The effect of home visits as an additional recruitment step on the composition of the final sample: a cross-sectional analysis in two study centers of the German National Cohort (NAKO)

Background: Participation in epidemiologic studies has been declining over the last decades. In addition to postal invitations and phone calls, home visits can be conducted to increase participation. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the effects of home visits in terms of response increase and composition of the additionally recruited and final sample. Methods: In the framework of the German National Cohort (NAKO) recruitment process, two of 18 study centers, Halle (Saale) and Berlin-Center, performed home visits as additional recruitment step after postal invitation and reminders. Response increase was calculated and differences between participants recruited via home visits and standard recruitment were examined. Proportions are presented as percentages with 95%-confidence intervals. Results: In the general population in Halle, 21.3-22.8% participated after postal invitation and two reminders in the five assessed recruitment waves. The increase of the overall response was 2.8 percentage points (95%confidence interval: 1.9-4.0) for home visits compared to 2.4 percentage points (95%CI: 1.7-3.3) for alternatively sent third postal reminder. Participants recruited via home visits had similar characteristics to those recruited via standard recruitment. Among persons of Turkish descent in Berlin-Center site of the NAKO, home visits conducted by native speakers increased the participation of women, persons living together with their partner, were born in Turkey, had lower German language skills, lower-income, lower education, were more often smokers and reported more often diabetes and depression to a degree which changed overall estimates for this subsample. Conclusions: As an additional recruitment measure in the general population, home visits increased response only marginally, and the through home visits recruited participants did not differ from those already recruited. Among persons with migration background, home visits by a native speaker increased participation of persons not reached by the standard recruitment, but the effects of using a native speaker approach could not be separated from the effect of home visits

Comparing in vitro maturation rates in buffalo and cattle oocytes and evaluating the effect of cAMP modulators on maturation and subsequent developmental competence

Objective: The purpose of this research was to compare the kinetics and meiotic advancement of cattle and buffalo oocytes, as well as to see how cAMP modulators affected the meiotic progression status of cattle and buffalo oocytes during the oocyte collection process.Design: comparing maturation stages times in buffalo and cattle oocytes. Cattle and buffalo oocytes were collected, separated into two groups (standard IVM and extended IVM), and cultivated for five hours in 5% CO2 at 39°C. The sample times for extended IVM are 8, 15, 18, 22, 24, and 30 hours. The nuclear status of each oocyte was assessed to determine how far it had matured at each time sample. Then after, study the effect of cAMP modulators on maturation rates of cattle and buffalo oocytes.Procedures: Standard IVM samples were taken at different maturation times, commencing at 8 h and ending at 24 h, while extended IVM samples were taken at 30 h. COCs were placed in a 15-mL sterile centrifuge tube with a warmed 3 percent sodium citrate solution and vortexed at maximum speed for 4 to 8 minutes as needed to remove all cumulus cells before being placed in a warm water bath at 39°C for 5 minutes. After that, the oocytes were mounted on a slide and placed in Coplin jars with a 3:1 methanol/acetic acid solution.Results: At any stage of sampling, the percentage of oocytes arrested at the GV stage did not differ significantly between cattle and buffalo oocytes. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between cattle and buffalo oocytes in terms of the percentage of oocytes that reached the MI stage. Moreover, the percentage of oocytes arrested at the GV stage did not differ substantially between cattle and buffalo oocytes when maturation was extended using cAMP modulators at all stages of sampling. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Modulating cAMP during oocyte maturation can change oocyte kinetics and increase developmental competence by boosting fertilization, cleavage, and morula rates. Furthermore, there is no significant differences in maturation rates between buffalo and cattle oocytes

Religio-ethical discussions on organ donation among Muslims in Europe: an example of transnational Islamic bioethics

This article analyzes the religio-ethical discussions of Muslim religious scholars, which took place in Europe specifically in the UK and the Netherlands, on organ donation. After introductory notes on fatwas (Islamic religious guidelines) relevant to biomedical ethics and the socio-political context in which discussions on organ donation took place, the article studies three specific fatwas issued in Europe whose analysis has escaped the attention of modern academic researchers. In 2000 the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) issued a fatwa on organ donation. Besides this “European” fatwa, two other fatwas were issued respectively in the UK by the Muslim Law (Shariah) Council in 1995 and in the Netherlands by the Moroccan religious scholar Muṣṭafā Ben Ḥamza during a conference on “Islam and Organ Donation” held in March 2006. The three fatwas show that a great number of Muslim religious scholars permit organ donation and this holds true for donating organs to non-Muslims as well. Further, they demonstrate that transnationalism is one of the main characteristics of contemporary Islamic bioethics. In a bid to develop their own standpoints towards organ donation, Muslims living in the West rely heavily on fatwas imported from the Muslim world

Improvement of Irrigation Efficiency by Developing Surface Irrigation System

The experiments were Carried out in Biahmu Village at Al-Fayoum Governorate, Egypt during the two winter seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, on wheat crop to (cv. Gemmiza 11) evaluate the traditional surface irrigation system "TSIS" and the improved surface irrigation system "ISIS"(terrace), under laser leveling with two slops (S1≈ zero% and S2 ≈ 3%). The evaluation parameters included; reduction in land loss "LL", the roughness coefficient of marwa-walls, water efficiencies (i.e., water conveyance efficiencies "WCE", water application efficiencies "WAE" and water storage efficiencies "WSE"), yield productivity "Yp", total applied water and water required, irrigation water productivity "IWP" and times of water advance, recession and opportunity. The results concluded that improving traditional marwa, led to reduction in land loss by 49.46% from the area of marwa, and "WCE" increased by 83.17% in improved Marwa "IM" the compare to Traditional Marwa "TM. It was observed that on the efficiency of water added to the field irrigated by "TM". The highest level of water productivity (1.79kg wheat/m3 water) was achieved in "IM" at a level of 3%. Advanced time "T.Adv" (min) decreased at 50, 50.77, 27.6, 20.75, and 17.17% and 30.9, 40.51, 22.8, 10.89 and7.05% for "TL and IL" by sloping to "S2"

