Exhaustive exercise and vitamins C and E modulate thyroid hormone levels at low and high altitudes

Thyroid hormones play an important role in cell growth and differentiation and regulation of oxygen consumption and thermogenesis. The effect of altitude and vitamin supplementation on thyroid hormone levels in animals or humans performing acute exhaustive exercise have not been investigated before. Therefore, we thought to test whether exhaustive exerciseinduced stress with antioxidant supplementation was capable of modulating the level of thyroid hormones at different altitudes. Serum levels of T4 (Thyroxin), T3 (Triiodothyronine), and TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) were measured in rats (N=36) born and bred in low altitude (600 m above sea level) and high altitude (2200 m above sea level) following forced swimming with or without vitamins C and E (25 mg/kg) pre-treatments. Thyroid levels were significantly decreased in resting rats at high altitude compared to low altitude, and swimming exercise moderately increased T3 and TSH at both high and low altitudes, whereas T4 was markedly increased (62 %) at low altitude compared to a moderate high altitude increase (28 %). Co-administration of vitamins C and E augmented the observed forced swimminginduced thyroid release. However, the conversion of T4 to T3 was reduced in both altitude areas following swimming exercise and vitamin pre-treatment had no effect. We conclude that acute stress induced thyroidal hormones in rats, which was augmented by antioxidant drugs in both high and low altitude areas. These findings may play an important role in the human pathophysiology of thyroid gland at different altitudes

Co-administration of Vitamins E and C protects against stress-induced hepatorenal oxidative damage and effectively improves lipid profile at both low and high altitude

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of co- administration of vitamins E and C on exhaustive exercise induced-stress in regards to hepatorenal function in rats native to low altitude (LA) and high altitude (HA). In both LA and HA areas, native wistar rats of each area were divided into three groups of 6 rats each, which include stress-free control, forced swimming-induced experimental stress and experimental stress plus vitamins E and C treatment. Lipid profile and Liver and kidney functions were assessed in both groups. HA and LA rats exhibit similar baseline levels of liver and kidney function as well as lipid metabolism profiles. However, HA rats showed decreased levels of antioxidant markers with an increased level of lipid peroxidation. Exhaustive swimming exercise induced a significant increase in the liver and kidney function of rats at both altitudes accompanied with a decrease in antioxidants levels. However, the magnitude of change observed in HA rats was more profound. Also at LA, forced swimming exercise resulted in a significant increase in serum total cholesterol (TChol), triacylglycerides (TAG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). However, in HA rats, forced swimming exercise caused a significant decrease in serum TChol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), except for HDL levels which were significantly elevated. Pre- and co-administration of vitamins E and C counteracted the induction of liver and/or kidney function by exhaustive exercise, and lowered TChol and LDL levels in rats at either altitude. In conclusion, at native high altitude: kidney and liver function essentially remained stable; response to stress included more profound oxidative damage to liver and kidney tissues as well as augmented deterioration in lipid metabolism compared to low altitude; and combined administration of vitamins E and C protected against observed oxidative stress damage to liver and kidney tissues and preserved lipid metabolism. At low altitude, combined administration of vitamin E and C protected against stress-induced oxidative damage to the liver and kidney and did preserve normal lipid metabolism, except for HDL. These novel findings reveal the pathophysiological changes in the liver function, kidney function and lipid metabolism occurring at high altitude specifically under stress, and demonstrate the efficacy of combined supplementation of vitamins E and C to normalize these changes.Key words: Exercise, oxidative stress, vitamin E, vitamin C, altitude, rats

Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve in Egypt: Role of Foreign Investment and Trade

We test the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) augmenting CO2 emissions model for Egypt using cointegration technique for period 1990-2014. Cointegration is found in the hypothesized model and EKC hypothesis validates from empirical testing as well. Further, energy consumption seems to be accelerating CO2 emissions per capita while Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is found helpful in reducing CO2 emissions per capita. However, the effect of trade is found insignificant. We recommend Egyptian government to attract further foreign investment to support a cleaner environment. Keywords: Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis; Foreign Direct Investment; Trade Openness; Egypt JEL Classifications: F18; O13; F21 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.727

Exercise protects against obesity induced semen abnormalities via downregulating stem cell factor, upregulating Ghrelin and normalizing oxidative stress

