Factors Associated With Body Weight Status of Iranian Postgraduate Students in University of Putra Malaysia

Background: Good nutrition, a balanced diet and regular physical activity are foundations of good health. Research has found that dietary patterns change dramatically following the arrival of students in a foreign country. However, nutritional status of Iranian students studying oversea has never been investigated. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with body weight status of Iranian postgraduate students in Universiti of Putra Malaysia (UPM). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the body weight status of 210 Iranian postgraduate students aged between 22 and 55 years in University of Putra Malaysia. The associations between body weight status and socio demographics factors and also lifestyle factors (smoking and physical activity) were assessed. Anthropometric factors (height, weight, BMI and waist and hip circumferences) were measured. Chi-square, Spearman Rho and Pearson tests were used for data analysis. Results: From a total of 210 postgraduate students 110 were females, and 100 males. No significant correlation was observed between smoking and BMI (P = 0.4). However, statistically significant correlations were observed between gender (P = 0.007), physical activity (P = 0.02), using protein (P = 0.005), carbohydrate (P = 0.002), fat (P = 0.001), fiber (P = 0.003), vitamin C (P = 0.04), calcium (P = 0.005), waist circumference (P = 0.02), hip circumference (P = 0.001), Waist to Hip Ratio (P = 0.002), and BMI. Conclusions: The nutritional behavior of university students was poor. Therefore, it is essential to encourage young people, including university students to enrich their diets with milk, beans, fruit, and vegetables to decrease the risks of nutrition related disorders

Development and evaluation of ibuprofen transdermal gel formulations

Purpose: To develop an ibuprofen transdermal gel with a capability for both topical and systemic drug delivery. Methods: Ibuprofen gel formulations, incorporating various permeation enhancers, were prepared using chitosan as a gelling agent. The formulations were examined for their in vitro characteristics including viscosity, pH and drug release as well as in vivo pharmacological activities. Carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema model was used for the evaluation of their analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. A commercial ibuprofen gel product (Ibutop®) was used as a reference. Results: The formulations containing 5 % of either menthol or glycerol as permeation enhancers gave drug release patterns comparable to that of the reference product. Propanol increased the apparent viscosity of the test gels to the same extent as that of the reference. Drug release from the formulationsfitted best to the Higuchi model. A significant in vivo analgesic effect was produced by the test formulations containing 5 % menthol and 20 % propylene glycol and the effect was superior to that obtained with the reference product. However, no significant anti-inflammatory activity was exerted by any of the test gel formulations (p > 0.05).Conclusion: Ibuprofen gel preparations containing 5 % menthol and 20 % propylene glycol, respectively, exhibited pronounced analgesic activity and could be further developed for topical and systemic delivery of ibuprofen.Keywords:  Transdermal gel, Chitosan, Ibuprofen, Menthol, Propylene glycol, Penetration enhance

Feed formulation based on local feed resources and its effects on nutritional-related blood profile in breeder goats

A comparative study was conducted to determine the nutrient composition of different feed formulations and its effect on nutritional related blood profile in breeder goats. Eighteen female adult goats, Capra aegagrus hircus (Boer cross) were selected and allocated into three different groups (n = 6) and assigned according to different feed formulations. Blood sampling was conducted before and after fourth weeks of feeding trial and analysed for selected parameters. Proximate analysis of diets was done and revealed comparable value of crude protein and crude fat. Glucose, total protein and calcium level in serum showed significant difference between groups (P-value 0.05). Fatty acid analysis of feed and serum showed polyunsaturated fatty acid was higher than satureated fatty acid. Overall, diet 3 shows the highest value of all blood parameters analysed in this study. Hence, it is very important to provide animal with nutrient according to production stages as sufficent protein and energy will improve the animal performance in terms breeding efficacy and quality of animal products. This study indicates that different feed formulation affects certain nutritional related blood profile in goat

Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obese Phenotypes among Arabs and South Asians:Prevalence and Relationship with Cardiometabolic Indicators

Obesity is a public health crisis in Kuwait. However, not all obese individuals are metabolically unhealthy (MuHO) given the link between obesity and future cardiovascular events. We assessed the prevalence of the metabolically healthy obese (MHO) phenotype and its relationship with high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in Arab and South Asian ethnic groups in Kuwait. The national cross-sectional survey of diabetes and obesity in Kuwait adults aged 18–60 years were analysed. The harmonised definition of metabolic syndrome was used to classify metabolic health. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to model the relationship between the MHO and MuHO phenotypes and hs-CRP, ALT and HOMA-IR levels. Overall, the prevalence of MHO for body mass index (BMI)- and waist circumference (WC)-defined obesity was 30.8% and 56.0%, respectively; it was greater in women (60.4% and 61.8%, respectively) than men (39.6% and 38.2%, respectively). Prevalence rates were also lower for South Asians than for Arabs. The MHO phenotype had hs-CRP values above 3 µg/mL for each age group category. Men compared to women, and South Asians compared to Arabs had a lower relative risk for the MHO group relative to the MuHO group. This study shows there is high prevalence of MHO in Kuwait

Genetic relatedness and host specificity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis and non-cystic fibrosis patients

