Advances in the Analytical Methods for Determining the Antioxidant Properties of Honey: A Review

Free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in contributing to the processes of aging and disease. In an effort to combat free radical activity, scientists are studying the effects of increasing individuals' antioxidant levels through diet and dietary supplements. Honey appears to act as an antioxidant in more ways than one. In the body, honey can mop up free radicals and contribute to better health. Various antioxidant activity methods have been used to measure and compare the antioxidant activity of honey. In recent years, DPPH (Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power), ORAC (The Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), ABTS [2, 2-azinobis (3-ehtylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diamonium salt], TEAC [6-hydroxy-2, 5, 7, 8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox)-equivalent antioxidant capacity] assays have been used to evaluate antioxidant activity of honey. The antioxidant activity of honey is also measured by ascorbic acid content and different enzyme assays like Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPO), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD). Among the different methods available, methods that have been validated, standardized and widely reported are recommended.Key words: Honey; antioxidant properties; DPPH; FRAP; ORAC; TEAC; ABT

Antibacterial activity of some wild medicinal plants collected from western Mediterranean coast, Egypt: Natural alternatives for infectious disease treatment

Traditional medicine has a key role in health care worldwide. Obtaining scientific information about the efficacy and safety of the wild plants grown in western Mediterranean coast of Egypt is one of our research goals. In this study, 10 wild plants namely Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, Blackiella aellen, Arthrocnemon glaucum, Atriplex halimus, Thymelaea hirsute, Carduus getulus, Nicotiana glauca, Alhagi maurorum, Atractylis carduus and Echinops spinosissimus were collected from El-Hammam, Burg El Arab and Bahig regions located along the Western Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Hexane and methanol extracts of fresh aerial parts of the plants were screened in vitro for antimicrobial activity against 15 Gram positive and negative pathogenic bacteria. Both methanol and hexane plant extracts showed strong antibacterial activity against at least two pathogenic microorganisms tested. However, hexane extracts generally showed lower activity against microorganisms compared to methanol extracts. The microorganisms’ susceptibility to different extracts did not correlate with the susceptibility or resistance to a particular antibiotic. The results of this study thus support the medical usage of the studied plants and suggest that some of these plants possess antimicrobial properties that can be used to cure infectious diseases.Key words: Egyptian wild plants, antagonism, biological control, phytochemicals, multi-drug resistant

Effect of water pollution on expression of immune response genes of Solea aegyptiaca in Lake Qarun

This research was aimed to study quality of water in Lake Qarun and effects of pollution on expression of immune genes in Egyptian sole (Solea aegyptiaca) fish. The study was carried out from August 2006to the end of April 2007. The water samples were collected from different locations of Lake Qarun at Al-Oberge within an area of 200 to 1500 meter from the shore. The samples were subjected to differentphysical and chemical analyses. The concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) recorded an average value of 37.8 g/l while the chloride content was 14.3 g/l on average. The corresponding value of salinitywas 25.9 g/l. For the chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand the results revealed that the average values were 98 ± 22 mg O2/l and 8.0 ± 2.1 mg O2/l for the chemical oxygen demand(COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), respectively. Analyses of nitrogen group indicated presence of low concentrations of all. For total pesticides which might be one of the most potential pollutants in the lake, the results showed an average value of 0.62 mg/l. Furthermore, the total viable bacterial count (TVBC) ranged from 103 colony forming unit (CFU) in the middle of the Lake to 107 (CFU)near the shore. Stressed total coliform group (STC), stressed faecal coliform group (SFC) and stressed faecal streptococci group (SFS) increased from the middle of the Lake to the shore. The differentialexpression of the immune genes, that is, GARP and SIMP genes, as a result of pollution influence was further confirmed by RT-PCR, with the up-regulation of these genes in the liver of the collected fish. Theapplication of the expression of the immune genes of fish might be time safe and cost effective in case there are different source of pollution

Measurement invariance analysis of the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short Form in mothers of premature and term infants.

OBJECTIVE: Mothers of premature infants are more likely to develop anxiety during the first postpartum year than mothers of term infants. However, commonly used measures of anxiety were developed for general adult populations and may produce spurious, over-inflated scores when used in a postpartum context. Although perinatal-specific tools such as the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale [PSAS] offer a promising alternative form of measurement, it is not clear whether the measure performs similarly in mothers of premature infants as it does in mothers of term infants. The objective of the current study was to identify whether items on the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short Form (PSAS-RSF) are being interpreted in the same manner in mothers of term infants and mothers of premature infants. Mothers (N = 320) participated in an international on-line survey between February 2022 and March 2023 (n = 160 mothers of premature infants, n = 160 mothers of term infants) where they completed the PSAS-RSF. Data were analysed using a measurement invariance analysis to assess whether constructs of the PSAS-RSF are performing in a similar manner across the two groups. RESULTS: Whilst the PSAS-RSF achieved configural invariance and so retains its four-factor structure, metric invariance was not reached and so items are being interpreted differently in mothers of premature infants. Items concerning infant-separation, finance, and anxieties surrounding infant health are potentially problematic. Future research must now modify the PSAS-RSF for specific use in mothers of premature infants, to ensure measurement of anxiety in this population is valid

Associations between prematurity, postpartum anxiety, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and stress.

