The Stigmatizing Attitudes of Syrian University Students Toward Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND:  Stigma is frequently considered an obstacle to schizophrenia treatment and recovery. However, little is known regarding the stigma experienced by persons with schizophrenia among Syrian college students. METHODS: A total of 963 students from Syrian colleges and universities participated in this study, using a questionnaire with a case vignette illustrating schizophrenia. The questionnaire inquired about people's attitudes toward schizophrenia and their desire to avoid contact with people with schizophrenia. The current study investigated college students' stigma toward people with schizophrenia, desire for social distancing, gender (male and female), and major (medical and non-medical) differences. RESULTS:  The people described in the vignette were deemed "dangerous" (28%) and "could snap out of the problem" (50.20%), according to the respondents. Female students were more likely than male students to agree that "schizophrenia is not really a medical disease" (4.40% vs. 8.9%, p ≤ 0.05). Compared with medical students, non-medical students were more likely to agree that "The problem is a reflection of personal weakness" (20% vs. 21.7%, p < 0.05). Many respondents said they would not "marry into the family of someone with schizophrenia" (95.6%) or "work closely with them" (77.6%).  Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that a considerable percentage of Syrian college students exhibited stigma toward persons with schizophrenia and really wanted to avoid social interaction with them, with female and non-medical students having higher stigma toward people with schizophrenia in several subscale items. The findings imply that more anti-stigma interventions for Syrian college students should be implemented to help avoid or lessen the stigma toward people with schizophrenia.

Nontraumatic bilateral subdural hematoma: Case report.

A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a type of bleeding in which a collection of blood gathers between the inner layer of the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the meninges surrounding the brain. Although most cases reported of subdural hematoma are due to traumatic brain injury, to the best of our knowledge this is a rare case of nontraumatic subdural hematoma. A 31 year-old-Male presented to the emergency department with a severe headache for 3 weeks, with the presence of oculomotor disorders. There is no history of major trauma, minor trauma or fights. Also, no history of hypertension, or Haematological diseases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed bilateral subdural hematoma. The right-sided hematoma was treated conservatively and the Left-sided was treated by surgery. Follow-up for three months revealed no recurrence. Nontraumatic subdural hematoma is one of the challenging cases that neurosurgeons face. We presented a patient with idiopathic spontaneous subdural hematoma. Computed tomography (CT) is the first step for diagnosis and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered an excellent imaging investigation to evaluate such patients. Symptomatic subdural hematomas require an emergent treatment by identifying and controlling sites of bleeding conservatively or by surgery. Subdural hematoma with no history of trauma should be treated emergently and evaluated strictly. Follow-up is essential in patients with neural symptoms. Massive symptomatic subdural hematoma (SDH) should be treated with surgery to control the bleeding.

A 13 cm asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm complicated with arterial obstruction in the left lower limb: A Case report.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is often asymptomatic when it is small to medium in size, up to a maximum of 8 cm, in this case, a patient presented to the vascular surgery department with a complaint of acute pain in the left lower extremity with pallor due to the presence of arterial obstruction. On physical examination, we found a large pulsating mass in the abdomen. After performing a multislice computed tomography, we confirmed the presence of aneurysm with diameters of 13 × 8 cm below the level of the renal arteries. The rarity of this case in the medical literature come from that the aneurysm has reached this size and did not even rupture and did not cause any digestive discomfort or abdominal pain only complicated with an arterial obstruction in the lower left extremity as a result of the dissection that occurred. An emergency surgical operation was performed to remove the aneurysm and install the Dacron joint, and the patient was placed for 24 hours under intensive care and discharged after 5 days to have excellent results with the patient's condition improving without any complications after the operation. In conclusion, aneurysms constitute a serious condition facing vascular surgeons, especially if they are large in size without any symptoms.

Cracks in the palisade cuticle of soybean seed coats correlate with their permeability to water.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Soybean (Glycine max) is among the many legumes that are well known for 'hardseededness'. This feature can be beneficial for long-term seed survival, but is undesirable for the food processing industry. There is substantial disagreement concerning the mechanisms and related structures that control the permeability properties of soybean seed coats. In this work, the structural component that controls water entry into the seed is identified. METHODS: Six soybean cultivars were tested for their seed coat permeabilities to water. To identify the structural feature(s) that may contribute to the determination of these permeabilities, fluorescent tracer dyes, and light and electron microscopic techniques were used. KEY RESULTS: The cultivar 'Tachanagaha' has the most permeable seed coat, 'OX 951' the least permeable seed coat, and the permeabilities of the rest ('Harovinton', 'Williams', 'Clark L 67-3469', and 'Harosoy 63') are intermediate. All seeds have surface deposits, depressions, a light line, and a cuticle about 0.2 microm thick overlaying the palisade layer. In permeable cultivars the cuticle tends to break, whereas in impermeable seeds of 'OX 951' it remains intact. In the case of permeable seed coats, the majority of the cracks are from 1 to 5 micro m wide and from 20 to 200 micro m long, and occur more frequently on the dorsal side than in other regions of the seed coat, a position that correlates with the site of initial water uptake. CONCLUSIONS: The cuticle of the palisade layer is the key factor that determines the permeability property of a soybean seed coat. The cuticle of a permeable seed coat is mechanically weak and develops small cracks through which water can pass. The cuticle of an impermeable seed coat is mechanically strong and does not crack under normal circumstances.