"Stages of change, smoking behavior and acceptability of a textmessaging intervention for tobacco cessation among cigarette, dokha and shishasmokers: A qualitative research study.".

Objectives: To explore: (A) the underlying motivators and barriers to smoking cessation among young Arabic speaking smokers and (B) to examine the suitability and preferences for tobacco cessation interventions (specifically text messages) and study the possibility of enrollment methods for a randomised controlled study using text messages as an intervention for tobacco cessation.

Design: Qualitative research using focus group discussions and content analysis.

Settings: Two universities, one of them is the first and foremost comprehensive national university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Bovine herpesvirus 1 in the northeast of Algiers, Algeria: Seroprevalence and associated risk factors in dairy herd.

Objective: The present study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence and associated risk factors of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) in a dairy herd in the northeast of Algiers, Algeria.

Materials And Methods: The target area is in the northeast of Algiers with humid to semi-dry climate and known for its economically important production of cattle. A total of 1,066 randomly selected individual blood samples of dairy herd collected at 120 dairy farms from rural districts of northeast of Algiers were evaluated with antibodies against BoHV-1 using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits, to determine the BoHV-1 infection status of the herds.

Transmission of Induced Chromosomal Aberrations through Successive Mitotic Divisions in Human Lymphocytes after In Vitro and In Vivo Radiation.

The mechanisms behind the transmission of chromosomal aberrations (CA) remain unclear, despite a large body of work and major technological advances in chromosome identification. We reevaluated the transmission of CA to second- and third-division cells by telomere and centromere (TC) staining followed by M-FISH. We scored CA in lymphocytes of healthy donors after in vitro irradiation and those of cancer patients treated by radiation therapy more than 12 years before.

Genotoxic risk of ethyl-paraben could be related to telomere shortening.

The ability of parabens to promote the appearance of multiple cancer hallmarks in breast epithelium cells provides grounds for regulatory review of the implication of the presence of parabens in human breast tissue. It is well documented that telomere dysfunction plays a significant role in the initiation of genomic instability during carcinogenesis in human breast cancer. In the present study, we evaluated the genotoxic effect of ethyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (ethyl-paraben), with and without metabolic activation (S9), in studies following OECD guidelines.

Assessing the effectiveness of a pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation program in the State of Qatar: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: It had been reported that up to 37% of the adult male population smokes cigarettes in Qatar. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey also stated that 13.4% of male school students aged 13 to 15 years in Qatar smoke cigarettes.

Transcranial Doppler to screen on admission patients with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury.

Background: Detecting patients at risk for secondary neurological deterioration (SND) after mild to moderate traumatic brain injury is challenging.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of transcranial Doppler (TCD) on admission in screening these patients.

Methods: This prospective, observational cohort study enrolled 98 traumatic brain injury patients with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 9 to 15 whose initial computed tomography (CT) scan showed either absent or mild lesions according to the Trauma Coma Data Bank (TCDB) classification, ie, TCDB I and TCDB II, respectively.

Occupational, social, and relationship hazards and psychological distress among low-income workers: implications of the 'inverse hazard law'.

Background: Few studies have simultaneously included exposure information on occupational hazards, relationship hazards (eg, intimate partner violence) and social hazards (eg, poverty and racial discrimination), especially among low-income multiracial/ethnic populations.

Methods: A cross-sectional study (2003-2004) of 1202 workers employed at 14 worksites in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts investigated the independent and joint association of occupational, social and relationship hazards with psychological distress (K6 scale).

Results: Among this low-income cohort (45% were below the US poverty line), exposure to occupational, social and relationship hazards, per the 'inverse hazard law,' was high: 82% exposed to at least one occupational hazard, 79% to at least one social hazard, and 32% of men and 34% of women, respectively, stated they had been the perpetrator or target of intimate partner violence (IPV).

Symptoms of reproductive tract infections and mental distress among women in low-income urban neighborhoods of Beirut, Lebanon.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between symptoms of reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and mental distress among women residing in three low-income urban neighborhoods in Greater Beirut.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of currently married women aged 15-49 years (n = 1506) from the 2003 Urban Health Study was undertaken. The dependent variables were complaining of vaginal discharge, pelvic pain, and pain during intercourse.

[Can serum protein S100beta predict neurological deterioration after moderate or minor traumatic brain injury?].

Introduction: Patients with moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Glasgow Coma Scale, GCS, 9-13) or minor TBI (GCS 14-15) are at risk for subsequent neurological deterioration. Serum protein S-100 is believed to reflect brain damage following TBI. In patients with normal or minor CT scan abnormalities on admission, we tested whether the determination of serum protein S-100 beta could predict secondary neurological deterioration.

Revisiting Robinson: the perils of individualistic and ecologic fallacy.

Background: W S Robinson made a seminal contribution by demonstrating that correlations for the same two variables can be different at the individual and ecologic level. This study reanalyzes and historically situates Robinson's influential study that laid the foundation for the primacy of analyzing data at only the individual level.

Methods: We applied a binomial multilevel logistic model to analyse variation in illiteracy as enumerated by the 1930 US.

Race/ethnicity and breast cancer estrogen receptor status: impact of class, missing data, and modeling assumptions.

