Conectar
by Clemens Brunner, Philip Schadenbauer, Nele Schröder, Roland H. Grabner, Stephan E. Vogel
Determining if a sequence of numbers is ordered or not is one of the fundamental aspects of numerical processing linked to concurrent and future arithmetic skills. While some studies have explored the neural underpinnings of order processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging, our understanding of electrophysiological correlates is comparatively limited. To address this gap, we used a three-item symbolic numerical order verification task (with Arabic numerals from 1 to 9) to study event-related potentials (ERPs) in 73 adult participants in an exploratory approach. We presented three-item sequences and manipulated their order (ordered vs. unordered) as well as their inter-item numerical distance (one vs. two). Participants had to determine if a presented sequence was ordered or not. They also completed a speeded arithmetic fluency test, which measured their arithmetic skills. Our results revealed a significant mean amplitude difference in the grand average ERP waveform between ordered and unordered sequences in a time window of 500–750 ms at left anterior-frontal, left parietal, and central electrodes. We also identified distance-related amplitude differences for both ordered and unordered sequences. While unordered sequences showed an effect in the time window of 500–750 ms at electrode clusters around anterior-frontal and right-frontal regions, ordered sequences differed in an earlier time window (190–275 ms) in frontal and right parieto-occipital regions. Only the mean amplitude difference between ordered and unordered sequences showed an association with arithmetic fluency at the left anterior-frontal electrode. While the earlier time window for ordered sequences is consistent with a more automated and efficient processing of ordered sequential items, distance-related differences in unordered sequences occur later in time.
by Minae Kawasaki, Yoko M. Ambrosini
Developing precise species-specific in vitro models that closely resemble in vivo intestinal tissues is essential for advancing our understanding of gastrointestinal physiology and associated diseases. This is especially crucial in examining host-pathogen interactions, particularly in bovines, a known reservoir for microbes and pathogens posing substantial public health threats. This research investigated the viability of producing bovine rectal organoids from cryopreserved tissues. We compared two cryopreservation methods with a traditional technique using fresh tissues, evaluating their effectiveness through growth rates, long-term viability, and comprehensive structural, cellular, and genetic analyses. These assessments utilized phase-contrast imaging, immunofluorescence imaging, and RT-qPCR assays. Additionally, the study developed a sophisticated method for forming a functional epithelial barrier from organoid-derived bovine rectal monolayers, incorporating a wide range of epithelial cells. This methodology employed transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (Papp), confocal microscopy, and advanced imaging techniques like scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our findings decisively show that bovine rectal organoids can be effectively generated from cryopreserved biopsy tissues. Moreover, we formulated a robust and optimized protocol for creating functional rectal monolayers from these organoids. This significant progress is particularly relevant given the susceptibility of the bovine rectum to various enteric pathogens of public health concern, marking a vital step forward in veterinary and biomedical research. The creation of accurate species specific in vitro models that faithfully mimic in vivo intestinal tissues is critical for enhancing our understanding of gut physiology and related pathologies. This is particularly relevant in studying the interactions between hosts and microbes or pathogens with significant public health risks where bovine can be the major reservoir.
by Costanza Vicentini, Enrico Ricchizzi, Antonino Russotto, Stefano Bazzolo, Catia Bedosti, Valentina Blengini, Dario Ceccarelli, Elisa Fabbri, Dario Gamba, Anna Maddaleno, Edoardo Rolfini, Margherita Tancredi, Carla Maria Zotti
IntroductionResidents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are a population at high risk of developing severe healthcare associated infections (HAIs). In the assessment of HAIs in acute-care hospitals, selection bias can occur due to cases being over-represented: patients developing HAIs usually have longer lengths of stays compared to controls, and therefore have an increased probability of being sampled in PPS, leading to an overestimation of HAI prevalence. Our hypothesis was that in LTCFs, the opposite may occur: residents developing HAIs either may have a greater chance of being transferred to acute-care facilities or of dying, and therefore could be under-represented in PPS, leading to an underestimation of HAI prevalence. Our aim was to test this hypothesis by comparing HAI rates obtained through longitudinal and cross-sectional studies.
