Explanation and Elaboration Document for the STROBE-Vet Statement: Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology—Veterinary Extension

The STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement was first published in 2007 and again in 2014. The purpose of the original STROBE was to provide guidance for authors, reviewers and editors to improve the comprehensiveness of reporting; however, STROBE has a unique focus on observational studies. Although much of the guidance provided by the original STROBE document is directly applicable, it was deemed useful to map those statements to veterinary concepts, provide veterinary examples and highlight unique aspects of reporting in veterinary observational studies. Here, we present the examples and explanations for the checklist items included in the STROBE-Vet Statement. Thus, this is a companion document to the STROBE-Vet Statement Methods and process document, which describes the checklist and how it was developed

Estimation of Resilience in University Students

The objective of the work is to estimate the resilience level of university students for future resilience interventions. The paper presents a conceptual analysis of the term resilience, based on the criteria of contemporary authors framed in two generations. The methods and techniques used in the work are exposed, where two tools for measuring resilience are highlighted. The importance of the study of resilience in the university environment is discussed and the statistical and graphical results related to the application of the aforementioned instruments are shown in terms of measuring the resilience level in the university students of seven faculties of the Technical University of Manabí

Methods and Processes of Developing the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology – Veterinary (STROBE-Vet) Statement

BACKGROUND Reporting of observational studies in veterinary research presents challenges that often are not addressed in published reporting guidelines. OBJECTIVE To develop an extension of the STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement that addresses unique reporting requirements for observational studies in veterinary medicine related to health, production, welfare, and food safety. DESIGN Consensus meeting of experts. SETTING Mississauga, Canada. PARTICIPANTS Seventeen experts from North America, Europe, and Australia. METHODS Experts completed a pre-meeting survey about whether items in the STROBE statement should be modified or added to address unique issues related to observational studies in animal species with health, production, welfare, or food safety outcomes. During the meeting, each STROBE item was discussed to determine whether or not rewording was recommended and whether additions were warranted. Anonymous voting was used to determine consensus. RESULTS Six items required no modifications or additions. Modifications or additions were made to the STROBE items 1 (title and abstract), 3 (objectives), 5 (setting), 6 (participants), 7 (variables), 8 (data sources/measurement), 9 (bias), 10 (study size), 12 (statistical methods), 13 (participants), 14 (descriptive data), 15 (outcome data), 16 (main results), 17 (other analyses), 19 (limitations), and 22 (funding). CONCLUSION The methods and processes used were similar to those used for other extensions of the STROBE statement. The use of this STROBE statement extension should improve reporting of observational studies in veterinary research by recognizing unique features of observational studies involving food-producing and companion animals, products of animal origin, aquaculture, and wildlife

Innovación tecnológica de un sistema integral para monitotear el consumo eléctrico

El presente trabajo se enfocó en el diseño e implementación de un sistema integral para monitorear local y remotamente, el consumo eléctrico generado en los diferentes ambientes dentro de un hogar. De esta manera, se consideró la creación de un prototipo capaz de medir la corriente consumida cada minuto, por las diferentes cargas conectadas a la red eléctrica en los ambientes de un hogar. Se utilizó una red inalámbrica basada en la tecnología Zigbee para la transmisión de los datos desde los prototipos hasta un servidor que se encarga de recibir los datos cuando exista un consumo de electricidad en el hogar. Los datos son procesados y posteriormente almacenados en una base de datos. Finalmente, se implementó una página web que muestra gráficamente un historial del consumo eléctrico, a la que el usuario puede acceder local o remotamente y monitorear de forma rápida y práctica el consumo eléctrico en el hogar. Para el desarrollo de este sistema integral se analizó el funcionamiento de sensores de corriente, divisores de voltaje, módulos Xbee, y se desarrolló la aplicación con el uso de software Open Source como Java, MySQL y PHP. Actualmente, el usuario cuenta tan solo con las lecturas mensuales, entregadas por el proveedor de servicio de electricidad, desconociendo la realidad sobre los ambientes críticos dentro de su casa. Mediante el sistema propuesto, el usuario podrá conocer en todo lugar y en cualquier momento el consumo eléctrico generado en áreas específicas, y así tomar medidas oportunas de ahorro energético.//The present work focused on the design and implementation of an integral system to monitor, locally and remotely, the electrical consumption generated in the different environments within a home. In this way, it was considered the creation of a prototype capable of measuring the current consumed every minute, by the different loads connected to the electrical network in different environments of a home. A wireless network based on Zigbee technology was used to transmit the data from the prototypes to a server that is responsible for receiving the data when there is a consumption of electricity in the home. The data is processed and subsequently stored in a database. Finally, a web page was implemented that graphically shows a history of electricity consumption, which the user can access locally or remotely and quickly and practically monitor the electricity consumption within the home. For the development of this integral system, the operation of current sensors, voltage dividers, Xbee modules was analyzed, and the application was developed with the use of Open Source software such as Java, MySQL and PHP. Currently, the user only has the monthly readings, delivered by the electricity service provider, ignoring the reality about critical environments within the home. Through the proposed system. The user can know in any place and at any time the electricity consumption generated in specific areas, and thus take appropriate energy saving measures

Technological Innovation of a Comprehensive System to Monitor Electric Consumption

