Factors associated with knowledge level in adult type 1 diabetic patients

Background: The objective of the study is to determine the factors associated with the level of knowledge of Tunisian type 1 diabetic (T1D) patients in adulthood. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study including 93 T1D patients over 18 years old. The knowledge assessment was carried out by a questionnaire rated out of 20 points. The subjects with an „unsatisfactory” level of knowledge (score < 10/20) were compared with subjects whose level of knowledge was „satisfactory” according to their socio-demographic, clinical, and paraclinical characteristics. Results: The mean age of the patients was 37.2 ± 12.4 years. The level of knowledge was „unsatisfactory” in 21 patients (23%). After univariate analysis, an „unsatisfactory” level of knowledge was associated with a low level of education (p = 0.001), a poor socioeconomic level (p = 0.03), a poor glycemic control (p = 0.003) and the absence of self-monitoring (p = 0.002). After multivariate analysis, only a low level of education and a lack of practice of self-monitoring were associated with an „unsatisfactory” level of knowledge (respectively p = 0.03 and 0.03; adjusted OR [95% confidence interval] = 7.3 [1.2–43.5] and 13.7 [1.3–143.3]). Conclusions: The factors independently associated with the level of knowledge in adult T1D patients are the level of education and the practice of self-monitoring. This encourages better tailoring of educational messages to patients with low levels of education and suggests that a better level of knowledge ensures better self-management of diabetes. However, the relationship with the quality of glycemic control remains uncertain

A mixed methods study of ruminant brucellosis in central-eastern Tunisia

In this study, we conducted an investigation to determine the true prevalence of bovine and ovine brucellosis incentral-eastern Tunisia. A total of 1134 veterinary samples taken from 130 ruminant herds were screened for brucellosis using IS711-based real-time PCR assay. Sera collected from the ruminants were tested using the Rose Bengal test and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Based on serological and molecular results, the true adjusted animal population level prevalence was 23.5 % in cattle, against 13.5 % in sheep. In addition, the true adjusted herd level prevalence of brucellosis was 55.6 % in cattle and 21.8 % in sheep. A statistically significant association was found between vaginal and milk shedding for ruminants. In addition, our results showed that Brucella abortus could be responsible for bovine and ovine brucellosis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis at the animal population level indicated that age and origin variables were important risk factors for cattle. However, age and abortion variables were found to be associated with ovine brucellosis. At the herd level, risk factors for Brucella positivity were as follows: abortion and herd composition for cattle against herd composition, mortality rates, and hygiene for sheep. Animal hygiene, food quality, and sanitary practices on the farm should be applied as strategies to control brucellosisin herds

Response of olive tree (Olea europaea L.cv. Chemlali) to infection with soilborne fungi

In the last years, the spread of wilt and dieback diseases in olive trees (Olea europaea), caused by the soilborne pathogens, has often been related to intensive modern farming of highly productive cultivars, planted at high densities, usually in an irrigated system. Plants have developed different strategies to trigger defense signaling to defend themselves and to maintain surveillance against pathogens. However, the response of olive tree to pathogen infections is not well studied yet. The present work is aimed at studying the response of olive tree to soilborne fungi isolated from different affected areas in Tunisia, such as Fusarium spp. Verticillium dahliae, Cylindrocarpon sp. and Rhizoctonia solani. Artificial inoculation on young olive trees cv. ‘Chemlali’ confirmed the pathogenicity of all these pathogens by reproducing typical symptoms of root rot with varied degrees. Biochemical analysis realized after 21 days of inoculation has shown that chlorophyll pigments, solubles sugar, total polyphenols and proline contents were highly detected in plants infected by V. dahliae and F. solani. The expression of four genes Olest 06, Olest 47, Olest 73 and Olest 30 involved in the signaling biotic and abiotic stress and transcriptional activation of pathogenesis-related proteins was analyzed by reverse transcription-PCR after 21 days of inoculation. The transcript level of Olest 73 was relatively constant in all tested fungi. The expression of gene Olest 47 was observed in the leaves of olive in vitro plants infected by V. dahliae and Fusarium spp. and the gene expression of Olest 30 was detected only in plants infected by V. dahliae. No PCR product was detected for Olest 06 in all inoculated olive trees. In conclusion, according to results obtained by biochemical and molecular analysis, the olive trees develop variable responses to pathogenic soil fungi attack.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The number of samples positive for each pair of pathogens.

<p>The number of samples positive for each pair of pathogens.</p

Sequencing results of vaginal swab samples positive with the pan-<i>Chlamydiales</i> PCR.

<p>*These results were previously published by Barkallah et al. (2013).</p

The association of abortion with positive results for different agents and frequencies of positive results between vaginal and milk samples.

<p>The association of abortion with positive results for different agents by real-time PCR and frequencies of positive results between vaginal and milk samples were assessed using the Fisher's exact test. A p value<0.05 was taken as a level of significance. Cases: cows with clinical signs, controls: cows with normal pregnancies and normal parturitions, OR: odds ratio, CI: confidence interval.</p

Details of cases positive for <i>Brucella abortus</i>.

<p>+ positive/ − negative.</p

Sequences of primers and probes used in the study.

<p>Sequences of primers and probes used in the study.</p

Correlation between real-time PCR and the RBPT results.

<p>The mean Ct-value of samples negative for <i>Brucella</i> (5.95) was significantly lower than that of samples with a strong reaction results (24.71), which is lower than that of samples with a weak reaction (34.61) (p<0,0001).</p