Comparing Meaning in Life, Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Body Image Concern among Women with and without Postpartum Depression

AbstractIntroduction: Postpartum depression causes negative changes in mothers’ mood and family cohesion, undermines adjustment of mothers with their children, and prevents children from forming a healthy relationship with their mothers. The purpose of this study was to compare meaning in life, strategies of cognitive emotion regulation and body image concern in women with and without postpartum depression.Methods: In this causal-comparative research, participants were selected by convenience sampling among women in the postpartum period in Tehran in 2021. Data was gathered using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and body image concern inventory. Then, 82 women with postpartum depression and 82 without postpartum were analyzed using ANOVA and MANOVA tests in SPSS-21.Results: There is a meaningful difference between two groups (women with and without postpartum depression) in terms of presence subscale in meaning in life questionnaire, non-adaptive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation scale except for self-blame subscale and adaptive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation except for acceptance sub-scale, and body image concern (p<0.05). In fact, depressed women use more non-adaptive strategies and suffer more from body image concern. However, presence of meaning in life and use of adaptive strategies are less prevalent among these depressed women.Conclusions: Taken together, the findings shed light on the importance of meaning in life, cognitive emotion regulation and body image concern in postpartum depression and highlight potential targets for developing interventions in order to prevention and treatment of postpartum depression

Estimation of load duration curves from general building data in the building stock using dynamic BES-models

Modelling and simulation of building stock is a valuable source of information for investigating the feasibility of implementing new heating and cooling system technologies. Some of these technologies have oversizing problem as the designers rely on their experience and previous knowledge. Building stock modelling can provide a solution for more accurate designing process. However, some of the current building stock modelling methods uses a representative building which can exclude whole ranges of the different combinations of building geometry and physical properties that can be crucial for heating and cooling load estimation. Therefore, we developed a methodology that allows faster and accurate building energy simulation (BES) multizone models from general building information of the whole building stock that is able to estimate load duration. This will help engineers and designers to decide on the system sizing at the early design stages. This paper presents first, the process of generating dynamically heating and cooling load duration curves by using BES-models from general geometrical data of the building stock. Second, we examine the process on a sample of the building stock where geometrical and physical parameters were varied. The workflow of the process has worked successfully, generating heating and cooling duration curves for 14 case studies. We observed that heating and cooling loads are highly influenced by different combinations of parameters. High glazing percentage affects highly the heat losses, thus more heating loads. Besides, for a west oriented building, the high glazing percentage combined with high internal gains can be the reason for significant cooling loads. In next steps, we are going to extend the current methodology to cover different building typologies within different climates across Europe

The impact of pharmacists’ input on the screening, management and prevention of metabolic syndrome. [Protocol]

The aim of this research was to critically appraise, synthesise, and present the available evidence on the impact of pharmacists' input on the screening, prevention and management of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The specific aims were: 1) To determine the types of pharmacist interventions reported in the studies. 2) To describe the impact of the identified interventions as reported in the studies. 3) To identify the facilitators and barriers to the effective implementation of pharmacist interventions in the screening, prevention and management of MetS. 4) To characterise the populations who could benefit most from the interventions

Oral Delivery of Psoralidin by Mucoadhesive Surface-Modified Bilosomes Showed Boosted Apoptotic and Necrotic Effects against Breast and Lung Cancer Cells

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).This study aims to design and optimize chitosan-coated bilosomal formulations loaded with psoralidin (Ps-CS/BLs) with improved physicochemical properties, oral bioavailability, and boosted apoptotic and necrotic effects. In this regard, uncoated bilosomes loaded with Ps (Ps/BLs) were nanoformulated using the thin-film hydration technique using different molar ratios of phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesterol (Ch), Span 60 (S60), and sodium deoxycholate (SDC) (1:0.4:0.2:0.125, 1:0.4:0.2:0.25, and 1:0.4:0.2:0.5, respectively). The best-optimized formulation with respect to size, PDI, zeta potential, and EE% was selected and then coated with chitosan at two different concentrations (0.125 and 0.25 w/v%), forming Ps-CS/BLs. The optimized Ps/BLs and Ps-CS/BLs showed a spherical shape and relatively homogenous size with negligible apparent agglomerations. Additionally, it was demonstrated that coating Ps/BLs with chitosan has significantly increased the particle size from 123.16 ± 6.90 in the case of Ps/BLs to 183.90 ± 15.93 nm in the case of Ps-CS/BLs. In addition, Ps-CS/BLs exhibited higher zeta potential (+30.78 ± 1.44 mV) as compared to Ps/BLs (−18.59 ± 2.13 mV). Furthermore, Ps-CS/BL showed enhanced entrapment efficiency (EE%) of 92.15 ± 7.20% as compared to Ps/BLs (68.90 ± 5.95%). Moreover, Ps-CS/BLs exhibited a more sustained release behavior of Ps compared to Ps/BLs over 48 h, and both formulations were best obeying the Higuchi diffusion model. More importantly, Ps-CS/BLs displayed the highest mucoadhesive efficiency% (74.89 ± 3.5%) as compared to Ps/BLs (26.78 ± 2.9%), indicating the ability of the designed nanoformulation to improve oral bioavailability and extend the residence time inside the gastrointestinal tract upon oral administration. Moreover, upon evaluating the apoptotic and necrotic effects of free Ps and Ps-CS/BLs on human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) and human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (A549), there was a dramatic increase in the percentages of the apoptotic and necrotic cell compared to the control and free Ps. Our findings suggest the possible oral use of Ps-CS/BLs in hampering breast and lung cancers.Peer reviewe

