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Olfactory and behavioral response thresholds to odors of diseased blood differ between hygienic and non-hygienic honey bees (Apis mellifera L.).

Through the use of proboscis-extension reflex conditioning, we demonstrate that honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) bred for hygienic behavior (a behavioral mechanism of disease resistance) are able to discriminate between odors of healthy and diseased brood at a lower stimulus level than bees from a non-hygienic line. Electroantennogram recordings confirmed that hygienic bees exhibit increased olfactory sensitivity to low concentrations of the odor of chalkbrood infected pupae (a fungal disease caused by Ascosphaera apis). Three-week-old hygienic bees were able to discriminate between the brood odors significantly better than three-week old non-hygienic bees. However, the differential performance in brood odor discrimination was primarily genetically based, not a direct result of age, experience, or the temporary behavioral state of the bee. Lower stimulus thresholds for both the olfactory and behavioral responses of hygienic bees may facilitate their ability to detect, uncap and remove diseased brood rapidly from the nest. In contrast, non-hygienic bees, possessing higher response thresholds, may not be able to detect diseased brood as easily. Our results provide an example of how physiological and behavioral differences between the hygienic and non-hygienic honey bee lines, operating at the level of the individual, could produce colony-specific behavioral phenotypes.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Assessment of sleep hygiene using the Sleep Hygiene Index.

The Sleep Hygiene Index was developed to assess the practice of sleep hygiene behaviors. The Sleep Hygiene Index was delivered to 632 subjects and a subset of the subjects participated in a readministration of the instrument. Test-retest reliability analyses suggested that sleep hygiene behaviors are relatively stable over time for a nonclinical population. Results confirmed that sleep hygiene is strongly related to sleep quality and modestly related to perceptions of daytime sleepiness. As predicted, support of the sleep hygiene construct was also provided by strong correlations with the associated features of a diagnosis of inadequate sleep hygiene. The Sleep Hygiene Index, a much shorter sleep hygiene instrument than previously published, demonstrated comparable psychometric properties with additional evidence of validity and a clear item selection rationale.

Adult↗

Skin reactions related to hand hygiene and selection of hand hygiene products.

BACKGROUND: In October 2004, The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the World Alliance for Patient Safety. Within the alliance, the first priority of the Global Patient Safety Challenge is to reduce health care-associated infection. A key action within the challenge is to promote hand hygiene in health care globally as well as at the country level through the campaign "Clean Care is Safer Care." As a result, the WHO is developing Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care, designed to be applicable throughout the world. METHODS: This paper summarizes one component of the global WHO guidelines related to the impact of hand hygiene on the skin of health care personnel, including a discussion of types of skin reactions associated with hand hygiene, methods to reduce adverse reactions, and factors to consider when selecting hand hygiene products. RESULTS: Health care professionals have a higher prevalence of skin irritation than seen in the general population because of the necessity for frequent hand hygiene during patient care. CONCLUSION: Ways to minimize adverse effects of hand hygiene include selecting less irritating products, using skin moisturizers, and modifying certain hand hygiene practices such as unnecessary washing. Institutions need to consider several factors when selecting hand hygiene products: dermal tolerance and aesthetic preferences of users as well as practical considerations such as convenience, storage, and costs.

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗

Assessing dental hygiene clinical competence for initial licensure: a Delphi study of dental hygiene program directors.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the best way to determine clinical competence prior to issuing the dental hygiene license. METHODS: Directors of dental hygiene programs in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands were asked to describe the best way to determine clinical competence prior to issuing the dental hygiene license. Three rounds of the Delphi process were used to seek a level of consensus among panel members. A total of 44 directors (19% of the population) from dental hygiene schools participated in at least one round of the study. Sixteen directors participated in all three rounds. Likert scale and ranking questionnaires followed the initial open-ended question. RESULTS: A level of consensus was achieved on 47% of the initial statements describing the determination of clinical competence. A list of the top 10 most agreed upon responses to the initial question was generated. Ongoing process evaluations within the accredited dental hygiene program, was suggested as the best determination of clinical competence for dental hygiene licensure. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that dental hygiene clinical competence is best determined throughout a continuum of process and product examinations, rather than in a one-time product evaluation. Accreditation was acknowledged as an important element in standardizing the assessment of clinical competence. Organized dental hygiene should develop a protocol for licensing new dental hygienists and work with state boards of dentistry on its implementation.

Administrative Personnel↗

[Assessment of the hygiene level of swine trucks after cleansing and after disinfection using 2 microbiological techniques. Hygiene of swine trucks improved in pilot project].

