Persistent Neurocognitive Impairment and Neurological Complications Following COVID-19: Challenges of the Long COVID Syndrome

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2).(1) As of April 23, 2021, there are close to 150 million cumulative cases, with over 3 million deaths worldwide.(2) In terms of clinical presentation, individuals afflicted with COVID-19 vary greatly in terms of their disease progression and symptomatology.(3,4) During the acute phase of COVID-19, patients may experience flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, dyspnea, headache,(5,7) though gastrointestinal, renal, hepatological, rheumatological, and neurological symptoms and complications have been reported.(8,9) Recently, there has been increasing interest in the chronic sequelae of COVID-19.(10). One study has estimated that over 87% of COVID patients continue to experience at least one symptom, two months after COVID symptom onset.(11) The etiology and clinical profile of the so called long COVID(12) is still under investigation, but some studies have suggested that long COVID may involve respiratory, neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular, immunological symptoms.(13,16) With the likely devastating disease burden of long COVID, clinicians need to understand the presentation and management of patients suffering from long COVID symptoms

HIV AND AIDS: A SURVEY AMONG DENTAL STUDENTS.

Introduction: One of the cornerstones in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the knowledge regarding the disease. The present survey aimed primarily at assessing the knowledge of dental students in Krishnadevaraya College of Dental Scienceson HIV/AIDS. Materials and Methods: Pre-formed questionnaire of 25 questions was given out to 100 dental students aged between18?25 years willing to participate in study. All participants were requested to complete the questionnaire with best of their knowledge and without any assistance. Questionnaire once completed were collected back personally. Results: Majority students (80%) had generally positive attitudes about patients with HIV and AIDS. About 12% expressed discomfort with taking a patient\'s sexual history Most of the students (96%) knew that HIV/AIDS patients can infect dental workers and 10% were unaware of the fact that HIV/AIDS patients can be diagnosed with oral manifestations. Conclusions: All the students were aware of HIV/AIDS. The majorty of participants demonstrated an adequate understanding of HIV transmission and prevention. In order to combat these issues, effective learning interventions must be introduced

Does Organizational Politics in Public Sector Mediates the Impact of Recruitment and Selection on Employee Performance

The presence of nepotism and favoritism during the execution of recruitment selection has now become a major concern for both developed and developing countries. Based on social exchange theory a framework was established to evaluate contextual performance, adaptive performance, and task performance as a result of recruitment and selection practice in an organization. Besides, the study also investigated the effect of nepotism and favoritism as a mediating variable between recruitment and selection, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and task performance. Moreover, data from 384 respondents working in the tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan were congregated and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results of the study reveal that recruitment and selection have a substantial impact on contextual performance, adaptive performance, and task performance. Consistently, the mediation effect was established. Furthermore, the current study is of significance for the HR managers of the hospital to formulate strategies to overcome this phenomenon particularly in the recruitment & selection process which in the end affects the healthcare employee’s performance

A Terrible Prank Gone Horribly Wrong the Development of Delusional Infestation as an Adjustment Reaction to a Traumatic Hoax

Delusional infestation (DI) is a somatic type delusional disorder, characterized by a fixed belief that one is infested by living or nonliving pathogens (1,3) . DI is a relatively rare disorder (4,5), with an estimated 20-80 cases per million people annually (6). Effective management of patients suffering from DI is crucial, as patients may cause significant harm to themselves in their attempts to remove the pathogens (7,8). Regarding treatment options, antipsychotic medications such as pimozide and risperidone have been promising (8,10). However, there remain many barriers to care (11), and patients are hardly ever seen in psychiatry as they preferably seek other specialists such as dermatologists (7,11). It is important for psychiatrists to understand this devastating disorder and properly manage and treat patients with DI when the opportunity arises

Seizure to Drug Induced Schizophrenia: A Rare Case of Keppra-Induced Psychosis

Levetiracetam is a broad-spectrum antiseizure medication and is approved as adjunctive therapy to treat focal-onset seizures in children and adults with epilepsy. Levetiracetam has a wide margin of safety and patient-friendly pharmacokinetics that distinguish it from other currently available antiepileptic drugs. Most common side effects are fatigue, somnolence, dizziness, and upper respiratory infection. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are reported. Psychotic symptoms, paranoid ideation, hallucinations, and behavioral problems may occur in adult and pediatric patients. Among all adverse effects, the rate of psychosis is very low and ranges from less than 1% to 1.4%. A retrospective study showed that this rate is higher in older patients than in the younger population. Although the current literature provides cases of levetiracetam-induced psychosis, the onset of psychotic symptoms is one-week post drug administration. This case highlights that it is essential for psychiatrists to consider drug induced psychosis even when the onset of symptoms is not acutely after drug administration

