This article describes an outbreak of methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in two institutions for multi-handicapped children in Copenhagen. The aim of the study was to determine ...whether it was possible to eradicate MRSA in a setting with multi-handicapped children and staff where there was a high degree of physical interaction. This was a prospective interventional uncontrolled cohort study that took place from January 2003 to March 2005. All individuals in close contact with the two institutions and/or in close contact with an MRSA-colonized subject from the outbreak were included in the study: 38 children, 60 staff members and 12 close relatives of colonized subjects. Infection control measures included screening all individuals. When MRSA infection or colonization was found, an attempt was made to eradicate MRSA, staff education was undertaken and attempts were made to determine the route of transmission. Eleven individuals were found to be positive for MRSA (10.0%). All isolates were identical by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and harboured the staphylococcal cassette chromosome
mec (
SCCmec) type IV. All colonized and infected individuals were associated with a single room in one of the institutions. MRSA was eradicated from all the colonized and infected subjects. This study shows that it is possible to control an MRSA outbreak in institutions for multi-handicapped children where there is a high degree of physical contact.
Purpose To explore, among women of working age, satisfaction with life as a whole and with different life domains, and its associations with social and health variables, shortly after breast cancer ...surgery. Methods This cross-sectional study included 605 women, aged 20-63 years, who had had breast cancer surgery with no distant metastasis, pre-surgical chemotherapy, or previous breast cancer. Associations between LiSat-11 and demographic and social factors as well as health- and treatment-related variables were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. Results Compared with Swedish reference levels, the women were, after breast cancer surgery, less satisfied with life, particularly sexual life. Women working shortly after breast cancer surgery were more often satisfied with life in provision domains compared with the reference population. Although most included variables showed associations with satisfaction, after adjustment for all significantly associated variables, only six variables—having children, being in work, having emotional and informational social support, and having good physical and emotional functioning—were positively associated with satisfaction with life as a whole. The odds ratios for satisfaction were higher in most life domains if the woman had social support and good emotional and cognitive functioning. Conclusions One month after breast cancer surgery, satisfaction with different life domains was associated primarily with social support and health-related functioning. However, this soon after surgery, treatment-related variables showed no significant associations with life satisfaction. These results are useful for planning interventions to enhance e.g. social support and emotional as well as cognitive functioning.
A high prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has been documented in children with chronic illnesses. Conversely, evidence-based medicine is considered an important ...contributor in providing the best quality of care.
We performed a systematic overview/synthesis of all Cochrane reviews published between 1995 and 2012 in paediatrics that assessed the efficacy, and clinical implications and limitations of CAM use in children. Main outcome variables were: percentage of reviews that concluded that a certain intervention provides a benefit, percentage of reviews that concluded that a certain intervention should not be performed, and percentage of studies that concluded that the current level of evidence is inconclusive.
A total of 135 reviews were included - most from the United Kingdom (29/135), Australia (24/135) and China (24/135). Only 5/135 (3.7%) reviews gave a recommendation in favour of a certain intervention; 26/135 (19.4%) issued a conditional positive recommendation, and 9/135 (6.6%) reviews concluded that certain interventions should not be performed. Ninety-five reviews (70.3%) were inconclusive. The proportion of inconclusive reviews increased during three, a priori-defined, time intervals (1995-2000: 15/27 55.6%; 2001-2006: 33/44 75%; and 2007-2012: 47/64 73.4%). The three most common criticisms of the quality of the studies included were: more research needed (82/135), low methodological quality (57/135) and small number of study participants (48/135).
Given the disproportionate number of inconclusive reviews, there is an ongoing need for high quality research to assess the potential role of CAM in children. Unless the study of CAM is performed to the same science-based standards as conventional therapies, CAM therapies risk being perpetually marginalised by mainstream medicine.
One of the greatest questions for modern physics to address is how elements heavier than iron are created in extreme, astrophysical environments. A particularly challenging part of that question is ...the creation of the so-called p-nuclei, which are believed to be mainly produced in some types of supernovae. The lack of needed nuclear data presents an obstacle in nailing down the precise site and astrophysical conditions. In this work, we present for the first time measurements on the nuclear level density and average strength function of \(^{92}\)Mo. State-of-the-art p-process calculations systematically underestimate the observed solar abundance of this isotope. Our data provide stringent constraints on the \(^{91}\)Nb\((p,{\gamma})^{92}\)Mo reaction rate, which is the last unmeasured reaction in the nucleosynthesis puzzle of \(^{92}\)Mo. Based on our results, we conclude that the \(^{92}\)Mo abundance anomaly is not due to the nuclear physics input to astrophysical model calculations.
Bench tests with La-doped PbWO 4 crystals Gendner, N.; Holm, U.; Johnson, K.F. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
2005, Letnik:
544, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Bench tests of 20 lanthanum-doped PbWO
4
crystals with dimensions
23.8
×
23.8
×
200
mm
3
, delivered in 1997 from BTCP, Bogoroditsk, demonstrated excellent qualities. Together with an optimized ...optical readout 1240 photoelectrons/GeV were achieved. More than 99% of the scintillation light signal was emitted within
100
ns
. Online measurements during low dose rate irradiations showed 20% transmittance loss through
20
cm
length after only a few Gray but at this value the damage was already saturated. Annealing times were long enough to allow a reasonable calibration correction of crystals in calorimeters, when irradiation rates were constant. However, sharp changes in irradiation rates require a corresponding rate increase in the re-calibration of the calorimeter. An observed correlation between the radiation-induced absorbance and the transmittance before irradiation at
380
nm
could help to find radiation stable crystals without copious investigations. High dose rate irradiations confirmed the low dose rate results. Although the properties of the 20 crystals differ relatively strongly from one another they fulfil, in contrast to prior crystals, the stringent demands for a small compact calorimeter at ZEUS/DESY which in the meantime has been confirmed by beam tests. Although the 1997 crystals showed a marked improvement over previous batches, newer crystals may be better still.
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