Effect of Frying Temperature and duration on the Formation of Trans Fatty Acids in Selected Fats and Oils

Trans fatty acids occur in food either naturally or produced during heat processing of food containing unsaturated fats. Naturally occurring trans fatty acids have different physiological and biological functions as compared to those formed in heat processed food which increase the risk of coronary heart disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of heat treatments [heating temperature: 120, 150, 190 and 250°C and heating period: 10, 30, 60 and 180 minutes] on the amount of trans fatty acids (as elaidic acid) of fat and oil samples [two solid-state (margarine and ghee) and two liquids-state (olive oil and corn oil)]. Results showed that elaidic acid content in margarine was not affected by heat at 120°C at all studied heating durations. At 150, 190 and 250°C, there is a cubic significant relationship between elaidic acid content and time of heating. Elaidic acid content in ghee was not affected by heat treatment at 120°C, while at 150°C, there was a cubic significant relationship between elaidic acid content and heating time. At 190°C, there was a negative linear relationship between elaidic acid content and time of frying, while at 250°C, there was oscillatory relationship in the amounts of elaidic acid with time of heating. As a conclusion, all margarine and ghee samples analyzed in this study had elaidic acid before and after heat treatment used in the study. However, corn oil and olive oil were free from elaidic acid before and after studied heat treatments. Therefore, it is recommended to cook and bake with vegetable oils (such as corn oil) instead of solid fats, and to keep margarine and ghee consumption as low as possible in nutrition.Partial financial support for this study was obtained from the Dutch Nuffic through NICHE-PAA-233 project. HPLC analysis was done in Pharmacare PLC through the help of Mr. Ayman Qaddoumi

Hematological parameters in apparently Healthy Eritrean blood donors at the National Blood Transfusion Center, Asmara, Eritrea.

Introduction: This study was done to measure the Hemoglobin levels, Red Blood Cells count, and Red Blood cell parameters: MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, and Hematocrit of the apparently healthy blood donors attending the National Blood Bank of Eritrea. Methods: Blood samples were collected from the peripheral veins into the (EDTA)-tube and examined for Red Blood Cell count (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), Hematocrit (%), mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red cell distribution width (RDW), analyzed and measured by automated blood analyzer. Results: The mean Hemoglobin level was 14.428±1.485 g/dl, RBCs count was 4.744±0.482×1012/L, HCT was 41.929 ±3.75%, Red cell distribution width (RDW) mean was 13.571±0.744%, MCV was 88.582± 4.0558 Fimtoliter, MCH was 30.470±2.188 picogram, and MCHC was a mean of 34.393±1.347g/dl. The difference between males and females in MCV and MCHC was significant in favor of female donors. And a weak positive correlation had been found between the weight and age of donors and the Hemoglobin level. All the measured values were found to be within the global referenced ranges. Conclusion: Hemoglobin, RBCs count and RBCs indices of apparently healthy Eritrean blood donors were measured for reference, and all values were found within normal reference ranges

Paracetamol biodegradation by activated sludge and photo-catalysis and its removal by a micelleclay complex, activated charcoal and reverse osmosis membranes

Kinetic studies on the stability of the pain killer paracetamol in Al-Quds activated sludge demonstrated that paracetamol underwent biodegradation within less than one month to furnish p-aminophenol in high yields. Characterizations of bacteria contained in Al-Quds sludge were accomplished. It was found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the bacterium most responsible for the biodegradation of paracetamol to p-aminophenol and hydroquinone. Batch adsorptions of paracetamol and its biodegradation product (p-aminophenol) by activated charcoal and a composite micelle (octadecyltrimethylammonium)-clay (montmorillonite) were determined at 25°C. Adsorption was adequately described by a Langmuir isotherm, and indicated better efficiency of removal by the micelle-clay complex. The ability of bench top reverse osmosis (RO) plant as well as advanced membrane pilot plant to remove paracetamol was also studied at different water matrixes to test the effect of organic matter composition. The results showed that at least 90% rejection was obtained by both plants. In addition, removal of paracetamol from RO brine was investigated by using photocatalytic processes; optimal conditions were found to be acidic or basic pH, in which paracetamol degraded in less than 5 min. Toxicity studies indicated that the effluent and brine were not toxic except for using extra low energy membrane which displayed a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC-50) value of 80%

Impact of Human Capital Development and Human Capital Isolation Mechanisms on Innovative Performance: Evidence from Industrial Companies in Jordan

