Tag: pubmed

BMC Public Health. 2024 Apr 29;24(1):1174. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18650-3.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Vaccines are effective biological interventions that reduce health burdens. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were concerns about varying levels of COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the Zimbabwean population. This study aimed to understand facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the Zimbabwean population.

METHODS: In September-October 2023, key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with a sample comprising health workers, village health workers, church leaders, traditional healers, teachers, youth leaders and the general population selected across the country. At each site, the participant sample was homogeneous. Data were collected using audiotapes, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English. Data were analysed manually using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Ten FGDs and 30 KIIs were conducted across the country. Among the facilitators of COVID-19 vaccine uptake were the perceived benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, such as protection from infection, severe disease and death. People also complied with COVID-19 vaccination because of the government’s call for mandatory vaccination, travel restrictions, restrictions when entering some premises for services, visiting, working, learning and functions. Barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake included low-risk perception, negative attitudes emanating from concerns about the origins of the vaccines, COVID-19 cases or death of vaccinated people, negative peer influence, religious doctrines, cultural beliefs and misconceptions circulating through social media. Other barriers included knowledge gaps on COVID-19 vaccines, safety, effectiveness, side effects, access-related challenges to COVID-19 services and concerns over the changing policy on COVID-19 vaccination.

CONCLUSIONS: The study has shown the importance of community engagement and data-driven public health communication strategies to facilitate behaviour change for increased uptake of a vaccine. In future epidemics, public health campaigns should focus on the timely provision of information explaining the benefits of an intervention, addressing safety concerns more effectively. To build trust and hence improve vaccine uptake by the public, there is a need for continuous engagement with people and to provide platforms for dialogue to address issues contributing to low vaccine uptake.

PMID:38679733 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-024-18650-3

BMC Emerg Med. 2024 Apr 29;24(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s12873-024-00991-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: As part of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s desire to increase medical coverage among the citizenry, the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance Scheme (NEMSAS) was set up and piloted in the FCT in 2022. To gauge the progress so far, this study sought to assess the level and determinants of public awareness and utilization of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) among residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2023 among 1177 respondents residing in FCT Abuja at the time of the survey. Data was collected by trained research assistants using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and purposive sampling was adopted. The level of awareness and the socio-demographic determinants of the level of awareness in the FCT were assessed. Logistic regression was used to find predictors of EMS awareness and utilization.

RESULTS: 57.8% of respondents are aware of EMS, while 42.2% are not. 62.7% are uncertain about the source of information for EMS with only a minority relying on word of mouth (17.7%), traditional media (11.1%), or social media (8.5%). 91.4% have not accessed or utilized EMS via the toll-free emergency line, while only 8.6% reported doing so. There are median EMS awareness and utilization differences across gender, age, location, and employment status of the respondents. Additionally, the multivariate logistic regression showed that age, location, and employment status are significant predictors of EMS awareness and utilization. Males have lower odds of awareness and utilization of EMS compared to females. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between EMS access and utilization (Chi-square = 80.748, p < 0.001). However, awareness did not necessarily translate to utilization.

CONCLUSION: The relationship between EMS awareness and utilization and the unmasked predictors in this paper should be factored into the design of interventions to increase access and utilization of EMS in Nigeria.

PMID:38679722 | DOI:10.1186/s12873-024-00991-2

BMC Public Health. 2024 Apr 29;24(1):1193. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-18253-y.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Residents’ adoption of preventive behaviours proved beneficial in preventing the large-scale transmission of the virus during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is critical to investigate how social media triggers residents’ preventive behaviour decisions during the COVID-19 outbreak.

METHODS: This paper selected online shopping as a specific preventive behaviour for empirical investigation. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted through the Sojump website from 1 to 15 March 2020, and a total of 1,289 valid questionnaires were collected from China. This paper uses multiple regression analysis to investigate the heterogeneous impacts of different information sources on residents’ online shopping willingness and online shopping behaviour and the heterogeneous impacts of different information content in social media on the transformation of residents’ online shopping willingness and online shopping behaviour.

RESULTS: The findings indicate that both official-media and self-media positively promote residents’ online shopping willingness and behaviour, with official-media having a stronger promotional effect than self-media. Furthermore, official-media and self-media can collaboratively promote residents’ online shopping willingness and online shopping behaviour. The ease-of-use and usefulness of information significantly promoted the transformation of residents’ online shopping willingness.

