How Risk Perceptions and Level of Trust of Information Influence Individuals’ Health Services Usage

Background: When facing health-related issues, decision-making is not an easy thing. Some people look for advice from health care professionals, and some people trust their family members\u27 and friends’ experiences more. Previous studies in health communication have suggested differences across various demographic groups in information seeking access and skills, including variables related to the knowledge gap assumption and individuals\u27 risk perceptions. Methods: Multiple linear regression and logistic regression are used to examine how individuals’ health risk perceptions influence their health service usage by analyzing the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 Cycle 4. HINTS conducts national surveys to monitor the influence and changes in cancer communication among U.S. adult citizens. It is a cross-sectional survey of the adult population conducted every few years by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since 2003. HINTS 5 Cycle 4 data were collected from February through June in 2020 with 3,865 respondents participated in the study. Results: The results showed that people who have higher risk perceptions are more likely to seek health information and seek information online. In addition, socioeconomic status (SES), age, and race/ethnicity also impact individuals’ health information-seeking behaviors as well as health service usage. Conclusion: Health professionals’ recommendations often have a significant influence on individuals’ decision-making. If health professionals can spend just a couple of extra minutes in conversation with patients and their family members to emphasize the importance of health service usage (eg. Examination, regular body checkout), individuals’ willingness of using health services may be changed

Will My Disclosure Harm the Relationship? Factors that Impact Mother-Daughter Cancer Communication in Taiwan

Since 1982, cancer has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (2020), in 2019 more than a quarter (28.6%) of deaths were caused by cancer, an increase of about 5% from 1999. Family communication can help encourage social and physical support, especially for those who face traumatic, life-changing events, such as receiving a cancer diagnosis. However, people may avoid self-disclosing information about their diseases, treatments, and emotions with their families for different reasons. Between May and July 2014, fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted to explore what factors influence breast cancer mothers’ desire to engage in cancer communication with their daughters. Six themes representing individual factors, relational factors, and cultural factors that influence self-disclosure emerged. These themes were: 1) Cancer stage when the mother was first diagnosed, 2) Mother’s dependency/Daughter’s maturity, 3) Philosophy of “face it, accept it, deal with it, and let it be”, 4) Societal expectations of women’s roles, 5) Religion, and 6) Support group engagement

Increased risk of endometriosis in patients with endometritis — a nationwide cohort study involving 84,150 individuals

Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of endometriosis among endometritis patients and its association with confoundingcomorbidities.Material and methods: A population-based, retrospective cohort study of women aged between 20 to 55 years, who werenewly diagnosed with endometritis between 2000 to 2013. A total of 16,830 endometritis patients and 67,230 non-endometritisindividuals were enrolled by accessing data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.The comorbidities accessed were uterine leiomyoma, rheumatoid arthritis, ovarian cancer, infertility and allergic diseases.Results: The mean follow-up period was 9.15 years for the non-endometritis cohort and 9.13 years for the endometritiscohort. There were significantly higher percentages of uterine leiomyoma, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility, ovarian cancerand allergic diseases in the endometritis cohort than in the non-endometritis cohort. Patients with endometritis hada 1.5-fold increased risk of their condition advancing to endometriosis (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.48–1.68).Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients with endometritis exhibited a positive correlation in developing endometriosis

Stateless Two-Stage Multiple Criteria Scheduling in Nuclear Medicine

Examination in nuclear medicine exhibits scheduling difficulties due to its intricate clinical issues, such as varied radiopharmaceuticals for different diseases, machine preparation and length of scan, and patients’ and hospital’s criteria and/or limitations. Many scheduling methods exist but are limited for nuclear medicine. In this paper, we present stateless two-stage scheduling to cope with multiple criteria decision making. The first stage mostly deals with patients’ conditions. The second stage concerns more the clinical condition and its correlations with patients’ preference which presents more complicated intertwined configurations. A greedy algorithm is proposed in the second stage to determine the (time slot and patient) pair in linear time. The result shows practical and efficient scheduling for nuclear medicine

