IJEPA: Gray Area for Health Policy and International Nurse Migration

Indonesia is recognized as a nurse exporting country, with policies that encourage nursing professionals to emigrate abroad. This includes the country's adoption of international principles attempting to protect Indonesian nurses that emigrate as well as the country's own participation in a bilateral trade and investment agreement, known as the Indonesia�Japan Economic Partnership Agreement that facilitates Indonesian nurse migration to Japan. Despite the potential trade and employment benefits from sending nurses abroad under the Indonesia�Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, Indonesia itself is suffering from a crisis in nursing capacity and ensuring adequate healthcare access for its own populations. This represents a distinct challenge for Indonesia in appropriately balancing domestic health workforce needs, employment, and training opportunities for Indonesian nurses, and the need to acknowledge the rights of nurses to freely migrate abroad. Hence, this article reviews the complex operational and ethical issues associated with Indonesian health worker migration under the Indonesia�Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. It also introduces a policy proposal to improve performance of the Indonesia�Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and better align it with international principles focused on equitable health worker migration

IS SUICIDE MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH METEOROLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS? AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY IN A CITY IN TAIWAN WITH A HIGH SUICIDE RATE

Background: Keelung City has the highest suicide rate in Taiwan. This study aimed to determine whether meteorological and socio-economic factors are associated with suicide mortality in Keelung City, by gender and by means of suicide. Subjects and methods: Data on suicides between January 2006 and December 2010 were provided by the Department of Health, Keelung City Government. The suicide victims were categorized into non-violent and violent groups, based on the International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision. Meteorological data were obtained from the Central Weather Bureau of Taiwan. Socioeconomic data were gathered from the Accounting and Statistics Office, Keelung City Government. Multiple linear regression analysis with backward elimination was performed to determine the model that was most effective in predicting dependent variables. Results: During the 5-year study period, the overall suicide mortality rate was negatively associated with ambient temperature. Male suicide mortality was positively correlated with unemployment, and negatively correlated with ambient temperature, barometric pressure, rainy days, family income and number of holidays. Female suicide mortality and violent suicide mortality were not significantly correlated with any meteorological or socio-economic factors. Non-violent suicide mortality was positively correlated with unemployment, and negatively correlated with ambient temperature, barometric pressure and family income. Conclusions: Suicide is a complex psychopathological phenomenon. Further studies with individual data are warranted to confirm how meteorological and socio-economic conditions influence ones’ suicidal behaviour

A new cable clip module with moveable cable clip

For a server system, we would have many kinds of configurations for customer’s different application. Some configurations like 2.5” / 3.5” HDD or different length PSU might have different PCBA, cable, mechanical part and cable clip in the chassis. It will have the part’s maintenance and inventory cost on these parts for different configuration. So if we could use the same part at different configuration, it will reduce our cost. So we propose a new cable clip module with moveable cable clip to let the cable routing more flexible by moving the location of the cable clip. By using this cable clip module, we could use the same cable for different configuration like different length PSU and different size HDD. And we also could use the cable clip module at the same location in the chassis for these configurations

Photoinduced charge separation in donor-acceptor spiro compounds at metal and metal oxide surfaces: Application in dye-sensitized solar cell

Modulated charge separation has been investigated by surface photovoltage spectroscopy in the fixed capacitor arrangement for four different fluorene compounds adsorbed from highly diluted solutions at ultra-thin nanoporous TiO 2 (np-TiO 2), Au and ITO surfaces. Donor (-N(C 6H 5) 2) and acceptor moieties (-CN, -COOH) were linked by fluorene or spirobisfluorene cores and the chain length has been changed by introducing thiophene. Modulated charge separation by electron injection and intramolecular transport has been separated and directed adsorption of spiro compounds at Au surfaces has been demonstrated. Striking differences between the interaction of linking -CN and -COOH groups and the different substrates were observed. The capability as TiO 2 spectral sensitizer of spirobisfluorene donor-acceptor molecules with extended conjugation has been demonstrated. Solar cells exhibit 5.6% energy conversion efficiency, confirming that spiro-configured geometry is a promising route to the design of metal free dyes. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Fil: Macor, Lorena Paola. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados; ArgentinaFil: Gervaldo, Miguel Andres. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; ArgentinaFil: Fungo, Fernando Gabriel. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Luis Albert. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; ArgentinaFil: Dittrich, Thomas. Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy, Institute of Heterogeneous Materials; AlemaniaFil: Lin, Chih-Yen. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: Chi, Liang-Chen. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: Fang, Fu-Chuan. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: Lii, Shu-Woei. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: Wong, Ken-Tsung. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: Tsai, Chih-Hung. National Taiwan University; República de ChinaFil: Wu, Chung-Chih. National Taiwan University; República de Chin

