Spreading the Word A survey of popular Chinese words shows a growing awareness of the language in foreign countries

Chinese pinyin, the commonly used system for Romanizing standard Chinese, is a special form of the language. Compared with Chinese characters, pin,in boasts an advantage in the process of spreading Chinese culture around the world.

Awareness of and attitudes towards infertility and its treatment： a cross-sectional survey of men in a United States primary care population

Previous studies have described racial and socioeconomic disparities in the treatment of infertility. Patient factors such as attitudes and awareness may be contributing factors. Since primary care is often the setting that serves as an entry into other areas of medicine, we sought to evaluate men＇s attitudes and awareness of male infertility in the primary care setting. To do this, we performed a cross-sectional survey of men＇s attitudes toward men＇s health issues in 210 men from two primary care clinic waiting rooms in Atlanta, Georgia. The survey was self-administered with closed-ended question items and was approximately 20 min in length. Of the 310 men approached, 210 agreed to participate and returned completed surveys. Overall, 52% of men said they were ＂very＂ or ＂somewhat＂ familiar with infertility and 25% were familiar with treatments for infertility. Some men had heard of surgery （21%） and medication （35%） as treatments for male infertility. Awareness and familiarity with the condition was greater in high socioeconomic status men （i.e. college graduates or those with income 〉$100 k per year） but did not differ by race on multivariate analysis. Attitudes toward infertility varied by race with non-Caucasian men being more likely to indicate that infertility is a serious condition, to be concerned about infertility, and to believe it decreases a man＇s quality-of-life. Therefore, a lack of awareness, but not negative attitudes, may contribute to previously-described disparities in the treatment of infertility.

Measuring the Awareness of Thalassemia in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Thalassemia disorder is a genetic disease that causes the blood to have less hemoglobin than normal, the main requirement to control thalassemia’s propagation is to educate the entire society. Methodology: A descriptive survey was taken to evaluate the awareness of thalassemia among Saudi Arabia’s society, with a sample size of 384. Results: The results were written in frequencies, and it shows that most of the participants were unaware and lacking information on thalassemia syndrome. Discussion: The results of this study provide valuable insights into the awareness of thalassemia in Saudi Arabia and highlight the need to raise awareness of this disease. Conclusion: This study is not comprehensive because the survey was not disrupted evenly, but it can give us an overview of the awareness of thalassemia in Saudi Arabia, and it shows that most of the participants were unaware and lacked information on thalassemia.

Climate Change Awareness and Perception amongst the Inhabitants of Muscat Governorate, Oman

Public awareness and knowledge on climate change constitute essential background to deal with climate change and related problems. Alongside this background, this study assesses the awareness and quality of knowledge regarding climate change in Muscat governorate, Oman. A survey of 350 randomly sampled respondents was conducted using a standard questionnaire. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. This questionnaire was administered to respondents who were evenly distributed among the six divisions (Wilayat) of Muscat governorate in Oman while descriptive statistics were the main analysis techniques. Results have revealed that public awareness is fairly high despite some limitations on the knowledge on the causes and prevention of climate change. Regression analysis finds that gender, years of education, and income are significant factors that determine the level of awareness. Climate change is an area that is in need of publicity to help the public make informed decisions in its adaptation and mitigation. Results further indicate that most of the respondents have fair general knowledge about the subject.

Knowledge,attitude and recommendations for practice regarding dengue among the resident population of Queensland,Australia

Objective:To investigate levels of awareness of dengue among the inhabitants of Queensland(QLD),a dengue-prevalent state in the north east of Australia.Methods:A computer-assisted telephone interviewing survey was conducted in mid2014.A total of 1 223 randomly selected respondents( 18 years) across QLD completed a structured questionnaire covering all aspects of dengue.Results:97.55% had heard of dengue and participated further.Among them,54.70% had travelled overseas(48.11% to dengue-risk countries) in the last five years.A total of94.47% said transmission is by mosquito bite.In addition,84.83% knew of current transmission of dengue in QLD,while 80.97% knew the focus is Far North and North QLD.Furthermore,2.35% and 8.97% had experienced an infection in their life or that of their immediate family/partner,respectively.85.03% identified correctly at least one means of prevention.A total of 69.72% advised to use insect repellent,wear covered clothing and avoid visiting mosquito-prone areas while 20.93% advised fumigation and clearing water containers around residences.There was a significant difference(P < 0.05) between residents of South East QLD and the rest of QLD regarding knowledge of prevention.However,such awareness was not affected significantly by overseas travel(P > 0.05).Conclusions:Although many people throughout QLD have heard of dengue,about 15%appear unaware of local transmission,its symptoms and of methods to reduce risk of infection.A lack of knowledge regarding prevention of mosquito breeding is evident in South East QLD,where dengue is not currently reported.The study suggests that future dengue awareness campaigns should target communities in both endemic and potentially endemic areas throughout Queensland.

