Functional Status and Its Related Factors Among Stroke Survivors in Rehabilitation Departments of Hospitals in Shenzhen, China

Background: Many stroke survivors have multiple chronic diseases and complications, coupled with various other factors which may affect their functional status. We aimed to investigate the factors associated with poor functional status in hospitalized patients with stroke in Shenzhen, China.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Data on 646 patients with stroke were recruited from four urban hospitals using cluster sampling. The Longshi Scale was used to assess the functional status of stroke survivors. Explanatory variables, i.e. factors affecting functional status, included demographic, lifestyle factors, complications, and chronic conditions. The ordinal logistic regression model was used to investigate factors associated with poor functional status. Results: Stroke survivors with poor functional status accounted for 72.14% and were assessed as the bedridden group based on the Longshi scale, 21.67% of patients with moderate functional limitation were assessed as the domestic group and 6.19% of the patients with mild functional restriction was assessed as the community group. The highest dependence was noted for feeding (73.39%), bowel and bladder management (69.74%), and bedtime entertainment (69.53%) among the bedridden group, and housework (74.29%) among the domestic group. In the adjusted model, patients who were in older age groups (odds ratio [OR] = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.55–3.80), female (OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.08–2.77), duration of stroke more than 12 months (OR = 1.94, 95% CI: 1.28–2.95), with pulmonary infection (OR = 10.91, 95% CI: 5.81–20.50), and with deep venous thrombosis (OR = 3.00, 95% CI: 1.28–7.04) had almost or more than two times the risk of poorer functioning.Conclusions: Our study found that 72.14% of stroke survivors had poor functional status, 21.67% and 6.19% of stroke survivors had moderate functional limitations and mild functional restrictions in rehabilitation settings. The older age bracket (age ≥ 60) and females were more likely to exhibit poor functioning. Pulmonary infection and deep venous thrombosis, both common post-stroke complications, were related to the increased chance of dependence. Therefore, interventions aimed at treating or preventing pulmonary infection and deep vein thrombosis need to contribute to addressing these circumstances and subsequent dysfunction after stroke.

Conclusions

There are three central interlinked areas of economic and social life of significance for Bambara farming households in Kala: annual millet production, returns from various investments – wells, plough-teams, breeding cattle - and longer term returns from child-rearing, marriage and household management. Success in each field reinforces success in the other two fields as, for example, when a good millet harvest can fund another marriage which will generate a replenishment of labour in the longer term. People face highly variable returns to farming and investment, and must continually react to changing climatic and economic circumstances, by altering patterns of crop production and investment. Some households do better than others, since their scale and strategy enable them to deal with uncertainty, and risks. Equally, mastery of a successful investment portfolio enables a household to re-invest surplus in marriage and expansion of the domestic group, ensuring greater resilience to future shocks, especially demographic. Nevertheless, there are certain forces operating at higher level - environmental trends, weak institutions, poor governance of land – which are difficult for Kala’s farmers to address.

Differences in personality / temperament in the endangered tortoise Testudo hermanni and their implications on dispersal and conservation

Behavioural studies are more an more implicated in species conservation. Determining individuals personality in the case of reintroduction operations may be very useful. Actually, indiviuals temperament may be associated to their dispersal capacities and their habilities to adapt to novel environments. Considered as asociable species, few studies have been conducted on reptiles and this is even worse in the case of endangered species. Hermann tortoise, Testudo hermanni, an endemic species from Mediterranean region is endangered because of the lost and modification of its habitats. Before conducting reintroduction actions it is important to have more information on individuals personality traits. We have tested the reaction of three groups of tortoises (domestic, wild and from the SOPTOM center) when confronted to a novel environment and to human presence. The aim was to discriminate individuals with bold and shy behaviours. Behavioural profiles are different between the three groups of tortoises, the domestic group appeared to be bolder than the wild one. Moreover, for the wild group, bold individuals travel longer distances in the field, sometimes outside the protected areas. Thus, it is important to take into account the personality of individuals choosen for translocation projects.

Do Overseas Returnees Excel in the Chinese Labour Market?

Overseas study is a global phenomenon and a major business internationally. But does overseas study pay off? Using data from the 2015 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we examine the labour market performance of overseas returnees in China. To obtain more accurate results, we matched each returnee with a local so that the domestic group is as similar as possible to the returnee group. We then conducted empirical analyses of the matched data. We find that compared with domestic postgraduates, returnee postgraduates earn about 20 per cent more annually. Moreover, the salary premiums paid for foreign graduate degrees can be attributed principally to the superior human capital gained from overseas education rather than from any “signalling” effect. Also, returnees with graduate degrees are more likely to enter high-income professions and foreign-funded ventures, and to reach higher positions in those organizations. However, we find no significant differences in income, occupation choices and positions between returnee and local bachelor's degree recipients. As such, we suggest that Chinese students and their families are best served when the students obtain a local undergraduate degree and then go overseas for graduate training.

