Dietary Behavior Related to Cancer Prevention in a Low Income Community

Background: The incidence of cancer is increasing in developing countries. Diet and cancer have a close relationship. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to measure the cancer prevention-related nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practice and barriers related to healthy food in a low income community, and to assess their cancer worries. Subjects and Methods: This cross-section descriptive study was carried out in a slum area in Cairo on a convenience sample of 414 adults permanently residing in the area. A structured interview questionnaire was used for collecting participants' socio-demographic data, knowledge about cancer, attitude and practice towards cancer dietary prevention, cancer worry scale, and the barriers preventing eating healthy food. Results: The study revealed a wide range of participants' knowledge scores. Participants' attitude towards a healthy diet was also low. The most deficient practices were related to the intake of balanced diet and vitamins, practice of exercise, and cancer screening.  The most frequent barrier to a healthy diet was taste (42%), while the lack of information was the least (3.1%). Multivariate analysis showed that the knowledge score was positively predicted by cancer worry score. The attitude score was positively predicted by age and knowledge score, and the practice score by married status, crowding index, and attitude score. Conclusion: there is a poor level of knowledge and inadequate practices regarding cancer dietary prevention despite good attitudes, in addition to high worries about cancer. Implications for Practice: There is urgent need for awareness raising intervention programs for dietary prevention of cancer. Keywords: Cancer, Diet, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Barrie

Improve Knowledge, Beliefs and Behavior of Undergraduate Female Nursing Students in Al-Alzhar University toward Breast Self-Examination Practice

Breast cancer is a public health problem that is most common form of cancer among females in both developed and developing world, The Health Belief Model (HBM) has been used as a theoretical framework to study Breast Self-Examination and other breast cancer detection behaviors. The aim of this study: Was to improve knowledge, beliefs and behavior of undergraduate female nursing students in Al-Alzhar University toward breast self examination practice. Design: A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Setting: The study was conducted in Health Technical Institute for female students at Al-Alzhar University for 113female student nurse. Tools: data was collected using self administered questionnaires prepared by researchers and Health Belief Model Scale Data. Results: The participants in the study showed more deficiency on screening knowledge, and poor practice of BSE at pre education. Also, the results of this study highlight the positive impact of the educational training on nursing students’ breast cancer and breast self exam  knowledge, practice and health beliefs which there was statistically significant differences were found between students' pretest and posttest BSE Knowledge, practice and  beliefs. Conclusion and recommendation: the results of this study concluded that this program could be instrumental in increasing nursing students’ perception of susceptibility may serve to improve not only their own health status but may empower them to teach women about the importance of early diagnosis and to seek early medical advice. This study emphasizes that the need to teach nursing students breast cancer awareness and early detection of breast cancer in their undergraduate courses. In addition, the provision of regular interventions is necessary to increase and build up the confidence and skills of nursing students in teaching preventive health behaviors including BSE to society and other students as colleagues. Keywords: Breast Self Exam (BSE), Breast Cancer, Nursing Students, Health Beliefs Mode

Workplace Psychosocial Factors and Mental Health among a Sample of Expatriates and the Country’s Nationals Who Working at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia

Worplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Mental health is an important issue in the workplace, particularly in developing countries. This study was aimed to explore the workplace psychosocial factors and mental health among expatriates and the country’s nationals; examine the relationship between workplace psychosocial factors and mental health. . The sample was composed of 518 country's nationals and 554 expatriates teaching staff on job at King Khalid University. Two tools were used for data collection: Socio-demographic data sheet, and Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ). The study results indicated that Poor mental health had a strongly statistically significant positive correlation with “quantitative  demands”,” Work-family conflict”, and “Emotional demands “ in total country’s nationals and expatriates   (p<0.01). While it was a strongly statistically significant negative  correlation with “Work pace”, “Influence at work”, “Social support from colleague”, “Social support from supervisors”, “Meaning of work”, “Commitment to the workplace” “Predictability”, and  “Recognition” (p<0.01). It was concluded that country's nationals experience worse mental health than expatriates and  this  to some extent caused by exposure to psychosocial factors at work. It has indicated the importance of taking action to reduce psychosocial factors, as this would benefit both country’s nationals and expatriate workers. Key words: Expatriates , country's nationals , workplace psychosocial factors, mental health

STUDY OF THE ANTI-HYPERLIPIDEMIC EFFECT OF THE COMBINED ADMINISTRATION OF THREE NATURAL EXTRACTS IN A POLOXAMER-407 HYPERLIPIDEMIC MODEL AND THEIR LC-ESI-MS/MS2 AND HPLC PROFILING

