Harnessing genomics to improve health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region – an executive course in genomics policy

BACKGROUND: While innovations in medicine, science and technology have resulted in improved health and quality of life for many people, the benefits of modern medicine continue to elude millions of people in many parts of the world. To assess the potential of genomics to address health needs in EMR, the World Health Organization's Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office and the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics jointly organized a Genomics and Public Health Policy Executive Course, held September 20(th)–23(rd), 2003, in Muscat, Oman. The 4-day course was sponsored by WHO-EMRO with additional support from the Canadian Program in Genomics and Global Health. The overall objective of the course was to collectively explore how to best harness genomics to improve health in the region. This article presents the course findings and recommendations for genomics policy in EMR. METHODS: The course brought together senior representatives from academia, biotechnology companies, regulatory bodies, media, voluntary, and legal organizations to engage in discussion. Topics covered included scientific advances in genomics, followed by innovations in business models, public sector perspectives, ethics, legal issues and national innovation systems. RESULTS: A set of recommendations, summarized below, was formulated for the Regional Office, the Member States and for individuals. • Advocacy for genomics and biotechnology for political leadership; • Networking between member states to share information, expertise, training, and regional cooperation in biotechnology; coordination of national surveys for assessment of health biotechnology innovation systems, science capacity, government policies, legislation and regulations, intellectual property policies, private sector activity; • Creation in each member country of an effective National Body on genomics, biotechnology and health to: - formulate national biotechnology strategies - raise biotechnology awareness - encourage teaching and training of biotechnology - devise integration of biotechnology within national health systems. CONCLUSION: The recommendations provide the basis for a road map for EMR to take steps to harness biotechnology for better and more equitable health. As a result of these recommendations, health ministers from the region, at the 50th Regional Committee Meeting held in October 2003, have urged Member States to establish national bodies of biotechnology to formulate a strategic vision for developing biotechnology in the service of the region's health. These efforts promise to raise the profile of genomics in EMR and increase regional cooperation in this exciting new field

The ability of probiotic lactic acid bacteria to ferment Egyptian broken rice milk and produce rice-based yoghurt

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) contribute to the fermentation of non-dairy cereal products such as rice milk and produce economic products like yoghurt and cheese. These bacteria also have a cytotoxicity activity against cancer cells. The current study intends to use Lactobacillus strains to ferment broken rice milk and produce financial yoghurt products, as well as to assess the growth, physicochemical properties alteration, sensory characteristics, and cytotoxicity of final products. This study indicated that the fermentation of broken rice milk for 8 h by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ATCC 14917 and milk yoghurt cultures were more favorable than by Lc. casei DSM 20011, and L. acidophilus ATCC20552, which gave high viability (8.9 Log CFU/mL), specific growth rate (0.181, and 0.203 h−1) and doubling time (3.83 and 3.41 h), respectively. Also, they dropped in pH values into ranged from 4.2 to 4.4, and increased in total titratable acidity and the acetic and lactic acids contents (0.82 and1.26 mg/L, respectively). The highest acidification rate (Vmax) was 0.006 and 0.007, and pH U/min, the maximum acidification time (Tmax) was 4 h and the time to reach pH 4.6 (Te) was 5 h and 4 h for sample fermented by Lpb. plantarum and milk yoghurt cultures, respectively. Under refrigerated storage at 5 °C, the rice yoghurt seems to get a shelf life of 12 days. The sensory qualities of LAB rice yoghurt were satisfactory, and it was not toxic (safe) on OEC normal cells (IC50 = ranged between 445.9 and 537.9 μg/mL) and cytotoxic on CaCo-2 colon cancer cells (IC50 = ranged between 107.8 and167.8 μg/mL). The yoghurt rice included a lot of vitamin B6 and B1, but not much vitamin B2 or C. As a result, this product is high in nutritional value