Important Source Of Information Research Articles

Peculiarities of using the SF-36 questionnaire in palliative neurological patients

Assessment of the quality of life of patients is an important source of information about the severity of their disease, the dynamics of their condition, the effectiveness of medical interventions and medical and social support, and at the same time about the effectiveness of medical and social programs at the local and state levels. The standard SF-36 questionnaire contains questions about the physical activity of patients who do not correspond to the physical status (ability to move independently) of the vast majority of palliative patients. The SF-36 questionnaire was modified to determine the quality of life of neurological patients treated in the Kharkiv hospice in 2022. The analysis of literary sources in the Google Scholar, PubMed and ResearchGate databases showed the absence of already modified questionnaires for palliative patients with a neurological profile, but also confirmed the legitimacy of such a modification. Further research was conducted to determine the minimum number of patients who should be interviewed using a modified questionnaire with a sufficient level of representativeness according to the selected method of calculating the median of the binomial distribution. It was determined that the minimum necessary number of patients to be interviewed is 47 people, each of whom was in treatment for at least 330 days per year. The median of the defined group with a deviation was (45±1) people, which indicates the need to continue in 2023 the survey started in 2022. Expansion of the group of interviewed patients should be carried out taking into account the gender structure of the group (the ratio of men to women should be 1:3), age (at least 90% should be aged 60 and over) and the main palliative diagnosis (90% of the selected patients should be from lesions of the central nervous system, even among cancer patients and patients with HIV/AIDS). The need to continue the survey is indicated in the perspectives of further research. Keywords: quality of life, HRQOL, IQOLA, palliative and hospice care, modification of questionnaires.

Crowdsourcing Knowledge Production of COVID-19 Information on Japanese Wikipedia in the Face of Uncertainty: Empirical Analysis.

A worldwide overabundance of information comprising misinformation, rumors, and propaganda concerning COVID-19 has been observed in addition to the pandemic. By addressing this data confusion, Wikipedia has become an important source of information. This study aimed to investigate how the editors of Wikipedia have handled COVID-19-related information. Specifically, it focused on 2 questions: What were the knowledge preferences of the editors who participated in producing COVID-19-related information? and How did editors with different knowledge preferences collaborate? This study used a large-scale data set, including >2 million edits in the histories of 1857 editors who edited 133 articles related to COVID-19 on Japanese Wikipedia. Machine learning methods, including graph neural network methods, Bayesian inference, and Granger causality analysis, were used to establish the editors' topic proclivity and collaboration patterns. Overall, 3 trends were observed. Two groups of editors were involved in the production of information on COVID-19. One group had a strong preference for sociopolitical topics (social-political group), and the other group strongly preferred scientific and medical topics (scientific-medical group). The social-political group played a central role (contributing 16,544,495/23,485,683, 70.04% of bits of content and 57,969/76,673, 75.61% of the references) in the information production part of the COVID-19 articles on Wikipedia, whereas the scientific-medical group played only a secondary role. The severity of the pandemic in Japan activated the editing behaviors of the social-political group, leading them to contribute more to COVID-19 information production on Wikipedia while simultaneously deactivating the editing behaviors of the scientific-medical group, resulting in their less contribution to COVID-19 information production on Wikipedia (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.231; P<.001). The results of this study showed that lay experts (ie, Wikipedia editors) in the fields of science and medicine tended to remain silent when facing high scientific uncertainty related to the pandemic. Considering the high quality of the COVID-19-related articles on Japanese Wikipedia, this research also suggested that the sidelining of the science and medicine editors in discussions is not necessarily a problem. Instead, the social and political context of the issues with high scientific uncertainty is more important than the scientific discussions that support accuracy.

The effects of social media on visual media in news transmission Rudaw channel as an example

This research has attempted to address the influence of social networks on news and information transmission by considering the knowledge of the nature of the relationship between social networks and visual media. This research is important for the Kurdistan Region. It gives television channels a clear view of how to deal when using social networks, and to take the appropriate scientific approach towards developing and creating effects when transferring news and information to their recipients. The type of research is descriptive and done through a survey method. The research's objectives are based on the conducted surveys. The community of this research is the Kurdistan Regional Government's news channel. The sample for this research includes a comprehensive mass of all journalists involved in the process of preparing and producing news on the Rudaw channel. One of the most important conclusions that the researcher has come to is that social networks have an impact on visual media in the process of producing and transmitting news - and this impact is direct: it has created an impact on knowledge, affection, and behavior of visual media messengers. At the same time, social networks have become an important source of news and information for television channels. Social networks have become a reason for the further development of television channels. Television channels are trying to become compatible with social networks, not to let social networks become a reason for their weakness, particularly in transmitting information to recipients

