Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for the Arab Gulf Countries

The concept of food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) has been promoted by several international organizations. However, there are no FBDG for the countries in the Arab region. As the Arab Gulf countries share similar a socioeconomic and nutrition situation, an attempt was made to develop FBDG for these countries. This paper summarizes the steps taken to develope such guidelines by the Arab Center for Nutrition. The FBDG were developed through 6 steps: (1) determination of the purpose and goals for establishing FBDG, (2) characteristics of FBDG, (3) determination of the food consumption patterns, (4) review the current nutrition situation, (5) determination of the lifestyle patterns that are associated with diet-related diseases and (6) formulating the FBDG. The FBDG consist of 14 simple and practical pieces of advice taking into consideration the sociocultural status and nutritional problems in the Arab Gulf countries. The FBDG can be a useful tool in educating the public in healthy eating and prevention of diet-related chronic diseases

Evaluation of Some Heavy Metals Contents in Soil and Tobacco Grown in Sokoto, Nigeria

Tobacco is among the major causers/ determinants of morbidities and mortalities in many parts of the world due to its content compounds such as heavy metals. Therefore, it is needful to evaluate heavy metals embedded in the tobacco plant and soil in our localities to divulge information to stakeholders and the public. The objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of for copper, nickel, iron, manganese, zinc, chromium, lead, and cobalt in soils and tobacco parts (root, stem, and leave) from Gwadabawa, Illela, and Sokoto; therewith, atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis using standard methods was carried out. The results indicate, the levels of metals increase from stem to leaves to roots to soils. 00.1-0.62ppm, 0.01-0.52ppm, 0.002-150.0 ppm, 0.2-10.5ppm, 0.20-6.20ppm, 0.01-101.02ppm, 0.01-2.0ppm, 0.00-1.20ppm, are the extent ranges of heavy metals determined in soils, and different parts (root, leave, and stem of the plant (tobacco for copper, nickel, iron, manganese, zinc, chromium, lead, and cobalt respectively. Thus, continuous or acute exposure to tobacco through consumption or inhalation or the likes can subject the people to many detrimental effects

Performance Analysis of Sensing-based Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SB-SPS) MAC Protocol for C-V2X

Sensing-based Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SB-SPS) MAC protocol is proposed as part of the latest cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) standard for medium access between vehicles. As C-V2X uses LTE based frame structure, mode 4 of the C-V2X standard uses SB-SPS to allocate resource blocks effectively. C-V2X shows great potential for the future as it brings many improvements such as enhanced range, reliability, and the ability to support and evolve with emerging technologies such as 5G. In this article, the SB-SPS protocol’s performance was analyzed in different scenarios using OMNET++, SUMO, and Veins simulator. Different vehicle speeds and densities were used to observe the effect on packet loss and throughput. It was found that as packet loss decreased, throughput increased when the mobility of vehicles decreased. The effects of changing some important parameters of SB-SPS were also observed. The results showed that while parameters such as increasing the number of subchannels increased the packet delivery ratio (PDR), the change in the probability of resource reselection parameter did not affect the PDR

The Leading World’s Most Innovative Universities

This open access book is unique in its contents. No other title in the book market has tackled this important subject. It introduces innovation as a way of practice for world-class universities. It, then, discusses the criteria for being innovative in the academic world. The book selects some of the top innovative world-class universities to study the factors that qualified them to be innovative, so that any other university can follow their steps to become innovative. The final chapter of the book presents some recommendations in this regard

Treatment of Hypertensive Crisis Using Beta Blockers Vs Diuretics: Review

Current review aiming to evaluate and the advantage and disadvantage and also to discuss the differences in use and combination therapy of beta blockers VS diuretics in the treatment of hypertensive crisis.  Literature were search on topic concerning the treatment of hypertensive crisis, using biomedical databases; PubMed, and Embase, up to August, 2017.  Patients with hypertensive crises could call for immediate reduction in raised high blood pressure to stop and also detain modern end-organ damage. The best scientific setup in which to attain this blood pressure control remains in the intensive care unit, with making use of titratable intravenous hypotensive agents. Beta-blocker- based therapy, numerous possible randomized trials have recorded that diuretic-based treatment is efficient in reducing morbidity and also mortality in hypertensive patients. The advantages of diuretic therapy have actually been shown to be more significant in the senior compared to in younger patients. The result of diuretics is especially articulated when it comes to decrease of the risk of stroke and also somewhat less excellent with regard to the reduction of the danger of coronary heart disease. Keywords: Hypertension, Diuretics Therapy, Beta Blocker, Hypertensive Crisis