Greater awareness of biosimilars and shared decision-making among patients attending rheumatology practices in Colorado,United States:Real-world data

BACKGROUND There is a lack of studies and educational programs focused on biosimilars and shared decision-making among patients diagnosed with various rheumatic diseases.AIM To improve knowledge and awareness of biosimilars and shared decision-making among patients attending rheumatology practices in Colorado as well as to assess a rheumatology patient’s interest in discussing biosimilars as well as shared decision-making with others(e.g.,medical professionals,family members,friends).METHODS Our goal was to work with 80 rheumatology teams in Colorado.We developed and distributed 2000 multi-page brochures to each participating office and later conducted an online anonymous survey.RESULTS There were a total of 49(2.5%)rheumatology patients who responded to our survey.After reading our educational booklet,many survey respondents identified the correct answer in most questions focused on biosimilars or shared decision-making.Our survey results suggest that patients attending rheumatology practices in Colorado are generally not involved in discussions with their providers regarding treatment plans or options.The improvement in scores after reading our educational materials was statistically significant for biosimilars and shared decision-making.CONCLUSION Overall,the level of knowledge and awareness of biosimilars and shared decisionmaking among patients attending rheumatology practices in Colorado was low.More educational programs as well as follow up trainings to measure changes in knowledge and awareness regarding biosimilars and shared decision-making among patients attending rheumatology practices are recommended.

Case Study: Finding Better Solutions for Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Semi Local Authority in Sri Lanka

This case study investigates better and sustainable waste management for a given area in Sri Lanka. A questionnaire and field surveys were performed in a small local authority adjacent to Colombo, the capital city. Composting for organic waste and incineration for non-compostable waste were found to be important treatment methods for solid-waste management. The reduction of solid waste is a critical process for sustainable management. Currently, people in the area do not have much interest in waste recycling to decrease the cost of solid-waste management. It was therefore concluded that raising people’s awareness would play an important role in the reduction of solid waste. A suitable waste-management plan needs to be made for each community and area. The situation and conditions of every area is different, therefore each community needs to make an effort to find its own better and sustainable solid-waste management process.

Ground level utility of Access, Watch, Reserve classification: Insights from a tertiary care center in North India

