Hepatoprotective Effect of Royal Jelly Against Cisplatin-Induced Biochemical, Oxidative Stress, Anti-Oxidants And Histopathological Abnormalities

The study aimed to evaluate the changes of liver functions, oxidative stress, anti-oxidants and histopathological investigations in Cisplatin-induced hepatotoxicity and the royal jelly ameliorative effects. The forty male mice were divided into 4 groups. The first group was control, Group II: animals were received royal jelly (150 mg/kg), Group III: animals were received cisplatin (3.5 mg/kg body weight of Cisplatin once every 2 days), group IV: animals were received the royal jelly + Cisplatin, for 10 days. At the end of experiment Blood was collected and analyzed for blood alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Albumin. The Liver samples were stored for the measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant and catalase (CAT) activities and another hepatic tissues were processed for histopathology. Cisplatin given to mice induced a marked hepatic injuries, characterized with a significant increase in serum ALT, AST and MDA and lower albumin, total antioxidant, and CAT activities. In the groups that were administered royal jelly in association with cisplatin, improvement was observed in oxidative stress parameter (MDA), other hepatic biochemical parameters, and histopathological examinations with royal jelly being more effective. The results obtained suggested that royal jelly significantly attenuated the cisplatin-hepatotoxicity, because it act as free radical scavenger and lipid peroxidation inhibitor. Keywords: Cisplatin; Royal jelly; Antioxidants; Hepatotoxicit

Linkage disequilibrium and association mapping of drought tolerance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm population from diverse regions of Pakistan

Drought stress is a major abiotic stress that limits crop production. Molecular association mapping techniques through linkage disequilibrium (LD) can be effectively used to tag genomic regions involved in drought stress tolerance. With the association mapping approach, 90 genotypes of cotton Gossypium hirsutum, from diverse regions of Pakistan were used. The morpho-physiological traits of all genotypes were evaluated in greenhouse under well-watered and drought stress conditions. Mean squares from analysis of variance for all morpho-physiological traits revealed highly significant variations (P≤0.05) between water levels and genotypes. Cotton varieties were screened for polymorphism with 180 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Out of these 180 SSR markers, 95 were polymorphic. Genotyping of the selected 95 SSR primer pairs generated 57.5% polymorphism, and the number of polymorphic alleles per primer was 2.10. Population structure, linkage disequilibrium, and association mapping between pairs of SSR marker loci were studied. The significance of pairwise LD (P≤0.005) among all possible SSR loci was evaluated at significant threshold values (R2≥0.05); 7.1% of the SSR marker pairs showed significant pairwise LD in 90 accessions of G. hirsutum. Also we observed a significant (R2) LD between 13 pairs of SSR loci; each pair within the same chromosome in a range of 180 cM between NAU1230 and NAU3095 loci in chromosome (D5) and 1.612 cM between NAU462 and NAU3414 in chromosome A9. This indicates tight linkage between two alleles on the same chromosome. Markers, NAU3414, NAU2691, NAU1141 and NAU1190 were associated with more than single traits under drought treatments. Highest phenotypic variance explaining (R2) was ascribed to NAU3011 chromosome D13 significantly (p≤0.001) associated with root length under drought treatment.Keywords: Cotton Gossypium hirsutum, drought stress, association mapping, linkage disequilibrium (LD), simple sequence repeats (SSRs

Comparison between undergraduate dental students’ self-assessment of pre-clinical crown preparation and assessment by two tutors

Background: The ability of undergraduate medical sciences students to self-assess is a critical skill, which all health professionals must master. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the students' self-grading versus tutors' grades and to assess inter-examiner grade variation in preclinical crown preparations of plastic teeth. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study among fifty 4th-year undergraduate dental students, at semester 7 (2014-2015), at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Sudan; and two tutors from the department of restorative dentistry with differing years of experience. Each student prepared a crown of porcelain fused to metal on a plastic molar. After one week students were asked to rate their preparation using the “glance-and-grade” marking system, out of 20 marks. The two examiners also assessed the preparation separately by the same method. A comparison between different variables was done by paired sample t-test and Person’s correlation test with the level of significance set at p-value≤0.05. Results: The mean of students self-grading (13.4±3.37) of the prepared teeth was higher than the mean grades (12.0±3.67) of the junior tutor (p=0.007) and moderate correlation (0.376). The mean of students self-grading is much higher than the mean grades (9.64±3.37) by the senior tutor (p=0.001) and with moderate correlation (0.450). Comparison between the grades means of the prepared teeth by the two tutors revealed statistical significant different (p=0.000) and strong correlation (0.647). The overall mean grades (10.82±5.25) by the two tutors and self-grading (13.40±3.375) by the students were statistically significantly different (p=0.00). Conclusion: Students tended to grade their preparations of porcelain fused to metal crowns on plastic teeth higher than tutors. Inter examiner variation in grading were observed between the junior and senior tutors. Training students in self-assessment methods and the setting of criteria by the faculty is recommended

IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON LEADERSHIP OUTCOME (EFFECTIVENESS, SATISFACTION AND EXTRA EFFORT) IN THE PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN JORDAN

Background: It can be concluded from past studies that the grounds for day to day exchanges amid leaders and workers are based on leadership styles, and work procedures are assisted and boosted by them. Purpose: To investigate the nature and importance of leadership styles and behaviours of head nurse managers is the purpose of this research; its purpose also includes their influence on diverse organizational outcomes that are part of leader’s efficiency and job satisfaction of workers, together with their readiness to give more input to their work. Methodology: 24 participants were head nurse managers out of the total sample of 96; rest of the sample comprised of juniors. There were 45 things that were a part of The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ, Form 5- X) employed in this study to recognize and determine the important leadership styles together with their results. Findings: The transformational leadership style was discovered to be the most frequently employed style by the outcome of this research. The results also disclosed that amid the overall score of transformational leadership (TRL) and independent variables there was a positive correlation (r= 0.661**, 0.585** and 0.504** for leader effectiveness, staff job satisfaction, and extra effort, respectively). Conclusion: The quality of nursing services is greatly increased when there is an improvement in the development of transformational leadership that in turn boosts nurses’ satisfaction and additional efforts

IMPACT OF LEADERSHIP STYLES ON LEADERSHIP OUTCOME (EFFECTIVENESS, SATISFACTION AND EXTRA EFFORT) IN THE PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN JORDAN

Background: It can be concluded from past studies that the grounds for day to day exchanges amid leaders and workers are based on leadership styles, and work procedures are assisted and boosted by them. Purpose: To investigate the nature and importance of leadership styles and behaviours of head nurse managers is the purpose of this research; its purpose also includes their influence on diverse organizational outcomes that are part of leader’s efficiency and job satisfaction of workers, together with their readiness to give more input to their work. Methodology: 24 participants were head nurse managers out of the total sample of 96; rest of the sample comprised of juniors. There were 45 things that were a part of The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ, Form 5- X) employed in this study to recognize and determine the important leadership styles together with their results. Findings: The transformational leadership style was discovered to be the most frequently employed style by the outcome of this research. The results also disclosed that amid the overall score of transformational leadership (TRL) and independent variables there was a positive correlation (r= 0.661**, 0.585** and 0.504** for leader effectiveness, staff job satisfaction, and extra effort, respectively). Conclusion: The quality of nursing services is greatly increased when there is an improvement in the development of transformational leadership that in turn boosts nurses’ satisfaction and additional efforts

Factors Influencing Participation in COVID-19 Clinical Trials: A Multi-National Study

In 2020, the World Health Organization has characterized COVID-19, a disease caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as a pandemic. Although a few vaccines and drugs have been approved to, respectively, prevent or treat the disease, several clinical trials are still ongoing to test new vaccines or drugs to mitigate the burden of the pandemic. Few studies have shown the role of host genetics in disease prognosis and drug response highlighting the importance of diverse participation in COVID-19 clinical trials. The goal of this study is to assess public attitudes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan toward participating in COVID-19 clinical trials and to identify the factors that may influence their attitude. An online questionnaire was developed and distributed among the target group through social media platforms. The number of responses was 1,576. Three quarters (74.9%) of participants heard about clinical trials before, 57.6% of them had a positive attitude toward participation in COVID-19 clinical trials. The conduct of clinical trials in accordance with the scientific, research, and ethical guidelines was a strong predictor of willingness to participate in clinical trials. Other positive factors also included protection of family from COVID-19 and contributing to the return to normal community life as well as receiving additional healthcare benefit was the fourth significant predictor. On the other hand, the thought that clinical trials can have a negative impact on the health of participants strongly predicted the unwillingness of individuals to participate in such trials. This was followed by having limited information about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 and the lack of trust in physicians and hospitals. In general, Arab citizens are accepting the concept and have a positive attitude toward COVID-19 clinical trials. Increasing awareness of COVID-19 and clinical trials, enforcing the concept of altruism, and placing clear policies in conducting clinical trials are needed to increase participation in clinical trials among Arabs