Severity of Anxiety Disorders in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Objective: Patients with chronic physical diseases sometimes show increased loss of function; such patients need more care. Anxiety is a well-known symptom that is prevalent among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients that can prolong and increase the risk of hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the severity of anxiety in the mentioned patients and to examine the presence of symptoms and appropriate treatment strategies to understand the role of psychological functions in physical patients. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted in Masih Daneshvari Hospital. One hundred forty- three patients entered into the project by accessible method and signed the informed consent; they filled demographic information and Hamilton anxiety and depression questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS-16 . Results: Of the participants, 68% were above 60 years of age; 78% were male; 89% were married; and 38% were self-employed. Also, among the participants, 51% were illiterate; 72% had history of smoking; 46% had history of substance abuse; and 49% had moderate to severe anxiety disorder. Moreover, of the patients with severe anxiety, 41.3% had severe muscle spasms; and severe sleeplessness was found in 38.5% of those with severe anxiety disorder. Severe anxiety related symptoms were found in 20.3% of the patients with severe anxiety disorder. Depressed mood was found in 27.3% of the patients with severe anxiety disorder. Severe physical and muscular signs were found in 35.7% of those with severe anxiety disorder . Conclusion: According to our findings, many chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may contain anxiety and depression which result in vulnerability. Therefore, evaluation of anxiety in such patients is of importance for alleviating the disease

Evidence of a Dominant Lineage of Vibrio cholerae-Specific Lytic Bacteriophages Shed by Cholera Patients over a 10-Year Period in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Lytic bacteriophages are hypothesized to contribute to the seasonality and duration of cholera epidemics in Bangladesh. However, the bacteriophages contributing to this phenomenon have yet to be characterized at a molecular genetic level. In this study, we isolated and sequenced the genomes of 15 bacteriophages from stool samples from cholera patients spanning a 10-year surveillance period in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Our results indicate that a single novel bacteriophage type, designated ICP1 (for the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh cholera phage 1) is present in all stool samples from cholera patients, while two other bacteriophage types, one novel (ICP2) and one T7-like (ICP3), are transient. ICP1 is a member of the Myoviridae family and has a 126-kilobase genome comprising 230 open reading frames. Comparative sequence analysis of ICP1 and related isolates from this time period indicates a high level of genetic conservation. The ubiquitous presence of ICP1 in cholera patients and the finding that the O1 antigen of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) serves as the ICP1 receptor suggest that ICP1 is extremely well adapted to predation of human-pathogenic V. cholerae O1

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Adopting the Standard Halo Model (SHM) of an isotropic Maxwellian velocity distribution for dark matter (DM) particles in the Galaxy, the most stringent current constraints on their spin-dependent scattering cross-section with nucleons come from the IceCube neutrino observatory and the PICO-60 C$_3$F$_8$ superheated bubble chamber experiments. The former is sensitive to high energy neutrinos from the self-annihilation of DM particles captured in the Sun, while the latter looks for nuclear recoil events from DM scattering off nucleons. Although slower DM particles are more likely to be captured by the Sun, the faster ones are more likely to be detected by PICO. Recent N-body simulations suggest significant deviations from the SHM for the smooth halo component of the DM, while observations hint at a dominant fraction of the local DM being in substructures. We use the method of Ferrer et al. (2015) to exploit the complementarity between the two approaches and derive conservative constraints on DM-nucleon scattering. Our results constrain $\sigma_{\mathrm{SD}} \lesssim 3 \times 10^{-39} \mathrm{cm}^2$ (6 $\times 10^{-38} \mathrm{cm}^2$) at $\gtrsim 90\%$ C.L. for a DM particle of mass 1~TeV annihilating into $\tau^+ \tau^-$ ($b\bar{b}$) with a local density of $\rho_{\mathrm{DM}} = 0.3~\mathrm{ GeV/cm}^3$. The constraints scale inversely with $\rho_{\mathrm{DM}}$ and are independent of the DM velocity distribution.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. To appear in Eur.Phys.J.

