Quality of life and glycemic control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes and the impact of an education intervention

Mostafa A Abolfotouh1,*, Mofida M Kamal2,*, Mohamed D El-Bourgy2,*, Sherine G Mohamed2,*1King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Health Administration and Behavioral Sciences, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; *All authors contributed equally to this workObjective: To assess quality of life (QoL) and glycemic control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes and to investigate the impact of an educational program.Methods: A quasiexperimental study with nonrandomized experimental and control groups was conducted in which a total of 503 adolescents with type 1 diabetes completed a questionnaire using the Diabetes Quality of Life Instrument for Youth. Adolescents were then assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group was subjected to four 120-minute sessions of an educational program over a period of 4 months. Extracted medical chart data included the duration of diabetes, insulin dosage, and most recent hemoglobin A1c levels. Analysis of covariance was used to detect the impact of intervention.Results: The overall mean QoL score (%) was 76.51 ± 9.79, with good QoL in 38% of all adolescents. Poorer QoL was significantly associated with older age (P < 0.001), more hospital admissions in the last 6 months (P = 0.006), higher levels of depression (P < 0.001), poor self-esteem (P < 0.001), and poor self-efficacy (P < 0.001). There was significant deterioration in all domains of QoL in the experimental group after intervention. However, this deterioration was significantly less severe than in the control group. Between-group effects on total knowledge, adherence to exercise, glucose monitoring, treatment, self-efficacy, family contribution to management, glycemic control, and satisfaction with life were significantly in favor of the experimental group.Conclusion: Education intervention for adolescents with type 1 diabetes could be a safeguard against possible deterioration in QoL and glycemic control over time.Keywords: adolescents, diabetes, QoL, glycemic, intervention&nbsp

Perceived Barriers to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity among Adolescents in Seven Arab Countries: A Cross-Cultural Study

Objective. To highlight the perceived personal, social, and environmental barriers to healthy eating and physical activity among Arab adolescents. Method. A multistage stratified sampling method was used to select 4698 students aged 15–18 years (2240 males and 2458 females) from public schools. Seven Arab counties were included in the study, namely, Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. Self-reported questionnaire was used to list the barriers to healthy eating and physical activity facing these adolescents. Results. It was found that lack of information on healthy eating, lack of motivation to eat a healthy diet, and not having time to prepare or eat healthy food were the main barriers to healthy eating among both genders. For physical activity, the main barriers selected were lack of motivation to do physical activity, less support from teachers, and lack of time to do physical activity. In general, females faced more barriers to physical activity than males in all countries included. There were significant differences between males and females within each country and among countries for most barriers. Conclusion. Intervention programmes to combat obesity and other chronic noncommunicable diseases in the Arab world should include solutions to overcome the barriers to weight maintenance, particularly the sociocultural barriers to practising physical activity

Assessment of vitamin D intake among Libyan women - adaptation and validation of specific food frequency questionnaire

Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) has pandemic proportions worldwide. Numerous studies report on high prevalence of VDD in sunny regions like Near East and North Africa (NENA). Previous studies indicated that Libyan population was at risk of VDD. To contribute to the body of evidence, measurement of vitamin D status on children, adults, in Misurata region was conducted, and confirmed with validated dietary intake study. Serum 25(OH)D was analysed using electrochemiluminescence protein binding assay. Existing Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) were adapted to Libyan Women Food Frequency Questionnaire (LW-FFQ). Repeated 24h dietary recalls and LW-FFQ were employed in vitamin D intake evaluation. LW-FFQ was validated using 24h dietary recall and vitamin D status as referent methods. The questionnaires included anthropometry and lifestyle information. Vitamin D status assessment revealed inadequate levels (25(OH)D lt 50nmol/l) in almost 80% of participants. Women (25-64y) were identified as the most vulnerable group with vitamin D inadequacy present in 82% (61.6% had 25(OH)D lt 25nmol/l, and 20.2% had 25-50nmol/l 25(OH)D). Average Vitamin D intake within the study sample (n=316) was 3.9 +/- 7.9 mu g/d, with 92% participants below both Institute of Medicine (IOM) (10 mu g/d) and European Food Safety Authority (15 mu g/d) recommendations. Measured vitamin D status, in 13% of this group, correlated significantly (p=0.015) with intake estimates. Based on self-report, consumption of vitamin D supplements does not exist among study participants. Additional lifestyle factors influencing vitamin D status were analysed. Only 2% of study participants spend approximately 11 min on the sun daily, 60.4% were obese, 23.1% were overweight and 71.2% reported low physical activity. These findings confirm previous reports on high prevalence of VDD in women across NENA, and in Libya. The situation calls for multi-sectoral actions and public health initiatives to address dietary and lifestyle habits

