Social context of disclosing HIV test results in Tanzania

This study sought to understand how individuals reveal their HIV test results to others and the ways in which social relations affect the disclosure process. The data were collected through open-ended interviews administered in Swahili to informants who had just been tested for HIV and to those who were living with HIV in Dar es Salaam and Iringa regions. Analysis shows that social relations influence the decisions individuals make about disclosure. Most people preferred to reveal their HIV status to close family members. Most also mentioned the fear of being rejected and discriminated against as major reasons for not disclosing their test results to others

Effects of Social Media on People’s Tendency Toward Aesthetic Dental Treatments

Objectives This study aimed to investigate the impact of social media on people’s tendency toward aesthetic dental treatments in Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 410 individuals, including dentists or dental students and laypeople, who were selected via convenience sampling. A questionnaire, consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, frequency of social media use, tendency toward aesthetic dental treatments, and factors affecting people’s decisions, was completed for data collection. This online questionnaire was created using the Porsline© website and posted on social media. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS version 21, using Chi-square test. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Of 410 participants, 157 (38.3%) were dentists or dental students. Only 38.2% of the participants in the dentist group were willing to receive aesthetic dental treatments, whereas laypeople were significantly more inclined to receive such treatments (69.2%) (P<0.001). Almost half of people who used social media platforms several times a day and also 71.8% of people who used social media once a day or less showed tendency toward aesthetic dental treatments (P=0.01). Conclusion Based on the results, the time spent on social media was not significantly associated with people's tendency to receive aesthetic dental treatments. Also, dentists were less interested in such treatments for themselves

Penafsiran ayat dakwah dalam tafsir pedoman Muttaqin karya Dr. Abdul Hayie

Panggilan untuk berjalan di jalan yang benar untuk mendapatkan keridhaan Allah dikenal sebagai dakwah. Dakwah, di sisi lain, berbeda dengan haq dan bathil karena dakwah terdiri dari ceramah agama yang mengajarkan orang bagaimana menjalani hidup sesuai dengan hukum yang telah ditetapkan Allah dan yang diajarkan oleh Nabi Muhammad. Hal ini berbeda dengan praktik haq dan bathil. Istilah "Penelitian Kepustakaan" juga digunakan untuk merujuk pada penelitian ini, yang merupakan pemeriksaan komprehensif dari penelitian sebelumnya yang relevan. Hal ini, mengacu pada proses pencarian bahan referensi seperti mengutip dan mempelajari dari buku yang ditulis oleh Dr. Selain itu, publikasi informatif yang terkait dengan subjek penelitian ini juga digunakan. Hal ini, mengacu pada proses pencarian bahan referensi. Dalam proses investigasi ini, sumber informasi primer dan sekunder dikonsultasikan untuk mengumpulkan informasi yang diperlukan. Salah satu sumber utama penulis untuk bahan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah kitab Tafsir, yaitu Tafsir Pedoman Muttaqin yang ditulis oleh Dr. Sumber data sekunder digunakan untuk mendukung penelitian ini dan dapat berupa teks-teks tertulis seperti buku, tesis, jurnal, dokumen, makalah, atau sumber-sumber lain yang relevan dengan penelitian penulis yang membahas tentang dakwah. Penulis juga dapat menggunakan sumber-sumber gagasan lain yang relevan dengan penelitiannya yang membahas tentang dakwah. Abdul Hayie meyakini bahwa dakwah adalah komponen penting dalam kehidupan semua orang yang menganut suatu agama. Dakwah merupakan tanggung jawab yang dibebankan oleh agama kepada para pemeluknya, baik yang telah memeluknya maupun yang belum memeluknya, sesuai dengan ajaran agama Islam. Menurut Dr. Abdul Hayie dalam tafsirnya, yang berjudul Tafsir Pedoman Muttaqin, teknik dakwah adalah seruan atau ajakan kepada keinsyafan atau usaha mengubah situasi ke arah yang lebih baik dan sempurna, baik terhadap pribadi-pribadi maupun terhadap masyarakat secara keseluruhan. Karena hampir semua kegiatan atau perbuatan tidak terlepas dari strategi, maka pengertian dakwah tidak akan terwujud tanpa adanya rencana, dan Dr. Abdul Hayie menerapkan strateginya ketika berdakwah. Dakwah Bil Hal dan Dakwah Bil Lisan adalah dua dari sekian banyak taktik yang digunakan oleh Dr. Menurut Dr. Abdul Hayie, teknik-teknik dakwah menggunakan tiga cara dalam berdakwah, yaitu Al-Hikmah, Mau'izah, dan Mujadalah. Inilah metode-metode dakwah

