Handwashing is the most important and least expensive measure for preventing transmission of hospital-acquired infections. Nevertheless, healthcare workers do not seem to understand the risks ...associated with non-compliance. Thus, compliance is usually poor and rarely exceeds 40%. The Polish Society of Hospital Infection has made a short study of handwashing practices in Polish hospitals as observed by members of infection control teams. The study was based on questionnaires given to infection control workers attending the annual congress of the society. The workers were asked to complete the forms during the congress according to their perceived estimations. Altogether 78 complete questionnaires were analysed. The responding staff members were from hospitals of all sizes, reference levels and regions. Nearly all (95.6%) hospitals had a written protocol for handwashing procedures but according to the estimates of their infection control teams, the compliance rates varied from 20 to 80% although in most institutions was between 40% and 60%. In the vast majority of the hospitals, alcoholic rub preparations were used (70.3%), but in some both handwashing with chlorhexidine in detergents and alcohol-based antiseptics were used in different situations. According to the respondents, the mean time of hand disinfection varied from 1 to 3 min. The handwashing procedures were mostly performed in examination, operating and patients' rooms. Thus, it seems that as in other countries, Polish healthcare workers fail to understand the importance of handwashing.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
X-shooter is the first 2nd generation instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope(VLT). It is a very efficient, single-target, intermediate-resolution spectrograph that was installed at the Cassegrain ...focus of UT2 in 2009. The instrument covers, in a single exposure, the spectral range from 300 to 2500 nm. It is designed to maximize the sensitivity in this spectral range through dichroic splitting in three arms with optimized optics, coatings, dispersive elements and detectors. It operates at intermediate spectral resolution (R~4,000 - 17,000, depending on wavelength and slit width) with fixed echelle spectral format (prism cross-dispersers) in the three arms. It includes a 1.8"x4" Integral Field Unit as an alternative to the 11" long slits. A dedicated data reduction package delivers fully calibrated two-dimensional and extracted spectra over the full wavelength range. We describe the main characteristics of the instrument and present its performance as measured during commissioning, science verification and the first months of science operations.
Concentrations of selected metals (Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd) in tea leaves were investigated. Samples included black, green, and other (red, white, yellow, and oolong) teas. They were purchased on a local ...market but they covered different countries of origin. Beverages like yerba mate, rooibos, and fruit teas were also included in the discussion. Metal determinations were performed using atomic absorption spectrometry. In black teas, Mn/Cd ratio was found to be significantly higher (48,091 ± 35,436) vs. green (21,319 ± 16,396) or other teas (15,692 ± 8393), while Cd concentration was lower (31.4 ± 18.3 μg/kg) vs. other teas 67.0 (67.0 ± 24.4). Moreover, Zn/Cu and Cu/Cd ratios were, respectively, lower (1.1 ± 0.2 vs. 2.2 ± 0.5) and higher (1086 ± 978 vs. 261 ± 128) when comparing black teas with other teas. Intake of each metal from drinking tea was estimated based on the extraction levels reported by other authors. Contributions to recommended daily intake for Cu, Mn, and Zn were estimated based on the recommendations of international authorities. Except for manganese, tea is not a major dietary source of the studied elements. From the total number of 27 samples, three have shown exceeded cadmium level, according to local regulations.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be ...detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected.
The aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9,565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors.
Results indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies.
These results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In-beam activation analysis facility at MLZ, Garching Révay, Zs; Kudějová, P.; Kleszcz, K. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
11/2015, Volume:
799
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The reconstruction of the prompt gamma activation analysis facility and the construction of the new low-background counting chamber at MLZ, Garching is presented. The improvement of the shielding and ...its effect on the radiation background is shown. The setting up and the fine-tuning of the electronics and their characterization are also discussed. The upgraded facility has been demonstrated to be applicable for both PGAA and neutron activation analysis using in-beam activation and decay counting in the low-background counting chamber.
•Radiation background at the PGAA facility was efficiently reduced.•In-beam irradiation facility in the strongest neutron beam.•The best signal-to-background ratio at a PGAA facility was achieved.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Illness perceptions (IP) are important predictors of emotional and behavioral responses in many diseases. The current study aims to investigate the COVID-19-related IP throughout Europe. The specific ...goals are to understand the temporal development, identify predictors (within demographics and contact with COVID-19) and examine the impacts of IP on perceived stress and preventive behaviors.
This was a time-series-cross-section study of 7,032 participants from 16 European countries using multilevel modeling from April to June 2020. IP were measured with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Temporal patterns were observed considering the date of participation and the date recoded to account the epidemiological evolution of each country. The outcomes considered were perceived stress and COVID-19 preventive behaviors.
There were significant trends, over time, for several IP, suggesting a small decrease in negativity in the perception of COVID-19 in the community. Age, gender, and education level related to some, but not all, IP. Considering the self-regulation model, perceptions consistently predicted general stress and were less consistently related to preventive behaviors. Country showed no effect in the predictive model, suggesting that national differences may have little relevance for IP, in this context.
The present study provides a comprehensive picture of COVID-19 IP in Europe in an early stage of the pandemic. The results shed light on the process of IP formation with implications for health-related outcomes and their evolution.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted humans' social life and behavior. Public health measures may have inadvertently impacted how people care for each other. This study ...investigated prosocial behavior, its association well-being, and predictors of prosocial behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and sought to understand whether region-specific differences exist. Participants (
= 9,496) from eight regions clustering multiple countries around the world responded to a cross-sectional online-survey investigating the psychological consequences of the first upsurge of lockdowns in spring 2020. Prosocial behavior was reported to occur frequently. Multiple regression analyses showed that prosocial behavior was associated with better well-being consistently across regions. With regard to predictors of prosocial behavior, high levels of perceived social support were most strongly associated with prosocial behavior, followed by high levels of perceived stress, positive affect and psychological flexibility. Sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of prosocial behavior were similar across regions.
A partially automated method of DNA isolation (a Freedom Evo workstation coupled with a paramagnetic bead-based DNA isolation kit from Machery-Nagel) was evaluated in terms of DNA quantity, purity, ...and quality in comparison with a conventional manual method (the membrane-based Qiagen Plant DNeasy kit). In addition, the efficiency in terms of time and cost was evaluated. The partially automated method enabled the isolation from each sample of DNA of good A260/A280 ratio and sufficient quantity to serve as a template for dozens of PCR amplifications suitable for conventional marker-assisted selection applications. However, lower PCR efficiencies, presumably due to lower DNAquality, were obtained with DNA extracted by the partially automated method as compared with the Qiagen method. The partially automated method presented here was shown to be superior to the conventional Qiagen method in that the costs and time required were reduced by ca. 50%. The Freedom Evo workstation coupled with Machery-Nagel DNA isolation kit appeared advantageous for high-throughput applications required for plant molecular breeding.
With the high-intensity cold neutron flux available at the Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) instrument of the research reactor FRM II at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), samples with a ...weight of 1 mg or even less can be investigated for their elemental compositions using the (n,γ) capture reaction. In such cases, the typical sample packing material for PGAA experiments made of 25 μm thick PTFE foil (ca. 80 mg) can be orders of magnitude more massive than the sample weight itself. Proper choice of the packing material and measuring conditions are then of the highest importance 1.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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