The attitudes and behaviors of students, staff and faculty towards smoke-free and tobacco-free campus policies in North American universities: A narrative review.

INTRODUCTION: In Canada, a series of recent public health policies and interventions have successfully led to a decline in national tobacco use rates. However, tobacco use among young adults remains high and the tobacco industry continues to place a strong marketing emphasis towards young adults on university campuses. In response, many universities across Canada are beginning to adopt smoke-free or tobacco-free campus policies. While the effectiveness of smoke-free and tobaccofree campus policies has been demonstrated in several countries, little is known about the attitudinal responses of university students, faculty and staff towards these policies. As such, we conducted a review of the literature to summarize the findings of studies conducted in North America regarding the attitudes and beliefs of campus community members towards smoke-free or tobacco-free campus policies. METHODS: Using a pre-defined search strategy and Boolean string, we searched three databases for published articles pertaining to the research question. Only primary and peer-reviewed articles of studies conducted on North American university campuses were eligible for inclusion. Studies included for review were those published in English within the last five years. All studies included in the review contained outcome measurements related to the attitudes and behaviors of faculty, staff and students towards smoke-free and/or tobacco-free campus policies. RESULTS: A total of 11 articles were included for analysis and result synthesis. Recent research indicates that individuals\u27 attitudes and beliefs towards smoke-free or tobacco-free campus policies are influenced by social norms, smoking status, secondhand smoke exposure, and sociodemographics. CONCLUSIONS: This literature review provides timely information for universities in the process of developing or implementing a smoke-free campus policy. The attitudes and beliefs of university students, faculty and staff can determine success and compliance to newly implemented smoke-free campus policies

Three-dimensional vortex dipole solitons in self-gravitating systems

We derive the nonlinear equations governing the dynamics of three-dimensional (3D) disturbances in a nonuniform rotating self-gravitating fluid under the assumption that the characteristic frequencies of disturbances are small compared to the rotation frequency. Analytical solutions of these equations are found in the form of the 3D vortex dipole solitons. The method for obtaining these solutions is based on the well-known Larichev-Reznik procedure for finding two-dimensional nonlinear dipole vortex solutions in the physics of atmospheres of rotating planets. In addition to the basic 3D x-antisymmetric part (carrier), the solution may also contain radially symmetric (monopole) or/and antisymmetric along the rotation axis (z-axis) parts with arbitrary amplitudes, but these superimposed parts cannot exist without the basic part. The 3D vortex soliton without the superimposed parts is extremely stable. It moves without distortion and retains its shape even in the presence of an initial noise disturbance. The solitons with parts that are radially symmetric or/and z-antisymmetric turn out to be unstable, although at sufficiently small amplitudes of these superimposed parts, the soliton retains its shape for a very long time.Comment: will be published in Phys. Rev.

Comparison of Biodiversity and Abundance of Earthworms in Maize Croplands, Irrigated with Sewage and Canal Water of District Faisalabad, Pakistan

The diversity and richness of earthworms that were irrigated with canal (Chak 200 RB Lathianwala) and sewage (Chokera) water in the district of Faisalabad were determined from August to November 2020. For collection of specimens, hand picking and digging method was used and then preserved in formalin. AAS (Atomic absorption spectrophotometer) was used to check the concentration of heavy metals in both water and soil samples. Total 10 species were identified from Chak 200 RB Lathianwala and showed Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H\u27) =2.13, Evenness = 0.93 and Dominance = 0.07. The significant difference in abundance were determined (t = 7.7115, p = 0.0001 at p \u3c 0.05). Water and soil samples of sewage water had an acidic pH (5.960, 6.213), while water and soil samples of canal water had a basic pH (7.748, 7.867). The levels of total dissolved solids, electrical conductance, dissolved oxygen, and alkalinity of sewage water were lower than those of canal water except for total suspended solids, turbidity, and metals, viz. Cr, Ca, Pb, Co, Cd, Zn, and Mg. In sewage water irrigated soil, their concentrations were also higher than canal water irrigated soil, except for Mg. A significantly positive correlation coefficient was observed among temperature and abundance at both localities. Results showed that acidic pH and higher concentrations of pollutants alter the diversity and abundance of earthworms

