121 research outputs found
Behavioural counselling to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables in low income adults : randomised trial
Get PDFObjective To measure the effect of brief behavioural
counselling in general practice on patientsâ
consumption of fruit and vegetables in adults from a
low income population.
Design Parallel group randomised controlled trial.
Setting Primary health centre in a deprived, ethnically
mixed inner city area.
Participants 271 patients aged 18-70 years without
serious illness.
Intervention Brief individual behavioural counselling
based on the stage of change model; time matched
nutrition education counselling.
Main outcome measures Self reported number of
portions of fruit and vegetables eaten per day, plasma
ÎČ carotene, α tocopherol, and ascorbic acid
concentrations, and 24 hour urinary potassium
excretion. Assessment at baseline, eight weeks, and 12
months.
Results Consumption of fruit and vegetables
increased from baseline to 12 months by 1.5 and 0.9
portions per day in the behavioural and nutrition
groups (mean difference 0.6 portions, 95% confidence
interval 0.1 to 1.1). The proportion of participants
eating five or more portions a day increased by 42%
and 27% in the two groups (mean difference 15%, 3%
to 28%). Plasma ÎČ carotene and α tocopherol
concentrations increased in both groups, but the rise
in ÎČ carotene was greater in the behavioural group
(mean difference 0.16 ÎŒmol/l, 0.001 ÎŒmol/l to 1.34
ÎŒmol/l). There were no changes in plasma ascorbic
acid concentrations or urinary potassium excretion.
Differences were maintained when analysis was
restricted to the 177 participants with incomes
†£400 (âŹ596, $640) a week.
Conclusions Brief individual counselling in primary
care can elicit sustained increases in consumption of
fruit and vegetables in low income adults in the
general population
ASD, Employment and Mental Health
Get PDFFactsheet for HR Departments (and employers more generally).
This leaflet is designed to help Human Resources departments understand Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the impact of mental health on individuals with ASD in the workplace. It provides information on how HR can help, and 'Top Tips' to support employees with ASD & mental health difficulties
A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing mortality in pre-hospital tracheal intubation to emergency department intubation in trauma patients
Get PDFBackground
Pre-hospital endotracheal intubation is frequently used for trauma patients in many emergency medical systems. Despite a wide range of publications in the field, it is debated whether the intervention is associated with a favourable outcome, when compared to more conservative airway measures.
Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted to identify interventional and observational studies where the mortality rates of adult trauma patients undergoing pre-hospital endotracheal intubation were compared to those undergoing emergency department intubation.
Results
Twenty-one studies examining 35,838 patients were included. The median mortality rate in patients undergoing pre-hospital intubation was 48% (range 8â94%), compared to 29% (range 6â67%) in patients undergoing intubation in the emergency department. Odds ratios were in favour of emergency department intubation both in crude and adjusted mortality, with 2.56 (95% CI: 2.06, 3.18) and 2.59 (95% CI: 1.97, 3.39), respectively. The overall quality of evidence is very low. Twelve of the twenty-one studies found a significantly higher mortality rate after pre-hospital intubation, seven found no significant differences, one found a positive effect, and for one study an analysis of the mortality rate was beyond the scope of the article.
Conclusions
The rationale for wide and unspecific indications for pre-hospital intubation seems to lack support in the literature, despite several publications involving a relatively large number of patients. Pre-hospital intubation is a complex intervention where guidelines and research findings should be approached cautiously. The association between pre-hospital intubation and a higher mortality rate does not necessarily contradict the importance of the intervention, but it does call for a thorough investigation by clinicians and researchers into possible causes for this finding.publishedVersio
Reaching and understanding
Get PDFIndividuals with Asperger syndrome, part of the autism spectrum, experience particular difficulties with social interaction and communication. Despite having average (or above average) intellectual ability, the vast majority of these individuals fail to secure, or maintain, long term employment. Furthermore, high rates of anxiety are common in this group and this further compounds employment difficulties.
In this article we outline some of the difficulties experienced by those with Asperger syndrome in the workplace, as well as the role and responsibility of those working in HR Departments to support those with Asperger syndrome according to the Equality Act (2010). We provide specific ideas for interventions and support that may be appropriate to this group.