INTRODUCTION: It is well established that a premature birth increases the likelihood of developing anxiety during the postpartum period, and that the environment of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) might be a contributing factor. Mothers of earlier premature infants may experience these anxieties to a higher degree compared to mothers of later premature infants. The aim of this study was to explore the association between prematurity and postpartum-specific anxiety, and the relationship between postpartum-specific anxiety and stress in the NICU. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mothers (N = 237) of infants aged between birth and 12 months completed an online survey containing the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale - Research Short Form (PSAS-RSF) and the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationship between gestational age and postpartum-specific anxiety, with one-way ANOVAs used to analyze this relationship with respect to categories of gestational age. Hierarchical regression models analyzed the relationship between postpartum-specific anxiety and stress in the NICU. RESULTS: For the PSAS-RSF, Practical Infant Care Anxieties (p = 0.001), Maternal Competence and Attachment Anxieties (p = 0.033), and Infant Safety and Welfare Anxieties (p = 0.020) were significantly associated with week of gestation. Practical Infant Care and Infant Safety and Welfare Anxieties were significantly higher for mothers of late premature infants, compared to mothers of term infants (p < 0.001; p = 0.019). There were no significant between-group differences with respect to Maternal Competence and Attachment Anxieties. After controlling for potential confounders, Infant Safety and Welfare Anxieties were significantly associated with increased stress in the NICU (p < 0.001) as measured by the PSS:NICU. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the need for interventions for mothers with premature infants, which specifically target anxieties reflected in the PSAS-RSF, such as routine care and increasing maternal self-efficacy

Associations between prematurity, postpartum anxiety, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and stress

Introduction It is well established that a premature birth increases the likelihood of developing anxiety during the postpartum period, and that the environment of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) might be a contributing factor. Mothers of earlier premature infants may experience these anxieties to a higher degree compared to mothers of later premature infants. The aim of this study was to explore the association between prematurity and postpartum-specific anxiety, and the relationship between postpartum-specific anxiety and stress in the NICU. Materials and methods Mothers (N = 237) of infants aged between birth and 12 months completed an online survey containing the Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale – Research Short Form (PSAS-RSF) and the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationship between gestational age and postpartum-specific anxiety, with one-way ANOVAs used to analyze this relationship with respect to categories of gestational age. Hierarchical regression models analyzed the relationship between postpartum-specific anxiety and stress in the NICU. Results For the PSAS-RSF, Practical Infant Care Anxieties (p = 0.001), Maternal Competence and Attachment Anxieties (p = 0.033), and Infant Safety and Welfare Anxieties (p = 0.020) were significantly associated with week of gestation. Practical Infant Care and Infant Safety and Welfare Anxieties were significantly higher for mothers of late premature infants, compared to mothers of term infants (p < 0.001; p = 0.019). There were no significant between-group differences with respect to Maternal Competence and Attachment Anxieties. After controlling for potential confounders, Infant Safety and Welfare Anxieties were significantly associated with increased stress in the NICU (p < 0.001) as measured by the PSS:NICU. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the need for interventions for mothers with premature infants, which specifically target anxieties reflected in the PSAS-RSF, such as routine care and increasing maternal self-efficacy

Colo-Colonic Intussusception Caused by a Submucosal Lipoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Adult intussusception is a rare clinical presentation and often not considered clinically in the differential diagnosis of adult patients with vague abdominal complaints. A 44-year-old woman visited our emergency department with sudden onset of intermittent abdominal pain. Diagnostic imaging revealed an intussusception caused by a submucosal lipoma of the sigmoid. A laparotomy was performed and the diagnosis was proven by histological examination. Submucosal lipomas are usually asymptomatic but may cause bleeding, obstruction, intussusception, or abdominal pain and thus mimic a malignancy. Surgical excision is indicated for symptomatic cases

Gravitational collapse with tachyon field and barotropic fluid

A particular class of space-time, with a tachyon field, \phi, and a barotropic fluid constituting the matter content, is considered herein as a model for gravitational collapse. For simplicity, the tachyon potential is assumed to be of inverse square form i.e., V(\phi) \sim \phi^{-2}. Our purpose, by making use of the specific kinematical features of the tachyon, which are rather different from a standard scalar field, is to establish the several types of asymptotic behavior that our matter content induces. Employing a dynamical system analysis, complemented by a thorough numerical study, we find classical solutions corresponding to a naked singularity or a black hole formation. In particular, there is a subset where the fluid and tachyon participate in an interesting tracking behaviour, depending sensitively on the initial conditions for the energy densities of the tachyon field and barotropic fluid. Two other classes of solutions are present, corresponding respectively, to either a tachyon or a barotropic fluid regime. Which of these emerges as dominant, will depend on the choice of the barotropic parameter, \gamma. Furthermore, these collapsing scenarios both have as final state the formation of a black hole.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. v3: minor changes. Final version to appear in GR

Neck-motor interactions trigger rotation of the kinesin stalk

Rotation of the coiled-coil stalk of the kinesin-14 motors is thought to drive displacements or steps by the motor along microtubules, but the structural changes that trigger stalk rotation and the nucleotide state in which it occurs are not certain. Here we report a kinesin-14 neck mutant that releases ADP more slowly than wild type and shows weaker microtubule affinity, consistent with defective stalk rotation. Unexpectedly, crystal structures show the stalk fully rotated – neck-motor interactions destabilize the stalk, causing it to rotate and ADP to be released, and alter motor affinity for microtubules. A new structural pathway accounts for the coupling of stalk rotation – the force-producing stroke – to changes in motor affinity for nucleotide and microtubules. Sequential disruption of salt bridges that stabilize the unrotated stalk could cause the stalk to initiate and complete rotation in different nucleotide states