Baseline Database Research Articles

Subjective sleep quality and sleep habits of elderly inhabiting rural areas of Sambalpur district of Odisha, India.

Sleep is an important physiological process that is essential for human beings because it maintains the circadian rhythm appropriately. The sleep behavior in the older population of India has not been studied adequately. Further, there is no report on the sleep behavior of the elderly population of Odisha, India. Therefore, this study has been designed to examine the status of sleep quality in the elderly living in rural areas of the Sambalpur district of western Odisha, India. This study includes1992 elderly subjects above the age of 60 years (945 females and 1047 males) who participated voluntarily. Data collection was done using a socio-demographic form and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) inventory to determine the sleep quality and related factors that might alter the quality of sleep. The prevalence rate of sleep quality was assessed for both groups and the independence of attributes was tested statistically using the Chi-square test with ap-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Of the 1992 elderly participants, 1384 (69.5%) showed good sleep quality, and 608 (30.5%) had poor sleep quality. The factors, "female gender, marital status such as married" and "drinking habits of alcohol" are the statistically significant associations with good sleep quality among the elderly participants. The overall prevalence of good-quality sleep was high among the elderly participants living in rural areas of the Sambalpur district of western Odisha. These results might serve as a baseline database for future research endeavors. Further, a longitudinal study that has been planned might help in identifying the underlying factors that sustain good-quality sleep in a majority of the studied population.

A computational model for potential microbe-disease association detection based on improved graph convolutional networks and multi-channel autoencoders.

Accumulating evidence shows that human health and disease are closely related to the microbes in the human body. In this manuscript, a new computational model based on graph attention networks and sparse autoencoders, called GCANCAE, was proposed for inferring possible microbe-disease associations. In GCANCAE, we first constructed a heterogeneous network by combining known microbe-disease relationships, disease similarity, and microbial similarity. Then, we adopted the improved GCN and the CSAE to extract neighbor relations in the adjacency matrix and novel feature representations in heterogeneous networks. After that, in order to estimate the likelihood of a potential microbe associated with a disease, we integrated these two types of representations to create unique eigenmatrices for diseases and microbes, respectively, and obtained predicted scores for potential microbe-disease associations by calculating the inner product of these two types of eigenmatrices. Based on the baseline databases such as the HMDAD and the Disbiome, intensive experiments were conducted to evaluate the prediction ability of GCANCAE, and the experimental results demonstrated that GCANCAE achieved better performance than state-of-the-art competitive methods under the frameworks of both 2-fold and 5-fold CV. Furthermore, case studies of three categories of common diseases, such as asthma, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and type 2 diabetes (T2D), confirmed the efficiency of GCANCAE.

3D motion analysis dataset of healthy young adult volunteers walking and running on overground and treadmill

Used on clinical and sportive context, three-dimensional motion analysis is considered as the gold standard in the biomechanics field. The proposed dataset has been established on 30 asymptomatic young participants. Volunteers were asked to walk at slow, comfortable and fast speeds, and to run at comfortable and fast speeds on overground and treadmill using shoes. Three dimensional trajectories of 63 reflective markers, 3D ground reaction forces and moments were simultaneously recorded. A total of 4840 and 18159 gait cycles were measured for overground and treadmill walking, respectively. Additionally, 2931 and 18945 cycles were measured for overground and treadmill running, respectively. The dataset is presented in C3D and CSV files either in raw or pre-processed format. The aim of this dataset is to provide a complete set of data that will help for the gait characterization during clinical gait analysis and in a sportive context. This data could be used for the creation of a baseline database for clinical purposes to research activities exploring the gait and the run.