Objective: Dyslipidaemia is considered a high-risk factor for inducing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This study aims to investigate the anti-hyperlipidemic effect of the co-administration of the ethanol extracts of both ginger (root and rhizome) and leek (leaves and bulbs) in addition to the aqueous extract of gum arabic.  Methods: Rats were divided into eight groups: Hyperlipidaemia was induced in rats by a single intraperitoneal injection of Poloxamer 407 (P-407) [1 g/kg], negative control [saline injected], hyperlipidemic control [P-407 injected], positive control [Atorvastatin 70 mg/kg], groups four, five and six received ginger extract (400 mg/kg), leek extract (500 mg/kg) and gum arabic aqueous extract (7.5 g/kg) respectively and groups seven and eight received a co-administration of ginger, leek and gum arabic extracts at doses A and B respectively. Lipid profile was monitored. The profiling of all the tested extracts was performed by LC-ESI/MS and HPLC. Results: A significant anti-hyperlipidemic activity (P<0.05) was seen for group eight among all the tested groups producing ≈54%, 72%, 50% and 72% decrease in the measured parameters total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) respectively. An overall of 56 and 45 compounds were tentatively identified in the ethanol extracts of ginger and leek, respectively. Galactose and arabinose sugars were found to be the major saccharides in gum arabic and glucuronic acid was the major polyuronide part. Conclusion: the co-administration of a group of natural extracts in the given concentration proved to be more effective than the use of synthetic drugs or the use of a single component.&nbsp

DEVELOPMENT OF SOME TOLERANT YEAST (SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE) STRAINS TO HEAT AND SALT STRESSES

All living organisms are subjected to changing in conservational conditions, to which they must adapt to. Stress is defined as a threat refers to the physiological balance of systems critical to survival organisms. Five yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were subjected to different adverse environmental situations, such as thermal, osmotic and oxidative (salt) stresses. The objective of this work was to detect the most tolerant yeast strains under salt or heat stresses.  Five yeast strains were exposed in a first experiment to heat stress at 20°C or 40°C beside to the control at 30°C to detect the more tolerant strain. The same yeast strains were subjected in a second experiment to two different concentrations of salt stress (NaCl); 0.5 or 1.0 M, separately, for two days (at 30°C as normal temperature for growth), other strains were exposed to 0.5 M concentration of NaCl for 24 hours, then 1 M for another 24 hours. For the heat stress results, strain S4 was more tolerant at 40oCwith insignificant difference compared to the control (30oC), while it showed significant difference at 20°C. Strain S5 also was more tolerant at 20oC with insignificant difference compared to the control. For salt treatment, the only insignificant value was for strain S3at 0.5M NaCl compared with the control

Recent Development in Antioxidant of Milk and Its Products

Free radicals are produced in humans through natural metabolism or the external environment, such as diet. These free radicals are neutralized by the antioxidant system, whereas enzymes, for example, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase, play an important role in preventing excessive free radicals. Food antioxidants give a good hand in enhancing the human antioxidant system; high consumption of a diet rich in natural antioxidants protects against the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Milk and its products are popular for a wide range of consumers. Milk contains casein, whey protein, lactoferrin, milk lipid and phospholipids, vitamins, and microelements, for example, selenium (Se), which have antioxidant properties. Furthermore, probiotication of milk either sweet or fermented could enhance the antioxidant capacity of milk. This chapter focuses on presenting recent review data on milk components with antioxidant activity and their health benefits, probiotics as antioxidant agents, and methods for enhancing the antioxidant capacity of dairy products. The key aim of this chapter is to focus on major strategies for enhancing the antioxidant capacity of milk and its products

BJS commission on surgery and perioperative care post-COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020 and global surgical practice was compromised. This Commission aimed to document and reflect on the changes seen in the surgical environment during the pandemic, by reviewing colleagues' experiences and published evidence. Methods: In late 2020, BJS contacted colleagues across the global surgical community and asked them to describe how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had affected their practice. In addition to this, the Commission undertook a literature review on the impact of COVID-19 on surgery and perioperative care. A thematic analysis was performed to identify the issues most frequently encountered by the correspondents, as well as the solutions and ideas suggested to address them. Results: BJS received communications for this Commission from leading clinicians and academics across a variety of surgical specialties in every inhabited continent. The responses from all over the world provided insights into multiple facets of surgical practice from a governmental level to individual clinical practice and training. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered a variety of problems in healthcare systems, including negative impacts on surgical practice. Global surgical multidisciplinary teams are working collaboratively to address research questions about the future of surgery in the post-COVID-19 era. The COVID-19 pandemic is severely damaging surgical training. The establishment of a multidisciplinary ethics committee should be encouraged at all surgical oncology centres. Innovative leadership and collaboration is vital in the post-COVID-19 era

Genome-wide association study reveals SNP markers controlling drought tolerance and related agronomic traits in chickpea across multiple environments

