Hygiene practices in abattoir and slaughter slab,determinants and assessment of abattoir and slaughter slab facilities in Abakaliki,Ebonyi State South-East Nigeria

BackgroundWorkers in slaughterhouses engaging in unhygienic practices create conducive environments for zoonoses and meat contamination. Knowledge of hygiene practices and their determinants provides evidence for the design of targeted interventions.ObjectivesWe investigated knowledge and determinants of hygiene practices among workers in slaughterhouses and assessed slaughterhouse facilities in Abakaliki.MethodsWorkers in the Central Meat Market abattoir and Slaughter slab Abakaliki were interviewed in a cross-sectional quantitative study to ascertain their knowledge and hygiene practices while abattoir facilities were assessed using a checklist. Associations were analysed with Chi-square while predictors were determined using binary logistic model.ResultsWe interviewed 188 workers 75.5% and 85.6% of whom had good knowledge and good hygiene practices respectively. However, hand-washing before and after handling meat (44.1%), cleaning work surfaces with soap and water (45.2%) and sanitary disposal of waste (6.9%) were suboptimal. Knowledge of good hygiene practice was a predictor of good hygiene practice (AOR: 4.6, 95% CI: 2.0–11.3, p=0.001). Well water and borehole were present in both slaughterhouses and cold rooms were available in Central Meat market abattoir.ConclusionsThe level of good knowledge was high and this was a determinant of good hygienic practices. Training on hygiene practices is recommended to prevent meat contamination and zoonoses.     

基于本体的中医症状知识表示模型构建

介绍中医症状信息利用现状,以《中医诊断学》作为知识源构建症状知识分类体系,采用分类与编码技术构建症状知识表示模型。在电子病历中利用该模型采集症状数据并进行关联分析,得出数据分析结论与临床实际情况相符。     

Psyxpert: An expert system prototype for aiding psychiatrists in the diagnosis of psychotic disorders

Psyxpert is an expert computer system prototype disigned to aid psychiatrists in the diagnosis of mental disorders, in cases where psychotic features are the prominent part of the presenting clinical picture. The knowledge base contains psychiatric knowledge in the form of production rules. The system uses a backward-chaining control strategy to guide the consultation. Psyxpert provides a menu-driven user interface and an explanation subsystem. The system uses certainty and importance measures to produce a diagnosis with an attached certainty factor and recommendations for further evaluation or therapy. Psyxpert is written in Virginia Tech HC Prolog and runs on Digital Equipment Corporation's VAX 11/780 under the VMS operating system.     

创新时期中医药专业图书馆知识服务的尝试

本文阐述了创新时期中医药专业图书馆服务模式的转换,以及专业图书馆知识服务的特征.知识服务将是21世纪图书馆服务的主流发展趋势.作为中医药专业图书馆,我们在如何为用户提供信息服务的基础上开展知识服务,更好地为医疗、科研、教学、临床提供全方位的知识服务方面进行尝试.     

Ethnobotanical review of the Mapuche medicinal flora: Use patterns on a regional scale

Aim of the study

This paper aimed to present a quantitative review of information on Mapuche ethnobotany published for Argentina and Chile in the period 1955–2007.

Materials and methods

Sixteen ethnobotanical articles were studied quantitatively by utilizing ethnobotanical indices, non-parametric and multivariate tests.

Results

A total of 505 medicinal species, 304 native (60%) and 196 exotic (39%) were registered. Ailments were treated with both native and exotic species, although native showed higher values of consensus (between studies) than exotic, and were more frequently used in all cases. The most common ailments were gastro-intestinal pains (26%). Most cures used herbs (56%). Native species were obtained mainly by gathering in forests and ecotones (40%), and exotics by gathering in anthropogenic environments (28%). Our results demonstrate the existence of a common, shared body of knowledge of the medicinal flora at a regional level, integrating ancestral knowledge with foreign knowledge accumulated over time. Finally, reflecting cultural erosion, modern articles cited significantly fewer native plants than older articles; a trend not found with exotic species.

Discussion and conclusion

The information offered can be used as a guide for future work on promising species for health care, and as background information for the development of bio-cultural conservation strategies.     

多形式健康教育提高青少年性知识的效果观察

目的:探讨多形式健康教育提高青少年性知识的效果。方法:选取本辖区青少年400例为观察组,另选400例青少年为对照组,观察组实施多形式健康教育,对照组接受常规健康教育,对两组青少年的性知识情况、紧急避孕知识进行观察。结果:教育前,两组青少年的性知识了解程度无明显差异(P0.05),观察组青少年经教育后的性知识了解程度明显高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);两组青少年教育前的紧急避孕知识知晓率无明显差异(P0.05),观察组教育后的知晓率显著较对照组高,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:多形式健康教育能提高青少年的性知识了解程度,也能提高青少年对紧急避孕知识的知晓率,对降低青少年非意愿妊娠、性传播疾病发生率具有显著作用,值得临床推广。