High Report Rate Research Articles

A Narrative Review of Q Fever in Europe.

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, causes abortions in animals. Its effects on humans and the management of Q fever in certain conditions like pregnancy are undetermined. The World Health Organization has estimated that zoonotic diseases cause around one billion cases of infections and millions of deaths globally each year. It is worth noting that many emerging infectious diseases currently being reported worldwide are zoonoses. We reviewed studies reporting on Q fever prevalence and incidence in Europe. Articles from 1937 to 2023 with the following terms "Coxiella burnetii and Europe and Q fever, and seroprevalence studies"were identified in the PubMed database and reports by organizations such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). We included randomized and observational studies, seroprevalence studies, case series, and case reports. According to the ECDC in 2019, 23 countries reported 1069 cases, the majority of which were classified as confirmed cases. The number of reports per 100,000 inhabitants in the EU/EEA was 0.2 for 2019, the same as the previous four years. The highest reportrate (0.7 cases per 100,000 population) was observed in Spain, followed by Romania (0.6), Bulgaria (0.5), and Hungary. Considering the typically asymptomatic nature of Q fever infection, it is imperative to strengthen the existing systems to promote the rapid identification and reporting of Q fever outbreaks in animals, particularly in cases of abortion. It is also essential to consider the facilitation of early information exchange between veterinarians and public health counterparts to ensure the timely detection and prevention of potential zoonotic events, including Q fever.

Observed and self-reported hand hygiene compliance and associated factors among healthcare workers at a county referral hospital in Kenya

BackgroundHand hygiene is effective in preventing and controlling healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). However, hand hygiene compliance remains low, and reasons are poorly understood, thus its research and feedback may lead to successful interventions. This study aimed to explore the observed and self-reported hand hygiene compliance and associated factors among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the medical/surgical ward of a county referral hospital in Kenya. MethodsCross-sectional study design was used in this research. Direct observation guided by 5 moments for hand hygiene concept was carried out to describe compliance, and the questionnaire technique informed by Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) was employed to investigate self-reported hand hygiene compliance and its barriers and facilitators. The total number of hand hygiene opportunities observed was 347 among 55 HCWs, and 132 HCWs responded to the questionnaires. ResultsThe overall compliance based on direct observation was 23.9%, whereas self-reported compliance was 80.0%. Hand hygiene was significantly associated with indication (p < 0.001), training (p = 0.014), social influences (p = 0.002) and knowledge (p = 0.044). Barriers identified were environmental resources, social influences, beliefs about consequences, memory, attention, and decision processes. Facilitators included knowledge and social/professional role, and identity. ConclusionsDespite the high report rate of hand hygiene compliance, the observed compliance is unacceptably low. Although knowledge, and social/professional role and identity of the HCWs may primarily facilitate hand hygiene compliance, barriers associated with non-compliance such as environmental resources remain significant constraints and should be considered to ensure optimal hand hygiene compliance and quality of patient care. The results also suggest that HCWs education on hand hygiene still needs improvements, particularly on the 5 moments for hand hygiene.

Highly Reliable a-Si:H TFT Gate Driver With Precharging Structure for In-Cell Touch AMLCD Applications

This paper presents a novel bidirectional gate driver circuit based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs), especially for use in active-matrix liquid-crystal displays with in-cell touch technology. The proposed circuit exploits the time-division driving method to implement the in-cell touch panels with a high report rate and prevent the distortion of touch signals. The proposed structure employs a highly reliable precharging circuit to ameliorate the degradation of the driving TFT during the long-term touch-sensing stages. The output TFTs in the precharging structure are activated only once at the end of the touch-sensing stage in a frame, effectively extending the lifetime of the circuit. The experimental and simulated results illustrate that the proposed gate driver circuit generates uniform output waveforms regardless of whether the circuit operates in forward and backward transmission or stops in any row. To verify the high reliability of the proposed gate driver circuit, long-term stress tests at 85 °C are conducted. After the proposed circuit is operated for 720 h, the falling time of the output waveforms after the touch-sensing stage slightly varies by only $0.51~\mu \text{s}$ , confirming that the output TFT in the proposed precharging structure with a low duty ratio of 0.15% can achieve the high reliability of the proposed circuit. Therefore, the proposed gate driver circuit is highly feasible for use in high-report-rate in-cell touch panels.