Increased oxidative stress and hormonal imbalance have been hypothesized to underlie infertility in obese animals. However, recent evidence suggests that Ghrelin and Stem Cell Factor (SCF) play an important role in fertility, in lean individuals. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating whether changes in the levels of Ghrelin and SCF in rat testes underlie semen abnormal parameters observed in obese rats, and secondly, whether endurance exercise or Orlistat can protect against changes in Ghrelin, SCF, and/or semen parameters in diet induced obese rats. Obesity was modelled in male Wistar rats using High Fat Diet (HFD) 12-week protocol. Eight week-old rats (n=40) were divided into four groups, namely, Group I: fed with a standard diet (12 % of calories as fat); Group II: fed HFD (40 % of calories as fat); Group III: fed the HFD with a concomitant dose of Orlistat (200 mg/kg); and Group IV: fed the HFD and underwent 30 min daily swimming exercise. The model was validated by measuring the levels of testosterone, FSH, LH, estradiol, leptin, triglycerides, total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol, and final change in body weight. Levels were consistent with published obesity models (see Results). As predicted, the HFD group had a 76.8 % decrease in sperm count, 44.72 % decrease in sperm motility, as well as 47.09 % increase in abnormal sperm morphology. Unlike the control group, in the HFD group (i.e. obese rats) Ghrelin mRNA and protein were elevated, while SCF mRNA and protein were diminished in the testes. Furthermore, in the HFD group, SOD and GPx activities were significantly reduced, 48.5±5.8 % (P=0.0012) and 45.6±4.6 % (P=0.0019), respectively, while TBARS levels were significantly increased (112.7±8.9 %, P≤0.0001). Finally, endurance exercise training and Orlistat administration individually and differentially protected semen parameters in obese rats. The mechanism includes, but is not limited to, normalizing the levels of Ghrelin, SCF, SOD, GPx and TBARS. In rat testes, diet induced obesity down regulates SCF expression, upregulates Ghrelin expression, and deteriorate oxidative stress levels, which are collectively detrimental to semen parameters. Exercise, and to a lesse r extent Orlistat administration, protected effectively against this detrimental effect

Integrating soil mulching and subsurface irrigation for optimizing deficit irrigation effectiveness as a water-rationing strategy in tomato production

Irrigated agriculture from now on should be implemented under water scarcity. Hence, this research was designed to determine the optimal interaction between irrigation water-rationing strategy (deficit irrigation), irrigation techniques, and soil mulching to improve water use efficiency and maintaining plant performance as well as yield productivity of tomatoes. The experiment was set up during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 growing seasons. Three factors were studied: two drip irrigation techniques, surface (SI) and subsurface (SSI) irrigation, and two irrigation rates, 100% ETc for full irrigation (FI) and 60% ETc for deficit-irrigation (DI) along with three treatments of soil mulching, bare soil (BS), organic mulch (OrM) and black polyethylene mulch (BPE). The results demonstrated that applying the absolute regular DI regime significantly reduced vegetative growth, fruit yield, and yield component along with water productivity. Also, it reduced the physiological function measures, and nutrient content of the tomato leaf. Meanwhile, applying the DI regime via the SSI technique and integrated with BPE soil mulching proved the best optimization of the DI negative effect followed by applying the DI regime through either SSI or SI technique combined with OrM or BPE soil mulching, respectively. As a result, it is advisable to use the integration of DI via the SSI accompanied by BPE soil mulching since this is considered a good method for conserving irrigation water from being lost by both evaporation and seepage out of the root zone improving water use efficiency without significantly reducing tomato yield

Set-based design application on dates harvesting machine

This paper explores the application of Set-based Design (SBD) in the design of a dates harvesting machine. Dates are a popular fruit with significant economic importance, especially in Saudi Arabia. However, the process of harvesting them is highly labour-intensive, and there is a need for an automated solution to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The study begins with a comprehensive review of the literature on other fruit-harvesting machines. The research then proposes an architectural design of a dates harvesting machine based on the understanding of the typical fruit harvesting machines. The dates harvesting machine design proposed in this study consists of several sub-assemblies. Each sub-assembly is designed as a set of alternatives, with different configurations of components, mechanisms and materials. The understanding of the customer requirements of typical date farms helped to identify the list of values that are essential to design the dates harvesting machine. These values were filtered and analysed using an analytical hierarchy process to define three key value attributes of ‘design performance’, ‘safety’ and ‘cost’. The SBD approach helped to evaluate all the possible combinations of subsystems to identify the optimal solution that meets the customer's requirements and constraints. The SBD methodology resulted in the generation of 576 alternative design configurations which were aggressively narrowed down to 48 design solutions and then into 4 solutions where the final optimized design was selected using the PUGH matrix. The narrowing down is based on the combination of trade-off curves, solution performance and the identified key-value attributes. The proposed dates harvesting machine design shows great promise in improving the efficiency and sustainability of harvesting dates, and it can be adapted for use in agricultural applications

