MATERIALS AND METHODS: Matured, healthy and disease-free leaves of Eucalyptus globulus were collected. The leaves were washed under tap water and finally dried in an oven at a temperature of 45°C for 48 hours. The dried plants were ground in an electric blender to make them into a powder. The powder was mixed with 100% ethanol and kept it inside a shaker overnight at 35°C. The mixture was centrifuged for 10 minutes at 2,500 rpm. Three different concentrations (10%, 50%, and 100% v/v) were used as antibacterial agents. Chlorhexidine (0.2%) was considered as positive control and dimethyl formamide was considered as negative control against P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans. The disc diffusion method was used to determine the extract's antibacterial activity against the test organisms. A digital Vernier caliper was used to measure the diameter of antibacterial activity showing the zone of inhibition in millimeters.
RESULTS: Eucalyptus globulus with 100% concentration showed a maximum zone of inhibition against A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis (5.38 ± 0.32 mm, 4.82 ± 0.11 mm) followed by 50% and 10% accordingly. The negative control of dimethyl formamide showed a zone of inhibition of 0.48 ± 0.96 mm and 0.63 ± 0.20 mm against A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis. The positive control of 0.2% chlorhexidine showed a zone of inhibition of 8.46 ± 1.02 mm and 7.18 ± 0.54 mm against A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis. The ANOVA test showed a highly significant antibacterial efficacy in 0.2% chlorhexidine and 100% concentration Eucalyptus globulus.
CONCLUSION: A significant maximum zone of inhibition against A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis was showed by 100% concentration of Eucalyptus globulus.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Other than the systemic diseases treatment, Eucalyptus globulus also serves as an effective promising alternative to antibiotics in the prevention of oral infections because of the natural phytochemicals existing in them.
Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine in Rabigh, King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. The study included 197 medical students from Rabigh and Jeddah branches of the university. The study employed a Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Questionnaire which is derived from a self-administered validated GERD questionnaire (GerdQ).
Results: The prevalence of GERD symptoms was 25.9%. The most frequent symptoms were regurgitation and burning sensation. High BMI, family history, energy drinks and fried food were found to be statistically significant risk factors (p<0.05) by univariate analysis. However, the logistic regression for the prediction of GERD symptoms among medical students showed that only family history had a significant correlation (p<0.05).
Conclusion: GERD symptoms were common in medical students of King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Family history was found to be a significant predictor of GERD symptoms. Effective educational strategies for groups with significant risk factors of GERD need to be implemented.
OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to prepare caffeoylquinic acids rich and poor fractions of the ethanolic extract using resin column technology and compare their antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant potentials.
RESULTS: Among the treatment groups, caffeoylquinic acids rich fraction (F2) and chlorogenic acid (CA, one of the major caffeoylquinic acids) showed potent antihyperlipidemic effects, with significant reductions in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C), atherogenic index (AI) and coronary risk index (CRI) (p<0.01 or better) compared to the hyperlipidemic control at the 58 h. The effect was better than that of ethanolic extract. In addition, only F2 significantly increased the high-density lipoproteincholesterol (HDL-C) level (p<0.05). F2 showed better effect than CA alone (60 mg) despite the fact that it only contained 9.81 mg CA/1000 mg dose. The findings suggest that the di-caffeoylquinic acids (86.61 mg/g dose) may also in part be responsible for the potent antihyperlipidemic effect shown by the F2. Likewise, F2 showed the highest antioxidant activity. Thus, simple fractionation of ethanolic extract using the Amberlite XAD-2 resin technique had successfully enriched the caffeoylquinic acids into F2 with improved antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant capacities than that of the ethanolic extract.
CONCLUSION: The resin separation technology may find application in caffeoylquinic acids enrichment of plant extracts for pre-clinical studies. The F2 has potential for development into phytopharmaceuticals as adjunct therapy for management of hyperlipidemia.
METHODS: We recruited and analyzed SARS-CoV-2-infected adult patients (age ≥18 years) who were admitted to the ICU at Jaber Al-Ahmad Al Sabah Hospital, Kuwait, between March 1, 2020, and April 30, 2020. The risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality were assessed using multiple regression analysis.
RESULTS: We recruited a total of 103 ICU patients in this retrospective cohort. The median age of the patients was 53 years and the fatality rate was 45.6%; majority (85.5%) were males and 37% patients had more than 2 comorbidities. Preexisting hypertension, moderate/severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, lymphocyte count <0.5 × 109, serum albumin <22 g/L, procalcitonin >0.2 ng/mL, D-dimer >1,200 ng/mL, and the need for continuous renal replacement therapy were significantly associated with mortality.
CONCLUSION: This study describes the clinical characteristics and risk factors for mortality among ICU patients with CO-VID-19. Early identification of risk factors for mortality might help improve outcomes.
METHODS: Data from existing country surveillance systems on diarrhea, acute watery diarrhea, suspected cholera and/or confirmed cholera in nine selected Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) from 2011 to 2015 (or 2016, when available) were collated. We reviewed annual cholera reports from WHO and searched PubMed and/or ProMED to complement data, where information is not completely available.
RESULTS: From 2011 to 2016, confirmed cholera cases were identified in at least one year of the 5- or 6-year period in the countries included. Surveillance for cholera exists in most countries, but cases are not always reported. India reported the most number of confirmed cases with a mean of 5964 cases annually. The mean number of cases per year in the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal and Thailand were 760, 592, 285, 264, 148 and 88, respectively. Cambodia and Vietnam reported 51 and 3 confirmed cholera cases in 2011, with no subsequent reported cases.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We present consolidated results of available surveillance in nine Asian countries and supplemented these with publication searches. There is paucity of readily accessible data on cholera in these countries. We highlight the continuing existence of the disease even in areas with improved sanitation and access to safe drinking water. Continued vigilance and improved surveillance in countries should be strongly encouraged.