Prevalence of Food Insecurity among Women in Northern Jordan

Food insecurity—not having sufficient quantities of good-quality foods—is inversely related to physical and mental health and directly related to poor dietary intake. The objectives of this research were to (a) measure the prevalence of food insecurity among women in northern Jordan, (b) study the socioeconomic factors associated with an increased risk of food insecurity, and (c) investigate the relationship between household food insecurity and women's reported body-weight. This cross-sectional study was conducted using an interview-based questionnaire. In total, 500 women were interviewed in the waiting rooms of the outpatient clinics of two major public hospitals in northern Jordan. Food insecurity was assessed using the short form of the U.S. food security survey module. The prevalence of food insecurity was 32.4%. Income below the poverty-line, illiteracy, unemployment, rented housing, and woman heading the household were among the socioeconomic factors that increased the probability of food insecurity. No evidence was found to support the relationship between obesity and food insecurity. Except grains, food-insecure women with hunger had lower intake of all food-groups. This study demonstrated that the problem of food insecurity is present in Jordan. Food-insecure women with hunger are at a risk of malnutrition. Interventions that target reduction of the factors associated with food insecurity are necessary

Investigation into the prophylactic and therapeutic activity of coenzyme Q10 against COVID-19

Purpose: To evaluate the anti-SARS CoV-2 effect of Coenzyme Q 10, Ubiquinol-10, and idebenone, which have beneficial therapeutic applications against diverse virus types, using molecular docking approach.Methods: The potential activity of Coenzyme Q10, Ubiquinol-10, and Idebenone against viral infections was explored through the collection of data from relevant literature, and by modelling these compounds virtually, using in silico investigation methods.Results: Coenzyme Q10 and ubiquinol-10 showed significant docking performance. They interacted with numerous amino acid residues of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 ACE2 (7C8J), Alpha thrombin (1AE8), TYRO (4TS1) protein targets sides, SARS-coronavirus Orf7a accessory protein (1XAK), TNF (1RJ8), and Cytokine/receptor (1I1R).Conclusion: The findings of our study showed promising inhibitory activities of the selected compounds against the main proteases of SARS-CoV-2. Consequently, these compounds have theoretical effects on inhibiting the viral entry, reproduction, and ultimately the prevention and/or treatment of the SARSCoV2 infection

Prevalence of Food Insecurity among Women in Northern Jordan

Food insecurity\u2014not having sufficient quantities of good-quality foods\u2014is inversely related to physical and mental health and directly related to poor dietary intake. The objectives of this research were to (a) measure the prevalence of food insecurity among women in northern Jordan, (b) study the socioeconomic factors associated with an increased risk of food insecurity, and (c) investigate the relationship between household food insecurity and women\u2019s reported body-weight. This cross-sectional study was conducted using an interview-based questionnaire. In total, 500 women were interviewed in the waiting rooms of the outpatient clinics of two major public hospitals in northern Jordan. Food insecurity was assessed using the short form of the U.S. food security survey module. The prevalence of food insecurity was 32.4%. Income below the poverty-line, illiteracy, unemployment, rented housing, and woman heading the household were among the socioeconomic factors that increased the probability of food insecurity. No evidence was found to support the relationship between obesity and food insecurity. Except grains, food-insecure women with hunger had lower intake of all food-groups. This study demonstrated that the problem of food insecurity is present in Jordan. Food-insecure women with hunger are at a risk of malnutrition. Interventions that target reduction of the factors associated with food insecurity are necessary

Involving Nikiforov-Uvarov Method in Schrodinger Equation Obtaining Hartmann Potential

The total wave function and the bound state energy are investigated by involving the Nikiforov-Uvarov method to the Schrodinger equation in spherical coordinates employing Hartmann Potential (HP). The HP is considered as the non-central potential that is mostly recognized in nuclear field potentials. Every wave function is specified by a principal quantum number n, angular momentum number l, and magnetic quantum number m. The radial part of the wave function is obtained in terms of the associated Laguerre polynomial, using the coordinate transformation x=cosθ to obtain the angular wave function that depends on inverse associated Legendre polynomials

The effectiveness of online platforms after the pandemic : will face-to-face classes affect students’ perception of their Behavioural Intention (BIU) to use online platforms?

