The Increase in Frequency of Protective Behavior against Pesticide Poisoning in Narail, Bangladesh through Use of an Easy Paper Checklist; an Interventional Study

Protecting the health of farmworkers is a crucial issue. Previous studies report that safety training and educational interventions might increase farmworkers’ protective behaviors. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of distributing a checklist as an interventional measure for pesticide protection in rural Asia, where pesticide poisoning is a major problem. This study was a community-based interventional study, using the distribution of a checklist with pesticide protective habits in Narail district, Bangladesh, with a total of 100 eligible males. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted before distributing the checklist and 25 days after. Change between the baseline and follow-up surveys was measured by frequency scores of protective behavior. The average pesticide-protective behavioral score increased from 4.58 in the baseline survey to 8.11 in the follow-up. Additionally, the checklist was more effective in the group with higher education, the younger group, and the group with lower pesticide-protective behavioral scores in the baseline survey. The paper checklist on protective behaviors against pesticide poisoning was effective because of the increase in the frequency of such positive behavior among farmworkers. Thus, intervention measures should be implemented to increase the knowledge and awareness regarding pesticide protection habits to protect the health of farmworkers.

Knowledge, Attitudes And Behaviors of Primary Healthcare Physicians About Vaccines

Objective: The vaccine is a solution that stimulates the immune system in order to prevent diseases. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of family physicians working in primary care about the vaccine. Methods: The population of this descriptive study consisted of family physicians working in Elazığ provinces and districts. We reached 88.7% of family physicians. A questionnaire including demographic questions, 12 knowledge, 13 attitude and 5 behavior questions was applied to family physicians. The data were evaluated with SPSS 22 program. In statistical evaluations, Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis and Spearman’s correlation tests were used. Statistical significance was set as p<0.05. Results: Of the 165 family physicians participating in the study, 66.7% were male, and the mean age was 40.67 ± 8.85. The correct answer rate of the 13 questions about the knowledge was 7.59 ± 2.17 on average. The flu vaccine, of which 15.8% of the participants had the most hesitation in administration, was the vaccine that 52.6% applied to themselves and their relatives most. There was no significant difference between the correct answers of those with and without children (p> 0.05). The attitude score was higher in married people than singles (p = 0.006) and people with children compared to those without children (p = 0.012). The behavioral score of the 46-55 age group was higher than that of married people (p <0.001), those who had no children (p <0.001), and those who did research (p <0.001). A positive correlation was found between age and attitude (p = 0.02) and behavioral score (p = 0.03). There was no significant difference between the self-administered vaccine status and the number of correct answers (p> 0.05). Conclusions: We determined that family physicians who were primarily responsible for vaccination had misinformation about the vaccine, that the researchers’ behavior score was high, and that age and attitude and behavior score were positively related.

Cardiopulmonary (No Ventilation) and Anesthetic Effects of Dexmedetomidine–Tiletamine in Dogs

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anesthetic and cardiopulmonary effects of dexmedetomidine in combination with tiletamine (without zolazepam) as a general anesthetic. The study was divided into two phases. In Phase 1, 18 adult healthy mixed-breed dogs were randomly allocated into three groups: Group TD8 (4.5 mg kg−1 tiletamine and 8 μg kg−1 dexmedetomidine), Group TD10 (4.5 mg kg−1 tiletamine and 10 μg kg−1 dexmedetomidine), or Group TD12 (4.5 mg kg−1 tiletamine and 12 μg kg−1 dexmedetomidine). After drug administration, the heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (fR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), peripheral hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO2), behavioral score, quality of induction and recovery, extent of ataxia, the time taken for induction, and the duration of anesthesia were recorded. The recovery time and quality were recorded after administration of atipamezole (50 μg kg−1) after 60 min. In phase 2, the feasibility of combining dexmedetomidine (10 μg kg−1) and tiletamine (4.5 mg kg−1) as general anesthetics for orchiectomy was evaluated in dogs (n = 6). HR, fR, MAP, SAP, DAP, temperature, SpO2, behavioral scores, and adverse reactions were recorded during each surgical procedure. In phase 1, the dogs were anesthetized for 5 min after administration of drugs and achieved a maximum behavioral score in TD10 and TD12 after 10 min. Although HR, MAP, SAP, DAP, and NIBP decreased in all three groups, they still maintained within the normal range. In phase 2, orchiectomy was completed smoothly in all dogs with little fluctuation in the physiological variables. We found that a combination of tiletamine (4.5 mg kg−1) and dexmedetomidine (10 μg kg−1) intramuscularly induced moderate anesthesia in dogs and could be utilized for short-term anesthesia and minor surgery.

