Social media for public health: Reaping the benefits, mitigating the harms

With more than 4.26 billion social media users worldwide, social media has become a primary source of health information, exchange, and influence. As its use has rapidly expanded, social media has proven to be a "doubled-edged sword," with considerable benefits as well as notable harms. It can be used to encourage preventive behaviors, foster social connectivity for better mental health, enable health officials to deliver timely information, and connect individuals to reliable information. But social media also has contributed to public health crises by exacerbating a decline in public trust, deteriorating mental health (especially in young people), and spreading dangerous misinformation. These realities have profound implications for health professionals, social media companies, governments, and users. We discuss promising guidelines, digital safety practices, and regulations on which to build a comprehensive approach to healthy use of social media. Concerted efforts from social media companies, governments, users, public interest groups, and academia are essential to mitigate the harms and unlock the benefits of this powerful new technology

Clinical performance of reverse transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification COVID-19 assay on gold- nanoparticle-modified screen-printed Carbon Electrode using differential pulse voltammetry

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as the gold standard for coronavirus disease detection. In this study, we aim to validate the clinical performance of reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay on gold-nanoparticle-modified screen-printed carbon electrode (AuNP/SPCE) using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and to compare it with real-time RT-PCR. The shape of the electrodeposited AuNP on SPCE was quasi-spherical with a size of ±500 nm. The developed RT-LAMP primer was designed from the GenBank database using the NCBI Multiple Alignment tools and Jalview software. Nasopharyngeal clinical samples were obtained from suspected COVID-19 patients (n = 148). The RT-LAMP products were dropped on the modified AuNP/SPCE under DPV setting, which resulted in current change (∆I) responses. The positive and negative samples produced significantly different ∆I signals with a p-value <0.0001 at a 95% confidence interval using Student’s t-test. The RT-LAMP assay using Au/SPCE exhibited a 30 s response time per analysis. The clinical sensitivity and specificity obtained were 79.7% and 85.1%, respectively, with a detection limit of 0.4 copies µl−1. Hence, this proposed method is suitable for COVID-19 RNA detection in resource-limited settings

Geometry of skeletal structures and symmetry sets

In this thesis we study the geometry of symmetry sets and skeletal structures. The relationship between a symmetry point (skeletal point) and the associated midlocus point is studied and the impact of the singularity of the radius function on this relationship is investigated. Moreover, the concept of the centroid set associated to a smooth submanifold of Rn+1 is introduced and studied. Also, the relationship between the shape operator of a skeletal structure at a smooth point and the shape operator of its boundary at the associated point is studied

PENGARUH EMPATHY CARE TRAINING TERHADAP PERILAKU ALTRUISME PADA RELAWAN COVID-19 DI DUSUN TRAJAYA KABUPATEN MAJALENGKA [THE EFFECT OF EMPATHY CARE TRAINING TOWARD ALTRUISM BEHAVIOR ON COVID-19 VOLUNTEERS IN TRAJAYA VILLAGE, MAJALENGKA REGENCY]

This study aims to determine the effect of Empathy Care Training toward altruistic behavior in COVID-19 volunteers in Trajaya Village, Majalengka Regency. The design of this study used the pretest and posttest control group design. The research data collection used the altruism scale from Aviani (2019) and used the Likert scale. The research subjects were ten of COVID-19 volunteers in the village of Trajaya, Majalengka Regency who were divided into two groups of five people each for the experimental group and the control group. The data analysis method used the Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney U technique by testing the difference in gainscore in the control group and the experimental group. The results of the Mann Whitney U test analysis showed the value of Z = -1.781 and the value of p = 0.0375 (p <0.05) this indicated that there was a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group. The results showed that Empathy Care Training had an effect on altruism behavior in COVID-19 volunteers in the village of Trajaya, Majalengka Regency

Disentangling the Toing and Froing of Professional Learning Community Implementation by Reconnecting Educational Policy with School Culture

Professional Learning Community (PLC) is embedded in one of the Malaysian educational policies with the aim of improving teachers’ effectiveness. However, the robust empirical evidence upon this matter is scarce, especially in terms of the relationship between school culture and PLC. Therefore, a correlational design study conducted to examine the relationships between the school culture dimensions (Collaboration, Collegiality, Emphasis on Learning, Professional Value, Sharing Planning, Transformational Leadership) and PLC. A randomized controlled trial cluster involving 612 teachers has been conducted. The Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS version 3 was applied to analyze the data. The result from SEM path analysis shows that only three constructs have significant influences on PLC, which are Professional Value (β:0.045); Sharing Planning (β:0.071), and Transformational Leadership (β:0.040). This study has gone some way towards enhancing the understanding of the importance of school culture in promoting teachers’ professional development through PLC

Novel frameshift variant in the IDUA gene underlies Mucopolysaccharidoses type I in a consanguineous Yemeni pedigree

Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is an autosomal recessive storage disorder that result as a consequence of a deficiency in the lysosomal hydrolase, a-L-iduronidase enzyme encoded by IDUA gene. Over a hundred causative variants in IDUA have been identified, which result in a progressive multi-systemic disease with a broad range of severity and disease progression reported across affected individuals. The aim of this study was the detection and interpretation of IDUA mutation in a family with two children affected with lethal MPS I. The IDUA gene was sequenced in the parents of two deceased children who had a clinical diagnosis of MPS I, to assess their carrier status and to help inform on risk in future children. The sequencing analysis was performed by PCR and bidirectional Sanger sequencing of the coding region and exon-intron splice junctions at Labor MVZ Westmecklenburg molecular diagnostics laboratory. A heterozygous c.657delA variant in exon 6 was identified in each parent, which is the most likely explanation for disease in their children. This report represents the first Yemeni family to have a molecular diagnosis for MPS I

Gold nanoparticle deposited on screen-printed carbon electrode for electrochemical detection of nicotine in e-cigarette

Nicotine addiction is a global health problem that causes 4.9 million deaths each year. Nicotine addiction from smoking tobacco may harm both active and passive smokers. Due to nicotine’s slow electrode kinetics and redox response occurring at positive potentials, there has been a need in designing electrode material for narrowing the electrochemical window for nicotine redox reaction on the current-potential curve. Nicotine oxidation happens at a higher potential making the signal susceptible to interference from oxygen, thus causing inconsistency in the electrochemical signal. Numerous electrode modifications have been attempted to solve the problem of nicotine’s substantial overpotential on bare carbon electrodes. In this work, nicotine in e-cigarette tobacco products was detected using gold nanoparticles electrodeposited on screen-printed carbon electrode (AuNPs-SPCE). The gold solution was prepared from a precursor solution of 10 mM chloroauric acid, HAuCl4. The screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was immersed in the gold solution and was selectively electrodeposited on the SPCE surface at a potential of +0.53 V as the first layer deposition by using chronoamperometry (CA). Then, CA was performed at a constant potential of –0.9 V for approximately 900 seconds on the SPCE surface, resulting in a second layer with gold nanostructures. The gold nanostructures were characterised by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Elemental Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The electrochemical analysis was proceeded using the fabricated AuNPs-SPCE as the working electrode in potassium ferrocyanide, K4Fe(CN)6, standard nicotine in 0.1 M PBS (pH 7), and liquid-flavoured e-cigarette (sample) using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) method. The effectiveness of the AuNPs-SPCE shows the detection of nicotine at a potential +0.2 V focusing on nicotine’s oxidation peak. The oxidation peak calibration graph was linear from 0.00025 M to 0.03 M, with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9920 and a limit detection of 8.3 mM within 2 secs of response time. This preliminary finding can contribute to the health care community in diagnosing nicotine addiction at an early stage to prevent tragic nicotine overdoses

Efficacy of Colchicine and Budesonide in Improvement Outcomes of Patients with Coronavirus Infection 2019 in Damascus, Syria: A Randomized Control Trial

COVID-19 was reported in China in 2019 and has spread worldwide. Transmission occurs through respiratory secretions and, less commonly, through contaminated surfaces. The severity of the disease can range from asymptomatic to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In this study, we aim to investigate the efficacy of two agents (oral colchicine and budesonide inhaler) in COVID-19 infection management, compared with supportive care alone. 77 patients were admitted to the isolation section of Al Assad University Hospital, between the 1st of August and the 30th of August. A total of 49 patients were included in this randomized control trial, after excluding ineligible patients. The random sample was divided into three groups; the first group was supportive care plus colchicine, the second group was supportive care plus budesonide inhaler, and the control group was supportive care alone. PaO2/FiO2 was improved in the budesonide group, higher than the supportive and colchicine groups. The median hospitalization days were shorter when using colchicine or budesonide, opposed to supportive care alone (8 vs 10 days, respectively). 34 patients (69.3%) were discharged, and 27 patients (55.1%) were followed up until they were weaned from oxygen and made a complete recovery. There was a significant decrease in mortality with colchicine (3 patients; 21.4%) compared with supportive care (7 patients; 33.3%) and the budesonide group (5 patients; 35.7%)

Social media for public health : reaping the benefits, the harms

With more than 4.26 billion social media users worldwide, social media has become a primary source of health information, exchange, and influence. As its use has rapidly expanded, social media has proven to be a “doubled-edged sword,” with considerable benefits as well as notable harms. It can be used to encourage preventive behaviors, foster social connectivity for better mental health, enable health officials to deliver timely information, and connect individuals to reliable information. But social media also has contributed to public health crises by exacerbating a decline in public trust, deteriorating mental health (especially in young people), and spreading dangerous misinformation. These realities have profound implications for health professionals, social media companies, governments, and users. We discuss promising guidelines, digital safety practices, and regulations on which to build a comprehensive approach to healthy use of social media. Concerted efforts from social media companies, governments, users, public interest groups, and academia are essential to mitigate the harms and unlock the benefits of this powerful new technology.https://hpp.tbzmed.ac.ir/am2024School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH)SDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein