There is robust evidence to support the relationship between spirituality and mental health, but the mechanisms of this association are not well-understood. The existential meaning provided by spirituality may be one of these mechanisms. This was the central theme of Viktor Frankl's psychology, which he explained using the notion of the spiritual unconscious.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug-induced liver injury (DILI) is an unpredictable and feared side effect of antituberculosis treatment (AT). The present study aimed to identify clinical and genetic variables associated with susceptibility to AT-associated hepatotoxicity in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis treated with a standard protocol. Of 233 patients enrolled, 90% prospectively, 103 developed liver injury: 37 with mild and 66 with severe phenotype (DILI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA microwave-assisted structure-conversion (MASC) method was used to obtain photochromic hackmanites (M,Na)8Al6Si6O24(Cl,S)2 (M: Li, Na, and K) in a fast (12 to 20 min) one-step process. Structural conversion from Zeolite A to hackmanite minerals has been proven to be very effective through an aluminosilicate crystalline intermediate. Photochromism is observed with both UV and X-ray (CuKα) excitation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQL) indicators between institutionalized and community-dwelling elderly men and women.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 496 elderly men and women, surveyed by researchers at a private hospital that attends institutionalized and community-dwelling elderly. HRQL (World Health Organization Quality of Life), daily living activities (Katz questionnaire), and instrumental daily living activities (Lawton questionnaire), mini-mental state examination, handgrip strength test, and function capacity (timed up and go test) were obtained.
Persistent luminescence materials Lu2O3:R(3+),M (Pr,Hf(IV); Eu; or Tb,Ca(2+)) were successfully and rapidly (22 min) prepared by microwave-assisted solid-state synthesis (MASS) using a carbon microwave susceptor and H3BO3 as flux. Reaction times are reduced by up to 93% over previous synthetic methods, without special gases application and using a domestic microwave oven. All materials prepared with H3BO3 flux exhibit LuBO3 impurities that were quantified by Rietveld refinement from synchrotron radiation X-ray powder diffraction patterns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP) from November 2003 to March 2004 was determined by detection of serum anti-T. gondii antibodies. A short questionnaire interview for pregnant women was performed to investigate risk factors associated with T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Infect Dis J
November 2005
The prevalence status of Toxoplasma gondii infection in children of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP), Western Africa, is unknown to date. A serologic survey of T. gondii infection among pre-schoolchildren aged <5 years in the DRSTP was assessed by the latex agglutination (LA) test from November 2003 to March 2004.
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