Search

Objective: to assess the significance of increased serum transaminase levels in neonates admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and its relationship with blood transfusion. Methods: follow-up prospective study of 209 patients; 177 completed follow-up, of whom 129 were transfused and 48 were not; 57 were born after full gestation and 120 were born prematurely. The activity of serum levels of ALT, AST, and GGT was measured monthly up to six months of age, and until six months after the last transfusion. At the end of follow-up, and whenever an increase in serum transaminase levels was detected, the viral agents of hepatitis A, B, C, G, TT, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, and herpes 1 and 2, and toxoplasma were studied. Viral serology was also carried out in mothers and in donors when children tested positive. Results: one hundred twenty nine neonates (73%) received 461 U red blood cell transfusions (3.6 ± 3 U/patient). ALT levels increased in 54 (30.5%) patients, of whom 46 (36%) were transfused and eight (17%) were not (p < 0.05). The independent variables were ‘infection by G virus' and ‘parenteral nutrition for more than 12 days'; the variable ‘transfusion' was close to the limit for statistical significance. Twenty patients (11.3%) had increased serum ALT levels 2.5 times above the normal value: 18 (14%) were transfused and two (4%) were not (p = 0.106). Only the G and TT viruses were related with transfusion; patients remained asymptomatic, although most neonates were chronically infected. Conclusion: follow-up showed that increased serum ALT levels are common among severely ill neonates. Blood transfusions are safe concerning most hepatotropic viruses, but transmission of viruses G and TT is possible.Objetivo: estudiar la importancia y significado del aumento de transaminasas en neonatos que ingresaron en una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Neonatales y su relación con la transfusión sanguínea. Métodos: seguimiento prospectivo de 209 pacientes de los cuales 177 completaron el seguimiento: 129 transfundidos y 48 no transfundidos (57 nacidos a término y 120 prematuros). Se determinaron la ALT, AST y GGT mensualmente hasta los seis meses de edad y hasta los seis meses de la última transfusión. Al final del seguimiento y cuando había un aumento de transaminasas se investigó el virus de la hepatitis A, B, C, G, TT, citomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr, herpes 1-2 y toxoplasma. La serología viral también se estudió en todas las madres y en los niños positivos en sus donantes. Resultados: ciento veintinueve neonatos (73%) recibieron 461 U/concentrados-hematíes (3,6 ± 3 U/paciente). Cincuenta y cuatro pacientes (30,5%) presentaron un aumento de ALT, 46 (36%) transfundidos y 8 (17%) no transfundidos (p < 0,05). Las variables independientes asociadas con este aumento de las transaminasas fueron: la infección con el virus G, la nutrición parenteral durante más de 12 días y, con casi significación estadística, la transfusión. Veinte pacientes (11,3%) tenían un aumento de ALT superior a 2,5 veces el valor normal: 18 (14%) transfundidos, 2 (4%) no transfundidos (p = 0,106). Sólo el virus G y el virus TT se relacionaron con la transfusión; el curso clínico fue asintomático, aunque la mayoría quedaron crónicamente infectados. Conclusión: en el seguimiento de los neonatos graves, el aumento de las transaminasas es frecuente. Las transfusiones son seguras para la mayoría de los virus hepatotropos, pero es posible la transmisión de los virus G y TT.

The article analyzes the image of a dervish, a character of traditional Sufi lyrics and didactics, that is a key image for poetry by Parvin Etesami (1907-1941). In the only collection of the poet published in literary translation in Russian (The Journey of the Tear, 1984), Sufi motives are almost not revealed. On the basis of new philological translations, the article analyzes the spiritual ideal of the poet, her reflections on the path to the Truth, which she trusts to her beloved hero – a sage, ascetic, dervish, a guide to the knowledge of God. The paper reveals the medieval origins of the image of the dervish of Parvin Etesami, its connection with the Persian classical poetry of the religious and didactic direction, as well as the reasons for the extraordinary stability of the motives grouped around the image of the dervish. On the example of poems of different genre forms (masnavi, monazere, kasida), in which this image is present (or its substitutes — a sage-mystic, a madman, a beggar), its conceptual role for Parvin Etesami is shown. The image of the dervish, in its two hypostases deployed in the Persian classics, appears original in her poems: the dominant features of the dervish are ascetic, mystic, detached from the world, at the same time extremely alien to the men of ordinary consciousness and despised by them. In Parvin's poetic sermon the dervish appears as the highest manifestation of human personality, the bearer of universal moral truths and at the same time deep mystical insights; thus, the poet engages every reader in the ongoing life of a centuries-old religious and mystical tradition.

