In recent times, Health Professionals (HPs) people may feel a sense of discomfort and nervousness when disconnected from their smartphones, causing the emergence of the new phenomenon of “No Mobile Phone Phobia,” or Nomophobia.

We aim to study lifestyle-related factors that influence HPs’ Nomophobia.

From April- June 2023, a global cross-sectional study was conducted using the modified Nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q). The original 20 NMP-Q questions (Qs) were reduced to 14 to avoid repetitive Qs with similar meanings. The Qs were categorized into 4 sections, A- Not Being Able to Access Information; B- Losing Connectedness; C- Not Being Able to Communicate; and D- Giving Up Convenience. A new section, “E- Daily Habits”, and “F- Smartphone Type”, and “Hours Spent Daily” were added. Before the launch, it was internally and externally validated by trained psychiatrists as well as experienced researchers. We utilized social media, WhatsApp, text and emails to share it with HPs of different specialties worldwide. The survey was anonymous and IRB-exempt.

Total 105 countries’ HPs participation led to 12,253 responses. Total 47.3% of HPs agreed/strongly agreed (A/SA) that they prefer to use their smartphone before bedtime. Over half (57.8%) of HPs A/SA checked their notifications immediately after waking up in the morning. Only 19.4 % of HPs A/SA that woke up in the middle of the night to check notifications. Total 40.5% of HPs A/SA, 22% were neutral, and 37.3% of HPs disagreed /strongly disagreed (D/SD) with using smartphones while eating their meals. A total of 52.7% of HPs preferred smartphone usage over exercising as a break, while 454.9% of HPs A/SA that they chose smartphones over exploring other hobbies for relaxation. A total of 44.2% of respondents A/SA with smartphone usage in the restroom, 39.8% D/SD. 37.4% of participants D/SD with getting distracted by notifications and resisted the urge to answer any calls or texts while performing a focused task, whereas 39.6% A/SA and 23% were neutral. A total of 80% of respondents met the modified criteria for moderate-severe nomophobia.

In a large-scale survey-based study on Nomophobia, additional Qs in NMP-Q may help recognize that nomophobia can be a result of daily lifestyle decisions rather than an isolated issue.

None Declared

Cognitive therapy and behavioural activation are both widely applied and effective psychotherapies for depression, but it is unclear which works best for whom. Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis allows for examining moderators at the participant level and can provide more precise effect estimates than conventional meta-analysis, which is based on study-level data.

This article describes the protocol for a systematic review and IPD meta-analysis that aims to compare the efficacy of cognitive therapy and behavioural activation for adults with depression, and to explore moderators of treatment effect. (PROSPERO: CRD42022341602)

Systematic literature searches will be conducted in PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library, to identify randomised clinical trials comparing cognitive therapy and behavioural activation for adult acute-phase depression. Investigators of these trials will be invited to share their participant-level data. One-stage IPD meta-analyses will be conducted with mixed-effects models to assess treatment effects and to examine various available demographic, clinical and psychological participant characteristics as potential moderators. The primary outcome measure will be depressive symptom level at treatment completion. Secondary outcomes will include post-treatment anxiety, interpersonal functioning and quality of life, as well as follow-up outcomes.

To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first IPD meta-analysis concerning cognitive therapy versus behavioural activation for adult depression. This study has the potential to enhance our knowledge of depression treatment by using state-of-the-art statistical techniques to compare the efficacy of two widely used psychotherapies, and by shedding more light on which of these treatments might work best for whom.

This study aimed to describe the microscopic over-under cartilage tympanoplasty technique, provide hearing results and detail clinically significant complications.

This was a retrospective case series chart review study of over-under cartilage tympanoplasty procedures performed by the senior author between January 2015 and January 2019 at three tertiary care centres. Cases were excluded for previous or intra-operative cholesteatoma, if a mastoidectomy was performed during the procedure or if ossiculoplasty was performed. Hearing results and complications were obtained.

Sixty-eight tympanoplasty procedures met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 13 years (range, 3–71 years). The mean improvement in pure tone average was 6 dB (95 per cent confidence interval 4–9 dB; p < 0.0001). The overall perforation closure rate was 97 per cent (n = 66). Revision surgery was recommended for a total of 6 cases (9 per cent) including 2 post-operative perforations, 1 case of middle-ear cholesteatoma and 3 cases of external auditory canal scarring.

Over-under cartilage tympanoplasty is effective at improving clinically meaningful hearing with a low rate of post-operative complications.

To assess the feasibility of non-contrast T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging as compared to T1-weighted post-contrast magnetic resonance imaging for detecting acoustic neuroma growth.

