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Purpose: The main objective of this study is to determine if there are domains of job performance and job stress that significantly influence work-life balance among COVID-19 Frontliners in Tagum City. Design/methodology/approach: This study used quantitative non-experimental research design utilizing correlational technique with a total sample size of 200 COVID-19 Frontliners selected through random sampling, data were collected through adopted survey questionnaire. The statistical tools used for data treatment in this study were mean, pearson-r and regression analysis. Findings: The result showed a very high level of job performance, moderate level of job stress, and high level of work-life balance among COVID-19 Frontliners. Also, there is a significant relationship between job performance and work-life balance, and between job stress and work-life balance. Practical implications: The domains of job performance and job stress that significantly predict work-life balance are task performance, having managerial responsibilities, and feeling poorly managed and resourced. Originality/value: This paper is an original work. Paper type: Research paper

There was much progress in the field of Neurorestoratology in the year of 2022. It included highlighting advances in understanding the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, neurorestorative mechanisms, and clinical treatments as compiled in the 2022 yearbook of Neurorestoratology. There is still controversy about whether amyloid b-protein and tau protein deposition are the reasons for or the results of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. The fabricated images in important key articles that speculated on the reasons for AD pathogenesis were found. Cholinergic deficiency and decrease or loss in strength of glutamatergic synapse, limited or failing bidirectional cholinergic upregulation in early cognitive impairment, or progressive posterior-to-anterior cortical cholinergic denervation could result in the appearance of AD. Exploration of neurorestorative mechanisms were found in more detail ways in neuromodulation, immunomodulation, neurogenesis, neural network or circuitry reconstruction, neuroprotection, nervous structural repair, and neuroplasticity. Several kinds of cell therapies for neurological diseases showed neurorestorative effects in open-label and/or non-randomized clinical studies or trials. However, mesenchymal stromal cells and mononuclear cells did not demonstrate neurorestorative effects or improve the quality of life for patients with neurodegenerative diseases or neurotrauma including stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials (RDPCTs). Clinical treatments through neurostimulation/neuromodulati on and the brain-computer/ machine interface yielded positive results in AD, Parkinson's disease, stroke, SCI, cerebral palsy, and other diseases in RDPCTs. Neurorestorative surgery, pharmaceutical neurorestorative therapy and other interventions have demonstrated neurorestorative effects for various considered incurable neurological diseases in RDPCTs. Thus, this year, additional guidelines, assessment scales, and standards were set up or revised. These included guidelines of clinical neurorestorative treatments for brain trauma (2022 China version), clinical cell therapy guidelines for neurorestoration (IANR/CANR 2022), SCI or dysfunction quality of life rating scale (SCIDQLRS) (IANR 2022 version). Neurorestorative effects of varying therapeutic stra-tegies with higher standards of evidence-based medicine are now benefiting patients with currently incurable neurological diseases. Hopefully some of them may become routine therapeutic interventions for patients with these diseases in the near future.

Clinical neurorestorative therapies recently made great progress for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). This paper systemically reviews historical perspectives, recent advancements and achieve ...

Osteoporosis is the most common bone disease in humans. With its related fragility fracture, it represents a major public health problem in our region, with a significant medical and socio-economic burden. The high prevalence rate of vitamin D deficiency, the increase in life expectancy, the low socioeconomic level and the significant restriction to access to health care in some countries represent the major causes for the increasing prevalence of osteoporosis and incidence of fragility fractures in the Arabic countries. Bone mineral density (BMD) assessment is the gold standard to diagnose osteoporosis. However, a clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis may be made in the presence of a fragility fracture, without BMD measurement. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the preferred method for screening bone mineral density. For screening site of measurement, DXA of hip and spine is suggested. BMD assessment is recommended in all women 65 years of age and older and men 70 and older regardless of risk factors. Younger subjects with clinical risk factors and persons with clinical evidence of osteoporosis or diseases leading to osteoporosis should also be screened. These guidelines are aimed to provide to health care professionals in the region of an updated process for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. It includes risk factors for osteoporosis and the indications for screening, diagnosis of osteoporosis, treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal and premenopausal women, and men; in addition to prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis.

