Applying the structural equation model approach to study the simultaneous relationship between women's empowerment and mental disorder in Egypt.

PURPOSE: The main purpose of this paper is to examine whether women's empowerment and mental disorder affect each other in a one-way or two-way simultaneous relationship. Accordingly, the study fills a gap in the literature since it is the first attempt to examine the simultaneous relationship between women's empowerment and mental disorder in Egypt. To achieve this, the study aims to examine the most important dimensions of women's empowerment and mental disorder that affect each other simultaneously, and the most important determinants affecting women's empowerment and mental disorder. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The study depends on the cross-sectional data from the "Survey of Young People in Egypt" implemented in 2014. Married women aged 14-35 are included in the analysis (N = 3052). Recursive and nonrecursive structural equation models are used to examine the simultaneous relationship between women's empowerment and mental disorder using AMOS, which stands for Analysis of Moment Structures (Version 22). RESULTS: Women's education has a positive significant impact on women's empowerment and mental health. Violence has a positive significant impact on mental disorder, while it has a negative impact on women's empowerment. Sexual harassment has a negative impact on treatment with spouse dimension. Regarding the one-way relationship, the results show that the more empowered the woman, the better her mental health is. Considering the two-way simultaneous relationship, the findings show that there is a partial two-way simultaneous relationship. CONCLUSION: There is a relationship between women's empowerment and mental health, indicating that they affect each other simultaneously. Awareness of the importance of psychological counselling and treatment for mental disorders in women is needed.

Saccharopolyspora: an underexplored source for bioactive natural products.

Actinomycetes are a rich source for secondary metabolites with a diverse array of biological activities. Among the various genera of actinomycetes, the genus Saccharopolyspora has long been recognized as a potential source for antibiotics and other therapeutic leads that belong to diverse classes of natural products. Members of the genus Saccharopolyspora have been widely reported from several natural sources including both terrestrial and marine environments. A plethora of this genus has been chemically investigated for the production of novel natural products with interesting pharmacological effects. Therefore, Saccharopolyspora is considered one of the pharmaceutical important genera that could provide further chemical diversity with potential lead compounds. In this review, the literature from 1976 until December 2018 was covered, providing a comprehensive survey of all natural products derived from this genus and their semi-synthetic derivatives along with their biological activities, whenever applicable. Moreover, the biological diversity of Saccharopolyspora species and their habitats were also discussed.

Extreme environments: microbiology leading to specialized metabolites.

The prevalence of multidrug-resistant microbial pathogens due to the continued misuse and overuse of antibiotics in agriculture and medicine is raising the prospect of a return to the preantibiotic days of medicine at the time of diminishing numbers of drug leads. The good news is that an increased understanding of the nature and extent of microbial diversity in natural habitats coupled with the application of new technologies in microbiology and chemistry is opening up new strategies in the search for new specialized products with therapeutic properties. This review explores the premise that harsh environmental conditions in extreme biomes, notably in deserts, permafrost soils and deep-sea sediments select for micro-organisms, especially actinobacteria, cyanobacteria and fungi, with the potential to synthesize new druggable molecules. There is evidence over the past decade that micro-organisms adapted to life in extreme habitats are a rich source of new specialized metabolites. Extreme habitats by their very nature tend to be fragile hence there is a need to conserve those known to be hot-spots of novel gifted micro-organisms needed to drive drug discovery campaigns and innovative biotechnology. This review also provides an overview of microbial-derived molecules and their biological activities focusing on the period from 2010 until 2018, over this time 186 novel structures were isolated from 129 representatives of microbial taxa recovered from extreme habitats.

Characterization of natural bioactive compounds produced by isolated bacteria from compost of aromatic plants.

AIMS: This study aimed to highlight the importance of compost from aromatic plants as a stunning source for several bio active compounds generated from their inhabited thermophilic bacteria. Some of the isolated compounds could have a potential role in the treatment of microbial infections. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of forty different thermophilic bacteria were isolated from compost samples during their thermophilic stage. These isolates were tested for their antimicrobial capabilities against different Gram-positive and -negative bacteria using agar diffusion and double layer agar methods. The potential isolates were further identified based on morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequencing methods. They were subjected to submerged state fermentation and the total crude metabolites were recovered using ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extraction. All bioactive metabolites were identified using liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). It was observed that 2 out of 40 isolates were remarkably active against Gram-positive bacteria. These isolates were genetically identified as Bacillus species and their different active metabolites were characterized in the EtOAc extracts using LC-HRMS. CONCLUSION: Liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of EtOAc extracts revealed the presence of active metabolites that are responsible for antimicrobial activities. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to identify bioactive antimicrobial metabolites from retrieved compost micro-organisms in Egypt. So, compost could be a beneficial area for research as a reliable and continuous natural source for different uncountable communities of bacteria.

