Search

Background: Menstrual hygiene remains clouded by misconceptions, posing challenges for adolescent girls. This study aims to identify myths surrounding menstrual hygiene among young girls in Islamabad and recognize the challenges they face in maintaining proper menstrual hygiene. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in three government schools in Islamabad, involving adolescent girls aged 13-18 years in grades 8-12 over a six-month period. Simple random sampling was used to enroll 600 participants, and data were collected using a self-structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. Results: Of the 600 participants, 47% were in the age group of 13-15 years, and 53% were in the age group of 16-18 years. Mothers were the primary source of information for 85.8% of the girls. Common myths included 69% of girls avoiding baths based on advice from elders and 58.2% avoiding washing their groin during menstruation. Challenges reported by adolescent girls included 38.8% finding menstrual products unaffordable, 56.6% lacking sanitary pads at school, and 54.8% feeling embarrassed about asking for menstrual products. Additionally, 56.5% of girls were hesitant to discuss genital issues due to social taboos. Conclusion: This study highlights prevalent myths and challenges undermining menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls. Debunking these myths and providing necessary facilities are essential to enhance menstrual health and overall quality of life for adolescent girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune metabolic disorder characterized by the destruction of pancreatic ß-cells due to the autoimmune reactions of autoreactive T-cells and autoantibodies. The present study aimed to investigate the association between the levels of connecting peptide (C-peptide), and several biochemical and immunological markers in patients with T1DM treated with insulin. For this purpose, a total of 5 ml venous blood was collected from 44 patients with T1DM and 28 healthy volunteers. Relevant clinical examinations were carried out. The contents of C-peptide, IL-4 and IL-5 were determined using the corresponding ELISA kits. The normal ranges for liver and renal function tests were set for both patients and controls. The results revealed that the mean concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was higher in patients with T1DM compared with healthy controls. However, the difference was not statistically significant. In addition, the levels of IL-5 were decreased in patients with T1DM compared with healthy individuals. No statistically significant correlation was observed between the levels of C-peptide and cytokines with the exception of IL-4 in healthy volunteers, which were positively correlated with those of C-peptide. Overall, the results demonstrated that the low C-peptide levels in patients with T1DM were not associated with the measured parameters. However, patients with T1DM could still be at high risk of developing pathological complications due to the enhanced levels of glucose and H2O2, and the decreased levels of IL-5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of the worldwide lockdown was to impede the spread of this virus via social distancing. WHO reported anxiety, stress, fear, which have affected people's psychology across the globe due to loneliness. The surge of information regarding COVID-19 on social media (myths and beliefs) played a major role for communities' psychology. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was done with sample size of 800. The sampling technique was convenient. Questionnaire shared through social media platforms. Statistical analysis was done through SPSS version 21 and responses were taken as frequencies, percentages and chi-square test. Results: There was a significant association between highly educated people and social media usage with p-value 0.000. Conclusion: COVID-19 information available over social media was used by everyone and considered as authentic. Therefore, control measures and legislation should be applied on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis explored the factors involved in the color stability and degradation of Maxillo-Facial Prosthetic Silicone Elastomer (MFPSE). Further exploration was done to analyze past literature discussing the potential benefits to color stability when nano-particles were combined with pigmented MFPSE. Method: The search for the articles was done according to PRISMA guidelines. Articles were searched from "Scopus" and "Web of Sciences" from the year 1970 to 2019. Searches were carried out by two reviewers until November 2019. Articles for systematic review were selected based on predefined eligibility criteria. Information regarding weathering conditions, pigments and filler-particle inclusion were extracted as appropriate. Further screening was done for meta-analyze case-control studies of red, blue and yellow pigments according to predefined scoring criteria. Meta-analysis was conducted on case-control studies that incorporated 5%,10% and 15% TiO2 in MFPSE with the said pigments and was carried out using Cochrane Review Manager 5.3. Results: 30 studies were selected for systematic review and 6 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. The most prominent influencers of color stability were nano-fillers and the type of color used in the mixing. Furthermore, experimental conditions, weathering, color of investment plaster and the method of color detection all affected the degree of degradation. There was an overall significant difference found when TiO2 was incorporated with the pigmented silicone. There is significant difference when 10% (P = 0.0004) TiO2 is incorporated with the red pigment, 5% (P = 0.03) TiO2 with the yellow and 10% (P < 0.0001) and 15% (P = 0.02) TiO2 with the blue pigment. Conclusion: Type of pigment and nano-filler incorporated into the silicone play a role in influencing color stability. Incorporation of 10% TiO2 with red pigment,5% with yellow pigment and 10% or 15% TiO2 with blue pigment provided some protection to the silicone elastomer from color degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a common gastrointestinal tumor biomarker. Irisin is adipo-myokines that has been suggested to have a potential role in cancer development. However, limited studies test irisin as biomarker in gastric and colorectal cancers. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether CEA and irisin could be a potential diagnostic biomarker in gastric and colorectal cancer. Methods: A case-control study consists of 90 subjects, 21 gastric cancer patients, 49 colorectal cancer patients and 20 control. Serum CEA was detected by fluorescence immunoassay (FIA) kit. Serum irisin was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: Serum CEA increases significantly and serum irisin decreases significantly in gastric and colorectal cancer patients. According to Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, in gastric cancer, the area under curve of CEA is 1.00 (95% CI, 1.000-1.000, p< 0.0001). The diagnostic cut-off of CEA is< 3.08 ng/ml with %100 sensitivity and 100% specificity. The area under curve of irisin is 0.94 (95% CI, 0.8177-1.000, p< 0.0001). The cut-off of irisin is> 30.2 ng/ml with %90 sensitivity and 100%, specificity. In colorectal cancer, the area under curve of CEA is 0.99 (95% CI, 0.9866-1.000, p< 0.0001) and the diagnostic value< 2.6 ng/ml with %98 sensitivity and %100 specificity. The area under curve of irisin is 0.96 (95% CI, 0.9155-1.000, p< 0.0001). The diagnostic cut-off of irisin is> 41.9 ng/ml with 88.1sensitivity and 90.5 specificity. Conclusions: CEA and irisin could be powerful potential diagnostic biomarkers which would be use for early detection of gastric and colorectal cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]