Normative performance data on visual attention in neurotypical children: virtual reality assessment of cognitive and psychomotor development

Introduction: Virtual Reality (VR) is revolutionizing healthcare research and practice by offering innovative methodologies across various clinical conditions. Advances in VR technology enable the creation of controllable, multisensory 3D environments, making it an appealing tool for capturing and quantifying behavior in realistic scenarios. This paper details the application of VR as a tool for neurocognitive evaluation, specifically in attention process assessment, an area of relevance for informing the diagnosis of childhood health conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Methods: The data presented focuses on attention performance results from a large sample (n = 837) of neurotypical male and female children (ages 6–13) tested on a visual continuous performance task, administered within an immersive VR classroom environment. This data was collected to create a normative baseline database for use to inform comparisons with the performances of children with ADHD to support diagnostic decision-making in this area.Results: Results indicate systematic improvements on most metrics across the age span, and sex differences are noted on key variables thought to reflect differential measures of hyperactivity and inattention in children with ADHD. Results support VR technology as a safe and viable option for testing attention processes in children, under stimulus conditions that closely mimic ecologically relevant challenges found in everyday life.Discussion: In response to these stimulus conditions, VR can support advanced methods for capturing and quantifying users’ behavioral responses. VR offers a more systematic and objective approach for clinical assessment and intervention and provides conceptual support for its use in a wide variety of healthcare contexts.

Unveiling microplastics pollution in a subtropical rural recreational lake: A novel insight

While global attention has been primarily focused on the occurrence and persistence of microplastics (MP) in urban lakes, relatively little attention has been paid to the problem of MP pollution in rural recreational lakes. This pioneering study aims to shed light on MP size, composition, abundance, spatial distribution, and contributing factors in a rural recreational lake, ‘Nikli Lake’ in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh. Using density separation, MPs were extracted from 30 water and 30 sediment samples taken from ten different locations in the lake. Subsequent characterization was carried out using a combination of techniques, including a stereomicroscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results showed a significant prevalence of MPs in all samples, with an average amount of 109.667 ± 10.892 pieces/kg3 (dw) in the sediment and 98.167 ± 12.849 pieces/m3 in the water. Small MPs (<0.5 mm), fragments and transparent colored particles formed the majority, accounting for 80.2%, 64.5% and 55.3% in water and 78.9%, 66.4% and 64.3% in sediment, respectively. In line with global trends, polypropylene (PP) (53%) and polyethylene (PE) (43%) emerged as the predominant polymers within the MPs. MP contents in water and sediment showed positive correlations with outflow, while they correlated negatively with inflow and lake depth (p > 0.05). Local activities such as the discharge of domestic sewage, fishing waste and agricultural runoff significantly influence the distribution of polypropylene. Assessment of pollution factor, pollution risk index and pollution load index values at the sampling sites confirmed the presence of MPs, with values above 1. This study is a baseline database that provides a comprehensive understanding of MP pollution in the freshwater ecosystem of Bangladesh, particularly in a rural recreational lake. A crucial next step is to explore ecotoxicological mechanisms, legislative measures and future research challenges triggered by MP pollution.

An annotated checklist of the birds in Loharghat Forest Range, Assam, India

Loharghat Forest Range, within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, features diverse habitats like wetlands, scrublands, grasslands, tropical and deciduous forests. Chandubi, a vital tectonic wetland in the landscape, is designated as Important Bird Area (2003) and Key Biodiversity Area (2005) but remains largely unexplored. This study aims to establish a baseline database of avifaunal assemblages from the Loharghat Forest Range in Kamrup District, Assam, which includes the Mayang Reserved Forest and Barduar Reserved Forest. The forest is protected and managed by the local community. The surveys were conducted between August 2021 to June 2023. The study revealed the occurrence of a total of 224 avian species belonging to 20 orders and 58 families. The birds are further categorised on the basis of their seasonal movements, diets, and rarity in the region. Our findings indicate that the community-managed forests have a rich and diverse avifauna.

First Report of Tetragonula calophyllae Shanas &amp; Faseeh 2019 (Apidae: Apinae: Meliponini) from Goa State, India

The occurrence of Tetragonula calophyllae Shanas &amp; Faseeh 2019, in Goa state, India, is reported for the first time. Morphometric comparison between T. calophyllae workers from Goa and Type series are provided along with comments on the external nest entrance. The need for developing baseline database on species distribution is stressed for developing policies for conservation planning and climate adaptation strategies for future.