Adult patients with acoustic neuroma who underwent at least three magnetic resonance imaging scans of the internal auditory canals with and without contrast in the past nine years were identified. T1- and T2-weighted images were reviewed by three neuroradiologists, and tumour size was measured. Accuracy of the measurements on T2-weighted images was defined as a difference of less than or equal to 2 mm from the measurement on T1-weighted images.

A total of 107 magnetic resonance imaging scans of 26 patients were reviewed. Measurements on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were 88 per cent accurate. Measurements on T2-weighted images differed from measurements on T1-weighted images by an average of 1.27 mm, or 10.4 per cent of the total size. The specificity of T2-weighted images was 88.2 per cent and the sensitivity was 77.8 per cent.

The T2-weighted sequences are fairly accurate in measuring acoustic neuroma size and identifying growth if one keeps in mind the caveats associated with the tumour characteristics or location.

Predicting recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (rCDI) remains difficult. METHODS. We employed a retrospective cohort design. Granular electronic medical record (EMR) data had been collected from patients hospitalized at 21 Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals. The derivation dataset (2007–2013) included data from 9,386 patients who experienced incident CDI (iCDI) and 1,311 who experienced their first CDI recurrences (rCDI). The validation dataset (2014) included data from 1,865 patients who experienced incident CDI and 144 who experienced rCDI. Using multiple techniques, including machine learning, we evaluated more than 150 potential predictors. Our final analyses evaluated 3 models with varying degrees of complexity and 1 previously published model.

Despite having a large multicenter cohort and access to granular EMR data (eg, vital signs, and laboratory test results), none of the models discriminated well (c statistics, 0.591–0.605), had good calibration, or had good explanatory power.

Our ability to predict rCDI remains limited. Given currently available EMR technology, improvements in prediction will require incorporating new variables because currently available data elements lack adequate explanatory power.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:1196–1203

Most research on interventions to counter stigma and discrimination has focused on short-term outcomes and has been conducted in high-income settings.

To synthesise what is known globally about effective interventions to reduce mental illness-based stigma and discrimination, in relation first to effectiveness in the medium and long term (minimum 4 weeks), and second to interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

We searched six databases from 1980 to 2013 and conducted a multi-language Google search for quantitative studies addressing the research questions. Effect sizes were calculated from eligible studies where possible, and narrative syntheses conducted. Subgroup analysis compared interventions with and without social contact.

Eighty studies (n = 422 653) were included in the review. For studies with medium or long-term follow-up (72, of which 21 had calculable effect sizes) median standardised mean differences were 0.54 for knowledge and −0.26 for stigmatising attitudes. Those containing social contact (direct or indirect) were not more effective than those without. The 11 LMIC studies were all from middle-income countries. Effect sizes were rarely calculable for behavioural outcomes or in LMIC studies.

There is modest evidence for the effectiveness of anti-stigma interventions beyond 4 weeks follow-up in terms of increasing knowledge and reducing stigmatising attitudes. Evidence does not support the view that social contact is the more effective type of intervention for improving attitudes in the medium to long term. Methodologically strong research is needed on which to base decisions on investment in stigma-reducing interventions.

The contribution of subsidized food commodities to total food consumption is unknown. We estimated the proportion of individual energy intake from food commodities receiving the largest subsidies from 1995 to 2010 (corn, soyabeans, wheat, rice, sorghum, dairy and livestock).

Integrating information from three federal databases (MyPyramid Equivalents, Food Intakes Converted to Retail Commodities, and What We Eat in America) with data from the 2001–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, we computed a Subsidy Score representing the percentage of total energy intake from subsidized commodities. We examined the score’s distribution and the probability of having a ‘high’ (≥70th percentile) v. ‘low’ (≤30th percentile) score, across the population and subgroups, using multivariate logistic regression.

Community-dwelling adults in the USA.

Participants (n 11 811) aged 18–64 years.

Median Subsidy Score was 56·7 % (interquartile range 47·2–65·4 %). Younger, less educated, poorer, and Mexican Americans had higher scores. After controlling for covariates, age, education and income remained independently associated with the score: compared with individuals aged 55–64 years, individuals aged 18–24 years had a 50 % higher probability of having a high score (P<0·0001). Individuals reporting less than high-school education had 21 % higher probability of having a high score than individuals reporting college completion or higher (P=0·003); individuals in the lowest tertile of income had an 11 % higher probability of having a high score compared with individuals in the highest tertile (P=0·02).

Over 50 % of energy in US diets is derived from federally subsidized commodities.