Pregnancy and childbirth during the coronavirus pandemic. The cross-sectional study of 1321 participants in Poland

Objectives: The impact of infection with novel coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — on women’s and fetus’ was unclear; therefore, it was the reason for many worries. We wanted to understand and describe the worries of pregnant women, assess mental well-being, and analyse the problems affecting prenatal care and hospital stay in this unprecedented time.Material and methods: We designed an original 23-question survey aimed at women who were pregnant during the pandemic or who gave birth at that time. The survey included demographic data, questions about prenatal care, mental status and worries, and hospitalisation.Results: Our study included 1321 women: 1010 (76.5%) during pregnancy and 311 (23.5%) after the delivery in the studied time. For 1168 (88,4%) respondents, the pandemic had a negative impact on their mood. The three main concerns were: the need for isolation from the child (n = 498, 37.7%), the childbirth without a partner/trusted companion (n = 417, 31.6%) and the risk of infection of the child in hospital (n = 381, 28.8%).Conclusions: The novel coronavirus pandemic affects the mental health of pregnant women. Pregnant patients should be considered a group of particular concerns. Patients consider remote obstetrical consultations as an insufficient approach. The reason for the highest worries of pregnant patients is a lack of companionship during labour. There was no difference between the rate of childbirth via caesarean sections over vaginal delivery during the "first wave" of the pandemic

The role of berberine in polycystic ovary syndrome — a summary of knowledge

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a widely prevalent condition that affects approximately 5–10% of women of reproductive age. Although first described in the 18th century, a detailed account of the disease was not provided until Stein and Leventhal's 1935 report. Due to the varied symptomatology of PCOS, treatment must be tailored and often involves using multiple drugs for optimal pharmacotherapy. Berberine, an alkaloid with a longstanding history of use, has gained popularity as a potential treatment option for PCOS. Previous studies have demonstrated that berberine can improve hormonal imbalances by reducing testosterone and FAI, increasing SHBG, and mitigating the clinical symptoms of androgen excess, including hirsutism and acne. Moreover, berberine enhances the therapeutic effects of other drugs commonly used in PCOS, such as metformin and oral contraceptive pills. It is generally well-tolerated with a favourable safety profile. However, further research is warranted to establish conclusive evidence regarding berberine's mechanistic underpinnings, therapeutic potential, and long-term safety as a PCOS treatment modality

Addressing climate change with behavioral science:A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.</p

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors

Addressing climate change with behavioral science:A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.</p

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: a global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior—several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors

Czego dowiedzieliśmy się o COVID-19 w 2020 roku? 10 hipotez wyjaśniających różnice w zachorowalności i śmiertelności z powodu COVID-19 między krajami

Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is one of the most difficult challenges for modern medicine and health care. Since the beginning of its outbreak in different regions of the world, researchers have noticed differences in incidence and mortality rates. We herein present ten hypotheses that were a topic of scientific discussions and might explain this observation. Cultural, demographic, sociological characteristics of societies, differences in healthcare systems and vaccination schedules, genetic polymorphism, and other factors can serve as variables affecting the pandemic’s course in the world’s different regions. Further study of those hypotheses might provide us with valuable insight and broaden knowledge in this unprecedented epidemiological situation.Pandemia choroby koronawirusowej 2019 jest jednym z najtrudniejszych wyzwań dla współczesnej medycyny i systemów ochrony zdrowia. Od początku jej wybuchu w różnych częściach świata zaobserwowano różnice w zapadalności i śmiertelności. W artykule omówione zostało 10 hipotez, które były tematem dyskusji naukowych i mogą wyjaśniać tę obserwację. Czynniki kulturowe, demograficzne oraz socjologiczne, różnice w systemach opieki zdrowotnej i harmonogramach szczepień, polimorfizm genetyczny mogą stanowić zmienne wpływające na przebieg pandemii w różnych regionach świata. Dalsze badanie tych hipotez może dostarczyć cennych informacji i poszerzyć dostępną wiedzę w tej bezprecedensowej sytuacji epidemiologicznej

Otyłość sarkopeniczna jako powikłanie nadwagi i choroby otyłościowej – podsumowanie wiedzy

The contemporary trend towards elevated consumption of processed food and a sedentary lifestyle has induced noticeable alterations in body composition observed in the population. These unprecedented changes have given rise to the emergence of novel pathological conditions, including sarcopenic obesity. This condition is characterized by an excessive accumulation of body fat in conjunction with skeletal muscle depletion and functional impairments. Diagnosis hinges upon a comprehensive evaluation of medical history and the performance of functional and imaging studies. The therapeutic strategy relies on the appropriate dietary regimen and increased physical activity. Current scientific research in the domain of sarcopenic obesity is advancing significantly, with potential pharmacotherapy involving novel weight-loss medications and other strategies addressing this health issue.Współczesny trend związany ze wzmożonym spożyciem wysoko przetworzonej żywności oraz prowadzeniem siedzącego trybu życia spowodował zauważalne zmiany w składzie ciała obserwowane w populacji. Te bezprecedensowe zmiany skutkują pojawieniem się nowych jednostek chorobowych, takich jak otyłość sarkopeniczna. Stan ten charakteryzuje się nadmiernym gromadzeniem tkanki tłuszczowej w połączeniu z utratą masy mięśniowej oraz ograniczeniami funkcjonalnymi. Postępowanie diagnostyczne opiera się na dokładnym wywiadzie lekarskim oraz przeprowadzeniu badań czynnościowych i obrazowych pozwalających na rozpoznanie tej patologii oraz wdrożenie odpowiedniego postępowania terapeutycznego opartego na zbilansowanej diecie i zwiększeniu aktywności fizycznej. Problematyka otyłości sarkopenicznej jest tematem wielu badań naukowych dotyczących możliwości farmakoterapii przy użyciu nowych leków redukujących masę ciała oraz innych strategii terapeutycznych

Global data analysis and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality of COVID-19.

This review was focused on global data analysis and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 from different countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Central Eastern Europe, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, and South Asia, Africa, Turkey and UAE. Male showed higher confirmed and death cases compared to females in most of the countries. In addition, the case fatality ratio (CFR) for males was higher than for females. This gender variation in COVID-19 cases may be due to males cultural activities, but similar variations in the number of COVID-19 affected males and females globally. Variations in the immune system can illustrate this divergent risk comparatively higher in males than females. The female immune system may have an edge to detect pathogens slightly earlier. In addition, women show comparatively higher innate and adaptive immune responses than men, which might be explained by the high density of immune-related genes in the X chromosome. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 viruses use angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to enter the host cell, and men contain higher ACE2 than females. Therefore, males may be more vulnerable to COVID-19 than females. In addition, smoking habit also makes men susceptible to COVID-19. Considering the age-wise distribution, children and older adults were less infected than other age groups and the death rate. On the contrary, more death in the older group may be associated with less immune system function. In addition, most of these group have comorbidities like diabetes, high pressure, low lungs and kidney function, and other chronic diseases. Due to the substantial economic losses and the numerous infected people and deaths, research examining the features of the COVID-19 epidemic is essential to gain insight into mitigating its impact in the future and preparedness for any future epidemics