Supremacy of suprasegmentals in Arabic phonology: Evidence from malapropisms

Speech errors are an important source of information to understand language processing and production. Earlier research focused on different types of errors including semantic and phonological errors while malapropisms, which refer to slips of the tongue involving whole word substitutions that share phonological similarities but are not related semantically, have not received adequate attention in the Arabic language. Drawing on malapropisms in Jordanian Arabic, we bring evidence on the supremacy of suprasegmental phonological aspects in Arabic phonology. This is unexpected as stress in Arabic is non-phonemic and fully predictable, besides Arabic rhythm is much less stress-timed than that of Germanic languages. Data was collected from spontaneous speech over a period of three years. Results showed that malapropisms share the primary stress position, the number of syllables and the word rhythmic pattern with the target words. To a lesser degree, the target and the error share the same rime and initial segments. Findings suggest that suprasegmental features are very crucial in Arabic phonology, like in Indo-European languages. Evidence suggests that formal similarity that is based on the syllabic and metrical structure of words plays a significant role in language processing and the organization of the mental lexicon in Arabic, which suggests that this is a language universal. Furthermore, our findings do not agree with earlier claims that Arabic has a flat syllabic structure. Rather, evidence suggests that Arabic, like English, has a hierarchical syllable structure, which seems to represent another language universal. More research on other Arabic dialects is recommended to corroborate these findings. Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. * Corresponding author: Mohammed Nour Abu Guba, 0000-0002-5007-6439 mabu-gub@sharjah.ac.ae

The composite quality score for the appraisal of prospective controlled clinical therapy trials in systematic reviews and its limits.

Systematic reviews of prospective controlled clinical therapy trials are one of the most important sources of information in modern medicine. Besides the systematic search for and statistical pooling of current clinical trial data for a particular type of therapy, systematic reviews also have the task of appraising the quality of trial results. The quality of trial results may be diminished by low internal trial validity, due to systematic error (bias). A high risk of bias may likely cause the reported trial results to be diverted from the actual true therapeutic effect and thus render it unsuitable for clinical guidance. According to the Cochrane Collaboration, the risk of bias in clinical therapy trials should be assessed using its Risk of Bias tool, Version 2 (RoB 2). However, the tool has been established to have poor inter-rater reliability, with a limited empirical evidence base and described as complex and demanding. Against this background, the composite quality score (CQS) has been developed as a possible alternative trial appraisal tool, characterised by high epistemic rigour, empirical evidence base, inter-rater reliability and ease of use. This article presents the current evidence of the CQS and its limitations.

BH09 Patient experience of off-label Janus kinase inhibitor use for alopecia areata in a cohort of 34 patients from a single UK practitioner: exploring changing trends in healthcare provision and access to drug treatments

Abstract We present data from a UK cohort of patients with alopecia areata (AA) who have sought Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) treatments prior to National Health Service funding. We have explored referral methods, access to consultations, and shared care in monitoring and acquisition of medication both from the UK and abroad. We have looked at the drugs and dosage, adjuvant therapies and response to treatment, and report data on side-effects and reasons for changing drugs or stopping treatment. Thirty-four patients (25 adults and nine children) self-referred to a UK-based private hair clinic for JAKi treatment over a period of 36 months. The median age of patients was 40 years (interquartile range 18–50). The patients sought treatment from a wide geographical area in the UK, with one patient living 400 miles from the clinic. Seventeen (50%) and 14 (41%) patients were prescribed baricitinib and tofacitanib, respectively, with three (9%) patients prescribed both. Nineteen (56%) patients had severe alopecia with &amp;gt; 95% hair loss. Social media, in particular a closed Facebook group, was an important source of referral and information on sourcing medication from abroad. Nine per cent of consultations were virtual (telephone/video). The cost of treatment varied from £100 per month to £1400, with a large difference between UK-sourced medication and that from abroad. Eight (24%) patients showed no scalp regrowth response to first-line treatment, despite dose escalation, with one subsequently experiencing total hair regrowth on swapping to a different JAKi class. One patient had to stop treatment after developing breast cancer. JAKi are an exciting and emerging treatment for AA that are yet to be widely prescribed by UK practitioners. However, the response to JAKi is not universal. Owing to the cost of private prescription, patients are choosing to source JAKi from abroad. Our study presents data on how the alopecia community has helped inform patients about treatment access.

