16 research outputs found
Burden of Self-reported Acute Gastrointestinal Illness in Cuba
Acute gastrointestinal illness is an important public-health issue worldwide. Burden-of-illness studies have not previously been conducted in Cuba. The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude, distribution, and burden of self-reported acute gastrointestinal illness in Cuba. A retrospective, cross-sectional survey was conducted in three sentinel sites during June-July 2005 (rainy season) and during November 2005–January 2006 (dry season). Households were randomly selected from a list maintained by the medical offices in each site. One individual per household was selected to complete a questionnaire in a face-to-face interview. The case definition was three or more bouts of loose stools in a 24-hour period within the last 30 days. In total, 97.3% of 6,576 interviews were completed. The overall prevalence of acute gastrointestinal illness was 10.6%. The risk of acute gastrointestinal illness was higher during the rainy season (odds ratio [OR]=3.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.18-4.66) in children (OR=3.12, 95% CI 2.24-4.36) and teens (OR=2.27, 95% CI 1.51-3.41) compared to people aged 25-54 years, in males (OR=1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.47), and in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba (OR=1.33, 95% CI 1.11-1.61). Of 680 cases, 17.1-38.1% visited a physician, depending on sentinel site. Of the cases who visited a physician, 33.3-53.9% were requested to submit a stool sample, and of those, 72.7-100.0% complied. Of the cases who sought medical care, 16.7- 61.5% and 0-31.6% were treated with antidiarrhoeals and antibiotics respectively. Acute gastrointestinal illness represented a substantial burden of health compared to developed countries. Targeting the identified risk factors when allocating resources for education, food safety, and infrastructure might lower the morbidity associated with acute gastrointestinal illness
Direct measurement of antiferromagnetic domain fluctuations
Measurements of magnetic noise emanating from ferromagnets due to domain
motion were first carried out nearly 100 years ago and have underpinned much
science and technology. Antiferromagnets, which carry no net external magnetic
dipole moment, yet have a periodic arrangement of the electron spins extending
over macroscopic distances, should also display magnetic noise, but this must
be sampled at spatial wavelengths of order several interatomic spacings, rather
than the macroscopic scales characteristic of ferromagnets. Here we present the
first direct measurement of the fluctuations in the nanometre-scale spin-
(charge-) density wave superstructure associated with antiferromagnetism in
elemental Chromium. The technique used is X-ray Photon Correlation
Spectroscopy, where coherent x-ray diffraction produces a speckle pattern that
serves as a "fingerprint" of a particular magnetic domain configuration. The
temporal evolution of the patterns corresponds to domain walls advancing and
retreating over micron distances. While the domain wall motion is thermally
activated at temperatures above 100K, it is not so at lower temperatures, and
indeed has a rate which saturates at a finite value - consistent with quantum
fluctuations - on cooling below 40K. Our work is important because it provides
an important new measurement tool for antiferromagnetic domain engineering as
well as revealing a fundamental new fact about spin dynamics in the simplest
antiferromagnet.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Burden of Self-reported Acute Gastrointestinal Illness in Cuba
Acute gastrointestinal illness is an important public-health issue
worldwide. Burden-of-illness studies have not previously been conducted
in Cuba. The objective of the study was to determine the magnitude,
distribution, and burden of self-reported acute gastrointestinal
illness in Cuba. A retrospective, cross-sectional survey was conducted
in three sentinel sites during June-July 2005 (rainy season) and during
November 2005\u2013January 2006 (dry season). Households were randomly
selected from a list maintained by the medical offices in each site.
One individual per household was selected to complete a questionnaire
in a face-to-face interview. The case definition was three or more
bouts of loose stools in a 24-hour period within the last 30 days. In
total, 97.3% of 6,576 interviews were completed. The overall prevalence
of acute gastrointestinal illness was 10.6%. The risk of acute
gastrointestinal illness was higher during the rainy season (odds ratio
[OR]=3.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.18-4.66) in children
(OR=3.12, 95% CI 2.24-4.36) and teens (OR=2.27, 95% CI 1.51-3.41)
compared to people aged 25-54 years, in males (OR=1.24, 95% CI
1.04-1.47), and in the municipality of Santiago de Cuba (OR=1.33, 95%
CI 1.11-1.61). Of 680 cases, 17.1-38.1% visited a physician, depending
on sentinel site. Of the cases who visited a physician, 33.3-53.9% were
requested to submit a stool sample, and of those, 72.7-100.0% complied.
Of the cases who sought medical care, 16.7- 61.5% and 0-31.6% were
treated with antidiarrhoeals and antibiotics respectively. Acute
gastrointestinal illness represented a substantial burden of health
compared to developed countries. Targeting the identified risk factors
when allocating resources for education, food safety, and
infrastructure might lower the morbidity associated with acute
gastrointestinal illness
The James Webb Space Telescope Mission
Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies,
expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling
for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least .
With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000
people realized that vision as the James Webb Space Telescope. A
generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of
the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the
scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000
team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image
quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief
history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing
program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite
detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space
Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure
Addressing quadruple aims through primary care and public health collaboration: ten Canadian case studies
Background:
Health systems in Canada and elsewhere are at a crossroads of reform in response to rising economic and societal pressures. The Quadruple Aim advocates for: improving patient experience, reducing cost, advancing population health and improving the provider experience. It is at the forefront of Canadian reform debates aimed to improve a complex and often-fragmented health care system. Concurrently, collaboration between primary care and public health has been the focus of current research, looking for integrated community-based primary health care models that best suit the health needs of communities and address health equity. This study aimed to explore the nature of Canadian primary care - public health collaborations, their aims, motivations, activities, collaboration barriers and enablers, and perceived outcomes.
Methods:
Ten case studies were conducted in three provinces (Nova Scotia, Ontario, and British Columbia) to elucidate experiences of primary care and public health collaboration in different settings, contexts, populations and forms. Data sources included a survey using the Partnership Self-Assessment Tool, focus groups, and document analysis. This provided an opportunity to explore how primary care and public health collaboration could serve in transforming community-based primary health care with the potential to address the Quadruple Aims.
Results:
Aims of collaborations included: provider capacity building, regional vaccine/immunization management, community-based health promotion programming, and, outreach to increase access to care. Common precipitators were having a shared vision and/or community concern. Barriers and enablers differed among cases. Perceived barriers included ineffective communication processes, inadequate time for collaboration, geographic challenges, lack of resources, and varying organizational goals and mandates. Enablers included clear goals, trusting and inclusive relationships, role clarity, strong leadership, strong coordination and communication, and optimal use of resources. Cases achieved outcomes addressing the Q-Aims such as improving access to services, addressing population health through outreach to at-risk populations, reducing costs through efficiencies, and improving provider experience through capacity building.
Conclusions:
Primary care and public health collaborations can strengthen community-based primary health care while addressing the Quadruple Aims with an emphasis on reducing health inequities but requires attention to collaboration barriers and enablers.Applied Science, Faculty ofOther UBCNon UBCNursing, School ofReviewedFacult