Plos One
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Following recent health scandals in France, the French parliament adopted law n°2011-2012 to regulate ties between physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. The law also requires pharmaceutical companies to publicize financial and other benefits given to medical students. In this context, we administered a survey to medical students in France, in an effort to identify priorities for future education regarding conflicts of interest (COI). ⋯ In our survey, personal research performed by students was more likely to be associated with perception of potential bias on prescription for self (but not for others) than attending a lecture on COI. Promulgating laws that regulate ties between physicians/students and the pharmaceutical industry is a mandatory first step. However, complementary strategies should be implemented within medical schools, in particular, specific training about COI in early medical education.
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Systematic reviews of preclinical studies, in vivo animal experiments in particular, can influence clinical research and thus even clinical care. Dissemination bias, selective dissemination of positive or significant results, is one of the major threats to validity in systematic reviews also in the realm of animal studies. We conducted a systematic review to determine the number of published systematic reviews of animal studies until present, to investigate their methodological features especially with respect to assessment of dissemination bias, and to investigate the citation of preclinical systematic reviews on clinical research. ⋯ Preclinical systematic reviews may have an influence on clinical research but their methodological quality frequently remains low. Therefore, systematic reviews of animal research should be critically appraised before translating them to a clinical context.
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We investigated avian influenza infections in wild birds, poultry, and humans at Eastern Dongting Lake, China. We analyzed 6,621 environmental samples, including fresh fecal and water samples, from wild birds and domestic ducks that were collected from the Eastern Dongting Lake area from November 2011 to April 2012. We also conducted two cross-sectional serological studies in November 2011 and April 2012, with 1,050 serum samples collected from people exposed to wild birds and/or domestic ducks. ⋯ We isolated 39 and 5 AIVs from the fecal samples of wild birds and domestic ducks, respectively. Our analysis indicated 12 subtypes of AIV were present, suggesting that wild birds in the Eastern Dongting Lake area carried a diverse array of AIVs with low pathogenicity. We were unable to detect any antibodies against AIV H5N1 in humans, suggesting that human infection with H5N1 was rare in this region.
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Currently, 68.3% of the milk available in schools is flavored, with chocolate being the most popular (61.6% of all milk). If chocolate milk is removed from a school cafeteria, what will happen to overall milk selection and consumption? ⋯ Removing chocolate milk from school cafeterias may reduce calorie and sugar consumption, but it may also lead students to take less milk overall, drink less (waste more) of the white milk they do take, and no longer purchase school lunch. Food service managers need to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of eliminating chocolate milk and should consider alternative options that make white milk more convenient, attractive, and normal to choose.
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The aims of this study were 1) to confirm that combinations of brief geriatric assessment (BGA) items were significant risk factors for prolonged LHS among geriatric patients hospitalized in acute care medical units after their admission to the emergency department (ED); and 2) to determine whether these combinations of BGA items could be used as a prognostic tool of prolonged LHS. ⋯ Combinations of 6-item BGA tool were significant risk factors for prolonged LHS but their prognostic value was poor in the studied sample of older inpatients.