What caregivers don’t tell you ... A comparison between survey responses and home videos of cat-cat interactions

Domestic cats are increasingly popular as companion animals, but behavioural problems are often reported, especially in multicat households. Social tension is a common stressor, so understanding intercat interactions and their dynamics is crucial. Nevertheless, direct research in the home setting is rare. As caregivers witness their cats’ behaviour on a daily basis, they are a potentially important source of information, but might be unreliable and subject to bias. This study examined the reliability of caregiver reporting by comparing survey answers with behaviours observed in home videos collected after the survey was completed. The occurrence of five cat-cat interactions (head rubbing, allogrooming, sleeping in physical contact with each other, tail up greetings and social play) was examined in 42 two-cat households using 210 survey answers and 775 videos. The percentage of false negative survey responses for behaviours observed in the videos was conservatively estimated (cFN) at 8%, with 22.9% of the negative answers being falsely negative (FOR – False Omission Rate) and 77.1% truly negative (NPV – Negative Predictive Value). Broad false negatives (bFN), which included uncertain responses as negative reports, were 9.5% of the survey responses with a FOR of 75% and NPV of 25% in this context. Highest values were obtained for head rubbing (cFN: 10.5%, bFN: 14.3%) and allogrooming (cFN: 9.8%; bFN: 11.9%). When focusing on individual cat caregivers, 14 out of 42 caregivers (33.3%) failed to reliably report the occurrence of at least one of the surveyed cat-cat interactions. For interactions that were seen on camera, 23.8% of caregivers (10/42) responded that their cats did not show these interactions and 9.5% (4/42) reported uncertainty about whether it ever occurred. These results should be considered a lower estimate of the magnitude of errors (false negatives) in caregiver reports, and their implications need to be considered in both research that depends on caregiver report, and clinical assessments within behavioural medicine. Many cat-cat interactions, and in particular head rubbing and allogrooming, will be underreported when relying exclusively on caregiver reporting.

AWARENESS OF AGRO INPUT DEALERS ABOUT INSECTICIDE LABEL CLAIMS

Insecticide label claims are important sources of information for the farmers and the agro input dealers who sell them. They provide information about the active ingredients, mode of action, target pests, dosage, application method, safety precautions and environmental impact of the insecticides. However, the awareness level of the agro input dealers about these label claims is not well known. This study aimed to assess the awareness level of 120 agro-input dealers in Beed district of Maharashtra state, India, about the insecticide label claims and their toxicity labels. The study also examined the relationship between the profile of the agro input dealers and their awareness level, and identified the constraints and suggestions of the agro-input dealers regarding the insecticide label claims. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from the respondents through personal interview method. The data were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient. The results showed that the majority of the agro-input dealers had low to medium level of awareness about the insecticide label claims and their toxicity labels. The profile variables such as age, education, experience, training and membership in association had significant positive correlation with their awareness level. The major constraints faced by the agro input dealers were lack of training, inadequate display of label claims, complex language of label claims and low literacy level of farmers. The major suggestions given by the agro input dealers were to provide regular training, simplify the language of label claims, increase the font size and colour contrast of label claims and educate the farmers about the importance of label claims.

Ethnobotanical Study of the Most Lamiaceae Used as Medicinal and Culinary Plants by the Population of Bejaia Province, Algeria

This study was carried out to safeguard ancestral knowledge about most Lamiaceae plants used by the population of the Bejaia region (north-eastern Algeria) for medicinal and food purposes. Using 200 questionnaire sheets, ethnobotanical surveys were performed between February and July 2020. The data were analyzed by calculating quantitative indices such as Relative Citation Frequency (RFC), Plant Part Value (PPV) use index, and Fidelity Level (FL). It was shown that women hold ethnobotanical information (52%) more than men (48%), older persons are expected to provide more reliable information and the majority of users have a university level. Otherwise, herbal medicine is used more in rural areas than in urban and 55% of the studied plants are cultivated while 45% are wild. The leaves are the most used part (PPV = 0.592) and the infusion method was the most commonly used (69.7%). Ethnobotanical analysis revealed that Mentha spicata L. (RFC=0.44), Lavendula stoechas L. (RFC=0.215), and Salvia officinalis L. (RFC=0.205) are frequently used. Digestive pathologies are the major therapeutic indications and 41.44% of species were used for seasoning meat and fish. This survey could constitute an important source of information and a database for further research in the fields of phytochemistry and pharmacology

