12 research outputs found
Effect of administration of intestinal anthelmintic drugs on haemoglobin: systematic review of randomised controlled trials
No full textObjective: To evaluate the effect of routine administration of intestinal anthelmintic drugs on haemoglobin.Design: Systematic review of randomised controlled trials.Data sources: Electronic databases and hand search of reviews, bibliographies of books, and abstracts and proceedings of international conferences.Study selection: Included studies were randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials using an intestinal anthelmintic agent in the intervention group, in which haemoglobin was evaluated as an outcome measure. Trials in which treatment for schistosoma (praziquantel) was given exclusively to the intervention group were excluded.Results: The search identified 14 eligible randomised controlled trials. Data were available for 7829 subjects, of whom 4107 received an anthelmintic drug and 3722 received placebo. The pooled weighted mean difference (random effect model) of the change in haemoglobin was 1.71 (95% confidence interval 0.70 to 2.73) g/l (P<0.001; test for heterogeneity: Cochran Q=51.17, P<0.001; I2=61% (37% to 76%)). With the World Health Organization's recommended haemoglobin cut-offs of 120 g/l in adults and 110 g/l in children, the average estimated reduction in prevalence of anaemia ranged from 1.1% to 12.4% in adults and from 4.4% to 21.0% in children. The estimated reductions in the prevalence of anaemia increased with lower haemoglobin cut-offs used to define anaemia.Conclusions: Routine administration of intestinal anthelmintic agents results in a marginal increase in haemoglobin (1.71 g/l), which could translate on a public health scale into a small (5% to 10%) reduction in the prevalence of anaemia in populations with a relatively high prevalence of intestinal helminthiasis
Zinc supplements for preventing otitis media
No full textBACKGROUND: Otitis media is inflammation of the middle ear and is usually caused by infection. It affects people of all ages but is particularly common in young children. Around 164 million people worldwide have long‐term hearing loss caused by this condition, 90% of them in low‐income countries. As zinc supplements prevent pneumonia in disadvantaged children, we wanted to investigate whether zinc supplements could also prevent otitis media. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether zinc supplements prevent otitis media in adults and children of different ages. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (2014, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1950 to February week 4, 2014) and EMBASE (1974 to March 2014). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised, placebo‐controlled trials of zinc supplements given at least once a week for at least a month for preventing otitis media. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed the eligibility and methodological quality of the included trials and extracted and analysed data. We summarised results using risk ratios (RRs) or rate ratios for dichotomous data and mean differences (MDs) for continuous data. We combined trial results where appropriate. MAIN RESULTS: No new trials were identified for inclusion in this update. We identified 12 trials for inclusion, 10 of which contributed outcomes data. There were a total of 6820 participants. In trials of healthy children living in low‐income communities, two trials did not demonstrate a significant difference between the zinc‐supplemented and placebo groups in the numbers of participants experiencing an episode of definite otitis media during follow‐up (3191 participants); another trial showed a significantly lower incidence rate of otitis media in the zinc group (rate ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61 to 0.79, n = 1621). A small trial of 39 infants undergoing treatment for severe malnutrition suggested a benefit of zinc for the mean number of episodes of otitis media (mean difference (MD) ‐1.12 episodes, 95% CI ‐2.21 to ‐0.03). Zinc supplements did not seem to cause any serious adverse events but a small minority of children were reported to have vomited shortly after ingestion of the supplements. The trial evidence included is generally of good quality, with a low risk of bias. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Evidence on whether zinc supplementation can reduce the incidence of otitis media in healthy children under the age of five years living in low‐ and middle‐income countries is mixed. There is some evidence of benefit in children being treated for marasmus (severe malnutrition), but this is based on one small trial and should therefore be treated with caution
Zinc supplements for preventing otitis media
No full textBackgroundOtitis media (inflammation of the middle ear, usually caused by infection) affects people of all ages, but is particularly common in young children. Around 164 million people worldwide have long-term hearing loss caused by this condition, 90% of them in low-income countries. Because zinc supplements prevent pneumonia in disadvantaged children, we wondered whether they prevent otitis media.ObjectivesTo evaluate whether zinc supplements prevent otitis media in adults and children of different ages.Search strategyWe searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2009, issue 2) which includes the Acute Respiratory Infection Groups' Specialised Register; MEDLINE (1950 to June Week 1 2009); and EMBASE (1974 to June 2009).Selection criteriaRandomised, placebo-controlled trials of zinc supplements given at least once a week for at least a month for preventing otitis media.Data collection and analysisTwo review authors assessed the eligibility and methodological quality of the included trials, extracted and analysed data and wrote the review. We summarised results using risk ratios or rate ratios for dichotomous data and mean differences for continuous data. We combined trial results where appropriate.Main resultsWe identified 12 trials for inclusion, 10 of which contributed outcomes data. In trials of healthy children living in