scholarly journals A randomised crossover study to compare the user seal check and quantitative fit test between two types of duckbill N95 particulate respirator masks: The Halyard Fluidshield® N95 and the BSN Medical ProShield® N-95 particulate respirator masks

2021 ◽  
pp. 0310057X2097402
Author(s):  
Daryl L Williams ◽  
Benjamin Kave ◽  
Keat Lee ◽  
Reny Segal ◽  
Roni B Krieser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crossover Study ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Kappa Coefficient ◽  
Pass Rates ◽  
Asian Ethnicity ◽  
Anaesthetic Staff ◽  
Significant Difference

N95 particulate respirator masks are currently recommended for all healthcare workers who care for patients with suspected or confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) when performing aerosol-generating procedures. The protection provided by N95 particulate respirator masks is dependent on the filter’s efficiency and seal quality. In this prospective randomised crossover study, we conducted the user seal check and the quantitative fit test on two readily available duckbill models of N95 masks, the Halyard Fluidshield® N95 (Halyard, Alpharetta, GA, USA) and the BSN Medical ProShield® N-95 (BSN Medical, Mount Waverley, Victoria) particulate respirator masks. We recruited a total of 96 anaesthetic staff, of whom 26% were of South-East Asian ethnicity. We found that both types of masks provided reasonably high fit test pass rates among our participants and there was no significant difference between the two brands (77% for the Fluidshield and 65% for the ProShield, P = 0.916). Ninety-two percent of the participants could find at least one well-fitted mask among these two types of masks. We also demonstrated that the user seal check had low accuracy and low concordance (kappa coefficient of 0.16 for the Fluidshield and 0.08 for the ProShield) when compared to the quantitative fit test, and hence was not a reliable method to test seal quality.

scholarly journals Assessment of the gluten content in gluten-free labeled foods: comparison of two gluten detection methods

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Álvaro Macedo Laureano ◽  
Themis Reverbel da Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Free Product ◽  
Screening Test ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
Kappa Coefficient ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Immunochromatographic Test ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
Elisa Kit ◽  
Significant Difference

This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of the R5-ELISA and immunochromatographic assays in detecting gluten in foods labeled gluten-free and to determine if the immunochromatographic method is a sensitive and reliable method for detecting gluten at safe levels for celiac patients. We analyzed seventy different commercially foods available in Brazil, labeled “gluten-free”. Gluten was extracted by ethanol precipitation and, subsequently, analyzed using a commercial immunochromatographic test and ELISA kit, both based in a monoclonal antibody. The analysis of sensitivity and specificity was made using the kappa coefficient. More than a quarter of the samples (28.6%) analyzed by ELISA contained levels of gluten greater than 5 mg/kg. Almost half of these (12.9%) exhibited levels that exceeded 20 mg/kg, the maximum gluten level recommended by the Codex Alimentarius for a naturally gluten-free product. We found 27.1% of the samples tested positive in the immunochromatographic test. There was no statistically significant difference between the results of the ELISA (detection value ≥ 5 mg/kg) and the immunochromatographic test. Comparing the ELISA (≥ 5 mg/kg) and immunochromatographic test, we obtained 90% sensitivity and 98% specificity (Kappa of 0.89). We found gluten in a high proportion of the samples tested using both methods. In this study we also demonstrate that the immunochromatographic method is nearly as sensitive as the ELISA in detecting gluten levels and thus may serve as an inexpensive and rapid alternative to the R5-ELISA screening test.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Seroprevalence among Healthcare Workers of a Large COVID-19 Hospital in Rome Reveals Strengths and Limits of Two Different Serological Tests

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2650
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Vetrugno ◽  
Daniele Ignazio La Milia ◽  
Floriana D’Ambrosio ◽  
Marcello Di Pumpo ◽  
Roberta Pastorino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Test ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Work From Home ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Sensitivity Specificity

Healthcare workers are at the forefront against COVID-19, worldwide. Since Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli (FPG) IRCCS was enlisted as a COVID-19 hospital, the healthcare workers deployed to COVID-19 wards were separated from those with limited/no exposure, whereas the administrative staff were designated to work from home. Between 4 June and 3 July 2020, an investigation was conducted to evaluate the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies among the employees of the FPG using point-of-care (POC) and venous blood tests. Sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were determined with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction on nasal/oropharyngeal swabs as the diagnostic gold standard. The participants enrolled amounted to 4777. Seroprevalence was 3.66% using the POC test and 1.19% using the venous blood test, with a significant difference (p < 0.05). The POC test sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 63.64% (95% confidence interval (CI): 62.20% to 65.04%) and 96.64% (95% CI: 96.05% to 97.13%), while those of the venous blood test were, respectively, 78.79% (95% CI: 77.58% to 79.94%) and 99.36% (95% CI: 99.07% to 99.55%). Among the low-risk populations, the POC test’s predictive values were 58.33% (positive) and 98.23% (negative), whereas those of the venous blood test were 92.86% (positive) and 98.53% (negative). According to our study, these serological tests cannot be a valid alternative to diagnose COVID-19 infection in progress.

