COVID-19 is a complex multisystem disease comprising multiple organ dysfunctions including neurologic manifestations. Some COVID-19 patients may present neurologic symptoms as the initial ...presentations of the disease.
We aim at investigating the frequency and the predictors of neurological manifestations in patients with confirmed COVID-19.
A retrospective cross-sectional single-center study analyzed COVID-19 positive patients with neurological manifestations from March to June 2020, in Aswan Governorate, Egypt. Demographic data, clinical, radiological and laboratory findings, comorbidities, and treatments were collected and analyzed.
Out of the 905 confirmed COVID-19 patients; 422 patients (46.6%) had neurological manifestations and fulfilled the study inclusion criteria, 223 patients (52.8%) had central neurological disorders (CNS), 107 (25.4%) had peripheral neurological disorders (PNS), and 92 (21.8%) patients had non-specific neurological disorders. Age >50 years, diabetes mellitus, CORAD> III and smoking were predictors for neurological system affection.
COVID-19 infection has been associated with numerous neurological deficits, especially in elderly patients. Central nervous system disorders were the most prevalent deficit with predominance of cerebrovascular events.
Abstract
Purpose
Yoghurt is a widely consumed dairy product around the world. It has healing properties and characteristics that are important for human health. Our goal was to see how using ewes' ...milk fed
Spirulina platensis
(SP) or fish oil (FO)-supplemented diets affected the chemical, physical, and nutritional properties of yoghurt, as well as the activity and survival of starter and probiotic bacteria during storage.
Methods
The collected milk from each ewe group was preheated to 65 °C and homogenized in a laboratory homogenizer, then heated to 90 °C for 5 min, cooled to 42 °C, and divided into two equal portions. The first portion was inoculated with 2.0% mixed starter culture (
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus
, 1:1), whereas the second was inoculated with 2% mixed starter culture and 1%
Bifidobacterium longum
as a probiotic bacteria.
Results
SP yoghurt had the highest levels of short chain-FA, medium chain-FA, mostly C
10:0
, and long chain-FA, namely C
16:0
, C
18:2
and the lowest levels of C
18:0
and C
18:1
, followed by FO yoghurt. The addition of SP or FO to ewes' diets resulted in yoghurt with higher viable counts of
L. bulgaricus
and
S. thermophilus
, which were still >10
7
cfu/g at the end of storage, as well as a higher level of acetaldehyde content (
P
<0.05) as a flavor compound, than the control (C) yoghurt. The viscosity of SP yoghurt was higher than that of FO and C yoghurt; the difference was not significant. The addition of
B. longum,
a probiotic bacteria, to all yoghurt samples, improved antioxidant activities, particularly against ABTS• radicals, but reduced SP yoghurt viscosity. When
B. longum
was added, acetaldehyde content increased from 39.91, 90.47, and 129.31 μmol/100g in C, FA, and SP yoghurts to 46.67, 135.55, and 144.1 μmol/100g in probiotic C, FA, and SP yoghurts, respectively. There was no significant difference in sensory qualities among all the yoghurt samples during all storage periods.
Conclusions
Supplementing the ewes' diets with
Spirulina platensis
or fish oil can change the fatty acid composition of the resulting yoghurt. The starter culture's activity, flavor compounds, and some chemical, physical, and antioxidant properties of milk produced from these diets can all be improved, particularly in yoghurt treated with probiotic bacteria (
B. longum
).
Background
Pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) is a term used to describe failure of visualization of intrauterine or extrauterine gestational sac in a woman with a positive pregnancy test.
Body of ...the abstract
Ectopic pregnancy (EP) accounts for 1–2 % of all pregnancies. EP contributes to maternal mortality of a known cause by 4% in developed countries. However, case fatality rate may be 10 times higher in low-resource countries. This may be attributed to delayed diagnosis and lack of resources. PUL is a temporary term that may eventually lead to diagnosis of viable intrauterine pregnancy, pregnancy loss, or more seriously, EP.
Conclusion
This guideline appraises current evidence on assessment of PUL and early diagnosis of EP particularly in low-resource settings.
Objective
To validate the use of placenta accreta risk—antepartum (PAR‐A) score as a predictive tool of clinical outcomes of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS).
Methods
This is a prospective study, ...conducted in six PAS specialized centers in six different countries. The study was conducted between October 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. Women who were provisionally diagnosed with PAS during pregnancy were considered eligible. A machine‐learning‐based PAR‐A score was calculated. Diagnostic performance of the PAR‐A score was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic curve, for perioperative massive blood loss and admission to intensive care unit (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04525001).
Results
Of 97 eligible women, 86 were included. PAS‐associated massive blood loss occurred in 10 patients (11.63%). Median PAR‐A scores of massive blood loss in the current cohort were 8.9 (interquartile range 6.9–14.1). In predicting massive blood loss, the area under the curve of PAR‐A scores was 0.85 (95% confidence interval CI 0.74–0.95), which was not significantly different from the original cohort (P = 0.2). PAR‐A score prediction of intensive care unit admission was slightly higher compared with the original cohort (0.88, 95% CI 0.81–0.95; P = 0.06).
Conclusion
PAR‐A score is a novel scoring system of PAS outcomes, which showed external validity based on current data.
PAR‐A score is a validated tool that can predict clinical outcomes prenatally in women with placenta accreta spectrum.