Chickpea, renowned for its exceptional nutritional value, stands as a crucial crop, serving as a dietary staple in various parts of the world. However, its productivity faces a significant challenge in the form of drought stress. This challenge highlights the urgent need to find genetic markers linked to drought tolerance for effective breeding programs. The primary objective of this study is to identify genetic markers associated with drought tolerance to facilitate effective breeding programs. To address this, we cultivated 185 chickpea accessions in two distinct locations in Lebanon over a two-year period, subjecting them to both irrigated and rain-fed environments. We assessed 11 drought-linked traits, including morphology, growth, yield, and tolerance score. SNP genotyping revealed 1344 variable SNP markers distributed across the chickpea genome. Genetic diversity across populations originating from diverse geographic locations was unveiled by the PCA, clustering, and structure analysis indicating that these genotypes have descend from five or four distinct ancestors. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) revealed several marker trait associations (MTAs) associated with the traits evaluated. Within the rainfed conditions, 11 significant markers were identified, each associated with distinct chickpea traits. Another set of 11 markers exhibited associations in both rainfed and irrigated environments, reflecting shared genetic determinants across these conditions for the same trait. The analysis of linkage disequilibrium (LD) highlighted two genomic regions with notably strong LD, suggesting significant interconnections among several investigated traits. This was further investigated by the correlation between major markers associated with these traits. Gene annotation of the identified markers has unveiled insights into 28 potential genes that play a role in influencing various chickpea drought-linked traits. These traits encompass crucial aspects such as blooming organ development, plant growth, seed weight, starch metabolism, drought regulation, and height index. Among the identified genes are CPN60-2, hsp70, GDSL(GELP), AHL16, NAT3, FAB1B, bZIP, and GL21. These genes collectively contribute to the multifaceted response of chickpea plants to drought stress. Our identified genetic factors exert their influence in both irrigated and rainfed environments, emphasizing their importance in shaping chickpea characteristics

Unveiling the genetic basis of Fusarium wilt resistance in chickpea using GWAS analysis and characterization of candidate genes

Introduction: Chickpea is a legume crop that thrives in regions with semi-arid or temperate climates. Its seeds are an excellent source of proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals, especially high-quality proteins. Chickpea cultivation faces several challenges including Fusarium wilt (FW), a major fungal disease that significantly reduces productivity.Methods: In this study, a Genome-wide Association Analysis (GWAS) was conducted to identify multiple genomic loci associated with FW resistance in chickpea. We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of 180 chickpea genotypes for FW resistance across three distinct locations (Ethiopia, Tunisia, and Lebanon) during the 2-year span from 2015 to 2016. Disease infection measurements were recorded, and the wilt incidence of each genotype was calculated. We employed a set of 11,979 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers distributed across the entire chickpea genome for SNP genotyping. Population structure analysis was conducted to determine the genetic structure of the genotypes.Results and Discussion: The population structure unveiled that the analyzed chickpea germplasm could be categorized into four sub-populations. Notably, these sub-populations displayed diverse geographic origins. The GWAS identified 11 SNPs associated with FW resistance, dispersed across the genome. Certain SNPs were consistent across trials, while others were specific to particular environments. Chromosome CA2 harbored five SNP markers, CA5 featured two, and CA4, CA6, CA7, and CA8 each had one representative marker. Four SNPs demonstrated an association with FW resistance, consistently observed across a minimum of three distinct environments. These SNPs included SNP5826041, SNP5825086, SNP11063413, SNP5825195, which located in CaFeSOD, CaS13like, CaNTAQ1, and CaAARS genes, respectively. Further investigations were conducted to gain insights into the functions of these genes and their role in FW resistance. This progress holds promise for reducing the negative impact of the disease on chickpea production

Design, structural and theoretical characterizations of novel Schiff base compounds: Enzymes inhibitory potential using in vitro and in silico methods

The aim of this paper is to further explore the enzymatic properties of two synthetic Schiff base compounds. The corresponding copper complex (Cu(L)), with its Schiff base ligand (HL) have been synthesized and their spectroscopic (IR, UV-visible., NMR (H,C, Dept-135) and MS), thermogravimetric (TG/DTG), electrochemical (CV) and theoretical (Density Functional Theory) using the hybrid B3LYP/6–31 G(d,p) method) properties have been studied and well discussed. The electrochemical behaviour of Cu(L) displays the Cu(III)/Cu(II) and Cu(lI)/Cu(I) redox processes. The molecular structure of HL is confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. HL crystalized in the triclinic system with the space group of P-1. The morphological structures are also analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. To improve their biological activities, inhibition of the target proteins, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), Tyrosinase (TYR), and Urease enzymes are tested in vitro and in silico using molecular docking. Furthermore, their ADMET parameters are analyzed. The drug-likeness results indicate that HL followed to Lipinski’s, Ghose’s, Veber’s, Egan’s and Muegge’s rules contrary to its copper complex which followed only to Veber’s rule. Due to the importance of cytochrome P450s proteins for detoxification, five major CYP isoforms (CYP1A2, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4) are also considered during in silico prediction.The authors thank the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS) and the Director General for Scientific Research and Technological Development (DGRSDT) for the financial support