Psycological Impact Of COVID-19 Pandemic On Dental Student: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study

Background and purpose: The covid-19 disease is widely spreading worldwide and has adversely impacted mental health in society, especially among the medical staff. In addition to the stresses related to the outbreak of covid-19, the suspension of in-person classes, undertaking electronic online learning, and concerns about achieving clinical skills cause increasing anxiety and stress in dental students, which might be related to increased mental health problems. Thus, the present study examined dental students’ levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in Shahrekord during the covid-19 pandemic. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 110 dental students completed the questionnaires of demographic data and depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) in 2021. The data were analyzed with SPSS. Results: In the DASS-21 questionnaire, the rate of depression was 57%, anxiety 76%, and stress 33%. The total score of the DASS-21 questionnaire was significantly different between the two genders (P<0.05), and the mean score of females was significantly higher than males. Conclusion: The prevalence of depression and anxiety in dental students, especially females, was high during the covid-19 pandemic

Assessing the Satisfaction Level of Rehabilitation Trainers and Students from the Clinical Internship Assessment Checklist

Background: Valid assessment and validation indices are very important to evaluate and teach students, especially in clinical education settings. Considering the fact that rehabilitation science fields have about 1200 h of clinical education, planning of clinical skills training and how to evaluate them is important to improve the quality of education. Due to the importance of clinical skills teaching, clinical logbooks are used in various medical sciences in the world and some of the fields of medical sciences in Iran. This study was conducted to design and evaluate a clinical logbook for rehabilitation fields. Methods: Students [153] and trainers [43] surveys were conducted on how to evaluate clinical units. The clinical training logbooks of reputable rehabilitation universities of the world were studied and clinical activity logbooks for different rehabilitation fields were designed and administered in the clinical education and governance council meetings. Then, the level of satisfaction of trainers and students with the evaluation method was investigated using the logbook. Results: The results of this research showed a significant increase in students’ satisfaction with the assessment of internship and improvement of the quality of clinical education (above 80%) (P=0.02). Content validity results for the questionnaire were above 68% and Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was 75%. Conclusion: Given the similarity of internship courses throughout Iran, the logbook can be used in rehabilitation fields in the country by discipline to evaluate the clinical dimension of rehabilitation courses

The Efficacy of Phonological Processing Treatments on Stuttering Severity in Persian Pre-school Children

AbstractObjectives: Correct phonological encoding is crucial to fluent speech production. Phonological working memory and phonological awareness are important phonological processes that affect phonological encoding. Studies have shown weakness in phonological encoding in people who stutter. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of phonological processing on stuttering severity of Persian pre-school children.Method: Six children who stutter participated in a 13-session treatment protocol. The treatment protocol of the phonological processing included nonword repetition in the phonological working memory and phonological awareness therapy. Stuttering severity measurement was performed pre- and post-treatment.Results: Stuttering severity score was compared in pre- and post-treatment, and in the follow-up phase; that showed stuttering severity was reduced in children who stutter. Moreover, severity rating, reported by parents during treatment, showed a reduction in stuttering severity. Conclusion: The poor performance of phonological awareness and phonological working memory in phonological processing affect stuttering severity. The outcomes of this study showed that treatment of sub-systems of phonological processing can play a role in reducing stuttering severity.

Comparison of N-Terminal Pro B-Natriuretic Peptide and Echocardiographic Indices in Patients with Mitral Regurgitation

Introduction Echocardiographic indices can form the basis of the diagnosis of systolic and diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with Mitral regurgitation (MR). However, using echocardiography alone may bring us to a diagnostic dead-end. The aim of this study was to compare N-Terminal pro B-natriuretic peptide (BNP) and echocardiographic indices in patients with mitral regurgitation. Methods 2D and Doppler echocardiography and BNP serum level were obtained from 54 patients with organic mild, moderate and severe MR. Results BNP levels were increased with symptoms in patients with mitral regurgitation (NYHAI: 5.7 ± 1.1, NYHAII: 6.9 ± 1.5, NYHAIII: 8.3 ± 2 pg/ml, P < 0.001). BNP plasma level were significantly correlated with MPI (myocardial performance index) (r = 0.399, P = 0.004), and following echocardiographic indices: LVEDV (r = 0.45, P < 0.001), LVESV (r = 0.54, P < 0.001), LVEDD (r = 0.48, P < 0.001), LVESD (r = 0.54, P < 0.001), dp/dt (r = −0.32, P = 0.019) and SPAP (r = 0.4, P = 0.006). Conclusion The present study showed that BNP may be useful in patients with MR and may confirm echocardiographic indices