Changes in Emotional-Behavioral Functioning Among Pre-school Children Following the Initial Stage Danish COVID-19 Lockdown and Home Confinement

Unintended negative outcomes on child behavior due to lockdown and home confinement following the corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic needs highlighting to effectively address these issues in the current and future health crises. In this sub-study of the ODIN-study, the objectives were to determine whether the Danish lockdown and home confinement following the COVID-19 pandemic affected changes in emotional-behavioral functioning of pre-school-aged children using the validated Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) answered by parents shortly before lockdown and 3 weeks into lockdown, and moreover, to examine whether baseline family and social characteristics could predict change in child emotional-behavioral functioning during lockdown. Parents of 40 (82%) children with a mean(SD) age of 5.0(0.7) completed the baseline questionnaire and the lockdown follow-up questionnaire. The SDQ-Total difficulties score (SDQ-TD) and Prosocial Behavioral score (PSB) changed significantly from pre- to lockdown [SDQ-TD mean(SD): 6.0(3.8) and 7.9(5.2); P = 0.02, respectively and PSB mean(SD): 8.5(1.4) and 7.9(1.5); P = 0.03, respectively]. Attending leisure time activities before lockdown was a predicting factor of changes to the worse in the children’s SDQ-TD scores, with a mean difference in SDQ-TD between those with and without activities of 3.16 (95%CI 0.27–6.12); P = 0.03. In conclusion, the study showed a modest decrease in child-emotional behavioral functioning during the COVID-19 lockdown, potentially due to parental stress. Although these results might not be generalizable due to small sample size and selected population, the results point to a need of a greater awareness of child mental wellbeing during a lockdown situation.

Effects of two different management systems on hormonal, behavioral, and semen quality in male dromedary camels

Effects of two different management systems on male dromedary camel hormones, behaviors, and semen parameters were documented. Camels (n=6) were tested under two management systems: (i) housed in single boxes with 1-h freedom (H23); (ii) exposed to females for 17 h (from 3.30 p.m. to 8.30 a.m.) and then housed (ConExF). Blood was collected every morning; camel behavior was recorded twice a day: (i) from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. to determine the short effects; (ii) from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. to determine the long effects. Each camel underwent a female parade and semen collection thrice a week; sexual behavior, libido, and semen parameters were assessed. Testosterone and cortisol concentrations were higher in ConExF than H23. Compared to the H23 group, ConExF group spent more time walking, standing tripods, and looking outside their pen/box but they spent less time eating, ruminating, resting, standing, and showing stereotypical behaviors. In the morning, ConExF group spent more time walking, ruminating, and showing typical sexual behaviors compared to themselves during afternoon time and the H23 group. However, in the afternoon time, ConExF camels put more time their heads outside the box through the window and showed higher frequencies of stereotypies, probably due to a higher level of frustration. While the sexual behavioral score was higher and ejaculates showed a higher fraction of milky white and white-colored semen in ConExF than H23 group, their libido was similar. Overall, 17 h of exposure led to an increase in testosterone and cortisol levels, enhancing sexual behavior and semen color, but leading to frustration.

