Typicality of Level Change (TLC) as an Additional Effect Measure to NAP and Tau-U in Single Case Research.

Single case research is a viable way to obtain evidence for social and psychological interventions on an individual level. Across single case research studies various analysis strategies are employed, varying from visual analysis to the calculation of effect sizes. To calculate effect sizes in studies with few measurements per time period (<40 data points with a minimum of five data points in each phase), non-parametric indices such as Nonoverlap of All Pairs (NAP) and Tau-U are recommended.

How to Evaluate a Tailor-made Social Work Intervention? Some Practice-Based Solutions with Single-Case Designs.

Purpose: With the increased attention to the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP), social workers are challenged to adapt their daily interventions accordingly when treating clients. They usually work with individual clients, all with their own specificities. Single-Case Experimental Designs (SCEDs) can be used to inform a social worker about the effectiveness of an intervention at the individual client level.

Exploring rural hospital admissions for diarrhoeal disease, malaria, pneumonia, and asthma in relation to temperature, rainfall and air pollution using wavelet transform analysis.

Background: Climate variables impact human health and in an era of climate change, there is a pressing need to understand these relationships to best inform how such impacts are likely to change.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate time series of daily admissions from two public hospitals in Limpopo province in South Africa with climate variability and air quality.

Methods: We used wavelet transform cross-correlation analysis to monitor coincidences in changes of meteorological (temperature and rainfall) and air quality (concentrations of PM and NO) variables with admissions to hospitals for gastrointestinal illnesses including diarrhoea, pneumonia-related diagnosis, malaria and asthma cases.

First record of (Monogenea: Polystomatidae) from tree frogs in Madagascar, with the description of five new species.

Although Madagascar has more than 350 frog species of which all but two are endemic to the island, the known polystome (Monogenea: Polystomatidae) diversity parasitizing Malagasy frogs is low, encompassing five species of , one species of and one . Investigating the parasite diversity of frog parasites at selected Malagasy localities led to the discovery of undescribed polystomes. Five treefrogs, , , , and were found to be infected and are reported here as hosts for new species.

Major climate change-induced risks to human health in South Africa.

There are many climatic changes facing South Africa which already have, or are projected to have, a detrimental impact on human health. Here the risks to health due to several alterations in the climate of South Africa are considered in turn. These include an increase in ambient temperature, causing, for example, a significant rise in morbidity and mortality; heavy rainfall leading to changes in the prevalence and occurrence of vector-borne diseases; drought-associated malnutrition; and exposure to dust storms and air pollution leading to the potential exacerbation of respiratory diseases.

First record of viviparity in polystomatid flatworms (Monogenea: Polystomatidae) with the description of two new species of from the Madagascan anuran hosts and .

Two frog species, and , are reported as hosts for new species of . Phylogenetic analyses and genetic divergences observed in the genus supported the distinction of two morphotypes infesting selectively each host species and morphological investigation combining marginal hooklet morphometrics, genital spine number and measurements further showed that polystomes from the two host species differed from each other and from all other known polystomes. n.

Regional Projections of Extreme Apparent Temperature Days in Africa and the Related Potential Risk to Human Health.

Regional climate modelling was used to produce high resolution climate projections for Africa, under a "business as usual scenario", that were translated into potential health impacts utilizing a heat index that relates apparent temperature to health impacts. The continent is projected to see increases in the number of days when health may be adversely affected by increasing maximum apparent temperatures (AT) due to climate change. Additionally, climate projections indicate that the increases in AT results in a moving of days from the less severe to the more severe Symptom Bands.

Nonopioid pharmacological management of malignant bowel obstruction: a New Zealand-wide survey.

Background: Malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) is a common condition among palliative patients and has limited management options. There is a paucity of widely accepted national and international evidence-based guidelines to direct the management of MBO in palliative patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to survey current practice in New Zealand of nonopioid pharmacological management of MBO and compare it with the available literature.

An international multicentre validation study of a pain classification system for cancer patients.

Purpose: The study's primary objective was to assess predictive validity of the Edmonton Classification System for Cancer Pain (ECS-CP) in a diverse international sample of advanced cancer patients. We hypothesised that patients with problematic pain syndromes would require more time to achieve stable pain control, more complicated analgesic regimens and higher opioid doses than patients with less complex pain syndromes.

Methods: Patients with advanced cancer (n=1100) were recruited from 11 palliative care sites in Canada, USA, Ireland, Israel, Australia and New Zealand (100 per site).