The subject of this article is the mystical poetry of Parvin Etesami (1907–1941), the article analyzes the religious foundations of the poet's work of the first half of the 20th century (the era of the turning point in Persian culture), continuing the Persian tradition of searching for God on the paths laid by her predecessors and expressing her knowledge of God in old poetic forms (monazere, qasida) with a new poetic language. The study of the poetic ontology of Parvin Etesami, that is, the poet's reflections on God, is based not only on the collection of 60 poems published in Russian (Journey of the Tear, 1984), but primarily on the exact translations of the poems of the Persian poet published for the first time in the article, which could not be included in the Soviet edition and which were carried out by two of the authors of the article. The article analyzes the poet's ideas about God as the creator of man, about God's predestination — the establishment of human mission on earth as a reflection of divine beauty, and about the Grace of God as the essence of human destiny. In the monologues of the dervishes, ideal personalities in the verses of Parvin, the value of the fruits carried by the mystical consciousness of a person who has achieved contemplation of true reality is affirmed. It opposes the ideas of ordinary consciousness, for which the style of behavior of the mystic is like madness. The love to God and the love of God are shown in the poetry of Parvin as the center of the heart, so that externally manifested religiosity (the Kaaba as a shrine is the architecturally revealed center of the world) and inner comprehension of God (the Kaaba of the heart) are affirmed by Parvin in their complementary wholeness. In this way, it is shown that in the verses of Parvin, fidelity to a thousand-year-old spiritual tradition and individual creativity appear as an organic unity.

The essay reflects on the creativity of Parvin Etesami (1907 – 1941), a distinguished Persian poet, little known abroad. We highlight anthropological teaching based on the religious worldview as one of the aspects of her mystical poetry. Created in the era when Persian literature and its classical tradition were breaking, Parvin’s poems affirm loyalty to the mystical tradition and the ways of self-creation of an individual laid down in it. The article shows that the Muslim science of behavior guides a person striving for wisdom and determines their path. The preaching of morality in Parvin’s poems, coupled with her mystical enlightenment, attempts to return her contemporaries to the classical world of their tradition. This research investigates the concept of man and is based on the only collection of 60 poems published in Russian (Journey of Tears, 1984), as well as on the new poetic translations. Two of the poems translated by M. Yahyapour and M. L. Reysner are introduced to the readers for the first time. The paper describes different facets of personality and fate, found in poetic self-reflection, the most significant of which is Parvin’s Auto-Epitaph. The values corresponding to Parvin’s spiritual personality are revealed: purity of soul, strictness, restraint, intellectualism, moral seriousness. Following the Sufi teachings about men, Parvin criticizes deviations from the true path —such as susceptibility to passions and pride. The poet considers them the destroyers and believes that they occur because of the evil forces distorting the human soul. The poet proposes a way out for the soul captured by the world — the knowledge of the Truth and the appeal to the experience of the righteous. The essay demonstrates that in Parvin’s poetry, fidelity to a thousand-year-old spiritual tradition and individual creativity appear as an organic unity. In the era that leads a person of the West and the East away from the spiritual roots of culture, the poet becomes a gnostic and a mystic in his individual creative life and, abandoning modern trends, consciously takes the path of mystical enlightenment and brings to her readers the wisdom found on these paths.

