The main side effects of opioid use are physiological and psychological dependence. The transient receptor potential channels, including transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), are involved ...in various neurological disorders. We aimed to evaluate the effect of TRPA1 inhibition on morphine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) and physical dependence. For induction of CPP, morphine (10 and 20 mg/kg) was administrated for four consecutive days to male BALB/c mice. The effects of HC030031 (TRPA1 antagonist, 10, 25, and 50 mg/kg) on the expression and reinstatement of morphine-induced CPP were evaluated. For induction of physical dependence, morphine was injected three times a day for 3 days. Withdrawal-related behaviors such as jumping and defecation were precipitated by the administration of naloxone to morphine-dependent mice. The effect of HC030031 on jumping and defecation was assessed. The results showed that 20 mg/kg of morphine elicited a significant CPP. HC030031 reduced the expression of morphine CPP without any change in the locomotor activity. It also decreased the reinstatement of morphine CPP. HC030031 mitigated morphine withdrawal via reducing jumping and defecation. The present study demonstrated that HC030031 decreased morphine-associated CPP and physical dependence. It is presumed that TRPA1 has interaction with the main pharmacological effects of morphine.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, FSPLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The development of visible‐light photocatalysts with desirable material characteristics and efficient performance is an existing challenge for photocatalysis community. Herein, we report on the ...synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) modified porous silicon (PSi) nanopowder and its effective use in the photo‐reduction of hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) to trivalent Cr(III) under direct visible light irradiation in the presence of citric acid. The PSi was prepared via simple stain etching of Si microparticles in HF/HNO3 aqueous solution, followed by the deposition of AgNPs onto PSi by the immersion plating technique. The developed photocatalyst composed of PSi with <20 nm mesoporous structure, decorated with crystalline 15‐50 nm AgNPs. Photocatalytic experiments using unmodified Si microparticles, either PSi or sonicated one, indicated inactive catalytic behavior toward the photo‐reduction of Cr(VI). Remarkable photo‐reduction efficiency (97.4%) was achieved after 180 minutes irradiation using the AgNPs/PSi sample. The efficient photo‐reduction capability of AgNPs/PSi photocatalyst is attributed to the enhanced separation between photo‐generated electrons and holes (e−‐h+) enabling better utilization of light, as revealed from the photoluminescence measurement. Additionally, the presence of citric acid in solution promoted greatly the photo‐reduction reaction as it acted as a hole scavenger, suppressing further the rate of e−‐h+ recombination through rapid consumption of photo‐generated holes. Excellent reusability of the current photocatalyst was evidenced by performing cyclic five runs with minimal reactivity loss. Results of synthesis, characterization, photocatalytic activity and reaction mechanism are thoroughly addressed and discussed.
Newly developed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) modified porous silicon (PSi) photocatalyst could efficiently reduce hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) to nontoxic trivalent Cr(III) under visible light illumination in the presence of citric acid.
This study aims to examine the transformative power of literature in challenging prevailing social norms and reshaping perspectives on migration, alterity, and cultural marginalization. Focusing on ...the novels Once in a Promised Land by Layla Halaby, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, and Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, the analysis examines the representation of the individual Other, challenging stereotypes, and highlighting the characters’ personal and political traumas. The concept of nowhereness, which stands for the emotional and psychological state of migrants moving in unfamiliar cities, is explored, highlighting the paradoxical experience of simultaneous death and rebirth. The characters in these novels are in a deep state of emptiness, serving as “citizens in waiting and deportees in waiting.” Their experiences in the liminal space of waiting are closely intertwined, creating a shared temporal landscape that enriches the exploration of the complexity of migrants. In this regard, the authors challenge the conventional tactics of silencing voices and concealing images to transform the harrowing ordeals of the Other into a powerful means of social introspection. The authors engage with Western hegemony and imperialism, seeking to inspire understanding and admiration for subaltern cultures that are marginalized by the Western world.
