Carbon dioxide for gut distension during digestive endoscopy:Technique and practice survey

AIM:To assess the adoption of Carbon dioxide(CO2)insufflation by endoscopists from various European countries,and its determinants.METHODS:A survey was distributed to 580 endoscopists attending a live course on digestive endoscopy.RESULTS:The response rate was 24.5%.Fewer than half the respondents(66/142,46.5%)were aware of the fact that room air can be replaced by CO2 for gut distension during endoscopy,and 4.2%of respondents were actually using CO2 as the insufflation agent.Endoscopists aware of the possibility of CO2 insufflation mentioned technical difficulties in implementing the system and the absence of significant advantages of CO2 in comparison with room air as barriers to adoption in daily practice(84%and 49%of answers,respectively;two answers were permitted for this item).CONCLUSION:Based on this survey,adoption of CO2 insufflation during endoscopy seems to remain relatively exceptional.A majority of endoscopists were not aware of this possibility,while others were not aware of recent technical developments that facilitate CO2 implementation in an endoscopy suite.

Statewide GNSS-RTN Systems: Current Practices

The applications of geospatial technologies and positioning data embrace every sphere of modern-day science and industry. With technological advancement, the demands for highly accurate positioning services in real-time led to the development of the Global Navigation Satellite System—Real-Time Network (GNSS-RTN). While there is numerous published information on the technical aspects of the GNSS-RTN technology, information on the best practices or guidelines in building, operating, and managing the GNSS-RTN networks is lacking in practice. To better understand the current practice in establishing and operating the GNSS-RTN systems, an online questionnaire survey was sent to the GNSS-RTN system owners/operators across the U.S. Additionally, a thorough review of available literature on business models and interviews with representatives of two major manufacturers/vendors of GNSS-RTN products and services were conducted. Study results revealed a great deal of inconsistency in current practices among states in the way the GNSS-RTN systems are built, operated, and managed. Aspects of the diversity in state practices involved the business models for the GNSS-RTN systems besides the technical attributes of the network and system products. The information gathered in this study is important in helping state agencies make informed decisions as they build, expand or manage their own GNSS-RTN systems.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Locals towards Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros, Pallas, 1766) Conservation in Lake Bogoria Landscape, Kenya

Several interventions have been suggested for averting and reducing wildlife declines including;securing dispersal areas and migratory corridors, strengthening and investing in local communities and landowners to create and develop community and private wildlife conservancies, and diversification of rural livelihoods through benefits from ecosystem services. Greater Kudu endemic to the Lake Bogoria landscape in Kenya is categorized as vulnerable to extinction due to unsustainable exploitation and management of resources although the continued economic importance of the Greater Kudu in the Lake Bogoria landscape is its best defense. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to analyze the status of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of locals towards the conservation of the Greater Kudu in the landscape. The survey was conducted using a semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire administered to target populations (N = 137 households). Face-to-face interviews of key informants (KI) and focus group discussions (FGDs) were also carried out. It was found that 84% of KAP respondents agreed that the landscape is rich with biodiversity while 77% of them agreed that conservation of the ecosystem is important for rural livelihoods. Further, 73% of KAP respondents agreed that the extinction of Greater Kudu in the Lake Bogoria landscape may lead to poverty. It is recommended that all-inclusive adaptive management and conservation strategies should embrace continuous monitoring, and understanding dispersal of Greater Kudu to ensure its survival, in the landscape for improved livelihoods.

Survey and Practice of Reporting Quality of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials on Traditional Chinese Medicine

Evidence obtained from randomized controlled trials （RCTs） has been generally accepted as the gold standard in the evaluation of clinical effectiveness. Readers need to understand the trial design, implementation, results, analysis and interpretation, so as to fully Jnderstand the results of RCTs. Thus, the investigators of RCTs have to report these items in a complete, accurate and clear manner. Since 1998, we have conducted several evaluations on the reporting quality of RCTs published in Chinese journals on traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and results have shown that there is an urgent need for higher quality RCTs on TCM.

Patient Feedback for Acupuncture Practice Improvement:A Survey from Mayo Clinic

Objective： To understand patient satisfaction with acupuncture appointment duration for the first and subsequent appointments in the plan of care, time spent with the acupuncture provider, willingness to pay for longer duration appointments, and lack of insurance coverage. Methods： Patients who were referred for an acupuncture consult to the Center for Integrative Medicine at Mayo Clinic were asked to participate in the survey in August 2014. Patients were given paper survey at time of appointment check-in and entered into Research Electronic Data Capture Survey database tool to reveal patient-reported outcomes. Results： In total, 104 of 329 patients receiving acupuncture treatment responded to the survey with a 32% response rate. Insight and recommended changes to the duration of the initial and subsequent appointments were obtained. Most patients reported that time spent with the provider（76 cases, 74%） and appointment length（74 cases, 68%） were ＂just right＂. Seventy cases（70%） of respondents indicated that they wanted longer treatment. Patients reported return appointments with duration of 30 min was not enough. Fifty-three patients（62%） were willing to pay for additional costs not covered by insurance. Conclusions： We used patient feedback to assess the acupuncture practice in a complementary and integrative medicine program. Most patients referred for the acupuncture consult appeared to be satisfied with the current level of practice. These findings were used to establish a quality improvement plan that may be implemented to improve patient satisfaction with the acupuncture practice.

Reconstituting China's Social Security System——A Survey of the Seminaron Theory and Practice of Social Welfare

As China’s market-oriented economic reforms deepen, an urgent task lying ahead of us is to develop, standardize and improve the system of social security. What, however, is meant by a unified, standardized and perfect social security system? How can we institute such a system? These questions remain urgently in need of study.This then was the setting of a national seminar on "The Theory and Practice of