Modes of COVID-19 Information and Vaccine Hesitancy Among a Nationally Representative Sample of Asian Americans: The Moderating Role of Exposure to Cyberbullying

: COVID-19 vaccination is an important public health intervention to curb the pandemic's magnitude and spread, and racial discrimination is a key predictor of COVID-19 preventive behavior, vaccine hesitancy, and uptake. This study evaluated the association of vaccine hesitancy with various modes of information on COVID-19 (i.e., online, social media) and the moderating role of cyberbullying among Asian Americans. : We used population-weighted data from the nationwide Asian American & Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander COVID-19 Needs Assessment Survey, which was conducted from January to April 2021 (unweighted n=3,127). We examined the association of various modes of COVID-19 information and vaccine hesitancy, moderated by exposure to cyberbullying. : In general, 16% of Asian Americans reported vaccine hesitancy; 26% reported experiencing cyberbullying. Asian Americans reported receiving the majority of COVID-19 information from online sources (75%) and social media (52%). In unadjusted models, receiving information online (OR=0.46, 95%CI=0.33, 0.62, p<.001), via social media (OR=0.80, 95%CI=0.52, 0.93, p<.05), and via broadcast (OR=0.60, 95%CI=0.44, 0.81, p<.001) were significantly associated with a lower vaccine hesitancy. However, reporting any cyberbullying was associated with increased vaccine hesitancy (OR=1.39, 95%CI=1.02, 1.90, p<.05). The protective effects for COVID-19 information modes remained when accounting for health and sociodemographic factors, while the effect of cyberbullying was no longer statistically significant. Cyberbullying moderated the protective effect of broadcast information only, so those who received information via broadcast and reported experiencing cyberbullying had similar odds of vaccine hesitancy compared to those who did not receive information via broadcast. : Online, social media, and broadcast remain important sources of information about COVID-19 for Asian Americans; however, experiencing cyberbullying can reduce the effectiveness of these sources in the uptake of the vaccine. COVID-19 information promotion strategies for Asian Americans must account for the role of cyberbullying in social media campaigns.

The Impact of Social Media on Applicants’ Perceptions of Plastic Surgery Training Programs

Given recent COVID-19 restrictions on in-person visiting subinternships and interviews, this study sought to evaluate the program information that was most influential to future plastic surgery applicants as they researched residency programs on social media. An electronic survey targeting medical students interested in plastic surgery was deployed to assess the importance of various information sources in forming perceptions of residency programs. Applicants were invited to participate through an Instagram "Story" (where the survey was embedded) and through an electronic survey link sent via email to interested program applicants and interviewees. There were 83 respondents, among which 92% were current medical students planning to apply to Plastic Surgery. The most utilized resources that informed program interest were: mentors (86%), peers/partners (60%), and geographic location preference (55%). Among social media content, applicants most desired posts about resident life (66%) and team bonding activities (61%). Overall, 72% of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that social media played a role in informing their interest to apply to a specific residency program. The study demonstrated that prospective plastic surgery applicants expect programs to have a social media presence, and thus, programs should invest time and thought in their social media strategy. While electronic sources are not the most important sources of information rated among applicants, social media plays an influential role in guiding interest in specific programs. To best inform applicant perspectives during the recruiting process, programs should prioritize content that gives a picture of "resident life" and team dynamics.

The fluidity of Finnish youths’ Personal worldviews

ABSTRACT This article aims to understand the personal worldviews of Finnish youths. The fluidity of young people’s personal worldviews has been highlighted in a number of previous studies, and this study presents more information by focusing on possible spiritual and religious elements in the personal worldviews of young people and on the influences that affect their personal worldviews. The data of this study consist of a quantitative questionnaire acquired from Finnish upper secondary school students (N = 973). The results show that young people’s personal worldviews are not fixed but are fluid and that nominal membership in a religious community does not explain their worldviews. Young people do not see religion as important to them, and they see religion more as a part of culture and their environment than as a part of their personal worldview. The most important sources of information for the construction of their personal worldview are school and the Internet.