Prevalence of Breast Tumors and Methods of Prevention: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in women and one of the most severe and significant public health concerns in developing nations. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of breast tumors and women’s preventive behavior. Methods: A descriptive, correlational cross-sectional design was employed for this study. The study was conducted at (jeddah). Participants were selected during the period from September to November 2022. Population of this study were adult women (Aged >18 years) at KSA. Study instruments consisted of the following domains sociodemographic data, anthropometric measurements, information related to menstrual cycle and pregnancy, obstetric history, family history, practices of breast self-examination, procedures of early detection and knowledge, attitude and practice assessment for methods of prevention. Results: The study included 420 women of different ages. Breast cancer was found among 82 women (19.5%). The mean age among all study participants was 33.96 + 14.79 years with median age of 28 years. More than half of study participants had normal BMI (n= 220, 52.4%) while third participants were overweight (n= 136, 32.4%). Among participants, 18.1% had a history of post-partum complications, 38.3% had undergone previous surgery, 1.4% had experienced vascular moles, 18.6% had a history of fibroid uterus, 6% had cervical polyps, and 5% had endometriosis. Table 3 presents obstetric history among study participants. More than half of study participants underwent previous hysteroscopy (n= 235, 56%). On the other hand, 81 women had a family history of breast cancer (19.3%). Most of women in this study perform self-examination of the breast (n= 300, 71.4%) and 102 women underwent fine needle aspiration procedure (FNA) (24.3%). The FNA result was positive among 81 women. Furthermore, 124 women underwent mammography (29.5%) and the result was positive among 67 participants. Breast cancer is found among 82 women (19.5%). Women in this study agreed that they should have clinical breast examination at any time (n= 191, 45.5%) while other women believed they should have this examination in certain circumstances such as mastodynia (n= 61, 14.5%), history of benign breast tumors (n= 38, 9%), obesity (n= 37, 8.8%) and family history of breast cancer (n= 32, 7.6%). Conclusion: Breast cancer prevalence was 19.5%. Urban residency was predominant, with varying educational levels. Marital status, income, family size, and work differed among participants. Chronic conditions and diverse anthropometric measurements were observed. Obstetric history showed early marriage and delivery ages, limited abortions, and varied complications. Family history indicated links to chronic diseases and cancers. Participants exhibited awareness about breast cancer risk factors and methods for early detection

Effect of the COVID-19 Vaccine on the Menstrual Cycle among Females in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: The number of reports of menstrual changes after COVID-19 vaccination in the Saudi population is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effect of the COVID-19 vaccine(Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna) on the menstrual cycle among females in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) from August 2021 to February 2022. Data was collected through a previously validated online questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 2338 participants who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine participated in this study; 1606 (68.7%) of them received the second dose in addition to the first. The mean age of the study participants was 35.4±9.5 years. No significant associations were found between the type of COVID-19 vaccine and the impact on the menstrual cycle, either for the first or second dose (P-values > 0.05). A significant association was found only between the first dose vaccination day and the impact on the menstrual cycle in the second question of “After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, your next period was” (P-value ≤ 0.05). Significant associations were found between the second dose vaccination day and the impact on the menstrual cycle in the first and second questions of “After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, your next period was”, and “After receiving the first dose, your next period was," respectively (P-values ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study found a potential association between the COVID-19 vaccine and menstrual cycle irregularities, which could impact females' quality of life

'A seamless transition': how to sustain a community health worker scheme within the health system of Gombe state, northeast Nigeria.

Health interventions introduced as part of donor-funded projects need careful planning if they are to survive when donor funding ends. In northeast Nigeria, the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency and implementing partners recognized this when introducing a Village Health Worker (VHW) Scheme in 2016. VHWs are a new cadre of community health worker, providing maternal, newborn and child health-related messages, basic healthcare and making referrals to health facilities. This paper presents a qualitative study focussing on the VHW Scheme's sustainability and, hence, contributes to the body of literature on sustaining donor-funded interventions as well as presenting lessons aimed at decision-makers seeking to introduce similar schemes in other Nigerian states and in other low- and middle-income settings. In 2017 and 2018, we conducted 37 semi-structured interviews and 23 focus group discussions with intervention stakeholders and community members. Based on respondents' accounts, six key actions emerged as essential in promoting the VHW Scheme's sustainability: government ownership and transition of responsibilities, adapting the scheme for sustainability, motivating VHWs, institutionalizing the scheme within the health system, managing financial uncertainties and fostering community ownership and acceptance. Our study suggests that for a community health worker intervention to be sustainable, reflection and adaption, government and community ownership and a phased transition of responsibilities are crucial

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London