To investigate the nasal carriage of some respiratory bacterial pathogens that are responsible for infections associated with person-to-person transmission, we conducted a cohort survey of pilgrims departing to Mecca for the 2012 Hajj season. In this report, we demonstrate the acquisition of Streptococcus pneumoniae nasal carriage in returning Hajj pilgrims.

Lab-based usability testing and location-based ethnography are time consuming and costly. We introduce diary studies as a useful design alternative for crosscultural work. The relative strengths of the methods are assessed and some lessons from our own work with diary studies are shared.

BACKGROUND Few studies document differences in patient satisfaction with physicians in the elderly (> or = 65 years) and compare it to non-elderly (<65 years) patients. METHODS A cross-sectional survey study on a convenience sample of 20,901 patients rated their recent visit to a physician through a web-based survey. Survey included validated questions based on aspects of physician care pract...

Social class standardisation has been proposed as a method for separating the effects of occupation and "social" or "lifestyle" factors in epidemiological studies, by comparing workers in a particular occupation with other workers in the same social class. The validity of this method rests upon two assumptions: (1) that social factors have the same effect in all occupational groups in the same ...

BACKGROUND Anemia in the postnatal period is a common problem, which has been subject of research recently. Though, it is a common problem, it is a less researched topic in India. Hence, this study was undertaken. AIM The aim was to know the clinic-social factors associated with anemia in the postpartum period. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a retrospective record-based study conducted in Go...

Before any detailed comments, a few general points should be noted. Although I am not a professional statistician, I have learned enough about statistics to understand that there may be many ways of looking at the same problem, and different approaches to various issues of statistical analysis. This means that reasonable and alternative approaches may be in opposition and come to different conc...

Technology that detects user personality based on user speech signals must be researched to enhance the function of interaction between a user and virtual agent that takes place through a speech interface. In this study, personality patterns were automatically classified as either extroverted or introverted. Personality patterns were recognized based on non-verbal cues such as the rate, energy,...

BACKGROUND Dogs are popular pets in many countries. Identifying differences between those who own dogs or have contact with dogs, and those who do not, is useful to those interested in the human-animal bond, human health and for provision of veterinary services. This census-based, epidemiological study aimed to investigate factors associated with dog ownership and contact with dogs, in a semi-r...

How do women from patriarchal cultures adapt to gender equality and feminism in the Great Plains? How do women from Eastern Europe change as a result of living in a gender-neutral environment? The study (I) identifies the major cultural differences that Eastern European women perceive between gender-related norms in Eastern Europe and the American Midwest, (2) examines the strategies that women...

BACKGROUND Surgical mortality audit is an important tool for quality assurance and professional development but little is known about the impact of such activity on professional practice at the individual surgeon level. This paper reports the findings of a survey conducted with a self-selected cohort of surgeons in Queensland, Australia, on their experience of participating in the audit and its...