Gastrointestinal Manifestations in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Data from an Indian Multi-institutional Inception (INSPIRE) Cohort.

To study the prevalence, correlates, and outcomes of GI manifestations in a prospectively enrolled nationwide cohort of SLE in India (INSPIRE). It is an observational cohort study with analysis of the baseline database of the INSPIRE cohort with early outcomes assessed till April 10, 2023. Cases with GI manifestations as per the BILAG index were selected, pertinent clinical and laboratory data were retrieved for analysis. Patients with GI manifestations were compared with the rest of the cohort and factors associated with death were determined. Of the 2503 patients with SLE enrolled in the INSPIRE cohort, 243(9.7%) had GI manifestations observed early in the disease course(1,0-3 months). Ascites(162,6.5%), followed by enteritis(41,1.6%), pancreatitis(35,1.4%) and hepatitis(24,0.9%) were the most prevalent manifestations.All patients received immunosuppressive therapy, and four patients required surgery. Twenty-nine patients died(11.9%), with uncontrolled disease activity(17,58.6%) and infection(6,20.7%) accounting for the majority of deaths. Low socioeconomic class[lower(Hazard Ratio (95% Confidence intervals- CI) 2.8(1.1-7.9); upper lower 7.5(2-27.7); reference as upper class] and SLEDAI 2K[1.06(1.02-1.11)] were associated with death in the GI group.GI manifestations were significantly associated with age[Odds Ratio & 95% CI 0.97(0.96-0.99)], pleural effusion[4.9(3.6-6.7)], thrombocytopenia[1.7(1.2-2.4)], myositis[1.7(1.1-2.7)], albumin[0.7(0.5-0.8)], alkaline phosphatase(ALP)[1.01(1.0-1.002)], low C3[1.9(1.3-2.5)], total bilirubin[1.2(1.03-1.3)], alopecia[0.62(0.5-0.96], elevated anti-dsDNA[0.5(0.4-0.8)], and anti-U1RNP antibody[0.8(0.5-0.7)] in model one; and age[0.97(0.96-0.99)], creatinine[1.2(1.03-1.4)], total bilirubin[1.2(1.03-1.3)], ALP[1.01(1.0-1.002)], albumin[0.6(0.5-0.7)], andanti-U1RNP antibody[0.6(0.5-0.8)] in model two in multivariate analysis compared with patients without GI features. The mortality was higher in the GI group(11.9% and 6.6%, p= 0.01) as compared with controls. GI manifestations were observed in 9.7% of the cohort and were always associated with systemic disease activity and had higher mortality.

Perioperative outcomes in male patients undergoing cystectomy, radical colorectal procedure or total pelvic exenteration.

Total pelvic exenteration (TPE) in men is a surgical procedure to treat genitourinary and colorectal malignancies. Despite improvement in multimodal strategies and technology, mortality is still high and literature is limited about perioperative outcomes comparison to other radical procedures. We analyzed National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) baseline database of all male patients undergoing cystectomy, low anterior resection/abdominoperineal resection (LAR/APR) or TPE from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2016. Postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery were measured including: Wound infection, septic complications, deep vein thrombosis, cardiovascular events, and return to the operating room or mortality, etc. Differences between groups were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. A total of 7,375 patients underwent radical cystectomy, 49,762 underwent LAR/APR and 792 underwent TPE. Cystectomy patients were on average older compared to TPE or LAR/APR patients (P<0.001). In univariable and multivariable analysis, patients undergoing TPE had greater infectious and septic complications compared to cystectomy (odds ratio =1.09; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.12) and LAR/APR (odds ratio =1.08; 95% CI: 1.05-1.11). Moreover, TPE had a slightly higher mortality within the 30-day postoperatively than those who underwent LAR/APR (odds ratio =1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.02) and cystectomy (odds ratio =1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.01). Men undergoing TPE had greater rates of infections and postoperative complications compared to those undergoing radical cystectomy and LAR/APR. From a clinical standpoint, TPE has high morbidity that could provide opportunity for quality improvement projects with the goal of mitigating high complication rates.