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of human capital development mechanisms (training, incentives structure and attraction of skilled employees) and human capital isolation mechanisms (specificity of company resources and internal characteristics of knowledge in the company) on organizational human capital development and enhancement (well-educated, well-trained employees with suitable job experience). In addition, the study tried to examine the impact of organizational human capital on innovative performance (introduction of new products, replacement of old products, quality of new products and work processes innovations). A questionnaire was developed to collect data from a sample consisting of 500 managers working in selected industrial Jordanian companies at different levels of management. A total of 463 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 92.6%. The results found significant as well as positive impacts of human capital development mechanisms and human capital isolation mechanisms on organizational human capital, which in turn significantly affected innovative performance. The results of the study confirmed the acceptance of all hypotheses. The originality of the current study is that it tested and confirmed the important role played by different variables related to the development of organizational human capital which in turn delivers improvements in innovation performance. In light of these results, the study recommends the need to protect human capital through the use of isolation mechanisms in addition to the use of development mechanisms employed in the current study. For future studies, the study recommends the use of additional mechanisms associated with the development and isolation of human capital as this has demonstrated a positive impact in improving innovation performance. Keywords: human capital development, human capital isolation mechanisms, innovative performance. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-15-21 Publication date:May 31st 201

QuORAM: A Quorum-Replicated Fault Tolerant ORAM Datastore

Privacy and security challenges due to the outsourcing of data storage and processing to third-party cloud providers are well known. With regard to data privacy, Oblivious RAM (ORAM) schemes provide strong privacy guarantees by not only hiding the contents of the data (by encryption) but also obfuscating the access patterns of the outsourced data. But most existing ORAM datastores are not fault tolerant in that if the external storage server (which stores encrypted data) or the trusted proxy (which stores the encryption key and other meta- data) crashes, an application loses all of its data. To achieve fault-tolerance, we propose QuORAM, the first ORAM datastore to replicate data with a quorum-based replication protocol. QuORAM’s contributions are three-fold: (i) it obfuscates access patterns to provide obliviousness guarantees, (ii) it replicates data using a novel lock-free and decentralized replication protocol to achieve fault-tolerance, and (iii) it guarantees linearizable semantics. Experimentally evaluating QuORAM highlights counter-intuitive results: QuORAM in- curs negligible cost to achieve obliviousness when compared to an insecure fault-tolerant replicated system; QuORAM’s peak throughput is 2.4x of its non-replicated baseline; and QuORAM performs 33.2x better in terms of throughput than an ORAM datastore that relies on CockroachDB, an open- source geo-replicated database, for fault tolerance

From 'fixed dose combinations' to 'a dynamic dose combiner': 3D printed bi-layer antihypertensive tablets

There is an increased evidence for treating hypertension by a combination of two or more drugs. Increasing the number of daily intake of tablets has been reported to negatively affect the compliance by patients. Therefore, numerous fixed dose combinations (FDCs) have been introduced to the market. However, the inherent rigid nature of FDCs does not allow titration of the dose of each single component for individual patient needs. In this work, flexible dose combinations of two anti-hypertensive drugs in a single bilayer tablet with a range of doses were fabricated using dual fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printer. Enalapril maleate (EM) and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) loaded filaments were produced via hot-melt extrusion (HME). Computer software was utilized to design sets of oval bi-layer tablet of individualised doses. Thermal analysis and x-ray diffractometer (XRD) indicated that HCT remained crystalline in the polymeric matrix whilst EM appeared to be in an amorphous form. The interaction between anionic EM and cationic methacrylate polymer may have contributed to a drop in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the filament and obviated the need for a plasticiser. Across all tablet sets, the methacrylate polymeric matrix provided immediate drug release profiles. This dynamic dosing system maintained the advantages of FDCs while providing a superior flexibility of dosing range, hence offering an optimal clinical solution to hypertension therapy in a patient-centric healthcare service. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Variation in postoperative outcomes of patients with intracranial tumors: insights from a prospective international cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: This study assessed the international variation in surgical neuro-oncology practice and 30-day outcomes of patients who had surgery for an intracranial tumor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We prospectively included adults aged ≥18 years who underwent surgery for a malignant or benign intracranial tumor across 55 international hospitals from 26 countries. Each participating hospital recorded cases for 3 consecutive months from the start of the pandemic. We categorized patients’ location by World Bank income groups (high [HIC], upper-middle [UMIC], and low- and lower-middle [LLMIC]). Main outcomes were a change from routine management, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 30-day mortality. We used a Bayesian multilevel logistic regression stratified by hospitals and adjusted for key confounders to estimate the association between income groups and mortality. Results: Among 1016 patients, the number of patients in each income group was 765 (75.3%) in HIC, 142 (14.0%) in UMIC, and 109 (10.7%) in LLMIC. The management of 200 (19.8%) patients changed from usual care, most commonly delayed surgery. Within 30 days after surgery, 14 (1.4%) patients had a COVID-19 diagnosis and 39 (3.8%) patients died. In the multivariable model, LLMIC was associated with increased mortality (odds ratio 2.83, 95% credible interval 1.37–5.74) compared to HIC. Conclusions: The first wave of the pandemic had a significant impact on surgical decision-making. While the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection within 30 days after surgery was low, there was a disparity in mortality between countries and this warrants further examination to identify any modifiable factors