Comparison of two screen-film combinations in contact and magnification mammography: detectability of microcalcifications

A new dual-screen, dual-emulsion-film combination that allows a decrease in radiation dose of approximately 66% was compared with a widely used single-screen, single-emulsion-film system in contact and magnification mammography. Clustered microcalcifications randomly superimposed on a breast phantom were detected, and the location and number of individual calcifications were determined by four observers. The detectability of calcifications, determined with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis area, was 0.92 for magnification and 0.82 for contact mammography with the single-emulsion-film system, compared with 0.84 and 0.72, respectively, with the dual-emulsion-film system. More clusters were correctly located and more individual calcifications were counted with magnification than with contact mammography. The dual-emulsion-film system with the magnification technique performs as well as the single-emulsion-film system with the contact technique, while retaining a decrease in required dose of approximately 40%.     

Prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia

ObjectiveTo evaluate factors associated with prevalence of malaria parasitaemia at first antenatal care visit.MethodsThe study was conducted at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital from 1st June, 2007 to 31st July, 2007. A structured questionnaire was administered to a total of 545 pregnant women that were recruited in this study after obtaining informed consent and two slides of thin and thick films were prepared for each participant.ResultsFive hundred and twenty (95.4%) out of the 545 participants suffered from malaria parasitaemia, the rest 4.6% of those who had no parasitaemia had experienced symptomatic malaria before and were treated in private hospitals prior to their recruitment into the study. All participants (100%) who did not have antimalarials had parasitaemia compared with 91.1% among those that had antimalarials. The proportion of moderate to severe parasitaemia was also significantly higher among the former. Besides, the difference in parasitaemia between primigravidae and multigravidae was statistically significant (P=0.000) too. Among the methods used for vector control, only insecticide treated nets (ITNS) was associated with significant reduction in the level of parasitaemia (RR =0.83).ConclusionMalaria parasitaemia at first booking is significantly higher in primigravidae and women who have no anti-malaria treatment. The use of safe and effective antimalarial treatment along with ITNs will significantly reduce the level of parasitaemia in pregnant women.     

长期口服小剂量阿司匹林不能预防健康女性患2型糖尿病

慢性无临床症状的炎症与2型糖尿病的发生有关,流行病学资料认为这种关联在妇女表现得更为强烈。虽然小型临床研究显示短期口服大剂量阿司匹林具有明显的降糖效果,但是并没有随机试验直接评估临床可接受的剂量的阿司匹林预防糖尿病的效果。在美国一项随机、双盲、安慰剂-对照的女性健康研究（Women＇s Health Study）中,38716名45岁以上的且无临床糖尿病的健康女性随机口服小剂量的阿司匹林（n=19326）或安慰剂（n=19390）,     

The impact of psychosocial training on staff attitudes towards people living with dementia: A systematic review

Background

As the prevalence of dementia increases, the need for appropriately trained and skilled care teams also increases. Staff attitudes towards people living with dementia have a significant impact on caregiving behaviours and staff and resident outcomes. Training within care settings is a potential way of improving staff attitudes towards residents in their care.

Objectives

This review aimed to (i) assess the effectiveness of psychosocial training in improving care staff attitudes towards dementia; and (ii) examine the content and focus of training.

Method

The review was conducted following PRISMA guidance and the protocol was registered on PROSPERO prior to conducting the review. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed literature was undertaken using CINAHL, Medline and PsycINFO from inception to March 2021. All papers were evaluated using a quality appraisal tool.

Results

Ten studies met inclusion criteria and were of variable quality. However, six studies found significant improvements in staff attitudes towards dementia following staff training. The studies varied in terms of training focus and included behavioural, communication and cognitive-based approaches.

Conclusions

Staff training could be an effective method of improving staff attitudes towards dementia in care settings. Further research adopting high-quality randomised controlled designs to further explore staff attitudes following psychosocial training would make a valuable contribution to the literature base.