The researchers intend to analyze John Fowles’ The French Lieutenant's Woman to depict how the female protagonists reject the notion of being eunuchs and experience liberation and revolution within ...the social context. To carry out this study, the researchers analyze the female characters. This masterpiece revolves around the notions of love and sexuality. The French Lieutenant's Woman has been analyzed from different aspects of feminism. However, in this research, the purpose is to depict how Victorian women are able to break the phallocentric discourse by negating sexual differences and becoming eunuch subjects. The beginning of the novel shows Charles’ engagement with Ernestina mostly based on the social doctrines of the Victorian era. In fact, there is no love between them and what binds them together is social expectation. Ernestina is the symbol of a woman who desires to be a female eunuch and obey the principles of the nuclear family. On the other hand, Sarah is a rebellious character who selects love over the social doctrines of Victorian society. The present research is conducted based on Luce Irigaray and Germaine Greer's theories in which the role of Victorian women is analyzed.
Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs); rs6921438 and rs4416670 in
-
, rs6993770 in
and rs10738760 in
-
were reported to explain up to 50% of the heritability of vascular endothelial growth ...factor circulating levels. These SNPs were also studied for possible associations with circulating lipid levels in supposedly healthy European individuals and in a limited number of Iranian individuals with metabolic syndrome. To go further, the association of those four SNPs with plasma lipid parameters, hypercholesterolemia and metabolic syndrome (MetS) was assessed.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 460 individuals chosen from the general population. Demographic and clinical data were collected and DNA was extracted and genotyped using Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP™). A meta-analysis followed, combining our participants with the Iranian individuals (
= 336).
Whereas rs10738760 was associated with total cholesterol (Tchol) (
= 0.01), rs6993770 showed significant associations with both Tchol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels (
= 0.007 and
= 0.01 respectively). Using a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for different confounding factors, we found that rs6993770 was associated with hypercholesterolemia, specifically high Tchol (
= 0.01) and LDL-C levels (
= 0.01). Furthermore, rs10738760 was positively associated with the risk of MetS in these individuals (
= 0.02) and in the meta-analysis (OR = 1.67,
= 0.01).
Our results suggest that whereas rs6993770 in
was positively associated with hypercholesterolemia, rs10738760 (
-
) has a possible implication in MetS in two Middle Eastern populations.
This study was designed to determine the efficacy of ivermectin, an FDA-approved drug, in producing clinical benefits and decreasing the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 among asymptomatic subjects that ...tested positive for this virus in Lebanon.
A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 100 asymptomatic Lebanese subjects that have tested positive for SARS-CoV2. Fifty patients received standard preventive treatment, mainly supplements, and the experimental group received a single dose (according to body weight) of ivermectin, in addition to the same supplements the control group received.
There was no significant difference (
= 0.06) between Ct-values of the two groups before the regimen was started (day zero), indicating that subjects in both groups had similar viral loads. At 72 h after the regimen started, the increase in Ct-values was dramatically higher in the ivermectin than in the control group. In the ivermectin group, Ct increased from 15.13 ± 2.07 (day zero) to 30.14 ± 6.22 (day three; mean ± SD), compared to the control group, where the Ct values increased only from 14.20 ± 2.48 (day zero) to 18.96 ± 3.26 (day three; mean ± SD). Moreover, more subjects in the control group developed clinical symptoms. Three individuals (6%) required hospitalization, compared to the ivermectin group (0%).
Ivermectin appears to be efficacious in providing clinical benefits in a randomized treatment of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects, effectively resulting in fewer symptoms, lower viral load and reduced hospital admissions. However, larger-scale trials are warranted for this conclusion to be further cemented.
Neonatal jaundice is commonly seen in term and preterm newly born babies. It could be either physiologic or secondary to multiple underlying pathologies like urinary tract infection (UTI). Our main ...objective was to confirm the relationship between neonatal jaundice without apparent cause like hemolysis and the presence of UTI.
We, retrospectively over a period extended from 2017 to 2020, included 496 babies admitted for elevated indirect hyperbilirubinemia for whom demographic, clinical, laboratory, and therapeutic data were collected through a detailed questionnaire.
