Journal of Health Reports and Technology
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Jan 2021

 The present study aimed to assess the correlation between the sense of belonging and expectation regarding aging in the elderly.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 elderly residents in Tehran and Ghazvin, Iran. The expectations regarding aging (ERA-12) was used to evaluate the same variable, and the other measurement tool was the sense of belonging instrument.

 The sense of belonging had a direct, significant correlation with expectation regarding aging (β = 0.466; P < 0.001), so that the sense of belonging could predict various dimensions of expectation regarding aging, such as physical health (β = 0.20; B = 0.08; P < 0.001), mental health (β = 0.40; B = 0.31; P < 0.001), and cognitive function (β = 0.40; B = 0.34; P < 0.001).

 Considering the obtained results, it is recommended that special attention be paid to psychological factors (e.g., sense of belonging) in order to improve interpersonal relations and healthy aging in the elderly. Furthermore, these factors have a significant impact on the life expectancy and quality of life of this population.
 

 Clinicians are trained to elicit symptoms and signs to formulate a differential diagnosis. Ruling out treatable diseases is crucial. Movement disorders specialists interpret observable behaviors as indicators of potential pathological processes. Movement disorders specialists must be able to identify symptoms and signs of organic disorders as well as actions that represent normal behaviors in healthy members of specific ethnic and cultural groups. The goal of this presentation is to describe zaghrouta, a manifestation of joy in the Middle East and other cultures, and to differentiate this normal expression of feelings from movement disorders, exaggerated startle responses, and functional disorders.

 A 29-year-old Egyptian woman observed the performance of zaghrouta frequently for happy events in her family, neighborhood, and community since early childhood as long as she can remember. Ten years ago she herself first performed zaghrouta at the engagement party of her friend. Since then she has performed zaghrouta five or six times a year to express happiness for cheerful events.

 Zaghrouta may resemble pathological behaviors seen in movement disorders such as tardive dyskinesia, focal seizures, psychiatric manifestations such as catatonia in schizophrenia, tics in the syndrome of Gilles de la Tourette, and functional disorders. Therefore, clinicians around the world must be able to differentiate this normal behavior to express emotions from abnormal behaviors indicating pathology.
 

 Flourishing is a psychological construct that refers to the type of living together with permanent happiness in human functions. Individuals with high levels of flourishing are aware of their abilities, keen on progress, and considered beneficial community members.

 The present study aimed to determine the flourishing status and its association with academic achievement in the students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

 This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 295 students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2018. The students were selected via simple random sampling with proportional probability to size. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation-coefficient at the significance of 95%.

 The mean age of the students was 22.92 ± 2.47 years (range: 18 - 30 years). The mean score of flourishing was 39.93 ± 8.73 (score range: 8 - 56), which indicated that the participants received 71.3% of the maximum score of flourishing. In addition, the score of flourishing was significantly higher in the female students compared to the males (P = 0.046) and had a positive, significant correlation with academic achievement (r = 0.197; P = 0.002).

 Considering the more favorable status of flourishing in the female students, it is recommended that educational programs be developed and implemented for the promotion of flourishing by focusing on male students.
 

 Out-of-pocket payment encompasses the costs that patients pay for healthcare services, which is an inefficient approach to healthcare financing as it may lead to poverty.

 The present study aimed to determine the risk of catastrophic health expenditures due to non-medical costs in the outpatients in Qazvin, Iran.

 This cross-sectional survey was conducted on 341 outpatients referring to the internists of Velayat Hospital and Bu-Ali Sina Hospital in Qazvin. The required data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire and the prescriptions of the patients. Out-of-pocket payments were defined as the direct medical and non-medical costs within one month.

 The mean out-of-pocket payments of the patients in one month was 49.97 dollars, 75.8% of which covered direct medical cost (disease diagnosis and treatment), and 24.2% covered direct non-medical costs to receive health services. The highest out-of-pocket payments were for diagnostic/laboratory tests (50.3%), medications (21.5%), and transportation (18.2%). In addition, the exposure rate to catastrophic expenditures was estimated at 31%, and the patients with lower income had less exposure compared to those without incomes.

 According to the results, direct non-medical costs were associated with the increased out-of-pocket payments of the patients, which in turn led to the higher rates of catastrophic expenditures.

The upsurge of cases of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) worldwide has compelled many countries including Nigeria to recommend mandatory use of facemask to their citizen in public places to limit the spread of this virus. Although to date, there is no documented evidence that facemask use by the public protected healthy people against COVID-19. Nevertheless, the World Health Organization encourages the general public to wear a non-medical mask in public settings in areas of community transmission. This paper reports on the current mandatory use of facemask by the Nigerian public and highlights the implications of such use.