Capturing Semantic Relationships in Electronic Health Records Using Knowledge Graphs: An Implementation Using MIMIC III Dataset and GraphDB.

Electronic health records (EHRs) are an increasingly important source of information for healthcare professionals and researchers. However, EHRs are often fragmented, unstructured, and difficult to analyze due to the heterogeneity of the data sources and the sheer volume of information. Knowledge graphs have emerged as a powerful tool for capturing and representing complex relationships within large datasets. In this study, we explore the use of knowledge graphs to capture and represent complex relationships within EHRs. Specifically, we address the following research question: Can a knowledge graph created using the MIMIC III dataset and GraphDB effectively capture semantic relationships within EHRs and enable more efficient and accurate data analysis? We map the MIMIC III dataset to an ontology using text refinement and Protege; then, we create a knowledge graph using GraphDB and use SPARQL queries to retrieve and analyze information from the graph. Our results demonstrate that knowledge graphs can effectively capture semantic relationships within EHRs, enabling more efficient and accurate data analysis. We provide examples of how our implementation can be used to analyze patient outcomes and identify potential risk factors. Our results demonstrate that knowledge graphs are an effective tool for capturing semantic relationships within EHRs, enabling a more efficient and accurate data analysis. Our implementation provides valuable insights into patient outcomes and potential risk factors, contributing to the growing body of literature on the use of knowledge graphs in healthcare. In particular, our study highlights the potential of knowledge graphs to support decision-making and improve patient outcomes by enabling a more comprehensive and holistic analysis of EHR data. Overall, our research contributes to a better understanding of the value of knowledge graphs in healthcare and lays the foundation for further research in this area.

The state of the agricultural sector in Ukraine during wartime: The case of farmers

The military aggression of russia against Ukraine has a significant negative impact on the agricultural sector of the economy, which is one of the key industries for Ukraine. Among the consequences of this aggression are a decrease in production levels, an increase in costs for security and infrastructure restoration, an increased risk of losing personnel and crops, as well as complications in the export of products. The purpose of this study is to assess the state of the agricultural sector under the conditions of war and to investigate the peculiarities of the activities and adaptation to war of individual agricultural producers, using farmers as an example. To achieve this goal, the dialectical method of cognition of economic processes, the basic principles of modern economic theory, and scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists studying the impact of war on the development of the agricultural sector of the economy were used. A sociological research method, in particular interviews, was used to achieve the research goal. The article examines the role of the agricultural sector in the Ukrainian economy and global food security, analyzes the impact of the war on the agricultural sector, and characterizes the current state of agricultural activity under the conditions of war using farmers as an example. According to the obtained data, the impact of war on the agricultural sector is significant and has various economic, social, and environmental consequences. The study shows that some commodity producers, using farmers as an example, have adapted to the war and have been able to maintain their market positions, while others have suffered significant losses and could not function properly. This research can be an important source of information for the development of state policy on support for agricultural commodity producers, specifically farmers, under the conditions of war and post-war recovery. It is necessary to consider the possibility of attracting investments in the agricultural sector, supporting farmers through a credit system, and cooperating between farmers

Pooled analysis of frontal lobe transcriptomic data identifies key mitophagy gene changes in Alzheimer's disease brain.

The growing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is becoming a global health challenge without effective treatments. Defective mitochondrial function and mitophagy have recently been suggested as etiological factors in AD, in association with abnormalities in components of the autophagic machinery like lysosomes and phagosomes. Several large transcriptomic studies have been performed on different brain regions from AD and healthy patients, and their data represent a vast source of important information that can be utilized to understand this condition. However, large integration analyses of these publicly available data, such as AD RNA-Seq data, are still missing. In addition, large-scale focused analysis on mitophagy, which seems to be relevant for the aetiology of the disease, has not yet been performed. In this study, publicly available raw RNA-Seq data generated from healthy control and sporadic AD post-mortem human samples of the brain frontal lobe were collected and integrated. Sex-specific differential expression analysis was performed on the combined data set after batch effect correction. From the resulting set of differentially expressed genes, candidate mitophagy-related genes were identified based on their known functional roles in mitophagy, the lysosome, or the phagosome, followed by Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) and microRNA-mRNA network analysis. The expression changes of candidate genes were further validated in human skin fibroblast and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)-derived cortical neurons from AD patients and matching healthy controls. From a large dataset (AD: 589; control: 246) based on three different datasets (i.e., ROSMAP, MSBB, & GSE110731), we identified 299 candidate mitophagy-related differentially expressed genes (DEG) in sporadic AD patients (male: 195, female: 188). Among these, the AAA ATPase VCP, the GTPase ARF1, the autophagic vesicle forming protein GABARAPL1 and the cytoskeleton protein actin beta ACTB were selected based on network degrees and existing literature. Changes in their expression were further validated in AD-relevant human in vitro models, which confirmed their down-regulation in AD conditions. Through the joint analysis of multiple publicly available data sets, we identify four differentially expressed key mitophagy-related genes potentially relevant for the pathogenesis of sporadic AD. Changes in expression of these four genes were validated using two AD-relevant human in vitro models, primary human fibroblasts and iPSC-derived neurons. Our results provide foundation for further investigation of these genes as potential biomarkers or disease-modifying pharmacological targets.