Investigation of environmental radioactivity levels and human health risk around San'ao Nuclear Power Plant (China) before operation

Baseline study on environmental radioactivity levels and public health conditions are crucial before the operation of nuclear facilities. Our goal is to establish a baseline database before the operation of San'ao Nuclear Power Plant (SNPP). To achieve this, water and food samples collection was carried out around the SNPP from 2021 to 2022 for laboratory analysis to determine the radioactivity levels. Thereafter, annual effective dose (AED) to local residents were evaluated by the analysis results and cancer incidence rates were analyzed by health data of local residents. Our results showed that the gross α and β activity concentrations in water varied within < 0.016–0.023 Bq/L and 0.031–0.080 Bq/L, respectively. The 90Sr and 137Cs activity concentrations range from 3.1 to 9.7 mBq/L and 0.11–0.42 mBqg/L in water, and range from 0.037 to 0.95 Bq/kg and 0.015–0.38 Bq/kg in food. All obtained results of gross α and β, 90Sr and 137Cs were below the thresholds of World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese national standard. The AED induced by ingestion of food or drinking water were below the thresholds of WHO or Chinese national standard, indicating that radiation exposure was at a safe level. The incidence rate of all cancer sites combined among the residents around the SNPP was slightly higher than other regions, but still remained at the same scale. However, the incidence rate of thyroid cancer stood out to be significantly higher than the national average value in China, presumably due to excessive iodine intake in the study region.

Size-segregated aerosol measurements during Diwali festival in an elevated background location

Recent studies in the direction of identifying signatures of aerosol emission from fireworks stressed on the need of simultaneous measurements of mass, number and chemical compositional characteristics. Such an identification is tricky when the measurements are performed in an elevated background environment and/or in presence of an additional wide source term. This work studies the modifications in atmospheric aerosol characteristics due to firework induced emissions in Bathinda city of Punjab, North India. This study presents interpretations based on the results obtained from the measurements performed for 14 days covering the days of Diwali festival, 2021 as well as the baseline database gathered from a year-long campaign to measure mass concentration in different size-ranges. Highest mass concentration for the study duration was observed to be PM10- 382 μg/m3, PM2.5–299 μg/m3, PM1- 240 μg/m3, respectively in the month of November 2021. A clear increase of concentration was noted for Diwali days and the averaged concentration for PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 reached to 445 μg/m3, 363 μg/m3 and 304 μg/m3 on Diwali day, respectively. Number size distribution evolution analysis for the data measured from an optical particle counter (size range: 0.25–1 μm) showed that emissions for Diwali days occurred mostly at night times and in smaller size channels (<0.5 μm). Chemical compositional data of selected samples close to Diwali days was interpreted in terms of factor of increase of mass density of collected particles in different size-ranges. Mass density of elements K, Cl, S, Al, Zn, P, Mn, Pb, Br and Zr in PM1 samples was observed to be higher for Diwali days in comparison to their pre-Diwali levels. Few elements viz. Ba, Sr and Nb were found to be only present in the samples taken during Diwali days. In addition to Ba, Sr and Nb, elements V, Mg, Br and Se were observed to be present in PM2.5 and PM10 samples taken during the Diwali days. This study provides combined ambient aerosol characteristics during Diwali days when the air quality was affected by stubble burning as well.