Background: Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and the associated risk factors are less studied in the Middle East. This study is designed to determine the prevalence of FSD and its associated risk factors in Jordan. Materials and Methods: A group of women were interviewed using detailed questionnaire on several aspects of FSD including desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain disorders. They underwent sociodemographic investigation. Prevalence and risk factors of FSD are calculated in different age groups. Results: A total of 470 women aged 32.6 ± 9.6 years are included in this study. Desire problems were detected in 49.4% (232/470) of the studied women, while an arousal problem in 31.9% (150/470) and lubrication problem in 39.2% (184/470). An orgasm problem was detected in 39.57% (186/470) of the studied women, while satisfaction problem was detected in 43.82% (206/470) and pain problem during sexual relation in 19.2% (90/470). There was positive significant correlation between each domain of the FSD and the studied women's age except pain. FSD was found to be significant in women with more than four children (83.3%, P < 0.02), those who had been married for more than 10 years (76.7%, P < 0.02), in women with chronic medical diseases (76.7%, P < 0.02), in unemployed women (76.7%, P < 0.02), and in women not using contraception (75.2%, P < 0.005). There was no significant correlation with the level of education (P < 0.34) and monthly income (P < 0.24). Conclusion: The prevalence of FSD in Jordan is about 64.7%, the desire disorders are the most prevalent domain of FSD, and age is the most significant risk factor for FSD. Further research is needed with larger and more comprehensive sample to estimate the magnitude of FSD and to confirm its relationship with different risk factors.

Objectives: To investigate the frequency of medical complications in spinal cord injury patients, their demographic characteristics, extent and causes of their injury. Methods: The medical records of 190 patients with spinal cord injury patients who were admitted during 2008-2012 were enrolled in this study. Their demographic data, causes and extent of injury were analyzed. The American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale was used to categorize injury level and severity. The causes of morbidities surveyed were cardiovascular, respiratory, renal complications, pressure sores, spasticity and neurogenic pain. Results: A total of 190 cases were reviewed. The majority were predominantly males 152 (80%). The male/female ratio was 4:1, the mean age at the time of injury was 32 years. Their age ranged from (13-70 years). The vast majority was traumatic causes (n=167,88%) of which road traffic accidents were the main cause of their injury. Non-traumatic causes were recorded in 23 (12%) patients. Among the morbidities studied, pain was the dominant cause (45%) followed by urinary tract infection (30%), pressure sores (25%), spasticity (23%), thromboembolic complications (18%) and respiratory complications (10%). Conclusions: The most common causes of morbidity were pain followed by urinary tract infection and pressure sores. Effective prevention strategies should be applied as early as possible to reduce their occurrence in spinal cord injury patients. This study showed that traumatic causes and particularly road traffic accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injury.

Currently, there is a lack of effective therapeutic methods to restore neurological function for chronic complete spinal cord injury (SCI) by conventional treatment. Neurorestorative strategies with positive preclinical results have been translated to the clinic, and some patients have gotten benefits and their quality of life has improved. These strategies include cell therapy, neurostimulation or neuromodulation, neuroprosthesis, neurotization or nerve bridging, and neurorehabilitation. The aim of this consensus by 31 experts from 20 countries is to show the objective evidence of clinical neurorestoration for chronic complete SCI by the mentioned neurorestorative strategies. Complete chronic SCI patients are no longer told, “nothing can be done.” The clinical translation of more effective preclinical neurorestorative strategies should be encouraged as fast as possible in order to benefit patients with incurable CNS diseases. This manuscript is published as part of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) special issue of Cell Transplantation.

