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Objective: In this study, we investigated to which extent patients feel well informed about their disease and treatment, which areas they wish more or less information and which variables are associated with a need for information about the disease, medical tests and treatment. Methods: In a German multi-centre prospective study, we enrolled 759 female breast cancer patients at the time of cancer diagnosis (baseline). Data on information were captured at 5 years after diagnosis with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Information Module (EORTC QLQ-INFO24). Good information predictors were analysed using linear regression models. Results: There were 456 patients who participated at the 5-year follow-up. They reported to feel well informed about medical tests (mean score 78.5) and the disease itself (69.3) but relatively poorly about other services (44.3) and about different places of care (31.3). The survivors expressed a need for more information concerning: side effects and long-term consequences of therapy, more information in general, information about aftercare, prognosis, complementary medicine, disease and therapy. Patients with higher incomes were better informed about medical tests (β 0.26, p 0.04) and worse informed with increasing levels of fear of treatment (β − 0.11, p 0.02). Information about treatment was reported to be worse by survivors > 70 years old (β -0.34, p 0.03) and by immigrants (β -0.11, p 0.02). Survivors who had received additional written information felt better informed about disease, medical tests, treatment and other services (β 0.19/0.19/0.20/0.25; each p < 0.01). Conclusion: Health care providers have to reconsider how and what kind of information they provide. Providing written information, in addition to oral information, may improve meeting those information needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear and anger are reactive basic emotions of pregnant women in the presence of fetal abnormalities on ultrasound. Results Between 04.2019-04.2021, 106 parents were interviewed at the University Hospital Ulm, Germany immediately before and after a DEGUM II/III-based prenatal 2 SP nd sp trimester organ screening (18 + 0- 21 + 6 weeks of pregnancy) in respect to their emotional feelings regarding the examination. [Extracted from the article]

In this study we tested the combination of the ultrasound simulator app Scanbooster with a conventional learning method (excerpt from a standard textbook) and whether the order of presentation influences the results. Overall, the combination of the mobile ultrasound simulator app and the textbook excerpt seems to lead to a highly effective gain of knowledge within a short time. [Extracted from the article]

In summary, the ultrasound sim app achieves a higher learning interaction, a higher concentration level and consecutively leads to a higher learning effect with greater satisfaction compared to a conventional teaching method. Methods 226 students were trained in total, 118 of them with the Scanbooster Ultrasound Sim app (Sim group), 108 using a textbook excerpt (PDF group). Comparison of learning behaviour between the app-based ultrasound simulation Scanbooster and the excerpt from a standard textbook on fetal echocardiography. [Extracted from the article]

Drought tolerant maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids are crucial for the sustainability of maize production in the drought-prone areas of Sub-saharan Africa. Understanding the genetics of inheritance under drought is important in designing breeding strategies for improving grain yield and other agronomic traits under drought. Two studies were conducted to determine the the genetic variability and mode of gene action for grain yield and other traits of different maturity groups of maize inbreds for tolerance to drought and identify the promising drought-tolerant maize hybrid(s) for drought-prone regions. Eleven inbred lines of different maturity groups and endosperm-modification were crossed using diallel mating scheme to generate 55 F1 hybrids. The 55 hybrids along with one check and 11 inbreds were separately evaluated under induced drought and optimum growing conditions at Samaru and Kadawa. The experiments were laid in a 7 x 8 alpha lattice design and replicated two times using single-row plot of 4-m long. Row and hill spacing were 0.75 m and 0.4 m respectively. General combining ability (GCA) and Specific combining ability (SCA) mean squares were significant (p < 0.01) for grain yield and most other traits under drought and optimum growing conditions. SCA accounted for 79.3% and 64.2% of the total genetic variation for grain yield under drought and optimum growing conditions, indicating that non-additive gene action largely controlled the inheritance of grain yield of the hybrids. Hybrid TZEE-W-Pop STR C5 x TZEI 87 should be further tested in multiple environments for adoption by farmers in drought prone areas of Sub-saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]