Search

Hala Ahmadieh,* Hadi Itani,* Sanaa Itani, Khaled Sidani, Mona Kassem, Kassem Farhat, Mohammad Jbeily, Abdallah Itani Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic noncommunicable disease characterized by hyperglycemia and is associated with chronic complications affecting the overall quality of life. As of 2017, the prevalence of diabetes in Lebanon is estimated to be 14.6%. Depression is noted to be common among Lebanese citizens, present in around 17.3%. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of depression among the diabetic Lebanese citizens and to study its relationship with poor glycemic control and diabetes complications. Methods: In total, 436 diabetic patients participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients with diabetes mellitus attending several private clinics and health care centers were asked to fill out a well-structured questionnaire developed by an expert. Depression was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The study collected demographic information about the participants including their lifestyles, their last reported glycosylated hemoglobin values, and their reported microvascular and macrovascular complications. Data were collected, entered, and analyzed on SPSS software version 23.1. A descriptive analysis is carried out by calculating the mean and standard deviation for continuous variables and number and percentage for categorical ones. Association between categorical variables is evaluated using a chi-squared test. A P-value of

Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic, debilitating mental illness that contributes significantly to the global burden of disease. Assertive outreach treatment for patients with schizophrenia and psychotic disorders has been implemented to improve treatment adherence and outcomes.The suitability of this model of care outside the western context has not been fully established. The Psychosis Recovery Outreach Program (PROP),staffed by a multidisciplinary team that applies principles of early intervention and assertive outreach, was initiated in February 2016 at a leading psychiatric facility in Lebanon. Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify and analyze clinical and demographic variables associated with patient enrollment in PROP, out of a typical clinical population attending a psychiatric outpatient department. Methods: This retrospective study included patients above 18 y.o. at time of first point of care with a primary diagnosis of psychosis according to the International Classi-fication of Diseases 10 (ICD-10), and who presented to the outpatient psychiatry department at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) and were following up in PROP. We collected twelve-month data and used logistic regression models to identify predictor variables for enrollment in the service compared to those receiving standard treatment. Results: In total, 45 patients participated in the study. Patients were mostly males (77.8%), younger than 39 years (80%), of college or higher education (68.2%), and diagnosed with schizophrenia (46.7%) or schizoaffective disorder (48.9%). About one-quarter (22.7%) had a comorbid cannabis use disorder. A majority received more than one oral antipsychotic (75.6%) while half (51.1%) were maintained on a long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic.The following variables were significant predictors of enrollment in PROP: having a comorbid cannabis use disorder (OR 2.83 [1.25 – 6.37]), being prescribed a LAI antipsychotic (OR 9.99 [4.93-20.24]) or more than one oral antipsychotic (OR 4.57 [2.22-9.39]), visiting the emergency department more than once (OR 8.7 [2.64-28.68]), and admission to the psychiatry unit (OR 13.91[3.17-60.94]). In addition, those following up in PROP were younger and less likely to be in the oldest age group (over 54 years) [OR 0.11 (0.01-0.93)], less likely to be females (OR0.39 [0.18-0.81]), and less likely to be diagnosed with "other psychotic disorder" as com-pared to schizophrenia (OR 0.14 [0.03 – 0.62]). Conclusions: PROP was the first community treatment program to use the principles of assertive outreachin Lebanon. Our findings highlight that the assertive out-reach model of care is applicable to its target population in the context of psychiatric care in Lebanon, namely young individuals with psychosis, higher comorbidities and a severe course of illness. Disclosure of Interest: None Declared [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of three-wave interactions among self-excited nonlinear ionization waves in a diffusion-controlled helium positive column showed that two self-excited waves generate the third one by resonance due to nonlinear interaction satisfying the selection rule. There is a mismatch in wave number in three-wave interaction but none in frequency. Strong phase coherence is detected in the nonlinear interaction closely related to the modulational instability.

Deals with a study which examined the excitation of nonlinear ionization waves caused by three-wave interaction in helium positive columns. Observation on the bispectrum and bicoherence spectrum; Description of self-excited fluctuations; Characteristics of detected phase coherence in the nonlinear interaction.

Cu2SnS3 thin films were prepared by crystallization in sulfur and tin mixing atmosphere from the stacked Cu/Sn precursors deposited by sequential evaporation of Sn and Cu elements. From EPMA analysis, the composition of the thin film was approximately constant regardless changing Sn mole ratio in the precursor. However, the composition of inside of the thin films and Mo layer had gradation. The Raman analysis showed that the spectrum corresponded to monoclinic Cu2SnS3. Cu2SnS3 thin films were applied to the fabrication of Cu2SnS3 solar cells. The values of Voc and Isc increased with decreasing Sn mole ratio in the precursor. The largest Voc of 247.5 mV was achieved in sample of Cu/Sn mole ratio of 2/1.2, which is comparable with early reported value of Voc. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method for laser lithography of cell-adhesive arrays on a fluoropolymer surface. The method is based on 172 nm excimer-lamp photomodification in ammonia atmosphere followed by microstructuring by laser ablation. The improved wettability of the polymer is caused by new chemical groups on the surface after the UV treatment that we proved by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. The cell adhesion properties of micropatterned structures were tested by cultivation of mammalian cells. We show that single elongated cells can grow confined to lines with sharply defined boundaries of the cell-covered areas. In preliminary experiments, we also demonstrate that the described technique allows the production of single-cell arrays with variable cell shape. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]