Fully robotic social environment for teaching and practicing affective interaction: Case of teaching emotion recognition skills to children with autism spectrum disorder, a pilot study

21st century brought along a considerable decrease in social interactions, due to the newly emerged lifestyle around the world, which became more noticeable recently of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, children with autism spectrum disorder have further complications regarding their social interactions with other humans. In this paper, a fully Robotic Social Environment (RSE), designed to simulate the needed social environment for children, especially those with autism is described. An RSE can be used to simulate many social situations, such as affective interpersonal interactions, in which observational learning can take place. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed RSE, it has been tested on a group of children with autism, who had difficulties in emotion recognition, which in turn, can influence social interaction. An A-B-A single case study was designed to show how RSE can help children with autism recognize four basic facial expressions, i.e., happiness, sadness, anger, and fear, through observing the social interactions of two robots speaking about these facial expressions. The results showed that the emotion recognition skills of the participating children were improved. Furthermore, the results showed that the children could maintain and generalize their emotion recognition skills after the intervention period. In conclusion, the study shows that the proposed RSE, along with other rehabilitation methods, can be effective in improving the emotion recognition skills of children with autism and preparing them to enter human social environments

Correlation between Acoustic Parameters and Disease Severity and Duration in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Since in multiple sclerosis (MS), changes in speech and voice quality often precede other signs and symptoms; early diagnosis of these changes is necessary. In this study, an acoustic examination of phonation subsystem was performed. Due to the progressive nature of multiple sclerosis, the aim of this study was to examine the correlation between acoustic parameters of voice quality and disease severity and duration. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was performed on 43 patients with multiple sclerosis. The disease severity was detected by a neurologist based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) for each patient. Acoustic analysis was performed during the production of sustained vowel /a/ and accordingly, the maximum phonation time (MPT), perturbation of the frequency (jitter), perturbation of amplitude (shimmer), the maximum and minimum frequency, and the highest and lowest intensity were evaluated. All the acoustic analyses were performed using PRAAT software. Data were statistically analyzed using Spearman's correlation coefficient by SPSS version 21. Results: The lowest intensity showed a significant correlation with disease severity (P=0.00). Also, the highest and lowest intensity showed a significant correlation with disease duration (P=0.022 and P=0.002). Conclusion: One of the earlier symptoms of central nervous system impairment resulting from multiple sclerosis is changes in phonation subsystem and voice quality. These changes may appear at any clinical stages; however, the symptoms might get worse over time, with the progression of the disease. Therefore, immediate acoustic assessments and interventions can prevent more degradation of voice quality

Trends in HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality in Eastern 3 Mediterranean countries, 1990–2015: findings from the Global 4 Burden of Disease 2015 study

Objectives We used the results of the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study to estimate trends of HIV/AIDS burden in Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries between 1990 and 2015. Methods Tailored estimation methods were used to produce final estimates of mortality. Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated by multiplying the mortality rate by population by age-specific life expectancy. Years lived with disability (YLDs) were computed as the prevalence of a sequela multiplied by its disability weight. Results In 2015, the rate of HIV/AIDS deaths in the EMR was 1.8 (1.4–2.5) per 100,000 population, a 43% increase from 1990 (0.3; 0.2–0.8). Consequently, the rate of YLLs due to HIV/AIDS increased from 15.3 (7.6–36.2) per 100,000 in 1990 to 81.9 (65.3–114.4) in 2015. The rate of YLDs increased from 1.3 (0.6–3.1) in 1990 to 4.4 (2.7–6.6) in 2015. Conclusions HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality increased in the EMR since 1990. To reverse this trend and achieve epidemic control, EMR countries should strengthen HIV surveillance,and scale up HIV antiretroviral therapy and comprehensive prevention services

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed