Letters Information Research Articles

Factors that influence resignations of radiographers employed by tertiary hospitals in the KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.

The shortage of staff in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) public hospitals is evident and poses a challenge to retain radiographers. Therefore, there is need to identify the factors that influence resignations of radiographers. The aim of this study was to explore the factors that influence resignations of radiographers employed by tertiary hospitals in KZN province. The study was guided by a descriptive quantitative research method. The data was collected in the form of questionnaires. A letter of information describing the details of the study was provided to the participants. All consenting participants were requested to provide a written consent prior to completing the questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed, collected and analysed. The statistical analysis test was conducted using SPSS statistic V25. A response rate of 66.35% was received with 78.3% (n=108) female and 21.7% (n=30) male. The result suggested that participants unanimously agree that resignation of radiographers is precipitated by factors such as poor working conditions, unhygienic working environment and uncompetitive salaries. The result also suggested that moving from their current career in radiography to another career is precipitated by factors such as high stress level and long working hours. The factors identified were further analysed and results showed that the participant's personal reasons for moving from their jobs are co-related with environmental reasons. The most influential factor was stress and remuneration.

How to Get a Job Offer from a Smaller Joint Teaching‐Research Mission University and What to Do Once You Have It

How to Get a Job Offer from a Smaller Joint Teaching‐Research Mission University and What to Do Once You Have It

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters information for authors

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters information for authors

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters information for authors

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters information for authors

Event-related potentials show that parafoveal vision is insufficient for semantic integration.

Readers extract information from a word from parafoveal vision prior to looking at it. It has been argued that parafoveal perception allows readers to initiate linguistic processes, but it is unclear which stages of word processing are engaged: the process of extracting letter information to recognize words, or the process of extracting meaning to comprehend them. This study used the event-related brain potential (ERP) technique to investigate how word recognition (indexed by the N400 effect for unexpected or anomalous compared to expected words) and semantic integration (indexed by the Late-positive component; LPC effect for anomalous compared to expected words) are or are not elicited when the word is perceived only in parafoveal vision. Participants read a target word following a sentence that made it expected, unexpected, or anomalous, and read the sentences presented three words at a time in the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) with flankers paradigm so that words were perceived in parafoveal and foveal vision. We orthogonally manipulated whether the target word was masked in parafoveal and/or foveal vision to dissociate the processing associated with perception of the target word from either location. We found that the N400 effect was generated from parafoveally perceived words, and was reduced for foveally perceived words if they were previously perceived parafoveally. In contrast, the LPC effect was only elicited if the word was perceived foveally, suggesting that readers must attend to a word directly in foveal vision in order to attempt to integrate its meaning into the sentence context.

Sistem Informasi Persuratan Berbasis Website Studi Kasus di SMAN 1 Dramaga

Letters are an important means of communication in every institution, including at SMAN 1 Dramaga. Unfortunately, letter management at the school is still done manually. Therefore, a web-based letter management information system was designed to help manage and process letter data efficiently and organized. The letter information system can accelerate the letter management process and avoid damage to letters that are stored for too long. A Letter Information System is required to improve letter management performance with timely letter issuance. The system development method used is the SDLC (System Development Life Cycle) method. Data collection methods include observation, interviews, and heritage studies. With a web-based information system, it can improve and facilitate letter management performance, timely letter issuance, and avoid damage to letters that are stored for too long. The result makes it easy to store letters centrally in a database that can be accessed again.

Comparing Smartphone Virtual Reality Exposure Preparation to Care as Usual in Children Aged 6 to 14 Years Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Protocol for a Multicenter, Observer-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial.