Correlation of Chronic Viral hepatitis B and liver function Tests

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the important challenges facing the world. The persistence or clearance of HBV is often determined by the host's immune responses. The current study was conducted during June-October 2018 on 80 patients with chronic HBV infection and 96 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. The results showed that most of the patients were males (62.5%) while females constituted 37.5%. The patients' serum was positive for anti-HBc IgG and HbsAG antibodies, while it was negative for anti-Hbc IgM antibodies. These findings were consistent with the interpretation of chronic HBV infection. Four liver function tests were performed, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total serum bilirubin (TSB). A significant increase in ALP, ALT, and AST levels was observed in HBV patients compared to healthy controls, while TSB showed no significant differences. However, in the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, only ALP and AST occupied an excellent area under the curve, which was > 0.90

The incidence of metabolic syndrome amongst Qatar migrants 24 months post-migration: a prospective longitudinal observational cohort study.

Background and Objective: Evidence indicates that migration to Western countries is associated with increased metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk. There is, however, a scarcity of data about MetS incidence in migrants to Middle Eastern countries. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between migration and the incidence of MetS following a 24-months residency in Qatar. Method: Following the necessary ethics approvals, migrants to Qatar aged 18–65 years were invited to participate. Baseline screening for MetS parameters included glycated haemoglobin, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference. Migrants with normal metabolic parameters were invited for rescreening 24-months post-migration and, parameters repeated. Those with abnormal metabolic parameters were counselled or referred for medical review and excluded from follow up. Main outcome measures: The incidence of metabolic syndrome amongst initially metabolic syndrome-free moigratns, 24-months post migration. The determinants of MetS andMetS elements among Qatar migrants, 24 months post migration. Results: Four hundred seventy-two consented to participate of 1379 identified. 205 (43.4%) migrants had normal metabolic parameters at baseline and were recalled 24 months post-migration, with 160 completing follow-up. The incidence of MetS within this group rose to 17% (n=27/160, 95% CI; 11.0%–23.0%) and 81% (n=129/160) developed at least one element of MetS following 24 months in Qatar. Conclusion: Migration to Qatar was associated with the development of MetS after 24 months of migration. Further studies are required to determine the risk factors and the predictors of MetS amongst migrants to Qatar

Twice-daily insulin glargine for patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Insulin glargine is recombinant human insulin analog that is commonly used in patients with type 2 diabetes as well as those with type 1 diabetes. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics studies of insulin glargine had shown that it has an onset of action that ranged from 1.2 to 1.8 h while its duration of action is 18 to 26 h. Because of its long duration of action insulin glargine is usually prescribed once daily. However, several reports have shown that the administration of insulin glargine once daily is not enough to achieve adequate glucose control in some patients requiring a twice daily dosing. The first report on using insulin glargine twice daily was published shortly after its availability. It described a patient with type 1 diabetes who had consistently elevated bedtime glucose values on once daily insulin glargine administered in the evening. There was significant improvement in glucose values after changing the frequency of insulin glargine to twice daily as a split dose every 12 h. Albright and colleagues found that twice daily glargine therapy was required in patients with type 1 diabetes who developed morning hypoglycemia and/or afternoon hyperglycemia while on once daily therapy; the twice daily regimen was associated with a significant reduction in HbA1c levels compared to patients who were on once daily therapy

The incidence and determinants of metabolic syndrome amongst a group of migrants to Qatar: a prospective longitudinal observational cohort study 24-months post-migration.