Objective: To test whether reported associations between race/ethnicity and breast cancer estrogen receptor (ER) status are inflated due to missing ER data, lack of socioeconomic data, and use of the odds ratio (OR) rather than the prevalence ratio (PR).

Methods: We geocoded and added census tract socioeconomic data to all cases of primary invasive breast cancer (n = 42,420) among women diagnosed between 1998 and 2002 in two California cancer registries (San Francisco Bay Area; Los Angeles County) and analyzed the data using log binomial regression.

Results: Adjusting for socioeconomic position and tumor characteristics, in models using the imputed data, reduced the PR for the black versus white excess risk of being ER--from 1.

Beyond reproductive health: listening to women about their health in disadvantaged Beirut neighborhoods.

In this article, we aim to contextualize gynecological problems within a broader health and social context, expanding the lens beyond reproductive health. Questionnaires were administered to 1,869 ever-married women aged 15 to 59 that included questions on living, general health, and gynecological problems. These questions were open-ended, allowing women to respond in their own words.

Incidence and correlates of cesarean section in a capital city of a middle-income country.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and correlates of cesarean deliveries (CS) in Beirut.

Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted on 18,837 consecutive infants born at nine hospitals from the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network (NCPNN). Stepwise Logistic Regression was performed to determine CS correlates.

Cesarean delivery among nulliparous women in Beirut: assessing predictors in nine hospitals.

Background: Obstetric practice has witnessed a worldwide trend of increasing cesarean section rates in recent years. Similar trends have been observed in Lebanon, according to 2 studies conducted in 1996 and 1999. The objective of the present study was to assess the differences in predictors of cesarean delivery among nulliparous women in a "control hospital" with a low cesarean delivery rate (12.

The policy environment encouraging C-section in Lebanon.

Objective: This study aims to analyse the environment encouraging C-section in Lebanon and to reveal approaches that could be adopted for the reduction of this practice, by considering the attitudes, opinions and actions of different stakeholders.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 selected key players, including hospital directors, midwives, insurance bodies, syndicates and scientific societies, ministries, international agencies, medical schools, media representatives and women's groups. In addition, a group discussion was conducted with 10 obstetricians.

Patterns of antenatal care in low-versus high-risk pregnancies in Lebanon.

We studied patterns of antenatal care in low- versus high-risk pregnancies in Lebanon comparing 538 women after delivery in urban Beirut with rural Baka'a. Most women had 9 antenatal care visits with an obstetrician, starting in the first trimester. Care for high-risk and low-risk pregnancies was similar in terms of type of provider, number of visits and timing of first visit.

Women's perceptions of reproductive health in three communities around Beirut, Lebanon.

The aim of this study was to elicit definitions of the concept of reproductive health among women in three communities around Beirut, Lebanon, as part of the reproductive health component of a larger Urban Health Study. The communities were characterised by poverty, rural-urban mobility and heterogeneous refugee and migrant populations. A random sample of 1,869 women of reproductive age completed a questionnaire, of whom a sub-sample of 201 women were randomly selected.

Transcranial Doppler to detect on admission patients at risk for neurological deterioration following mild and moderate brain trauma.

Objective: To investigate the contribution of transcranial Doppler measurements obtained in the emergency room for detecting patients with secondary neurological deterioration after mild or moderate brain trauma.

Design And Setting: Prospective cohort study in the emergency room in a university teaching hospital.

Patients: Seventy-eight adult patients admitted to the emergency room after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including 42 patients with Glasgow Coma Score 14-15 and 36 with 9-13.

Gender and sexual health in clinical practice in Lebanon.

This study examines the readiness of obstetricians/gynecologists (Ob/Gyns) in Lebanon to provide sexual consultation, their degree of comfort when discussing issues of sexual health, and their attitudes regarding assessment, treatment, and referral. Data on these concepts were collected through face-to-face interviews with 286 randomly selected Ob/Gyns. Most Ob/Gyns reported feeling comfortable discussing sexuality during consultations, which they attributed much more to professional experience than to training.

Demographic and psychosocial profile of smoking among pregnant women in Lebanon: public health implications.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and determinants of smoking prior to and during pregnancy in Lebanon.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using two structured instruments. One instrument included information on demographic characteristics, smoking patterns in the index pregnancy and previous pregnancies, use of prenatal health services, stressful life events, and social support during pregnancy.

Comparison of the prevalence of alcohol, cannabis and other drugs between 900 injured drivers and 900 control subjects: results of a French collaborative study.

A collaborative case-control study was conducted in France in order to determine the prevalence of alcohol, cannabinoids, opiates, cocaine metabolites, amphetamines and therapeutic psychoactive drugs in blood samples from drivers injured in road accidents and to compare these values with those of a control population. Recruitment was performed in emergency departments of six university or general hospitals and comprised 900 drivers involved in a non-fatal accident and 900 patients (controls) who attended the same emergency units for a non-traumatic reason. Drivers and controls were matched by sex and age.

Postpartum depression: prevalence and determinants in Lebanon.

This study assesses the prevalence and determinants of postpartum depression (PPD). 396 women delivering in Beirut and a rural area (Beka'a Valley) were interviewed 24 hours and 3-5 months after delivery. During the latter visit, they were screened using the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale.