Changes in healthcare seeking and lifestyle in old aged individuals during COVID-19 lockdown in Germany: the population-based AugUR study

Background Containment measures in the COVID-19 pandemic protected individuals at high risk, particularly individuals at old age, but little is known about how these measures affected health-related behavior of old aged individuals. We aimed to investigate the impact of the spring 2020 lockdown in Germany on healthcare-seeking and health-related lifestyle in the old aged and to identify susceptible subgroups. Methods We conducted a follow-up survey among the pre-pandemically well-characterized participants of our AugUR cohort study, residents in/around Regensburg aged 70+ years and relatively mobile. A self-completion questionnaire on current behavior, perceived changes, and SARS-Cov-2 infection was mailed in May 2020, shortly before contact restrictions ended. Pre-pandemic lifestyle and medical conditions were derived from previous study center visits. Results Among 1850 survey participants (73–98 years; net-response 89%), 74% were at increased risk for severe COVID-19 according to medical conditions; four participants reported SARS-CoV-2 infection (0.2%). Participants reported changes in behavior: 29% refrained from medical appointments, 14% increased TV consumption, 26% reported less physical activity, but no systematic increase of smoking or alcohol consumption. When comparing during- and pre-lockdown reports of lifestyle within participant, we found the same pattern as for the reported perceived changes. Women and the more educated were more susceptible to changes. Worse QOL was perceived by 38%. Conclusions Our data suggest that the spring 2020 lockdown did not affect the lifestyle of a majority of the mobile old aged individuals, but the substantial proportions with decreased physical activity and healthcare-seeking are markers of collateral damage.

Three Good Things

Let us consider some good things that have happened before the year 2021 concludes: 1) On February 1, 2021, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced that the autism spectrum disorders may be caused by defects in the mitochondria of brain cells of the eye. The research continues. 2) In the year 2021, many people have adopted the term “on the spectrum” to refer to the many brain dysfunctions that can and cannot be named and diagnosed yet. 3) Yale University Child Study Center and The Jim Henson Institute have invited many experts from many fields of study together to discover what happens when spectrum and non-spectrum children and adults look at puppets. What are they looking at? What do they see? Why don't we already know what they see? Are we looking at the important things? The chapter will explore these questions and specifically learning and the impact of puppets further.

Traditional Antipyretics from the text of Usada Wariga Dalem as an Ayurveda knowledge

Text Usada Wariga Dalem is one of Usada in Bali as a national cultural heritage which contains the knowledge system of traditional Balinese treatment which includes symptoms of disease, names of diseases, medicinal facilities, how to mix, and how to treat. One of the symptoms contained in the text of Usada Wariga Dalem usada is fever. Handling of fever can be done by using medicinal plants as contained in the text of Usada Wariga Dalem. Treatment with medicinal herbs is still one of the options for Balinese people in treating diseases. Traditional medicinal herbs for fever are often used as alternative and complementary medicines. This research examined what included fever in the text of Usada Wariga Dalem, what were the ingredients of fever medicine in the text of Usada Wariga Dalem and how the medicine could be a complementary and alternative medicine for the Balinese people. This research used a descriptive qualitative research method. literature study and ethnography method. The data needed in this study were collected using a library study, observation, and in-depth interviews. The data is sourced from the Usada Wariga Dalem lontar text, which was collected at the Lontar Study Center, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Udayana University. The traditional medicine for fever contained in the Usada Wariga Dalem text can be used for complementary and alternative medicine. This traditional treatment using medicinal ingredients from processed plants, has been proven to reduce the patient's fever.

A Cross-Sectional, Questionnaire-Based Study on Drug Treatment Awareness in Schizophrenia Patients and Caregivers: An Unexplored Avenue

Background: Schizophrenia is associated with high relapse rates, and medication nonadherence is a major factor contributing toward relapse. Since medication adherence and treatment awareness are linked, an alarming need was felt to evaluate the level of drug treatment awareness in patients who have schizophrenia. Besides, patients who have schizophrenia are often dependent on their caregivers for medications. Hence, the current study was also designed to look into drug treatment awareness among caregivers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia as per The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition were included, provided they had good insight and had been prescribed medications at the study center for at least three months. Caregivers were included using the Pollak and Perlick criteria. The sociodemographic profile of the patients and caregivers was recorded, and further assessment for treatment awareness was done using the prevalidated Drug Treatment Awareness Questionnaire (DTAQ). Results: A total of 166 patients and 157 caregivers were enrolled. Mean drug awareness scores among patients and caregivers did not show statistically significant differences (P= 0.22). Mean ± SD DTAQ awareness scores in patients and caregivers were 12.57 ± 1.81 and 12.84 ± 1.91, respectively. The majority of patients and caregivers (> 90%) possessed awareness in domains related to past medication records and in that of re-visit/re-contact instructions. Awareness was least commonly seen in relation to side effects of medications and details of the prescribed medications, where only about 50% of patients and caregivers possessed awareness. No clinically significant correlation was found between sociodemographic factors and drug treatment awareness scores. Conclusion: Drug treatment awareness in patients and caregivers was comparable and was not reliant on the sociodemographic factors. Special interventions should be conducted to raise drug treatment awareness among patients having insight and their caregivers.

