Ethics statements in Rheumatology journals: present practices and future directions.

Ethics statements are an essential aspect of research reporting. They aim to ensure the integrity and credibility of scientific research by maintaining high standards of professionalism and placing a strong emphasis on human well-being. Adhering to ethical norms is crucial for promoting data sharing, reproducibility, and overall research integrity. Ethics statements generally include adherence to legislation, disclosure of conflicts of interest, transparency in funding, standards of authorship, ethical treatment of research participants, and the management of sensitive data. The ICMJE, WAME, and COPE organizations offer recommendations to ensure the maintenance of these standards. The significant increase in publication volume in rheumatology research, along with the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, presents new and complex difficulties that require establishing clearer and universally accepted ethical guidelines. Rheumatology journals should prioritize the development of cohesive ethical principles as well as the encouragement of uniform ethics training for researchers, editors, and publishers.

Correlation between phenotypic virulence traits and antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous pathogen capable of infecting virtually all tissues and its one of the standout amongst the most hazardous microorganisms of high morbidity and mortality rates especially in debilitated patients with few successful antibiotic choices available. This pathogen regulating most virulence traits by that so-called quorum sensing (QS), a cell to cell communication system. the present study was intended to phenotypically evaluate the activity of specific virulence traits (including swarming and swimming motility, protease, pyocyanin, and biofilm production) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates and assess the statistical correlation between these traits and antibiotic resistance. One hundred and thirteen bacterial isolates were obtained from different clinical samples and identified as P. aeruginosa, among them, 73.4% have the ability to forming biofilm with different degrees; 59.2% were able to produce pyocyanin pigment while all isolates having the ability to make swarming and swimming motility and able to produce protease enzyme with different degrees. The isolates that produce the higher levels of the virulence traits were identified by both biochemical using Vitek2 automated system and genetically via 16s rRNA gene analysis. The statistical analysis results indicate that a positive significant correlation was found between biofilm formation and other studied virulence traits except for protease (r = 0.584: 0.324, P < 0.05) while a non-significant correlation was found between biofilm formation and protease activity (r = 0.105, P ˃ 0.05). Swimming and swarming motility have a positive significant correlation with other studied virulence traits (r = 0.613: 0.297, P < 0.05) except for protease. Pyocyanin pigment production have a positive significant correlation with other studied virulence traits (r = 0.33: 0.297, P < 0.05) except for protease. on the other hand, negative significant correlations were found between biofilm formation, swimming; and swarming motility, Pyocyanin pigment production, and the susceptibility of antibiotics (r = -0.512: -0.281, P < 0.05). Detection of such correlations in P. aeruginosa is useful for study the behavior of this pathogen and may be provide a new target for the treatment of MDR infections.

Captagone & Morbid Jealousy.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between Captagon usage and the development of delusions of infidelity. The study sample; 101 male patients, was recruited from patients admitted to Eradah Complex for Mental Health and addiction, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the diagnosis of amphetamine (Captagon) induced psychosis during the period from September 2021 to March 2022. All patients underwent an extensive psychiatric interview; including interview with patients' families; a demographic sheet, a drug use questionnaire, the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID 1), routine medical investigation, and urine screening for drugs. Patients' ages ranged from 19 to 46 years old with Mean ± SD 30.87 ± 6.58. 57.4 % were single, 77.2% have finished their high school, and 22.8% had no work. Captagon using age ranged from 14-40 years old, and regular daily dose ranged from 1-15 tablet, while maximum daily dose ranged from 2-25 tablets. Twenty-six patients (25.7%) of the study group have developed infidelity delusions. A higher divorce rate was present among patients who developed infidelity delusions (53.8%) in comparison to patients who developed other types of delusions (6.7%). Infidelity delusions are common among patients diagnosed with Captagon induce psychosis, and they harmfully influence their social lives.