Impact of Quality of Life Education on Self-Concept among Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with severe late complications and a chronic illness such as diabetes has effect on self concept. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of quality of life education on self concept of patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This investigation was a random controlled clinical trial study on 123 type 2 diabetes patients admitted to clinic of diabetes in Imam Khomeini Hospital at Ardebil. They diagnosed that 30 up to 70 years old participants are afflicted with type 2 diabetes; randomly divided them in 61 people of case group and 62 people of control group. The questionnaires were composed of socio-demographic status, Beck’s self concept test, Rosenberg’s Self-esteem and Body image questionnaires and quality of life education plan was codified to educate and evaluate them. P<0.05 is acceptable for all of these tests. Results: The study showed that participants in case group had low self concept (%29.6), low self esteem(13%) and moderate body image (34.8%) before QOL education and after the intervention increased their self concept (%49.2), self esteem(39%) and decreased their body image (28.6%) , but control group had moderate self concept (43.6%), moderate self esteem (62.5%) and low body image (14.9%) in pre-test and changed to low self concept (20.9%), low self esteem (12.9%) and low body image (29%) in post-test, and there was significant difference in before and after the intervention(P<0.05). Conclusion: Patients with type 2diabetes often have negative self-concepts, feel hopeless and, therefore, become lax about following their regimen. This study shows that quality of life education can have positive effect on diabetes self concept, and prevent physical and side effects of type 2 diabetes

The prevalence of trunk asymmetries in the small island state of Malta

Background: Malta, the smallest member state of the European Union is constituted of two inhabited islands Malta and Gozo. In the Maltese islands there has not been any large population size definitive study concerning the incidence of trunk asymmetries that may indicate Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) amongst the general population. Scoliosis is one of the most deforming orthopaedic conditions confronting children. To confirm the orthopaedic condition of scoliosis one has to carry out a visual examination that usually consists of the Adam’s Forward Bend test, this is followed by the measurement of trunk rotation with the use of a Bunnell Scoliometer. Should the angle of trunk rotation be more than five degrees then the positively screened student be referred for x-Rays and a 10 degree Cobb angle taken as being required to confirm the diagnosis of Scoliosis. The lack of a full scale study together with the apparent lack of awareness regarding the condition has prompted the authors to research the situation on all Gozitan children aged between 13 and 15 years of age. It was decided to measure Trunk Asymmetry and the aim of the study was to obtain statistical data on the occurrence of trunk asymmetries amongst the Gozitan population, to further analyse the ratio of distribution of trunk asymmetries between female and male students and finally to refer the positively screened students to the relevant medical authorities for x-ray to confirm a scoliosis diagnosis. Methods: This quantitative study design was carried out on all children aged between 13 to 15 years old over a five-month period. An Adam’s forward bend test and Scoliometer reading were taken for each participant consenting to this study. To minimse bias a qualified full time Physiotherapist graduated with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Physiotherapy since 2012, carried out these tests in the selected schools. Results: The results of the study concluded that 5.3% of the adolescent population in Gozo suffer from trunk asymmetries (13 out of 245). Prevalence of trunk asymmetry was calculated using the 95% confidence interval and the Chi square tests had a significant p-value. Further analysis showed that 69% of these were female and 31% were male. These results demonstrate that the prevalence of trunk asymmetries in Gozitan adolescents is comparable to that stated within the current literature. Conclusions: Results from the study confirms that trunk asymmetry is relatively common within the Maltese population. This might be indicative that a significant portion of the Maltese adolescent population might suffer from Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. The intention of this research is to increase the general public’s awareness of the condition AIS, to make this condition more prominent to members of the allied professions, to reinforce the need for school screening projects and finally to ensure that the condition Trunk Asymmetry and Scoliosis is given the importance that it requires in the curriculum of study for physiotherapists.peer-reviewe

Eating disorders in the time of COVID-19.

We have all been stunned by the speed of this viral pandemic. At the time of writing, one fifth of the world is under lockdown. The main foci have been on the public health effort to contain the spread of the virus, and the care of individuals with acute infection. We, in eating disorders, must have a broader brief. Not only must we help care for those sufferers who contract COVID-19, we must also address the impact-psychological, financial and social - on those that do not. The peculiarities of COVID-19 and the reaction of the public and governments to it, have particular relevance for people living with an eating disorder and those who care for them

The Sacred Engagement: Outline of a hypothesis about the origin of human ‘religious intelligence’.

The question that motivates the central hypothesis advanced in this paper regarding the emergence of early religious thinking is the following: ‘why does religion need material\ud culture?’ What basic functional or symbolic need renders material culture an indispensable and universal component of religion and ritual activity? A common temptation, obvious in a number of recent archaeological and anthropological studies, is to seek an answer in the field of memory (Boyer 1993; 1996; 1998; 2001; McCauley and\ud Lawson 2002; Whitehouse 2000; 2004; Mithen 1998a). This paper argues that material culture does much more than simply offer a symbolic channel for the externalization,\ud communication, and thus successful cultural transmission, of religious ideas. Although the mnemonic significance of the ritual object is not denied, it is proposed that the\ud argument from memory, as traditionally premised, fails to provide a cognitively adequate account of the complex affective ties and multimodal interactions that characterise the distinctive phenomenology of religious experience. Moreover, and from a long-term\ud evolutionary perspective, it is argued that the commonly implied ontological priority of the religious idea, over its material expression, leaves us with no explanation about why,and how, religious concepts emerge in the context of human cognitive evolution. Drawing on the theoretical lines of the Material Engagement approach (Malafouris 2004;\ud Renfrew 2004) I want to advance a different hypothesis that places material culture at the heart of the human capacity for religious thinking (cf. Day 2004)

The Sacred Engagement: Outline of a hypothesis about the origin of human ‘religious intelligence’.