Rectovaginal colonization with group B streptococcus (GBS) is commonly encountered in pregnancy. GBS is the most common cause of early onset neonatal sepsis, which is associated with 12% ...case-fatality rate. Although screening protocols and prophylactic treatment are readily available worldwide, practice in low-resource countries is challenged by lack of awareness and limited implementation of these protocols. In addition, antibiotic susceptibility pattern may vary globally owing to different regulations of antibiotic prescription or prevalence of certain bacterial serotypes. This guideline appraises current evidence on screening and management of GBS colonization in pregnancy particularly in low-resource settings.
The use of concentrated coffee extract (CCE) with probiotic bacteria in the production of ice cream was evaluated as an innovative functional dairy food. The most prevalent phenolic compounds and ...B‐complex vitamins in CCE were chlorogenic acid and folic acid, with 7.39 and 4.67 mg/ml, respectively. CCF showed strong antibacterial activity against both gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria as well as fungi. Ice cream formulated with 3% CCE showed higher overrun (41.76%), fat destabilization (15.14%), and melting rate (1.19 g/min). The addition of probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium breve Bb‐12 and Lactobacillus plantarum increased the mixture's viscosity, overrun and melting rate. CCE‐containing ice creams exhibited significant antioxidant activity against the DPPH and ABTS radicals, with the increase being proportional to the CCE content. In comparison to ice cream containing 5% CCE, ice cream containing 3% CCE, with and without probiotic bacteria, had a favorable brown color, a smoother texture, less bitterness, and the desired coffee flavor. It can be concluded that 3% CCE with probiotic bacteria can be used to produce a functional ice cream with the desired coffee flavor and rich in natural bioactive compounds such as phenols and vitamins.
Novelty impact statement
Probiotic coffee ice cream is a functional dairy food that contains necessary nutrients and is rich in phenolic compounds that display strong antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in addition to being supported by probiotic bacteria.
Probiotic coffee ice cream is a distinct type of ice cream with the desired coffee flavor for most consumers and it improves the mental state and helps burn calories.
In addition to its health benefits, the use of probiotic bacteria can improve the mixture's viscosity and increase the overrun of the resulting ice cream.
Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) was grafted with a synthesized monomer, 1‐butyl‐3‐vinylimidazolium bromide (BVIm)Br, and methyl acrylate (MA) to obtain antimicrobial membranes for food packaging. The ...film elasticity increased by increasing BVImBr content while the stress strength values were 3.03 of HEC‐MA, 2.01 of HEC‐MA‐BVImBr‐I, and 0.86 of HEC‐MA‐BVImBr‐II. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum cidal concentrations (MCC) values of the (BVIm)Br monomer were about 30 and 46 mg/ml for gram‐negative bacteria 80 and 60 mg/ml for gram‐positive bacteria. Films retarded the spoilage of Karish cheese without negative effects on lactic acid and probiotic bacteria. Samples with a protein content of 14% with very low fat (0.5%) and ash content (3.6%) make this cheese a good candidate for low‐calorie diets. Free radical activities of ABTS and DPPH solutions were suppressed for all HEC‐grafted substrates. HEC‐grafted films do not impair the starter organisms as panelists liked the treated cheese with acceptable taste and smell.
Novelty impact statement
Non‐leaching polymeric coatings have been employed to provide antimicrobial substrates for food packaging. Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) was grafted with a synthesized monomer, 1‐butyl‐3‐vinylimidazolium bromide (BVIm)Br, and methyl acrylate (MA) to preserve Karish cheese without a negative impact on lactic acid and probiotic bacteria. Sensory panelists liked the coated cheese samples with acceptable taste and smell.
In this study, the production of Bio-Labneh was evaluated after adding microencapsulated probiotic strains (Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium bifidum) with different chickpea flour (1, ...3, and 5%) as a prebiotic agent. The microcapsules were produced by the W1/O/W2 double emulsion technique followed by extrusion using sodium alginate. The yield, morphological, and survival rates of microcapsules after exposure to gastrointestinal juices were determined. The data found the microcapsules had a spherical shape, were uniform, and some cracks were found on the surface. Additionally, the microencapsulated yield ranged between 86.30 and 92.81%, with more viability reaching a count of 6.00 and 6.11 log cfu/g for microcapsules with chickpea flour, and 3 and 5% after gastrointestinal juices. The Bio-Labenh was evaluated for microbiological, chemical, and antioxidant content plus sensory evaluation. The higher probiotic counts were recorded at 21 days for treatment with encapsulated probiotics and 3% chickpea flour, followed by treatments with encapsulated probiotics and 5% glucose as control, and 3% and 1% chickpea flour, respectively. The mold and yeast counts were detected after 2 weeks. The highest values of protein, fat, ash content, antioxidant activity, and lowest pH values were noted in treatment with encapsulated probiotics and 3% chickpea flour. The total sensory score was accepted more for control treatments than for other treatments.
•Production the microcapsules loaded with probiotic and chickpea flour by W1/O/W2.•The microcapsules yield was ranged between 86.30 and 92.81%.•The microencapsulation was protected probiotics against gastrointestinal solutions.•The Bio-Labenh was produced using different prepared microcapsules.•The highest value of protein, fat, ash contents and probiotics was recorded in T3 (microcapsules with 5% chickpea flour).
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