Questionnaire Investigation Research Articles

ANALYSIS OF USAGE AND QUALITY OF WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS BY PEOPLE FROM BULGARIA, COMPARED TO OTHER FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Purpose: Wild edible mushrooms are collected and consumed for centuries worldwide and in Bulgaria as well. This questionnaire investigation aimed at assessing some common mushroom usage practices in a random sample from the population in Varna region, Bulgaria. Material/Methods: We performed a study of 200 adult individuals, 100 males and 100 females, from Varna region using anonymous questionnaire with 12 basic items about wild edible mushroom usage. Statistical data processing was performed using descriptive methods and correlation analysis. Results: There was a prevalence of male and female individuals with secondary and higher education. Most respondents preferred wild edible mushroom gathering in contrast to purchasing. The positive attitude towards wild edible mushroom usage as food is more common in males than in females. Most respondents consumed wild edible mushroom several times during any year. There were statistically significant correlations between urban main residence, on one hand, and wild edible mushroom non-nutritional usage, cooking, drying, preservation and freezing, on the other hand; between secondary educational level, on one hand, and positive attitude towards nutritional usage of wild edible mushrooms, wild edible mushroom cooking, preservation, freezing and drying and applications as therapeutic means; as well as between individual female sex belonging and wild edible mushroom applications as therapeutic means, on the other hand. Conclusion: This questionnaire investigation revealed several interesting peculiarities of the attitudes towards wild edible mushrooms among the population of Varna region and the extent of usage of common mushrooms depending on sex, educational level and main residence of respondents.

COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF WILD EDIBLE MUSHROOMS IN VARNA REGION WITH OTHER FOREIGN GEOGRAPHIC ZONES

Purpose: The interest in evaluation of real knowledge of wild edible mushrooms at individual and population level increases mainly in developing countries. The purpose of our inquiry study was to assess the level of knowledge and awareness of the wild mushrooms in a random sample from the population of Varna region in Bulgaria. Material/Methods: We performed an anonymous questionnaire investigation of 200 adult individuals, 100 males and 100 females, from Varna region, including 17 potential opinions from their personal knowledge of wild edible mushroom usage. Statistical data processing was performed using descriptive methods, variation and correlation analyses. Results: Most respondents acquired their knowledge of wild edible mushrooms from their relatives. From all 200 persons investigated 78 respondents were not capable of recognizing at least one wild edible mushroom at all. More respondents trusted other people, who have very good experience with preparation of wild mushrooms, thus relying on differentiation of a mushroom poison. Their awareness was associated with their capacity to properly recognize wild mushrooms as well as their long-term practice to recognize toxic mushrooms. Just a minority of respondents shared that wild mushrooms in their vicinity could be a problem and had a slight idea of mycotherapy. Only two females had heard about training for wild mushroom recognition. There were statistically significant correlation dependences between respondent’s awareness of wild edible mushrooms, on one hand, and individual sex status, educational level and main residence, on the other hand. Conclusion: Our study identified two most recognized wild edible mushroom species in Varna region, edible boletus (Boletus edulis Bull) and parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera S. F. Gray). Most respondents acquired their knowledge of wild edible mushrooms from relatives. A problem-oriented training of the population on this topic should be performed to improve awareness of common mushroom features and avoid mushroom poisoning.

Patients\u2019 views of shared decision making in inflammatory bowel disease: a survey in China

BackgroundRecently, decision-making process has become increasingly complex. But there is limited information on Chinese patients’ views of shared decision making (SDM) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This questionnaire investigation aimed to understand Chinese patients’ perspectives and expectations of SDM in IBD and analyze the possible factors that influence their views.MethodsAn online survey was conducted from July 19th to 24th, 2020. A total of 1118 patients completed the survey.ResultsOne-third of patients were dissatisfied with the current decision-making model, and the satisfaction of inpatients was lower than that of outpatients. 84% of patients preferred to participate in SDM, who were young and had a high education level, high income, commercial insurance, strong learning ability and knowledge of SDM. Most of those who did not want to participate (72%) were worried about the cost. The kind of medicine (948, 84.8%), surgical indications (505, 45.2%) and operation methods (482, 43.1%) were the topics that patients thought most require SDM. Side effects of medicine (837, 74.9%), costs of therapy (675, 60.4%), and surgical risks (563, 50.4%) were considered to be the most influential factors for SDM. 52.7% of all patients hoped experts in different disciplines would participate in SDM. The most desirable amount of time for discussion was 30 to 60 min (562/1118, 50.3%), that were associated with the cost of SDM.ConclusionWe can meet the needs of patients by reducing costs and strengthening online patient education and exploring a model suitable for Chinese IBD patients.

