Ageism webinars: a needs-based continuing education training for the national aging network

To combat ageism, the National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging (NRCNA) launched two Ageism Webinars (AWs). The study's aims were to 1) assess the effectiveness of the AWs for increasing participants' perceived familiarity (FAM) and knowledge (KNOW) and producing high behavioral intent to implement recommended action steps and quality among participants, and 2) practice equitable evaluation by ascertaining whether outcomes were fairly achieved by participants regardless of race, age, and education. A convenience sample of mostly educated non-Hispanic females with an average age of 52 years (n = 193) completed a retrospective online survey post-webinar. A retrospective Likert scale noted an overall increase in perceived FAM and KNOW (p < 0.001). However, these changes were significantly smaller (p < 0.05) among those from historically marginalized races and ethnicities. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) items predicted high intention to complete the recommended action step following the webinars. High satisfaction for webinars was reported, with 98.7% wanting to attend future NRCNA training. This study provides evidence of an effective training modality for addressing ageist perspectives, and the demonstrated differences provide insight into how to improve the AWs and the evaluation of future webinars.

[Use of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents - A retrospective survey on 12- to 17-year-old patients at three university hospitals in Germany]

Use of electroconvulsive therapy in adolescents - A retrospective survey on 12- to 17-year-old patients at three university hospitals in Germany Abstract. Abstract. Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and well-researched therapy in adult psychiatry and has been successfully used especially as a treatment for severe depressive, catatonic, and psychotic disorders. Although severe disease progressions also occur in child and adolescent psychiatry, ECT is used much less frequently there. This may be because hardly any data have been collected on the use, effectiveness, and tolerability of ECT in child and adolescent psychiatric patients. This article outlines the application, effectiveness, and tolerability of ECT when applied to young adolescents in Germany. Methods: A retrospective survey on ECT in 29 patients under 18 years of age was conducted at three German university centers. All documented cases were recorded and evaluated for effectiveness and tolerability. In addition, a comprehensive PubMed-based database search was carried out. Results and conclusions: Internationally, there are no meta-analyses or randomized controlled studies and hardly any published cases on electroconvulsive therapy in German child and adolescent psychiatry. Our data on ECT show high efficacy in previously treatment-resistant and severely ill patients. Side effects occurred rarely. There was no evidence of differences between adults and adolescents in indication (depression, catatonia, schizophrenia), effectiveness, tolerability, and negative predictors of response to ECT. The results also suggest that the use of ECT in adolescents should be considered earlier in the treatment course.

Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) health surveillance in Britain: Assessing a disjunctive reintroduced population

BACKGROUND

Numerous translocations of Eurasian beavers have occurred with little implementation of standardised health screening. Pre-release health screening enables the selection of individuals with the best survival prospects and reduces potential health risks, but this is by-passed during unofficial releases. Beaver reintroduction to Britain has been haphazard and currently disjunctive populations of varying status exist.

METHODS

This observational cross section study investigated the health status of three beaver populations, with 90 live beavers tested for a range of pathogens comprising 56 from Tayside (unofficially released Scotland), nine from Knapdale (officially released Scotland) and 25 from Devon (unofficially released England). In addition, a further 32 cadavers were screened (25 from Tayside and seven from Knapdale).

RESULTS

All beavers were in good physical condition, did not harbour any non-native disease or parasites of concern and demonstrated remarkably low levels of any disease or parasite exposure.

CONCLUSION

Beavers are establishing and adapting well to British landscapes and are not acting as reservoirs of significant zoonotic diseases. Official, licensed reintroduction programmes may appear overly convoluted; however, reputational damage of unofficial releases should be considered, along with the health and welfare of the animals involved and collateral damage to other wildlife, domestic animals and humans.

Genetic and Antigenic Characterization and Retrospective Surveillance of Bovine Influenza D Viruses Identified in Hokkaido, Japan from 2018 to 2020