Moxibustion Protects Dopaminergic Neurons in Parkinson’s Disease through Antiferroptosis

Ferroptosis is associated with neural degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, how to control the level of ferroptosis in PD remains unclear. Clinically, moxibustion has been used to treat PD and has an apparent therapeutic effect on improving the motor symptoms of PD. In the present study, the PD rat model was constructed by two-point stereotactic 6-hydroxydopamine injection. Then, moxibustion was used to treat the PD rats. The expression of glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and Ferritin Heavy Chain 1 (FTH1), the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the morphology of mitochondrial were detected to evaluate the level of ferroptosis. The results showed that moxibustion treatment of Shi’s moxa sticks could reduce the behavioral score, alleviate the level of ferroptosis, decrease mitochondrial damage, and improve dopaminergic neuron survival. In conclusion, the present study results indicated that Shi’s moxa sticks could effectively suppress the level of ferroptosis, thereby improving the survival of dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc of PD rats, which may provide a promising complementary and alternative therapy for PD patients.

Knowledge and Hygiene Practices of Pregnant Women Regarding CMV Infection

Aim: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpes virus and a common pathogen responsible for congenital infection in 4-23% of all newborns. The objective of this study was to assess the pregnant women’s knowledge of CMV infection and to investigate their hygienic practices when attending to their young children. Material and Method: This study was carried out at Bezmialem Vakif University Medical Faculty obstetric outpatient clinic. Inclusion criteria were pregnant women 1) who were able to communicate in Turkish, 2) who had at least one child < 5 years of age. We excluded pregnant participants who were health workers. Participants were approached by a medical college student and informed about the study. After giving consent they were asked to fill out a questionnaire which included demographic questions, knowledge questions regarding CMV infection and questions regarding hygienic practices when giving care to their young children. The questionnaires were collected and a total behavioral score was calculated taking into account positive and negative hygienic practices. Results: A total of two hundred and twenty five participants were involved in the survey. Only 86 (38.2%) of the participants in our study had heard of congenital CMV infection. CMV awareness was correlated with having higher education (p:0.02) and employment status (p=0.03). The behavioral score was not correlated with age (p=0.98), educational attainment ( p=0.11), employment status (p=0.9) or number of children, (p=0.87). Conclusion: In this cross sectional study we have shown that CMV infection knowledge of mothers is low and that they do not adhere to adequate sanitation measures. Strategies to raise awareness and initiating education programs are necessary as further action.

Irrelevant background context decreases mnemonic discrimination and increases false memory

One of the greatest commonplaces in memory research is that context improves recall and enhances or leaves recognition intact. Here we present results which draw attention to the fact that the reappearance of irrelevant and unattended background contexts of encoding significantly impairs memory discrimination functions. This manuscript presents the results of two experiments in which participants made indoor/outdoor judgements for a large number of object images presented together with individual, irrelevant and presumably unattended background scenes. On a subsequent unexpected recognition test participants saw the incidentally encoded target objects, visually similar lures or new foil objects on the same or new background scenes. Our results showed that although the reappearance of the background scene raised the hit rate for target objects, it decreased mnemonic discrimination, a behavioral score for pattern separation, a hippocampal function that is affected in early dementia. Furthermore, the presence of the encoded background scene at the recognition test increased the false recognition of lure objects, even when participants were explicitly instructed to neglect the context scene. Altogether these results gave evidence that if context increases recognition hits for target memories, it does so at the cost of increasing false recognition and diminished discriminability for similar information.

Modelling a Behavioral Scoring System for Lending Loans using Twitter

Traditionally, banks follow a risk assessment model in sanctioning loans. Risk assessment is performed by computing a credit score considering certain financial factors. This work proposes a behavioral score that can be computed from social media data. Social media covers almost all aspects of a person’s life. Integrating the credit score with the behavioral score of a person lowers the risk that comes with traditional assessment models. The behavioral score is measured by the profile score, financial attitude, and twit score. A general profile score is computed for the data fetched from Twitter. The twit score of a person is calculated by considering multiple parameters like relevance, usage, and authenticity. Additionally, to strengthen the model, a novel multi-level voting ensemble is implemented with 84% accuracy to scrutinize the financial attitude of the individuals. Pair wise comparison is used to reveal the importance of the various criteria analyzed. The behavioral score is derived by aggregating the three scores accordingly. This research work proposes fusing social media details as an added risk evaluation feature in granting loans.