 There is mixed literature on the association between cerebral cortex morphometry and body mass index (BMI), with only some but not all studies documenting an inverse association between cortical thickness (CT) and BMI. As the association between CT and BMI is inconsistent in the literature, we propose that racial and socioeconomic status (SES) differences may exist in this regard.

 We borrowed the adolescent brain cognitive development (ABCD) data to investigate racial and SES differences in CT and childhood BMI associations.

 This cross-sectional study included 10,185 children between ages 9 and 10. Mixed-effects regression was used to analyze the data. The independent variable was CT measured using structural MRI. The dependent variable was BMI treated as a continuous variable. Covariates included ethnicity, sex, age, family structure, parental education, and intracranial volume. Race (White, Black, Asian, and Other/mixed) and household income levels (< 50 k, 50 - 100 k, and 100 + k) were the effect modifiers.

 High CT was predictive of lower BMI (b for main effect of CT on BMI = -3.134; P < 0.001). However, the inverse association between CT and BMI was stronger in Black than White (b for interaction between race and CT = -2.39; P = 0.01255), and low-income than high-income children (b for interaction between income 50 - 100 k = 1.86; P = 0.02906; for interaction between income 100 + k b = 3.77; P < 0.001).

 Our findings suggest that although high CT is associated with lower BMI in children, this association varies across racial and SES groups. More research is needed on obesogenic environments’ role in altering the salience of cerebral cortex morphometry as a risk factor for high BMI.

Context: 

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China in December 2019 and rapidly became a global epidemic. Respiratory droplets are the main transmission route, and no approved drugs or vaccines have been reported so far. Therefore, prevention is considered essential to the control of this pandemic. Masks are personal protective equipment, which play a key role in the prevention process. The World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have emphasized on the use of masks by healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers.

Evidence Acquisition: 

This review study was conducted by searching in Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and WHO library databases using specific search terms. Only the articles and other secondary sources published in English were selected and reviewed.

 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is smaller than the pore size of all types of available masks. In addition, the issue of limited hospital resources (e.g., masks during pandemics) requires special attention, while the produced mask garbage during the pandemic is another crucial issue. Efforts have been made to address these three critical challenges.

 We reviewed various types of masks and investigated the ability of each to prevent COVID-19, as well as the solutions for the issues associated with using the masks that provide insufficient protection against the 2019-nCoV, mask shortage, and mask garbage. Despite the deficient protective power of the available masks, these tools could delay the progression of COVID-19 effectively owing to mask flow resistance and virus spread via droplets.

 Urinary tract infections (UTI) simply the symptomatic or asymptomatic colonization of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder or/and the urethra by microorganisms, commonly bacteria. When these infections affect the kidneys, it is known as pyelonephritis.

 To calculate the percentile risk of medically inclined apparently healthy individuals acquiring urinary tract infection.

 Written consent was sought on every questionnaire. It was carried out within the period of August to November, 2018. The study was done with over 160 persons; 154 questionnaires were accepted as properly filled. The questionnaires were gender specific. Persons cut across doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, nursing students and medical students. The sampling study used was single blinded method. Areas studied were Plateau state (Jos University Teaching Hospital, Plateau Specialist Hospital and school of Midwifery; Vom), Abuja (University of Abuja Medical College Campus) and Nasarawa state (Bingham University). Data was collected, tabulated and classified into mild, moderate and high risks. (males, N = 71 with an age range of 19 - 45 years; females, N = 83 with an age range of 19 - 44 years).

 Assessment criteria male/female low risk 42 (59.2%)/10 (12.0%), moderate risk 23 (32.4%)/29 (34.9%) and high risk 6 (08.5%)/44 (53.0%).

 Hygiene is a crucial factor in predisposition to UTI. Women are at higher risk of acquiring urinary tract infections. Sickle cell may be a predisposing factor to pyelonephritis.

 Hydrocarbon contamination is considered to be a crucial environmental pollutant, which threatens the marine ecosystem and indirectly affects human health. Petrochemical industries are among the major sources of oil release into the environment. Several approaches are used to remove hydrocarbons from contaminated water, including biological, mechanical, and chemical methods. Oil Spill Eater II (OSE II) is an EPA-listed liquid nutrient with enzymes for the removal of hydrocarbons or other organic contaminants, which has also been proposed for the elimination of oil contaminates worldwide.

 The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of OSE II on hydrocarbon degradation from contaminated seawater.

 In accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer, a combination of seawater and crude oil of various regions was prepared with a specific proportion. The amount of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) before the addition of OSE II and after the treatment with OSE II was analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

 The maximum removal rate of TPH from seawater was within the range of 59-75.5% after the OSE II treatment and 7-15 days of aeration. In addition, GC-MS indicated that the initial sharp peaks declined substantially due to the impact of OSE II on the destruction of hydrocarbon chains.