Application of Effective Semi-Analytical Algorithms for Neutral and Retarded Volterra Integrodifferential Equations

This study developed three semi-analytical algorithms to solve functional integrodifferential equations with variable delays under initial conditions. These algorithms embrace the Laplace Adomian decomposition method (LADM), the modified Laplace Adomian decomposition method (MLADM), and the Laplace variational iteration method (LVIM). Using the suggested approaches, we find the solutions without discretization, transformation, or limiting traditions while considering suitable initial conditions. In addition, the solutions are generated in fast-converging series with easily calculable terms. The proposed methodologies are tested numerically on three numerical applications to prove their efficacy and dependability as well as to compare their computational efficiency. Based on the numerical results, it is evident that the procedures offered are both effective and correc

Sources of stress as perceived by nursing students at King Saud University Campus AL-Riyadh"

The aim of this study was to examine sources of stress as perceived by Baccalaureate nursing students at King Saud University campus-AL Riyadh. This aims conducted through three main objectives The study is conducted at Female College of Nursing, King Saud University at Al-Riyadh City.The present study results concluded that their where a variety of stressor where placed on the studied subjects. The major sources of stress as perceived by King Saud University College of Nursing where the academic followed by intrapersonal, then environmental & the last sources of stress for these students was interpersonal

Numerical approaches to system of fractional partial differential equations

In this paper, by introducing the fractional derivative in sense of Caputo, the Laplace- variational iteration method (LVIM) and the Laplace-Adomian decomposition method (LADM) are directly extended to study the linear and nonlinear systems of fractional partial differential equations, as a result the approximated numerical solutions are acquired in the form of rapidly convergent series with easily computable components. Numerical results show that the two approaches are easy to implement and accurate when are applied. Compassions are made between the two methods and exact solutions. Figures are used to show the efficiency as well as the accuracy of the achieved approximated results

Synergistic antibacterial effects of Ulva lactuca methanolic extract alone and in combination with different antibiotics on multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate

Abstract Various antibiotics are available, including gentamicin, chloramphenicol, ampicillin, amoxicillin, and streptomycin, but they have some restrictions. Many microorganisms are resistant to these medications. A new antimicrobial source must be found or developed to solve this issue. Inhere, extract from seaweeds Ulva lactuca was investigated for its antibacterial activity using a well diffusion assay against Klebsiella pneumoniae, and a promising inhibition zone diameter was recorded to be 14.04 mm. The biochemical structure of the antibacterial compound was determined via GC-MS and FTIR analysis. Also, a micro-dilution assay was used to calculate the minimum concentration that makes inhibition (MIC) to be 1.25 mg/ml from U. extract reliable to prevent the visibility of any bacterial growth, this was followed by examining the antibacterial effect of U. Lactuca methanolic extract alone and the synergetic effect of U. Lactuca methanolic extract in combination with two different antibiotics (gentamicin and chloramphenicol). This was assayed by the agar well diffusion method to achieve promising and strong inhibiting power against K. pneumoniae. It was deduced that the maximum synergism could be achieved by adding 2.5 mg/ml of Ulva methanolic extract to gentamicin (4 µg/ml), and the results were illustrated obviously via transmission electron microscope in which severe morphological deteriorations were experienced by the treated cells. From this study, we can conclude that U. lactucae extract has the power to aid antibiotics in reducing the growth of pathogenic K. pneumoniae

