Awareness without learning: A preliminary study exploring the effects of beachgoer's experiences on risk taking behaviours

Most drowning deaths on Australian beaches occur in locations not patrolled by lifeguards. At patrolled locations, where lifeguards supervise flagged areas in which beachgoers are encouraged to swim between, the incidence of drowning is reduced. To date, risk prevention practices on coasts focus on patrolled beaches, deploying warning signs at unpatrolled locations with the aim of raising public awareness of risk. What remains unexplored is the potential for learning and behaviour change that can transfer from patrolled to unpatrolled beaches through beachgoer's experiences and interactions with lifeguards. The aim of this preliminary study is to explore the risk perceptions of beachgoers at a patrolled beach to establish if and how their experiences of beach risk and interactions with lifeguards affect their behaviours. Data was collected in Gerroa, Australia by engaging 49 beachgoers using a mixed survey-interview methodology. Results show that beachgoers are aware that they should ‘swim between the flags’, but many did not know the basis for the positioning of safety flags. A key finding is that beachgoer's express a clear desire for a skills-based model of community engagement that enables learning with lifeguards. This demonstrates a reflective public that desires skill-development, which may transfer from patrolled to unpatrolled beaches to affect broader risk reduction on the Australian coast. Learning how to avoid site-specific rip hazards with lifeguards at the beach presents a promising, and previously unexplored model for beach drowning risk prevention that has the potential to affect behaviour at unpatrolled beaches, providing an empirically-supported alternative to prevailing deficit-based awareness raising methods

Detectability of colorectal neoplasia with fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography and computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the detectability of colorectal neoplasia with fluorine-18-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT). Data for a total of 492 patients who had undergone both PET/CT and colonoscopy were analyzed. After the findings of PET/CT and colonoscopy were determined independently, the results were compared in each of the six colonic sites examined in all patients. The efficacy of PET/CT was determined using colonoscopic examination as the gold standard. In all, 270 colorectal lesions 5 mm or more in size, including 70 pathologically confirmed malignant lesions, were found in 172 patients by colonoscopy. The sensitivity and specificity of PET/CT for detecting any of the colorectal lesions were 36 and 98%, respectively. For detecting lesions 11 mm or larger, the sensitivity was increased to 85%, with the specificity remaining consistent (97%). Moreover, the sensitivity for tumors 21 mm or larger was 96% (48/50). Tumors with malignant or high-grade pathology were likely to be positive with PET/CT. A size of 10 mm or smaller [odds ratio (OR) 44.14, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 11.44-221.67] and flat morphology (OR 7.78, 95% CI 1.79-36.25) were significant factors that were associated with false-negative cases on PET/CT. The sensitivity of PET/CT for detecting colorectal lesions is acceptable, showing size- and pathology-dependence, suggesting, for the most part, that clinically relevant lesions are detectable with PET/CT. However, when considering PET/CT for screening purposes caution must be exercised because there are cases of false-negative results

Multicenter Evaluation Of Crystal Violet Decolorization Assay (Cvda) For Rapid Detection Of Isoniazid And Rifampicin Resistance In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the performance of the crystal violet decolorization assay (CVDA) for detection of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). This study was performed in 11 centers in two phases. A total of 156 isolates were tested for INH and RIF resistance. In the phase I, 106 clinical isolates were tested in the Center 1-7. In the phase 2, 156 clinical isolates were tested in the center 1-6, center 8-11. Eighty six of 156 tested isolates were the same in phase I. Agreements were 96.2-96.8% for INH and 98.1-98.7% for RIF in the phase I-II, respectively. Mean time to obtain the results in the phase I was 14.3 +/- 5.4 days. In the phase II, mean time to obtain the results was 11.6 +/- 3.5 days. Test results were obtained within 14days for 62.3% (66/106) of isolates in the phase I and 81.4% (127/156) of isolates in the phase II. In conclusion, CVDA is rapid, reliable, inexpensive, and easy to perform for rapid detection of MDR-TB isolates. In addition, it could be adapted for drug susceptibility testing with all drugs both in developed and developing countries.WoSScopu

Diagnosis of Human Prion Disease Using Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion Testing of Olfactory Mucosa and Cerebrospinal Fluid Samples

Importance: Early and accurate in vivo diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is necessary for quickly distinguishing treatable from untreatable rapidly progressive dementias and for future therapeutic trials. This early diagnosis is becoming possible using the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) seeding assay, which detects minute amounts of the disease-specific pathologic prion protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or olfactory mucosa (OM) samples. Objective: To develop an algorithm for accurate and early diagnosis of CJD by using the RT-QuIC assay on CSF samples, OM samples, or both. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this case-control study, samples of CSF and OM were collected from 86 patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable (n\u2009=\u200951), possible (n\u2009=\u200924), or suspected (n\u2009=\u200911) CJD and 104 negative control samples (54 CSF and 50 OM). The CSF and OM samples were analyzed using conventional RT-QuIC. The CSF samples underwent further testing using improved RT-QuIC conditions. In addition, the diagnostic performance of a novel, easy-to-use, gentle flocked swab for sampling of OM was evaluated. Data were collected from January 1 to June 30, 2015. Main Outcome and Measures: Correlations between RT-QuIC results and the final diagnosis of recruited patients. Results: Among the 86 patients (37 men [43%] and 49 women [57%]; mean [SD] age, 65.7 [11.5] years) included for analysis, all 61 patients with sporadic CJD had positive RT-QuIC findings using OM or CSF samples or both for an overall RT-QuIC diagnostic sensitivity of 100% (95% CI, 93%-100%). All patients with a final diagnosis of non-prion disease (71 CSF and 67 OM samples) had negative RT-QuIC findings for 100% specificity (95% CI, 94%-100%). Of 8 symptomatic patients with various mutations causing CJD or Gerstmann-Str\ue4ussler-Scheinker syndrome, 6 had positive and 2 had negative RT-QuIC findings for a sensitivity of 75% (95% CI, 36%-96%). Conclusions and Relevance: A proposed diagnostic algorithm for sporadic CJD combines CSF and OM RT-QuIC testing to provide virtually 100% diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in the clinical phase of the disease