CONCLUSIONS: This study analyses the heterogeneous impacts of social media on residents’ preventive behaviours from the perspectives of information source differentiation and information content differentiation, which enriches related studies and provides feasible paths for promoting residents’ preventive behaviours.

PMID:38679720 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-024-18253-y

Biotechnol Bioeng. 2024 Apr 28. doi: 10.1002/bit.28724. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Process in-line monitoring and control are crucial to optimize the productivity of bioprocesses. A frequently applied Process Analytical Technology (PAT) tool for bioprocess in-line monitoring is Raman spectroscopy. However, evaluating bioprocess Raman spectra is complex and calibrating state-of-the-art statistical evaluation models is effortful. To overcome this challenge, we developed an Indirect Hard Modeling (IHM) prediction model in a previous study. The combination of Raman spectroscopy and the IHM prediction model enables non-invasive in-line monitoring of glucose and ethanol mass fractions during yeast fermentations with significantly less calibration effort than comparable approaches based on statistical models. In this study, we advance this IHM-based approach and successfully demonstrate that the combination of Raman spectroscopy and IHM is capable of not only bioprocess monitoring but also bioprocess control. For this purpose, we used this combination’s in-line information as input of a simple on-off glucose controller to control the glucose mass fraction in Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentations. When we performed two of these fermentations with different predefined glucose set points, we achieved similar process control quality as approaches using statistical models, despite considerably smaller calibration effort. Therefore, this study reaffirms that the combination of Raman spectroscopy and IHM is a powerful PAT tool for bioprocesses.

PMID:38678541 | DOI:10.1002/bit.28724

Hernia. 2024 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s10029-024-03053-5. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:38678530 | DOI:10.1007/s10029-024-03053-5

Clin Transl Oncol. 2024 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s12094-024-03459-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The survival advantage of neoadjuvant systemic therapy (NST) for breast cancer patients remains controversial, especially when considering the heterogeneous characteristics of individual patients.

OBJECTIVE: To discern the variability in responses to breast cancer treatment at the individual level and propose personalized treatment recommendations utilizing deep learning (DL).

METHODS: Six models were developed to offer individualized treatment suggestions. Outcomes for patients whose actual treatments aligned with model recommendations were compared to those whose did not. The influence of certain baseline features of patients on NST selection was visualized and quantified by multivariate logistic regression and Poisson regression analyses.

RESULTS: Our study included 94,487 female breast cancer patients. The Balanced Individual Treatment Effect for Survival data (BITES) model outperformed other models in performance, showing a statistically significant protective effect with inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW)-adjusted baseline features [IPTW-adjusted hazard ratio: 0.51, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.41-0.64; IPTW-adjusted risk difference: 21.46, 95% CI 18.90-24.01; IPTW-adjusted difference in restricted mean survival time: 21.51, 95% CI 19.37-23.80]. Adherence to BITES recommendations is associated with reduced breast cancer mortality and fewer adverse effects. BITES suggests that patients with TNM stage IIB, IIIB, triple-negative subtype, a higher number of positive axillary lymph nodes, and larger tumors are most likely to benefit from NST.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated the potential of BITES to aid in clinical treatment decisions and offer quantitative treatment insights. In our further research, these models should be validated in clinical settings and additional patient features as well as outcome measures should be studied in depth.

PMID:38678522 | DOI:10.1007/s12094-024-03459-8

Lasers Med Sci. 2024 Apr 28;39(1):117. doi: 10.1007/s10103-024-04065-4.

ABSTRACT

The skin contraction phenomenon occurs due to the energy emitted by the surgical CO₂ LASER affecting the collagen architecture and intracellular water content in tissues. The study aimed to assess how gender, age, breed, body-weight, CO₂ LASER emission mode, and potency influence skin contraction following the incision. The study involved 80 dogs (N = 80) of both genders, multiple breeds, undergoing major surgery with CO₂ LASER. Subjects were grouped based on LASER potency (12 or 15 Watts) and emission mode (Superpulse-SP or Continuous-CT): GSP12, GSP15, GCT12, and GCT15. A 10 mm incision was performed using the surgical CO₂ LASER beam, consistently employing a focal point of 0.4 mm, positioned at a distance of 1 mm from the skin surface, and always maintained perpendicular to it, and resulting lengths measured with a digital caliper. Results were considered significant for p-value < 0.05. GSP12 showed minimal contraction, while GCT15 exhibited the most significant. Male subjects in GCT12, GCT15, and GSP12 experienced less contraction than females. Purebred dogs had greater contraction than mixed breeds. GSP12 individuals showed age-related contraction decrease (p < 0.01), with skin contracting by 0.09 mm per year. Weight and skin contraction trended towards significance (p = 0.06), with a 0.02 mm increase per unit weight. For a constant power of 12 W, the analysis of the relationship between the emission mode of the LASER beam and the final skin contraction (GSP12 vs. GCT12) revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.01). This study suggests that the use of the Continuous mode of LASER emission, regardless of the power used, is associated with a higher level of final skin contraction. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER AND DATE OF REGISTRATION FOR PROSPECTIVELY REGISTERED TRIALS: Project approval registration number by the Research and Teaching Ethics Committee (CEIE),Faculty of Veterinary Medicine-University of Lisbon (FMV_ULisboa), Lisboa-Portugal, N/Refª 015/2022.