Oral manifestations in young adults infected with COVID-19 and impact of smoking:a multi-country cross-sectional study

Background: Oral manifestations and lesions could adversely impact the quality of people's lives. COVID-19 infection may interact with smoking and the impact on oral manifestations is yet to be discovered. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the self-reported presence of oral lesions by COVID-19-infected young adults and the differences in the association between oral lesions and COVID-19 infection in smokers and non-smokers. Methods: This cross-sectional multi-country study recruited 18-to-23-year-old adults. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data on COVID-19-infection status, smoking and the presence of oral lesions (dry mouth, change in taste, and others) using an online platform. Multi-level logistic regression was used to assess the associations between the oral lesions and COVID-19 infection; the modifying effect of smoking on the associations. Results: Data was available from 5,342 respondents from 43 countries. Of these, 8.1% reported COVID-19-infection, 42.7% had oral manifestations and 12.3% were smokers. A significantly greater percentage of participants with COVID-19-infection reported dry mouth and change in taste than non-infected participants. Dry mouth (AOR=, 9=xxx) and changed taste (AOR=, 9=xxx) were associated with COVID-19-infection. The association between COVID-19-infection and dry mouth was stronger among smokers than non-smokers (AOR = 1.26 and 1.03, p = 0.09) while the association with change in taste was stronger among non-smokers (AOR = 1.22 and 1.13, p = 0.86). Conclusion: Dry mouth and changed taste may be used as an indicator for COVID-19 infection in low COVID-19-testing environments. Smoking may modify the association between some oral lesions and COVID-19-infection

Anxiety among adolescents and young adults during COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-country survey

(1) Background: Adolescents-and-young-adults (AYA) are prone to anxiety. This study assessed AYA's level of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic; and determined if anxiety levels were associated with country-income and region, socio-demographic profile and medical history of individuals. (2) Methods: A survey collected data from participants in 25 countries. Dependent-variables included general-anxiety level, and independent-variables included medical problems, COVID-19 infection, age, sex, education, and country-income-level and region. A multilevel-multinomial-logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the association between dependent, and independent-variables. (3) Results: Of the 6989 respondents, 2964 (42.4%) had normal-anxiety, and 2621 (37.5%), 900 (12.9%) and 504 (7.2%) had mild, moderate and severe-anxiety, respectively. Participants from the African region (AFR) had lower odds of mild, moderate and severe than normal-anxiety compared to those from the Eastern-Mediterranean-region (EMR). Also, participants from lower-middle-income-countries (LMICs) had higher odds of mild and moderate than normal-anxiety compared to those from low-income-countries (LICs). Females, older-adolescents, with medical-problems, suspected-but-not-tested-for-COVID-19, and those with friends/family-infected with COVID-19 had significantly greater odds of different anxiety-levels. (4) Conclusions: One-in-five AYA had moderate to severe-anxiety during the COVID-19-pandemic. There were differences in anxiety-levels among AYAs by region and income-level, emphasizing the need for targeted public health interventions based on nationally-identified priorities

Cigarettes' use and capabilities-opportunities-motivation-for-behavior model:a multi-country survey of adolescents and young adults

The use of cigarettes among adolescents and young adults (AYA) is an important issue. This study assessed the association between regular and electronic-cigarettes use among AYA and factors of the Capability-Motivation-Opportunity-for-Behavior-change (COM-B) model. A multi-country survey was conducted between August-2020 and January-2021, Data was collected using the Global-Youth-Tobacco-Survey and Generalized-Anxiety-Disorder-7-item-scale. Multi-level logistic-regression-models were used. Use of regular and electronic-cigarettes were dependent variables. The explanatory variables were capability-factors (COVID-19 status, general anxiety), motivation-factors (attitude score) and opportunity-factors (country-level affordability scores, tobacco promotion-bans, and smoke free-zones) controlling for age and sex. Responses of 6,989-participants from 25-countries were used. Those who reported that they were infected with COVID-19 had significantly higher odds of electronic-cigarettes use (AOR = 1.81, P = 0.02). Normal or mild levels of general anxiety and negative attitudes toward smoking were associated with significantly lower odds of using regular-cigarettes (AOR = 0.34, 0.52, and 0.75, P < 0.001) and electronic-cigarettes (AOR = 0.28, 0.45, and 0.78, P < 0.001). Higher affordability-score was associated with lower odds of using electronic-cigarettes (AOR = 0.90, P = 0.004). Country-level-smoking-control policies and regulations need to focus on reducing cigarette affordability. Capability, motivation and opportunity factors of the COM-B model were associated with using regular or electronic cigarettes