Performance evaluation of the AiDx multi-diagnostic automated microscope for the detection of schistosomiasis in Abuja, Nigeria

In this research, we report on the performance of automated optical digital detection and quantification of Schistosoma haematobium provided by AiDx NTDx multi-diagnostic Assist microscope. Our study was community-based, and a convenient sampling method was used in 17 communities in Abuja Nigeria, based on the disease prevalence information extracted from the baseline database on schistosomiasis, NTD Division, of the Federal Ministry of Health. At baseline, samples from 869 participants were evaluated of which 358 (34.1%) tested S. haematobium positive by the reference diagnostic standard. Registered images from the fully automated (autofocusing, scanning, image registration and processing, AI image analysis and automatic parasite count) AiDx assist microscope were analyzed. The Semi automated (autofocusing, scanning, image registration & processing and manual parasite count) and the fully automated AiDx Assist showed comparable sensitivities and specificities of [90.3%, 98%] and [89%, 99%] respectively. Overall, estimated egg counts of the semi-automated & fully automated AiDx Assist correlated significantly with the egg counts of conventional microscopy (r = 0.93, p ≤ 0.001 and r = 0.89, p ≤ 0.001 respectively). The AiDx Assist device performance is consistent with requirement of the World Health Organization diagnostic target product profile for monitoring, evaluation, and surveillance of Schistosomiasis elimination Programs.

Efficient prediction of fog-related low-visibility events with Machine Learning and evolutionary algorithms

Low visibility events are a severe problem for road transport, causing accidents and major economic losses. Their accurate prediction may help prevent these problems. For that purpose, machine and deep learning techniques have been applied for fog prediction using in situ meteorological data and persistence variables as baseline predictors. These techniques have been evaluated for different prediction time-horizons: 1 h, 3 h and 6 h. The effect of including data extracted from ERA5 Reanalysis as predictive variables has been studied. A database, covering 23 months, has been used, which contains visibility and other meteorogical variables measured in Mondoñedo, Galicia, Spain. A 222000 km2 region around Mondoñedo has been delimited. Thus, a proposed iterative forward selection algorithm based on evolutionary algorithms has been applied to determine the optimal variables and nodes in the region for each regressor model. Both Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimization have been used as optimization algorithms, and an improvement of up to 17.3% with respect to the baseline databases have been obtained. Finally, an analysis of the most frequently selected variables by the evolutionary algorithms has been conducted, leading us to conclude which variables and geographical nodes provide better information to the prediction models.

Risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in agricultural soils and bioconcentration in rice grains from Faridkot District, India

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soil pose significant risks to both ecology and human health. Therefore, to understand the effect of PTEs in agricultural soils of Faridkot District, Punjab, India, 36 soil samples were analyzed for physicochemical properties, contents of PTEs (aluminum, arsenic, nickel, boron, uranium, barium, chromium, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, cobalt, manganese, selenium, and zinc), possible ecological and human health risks and bioconcentration in rice grains. Soils showed high mean contents (mg/kg) of potassium (906.65), sodium (760.78), and chlorides (247.13) with cadmium, copper, zinc, arsenic, and selenium contents (mg/kg) in 55.56%, 33.33%, 25.00%, 16.67%, and 13.89% of samples exceeding their safe limits (0.06, 20.00, 50.00, 20.00, and 0.20, respectively). Individual and multi-element indices suggested extremely high-soil enrichment of arsenic, cadmium, and selenium and low to moderate ecological risk. Multivariate analyses revealed the contribution of both geogenic and anthropogenic activities to soil contamination. Mean bioconcentration factors of chromium (4.48), boron (1.24), and copper (2.69) were >1.00 in rice. Residents had higher cancer risk (TCR) due to arsenic (3.64E-05) and chromium (4.04E-06) in soil, mainly through ingestion and dermal contact. This work could serve as baseline database for further research and designing the strategy to alleviate soil contamination.