Entrepreneurship Education and Social Entrepreneurial Intentions: The Mediating Effects of Entrepreneurial Social Network.

Social entrepreneurship has received considerable recognition from universities in recent years. This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of the entrepreneurial social network on entrepreneurship education and social entrepreneurial intention (SEI) of students at the university level. This study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative approach. A convenience sampling method was utilized to choose 392 students studying at the public and private universities in Chattogram, Bangladesh, who then completed a self-administered survey. The data were then analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurship education and students' social entrepreneurial intention on the one hand and between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial social network on the other hand. It was also found that entrepreneurial social networks had a significantly positive link with students' SEIs. Furthermore, the study found that entrepreneurial social networks significantly mediate the relationship between entrepreneurship education and students' SEI. Based on these outcomes, it is suggested to pay attention to entrepreneurship education further and strengthen the entrepreneurial social network to enhance SEI among students. Research findings have provided valuable insights regarding how entrepreneurship education can significantly impact SEI and emphasize the importance of entrepreneurial social networks as a mediator in social entrepreneurship. This study aims to contribute to the relevant social entrepreneurial literature by providing insights on practical issues related to the role of the entrepreneurial social network at the entrepreneurship education level.

The interplay between eWOM information and purchase intention on social media: Through the lens of IAM and TAM theory.

The maturity and growth of social media have empowered online customers to generate electronic word of mouth (eWOM), on various online websites and platforms, which may influence an individual's decision-making process. This paper explores eWOM information's impact on social media users' purchase intention by applying the information adoption model (IAM) and the technology acceptance model (TAM). PLS-SEM (SmartPLS V.3.3) has been utilized to test the hypotheses using data of 432 respondents. The research findings evinced that eWOM information quality, credibility, usefulness, and ease of use have been critical in determining online consumers' intention to adopt eWOM and form purchase behavior on social media. The study's outcomes offer the marketing managers a viewpoint to realize the significance of the effect of eWOM information on online purchase intention among social media users. Furthermore, the study findings will also enlighten marketing and business managers to utilize social media websites by gauging consumer behavior and focusing on characteristics of eWOM information on social media for better consumer insights.

The impact of COVID-19 on transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients of Karachi, Pakistan: A single-center experience.

OBJECTIVES: With the advent of COVID-19 in Pakistan, the already fragmented blood transfusion services (BTS) received a severe blow, putting the lives of transfusion-dependent thalassemia children on stake. This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 on blood transfusion therapy (BTT) of thalassemia patients and suggest ways to ensure safe and reliable blood supplies amid such health crises. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 (before COVID-19) to July 2020 (during COVID-19) based on the data provided by a thalassemia center, named Help International Welfare Trust, Karachi, Pakistan. SPSS version 24.0 was used for the data analysis. Data were described in the form of means and percentages. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in the consumption of PRBCs bags after the emergence of COVID-19 (P=0.002). Moreover, the number of thalassemia patients receiving BTT was dropped by 10.56% during the pandemic. There was a strong negative correlation observed between the rising cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan and the number of patients missing their therapy sessions (r=-0.914, P=0.030). A considerable decline in the reserves of all Rhesus-negative blood groups amid the COVID-19 outbreak was also observed. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the already suboptimal care catered to thalassemia patients in Karachi, Pakistan. The fear of the virus contraction coupled with the lockdown and restricted mobility has disrupted the entire transfusion chain from donor to the recipient. Collaborated efforts by the government and healthcare authorities are essential to ensure sufficient blood for thalassemia patients amid the pandemic.

Impact of a service provider incentive payment scheme on quality of reproductive and child-health services in Egypt.

A case-control, quasi-experimental study was designed (post-test only) to investigate the effect of a performance-based incentive payment scheme on behaviours of public-sector service providers in delivering a basic package of maternal and child-health services in Egyptian primary healthcare units. The results showed significant improvements in the quality of family-planning, antenatal care, and child-care services as reported by women seen in clinics where the incentive payment scheme was in operation as measured by various indicators, including both technical and inter-personal communication content. An analysis of characteristics of the service providers and clients found no significant or meaningful differences between the study groups, and the facilities of both the study groups were essentially the same. Some findings are suggestive of other influences on behaviours of the service providers not captured by the data-collection instruments of the study. Subsequent to this study, the payment scheme has been rolled out to other districts in Egypt.

