Air pollution is a rapidly growing major health concern around the world. Atmospheric particulate matter that has a diameter of less than 2.5 µm (PM) refers to an air pollutant composed of particles and chemical compounds that originate from various sources. While epidemiological studies have established the association between PM exposure and cardiovascular diseases, the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms by which PM promotes cardiovascular complications are yet to be fully elucidated. In this review, we summarize the various sources of PM, its components, and the concentrations of ambient PM in various settings. We discuss the experimental findings to date that evaluate the potential adverse effects of PM on cardiovascular homeostasis and function, and the possible therapeutic options that may alleviate PM-driven cardiovascular damage.

Developing effective targets, policies and services for key populations requires estimations of population sizes and HIV prevalence across countries and regions. We estimated the relative and absolute HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women and men, and male and transgender sex workers (MSW and TGSW) in sub-Saharan African countries using peer-reviewed literature.

Conversational agents (CAs), also known as chatbots, are computer programs that simulate human conversations by using predetermined rule-based responses or artificial intelligence algorithms. They are increasingly used in health care, particularly via smartphones. There is, at present, no conceptual framework guiding the development of smartphone-based, rule-based CAs in health care. To fill this gap, we propose structured and tailored guidance for their design, development, evaluation, and implementation.

Conversational agents (CAs) are increasingly used in health care to deliver behavior change interventions. Their evaluation often includes categorizing the behavior change techniques (BCTs) using a classification system of which the BCT Taxonomy v1 (BCTTv1) is one of the most common. Previous studies have presented descriptive summaries of behavior change interventions delivered by CAs, but no in-depth study reporting the use of BCTs in these interventions has been published to date.

Although World Health Organization guidelines emphasize contact investigation for tuberculosis-exposed children, data that support chest radiography as a useful tool are lacking. We evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic information of chest radiography in children exposed to TB and measured the efficacy of isoniazid preventive therapy in those with relevant radiographic abnormalities.