Prevalence of Muscle Dysmorphia and Associated Health Activities in Male Medical Students in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and is currently classified under anxiety disorders (subheading: Obsessive-compulsive disorder) in DSM 5. MD is hypothesized to affect the self-esteem and social outlook of the younger generation. MD shows a higher rate in males and may influence their self-confidence rendering them more prone towards using steroids, supplementary proteins and other drugs to alter their physical outlooks as shown in previous studies. This problem has been on the rise lately due to revolutionary advancement in the media and film industry and the abrupt changes about the standards of physical good looks and body shapes. With the lack of studies done in our population, our study will be helpful to consider the prevalence of the disease in our setting and increase awareness in the general public and clinicians. We hope to help clinicians/ therapists find better options in managing the disease. Materials: We performed a cross-sectional study with a sample size of 246 medical school students in Karachi to collect data through self-administered questionnaires. We used the DSM 5 criteria for the diagnosis of BDD and additional questions on the presence of MD. Nutritional habits, exercise routines, use of supplements and drugs were also obtained for exploratory analysis. Results: Our study predicted the prevalence of MD to be 25%. Other main findings included statistical significant associations between MD and the thoughts and practice of steroid use for muscularity. Conclusion: MD is an underdiagnosed and often unrecognized disease that we believe has significant consequences for the young male population. Further work is needed on this in our part of the world. Our research, we believe, can be a stepping stone for further studies that would incorporate wider populations

Theory of commensurable magnetic structures in holmium

The tendency for the period of the helically ordered moments in holmium to lock into values which are commensurable with the lattice is studied theoretically as a function of temperature and magnetic field. The commensurable effects are derived in the mean-field approximation from numerical calculations of the free energy of various commensurable structures, and the results are compared with the extensive experimental evidence collected during the last ten years on the magnetic structures in holmium. In general the stability of the different commensurable structures is found to be in accord with the experiments, except for the tau=5/18 structure observed a few degrees below T_N in a b-axis field. The trigonal coupling recently detected in holmium is found to be the interaction required to explain the increased stability of the tau=1/5 structure around 42 K, and of the tau=1/4 structure around 96 K, when a field is applied along the c-axis.Comment: REVTEX, 31 pages, 7 postscript figure

A mutual reference shape based on information theory

International audienceIn this paper, we propose to consider the estimation of a refer-ence shape from a set of different segmentation results using both active contours and information theory. The reference shape is defined as the minimum of a criterion that benefits from both the mutual information and the joint entropy of the input segmentations and called a mutual shape. This energy criterion is here justified using similarities between informa-tion theory quantities and area measures, and presented in a continuous variational framework. This framework brings out some interesting evaluation measures such as the speci-ficity and sensitivity. In order to solve this shape optimization problem, shape derivatives are computed for each term of the criterion and interpreted as an evolution equation of an active contour. Some synthetical examples allow us to cast the light on the difference between our mutual shape and an average shape. Our framework has been considered for the estimation of a mutual shape for the evaluation of cardiac segmentation methods in MRI

Clean birth kits to improve birth practices: development and testing of a country level decision support tool

Background: Clean birth practices can prevent sepsis, one of the leading causes of both maternal and newborn mortality. Evidence suggests that clean birth kits (CBKs), as part of package that includes education, are associated with a reduction in newborn mortality, omphalitis, and puerperal sepsis. However, questions remain about how best to approach the introduction of CBKs in country. We set out to develop a practical decision support tool for programme managers of public health systems who are considering the potential role of CBKs in their strategy for care at birth. Methods: Development and testing of the decision support tool was a three-stage process involving an international expert group and country level testing. Stage 1, the development of the tool was undertaken by the Birth Kit Working Group and involved a review of the evidence, a consensus meeting, drafting of the proposed tool and expert review. In Stage 2 the tool was tested with users through interviews (9) and a focus group, with federal and provincial level decision makers in Pakistan. In Stage 3 the findings from the country level testing were reviewed by the expert group. Results: The decision support tool comprised three separate algorithms to guide the policy maker or programme manager through the specific steps required in making the country level decision about whether to use CBKs. The algorithms were supported by a series of questions (that could be administered by interview, focus group or questionnaire) to help the decision maker identify the information needed. The country level testing revealed that the decision support tool was easy to follow and helpful in making decisions about the potential role of CBKs. Minor modifications were made and the final algorithms are presented. Conclusion: Testing of the tool with users in Pakistan suggests that the tool facilitates discussion and aids decision making. However, testing in other countries is needed to determine whether these results can be replicated and to identify how the tool can be adapted to meet country specific needs