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure can cause preprocedural and periprocedural anxiety in children. Psychosocial interventions are used to prepare children for the procedure to alleviate anxiety, but these interventions are time-consuming and costly, limiting their clinical use. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising way to overcome these limitations in the preparation of children before an MRI scan. The objective of this study is (1) to develop a VR smartphone intervention to prepare children at home for an MRI procedure; and (2) to examine the effect of the VR intervention in a randomized controlled trial, in which the VR intervention will be compared to care as usual (CAU). CAU involves an information letter about an MRI examination. The primary outcome is the child's procedural anxiety during the MRI procedure. Secondary outcomes include preprocedural anxiety and parental anxiety. We hypothesize that the VR preparation will result in a higher reduction of the periprocedural anxiety of both parents and children as compared to CAU. The VR intervention provides a highly realistic and child-friendly representation of an MRI environment. In this randomized controlled trial, 128 children (aged 6 to 14 years) undergoing an MRI scan will be randomly allocated to the VR intervention or CAU. Children in the VR intervention will receive a log-in code for the VR app and are sent cardboard VR glasses. The VR smartphone preparation app was developed in 2020. The recruitment of participants is expected to be completed in December 2022. Data will be analyzed, and scientific papers will be submitted for publication in 2023. The VR smartphone app is expected to significantly reduce pre- and periprocedural anxiety in pediatric patients undergoing an MRI scan. The VR app offers a realistic and child-friendly experience that can contribute to modern care. A smartphone version of the VR app has the advantage that children, and potentially their parents, can get habituated to the VR environment and noises in their own home environment and can do this VR MRI preparation as often and as long as needed. ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN20976625; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN20976625. DERR1-10.2196/41080.

The Online Construction of Digital Spatial Representation in Alphanumeric Mixed Situations Is Not Automaticity

SNARC effect is called the joint effect of spatial digital response coding, which is the proof of the connection between number and space. There are mainly theoretical explanations, such as the mental number line explanation of long-term memory, the working memory explanation of short-term memory, and the dual path pattern explanation. Recent studies have demonstrated that SNARC effect is the online construction of digits in working memory during task execution, and the online construction of digits SNARC effect is interfered by letter processing in the mixed situation of digits and letters, which further supports the hypothesis of working memory. Although online encoding of SNARC effect has been proved, it is not clear whether online encoding of digital spatial representation in the mixed alphanumeric context has automaticity, and if so, whether it will be interfered by letter processing. In this study, three digit color judgment experiments were conducted, and the ratio of digits to letters was 1:1. 1:6. The paper explores whether the online construction of digital space representation is automaticity in the mixed interference situation of 6:1. To investigate the interference of letter processing on digital SNARC effect, explore whether the interference is regulated by the proportion of number letters, and further explore the automatic mechanism of the interference of letter processing on digital space coding. The results showed that SNARC effect was not observed in the mixed numbers and letters at different proportions. It shows that the online construction of digital space representation in the mixed alphanumeric situation does not have automaticity. When the task does not directly activate the size order information of the number letters, the letters will interfere with the online construction of the number SNARC effect, which is not proportional adjustment.

Effect of Information Intervention on Prescribing Practice for Neuropathic Pain in Older Patients: A Nationwide Register-Based Study.

Management of prescription medicines is challenging for older patients due to frail health and the prevalence of multiple chronic conditions. A salient policy challenge of prescribing practices is that all physicians are not well informed about the national clinical guidelines. A feasible policy intervention to mitigate the harms caused by Potentially Inappropriate Medications is to influence the frequency of prescribing and other prescribing attributes of the drugs by providing accurate and up-to-date information about the national clinical guidelines. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of a nationwide information intervention on physicians' prescribing practices and patients' healthcare utilization. We used a quasi-experimental research design based on difference-in-differences variation and nationwide register data on prescribers and purchasers of pregabalin, nortriptyline, and amitriptyline combinations in Finland between January 2018 and May 2019. The study included 68,914 patients and 11,432 physicians. We found that the information letter sent to all prescribers of pregabalin, nortriptyline, or amitriptyline combinations to patients aged 75 years or older decreased the probability of prescribing of these medications. The estimated effect of -3.3 percentage points (95% confidence interval [-0.041, -0.024]) corresponds to a 29% reduction compared to the baseline mean of the outcome. The filled quantity, measured in Defined Daily Doses, of pregabalin, nortriptyline, and amitriptyline combinations per month was reduced by 11.7% [-14.5% to -8.9%] among patients aged 75 years or older. No effect on patients' healthcare utilization was observed. Findings of the study suggest that personal information intervention was an effective policy tool for nudging physicians to reduce prescribing of potentially inappropriate medicines, whereas the reduction in prescribing was not accompanied by improvements or adverse effects in patients' health.

