Purpose
Fatigue is a troublesome symptom for breast cancer patients, which might be mitigated with exercise. Cancer patients often prefer their oncologist recommend an exercise program, yet a ...recommendation alone may not be enough to change behavior. Our study determined whether adding an exercise DVD to an oncologist’s recommendation to exercise led to better outcomes than a recommendation alone.
Methods
Ninety breast cancer patients, at varying phases of treatment and stages of disease, were randomized to receive the following: an oncologist verbal recommendation to exercise (REC;
n
= 43) or REC plus a cancer-specific yoga DVD (REC + DVD;
n
= 47). Fatigue, vigor, and depression subscales of the Profile of Mood States, and physical activity levels (MET-min/week), exercise readiness, and self-efficacy were assessed at baseline, 4, and 8 weeks. Analyses controlled for age, time since diagnosis, and metastatic disease.
Results
Over 8 weeks, women in REC + DVD used the DVD an average of twice per week. The REC + DVD group had greater reductions in fatigue (− 1.9 ± 5.0 vs. − 1.0 ± 3.5,
p
= 0.02), maintained exercise readiness (− 0.1 ± 1.1 vs. − 0.3 ± 1.3;
p
= 0.03), and reported less of a decrease in physical activity (− 420 ± 3075 vs. − 427 ± 5060 MET-min/week,
p
= 0.06) compared to REC only.
Conclusions
A low-cost, easily distributed, and scalable yoga-based DVD could be a simple booster to an oncologist’s advice that motivates breast cancer patients, even those with advanced disease and/or in treatment, to engage in self-care, e.g., exercise, to manage fatigue.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03120819
Dendrobium viroid (DVd) was first reported in China in 2020, and it is the only viroid known to infect Orchidaceae family plants. In this study, we developed a simple reverse transcription‐polymerase ...chain reaction (RT‐PCR) method for the rapid detection of DVd in Dendrobium plants. When extracting the sap template from the leaves, they are first clamped between two layers of plastic film, and the sap is pressed out and collected with a pipette. Using this sap, DVd was detected by dot‐blot and RT‐PCR methods and, the expected amplicons were confirmed by sequencing analysis. The batch analysis of field samples revealed that this method can be used to detect DVd rapidly. The detection method also reduces cross‐contamination between different samples and minimizes false positives. Thus, this sap‐direct RT‐PCR method allows effective and rapid DVd detection in the study of Orchidaceae plants.
Significance and Impact of the Study: The sap‐direct reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) assay described in this study is the first report of rapid detection of Dendrobium viroid (DVd), which allows effective and rapid DVd detection in field investigations of Orchidaceae plants. It can also be used as a reference for the detection of other plant viruses and viroids.
Highly ordered perovskite nanowire (PNW) arrays are important building blocks for potential application in integrated optoelectronic devices due to their unique properties. Herein, a recordable ...digital versatile disk-assisted nanochannel-confined growth (NCG) strategy was developed for large-scale growth of different kinds of PNW arrays with preferentially crystallographic orientation on various substrates. Photodetector constructed from MAPbI
3
NW arrays exhibits prominent photoresponse properties with a responsivity of 20.56 A W
−1
and specific detectivity of 4.73 × 10
12
Jones, respectively. What is more, the photodetector can function as a polarization-sensitive photodetector due to the crystallographic orientation of the one-dimensional PNW arrays, with a polarization ratio of 2.2. The proposed NCG strategy provides a cost-efficient and effective method for the fabrication of high-quality PNW arrays with potential applications in future integrated devices and systems.
Abstract
Background
Health equity can lead to disparities in cancer screening, treatment, and mortality. This systematic review aims to identify and describe interventions that used video or DVD ...formats to reduce health inequity in cancer screening and review the effectiveness of such interventions in increasing screening rates compared to usual care conditions.
Methods
We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane databases for randomized control trials (RCTs) published until 18/01/2023 that compared intervention versus usual care control groups, with the percentage of cancer screening uptake during follow-up as an outcome. The risk of Bias was assessed with the Cochrane Collaboration tool.
Results
After screening 4201 abstracts, 192 full texts were assessed for eligibility and 18 were included that focused on colorectal (
n
= 9), cervical (
n
= 5), breast (
n
= 5), and prostate (
n
= 1) cancer screening. All were based in the USA except one and most focused on ethnicity/race, while some included low-income populations. Most of the video interventions used to increase cervical cancer screening reported positive results. Studies aimed at increasing mammography uptake were mostly effective only in specific groups of participants, such as low-income or less-educated African American women. Results for colorectal cancer screening were conflicting. Videos that were culturally tailored or used emotive format were generally more effective than information-only videos.
Conclusions
Video interventions to increase cancer screening among populations with low screening uptake show some positive effects, though results are mixed. Interventions that use individual and cultural tailoring of the educational material should be further developed and investigated outside of the USA.