Paediatric calcified tendinitis is a rare entity. Although trauma is a triggering factor, the aetiology is unknown. Conservative management is the treatment of choice with most patients experiencing symptom resolution within six weeks. We describe the case of a six-year-old male child with persistent wrist pain despite conservative treatment. Exploration revealed involvement of the extensor carpi radialis brevis, and complete recovery after surgical excision of the lesion identified on X-ray.

To design a medical decision support system (MDSS) that would accurately predict the rehabilitation protocols prescribed by the physicians for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) using only their demographic and clinical characteristics. The demographic and clinical variables for 170 patients receiving one of three treatment protocols for knee OA were entered into the MDSS. Demographic variables in the model were age and sex. Clinical variables entered into the model were height, weight, BMI, affected side, severity of knee OA, and severity of pain. All patients in the study received one of three treatment protocols for patients with knee OA: (a) hot packs, followed by electrotherapy and exercise, (b) ice packs, followed by ultrasound and exercise and (c) exercise alone. The resilient back propagation artificial neural network algorithm was used, with a ten-fold cross-validation. It was estimated that the MDSS is able to accurately predict the treatment prescribed by the physician for 87% of the patients. We developed an artificial neural network-based decision support system that can viably aid physicians in determining which treatment protocol would best match the anthropometric and clinical characteristics of patients with knee OA.

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menguraikan geografis keadaan budaya hukum Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten, kemudian mengungkapkan secara cermat tentang budaya hukum perubahan kehidupan Masyarakat Baduy, juga menganalisis budaya hukum adat di Indonesia, menganalisis atas penyebab perubahan-perubahan hukum atas kehidupan kekerabatan Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten sebagai bagian suku Sunda di Provinsi Banten. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode yuridis normatif yang menganalisis secara kualitatif dengan menggunakan data sekunder yang berkaian dengan sistem budaya hukum Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten di Provinsi Banten. Hasil penelitian antara lain; dalam Kampung Suku Baduy masih berada bagian dari suku Sunda yang secara umum tidak terlalu banyak berbeda pada suku Sunda lainnya. Secara khusus yang membedakan Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten dengan suku Sunda lainnya adalah cara-cara berpakaian dan pelaksanaan tradisi sebagai bagian budaya hukum yang masih teguh memegang budaya hukumnya yang bersumber dari kebiasaan akar tradisi leluhur mereka yang masih dijaga baik. Budaya hukum terhadap perubahan berkehidupan masyarakat Masyarakat Baduy telah terikat tradisi adat perkawinan internal dan budaya hukum tradisi mereka yang mutlak dijaga secara murni. Budaya hukum atas berkehidupan hukum adat masih memproritaskan hukum adat dan hak ulayat yang hampir punah sebagaimana yang terjadi di beberapa daerah di Indonesia, ternyata Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten mampu mempertahankan eksistensinya dari pengaruh kemajuan bangsa. Perubahan tatanan budaya hukum Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten terhadap ronrongan pergaulan secara eksternal termasuk mengikuti pola-pola berprilaku pada masyarakat luar, termasuk penerimaan alat kemunikasi informasi seperti menonton televisi, juga menganjurkan sekolah kalangan muda sepanjang tidak merusak tatanan budaya hukum Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten yang mutlak harus dijaga keberadaan dan kelestariannya. Sedangkan dari sisi, sarananya Pemda Jawa Barat berkewajiban untuk mempertahankan budaya hukum masyarakat suku Sunda termasuk Suku Baduy Provinsi Banten dari ancaman kepunahan dan menyiapkan sarana dan prasarana untuk menjadi bagian tujuan wisata, karena tanpa dukungan pemerintah tidak maksimal mendatangkan devisa wisatawan yang datang secara individu.