Hepatoprotective role of vitexin against cadmium-induced liver damage in male rats: A biochemical, inflammatory, apoptotic and histopathological investigation

Financiado para publicación en acceso aberto: Universidade de Vigo/CISUGCadmium (Cd) is one of the potent occupational and environmental toxicants, which induces oxidative stress to the multiple organs of the body, including liver. The present investigation was planned to evaluate the protective role of vitexin against Cd-prompted hepatotoxicity in rats. 24 male rats were divided into 4 groups viz. control, Cd-induced group (5 mg/kg), Cd + vitexin-treated group (2 mg/kg + 30 mg/kg), and vitexin-treated group (30 mg/kg). After 30 days of treatment, it was indicated that Cd escalated the level of liver function enzymes namely alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as well as total bilirubin. Whereas the levels of albumin and total proteins were decreased in the rats. Additionally, it reduced the enzymatic activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GSR) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), in addition to glutathione (GSH) content, whereas levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were escalated. Furthermore, level of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as well as the activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were increased. Besides, the level of Bax, caspase-9 and caspase-3 were elevated, while the Bcl-2 level was reduced following the Cd intoxication. Histopathological observation revealed significant hepatic tissue damage in Cd-administered rats. However, treatment of rats with vitexin significantly (p < 0.05) improved the Cd-induced disruptions in biochemical parameters as well as histological damages. Therefore, it is concluded that vitexin could be used as a therapeutic agent to counter the Cd-generated hepatic toxicity in rats owing to its anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory potential

Evaluation of Gentamicin's Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern Against Uropathogens in a Tertiary Health Care Center in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Treatment of UTI patients with aminoglycosides is a familiar incidence. Resistance of antibiotics is also a familiar incidence but it is alarming when it goes to a high ratio. The vital public health problem in developing country like Bangladesh is resistance of antibiotics to different types of bacteria causing UTI and the rates of these bacterial resistances are changing for various antibiotic therapy. Our aim was to assess the susceptible pattern of Gentamicin a drug of Aminoglycosides group against uropathogens. A total of 12943 urine samples were collected in 2016 (Jan-Dec) and out of which 1236 (9.55%) were bacteriologically positive out of these isolated  95.1% were gram negative and 4.9% gram positive organism. Male were found more prone to get UTI under 10 years and between 51-90 years of age and female were more affected in 10 to 50 years and over 90 years of age group. E. coli was the most prevalent (83.9%) isolate followed by Klebsiella spp. (6.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (2.6%), Pseudomonas spp. (2.2%), Enterococcus spp. (2.0%) and Proteus spp. (1.1%). The most predominant organism Acinetobacter spp. (100%) were found sensitive to Gentamicin in both male and female patients and Enterococcus spp. in male (62.5%) and female (58.8%) were found resistant.  Around 37.4% male and 32.5% female were found resistant to E.coli. Keywords: Gentamicin, Aminoglycosides, UTI, Resistance, Uropathogen. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/67-08 Publication date:October 31st 201

Aucubin mitigates nonylphenol-induced renal damage by attenuating apoptosis, oxidative stress and histopathological profile

Nonylphenol (NP) is potent noxious pollutant which is documented to induce nephrotoxicity via escalating the levels of oxidative stress in renal tissues. Aucubin (AUC) is a novel phytochemical having tremendous pharmacological abilities. This research aimed to estimate the efficacy of AUC against NP intoxicated renal impairment in male albino rats. 48 albino rats were randomly assigned into four different groups viz. control group, NP administered group (50 mg/kg), NP + AUC administrated (50 mg/kg + 40 mg/kg) group and AUC treated (40 mg/kg) group. Our results showed that NP intoxication raised urinary proteins, creatinine, urea, urobilinogen, NGAL and KIM-1 levels. Besides, NP exposure lowered the levels of creatinine clearance and albumin. Furthermore, NP treatment lowered level of total protein, activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GSR) &amp; glutathione (GSH) contents along with the level of total antioxidant status (TAS) however, raising the oxidative stress markers levels Thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), reactive oxygen species (ROS), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) &amp; total oxidant status (TOS). Additionally, following the NP administration, the levels of Bax, caspase-9, &amp; caspase-3 were augmented however the Bcl-2 level was decreased. Furthermore, rats exposed to NP showed various histopathological disruptions. Whereas treatment with AUC showed a palliative effect against NP-induced renal damage, restoring all alterations to normal levels. Taken together, AUC administration convalesced NP-induced kidney impairment