Quality and appropriateness of uro-surgical referrals at a Nigerian teaching hospital.

An effective referral system is crucial for a high-quality health system that provides safe medical care. This study aimed at evaluating the appropriateness and adequacies of information in the referral letters of patients. A prospective study of referral letters of all new patients in the urology clinic. Information retrieved was socio-demographic characteristics, source of referral and presence or absence of important information in their letters. We compared the information provided to the new history taken to determine the appropriateness and adequacy using different domains of medical history. Referrals were adjudged appropriate if the diagnosis is urologic, while any referral lacking relevant information is adjudged inadequate. The results were displayed using the simple proportions in tables and charts. A total of 1188 referrals were reviewed. There were 997 (83.9%) males and 191 (16.1%) females. Referrals from private hospitals were the most common in 627 (52.8%) cases. Of all new referrals, 1165 (98.1%) were adjudged to be appropriate, while 23 (1.9%) were inappropriately referred. Referrals from teaching hospitals had higher proportions of good-quality referrals than those from primary healthcare and private centres. The most common deficiencies were the lack of documentation of relevant examination findings (37.8%) and provisional diagnosis (21.4%). The majority, 956 (80.5%), of letters were narrative in nature, whereas 232 (19.5%) were structured. Structured letters were found to be more informative. A significant percentage of referral letters lacked completeness in many key areas. We recommend the use of structured forms or template letters to improve the quality of referrals.

Практики государственного управления в изобразительном искусстве 1930-х гг. (на примере Казахской национальной художественной галереи им. Т.Г. Шевченко)

The present work aims to identify the features of public administration, their real practices in the field of visual arts on the example of the Kazakh State Art Gallery named after T.G. Shevchenko in the second half of the 1930s and to make adjustments to the existing historiographical gap. As a source base, office documents deposited in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan (TsGA RK) in Fund 1792, Kazakh State Art Gallery named after T.G. Shevchenko, and Fund 1736, Organizing Committee of the Union of Soviet Artists of the Kazakh SSR, were mainly used. Orders, resolutions, instructions, information letters dated 1937-1939, emanating from the Department of Arts Affairs under the SNK of the Kazakh SSR and the All-Union Committee for Arts Affairs under the SNK of the USSR were analyzed. Archival sources made it possible to identify the range of issues supervised by the departments, to determine the degree of integration of the cultural institution into the all-Union museum system, to highlight the situation regarding the replenishment of museum funds and the personnel issue. The methodological basis was the theory of modernization. A systematic approach was used to implement the research objectives. The study shows that, due to the historically prevailing conditions, professional visual arts did not receive a proper development on the territory of the Central Asian ethnoregion. The peripheral position of art, which persisted for quite a long time after the revolution, began to change by the mid-1930s with the coming to power of L.I. Mirzoyan (1897-1939), the first secretary of the Kazkraikom of the CPSU (b). During this period, the process of the all-Union restructuring of the management system in the field of culture coincided with the formation of the republican artistic infrastructure. The Kazakh National Art Gallery in Alma-Ata was made the profile center responsible for the presentation and popularization of visual arts in the republic. In general, public administration in the field of visual arts was implemented in line with the development of the state program of assistance to national suburbs through the formation and development of regional art infrastructure, accelerated growth of the museum art fund, with a parallel strengthening of integration into the all-Union socio-cultural space. At the same time, the analysis of the main elements of management testifies to their belonging to the administrative and command management system, with the inherent cumbersomeness of the bureaucratic apparatus, adherence to the principles of personnel appointments, and not electability, the presence of power centralization, which left minimal opportunities for the manifestation of initiative on the ground.