Suppression Effect of <i>Ulva lactuca</i> Selenium Nanoparticles (USeNPs) on HepG2 Carcinoma Cells Resulting from Degradation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) with an Evaluation of Its Antiviral and Antioxidant Activities

The current study sought to assess the antitumor, anticancer, and antioxidant efficacy of Ulva lactuca-mediated selenium nanoparticles by using an in vitro model of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2 cells) and HAV HM175 strain of hepatitis A virus, with the evaluation of antioxidant activity conducted using DPPH assay. The study showed promising cytotoxicity at the highest concentrations of 250 and 500 µg/mL, with viability rates of 19.43 and 8.75% for cancer cells, and the lowest toxicity with the highest viability rates of 59.41 and 30.64% for normal cells, respectively. These concentrations also exhibited the highest inhibition rates (51.28 and 76.31%, respectively) against the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) enzyme and provide an explanation of the mechanism of such cytotoxicity, as this enzyme is responsible for the degradation of EGFR. Additionally, U. lactuca-mediated selenium nanoparticles (USeNPs) showed promising antiviral activity (+++) (50–50 = 57.41 μg/mL and 74.13% antiviral rates against HAV HM175 at 100 µg/mL maximum noncytotoxic conc (MNCC). Using MTT assay, its selectivity index was 5.78 ≥ 2, which indicates that USeNPs exhibited antiviral activity that outweighed its toxicity. Therefore, USeNPs is an active antiviral agent and warrants further study. Furthermore, the DPPH scavenging activity of such nanoparticles was moderate as the highest sample concentration (100 µg/mL) recorded 31.64 ± 0.03% DPPH scavenging activity (with IC50 = 158.02 ± 0.07 μg/mL), a percentage which does not exceed that of standard ascorbic acid

New insights into the anticancer effects of Polycladia crinita aqueous extract and its selenium nanoformulation against the solid Ehrlich carcinoma model in mice via VEGF, notch 1, NF-кB, cyclin D1, and caspase 3 signaling pathway

Background: Phaeophyceae species are enticing interest among researchers working in the nanotechnology discipline, because of their diverse biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-microbial, and anti-tumor. In the present study, the anti-cancer properties of Polycladia crinita extract and green synthesized Polycladia crinita selenium nanoparticles (PCSeNPs) against breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) and solid Ehrlich carcinoma (SEC) were investigated.Methods: Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy examinations of Polycladia crinita were determined and various analytical procedures, such as SEM, TEM, EDX, and XRD, were employed to characterize the biosynthesized PCSeNPs. In vitro, the anticancer activity of free Polycladia crinita and PCSeNPs was evaluated using the viability assay against MDA-MB-231, and also cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry was determined. Furthermore, to study the possible mechanisms behind the in vivo anti-tumor action, mice bearing SEC were randomly allocated into six equal groups (n = 6). Group 1: Tumor control group, group 2: free SeNPs, group 3: 25 mg/kg Polycladia crinita, group 4: 50 mg/kg Polycladia crinita, group 5: 25 mg/kg PCSeNPs, group 6: 50 mg/kg PCSeNPs.Results: Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy examinations of Polycladia crinita extract exposed the presence of many bioactive compounds, such as 4-Octadecenoic acid-methyl ester, Tetradecanoic acid, and n-Hexadecenoic acid. These compounds together with other compounds found, might work in concert to encourage the development of anti-tumor activities. Polycladia crinita extract and PCSeNPs were shown to inhibit cancer cell viability and early cell cycle arrest. Concentrations of 50 mg/kg of PCSeNPs showed suppression of COX-2, NF-кB, VEGF, ki-67, Notch 1, and Bcl-2 protein levels. Otherwise, showed amplification of the caspase 3, BAX, and P53 protein levels. Moreover, gene expression of caspase 3, caspase 9, Notch 1, cyclin D1, NF-кB, IL-6, and VEGF was significantly more effective with PCSeNPs than similar doses of free extract.Conclusion: The PCSeNPs mediated their promising anti-cancerous action by enhancing apoptosis and mitigating inflammation, which manifested in promoting the total survival rate and the tumor volume decrease