Questionnaire investigation of radiation rectal injury with anxiety, depression and somatic disorder

Objective: To observe the incidence and treatment of radiation rectal injury complicated with anxiety, depression and somatic symptom disorder. Methods: A cross-sectional survey research method was carried out. Patients with radiation rectal injury managed by members of the editorial board of Chinese Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery were the subjects of investigation. The inclusion criteria of the survey subjects: (1) patients suffered from pelvic tumors and received pelvic radiotherapy; (2) colonoscopy showed inflammatory reaction or ulcer in the rectum. Exclusion criteria: (1) patient had a history of psycho-somatic disease before radiotherapy; (2) patient was unable to use a smart phone, unable to read and understand the questions in the questionnaire displayed on the phone; (3) patient refused to sign an informed consent form. According to the SOMA self-rating scale, PHQ-15 self-rating scale, GAD-7 and PHQ-9 self-rating scale, the electronic questionnaire of "Psychological Survey of Radiation Proctitis" was designed. The questionnaire was sent to patients with radiation rectal injury managed by the committee through the WeChat group. Observational indicators: (1) radiation rectal injury symptom assessment: using SOMA self-rating scale, radiation rectal injury symptom classification: mild group (≤3 points), moderate group (4-6 points) and severe group (> 6 points); (2) incidence of anxiety, depression and physical disorder: using GAD-7, PHQ-9 and PHQ-15 self-rating scales respectively for assessment; (3) correlation of radiation rectal injury symptom grading with anxiety, depression, and somatic symptom disorder. Results: Seventy-one qualified questionnaires were collected, of which 41 (56.9%) were from Guangzhou. Among the 71 patients, 6 were males and 65 were females; the mean age was (55.7±9.3) years old and 48 patients (67.6%) were less than 60 years old; the median confirmed duration of radiation rectal injury was 2.0 (1.0, 5.0) years. (1) Evaluation of symptoms of radiation rectal injury: 18 cases of mild (25.4%), 27 cases of moderate (38.0%), and 26 cases of severe (36.6%). (2) Incidence of anxiety, depression and somatic disorder: 12 patients (16.9%) without comorbidities; 59 patients (83.1%) with anxiety, depression, or somatic disorder, of whom 2 patients only had anxiety, 1 patient only had depression, 9 only had somatic disorder, 2 had anxiety plus depression, 4 had anxiety plus somatic disorder, 2 had depression plus somatic disorder, and 40 had all three symptoms. (3) correlation of radiation rectal injury grading with anxiety, depression, and somatic symptom disorder: as compared to patients in mild group and moderate group, those in severe group had higher severity of anxiety and somatic symptom disorder (Z=-2.143, P=0.032; Z=-2.045, P=0.041), while there was no statistically significant difference of depression between mild group and moderate group (Z=-1.176, P=0.240). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that radiation rectal injury symptom score was positively correlated with anxiety (r=0.300, P=0.013), depression (r=0.287, P=0.015) and somatic symptom disorder (r=0.344, P=0.003). Conclusions: The incidence of anxiety, depression, and somatic symptom disorder in patients with radiation rectal injury is extremely high. It is necessary to strengthen the diagnosis and treatment of somatic symptom disorder, so as to alleviate the symptoms of patients with pelvic perineum pain and improve the quality of life.