In Japan, having hope for the future is emphasized in school. This study aimed to examine the association between hope for the future and academic performance among Japanese adolescents. Data were ...taken from the population-based Kochi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (K-CHILD) study conducted in 2016. Participants included 3477 adolescents in the eighth grade (i.e., 13-14 years old) in Kochi Prefecture. Information on hope for the future, self-rated academic performance, and time used for studying or playing was provided by the adolescents via a questionnaire. The question on resilience was answered by their caregivers. Propensity-score matching was applied for the allocation of hope for the future. Overall, 2283 adolescents (65.6%) had some form of hope for the future. Adolescents having hope for the future showed a higher self-rated academic performance (β = 0.21, 95% confidence interval (Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.10 to 0.32)), spent more time studying except in class (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.37 to 2.61), read more books (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.19 to 1.75), and had a higher score of resilience (β = 1.48, 95% CI = 0.98 to 1.98), while the time to watch TV or DVDs was not different (
= 0.61). Our results highlight the importance of encouraging adolescents to have hope for the future to promote academic performance.
•Digital supply chain information system linked to immunization registry, serves 6M.•Digital system includes stock notifications, dashboards and peer networks.•Overall stockout rate significantly ...lower with digital system vs. legacy system.•More time with digital system increases odds of vaccine availability.
Since 2016, the Government of Tanzania has been implementing TImR, an integrated Electronic Immunization registry-logistics management information system (EIR-LMIS) that includes stock notifications. The objective of this study is to estimate the impact of this intervention on vaccine availability.
Monthly stock-out data were collected from paper registers at facilities, an Excel-based system at districts, and the new system (TImR) across all 924 health facilities in Arusha, Tanga and Kilimanjaro Regions. Six months of stockout rates pre- and post-introduction, by antigen, were compared via a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). A mixed-effects logistic regression model with the TImR data identified predictors of vaccine availability across antigens.
Post-introduction, ANOVA models estimated that overall stock-out rates declined from a monthly average of 7.1% to 2.1% (p < 0.01). Three specific vaccines had fewer stock-outs; OPV’s monthly average dropped from 12.5% to 2.1% (p < 0.01), MR from 9.4% to 1.0% (p < 0.01) and DTP-HepB-HiB from 8.1% to 1.7% (p < 0.01). In the mixed-effects logistic regression model, controlling for antigen, odds of stock-out were 4.1% (95% CI: 3.3 – 4.9) lower for each week of tenure. Compared to DTP-HepB-HiB vaccine, odds of BCG vaccine being stocked out were 4.31 as high (95% CI: 3.1 – 5.0). The odds of being stocked-out were 29.7% lower for PCV (95% CI: 8.8 – 45.8) and 26.6% (95% CI: 3.4 – 44.1) lower for rotavirus vaccines compared to DTP-HepB-HiB. The odds of stock out were 37.7% lower for MR vaccine than DTP-HepB-HiB (95% CI: 18.1 – 52.6).
Tanzania’s integrated EIR-eLMIS may increase vaccine availability compared to its paper and Excel based system. Post-introduction of an eLMIS, the odds of a vaccine stock-out reduced over time. Further research could determine the impact of this intervention on vaccine wastage and replenishment response times.
In the last decade, a new technique has been developed for the nanoimprinting of thin-metal foils using laser-induced shock waves. Recent studies have proposed replacing metal or silicone molds with ...inexpensive polymer molds for nanoimprinting. In addition, explosive-derived shock waves provide deeper imprinting than molds, greatly simplifying the application of this technology for mass production. In this study, we focused on explosive-derived shock waves, which persist longer than laser-induced shock waves. A numerical analysis and a set of simplified molding experiments were conducted to identify the cause of the deep imprint. Our numerical analysis has accurately simulated the pressure history and deformation behavior of the workpiece and the mold. Whereas a high pressure immediately deforms the polymer mold, a sustained pressure gradually increases the molding depth of the workpiece. Therefore, the duration of the pressure can be one of the conditions to control the impact imprint phenomenon.
Information hiding-a survey Petitcolas, F.A.P.; Anderson, R.J.; Kuhn, M.G.
Proceedings of the IEEE,
07/1999, Letnik:
87, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Information-hiding techniques have recently become important in a number of application areas. Digital audio, video, and pictures are increasingly furnished with distinguishing but imperceptible ...marks, which may contain a hidden copyright notice or serial number or even help to prevent unauthorized copying directly. Military communications systems make increasing use of traffic security techniques which, rather than merely concealing the content of a message using encryption, seek to conceal its sender, its receiver, or its very existence. Similar techniques are used in some mobile phone systems and schemes proposed for digital elections. Criminals try to use whatever traffic security properties are provided intentionally or otherwise in the available communications systems, and police forces try to restrict their use. However, many of the techniques proposed in this young and rapidly evolving field can trace their history back to antiquity, and many of them are surprisingly easy to circumvent. In this article, we try to give an overview of the field, of what we know, what works, what does not, and what are the interesting topics for research.
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