Regular users of supermarkets in Greater Tunis have a slightly improved diet quality

Despite the recent and rapid expansion of supermarkets in developing countries, their association with diet quality has been hardly studied. The study took place in Tunisia, where incidences of obesity and nutrition-related diseases are rising. The target population was households of the Greater Tunis area where supermarkets are mostly located. Households (n = 724) were selected by a 2-stage clustered random sampling. A purposely developed quantitative questionnaire assessed food retail habits. Socioeconomic data were collected at individual and household levels. The diet quality index-international (DQI-I) derived from a FFQ specific for Tunisia measured diet quality. Data analysis by regression or logistic regression models adjusted for energy intake and socioeconomic confounders when relevant. Overall, 60% of the households used supermarkets. Most households still used the nearby grocer; only 26% shopped at the market. Characteristics associated with supermarket use were urban milieu, small-sized households, greater educational attainment, higher economic level, steady income, or easy access. Associations between these variables and using supermarkets as a first shopping place (20% of households) were even stronger. After adjustment for energy intake and socioeconomic and access data, using supermarkets chosen as first food shopping place vs. other retail resulted in a slightly higher DQI-I (63.2 vs. 59.6; P = 0.0004). Despite the long-standing presence of supermarkets in Tunis, shopping at supermarkets has not yet spread to the whole population. Supermarkets do not yet markedly modify food consumption in the Greater Tunis. However, a slight improvement of diet quality can be observed among those people who use supermarkets regularly.     

Immuno-physiological alterations from AFB1 in rats counteracted by treatments with Lactobacillus paracasei BEJ01 and montmorillonite clay mixture

High contamination by aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) has been detected in Beja province (Tunisia) in many dairy products and animal feed, which has resulted in many tons of cereals and cereals being removed from the market, causing economic loss. While removal represents a means of reducing risk, exposures still occur. Studies have increasingly focused on means of AFB₁ biodegradation/elimination using lactic acid bacteria and clay mineral. In the study here, Lactobacillus paracasei BEJ01 (LP) and montmorilonite clay (MT) were used to reduce the physio-/immunotoxicologic disorders that could develop in rats that underwent AFB₁ exposures for a total of 7 consecutive days. The results indicated that rats treated with AFB₁ (80?μg/kg BW) alone had significant decreases in lymphocytes in their blood (including B-lymphocytes, CD3⁺, CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ T-lymphocyte subtypes, and NK cells), immunoglobulins (IgA and IgG) and pro-inflammatory cytokines; these rats also had altered oxidative stress status. In contrast, in rats treated with LP?+?MT (2?×?10⁹?cfu/ml [～ 2?mg/kg] + 0.5?mg MT/kg BW) for a total of 7 days before, concurrent with or after AFB₁ treatment, there was a significant blockade/mitigation of each AFB₁-impacted parameter. Moreover, treatment with the mixture at any point in relation to AFB₁ treatment expectedly caused enhanced TNFα and IL-1β expression relative to control values; all other parameters were comparable to values noted in control rats. Alone, the mixture had no impact on host parameters. From the results here it may be concluded the the LP?+?MT mixture was effective in protecting these hosts against AFB₁-induced immunologic/physiologic disorders and that LP?+?MT could prevent and/or mitigate AFB₁ toxicities in vivo.     

Factors Related to the Intention to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19 in the Province of New Brunswick,Canada

Journal of Community Health - Vaccine refusal by even a small subset of the population can undermine the success of the vaccination campaigns which are currently underway worldwide. The goal of...     

Modelling the impact of compliance with dietary recommendations on cancer and cardiovascular disease mortality in Canada

Objectives

Despite strong evidence indicating that unbalanced diets relate to chronic diseases and mortality, most adults do not comply with dietary recommendations. To help determine which recommendations could yield the most benefits, the number of deaths attributable to cardiovascular diseases and cancer that could be delayed or averted in Canada if adults changed their diet to adhere to recommendations were estimated.

Study design

Macrosimulation based on national population-based survey and vital statistics data.

Methods

A macrosimulation model was used to draw age- and sex-specific changes in relative risks based on the results of meta-analyses of relationship between food components and risk of cardiovascular disease and diet-related cancers. Inputs in the model included Canadian recommendations (fruit and vegetable, fibre, salt, and total-, monounsaturated-, polyunsaturated-, saturated-, and trans-fats), average dietary intake (from 35 107 participants with 24-h recall), and mortality from specific causes (from Canadian Vital Statistics). Monte Carlo analyses were used to compute 95% credible intervals (CI).