Occurrence and Effects of Microplastics in Lake Ecosystems: Particular Focus on Migration in Water and Food Chains

Microplastics have become a research hotspot in the environmental field owing to their persistence and complex ecological effects. Although microplastics have attracted public attention only recently, the microplastic pollution in lake, a unique water system characterized by their irreplaceable ecological value and special hydrodynamic conditions, were increasingly documented, calling for a summary of the most recent advance in this research area. Therefore, the sampling and analysis methods, occurrence, sources, and ecological effects of microplastics in lakes were summarized in this review. Various types of plastics are produced and used in large quantities for different purposes, resulting in microplastic pollution being widespread in lakes worldwide, albeit with different levels and characteristics. Microplastics constantly migrate and transform in lake ecosystems, exerting impacts on ecological, including pollution diffusion and biological toxicity. This review focused on the migration of microplastics in water and food chains, which is a different perspective than that considered in previously published reviews. This review also discussed the limitations of existing studies and made recommendations. Future research directions should include the following: 1) improving the baseline database of microplastic pollution in lakes; (2) unifying the sampling and laboratory analysis methods; (3) exploring the quantitative analysis methods of the sources, transportation, and fate of microplastics; (4) considering more factors to explore the effects of microplastics on lake ecosystems.

The Diversity of Alien Plant Species in South Africa’s National Botanical and Zoological Gardens

The management of biological invasions, which pose a growing threat to natural resources and human well-being, is critical for reducing associated negative impacts. As part of the process of developing a strategy for the management of biological invasions in the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s (SANBI) gardens, we collated a list of alien plant species from 13 gardens as part of a situational analysis. We requested lists of alien plant species recorded in each of the SANBI’s gardens. A total of 380 records included 225 alien plant species belonging to 73 families. A significant number of species were intentionally introduced through horticultural trade as ornamentals (49%; n = 225), while 20.9% were consumed as either food or medicine by humans. Plant life forms included woody and herbaceous plants, graminoids, succulents and ferns. Herbaceous (42.7%; n = 225) and woody plants (3.8%) were the dominant life forms. The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden had the highest number of alien species (88 species), followed by Kirstenbosch (61 species) and Pretoria (46 species) National Botanical Gardens, with herbaceous species constituting the largest number in all gardens (i.e., 47, 19, and 27 species, respectively). The number of species that we recorded that were listed in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEM: BA) (Act No. 10 of 2004): Alien and Invasive Species Regulations’ categories were not notably different from the number of unlisted species (58.2% vs. 42.8%). The number of species listed in the different categories varied significantly across the different gardens, with a significantly higher number of unlisted species and of Category 1b species in the Walter Sisulu, Kirstenbosch and Pretoria National Botanical Gardens than in other gardens. That a significantly larger number of alien species originated from South America points to the need to improve biosecurity controls on existing relations. The results of this study provided a baseline database to help comparison between successive surveys in future.

Mineral Composition of Important Shell Fish Species from the Escravos River Estuary, Delta State, Nigeria and their Nutritional Significance

This study was conducted to evaluate the mineral composition (phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese and zinc) of important shell fish species from the Escravos River Estuary, Delta State, Nigeria. A total of five shell fish species including the Pink shrimp (Peneaus notialis), Tiger shrimp (Peneaus monodon), Blue crab (Callinectes amnicola), Perewinkle (Tympanostonus fuscatus), and Mangrove oyster (Crassostrea gasar) were collected and used for the study. The shell fishes were collected from the fish landing sites of the estuary between March 2022 and June 2022 and analyzed for mineral composition following standard methods. The findings of this study showed that all the shell fish species evaluated were rich in minerals including phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) which varied significantly (P&lt;0.05) among the shell fish species. This is the first study to evaluate the mineral composition of important shell fish species that are of particular public health significance in the Escravos river estuary. The findings of this study have provided baseline information or database of minerals in shell fishes from the Escravos River. Therefore, shell fish consumers within the Escravos river will be sufficiently knowledgeable on the mineral composition of each shell fish species examined with the flexibility of consuming the shell fishes according to their mineral need. Also, the mineral profile of these shell fishes would provide a guideline for nutritionists and medical practitioners in the prescription of diet charts for the inhabitants of the Escravos river estuary and beyond.

Media reporting on alcohol and other drugs in Australia and the Mindframe guidelines: Baseline data.

