Food Sources of Fiber and Micronutrients of Concern in Infants and Children in the United Arab Emirates: Findings from the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS) and the Kids Nutrition and Health Survey (KNHS) 2020

We estimated the usual intakes of fiber, iron, zinc, calcium, folate, vitamin D, and vitamin A and the top foods that contribute to them among children in the UAE. Dietary intake was assessed using 24 h recalls among 5 age groups of infants and children. Foods were clustered into 54 food groups and ranked by their percentage contribution to the nutrients of interest in this study. The percentage achieving the adequate intake (AI) of fiber was negligible among all children. The top source of fiber was vegetables among children under 4 years, and white breads among those over 4 years. Only 45% of infants achieved iron adequacy, but iron standards were met by most children beyond the age of 1. The main contributors to iron intake were infant/young child formula and baby cereal in children under 4 years, while children over 4 years obtained it primarily from grains (fortified) and meat/fish. Vitamin D was inadequate across all age groups, with the percentage achieving adequacy ranging from 0 to 19% among pre-adolescents and toddlers, respectively. The top sources of vitamin D were fortified milks. Overall, nutrient inadequacies in fiber, calcium, and vitamin D highlight the need for greater intakes of whole grains and fortified dairy products in the UAE.     

Extracellular vesicles and reproduction-promotion of successful pregnancy

Extracellular vesicles （EVs） are membrane-bound complexes secreted from cells under both physiological and pathological conditions. They contain proteins, nucleic acids and lipids and act as messengers for cell-cell communication and signalling, particularly between immune cells. EV research is a rapidly evolving and expanding field, and it appears that all biological fluids contain very large numbers of EVs; they are produced from all cells that have been studied to date, and are known to have roles in several reproductive processes. This review analyses the evidence for the role of EVs throughout human reproduction, starting with the paternal and maternal gametes, followed by the establishment and continuation of successful pregnancies, with specific focus, where possible, on the interaction of EVs with the maternal immune system. Importantly, variations within the EV populations are identified in various reproductive disorders, such as pre-term labour and pre-eclampsia.     

Effect of carbosulfan pesticide and selenium on some semen characteristics and serum testosterone in male rabbits

This study was undertaken to investigate the hazardous effects of carbosulfun pesticide on the level of serum testosterone and on semen quality in male New Zealand rabbits, and to determine whether selenium can alleviate these effects when given to the treated animals. Carbosulfan was given orally to animals in two doses (1/100 LD50 and 1/10 LD50 per kg body weight) weekly, while selenium (0.3 mg per kg body weight) was given alone or in combination with carbosulfan. The experiment was divided into three periods of 6 weeks each as follows: preliminary, treatment and recovery. Semen and blood samples were collected weekly and biweekly throughout experiment, respectively. Semen analyses indicated significant decreases in ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, total sperm output, sperm motility and fructose content. This was associated with a significant decline in the level of serum testosterone in the treated animals. Meanwhile pesticide treatment caused increases in the percentages of abnormal and dead spermatozoa, sperm without acrosomes and methylene-blue reduction time. Selenium combined with carbosulfan reduced the detrimental effects of the pesticide in most of the measured parameters.     

Prevalence of non-adherence to antihypertensive medication in Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy - Background Hypertension and its associated complications are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Asia. Racial disparities in terms...     

From right to left heart failure: An unexpected transition

Right and left heart failure are very common clinical syndromes with close correlation. Right-sided or right ventricular heart failure usually occurs as a result of left-sided failure. We report a very rare case of transition from right heart failure due to pulmonary embolism, followed by its resolution, to left heart failure due to Tako-tsubo syndrome within 48 h of hospitalization.     

Some Histological Observation and Morphometric Measurements of the Millivora Capenesis Epidermis

This study is conducted on back skin of three female belong to Millivora capenesis wild animals. Histological preparations carried out to reveal the structural features of the stratum of epidermis. The skin ofMillivora capensis was covered with keratinized stratified squamous epithelium, the mean thickness is 427.85 ± 4.28 μm. The superficial layer is stratum corneum. The basic properties of this stratum consist of dead, flattened, polygonal cells which are free from nuclei and keratin accumulate in dead cells in order to give protective feature. The mean thickness of stratum corneum is 90.5 ± 2.44 μm. Beneath the stratum corneum, there is translucent layar composed of keratin fibrils and homogenous materials which is termed Eldin. The mean thickness of stratum lucidum is 18.14±0.52 μm. While the mean thickness of stratum granulosum intensive affinity to basophilic spinosum is formed from prickle cells with cytoplasmic processes like spines which represented the desmosomes. The mean thickness of both stratum basal is 55.63 ± 1.75 μm .Our histological findings revealed epidermal papillae extended to the papillary layer of dermis, and these papillae were bifurcates and some papillae fused with each other in order to give the rigidity and power to epidermis.     

Pharmacokinetics & tissue distribution of temperature-sensitive liposomal doxorubicin in tumor-bearing mice triggered with mild hyperthermia

Drug-loaded temperature-sensitive liposomes (TSL) in combination with hyperthermia (HT) have attracted considerable attention for cancer treatment. Different TSL systems have been designed with wide variations in their temperature sensitivity and drug release profile. Low temperature-sensitive liposomes (LTSL) with the capacity for ultrafast drug release, traditional temperature-sensitive (TTSL) with intermediate drug release properties and non-temperature-sensitive liposomes (NTSL) (no drug release) were dual-labeled with (3)H-cholesteryl hexadecyl ether ((3)H-CHE) lipid and loaded with (14)C-doxorubicin ((14)C-Dox). Their blood profile, serum stability, tissue distribution and tumor localization (B16F10 melanoma) were studied after intravenous administration and mild HT treatment. LTSL showed higher affinity for the liver compared to TTSL and NTSL which were uptaken mainly by spleen. Under normal conditions (no HT) Dox leakage from liposomes was expected, higher for LTSL, less for TTSL and minimal for NTSL. Localized HT did not affect the overall blood circulation or organ accumulation for all TSL studied. Since LTSL showed ultrafast Dox release kinetics at 42 °C, the highest drug accumulation in tumors was observed using this system immediately after HT, however decreased significantly after 24 h. In contrast, TTSL and NTSL showed 2-3 fold increase in both liposome and Dox levels that indicated enhanced tumor extravasation of intact Dox-loaded liposomes during the 60 min HT applications. More interestingly, high levels of drug tumor accumulation were achieved 24 h post-HT. This study offers further understanding on how the mechanisms of drug release from temperature-sensitive liposomes affect their pharmacological profile under mild hyperthermia.