Preferred therapist characteristics of Muslim college women in the United Arab Emirates: implications for psychotherapy

© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Therapeutic alliance and psychotherapeutic outcomes can be influenced by therapist characteristics. While research has explored preferred therapist characteristics in Western secular contexts, few studies have examined this question among Muslim populations in the Arab world. This study explores Arab, Muslim women\u27s expressed preferences concerning therapist characteristics. Two hundred and twenty college women attending a tertiary educational institution in the United Arab Emirates were presented with a list of twenty-two therapist characteristics derived from previous research and included attributes such as empathy, compassion and honesty. Participants performed a discrete choice task, expressing a preference for either male or female therapists, and for therapists of the same (Emirati) or different nationality. The most frequently endorsed characteristic among the present population was confidentiality. Implications are discussed with reference to psychotherapy practice with Muslim clients in the UAE and the need for an empirical approach to the identification of preferred therapist characteristics

The association between living conditions and health among Syrian refugee children in informal tented settlements in Lebanon

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional study explores the relationship between housing, social wellbeing, access to services and health among a population of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. METHODS: We surveyed 1902 Syrian refugee households living in informal tented settlements in Lebanon in 2017. Logistic regressions assessed relationships between housing problems, socioeconomic deprivation, social environment and health. RESULTS: Of the 8284 children in the study, 33.0% had at least one health problem. A considerable number of households (43.1%) had > 8 housing problems. Children in these households had higher odds to have three or more health problems compared to children in households with < 6 housing problems (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.39; confidence interval [CI], 1.50-3.81). Nearly three-quarters (74.3%) of households were severely food insecure. Children in these households had higher odds to have one health problem than those in food secure households (AOR, 1.75; CI, 1.11-2.76). There was a significant positive association between households that reported being unhappy with their neighbourhood and the number of children with health problems in those households. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the association between the physical and social living conditions and refugee children's health. Without multidimensional interventions that consider improvements to living conditions, the health of young Syrian refugees will continue to worsen

Microstructure Bio-Material for Behavioral Analysis

Biological applications have a limitation of creating tissue like structures in order to mimic the advanced real like structures, such as human tissues in a small scale. Conventional methods of using lab mice for cancer behavior have limitations due to observation complications. Fabricating an artificial human tissue which can behave similar to a human body tissue consists of components, such as Laminin and Collagen. Collagen in human tissue has elements, such as integrin and serum. Creating serum based proteins are somewhat challenging due to the conditional requirements. This particular approach will address the primary state of the art technique of observing the interaction with cells by mimicking the organs on a chip with blood circulation using a micro-fluidic pump. Bio-material hydrogel structures implanted on a silicon polymer based chip described in this thesis will overcome the limitations of in-vitro analysis. Water purification has become a vital issue in developing countries of the world. Water pollution due to Ammonia has been one of the major concerns with industrial revolution. Purifications were mainly done by chemical methods that can cause human health concerns. The analytically demonstrated method in this thesis using bio-compatible hydrogel will address a new dimension to the water conservation method without causing health issues and eliminating the environmental pollution due to complicated degradable structures. Filtration and efficiency are among the main concerns of using bacteria types such as AOB/NOB directly without encapsulating. Application of using bio-compatible hydrogel based dual encapsulated single pallet structure described in this thesis will address the issue of filtering capability. Pallets can be removed once nitrified, without letting it grow inside the water contaminating aqua based living breads and plants. The process will improve the efficiency of Ammonia removal due to encapsulation. Drug delivery using micro locomotives in neuro-surgery has become one of the future concerns with the development of science. Conventional delivery systems such as vaccines and open surgeries take longer response time once surgeries become more complex. Moreover there is a risk factor of injuring healthy nerves in the organ. Drug delivery approaches of drug encapsulated microspheres and drug embedded nematodes described in this thesis become more applicable to complex scenarios. Nematodes become useful in the future of microsurgeries, as many biologists are focusing on using their healthy nerves to implant in humans. Therefore, such applications like magnetizing nematodes help move locomotives to targeted locations and capture scan images for future medical approaches

The role of perceived social support on depression and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic

© 2020 The aim of the present study was to examine the role of perceived social support pertaining to a range of psychological health outcomes amongst individuals undergoing social isolation and social distancing during COVID-19. A total of 2,020 participants provided responses to an online cross-sectional survey comprised of validated instruments including the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Brief Irritability Test (BITe) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). Individuals experiencing self-isolation had significantly higher rates of depression, irritability and loneliness compared to those who were not. The risk for elevated levels of depression symptoms was 63% lower in individuals who reported higher levels of social support compared to those with low perceived social support. Similarly, those with high social support had a 52% lower risk of poor sleep quality compared to those with low social support. Social support was found to be significantly associated with elevated risk for depression and poorer sleep quality. The results contribute to our understanding of differential psychological outcomes for individuals experiencing anti-pandemic measures

Protic ionic liquids obtained from biorefinery by-products : caracterization and determination of liquid-liquid equilibrium data with n-butanol and water

Orientadores: Mariana Conceição da Costa, António Augusto Martins de Oliveira Soares VicenteDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia QuímicaResumo: Devido à preocupação com as questões ambientais cada vez mais evidentes, alternativas ecologicamente amigáveis vem sendo desenvolvidas com foco na busca por processos e produtos químicos menos agressivos, mais inovadores e sustentáveis. Nesse cenário, duas opções verdes, como os líquidos iônicos (LIs) e o biobutanol, estão atraindo interesse. O primeiro por ser um solvente mais ambientalmente correto que os solventes orgânicos comuns, projetável e mais fácil de ser recuperado e purificado, já o segudo por ser a próxima geração de combustível renovável superior ao etanol. No entanto, obstáculos desafiadores reduzem a viabilidade econômica do processo de produção do biobutanol. Visando um processo mais economicamente viável e sustentável, este estudo investigou líquidos iônicos Próticos (LIPs) baseados em subprodutos de biorrefinaria (ácido acético e ácido butírico) para recuperação de n-butanol. Para isso, usando o método de titulação de ponto de névoa, o equilíbrio líquido-líquido (ELL) de sistemas ternários compostos de água + n-butanol/acetona + LIP foram determiandos experimentalmente e modelados em diferentes temperaturas (293,15 e 323,15) K. Dessa forma, foram determinados 12 sistemas ternários com 6 linhas de amarração para cada sistema além de 6 curvas binodais, e o modelo NRTL foi usado para descrever os dados experimentais. Os LIPs estudados foram o acetato de 2-hidroxietil amônio (HEAA), bis (2-hidroxietil) acetato de amônio (BHEAA), acetato de tris (2-hidroxietil) amônio (THEAA), butirato de 2-hidroxietil amônio (HEAB), bis (2-hidroxietil) amônio butirato (BHEAB), butirato de tris (2-hidroxietil) amônio (THEAB). Estes foram caracterizados quanto ao teor de água, densidade e viscosidade no intervalo de temperatura mencionado. No intervalo de temperatura de 293,15-323,15 K, o aumeto da temperatura provocou a redução nos valores das propriedades termofísicas além da redução na região bifásica dos sistemas contituidos por n-butanol. O aumento da cadeia catiônica foi responsável pelo aumento da densidade, redução da região bifásica dos sistemas compostos por acetona (HEAA>BHEAA>THEAA), e aumento da região bifásica para os sistemas compostos por n-butanol (THEAA>BHEAA>HEAA). Em relação aos ânions, o aumento da sua cadeia alquílica promoveu a redução da região de imiscibilidade (HEAB BHEAA> THEAA), and increasing the biphasic region for systems composed of n-butanol (THEAA> BHEAA> HEAA). Regarding the anion, the increase in its alkyl chain promoted the reduction of the biphasic region (HEAB)MestradoEngenharia QuímicaMestre em Engenharia Química88887.338719/1019-00CAPE

The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Pregnancy and Mother-infant Prenatal Bonding