Transcription of the rat testis-specific Rtdpoz-T1 and -T2 retrogenes during embryo development: co-transcription and frequent exonisation of transposable element sequences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Retrotransposition is an important evolutionary force for the creation of new and potentially functional intronless genes which are collectively called retrogenes. Many retrogenes are expressed in the testis and the gene products have been shown to actively participate in spermatogenesis and other unique functions of the male germline. We have previously reported a cluster of retrogenes in the rat genome that encode putative TRAF- and POZ-domain proteins. Two of the genes, <it>Rtdpoz-T1 and -T2 </it>(abbreviated as <it>T1 </it>and <it>T2</it>), have further been shown to be expressed specifically in the rat testis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show here that the <it>T1 </it>and <it>T2 </it>genes are also expressed in the rat embryo up to days 16–17 of development when the genes are silenced until being re-activated in the adult testis. On database interrogation, we find that some <it>T1/T2 </it>exons are chromosomally duplicated as cassettes of 2 or 3 exons consistent with retro-duplication. The embryonic <it>T1/T2 </it>transcripts, characterised by RT-PCR-cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends, are further found to have acquired one or more noncoding exons in the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR). Most importantly, the <it>T1</it>/<it>T2 </it>locus is embedded within a dense field of relics of transposable element (TE) derived mainly from LINE1 and ERV sequences, and the TE sequences are frequently exonised through alternative splicing to form the 5'-UTR sequences of the <it>T1/T2 </it>transcripts. In a case of <it>T1 </it>transcript, the 3'-end is extended into and terminated within an L1 sequence. Since the two genes share a common exon 1 and are, therefore, regulated by a single promoter, a <it>T2</it>-to-<it>T1 </it>co-transcription model is proposed. We further demonstrate that the exonised 5'-UTR TE sequences could lead to the creation of upstream open reading frames resulting in translational repression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Exonisation of TE sequences is a frequent event in the transcription of retrogenes during embryonic development and in the testis and may contribute to post-transcriptional regulation of expression of retrogenes.</p

FACTORS AFFECTING THE TRANSFER OF INTER-ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS TO CHINA: A CASE STUDY OF HIGH-TECH ENTERPRISES

Due to the huge market potentiality, profuse production resource such as workforce and land, and low production costs in China, many international high-tech enterprises are moving their production line to China. Accompanying production offshoring is the transfer of Information Technology (IT) to ensure that the production processes remain efficient and effective at home and abroad. Many enterprises however encounter problems in transferring their IT to China, especially when the IT is an inter-organizational system (IOS), which is across organizational boundaries and involves the management of relationships among participants. In order to understand how to successfully transfer IOS to China, we aim to find out key relational factors of IOS performance in China through an observation of a binary relationship built upon an e-procurement system between a Taiwanese PC ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) and its Chinese suppliers. Based on the relational view of the firm, four relational factors are proposed and examined. The results show that IOS specific investments and effective IOS governance most strongly affects the result of IOS transfer to China, whereas complementary resource endowment has least influence

Assessment and Diagnostic Practices Relating to Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States and Mexico

Purpose: The present study examined and compared professional assessment and diagnostic practices relating to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Mexico and the United States (U.S.). This information is of great importance because there is an extremely limited amount of information pertaining the assessment and diagnostic practices for ASD in Mexico and little is known about how these practices compare to those in the U.S. Methods: Archival data from a survey investigating ASD in the U.S. and Mexico was used for this study. Participants included 29 professionals from the U.S. and 7 professionals from Mexico. Professionals were from a variety of different occupations, but all reported to be involved in the diagnosis of ASD. Results: In both Mexico and the U.S., most professionals reported use of similar ASD related assessment and diagnostic practices, and ASD related assessment and diagnostic practices were frequently in alignment with current best practices recommendations. However, there were professionals from both Mexico and the U.S. that reported use of diagnostic tools and practices that did not adhere to recommendations, such as, use of outdated versions of the DSM, diagnosis of ASD individually, and evaluation of individuals in one setting. Conclusion: An understanding of the assessment and diagnostic practices currently being used in Mexico and in the U.S. provides both researchers and clinicians with a better understanding of what is being implemented by different professionals. Additionally, an understanding of the assessment and diagnostic practices for ASD in Mexico is of particular importance for professionals practicing in the U.S. as most immigrants in the U.S are from Mexico therefore it is likely professionals in the U.S. will encounter patients on their caseloads that received diagnoses of ASD in Mexico

Associations of road traffic noise and its frequency spectrum with prevalent depression in Taichung, Taiwan

