Factors affecting the follow-up time after a positive result in the fecal occult blood test

In 2010, Taiwan included the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) under preventive health insurance services. For patients whose test positive, receiving follow-ups is paramount. This study investigated factors affecting the follow-up time of these patients. This retrospective study used data from the colorectal cancer screening archives. The study period was from 2010 to 2013, and the subjects were 50–75-year-old persons who tested positive for FOBT. The t test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression were performed to address the differences in the mean tracking period between variables such as the population’s demographic characteristics. The mean follow-up time for the 98,482 participants whose screening results were positive exhibited significant differences (p < 0.001) according to medical unit region and classification, age, screening location, family history, examination method, and diagnosis. The model predicting the mean follow-up time predicted a period of 10.079 days longer for those whose hospital was on an offshore island than that of those whose hospital was in the eastern regions. The follow-up time was 1.257 days shorter for people who were inpatients than those who were outpatients and was 8.902 days longer for people who underwent double contrast barium enema plus flexible sigmoidoscopy than those who underwent other examination methods. Patients with a family history of colorectal cancer and those whose examination results indicated cancer had a follow-up time of 2.562 and 2.476 days shorter than those who did not know their family history and those with other results, respectively. Factors affecting the follow-up time of people whose FOBT results were positive consisted of the location and classification of the follow-up institution, age, screening location, family history, examination method, and diagnosis. This provides valuable references for improving the cancer screening program.

Family Name Socio-Pragmatic Informative Value in the LiteraryWorks by H. Böll

The article is aimed at revealing the specificity of socio-pragmatic informative value of literary anthroponyms used by H. Böll in his literary works. The study of the onyms mentioned in such an aspect demonstrates the lack of comprehensive research. As a result, the findings covered this aspect are dispersal in scientific and practical work. However, literary onyms are considered to be semantic and text-forming units of a literary text and they are used to identify and differentiate the persons on their social, cultural, and psychological background, as well as to create the characters with national peculiarities. The object of the study includes the contextual units representing the «family names» anthroponymic category. The data collected are based on the following literary works by H. Böll: «Where Were You, Adam?» («Wo warst du, Adam?»), «Billiards at Half-Past Nine» («Billard um halb zehn»), «House without Guardians» («Haus ohne Hüter»), «The Clown» («Ansichten eines Clowns»). The continuous sampling method, qualitative-quantitative and descriptive ones, component and contextual analysis have been used as study methodology. The article contains certain essential results of the dissertation that have not been published yet. It is established that family names used by H. Böll are a means of revealing the following socio-pragmatic information: 1) the character’s nationality (a correlation between literary family names and the real national anthroponymic system is revealed); 2) a geographical location (family names with a typical sound and alphabetic composition that helps to define the place where the events occur); 3) social status (family names with the «von» component indicate both the character’s social status and their relationship with other members of the community); 4) a direct / indirect character’s description (family names with pure inner forms of the words and an updated internal form and appellatively based family names).

Happiness and Consumption in Mauritius: An Exploratory Study of Socio-Economic Dimensions, Basic Needs, Luxuries and Personality Traits

Mainstream economics perceive an individual as highly individualistic, presuming that he/she consumes goods in the most efficient way to optimize his/her level of happiness. This study attempts to explore the nexus between socio-economic dimensions, basic needs, luxuries and personality traits and happiness in Mauritius. Material consumption and happiness are projected to be positively and strongly related. This is usually illuminated in terms of the increased possibilities to satisfy basic needs and luxuries along with other motives which additional spending provides. Other instrumental aspects of consumption, such as its relative, community-based and hedonic magnitudes are accounted. Cross-sectional data are compiled from a household survey with a sample size of 1015 observations. To conduct the analysis, an ordered probit model is applied. The general conclusion is drawn upon the results that socio-economic indicators like educational attainment, residential location, family size, income in addition to the intermediate needs deprivation index, brand consciousness, fashion innovativeness, commercial interest, shopping enjoyment, hedonism, bandwagon effect and personality traits are significantly related to people’s happiness.

Annual variation in fusiform rust infection of slash and loblolly pine seed lots in time-replicated plantings

Trees from two putatively fusiform rust resistant and two susceptible seed lots of slash pine (Pinuselliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) and loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) were planted in 4 or 5 consecutive years at three locations in south Mississippi and examined annually for rust galls that originated the previous year. Disease incidence was usually less than 20% in the first growing season. Resistant and susceptible slash pine had light incidence of rust after about age 5. The susceptible lobloly pine often developed considerable numbers of branch galls after the fifth season, but most were several metres from the main stem of the trees. The resistant loblolly pine of Livingston Parish, Louisiana, never developed more than 23% infection in any 1 year in thirty 80-tree plots. The three remaining seed lots often exceeded 50% infection in some years, but differences among seed lots were usually small. Rankings of the four species seed lots or the six families that made up the resistant slash seed lot varied by trial (year planted and year infected). Replicating experiments in time on high-hazard sites for rust should better define occurrence and importance of location × family interactions.