scholarly journals Do Spanish causal connectives vary in subjectivity? What crowdsourcing data reveal about native speakers’ preferences

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-237
Author(s):  
Andrea Santana ◽  
Wilbert Spooren ◽  
Dorien Nieuwenhuijsen ◽  
Ted J.M. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Systematic Variation ◽  
Causal Relations ◽  
Methods Of Analysis ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Language users have preferences for the connectives they choose to express causal relations. These choices may depend on the subjectivity involved in the relation. Dutch connectives illustrate this situation clearly: want (‘since/for’) is preferred typically for expressing subjective relations and omdat (‘because’) for objective ones. While various corpus-based studies have revealed a similar pattern in other languages, little attention has been paid to Spanish from this perspective. Recent corpus-based studies analyzed the connectives porque (‘because’), ya que (‘since’) and puesto que (‘given that’) using two different methods of analysis. Surprisingly, the findings did not coincide with the previous literature on Spanish connectives, and the semantic profile of such connectives in terms of subjectivity remained unclear. The current study again aims to investigate whether these connectives show systematic variation in terms of subjectivity, using crowdsourcing experimentation. Results show that Spanish native speakers prefer puesto que over porque to express subjective relations. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between porque and ya que. This study offers a better understanding of Spanish connectives in terms of subjectivity. Furthermore, it contributes to the assessment of the use of crowdsourcing as a useful and reliable method to elucidate the meaning and use of connectives.

scholarly journals Gender similarity in low agreement between written and video ISAAC asthma questionnaires

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gharagozlou ◽  
S. Khalili ◽  
M. Hallajmofrad ◽  
R. Mohammadzadeh ◽  
G. Mousavi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
School Children ◽  
Childhood Asthma ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Kappa Coefficient ◽  
Asthma Prevalence ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Asthma Symptoms ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Gender Similarity

Background and Aim. The prevalence of childhood asthma varies among different nations and appears to have increased in recent years. It has been difficult to determine this prevalence precisely and compare the communities due to the lack of a standardized method. The International Studies of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) has developed a written and video questionnaire to measure asthma prevalence and overcome these difficulties. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of childhood asthma in Kashan, the central area of Iran, and to assess the agreement between the ISAAC written and video questionnaires and its gender relationship. Methods. Between December 2002 and June 2003, 2533 school children, aged 13-14 years, in Kashan secondary schools completed sequentially the ISAAC written and video questionnaires. The agreement between responses to the two questionnaires for reported “ever wheeze”, “exercise wheeze”, “night wheeze” and “night cough” was determined, using kappa coefficient and concordance. Results. The prevalence of asthma symptoms were significantly lower in the responses to the video questionnaire compared with the written questionnaire. Kappa coefficient showed only poor to fair agreement (κ = 0.13- 0.24) between video and written questionnaires, although the concordance between them always exceeded 60%. Conclusions. This study showed that reported asthma symptoms based on video questionnaires were significantly lower than the written questionnaire, and that there is low agreement between the two questionnaires which requires further investigation to explain the findings. In addition, this investigation revealed no significant difference between the genders for this low agreement.

scholarly journals The impact of SARS-CoV-2 transmission fear and COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders, severe asthma, and other high-risk groups (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatih Çölkesen ◽  
Oguzhan Kilincel ◽  
Mehmet Sozen ◽  
Eray Yıldız ◽  
Sengul Beyaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Severe Asthma ◽  
Primary Immunodeficiency ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
High Risk Group ◽  
Primary Immunodeficiency Disorder ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND The adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of high-risk group patients for morbidity and mortality and its impact on public health in the long term have not been clearly determined. OBJECTIVE To determine the level of COVID-19 related transmission fear and anxiety in healthcare workers and patients with primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID), severe asthma, and the ones with other comorbidities. METHODS The healthcare workers and patients with PID, severe asthma (all patients receiving biological agent treatment), malignancy, cardiovascular disease, hypertension (90% of patients receiving ACEI or ARB therapy), diabetes mellitus (42 % of patients receiving DPP-4 inhibitor therapy) were included in the study. A total of 560 participants, 80 individuals in each group, were provided. The hospital anxiety and depression scale ( HADS ) and Fear of illness and virus evaluation (FIVE ) scales were applied to the groups with face to face interview methods. RESULTS The mean age was 49.30 years and 306 (55 %) were female. The FIVE Scale and HADS-A scale scores of health care workers were significantly higher than other groups' scores (p = 0.001 and 0.006). The second-highest scores belonged to patients with PID. There was no significant difference between the groups for the HADS-D score (p=0.07). The lowest score in all scales was observed in patients with hypertension. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that in the pandemic process, patients with primary immunodeficiency, asthma patients, and other comorbid patients, especially healthcare workers, should be referred to the centers for the detection and treatment of mental health conditions.