In a field study the hygiene level of trucks for the transport of pigs was measured. In total, on 56 times the hygiene level of a truck has been measured with two different methods, one microbiological method and one bioluminescence technique. During the field study 1.913 hygiene samples were taken. The average hygiene-level after cleaning and disinfection improved. The improvement was based on education and advisory about hygiene which immediately could be used by the truck-drivers. The fact that the results of hygiene measuring was shown directly was also a stimulation to the drivers; they improved their cleaning and disinfection job. The use of detergents by cleaning trucks is not required, although it contributes to a better hygiene-level. The introduction of plastic materials in stead of wood also improved the overall-hygiene in the transportation of animals.

Animals↗

The Storey of college health hygiene. Thomas A. Storey, MD (1875-1943) and the promotion of hygiene.

The word hygiene originally defined a comprehensive plan for preserving individual and community health in all its dimensions. In the latter half of the 19th century, Dr Edward Hitchcock Jr established a system of hygiene at Amherst College that became the model for campus hygiene programs. Dr Thomas A. Storey of Stanford University, an advocate of teaching hygiene to college students, wrote articles and textbooks and was active on national committees that promoted college hygiene programs. Storey was one of the founders of the American Student Health Association, later renamed the American College Health Association, which in its early years chose promotion of hygiene as a major objective. As the 20th century progressed, the profession of health education emerged. With its emergence came the realization that health education, once viewed as primarily a matter of delivering health information to students, required an appreciation of human behavior as well. By 1950, the word hygiene had given way to health in most contexts in recognition of this new paradigm.

History, 19th Century↗

Too clean, or not too clean: the hygiene hypothesis and home hygiene.

The 'hygiene hypothesis' as originally formulated by Strachan, proposes that a cause of the recent rapid rise in atopic disorders could be a lower incidence of infection in early childhood, transmitted by unhygienic contact with older siblings. Use of the term 'hygiene hypothesis' has led to several interpretations, some of which are not supported by a broader survey of the evidence. The increase in allergic disorders does not correlate with the decrease in infection with pathogenic organisms, nor can it be explained by changes in domestic hygiene. A consensus is beginning to develop round the view that more fundamental changes in lifestyle have led to decreased exposure to certain microbial or other species, such as helminths, that are important for the development of immunoregulatory mechanisms. Although this review concludes that the relationship of the hypothesis to hygiene practice is not proven, it lends strong support to initiatives seeking to improve hygiene practice. It would however be helpful if the hypothesis were renamed, e.g. as the 'microbial exposure' hypothesis, or 'microbial deprivation' hypothesis, as proposed for instance by Bjorksten. Avoiding the term 'hygiene' would help focus attention on determining the true impact of microbes on atopic diseases, while minimizing risks of discouraging good hygiene practice.

Autoimmune Diseases↗

[Aspects valued by nursing professionals in regard to personal body hygiene and the patient's body hygiene].

Descriptive survey aimed at identifying which aspects of body hygiene are valued by a nursing staff both in regard to personal body hygiene and to patients body hygiene. This survey has been conducted inside eight public health institutions, and the sample consisted of 126 nursing professionals, corresponding to 12.8% of a total of 986 people of the nursing personnel in such institutions. When considering personal body hygiene, the number of nail and hair care related quotes was higher than the number of answers concerning basic aspects such as hands hygiene, and this fact has called our attention. In patients body hygiene, a shower was the highest regarded aspect by the nursing staff; oral hygiene by registered nurses and nursing aids; and nail care by registered nurses and nursing technicians.

Female↗

[The hygienic situation of the central drinking water supply in the former East Germany--an evaluation of the annual reports on water hygiene from 1984 to 1989].

In the former GDR an annual report on the situation in the field of communal hygiene had to be elaborated and submitted to the minister of public health. One part of this was the report on the hygienic situation in water supply, worked out by the Reference Laboratory for Water Hygiene in Bad Elster. After the political changes in autumn 1989 it became possible to analyse these reports as a whole. In this paper the reports from 1984 to 1989 are interpreted. The results of the laboratory measurements and field controls by the State Sanitary Inspectorates are shown in 17 graphics and compared to the bacteriological and chemical limits in drinking water standards. Special issue is drawn on the estimation of the number of inhabitants concerned by reduced drinking-water quality or any hazardous situations. The special problems of the different districts are compared in some graphics. The hygienic safety of the central drinking-water supply units is assessed basing on the results of the field controls by the State Sanitary Inspectorate. The Sanitation of the central drinking-water supply facilities in the new federal countries of the FRG is connected with the solution of a variety of technological problems, particularly the improvement of the water treatment techniques and the restoration of the pipe systems. The use of surface waters from extremely polluted rivers generates a high hygienic risk and requires the sanitation of the rivers. The high number of existing protection zones in the catchment areas for drinking-water is a valuable precondition to ensure the hygienic safety of the drinking-water supply in the new federal countries.

Fresh Water↗