BACKGROUND The overuse and misuse of antimicrobials contribute significantly to antimicrobial resistance(AMR),which is a global public health concern.India has particularly high rates of AMR,posing a threat to effective treatment.The World Health Or-ganization(WHO)Access,Watch,Reserve(AWaRe)classification system was introduced to address this issue and guide appropriate antibiotic prescribing.However,there is a lack of studies examining the prescribing patterns of antimi-crobials using the AWaRe classification,especially in North India.Therefore,this study aimed to assess the prescribing patterns of antimicrobials using the WHO AWaRe classification in a tertiary care centre in North India.Ophthalmology,Obstetrics and Gynecology).Metronidazole and ceftriaxone were the most prescribed antibiotics.According to the AWaRe classification,57.61%of antibiotics fell under the Access category,38.27%in Watch,and 4.11%in Reserve.Most Access antibiotics were prescribed within the Medicine department,and the same department also exhibited a higher frequency of Watch antibiotics prescriptions.The questionnaire survey showed that only a third of participants were aware of the AWaRe classification,and there was a lack of knowledge regarding AMR and the potential impact of AWaRe usage.RESULTS The research was carried out in accordance with the methodology presented in Figure 1.A total of n=123 patients were enrolled in this study,with each of them receiving antibiotic prescriptions.The majority of these prescriptions were issued to inpatients(75.4%),and both the Medicine and Surgical departments were equally represented,accounting for 49.6%and 50.4%,respectively.Among the healthcare providers responsible for prescribing antibiotics,72%were Junior Residents,18.7%were Senior Residents,and 9.3%were Consultants.These findings have been summarized in Table 1.The prescriptions included 27 different antibiotics,with metronidazole being the most prescribed(19%)followed by ceftriaxone(17%).The mean number of antibiotics used per patient was 1.84±0.83.The mean duration of antibiotics prescribed was 6.63±3.83 days.The maximum number of antibiotics prescribed per patient was five.According to the AWaRe classification,57.61%of antibiotics fell under the Access,38.27%in Watch,and 4.11%in Reserve categories,suggesting appropriate antibiotic selection according to these criteria.The distribution of antibiotics prescribed according to the WHO AWaRe categories is presented in Figure 2.The difference in prescribing frequencies amongst departments can be noted.Most of the antibiotics prescribed in the Access category were from the Medicine department(75.4%),followed by Surgery(24.6%).For Watch antibiotics,Medicine had a higher proportion(63.4%)compared to Surgery(36.6%).In terms of seniority,Junior Residents prescribed the highest number of antibiotics for both Access and Watch categories in Medicine and Surgery departments.Senior residents and Consultants prescribed a lower number of antibiotics in all categories and departments.Only a few antibiotics were prescribed in the Reserve category,with most prescriptions being from the Medicine department.The study also evaluated the Knowledge and Awareness of Healthcare professionals towards the WHO AWaRe classi-fication through a questionnaire survey.A total of 93 participants responded to the survey.Among them,most parti-cipants were Junior Residents(69.9%),followed by Senior Residents(25.8%)and Faculty(4.3%).When enquired if they knew about the WHO AWaRe classification only 33.3%of the participants responded positively.Of those who were aware of the AWaRe classification,the most common source of information was the internet(31.2%),followed by the antimicrobial policy of their institution(15.1%)as seen in Table 2.The survey results on the knowledge and awareness of AMR among healthcare professionals are also presented in Tables 3 and 4.Out of the 93 participants,68(73.1%)agreed that the emergence of AMR is inevitable,while only 13(14.0%)disagreed that AWaRe usage will result in the inability to treat serious infections.Additionally,58(62.4%)agreed that it will lead to lengthier hospital stays,43(46.2%)agreed that the success of chemotherapy and major surgery will be hampered,and the majority also agreed that its use will lead to increased cost of treatment and increased mortality rates.Regarding the utilization of AWaRe in the hospital summarized in Tables 4 and 5,35.5%of the participants agreed that it should be used,while only 2.2%disagreed.Additionally,34.4%agreed that AWaRe reduces adverse effects of inappro-priate prescription.However,37.6%of the participants considered that AWaRe threatens a clinician's autonomy and 30.1%thought that its use can delay treatment.Additionally,the DDD of each drug was also evaluated.The usage of various antimicrobial drugs in a hospital setting,along with their daily doses and DDD according to the WHO's Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system was calculated.Some of the important findings include high usage rates of ceftriaxone and metronidazole,and relatively low usage rates of drugs like colistin and clindamycin.Additionally,some drugs had wider ranges than others.Comparison of WHO defined DDD with Daily Drug dose(Mean)in the studied prescriptions is represented in the Clustered Bar chart in Figure 3.Finally,the Mean Daily Drug Dose for prescribed drugs was compared with WHO defined DDD for each drug using a Student’s T test.The mean daily drug dose of amoxy/clav was significantly higher than the WHO DDD(1.8 vs 1.50,P=0.014),while the mean daily drug dose of metronidazole and doxycycline were significantly lower than the WHO DDD(P<0.001 and P=0.008,respectively).The mean daily drug dose of piperacillin/tazobactam,amikacin,clindamycin,and levofloxacin did not show significant differences compared to the WHO DDD(P>0.05).CONCLUSION This research indicates an appropriate proportion of prescriptions falling under the Access category(57.61%),suggesting appropriate antibiotic selection,a significant proportion also belongs to the Watch category(38.27%),emphasizing the need for greater caution to prevent the escalation of AMR.There is a moderate level of awareness among healthcare professionals about AMR and the steps being taken to tackle it,highlighting the gap in implementation of policies and need for more steps to be taken in spreading the knowledge about the subject.However,there is a significant difference between the WHO DDD and the prescribed daily dose in the analysed prescriptions suggesting overuse and underuse of antibiotics.

Status Quo,Analysis and Suggestions for Public Awareness on Wetland Conservation in China