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters information for authors

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters information for authors

Rancang Bangun Sistem Informasi Surat Tugas Online dengan Metode Prototype di PT PLN (Persero) Sumatera Utara

PT PLN (Persero) Sumatera Utara is a company engaged in the electricity sector, specifically as a 20 kV distribution control implementing unit whose job is to maintain the reliability of the 20 kV system in the work area of North Sumatra which includes Medan to Nias Island. The wide reach of the work scope of PT PLN (Persero) Sumatera Utara causes employees to work outside their positions. One of the travel documents that must be carried by employees who carry out work assignments in the field is a letter of assignment. PT PLN (Persero) Sumatera Utara so far still uses a manual assignment letter making system. Based on the research that I did, there were a number of obstacles, especially when there was an emergency job because the supervisor who was authorized to sign the assignment letter was in a meeting, or on a day off, or was out of the office. It is very important that an assignment letter is carried by employees when working in the field, either as a travel document, or as the identity of an official official from the company so that it does not raise customer suspicion about the activities carried out by the PLN officer. To accelerate the process of approval of the assignment letter, an Online Assignment Letter Information System Design with the Prototype Method was made at PT PLN (Persero) Sumatera Utara. The design and build of this Online Assignment Letter Information System has several features, namely as an admin, as a driver, as a user and as approval. The Information System Design is expected to speed up the approval process for assignment letters for employee official travel at PT PLN (Persero) Sumatera Utara

Новые материалы к биографии Б. Н. Засыпкина

This article continues the author’s series of publications on the history of organization and participants of the studies in Eastern culture in the Crimea in the mid-1920s. A page of the expeditionary activities of the team of the Central State Restoration Workshops in the Crimea is revealed. This work was a part of large-scale archaeological and ethnographic expedition for the study of the Crimean Tatar monuments. It was commissioned and funded by the Crimean ASSR and carried out by researchers from the academic centres of the USSR. The article has analysed the participation of Boris Nikolaevich Zasypkin (1891–1955), a well-known restorer and the organizer of the archaeological monument protection in different regions of the USSR, in the study of the Crimean cultural heritage. It has introduced into the scholarship previously not known documents from the collections of the Central State Restoration Workshops now residing in the Moscow Central State Archives. These materials shed light on new aspects of the architect-restorer B. N. Zasypkin’s works in the Crimea in 1926 and 1927. The texts of Zasypkin’s reports on his works on the peninsula in 1926 are supplied. Informative but little-known letters of P. I. Chepurina, the head of Yevpatoria Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum, and K. E. Grinevich, the director of the State Museum of Tauric Chersonese, to B. N. Zasypkin uncover tough personal communications of the researchers of the Crimea and Zasypkin’s role in the said process. Zasypkin’s activities for the preservation of the museum in Yevpatoria has been demonstrated. He arranged the intercession of the museum existence and preservation of its storage from the Head of the Museum section of the Glavnauka (Supreme Administration of Scientific, Scientific-Artistic, and Museum Establishments) at the People’s Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR N. I. Sedova, the Head of the Glavnauka F. N. Petrov, and the Chair of the State Academy for the History of Material Culture N. Ia. Marr. The Central State Restoration Workshops’ expedition under the supervision of I. E. Grabar to the peninsula has been reconstructed. It included the head of the Commission for the Preservation and Discovery of Ancient Paintings in Russia and the art historian A. I. Anisimov, the restorer G. O. Chirikov, and the photographer A. V. Liadov. The 1927 expedition was aimed at the inspection of architectural monuments where paintings survived and the development of necessary measures to protect and maintain these architectural sites. Zasypkin’s work for the recording of Chersonese monuments has been shown.

Can multiple repeated exposures reduce the influence of irrelevant global information in hierarchical letters?

Can multiple repeated exposures reduce the influence of irrelevant global information in hierarchical letters?

