Physicians' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding practices of male and female surgical sterilization procedures in Lebanon.

Objective: Surgical sterilization, including vasectomy in males and tubal ligation in females, is a highly effective but underutilized contraception method. Adoption rates vary globally mostly due to misconceptions by both the general public and practicing physicians. Our survey aims to explore physicians' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about surgical sterilization techniques in Lebanon.

Inequalities in relative cancer survival by race, immigration status, income, and education for 22 cancer sites in Canada, a cohort study.

There is a paucity of disaggregated data to monitor cancer health inequalities in Canada. We used data linkage to estimate site-specific cancer relative survival by race, immigration status, household income, and education level in Canada. We pooled the Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohorts, which are linked datasets of 5.

Naturally Acquired Genotype-Specific HPV Seroreactivity and Subsequent HPV Detection Among Heterosexual Partners.

The protective effect of naturally acquired humoral immunity against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection remains unclear. To investigate the role of infection-induced antibodies on HPV detection in heterosexual partners, we used data from 392 unvaccinated couples (females aged 18-25 years attended up to six visits over 2 years; males aged 17-37 years attended up to two visits 4 months apart) enrolled (2005-2011) in Montreal. Genital and blood samples were HPV DNA genotyped and tested for L1 antibody titers of 14 HPV genotypes.

HPV vaccination and anal HPV infection in gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.

Background: Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) have a higher risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and related diseases and would benefit from preventive measures such as HPV vaccination. We assessed the association between HPV vaccination and anal HPV infection in HIV-negative gbMSM and gbMSM living with HIV from the Lubricant Investigation in Men to Inhibit Transmission of HPV Infection study.

Methods: Participants attended 7 visits over 12 months where they provided a nurse-collected anal sample and self-completed a questionnaire on risk factors and HPV vaccination.

Postpartum depression and mother-infant bonding in women with epilepsy: A case-control study.

Background & Objectives: Postpartum depression is a debilitating mental health condition that consequently can negatively impact the mother/infant unit. This study aimed to screen for postpartum depression among women with epilepsy (WWE) versus healthy women and its consequences on establishing a proper mother-infant bonding.

Methods: A group of WWE (n = 102) and a control group of healthy women (n = 119) were evaluated 4-6 weeks postpartum.

3.0-Tesla MRI Observation at Return to Play After Hamstring Injuries.

Objective: To describe 3.0-Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of hamstring muscles in clinically recovered athletes who were cleared for return to play (RTP).

Design: Prospective observational study.

A Narrative Review of the Putative Etiologic Role and Diagnostic Utility of the Cervicovaginal Microbiome in Human Papillomavirus-Associated Cervical Carcinogenesis.

The cervicovaginal microbiome (CVM) may contribute to human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cervical carcinogenesis. We summarized the literature on the CVM in cervical carcinogenesis by searching Medline, Web of Science, and Embase for articles that sequenced the CVM using metagenomics. Additionally, we identified studies assessing the diagnostic role of the CVM in cervical carcinogenesis by searching PubMed.

Revisiting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in cardiovascular disease: Is too much of a good thing always a good thing?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be a leading cause of global mortality and morbidity. Various established risk factors are linked to CVD, and modifying these risk factors is fundamental in CVD management. Clinical studies underscore the association between dyslipidemia and CVD, and therapeutic interventions that target low-density lipoprotein cholesterol elicit clear benefits.

Chronic shoulder pain due to spinal accessory nerve palsies present opportunities for improved care integration.

Chronic shoulder pain due to iatrogenic spinal accessory nerve (SAN) injury continues to be under-recognized, resulting in delayed time-to-diagnosis and poorer outcomes. Solutions are needed to improve the management of this condition, which can be challenging as care needs to be coordinated across pain management, neurophysiology, rehabilitation and reconstructive surgery. We present a series of six patients with shoulder pain refractory to conservative pain treatments to highlight how SAN injuries continued to be missed and treatment delayed, even at advanced care centers.

Phenotypic switch of vascular smooth muscle cells in COVID-19: Role of cholesterol, calcium, and phosphate.

Although the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), primarily manifests as severe respiratory distress, its impact on the cardiovascular system is also notable. Studies reveal that COVID-19 patients often suffer from certain vascular diseases, partly attributed to increased proliferation or altered phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Although the association between COVID-19 and VSMCs is recognized, the precise mechanism underlying SARS-CoV-2's influence on VSMC phenotype remains largely under-reviewed.

Bacterial stroke-associated pneumonia: microbiological analysis and mortality outcome.

Background: Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) considerably burden healthcare systems. This study aimed to identify predictors of developing SAP in acute ischemic stroke patients admitted to the Stroke Unit at Manial Specialized Hospital factors with microbiological causality and impact on 30-day mortality.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study.

Leptin is a potential biomarker of childhood obesity and an indicator of the effectiveness of weight-loss interventions.

Childhood obesity represents a significant public health concern, imposing a substantial burden on the healthcare system. Furthermore, weight-loss programs often exhibit reduced effectiveness in adults who have a history of childhood obesity. Therefore, early intervention against childhood obesity is imperative.

An Overview of Appropriate Medical Practice and Preparedness in Radiation Emergency Response.

Radiation emergencies involving high doses of nuclear radiation pose significant risks from exposure to ionizing radiation in various scenarios. These situations include transportation accidents involving radioactive materials, occupational exposure, nuclear detonations, dirty bombs, and nuclear power plant accidents. In addition to the immediate risks of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and related diseases, long-term exposure can increase the risk of other health issues such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Bariatric surgery in inflammatory bowel disease: a comparative analysis of 450,000 patients.

Background: Studies were conducted to investigate the outcomes of bariatric surgery (BS) among inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze previous literature, comparing the outcomes of BS between IBD and non-IBD patients.

Setting: Not applicable.

Species-level characterization of the cervicovaginal microbiota and its role in human papillomavirus-associated cervical carcinogenesis.

The cervicovaginal microbiome may contribute to human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cervical carcinogenesis, but studies have been limited by low-resolution analysis methods. Using a high-resolution bioinformatics pipeline, we evaluated the relationship of the cervicovaginal microbiome with HPV and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The cervicovaginal microbiome of 186 women was characterized by sequencing 16S rRNA regions (V3-V4 and V5-V6) and annotated with the high-resolution ANCHOR pipeline.

Pediatric skeletal injuries in emergency department; an alarm of child maltreatment in Egypt: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Child physical abuse, a type of child maltreatment (CM), poses a significant global public health concern. Nonaccidental fractures and soft tissue injuries, which encompass any action that directly or indirectly harms a child, are the primary indicators of physical abuse in children.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of accidental and nonaccidental skeletal fractures in a sample of Egyptian children.

Safety of carrageenan-based gels as preventive microbicides: a narrative review.

Background: Carrageenan-containing gels researched for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have shown promising results for human papillomavirus prevention in women, but not in men. We conducted a narrative review to assess the safety of these gels for genital use.

Methods: We searched PubMed using MeSH terms and keywords on 5 November 2023.

Prioritized neural processing of social threats during perceptual decision-making.

Emotional signals, notably those signaling threat, benefit from prioritized processing in the human brain. Yet, it remains unclear whether perceptual decisions about the emotional, threat-related aspects of stimuli involve specific or similar neural computations compared to decisions about their non-threatening/non-emotional components. We developed a novel behavioral paradigm in which participants performed two different detection tasks (emotion vs.

Review of Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use in West Asia and North Africa.

Ensuring global food security in the face of climate change is critical to human survival. With a predicted human population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and the demand for food supplies expected to increase by 60% globally, but with a parallel potential reduction in crop production for wheat by 6.

Baseline clinical and MRI risk factors for hamstring reinjury showing the value of performing baseline MRI and delaying return to play: a multicentre, prospective cohort of 330 acute hamstring injuries.

Objectives: Studies identifying clinical and MRI reinjury risk factors are limited by relatively small sample sizes. This study aimed to examine the association between baseline clinical and MRI findings with the incidence of hamstring reinjuries using a large multicentre dataset.

Methods: We merged data from four prospective studies (three randomised controlled trials and one ongoing prospective case series) from Qatar and the Netherlands.