Our study included 496 neonates and showed a prevalence of UTI in 8.9% of neonates. The two most common microorganisms in urine culture were
(65.9%) and
(25.0%). A multivariate logistic analysis showed that UTI was associated with male neonates (odds ratio OR = 2.366, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.173 - 4.774;
= 0.016), history of prenatal UTI (OR = 5.378, 95% CI: 2.369 - 12.209;
<0.001), poor feeding (OR = 3.687, 95% CI: 1.570 - 8.661;
= 0.003), and positive urine culture in catheter (OR = 2.704, 95% CI: 1.255 - 5.826;
= 0.011). The mean length of stay was higher in patients with positive UTI (Median = 216 hours) compared to patients with negative UTI (Median = 48 hours) (
<0.001).
Neonatal sreening for UTI should be recommended whenever there is unexplaind early or prolonged hyperbilirubinemia with no evidence of alloimmune hemolysis or blood group incompatibility and to prevent the morbidity of urosepsis and congenital kidneys malformations.
Anemia is a global health problem associated with short- and long-term consequences especially in children. The incidence of anemia along with the factors associated with its increased or decreased ...risk is not yet well studied in Lebanon. Our study aims at determining the demographics of this health burden and identifying some of the important factors linked to it among the pediatric population.
A 4-months cross-sectional study was performed between August and November 2017 including 295 children aged 1 month to 12 years, who were hospitalized in a tertiary care hospital located in South Lebanon. We analyzed the different demographic data, age, gender, breast feeding duration, solid food introduction, iron supplementation and disease of diagnosis in association with multiple hematological parameters.
The prevalence of both mild and moderate anemia was 71.8 and 25.4%, with only 2 cases of severe anemia encountered among children aged 6 months or above. Results showed that the risk of anemia increases by around 3.4 folds among malnourished children than in well-nourished children. This risk also decreased by almost 42% in children receiving iron supplement.
In consideration to the fact that anemia is a prevalent disease in the Lebanese childhood population, especially in infancy, simple preventive measures such as proper nutritional habits and supplementation of iron rich food to children are highly recommended and should be respected by public health providers.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Background: Effort–reward imbalance (ERI) refers to the situation where there is a mismatch between the effort that healthcare workers (HCWs) put into their work and the rewards they receive in ...return. Burnout, on the other hand, is a psychological syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. This study aimed to assess the impact of ERI and burnout on the compliance with standard precautions (SPs) among nurses and midwives in Lebanese hospitals under the economic crisis and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional correlational study, based on self-administered questionnaire data, measuring the compliance with SPs, ERI, and burnout, in addition to the relationship between these factors, was performed among 409 nurses and midwives, working in Lebanese hospitals. Results: ERI was significantly associated with exposure to burnout among nurses and midwives, and burnout was found to be a significant predictor of nurses and midwives’ self-reported adherence with SPs. Conclusions: This study highlights the contribution of ERI and burnout to the chain of infection by decreased adherence to infection control SPs of nurses and midwives.
Background: An outbreak of an unknown respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and was referred to as ...coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Soon after, it was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 mainly infects the respiratory tract with different outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe critical illness leading to death. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging of which three have raised concerns worldwide due to their high transmissibility among populations. Objective: To study the prevalence of COVID-19 in the region of Nabatieh-South Lebanon during the past year and assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their effect on the spread of infection during times of lockdown. Methods: In our study, 37,474 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected and analyzed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in suspected patients attending a tertiary health care center in South Lebanon during the period between 16 March 2020 and 21 February 2021. Results: The results demonstrated a variation in the prevalence rates ranging from less than 1% during full lockdown of the country to 8.4% upon easing lockdown restrictions and reaching 27.5% after the holidays and 2021 New Year celebrations. Interestingly, a new variant(s) appeared starting January 2021 with a significant positive association between the prevalence of positive tests and the percentage of the variant(s). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the lockdown implemented by the Lebanese officials was an effective intervention to contain COVID-19 spread. Our study also showed that lifting lockdown measures during the holidays, which allowed indoor crowded gatherings to occur, caused a surge in COVID-19 cases and rise in the mortality rates nationwide. More importantly, we confirmed the presence of a highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant(s) circulating in the Lebanese community from at least January 2021 onwards.
PDF