S39 Use of Electronic Cigarettes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Pilot Study

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract likely involving both a genetic predisposition and environmental triggers. Cigarette smoking (CS) has well established links to IBD, as current and former use are risk factors for Crohn’s Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) respectively. CS may result in increased use of glucocorticoids, immunosuppression and intestinal resection in patients with CD. Nicotine free e-cigarettes can induce gastrointestinal mucosal inflammation, impair the gut mucosal barrier and increase expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Data describing the use of e-cigarettes in IBD patients in the US is lacking. We conducted pilot study to determine prevalence and patterns of e-cigarette use in a large academic IBD practice. Methods: This was an IRB-approved study of adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of IBD. Enrollment occurred in one of 2 arms: (1) MyChart Arm and (2) In-Person Arm. In Arm #1, a query of the electronic medical record (EMR) was performed of all IBD patients (using ICD-10 codes) with a clinic visit between 11/1/2020–10/31/2021. Using the MyChart research functionality within the EMR, eligible patients were directly contacted with a standardized recruitment message. Upon confirming interest, a personalized survey link was created via RedCap (research electronic data capture) and distributed to the patient via e-mail. In-person enrollment (Arm #2) was introduced in August of 2022. Eligible patients were approached by study staff during an existing IBD-related clinic visit. If interested, patients were provided a study information letter and a paper version of the survey to complete. Resulting data was then entered into the RedCap database. Survey questions elicited information regarding: (1) patient demographics, (2) description of current and former use of traditional tobacco products and of e-cigarettes, (3) duration and frequency of use, (4) product preference (5) perception of risk of e-cigarette use, and (6) interest in cessation. Results: A total of 62 patients completed the survey. The majority of our study population was female (n = 41/62; 66.1%), with a mean age of 39.3. Most patients reported a diagnosis of CD (n = 33/62; 53.2%). Approximately 2-thirds of respondents indicated they were “never” cigarette smokers (n = 41/62; 66.1%), and current use of traditional cigarettes was reported at 8.1% (5/62). E-cigarette use (former or current) was reported in 21.7% of patients (n = 13/60), with most beginning as adults (n = 12/13; 92.4%), and using multiple times per day (n = 10/13; 76.9%). Of those reporting e-cigarette use, the majority described their reason for use as “an attempt to quit use of a traditional tobacco product” (n = 7/13; 53.8%). Additionally, of those reporting e-cigarette use, majority considered e-cigarette use to be “less harmful” or “about the same” level of risk compared to CS (12/13; 92.3%). Conclusion(s): This pilot study establishes that e-cigarette use is prevalent in our large volume IBD academic practice, and may in fact be higher than cigarette smoking or other traditional tobacco products. A follow-up project is planned to evaluate implications of e-cigarette use on IBD-related disease outcomes.

Impact of different cover letter information and incentives on Veterans’ emotional responses to an unsolicited mailed survey about military traumas: a randomized, 3x2x2 factorial trial

BackgroundAltering cover letter information to reduce non-response bias in trauma research could inadvertently leave survey participants unprepared for potentially upsetting questions. In an unsolicited, mailed survey, we assessed participants’ change in affect post-survey after altering key cover letter information and promising different incentives. We tested direct and indirect effects of participants carefully reading the cover letter on changes in their affect post-survey.MethodsIn a 3X2X2 randomized, factorial trial, 480 male and 480 female, nationally representative Veterans who were applying for posttraumatic stress disorder disability benefits were randomized to receive one of 12 different cover letters. The cover letters provided general versus more explicit information about the survey’s trauma content and how their names were selected for study; we also promised different incentives for returning the survey. The main outcome was change in affect post-survey. We examined five potential moderators: combat or military sexual trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder or serious mental illness diagnosis, and recency of military service. Mediators between reading the cover letter carefully and post-survey affect included how participants rated the cover letters’ information and whether they thought the cover letters prepared them for the survey’s content. A Bonferroni corrected alpha of 0.003 was the threshold for statistical significance.ResultsOne hundred ninety men and 193 women reported their pre-and post-survey affect. Across all study conditions, out of 16 possible points, the net change in affect post-survey was less than a quarter-point for men and women. Mean changes in post-survey affect did not differ statistically significantly across any of the study factors (ps > 0.06); nor were there statistically significant interactions between any of the study factors and the 5 moderators after accounting for multiple comparisons (ps > 0.02). After controlling for pre-survey affect, reading the cover letter carefully had small effects on changes in post-survey affect, with larger associations seen in the women compared to men. Mediators’ effects were often in opposite directions for men and women.ConclusionGeneral descriptions of a survey’s trauma content appear ethically defensible. Research on cover letters’ impacts on survey participants’ emotional reactions and how those impacts differ by gender is needed.

