Association of regional socioeconomic deprivation and rurality with global developmental delay in early childhood: Data from mandatory school entry examinations in Germany

BackgroundFrom birth to young adulthood, health and development of young people are strongly linked to their living situation, including their family’s socioeconomic position (SEP) and living environment. The impact of regional characteristics on development in early childhood beyond family SEP has been rarely investigated. This study aimed to identify regional predictors of global developmental delay at school entry taking family SEP into consideration.MethodWe used representative, population-based data from mandatory school entry examinations of the German federal state of Brandenburg in 2018/2019 with n=22,801 preschool children. By applying binary multilevel models, we hierarchically analyzed the effect of regional deprivation defined by the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD) and rurality operationalized as inverted population density of the children’s school district on global developmental delay (GDD) while adjusting for family SEP (low, medium and high).ResultsFamily SEP was significantly and strongly linked to GDD. Children with the highest family SEP showed a lower odds for GDD compared to a medium SEP (female: OR=4.26, male: OR=3.46) and low SEP (female: OR=16.58, male: OR=12.79). Furthermore, we discovered a smaller, but additional and independent effect of regional socioeconomic deprivation on GDD, with a higher odds for children from a more deprived school district (female: OR=1.35, male: OR=1.20). However, rurality did not show a significant link to GDD in preschool children beyond family SEP and regional deprivation.ConclusionFamily SEP and regional deprivation are risk factors for child development and of particular interest to promote health of children in early childhood and over the life course.     

Applications of geospatial analyses in health research among homeless people: A systematic scoping review of available evidence

BackgroundUnequal housing access resulted in more than 150 million homeless people worldwide, with millions more expected to be added every year due to the ongoing climate-related crises. Homeless population has a counterproductive effect on the social, psychological integration efforts by the community and exposure to other severe health-related issues. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have long been applied in urban planning and policy, housing and homelessness, and health-related research.MethodsWe used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to systematically review 24 articles collected from multiple databases (n = 10) that focused on health-related issues among homeless people and used geospatial analysis techniques in their research.ResultsOur findings indicated a geographic clustering of case study locations– 26 out of the 31 case study sites are from the USA and Canada. Studies used spatial analysis techniques to identify hotspots, clusters and patterns of patient location and population distribution. Studies also reported relationships among the location of homeless shelters and substance use, discarded needles, different infectious and non-infectious disease clusters.ConclusionMost studies were restricted in analyzing and visualizing the patterns and disease clusters; however, geospatial analyses techniques are useful and offer diverse techniques for a more sophisticated understanding of the spatial characteristics of the health issues among homeless people. Better integration of GIS in health research among the homeless would help formulate sensible policies to counter health inequities among this vulnerable population group.     

一起学校耐药肺结核聚集性疫情的调查

目的 对北京市朝阳区某学校一起耐药肺结核疫情进行分析,为今后耐药结核病疫情的处置提供参考。方法 对病例进行流行病学调查,对病例密切接触者采用PPD试验、X线胸片和CT相结合的方式筛查。结果 2018年10月—2019年6月,该校共发生36例肺结核病例,发病率为4.5%。其中5例耐多药,3例耐利福平。36例病例分布在四个班,15a班27例、15b班4例、15c班2例、17d班3例。各班发病率分别为56.3%、8.3%、5.7%、7.1%,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01)。8例耐药病例中6例为15a班学生,占耐药病例总数的75.0%。经CT筛查68名密切接触者中确诊23例肺结核患者,检出率33.8%。结论 该起学校聚集性疫情为全国首起耐药肺结核聚集性疫情,首发病例未及时就医,传染源隐匿存在时间长,是导致该起疫情发生的主要原因。疫情处置中开展密切接触者筛查对于及时发现新病例非常重要。     

Local Landscapes of Breastfeeding: A comparison of breastfeeding amongst mothers in low- and high-income neighborhoods in Bristol,UK

This paper compares experiences of breastfeeding outside the home for women living in low-income and high-income neighborhoods of the same city. Our findings are based on an analysis of 22 interviews with breastfeeding mothers (11 in each of two study areas) undertaken in Bristol, UK in 2017. We extend existing scholarship by showing how experiences of breastfeeding vary not only at the regional level but between local areas of the same city, and outline how our findings can inform policy. We advance literature on maternal bodies by exploring how local “landscapes” of breastfeeding emerge as mothers encounter and negotiate different socio-material landscapes and locally-differentiated norms about “appropriate” maternal embodiment. We argue that these variegated interactions can lead to different orientations to space and forms of spatial practice on the part of breastfeeding mothers, as well as different kinds of maternal identities.     

Mozart effect in preschool children?

In 1993, Rauscher et al. reported a temporary increase in spatial-temporal ability after listening to Mozart's music. This led to numerous replication and extension studies with mixed findings in the past decade. This study investigated the 'Mozart effect' in preschool children. Forty-one boys and girls, aged three to five, attempted a series of pencil-and-paper maze tests after each of three listening conditions: Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major (K488), age-appropriate popular music and silence. Overall, there were no statistically significant differences among the three interventions. The results are discussed in relation to the findings of other investigations of the Mozart effect, and the need for further investigation of possible trends.     