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Presenting of Coronavirus Anxiety Model based on Personality Traits, and Coping Strategies in Patients with COVID-19

Background and Objective: The COVID 19 pandemic affected almost on all of the economic, political and social aspects of countries in the world. According to researches, anxiety and depression are common psychological reaction on the Coronavirus virus pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of coping strategies in predicting of Coronavirus anxiety based on personality traits in patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: From all of the patients with COVID-19 referred to Masih Daneshvari Hospital, 120 patients (60 men, 60 women) were selected randomly. According to inferences criteria.  Subjects complete Hexaco-PI-R, Coping Inventory for successful Situations (CISS), and Coronavirus Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.  Results: The results of structural equation modeling showed that the direct effects of conscientiousness on problem-based coping strategies, and direct effects of emotionality and extraversion on emotion- based coping strategies were significant (P<0/05). Also, the direct effects of conscientiousness, emotionality and extraversion on and Coronavirus disease anxiety components were significant (P<0/05). Also, the goodness of fit indices for the hypothetical model had significant coefficients at P<0.05. Conclusions: Thus, results of the present study in addition to expanding the research literature, emphasis to the role of individual differences in predicting of Coronavirus disease anxiety and highlight the necessity of remarking these factors for designing appropriate interventions.   &nbsp

FOXP3 polymorphism rs2232365 and its association with multiple sclerosis susceptibility

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the CNS characterized by destruction of the myelin sheath, gliosis and progressive neurological dysfunction. The regulatory T (Treg) cells play a major role in the control of the autoimmunity and inflammation. The forkhead box p3 (FOXP3) is a central molecule in the function of Treg cells that play an important role in the immunoregulation. The aim of this study was to investigation single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs2232365, in FOXP3 gene in patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods: In a case-control study, peripheral blood samples were collected from 90 patients with MS (46 men and 94 women with different patterns of disease) from January 2014 to April 2015 in the Afzalipoor Hospital, Kerman (a city located in the southeast of Iran). In a total, 90 healthy subjects were also enrolled into the investigation as a control group. The healthy subjects were recruited among blood donations of the Kerman Transfusion Organization and interviewed regarding CNS disease, and none of them had any history of CNS diseases or other relevant disorders. The SNP rs2232365 in FOXP3 gene was assessed by single specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) method. Finally, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 22 (Chicago, IL, USA). Results: In both patients and healthy control groups, there was significant difference among subjects with GG, AG, and AA genotypes at rs2232365 in FOXP3 gene. The frequencies of AA and AG genotypes at rs2232365 in the FOXP3 gene were significantly higher in MS group as compared with healthy subjects (P<0.002). Moreover, the frequency of GG genotype was significantly lower in the MS group in comparison with healthy control subjects (P<0.002). The frequency of A allele was significantly higher whereas the frequency of G allele was significantly lower in MS patients as compared with healthy subjects (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that SNP rs2232365 may influence the susceptibility to multiple sclerosis. Therefore, SNP rs3761548 may directly or indirectly alter the level of the FOXP3 protein expression in Treg cells

Association between cigarette smoking and suicide in psychiatric inpatients

Introduction Cigarette smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death and disability in the industrialized world and it causes at least 85% of lung cancers, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. In addition smokers are at a higher risk from psychiatric co-morbid illness such as depression and completed suicide. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey in which we targeted all patients with serious mental illness (SMI) who were admitted in Razi mental health Hospital in Tehran, Iran. We recruited 984 participants, who were receiving services from Razi mental health Hospital and hospitalized for at least two days between 21 July to 21 September, 2010. Nine hundred and fifty patients out of this figure were able to participate in our study. Results The final study sample (n = 950) consisted of 73.2% males and 26.8% females. The mean age was 45.31 (SD=13.7). A majority of participants (70%) was smoker. A history of never smoking was present for 25.2% of the study sample; while 4.8% qualified as former smokers and 70.0% as occasional or current smokers. Two hundred and nineteen participants had attempted suicide amongst them 102 (46.6%) once, 37 (16.9%) twice, and 80 (36.5%) attempted more than two times in their life time. In regression model, gender, age, and cigarette consumption were associated with previous suicide attempts and entered the model in this order as significant predictors. Conclusions There is an association of cigarette smoking and suicide attempt in psychiatric inpatients. Current smoking, a simple clinical assessment, should trigger greater attention by clinicians to potential suicidality and become part of a comprehensive assessment of suicide risk

Depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder among Iranian nursing caring for COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 has put great physical and psychological pressure on medical staff worldwide, including Iran. As with any other disaster, it is worth paying attention to the risk of developing depression, anxiety, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the healthcare team. This study aimed to determine the severity of depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD status in healthcare staff involved in treating COVID-19 patients. 400 nurses and clinical assistants in a hospital occupied in treating COVID-19 were included in the study by the incidental sampling. The demographic information questionnaire, DASS-21, and Mississippi PTSD scales were applied to data collection. The mean score of PTSD in about half of the participants is severe. The mean score of re-experience sub-scale is higher than other sub-scales. Depression and stress are significantly higher in those infected with COVID-19. There is a significant difference between various age groups regarding the lack of depression. There is a significant difference in re-experience, alexithymia, and PTSD scores between participants with various marital statuses. Therefore, the existence of depression, stress, and PTSD among medical staff would be a major concern for the health ministry to protect the mental health of society members