Results

The estimates of this study suggest that 30 540 deaths (95% CI: 24 953, 34 989) per year could be averted or delayed if Canadians adhered to their dietary recommendations. By itself, the recommendation for fruit and vegetable intake could save as many as 72% (55–87%) of these deaths. It is followed by recommendations for fibres (29%, 13–43%) and salt (10%, 9–12%).

Conclusions

A considerable number of lives could be saved if Canadians adhered to the national dietary intake recommendations. Given the scarce resources available to promote guideline adhesion, priority should be given to recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake.     

Combining Communication Technology Utilization and Organizational Innovation: Evidence from Canadian Healthcare Decision Makers

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Organizational Innovation (OI) are seen as the miracle of post-modernity in organizations. In this way, they are supposed to resolve most organizational problems, efficiently and rapidly. OI is highly dependent on the capacity and the investment in knowledge management (internal and external) to support decision making process and to implement significant changes. We know what explains ICT utilization (ICTU) and what determines OI development (OID) in healthcare services. Moreover, the literature tends to link ICTU to OID and vice versa. However, this dependency has never been explored empirically through the lens of roles combination. To identify the existing combined roles profiles of ICTU and OID among healthcare decision makers and determine factors of the shift from a profile to another. We did the following: (1) a structured review of the literature on healthcare management by focusing on ICTU and OID which allowed us to build two indexes and a comprehensive framework; (2) a copula methodology to identify with high precision the thresholds for ICTU and OID; and (3) a cross-sectional study based on a survey done with a sample of 942 decision makers from Canadian healthcare organizations through a multinomial logit model to identify determinants of the shift. ICTU and OID are correlated at 22% (Kendal’s Tau). The joint distribution (combination) of ICTU and OID shows that four major profiles exist among decision makers in Canadian healthcare organizations: the traditional decision maker, the innovative decision maker, the technologic decision maker and the contemporary decision maker. We found out that classic factors act as barriers to the shift from one profile to the desired profile (from 1 to 4, from 2 to 4 and from 3 to 4). We have identified that the attitude toward research and relational capital are transversal barriers of shift. We have also found that some factors have a specific impact such as engaging in activities of research acquisition, the administrative position (being a manager), the preference for applied research results as source of information, the degree of novelty of research results, and the gender. Modern Canadian healthcare organizations need contemporary decision makers who use ICT and develop OI, if performance is the target. Our results let us suggest that the isolated administrative agents profile is no more effective in a dynamic and changing world. Contemporary decision makers need to be more active intellectually and to take risks in their decisions. Relying exclusively on research results and on their social network is no more helpful for a real shift. Moreover, the traditional factors, i.e. organization size, time, experience…are no more effective, especially when we consider combined roles. We propose some practical and theoretical recommendations to support these changes.     

Posttranslational regulation of self-renewal capacity: insights from proteome and phosphoproteome analyses of stem cell leukemia

We recently generated 2 phenotypically similar Hoxa9+Meis1 overexpressing acute myeloid leukemias that differ by their in vivo biologic behavior. The first leukemia, named FLA2, shows a high frequency of leukemia stem cells (LSCs; 1 in 1.4 cells), whereas the second, FLB1, is more typical with a frequency of LSCs in the range of 1 per several hundred cells. To gain insights into possible mechanisms that determine LSC self-renewal, we profiled and compared the abundance of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins and phosphoproteins from these leukemias using quantitative proteomics. These analyses revealed differences in proteins associated with stem cell fate, including a hyperactive p38 MAP kinase in FLB1 and a differentially localized Polycomb group protein Ezh2, which is mostly nuclear in FLA2 and predominantly cytoplasmic in FLB1. Together, these newly documented proteomes and phosphoproteomes represent a unique resource with more than 440 differentially expressed proteins and 11 543 unique phosphopeptides, of which 80% are novel and 7% preferentially phosphorylated in the stem cell-enriched leukemia.     

The first cases of Candida auris candidaemia in Oman

Candida auris has been recognised as a problematic healthcare‐associated emerging yeast which is often misidentified as Candida haemulonii by commercial systems. Correct early identification of C. auris is important for appropriate antifungal treatment and implementing effective infection control measures. Here we report emergence of the first C. auris cases in Oman, initially misidentified as C. haemulonii.     

In‐vitro free radical scavenging,antiproliferative and anti‐zearalenone cytotoxic effects of 4‐(methylthio)‐3‐butenyl isothiocyanate from Tunisian Raphanus sativus

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the antiradical and antioxidant properties of 4‐(methylthio)‐3‐butenyl isothiocyanate (MTBITC) extracted from Raphanus sativus and to assess the effects of MTBITC on tumour cell growth, cytotoxicity induced by zearalenone, an oestrogenic mycotoxin, and modulation of the expression of the genes involved in these aspects of cell behaviour. Methods A murine leukaemia cell line (L1210) was grown in vitro and supplemented with MTBITC (2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 μm ) for 48 h. Cell growth was evaluated by the MTT assay. The chemopreventive role of MTBITC on the cytotoxic effect of zearalenone in a Balb/c mice keratinocyte cell line (C5‐O) was also evaluated. Apoptosis and lipid peroxidation were assessed, as well as the expression of genes involved following zearalenone treatment alone or in combination with MTBITC. Key findings MTBITC showed a significant ability to inhibit nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by superoxide radicals in a non‐enzymatic superoxide generating system, to scavenge free radicals and to cause a decrease in L1210 cell growth. The C5‐O cells treated with zearalenone alone showed a high frequency of apoptotic cells and lipid peroxidation, typical of oxidative stress generated by zearalenone. The cotreatment with MTBITC reduced the cytotoxicity of zearalenone and the subsequent gene expression analysis demonstrated that MTBITC decreased the expression of caspase 8, implicated in the physiological mechanism to eliminate injured or abnormal cells. Conclusions The results suggest that MTBITC was able to inhibit L1210 cell growth and counteract the zearalenone oxidative stress to C5‐O cells through caspase 8 inhibition of apoptosis.     

The protective effect of hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate against haematological, biochemical and pathological changes induced by Zearalenone in mice.

Hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (HSCAS), an anticaking agent for mixed feed, was added alone or simultaneously with a toxic Zearalenone (ZEN) dose to balb/c mice and was evaluated for its ability to restore damages induced by ZEN. The latter is a mycotoxin produced by fusarium genera; it is mainly known to induce several toxic effects such as hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity and nephrotoxicity on animals and humans. The experimental approach consisted of eight treatments of six mice each by 400 mg/kg bw or 5 g/kg bw of HSCAS. Two experimental groups have received respectively ZEN alone at 40 (8% of LD50) and at 500 mg/kg bw (LD50). Two other groups have received ZEN at 40 or 500 mg/kg bw combined respectively with HSCAS at 400 mg/kg bw and 5 g/kg bw. The control groups received water or olive oil. Forty-eight hours after treatment, blood samples were collected for haematological and serum biochemical parameters measurements. ZEN treatment significantly increased hematocrit, haemoglobin, white blood cells: lymphocytes, eosinophils, neutrophils, monocytes and the most of biochemical serum parameters; it significantly reduced platelets and induced degenerative changes in the hepatic and renal tissues; while, the mixture of HSCAS with ZEN induced a reestablishment of haematological parameters, levels of serum biochemical enzyme activities and histological pictures of both liver and kidney. It also prevented general toxicity of ZEN. This was observed by the shift of LD50 for this toxin. Thus, our data strongly suggested that deleterious effects of ZEN could be overcome or, at least, significantly were diminished by HSCAS. Moreover, this sorbent by itself did not show any toxic effects.     

Research-Based-Decision-Making in Canadian Health Organizations: A Behavioural Approach

Decision making in Health sector is affected by a several elements such as economic constraints, political agendas, epidemiologic events, managers’ values and environment … These competing elements create a complex environment for decision making. Research-Based-Decision-Making (RBDM) offers an opportunity to reduce the generated uncertainty and to ensure efficacy and efficiency in health administrations. We assume that RBDM is dependant on decision makers’ behaviour and the identification of the determinants of this behaviour can help to enhance research results utilization in health sector decision making. This paper explores the determinants of RBDM as a personal behaviour among managers and professionals in health administrations in Canada. From the behavioural theories and the existing literature, we build a model measuring “RBDM” as an index based on five items. These items refer to the steps accomplished by a decision maker while developing a decision which is based on evidence. The determinants of RBDM behaviour are identified using data collected from 942 health care decision makers in Canadian health organizations. Linear regression is used to model the behaviour RBDM. Determinants of this behaviour are derived from Triandis Theory and Bandura's construct “self-efficacy.” The results suggest that to improve research use among managers in Canadian governmental health organizations, strategies should focus on enhancing exposition to evidence through facilitating communication networks, partnerships and links between researchers and decision makers, with the key long-term objective of developing a culture that supports and values the contribution that research can make to decision making in governmental health organizations. Nevertheless, depending on the organizational level, determinants of RBDM are different. This difference has to be taken into account if RBDM adoption is desired. Decision makers in Canadian health organizations (CHO) can help to build networks, develop partnerships between professionals locally, regionally and nationally, and also act as change agents in the dissemination and adoption of knowledge and innovations in health services. However, the research focused on knowledge use as a support to decision-making, further research is needed to identify and evaluate effective incentives and strategies to implement so as to enhance RBDM adoption among health decision makers and more theoretical development are to complete in this perspective.