The article links to the HR Factsheet also available (see http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/5624/)
High Local Diversity of Trypanosoma in a Common Bat Species, and Implications for the Biogeography and Taxonomy of the T. cruzi Clade
Full text linkThe Trypanosoma cruzi clade is a group of parasites that comprises T. cruzi sensu lato and its closest relatives. Although several species have been confirmed phylogenetically to belong to this clade, it is uncertain how many more species can be expected to belong into this group. Here, we present the results of a survey of trypanosome parasites of the bat Artibeus jamaicensis from the PanamaÂŽ Canal Zone, an important seed disperser. Using a genealogical species delimitation approach, the Poisson tree processes (PTP), we tentatively identified five species of trypanosomes â all belonging to the T. cruzi clade. A small monophyletic group of three putative Trypanosoma species places at the base of the clade phylogeny, providing evidence for at least five independent colonization events of these parasites into the New World. Artibeus jamaicensis presents a high diversity of these blood parasites and is the vertebrate with the highest number of putative trypanosome species reported from a single locality. Our results emphasize the need for continued efforts to survey mammalian trypanosomes
Hemiptera records from Lake Spechtensee and from Southern Styria (Austria)
Get PDFHemiptera records gained in July 2015 in course of the 7th European Hemiptera Congress in Styria are presented. In total, 144 Auchenorrhyncha, 143 Heteroptera, 13 Psylloidea and 2 Aphididae species were collected. Ribautodelphax imitans (Delphacidae), Eurhadina saageri (Cicadellidae), Notonecta maculata (Notonectidae), Notonecta meridionalis (Notonectidae) and Polymerus cognatus (Miridae) are new records for Styria
Visual and olfactory associative learning in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto
Get PDF<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Memory and learning are critical aspects of the ecology of insect vectors of human pathogens because of their potential effects on contacts between vectors and their hosts. Despite this epidemiological importance, there have been only a limited number of studies investigating associative learning in insect vector species and none on Anopheline mosquitoes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A simple behavioural assays was developed to study visual and olfactory associative learning in <it>Anopheles gambiae</it>, the main vector of malaria in Africa. Two contrasted membrane qualities or levels of blood palatability were used as reinforcing stimuli for bi-directional conditioning during blood feeding.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Under such experimental conditions <it>An. gambiae </it>females learned very rapidly to associate visual (chequered and white patterns) and olfactory cues (presence and absence of cheese or Citronella smell) with the reinforcing stimuli (bloodmeal quality) and remembered the association for up to three days. Associative learning significantly increased with the strength of the conditioning stimuli used. Importantly, learning sometimes occurred faster when a positive reinforcing stimulus (palatable blood) was associated with an innately preferred cue (such as a darker visual pattern). However, the use of too attractive a cue (e.g. Shropshire cheese smell) was counter-productive and decreased learning success.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results address an important knowledge gap in mosquito ecology and emphasize the role of associative memory for <it>An. gambiae</it>'s host finding and blood-feeding behaviour with important potential implications for vector control.</p
The Consumption of Khat and Other Drugs in Somali Combatants: A Cross-Sectional Study
Get PDFHaving interviewed military personnel in Somali, Michael Odenwald and colleagues conclude that drug-related problems, mainly relating to the use of khat, have reached proportions formerly unknown to the country
The prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to cost for the elderly: Results from seven European urban communities
Get PDFBackground:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported underuse of medications due to procurement costs amongst older persons from seven European urban communities.
Methods:
The data were collected in a cross-sectional study (âABUEL, Elder abuse: A multinational prevalence surveyâ) in 2009. Randomly selected people aged 60â84 years (nâ=â4,467) from seven urban communities: Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden) were interviewed. Response rate - 45.2 %. Ethical permission was received in each country.
Results:
The results indicate that 3.6 % (nâ=â162) of the respondents self-reported refraining from buying prescribed medications due to cost. The highest prevalence of this problem was identified in Lithuania (15.7 %, nâ=â99) and Portugal (4.3 %, nâ=â28). Other countries reported lower percentages of refraining from buying medications (Germany â 2.0 %, Italy â 1.6 %, Sweden â 1.0 %, Greece â 0.6 %, Spain â 0.3 %). Females refrained more often from buying medications than males (2.6 % vs. 4.4 %, pâ<â0.0001). The prevalence of this refraining tended to increase with economic hardship.
Discussion:
These differences between countries can be only partly described by the financing of health-care systems. In spite of the presence of cost reimbursement mechanisms, patients need to make co-payments (or in some cases to pay the full price) for prescribed medications. This indicates that the purchasing power of people in 10.1186/s12913-015-1089-4 the particular country can play a major role and be related with the economic situation in the country. Lithuania, which has reported the highest refrain rates, had the lowest gross domestic product (at the time of conducting this study) of all participating countries in the study.
Conclusions:
Refraining from buying the prescribed medications due to cost is a problem for women and men in respect to ageing people in Europe. Prevalence varies by country, sex, and economic hardship.The ABUEL was supported by the Executive Agency for Health and Consumers (EAHC) (Grant No., A/2007123) and participating institutions
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