A nephrologist dream of peritoneal dialysis catheter with zero migration: A multicenter prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: PD catheter tip migration is a common complication and a significant cause of catheter malfunction. In this perspective, we present our experience with a new catheter and a new technique that involves the use of a new triple cuff PD catheter and a low entry site in an attempt to prevent PD catheter migration. METHODS: A total of 503 incident PD patients have been studied in more than one PD center over a period of 5 years. RESULTS: During the 5-year follow up we recorded zero percent catheter migration. Other technical complications were poor drainage in 3.4%, omental wrap in 2.8%, early leakage in 3.4%, and catheter replacement in 2.4%. By the end of the study, the one-year PD catheter survival was 97.6%. CONCLUSION: Our new triple cuff PD catheter and our low-entry approach seem to be effective in preventing PD catheter migration and minimizing other mechanical complications.

Selective Growth of Graphene-Confined Inkjet-Printed Sn Nanoparticles on Plastic Using Intense Pulsed Light Annealing.

Printing graphene-based nanomaterials on flexible substrates has become a burgeoning platform for next-generation technologies. Combining graphene and nanoparticles to create hybrid nanomaterials has been proven to boost device performance, thanks to their complementary physical and chemical properties. However, high growth temperatures and long processing times are often required to produce high-quality graphene-based nanocomposites. For the first time, we report a novel scalable approach for additive manufacturing of Sn patterns on polymer foil and their selective conversion into nanocomposite films under atmospheric conditions. A combination of inkjet printing and intense flashlight irradiation techniques is studied. Light pulses that are selectively absorbed by the printed Sn patterns cause a temperature of over 1000 °C to be reached locally in a split second without damaging the underlying polymer foil. The top surface of the polymer foil at the interface with printed Sn becomes locally graphitized and acts as a carbon source, transforming printed Sn into Sn@graphene (Sn@G) core-shell patterns. Our results revealed a decrease in electrical sheet resistance, with an optimal value (Rs = 72 ± 2 Ω/sq) reached when light pulses with an energy density of 12.8 J/cm2 were applied. These graphene-protected Sn nanoparticle patterns exhibit excellent resistance against air oxidation for months. Finally, we demonstrate the implementation of Sn@G patterns as electrodes for Li-ion microbatteries (LIBs) and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), showing remarkable performance. This work offers new insight into the development of a versatile, eco-friendly, and cost-effective technique for producing well-defined patterns of graphene-based nanomaterials directly on a flexible substrate using different light-absorbing nanoparticles and carbon sources.

Prehospital Delay and Its Associated Factors in Sudanese Patients Presenting With Acute Appendicitis at a Teaching Hospital.

Background Delayed prehospital presentation of acute appendicitis may increase the risk of perforation and other complications. This study investigated the prevalence of prehospital delay in the presentation of acute appendicitis, clinical features, and outcomes in Sudanese patients. Method A retrospective study conducted from January 2017 to December 2020 in a teaching hospital affiliated with Gezira University enrolled 191 patients with prehospital delay presentation of acute appendicitis (at least 48 hours from symptom onset). Patient characteristics, causative factors, primary treatment, and complication rate were gathered and analyzed. Result The mean age of the patients was 36.55 ± 16.3 years (range: 15-78 years), with 122 (64%) males and 69 (36%) females. Most cases of prehospital delay were misdiagnosed firstly as other diseases (n = 124, 65%). The physicians made misdiagnosis of acute appendicitis in 65 (53%) patients. Age less than 30 years, male gender, living in rural areas, and lower educational level are associated with a high incidence of prehospital delay presentation of acute appendicitis (p < 0.05). Most cases have appendicular mass (46%, p < 0.001). Wound infection was the most common postoperative complication (7.85%, p < 0.001). Conclusion The high incidence rate of prehospital delay presentation of acute appendicitis is associated with patients' age ofless than 30 years, male gender, living in a rural area, and lower educational level. With the high rate of misdiagnosed acute appendicitis, it is essential to increase the knowledge about the signs and symptoms of appendicitis among our physicians and health practitioners.

Psychiatric Morbidity and Personality Characteristics of Detained Adolescents With Delinquent Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study.

The current study was undertaken with the aim of assessing the psychopathological symptoms, personality profile, and hostility in detained adolescents with delinquent behavior. A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out on 50 admitted adolescent delinquents in correctional institutes in the Greater Cairo region of Egypt. Results for delinquent adolescents were compared with age-equivalent adolescents with no history of delinquency. Both groups were subjected to the Adolescent and Adult Psychological State Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Locus of Control scale, and the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ). Results concluded that adolescents with delinquent behavior displayed increased rates of psychiatric disorders over the comparative group. Significantly higher scores on the psychoticism, neuroticism, extraversion, and psychopathic deviation subscales and the Locus of Control scale were evident among the adolescent delinquent group compared with their nondelinquent peers. The delinquent group obtained, in general, higher overall scores on the HDHQ questionnaire when compared with the nondelinquent adolescents, while also obtaining higher scores on the paranoid hostility subscale of HDHQ. Acting out hostility scores correlated positively with neuroticism and psychoticism in delinquents. Psychiatric morbidity, extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism, and increased hostility were found to contribute as major psychosocial factors underlying the psychopathology in detained juvenile delinquents.

A Randomized Study Comparing the Short-Term Neurocognitive Outcome of Electroconvulsive Therapy Versus Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Patients With Depression.

BACKGROUND: Studies have compared electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with regard to their clinical efficacy in the treatment of depression, but only a few studies have addressed their differential impact on cognition. The purpose of this study was to compare the neurocognitive side effects of both treatment modalities. METHODS: In this comparative study, 40 patients with major depressive disorder referred for ECT were randomly assigned either to a course of 25 sessions of rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or to a course of ECT ranging from 4 to 8 sessions. The primary outcome measures were the results of a cognitive battery that assessed different aspects of cognitive functioning. The cognitive battery comprised the Digit Span Subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Stroop Color-Word Test-Victoria version, the Color Trails Test Trials 1 and 2, and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test. RESULTS: At the end of treatment, scores on the Digit Span Subtest, the Stroop Color-Word Test-Victoria version, and the Color Trails Test showed statistically significant better results in the rTMS group compared with the ECT group. CONCLUSIONS: rTMS was well tolerated with less negative impact on cognitive functioning than ECT.

Social cognition in adolescent females with borderline personality traits.

OBJECTIVES: Social cognitive impairment is considered to be a psychopathological cornerstone in adolescent females with borderline personality disorder. The aim is to compare the social cognitive performance in adolescent females with borderline personality traits and healthy adolescent females, and to assess the social cognitive performance in relation to the severity of borderline personality features. DESIGN: A case-control study was conducted on 30 adolescent females who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of DSM-IV of borderline personality traits, compared to 30 matched healthy volunteer adolescent females. METHODS: Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ) was used to rate borderline personality features. Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RMET) and Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) were applied to assess social cognitive abilities. RESULTS: The scores of RMET and some domains of MASC showed a highly significant difference between the patient and control groups. Scores of RMET and some domains of MASC showed significant correlation with impulsiveness, emptiness, relationship patterns, and quasi-psychotic states subscales of BPQ. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent females with borderline personality traits had lower social cognitive performance compared to healthy adolescent females. The intensity of this social cognitive deficit was evident to be related to impulsivity, emptiness, pattern of relationships, and quasi-psychotic states.

Flexible Micro-Battery for Powering Smart Contact Lens.

In this paper, we demonstrate the first attempt of encapsulating a flexible micro battery into a contact lens to implement an eye-tracker. The paper discusses how to scale the battery to power various circuits embedded in the contact lens, such as ASIC, photodiodes, etc., as well as how to combine the battery with external harvested energy sources. The fabricated ring battery has a surface area of 0.75 cm2 yielding an areal capacity of 43 µAh·cm-2 at 20C. Based on simulated 0.35-µm CMOS ASIC power consumption, this value is large enough to allow powering the ASIC for 3 minutes. The functioning of the micro battery is demonstrated by powering an orange LED.

Sexual and Religious Obsessions in Relation to Suicidal Ideation in Bipolar Disorder.

OBJECTIVES: Obsessions and suicidal behavior are common among patients with bipolar disorder. The relation between them and their impact on disease severity should be a focus of attention. This study aimed at assessment of the presence of sexual and religious obsessions in patients with bipolar disorder and their relation to suicide ideation. METHODS: Ninety patients diagnosed with bipolar I disorder were recruited consecutively and subdivided into two groups: bipolar disorder with and without sexual/religious obsessions. Both groups were subjected to Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DY-BOCS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI). RESULTS: Patients with bipolar disorder and sexual/religious obsessions were 54.4% (n = 49) of the total sample, and they showed significantly higher number of suicidal attempts, more severe depression, and suicidal ideation than those without sexual/religious obsessions. BSSI showed significantly positive correlation with HAMD and DY-BOCS sexual and religious obsessions dimension-related distress. CONCLUSION: Sexual and religious obsessions tend to be more frequent among patients with bipolar disorder. Higher depression and obsessive-related distress potentially contribute to the increased risk of suicidal ideation.

Psychiatric and functional neuroimaging abnormalities in chronic hepatitis C virus patients: Is vasculitis a contributing factor?

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has different facets such as anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment and vasculitis. We were interested in detecting subclinical CNS involvement in chronic HCV infected subjects with and without systemic vasculitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nineteen patients (15 females and 4 males) with chronic HCV infection (mean age 46.5 ±â€¯7 and mean duration since diagnosis of HCV infection 4.7 ±â€¯4 years, including 6 (32%) Child-Pugh class A cirrhotic patients) and 30 age, sex and education matched healthy control subjects were studied. Thirteen patients had associated vasculitis. Patients and control subjects were assessed using the block design and comprehension subtests of Wechsler Bellevue Adult Intelligence Scale, Wechsler Memory scale (WMS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Brain HMPAO Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) was performed for HCV patients. RESULTS: Patients with HCV had lower scores on the block design test compared to control subjects (8.37 ±â€¯1.89 versus 10.37 ±â€¯1.47, p < 0.001), lower total WMS scores (43.15 ±â€¯10.49 versus 60.27 ±â€¯8.08, p < 0.001) and higher anxiety and depression scores (16.94 ±â€¯10.46 and 37.17 ±â€¯10.38 versus 10.3 ±â€¯4.67 and 28.9 ±â€¯5.99, p = 0.004 and 0.001, respectively). Total WMS were lower in HCV patients with vasculitis compared to those without vasculitis (39.14 ±â€¯9.3 versus 51.17 ±â€¯8.3, p = 0.019) while the block design and comprehension tests, BAI and BDI were not significantly different between both groups. The block design and comprehension tests, WMS, BAI and BDI were not significantly different between cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. Seven patients had different patterns of cerebral hypoperfusion on SPECT, and all of them had associated vasculitis. Abnormal SPECT was associated with lower total WMS scores (35.87 ±â€¯10.8 versus 46.79 ±â€¯8.6 in those with normal SPECT, p = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Vasculitis may contribute to the development of neuropsychiatric involvement in HCV patients.

Impact of political violence on the mental health of school children in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: Since the beginning of the Egyptian political conflict, Tahrir Square has been the epicentre of intense political violence. Students attending schools located near this square witnessed and/or directly experienced the consequences of a series of violent events. AIM: This study will investigate the presence of psychiatric symptoms in children attending these schools to explore patterns of responses according to their perceptions of the revolution on their lives, adjusted for, gender and socio-economic status. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted with 515 Egyptian school children attending government, experimental, and private language schools located within 1 km of Tahrir Square. To assess psychiatric symptoms in these children, a specially designed questionnaire was used to detect, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and impairments. RESULTS: Children attending schools near Tahrir Square showed high rates of depression, PTSD and anxiety symptoms. The risk factors identified for developing psychiatric symptoms were a negative perception of the effect of the revolution, knowing someone exposed to trauma during the events, female gender and low socio-economic class. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the need for large-scale studies to explore the consequences of ongoing political violence on children and to establish baseline data on the mental health of Egyptian children.