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Acne is a prevalent dermatological disease, with high global incidence, and is a health menace. The current study aimed to isolate and characterize the anaerobic bacteria responsible for the condition. Causes of a total of 70 acne-based bacterium isolates obtained from patients of mild, moderate, and severe acne, 24 were Clostridium innocuum, 21 were Lactobacillus plantarum, 13 were Anaerococcus prevotii, and 12 were Peptoniphilus asaccharolyticus. Nearly 69% of males were suffering, while the rest were females at 31%. The 15-30 years old age group was the most affected. The gold/alginate nanoparticles' nanopreparation (GANPs) produced from chloroauric acid and sodium alginate was an effective treatment against the acne conditions under the experimental conditions. The nanopreparation exhibited significant inhibitory activity against anaerobic bacterial isolates, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 200 µg/ml for A. prevotii and P. asaccharolyticus, and 400 µg/ml for C. innocuum and L. plantarum. The in vitro efficacy of the GANPs on human blood parameters was also assessed. The concurrent results suggested potential antibacterial activity and hemocompatibility of the product, which has promise to be used as a successful antibacterial agent for acne., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: The aim: To predict the effect of COVID-19 virus on the incidence of the renal damage., Patients and Methods: Materials and methods: A case-control study was designed and one hundred and twenty individual had been included, 60 were healthy volunteer without COVID disease and another 60 suffer from viral infection particularly COVID-19 (there diagnosis was based on the PCR results: the real time type of the PCR) and shows a clinical manifestation of renal abnormality. Both of the healthy and COVID individuals were further divided to males and females in order to predict the effect of the gender that might be related to correlation of renal with a COVID disease. Data and the result obtained from the blood sample was analyzed for measurement of the uric acid, urea, creatinine at Jabr Ibn Hayyan Medical University, Faculty of Medicine and the results obtained was statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 20., Results: Results: data showed that about half of the result obtained showed the renal damage and the other is unrelated to the viral infection. Male are more exposed to the renal abnormalities caused by the viral infection than the females, no correlation were seen between the difference of the gender in relation to the viral infection and so in relation to the renal damage., Conclusion: Conclusions: COVID-19 is one of the main prognostic factor that could induce an irreversible renal damage. This damage might be varied between acute to a chronic result that might ends with renal failure and death of the patient.

The effects of the hypocaloric diet under hospitalization on blood biochemical parameters (lipid, glycaemic, thyroid and liver profiles) were not reported in literature. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a hypocaloric diet under hospitalisation in obese patients. A total of 151 obese subjects (49 males and 102 females, aged 69.38 ± 14.1 years, BMI 41.78 ± 7.1) were enrolled in this study. Participants were treated with an hypocaloric diet for a maximum period of 3 months. Outcomes were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the recovery period. The average duration of the hospitalisation was 47.5 days ± 1.3. The effect of the diet on all the outcomes was evaluated using the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and the predictors of weight loss were identified using linear regression. The diet induced a reduction in the anthropometric (BMI decrease of -2.713 points) and DXA body measurements in addition to serum lipids, glucose, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels without affecting the muscle mass, liver and thyroid profiles. During the intervention, there was a positive shift in body composition favouring fat free mass (FFM). Lower insulin but higher serum calcium and potassium levels were predictors of weight loss., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Background: The association between multiple risk factors and the mortality of sarcopenic patients has not been studied. This study's aim is to report the prevalence of sarcopenia among a sample of Italian hospitalized older adults, describe the physical function, body fat composition, cognitive, inflammatory and nutritional status of sarcopenic compared with non-sarcopenic subjects, and determine the risk factors associated with mortality in sarcopenic patients., Method: A total of 462 patients were enrolled and followed up for a period of 5 years. Sarcopenia was diagnosed according to the EWGSOP2 criteria. Factors associated with sarcopenia were identified with linear regression analysis. Logistic regression was applied to explore the association between the risk factors and mortality in sarcopenic subjects. Survival analyses and predictors of mortality were identified using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression., Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia was 33.5%. Linear regression showed that sarcopenia was associated with Barthel index (B -9.63, p0.004), BMI (B -3.19, p<0.001) and android fat (B 1.85, p0.004). Of these factors, only the number of co-morbidities (OR 1.394 C95% 1.023-1.862 p 0.025) and MMSE scores (OR 0.857 C95% 0.79-0.930 p <0.001) were associated with mortality in sarcopenia. Kaplan-Meier and the log-rank tests showed the negative prognostic effect of low BMI (p0.007), albumin (p<0.001) and Barthel index (p 0.018). The Cox regression showed that mortality hazard is reduced with BMI >24.9 (HR 0.287 C95% 0.095-0.866 p 0.027)., Conclusion: Sarcopenia is associated with low physical function and BMI but higher android fat. Low Barthel, BMI and albumin can significantly decrease the survival rate in sarcopenic patients. Whereas BMI >24.9 is associated with lower mortality hazard., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To identify the occurrence rate of thyroid ultrasound abnormalities in asymptomatic subjects, and describe the features of detected nodules among university students., Methods: The study is based on an observational research design that was conducted from April 2015 to May 2015. The study included 166 individuals, aged between 19 and 23 years. The subjects had their glands examined by ultrasound (US) scanning, using Philips ultrasound machine (5-12 MHz linear transducer)., Results: We recruited 90 (57.8%) females and 76 (42.2%) males without any indications of thyroid disease. Data estimated that 41 (24.7%) subjects had positive results on thyroid disease screening, 24 (70.6%) participants had solitary nodules, and 10 (29.4%) had multiple nodules. Thirty-four subjects revealed nodular presentation in the screening, among which 24 (70.6%) indicated solitary nodules and 10 (29.4%) had multiple nodules. Among 3 subjects, who indicated hypoechoic nodules, 2 (66.7%) underwent US-fine needle aspiration biopsy and received histological confirmation that they had papillary carcinomas., Conclusion: Ultrasonography is a useful and effective technique for screening thyroid related diseases, and can be utilized as a routine practice for general population screening.