Acute myocardial infarction after sumatriptan administration for cluster headache

Abstract The pain of cluster headache attacks is severe, excruciating and selectively responsive to subcutaneous sumatriptan. Serious cardiovascular events attributed to sumatriptan are extremely rare and have most often been reported in patients at significant cardiovascular risk, or in overt cardiovascular disease. They also have occurred, however, in patients without evidence of cardiovascular disease. We describe a 42-year-old man with episodic cluster headache without history of coronary artery disease who was admitted to our coronary care unit for acute myocardial infarction after 3 h of subcutaneous injection of sumatriptan. During hospitalisation cluster headache attacks were successfully treated with e.v. indomethacin.     

Guillain-Barré syndrome in South-West Stockholm, 1973–1991, 3. Clinicoepidemiological subgroups

Using hierarchical cluster analysis, applied to 47 cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) incident in South-West Stockholm (SWS) during the period from January 1973 to June 1992, we identified three major clinicoepidemiological subgroups. The first subgroup, 25.5% of the cases (26.7 ± 6.7 years), recorded a peak incidence at ages 20–29 years and presented significant differences from other subgroups, a high proportion of cases with onset at low age preceded by respiratory infection (83.3%) and with normal motor conduction velocity (50.0%). Also found, were less affected biological parameters, a rapidly progressive course and independence in gait at one month after onset. A second subgroup, 27.7% of cases, was severely affected, clinically and functionally. It consisted predominantly of young individuals (22.7 ± 11.1 years), with a high incidence (69.2% of cases) in autumn. A third subgroup, comprising 40.47; of cases, was older (61.1 ± 11.0 years) and, in general, also severely affected. The incidence of this form appeared to be invariant with time.     

Attentional demands of continuously monitoring orientation using vestibular information.

The aim of this series of experiments was to determine whether attention is normally required for continuously processing vestibular information concerning orientation, or is required only when orientation is disrupted (eg by vestibular dysfunction or by conflicting visual and vestibular orientation cues). In the first two studies, healthy subjects were passively oscillated, and indicated when they perceived they were passing through their starting position. There was only weak evidence for interference between performance on this 'continuous orientation monitoring task' and on concurrent mental tasks. However, a third study showed that when patients with vestibular imbalance carried out the continuous orientation monitoring task their performance on a concurrent mental arithmetic task was substantially impaired. This dual task interference was correlated with inaccuracy in judging orientation on the continuous orientation monitoring task, which in turn correlated with severity of recent vestibular symptomatology (assessed by questionnaire). In a fourth experiment, disorientation was induced in healthy subjects by rotating the visual field about the line of sight. Bidirectional interference was observed between monitoring orientation (assessed by accuracy in setting a rod to the perceived vertical) and performance of an arithmetic task. Dual task interference was correlated with baseline levels of disorientation induced by the visual field, as indicated by inaccuracy in judging the visual vertical. These findings suggest that monitoring orientation makes significant demands upon cortical processing resources when disorientation is induced, whether the disorientation results from deficient sensory functioning or from ambiguous perceptual information.     

神经节苷酯对老年性学习记忆减退鼠空间学习记忆能力的影响

目的研究神经节苷酯对老年性学习记忆减退鼠空间学习记忆的影响。方法用Ｍｏｒｉｓ水迷宫筛选老年性学习记忆减退昆明小鼠，腹腔注射神经节苷酯１４天，然后测试小鼠定位航行和空间探索能力。结果与老年学习记忆减退鼠对照组比较，治疗组平均逃避潜伏期缩短，原平台游泳距离和穿环数次却增大，但均未达到老年学习记忆正常组和青年组水平。结论提示神经节苷酯可改善老年性学习记忆减退鼠空间学习记忆能力。     

Investigating stress effect patterns in hospital staff nurses: Results of a cluster analysis

A comprehensive and reliable assessment of work stress, burnout, affective, and physical symptomatology was conducted with 260 hospital nurses. As previous attempts to categorize nursing stress and burnout by ward type have yielded inconsistent results, an alternative method for grouping nursing stress effects was sought. Cluster analysis was chosen as it offers a statistically sound means of delineating natural groupings within data. Sets of questionnaires measuring burnout, work stressors, and physical and emotional symptomatology were sent to all staff nurses at a large university hospital. Of 709 nurses employed there, a total of 260 nurses returned completed questionnaire packets. These nurses were separated into two equal groups using random sampling procedures. Cluster analysis of this data revealed groupings which were based on nursing stressors (particularly workload and conflict with physicians), social support, and patient loads. These cluster-analytic findings were replicated on both samples, and validated using data not used in the original cluster analysis. Results suggest that the effects of stress have more to do with the characteristics of the work environment and overall workload than with the degree of specialization on the unit. Results also suggest that intraprofessional conflict (i.e. with other nurses) is less psychologically damaging than is interprofessional conflict (i.e. conflict with physicians). Findings are discussed with respect to the burnout process and possible interventions.