Objective: To retrospectively compare 2 injection techniques in the management of spastic equinovarus deformity after stroke. Methods: Patients with stroke were seen at King Hussein Medical Center, Amman, Jordan between January and December 2009. The study design involved an open label retrospective analysis of medical records of 2 groups of comparable age and onset of first stroke. Botulinum toxin was injected into the calf muscles at 2 sites in group I (12 patients) and 4 sites in group II (14 patients). Functional gain was evaluated by the time to walk 10 meters at month one, 3, and 6 compared with baseline. Results: There was significant improvement in walking time in each study group. However, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups as measured by the 10-meter walking time. Conclusion: Fewer injection sites would minimize patient discomfort and possibly the production of antibodies, yielding similar therapeutic effects.

Melhorar a educação é o discurso que mais se ouve em fóruns de discussão que refletem sobre a qualidade de vida das pessoas. No centro deste debate está a preocupação com a formação dos professores que se limitam a tentar transmitir conteúdos, mostrando-se, necessária a apresentação denovas metodologias. O teatro apresenta potencialidades, para ser encarado como uma ferramenta inovadora. Nesta perspectiva, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a experiência de formação inicial de professores de química através da participação no grupo de teatro «Química em Cena».Para isso utilizou como instrumento de investigação questionários. O teatro apresenta-se como uma metodologia que possibilita um processo diferenciado de aprendizado, desenvolvendo no aluno em formação estratégias para refletir sobre sua futura prática pedagógica.

The objective of this study was to assess the relative association between body weight, body mass index (BMI), lean mass (LM) and fat mass (FM), and bone mineral density (BMD) in a group of Jordanian postmenopausal women and investigate if this possible association changes with age. A total of 3256 patients had dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan in the period from January 2009 till January 2012 at the Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Department of Jordan University Hospital. Only 584 women met the selection criteria. Age has been recorded, and patients were divided into subgroups according to age. Body weight and height were measured, and BMI was calculated. Body composition (LM, FM, percentage of android fat, and percentage of gynoid fat) was assessed by DXA. BMD of the lumbar spine (L1-L4) and femoral neck was measured by DXA. Weight, BMI, FM, LM, percentage of android fat, and percentage of gynoid fat were positively correlated to BMD at both lumbar spine and femoral neck. However, this correlation disappeared at the age of 70 yr at lumbar spine and 75 yr at femoral neck. This study suggests that both FM and LM are important determinants of BMD in Jordanian postmenopausal women, and this correlation disappears after the age of 70 yr at lumbar spine and 75 yr at femoral neck.

To survey the situation of traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) in Jordan and for a future nationwide epidemiological survey, a retrospective study was conducted at the Royal Jordanian Rehabilitation Centre (RJRC) King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC) Amman-Jordan, where all traumatic cases within this centre in addition to a few nontraumatic spinal injury patients are referred to the spinal unit which has a capacity of 30 beds. 151 traumatic SCI patients who were admitted to the spinal unit at RJRC during the period January 1988 to December 1993 were reviewed. The estimated annual incidence was 18 per million population. The majority were predominantly males (85.4%) the male/female ratio was 5.8:1. The mean age at the time of injury was 33 being 30.9 years for males and 34.8 years for females. There were 68% (n = 103) with paraplegia and 32% (n = 48) with tetraplegia (Frankel A-D). The commonest aetiology was motor vehicle accidents (44.4% n = 67), next came bullet injuries (25.8% n = 39), followed by accidental falls (21.2% n = 32). Other causes of SCI, and also the importance of preventive measures are discussed. Language: en

A 50 year old man was undergoing a coronary angiogram in preparation for possible cardiac bypass surgery at Queen Alia Heart Institute (QAHI) in King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC) in Amman, Jordan. At the end of the procedure, he suddenly developed low back pain and weakness of both lower limbs. Neurological examination revealed incomplete paraplegia below L1 with urinary retention. Urgent MRI scan suggested ischaemia of the lower part of the spinal cord. Literature search revealed that no such complication of this procedure, which is a common investigation in cardiac centres, has, to date, been reported. The possible causes of this patient's paraplegia are discussed.

