The Relationship Between Air Pollution and Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers in Taiwan

Introduction

For never-smokers (smoked <100 lifetime cigarettes), lung cancer (LC) has emerged as an important issue. We aimed to investigate the effects of prevalence changes in tobacco smoking and particulate matter (PM) 2.5 (PM_2.5) levels on LC in Taiwan, in relation to contrasting PM_2.5 levels, between Northern Taiwan (NT) and Southern Taiwan (ST).

Analysis of relative effectiveness of high-dose versus standard-dose influenza vaccines using an instrumental variable method

Background

Observational studies of the relative effectiveness of influenza vaccines are essential for public health decision making. Their estimates, however, are subject to bias due to unmeasured confounders. Instrumental variable (IV) methods can control for observed and unobserved confounders.

Stress Testing Versus CT Angiography in Patients With Diabetes and Suspected Coronary Artery Disease

Background

The optimal noninvasive test (NIT) for patients with diabetes and stable symptoms of coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown.

Challenges facing HIV-positive persons who use drugs and their families in Vietnam

It is hypothesized that persons who use drugs (PWUD) in Vietnam who are also HIV-positive may face additional challenges in psychosocial outcomes, and these challenges may extend to their family members. In this study, we examined depressive symptoms, stigma, social support, and caregiver burden of HIV-positive PWUD and their family members, compared to the outcomes of HIV-negative PWUD and their family members. Baseline, 3-month, and 6-month assessment data were gathered from 83 PWUD and 83 family members recruited from four communes in Phú Th? Province, Vietnam. For PWUD, although we observed a general decline in overall stigma over time for both groups, HIV-positive PWUD consistently reported significantly higher overall stigma for all three periods. Depressive symptoms among family members in both groups declined over time; however, family members of HIV-positive PWUD reported higher depressive symptoms across all three periods. In addition, family members of HIV-positive PWUD reported lower levels of tangible support across all three periods. Caregiver burden among family members of HIV-positive PWUD increased significantly over time, whereas the reported burden among family members of HIV-negative PWUD remained relatively unchanged. The findings highlight the need for future interventions for PWUD and family members, with targeted and culturally specific strategies to focus on the importance of addressing additional stigma experienced by PWUD who are HIV-positive. Such challenges may have direct negative impact on their family members' depressive symptoms, tangible support, and caregiver burden.     

中西医结合护理干预妊娠晚期合并急性单纯性阑尾炎患者的临床观察

目的:探讨中西医结合护理干预妊娠晚期合并急性单纯性阑尾炎的临床疗效。方法:将2017 年9 月—2018 年12月于我院接受中西医结合保守治疗的31 例妊娠晚期合并急性单纯性阑尾炎患者作为研究对象，按随机数表法随机分为中西医结合护理组(观察组16 例)与常规护理组(对照组15 例)，对照组采取常规护理措施，观察组在对照组的基础上增加中西医结合护理措施，对比两组患者的临床疗效。结果:观察组患者的心理状态变化、新生儿体质状况以及临床疗效等指标等情况均明显优于对照组，且组间对比差异显著有统计学意义(P ＜ 0.05)。结论:中西医结合护理对妊娠晚期合并急性单纯性阑尾炎有较好的临床效果，可减少、甚至避免孕妇因合并急性阑尾炎而造成的打击和创伤。