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Background: ChatGPT, a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022, has generated both excitement and concern within the healthcare education, research, and practice communities. This study aimed to explore the knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and practices of undergraduate medical students regarding the use of ChatGPT and similar chatbots in their academic work. Methods: An anonymous, structured questionnaire was developed using Google Forms and administered to medical students as part of a cross-sectional study. The survey targeted undergraduate medical students from four governorates in Egypt. The questionnaire link was distributed through social media platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp. The survey comprised four sections: socio-demographic characteristics, perceptions, attitudes, and practices. Results: The survey achieved a response rate of 96%, with 614 out of 640 approached students participating. Prior to the study, most respondents (78.5%) had personal experience using it. Overall, respondents demonstrated positive perceptions, attitudes, and practices toward ChatGPT, with mean scores exceeding 3 for all three variables: 3.99 ± 0.60 for perceptions, 3.01 ± 0.46 for attitudes, and 3.55 ± 0.55 for practices. In general, the students exhibited a high degree of trust in the model, with approximately half trusting the accuracy and reliability of the information provided by ChatGPT. However, more than two-thirds expressed apprehension about its potential misuse in medical education, and around 60% were concerned about the accuracy of information ChatGPT might generate on complex medical topics. Conclusions: Medical students show strong interest and trust in using ChatGPT and similar chatbots for academic purposes but have concerns about the reliability of the information and potential misuse in medical education. The use of AI tools should follow ethical guidelines set by academic institutions, with regular updates to keep pace with technological progress. Future research should focus on the impact of AI on education and personal development, especially among young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child discipline practices are the methods used by parents to prevent future unwanted behavior in children. Child discipline practices involve non-violent and violent. Violent discipline is a pervasive problem across Egypt shaped by many factors and has many negative consequences. This study attempted to measure the prevalence of child discipline practices among mothers in Alexandria and their associated maternal psychosocial profile of mothers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to interview a sample of 275 mothers at eight family health units and centers in Alexandria using interview format to collect personal and socio-demographic data in addition to The Arabic version of the parent form of Conflict Tactics Scales Parent-Child (CTSPC) form and The Arabic Version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Results: The study revealed that 25.09% of studied mothers were using nonviolent discipline practices (NVDP) only, while 74.18% were using psychological, physical, or severe physical violence with or without using NVDP. A significantly higher percentage of mothers who use NVDP are of high socioeconomic status compared to the other group (73.9% compared to 17.6%), they scored normal on the three domains of DASS compared to the other group (76.8% compared to 30.5% on depression domain, 72.5% compared to 14.7% on anxiety domain and 60.9% compared for 18.6% on stress domain). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Leptin (LEP) is an anti-obesity hormone that regulates food intake, energy expenditure, and glucose metabolism. The genetic variants in LEP and the LEP receptor (LEPR) gene may play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. The current study aimed to investigate the association of serum LEP levels, and LEP polymorphisms in LEP (rs7799039, 2548 G/A) with T2DM in Egyptian patients. Methods: A total of 205 subjects were included in the present case-control study, consisting of 100 T2DM patients and 105 healthy controls. The anthropometric, psychometric, and biochemical measurements were taken from all the subjects. The genotyping of LEP gene variants was carried out by polymerase chain reaction TaqMan technology. Serum LEP levels were measured by the ELISA technique. Results: T2DM patients had significantly elevated levels of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting blood sugar (FBS), postprandial blood sugar (PPBS), international normalisation ratio (INR), creatinine, urea, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and significantly decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) compared to healthy subjects. serum LEP levels were significantly decreased p (<0.001) as compared to the control group. LEP gene SNP rs7799039 was associated with an increased diabetic risk with A allele being more frequent in T2DM patients than control subjects. The distribution of the AA genotype and GA genotype of LEP SNP rs7799039 was higher in the diabetic group than control one. In addition, AA + GA genotype carriers had significantly elevated HbA1c, FBS, PPBS, TG, and LDL levels and on the contrary, decreased serum LEP levels compared to GG homozygotes. Conclusion: The genetic polymorphism rs7799039 showed a highly significant correlation with blood LEP. The co-dominant and dominant models of the LEP genetic polymorphism (rs7799039, 2548 G/A) were shown to have a significant correlation with complicated and uncomplicated diabetes individuals, but we have found that serum LEP levels were inversely related with control and diabetes patients. A positive significant association was found between LEP genetic polymorphism (rs7799039, 2548 G/A) and serum LEP in patients and controls. LEP levels and its rs7799039 genetic variant may play a vital role in increasing T2DM susceptibility. KEY MESSAGE: The present study revealed a positive significant association between the leptin (LEP) genetic polymorphism rs7799039, fasting blood sugar, and post-prandial blood sugar. LEP levels might be utilised to predict T2DM. The AA genotype of LEP rs7799039, 2548G/A (co-dominant model) raises the risk of diabetes compared to the GA genotype, and the A alle is considered a risk factor OR = 1.66. A positive significant association was found between LEP genetic polymorphism (rs7799039, 2548G/A) and serum LEP in patients and controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. This study aimed to examine the impact of acupuncture and a low-caloric diet on primary hypothyroidism and irregular menstruation in infertile women. Methods. Sixty infertile women participated in the trial. All women were diagnosed with hypothyroidism, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and oligomenorrhea. They were between the ages of 20 and 35, with a BMI between 30 and 34.9 kg/m2. They were divided at random into two equal groups. For four months, a control group was given thyroxine tablets once daily with a low-calorie diet (1200 kcal/day). The study group was given the same treatment and acupuncture sessions, twice a week for four months. BMI, waist, waist-to-stature ratio (WSR), free thyroxine (FT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), luteinising hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), LH/FSH ratio, menstrual cycle period, and a health-related quality-of-life questionnaire (PCOSQ) were evaluated for all patients. Results. There was a significant reduction in waist circumference, WSR, BMI, LH, LH/FSH ratio, TSH, and menstrual cycle period in both groups (p < 0.05) and a significant increase (p < 0.05) in FT4 and PCOSQ scores. Also, there was a significant increase in FSH in the study group. Compared to the control group, the study group revealed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in waist circumference, WSR, LH, TSH, LH/FSH ratio, menstrual cycle period, and a significant increase in PCOSQ scores and FSH. Conclusions. Adding acupuncture to a low-caloric diet and medical treatment has an effective role in decreasing abdominal adiposity and improving the hormonal profile and menstrual cycle, which in turn improves reproductive health in infertile women with hypothyroidism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal is the property of World Health Organization and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of African Journal of Biological Sciences is the property of African Journal of Biological Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)