Knowledge and Practices of Students Regarding the Use of Face Masks to Limit the Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Background and Objectives: Many countries are implementing face masks as part of their pandemic prevention strategies. Because the virus is so widespread, incorrect usage and disposal of masks can increase the transmission rate. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge and practices of students in wearing facemask to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study of 365 undergraduate students at Hawler Medical University was conducted from June 15th to October 15th, 2021. The data was gathered through direct interviews using a questionnaire that had been modified include demographic information, ten questions about knowledge, and 17 questions about practices for using surgical face masks to reduce COVID-19 exposure. Result: The result revealed that highest percentage of students were 18 to 20 years old (66.6%). Most of the participants in this study were female (59.5%). Participants demonstrated fair knowledge (N=218, 59.7%). Concerning the using surgical facemask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and good practical knowledge (N=273, 74.8%). The highest levels of practical knowledge were related to wearing face masks in hospital premises to protect against COVID-19 (91.8%) and wearing masks in public spaces to protect against COVID-19 (87.1%). Conclusion: The studied students had a poor understanding of how to utilize face masks. Enhancing one’s knowledge and appropriate use of face masks takes time and effort. It is necessary to implement massive education campaigns at the level of Hawler Medical University to increase the proportion of knowledge about COVID-19 and stop its spread

Prevalence and type distribution of high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in breast cancer : a Qatar based study

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated in the etiology of a variety of human cancers. Studies investigating the presence of high-risk (HR) HPV in breast tissue have generated considerable controversy over its role as a potential risk factor for breast cancer (BC). This is the first investigation reporting the prevalence and type distribution of high-risk HPV infection in breast tissue in the population of Qatar. A prospective comparison blind research study herein reconnoitered the presence of twelve HR-HPV types’ DNA using multiplex PCR by screening a total of 150 fresh breast tissue specimens. Data obtained shows that HR-HPV types were found in 10% of subjects with breast cancer; of which the presence of HPV was confirmed in 4/33 (12.12%) of invasive carcinomas. These findings, the first reported from the population of Qatar, suggest that the selective presence of HPV in breast tissue is likely to be a related factor in the progression of certain cases of breast cancer

The development and validation of a scoring tool to predict the operative duration of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background: The ability to accurately predict operative duration has the potential to optimise theatre efficiency and utilisation, thus reducing costs and increasing staff and patient satisfaction. With laparoscopic cholecystectomy being one of the most commonly performed procedures worldwide, a tool to predict operative duration could be extremely beneficial to healthcare organisations. Methods: Data collected from the CholeS study on patients undergoing cholecystectomy in UK and Irish hospitals between 04/2014 and 05/2014 were used to study operative duration. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was produced in order to identify significant independent predictors of long (> 90 min) operations. The resulting model was converted to a risk score, which was subsequently validated on second cohort of patients using ROC curves. Results: After exclusions, data were available for 7227 patients in the derivation (CholeS) cohort. The median operative duration was 60 min (interquartile range 45–85), with 17.7% of operations lasting longer than 90 min. Ten factors were found to be significant independent predictors of operative durations > 90 min, including ASA, age, previous surgical admissions, BMI, gallbladder wall thickness and CBD diameter. A risk score was then produced from these factors, and applied to a cohort of 2405 patients from a tertiary centre for external validation. This returned an area under the ROC curve of 0.708 (SE = 0.013, p  90 min increasing more than eightfold from 5.1 to 41.8% in the extremes of the score. Conclusion: The scoring tool produced in this study was found to be significantly predictive of long operative durations on validation in an external cohort. As such, the tool may have the potential to enable organisations to better organise theatre lists and deliver greater efficiencies in care

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic

Optical frequency shifter using stimulated Brillouin scattering in fibre optic ring resonators.

