The Psychological Effects of Physicians' Communication Skills on COVID-19 Patients.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected physician-patient communication (PPC) in multiple ways. This study aims to report on the impact of physician-patient communication (PPC) skills on COVID-19 patients' psychology in Jordan. SAMPLE AND METHODS: In this study, two questionnaires were designed. The first questionnaire targeted physicians, with 72 responses, and the second questionnaire targeted patients, with 248 responses. Both questionnaires contained common sections covering nine aspects of communication such as empathy, honesty, optimism, simple and deliberateness. RESULTS: This study found that the psychological effect of physicians' positive communication skills on COVID-19 patients is significant. There were almost statistical agreement between physicians' and patients' questionnaire responses that the physicians' communication skills have positively affected the patients' psychological status; all patients' responses confirmed this finding. CONCLUSION: Based on this study's findings, appropriate and continuous training will advance physicians' communication skills in the form of exercises that could be as simple as class- or lecture-based activities, or using technology-based learning. Using a protocol or handbook to guide such communication is another essential strategy to enhance physician-patient communication (PPC). The study recommends that physicians must be aware that PPC skills required may vary depending on whether they are dealing with a pandemic or non-pandemic situation. Generally, appropriate or positive communication skills are considered one of the main factors effecting patients' psychological responses to their diagnosis.

Radon-222 Exposure and Dose Concentration Levels in Jordanian Dwellings.

Exposure to high concentrations of radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer for nonsmokers according to the World Health Organization (WHO) figures. With poor ventilation standards and lack of awareness among Jordanians, constant monitoring of radon concentrations is vital. Multiple efforts have been made since the 1990s in order to create a national radon map of Jordan, by acquiring average values of radon concentrations in major Jordanian cities. This study aims to replicate those efforts using a more accurate and modern way of detection for the purpose of comparing the current values with literature values and to update the previous radon concentration map of Jordan. The study concludes that radon concentrations in Jordan have mostly increased in the past 30 years from an overall average of 52 Bq/m3 to an average of 60.4 Bq/m3. Despite the increase, these results are considered under the threat line that is estimated conventionally by most of the international environmental and radiation-related organizations, which is 100-300 Bq/m3. It should be noted that only the Russeifa city has scored a value higher than the estimated threat line. This is due to the existence of abundant phosphate mines filled with condensed radon levels leaking from these ores. It is expected that radon concentrations in Jordan will increase in the coming years with the continuous urban sprawl and lack of public awareness about the radon gas health issue. A number of suggestions have been proposed in this study that could help the Jordanian society avoid a future possible health threat.

The relationship between kidney stones and dietary habits.

BACKGROUND: Kidney stones are considered a serious disease, due to the great discomfort that they can cause and may even lead to renal failure. Dietary habits could be the reason behind stone formation in kidneys. METHODS: Twelve kidney stone samples were collected and analyzed together with typical foodstuffs frequently consumed in the Koya area using the x-ray fluorescent technique. RESULTS: All the analyzed stones were found to be calcium-based. The results show that elements such as Ca, Zr, S and Cl can be regarded as the core elements for the formation of kidney stones in Koya city in north Iraq. CONCLUSION: Many dietary foods and drink frequently consumed by the people in Koya city were observed to contain the core elements. However, more studies are needed to demonstrate if dietary intake may be the main source for kidney stone formation.

Anodic oxidation of slaughterhouse wastewater on boron-doped diamond: process variables effect.

A non-sacrificial boron-doped diamond electrode was prepared in the laboratory and used as a novel anode for electrochemical oxidation of poultry slaughterhouse wastewater. This wastewater poses environmental threats as it is characterized by a high content of recalcitrant organics. The influence of several process variables, applied current density, initial pH, supporting electrolyte nature, and concentration of electrocoagulant, on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, color removal, and turbidity removal was investigated. Results showed that raising the applied current density to 3.83 mA/cm2 has a positive effect on COD removal, color removal, and turbidity removal. These parameters increased to 100%, 90%, and 80% respectively. A low pH of 5 favored oxidants generation and consequently increased the COD removal percentage to reach 100%. Complete removal of COD had occurred in the presence of NaCl (1%) as supporting electrolyte. Na2SO4 demonstrated lower efficiency than NaCl in terms of COD removal. The COD decay kinetics follows the pseudo-first-order reaction. The simultaneous use of Na2SO4 and FeCl3 decreased the turbidity in wastewater by 98% due to electrocoagulation.

Compartmental analysis of metals in waterpipe smoking technique.

BACKGROUND: The number of waterpipe tobacco smokers has been increasing worldwide. Smokers can be exposed to a number of toxicants, some of which are metals. The aim of this study is to quantitatively determine if the water filtration stage of the waterpipe smoking process successfully decreases exposure to Bi, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and U. METHODS: Four samples of commercially available tobacco (Moassel) were compared in terms of the total amount of metal contained within the fresh tobacco sample and the amount of metal distributed into each compartment of the waterpipe after a smoking session. RESULTS: For all metals analysed, the concentration of metal 'filtered' out during the water bubbling stage is around 3% (±1%) of the total metal. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that this small fraction would not protect the user against exposure to the majority of the potentially toxic metals.

Eye blinking-based method for detecting driver drowsiness.

Drowsy driving is a major cause of traffic accidents. Eye blinking is considered as important evidence of driver drowsiness. In this paper, a portable and low cost device for monitoring a driver's drowsiness is proposed. The proposed system consists of two main parts that detect eye blinking based on IR sensors mounted on eyewear. Depending on the reflected and absorbed IR radiation, this system detects and classifies the eye blinking into normal blinking (NB) or prolonged blinking (PB). The detected prolonged blinking is used to trigger an audio/visual alarm system which draws the driver's attention back. The system was simulated initially by LabVIEW® software. Moreover, the system was bench tested on 15 adult volunteers; eye blinking were detected and classified successfully for all subjects. The results of this research are promising and additional investigation is required to further improve the method.

Radon concentration in Jordanian drinking water and hot springs.

The radon concentration in Jordanian drinking water and hot springs has been measured using the electret-passive environmental radon monitoring method. This study maps out Jordanian water sources from the north to the south as well as the area around the capital Amman and the Jordan valley. Samples from 30 sources were collected and analysed during the period from November 2001 to June 2002. We have found that 60% of the drinking water sources have radon concentrations above the proposed US Environmental Protection Agency limit of 11 Bq l(-1); these are mostly situated in the northern region of the country. Fortunately, these sources supplied only a small number of people since they were mainly located in rural areas. Tap water in the capital Amman, where approximately 35% of the population live, has a very low radon concentration, 3.9 Bq l(-1). However, the isolated northern drinking water wells did show a radon level as high as 117 Bq l(-1). Hot springs in Jordan have a radon level ranging between 63 and 81 Bq l(-1), again mainly in the northern region. In general we conclude that Jordanian drinking water is safe as far as radon concentration is concerned with the exception of a few isolated local drinking water wells.