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters information for authors

IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters information for authors

Evaluation of referral letters to the antiretroviral therapy outpatient specialist clinic of the tertiary health facility in Ilorin, Nigeria.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease is a chronic medical condition that requires lifelong treatment. Specialist care is of importance in its management and referral process to a specialist is mostly initiated through a referral letter. The ability to design a good management plan during consultation depends on the quality of clinical information in the referral. This study was designed to assess the information provided in referral letters presented to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) outpatient specialist clinic in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria
 It was a retrospective study conducted between January and June 2022. All referral presented to ART clinic on clinic days were reviewed for information provided using a data capture form.
 A total of 142 referrals were analyzed. The majority of the referral provided information on patient identifiers. Information on clinical parameters considered important for quality review and management were generally unsatisfactory. Less than a quarter of the referral provided information on laboratory investigations like cluster of differentiation 4 count. Majority (97.9%) of the referrals stated the reason for the referral but physical examination findings and medication history were only reported in 38.7% and 43% respectively.
 Referral letters to ART clinic were deficient in the information needed for quality review. The deficiencies delayed patient management. Institution of measures to address the deficiencies will help to improve HIV care. The use of a structured referral form and training of doctors on the required information in a referral letter will also impact positively on HIV care.

СТОМАТОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СТАТУС И ОСОБЕННОСТИ ОКАЗАНИЯ СТОМАТОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ПОМОЩИ У НАРКОЗАВИСИМЫХ ПАЦИЕНТОВ, ПРИНИМАЮЩИХ СИНТЕТИЧЕСКИЕ НАРКОТИЧЕСКИЕ ВЕЩЕСТВА

The subject. Clinical manifestations of dependence on synthetic narcotic substances have been thoroughly studied by specialists in the field of psychiatry, narcology, therapy, immunology at the tissue, organ and system levels. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about dentistry. When receiving a drug-dependent patient, most dentists cannot determine drug addiction and, accordingly, competently draw up a treatment plan for such patients. 
 Objectives. To study the features of the management of dental diseases in patients taking synthetic narcotic substances, according to the literature.
 Methodology. Within the framework of this article, the analysis of publications from the databases PubMed, Google Scholar, eLibrary and Cyberleninka describing the toxicological properties and clinical manifestations of synthetic narcotic substances is carried out. The search included full-text articles for the last 5 years. Informational letters were excluded from the analysis.
 Results. The fight against the spread and use of narcotic substances throughout the world is not slowing down. However, the creation of analogues of studied and illicit drugs by correcting their chemical structures, as well as new narcotic substances with known properties, reduces the effectiveness of this struggle. The dental status of patients taking synthetic narcotic substances has been little studied, since they rarely seek dental care, arriving, as a rule, for urgent indications, or by referral from a narcological institution. 
 Conclusions. The analyzed literature data suggest that in patients taking synthetic "designer" substances, the most studied are the manifestations of drug addiction in terms of their effect on the central nervous system. This problem is relevant for doctors of narrow specialties, since knowing the signs of drug use, it is possible to correctly plan treatment tactics, preventing the occurrence of complications during the administration of drugs. Since the manifestations of drug addiction in dental patients are practically not described in the scientific literature, this topic requires further research.