Oral administration of cannabis with lipids leads to high levels of cannabinoids in the intestinal lymphatic system and prominent immunomodulation

Cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have well documented immunomodulatory effects in vitro, but not following oral administration in humans. Here we show that oral co-administration of cannabinoids with lipids can substantially increase their intestinal lymphatic transport in rats. CBD concentrations in the lymph were 250-fold higher than in plasma, while THC concentrations in the lymph were 100-fold higher than in plasma. Since cannabinoids are currently in clinical use for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and to alleviate nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients, lymphocytes from those patients were used to assess the immunomodulatory effects of cannabinoids. The levels of cannabinoids recovered in the intestinal lymphatic system, but not in plasma, were substantially above the immunomodulatory threshold in murine and human lymphocytes. CBD showed higher immunosuppressive effects than THC. Moreover, immune cells from MS patients were more susceptible to the immunosuppressive effects of cannabinoids than those from healthy volunteers or cancer patients. Therefore, administering cannabinoids with a high-fat meal or in lipid-based formulations has the potential to be a therapeutic approach to improve the treatment of MS, or indeed other autoimmune disorders. However, intestinal lymphatic transport of cannabinoids in immunocompromised patients requires caution

Promoter and 3'-untranslated-region haplotypes in the vitamin d receptor gene predispose to osteoporotic fracture: the rotterdam study

Polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) have been shown to be associated with several complex diseases, including osteoporosis, but the mechanisms are unknown and study results have been inconsistent. We therefore determined sequence variation across the major relevant parts of VDR, including construction of linkage disequilibrium blocks and identification of haplotype alleles. We analyzed 15 haplotype-tagging SNPs in relation to 937 clinical fractures recorded in 6,148 elderly whites over a follow-up period of 7.4 years. Haplotype alleles of the 5' 1a/1e, 1b promoter region and of the 3' untranslated region (UTR) were strongly associated with increased fracture risk. For the 16% of subjects who had risk genotypes at both regions, their risk increased 48% for clinical fractures (P = .0002), independent of age, sex, height, weight, and bone mineral density. The population-attributable risk varied between 1% an

Selenium alone or in combination with lycopene modifies liver metabolizing enzymes against galactosamine – A time bound study

Background: Hepatitis is one of the major public health problems worldwide. This study was designed to evaluate the potential hepatoprotective effects of lycopene (Lyco) and selenium (Se) against  galactosamine (Gala) induced hepatitis in rats.Materials and Methods: Seventy five (75) male albino rats were grouped into five of fifteen rats each. GP 1: Control. Animals in Groups (II-V) were injected i.p with Gala (300 mg/kg b.w daily) for 5 days. GP III: Rats were orally pretreated with Lyco (15 mg/kg b.w). GP IV: rats were pretreated orally sodium selenite (0.1 mg/kg b.w) by gavages. GP V: Rats treated with both Lyco and Se. The treatment was continuous for 30 days.Results: The levels of serum inflammatory markers interleukine-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor TNF- α, nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdhyde (MDA) were markedly elevated in rats injected with Gala compared with control group. Administration of Lyco combined with Se reversed these effects and significantly reduced the levels of these markers (p<0.001) compared with Gala. In addition, combined treatment resulted in a significant improvement in antioxidant activities as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase compared with untreated. Non-significant changes were recorded in the activities of  UDP-glucuronyltransferase and sulphotransferase in rats injected with Gala but the activity of glutathione Stransferase was significantly elevated (p<0.001).Conclusion: The combined effect of Lyco + Se showed a significant hepatoprotective action against Gala induced hepatitis in rats through inhibition of release of inflammatory mediators and enhancement of antioxidant capacity.Key words: Galactosamine- Lycopene- selenium- hepatitis- rats