The prevalence, influencing factors and prognosis of abnormal serum potassium levels in patients with chronic kidney disease

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of hyperkalemia and hypokalemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), analyze the influencing factors and explore the impact on disease prognosis. Methods: A total of 3 190 patients with CKD stage 1-4 from 39 tertiary clinical centers in China between November 2011 and December 2016 were recruited. The baseline characteristics of the patients were collected through face-to-face questionnaire investigation, physical examination and laboratory test. Meanwhile, the data of patient's end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease events and deaths were obtained up to December 2017 through active monitoring. The patients were categorized into three groups based on their baseline level of serum potassium (hypokalemia:<3.5 mmol/L, normal range: 3.5-<5.0 mmol/L, hyperkalemia: ≥5 mmol/L). Multi-nominal logistic regression was employed to evaluate the association between clinical characteristics and the presence of hyperkalemia or hypokalemia. The competing risk-based subdistribution Cox proportional hazards regression was used to assess the association between baseline level of serum potassium and various outcomes. Results: The mean age of the patients was (50±14) years, with a male rate of 57.6% (1 839/3 190) and a majority of glomerulonephritis (59.7%, 1 668/2 792). Patients with CKD stage 3-4 accounted for 70.8% (2 260/3 190), and the mean level of serum potassium was (4.4±0.7) mmol/L. The prevalence of hypokalemia and hyperkalemia was 3.7% (n=118) and 17.6% (n=561), respectively. In the multivariable adjusted analysis, presence of history of cardiovascular disease (OR=0.33, 95%CI: 0.13-0.83, P=0.019) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (OR=0.95, 95%CI: 0.91-0.98, P=0.001) were inversely associated with hypokalemia, while use of thiazide or loop diuretic (OR=2.06, 95%CI: 1.51-2.81, P<0.001) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (OR=1.13, 95%CI: 1.12-1.16, P<0.001) were positively associated with hyperkalemia. After adjusting for relevant cardiovascular and renal risk factors, the result only showed a significant association between hypokalemia and risk of all-cause mortality (HR=2.12, 95%CI: 1.06-4.24, P=0.034). Conclusions: Hypokalemia and hyperkalemia were not rare in patients with CKD in China, with the latter more prevalent. Hypokalemia was independently associated with the risk of death.

Analyzing the Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Overseas Chinese Students Based on the Interpersonal Circle Perspective

This paper stands from the social network point of view, uses the form of questionnaire investigation and interview, adopts the qualitative and quantitative research methods, and studies the specific function of social network in intercultural adaptation. This paper discusses the problem of the social network state quo of Chinese overseas students, the relationship between social network and intercultural adaptation. The research is carried out through questionnaire investigation and interview 50 Chinese overseas students in America, England, Canada, France, Australia and so on.

Reproducibility and feasibility of an online self-administered food frequency questionnaire for use among adult Norwegians.

BackgroundNew methods of dietary assessment are increasingly making use of online technologies. The development of a new online food frequency questionnaire warranted investigation of its feasibility and the reproducibility of its results.ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility and reproducibility of a newly developed online FFQ (WebFFQ).DesignThe semiquantitative WebFFQ was designed to assess the habitual diet the previous year, with questions about frequency of intake and portion sizes. Estimations of portion sizes include both pictures and household measures, depending on the type of food in question. In two independent cross-sectional studies conducted in 2015 and 2016, adults were recruited by post following random selection from the general population. In the first study, participants (n = 229) filled in the WebFFQ and answered questions about its feasibility, and in two subsequent focus group meetings, participants (n = 9) discussed and gave feedback about the feasibility of the WebFFQ. In the second study, the WebFFQ’s reproducibility was assessed by asking participants (n = 164) to fill it in on two separate occasions, 12 weeks apart. Moreover, in the second study, participants were offered personal dietary feedback, a monetary gift certificate, or both, as incentives to complete the study.ResultsIn the feasibility study, evaluation form results showed that participants raised issues regarding the estimation of portion size and the intake of seasonal foods as being particularly challenging; furthermore, in the focus group discussions, personal feedback on diet was perceived to be a more motivating factor than monetary reward. In the reproducibility study, total food intake was lower in the second WebFFQ; however, 63% of the food groups were not significantly different from those in the first WebFFQ. Correlations of food intake ranged from 0.62 to 0.90, >86% of the participants were classified into the same or adjacent quartiles, and misclassification ranged from 0 to 3%. Average energy intake was 3.5% lower (p = 0.001), fiber showed the least difference at 1.6% (p = 0.007), and sugar intake differed the most at −6.8% (borderline significant, p = 0.08). Percentage energy obtained from macronutrients did not differ significantly between the first and second WebFFQs.ConclusionOur results suggest that at group level, the WebFFQ showed good reproducibility for the estimations of intake of food groups, energy, and nutrients. The feasibility of the WebFFQ is good; however, revisions to further improve portion size estimations should be included in future versions. The WebFFQ is considered suitable for dietary assessments for healthy adults in the Norwegian population.

