A Case Report: An Unusual Variation in the Facial Artery.

The facial artery is the main artery supplying the face occasionally. It gives three branches on the face, the inferior labial, the superior labial, and the lateral nasal, and terminates as the angular artery. Due to congenital vascular variations in the facial artery, it has been considered in the dissection of the head and neck region. During the dissection of a 65-year-old woman to expose this region, we discovered that the left facial artery is terminated by the superior labial artery after giving off the submental and inferior labial branches. At the level of the left oral commissure, the facial artery was attached to the buccinator muscle as connective tissue, with a noticeable decrease in diameter. The purpose of this study is to report a new variation of the facial artery that is particularly important for cadaver dissection, and head and neck surgeries, as well as for facial artery angiography.

Afghan mental health and psychosocial well-being: thematic review of four decades of research and interventions.

BACKGROUND: Four decades of war, political upheaval, economic deprivation and forced displacement have profoundly affected both in-country and refugee Afghan populations. AIMS: We reviewed literature on mental health and psychosocial well-being, to assess the current evidence and describe mental healthcare systems, including government programmes and community-based interventions. METHOD: In 2022, we conducted a systematic search in Google Scholar, PTSDpubs, PubMed and PsycINFO, and a hand search of grey literature (N = 214 papers). We identified the main factors driving the epidemiology of mental health problems, culturally salient understandings of psychological distress, coping strategies and help-seeking behaviours, and interventions for mental health and psychosocial support. RESULTS: Mental health problems and psychological distress show higher risks for women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and youth. Issues of suicidality and drug use are emerging problems that are understudied. Afghans use specific vocabulary to convey psychological distress, drawing on culturally relevant concepts of body-mind relationships. Coping strategies are largely embedded in one's faith and family. Over the past two decades, concerted efforts were made to integrate mental health into the nation's healthcare system, train cadres of psychosocial counsellors, and develop community-based psychosocial initiatives with the help of non-governmental organisations. A small but growing body of research is emerging around psychological interventions adapted to Afghan contexts and culture. CONCLUSIONS: We make four recommendations to promote health equity and sustainable systems of care. Interventions must build cultural relevance, invest in community-based psychosocial support and evidence-based psychological interventions, maintain core mental health services at logical points of access and foster integrated systems of care.

Substrate Optimization in Baby Hamster Kidney Cell Culture for Foot and Mouth Disease Virus Vaccine Using the Taguchi Method.

Cell culture is one of the most commonly used techniques in the production of biological products. Many physical and chemical parameters may affect cell growth and proliferation. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of chemical components as supplements using the experimental design method, which aimed at reducing the number of experiments. For this purpose, supplements including chemical components using four levels, with three replications in suspension and batch culture conditions, were examined for 72 hours using the Taguchi experimental design method. From the experiments, it was concluded that the culture media composition had a significant impact on final cell count and pH. High concentrations of different media composition alone were insufficient to ensure higher cell count. According to the results, this insufficiency was associated with an increase of 20% in the number of final cells. In the majority of cultures, the number of final cells at 48 hours increased relative to the number of final cells at 24 hours after culturing the cells.

Associations of treatment completion against drug addiction with motivational interviewing and related factors in Afghanistan.

Despite the increase in the number of drug treatment centers, patients with drug addicts have been increasing without the improvement of treatment in Afghanistan. This study aimed to examine the associations of the completion of drug addiction treatment with motivational interviewing (MI) and other factors among male drug users in Afghanistan. Subjects were patients admitted to Jangalak Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2014 and 2015. Systematic sampling and supplementary sampling were applied. The records of 327 males aged 18 to 54 years were collected from those of 3,373 male inpatients. Completion of treatment was defined as presence and receiving treatment in the hospital for at least 45 days. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the completion of drug addiction treatment. Among the patients, heroin was the most commonly used drug, followed by opium, crystal, hashish, and other drugs. Patients with treatment history for drug addiction (AOR 2.46; 95% CI 1.14-5.30), those attended MI before admission (AOR 43.98; 95% CI 17.21-112.39), and those used heroin (AOR 4.74; 95% CI 1.32-16.97) were more likely to complete the drug addiction treatment. Among the factors examined in this study, attending MI was most strongly associated with the completion of drug addiction treatment. Amendments to policies to include compulsory MI in standard operational procedures of drug addiction treatment before hospitalization may be recommended.

Psychiatry in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's historic strategic position between the great civilisations of India, Persia and Central Asia has made it from the very beginning both a crossroads for trade and cultural exchange and an almost continuous battlefield. In the years since the Soviet invasion in 1979 the country has become the stage of an ongoing complex humanitarian emergency. The period of Soviet occupation was characterised by massive human rights violations. The Soviet army and its allies were involved in indiscriminate bombardments and targeted executions, while the mujahedeen were involved in guerrilla warfare. The USSR was forced to withdraw in 1989 and the remnants of Afghanistan's communist regime were defeated in 1992.

Mental health care reform in Afghanistan.

The mental health situation in Afghanistan is characterized by a highly felt need and an extremely incapacitated mental health care system. The new Afghan government has identified mental health as one of five health priorities. Integration of mental health into the basic health care services of Afghanistan could substantially increase the effectiveness of mental health services. The Afghan government collaborates with non-governmental organisations to rapidly expand basic (mental) health services to underserved populations.