scholarly journals Online Balint Group Work Versus Pharmacotherapy in Treatment of Coronavirus Anxiety in Healthcare Workers in Iran: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
najmeh shahini ◽  
shakiba gholamzad ◽  
zanireh salimi ◽  
Mansoureh Kiani Dehkordi ◽  
Saeedeh Hajebi Khaniki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Work ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Period ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Resilience Scale ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Balint Group ◽  
Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Background: An increase in symptoms of anxiety is already being reported in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.Objectives: We aimed to compare the effectiveness of Balint group work with pharmacotherapy in coronavirus related anxiety among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Iran.Methods: In This pilot clinical trial, after passing a phone screening procedure by a psychiatrist, subjects were quasi-randomly assigned to Balint (8 sixty-minute online sessions) or pharmacotherapy (Sertraline) groups. Both groups were asked to fill two questionnaires, including the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) and Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC), at the beginning and the end of the 4-week intervention period.Results: A total of 45 HCWs enrolled in this study. The results showed a significant difference between the post-test and pre-test scores of both groups in the total scores of anxiety and its subcomponents (p≤0.001). There was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two interventions on anxiety (p=0.52). Both interventions had a significant effect on the subjects' resilience and its subscales (p≤0.05) except for positive acceptance change. The spiritual influences domain had a significantly higher increase in the pharmacotherapy group (P=0.031).Conclusions: We showed Balint group work maybe can better to pharmacotherapy with Sertraline in management of COVID-19 related anxiety and boosting resilience in healthcare workers.

scholarly journals Post-Reading Comprehension Questions and Task Types in Vision: A Locally Developed Textbook for Teaching English as a Foreign Language

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mavadat Saidi ◽  
Nilufar Karami ◽  
Morteza Marooy
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
Kappa Coefficient ◽  
Dominant Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Explicit Content ◽  
Task Types ◽  
And Task

Abstract Responding to the call for perusing the post-reading comprehension questions in various EFL textbooks, the current study aimed to investigate the post-reading comprehension questions and task types in the Vision series including three student books and their accompanying workbooks in light of Freeman’s (2014) taxonomy. Following a descriptive content analysis procedure, the post-reading comprehension questions in each student books and its accompanying workbook were categorized and counted by the researchers and the Kappa coefficient was 0.97. The results revealed that Content questions were the most dominant type in all the student books and workbooks except for Vision 3 in which Language questions were the most frequent of all. The results also showed that the highest frequency of post-reading comprehension questions belonged to Explicit (Content) and Form (Language) in student books and Explicit and Implicit (Content), Form (Language), and Personal Response (Affect) in workbooks. The results of Kruskal Wallis test of independent samples indicated a significant difference in terms of Affect type across the student books and workbooks of Vision series. The findings raise the EFL material developers’ awareness of the existing post-reading comprehension questions and tasks to enhance the quality of reading sections of EFL textbooks. The results also help the teachers to supplement the books with the missing types and take a comprehensive approach to developing the learners’ reading skills.

scholarly journals A comparative characterization of nasal and clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from west of Iran

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gholamreza Goudarzi ◽  
Yaser Hasanvand ◽  
Faranak Rezaei ◽  
Somayeh Delfani
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Meca Gene ◽  
Staphylococcal Enterotoxin ◽  
Healthcare Personnel ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Resistance Pattern ◽  
Clinical Specimens ◽  
Significant Difference

Background and Objectives: Recently, the rise of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from hos- pital healthcare workers (HCWs) and various infectious samples has become one of the main concerns in hospital settings. Therefore, epidemiological studies are necessary to monitor antibiotic resistance patterns in each region and to study the pathogenesis of this strain to control infections. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 100 S. aureus isolates, including 50 isolates obtained from the anterior nares of healthcare workers, as well as 50 other isolates cultured from the various clinical specimens from the referral hospitals in Khorramabad (West of Iran) were tested. All isolates were examined to determine antibiotic resistance pattern, and the presence of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (sea), staphylococcal enterotoxin B (seb) and mecA genes. Results: The mecA gene was found among 36% (18/50) of the clinical S. aureus isolates (CSIs) and 14% (7/50) of nasal S. aureus isolates (NSIs), with statistically significant difference (X2 = 6.53; p = 0.011). The difference between the frequency rate of sea gene among MRSA strains isolated from clinical specimens (46.6%, 7/15) was significant compared to strains isolated from nostrils (14.3%, 1/7) (X2 = 3.85; p = 0.049). Conclusion: The frequency of mecA, sea, and seb genes among the clinical samples was more than strains isolated from the nostrils of healthcare personnel.

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