Ali H Otom, M Rami Al-AhmarRheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, Royal Rehabilitation Centre, King Hussein Medical Centre, Amman, JordanBackground: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pattern of bone loss and its consequences in a group of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients managed at the Spinal Unit-Royal Rehabilitation Centre, King Hussein Medical Centre, and its correlation with level and extent of injury, age, and time since injury.Methods: Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry at the lumbar spine and femoral neck in a group of patients who had suffered an SCI a mean of 8.6 (range 1–31) years earlier and had completed their medical and rehabilitation program during the period July 2003 to December 2013. The patients were diagnosed to have osteoporosis according to World Health Organization criteria and their fracture risk was estimated from this score using published data. The severity of their spinal injuries ranged from class A to D according to American Spinal Injury Association criteria.Results: Of the 55 patients included in the study, 45 were male and ten were female, with a male to female ratio of 4.5:1. Their mean age was 39.5 (range 13–61) years. Bone loss indicated by low BMD revealed that the femoral region was predominantly affected, with relative preservation of the lumbar spine. Abnormal BMD values were detected in 83.6% of subjects, and fractures occurred in 16.4% following minor trauma. A positive correlation was noted between time since injury and degree of osteoporosis. Individuals with complete lesions showed lower BMD values than those with incomplete lesions. No significant correlation was found with age or sex.Conclusion: SCI patients are at high risk of developing osteoporosis, which can lead to significant morbidity, particularly lower extremity fractures without significant trauma. Prevention and early treatment of bone loss are important in this patient group to avoid further functional impairment.Keywords: osteoporosis, spinal cord injury, bone loss, bone mineral density, American Spinal Injury Association

