Retraction: Gastric Volvulus: A Rare Etiology of Acute Chest Pain.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.19067.].

The Association of Smoking and Coffee Consumption With Occurrence of Upper Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Patients With Active Helicobacter pylori Infection in Jazan City: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a severe infection responsible for upper gastrointestinal symptoms (UGISs). Several causes of H. pylori infection include food ingestion and person-to-person transmission. Many lifestyle variables can affect the occurrence of UGISs such as coffee consumption and smoking. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between smoking and coffee consumption and the occurrence of UGISs in patients with active H. pylori infection in Jazan city in Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used to conduct the study between July 2022 and August 2022 in Jazan, southern Saudi Arabia. Male and female Saudis or non-Saudis ≥ 18 years of age with an active H. pylori infection were included. Participants under 18 years or without active H. pylori infection were excluded. Data were collected from participants using the convenience sampling technique and a structured questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire evaluated social and demographic factors such as age, sex, place of residence, nationality, and educational level; the second part evaluated smoking and coffee-drinking habits. Furthermore, frequencies and percentages represented categorical variables. A continuous variable was converted to a categorical variable. The relationship between different variables is tested using the Chi-square test. RESULT: The total number of respondents who completed the questionnaire was 1225, with only 422 having H. pylori entries in this study. There were 290 (68.7%) men and only 132 (31.3%) women among them; the majority were young adults (18-20 years old). More than half of the participants (53%) never smoked, 23% were active smokers, and 23% were former smokers. Around 27.1% smoke five cigarettes a day and 12.6% smoke five to 15 cigarettes a day. Three-hundred (71.1%) of the participants drank coffee. 23.9% indicated that they did not drink coffee. Of those who take coffee, more than half (51.7%) take fewer than three cups daily and 25.6% take approximately three to five cups of coffee per day. Our findings indicate a link between coffee consumption and UGISs (p = 0.00), while smoking did not have a significant relationship with UGISs (p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: Our research showed that drinking coffee was related to UGISs, but smoking was not found in people with active H. pylori infection. In smokers, UGISs increased substantially, but not significantly. We need real-world research to identify the association between coffee consumption and UGISs. In addition, we need to educate people at risk for UGISs to reduce coffee, smoking, and other risk factors.

Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

The aim of this study was to measure anxiety levels and many co-factors that might influence the levels of anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak in southern Saudi Arabia (KSA). A cross-sectional self-reporting survey was conducted to determine the level of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms related to COVID-19 and quarantining. We selected a convenience sample of eligible participants who had been invited online through social media apps. The survey instrument was distributed, and 981 participants responded. Of the total sample, almost 90% were under the age of 40, 75% were women, and 77% had an educational level beyond high school. Just over half were single, with nearly all participants Saudi nationals. The overall prevalence of anxiety related to COVID-19 was 27%. Factors most strongly related to reporting anxiety included having a diagnosis of COVID-19, spending 1- ≥ 3 h focused on COVID-19, having a previous mental illness history, being a current or former smoker, being female, having a previous diagnosis of chronic or respiratory illness, being below age 40, having a limited standard of living, and being a student. Our study reveals how critical it is to emphasize preventive mental health care during pandemics and what factors may make some individuals most vulnerable to anxiety. Further research is recommended to examine GAD levels pre, during and post pandemic. Additional research to explore the long-term impact of the pandemic on mental health is also needed. being a student, and a limited standard of living.

Gastric Volvulus: A Rare Etiology of Acute Chest Pain.

Chest pain is one of the most common complaints in the emergency department. The etiologies of chest pain include a wide spectrum of conditions, ranging from mild and self-limited to life-threatening conditions. Gastrointestinal origins of acute chest pain, including esophageal, gastric, and biliary conditions, are not uncommon. We present the case of a 67-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with chest pain of three hours duration with pressure-like quality. The pain was associated with sweating, palpitation, nausea, and vomiting. The past medical history of the patient was remarkable for ischemic heart disease and percutaneous cardiac intervention. Both the electrocardiograph and cardiac biomarkers were normal. The patient experienced severe episodes of vomiting with one episode containing a small amount of blood. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed distorted anatomy of the stomach. Subsequently, the patient underwent a computed tomography scan which demonstrated an organoaxial gastric volvulus. The patient was resuscitated and underwent laparoscopic repair of the volvulus. Acute gastric volvulus is a very rare etiology of chest pain. Despite its rarity, physicians should keep a high index of suspicion of this condition after excluding the possible cardiac causes of chest pain.