Revealing Dengue Risk Factors in Cilacap Regency, Central Java

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is still an important health problem in Indonesia, it is important to identify the specific risk factors in an area. The aims of this study is to analyze the risk factors for DENV infection from various variables such as mobility, preventive behavior, house conditions, occupancy density and the presence of mosquito larvae. This is a case control design, involves 64 cases and 64 control in Cilacap Regency, Central Java. Variables this study were mobility, practice of dengue prevention, ventilation area, occupancy density and presence of mosquito larvae. Data collection was carried out by questionnaire, observation and epidemiology investigation form. Results of this study showed that the existence of Aedes sp larvae and dengue prevention practice as significant factors contributed to the DENV infection in the research area. This research highlighted the importance of dengue prevention and control and human practice as a common denominator to minimize the risk of contracting dengue.

How Does Digital Transformation Improve Organizational Resilience?—Findings from PLS-SEM and fsQCA

Digital transformation has become a critical path for enterprises to improve organizational resilience, and has been widely considered by both academia and business practice. However, the extant literature focuses on the concepts and antecedents of digital transformation and the outcomes of digital transformation, lacking of exploring the effect mechanism of digital transformation of enterprises on organizational resilience. Based on the perspective of dynamic capacity and the theoretical path of “digital transformation—ambidextrous innovation—organizational resilience”, this study constructs a theoretical model to explore a path where digital transformation affects both exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation, and further affects the organizational resilience of enterprises. By performing a questionnaire investigation with 339 Chinese enterprises, this study adopted both a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the relationships among digital transformation, ambidextrous innovation, and organizational resilience. The results show that the digital transformation of enterprises helps to improve organizational resilience. Additionally, digital transformation has a positive impact on the organizational resilience of enterprises mediated by both exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation. Finally, both exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation of enterprises have a positive impact on organizational resilience, and there is a complementary relationship between exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation. Further qualitative comparative analysis also shows that there are three types of configurations for achieving organizational resilience: digital transformation and exploitative innovation, digital transformation and exploratory innovation, and exploitative innovation and exploratory innovation. The paper is concluded by highlighting the importance of the practical significance for enterprises to effectively carry out digital transformation and further achieve organizational resilience.

Impact of Online Teaching among College Students in Weifang Institute of Technology

Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Weifang Institute of Technology, at the call of the Ministry of Education, organized various forms of online teaching activities in the second semester of the 2019-2020 academic year from March 2020 to July 2020, replacing offline teaching. This study focuses on the influence of network teaching on college students, finds out the difficulties in network learning and puts forward some suggestions. The change of teaching method has some influence on students. This study uses the school education management platform to study the effect of online learning on students. The questionnaire survey shows that about one third of students think that the effect of online teaching is better than that of offline teaching, and more than one third of students hope to use offline teaching method to teach in school. In order to solve this problem, this study adopts the quantitative and qualitative methods, questionnaire investigation, interview method, studied the present situation of online learning, such as online learning found some problems, such as students do not adapt to the network teaching, such as poor online interactive teaching and learning time cannot guarantee lead to study the effect not beautiful, more than 80% of the students think that the main reason for the poor learning effect is not adapt to the new teaching method, students' self control ability is poor, the interference factor that the network environment. This paper analyzes the causes of students' online learning problems from the students' point of view, and puts forward practical suggestions to improve the effect of Weifang Institute of Technology students' online learning.

Vascular origin in acute transient visual disturbance: A prospective study.

