149 research outputs found
Measles Virus Strain Diversity, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Differences in epidemiologic patterns are only partially explained by vaccination practices
Trends in mortality by labour market position around retirement ages in three European countries with different welfare regimes
<p>Objectives: In the face of economic downturn and increasing life expectancy, many industrial nations are adopting a policy of postponing the retirement age. However, questions still remain around the consequence of working longer into old age. We examine mortality by work status around retirement ages in countries with different welfare regimes; Finland (social democratic), Turin (Italy; conservative), and England and Wales (liberal).</p>
<p>Methods: Death rates and rate ratios (RRs) (reference rates = âin-workâ), 1970 sâ2000 s, were estimated for those aged 45â64 years using the England and Wales longitudinal study, Turin longitudinal study, and the Finnish linked register study.</p>
<p>Results: Mortality of the not-in-work was consistently higher than the in-work. Death rates for the not-in-work were lowest in Turin and highest in Finland. Rate ratios were smallest in Turin (RR men 1972â76 1.73; 2002â06 1.63; women 1.22; 1.68) and largest in Finland (RR men 1991â95 3.03; 2001â05 3.80; women 3.62; 4.11). Unlike RRs for men, RRs for women increased in every country (greatest in Finland).</p>
<p>Conclusions: These findings signal that overall, employment in later life is associated with lower mortality, regardless of welfare regime.</p>
Positive and negative effects of antipsychotic medication: an international online survey of 832 recipients
Background: Antipsychotic medication is currently the treatment of choice for psychosis, but few studies directly survey the first hand experience of recipients.
Objectives: To ascertain the experiences and opinions of users of an international sample of antipsychotic drugs regarding positive and negative effects.
Method: An online direct-to-consumer questionnaire was completed by 832 users of antipsychotics, from 30 countries â predominantly USA, UK and Australia. This is the largest such sample to date.
Results: Over half (56%) thought the drugs reduced the problems they were prescribed for, but 27% thought they made them worse. Slightly less people found the drugs generally âHelpfulâ (41%) than found them âUnhelpfulâ (43%). While 35% reported that their âquality of lifeâ was âimprovedâ, 54% reported that it was made âworseâ. The average number of adverse effects reported was 11, with an average of five at the âsevereâ level. Fourteen effects were reported by 57% or more participants, most commonly: âDrowsiness, feeling tired, sedationâ (92%), âLoss of motivationâ (86%), âSlowed thoughtsâ (86%), and âEmotional numbingâ (85%). Suicidality was reported to be a side effect by 58%. Older people reported particularly poor outcomes and high levels of adverse effects. Duration of treatment was unrelated to positive outcomes but significantly related to negative outcomes. Most respondents (70%) had tried to stop taking the drugs. The most common reasons people wanted to stop were the side effects (64%) and worries about long-term physical health (52%). Most (70%) did not recall being told anything at all about side effects.
Conclusions Clinical implications are discussed, with a particular focus on the principles of informed consent, and involving patients in decision making about their own lives
Mapping Water Levels across a Region of the Cuvette Centrale Peatland Complex
Inundation dynamics are the primary control on greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands. Situated in the central Congo Basin, the Cuvette Centrale is the largest tropical peatland complex. However, our knowledge of the spatial and temporal variations in its water levels is limited. By addressing this gap, we can quantify the relationship between the Cuvette Centraleâs water levels and greenhouse gas emissions, and further provide a baseline from which deviations caused by climate or land-use change can be observed, and their impacts understood. We present here a novel approach that combines satellite-derived rainfall, evapotranspiration and L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to estimate spatial and temporal changes in water level across a sub-region of the Cuvette Centrale. Our key outputs are a map showing the spatial distribution of rainfed and flood-prone locations and a daily, 100 m resolution map of peatland water levels. This map is validated using satellite altimetry data and in situ water table data from water loggers. We determine that 50% of peatlands within our study area are largely rainfed, and a further 22.5% are somewhat rainfed, receiving hydrological input mostly from rainfall (directly and via surface/sub-surface inputs in sloped areas). The remaining 27.5% of peatlands are mainly situated in riverine floodplain areas to the east of the Congo River and between the Ubangui and Congo rivers. The mean amplitude of the water level across our study area and over a 20-month period is 22.8 ± 10.1 cm to 1 standard deviation. Maximum temporal variations in water levels occur in the riverine floodplain areas and in the inter-fluvial region between the Ubangui and Congo rivers. Our results show that spatial and temporal changes in water levels can be successfully mapped over tropical peatlands using the pattern of net water input (rainfall minus evapotranspiration, not accounting for run-off) and L-band SAR data
Mental health cliniciansâ beliefs about the causes of psychosis: Differences between professions and relationship to treatment preferences
The ontology of mental health problems is an area of long standing debate. This has been
fuelled by strong claims of a genetic basis to mental health problems, particularly in
relation to the more serious difficulties such as schizophrenia and psychosis (John,
Thirunavukkarasu, Halahalli, Purushottam, & Jain, 2015). The result of this biological
framework has influenced practice at a service-level, with medication the primary
treatment offered to this client group. Although neurobiological and genomic research
has substantially progressed over the past decade, findings have also provided strong
evidence for the role of environmental factors. Deprivation, trauma, social isolation,
urbanicity and adverse childhood experiences have all been associated with the onset of
psychosis (Cohen, 1993; Read, Van Os, Morrison, & Ross, 2005; Van Os, 2004). Given
the evidence-base, psychosis is now considered by many experts in the field to be the
result of a complex interaction of biological and environmental factors, for which the
relevance of these differs for each individual. As a result, an integrative approach to
treating psychosis is now endorsed by some clinical guidelines, with a recommendation
that everyone be given a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment and be offered
both antipsychotic medication and psychosocial interventions (NICE, 2014)
PTCy-based haploidentical vs matched related or unrelated donor reduced-intensity conditioning transplant for DLBC
This study retrospectively compared long-term outcomes of nonmyeloablative/reduced intensity conditioning (NMC/RIC) allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) from a haploidentical family donor (haplo-HCT) using posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) with those of matched sibling donor (MSD) and matched unrelated donor (MUD) with or without T-cell depletion (TCD+/TCD-) in patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Adult patients with DLBCL who had undergone their first NMC/RIC allo-HCT between 2008 and 2015 were included. Recipients of haplo-HCT were limited to those receiving graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with PTCy. GVHD prophylaxis in MSD was limited to calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based approaches without in vivo TCD, while MUD recipients received CNI-based prophylaxis with or without TCD. Outcome analyses for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), and disease relapse/progression were calculated. A total of 1438 patients (haplo, 132; MSD, 525; MUD TCD+, 403; and MUD TCD-, 378) were included. Patients with haplo donors were significantly older, had a better performance status and had more frequently received total body irradiation-based conditioning regimens and bone marrow grafts than MSD and MUD TCD+ or TCD-. 3-year OS, PFS, NRM and relapse/progression incidence after haplo-HCT was 46%, 38%, 22%, and 41%, respectively, and not significantly different from outcomes of matched donor transplants on multivariate analyses. Haplo-HCT was associated with a lower cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD compared with MSD, MUD TCD+/TCD-. NMC/RIC haplo-HCT with PTCy seems to be a valuable alternative for patients with DLBCL considered for allo-HCT but lacking a matched donor
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