Perception of Undergraduate Dental Students About the Advantages and Disadvantages of Distance Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives The present study aimed to assess the dental students' perception about distance education during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was done on 288 dental students from Shahid Beheshti and Mashhad Universities of Medical sciences in February 2022. A standardized, electronic questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire included a comparison of pros and cons of distance and in-person education and the NAVID system with online video lectures. The content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by qualitative and quantitative validation tools. The Chi-square test was used to compare the advantages and disadvantages of distance learning. Online video lectures and the NAVID system were compared by the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results Totally, 288 students (141 females and 147 males) completed the online questionnaire. Instant access to online sources was the most essential advantage of e-learning (74.7%), and the most critical disadvantages were lack of student-tutor (50.5%) and student-student interactions (50%). The NAVID system was easier to use than the online video lectures. The online classes were less successful in building student-tutor interactions compared with in-person classes. The NAVID system received more scores in fulfilling the students' expectations about the quality of conveying the concepts and learning. Conclusion The sudden shift from in-person to distance learning has caused some educational problems and lowered the student-student and student-tutor interaction quality. However, optimizing the infrastructure and necessary facilities for online education would help obviate the students' academic needs

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Infants with Benign Enlargement of the Subarachnoid Space

  ObjectiveBenign enlargement of the subarachnoid space (BESS) is the most common cause of macrocephaly in infants. This study aimed to evaluate the neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with BESS. Materials & Methods In this follow-up study, all records of infants diagnosed with BESS in 2012-2016 were assessed. A clinical follow-up examination was carried out at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months of age to assess the macrocephaly outcomes. Denver Developmental Screening Test-II (DDST-II) was used for evaluating the psychomotor development of infants at 24 months of age. All data were entered in SPSS Version 13, and descriptive statistics were measured. Results Out of 32 infants included in this study, 28 (87.5%) were boys. Five cases of prematurity history (15.6%), and 23 cases of macrocephaly in the family (71.9%) were recorded. The mean age of BESS diagnosis was 6.8 months (SD=3.2). subdural hematoma was reported in one infant (3.1%). Also, 28 infants showed macrocephaly at 18 months of age (83.3%). Seven patients had developmental delay, according to DDST-II (22%). The mean head circumference at birth and six months of age was significantly greater in infants with developmental delay compared to those with normal development. There was a significant difference between the mean head circumference at birth (P=0.05) and the mean head circumference at six months of age (P=0.02). Conclusion Developmental delay is frequent in BESS infants, especially those with macrocephaly at birth and six months of age, and requires medical attentio

Role of molecular tools and serology tests in the diagnosis of the novel coronavirus: SARS-CoV-2

Since the emergenceof severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), it has become increasingly clear that bats are important reservoirs of coronaviruses. This investigation, with the apparition of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan (China, December 2019), has shown 96.2% sequence similarity with the bat coronavirus. Through this review, we report the characterization of a SARS-CoV-2. The virus belongs to the Betacoronavirusgenera and shares less than 80% of identity with the SARS-CoV. This similarity was helpful to develop RT-PCR and other tools involved in SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. We also report the importance of the different molecular tools and, the possible use of serology tests in the diagnosis of COVID-19. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses of each of these methods

Serum lipoprotein (a) in diabetic patients with various renal function not yet on dialysis

To examine the association of serum serum lipoprotein(a)Lp(a) concentration with various demographic and biochemical indexes of diabetic patients, we conducted a study on type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2D) patients. Patients were under treatment with insulin injection or oral hypoglycemic agents with various creatinine clearances not yet on dialysis. We studied 122 patients, with a mean age of 63 ± 10 years.The duration of diabetes was 7.4 ± 5.8 years. In this cross-sectional study, serum Lp(a), HbA1c, body mass index (BMI) and creatinine clearance were assessed. The mean serum Lp(a) was 22.2 ± 24.7 mg/dL (median: 18.3 mg/dL), and serum Lp(a) levels more than 30 mg/dL was found in 29 (23.8%) patients. A significant inverse correlation of serum Lp(a) with clearance of creatinine was observed. This study suggests that renal function is an independent determinant of serum Lp(a) in diabetic patients

