Muscle dysmorphia in Norwegian gym-going men: an initial investigation

The aims of the present study were to validate the Norwegian translated Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MDDI) and explore the presence of muscle dysmorphia (MD) symptomatology in Norwegian gym-going men. A secondary aim was to examine differences in MD symptomatology and weekly training duration (WTD) according to the participants’ body mass index (BMI), and further investigate relationships between all measured variables. Participants (N = 124; Mage = 24.8, SD = 6.7 years) completed the translated MDDI, and according to BMI, 65 participants were of normal weight and 59 were overweight. A good fit from the confirmatory factor analysis, the results from the construct validity from the principal components analysis, and the detected good internal consistency indicate that the Norwegian translated MDDI is a valid and reliable measure for MD symptomatology. Moreover, MD symptomatology was present with mean scores of 33.7 (SD = 6.6), 15.2 (SD = 3.9), 10.4 (SD = 3.5), and 8.1 (SD = 2.6) for the MDDI total, and for the subscales drive for size (DFS), functional impairment (FI), and appearance intolerance (AI), respectively. Statistical significant differences were detected between the normal weight and overweight participants in DFS, AI, FI (d≤.4, p.05). Lastly, WTD had a statistically significant correlation with FI and BMI (p<.01); whereas BMI had a statistical significant correlation with DFS, FI, and AI (p<.05). In conclusion, the translated Norwegian MDDI was found to be valid, but additional validations are needed with larger sample sizes. The presence of MD symptomatology and WTD was higher in the overweight compared to the normal weight participants. The findings further suggest that the subscale scores might better assist practitioners in evaluating MD concerns and offer appropriate care, as a MDDI cut-off score have yet to be validated

HIV/AIDS awareness and risk behaviour among pregnant women in Semey, Kazakhstan, 2007

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Central Asia has one of the most rapidly increasing HIV prevalence in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate current knowledge, risk behaviour and attitudes to voluntary counselling and testing concerning HIV/AIDS among pregnant women in Semey, Kazakhstan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We collected 226 questionnaires in a consecutive sample from a population on 520 pregnant women. The results were related to ethnicity, age and education level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ninety-six percent had heard about HIV.</p> <p>Positive findings were that 89% and 86% of the women were aware of the two main routes of transmission: sexual intercourses without a condom and sharing needles while injecting drugs. The women had first heard about HIV/AIDS through the media with, 52%, and at school with 40%. Only 46% and 68% of the women pointed out breastfeeding and mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy or delivery as routes of transmission. Eighty-three percent were prepared not to breastfeed their baby if they were found to be HIV positive. Slightly more, 86%, accepted the need to take medicine, but fewer women, 68%, were positive to Caesarean section. Negative findings were that only 28% answered that there are ways to protect oneself against sexually transmitted HIV/AIDS and specified that this was condom use.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The pregnant women in Semey have poor knowledge about specific mother-to-child HIV transmission and do not know about the means of reducing mother-to-child HIV infection. The information in the public health program needs to be improved. However, most of the women in Semey were positive to prevention strategies for mother-to-child transmission after hearing about it.</p

SPIRO- the automated Petri plate imaging platform designed by biologists, for biologists

Phenotyping of model organisms grown on Petri plates is often carried out manually, despite the procedures being time-consuming and laborious. The main reason for this is the limited availability of automated phenotyping facilities, whereas constructing a custom automated solution can be a daunting task for biologists. Here, we describe SPIRO, the Smart Plate Imaging Robot, an automated platform that acquires time-lapse photographs of up to four vertically oriented Petri plates in a single experiment, corresponding to 192 seedlings for a typical root growth assay and up to 2500 seeds for a germination assay. SPIRO is catered specifically to biologists' needs, requiring no engineering or programming expertise for assembly and operation. Its small footprint is optimized for standard incubators, the inbuilt green LED enables imaging under dark conditions, and remote control provides access to the data without interfering with sample growth. SPIRO's excellent image quality is suitable for automated image processing, which we demonstrate on the example of seed germination and root growth assays. Furthermore, the robot can be easily customized for specific uses, as all information about SPIRO is released under open-source licenses. Importantly, uninterrupted imaging allows considerably more precise assessment of seed germination parameters and root growth rates compared with manual assays. Moreover, SPIRO enables previously technically challenging assays such as phenotyping in the dark. We illustrate the benefits of SPIRO in proof-of-concept experiments which yielded a novel insight on the interplay between autophagy, nitrogen sensing, and photoblastic response

Regulatory dendritic cell treatment prevents the development of vasopressin-induced preeclampsia

The concept that persistent feto-placental intolerance is important in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE) has been demonstrated by our lab and others. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) infusion during pregnancy induces cardiovascular, renal, and immune alterations in mice consistent with human PE. These findings identify AVP as a potential contributor to poor fetal tolerance and the development of PE. In addition to their conventional immuno-stimulatory role, dendritic cells (DCs) also play a vital role in immune tolerance. In contrast to conventional DCs, regulatory DCs (DCregs) express low levels of co-stimulatory markers, produce anti-inflammatory cytokines, induce T regulatory cells, and promote tolerance. In mice, DCregs are able to prevent pro-inflammatory responses and induce antigen-specific tolerance. Given these known functions of DCregs, we hypothesize that DCregs will prevent the development of AVP-induced PE

