinical application of the healing arts and sciences, as physicians or other dedicated health care providers of whatever nation, race, cultu [...]

by Jacques De Reuck  , Florent Auger  , Nicolas Durieux  , Claude-Alain Maurage  , Vincent Deramecourt  , Charlotte Cordonnier  , Florence Pasquier  , Didier Leys  and Regis Bordet

Received: 12 October 2020;  Published: 17 December 2020;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2004143

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is reported to be probably linked to frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Since FTLD is characterized by severe frontotemporal degeneration along with hippocampal atrophy (HA), the present study used post-mortem 7.0-tesla magnetic resonance imaging to investigate whether a certain degree of HA occurs in the ALS brains as well. The examined post-mortem brain samples comprised 9 from the ALS cases and 17 from the age-matched controls. The hippocampus samples were examined on t [...]

by Shaymaa Azawi  , Lisa-Marie Barf  , Thomas Liehr  , Stefanie Kankel  and Martina Rincic

Received: 25 March 2022;  Published: 27 June 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2202159

After being established in 1967, the commercially available murine Leydig cell tumor line I-10 has been used in almost 50 published studies. I-10 has not been characterized, either at the chromosomal/ cytogenetic level or the genetic level, similar to many other murine tumor cell lines. In this study, we performed molecular karyotyping and multicolor banding-based molecular cytogenetics. A slightly hyperdiploid karyotype with 43 chromosomes was described. The main aberrations comprised several unbalanced translocat [...]

by Mauro Turrin

Received: 15 March 2019;  Published: 29 August 2019;  doi: 10.21926/obm.hg.1903034

Background: Among the rarest causes of acute pancreatitis, in addition to the drugs (DIAP), there are eosinophilic pancreatitis (EP) and autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP). Methods: we have researched on PUBMED the descriptions of clinical cases of eosinophilic pancreatitis appeared from 1990 to February 2019 and those related to new drugs responsible for acute pancreatitis. Results: we found about thirty reports of eosinophilic pancreatitis associated or not with hypereosinophilia and gastro-intestinal manifestations. [...]