Influence of foliar spray of ethephon and water stress on the essential oil composition and impact on the cytotoxic activity of Thymus vulgaris aerial parts.

Thymus vulgaris, (Lamiaceae), essential oils composition and yield, were found to be greatly influenced by water stress and growth enhancers. Therefore, three controlled cultivation conditions were applied to achieve the highest essential oil productivity of T. vulgaris. The essential oils obtained by hydro-distillation of the aerial parts were analyzed using (GC-MS). The tested plant subjected to drought showed a 66% increase in the essential oil yield, while those subjected to drought stress and foliar spray showed 57.1% increase and the regularly irrigated group with foliar spraying showed 23.8% increase relative to the control group. The cytotoxic activity of T. vulgaris essential oils was evaluated against lung (A-549), colon (HCT-116), intestinal (CACO2) and breast (MCF-7) carcinoma using the cell viability assay. The lowest IC50 values 0.44 and 0.33 µg/mL were seen against (HCT-116) and (CACO2) cells respectively. These IC50 values were lower than that of doxorubicin used as reference drug.

Enucleation in a Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus).

Trauma is a common problem in Cownose Ray during mating season in both wild and captive rays. Enucleation is indicated when there is an ocular trauma. A 5-year-old female Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) from Aquaria of Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) was presented to University Veterinary Hospital (UVH), Universiti Putra Malaysia, with a complaint of protruding left eye, which resulted from crushing into artificial coral during mating season. There were a hyphema in the traumatic left eye, periorbital tissue tear, exposed left eye socket, and multiple abrasions on both pectoral fins. The Cownose was anaesthetized and maintained with isoeugenol and on-field emergency enucleation of the left eye was performed. It was managed medically with postoperative enrofloxacin, tobramycin ointment, and povidone iodine. No suture breakdown and secondary infection were observed at day 7 after enucleation during revisit. At day 24 after enucleation, the Cownose responded well to treatment with excellent healing progression and no surgical complication was observed.

Tuning the redox potential of vitamin K3 derivatives by oxidative functionalization using a Ag(i)/GO catalyst.

We propose herein initial results to develop optimum redox mediators by the combination of computational simulation and catalytic functionalization of the core structure of vitamin K3. We aim to correlate the calculated energy value of the LUMO of different vitamin K3 derivatives with their actual redox potential. For this, we optimized the catalytic alkylation of 1,4-naphthoquinones with a designed Ag(i)/GO catalyst and synthesized a series of molecules.

Early indications of ANIT-induced cholestatic liver injury: Alteration of hepatocyte polarization and bile acid homeostasis.

Hepatocyte polarization is essential for biliary secretion, and loss of polarity causes bile secretory failure and hepatotoxicity. Here, we showed that alpha-naphthyl isothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced liver injury was accompanied by the dynamic interruption of bile acid homeostasis in rat plasma, liver and bile, which was characterized by the redistribution of bile acids in plasma and bile and a small range of fluctuations in the liver. Molecular mechanism studies indicated that these factors are dynamically mediated by the disruption of bile acid transporters and hepatic tight junctions. Dynamic changes in tight junction (TJ) permeability were observed by hepatobiliary barrier function assessment. Hepatocyte polarization was disrupted by ANIT before the development of cholestatic hepatotoxicity and alteration of bile acid metabolic profiles, which were assayed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, further verifying TJ deficiency. S1PR1 activation with SEW2871 reduced ANIT-induced liver injury by reducing the total serum bile acid concentration, liver functional enzyme activity and inflammation. Our data suggest that hepatocyte polarization plays an important role in maintaining bile acid homeostasis before the development of cholestatic hepatotoxicity and that TJs were more prominent in the early stage of cholestasis. S1PR1 may be a potential target for the prevention of drug-induced cholestatic liver injury.

Roles of manganese and iron in the regulation of the biosynthesis of manganese-superoxide dismutase in Escherichia coli.