The Role of Supervisor Support on Work-Family Conflict and Employee Turnover Intentions in the Workplace with Mediating Effect of Affective Commitment in Twin Cities in the Banking Industry, Pakistan

Organizations compete in today's world through its intangible assets which literature describe as human capital. Technology can be replaced but human capital cannot be replaced completely ever. Employee retention is center of attention for all the organizations' nowadays. Retentions of employees' mainly based on supervisors support and their affiliation with organization. This paper attempts to examine the impact of supervisor support on work family conflict and turnover intentions directly and indirectly through affective commitment. In order to collect the data this study used closed ended questionnaires from banking industry of twin cities of Pakistan. SEM (AMOS) was employed to test hypotheses. Findings reveal the mediating role of affective commitment particularly in context banking sector of Pakistan. This study filled the gap by investigating supervisor support on work family conflict along with affective commitment. Findings of this study are important from two perspectives. First is the banking sector and secondly the twin cities in which there is almost no study has been conducted before. Implications are particular for banking industry top managers and practitioners. Top management can implement such practices in order to retain their employees'. Keywords: Supervisor Support, Work-Family Conflict, Employee Turnover Intentions, SEM JEL Classifications: H15, M16 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.1080

Sports Tourism and its Impact on Economic Growth of a Developing Nation

Purpose: This research paper investigates the impact of sports tourism on the growth of economy of a developing nation especially India. We have used the time frame from 1990 to 2016 and we have taken all the international events occurred in India during this span of time. The variables included in this research paper include Gross Domestic Product as dependent variable whereas in control variable we have taken Gross Fixed Capital Formation and Labor Force and International Tourism as focus variable. We have also used dummy variable in our regression model where ‘0’ refers to years in which India has not hosted any mega sports event and ‘1’ refers to years in which India has hosted any mega sports event. Methodology: In order to observe the effect of hosting any mega sports events on growth on economy of India, we have used Ordinary Least Square technique. Findings: In order to observe the effect of hosting any mega sports events on growth on economy of India, we have used Ordinary Least Square technique. With the help of Regression results we can conclude that there is a positive impact of Sports Tourism on Gross Domestic Product and the dummy variable used in our Regression model also found to be significant. After seeing the results, it is suggested to the policy makers and the Indian Government to increase the investment in the infrastructure and also provide number of incentives to the tourist that are going to visit during any mega sports event, perhaps it will also boost the tourism industry in the country which ultimately effect the growth of economy positively. Implications: There are other areas which should be the focus of the government in future are socio-cultural issues and environmental impacts of hosting a mega sports event. &nbsp

A comparative study of sonographic evaluation of thyroid nodules, using TIRADS, with fine needle aspiration cytology

Various imaging modalities have been used in the diagnosis of thyroid diseases. Ultrasonography followed by USG guided FNAC is usually done in evaluating any thyroid nodule that is palpable on physical examination. FNAC often used as the initial screening test for diagnosis of thyroid nodule. This study was a cross-sectional study where patients with palpable thyroid nodules or clinically evident thyroid disease (hypothyroidism/hyperthyroidism) were evaluated by ultrasound examination, which were correlated with FNAC of the patient. Statistical software SPSS (version 20.0) and Microsoft Excel were used to carry out the statistical analysis of data. It was concluded that conclusion high resolution ultrasound is an accurate technique to assess the morphology of thyroid nodules

Emerging resistance against different fungicides in Lasiodiplodia theobromae, the cause of mango dieback in Pakistan

Dieback of mango caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae is among several diseases responsible for low crop production in Pakistan. To further complicate the issue, resistance in L. theobromae is emerging against different fungicides. L. theobromae was isolated from diseased samples of mango plants collected from various orchards in the Multan District. The efficacy of different fungicides viz. copper oxychloride, diethofencarb, pyrachlostrobin, carbendazim, difenoconazole, mancozeb, and thiophanate-methyl was evaluated in vitro using a poison food technique. Thiophanate-methyl at all concentrations was found to be the most effective among five systemic fungicides against L. theobromae, followed by carbendazim, difenoconazole and diethofencarb. The fungicides, i.e., thiophanate-methyl, difenoconazole, carbendazim and diethofencarb showed maximum efficacy with increasing concentration. The isolates of L. theobromae showed some resistance development against the tested fungicides when compared with previous work. These investigations provide new information about chemical selection for the control of holistic disease in mango growing zones of Pakistan