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) No presente trabalho é descrito a síntese e a caracterização dos compostos de coordenação entre os nitratos de lantanídeos (III) e a pirazinacarboxamida (PyZ), visando uma possível aplicação funcional desses novos compostos como dispositivos moleculares conversores de luz. Os complexos obtidos foram caracterizados por meio de diversas técnicas analíticas, das quais podemos destacar: análise elementar, condutividade eletrolítica molar, termogravimetria (TG) e análise térmica diferencial (DTA) simultânea, calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC), espectroscopia de absorção no infravermelho médio (FT-IR), espectroscopia por energia dispersiva de raios-X (EDS), difratometria de raios-X (DRX) pelo método do pó, espectroscopia de absorção eletrônica (UV-Vis) a 298 K e espectroscopia de luminescência a 298 K. Através dos resultados de análise elementar, termogravimetria e de condutividade eletrolítica molar, foi possível propor as seguintes fórmulas moleculares: [Ln(PyZ)2(NO3)2]NO3.2H2O (Ln3+ = La–Eu) e [Ln(PyZ)2(NO3)2]NO3.H2O (Ln3+ = Gd–Dy). As curvas TG-DTA e DSC forneceram informações a respeito da desidratação, degradação, estabilidade e natureza dos eventos térmicos referentes aos processos de decomposição. Os dados de condutividade, tanto em nitrometano como em acetonitrila, sugeriram comportamento de eletrólito 1:1 para todos os compostos, reforçando os resultados dos espectros de absorção na região do infravermelho médio, que indicaram a presença de nitrato não coordenado aos íons metálicos. Nos espectros eletrônicos no UV-Vis observou-se o deslocamento das bandas de absorção dos complexos estudados, quando comparadas às bandas do ligante livre, sugerindo a coordenação do íon metálico central com o ligante pirazinacarboxamida. A análise dos espectros de absorção na região do infravermelho (FT-IR) permitiram estabelecer que os sítios de coordenação do ligante PyZ com o íon metálico são o oxigênio carbonílico e o nitrogênio α do anel pirazínico. A interpretação dos difratogramas de raios-X revelou a existência de três séries isomórficas: a primeira compreende os compostos de La3+ e Ce3+, a segunda os compostos de Pr3+ ao Tb3+ e a terceira ao composto de Dy3+. O estudo das bandas hipersensitivas do complexo de neodímio no estado sólido a 298 K permitiu determinar os parâmetros espectroscópicos, cujos valores numéricos indicam que a interação metal-ligante é essencialmente eletrostática. A partir dos espectros eletrônicos obtidos em solução de acetonitrila e etanol calculou-se a força do oscilador (P), cujos valores sugerem uma maior influência do etanol na esfera de coordenação do íon Nd3+. O espectro de emissão do complexo de gadolínio revelou que a energia do estado tripleto excitado do ligante PyZ, encontra-se acima dos níveis emissores dos íons Eu e Tb, o que favorece o processo de transferência de energia metal-ligante. Baseando-se na análise do espectro de emissão do composto de európio no estado sólido a 298 K, foi possível atribuir uma microssimetria aproximadamente D2d, consistente com a geometria de um dodecaedro distorcido para o composto. A análise de luminescência sugere que os complexos de Eu3+, Tb3+, Sm3+ e Dy3+ apresentam emissões características na região dos íons lantanídeos, porém, quando em solução de acetonitrila, apenas o complexo de samário não apresentou emissão na região do visível por ter possivelmente sua luminescência suprimida pela presença do solvente. This present work describes the synthesis and characterization of coordination compounds between lanthanide nitrate (III) and pyrazinecarboxamide (PyZ), intending a possible functional application of these new compounds as molecular light conversion devices. The obtained compounds were characterized by various analytical techniques, of which we highlight: elemental analysis, molar electrolytic conductivity, thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) simultaneous, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), absorption spectroscopy in mid infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy by energy dispersive Xray (EDS), diffraction X-ray (XRD) by the powder method spectroscopy electronic absorption (UV-Vis) at 298 K and luminescence spectroscopy at 298 K. From the results of elemental analysis, thermogravimetry and molar electrolytic conductivity, it was possible to propose the following molecular formulas: [Ln(PyZ)2(NO3)2]NO3.2H2O (Ln3+ = La-Eu) and [Ln(PyZ)2 (NO3)2]NO3.H2O (Ln3+ = Gd-Dy). The TG-DTA and DSC curves provided information about dehydration, degradation, stability and nature of thermal events related to decomposition processes. The conductivity data, both nitromethane and acetonitrile, suggested an electrolyte behavior 1:1 for all compounds, reinforcing the results of the absorption spectra in the middle infrared region, which indicated the presence of nitrate is not coordinated to the metal ions. Regarding the electronic spectra UV-Vis, it was observed displacement of the absorption bands of the studied complexes, when compared to the free ligand bands, suggesting the coordination of the central metal ion with the binder pyrazinecarboxamide. The analysis of absorption spectra in the infrared (FT-IR) leads to stabilish that sites of coordination with the PyZ binder metal ion are carbonyl oxygen and nitrogen α pyrazine ring. The interpretation of X-ray diffraction revealed the existence of three isomorphic series: the first comprises those compounds of La3+ and Ce3+, the second compounds of the Pr3+, Tb3+ and Dy3+ to the third compound. The study of hipersensitivas bands of neodymium complex in the solid state at 298 K allowed the determination of spectroscopic parameters, numerical values which indicate that metal-ligand interaction is essentially electrostatic. The oscillator strength (P) was calculated from the electronic spectra in acetonitrile solution and ethanol. The P values suggest a greater influence of ethanol in coordination ion Nd3+ ball. The emission spectrum of the gadolinium complex showed that the energy of the excited triplet state PyZ binder is between the emitting level of the Tb ions and I, which favors the process of metal-ligand energy transfer. Based on the analysis of the europium compound emission spectrum in the solid state at 298 K, it was possible to assign a microssimetria approximately D2d, consistent with the geometry of a distorted dodecahedron for the compound. Luminescence analysis suggests that the complexes of Eu3+, Tb3+, Sm3+ and Dy3+ display characteristic emissions in the region of lanthanide ions, however, when in acetonitrile solution, only samarium complex showed no emission in the visible region, probaly because a suppression of luminescence by the presence of the solvent.