MethodsResults from two studies conducted simultaneously in four LTCFs in Italy were compared: a longitudinal study promoted by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC, HALT4 longitudinal study, H4LS), and a PPS. Prevalence was estimated from the PPS and converted into incidence per year using an adapted version of the Rhame and Sudderth formula proposed by the ECDC. Differences between incidence rates calculated from the PPS results and obtained from H4LS were investigated using the Byar method for rate ratio (RR).
ResultsOn the day of the PPS, HAI prevalence was 1.47% (95% confidence interval, CI 0.38–3.97), whereas the H4LS incidence rate was 3.53 per 1000 patient-days (PDs, 95% CI 2.99–4.08). Conversion of prevalence rates obtained through the PPS into incidence using the ECDC formula resulted in a rate of 0.86 per 1000 PDs (95% CI 0–2.68). Comparing the two rates, a RR of 0.24 (95% CI 0.03–2.03, p 0.1649) was found.
ConclusionsThis study did not find significant differences between HAI incidence estimates obtained from a longitudinal study and through conversion from PPS data. Results of this study support the validity of the ECDC method.
by Yiming Li, Jianfu Li, Jianping He, Cui Tao
Though Vaccines are instrumental in global health, mitigating infectious diseases and pandemic outbreaks, they can occasionally lead to adverse events (AEs). Recently, Large Language Models (LLMs) have shown promise in effectively identifying and cataloging AEs within clinical reports. Utilizing data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from 1990 to 2016, this study particularly focuses on AEs to evaluate LLMs’ capability for AE extraction. A variety of prevalent LLMs, including GPT-2, GPT-3 variants, GPT-4, and Llama2, were evaluated using Influenza vaccine as a use case. The fine-tuned GPT 3.5 model (AE-GPT) stood out with a 0.704 averaged micro F1 score for strict match and 0.816 for relaxed match. The encouraging performance of the AE-GPT underscores LLMs’ potential in processing medical data, indicating a significant stride towards advanced AE detection, thus presumably generalizable to other AE extraction tasks.
by Pablo Marino Corrêa Nascimento, Luiz Fernando Rodrigues Junior, Mauro Felippe Felix Mediano, Valéria Gonçalves da Silva, Bernardo Rangel Tura, Fabio César Sousa Nogueira, Gilberto Domont, Adriana Bastos Carvalho, Antônio Carlos Campos de Carvalho, Taís Hanae Kasai-Brunswick, Claudio Tinoco Mesquita, Humberto Villacorta Junior, Helena Cramer Veiga Rey
Sarcopenia, a clinical syndrome primarily associated with reduced muscle mass in the elderly, has a negative impact on quality of life and survival. It can occur secondarily to other diseases such as heart failure (HF), a complex clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality. The simultaneous occurrence of these two conditions can worsen the prognosis of their carriers, especially in the most severe cases of HF, as in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, due to the heterogeneous diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia, estimates of its prevalence present a wide variation, leading to new criteria having been recently proposed for its diagnosis, emphasizing muscle strength and function rather than skeletal muscle mass. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia and/or dynapenia in individuals with HF with reduced LVEF according to the most recent criteria, and compare the gene and protein expression of those patients with and without sarcopenia. The secondary objectives are to evaluate the association of sarcopenia and/or dynapenia with the risk of clinical events and death, quality of life, cardiorespiratory capacity, ventilatory efficiency, and respiratory muscle strength. The participants will answer questionnaires to evaluate sarcopenia and quality of life, and will undergo the following tests: handgrip strength, gait speed, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, respiratory muscle strength, cardiopulmonary exercise, as well as genomic and proteomic analysis, and dosage of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and growth differentiation factor-15. An association between sarcopenia and/or dynapenia with unfavorable clinical evolution is expected to be found, in addition to reduced quality of life, cardiorespiratory capacity, ventilatory efficiency, and respiratory muscle strength.
by Daniela Tamas, Nina Brkic Jovanovic, Stanka Stojkov, Danijela Cvijanović, Bozana Meinhardt–Injac
ObjectiveMost previous studies have examined emotion recognition in autism spectrum condition (ASC) without intellectual disability (ID). However, ASC and ID co-occur to a high degree. The main aims of the study were to examine emotion recognition in individuals with ASC and co-occurring intellectual disability (ASC-ID) as compared to individuals with ID alone, and to investigate the relationship between emotion recognition and social functioning.
MethodsThe sample consisted of 30 adult participants with ASC-ID and a comparison group of 29 participants with ID. Emotion recognition was assessed by the facial emotions test, while. social functioning was assessed by the social responsiveness scale–second edition (SRS-2).
ResultsThe accuracy of emotion recognition was significantly lower in individuals with ASC-ID compared to the control group with ID, especially when it came to identifying angry and fearful emotions. Participants with ASC-ID exhibited more pronounced difficulties in social functioning compared to those with ID, and there was a significant negative correlation between emotion recognition and social functioning. However, emotion recognition accounted for only 8% of the variability observed in social functioning.
ConclusionOur data indicate severe difficulties in the social-perceptual domain and in everyday social functioning in individuals with ASC-ID.
by Jinkun Li, Jingmin Zhang, Shuo Tao, Xiaoying Zeng, Rong Zou, Xiaobin Hong
In the artistic sports program, the referee’ scores directly determine the final results of the athletes. Wushu is a artistic sport that has a Chinese characteristic and has the potential to become an official competition at the Summer Olympic. In this study we tested whether a red uniform color affects Wushu Routine practitioners’ ratings of athletes’ position or movement of Wushu Routine. We also tested whether the effect varied depending on the gender of the athlete and the practitioner, and depending on whether female practitioners were in the ovulation phase of their menstrual cycle. Male (Experiment 1: N = 72) and female (Experiment 1: N = 72; Experiment 2: N = 52) participants who major in Wushu Routine were recruited to take a referee’s perspective and rate the movement quality of male and female athletes wearing red or blue uniforms. The results of Experiment 1 showed that both male and female athletes wearing red uniform (compared to blue uniform) received higher ratings (p = .002, η2 = .066; p = .014, η2 = .043), and the red effect was especially strong when male practitioners rated female athletes (p = .002, η2 = .069). The results of Experiment 2, in an all-female sample, showed that in most cases there was no difference in ratings made by women in the ovulation and non-ovulation phases of their menstrual cycle, with the exception of their ratings of male athletes wearing red; in this condition, women gave higher ratings when they were in the ovulation phase of their cycle (p = .026). The results suggest that there is a red effect in an artistic sport like Wushu Routine, in which gender and the female menstrual cycle play an important role.
by Amensisa Hailu Tesfaye, Gebisa Guyasa Kabito, Fantu Mamo Aragaw, Tesfaye Hambisa Mekonnen
IntroductionWork-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are the leading cause of disability worldwide. Shopkeepers are prone to developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders, but they are largely overlooked in research and policy actions, particularly in developing countries. So far, there is a lack of data on the magnitude and factors influencing work-related musculoskeletal disorders among shopkeepers in Ethiopia. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the prevalence and risk factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among shopkeepers in Gondar City, Ethiopia.
MethodsA workplace-based cross-sectional study was conducted from July to August 2022, in Gondar city, Northwest Ethiopia. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 625 shopkeepers. The data were collected using an interviewer-administered standardized Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Analysis was made using Stata version 14. Factors associated with the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders were identified using the multivariable Poisson regression model. The adjusted prevalence ratio with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and p-value Results
The overall prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among shopkeepers in the past 12 months was found to be 81.1% (N = 507). The most frequently affected body part was the lower back (46.6%), followed by the upper back (43.8%) and shoulder (35.4%). Being female (p = 0.043), being in the age group of ≥40 years (p = 0.028), being overweight (p = 0.035), experiencing job stress (p = 0.006) and prolonged sitting (p = 0.045) were significant factors for the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among shopkeepers.
ConclusionThis study revealed that shopkeepers face an alarmingly high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Female, older, overweight, stressed and shopkeepers who sit in the same position for long periods of time were identified as particularly vulnerable groups. These findings call for the urgent development and implementation of preventive measures, including ergonomic adjustments, education and training programs, stress management techniques and the promotion of physical activity, to protect this vulnerable workforce from the debilitating effects of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and to ensure their long-term health and well-being.
by Mamaru Melkam, Demeke Demilew, Tilahun Kassew, Biruk Fanta, Sewbesew Yitayih, Kassahun Alemu, Yassin Muhammed, Berhanie Getnet, Eden Abetu, Gebrekidan Ewnetu Tarekeg, Mohammed Oumer, Goshu Nenko
IntroductionAnxiety disorder is an unpleasant emotional feeling with symptoms related to psychological and autonomic symptoms such as headache, perspiration, palpitations, dizziness, and stomach discomfort. The use of substances become a worldwide problem among youth which brings situation that leads to serious social and health-related problems. Anxiety disorders with substance use have a huge impact on their high prevalence, therapeutic issues, and poor prognosis on clinical effects. Although the prevalence of anxiety disorders is significant among young people who use substances, limited studies were conducted. Therefore, this study revealed the burden of anxiety disorders among youth with substance use and associated factors in Ethiopia.
MethodA community-based multi-stage with a simple random sampling technique was conducted. A total of 372 substance users study participants were recruited for this study. Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Tests, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales, and other tools were used to assess anxiety disorders with substance use and associated factors. Data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6, and exported to SPSS version 20 for further analysis. Bi-variables logistic regression analysis was employed to identify variables with a p-value of Results
From a total of 372 respondents the overall prevalence of anxiety disorders with substance use was 48.1%. Male sex [AOR = 1.99; 95% CI: (1.01–3.93)], low educational status of the father [AOR = 6.38 95%CI: (1.50–7.08)], and the presence of stress [AOR = 2.48; 95% CI: 2.48(2.43–4.40)] were significantly associated factors with anxiety disorders with substances use.
Conclusions and recommendationsThe prevalence of anxiety disorders with substance use was 48.1% therefore; it is recommended that the zonal administration give collaborative work with the health bureau and facilitate awareness creation about the impact of substance abuse. Clinicians are recommended to mitigate anxiety disorders with substance use to get a good prognosis for clients with controlling their stress.
by William Toppen, Nam Yong Cho, Sohail Sareh, Anders Kjellberg, Anthony Medak, Peyman Benharash, Peter Lindholm
BackgroundThe role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI) is mainly based on small retrospective studies. A previous study using the 1998–2009 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) found HBOT to be associated with decreased mortality in NSTI. Given the argument of advancements in critical care, we aimed to investigate the continued role of HBOT in NSTI.
MethodsThe 2012–2020 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) was queried for NSTI admissions who received surgery. 60,481 patients between 2012–2020 were included, 600 ( Results
Age, gender, and comorbidities were similar between the two groups. On bivariate comparison, the HBOT group had lower mortality rate ( Conclusions
After correction for differences, HBOT was associated with decreased mortality, amputations, and non-home discharges in NSTI with the tradeoff of increase to costs and length of stay.
by Le-Yan Hu, An-Qi Cai, Bo Li, Zheng Li, Jian-Ping Liu, Hui-Juan Cao
BackgroundFatigue is a common symptom after viral infection. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is thought to be a potential effective intervention in relieving fatigue.
PurposeTo assess the effectiveness and safety of CHM for the treatment of post-viral fatigue.
Study designSystematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
MethodsThe protocol of this systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022380356). Trials reported changes of fatigue symptom, which compared CHM to no treatment, placebo or drugs, were included. Six electronic databases and three clinical trial registration platforms were searched from inception to November 2023. Literature screening, data extraction, and risk bias assessment were independently carried out by two reviewers. Quality of the included trials was evaluated using Cochrane risk of bias tool, and the certainty of the evidence was evaluated using GRADE. The meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4, mean difference (MD) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) was used for estimate effect of continuous data. Heterogeneity among trials was assessed through I2 value.