PMID:38678503 | DOI:10.1007/s10103-024-04065-4

J Psycholinguist Res. 2024 Apr 28;53(3):41. doi: 10.1007/s10936-024-10081-w.

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of Covid-19 has led to the need for institutions to provide online learning to their students. In this context, it is important to understand the views of both students and teachers regarding online classes. This study aims to explore the opinions of English teachers and students in vocational colleges in China about online English learning. A convenience sampling technique was used in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire survey from the respondents. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Focused on the perceptions of English teachers and students in vocational colleges about online English learning. The results of the study revealed negative perceptions of both students and teachers about vocational English education in an online learning environment. This study highlights the importance of addressing both teachers’ and students’ negative feelings about online learning. The findings of this study are useful for educators and academic departments in improving the online learning experience for vocational students. It also emphasizes the need for effective implementation of ICT modules to improve the quality of online education. The study suggested that ICT modules should be implemented in various media platforms and applications to improve the quality of online learning by academic departments. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of understanding stakeholder perceptions in online learning environments and provides insights for improving the quality of online education.

PMID:38678498 | DOI:10.1007/s10936-024-10081-w

Psychometrika. 2024 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s11336-024-09971-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Modern assessment demands, resulting from educational reform efforts, call for strengthening diagnostic testing capabilities to identify not only the understanding of expected learning goals but also related intermediate understandings that are steppingstones on pathways to learning goals. An accurate and nuanced way of interpreting assessment results will allow subsequent instructional actions to be targeted. An appropriate psychometric model is indispensable in this regard. In this study, we developed a new psychometric model, namely, the diagnostic facet status model (DFSM), which belongs to the general class of cognitive diagnostic models (CDM), but with two notable features: (1) it simultaneously models students’ target understanding (i.e., goal facet) and intermediate understanding (i.e., intermediate facet); and (2) it models every response option, rather than merely right or wrong responses, so that each incorrect response uniquely contributes to discovering students’ facet status. Given that some combination of goal and intermediate facets may be impossible due to facet hierarchical relationships, a regularized expectation-maximization algorithm (REM) was developed for model estimation. A log-penalty was imposed on the mixing proportions to encourage sparsity. As a result, those impermissible latent classes had estimated mixing proportions equal to 0. A heuristic algorithm was proposed to infer a facet map from the estimated permissible classes. A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the performance of REM to recover facet model parameters and to identify permissible latent classes. A real data analysis was provided to show the feasibility of the model.

PMID:38678490 | DOI:10.1007/s11336-024-09971-8

Abdom Radiol (NY). 2024 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s00261-024-04308-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Atezolizumab/bevacizumab (atezo-bev) is the first-line chemotherapy for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) can be used as an alternative. Our aim was to compare the prognosis of HAIC treatment between newly diagnosed patients and patients treated after failure of atezo-bev.

METHODS: We retrospectively assessed 73 patients with HCC treated with HAIC between January 2022 and September 2023. Fifty-seven patients were treated with HAIC at initial diagnosis, while 16 were treated with HAIC after first-line atezo-bev combination chemotherapy. We evaluated tumor responses, such as overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and objective response rate (ORR).

RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in either OS or PFS between patients with HCC treated with HAIC at the initial diagnosis and those treated after atezo-bev treatment failure. However, the ORR of the initial HAIC group was 19.6% and that of the HAIC group after atezo-bev therapy failure was 43.6%, which was a statistically significantly difference.

CONCLUSION: Although no significant difference was observed for OS and PFS, the ORR of patients in the HAIC group after the failure of atezo-bev therapy was superior to that of newly diagnosed patients. HAIC may prolong survival in patients with HCC after atezo-bev treatment failure.

PMID:38678485 | DOI:10.1007/s00261-024-04308-6