This study was undertaken to validate a clinical score of vascular origin in patients with acute transient visual disturbances (TVDs) without diplopia. We conducted a prospective study in an ophthalmology emergency department and a transient ischemic attack (TIA) clinic. Patients underwent clinical evaluation including a tailored questionnaire, brain, vascular, and ophthalmologic investigations, and 3-month follow-up. TVDs were classified according to vascular or nonvascular origin by three independent experts based on all clinical, cerebrovascular, and ophthalmologic investigations, but blind to the questionnaire results. A clinical score was derived based on clinical variables independently associated with a vascular origin, and was externally validated in an independent cohort. An ischemic origin of TVD was found in 45% (67/149) of patients in the derivation cohort. Age and six questions were independently associated with an ischemic origin. A nine-point score (≥70years old=2; monocular visual loss=2; black or white vision=1; single episode=1; lack of headache=2; diffuse, constricted, altitudinal, or lateralized visual loss pattern on drawings=1) showed good discriminative power in identifying ischemic origin (c-statistic = 0.82) and was replicated in the validation cohort (n=130, 25% of ischemic origin, c-statistic = 0.75). With a score ≥ 4, sensitivity was 85% (95% confidence interval = 68-95) and specificity was 52% (95% confidence interval = 41-62). In both cohorts, ophthalmologic evaluation found a vascular cause in 4% and was noncontributive in 85%. After 3months, no patients had a stroke, TIA, or retinal infarct. Our score may assist in predicting a vascular origin of TVD. Ophthalmologic evaluation, when not readily available, should not delay the neurovascular evaluation.

Perceived Social Support, Psychological Capital, and Subjective Well-Being among College Students in the Context of Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and subjective well-being among college students in the context of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. 515 college students in China that participated in an online questionnaire investigation were selected as the research sample. The results showed that perceived social support was significantly and positively associated with life satisfaction and positive affect and was significantly and negatively related to negative affect among college students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological capital (PsyCap) significantly mediated the relationships between perceived social support and three subjective well-being variables. The present study provides some implications to protect college students’ subjective well-being in the context of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors influencing urban environmental sustainability actions─an investigation on urban public space in the study area

ABSTRACT What are patterns, outcomes, and factors emerging from the urban environmental sustainability actions? To what extent do the conditions of action arenas facilitate urban environmental actions? In this research, the community-level public space named ‘neighbourhood activity centres’ in Taipei City is observed and investigated. Besides the field observation effort, a data set is established with the combination of subjective and objective data sources collected from a questionnaire investigation (255 units of observations) and the governmental open data systems. After employing ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, the author concludes that environmental friendly facilities (such as aquaponics systems), environmental tendency of the communities, exhibition of policies or regulations and action networks among participants, could facilitate the outcomes of urban environmental sustainability movement. However, the diversity among the participants negatively affects the relationships between some external factors and action outcomes. The divergence in actor preference increases the required transaction costs in the consensus process due to time-consuming communication and compromise. This study thus proposes recommendations, such as benchmark Lis and neighbourhood associations, as policy application that could enhance municipal implementation of sustainability policies.

Analysis of the Status Quo of theElder care Industryin Qingdao Cityand Its Influencing Factors

The gradually accelerated aging process in China has become alargeobstacle for the sustainability of socioeconomic development. Thus it is urgent to develop elder care industry to meet the increasing needs of caring for the aged. This research is to analyse the current situation of the eldercare industry in Qingdao city, Shandong Province, and to identify the corresponding influencing factorsto provide a reference for developing governmental elder care policies to improve industrial development of elder care. Method: 1,008 research subjects aged 60 and over, from two randomly selected administrative regions of Qingdao City, were surveyedby a stratified random sampling in June and July of 2019. A questionnaire investigation was conducted to determine the respondents’preferencesfor the kinds of care services andto analyze the corresponding influencing factors. There were 1,002 completed questionnaires, of which 559 (55.8%) people selected home-based care, 98 (21.1%) selected community-based care, and 443 (44.2%) chose institution-based care.The multi-factor analysis showed that the risk factorsaffecting options of elder care were: living alone, low income, low pension, and poor mental health (OR &gt; 1 and P&lt;0.05). By contrast,living alonewas a protective factor for the elderly to choose institutional nursing care (OR&lt;1 and P&lt;0.05). Currently, in Qindao city, home-based care remains the primaryoptionof the aged, but the proportion of both community and institution elderly service has increased. Diversified home-based care should be promoted to satisfy the requirement forelder care in the aging society.

Association between Mobile Phone Addiction Index and Sugar-Sweetened Food Intake in Medical College Students Stratified by Sex from Shanghai, China.

This study’s objective was to depict sugar-sweetened food (SSF) consumption in medical college students stratified by sex from Shanghai, China, and to explore the association between the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI) and SSF intake. The data were obtained from 1121 medical college students from the Fudan University, Shanghai, China, who took an online questionnaire investigation in December 2020. Data included demographics, the MPAI, the Nutrition Literacy Assessment Questionnaire (NLAQ), total and food expenditure per month, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and a food frequency questionnaire (carbonated beverages (CB), other sugar-based beverages (OSBB), sugar/chocolate). We evaluated the association between the MPAI and three types of SSF intake according to multivariate logistic regression analysis stratified by sex. The mean CB, OSBB, and sugar/chocolate intakes were, respectively, 65.66 mL/d, 74.20 mL/d, and 4.96 g/d in men and 30.42 mL/d, 71.48 mL/d, and 4.99 g/d in women. The MPAI was positively associated with SSF intake, regardless of sex. In men, the CB and OSBB odds ratios (ORs) were, respectively, 1.023 (95% CI: 1.004–1.042), 1.019 (95% CI: 1.001–1.038); and in women, the CB, OSBB, and sugar/chocolate ORs were, respectively, 1.026 (95% CI: 1.013–1.039), 1.020 (95% CI: 1.007–1.033), and 1.019 (95% CI: 1.006–1.032). Age, NLAQ, total expenditure, food expenditure, and total physical activity also were related to SSF intake. Age and the application capacity of the NLAQ were negatively associated with SSF intake, whereas comprehension capacity of the NLAQ, total and food expenditure, and total physical activity were positively associated with SSF intake. This study confirmed that SSF intake is widespread among medical college students from Shanghai, China, even if they have relatively high nutrition health literacy. From a public health perspective, it is necessary to reduce SSF intake in medical college students by decreasing the MPAI, controlling the total and food expenditure per month in high-consumption areas, and improving the application ability of the NLAQ. Further studies are needed to explore the MPAI and other potential factors that may influence SSF intake of college students by expanding the sample size of college students throughout China, and the causal association between them.

Decreased COVID-related adaptive behavior and increased negative affect: A multivariate latent growth curve model.

Data from a longitudinal questionnaire investigation of three time waves were used to investigate affective and behavioral changes and their covariant relationship among Chinese general population during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to May 2020. 145 participants aging from 15 to 63 completed three waves of survey. Latent growth curve analyses found that negative affect gradually increased as the pandemic continued. A faster increase in negative affect was related to a greater decrease in adaptive behavior and faster increase in non-adaptive behavior. A higher initial level of negative affect was related to a slower increase in non-adaptive behavior.

A Methodology for Dynamic Assessment of Laboratory Safety by SEM-SD.

Lab safety problems have become an impeding factor that cannot be ignored in normal teaching and scientific research activities at colleges and universities. As the risk factors of lab accidents can be conceptualized as occurring at multiple levels, systematically improving and optimizing lab safety is the crucial route to accident prevention in labs. In this paper, a novel method that integrates a structural equation model (SEM) and system dynamics (SD) is presented to dynamically assess lab safety with the characteristics of insufficient data and uncertainty. On the basis of a questionnaire investigation, the SEM was utilized to determine the influencing factors on lab safety and acquire the path coefficients among these factors, which were embedded into the SD model as the weight of the influencing factors. An illustration was carried out to test and validate the proposed method, and a sensitivity analysis was also conducted to recognize variables contributing the most to the improvement of lab safety. The results demonstrated that the safety input of human and management subsystems is the most effective to improve the lab safety; meanwhile, “safety awareness”, “emergency ability”, “operation skills”, “safety culture” and “safety training” are the top five contributing factors, which can promote lab safety in the shortest time.

Oral adverse effects of CDK4/6 inhibitors among breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors are widely used to treat hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer due to their efficient performance in improving survival outcomes. Although the side effects of these agents on the hematological and gastrointestinal systems have attracted significant attention, the adverse effects that have direct impacts on patients' quality of life, such as stomatitis, have not been well explored to date. A systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Google Scholar, European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), and American Society of Clinical Oncology databases. Phase 2 and 3 randomized trials on CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6Is) were identified and used in the meta-analysis based on the completeness of their safety data. Of the 904 records screened, 40 studies were considered relevant. Six studies were used in the meta-analysis, with a total of 2,980 patients in the safety population. The pooled relative risk (RR) and risk difference (RD) for any-grade stomatitis were 2.02 (95% CI: 1.65-2.48) and 0.10 (95% CI: 0.05-0.15), respectively. In the subgroup analysis, higher RRs were observed among patients receiving letrozole as basic endocrine therapy (ET) (8.50, 95% CI: 2.22-32.57) or palbociclib-containing regimens (2.44, 95% CI: 1.88-3.18), whereas the RDs showed no significant difference. All CDK4/6Is, especially palbociclib, could increase the risk of developing stomatitis among patients with breast cancer. Prevention and management of CDK4/6Is-related stomatitis may effectively reduce its secondary impacts. Due to the lack of individual-level data, some important personal confounding variables could not be controlled. Besides, the explanations of the secondary effects of stomatitis in this study were only based on the literature and professional knowledge. The specific quantitative impacts on patient quality of life and compliance require further questionnaire investigation. More in-depth individual-level data are needed to quantify the effect of stomatitis on patients' quality of life and treatment compliance.

Mange Mites of Goats in Malle District of South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

BackgroundMange mites are economically damaging goat ectoparasites that cause skin rejection or downgrading in Ethiopian tanneries and leather industries.MethodsA study was done on 384 randomly selected goats to identify the proportion of mites and potential associated factors in the Malle district of South Omo Zone, Ethiopia using a cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire investigation was also performed to evaluate the knowledge and preventative measures taken by goat owners during mange mites infection. A skin scraping was employed to collect mange mites for identification.ResultsOut of 384 examined goats, 34.6% (133/384) of goats were infected with a variety of mange mite species. Demodex (2.86%), Psoroptes (8.1%), and Sarcoptes (23.7%) were the three mange mite genera identified in three sites of Malle district. Goats with poor body condition score (BCS) were the most infected (43.6%) with mange mites compared with moderate (39.1%) and good body condition (17.3%) goats. Adult goats (37.6%) were more infested than young (32.3%) and old (30.1%), whereas there was a higher infestation in males (60.2%) than females (39.8%). However, age, sex, and BCS of the goats had no significant (p > 0.05) correlation with the occurrence of mange mites. Skin lesion due to mange mites infection was most frequently observed on the head region (26.3%), followed by legs (24.8%) and thoracic region (22.6%). The questionnaire survey indicated that 86.27% of the participants preferred to use modern acaricides to control mange mites, while 97.4% of participants have been involved in government-sponsored deworming programs.ConclusionMange mites especially Sarcoptes species were major skin problems in goats in the study, so the owners should be advised to improve their management and use mite control in goats regularly in the area.

English

BACKGROUND Disturbance of brain iron homeostasis have been linked to acute neuronal injury following cerebral ischemia. Increased body iron stores measured as serum ferritin is an acute-phase reactant involved in cellular defence against oxidative stress and it constitutes the main intracellular iron storage protein. In a healthy population, iron excess may not be a major concern; however, in persons with high oxidative stress and dyslipidaemia, iron excess may place them at greater risk. Hence this study is undertaken to find out the role of iron in acute ischemic stroke and to estimate the iron stores, measured as serum ferritin in acute ischemic stroke patients. METHODS A minimum of 180 consecutive patients above 40 years in the acute phase of ischemic stroke within 72 hours of first episode admitted to the neurology department was selected for the study. Data collection was based on Interview method by detailed questionnaire and laboratory investigations. Quantitative determination of serum ferritin was done by immunoenzymatic colorimetric method using ELISA technique. Association of risk factors like age, gender, place of residence, history of hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes between cases with elevated ferritin and normal values were analysed. RESULTS In the present study incidence of stroke was more common among patients with the age group of more than 50 years and among the 180 cases, 75 % showed elevated serum ferritin levels. Association of risk factors between cases with elevated ferritin and cases with normal ferritin were studied and it shown that history of hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes were statistically significant. Multiple logistic regression showed history of hypertension and dyslipidaemia that were independent predictors of elevated ferritin levels among stroke patients. CONCLUSIONS Serum Ferritin was increased in acute ischemic stroke patients. There was significant association of factors like history of hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes with elevated ferritin levels. KEYWORDS Stroke, Ferritin, Oxidative Stress, Free Radicals