ResultsOverall, nineteen studies with 1921 patients were included. Results of individual trial or meta-analysis showed that CHM was better than no treatment (MD = -0.80 scores, 95%CI -1.43 to -0.17 scores, P = 0.01, 60 participants, 1 trial), placebo (MD = -1.90 scores, 95%CI -2.38 to -1.42 scores, P.00001, 184 participants, 1 trial), placebo on basis of rehabilitation therapy (MD = -14.90 scores, 95%CI -24.53 to -5.27 scores, P = 0.02, 118 participants, 1 trial) or drugs (MD = -0.38 scores, 95%CI -0.48 to -0.27 scores, I2 = 0%, Pto drugs alone also showed better effect of combination therapy (average MD = -0.56 scores). In addition, CHM may improve the percentage of CD4 T lymphocytes and reduce the level of serum IL-6 (MD = -14.64 scores, 95%CI 18.36 to -10.91 scores, I2 = 0%, P Conclusion
Current systematic review found that the participation of CHM can improve the symptoms of post-viral fatigue and some immune indicators. However, the safety of CHM remains unknown and large sample, high quality multicenter RCTs are still needed in the future.
by Domonkos Pogány, Péter Antal
Given the prolonged timelines and high costs associated with traditional approaches, accelerating drug development is crucial. Computational methods, particularly drug-target interaction prediction, have emerged as efficient tools, yet the explainability of machine learning models remains a challenge. Our work aims to provide more interpretable interaction prediction models using similarity-based prediction in a latent space aligned to biological hierarchies. We investigated integrating drug and protein hierarchies into a joint-embedding drug-target latent space via embedding regularization by conducting a comparative analysis between models employing traditional flat Euclidean vector spaces and those utilizing hyperbolic embeddings. Besides, we provided a latent space analysis as an example to show how we can gain visual insights into the trained model with the help of dimensionality reduction. Our results demonstrate that hierarchy regularization improves interpretability without compromising predictive performance. Furthermore, integrating hyperbolic embeddings, coupled with regularization, enhances the quality of the embedded hierarchy trees. Our approach enables a more informed and insightful application of interaction prediction models in drug discovery by constructing an interpretable hyperbolic latent space, simultaneously incorporating drug and target hierarchies and pairing them with available interaction information. Moreover, compatible with pairwise methods, the approach allows for additional transparency through existing explainable AI solutions.
by Chi Su, Yilong Hua, Yi Liu, Shu Tao, Fei Jia, Wenhui Zhao, Wangyang Lin
Mining wastewater with heavy metals poses a serious threat to the ecological environment. However, the acute single and combined ecological effects of heavy metals, such as chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni), on freshwater ostracods, and the development of relevant prediction models, remain poorly understood. In this study, Heterocypris sp. was chosen to investigate the single and combined acute toxicity of Cr and Ni. Then, the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was used to predict the combined toxicity of Cr and Ni. The single acute toxicity experiments revealed high toxicity for both Cr and Ni. In addition, Cr exhibited greater toxicity compared to Ni, as evidenced by its lower 96-hour half-lethal concentration (LC50) of 1.07 mg/L compared to 4.7 mg/L for Ni. Furthermore, the combined acute toxicity experiments showed that the toxicity of Cr-Ni was higher than Ni but lower than Cr. Compared with the concentration addition (CA) and independent action (IA) models, the predicted results of the QSAR model were more consistent with the experimental results for the Cr-Ni combined acute toxicity. So, the high accuracy of QSAR model identified its feasibility to predict the toxicity of heavy metal pollutants in mining wastewater.
