Blood profiles of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fingerlings fed diets supplemented with three strains of Lactobacillus plantarum

A 10-week feeding trial was carried out to evaluate strain-specific effects of Lactobacillus plantarum on blood profiles of African catfish Clarias gariepinus fingerlings. A catfish diet was formulated and divided into five portions (experimental diets). The first portion served as control (with no probiotic added to it, labeled as NP) while the second portion received 2.5g kg-1 multi-species commercial probiotics (CP). The third, fourth and fifth portions were the experimental diets that contained 2×109cfu/g of L. plantarum strains of ascension numbers LC333558, LC333559 and LC333560, and labeled as LP58, LP59 and LP60, respectively. Fifteen apparently healthy C gariepinus fingerlings (4.86±0.59g) were stocked in an experimental tank of 70 litres capacity, while the experimental feed was fed to the fish in triplicate tanks. Similar rearing conditions were maintained in all experimental tanks. The results showed significant (p0.05) difference between the fish fed control diet and probiotics supplementation diets in some of the haematological parameters examined. Probiotics supplementations did not affect total and differential leukocytes among different experimental groups. Except for RBC counts, fish groups fed with strains LB59 and LB60 had similar effects and appeared to have better haematological values than groups fed with LB58. Strains-specific effect of L. planatrum was also observed in creatinine levels among the experimental groups. Hence, it can be concluded that strains of L. plantarum affected some haematological parameters of C. gariepinus fingerlings positively, while dietary supplementation of L. plantarum LC333559 strain could be employed to improve haematological parameters of C. gariepinus fingerlings

Adaptation of the Wound Healing Questionnaire universal-reporter outcome measure for use in global surgery trials (TALON-1 study): mixed-methods study and Rasch analysis

BackgroundThe Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.MethodsThis was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.ResultsIn the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach's α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).ConclusionThis study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways