The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health of Asians- A study of seven middle-income countries in Asia

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the economy, livelihood, and physical and mental well-being of people worldwide. This study aimed to compare the mental health status during the pandemic in the general population of seven middle income countries (MICs) in Asia (China, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). All the countries used the Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES-R) and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to measure mental health. There were 4479 Asians completed the questionnaire with demographic characteristics, physical symptoms and health service utilization, contact history, knowledge and concern, precautionary measure, and rated their mental health with the IES-R and DASS-21. Descriptive statistics, One-Way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression were used to identify protective and risk factors associated with mental health parameters. There were significant differences in IES-R and DASS-21 scores between 7 MICs (p<0.05). Thailand had all the highest scores of IES-R, DASS-21 stress, anxiety, and depression scores whereas Vietnam had all the lowest scores. The risk factors for adverse mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic include age <30 years, high education background, single and separated status,discrimination by other countries and contact with people with COVID-19 (p<0.05). The protective factors for mental health include male gender, staying with children or more than 6 people in the same household, employment, confidence in doctors, high perceived likelihood of survival, and spending less time on health information (p<0.05). This comparative study among 7 MICs enhanced the understanding of metal health in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic

Orientation Growth and Magnetic Properties of Electrochemical Deposited Nickel Nanowire Arrays

Highly ordered ferromagnetic metal nanowire arrays with preferred growth direction show potential applications in electronic and spintronic devices. In this work, by employing a porous anodic aluminum oxide template-assisted electrodeposition method, we successfully prepared Ni nanowire arrays. Importantly, the growth direction of Ni nanowire arrays can be controlled by varying the current densities. The crystalline and growth orientation of Ni nanowire arrays show effects on magnetic properties. Single-crystallinity Ni nanowires with [110] orientation show the best magnetic properties, including coercivity and squareness, along the parallel direction of the nanowire axis. The current preparation strategy can be used to obtain other nanowire arrays (such as metal, alloy, and semiconductor) with controlled growth direction in confined space, and is therefore of broad interest for different applications

Особенности вазомоторной функции эндотелия у больных стабильной стенокардией с факторами риска (артериальной гипертензией, гиперхолестеринемией, курением)

ВАЗОМОТОРНАЯ СИСТЕМАЭНДОТЕЛИЙ /ФИЗИОЛЭПИТЕЛИЙСТЕНОКАРДИЯКОРОНАРНАЯ БОЛЕЗНЬГРУДНАЯ КЛЕТКА, БОЛИФАКТОРЫ РИСКАГИПЕРТЕНЗИЯКРОВЕНОСНЫХ СОСУДОВ БОЛЕЗНИГИПЕРХОЛЕСТЕРИНЕМИЯГИПЕРЛИПИДЕМИЯКУРЕНИЕ /ВРЕД ВОЗДТАБАКА УПОТРЕБЛЕНИЕ, РАССТРОЙСТВА ЗДОРОВЬ

Mental Health of the General Population during the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Tale of Two Developing Countries

Background: This study aimed to compare the severity of psychological impact, anxiety and depression between people from two developing countries, Iran and China, and to correlate mental health parameters with variables relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although China and Iran are developing countries based on the World Bank’s criteria, these two countries are different in access to resources and health care systems. We hypothesized that Iranians would show higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress as compared to Chinese. Methods: This study collected information related to the COVID-19 pandemic including physical health, precautionary measures and knowledge about the pandemic. We also used validated questionnaires such as the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to assess the mental health status. Results: There were a total of 1411 respondents (550 from Iran; 861 from China). The mean IES-R scores of respondents from both countries were above the cut-off for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Iranians had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression (p &lt; 0.01). Significantly more Iranians believed COVID-19 was transmitted via contact, practised hand hygiene, were unsatisfied with health information and expressed less confidence in their doctors, but were less likely to wear a facemask (p &lt; 0.001). Significantly more Iranians received health information related to COVID-19 via television while Chinese preferred the Internet (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: This cross-country study found that Iranians had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression as compared to Chinese. The difference in reported measures between respondents from Iran and China were due to differences in access to healthcare services and governments’ responses to the pandemic

Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 OPEN ACCESS A retrospective study: cardiac MRI of fulminant myocarditis in children-can we evaluate the short-term outcomes?