Influence of Family Background on Learning Outcome of Agricultural Undergraduates in Indian Conditions

Family as an entity teaches many concepts like social, economic, technical, moral concepts to the children for a better living. Thus the contribution of a family in an educational environment is undeniable. Thus this paper attempts to cull out various aspects of family background that influence the learning situation of the agricultural undergraduate students in the Indian conditions. Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore of TNAU were taken as the study center. B. Sc. (Agriculture) degree program was purposefully selected. 114 students studying final year were considered for the study by employing saturated sampling technique. Majority of the respondents’ families were found to be economically sound with stable occupation under any one sector. Being hostellers, the parents did not have adequate scope to engage in educational activities and interact with the institution. But they always find ways to back the students in all possible ways in other means.

Students’ Perspectives on Satisfaction with Distance Education in Ghana: A Cluster Analysis

This study sought to categorise students based on the preferences that influenced their choice of distance education program in Ghana. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 120 students taking part in the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) distance education (DE) programme at the Kumasi Girls Senior High School [SHS] Study Center. Respondents were segmented into three clusters (highly, moderately, and least satisfied) based on four preferences (price, quality, packaging, and social boding) that influenced their satisfaction with the distance education programme. Results from both hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis with squared Euclidean distance and Ward’s method showed that the highly satisfied cluster was driven by the quality of service and the competitive fees structure of the UEW distance education programme. Further analysis of the differences between the clusters indicated that satisfaction with the UEW distance programme significantly differs across the three segments.

“The lantern of the world rises to mortals by varied paths”: Paul Laffoley (1935–2015) and Dante

American artist and architect Paul Laffoley (1935–2015) had a life-long fascination with Dante. Not only did he refer to Dante and the Commedia throughout his writings and paintings, but he created a large-scale triptych illustrating the poem, as well as sketched out plans for a full-immersion Dante study center on a planetoid orbiting the Sun, complete with a to-scale replica of the medieval Earth, Mount Purgatory, the material heavens, and the Empyrean through which a “Dante Candidate” could re-enact the Pilgrim’s journey. Laffoley’s work is often placed by art critics within the visionary tradition and Laffoley himself embraced that label, even as he deconstructed the term in his writing. Among the many visionary artists, poets, and philosophers Laffoley studied, Dante was central. He was, for Laffoley, a model seeker of knowledge, a seer beyond the illusions of everyday life. The essay that follows offers a brief biography of Laffoley and his works; an overview of his two main Dante projects ( The Divine Comedy triptych [1972–1975] and The Dantesphere [1978]); and initial considerations on how Dante’s works and thought fit into Laffoley’s larger epistemological project.

INTERCONNECTION MODEL OF MORALS-REASONING-RESEARCH IN PESANTREN CURRICULUM

This paper described the interconnection model of morals-reasoning-research in the curriculum of Tarbiyatul Muallimien al-Islamiyah (known as TMI) Al-Amien Prenduan. It also examined the supporting and inhibiting factors for the implementation of the interconnected-curriculum. It is a case study employing observation, interviews and documentation, and the data were analyzed using qualitative analysis. Two conclusions were drawn. First, TMI uses multidisciplinary approaches in its curriculum by interconnecting morals, reason and research. Morals are instilled through reading and learning the morals books such as Ta‘lîm al-Muta‘allim and Iḥyâ’ ‘Ulûm al-Dîn. The reasoning skills are taught through school subjects such as logic, Islamic jurisprudence and the science of hadith. In contrast, the research skills are taught through research subjects and a compulsory program called writing a research paper. Second, the class classification model, which takes students’ talent and interest into account, and other research-related programs such as book review and fatḥ al-kutub (classical book research) are the supporting factors for the writing program. They are accommodating for students in completing their writing. Meanwhile, there are also numbers of inhibiting factors such as student’s lacking motivation, the prohibition of internet use, unsuitable supervisor expertise, and the minimum role of Islamic Study Center (Pusdilam).