Cambios en el sistema de residencia, los grupos domésticos y la familia en Lacanjá Chansayab desde la teoría de control cultural

The matrilocal system of residence of the Lacandons of Lacanjá Chansayab, Chiapas, has been described by several authors as a fundamental cultural element that is still conserved. This system is associated to the social reproduction of the ethnic group and the sustainability of the Lacandon jungle. This form of organization transcends the residence group and combines the domestic group and the family. Through ethnography, this research shows how this form of organization, called vejo’ovex, has changed towards ambilocality. The article aims to discuss the causes and implications of such change which is framed in the theory of cultural control, focused on the material elements associated with territory and home. Three triggers of change are identified, the sedentary and subsequent land titling in the 70s, the immigration of Lacandons from other areas, and the conformation of family businesses dedicated to ecotourism. Among the conclusions found, the elements: territory, vejo’ovex and work, transit between appropriated culture to alienated culture, linked with transformations in the concepts of inheritance, property, residence, and family.

A Novel Longshi Scale Measured Activity of Daily Living Disability in Elderly Patients Affected by Neurological Diseases: a Multi-center Cohort Study in China

Background: The activity of daily life (ADL) ability is often impaired in the elderly patients with neurological diseases. Barthel index (BI) is a global disability scale which can assess the performance of ADL for old people. The Longshi scale is a novel pictorial-based scale for evaluating a patient’s disability, but few studies assess the elderly patients. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine whether Longshi scale can distinguish the ADL level of the elderly people and investigate the relationship between the Longshi scale and BI in measuring ADL among the elderly disabled. Methods: This was a multi-center cross-sectional study of elderly disabled patients (more than 65 years old). The ADL levels of all patients were evaluated by both Longshi scale and BI. Patients were divided into three groups (Bedridden group, Domestic group, Community group) based on the Longshi scale, while there were four groups (slight dependence, moderate dependence, severe dependence, total dependence) according to different BI scores. The relationship between the scores of Longshi scale and BI at different level were analysed. Results: A total of 2438 consecutive patients were recruited into the study from 9 centers during a period of 6 months (from 1 Oct 2019 to 1 April 2020). There was a significant difference of the total BI scores between the three groups of Longshi scale (p<0.001). Moreover, the Longshi scale scores showed significant differences between the four BI groups in the bedridden group, domestic group and community group of Longshi scale (p<0.001), respectively. Furthermore, the Spearman correlation coefficients between the LS scores of three groups (bedridden, domestic and community group) and BI scores were 0.869, 0.848 and 0.828 (P<0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Longshi scale can efficiently distinguish the degree of ability of daily living activities among the elderly disabled and has positive correlations with the BI.

The effectiveness of three different 7 + 3 induction regimes in China: A retrospective analysis in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Objectives: In China, for economic reasons, induction regimes for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often involve domestically produced idarubicin (IDA) rather than imported IDA. Our objective was to compare the effectiveness of induction regimens in combination with cytarabine; involving imported or domestic IDA, or daunorubicin (DNR). Methods: The study was conducted from 1st July 2012 to 30th November 2015 at Baoding No.1 Central Hospital. This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with newly diagnosed AML admitted to Baoding First Central Hospital, China. Patients were divided into three groups according to their treatment regimen: the IA-imported group, the IA-domestic group, and the DNR group. Clinical data, complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), non-remission (NR) rates, and side effects were compared. Results: Total 282 patients were enrolled, including 123 patients in the IA-imported group, 98 in the IA-domestic group and 61 in the DNR group. The IA-domestic and IA-imported groups’ remission rates were similar (P=0.123) but significantly different from the DNR group (both P<0.05). Side effects were similar in all three groups and no severe side effects were reported. Conclusion: Cytarabine induction regimens showed similar remission rates in combination with IDA produced in China compared to imported IDA and were more effective than DNR. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2563 How to cite this:Lin P, Zhou B, Yao H. The effectiveness of three different 7 + 3 induction regimes in China: A retrospective analysis in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(1):21-27. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2563 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Facts of society and new spatialities

<p>New spatial devices appear when society changes. Today families are restructuring, the domestic group is recomposing, practices are evolving and housing should follow. How can it be transformed to adapt to the life conditions and the lifestyle desired by singles of any age, families -either monoparental or blended-, by the elderly? Experiences in many countries are described here, showing the diversity of the devices proposed and their underlying ideals. They range from a simple practical solution to live in a contemporary way, particularly because of the porosity between habitat and work, to the ambition to change life starting with housing. Built in several countries, they also have very different scales. A simple house shared by friends in Japan or Holland, they can also gather very large groups in Sweden or Switzerland. A long survey on cohabitation in France helps to feed the authors’ reflection.</p>