Hepatoprotective effects of astragalin against polystyrene microplastics induced hepatic damage in male albino rats by modulating Nrf-2/Keap-1 pathway

The current study was designed to determine the curative potential of astragalin (AST) against polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) induced hepatic toxicity in rats. PS-MPs exposure decreased the expression of Nrf-2 and anti-oxidant enzymes, while increasing Keap-1 expression. The activities of glutathione-S-transferase, catalase, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase and heme oxygenase-1 were decreased, besides the levels of malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species were also increased following the exposure of PS-MPs. The intoxication of PS-MPs elevated aspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase levels, as well as cyclooxygenase-2 activity, interleukin-6, interleukin-1 beta, nuclear factor-kappa B and tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels were also escalated. Furthermore, Bcl-2 expression was down-regulated, while Bax and Caspase-3 expressions were upregulated following PS-MPs exposure. Histopathological assessment revealed substantial liver damages in PS-MPs treated rats. However, AST supplementation substantially recovered PS-MPs-induced damages and histological anomalies. Therefore, AST can be used as a curative agent to treat PS-MPs-prompted hepatotoxicity due to its anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant potentials

Diosmetin alleviates nonylphenol-induced liver damage by improving biochemical, inflammatory, apoptotic and histological profile in rats

Nonylphenol (NP) is an environmental pollutant that is recognized for its hazardous effects on humans and animals. NP has potential to induce oxidative stress that leads to hepatic toxicity. Diosmetin (DIOS) is a naturally occurring bioflavonoid that possesses several biological properties. The current study was designed to ascertain the curative effects of DIOS against NP prompted hepatotoxicity in rats. 32 male albino rats were randomly categorized in 4 groups i.e., control (0.1 % DMSO), NP (50 mg/kg), NP + DIOS (50 mg/kg + 100 mg/kg) and DIOS (100 mg/kg) group. Our results revealed that NP instigated substantial reduction in the antioxidant enzymes activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GSR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferases (GST) and glutathione (GSH). NP administration raised the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Treatment with DIOS significantly (p < 0.05) recovered activities of antioxidant enzymes, ROS, and TBARS levels. Furthermore, DIOS treatment ameliorated the NP-induced increased level of inflammatory markers i.e., nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity. In addition, DIOS co-treatment also recovered the NP-provoked escalated levels of pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9) and substantially reduced level of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) to normal levels. Besides, DIOS treatment recovered the potential histopathological damages in liver tissues. Therefore, DIOS might be an effective therapeutic agent for alleviating NP-induced hepatic toxicity due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic potential

Fungal Proteases as Emerging Biocatalysts to Meet the Current Challenges and Recent Developments in Biomedical Therapies: An Updated Review

With the increasing world population, demand for industrialization has also increased to fulfill humans&rsquo; living standards. Fungi are considered a source of essential constituents to produce the biocatalytic enzymes, including amylases, proteases, lipases, and cellulases that contain broad-spectrum industrial and emerging applications. The present review discussed the origin, nature, mechanism of action, emerging aspects of genetic engineering for designing novel proteases, genome editing of fungal strains through CRISPR technology, present challenges and future recommendations of fungal proteases. The emerging evidence revealed that fungal proteases show a protective role to many environmental exposures and discovered that an imbalance of protease inhibitors and proteases in the epithelial barriers leads to the protection of chronic eosinophilic airway inflammation. Moreover, mitoproteases recently were found to execute intense proteolytic processes that are crucial for mitochondrial integrity and homeostasis function, including mitochondrial biogenesis, protein synthesis, and apoptosis. The emerging evidence revealed that CRISPR/Cas9 technology had been successfully developed in various filamentous fungi and higher fungi for editing of specific genes. In addition to medical importance, fungal proteases are extensively used in different industries such as foods to prepare butter, fruits, juices, and cheese, and to increase their shelf life. It is concluded that hydrolysis of proteins in industries is one of the most significant applications of fungal enzymes that led to massive usage of proteomics