Quality characteristics and consumer acceptance of yogurt fortified with date fiber.

Yogurt is considered a healthy food and incorporating dietary fiber will make it even healthier. Date fiber (DF), a by-product of date syrup production, is a good source of dietary fiber. The effect of fortification with DF on fresh yogurt quality was investigated. Acidity, pH, color [L* (lightness), a* (redness), and b* (yellowness) values], texture profile, sensory properties, and consumer acceptance were studied. Control yogurt (without fiber), yogurt fortified with 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5% DF, and yogurt with 1.5% wheat bran (WB) were prepared. Fortification with DF did not cause significant changes in yogurt acidity, although pH was increased. Yogurts fortified with DF had firmer texture (higher hardness values) and darker color (lower L* and higher a*) compared with control or WB yogurts. Consumer test results indicated that the appearance, color, and flavor ratings were significantly affected by fiber fortification. Yogurt fortified with up to 3% DF had similar sourness, sweetness, firmness, smoothness, and overall acceptance ratings as the control yogurt. Sensory ratings and acceptability of yogurt decreased significantly when increasing DF to 4.5% or using 1.5% WB. Flavoring yogurt fortified with 4.5% DF with vanilla did not improve flavor or overall acceptance ratings. Thus, fortifying yogurt with 3% DF produced acceptable yogurt with beneficial health effects.

Quality and acceptability of a set-type yogurt made from camel milk.

Camel milk (CM) set yogurts were formulated with gelatin, alginate (ALG), and calcium (Ca). Titratable acidity, pH, sensory properties, and acceptability of CM yogurts were studied. Twelve treatments were prepared; 3 using gelatin at 0.5, 0.75, and 1% levels and 9 with combinations of ALG and Ca at different levels. Titratable acidity and pH of fresh yogurt were not affected by the addition of gelatin or the ALG and Ca combinations. Trained sensory panel results showed that CM yogurt containing 1% gelatin or 0.75% ALG + 0.075% Ca had the highest intensities for firmness and body. Consumer results indicated that the hedonic ratings of the sensory attributes and acceptability of CM yogurt containing 0.75% ALG + 0.075% Ca were similar to that of cow's milk yogurt. The CM yogurts containing ALG + Ca and flavored with 4 different fruit concentrates (15%) had similar hedonic ratings and acceptability. Addition of 0.75% ALG + 0.075% Ca could be used to produce acceptable plain or flavored CM yogurt.

Epidemiology and hazards of student labour in Mansoura, Egypt

To determine the prevalence of student labour, underlying causes and impacts, we carried out a cross - sectional study on 1293 students enrolled in government secondary schools in Mansoura. Year - round work was reported by 8.6% of students and summer work by 27.5%. The majority worked for > / = 6 hours/ day. Lower social status, attending vocational school, male sex, large family size and rural residence were significant predictors of student labour. Hazards at the workplace, injuries and corporal punishment were prevalent among working students. Work adversely affected education and social life. Contribution to family income was the main reason for working

Clinical features, tissue smear and competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay as dignostic and prognostic procedures for visceral leishmaniasis in Yemen.

Twenty six Yemeni patients with clinically visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and laboratory abnormalities were subjected to L. donovani species-specific monoclonal antibody (D2) and a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA). The results were compared with those obtained by microscopy Giemsa stained tissue smears of bone marrow or splenic aspiration. Of the patients, 51 (82.3%) were positive and 3 (4.8%) were negative by both microscopy and C-ELISA. An additional 8 (12.9%) who were negative by microscopy were positive by C-ELISA. 59 patients were treated with sodium antimony gluconate, 45 (76.3%) were drug responsive and 14 (23.7%) were drug resistant. The C-ELISA of 17 patients before and after chemotherapy showed a significant decrease in percent inhibition of monoclonal antibodies D2 in drug responsive patients. In drug-unresponsive patients the percent inhibition of D2 was unchanged or slightly increased. The results indicate that C- ELISA is more sensitive and specific than microscopy, especially for early diagnosis of VL and to evaluate the success of drug treatment.

A psychiatric study of nonorganic chronic headache patients.

Nonorganic chronic headache is a common, challenging presentation in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of associated psychiatric psychopathology, personality disorders, or traits. In addition, the study attempted to investigate possible relationships of nonorganic chronic headache with alexithymia, locus of control, and pain perception. Psychiatric pathology, personality traits, and pain profiles were examined in 100 randomized patients with chronic headache lacking an obvious organic basis, and they were compared with 100 subjects, 50 with headache of a known organic cause and 50 seemingly healthy persons, by using structured clinical interviews. Somatoform pain disorder was diagnosed in 43% of the nonorganic and 20% of the organic headache group. Nine percent of the former group had major depression, 16% had dysthymia, and 8% had both. In the organic group, 56% had no psychiatric disorder and 20% had somatoform pain disorder. Seventy-seven percent of the patients in the nonorganic pain group had personality disorders, mostly of the mixed and multiple types, compared with 24% of the organic headache patients. The study sample was more alexithymic than the other groups (in 65% of subjects) and had a culturally influenced locus of control and a pain profile characterized by dramatization, vagueness, lower pain threshold, and lower pain tolerance. The nonorganic chronic headache patients showed a high prevalence of somatoform, depressive, and other forms of psychiatric disorders. The high frequency of personality disorders, mostly the mixed and multiple types, the high alexithymic pattern, and low pain threshold and tolerance in the study group should be taken into consideration in the evaluation and management of nonorganic headache patients.