by Alvaro Torres-Huerta, Katelyn Ruley-Haase, Theodore Reed, Antonia Boger-May, Derek Rubadeux, Lauren Mayer, Arpitha Mysore Rajashekara, Morgan Hiller, Madeleine Frech, Connor Roncagli, Cameron Pedersen, Mary Catherine Camacho, Lauren Hollmer, Lauren English, Grace Kane, David L. Boone
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) result from uncontrolled inflammation in the intestinal mucosa leading to damage and loss of function. Both innate and adaptive immunity contribute to the inflammation of IBD and innate and adaptive immune cells reciprocally activate each other in a forward feedback loop. In order to better understand innate immune contributions to IBD, we developed a model of spontaneous 100% penetrant, early onset colitis that occurs in the absence of adaptive immunity by crossing villin-TNFAIP3 mice to RAG1-/- mice (TRAG mice). This model is driven by microbes and features increased levels of innate lymphoid cells in the intestinal mucosa. To investigate the role of type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) in the innate colitis of TRAG mice, we crossed them to retinoid orphan receptor gamma t deficient (Rorγt-/-) mice. Rorγt-/- x TRAG mice exhibited markedly reduced eosinophilia in the colonic mucosa, but colitis persisted in these mice. Colitis in Rorγt-/- x TRAG mice was characterized by increased infiltration of the intestinal mucosa by neutrophils, inflammatory monocytes, macrophages and other innate cells. RNA and cellular profiles of Rorγt-/- x TRAG mice were consistent with a lack of ILC3 and ILC3 derived cytokines, reduced antimicrobial factors, increased activation oof epithelial repair processes and reduced activation of epithelial cell STAT3. The colitis in Rorγt-/- x TRAG mice was ameliorated by antibiotic treatment indicating that microbes contribute to the ILC3-independent colitis of these mice. Together, these gene expression and cell signaling signatures reflect the double-edged sword of ILC3 in the intestine, inducing both proinflammatory and antimicrobial protective responses. Thus, Rorγt promotes eosinophilia but Rorγt and Rorγt-dependent ILC3 are dispensable for the innate colitis in TRAG mice.
Little is known regarding how non-specialist nurses communicate with patients living with cancer when the patients are receiving care outside of their cancer units/teams. This scoping review aims to identify, examine and report on the currently available evidence about communication by non-specialist nurses when caring for adults living with cancer outside of their cancer care unit/teams.
A scoping review following the JBI methodology for scoping reviews will be conducted. We will search for empirical studies that meet the inclusion criteria in six databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus and PsycINFO). Handsearching in references of included articles will be performed to find additional articles. The population of interest will be non-specialist nurses. Three concepts will be explored, namely (1) all adult patients living with cancer, (2) a focus on three stages of the cancer continuum of care (cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship) and (3) a focus on communication between non-specialist nurses and patients living with cancer. We will include studies describing all healthcare settings outside patients’ specialised cancer units or oncology teams. After article selection, two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts and perform a full-text article review, risk of bias assessments and data extraction. A third reviewer will resolve all disagreements. A narrative summary will provide an overview of how the results relate to the research aims and questions. The included articles will be limited to English and published between 2012 and 2023.
No ethical approval is required since we will use publicly available empirical research sources. This review will provide current research on communication by non-specialist nurses with patients with a cancer diagnosis outside of an oncology setting, evidence that will support effective communication. As such, we aim to disseminate the findings in academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, despite surgical and endovascular treatments. Emerging evidence supports the use of immediate antithrombotic medications after endovascular intervention for PAD, however, there is a lack of consensus regarding choice and duration of antithrombotic therapy. Prescriber decision-making is a complex process, with prior studies demonstrating patient factors can influence variability in antithrombotic therapy for PAD. However, it remains unclear the relative contribution of these factors. This paper describes a planned study that aims to (1) determine the influence of patient factors on clinician preference for antithrombotic therapy following endovascular intervention and (2) compare differences in prescribing preferences between consultant vascular surgeons and trainees.
This cross-sectional survey will evaluate antithrombotic prescribing choices using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) that has been developed and piloted for this study. A list of attributes and levels was generated using a mixed-methods approach. This included an extensive literature review and semistructured interviews with prescribing clinicians. Following final selection of included attributes, specialised software was used to construct a D-efficient design for the DCE questionnaire. The electronic questionnaire will be administered to vascular trainees and consultant surgeons across Australia. These data will be analysed using multinomial logistic regression, treating the decision to prescribe antithrombotic therapy as a function of both the attributes of the two alternatives, as well as characteristics of the respondent. Latent class analysis will be used to explore heterogeneity of responses.
Ethics approval was obtained from the University of Sydney Human Ethics committee (2023/474). The results of this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national vascular surgical conferences. These results will be used to improve understanding how clinicians make prescribing decisions and to inform future strategy to enhance guideline-directed prescribing.
To assess factors associated with knowledge and attitudes towards preconception care among reproductive-aged women in Mizan Aman town, southwest, Ethiopia.