IntroductionExposure to road traffic noise has been reported to be associated with depression in many epidemiological studies, but the association between noise frequency spectrum and depression remains unclear. This community-based study investigated the associations between road traffic noise exposure and its frequency components with prevalent depression.MethodsA total of 3,191 residents living in Taichung who participated in the Taiwan Biobank between 2010 and 2017, were included as study participants. The land-use regression models were used to evaluate individual annual average values of A-weighted equivalent sound level over 24 h (Leq,24h) and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter &lt;2.5 μm (PM2.5) using the geographic information system. Multiple logistic regression was applied to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for depression after adjusting for potential risk factors and PM2.5.ResultsAn interquartile range increase in Leq,24h at full frequency (4.7 dBA), 1,000 Hz (5.2 dB), and 2,000 Hz (4.8 dB) was significantly associated with an elevated risk for depression with ORs of 1.62 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03, 2.55), 1.58 (95% CI: 1.05, 2.37), and 1.58 (95% CI:1.03, 2.43), respectively, by controlling for PM2.5. The high-exposure group (≥3rd quartile median of noise levels) at full frequency, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz had an increased risk for depression with ORs of 2.65 (95% CI: 1.16–6.05), 2.47 (95% CI: 1.07–5.70), and 2.60 (95% CI: 1.10–6.12), respectively, compared with the reference group (&lt;1st quartile of noise levels) after adjustment for PM2.5. Significant exposure-response trends were observed between the prevalent depression and noise exposure by quartiles at full frequency, 1,000 Hz, and 2,000 Hz (all p &lt; 0.05).ConclusionExposure to road traffic noise may be associated with an increased prevalence of depression, particularly at 1,000 and 2,000 Hz

Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening Practices in the United States and Mexico

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore screening practices for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Mexico and the United States (U.S.). Methods: Data from a larger study exploring the knowledge, screening, and diagnostic practices of healthcare practitioners from Mexico and the U.S. was used for the current study. The original survey was created by experts in ASD and consisted of 63 questions: 15 demographic questions, 20 questions relating to knowledge of ASD, 11 questions relating to screening practices, and 17 questions relating to diagnostic practices. All surveys were completed by professionals engaging in the screening and diagnosis of ASD. For this study, a total of thirty- five survey responses for the screening portion of the survey (30 from the U.S. and 5 from Mexico) were explored. Qualitative data and descriptive statistics were utilized. Results: Many of the responses relating to screening practices from professionals practicing in Mexico and the U.S. were consistent with best practice guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Mexican Public Health Guide. Furthermore, many similarities were found in the screening practices of professionals from both countries. Differences in screening practices reported by professionals from Mexico and the U.S. were found in the type of professional involved in the screening process and professional referrals after a failed ASD screening. Additionally, some professionals from both the U.S. and Mexico reported the use of inappropriate screening tools, and the average age reportedly screened was much higher than the current recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Hyman et al., 2020). Conclusion: An understanding of the screening practices currently being used in Mexico and the U.S. provides both researchers and clinicians with a better understanding of what is being implemented by different professionals. This study identified areas of strength and areas of weaknesses in the screening process for ASD in both countries. These results can now be used in future studies and programs targeting improved screening processes in Mexico in the U.S. Improved screening processes are important because of the potential to result in an earlier age of diagnosis of ASD and provision of services at a younger age. The latter of which is associated with better outcomes for children with ASD

Transarterial detachable coil embolization of direct carotid-cavernous fistula: Immediate and long-term outcomes

AbstractBackgroundTransarterial embolization is a standard method for management of direct carotid-cavernous fistula (DCCF). The purpose of this study was to report our experiences, and immediate and long-term outcomes of endovascular embolization of DCCFs by using detachable coils (DCs).MethodsOver 8 years, 24 patients with 25 DCCFs underwent endovascular DC embolization. There were 15 men and nine women; age ranged from 8 to 82 years (mean, 39 years). Immediate and long-term angiographic as well as clinical outcomes after endovascular DC embolization were retrospectively analyzed. The number and the length of DCs used to occlude the fistula were also evaluated.ResultsEighteen DCCFs were successfully occluded by single-session endovascular embolization with preservation of the parent artery. Retreatments by transvenous (n = 5) and/ or transorbital routes (n = 3) had to be performed in seven patients because of residual fistula (n = 4) or recurrent fistula (n = 4) occurring within 3 weeks after embolization. The average numbers and length of coils to occlude the fistulas were 14 (range, 2–31) and 189 cm (range, 16–756 cm), respectively. Four patients had small residual fistulas with spontaneous thrombosis on follow-up angiography. Three patients had transient cranial nerve impairment of the third (n = 1) or sixth (n = 2) nerve. There was no significant procedure-related neurological complication. The follow-up period was 3–48 months (mean, 19 months)ConclusionEndovascular DC embolization of DCCFs was proved both efficacious and safe in managing high-flow fistulas with sustained angiographic and clinical effects, particularly in those DCCFs with small fistula track and/or cavernous sinus. However, retreatment via various routes may be necessary in some patients because of residual or recurrent fistulas