Abstract Background Depression and anxiety impact up to 1 in 5 pregnant and postpartum women worldwide. Yet, as few as 20% of these women are treated with frontline interventions such as evidence-based psychological treatments. Major barriers to uptake are the limited number of specialized mental health treatment providers in most settings, and problems with accessing in-person care, such as childcare or transportation. Task sharing of treatment to non-specialist providers with delivery on telemedicine platforms could address such barriers. However, the equivalence of these strategies to specialist and in-person models remains unproven. Methods This study protocol outlines the Scaling Up Maternal Mental healthcare by Increasing access to Treatment (SUMMIT) randomized trial. SUMMIT is a pragmatic, non-inferiority test of the comparable effectiveness of two types of providers (specialist vs. non-specialist) and delivery modes (telemedicine vs. in-person) of a brief, behavioral activation (BA) treatment for perinatal depressive and anxiety symptoms. Specialists (psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers with ≥ 5 years of therapy experience) and non-specialists (nurses and midwives with no formal training in mental health care) were trained in the BA protocol, with the latter supervised by a BA expert during treatment delivery. Consenting pregnant and postpartum women with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score of ≥ 10 (N = 1368) will be randomized to one of four arms (telemedicine specialist, telemedicine non-specialist, in-person specialist, in-person non-specialist), stratified by pregnancy status (antenatal/postnatal) and study site. The primary outcome is participant-reported depressive symptoms (EPDS) at 3 months post-randomization. Secondary outcomes are maternal symptoms of anxiety and trauma symptoms, perceived social support, activation levels and quality of life at 3-, 6-, and 12-month post-randomization, and depressive symptoms at 6- and 12-month post-randomization. Primary analyses are per-protocol and intent-to-treat. The study has successfully continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with needed adaptations, including temporary suspension of the in-person arms and ongoing randomization to telemedicine arms. Discussion The SUMMIT trial is expected to generate evidence on the non-inferiority of BA delivered by a non-specialist provider compared to specialist and telemedicine compared to in-person. If confirmed, results could pave the way to a dramatic increase in access to treatment for perinatal depression and anxiety. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 04153864 . Registered on November 6, 2019.

Purpose: Evaluate the efficacy of hydroxytyrosol in the local treatment of inflammatory colitis. Currently, the existing treatments for inflammatory bowel diseases does not cure the disease and it is associated with high rates of side effects and complications. Hydroxytyrosol is a phenyl-ethyl-alcohol derived from the hydrolysis of oleuropein and present in olive oil, previous studies have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of dietary hydroxytyrosol supplement, with no toxicity. Materials & Methods: Colitis has been induced by using Trinitrobenzene Sulfonic Acid at 40 rats. They were divided into four groups randomly: 10 rats without treatment; 10 rats with pectin/alginate mixture; 10 rats treated with pectin/alginate + olive oil; 10 rats treated with pectin/alginate + olive oil + hydroxytyrosol. Animals were sacrificed 10 days after induction of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, receiving 5 days of continuous treatment. Samples of the rectal area were studied and observed under a microscope to determine the damage by Hunter scoring modified, assessing inflammatory infiltration, number of intestinal walls involved, damage to the mucosal architecture, and edema. Results: When the rectum was analyzed in a global way, nonsignificant differences were observed; however, when performing an individualized analysis, statistically significant differences in the inflammatory infiltrate are present in the samples, which were evaluated using the ANOVA and Student-T statistics. Conclusions: Local treatment with the natural antioxidant hydroxytyrosol combined with pectin/alginate and olive oil of inflammatory bowel disease has been shown to be effective against inflammatory infiltration of TNBS-induced colitis.

There exists an increasing interest from consumers and scientific community in developing edible-natural-biodegradable coatings to replace commercial wax-based coatings for maintaining postharvest quality of vegetables. In this work, the effectiveness of guar gum coating on various quality characteristics of Roma tomato at 22±2°C over a 20 d storage period was investigated. Tomatoes were covered with a 1.5% guar gum coating plasticized with glycerol at 30% and stored at 22±2°C and 40% RH for 20-d. Tomatoes covered with edible coating significantly enhanced firmness and reduced weight loss, delayed changes on soluble-solids-content, retarded loss of total acidity, and decreased respiration rate compared with uncoated-control fruit. Sensory analysis by trained panelists revealed that the use of the edible coating influenced the acceptability of tomatoes. There were significant differences on the scores given by panelists when comparing the coated and uncoated tomatoes. It was concluded that guar gum affected favorably the physicochemical, microbial, and sensorial quality properties of Roma tomato and therefore could be beneficial in delaying the ripening process at 22±2°C.