Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) use among Children with Asthma in the Egyptian Context

Background: The popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is growing globally among adult and pediatric populations, but little is known about its use in children with Asthma in Egypt. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore CAM use among children with asthma in Egypt. Sample: The convenient sample of 550 mothers of children with asthma. Design: A descriptive correlational cross-sectional design was used to conduct the study. Sitting: The study was conducted in Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital at out-patient clinic Tools: Data were collected using a questionnaire sheet designed by the researchers. Included demographic profile, mothers were asked about CAM use including dietary supplement (DS) and non-DS remedies. Results: The majority of women were young with a mean age of twenty six, live in Cairo, unemployed; secondary schools educated, and were multi-gravida. The mean age of the children was three and more than half of them were male .The majority of mothers used some type of CAM remedy for their kids. The most common types used as DS including: Anise seeds& herbal cough. Only few mothers were used Non –DS remedies. The most commonly used ND remedies were massaging the child chest with olive oil and spiritual healing. Relatives, friends and neighbors were the main source of information about CAM for the majority of the mothers. Decrease the respiratory secretions, improve breathing patterns, no side effect were the most important reasons of using CAM as mentioned by the mothers .Eighty-sex percent of mothers were willing to discuss the use of CAM with their doctors or nurses but were not asked. There was a significant positive correlation between’s mother usage of CAM for themselves and their usage for their kids. Conclusion: The prevalence of reported CAM use among Egyptian children with asthma was high with dietary remedies being the most popular modalities. CAM use was associated with older child’s age and perceived poor asthma control. Key words :( Complementary and Alternative Medicine- Dietary Supplement - Non Dietary Supplement remedies - children with asthma

Supportive Strategies Regarding Accidents Prevention for Mothers of Children Under Five Years Old

Accidental injuries are a major health problem in children. They are the most common cause of death in children under five years of age. Every year they leave many thousands permanently disabled or disfigured. Most of cases at risk from a home accident are the 0-4 year’s age group.  Most of these accidents are preventable through increased awareness, improvements in the home environment and greater product safety. A pre/post quasi experimental design was adopted in the current study. A convenient sample of 100 mothers was included in this study. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of supportive strategies regarding accident prevention on mothers’ knowledge and practice of their children under five years old. The study was conducted in Cairo University Specialized Pediatric Hospital and Benha University Hospital from the pediatric out patients departments. Tools of data collection were socio-demographic data sheet for mothers and their children, history of accidents, questionnaire sheet regarding to mothers’ knowledge about accidents as well as mothers’ reported practices regarding accidents. The study's results revealed that more than half of the children (55%) were male. There were significant differences between pre and post supportive strategy in mothers’ knowledge and reported practices. Mothers’ knowledge and practices in prevention of falling and drowning, electrical shock, burn, and   suffocation, was affected by their age and education, and child’s age (P value is 0.00, 0. 05). The study recommended that supportive strategies for accidents prevention should be applied in all pediatric care settings.  Health promotion programs should be directed to prevent and control of accidents among children. Key words: Accidents Prevention; Children under Five Years;   Supportive Strategie

Effect of Breathing Exercise on Respiratory Efficiency and Pain Intensity among Children Receiving Chemotherapy

Breathing exercises can be used to strengthen respiratory muscles, but they can also be used to create energy. It also combats stress as it stimulates the release of epinephrine. Multidisciplinary management may be needed, with a team including social workers, physiotherapists, play therapists, and music therapists. Cancer pain should always be measured using validated pain assessment tools. The aim of the current study is to determine the effect of breathing Exercise on respiratory efficiency and pain intensity among children under chemotherapy.  A convenient sample of 70 children older than 3 years old,   with cancer and treated by chemotherapy; were included in the study. A quasi-experimental research design was used to conduct the study. The study was conducted in the National Cancer Institute (N.C. I) in the pediatric  wards.   Data was collected using a structured interview schedule it was developed by the researchers the first one was for children’ sociodemographic data and cancer history, the second was to assess the respiratory efficiency and the third was the pediatric facial pain scale. The study’s results revealed that more than half of the studied children were male, less than two thirds of the studied children had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), The majority of the studied children had pain as an associated problem from cancer and its treatment. All the children had easy fatigability, loss of weight, and feeding problems. There were significance differences between pre and post breathing exercises in relation to vital signs, O2 saturation and pain intensity. Multiple efforts from pediatric oncology team are needed to prepare children with cancer prior conducting cancer treatment as well their mothers or care givers. Further researches are needed on a larger sample for generalization of the reached results. Keywords: Breathing Exercise- chemotherapy - respiratory efficiency – pai

Experimental and theoretical investigation for shielding efficiency of self-compacted concrete containing lead smelting waste for gamma ray

Lead smelter waste is considered as one of the most hazardous waste that pollute the environment by releasing hazardous effluents, a lot of particle matter, and other different solid wastes. In this research lead smelter waste is used as a concrete additive and fine aggregate constituent in self-compacted concrete casting to be used as a gamma ray shield. Three types of traditionally used coarse aggregate (basalt, crushed dolomite, and gravel) were used in casting normal and high strength self-compacted concrete. The fresh and hardened concrete properties were investigated. The cast samples were tested for 137Cs and 60Co gamma rays with energies 0.662 and 1.25 Mev. The mass attenuation coefficients (µ/ρ) and linear attenuation (µ) were measured and calculated using WinXCom program for gamma rays. The experimental measurements and the used theoretical calculation method were highly compatible. The usage of lead smelter waste in concrete casting improved the concrete gamma rays shielding

Optimization of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction of <i>Saussurea costus</i> Oil and Its Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Anticancer Activities

Saussurea costus is a medicinal plant with different bioactive compounds that have an essential role in biomedicine applications, especially in Arab nations. However, traditional extraction methods for oils can lead to the loss of some volatile and non-volatile oils. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of oils from S. costus at pressures (10, 20, and 48 MPa). The results were investigated by GC/MS analysis. MTT, DPPH, and agar diffusion methods assessed the extracted oils’ anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial action. GC/MS results showed that elevated pressure from 10 to 20 and 48 MPa led to the loss of some valuable compounds. In addition, the best IC50 values were recorded at 10 MPa on HCT, MCF-7, and HepG-2 cells at about 0.44, 0.46, and 0.74 μg/mL, respectively. In contrast, at 20 MPa, the IC50 values were about 2.33, 6.59, and 19.0 μg/mL, respectively, on HCT, MCF-7, and HepG-2 cells, followed by 48 MPa, about 36.02, 59.5, and 96.9 μg/mL. The oil extract at a pressure of 10 MPa contained much more of á-elemene, dihydro-à-ionone, patchoulene, á-maaliene, à-selinene, (-)-spathulenol, cedran-diol, 8S,13, elemol, eremanthin, á-guaiene, eudesmol, ç-gurjunenepoxide-(2), iso-velleral, and propanedioic acid and had a higher antioxidant activity (IC50 14.4 μg/mL) more than the oil extract at 20 and 48 MPa. In addition, the inhibitory activity of all extracts was higher than gentamicin against all tested bacteria. One of the more significant findings from this study is low pressure in SFE enhancement, the extraction of oils from S. costus, for the first time. As a result, the SFE is regarded as a good extraction technique since it is both quick and ecologically friendly. Furthermore, SFE at 10 MPa increased the production and quality of oils, with high antioxidant activity and a positive effect on cancer cells and pathogens