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the primary pathogens isolated more frequently in cystic fibrosis (CF) and it exhibits innate resistance to a wide range of antibiotics. Purpose: We sought to determine whether the highly prevalent genotypes of P. aeruginosa are specifically linked to CF patients and have any related multidrug antibiotic resistance. Isolates from hospitalized non-CF patients and from environmental sources were also genotypically analyzed. Methods: Collections of P. aeruginosa from lower respiratory secretions (n=45) were genotyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Phenotypic screening for antibiotic susceptibility was performed for the common antimicrobial agents by E-test and automated Phoenix method. Results: P. aeruginosa isolates from CF (n=32), hospitalized non-CF patients (n=13), and environment sources (n=5) were analyzed. The population structure of P. aeruginosa is highly diverse and population-specific. All PFGE results of P. aeruginosa isolates fall among four major clusters. Cluster 1 contained 16 P. aeruginosa isolates from CF patients and two from environmental sources; cluster 2 contained 11 P. aeruginosa isolates from CF and one each from non-CF and environmental sources; cluster 3 contained 12 P. aeruginosa isolates from hospitalized non-CF patients and two P. aeruginosa isolates from one CF patient and one environmental source; and cluster 4 consisted of three isolates from CF patients and one from the environment. The majority of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates were in clusters 3 and 4. P. aeruginosa isolates from CF patients were resistant to ciprofloxacin (34.4%) followed by resistance to amikacin and gentamicin (each 28%), whereas the majority of isolates from non-CF patients were resistant to meropenem (69%) and were grouped in cluster 3. Conclusion: PFGE of P. aeruginosa isolates from CF patients shows a high degree of similarity, suggesting specific adaptation of these clones to CF-affected lungs. The hospitalized non-CF cluster has a different clonal origin, indicating specific clustering in a specific location, suggesting hospital-acquired P. aeruginosa infections.The Qatar National Research Fund (UREP 14-026-3-010)

Differential Protein Contents in Two Members of the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleurodidae) Complex: Reproductive and Invasive Implications

Although the displacement of some native whitefly species by the B biotype of Bemisia tabaci has been noted in China, it is still unclear which physiological and molecular mechanisms predominate during such invasions. Here, we investigated proteome variability in both B biotype and the native ZHJ1 haplotype. ZHJ1 eggs showed larger numbers of specific proteins than B eggs. A set of proteins found in B eggs were present at higher levels in ZHJ1. Three ZHJ1 egg proteins were present at higher levels in B eggs. ZHJ1 males possessed four specific proteins, and at least five other male proteins were shared by the two whiteflies. Two proteins identified in ZHJ1 males were present at higher levels in B males. Three other shared male proteins were found at much higher levels in ZHJ1 than in the B biotype. Both ZHJ1 and B expressed three specific female proteins. Most of the female proteins identified in ZHJ1 were present at much higher levels in B. In conclusion, protein content indexed by electrophoretic profiling has likely played an important role during the displacement of natives by the B biotype

The effect of different feed formulation based on local feed resource on performance and stress parameter in breeder goat

Balanced nutrition is essential for health and performance of livestock. It is best when feed is formulated according to production stages of goat. However, as the goat grows, it may undergo transition of different feed formulation to meet its daily requirement. The transition may affect the performance of animals as well as it is a stressful condition. In this study, body weight gain and feed intake were used as indicators on performance, whereas hematological stress leucograms were used as indicator of stress parameter during implementation of different feed formulation among does. Eighteen adult does with similar body condition score and body weight approximately 20 kg were selected and divided into three groups equally (n = 6) and fed with different feed formulations, which were formulated using local feed source in the farm for a period of four weeks. Body weight was measured before implementation, on week 2 and week 4, blood sampling was conducted before implementation and during week 4 for comparison and feed intake was measured every day. All data were statistically analyzed using SPSS. Does fed with Diet 3 showed highest body weight gain and feed intake, followed by Diet 2 and Diet 1. There was significant difference (P0.05) as compared to normal value. Neutrophils:lymphocytes ratio for all groups were within normal range and no significant difference (P>0.05). The implementation of feed formulation according to production stages is recommended as it increases performance and prevents from nutritional stress

Sequencing, Analysis, and Annotation of Expressed Sequence Tags for Camelus dromedarius

Despite its economical, cultural, and biological importance, there has not been a large scale sequencing project to date for Camelus dromedarius. With the goal of sequencing complete DNA of the organism, we first established and sequenced camel EST libraries, generating 70,272 reads. Following trimming, chimera check, repeat masking, cluster and assembly, we obtained 23,602 putative gene sequences, out of which over 4,500 potentially novel or fast evolving gene sequences do not carry any homology to other available genomes. Functional annotation of sequences with similarities in nucleotide and protein databases has been obtained using Gene Ontology classification. Comparison to available full length cDNA sequences and Open Reading Frame (ORF) analysis of camel sequences that exhibit homology to known genes show more than 80% of the contigs with an ORF>300 bp and ~40% hits extending to the start codons of full length cDNAs suggesting successful characterization of camel genes. Similarity analyses are done separately for different organisms including human, mouse, bovine, and rat. Accompanying web portal, CAGBASE (http://camel.kacst.edu.sa/), hosts a relational database containing annotated EST sequences and analysis tools with possibility to add sequences from public domain. We anticipate our results to provide a home base for genomic studies of camel and other comparative studies enabling a starting point for whole genome sequencing of the organism