 According to the results, OSE II exhibited a high potential for the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons.

 The negative life experiences and mental state of the mothers cause them to be inadequate to meet the needs of their children and to show negligent-abusive behavior towards their children.

 The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mothers' mental health status and neglect/emotional-physical violence behavior towards their children.

 This was a cross-sectional quantitative study. The population of the study consists of women who had children aged 0-11 years who applied to a public hospital in Istanbul in the first quarter of 2016. In the study, Self-Reporting Questionnaire-SRQ was used to measure the mental health of mothers, and violence questionnaire was used to measure the violent behaviors of mothers towards their children. SPSS 20.0 program was used for statistical analysis.

 It was found that almost half of the mothers had high psychological / psychiatric problems (above the threshold). It was found that the rates of high level of emotional violence, low and high level of physical violence against the children of mothers with a Self-Reporting Questionnaire-SRQ above the threshold were higher. In addition, a statistically significant difference was found between traumatic life experiences and mothers' neglect behavior towards the child and this difference was not found in the abuse types.

 In families with traumatic events, negligent behaviors of mothers towards their children are observed more frequently. In families with high traumatic life experiences, negligent behaviors of mothers towards their children are seen at a higher rate than families with low traumatic life experiences.
 

 Female genital mutilation (FGM) refers to the removal of a part or the entire female genital organ, which is often performed by a local individual using a blade without any anesthetics. FGM is concentrated in some African countries, Asia, and the Middle East.

 The present study was conducted in Iran, where FGM is a religious practice and not considered a crime, aiming to evaluate the information, beliefs, and understanding of the phenomenon among the residents of Uramanat (Javanrood, Ravansar, Salas, and Paveh cities) and compare the differences in the responses of the residents.

 A questionnaire was distributed among the Uramanat residents of Kermanshah province, Iran. Data were collected on the age, marital status, attitude, and knowledge of FGM.

 The survey was implemented among 250 residents of the Uramanat region, and 212 questionnaires (82.7%) were returned by 96 women (47%) and 109 men (54%). Notably, 66.8% of the female participants had been circumcised. The findings indicated that 81.04% of the male residents and 88.5% of the female residents believed that FGM is a religious practice. Only 8.1% of the female residents compared to 18.7% of the male residents considered FGM to be illegal. Although 78.8% of the male participants stated that their spouse was circumcised, the majority of the men (57.8%) preferred a wife with a healthy female genitalia.

 According to the results, there are numerous and confusing perspectives regarding FGM. The lack of specific rules and knowledge about the psychological, sexual, and physical effects of FGM lead to the continuation of this practice. Therefore, raising the awareness of various social groups about FGM and its complications could put an end to this inhuman issue.

Human populations throughout history have been affected by major disease outbreaks such as endemics, epidemics, pandemics etc. However, unlike the others, pandemics have their own distinct natural history which is generally of global and public health importance. An in-depth analysis of past pandemics has the potential of strengthening emergency preparedness and tactical responses that are essential in preventing the incidences of future disease outbreaks. This review aims to identify lapses in preparedness and highlight the lessons learnt from past pandemics such as smallpox, tuberculosis, Black Death, influenza pandemic (Spanish flu), H2N2 virus, H3N2 pandemic, H1N1 pandemic, HIV/AIDS and the present COVID-19 pandemic.

 Sexual attitudes are a central concept in the study of sexuality and may largely influence the decision-making of the youth to engage in premarital sexual relations.

 The present study aimed to investigate the sexual attitudes (permissive/conservative) of Iranian students.

 This study was conducted on 280 students (170 females and 110 males) who were selected via multistage random sampling from the students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz, Iran. Data were collected using the short-form sexual attitude scale. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22 using the factorial analysis of variance.

 A significant difference was observed between the male and female students in terms of sexual attitudes as the sexual attitude of the female students was conservative, while the sexual attitude of the male students was permissive. In addition, sexual attitudes differed significantly between age groups as the students aged 18 - 22 years had conservative sexual attitudes, while those aged 23 - 26 years had permissive sexual attitudes.

 The results of this survey could guide psychologists and counselors in helping students with the issues regarding premarital sex and the prevention of high-risk sexual behaviors.

The present study aimed to describe the lived experiences of women regarding the home quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. A qualitative study was conducted on 12 women residing in Tehran, Iran who were selected via purposive sampling. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed by thematic content analysis. The obtained results indicated seven dimensions regarding the quarantine period from the perspective of threat and opportunity, including family (keeping the family foundation intact, incapability in controlling problems), individual (performance-based pleasure, performance-based numbness), spiritual (resorting to God, impatience), and health-related aspects (observation, indifference). Each dimension was divided into various subcategories. Our findings indicated that proper actions must be taken by all walks of life and authorities to enhance the physical and mental health of the community during this critical period.