low-income communities, two trials did not demonstrate a significant difference between the zinc supplemented and placebo groups in the numbers of participants experiencing an episode of definite otitis media during follow up (3191 participants), while another trial showed a significantly lower incidence rate of otitis media in the zinc group (rate ratio 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.61 to 0.79, n = 1621). A small trial of 39 infants undergoing treatment for severe malnutrition suggested a benefit of zinc on the mean number of episodes of otitis media (mean difference -1.12 episodes, 95% CI -2.21 to -0.03). Zinc supplements did not seem to cause any serious adverse events, but a small minority of children were reported to have vomited shortly after ingestion of the supplements.Authors' conclusionsEvidence on whether zinc supplementation can reduce the incidence of otitis media in healthy children under the age of five years living in low- and middle-income countries is mixed. There is some evidence of benefit in children being treated for marasmus, but this is based on one small trial and should therefore be treated with caution.</p
Reclaiming 'geballte linke Energie': war in Alexander Kluge's Docu-fiction Heidegger auf der Krim
No full textIn his docufiction Heidegger auf der Krim, the German author, director and television producer Alexander Kluge rekindles the polemical debate between two towering figures of German philosophy (Heidegger and Adorno). The nucleus of the story emerges in a discussion with Heiner Müller on the role of the intellectual faced with war and dictatorship; but the text is also a direct reaction to the discussions surrounding the Wehrmachtausstellung (1995), which hinged on the involvement of the regular Armee as well as the complicity of civilians and prominent intellectuals in the atrocities of the Holocaust. Kluge puts Heidegger’s philosophy to the empirical test by confronting it with the most extreme scene of war: the persecution of the Jews on the Crimea during the Second World War. Making use of avant-garde montage techniques, Kluge scans discourses from various intellectual angles in view of their potential of salvaging “concentrated left-wing energy”. The aim is to establish (post factum) a utopian alliance that possibly could have channelled world history into a less destructive course. In an act of retroactive headhunting, Kluge calls upon a wide range of thinkers to build a trans-ideological alliance. I argue that this counterfactual text is pivotal in Kluge’s literary oeuvre because it strives to situate war within a wider, global frame. The particular geographical location of Heidegger auf der Krim – the Crimea – is juxtaposed with geo-political constellations and other historical timeframes, thus testifying to a global turn in Kluge’s documentary representations of war
A self-conscious Kurt Vonnegut: an analysis of Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions
No full textThe works of Kurt Vonnegut stand as seminal in the American literary canon. Looking at three of his most influential novels, namely Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions, this study aims to better understand the mechanisms which inform his fiction. Working chronologically through the novels, the study examines historical context, narrative technique, theoretical underpinnings and the social critique of each novel. Guided by an idea of the postmodern novel the study examines how these elements interact, concluding that by way of what may be considered "simple" yet self-conscious metafiction and prose as well as variations in narrative technique, Vonnegut is able to more accurately convey his opinions on the American situation as well as demonstrate his stance on the role of fiction and the writer in contemporary society. The study also considers closely the role of the reader and the author/reader/text relationship
4 days) of antibiotics for treatment of acute otitis media in children: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
No full textNeonatal zinc supplementation for prevention of mortality and morbidity in breastfed low birth weight infants: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials
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Coming to terms with the National Socialist Past in teamWorx's TV Event Movies: 'Dresden' (2006), 'Nicht alle waren Mörder' (2006) and 'Die Flucht' (2007).
No full textThis thesis examines three made-for-television ‘Event Movies’ from the German production company teamWorx, made between 2006 and 2007 – Dresden (2006), Nicht alle waren Mörder (2006) and Die Flucht (2007) – within the context of contemporary debates of ‘Vergangenheitsbewältigung’ or ‘coming to terms with the past’ in Germany. It will deal with specific debates in memory of the National Socialist past, namely representations of Germans as victims of the Second World War and memory of the Holocaust. Although in recent years the importance of teamWorx’s television films has begun to be acknowledged by scholars in both Germany and the UK, this thesis represents the first attempt to analyse these three Event Movies as a unit and to explore in-depth the teamWorx company and its attitudes to historical film. As such, two interviews will be relied on throughout this thesis, with chairman of the board Nico Hofmann and Die Flucht’s director Kai Wessel.
In order to place the films within the context of contemporary debates on memory of the Nazi past in Germany, the thesis will undertake a filmic analysis of the Event Movies, supported by both the intentions of the filmmakers and critical responses in the contemporary press. Of primary importance for the thesis will be the twin concerns of the authenticity of teamWorx’s productions, as claimed by the filmmakers and the Event Movies’ borrowing of filmmaking devices from Hollywood genres, in particular the melodrama. Following this analysis it will be asked to what extent the Event Movies affect and reflect contemporary debates on the legacy of National Socialism and how these films contribute to the normalisation of the Nazi past in Germany