El presente trabajo se enfocó en el diseño e implementación de un sistema integral para monitorear local y remotamente, el consumo eléctrico generado en los diferentes ambientes dentro de un hogar. De esta manera, se consideró la creación de un prototipo capaz de medir la corriente consumida cada minuto, por las diferentes cargas conectadas a la red eléctrica en los ambientes de un hogar. Se utilizó una red inalámbrica basada en la tecnología Zigbee para la transmisión de los datos desde los prototipos hasta un servidor que se encarga de recibir los datos cuando exista un consumo de electricidad en el hogar. Los datos son procesados y posteriormente almacenados en una base de datos. Finalmente, se implementó una página web que muestra gráficamente un historial del consumo eléctrico, a la que el usuario puede acceder local o remotamente y monitorear de forma rápida y práctica el consumo eléctrico en el hogar. Para el desarrollo de este sistema integral se analizó el funcionamiento de sensores de corriente, divisores de voltaje, módulos Xbee, y se desarrolló la aplicación con el uso de software Open Source como Java, MySQL y PHP. Actualmente, el usuario cuenta tan solo con las lecturas mensuales, entregadas por el proveedor de servicio de electricidad, desconociendo la realidad sobre los ambientes críticos dentro de su casa. Mediante el sistema propuesto, el usuario podrá conocer en todo lugar y en cualquier momento el consumo eléctrico generado en áreas específicas, y así tomar medidas oportunas de ahorro energético.The present work focused on the design and implementation of an integral system to monitor, locally and remotely, the electrical consumption generated in the different environments within a home. In this way, it was considered the creation of a prototype capable of measuring the current consumed every minute, by the different loads connected to the electrical network in different environments of a home. A wireless network based on Zigbee technology was used to transmit the data from the prototypes to a server that is responsible for receiving the data when there is a consumption of electricity in the home. The data is processed and subsequently stored in a database. Finally, a web page was implemented that graphically shows a history of electricity consumption, which the user can access locally or remotely and quickly and practically monitor the electricity consumption within the home. For the development of this integral system, the operation of current sensors, voltage dividers, Xbee modules was analyzed, and the application was developed with the use of Open Source software such as Java, MySQL and PHP. Currently, the user only has the monthly readings, delivered by the electricity service provider, ignoring the reality about critical environments within the home. Through the proposed system. The user can know in any place and at any time the electricity consumption generated in specific areas, and thus take appropriate energy saving measures

Association of conjunctival bacterial infection and female sex in cicatricial trachoma.

PURPOSE: Conjunctival infection with non-chlamydial bacteria may play an important role in the progression of trachoma, especially with regard to the development of corneal opacity and blindness. To further characterize the microbiological profile of bacterial conjunctival infections in cicatricial trachoma, a conjunctival swabbing of adults in rural Ethiopia was performed. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study conducted in nine Ethiopian villages with hyperendemic trachoma, persons 40 years of age or older with signs or symptoms consistent with trichiasis were recruited and conjunctival swabbing for bacterial pathogens was performed. RESULTS: Conjunctival examination and swabbing on 112 females and 36 males were performed. Of the 148 study participants, 101 (68.2%) were confirmed to have trichiasis, and 118 (80%) had conjunctival swabs positive for bacteria. In multivariate analyses, growth of pathogenic conjunctival bacteria was independently associated with trichiasis (odds ratio [OR] 6.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.71-17.7) and female sex (OR 5.90; 95% CI 2.09-16.7). Females were more likely to have swabs positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae than were males (OR 9.09; 95% CI 1.17-70.8). CONCLUSIONS: In a region of Ethiopia with endemic trachoma, conjunctival bacterial growth was more common in females than that in males. S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae, both of which frequently colonize the nasopharynx of children, were more common in females, suggesting that the preponderance of infection in females may be attributable to close contact with children. This finding is consistent with the theory that childcare activities may preferentially expose females to ocular chlamydial infection. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00221364.)

Trends of child undernutrition in rural Ecuadorian communities with differential access to roads, 2004–2013

Road access can influence protective and risk factors associated with nutrition by affecting various social and biological processes. In northern coastal Ecuador, the construction of new roads created a remoteness gradient among villages, providing a unique opportunity to examine the impact of roads on child nutritional outcomes 10 years after the road was built. Anthropometric and haemoglobin measurements were collected from 2,350 children <5 years in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, from 2004 to 2013 across 28 villages with differing road access. Logistic generalized estimating equation models assessed the longitudinal association between village remoteness and prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight, obesity, and anaemia. We examined the influence of socio‐economic characteristics on the pathway between remoteness and nutrition by comparing model results with and without household‐level socio‐economic covariates. Remoteness was associated with stunting (OR = 0.43, 95% CI [0.30, 0.63]) and anaemia (OR = 0.56, 95% CI [0.44, 0.70]). Over time, the prevalence of stunting was generally decreasing but remained higher in villages closer to the road compared to those farther away. Obesity increased (0.5% to 3%) over time; wasting was high (6%) but stable during the study period. Wealth and education partially explained the better nutritional outcomes in remote vs. road villages more than a decade after some communities gained road access. Establishing the extent to which these patterns persist requires additional years of observation.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144663/1/mcn12588.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144663/2/mcn12588_am.pd

Chlamydia on children and flies after mass antibiotic treatment for trachoma.

There are various approaches to control trachoma. These include the elimination of the ocular strains of Chlamydia trachomatis that cause the disease and to decrease the spread of infection by other measures such as fly control. Here, we examined how these two are related (i.e., how treating children with antibiotics affects carriage of Chlamydia by flies). Flies were collected in villages that had received mass oral azithromycin distribution and were compared with flies in untreated villages. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to detect chlamydial DNA on the flies. Conjunctival swabs were also taken to assay for chlamydial prevalence in the children. Chlamydia was found on 23% of the flies in the untreated villages but only 0.3% in treated villages. Prevalence of trachoma in children proved to be an excellent predictor of the prevalence on flies (correlation coefficient, 0.89). Thus, treating children with antibiotics may drastically reduce the role of flies as a vector