Gender Bias When Using Artificial Intelligence to Assess Anorexia Nervosa on Social Media: Data-Driven Study.

Social media sites are becoming an increasingly important source of information about mental health disorders. Among them, eating disorders are complex psychological problems that involve unhealthy eating habits. In particular, there is evidence showing that signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa can be traced in social media platforms. Knowing that input data biases tend to be amplified by artificial intelligence algorithms and, in particular, machine learning, these methods should be revised to mitigate biased discrimination in such important domains. The main goal of this study was to detect and analyze the performance disparities across genders in algorithms trained for the detection of anorexia nervosa on social media posts. We used a collection of automated predictors trained on a data set in Spanish containing cases of 177 users that showed signs of anorexia (471,262 tweets) and 326 control cases (910,967 tweets). We first inspected the predictive performance differences between the algorithms for male and female users. Once biases were detected, we applied a feature-level bias characterization to evaluate the source of such biases and performed a comparative analysis of such features and those that are relevant for clinicians. Finally, we showcased different bias mitigation strategies to develop fairer automated classifiers, particularly for risk assessment in sensitive domains. Our results revealed concerning predictive performance differences, with substantially higher false negative rates (FNRs) for female samples (FNR=0.082) compared with male samples (FNR=0.005). The findings show that biological processes and suicide risk factors were relevant for classifying positive male cases, whereas age, emotions, and personal concerns were more relevant for female cases. We also proposed techniques for bias mitigation, and we could see that, even though disparities can be mitigated, they cannot be eliminated. We concluded that more attention should be paid to the assessment of biases in automated methods dedicated to the detection of mental health issues. This is particularly relevant before the deployment of systems that are thought to assist clinicians, especially considering that the outputs of such systems can have an impact on the diagnosis of people at risk.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY POLICY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING: OPPORTUNITIES AND PROSPECTS FOR APPLICATION

Objective. To analyze the problems of implementation of modern energy efficient systems in Ukraine. The advantages of modern technologies over outdated ones are presented. The results of the study should form the basis for the development of recommendations for improving energy efficiency in civil engineering. Problems. Today in Ukraine, solving the problem of energy saving in civil engineering remains a constant priority. Overcoming this obstacle largely determines Ukraine’s recovery from the economic crisis. According to estimates, energy consumption for heating budgetary institutions in Ukraine is 2 … 3 times higher than in the EU countries for the same needs. This is based on the obsolescence of Ukraine’s building stock from the time of intensive construction in the 1960s and 1980s. Analysis. Many countries are already successfully implementing new technologies, materials, and designs that help improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Examples include: a construction concept based on the idea of creating a building that does not require active heating and cooling – a «passive house», the use of SIP panels made from recycled materials, the use of double-glazed windows with «warm edge» technology, the creation of energy-efficient envelope structures such as the construction projects «The Edge», «ZEB Pilot House», «BedZed». Scientific novelty. Analysis of current problems of energy efficiency policy implementation in Ukraine in terms of various aspects, such as legal, economic, technical, social, etc. Cases of successful implementation of energy efficient measures and technologies in civil engineering in European countries are considered. Practical significance. The analysis of the real energy status of the country’s building stock is the basis for the development and support of energy efficiency policy. The considered cases of energy efficient technologies implementation can become an important source of information for Ukrainian construction specialists, which will significantly improve the energy efficiency of new buildings, reduce energy dependence on critical infrastructure, save money for civilians and improve the comfort of living conditions.

Impact of cancer and other causes of death on mortality of cancer patients: A study based on Japanese population-based registry data.