This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 stress and anxiety on prenatal attachment during the second trimester of gestation. Pregnancy is an important stage for mothers-to-be in creating representations of themselves as a mother , with the developing attachment relationship to the unborn child considered as a milestone in the future parent\u27s developmental trajectory. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national health measures installed can hence have consequences on these representations and on prenatal attachment. Our sample consisted of 95 mothers that were recruited from a prenatal ultrasound screening center. Results suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected prenatal attachment (PAI) with significant correlations between PAI total score and age, anxiety (DASS) and stress (IES-R). When entered in one model looking for predictors of PAI total score, age and COVID-19 stress were the only variables found to significantly predict prenatal attachment. We argue for a cultural component in explaining these results, hypothesizing that stress could trigger defensive strategies, leading to more investment in the attachment relationship, potentially playing the role of a protective factor

Mechanical tests and definition of new indexes of grape berry firmness. Evolution of berry skin hardness during alcoholic fermentation

The mechanical strength or firmness of a fruit is considered an important parameter to characterise its state of ripeness or conservation, as well as other parameters such as sugar level or color. The mechanical hardness of grapes influences the integrity and sanitary quality of the harvest. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of grapevine berries were studied at harvest time in order to determine their rheological properties (firmness and hardness of the berry skin) during alcoholic fermentation. Special indexes were defined measuring the energy needed to crush the berries to 50 % of their initial diameter, and applied successively to two different varieties. The entire berry firmness and the skin hardness were both different. Mechanical indexes linked to grape firmness were defined. Using these indexes, a significant effect on the firmness behavior due to variety was recorded: the skin of 'Grenache Noir' was found firmer and harder than 'Carignan Noir'. Furthermore, during the alcoholic fermentation, no change in skin hardness was observed for both varieties, despite changes in the composition of the must. These results give new information on mechanical properties of berries and could be used as an aid in the winemaking process. Indeed, they would probably help the winemaker to better choose the type of fermentation and maceration adapted to his grapes according to the type of wine he wishes to produce

Establishing a sorting protocol for healthcare databases

Background: Health information records in many countries, especially developing countries, are still paper based. Compared to electronic systems, paper-based systems are disadvantageous in terms of data storage and data extraction. Given the importance of health records for epidemiological studies, guidelines for effective data cleaning and sorting are essential. They are, however, largely absent from the literature. The following paper discusses the process by which an algorithm was developed for the cleaning and sorting of a database generated from emergency department records in Lebanon.Design and methods: Demographic and health related information were extracted from the emergency department records of three hospitals in Beirut. Appropriate categories were selected for data categorization. For health information, disease categories and codes were selected according to the International Classification of Disease 10th Edition.Results: A total of 16,537 entries were collected. Demographic information was categorized into groups for future epidemiological studies. Analysis of the health information led to the creation of a sorting algorithm which was then used to categorize and code the health data. Several counts were then performed to represent and visualize the data numerically and graphically.Conclusions: The article describes the current state of health information records in Lebanon and the associated disadvantages of a paper-based system in terms of storage and data extraction. Furthermore, the article describes the algorithm by which health information was sorted and categorized to allow for future data analysis using paper records

Use of G-Protein-Coupled and -Uncoupled CCR5 Receptors by CCR5 Inhibitor-Resistant and -Sensitive Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Variants

Small-molecule CCR5 inhibitors such as vicriviroc (VVC) and maraviroc (MVC) are allosteric modulators that impair HIV-1 entry by stabilizing a CCR5 conformation that the virus recognizes inefficiently. Viruses resistant to these compounds are able to bind the inhibitor-CCR5 complex while also interacting with the free coreceptor. CCR5 also interacts intracellularly with G proteins, as part of its signal transduction functions, and this process alters its conformation. Here we investigated whether the action of VVC against inhibitor-sensitive and -resistant viruses is affected by whether or not CCR5 is coupled to G proteins such as Gαi. Treating CD4^(+)T cells with pertussis toxin to uncouple the Gαi subunit from CCR5 increased the potency of VVC against the sensitive viruses and revealed that VVC-resistant viruses use the inhibitor-bound form of Gα_(i)-coupled CCR5 more efficiently than they use uncoupled CCR5. Supportive evidence was obtained by expressing a signaling-deficient CCR5 mutant with an impaired ability to bind to G proteins, as well as two constitutively active mutants that activate G proteins in the absence of external stimuli. The implication of these various studies is that the association of intracellular domains of CCR5 with the signaling machinery affects the conformation of the external and transmembrane domains and how they interact with small-molecule inhibitors of HIV-1 entry