Patterns of glioblastoma treatment and survival over a 16-years period: pooled data from the German Cancer Registries

Introduction!#!Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a primary malignant brain tumour characterized by a very low long-term survival. The aim of this study was to analyse the distribution of treatment modalities and their effect on survival for GBM cases diagnosed in Germany between 1999 and 2014.!##!Methods!#!Cases were pooled from the German Cancer Registries with International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third edition (ICD-O-3) codes for GBM or giant-cell GBM. Three periods, first (January 1999-December 2005), second (January 2006-December 2010) and a third period (January 2011-December 2014) were defined. Kaplan-Meier plots with long-rank test compared median overall survival (OS) between groups. Survival differences were assessed with Cox proportional-hazards models adjusted for available confounders.!##!Results!#!In total, 40,138 adult GBM cases were analysed, with a mean age at diagnosis 64.0 ± 12.4 years. GBM was more common in men (57.3%). The median OS was 10.0 (95% CI 9.0-10.0) months. There was an increase in 2-year survival, from 16.6% in the first to 19.3% in the third period. When stratified by age group, period and treatment modalities, there was an improved median OS after 2005 due to treatment advancements. Younger age, female sex, surgical resection, use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, were independent factors associated with better survival.!##!Conclusion!#!The inclusion of temozolomide chemotherapy has considerably improved median OS in the older age groups but had a lesser effect in the younger age group of cases. The analysis showed survival improvements for each treatment option over time

Socioeconomic disparities in head and neck cancer survival in Germany: a causal mediation analysis using population-based cancer registry data

Purpose!#!Despite recent improvements in cancer treatment in Germany, a marked difference in cancer survival based on socioeconomic factors persists. We aim to quantify the effect of socioeconomic inequality on head and neck cancer (HNC) survival.!##!Methods!#!Information on 20,821 HNC patients diagnosed in 2009-2013 was routinely collected by German population-based cancer registries. Socioeconomic inequality was defined by the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation. The Cox proportional regression and relative survival analysis measured the survival disparity according to level of socioeconomic deprivation with respective confidence intervals (CI). A causal mediation analysis was conducted to quantify the effect of socioeconomic deprivation mediated through medical care, stage at diagnosis, and treatment on HNC survival.!##!Results!#!The most socioeconomically deprived patients were found to have the highest hazard of dying when compared to the most affluent (Hazard Ratio: 1.25, 95% CI 1.17-1.34). The most deprived patients also had the worst 5-year age-adjusted relative survival (50.8%, 95% CI 48.5-53.0). Our mediation analysis showed that most of the effect of deprivation on survival was mediated through differential stage at diagnosis during the first 6 months after HNC diagnosis. As follow-up time increased, medical care, stage at diagnosis, and treatment played no role in mediating the effect of deprivation on survival.!##!Conclusion!#!This study confirms the survival disparity between affluent and deprived HNC patients in Germany. Considering data limitations, our results suggest that, within six months after HNC diagnosis, the elimination of differences in stage at diagnosis could reduce survival inequalities

Influence of Long and Short-term Progesterone Administration on Estrous Synchronization and Reproductive Performance in Ewes During May Season

Estrous synchronization is a promising management device to get better reproductive proficiency, particularly in ruminants. However, limited information is available about the influence of long and short-term progesterone administration on estrous synchronization and reproductive performance in ewes during May season, particularly in Egypt. In this study, a total of 144 ewes have been utilized for estrous synchronization and reproductive performance in ewes during May season. Ewes were separated into six groups with different treatments as follows: G1, control (natural mating), G2, ewes were treated with 20 mg Cronolone vaginal impregnated sponges (Flurgestone acetate, FGA). The sponge was remained intravaginal for 11 days. Each ewe was intramuscularly (i.m.) injected with 500 international unit (IU) Pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) on the day of sponge withdrawal (day 11), G3, ewes were treated with intra-vaginal sponges. The sponge was remained intra-vaginal for 11 days, on day 10, each ewe was injected with 25 mg ultra-short progesterone (P4) (1 ml Lutone). Each ewe was injected i.m. with PMSG (500 IU) on day 11. G4 ewes were treated with intra-vaginal sponges. The sponge was remained for 11 days. Teaser ram was introduced to treated ewes after sponge withdrawal. The 5th group (G5), ewes were treated with intra-vaginal sponges. The sponge was remained intravaginal for 11 days. On day 10, each ewe was injected with 25 mg P4 (1 ml Lutone). Teaser ram was introduced to treated ewes after sponge withdrawal. The 6th group (G6), the same treatment of G2, but the sponge was inserted intra-vaginal only for 6 days. Each ewe was i.m. injected with 500 IU pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG) on day 6. Synchronization was better in G2, G3 and G6, respectively and all short-term group animals came into estrus. In addition, onset of estrus and its duration differs significantly among groups. Reproductive performance also showed a significant difference among groups and the short-term group has the highest fertility rate. Given the above information, our data concluded that progestagens synchronized estrus (long term or short term) and administration of PMSG (500 IU) at sponge withdrawal improves the reproductive efficiency of artificially inseminated crossbred ewes