Betamethasone: a novel therapeutic intervention for preeclampsia

The early pathogenesis of preeclampsia (PE) involves a systemic inflammatory immune response. Recent data demonstrate that increased circulating arginine vasopressin (AVP) in humans is predictive of PE and that infusion of AVP in mouse dams phenocopies the pregnancy-specific cardiovascular and immune alterations observed in human PE. Specifically, AVP suppresses anti-inflammatory cytokines and cells. Betamethasone (BMTZ), commonly given to women at risk for preterm birth, is both an AVP and immune response modulator. We hypothesize that early treatment with BMTZ will prevent the development of AVP-induced PE

Childhood tuberculosis: progress requires an advocacy strategy now

Childhood tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable infectious disease that remains overlooked by public health authorities, health policy makers and TB control programmes. Childhood TB contributes significantly to the burden of disease and represents the failure to control transmission in the community. Furthermore, the pool of infected children constitutes a reservoir of infection for the future burden of TB. It is time to prioritise childhood TB, advocate for addressing the challenges and grasp the opportunities in its prevention and control. Herein, we propose a scientifically informed advocacy agenda developed at the International Childhood TB meeting held in Stockholm, Sweden, from March 17 to 18, 2011, which calls for a renewed effort to improve the situation for children affected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis exposure, infection or disease. The challenges and needs in childhood TB are universal and apply to all settings and must be addressed more effectively by all stakeholders

Muscle dysmorphia and associated psychological features of males in the Middle East: A systematic review

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Availability of data and material: All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article.Muscle dysmorphia (MD) is a mental health disorder characterized by a preoccupation with muscularity and is linked to excessive exercise and dieting, and using anabolic steroids. There is a global interest in the study of MD, however, the literature has yet to collect and synthesize the evidence base in the Middle East. The aim of this systematic review was therefore to understand the status of MD and its associated psychological features of males in the Middle East. A systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus was performed on February 4th, 2023 to identify the cross-sectional survey-based studies conducted in the ME using well-established assessments directly related to MD and its associated psychological features in males. The risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias Instrument for Cross-Sectional Surveys of Attitudes and Practices. A total of ten eligible studies were included in this review. These studies were conducted in Turkey (n = 5), Iran (n = 2), Lebanon (n = 1), Kuwait (n = 1), and North Cyprus (n = 1). Participants in the included studies were mainly bodybuilders (n = 1958, 55.4%) and university students (n = 1510, 42.7%). Results suggest that disordered eating attitudes, obsession with healthy eating, perfectionism, vulnerable narcissistic disposition, low self-esteem, muscle dissatisfaction, need frustration, and low family income may contribute to or trigger MD symptoms in bodybuilders and male university students in the Middle East. Healthcare professionals should be mindful of the associated psychological correlates in treating MD symptoms in men living in the Middle East. Registration: The protocol of this systematic review was registered at the Open Science Framework (10.17605/OSF.IO/N58UZ)

Interdisciplinary discussions on palliative care among university students in Spain: giving voice to the social debate

Background: University students are the future professionals who will influence society. It is thus essential to improve students' understanding of palliative care (PC), especially those in the non-health field, to generate and encourage propitious opinions about PC. This study describes the perceptions of PC among university students from different disciplines. Method: Qualitative exploratory study using virtual focus groups (FGs) and design thinking (DT) approach. An intentional sample of students from various disciplines, universities and cities from Spain were selected. Numerous researchers from different fields were involved in the discussion of the final thematic analysis. Results: Four themes and seven subthemes were found: i) Students have an ambiguous understanding about PC; ii) PC is not a common issue for non-health students; ii) Students see PC as an important and necessary field; iii) Students build counter-narratives against PC myths, demonstrating PC brings key benefits into people's lives; iv) PC is a synonym of death. Conclusion: Despite the fact that students do not know much about PC, the topic easily arouses reflection and positive discussion. Through the conversations they find positive values and arguments against misunderstand- ing. Students from different disciplines could be the target of innovative educational initia- tives and the social debate on PC

Impact of vasopressin receptors on regulation of immune response in preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a common disorder of pregnancy resulting in increased blood pressure and end organ effects. The pathogenesis of preeclampsia is multi-factorial. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is increased in preeclampsia, and the chronic infusion of AVP throughout gestation has previously been shown to be sufficient to produce a phenotype of preeclampsia in C57BL/6J mice representative of some of the cardiovascular and renal events seen in humans. Alterations in T-helper cell populations and their effector cytokines are also known to occur in preeclampsia. Therefore, we proposed that the increased secretion of AVP may be responsible for the immune changes that occur in preeclampsia. We also hypothesized that known pharmacological AVP antagonist, vaptans, may be able to reverse the effects of AVP infusion