Decreased Blood Levels of Oxytocin in Ketamine-Dependent Patients During Early Abstinence

Background: Ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, is a common drug of abuse worldwide. Existing evidence suggest a disruption of oxytocin system involves in the development of addiction. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of oxytocin in ketamine addiction by measuring the blood oxytocin levels in ketamine-dependent (KD) patients.Methods: Sixty-five KD patients and 65 controls were enrolled. Fasting plasma levels of oxytocin were determined at baseline and 1 and 2 weeks after ketamine withdrawal. Ketamine use variables, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Visual Analog Scale for craving, and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-short form were assessed in KD patients.Results: KD patients had significantly lower levels of oxytocin at baseline compared to controls (5.89 ± 2.13 vs. 9.53 ± 4.17 ng/mL, P < 0.001). Oxytocin levels increased after one (6.74 ± 2.63, P < 0.002) and 2 weeks (6.89 ± 2.69, P = 0.01) of withdrawal in KD patient despite the levels were still lower than controls (P = 0.001 and 0.002, respectively). The clinical variables did not correlate with baseline oxytocin levels except BAI scores, which showed a negative correlation with the levels (r = −0.263; P = 0.039).Conclusion: We found a distinctively reduced oxytocin level in KD patients and the level did not normalize after early abstinence. Lower oxytocin might be associated with anxious phenotype of ketamine dependence. These results suggest that oxytocin system dysregulated following chronic ketamine abuse and might provide insight in evaluating the potential therapeutic use of oxytocin for treating ketamine dependence

Compliance as a stable function in the treatment course of bipolar disorder in patients stabilized on olanzapine: results from a 24-month observational study

Compliance is a key factor in the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder. This noninterventional study was conducted to explore factors associated with higher levels of compliance in bipolar patients, all treated in routine clinical settings. Bipolar outpatients (Clinical Global Impression of Severity score ≤3) who had been stabilized with olanzapine mono- or combination therapy for ≥4 weeks were enrolled in the study. Compliance to medication was assessed at baseline and after 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months by a physician-rated, 4-point categorical scale using the following classification: noncompliant (patients being compliant to treatment schedule less than 20% of the time) and low (20% to 59% of the time), moderate (60% to 79% of the time), and high (≥80% of the time) levels of compliance. Both baseline and post-baseline factors were used in a generalized estimating equations (GEE) model to predict the likelihood of high compliance. Of 891 eligible patients, 657 patients completed the 24-month observation period. High levels of compliance (≥80%) were observed in 67% of patients at baseline, increasing to 80% in study completers. High compliance at baseline was identified as a strong predictor of compliance during study participation (odds ratio (OR) = 6.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.0 to 9.5, p < 0.001). Factors associated with high compliance during the study (GEE model) included greater life satisfaction (p = 0.002), better insight into illness (p < 0.001), less work impairment (p = 0.007), and fewer days of inpatient care (p = 0.002). Compliance ratings varied by country (p < 0.001) and duration of post-baseline treatment (p = 0.014). In conclusion, a number of clinical, functional, and social factors were identified as predictors of compliance in patients with bipolar disorder. As compliance is crucial for the long-term management of these patients, more attention should be directed towards compliance itself and factors associated with compliance levels in everyday treatment settings

Subjective Cognitive Decline in the Community Is Affected at Multiple Aspects of Mental Health and Life Quality: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Community Medicine of Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is one of the early warning signs of objective cognition impairment and dementia. Methods: This cross-sectional study screened SCD and studied multiple domains of mental health, lifestyle, and life quality of the community-dwelling people in the northern coastal region of Taiwan. Results: Among 426 valid AD8 questionnaires, a cutoff of score 2 divided subjects into 115 with SCD (SCD+) and 311 without SCD (SCD–). Analysis of age, sex, body compositions, and blood tests revealed an older age (60.7 ± 10.9 years) of the SCD+ group than the SCD– group (57.6 ± 12.0 years, p &#x3c; 0.05). Further exclusion of subjects younger than 50 years eliminated age differences and left 100 with SCD (SCD+_50) and 229 without (SCD–_50). Multidomain comparisons of the SCD+_50 group over the SCD–_50 group were made: the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire found a higher likelihood of depression; the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index revealed suboptimal sleep quality; the SF-36 showed inferior function of all 8 aspects of quality of life; the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile documented a less health-seeking lifestyle of nutrition, self-actualization, and stress management. Conclusions: Aging increased the SCD risk. People with SCD had suboptimal performance in mental health and life quality in addition to subjective cognition problems