Efficacy of Co-Administration of garlic extract and metformin for prevention of gentamicin-renal toxicity in wistar rats: A biochemical study

Background: Gentamicin (GM) nephrotoxicity has been related to oxidative stress. Garlic and metformin (MF) have anti-oxadant activity and therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the preventive and curative effects of garlic, MF and their combination on GM indeced tubular toxicity in Wistar rats. Methods: In a pre-clinical study, 70 male Wistar rats were randomly designated into 7 groups of 10 and treated as follows: Group 1: Received saline for 20 days. Group 2: Were injected 100 mg/kg/d of GM intraperitoneally (ip), for 10 days and saline for 10 more days. Group 3: Received GM for 10 days then 20 mg/kg garlic ip for the next 10 days. Group 4: Received GM for 10 days and MF (100 mg/kg) orally for the next 10 days. Group 5: Received GM for 10 days and a combination of MF and garlic for the next 10 days (100 and 20 mg/kg, respectively). Group 6: The same as group 5but with half-doses of MF and Garlic. Group 7: Received GM for 10 days together with a combination ofMF and garlic. On 20th day of the experiment the serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr) were measured and compared in different groups. Results: GM injection significantly increased the serum BUN and Cr (P < 0.05). Administration of MF, garlic or their combination with or after injection of GM (high doses) could atenuate BUN and Cr. Conclusions: The results indicate that MF and garlic or their combination have curative and protective activity against GM nephrotoxicity

Association of proteinuria with various clinical findings and morphologic variables of Oxford classification in immunoglobulin A nephropathy patients

Background: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) with nephrotic syndrome is an uncommon form of IgAN. Clinical and morphological characteristics of proteinuria in IgAN, especially when is in nephrotic range have not yet been fully examined. This study was aimed to correlate morphologic variables of the Oxford classification, and various clinical data with proteinuria in IgAN patients. We also aimed to demonstrate the significance of prevention of proteinuria as one of the important factors in progression of this disease. Methods: In an observational study conducted on IgAN patients, total of 114 biopsies were entered in the study. IgAN was diagnosed by light and immunofluorescence study. Results: Of 114 patients 70.2 were male. Mean age of patients was 37.7 ± 13.6 years. The mean of proteinuria was 1742 ± 1324 mg/day. Also mean of serum creatinine (Cr) was 1.6 ± 1.5 mg/dL. Of 114 patients, 11(9.6) had nephrotic range proteinuria. In this study, there was a positive correlation between proteinuria and serum Cr, peri-glomerular fibrosis or interstitial fibrosis. There was a positive association between proteinuria and totally sclerotic glomeruli too. There was also a positive association between the amount of fibrous crescents and the level of proteinuria. Nephrotic proteinuria could just be seen in male patients. Also, nephrotic syndrome had a positive association with the number of crescents. Conclusions: Our findings firstly support the prognostic value of crescent due to its association with proteinuria and secondly imply the importance of treatment of proteinuria to prevent progression of IgAN

Correlation of immunostaining findings with demographic data and variables of Oxford classification in IgA nephropathy

Background: Oxford classification for IgA nephropathy (IgAN) did not include pattern of immunostaining in the analysis. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the potential correlation between the immunostaining data and morphologic variables of Oxford classification (MEST) and various clinical and demographic data of patients with IgAN. Patients and Methods: The pathologic diagnosis of IgAN requires the demonstration of IgA-dominant mesangial or mesangio-capillary immune deposits through immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy. The immune deposits were semiquantitatively assessed as 0 to 3+ positive bright. These were correlated with various clinical, demographic and histological variables of Oxford classification. Results: A total of 114 biopsies were enrolled to the study (70.2 were male). Mean age of the patients was 37.7 ± 13.6 years. This study showed that, only C3 deposits had a significant correlation with serum creatinine. Other antibodies (IgA, IgM and IgG) had no significant association with serum creatinine. This study also showed that IgA deposition score had significant positive association with endocapillary proliferation (E) and segmental glomerulosclerosis (S) variables of Oxford classification. Moreover, IgM deposition score had positive association with S variable. There was no significant association of IgG deposition score with four morphologic variables of Oxford classification. There was significant association of C3 deposition score with S and E variables too. Conclusions: The significant relationships of IgA and C3 deposits with some of the Oxford variables need more attention. We propose to further investigate this aspect of IgAN disease. © 2013, Society of Diabetic Nephropathy Prevention. All rights reserved