Aim: Playing music during painful procedures has shown inconsistent benefits for preterm infants. This study observed preterm infants during a heel stick procedure to assess whether listening to the music their mothers listened to during pregnancy had any impact on their pain and physiological and behavioural parameters., Methods: We randomly exposed 42 preterm infants, with a mean gestational age of 31.8 ± 2.79 weeks, to the music their mothers listened to during pregnancy, recorded lullabies and no music, before, during and after a heel stick. Pain responses were measured using the Neonatal Pain, Agitation and Sedation Scale (N-PASS), and physiological and behavioural responses were recorded by a nurse blinded to the intervention., Results: N-PASS pain scores were lowest during mothers' music, with a mean of 1.40 (±1.28), compared to 2.33 (±1.64) for no music and 1.62 (±2.27) for the lullabies [F(3/121) = 4.86, p = 0.009]. Physiological parameters were not significantly different between the conditions. During the mothers' music, infants spent more time in a quiet alert state, with a significant decrease in their respiratory rates., Conclusion: The music mothers listened to during pregnancy was more beneficial for preterm infants, as it decreased pain and improved behavioural states during a heel stick., (©2016 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Purpose: To determine if a foam septum protector prevents nasal injury in preterm infants receiving nasal heated humidified oxygen., Design: A retrospective before and after comparative design was used., Sample: Medical records of 101 preterm infants receiving either nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) or nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) were reviewed; 50 were in the control group and 51 were in the intervention group that had the NeoSeal septum protector applied. The groups were not different in terms of gender, birth weight, gestational age, days intubated, or on days on NCPAP/NIPPV. Skin condition of nares was scored daily using the Neonatal Skin Risk Assessment Scale (NSRAS)., Results: Infants who had the NeoSeal applied had significantly less nasal injuries, OR = 4.08; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.22-9.59; p = .01. The best predictors of nasal injury were gestational age and whether the NeoSeal was applied or not.

Background: The adequacy and timing of complementary feeding of the breastfed child are critical for optimal child growth and development.Considerable efforts have been made to improve complementary feeding in the first 2 years of life. One of them was the WHO complementary feeding counseling course (CFC)., Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the WHO CFC on knowledge and counseling abilities of primary healthcare physicians; on caretaker's knowledge and adherence to physicians' recommendations and their feeding practices; and on children's growth., Participants and Interventions: A single-blinded randomized-controlled study was carried out in 40 primary healthcare centers divided into matched pairs according to their location, either in rural or urban areas, and training of the selected physicians on integrated management of childhood illness. One center from each pair was selected randomly for its physician to receive CFC training in nutrition counseling and the matched center was selected as a control. Forty primary healthcare center physicians and 480 mother-child (6-18 months) pairs were included in the study. The mother-child pairs recruited were visited at home within 2 weeks, 90, and 180 days after the initial consultation with trained health workers. Special questionnaires were used to collect information on healthcare providers' knowledge of nutrition counseling and practice (counseling skills); maternal knowledge of basic nutrition-counseling recommendations, maternal compliance with the recommended feeding practice; child dietary intake; and gains in weight and length., Results: CFC-trained physicians were more likely to engage in nutrition counseling and to deliver more appropriate advice. This was reflected in improvements in maternal recall of complementary feeding messages, which were higher in the intervention group compared with the control group. Six months after the consultation, children in the intervention group had significantly greater weight gains compared with the control group (0.96 vs. 0.78 kg; P=0.038). Children in the intervention group, who were 12-18 months of age at the time of recruitment, had significantly less faltering in length gain compared with the control group (height/age Z-score; 0.23 vs. 0.04; P=0.004)., Conclusion and Recommendations: Nutrition counseling training improved counseling abilities of primary healthcare physicians and led to improvements in mothers' knowledge and practices of complementary feeding. In turn, this led to improved growth of children. We recommend wide and regular utilization of the CFC course to improve the knowledge and skills of health workers who provide counseling to mothers for complementary feeding.