The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ intention to continue using online learning platforms during face-to-face traditional classes in a way that is parallel to their usage during online virtual classes (during the pandemic). This investigation of students’ intention is based on a conceptual model that uses newly used external factors in addition to the technology acceptance model (TAM) contrasts; hence, it takes into consideration users’ satisfaction, the external factor of information richness (IR) and the quality of the educational system and information disseminated. The participants were 768 university students who have experienced the teaching environments of both traditional face-to-face classes and online classes during the pandemic. A structural equation modelling (SEM) test was conducted to analyse the independent variables, including the users’ situation awareness (SA), perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, IR, education system quality and information quality. An online questionnaire was used to explore students’ perceptions of their intention to use online platforms accessibly in a face-to-face learning environment. The results showed that (a) students prefer online platforms that have a higher level of content richness, to be able to implement the three dimensions of users’ situation awareness (perception, comprehension and projection); (b) there were significant effects of TAM constructs on students’ satisfaction and acceptance; (c) students are in favour of using a learning platform that is characterised by a high level of educational system quality and information quality and (d) students with a higher level of satisfaction have a more positive attitude in their willingness to use the online learning system

Patterns of drug-related problems and the services provided to optimize drug therapy in the community pharmacy setting

Introduction: Drug-related problems (DRPs) are events or circumstances involving drug therapy that actually or potentially interferes with desired health outcomes. Objectives: To assess community pharmacists’ knowledge and practice regarding DRP-reduction services, as well as the barriers and factors associated with decreased provision of these services. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized a validated questionnaire to assess pharmacists’ knowledge, practice, and barriers to the provision of DRP-reduction services in the community pharmacy setting. Binary regression model was used to assess the variables associated with the practice of DRP-reduction services. Results: A total of 412 pharmacists participated in the study. The pharmacists demonstrated strong knowledge but inadequate practice of DRP-reduction services. The most reported DRPs were inappropriate combination of drugs, or drugs and herbal medications, or drugs and dietary supplements (52.4%), patients’ inability to understand instructions properly (46.1%), inappropriate drug according to guidelines (43.7%), and too high dose (40.3%). The most common barriers to these services were increased workload (60.5%), limited time (53.2%), and lack of good communication skills (49.8%). The presence of a counselling area in the pharmacy increased the practice of DRP-reduction services (OR: 3.532, 95%Cl: 2.010–5.590, P < 0.001), while increased weekly working hours (OR: 0.966, 95%Cl: 0.947–0.986), P < 0.01) and serving < 10 patients daily (OR = 0.208, 95%Cl: 0.072–0.601, P < 0.01) decreased it. Conclusions: Community pharmacists’ practice of DRP-reduction services showed a scope for improvement. Future pharmaceutical care initiatives should increase the number of personnel working in the pharmacy and provide them with opportunities for continued education and training in order to improve the provision of DRP services and optimize patients’ outcomes

Formulating co-loaded nanoliposomes with gallic acid and quercetin for enhanced cancer therapy

Cancer is considered one of the top global causes of death. Natural products have been used in oncology medicine either in crude form or by utilizing isolated secondary metabolites. Biologically active phytomolecules such as gallic acid and quercetin have confirmed antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and neoplastic properties. There is an agreement that microorganisms could mediate oncogenesis or alter the immune system. This research project aims to develop a novel formulation of co-loaded gallic acid and quercetin into nanoliposomes and investigate the efficacy of the free and combined agents against multiple cancerous cell lines and bacterial strains. Thin-film hydration technique was adopted to synthesize the nanocarriers. Particle characteristics were measured using a Zetasizer. The morphology of nanoliposomes was examined by scanning electron microscopy, Encapsulation efficiency and drug loading were evaluated using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Cytotoxicity was determined against Breast Cancer Cells MCF-7, Human Carcinoma Cells HT-29, and A549 Lung Cancer Cells. The antibacterial activities were evaluated against Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Therapeutic formulas were categorized into groups: free gallic acid, free quercetin, free-mix, and their nano-counterparts. Findings revealed that drug loading capacity was 0.204 for the mix formula compared to 0.092 and 0.68 for free gallic acid and quercetin, respectively. Regarding the Zeta potential, the mix formula showed more amphiphilic charge than the free quercetin and free gallic acid formulas (P-values 0.003 and 0.002 receptively). On the contrary, no significant difference in polydispersity indices was reported. Lung cancerous cells were the most affected by the treatments. The best estimated IC50 values were observed in breast and lung cancer lines for the nano-gallic acid and co-loaded particles. The nano-quercetin formula exhibited the least cytotoxicity with an IC50 value of ≥200 μg/mL in both breast (MCF-7) and colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines (HT-29) with no activity against the lung. A remarkable improvement in the efficacy of quercetin was measured after mixing it with gallic acid against the breast and lungs. The tested therapeutic agents exhibited antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria. Nano-liposomes can either enhance or reduce the cytotoxicity activity of active compounds depending on the physical and chemical properties of drug-loaded and type of cancer cells