Articles

Introduction: In our fast-paced world, children’s dietary habits and behaviour are increasingly concerning, with a tendency toward indulging in sweets and snacks. Insights are derived from observations of 20 children at a crèche facility.Temptation of sweets: Children’s inherent attraction to sweet and salty snacks challenges maintaining a healthy diet. Excessive consumption can lead to health issues, recognizing the pivotal role parents and caregivers play in guiding children toward healthier choices.Significance of a balanced diet: A well-rounded and nutritious diet is crucial for a child’s physical and mental development. Providing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins is essential.Role of activities: Diversifying a child’s routine with engaging activities is a powerful strategy to redirect their focus from unhealthy snacks. Sports, arts, outdoor play, and educational games promote physical fitness, creativity, and cognitive development, contributing to a well-balanced lifestyle.Strategies for encouraging healthy choices:•    Lead by example: Modelling healthy habits inspires children to adopt similar behaviour.•    Educate about nutrition: Imparting knowledge about the nutritional value of foods equips children to make informed choices.•    Make healthy options accessible: Stocking the kitchen with nutritious snacks makes it convenient for children to opt for healthier alternatives.•    Limit unhealthy choices: Setting clear limits on sugary snacks helps children develop moderation and self-control.•    Create a fun and active environment: Fostering an enjoyable environment involves family outings, games, and making exercise a natural part of daily life.Results: Encouraging results were observed among the 20 children. Two children, aged around 12, demonstrated awareness of healthy habits. Excluding these two, others showed positive changes in behaviour towards sweets and snacks through activities and counselling.Conclusion: Maintaining a balance between a child’s consumption of sweets and snacks and engaging in diverse activities is crucial for overall development. A combination of nutritious choices and engaging activities guides children toward a path of health and happiness

Introduction: The evolution of a patient with severe traumatic brain injury may require the use of a tracheostomy as part of respiratory weaning. The central question revolves around the optimal timing to replace intubation with tracheostomy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hypothesis that early tracheostomy reduces the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), and the length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU).Materials and methods: This was a retrospective study including all patients admitted to the department over a period of 08 months. Various historical, demographic, clinical, biological, and progression-related covariates were collected upon admission.Results: Among the 69 patients included in the study who underwent surgical tracheostomy, two groups were formed: those who underwent early tracheostomy (within the first 8 days of mechanical ventilation) and those with late tracheostomy (after 8 days). The early group showed a significant reduction in the duration of mechanical ventilation (16 ± 3 days) and length of stay in the intensive care unit (17 ± 3 days) compared to the late group (23 ± 6 days and 30 ± 11 days, respectively). No significant differences were observed regarding the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and mortality between the two groups.Conclusion: This study strengthens the existing literature by demonstrating that early tracheostomy is associated with a reduction in the duration of MV and length of stay in the ICU.

A 10-year-old male child presented to the Department of Respiratory Medicine in March 2017, with complaints of dyspnea (mMRC grade 1) for last 14 months which aggravated on right lateral position, left-sided chest pain for 1 year and mild fever for 3 months. There was no hemoptysis, wheeze, and expectoration. The patient gave a past history of straw-colored pleural fluid aspiration one year ago which was diagnosed as tubercular hydropneumothorax (Figure 1) in 2016 based on pleural fluid analysis. He was given antitubercular treatment for the effusion. He took ATT for 8 months but with no improvement. 

Background and purpose: Schizophrenia (SZH) is a chronic mental disorder affecting the individuals` thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and behaviors. People with SZH may experience a wide range of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. Since there are no laboratory assays for definite SZH diagnosis, the authors aimed to identify the cerebral volumetric variations in SZH patients with the most prevalent positive symptoms as a diagnostic tool. This study selected 15 SZH patients displaying the most prevalent positive symptoms based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria. Assessment tools included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for cognitive impairment, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for symptom evaluation, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale (WIS) for intelligence assessment. Additionally, 15 Healthy Controls (HC) without cerebral pathologies were recruited. T1w MRI images underwent analysis using Freesurfer software. Data analysis employed Mann-Whitney U and χ² tests, considering p < 0.05 as significant.Results: SZH and HC groups showed no significant differences in age and gender. However, significant (p < 0.05) alterations in Gray Matter (GM) volume were observed in SZH patients compared to HC. In the right hemisphere, several regions exhibited volume reduction, including the Fusiform sulcus, Rostral middle frontal gyrus, isthmus cingulate, Frontal pole, Middle temporal gyrus, Lateral occipital gyrus, and Inferior Parietal gyrus. Notably, the Precentral sulcus and Postcentral gyrus demonstrated volume acceleration. Similarly, in the left hemisphere, various regions showed volume reduction while the Paracentral gyrus indicated volume acceleration, all significant (p < 0.05).Conclusion: SZH patients display significant volumetric brain changes, indicating potential for future diagnostic procedures in SZH.

