[Current status on management and needs related to education and training programs set for new employees at the provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in China].

OBJECTIVE: In order to understand the current management status on education/training and needs for training among new employees working at the provincial CDC in China during 2012-2014, so as to provide basis for setting up related programs at the CDC levels. METHODS: Based on data gathered through questionnaire surveys run by CDCs from 32 provincial and 5 specifically-designated cities, microsoft excel was used to analyze the current status on management of education and training, for new employees. RESULTS: There were 156 management staff members working on education and training programs in 36 CDCs, with 70% of them having received intermediate or higher levels of education. Large differences were seen on equipment of training hardware in different regions. There were 1 214 teaching staff with 66 percent in the fields or related professional areas on public health, in 2014. 5084 new employees conducted pre/post training programs, from 2012 to 2014 with funding as 750 thousand RMB Yuan. 99.5% of the new employees expressed the needs for further training while. 74% of the new staff members expecting a 2-5 day training program to be implemented. 79% of the new staff members claimed that practice as the most appropriate method for training. CONCLUSIONS: Institutional programs set for education and training at the CDCs need to be clarified, with management team organized. It is important to provide more financial support on both hardware, software and human resources related to training programs which are set for new stuff members at all levels of CDCs.

Effectiveness and safety assessment of lamotrigine monotherapy for treatment of epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is a recurrent chronic nervous system disease. A correct choice of antiepileptic drug is the key to control seizures and improve patient's life quality. AIM: To study the effectiveness and safety of lamotrigine monotherapy for treatment of epilepsy, systemic evaluation was carried out on published comparative trials between lamotrigine and carbamazepine. METHODS: The retrieval method referred to the search strategy developed by Cochrane Epilepsy Group and software Rev.Man 5 was used for META analysis and forest plots. The Odds ratio (OR) was selected as the effect size and funnel plot was used to analyze the publication bias. RESULTS: A total of 9 studies and 2269 cases of patients were included in the analysis. There was no significant difference between lamotrigine and carbamazepine for treatment of epilepsy as the OR was 1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.88, 1.54]. However, lamotrigine had advantages in the overall withdrawal rate and withdrawal rate due to side effects as the ORs were 0.57, 95% CI [0.47, 0.69] and 0.41, 95% CI [0.32, 0.52]. CONCLUSIONS: Lamotrigine has certain advantages over carbamazepine for treatment of epilepsy as it has less side effects and higher tolerability. In addition, the quality of such clinical trials should be further improved to have a more comprehensive understanding.

Modelling development time of Lipaphis erysimi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) at constant and variable temperatures.

The development period from birth to adult of virginoparae of the turnip aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach), at 14 constant, 15 alternating and 15 natural temperature regimes were modelled to determine mathematical functions for simulating aphid development under a wide range of natural conditions. The day-degree model, the logistic equation, and the Wang model were used to describe the relationships between temperature and development rate at constant and alternating temperatures. The three models were then used with a Weibull function describing the distribution of development times, to simulate the development of individuals of cohorts at natural temperature regimes. Comparison of the observed with simulated distributions of adult emergence indicates that all three models can simulate the development of L. erysimi equally well when temperature does not go below 6 degrees C (the notional low temperature threshold of the day-degree model) or above 30 degrees C. When accumulation of temperatures below 6 degrees C becomes substantial, only the logistic curve offers accurate simulations; the other two models give falsely longer durations of development. When accumulation of temperatures above 30 degrees C becomes substantial, the logistic curve and the Wang model offer more accurate simulations than the day-degree model, which tends to produce shorter durations of development. Further analysis of the data reveals that development rate of this aphid at a given unfavourable high temperature may vary with time. Methods for accurately simulating the development time of L. erysimi in the field are suggested. The significance of modelling insect development at low and high temperatures by non-linear models is discussed.