Cancer registry data provide a very important source of information for improving our understanding of the epidemiology of various cancers. In this work, we estimated the 5-year crude probabilities of death from cancer and from other causes for five common cancers, namely stomach, lung, colon-rectum, prostate and breast, in Japan, using population-based registry data. Based on data on 344 676 patients diagnosed with one of these cancers between 2006 and 2008 in 21 prefectures participating in the Monitoring of Cancer Incidence in Japan (MCIJ) and followed-up for at least 5 years, we used a flexible excess hazard model to compute the crude probabilities of death for different combinations of sex, age and stage at diagnosis. For tumours diagnosed at the distant stage, as well as for regional lung tumours, the vast majority of deaths at 5 years in cancer patients were attributable to the disease itself (although this proportion was only around 60% in older prostate cancer patients). For localised and most regional tumours, the impact of other causes of death on the total mortality increased with age at diagnosis, especially for localised breast, colorectal and gastric cancer. By allowing the partition of the mortality experience of cancer patients into a cancer- and an other-cause-specific component, crude probability of death estimates provide insight into how the impact of cancer on mortality might differ among populations with different background mortality risks. This might be useful for informing discussions between clinicians and patients about treatment options.

Analysis of data items and gaps in Australia's national mental health services activity and capacity data collections for integrated regional service planning.

Background: Services data are an important source of information for policymakers and planners. In Australia, significant work has been undertaken to develop and implement collections of mental health services data. Given this level of investment, it is important that collected data are fit for purpose. Objective: This study aimed to: (1) identify existing national mandated and best endeavours collections of mental health services activity (e.g. occasions of service) and capacity (e.g. full-time equivalent staff) data in Australia; and (2) review the content of identified data collections to determine opportunities for data development. Method: A grey literature search was conducted to identify data collections. Where available, metadata and/or data were analysed. Results: Twenty data collections were identified. For services that received funding via multiple funding streams, data were often captured across several collections corresponding with each funder. There was significant variability in the content and format of collections. Unlike other service sectors, there is no national, mandated collection for psychosocial support services. Some collections have limited utility as they do not include key activity data; others do not include descriptive variables like service type. Workforce data are often not collected, and where data are collected, they are often not comprehensive. Conclusion: Findings are an important source of information for policymakers and planners who use services data to inform priorities. Implications: This study provides recommendations for data development, including mandating standardised reporting for psychosocial supports, filling workforce data gaps, streamlining data collections and including key missing data items in some collections.

Children’s Attitude Towards Television Advertisements and Their Confront and Prospects on Family Purchase Behaviour

Changing the business environment in the Indian context, children have become a very important consumer group that influences challenges and opportunities for family purchases of various products in many ways. Marketers pay this group, especially by recognizing them as a main market, an influential market, and a future market. Due to the dramatic changes taking place in society in terms of technology, information processing, and the changing media environment, children, especially 8-14-year-olds, are growing much faster. The increase in the double income of parents, the increase in the number of working women, the reduction in the size of the family, the increase in the number of televisions in the household, in particular children's bedrooms, commercial pressure increased the arrival of new products on the market. Due to the presence of huge media environment, children can experience consumption and shopping at a much faster rate than ever. Changing business environment in the Indian context marketing targets children, including infants, often based on a highly sophisticated and manipulative psychology that is primarily focused on television commercials. The central role of television in children's lives is indicated by the fact that 9 out of 10 children watch it almost every day. Now, the socializing agent has drawn more attention than the mass media, especially television, in the literature on consumer behaviour. In this changing business era, many television commercials are creations of bright minds that try to persuade people to buy. These commercials affect the minds of children because of the beautiful audio and visual effects. Advertising influences children's purchasing demands and family dynamics. Earlier literature indicated that television commercials affected children's attempts to influence parents' purchases, calling the advertisement "an unhealthy persuasive vehicle." This study is an attempt to investigate changing business environment in the Indian context for the purchase of children affected by television commercials. The main objective of the study is to assess the attitude of children towards television advertisements by taking a sample of rural and urban children, to measure the capacity of television advertisements to influence the purchases of families in this regard, which concerns the different categories of products and analyze the parents' perception of the influence of television advertisements on their children. The result indicated that the children in both homes have a generally positive attitude towards television commercials viewing them as an important source of product information and enjoyment, although they do view TV advertising as manipulative to some extent.