Known since antiquity, migraine is a complex primary disorder, an episodic painful Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) storm, generally following the stress/post-stress phase. Despite exhaustive study of neuropeptides, neurochemicals, molecules, neurogenetics, neuroimaging along with animal and human experiments over the last 50 years, the scientific basis of migraine remains unknown. Straddling eight decades from Cortical Spreading Depression (CSD) to Calcitonin-Gene Related Peptide (CGRP) and its antagonists, exponentially increasing data have failed to create a gestalt synthesis. This article lays cohesive and robust fundamental principles for the comprehension and management of migraine. The continuum between migraine and non-congestive Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG), Normal Tension Glaucoma (NTG), or Low-Tension Glaucoma (LTG) is advancing. The case of sustained remission of migraine attacks (> 75%) over 3 years - 5 years with ocular hypotensive topical Bimatoprost Ophthalmic Solution (BOS) 0.3% in an N-of-1 trial in 3 patients with refractory migraine is presented. A cause-effect-adaptive process underlies the ANS-stress/post-stress-linked biology of migraine. Vasopressin-serotonin-norepinephrine ‘homeostatic-adaptive system’ Lowers Intraocular Pressure (IOP), while enhancing anti-stress, antinociception, vasomotor, and behaviour control functions, thereby selectively decreasing algogenic neural traffic in the ophthalmic division of trigeminal nerve (V1), and, raising the threshold to develop migraine. Striking migraine headache-aborting feature of vomiting is also likely linked to a several hundred-fold increase in arginine-vasopressin secretion. Eye-cover tests and self-ocular digital displacement are essential to studying the visual aura. Real-time physical displacement of Scintillating Scotoma (SS) and floating ‘stars’ is reported. The basis of spontaneous onset and offset, self-limited duration of migraine attacks, as well as female preponderance, and age/menopause decline in prevalence, are elucidated. Intraocular implants with long-term ocular hypotensive effects, including bimatoprost, are the future of migraine management. Controlled trials are required to establish the migraine-preventive effect of topical bimatoprost, a revolutionary advance in neuroscience.

Introduction: The functional anatomy of the myocardium allows envisioning that it initiates and ends at the origin of the great vessels. In our research, we have always considered that it should have a point of attachment to allow its helical rotation to fulfill the fundamental movements of shortening-torsion (systole) and lengthening-detorsion (suction), which once found, was called the cardiac fulcrum. Materials and methods: A total of 31 hearts, arising from the morgue and slaughterhouse were used: 17 corresponded to bovids and 14 were human. Anatomical and histological studies were performed. The heart was fixed in 10% buffered formalin. Hematoxylin-eosin, Masson’s trichrome staining technique, and 4-micron sections were used for the histological study, and 10 % formalin was used as a buffer. Results: The anatomical investigations have revealed that all the hearts (bovids and humans) have myocardial support whose histological structure in the analyzed specimens presents with an osseous or chondroid-tendinous character. In this structure, which we have called the cardiac fulcrum, are inserted the myocardial fibers at the origin and end of the band, which correspond to the continuous myocardium coiled as a helix.Conclusion: This description of the fulcrum would end the problem of lack of support of the myocardium to fulfill its function of suction/ejection.

Being hospitalized or undergoing a surgical procedure may be quite an isolating and lonely experience. This review explored loneliness in the hospital and surgical setting, and highlights the emotional and psychological challenges experienced by patients during their healthcare journey. While hospitals traditionally provide medical and surgical care for a wide array of conditions, the irony lies in their potential to disrupt one’s daily routines, contribute to loss of control, prolong hospital stays, and limit connections with family and loved ones leading to negative psychological well-being and intensifying feelings of loneliness. The implications of loneliness in the hospital and surgical contexts are discussed along with recommendations for improving the healthcare system’s response to the negative health consequences associated with loneliness. Coping strategies are discussed, including social support mechanisms, and approaches to healthy behaviors, i.e. mindfulness, which contribute to mitigating loneliness, in the context of hospitalizations and surgery.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic inflammatory multisystem disorder that commonly affects females during their reproductive years. It is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies and immune complex deposition, the etiology is not known but the interaction of an environmental agent in a genetically susceptible individual is thought to be fundamental. SLE most frequently involves the skin, joints, lungs, heart, kidney, and neuropsychiatric manifestations that may occur during the course of the disease. Mood disorders among SLE patients, particularly depression, are common and important psychiatric manifestations of the disease, in addition to their high incidence and possible deleterious influence on disease progression, so early identification and treatment of depression may have a significant influence on the patient’s quality of life.

The current study aimed to investigate the effect of using a pilates exercise program on improving body mass index and body composition of non-physically active working women. The participants of the study were (16) working women at the University of Basrah, Iraq. A pre-posttest was utilized to collect the data, (after a 12-week cycle of exercises) in Pilates groups, the results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences at (α ≤ 0.05) in the women’s mean scores on body mass index and body composition. The study concluded that the pilates exercise program is effective in the improvement of body mass index and body composition of non-physically active working women.

The superposition of non-linear waves in space refers to the phenomenon where two or more waves overlap and combine to form a new wave pattern. Non-linear waves are characterized by their ability to interact with each other, leading to complex behaviors that are not observed in linear wave systems. Understanding the stability and behavior of the superposition of non-linear waves in space is crucial in various fields such as physics, engineering, and oceanography.When non-linear waves superpose, their interactions can lead to a range of behaviors, including wave breaking, formation of solitons (localized wave packets), and the generation of harmonics. The stability of the superposition is determined by the balance between the non-linear effects and dispersive effects, which can either stabilize or destabilize the wave pattern. In addition, the behavior of non-linear waves in space is influenced by external factors such as boundaries, dissipation, and external forcing.In this paper, we study the behavior and characteristics of waves when they interact with each other. Superposition refers to the phenomenon where multiple waves combine to form a resultant wave. In the case of linear waves, this superposition occurs according to the principles of linear superposition, which states that the displacement or amplitude at any point is the algebraic sum of the displacements or amplitudes of the individual waves.Understanding the superposition of linear waves in space has various applications in fields such as physics, engineering, acoustics, optics, and signal processing. By studying how waves interact and combine, researchers can gain insights into wave propagation, interference patterns, wave reflections, diffraction, and other phenomena that occur when waves meet.