While there is some evidence that migration to Western countries increases metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk, there is a lack of data pertaining to migration to the Middle East. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between migration and MetS incidence following 24-months of residency in Qatar and identify possible MetS determinants. Migrants to Qatar employed at Hamad Medical Corporation (the national health service) aged 18–65 years were invited to participate. Baseline and follow-up screening for MetS included HbA1c, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference. MetS-free migrants were rescreened 24-months post-migration, and the World Health Organization STEPwise questionnaire was administered, assessing changes in lifestyle from baseline. Of 1095 migrants contacted, 472 consented to participate, 205 of whom had normal metabolic parameters at baseline; 160 completed follow-up screening. Most participants were males (74.6%, n = 153) and Asian (81.0%, n = 166/205), and two thirds (66.3%, n = 136/205) were nurses. The incidence of new-onset MetS was 17.0% (n = 27/160, 95%CI; 11.0–23.0%), with 81.0% (n = 129/160, 95%CI; 73.8–86.0%) having at least one MetS element 24-months post-residency in Qatar. Male gender was a risk factor for MetS (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3, p = 0.116), as was consuming medication that could induce MetS (AOR = 6.3, p < 0.001). There is merit in further research targeting these groups

Application of silicon and sodium hydrosulfide alleviates arsenic toxicity by regulating the physio-biochemical and molecular mechanisms of Zea mays

Soil contaminationwith toxic heavy metals (such as arsenic (As)) is becoming a serious global problem due to rapid development of social economy, although the use of silicon (Si) and sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) has been found effective in enhancing plant tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses including the As toxicity. For this purpose, a pot experiment was conducted using the different levels of As toxicity in the soil, i.e., (0 mM (no As), 50, and 100 µM) which were also supplied with the different exogenous levels of Si, i.e., (0 (no Si), 1.5, and 3 mM) and also with the NaHS, i.e., (0 (no NaHS), 1, and 2 mM) on growth, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange characteristics, oxidative stress biomarkers, antioxidant machinery (enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants), and their gene expression, ion uptake, organic acid exudation, and As uptake of maize (Zea mays L.). Results from the present study showed that the increasing levels of As in the soil significantly (P \u3c 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, sugars, and nutritional contents from the roots and shoots of the plants. In contrast, increasing levels of As in the soil significantly (P \u3c 0.05) increased oxidative stress indicators in terms of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and electrolyte leakage and also increased organic acid exudation patter in the roots of Z. mays, although the activities of enzymatic antioxidants and the response of their gene expressions in the roots and shoots of the plants and non-enzymatic such as phenolic, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanin contents were initially increased with the exposure of 50 µM As, but decreased by the increasing the As concentration 100 µM in the soil. The negative impact of As toxicity can overcome the application of Si and NaHS, which ultimately increased plant growth and biomass by capturing the reactive oxygen species and decreased oxidative stress in Z. mays by decreasing the As contents in the roots and shoots of the plants. Our results also showed that the Si was more sever and showed better results when we compared with NaHS under the same treatment of As in the soil. Research findings, therefore, suggest that the combined application of Si and NaHS can ameliorate As toxicity in Z. mays, resulting in improved plant growth and composition under metal stress, as depicted by balanced exudation of organic acids

Survey of epidemiology and bacteriology features of cholera in Iran

AbstractObjectiveTo determine epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Vibrio (V.) cholerae O1 biotype EL Tor in summer outbreak of 2008 in Iran.MethodsStool samples were collected from patients suspected to have cholera admitted to hospitals and clinics. Specimens examined by conventional bacteriological methods. All isolates were sent to cholera reference laboratory for further confirmation, stereotyping and susceptibility testing.ResultsA total of 220 patients were diagnosed as cholera. All cases confirmed by Iranian reference health laboratory. One hundred ninety nine of 220 V. cholerae serotypes were Inaba and 21 serotypes were Ogawa. All cases were reported from thirteen provinces. The majorities of cases were from Tehran, Qum and Zahedan provinces with 56, 26 and 25 cases respectively. 24(11%) of patients were under 15 years old and 196 (89%) of patients were older than 15 years.149 (68%) of patients were male and 71 (32 %) were female. 129(59%) of patients had Iranian nationality,79 (36.5%) were from Afghanistan and, 12 (5%) were from Pakistan. All isolates were resistant to co-trimoxazole, nalidixic acid, furazolidone, and intermediate to chloramphenicol and were susceptible to tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and erythromycin.ConclusionOur study reveals that in recent outbreak caused by V. cholerae EL Tor serotype Inaba is the predominant serotype. All isolates are resistant to cotrimoxazole, nalidix acid and furazolidon