Effects of probiotics on gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer: A protocol of randomized controlled trial

Background:Gastrointestinal complications and malnutrition are common problems that affect postoperative rehabilitation and survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Evidence has shown that probiotics have a positive effect on improving gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status of patients with esophageal cancer after surgery, but there is a lack of prospective studies on this topic. We designed this prospective randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of probiotics on gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status in patients with postoperative esophageal cancer.Methods:This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. It was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of our hospital. 192 patients will be randomly divided into probiotics group and the placebo group in a 1:1 ratio. After operation, probiotics and placebo will be given orally for 8 weeks. The indexes of nutritional status and incidence of digestive tract complications will be recorded and the data will be analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software.Discussion:This study will evaluate the effect of probiotics on gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer. The results of this study will provide clinical basis for the use of probiotics in postoperative treatment of esophageal cancer.Trial registration:OSF Registration number: D DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/QHW86     

Pediatric Inpatient Headache Therapy: What is Available

Status migrainosus is defined by the international classification of headache disorders (ICHD) criteria as a debilitating migraine lasting more then 72 hours. The epidemiology of status migrainosus is still unknown in adult and children, and frequently underdiagnosed. Children and adolescents often end up in the emergency room with an intractable headache that failed outpatient therapy. Six to seven percent of these children do not respond to acute infusion therapy and require hospitalization. It is imperative that more aggressive therapy is considered when patients are affected by a severe intractable headache to prevent further disability and returning the child to baseline activity. Multiple therapies are available for adults and children. Studies for acute therapy in the emergency room are available in adults and pediatric groups. Small studies are available for inpatient therapy in children and, along with available therapies for children and adolescents, are described in this review. A review of the literature shows growing evidence regarding the use of dihydroergotamine intravenously once patients are hospitalized. Effectiveness and safety have been proven in the last decades in adults and small studies in the pediatric populations.     

Nutrition education in Southeast Sulawesi Province,Indonesia: A cluster randomized controlled study

This study evaluated the impact of a nutrition education intervention on child feeding practices and children's nutritional status. Using a randomized controlled trial, we conducted an intervention for 6 months among caregivers with children aged 6–17 months in two subdistricts of Kendari, SE Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. In all, 22 integrated health posts were randomly assigned to an educational intervention or control group with 266 participants in both groups. Participants in the intervention group attended four nutrition classes and received a monthly home visit by cadres (community volunteers), whereas participants in the control group only received standard monthly health care at the health post. The primary study outcome was children's dietary diversity scores (DDSs). Mixed model analysis was conducted to examine the intervention effects on DDS and children's growth adjusting for clustering within subvillages. The study showed the educational intervention had a significant effect on children's DDS. Children in the intervention group had a larger DDS compared with children in the control group (Beta [mean difference] = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.66, P = 0.038). The intervention effect on height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ) could not be shown (Beta = 0.24, 95% CI: ?0.06 to 0.56, P = 0.112). However, stunting prevalence remained stable in the intervention group but increased in the control group. These results indicated nutrition education delivered through nutrition classes combined with regular home visits by cadres as influencers provided a great potential to be adopted to complement other nutrition programmes in community health centres.     

临床医务人员家属面对新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情的心理状况及其影响因素分析

目的了解临床医务人员家属面对新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情的心理状况,分析其影响因素,为有效的心理干预提供理论依据.方法便利抽样选取某市3所三级甲等医院临床医务人员家属525名,采用一般资料问卷、症状自评量表(symptom check list 90,SCL-90)进行问卷调查.结果临床医务人员家属中有93人(17.71%)出现心理问题,平均SCL-90得分与常模比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).年龄、家人(医务人员)是否在疫区工作、是否患有基础疾病为临床医务人员家属心理状况的主要影响因素(均P<0.05).结论在新冠肺炎疫情期间,部分临床医务人员家属会产生心理应激反应,应加强此类人群的心理预防工作,采取有针对性的措施进行心理干预.     

Intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status: The role of neighborhood effects

IntroductionLittle attention has been paid to the role of neighborhoods as a predictor of intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status. This study uses a nationally representative, longitudinal sample from the United States to examine how neighborhoods impact racial/ethnic disparities in the intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status.MethodsThe study sample is derived from Waves 1 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The sample size comprises 13,738 participants (aged 15 at Wave 1; 51% female). Multilevel regression is used to predict racial/ethnic disparities in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status. Six neighborhood-level indicators are regressed on the indicators of intergenerational transmission of education, income and occupational prestige, while controlling for a range of individual socio-demographic variables.ResultsResults reveal that: (1) African-American and Hispanic children are less likely to surpass their parents’ levels of education, income and occupational prestige than Asian-Pacific Islander and non-Hispanic white children; (2) these racial/ethnic differences in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status are attenuated but not fully explained by neighborhood-level indicators; (3) all but one of the neighborhood-level factors examined were significant in predicting the pace of intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status.ConclusionsThe implication of these results is that policies aimed at reducing inequalities between residential neighborhoods are likely to beneficially affect all racial/ethnic groups but are not sufficient in reducing racial/ethnic disparities in intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status.     

Preference and popularity as distinct forms of status: A meta-analytic review of 20 years of research

IntroductionA systematic meta-analysis was conducted of the association between preference and popularity across childhood and adolescence. The role of development, sex, and region of the world were examined.MethodThe analysis was conducted on 135 samples including 136,014 participants. The samples were divided by age (upper grades primary school, k = 41; lower grades secondary school, k = 72; upper grades secondary school, k = 22) and region (North America, k = 54; Europe, k = 66; China, k = 10).ResultsAcross all samples, a moderate positive association between preference and popularity was found (r = 0.45). The association was significantly weaker in the upper grades of secondary school (r = 0.37) than in the lower grades of secondary school (r = 0.47) or the upper grades of primary school (r = 0.47). The association was weaker for girls (r = 0.26) than for boys (r = 0.38) in the upper grades of secondary school. The association was weaker in European samples (r = 0.41) than in those from North America (r = 0.50) and China (r = 0.57).ConclusionsThe results confirmed that preference and popularity are related but distinct dimensions of adolescent peer status. The association differed significantly by age, sex, and region of the world. Further research should examine additional factors that explain the variability in the association between preference and popularity.