ABSTRACT Background. Fulminant myocarditis (FM) is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium that results in ventricular systolic dysfunction and causes acute-onset heart failure. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has become the primary noninvasive tool for the diagnosis and evaluation of myocarditis. The aim of our study was to assess the CMR findings at different course of FM and the short-term outcomes of fulminant myocarditis (FM) in children. Methods. Eight FM children with CMR examinations were included in our study. Initial baseline CMR was performed 10 days (range, 7-20 days) after onset of FM and followup CMR after 55 days (range, 33-75 days). Cardiac morphology and function and myocardial tissue characterization at baseline and follow-up CMR were compared using paired T -test and Mann-Whitney U test. The clinical data and initial CMR findings were also compared to predict short-term outcomes. Results. The median age of eight FM children was 8.5 years old (range, 3-14). The initial CMR findings were most common with early gadolinium enhancement (EGE, 100%), followed by signal increasing on T2WI and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE, 87.5%), increased septal thickness (75.0%) and increased left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF, 50.0%). Only three LGE (37.5%), one signal increasing on T2WI (12.5%) and one increased LVEF (12.5%) were found at follow-up. Statistically significant differences were found between initial and follow-up CMR abnormalities in the septal thickness, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), end-systolic volume (ESV), LVEF, left ventricular mass, T2 ratio and LGE area (P = 0.011,P = 0.042,P = 0.016,P = 0.001,P = 0.003,P = 0.011,P = 0.020). The children with full recovery performed higher incidence of III • atrioventricular block (AVB, five cases VS 0 case) and smaller LGE area (104.0 ± 14.5 mm 2 VS 138.0 ± 25.2 mm 2 ) at baseline CMR. Discussion. The CMR findings of FM in children were characteristic and useful for early diagnosis. Full recovery of clinical manifestations, immunological features and CMR findings could be found in most FM children. The presence of III • AVB and smaller LGE area at baseline CMR might indicate better short-term outcomes

Staphylococcus Derived from Desert and Its Solidified Ability on Aeolian Sandy Soil

Many soil microorganisms in nature induce carbonate precipitation, which is used in soil improvement to reduce the pollution of soil environment by traditional chemical improvement. With the goal of expanding the geotechnical applications of biomineralizing bacteria, this study investigated the characteristics of a newly identified strain of soil bacteria, including its mineralization ability, its effect on Aeolian sandy soil, and biomineralization crust effect in the desert field test. The autogenous mineralized strain was isolated and purified from desert Aeolian sandy soil, and the strain was identified as Staphylococcus using 16SrRNA sequence homology. It is a kind of mineralized bacteria seldom used in geotechnical engineering at present, and it was found to have good mineralization ability; the living conditions of Staphylococcus were optimized. Under the determined amount of bacteria liquid, the amount of calcium carbonate precipitation after the bacteria liquid reacted with different volumes of calcium source solution was studied to determine the appropriate ratio of bacteria liquid and calcium source solution and the molar amount of calcium source solution. This study also investigated the effect of mineralization on the strength of sand and determined the particle size range of sand and suitable bacteria concentration that Staphylococcus can effectively stabilize. Field test results verified desert autogenous Staphylococcus had a good mineralization effect on sand. It was suitable for Aeolian sandy soil crust and improvement. In this paper, the autogenous strain was applied to the surface of the desert for the first time to form an in situ microbial mineralization crust. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the better application of autogenous strain in the desert

IgG4-related eosinophilic pleural effusion: a case report

Abstract Background The diagnosis of unilateral eosinophilic pleural effusion (EPE) is difficult, especially for the elderly. IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare cause of EPE. Case presentation An 81-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for dyspnea due to right pleural effusion. Laboratory examination shows elevated IgG4 and eosinophils in both serum and pleural fluid. The patient was diagnosed with IgG4-RD by video-assisted thoracoscopy and pleural biopsy. We found no evidence of other organ involvement except for the EPE and history of prurigo. He was treated with prednisolone 40 mg daily orally and pleural effusion decreased significantly. Conclusion IgG4-RD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of EPE in the elderly. High effusion IgG4 concentration may be an indication of IgG4-related pleural lesions