Analysis of intentional drug poisonings using Ohio Poison Control Center Data, 2002–2014

Context: Pharmaceutical drug poisonings, especially those that are intentional, are a serious problem for adolescents and young adults. Poison control center data is a viable tool to track intentional drug poisonings in near real-time.Objective: To determine intentional drug poisoning rates among adolescents and young adults in Ohio using poison control center data.Methods: We analyzed data from 2002 to 2014 obtained by Ohio’s three poison control centers. Inclusion variables were calls made to the centers that had appropriate subject age (10–29 years old), subject sex, involved substance (all drug classes), and medical outcome (no effect, minor effect, moderate effect, major effect, and death). Intentional drug poisoning reports were also separated into subgroups to compare suspected suicide reports to misuse and abuse reports. Finally, resident population estimates were used to generate 2014 intentional drug poisoning rates for each county in Ohio.Results: The most common age group for intentional drug poisonings was 18–24. Females reported more suspected suicide drug poisonings while males reported more misuse/abuse drug poisonings. The most reported drug class across all ages was analgesics. Of the 88 counties in Ohio, Hamilton, Williams, Washington, and Guernsey counties had the highest rates of intentional drug poisonings.Conclusions: The high report rate of suspected suicides and analgesic class drugs demonstrates the need for preventative measures for adolescents and young adults in Ohio. Any interventions, along with legislative changes, will need to take place in our local communities.

Prevalence of hepatitis C in Tianjin, China and related risk factors

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C in Tianjin, China and major risk factors, and to provide a theoretical basis for the development of scientific prevention and control strategies for hepatitis C. Methods: The monitoring system of notifiable infectious diseases was used to establish the database of hepatitis C cases reported from 2004 to 2014 in Tianjin. With reference to the results of serological surveillance and special case-control investigation, a statistical analysis was performed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and prevalence of hepatitis C in Tianjin, as well as related risk factors. Results: The report rate of hepatitis C in Tianjin showed a decreasing trend from 2004 to 2014(χ 2 = 150.018, P < 0.01). The group aged 60 years had the highest report rate(9.09/100000), and there were significant differences between this group and other groups(χ 2 = 2540.887, P < 0.01). The six urban districts in Tianjin had the highest report rate(6.54/100000), and there were significant differences between this area and other areas. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a history of surgery(χ 2 = 12.57, P < 0.01), blood transfusion and blood products(χ 2 = 36.67, P < 0.01), hemodialysis(χ 2 = 4.62, P < 0.01), and intravenous drug use(χ 2 = 12.92, P < 0.01)were major risk factors for hepatitis C. Conclusion: The epidemic situation of hepatitis C in Tianjin tends to decrease in recent years. Although there is no effective vaccine for hepatitis C, it still can be prevented and treated. The most effective interventions for hepatitis C include strengthening health education and raising the awareness rate of hepatitis C in the whole population, as well as early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.

Safety incident reporting in emergency radiology: analysis of 1717 safety incident reports.

The aim of this article is to describe the incidence and types of safety reports logged in the radiology safety incident reporting system in our emergency radiology section over an 8-year period. Electronic incident reporting system of our institute was searched for the variables in emergency radiology. All reports from April 2006 to June 2014 were included and deindentified. The following event classifications were investigated in radiography, CT, and MRI modalities: diagnostic test orders, ID/documentation/consent, safety/security/conduct, service coordination, surgery/procedure, line/tube, fall, medication/IV safety, employee general incident, environment/equipment, adverse drug reaction, skin/tissue, and diagnosis/treatment. A total of 881,194 emergency radiology examinations were performed during the study period, 1717 (1717/881,194 = 0.19 %) of which resulted in safety reports. Reports were classified into 14 different categories, the most frequent of which were "diagnostic test orders" (481/1717 = 28 % total incident reports), "medication/IV safety" (302/1717 = 18 % total incident reports), and "service coordination" (204/1717 = 12 % total incident reports). X-ray had the highest report rate (873/1717 = 50 % total incident reports), followed by CT (604/1717 = 35 % total incident reports) and MRI (240/1717 = 14 % total incident reports). Forty-six percent of safety incidents (789/1717) caused no harm and did not reach the patient, 36 % (617/1717) caused no harm but reached the patient, 18 % (308/1717) caused temporary or minor harm/ damage, and less than 1 % caused permanent or major harm/ damage or death. Our study shows an overall safety incident report rate of 0.19 % in emergency radiology including radiography, CT, and MRI modalities. The most common safety incidents were diagnostic test orders, medication/IV safety, and service coordination.

射影演算機能を持つ人工網膜ＬＳＩ

An artificial retina (AR) LSI with a highly accurate on-sensor-image projection function was developed. The fabricated 32×32-pixel AR LSI compresses 1024 bytes of input image data to 64 bytes of projection data on the focal plane. It can also modulate projection data into spatial and temporal differential data that fit motion-detection algorithms. The AR LSI has a high sensitivity of 20 V/1x·sec and a wide dynamic range of 66 dB, which enables high-speed motion detection. As a result, the AR LSI, even through a combination with an 8-bit microcontroller, makes it possible to build a motion-detection system that outputs motion data for a high speed motion corresponding to a 200-μs time difference at a high report rate. This proves the effectiveness of the hierarchical processing structure consisting of a processing function of the AR LSI and a recognition function of the microcontroller.