The question that motivates the central hypothesis advanced in this paper regarding the emergence of early religious thinking is the following: ‘why does religion need material\ud culture?’ What basic functional or symbolic need renders material culture an indispensable and universal component of religion and ritual activity? A common temptation, obvious in a number of recent archaeological and anthropological studies, is to seek an answer in the field of memory (Boyer 1993; 1996; 1998; 2001; McCauley and\ud Lawson 2002; Whitehouse 2000; 2004; Mithen 1998a). This paper argues that material culture does much more than simply offer a symbolic channel for the externalization,\ud communication, and thus successful cultural transmission, of religious ideas. Although the mnemonic significance of the ritual object is not denied, it is proposed that the\ud argument from memory, as traditionally premised, fails to provide a cognitively adequate account of the complex affective ties and multimodal interactions that characterise the distinctive phenomenology of religious experience. Moreover, and from a long-term\ud evolutionary perspective, it is argued that the commonly implied ontological priority of the religious idea, over its material expression, leaves us with no explanation about why,and how, religious concepts emerge in the context of human cognitive evolution. Drawing on the theoretical lines of the Material Engagement approach (Malafouris 2004;\ud Renfrew 2004) I want to advance a different hypothesis that places material culture at the heart of the human capacity for religious thinking (cf. Day 2004)

52-week efficacy and safety of telbivudine with conditional tenofovir intensification at week 24 in HBeAg-positive chronic Hepatitis B

Background and Aims: The Roadmap concept is a therapeutic framework in chronic hepatitis B for the intensification of nucleoside analogue monotherapy based on early virologic response. The efficacy and safety of this approach applied to telbivudine treatment has not been investigated. Methods: A multinational, phase IV, single-arm open-label study (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT00651209) was undertaken in HBeAg-positive, nucleoside-naive adult patients with chronic hepatitis B. Patients received telbivudine (600 mg once-daily) for 24 weeks, after which those with undetectable serum HBV DNA (<300 copies/mL) continued to receive telbivudine alone while those with detectable DNA received telbivudine plus tenofovir (300 mg once-daily). Outcomes were assessed at Week 52. Results: 105 patients commenced telbivudine monotherapy, of whom 100 were included in the efficacy analysis. Fifty-five (55%) had undetectable HBV DNA at Week 24 and continued telbivudine monotherapy; 45 (45%) received tenofovir intensification. At Week 52, the overall proportion of undetectable HBV DNA was 93% (93/100) by last-observation-carried-forward analysis (100% monotherapy group, 84% intensification group) and no virologic breakthroughs had occurred. ALT normalization occurred in 77% (87% monotherapy, 64% intensification), HBeAg clearance in 43% (65% monotherapy, 16% intensification), and HBeAg seroconversion in 39% (62% monotherapy, 11% intensification). Six patients had HBsAg clearance. Myalgia was more common in the monotherapy group (19% versus 7%). No decrease in the mean glomerular filtration rate occurred in either treatment group at Week 52. Conclusions: Telbivudine therapy with tenofovir intensification at Week 24, where indicated by the Roadmap strategy, appears effective and well tolerated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0065120

F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2006

Examines national and state obesity rates and government policies. Offers recommendations to check the obesity crisis, including a twenty-step action plan for addressing the healthcare burdens and financial costs associated with the epidemic

Demographic and Economic Characteristics of Immigrant and Native-Born Populations in Rural and Urban Places

In this brief authors Andrew Schaefer and Marybeth Mattingly use American Community Survey five-year estimates to document demographic and economic characteristics of the immigrant and native-born populations in the United States by metropolitan status. They focus on a wide range of demographic and economic indicators that relate to immigrants’ ability to assimilate and thrive in rural America. They report that compared to the native-born rural population, rural immigrants are more likely to be of working age (18–64), are more racially and ethnically diverse, are less educated, and are more likely to have children. Working rural immigrants are nearly twice as likely as rural native-born workers to be poor. Roughly 97.5 percent of rural immigrants who are citizens speak at least some English, compared to just 84.2 percent of rural immigrants who are not citizens. Citizens are also far less likely to be poor and are almost twice as likely to have a college degree. Their findings on the working poor suggest that economic stability is out of reach for many rural immigrants, particularly those without U.S. citizenship

Lectotypification of <i>Artemisia variabilis</i> Ten. (Compositae)

The name Artemisia variabilis Ten. is here lectotypified. Observations and synonyms are given