Aerobic life-style offers both benefits and risks to living cells. The major risk comes from the formation of reactive oxygen intermediates (i.e. superoxide radical, O2-; hydrogen peroxide, H2O2; and hydroxyl radical, OH.) during normal oxygen metabolism. However, living cells are able to cope with oxygen toxicity by virtue of a unique set of antioxidant enzymes that scavenge O2- and H2O2, and prevent the formation OH.. Superoxide dismutases (SODs; EC 1.15.1.1) are metalloenzymes essential for aerobic survival. Escherichia coli contains two forms of this enzyme: an iron-containing enzyme (FeSOD) and a manganese-containing enzyme (MnSOD). In E. coli, MnSOD biosynthesis is under rigorous control. The enzyme is induced in response to a variety of environmental stress conditions including exposure to oxygen, redox cycling compounds such as paraquat which exacerbate the level of intracellular superoxide radicals, iron chelation (i.e. iron deprivation), and oxidants. A model for the regulation of the MnSOD has been proposed in which the MnSOD gene (sodA) is negatively regulated at the level of transcription by an iron-containing redox-sensitive repressor protein. The effect of iron-chelation most probably results in removal of the iron necessary for repressor activity. Recent studies have shown that sodA expression is regulated by three iron-dependent regulatory proteins, Fur (ferric uptake regulation), Fnr (fumarate nitrate regulation) and SoxR (superoxide regulon), and by the ArcA/ArcB (aerobic respiration control) system. The potential Fur-, Fnr- and ArcA-binding sites in the sodA promoter region have been identified by using different cis-acting regulatory mutations that caused anaerobic derepression of the gene.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Transcriptional activation of Mn-superoxide dismutase gene (sodA) of Escherichia coli by MnCl2.

Transcription of the manganese-superoxide dismutase gene (sodA) in Escherichia coli was shown to be activated by manganese. Addition of MnCl2 increased the expression of beta-galactosidase from a sodA::lacZ protein fusion and increased the concentration of mRNA transcribed from sodA+ and sodA::lacZ constructs. The stimulatory affect of manganese on the expression of sodA::lacZ was greatly reduced (i.e., > 90%) in a strain harboring a fur mutation. We also found that manganese was capable of altering DNA topology. These results show that Mn2+ causes activation of sodA transcription.

Long-term prospective study of body composition and lipid profiles during and after growth hormone (GH) treatment in children with GH deficiency: gender-specific metabolic effects.

GH has many effects on metabolism in addition to promoting growth. We studied changes in body composition and lipid profiles during and after GH treatment in 94 children with GH deficiency. Sixty-two subjects (46 boys and 16 girls) were evaluated at the beginning and during 36 months of GH treatment. The other 32 (21 boys and 11 girls) who had already been treated with GH were examined after the discontinuation of GH for a 6-month period. The height SD scores at the beginning and the discontinuation of GH treatment were -2.81 and -1.34 in boys and -3.14 and -1.38 in girls, respectively. The percent body fat (BF) significantly decreased from 16.5% to 11.7% in boys and from 16.7% to 11.6% in girls during the first 6 months of GH treatment (P < 0.01). BF subsequently remained constant in boys, but started to increase in girls from the 18th month of treatment. Lean body mass (kilograms) increased linearly throughout the treatment in both sexes (P < 0.01). Mean total cholesterol (TC) values decreased as a result of marked declines in low density lipoprotein cholesterol in both sexes, although statistical significance was detected only in boys (P < 0.01). High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC) and apolipoprotein AI (Apo-AI) rapidly increased only in boys (P < 0.01). Triglyceride, Apo-AII, Apo-B, Apo-CII, Apo-CIII, Apo-E, and lipoprotein(a) showed no significant changes compared with baseline levels. Mean TC/HDLC and Apo-B/Apo-AI ratios decreased during treatment in both sexes, but the difference from baseline was significant only in boys (P < 0.01). After discontinuation of GH treatment, BF increased, and lean body mass decreased in boys (P < 0.01), whereas these variables did not change in girls. TC and low density lipoprotein cholesterol increased in boys within 6 months of discontinuing GH (P < 0.05). Other lipoproteins did not change in either sex, except for lipoprotein(a), which decreased significantly 6 months after the cessation of GH treatment in boys (P < 0.01). The mean TC/HDLC and Apo-B/Apo-AI ratios increased in boys slightly, but insignificantly. We concluded that GH treatment has beneficial effects on body composition and lipid profiles in both boys and girls with GH deficiency, although there are considerable gender differences. These beneficial effects of GH were reversed after the discontinuation of GH treatment, suggesting an important role of GH for GH-deficient children in the maintenance of normal metabolism even after the completion of linear growth.

Biosynthesis and regulation of superoxide dismutases.

The past two decades have witnessed an explosion in our understanding of oxygen toxicity. The discovery of superoxide dismutases (SODs) (EC.1.15.1.1), which specifically catalyze the dismutation of superoxide radicals (O2-) to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and oxygen, has indicated that O2- is a normal and common byproduct of oxygen metabolism. There is an increasing evidence to support the conclusion that superoxide radicals play a major role in cellular injury, mutagenesis, and many diseases. In all cases SODs have been shown to protect the cells against these deleterious effects. Recent advances in molecular biology and the isolation of different SOD genes and SOD c-DNAs have been useful in proving beyond doubt the physiological function of the enzyme. The biosynthesis of SODs, in most biological systems, is under rigorous controls. In general, exposure to increased pO2, increased intracellular fluxes of O2-, metal ions perturbation, and exposures to several environmental oxidants have been shown to influence the rate of SOD synthesis in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Recent developments in the mechanism of regulation of the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase of Escherichia coli will certainly open new research avenues to better understand the regulation of SODs in other organisms.