The aim of this study was to generate a baseline database of print media reporting on alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues prior to the release of the Mindframe guidelines in March 2019. Specifically, to: (i) describe the content associated with media entries that focus on AOD use in Australian news media; (ii) determine how the media entries compare to several domains associated with recently developed Mindframe guidelines for publicly reporting on AOD; and (iii) identify content factors associated with different scores. Media entries between July 2016 and June 2017 were searched for key AOD-related terms using the Australian and New Zealand Newsstream database. Two coding schemes were developed to rate a stratified sample of 50% of the media entries against the Mindframe guidelines. Associations between content and total comparison scores were determined using linear regression models. Detailed coding of the 2007 articles identified as relevant for the current study indicated that a majority (67%) were focused on one of three substances: alcohol, cannabis or methamphetamine. Most of the entries were either law enforcement (22%) or criminal justice related (19%). Entries that focused on methamphetamine scored significantly lower than entries on alcohol when compared to the Mindframe guidelines, similarly entries focused on crime/justice-related topics scored significantly lower than entries focused on positive outcomes. A disproportionate number of print media entries, particularly those related methamphetamine use, focused on crime or justice-related topics, potentially further contributing to stigma, and emphasising the legal consequences of AOD use.

130/80mmHg as a unifying hypertension threshold for office brachial, office central, and ambulatory daytime brachial blood pressure.

The present study investigated the prognostic values for office brachial (OB), office central (OC), and ambulatory daytime brachial (AmDB) hypertension, as defined by a unifying threshold of 130/80mmHg, and the incremental value of either OC or AmDB hypertension to OB hypertension. A total of 1219 community residents without receiving anti-hypertensive treatment (671 men and 548 women, aged ≥ 30 years old) from central Taiwan and Kinmen islands had OB, OC, and AmDB blood pressure measurements during a cardiovascular survey conducted in 1992-1993. OB hypertension, OC hypertension, and AmDB hypertension were all defined in retrospect at the threshold of 130/80mmHg. They were followed up for nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular events until December 31, 2017, by linking the baseline database to the National Health Insurance Research dataset and the National Death Registry. During a follow-up of 25 612.5 person-years (Average event-free time: 21.0 years), there were 368 fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events. In multivariable analyses, OB hypertension, OC hypertension, and AmDB hypertension had similar hazard ratios for cardiovascular events [2.03, 95% confidence interval: 1.47-2.80]; 1.92 (1.47-2.51); and 1.79 (1.41-2.29), respectively. Using OB normotension as the reference, either the concordant OB and OC hypertension [2.24 (1.61-3.12)], or the concordant OB and AmDB hypertension [2.52 (1.80-3.54)] was significantly associated with cardiovascular events. Moreover, OB hypertension plus AmDB normotension was also significantly associated with increased risk for cardiovascular events. We concluded that OB hypertension, OC hypertension, and AmDB hypertension defined by a unifying threshold of 130/80mmHg may provide similar estimates of long-term risk for cardiovascular events. Cross-classification analyses suggest that addition of OC hypertension or AmDB hypertension may improve the prognostic value of OB hypertension.

Species composition and seasonal abundance of synanthropic flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in the Winnipeg area, Manitoba, Canada, 1978–1980

Abstract The blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) include many species that are important as nuisance flies, disease transmitters, and pollinators and are also very important in forensic entomology. Understanding the presence, phenology, and abundance of species in a given area is important in analysing a forensic case and is also valuable in developing baseline databases for comparison over time. Little work on Calliphoridae has been conducted in Manitoba, Canada. Baited traps were deployed at eight sites around the Winnipeg area throughout the insect season in 1978, 1979, and 1980. Five species, Cynomya cadaverina (Robineau-Desvoidy), Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy), Phormia regina (Meigen), Lucilia illustris (Meigen), and L. sericata (Meigen), were regularly collected, with Calliphora spp. Robineau-Desvoidy collected much less frequently. The same species were collected consistently over the years of trapping, although abundance varied greatly even at the same sites.