To understand the status of public awareness on wetland conservation in China,1237 people from 8 provinces or municipality were interviewed by questionnaire.After analysis of the results,88.5%of the interviewees know the word 'wetland'.TV and radio is the main tool for them to get information.More than two thirds of the respondents mainly learn the information on wetland conservation through TV and radio.There are still big gaps among different people in understanding wetland.Only 13.3%of the respondents give a completely right answer on question 'which areas are wetlands'.Most of the respondents cited lakes,marshes and rivers as wetlands,but more than half of them do not regard beaches,reservoirs,paddy fields and fish ponds as wetlands.Most of the people cited wetlands can provide such functions as water conservation,climate regulation,protecting wildlife,removing pollution, but know little about other functions such as flood control,provisioning of aquatic products,and soil retention, and much less about the cultural functions such as recreation,and inherited folk culture.Except for wastewater discharge, nearly half of the general public knows little about other threats of the wetland,while most of the people do not believe that artificial aquaculture will cause threats to the wetland areas.Public awareness on wetland conservation in China needs to be improved.Most of the respondents cited that TV,radio and internet are the most effective ways to publicize information on wetland conservation.More than two thirds of the respondents mainly learn the information on wetland conservation through TV and radio,while 38.0%of the respondents mainly through internet. Specifically,for farmers/fishermen,posters/picture albums can benefit them more than the internet;the undergraduates also expect to learn wetland mainly through posters/picture albums;while for the primary and middle school students, the school education is another valuable source of publicity in addition to TV and radio.Strengthen cooperation with TV stations and broadcasting stations are the best way to raise public awareness of wetland conservation. The authors suggest to strength cooperation with media on wetland conservation,conduct wetland conservation education in middle and primary schools and communities;organize experts and professionals to write books and teaching materials needed for popularizing science,basic education and staff training;develop an internet-based CEPA network system on wetland conservation;conduct public awareness activities in communities,focusing on females in rural areas;build public awareness and education system,improve the public's awareness on wetland conservation,create good social environment for conserving wetlands.

HIV awareness in Pakistan:A survey-based study

Objective:To know the awareness level of Pakistani population about AIDS.Methods:An online survey was conducted in Pakistan with the help of a questionnaire formulated by experts to record the awareness level of common people about HIV infection.The responses were collected and screened by the team of National Academy of Young Scientists,Pakistan.Results:Among the 580 participants of the survey,majorities were male,in the age group of 20-30 years and were living in urban areas.More than 80%of responders did not ever screen themselves for HIV and close to 40%were not aware that where to go for screening.Although,majority of the respondents knew about the nature of disease,they were not fully aware about different tests,treatment,duration of infection and vaccination.According to participants,television and internet were major source of information about AIDS and this disease can be prevented in Pakistan through public awareness.Conclusions:Since majority of the respondents were not fully aware about the disease and its mode of transmission,there should be print and electronic media campaigns as well as workshops and seminars to educate the common public.In addition,a national level prevalence study will be very helpful to know the exact prevalence of HIV in Pakistan and its major routes of transmission.

The next steps in academic integrity-education,awareness,norms,duty and law

We conducted and analyzed several internet surveys in order to understand the profile of global research integrity and ethical awareness,encompassing global population distribution.These were(1)the global distribution of Committee of Publishing Ethics(COPE)membership;(2)the global distribution of“Integrity”or“Ethics”journals;(3)the level of academic integrity awareness in European higher education institutions and(4)awareness of academic integrity in the top universities of Asia and Africa.The results of this survey series highlight seriously imbalanced awareness of research integrity and publishing ethics across the world,especially in developing areas with the highest population density.We therefore propose a new index,the“Academic Integrity Awareness Index”for future discussions across the linked spheres of publishing and research.

Disease awareness and dietary habits of patients with epilepsy in western China:a cross-sectional study

Background:The optimal management of epilepsy includes engaging patients through education on knowledge of the disease,its treatment and diet control.Methods:This was a cross-sectional survey-based cohort study,aimed to investigate the awareness of epilepsy in Chinese patients and to understand their dietary habits.Participants were consecutively enrolled from epileptic patients treated in a single epilepsy center from October 1,2019 to February 29,2020.A self-reported questionnaire(Cronbach’sα=0.758)consisting of 3 parts was sent to 407 patients with epilepsy.The questionnaire included items on demographic information,epilepsy features,awareness of epilepsy treatment and dietary habits.Results:About half of the patients(53.8%,219/407)thought epilepsy was curable and only 80%knew that the first choice of treatment is medication.While 58.6%of the patients with low educational level preferred the use of antiepileptic drugs(p=0.014),52.7%believed that the medication should not be stopped immediately after seizure control(p=0.026),especially after surgery(40.5%,p=0.011).Patients with lower household monthly incomes had less awareness of the use of antiepileptic drugs than patients with higher incomes:only 39.2 and 49.8%of patients with lower incomes thought that the drugs could be stopped after epilepsy surgery or seizure control,respectively,compared to 51.6 and 66.1%with higher incomes.Alcohol(86.2%),caffeine(56.8%)and strong tea(49.1%)were top three foods considered by the patients to be avoided to prevent seizures.Approximately 30.2%of patients identified at least one food that made them susceptible to seizures.Conclusions:Patient education on epilepsy,antiepileptic drugs and diet for management of seizures should be provided especially to patients with less education,lower income or inaccurate beliefs of epilepsy in Western China.