Role of oxyradicals in the inactivation of catalase by ozone.

The antioxidant enzymes, catalase and superoxide dismutase, are inactivated upon exposure to ozone. In this study, the mechanism of this inactivation was examined using catalase as a model system. The data show that the inactivation of catalase is dependent on ozone concentration, time of exposure, and pH. Loss of catalase activity is accompanied with loss of the heme spectra. Tiron, desferal-Mn, trolox-c, and pyruvate protect the enzyme against ozone inactivation. SOD is less effective due to its inactivation by ozone. On the other hand, alcohols do not provide significant protection. The data suggest the possible involvement of superoxide radicals in the inactivation of catalase by ozone.

Stability of Escherichia coli sodA mRNA and identification of the transcriptional start site(s) under different environmental and oxidative stresses.

Manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD-sodA) in Escherichia coli (E. coli) is regulated at the transcriptional level as observed in studies using both operon and gene fusions. In this paper we examine the regulation of sodA gene at the level of mRNA. We examine the effects of several aerobic inducing conditions (i.e., nalidixic acid, paraquat, or 2,2'-dipyridyl) on mRNA stability, transcription initiation, and translation. The half-life of sodA mRNA was found to be approximately 3-4 min, showing no differences in mRNA stability between induced and uninduced cells. We also found, by reverse transcriptase, that the second putative promoter is not functional under normal or stress conditions, and the amount of mRNA was found to be proportional to active MnSOD. Thus, these results indicate that under oxidative stress/inducing conditions, the increase in aerobic transcription of sodA occurs from only one transcription start site without affecting the stability of sodA mRNA. In addition, the 1:1 ratio found between increases in sodA mRNA and active MnSOD suggests that no translational regulation occurs aerobically.

Mechanism of regulation of 8-hydroxyguanine endonuclease by oxidative stress: roles of FNR, ArcA, and Fur.

We found previously that 8-hydroxyguanine (oh8Gua) endonuclease in E. coli is induced in response to oxidative stress in a fashion similar to the oxidative response of the Mn-superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). In this study, attempts were made to identify the genes involved in the co-regulation of E. coli endonuclease and MnSOD (sodA). oh8Gua nuclease is induced by molecular oxygen and a superoxide radical generator (paraquat) but not by H2O2, suggesting that the regulation of this endonuclease is dependent on SoxRS but independent of OxyR. This enzyme was induced by paraquat in all of the soxRS mutant strains used (soxR-, soxS- and soxRc), whereas glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (a member of the soxRS regulon) showed the expected responses; therefore, this possibility was excluded. The presence of metal chelators in the growth medium caused the induction of this enzyme, and this induction was suppressed by the addition of Fe++. Consistent with this finding, this enzyme was expressed under anaerobiosis in all of the mutant strains of fnr in particular, as well as fur, arcA, and combinations thereof. These findings suggest that the oxidative regulation of oh8Gua endonuclease is under control of fnr, fur, and arcA, where fnr plays a predominant role. The multiple involvement of regulatory genes as well as co-regulation with antioxidant enzyme will enhance the efficiency of cellular growth and survival in the aerobic environment.

Antibacterial activity of plantaricin SIK-83, a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum.

Lactobacillus plantarum SIK-83 produces a bacteriocin, designated plantaricin SIK-83, which inhibits 66 of 68 lactic acid bacteria from the genera Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, Pediococcus and Streptococcus. A 500-fold dilution of L. plantarum SIK-83 MRS culture supernatant with phosphate buffer was sufficient to kill 10(5) cells/ml of Pediococcus pentosaceus within 120 s. The killing of a sensitive population followed exponential kinetics. It was shown that the bacteriocin binds specifically to sensitive cells but not to nonsensitive lactic acid bacteria, the producer strain or Gram-negative bacteria. Sensitive cells, after exposure to the bacteriocin, could be rescued by treatment with proteolytic enzymes. In buffer, plantaricin SIK-83 was adsorbed to the cell surface almost immediately, and morphological lesions were observed within 2 h after the cells were exposed to the bacteriocin. The lethal mode of action appeared to be due to damage to the cell membrane, resulting in cell lysis, which was detected by electron microscopy and by determination of released intracellular components.