Influenza D virus (IDV), which is a new member of the Orthomyxoviridae family, is potentially involved in bovine respiratory diseases (BRDs). Bovine IDVs (BIDVs) from Japan have been distributed nationwide since 2010 and are genetically distinct from foreign IDVs. We isolated BIDVs from three BRD outbreaks, in Hokkaido during 2018–2020, to understand their genetic and antigenic characteristics. Retrospective surveillance was performed using sera collected throughout the last decade in Hokkaido to investigate BIDV existence. Three BIDVs were isolated using cell culture. Comparative and phylogenetic analyses using sequence data of the three BIDVs and IDVs from Japan and other countries available in GenBank demonstrated that Japanese BIDVs, including the three BIDV isolates, were genetically distinct from other IDVs. Genotype classifications based on the rotavirus genotype classification revealed multiple genotypes of RNA segments 1–7. Two BIDVs were of a new genotype, different from those of other Japanese BIDVs. Neutralization assays against two BIDVs with different genotypes using sera collected in acute and recovery phases of BRD revealed differences in cross-reactivity to heterogenous BIDVs. Retrospective surveillance suggested that BIDV existed in Hokkaido, in 2009. Our findings suggest that BIDVs of different genotypes and antigenicity are distributed and maintained in Hokkaido and provide new insights into molecular characteristics and the evolution of IDVs.

Alcohol Consumption in China Before and During COVID-19: Preliminary Results From an Online Retrospective Survey

Background: Alcohol is an important aspect of Chinese culture, and alcohol use has been traditionally accepted in China. People with stress, anxiety, and depression may use more alcohol. More people reported symptoms of anxiety and depression during the outbreak of COVID-19. Thus, people may drink more alcohol during the outbreak of COVID-19 than before COVID-19. Methods: An online retrospective survey was conducted on a total sample of 2,229 participants. Drinking behaviors before and during COVID-19, current risky drinking and hazardous drinking, and the association between high-risk drinking and mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and stress) were assessed via self-reported measures on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Results: This study found that, compared with before COVID-19, alcohol consumption was slightly decreased during COVID-19 (from 3.5 drinks to 3.4 drinks, p = 0.035) in the overall sample. Most (78.7%) alcohol drinkers were males. Before and during COVID-19, males consumed more drinks per week (4.2 and 4.0 vs. 1.3 and 1.2 drinks), had a higher percentage of heavy drinking (8.1 and 7.7% vs. 4.4 and 2.7%), and more drinking days per week (2.1 and 2.1 vs. 1.0 and 0.9 days). Males also had more risky drinking (43.2 vs. 9.3%) and hazardous drinking (70.2 vs. 46.6%) than female counterparts. This study also found that high-risk drinking predicted anxiety in females. Conclusions: This study suggests a slight reduction in alcohol consumption during COVID-19. However, hazardous drinking is common, especially among male alcohol drinkers. Males consumed more alcohol, had more risky and hazardous drinking than female counterparts both before and during COVID-19. Public health policy makers should pay more attention to developing effective, population-based strategies to prevent harmful alcohol consumption.

Are Bus Company Regulations Associated with Crash Risk? Findings from a Retrospective Survey in Four Chinese Cities

Bus crashes are common in urban China, and bus company regulations are hypothesized to be related to bus crash risk. We conducted a retrospective survey to examine the association in four large Chinese cities (Changsha, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, and Wuhan). Four types of bus crashes were considered: (a) passengers injured while riding the bus; (b) bus colliding with or scraping other motor vehicles; (c) bus colliding with non-motorized vehicles or pedestrians; and (d) bus damaging public facilities. Based on regulations governing the drivers’ work, complete round trips per day, and their paid salary, three categories of companies were studied: type A: ≥14 h worked/day, ≥6 round trips/day, and >70% of salary based on performance; type B: 8–13 h/day, 4 or 5 round trips/day, and 36–70% of salary; and type C: <36% of salary and no other specified requirements. Of the 926 respondents, 20.7% reported one or more crashes or related risk events in the past month. Drivers from the three types of companies reported crash incidence rates of 31.9%, 8.8%, and 6.0%, respectively, in the past month. Type A crash rates were significantly higher than type C after controlling for relevant covariates (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 7.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.74–13.47). We conclude that more stringent bus company regulations, which mandate drivers to work long hours and obtain salary based on job performance in meeting demanding metrics, are associated with elevated bus-related crash risks. Local governments in China should regulate bus companies to ensure drivers work reasonable hours and are paid based on the quality of their work (e.g., safety).

Medical expenditure for liver cancer in urban China: A 10-year multicenter retrospective survey (2002-2011)

Objective

This study aims to understand the medical expenditure for liver cancer during 2002-2011 in urban areas of China.

Materials and Methods

This is a retrospective study. Based on a stratified cluster sampling method, a medical expenditure survey collected basic personal information from related medical records. Two-tailed independent sample t-test, variance analysis, and Student-Newman-Keuls Tests were used in cost analysis for the corresponding data types.

Results

A total of 12,342 liver cancer patients were included in the analysis. Overall average medical expenditure per case for liver cancer diagnosis and treatment in China has increased from ¥21, 950 to ¥40, 386 over the study period. For each liver cancer patient diagnosed between 2009 and 2011, the average expenditures were 29,332 CNY for stage I, 35,754 CNY for stage II, 34,288 CNY for stage III, and 30,275 CNY for stage IV diseases (P < 0.001). Pharmaceuticals accounted for the biggest part of the medical expenditure and it rose from 48.01% to 52.96% during these ten years, and the share of nursing fee expenses was the lowest (around 1%). Over the entire 10-year data period, the per capita expenditure of the east region (32,983 CNY) was higher than that of the west region (26,219 CNY) and slightly higher than the central region (31,018 CNY, P < 0.001).

Discussion

As a major cancer in China, liver cancer accounts for a large portion of health economic burden and its medical expenditure is heavy for families. Early diagnosis and treatment for liver cancer will save medical expenditure.

Conclusion

The economic burden of liver cancer is high in China and related medical expenditure has increased.

Infectious agents identified in aborted swine fetuses in a high-density breeding area: a three-year study

Reproductive failure in sows is one of the most important factors affecting pig breeding. Many reproductive disorders are linked to both environmental factors and infectious agents. The goal of our study was to determine the presence of pathogens that are known to cause abortion, considering a set of conditioning factors, such as seasonality and pregnancy period. A large number of aborted fetuses (1,625 fetuses from 140 farms) from a high-density breeding area in northern Italy was analyzed for a period of 3 years. The pigs were diagnosed based on direct (culture, PCR) or indirect (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) evidence. An infectious etiologic agent was found in 323 of 549 cases of abortion (58.8%). These included viral agents (Porcine circovirus-2, 138/323; Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, 108/323; porcine parvovirus, 20/323; pseudorabies virus, 6/323; and Encephalomyocarditis virus, 3/323) and bacteria (Escherichia coli, 64/323; Streptococcus sp., 63/323; Staphylococcus sp., 5/323; Pasteurella sp., 3/323; Shigella sp., 1/323; and Yersinia sp., 1/323). This study describes the prevalence of infectious agents involved in reproductive failure in a high-density swine population. The data can be useful to swine breeders, practitioners, and medical specialists in monitoring animal health and in supervising the breeding process.

Reboxetine in the treatment of depression: Early clinical experience in the UK

The potential efficacy and tolerability of new antidepressants can best be assessed through randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, the patient population in antidepressant studies is a highly selected group, so the results from such studies may not be applicable to routine clinical practice. This paper describes a questionnaire survey of senior psychiatrists in the UK aimed at evaluating early clinical experience with reboxetine, a new, selective noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor (selective NRI) recently introduced in the UK for the treatment of depression. Psychiatrists were asked for details of their experience with reboxetine in depression, illustrated with representative case histories. The spontaneous adverse events reported to the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) were also reviewed. Information was collected on over 250 patients, 50% of whom had responded sub-optimally to previous physical treatments for this current episode; over 50% had co-morbid psychiatric disorders, and 29.1% had coexisting physical illness. Most of the patients were treated with 8 mg/day of reboxetine. The overall clinical response to reboxetine, as judged by the treating doctor, was considered 'good' in over 65% of patients. Three-quarters of them showed 'good/very good' improvement in their symptoms; the same proportion achieved a 'good/very good' improvement in activities of daily living. Two-thirds of patients did not report any troublesome side-effects, the profile being consistent with that seen in RCTs. Analysis of spontaneous adverse events reported to the MCA has not as yet revealed any surprises. Early clinical experience with reboxetine in routine practice is encouraging. Efficacy, tolerability and simple dosing appear to be particular benefits to patients. Consistent with data from RCTs involving reboxetine, recovery of function accompanies symptomatic improvement, which may be related to the selective effects of the drug on noradrenaline.

Head and neck carcinomas in patients under the age of forty years

From 1973 to 1988, 1,104 patients with head and neck carcinomas (excluding thyroid carcinoma) were admitted to the Yokohama City University Hospital, and among them, 48 (4.3%) were under the age of 40 years. We made a retrospective survey of these young patients. There were 36 males and 12 females. An increasing ratio of male to female was seen with increasing age. The primary site was most frequently the nasopharynx (29 cases), followed by the maxillary sinus (9 cases), and the tongue (4 cases). Squamous cell carcinoma in these young patients characteristically showed a low grade of differentiation.