Cross-cultural analysis on technology linkers.

The objectives of our study are to extend the past research findings to the west to determine if Linker capabilities differ cross-culturally and to further investigate the characteristics of Linkers. The survey responses collected from the two matched sets of respondents show that the gender characteristic of Linkers does vary across culture

The love, me campaign - a movement to promote positive body image.

This paper presents the development and launch of “The Love, Me Campaign”, an initiative to promote positive body image by four final year students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Targeted at female college students aged 18-24 years old, this campaign aims to promote positive body image as a preventive measure against eating disorders. Primary and secondary research has found Singaporean college women to be dissatisfied with their body. As a result, they strive to be thinner due to the perceived social and cultural preference for thinness. Studies have also pointed to poor self-esteem as an important predictor of body image concerns, dieting, disordered eating, and eating disorders which suggests improving this factor as an effective preventive measure. As such, the “Love, Me” campaign seeks to take on a self-esteem-based approach to build women’s resilience against the unrealistic societal body image ideal presented in the media. The campaign engaged our target audience through on-the-ground publicity initiatives such as on-campus pledging booths and online through various meaningful contests and activities, culminating in a final exhibition in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital. This paper includes holistic research that guides the key campaign strategies. It also outlines the planning and execution of the campaign tactics and covers an extensive evaluation of the efforts and effectiveness of the overall campaign. Evaluation includes pre - and post- campaign surveys, metrics from online platforms, as well as an analysis of media coverage. Lastly, it also points out future directions and recommendations for the campaign. Included at the end of the paper is an appendix supplementing the main text with documents, collateral designs and detailed findings presented in the form of tables and charts.Bachelor of Communication Studie

A propensity score-matched comparison of biodegradable polymer vs second-generation durable polymer drug-eluting stents in a real-world population

10.1111/1755-5922.12319CARDIOVASCULAR THERAPEUTICS36

Long-term antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Background: For treatment of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, comparative long-term effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs to reduce relapses when minimising adverse effects is of clinical interest, hence prompting this review. Aims To evaluate the comparative long-term effectiveness of antipsychotic drugs. Method We systematically searched electronic databases for reports of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of antipsychotic monotherapy aimed at reducing relapse risks in schizophrenia. We conducted network meta-analysis of 18 antipsychotics and placebo. Results: Studies of 10 177 patients in 56 reports were included; treatment duration averaged 48 weeks (range 4–156). Olanzapine was significantly more effective than chlorpromazine (odds ratio (OR) 0.35, 95% CI 0.14–0.88) or haloperidol (OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.30–0.82); and fluphenazine decanoate was more effective than chlorpromazine (OR=0.31, 95% CI 0.11–0.88) in relapse reduction. Fluphenazine decanoate, haloperidol, haloperidol decanoate and trifluoperazine produced more extrapyramidal adverse effects than olanzapine or quetiapine; and olanzapine was associated with more weight gain than other agents. Conclusions: Except for apparent superiority of olanzapine and fluphenazine decanoate over chlorpromazine, most agents showed intermediate efficacy for relapse prevention and differences among them were minor. Typical antipsychotics yielded adverse neurological effects, and olanzapine was associated with weight gain. The findings may contribute to evidence-based treatment selection for patients with chronic psychotic disorders. Declaration of interest R.J.B. received grants from the Bruce J. Anderson Foundation and the McLean Private Donors Psychopharmacology Research Fund. Copyright and usage © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence

Cost-Effectiveness of Serum Galactomannan Surveillance during Mould-Active Antifungal Prophylaxis

Serial galactomannan (GM) monitoring can aid the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) and optimise treatment decisions. However, widespread adoption of mould-active prophylaxis has reduced the incidence of IA and challenged its use. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of prophylaxis-biomarker strategies. A Markov model simulating high-risk patients undergoing routine GM surveillance with mould-active versus non-mould-active prophylaxis was constructed. The incremental cost for each additional quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained over a lifetime horizon was calculated. In 40- and 60-year-old patients receiving mould-active prophylaxis coupled with routine GM surveillance, the total cost accrued was the lowest at SGD 11,227 (USD 8255) and SGD 9234 (USD 6790), respectively, along with higher QALYs gained (5.3272 and 1.1693). This strategy, being less costly and more effective, dominated mould-active prophylaxis with no GM monitoring or GM surveillance during non-mould-active prophylaxis. The prescription of empiric antifungal treatment was influential in the cost-effectiveness. When the GM test sensitivity was reduced from 80% to 30%, as might be anticipated with the use of mould-active prophylactic agents, the conclusion remained unchanged. The likelihood of GM surveillance with concurrent mould-active prophylaxis being cost-effective was 77%. Routine GM surveillance remained cost-effective during mould-active prophylaxis despite lower IA breakthroughs. Cost-saving from reduced empirical antifungal treatment was an important contributing factor