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Cinnamon is one of the herbal resources belonging to the Lauraceae family, is commonly used in traditional medicine and as a flavoring agent. It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefore, the present study was performed to evaluate the gastroprotective effect of cinnamon on ethanol-induced gastric ulcer in comparison to omeprazole. In Wistar rats, gastric ulcers were induced using one oral dose of 70% ethanol (5 ml/kg b. w.) Cinnamon oil at doses of 2.5 ml/kg body weight and omeprazole (a reference drug) at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight were orally administrated daily for 7 days before ulcer induction. 1 h after ethanol administration blood samples were collected and then the stomachs of sacrificed rats were subjected to biochemical, macroscopic and histological, and immunohistochemical studies. Oral administration of cinnamonoil significantly attenuated gastric ulcer as revealed by a significant increase in the gastric levels of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants namely CAT, SOD, GSH-Px, and GSH with a concomitant reduction in MDA level compared with those in the ethanol group. Pre-treatment of cinnamonoil markedly improved the level of TNF-α and PGE content. Furthermore, cinnamonoil pre-treatment significantly increased the immunoreactivity of VEGF while decreasing the immunoreactivity of COX-II. These results were further supported by histopathological findings which revealed the curing effect of cinnamonoil on the microscopic changes induced by ethanol toxicity. Cinnamonoil showed a potential gastroprotective effect on ethanol-induced gastric ulcer comparable to the gastroprotective effect of omeprazole, and its effect may be mediated through suppression of oxidative stress and gastric inflammation and promotion of angiogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Axillary nodal status is crucial for the management of cases with recently diagnosed breast cancer; usually addressed via axillary ultrasonography (US) along with tissue sampling in case of suspicion. Axillary nodal dissection and sentinel biopsy may be done, but are rather invasive, carrying a potential complication risk, which raises the need for non-invasive, reliable, pre-operative axillary imaging. We aimed at evaluating the performance of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) regarding preoperative axillary evaluation, using functional information derived from diffusion capacity differences between benign and malignant tissue. We included 77 axillary nodes from 77 patients (age range 20–78 years, mean 50 ± 12.6 SD) in our prospective study, presenting with variable clinical breast complaints, all scoring BIRADS 4/5 on sonomammography (SM). They underwent axillary evaluation by both US and DW-MRI where US classified nodes into benign, indeterminate, or malignant by evaluating nodal size, shape, cortical thickness, and hilar fat. Qualitative DWI classified them into either restricted or not and a cut-off apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value was calculated to differentiate benign and malignant nodal involvement. Results for each modality were correlated to those of final histopathology, which served as the standard of reference. Results: The calculated sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV for US was 100%, 36.6%, 75.3%, 71.2%, and 100%, respectively. Statistical indices for qualitative DWI were 76.6%, 63.3%, 76.6%, 63.3%, and 71.4%, respectively (P value < 0.001). The calculated cut off value for ADC between infiltrated and non-infiltrated nodes was 0.95 × 10−3 mm2/s concluding statistical indices of 76.6%, 63.3%, 76.6%, 63.3%, and 71.4%, respectively (P value < 0.001). Conclusion: Combining DW-MRI to conventional US improves diagnostic specificity and overall accuracy of preoperative axillary evaluation of patients with recently discovered breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Body dissatisfaction is an important component of a variety of prevalent health problems. This study aimed to assess the media influences on body dissatisfaction among female college students.Subjects and methods: This study included a sample of 408 adolescent females who were chosen randomly from Minia University and completed a survey using the the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale (SATAQ-4) and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) in the period from 1 March to 1 April 2017. In addition, their body mass index (BMI) was measured.Results: It was found that adolescents who showed marked concern with body shape had higher SATAQ-4 scores. The independent variables (BMI, SATAQ total score and its subscales) explained 58% of the variance in body shape dissatisfaction. The most significant predictors of body dissatisfaction were BMI and subjective feelings of media pressure to have an ideal appearance (β = 0.38 and 0.31, respectively).Conclusion: There was a relation between media influence and body dissatisfaction in this sample of Egyptian female students. Media literacy training could represent a promising approach to eating and body disturbance prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of the study was to show the value of combination of conventional MRI with DWI to raise the sensitivity and specificity considering the differentiation between pancreatic benign and malignant lesions. Patients and methods Study included 30 patients performed in the radiology department, Cairo University, as well as in a private center: 21 males and 9 females. Age of patients ranged between 27 and 76 years. The study was performed between August 2012 and April 2014. Patients were subjected to proper history taking, conventional MRI and DWI. Result In our study using combined qualitative analysis of diffusion weighted imaging and quantitative analysis of ADC values we found that results of diffusion weighted MRI are approaching that of contrast enhanced MRI not only in detecting pancreatic tumors but also in detection of tumor necrosis and liver metastasis which are essential information to reflect disease prognosis and treatment strategies. Conclusion Conventional MRI in combination with functional diffusion weighted imaging gave us helpful information regarding the characterization of pancreatic benign and malignant lesions. Diffusion weighted imaging may detect small masses better than conventional MRI although it has poor spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]