Reproductive health and quality of life of young Burmese refugees in Thailand

BACKGROUND: Of the 140,000 Burmese* refugees living in camps in Thailand, 30% are youths aged 15-24. Health services in these camps do not specifically target young people and their problems and needs are poorly understood. This study aimed to assess their reproductive health issues and quality of life, and identifies appropriate service needs. METHODS: We used a stratified two-stage random sample questionnaire survey of 397 young people 15-24 years from 5,183 households, and 19 semi-structured qualitative interviews to assess and explore health and quality of life issues. RESULTS: The young people in the camps had very limited knowledge of reproductive health issues; only about one in five correctly answered at least one question on reproductive health. They were clear that they wanted more reproductive health education and services, to be provided by health workers rather than parents or teachers who were not able to give them the information they needed. Marital status was associated with sexual health knowledge; having relevant knowledge of reproductive health was up to six times higher in married compared to unmarried youth, after adjusting for socio-economic and demographic factors. Although condom use was considered important, in practice a large proportion of respondents felt too embarrassed to use them. There was a contradiction between moral views and actual behaviour; more than half believed they should remain virgins until marriage, while over half of the youth experienced sex before marriage. Two thirds of women were married before the age of 18, but two third felt they did not marry at the right age. Forced sex was considered acceptable by one in three youth. The youth considered their quality of life to be poor and limited due to confinement in the camps, the limited work opportunities, the aid dependency, the unclear future and the boredom and unhappiness they face. CONCLUSIONS: The long conflict in Myanmar and the resultant long stay in refugee camps over decades affect the wellbeing of these young people. Lack of sexual health education and relevant services, and their concerns for their future are particular problems, which need to be addressed. Issues of education, vocational training and job possibilities also need to be considered.*Burmese is used for all ethnic groups

A many-analysts approach to the relation between religiosity and well-being

The relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset ((Formula presented.) participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported (Formula presented.)). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported (Formula presented.)). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates

Does the transplantation of keratinocytes really reduce the risk of death? Survival analysis of patients hospitalized at the Dr Stanisław Sakiel Centre for Burns Treatment in 2008-2015

BACKGROUND: Keratinocyte transplantation is an adjuvant procedure in the extensive burn therapy method. However, it must be taken into consideration that clinical results of keratinocyte transplantation are ambiguous and progress achieved in this method is still being verified, especially due to the high cost of cultured epithelial autograft (CEA) transplants. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to verify the impact of cultured keratinocyte application on patients' survival. This study included a group of patients with the highest chance for a successful outcome of the therapy and excluded patients with no compelling reason to apply for such an expensive therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study included all the patients with burns diagnosed between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2016, who were treated with cultured skin cells. Patients' age and gender, percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) affected, percentage of burn depth of the 3rd/4th degree, number of days between admission and surgery, and need for rehabilitation were analyzed. RESULTS: The cultured cell application did not significantly affect the risk of death (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Keratinocytes should be applied as an adjunctive method for the treatment of burns with at least 40% TBSA affected, but with a maximal burn depth of the 2nd degree. In the group of patients below 50 years of age, a higher number of transplants with a cell population above 20 million/mL and a significantly lower mortality rate were observed, which means that in the mentioned age group, this graft was more effective. It has been suggested that patients older than 50 years of age with burns deeper than of the 2nd degree should be treated with more advanced methods like, e.g., the application of stem cells

Nowa metoda oznanczania zawartości fenylopropanoidów w korzeniach z gatunku Rhodiola

The aim of the study was the identification and quantitative analysis of phenylpropanoid compounds in the roots of Rhodiola species. Rosavin, rosarin and rosin were determined in the roots of R. kirilowii and R. rosea from the field cultivation, Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants. For the quantitative analysis, the ultra performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI MS/MS, Waters) was used. The results showed differences in the quantitative and qualitative assessments of these two species. In the root of R. kirilowii the presence of phenylpropanoids was not confirmed. In R. rosea the most common phenylpropanoid was rosavin (0.022%). The UPLC-MS/MS studies allowed to use this analytical method for determination of phenylpropanoids in the accordance with the requirements of ICH.Celem przeprowadzonych badań w ramach projektu badawczego było opracowanie metody analitycznej pozwalającej na oznaczenie trzech związków fenylopropanoidów w dwóch gatunkach różeńca. Do detekcji rozawiny, rozyny i rozaryny wykorzystano wysokosprawny chromatograf cieczowy sprzężony z tandemowym spektrometrem mas (UPLC-MS/MS). Obydwa gatunki różeńca Rhodiola kirilowii oraz Rhodiola rosea zostały zebrane z upraw prowadzonych w Instytucie Włókien Naturalnych i Roślin Zielarskich w Poznaniu w 2009 r. Dodatkowo z tych surowców przygotowano po dwa wyciągi: wyciąg wodny oraz wodnoalkoholowy (50% etanol), które następnie przebadano pod względem zawartości fenylopropanoidów. Wszystkie przeprowadzone analizy potwierdziły możliwość wykorzystania tej metody do oznaczenia zawartości fenylopropanoidów w rodzaju Rhodiola

Oznanczanie zawartości kwasu chlorogenowego i galusowego za pomocą UPLC-MS/MS

The aim of our study were qualitative and quantitative analyses of two polyphenolic acids: chlorogenic and gallic acids. These compounds were determined in two species of Rhodiola: R. kirilowii and R. rosea. After collecting plants, aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts were prepared. In order to identify analysed polyphenolic compounds ultra performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS, Waters) was used. Gallic acid is commonly found in the roots of these plants. Aqueous extract in both species is a rich source of gallic acid. The UPLC-MS/MS studies allow to use this analytical method for determination of polyphenolic acids accordance with the requirements of ICH. Chromatographic method developed by our team is more precise then previously published.W Instytucie Włókien Naturalnych i Roślin Zielarskich podjęto badania mające na celu opracowanie metody detekcji kwasu chlorogenowego oraz galusowego za pomocą ultrasprawnej chromatografii cieczowej sprzężonej z tandemowym spektrometrem mas (UPLCMS/ MS, Waters). Badaniom poddano dwa gatunki różnica: Rhodiola kirilowii oraz R. rosea. Rośliny zostały wyhodowane w uprawie gruntowej w Instytucie. Przeprowadzona walidacja metody pozwoliła na jej wykorzystanie w ocenie zawartości kwasu chlorogenowego oraz galusowego w badanych roślinach, ponieważ zawartość analizowanych związków zależna jest zarówno od gatunku jak i warunków uprawy