Overview of the testing and assessment of effects of microbial pesticides on bees: strengths, challenges and perspectives.

Currently, there is a growing interest in developing biopesticides and increasing their share in the plant protection market as sustainable tools in integrated pest management (IPM). Therefore, it is important that regulatory requirements are consistent and thorough in consideration of biopesticides' unique properties. While microbial pesticides generally have a lower risk profile, they present special challenges in non-target organism testing and risk assessment since, in contrast to chemical pesticides, their modes of action include infectivity and pathogenicity rather than toxicity alone. For this reason, non-target organism testing guidelines designed for conventional chemical pesticides are not necessarily directly applicable to microbial pesticides. Many stakeholders have recognised the need for improvements in the guidance available for testing microbial pesticides with honey bees, particularly given the increasing interest in development and registration of microbial pesticides and concerns over risks to pollinators. This paper provides an overview of the challenges with testing and assessment of the effects of microbial pesticides on honey bees (Apis mellifera), which have served as a surrogate for both Apis and non-Apis bees, and provides a foundation toward developing improved testing methods.

Development of a mechanical sexing system to improve the efficacy of an area-wide sterile insect release programme to control American serpentine leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in Canadian ornamental greenhouses.

BACKGROUND: American serpentine leafminer (ASL), Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess), is a significant pest of greenhouse ornamental crops, and females damage leaf tissue with their ovipositor during feeding and oviposition. The sterile insect technique has been advocated as a non-chemical alternative to currently available control methods. In area-wide sterile insect release programmes, males act as true vectors of sterility. Females should be eliminated from a cohort of pupae prior to irradiation to maximise production economics and sterility spread. The aim of this research was to develop a mechanical sexing system based on pupal size to reduce the proportion of ASL females. RESULTS: Cumulative frequency distributions were used to examine significant differences in male and female pupal length and dorsal and lateral width distributions. Optimum size cut-off points based on the largest differences in distribution curves were used to determine the dimensions of three different sieve designs. Sieve pores measuring 1.543 mm by 0.765 mm excluded 76% of female pupae and doubled the proportion of males in the throughput sample. CONCLUSION: Pupal sexual dimorphisms identified in this research can be used to design a sieve to aid in reducing the proportion of females prior to irradiation, thus improving the efficacy of an area-wide sterile insect release programme. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

A large-scale field study examining effects of exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola on honey bee colony health, development, and overwintering success.

In summer 2012, we initiated a large-scale field experiment in southern Ontario, Canada, to determine whether exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola (oil seed rape) has any adverse impacts on honey bees. Colonies were placed in clothianidin seed-treated or control canola fields during bloom, and thereafter were moved to an apiary with no surrounding crops grown from seeds treated with neonicotinoids. Colony weight gain, honey production, pest incidence, bee mortality, number of adults, and amount of sealed brood were assessed in each colony throughout summer and autumn. Samples of honey, beeswax, pollen, and nectar were regularly collected, and samples were analyzed for clothianidin residues. Several of these endpoints were also measured in spring 2013. Overall, colonies were vigorous during and after the exposure period, and we found no effects of exposure to clothianidin seed-treated canola on any endpoint measures. Bees foraged heavily on the test fields during peak bloom and residue analysis indicated that honey bees were exposed to low levels (0.5-2 ppb) of clothianidin in pollen. Low levels of clothianidin were detected in a few pollen samples collected toward the end of the bloom from control hives, illustrating the difficulty of conducting a perfectly controlled field study with free-ranging honey bees in agricultural landscapes. Overwintering success did not differ significantly between treatment and control hives, and was similar to overwintering colony loss rates reported for the winter of 2012-2013 for beekeepers in Ontario and Canada. Our results suggest that exposure to canola grown from seed treated with clothianidin poses low risk to honey bees.