A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 November to 25 November 2021. The data were entered into Epidata V.3.1 and exported to SPSS V.26. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with outcome variables.
The study was conducted in Mizan Aman town, Southwest, Ethiopia. A total of 422 reproductive-aged women were enrolled in the study.
Knowledge and attitude towards preconception care, associated factors of preconception care.
168 (39.8%) study subjects had good knowledge about preconception care, and 52.4% of the study subjects had a favourable attitude. Knowledge of preconception care was significantly associated with educational status (adjusted OR, AOR=6, p=0.01), marital status (AOR=1.47, p=0.001) and a positive attitude (AOR=1.8, p=0.08). Preconception care attitude was strongly associated with the maternal age group of 25–35 years (AOR=5.4, p=0.001), maternal age group of 36–42 years (AOR=3.5, p=0.02), source of income (AOR=5.3, p=0.01) and occupation (AOR=13.9, p=001).
The study revealed that knowledge about preconception care was significantly lower. Disseminating preconception education and incorporating preconception care into the maternal continuum of care was the most important to boost the knowledge and attitude level of women towards preconception care.
The objective was to map the experiences and needs of patients presenting with symptoms of suspected cancer in the primary care interval (from when they first present to primary care to their first appointment or referral to a secondary or tertiary level healthcare facility).
This was a scoping review.
Studies or reports written in English which included primary data on the primary care interval experiences and/or needs of adult patients presenting with new symptoms of suspected cancer were eligible. Studies which only included patients with secondary or recurring cancer, conference abstracts and reviews were excluded. No date limits were applied.
The Joanna Briggs Institute method for Scoping Reviews guided screening, report selection and data extraction. At least two independent reviewers contributed to each stage. Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo, Embase and Web of Science were searched and several grey literature resources. Relevant quantitative findings were qualitised and integrated with qualitative findings. A thematic analysis was carried out.
Of the 4855 records identified in the database search, 18 were included in the review, along with 13 identified from other sources. The 31 included studies were published between 2002 and 2023 and most (n=17) were conducted in the UK. Twenty subthemes across four themes (patient experience, interpersonal, healthcare professional (HCP) skills, organisational) were identified. No studies included patient-reported outcome measures. Patients wanted (1) to feel heard and understood by HCPs, (2) a plan to establish what was causing their symptoms, and (3) information about the next stages of the diagnostic process.
Scoping review findings can contribute to service planning as the cancer diagnostic pathway for symptomatic presentation of cancer evolves. The effectiveness of this pathway should be evaluated not only in terms of clinical outcomes, but also patient-reported outcomes and experience, along with the perspectives of primary care HCPs.
The Health, Food, Purchases and Lifestyle (SMIL) cohort is a prospective open Danish cohort that collects electronic consumer purchase data, which can be linked to Danish nationwide administrative health and social registries. This paper provides an overview of the cohort’s baseline characteristics and marginal differences in the monetary percentage spent on food groups by sex, age and hour of the day.
As of 31 December 2022, the cohort included 11 214 users of a smartphone-based receipt collection application who consented to share their unique identification number for linkage to registries in Denmark. In 2022, the composition of the cohort was as follows: 62% were men while 24% were aged 45–55. The cohort had a median of 63 (IQR 26–116) unique shopping trips. The cohort included participants with a range of health statuses. Notably, 21% of participants had a history of cardiovascular disease and 8% had diabetes before donating receipts.
The feasibility of translating consumer purchase data to operationalisable food groups and merging with registers has been demonstrated. We further demonstrated differences in marginal distributions which revealed disparities in the amount of money spent on various food groups by sex and age, as well as systematic variations by the hour of the day. For example, men under 30 spent 8.2% of their total reported expenditure on sugary drinks, while women under 30 spent 6.5%, men over 30 spent 4.3% and women over 30 spent 3.9%.
The SMIL cohort is characterised by its dynamic, continuously updated database, offering an opportunity to explore the relationship between diet and disease without the limitations of self-reported data. Currently encompassing data from 2018 to 2022, data collection is set to continue. We expect data collection to continue for many years and we are taking several initiatives to increase the cohort.
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