A fibre optic frequency shifter has been developed which generates a heterodyne frequency that is used to facilitate electronic demodulation of optical information. The operation of this device is analogous to an acoustooptic device such as a Bragg cell. This frequency shifter works on the principle of mixing two stimulated Brillouin scattering signals (generated in optical fibre ring resonators) which have slightly different frequencies. Dual ring resonator and single ring resonator topologies have been used. For the former system a conversion efficiency of 16% was obtained. The beat frequency was tunable between 218.4 MHz and 414.6 MHz for a 40'C change in temperature. A temperature coefficient of 5+0.2 MHzK-1 was measured. The later configuration provides a highly stable carrier frequency (11MHz) with a temperature coefficient of 6.7+0-5 kHzK-1. A 20% conversion efficiency was obtained. This demonstrates that this technique offers a practical, fibre efficient, low optical power requirement method for producing a frequency shifter. One of the main advantages of the system is that no electrical power is required to produce the travelling acoustic wave. A novel technique to characterize the frequency response of optical detectoramplifier combinations, used in this project to detect these high frequencies, is also demonstrated. The technique is based on the wavelength modulation of a laser diode source in a path length imbalanced two-beam interferometer. A robust configuration using a low finesse Fabry-Perot interferometer made from birefringent optical fibre has been implemented. Measurements for several detector circuits are presented for the frequency range DC to about 30 MHz. Results are compared with direct modulation of the laser intensity and also with a circuit simulation programme (PSpice) and found to be in close agreement

Large language models: a primer and gastroenterology applications

Over the past year, the emergence of state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) in tools like ChatGPT has ushered in a rapid acceleration in artificial intelligence (AI) innovation. These powerful AI models can generate tailored and high-quality text responses to instructions and questions without the need for labor-intensive task-specific training data or complex software engineering. As the technology continues to mature, LLMs hold immense potential for transforming clinical workflows, enhancing patient outcomes, improving medical education, and optimizing medical research. In this review, we provide a practical discussion of LLMs, tailored to gastroenterologists. We highlight the technical foundations of LLMs, emphasizing their key strengths and limitations as well as how to interact with them safely and effectively. We discuss some potential LLM use cases for clinical gastroenterology practice, education, and research. Finally, we review critical barriers to implementation and ongoing work to address these issues. This review aims to equip gastroenterologists with a foundational understanding of LLMs to facilitate a more active clinician role in the development and implementation of this rapidly emerging technology

Among Patients With NAFLD, Treatment of Dyslipidemia Does Not Reduce Cardiovascular Mortality

Dyslipidemia is one of the common risk factors for NAFLD and is associated with cardiovascular (CV) mortality, which is the most common cause of death in NAFLD. Lipid‐lowering agents (LLAs) are used to reduce CV events in the general population. Our aim was to assess whether the use of LLAs in patients with NAFLD can reduce the risk of CV mortality. We used the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey mortality linked files. Mortality was determined from the National Death Index records through 2011. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasound after exclusion of other causes of liver disease. After inclusion and exclusion, the cohort consisted of 2,566 patients with NAFLD (45.8% < 45 years of age, 52.8% male, 75.4% white). Those who were taking LLAs were more likely to be older, non‐Hispanic white, and had significantly higher rates of diabetes mellitus (DM), hyperlipidemia, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and history of CV disease (CVD) (all P< 0.01). In our multivariate analysis, DM was an independent predictor of overall mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 1.79 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40‐2.30]) and CV mortality (aHR: 1.89 [95% CI: 1.08‐3.30]). History of CVD was associated with both overall (aHR: 2.03 [95% CI: 1.57‐2.63]) and CV mortality (aHR: 3.69 [95% CI: 2.23‐6.08]). In contrast, the use of statins and other LLAs was not associated with reduction in overall (aHR = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.37‐2.44] and aHR = 1.43 [95% CI: 0.99‐2.07]) and CV mortality (aHR = 1.20 [95% CI: 0.26‐5.54] and aHR = 1.63 [95% CI: 0.70‐3.76]). Conclusion: The use of statins and other LLAs did not reduce the increased risk of overall or CV mortality in NAFLD

sj-pdf-1-tag-10.1177_17562848241227031 – Supplemental material for Large language models: a primer and gastroenterology applications

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-tag-10.1177_17562848241227031 for Large language models: a primer and gastroenterology applications by Omer Shahab, Bara El Kurdi, Aasma Shaukat, Girish Nadkarni and Ali Soroush in Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology</p