The influence of carbohydrate-based fat replacers with and without emulsifiers on the quality characteristics of lowfat cake.

Physical and sensory characteristics of cakes prepared with either the carbohydrate-based fat replacers N-Flate, Paselli MD 10 and Litesse (0, 25, 50 and 75% of fat weight) or fat replacers plus emulsifier (mono- and diglycerides; 0 and 3% of flour weight) were studied. Specific gravity of the batter was significantly (p < or = 0.05) improved by using the carbohydrate-based fat replacers, especially at the 25 and 50% replacement levels. The combination of the emulsifier with either Paselli MD 10 or Litesse also enhanced the specific gravity. Cakes prepared with fat replacers at the 25 and 50% levels had higher volumes, specific volume and standing heights than those of the control. Cakes prepared with fat replacers at the 25, 50 and 75% levels were more compressible than the control. Cakes prepared with Paselli MD 10 had the highest volumes, specific volume, standing heights and compressibilities. Incorporation of emulsifier with fat replacers improved cake volumes, standing heights and compressibilities. Cakes prepared with fat replacers exhibited higher crust and crumb color values compared to the control. Cakes prepared with 25 or 50% fat replacers had higher mean scores for flavor, softness and eating quality than the control. Incorporation of emulsifier with fat replacers did not affect the crust color, crumb color and flavor, but significantly (p < or = 0.05) improved softness and eating quality.

Toxicity of crude extracellular products of Aeromonas hydrophila in tilapia, Tilapia nilotica.

Extracellular products (ECP) secreted from Aeromonas hydrophila with haemolytic and proteolytic activity were studied with respect to temperature and time of incubation as well as the lethal toxicity on tilapia, Tilapia nilotica. The highest production of the haemolysin product was achieved when Aer. hydrophila was grown at 35 degrees C for 30 h. Tilapia erythrocyte was found to be more susceptible than sheep erythrocyte for determining the haemolytic activity. The haemolytic activity against tilapia erythrocyte was completely inactivated after heating the ECP at 60 degrees C for 10 min or 55 degrees C for 15 min. The proteolytic activity was maximized when the bacterium was grown at 30 degrees C for 36 h. Complete inactivation of the protease enzyme was performed after heating the ECP at 80 degrees C for 10 min or 70 degrees C for 15 min. Aeromonas hydrophila was found to produce haemolytic and proteolytic exotoxin lethal to tilapia (LD50 2.1 x 10(4) cell/fish), as well as heat stable unknown virulent factors that were responsible for 20% mortality. The lethality of ECP was decreased by heating and completely inactivated by boiling at 100 degrees C for 10 min.

Prevention of tooth hypersensitivity caused by the hydrodynamic action of zinc phosphate and composite resin luting cements (SEM) study.

This study was done to determine the role of cement liner as a reducing factor to the fluid movement in order to prevent tooth hypersensitivity according to the hydrodynamic theory during cementation of crowns. A total of fourty freshly extracted intact lower molar were selected for this study. After conventional tooth preparation the teeth were sub-divided into four equal groups to identify the role of cement liner in preventing the penetration of used cement into the dentinal tubules. Scanning electron microscopic study proved the efficiency of glass ionomer liner on preventing cement penetration into the dentinal tubules.

Panic disorder. An overlapping or independent entity?

We compared three groups of patients with panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and major depressive episode with a control group. Methods of comparison included a clinical profile of the patients, assessed by the Arabic version of the Present State Examination (PSE), a psychological battery of tests measuring personality traits and depressive and anxiety states, and the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) as a biological marker. Our data showed that psychological assessment and DST did not significantly differentiate between the three disorders. Despite a symptom overlap between the disorders, however, some symptoms were associated significantly more often with one disorder than another. Patients with panic disorder differed from patients with major depressive episode in showing more situational, avoidance and free floating anxiety, and more anxious foreboding. They showed less self-negligence, ideas of guilt, early awakening and social withdrawal. Compared with patients with generalised anxiety disorder, patients with panic disorder showed more loss of interest and muscle tension and less anxious foreboding, restlessness, inefficient thinking, social withdrawal and delayed sleep. Our conclusion is that the clinical course and the symptom profile of panic disorder justifies its existence as an independent diagnostic category.

Phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a transcultural study.

Ninety patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and diagnosed according to International Classification of Diseases (10th edition [ICD-10]) criteria attending the outpatient clinic of the Institute of Psychiatry in Cairo in 1991-1992 were assessed by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) for symptomatology and severity of symptoms. Sixty-nine percent of the patients were males, and 32% were females. The mean age of the sample was 23.7 years, with a mean duration of OCD of 3.2 years. Twenty percent of patients had a positive family history for OCD. Forty percent of patients presented with a mixture of obsessions and compulsions, whereas 29% presented with obsessions and 31% with compulsions. The most commonly occurring obsessions were religious and contamination obsessions (60%) and somatic obsessions (49%), and the most commonly occurring compulsions were repeating rituals (68%), cleaning and washing compulsions (63%), and checking compulsions (58%). Seventy-one percent of patients were rated severe on the Y-BOCS, and all of them had impaired insight; 9% were insightless. The age of patients was found to correlate positively with the total compulsive score and the total Yale BOCS score, but it correlated negatively with the total obsessive score. One third of patients had a comorbid depressive disorder. Regarding premorbid personality disorders, 14% had obsessive personality disorder, 34% had paranoid, anxious, or emotionally labile personality disorder, and 52% had no premorbid personality disorder. The role of religious upbringing has been evident in the phenomenology of OCD in Egypt, which is similar to the outcomes of studies in Jerusalem and different from results in India and Britain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Presentation of acute psychosis in an Egyptian sample: a transcultural comparison.

The symptomatological and diagnostic differentiations and outcome of acute psychosis were studied in 50 Egyptian patients using the Schedule of Clinical Assessment of Acute Psychotic States (SCAAPS). The prevailing symptoms were delusions, worry, irritability, mood changes, and disturbed behavior. Sixty-four percent of the patients were symptom-free at 1-year follow-up assessment. Various factors that affect clinical and social outcome were discussed. The problem of diagnostic terms was also studied comparing SCAAPS terms with those of DSM-III-R and ICD-10. The most frequent diagnosis was psychogenic psychosis or brief reactive psychosis corresponding to the previously mentioned first and second systems, respectively. The inclusion of acute and transient polymorphic psychotic disorders with or without stress in ICD-10 will encompass those clinical syndromes in different cultures. A comparative study with a matched Indian sample was also conducted, the results of which are discussed in detail.

Synthesis and characterization of gentiobiose heptaacetate conjugate vaccines that produce endotoxin-neutralizing antibodies.

We have prepared aminoethyl (AE), aminopropyl (AP), and aminopentyl (APT) derivatives of gentiobiose heptaacetate (GH). These spacer compounds (AEGH, APGH, APTGH) have been coupled to succinylated diphtheria toxoid (Suc.DT) to produce conjugate vaccines. These conjugates all bind to the anti-lipid A human monoclonal antibody A6(H4C5) in an ELISA binding assay. Rabbits immunized with the APGH conjugate vaccine in either Freund's complete adjuvant or aluminum hydroxide gel produced antibody levels of 5120 and 3600 ELISA units, respectively, compared to an antibody level of less than 20 ELISA units for the prebleed sera. Sera from mice immunized with either the aminopropyl or the aminopentyl conjugate had antibody levels of 5120 and 2560 ELISA antibody units, respectively. These antibodies neutralized endotoxin in a Limulus lysate neutralization assay. Protection against the local Shwartzman reaction was demonstrated (p less than 0.05) in eight out of nine rabbits immunized with the Suc-DT-APGH conjugate vaccine compared to three out of 10 rabbits immunized with the carrier protein Suc-DT. Passive transfer experiments demonstrated that four out of five rabbits receiving immune serum were protected from Shwartzman reaction compared to one out of five rabbits receiving normal serum (p less than 0.1). These results indicated that epitopes contained in gentiobiose heptaacetate when properly presented as conjugate vaccines were capable of inducing neutralizing antibodies against endotoxin.

Academic difficulty among male Egyptian university students. I. Association with psychiatric morbidity.

A survey was made of academic difficulties among undergraduate students at Ain Shams University, Cairo, during the academic year 1979-1980. Almost 6% of students dropped out before graduating and a further 8% required substantial extra time to complete their course of study: these figures were almost identical for both sexes. Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed in 42% of male students with academic problems (compared with 9% among the academically successful), with neuroses accounting for nearly half of the cases and schizophrenia for a quarter. Serious psychiatric illness was nearly four times as frequent among 3rd-year students as among 1st-year students.

Academic difficulty among male Egyptian university students. II. Associations with demographic and psychological factors.

We compared 178 students with academic problems with 77 academically successful students. Academic difficulty showed highly significant associations with low socio-economic status, over-crowded housing, paternal behaviour problems and a poor relationship between the parents; also significant associations with family history of psychiatric disorder and living away from home. Academic achievement at school was no guide to university performance. Failed students had fewer friendships, especially with women, and more limited recreational activities. They also scored significantly lower on tests of verbal and non-verbal IQ, and worse on the Bender Gestalt and trail-making tests. EPQ results suggested that university students, particularly those with academic difficulties, are more neurotic and introverted than the general Egyptian population.

The effect of certain antibiotics on the keeping quality of bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica).

Fresh bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica), caught in the river Nile was immersed in 10 and 20 ppm tetracycline (TC) solutions for 10 and 15 min respectively and in 500 and 1000 R.U. nisin/g fish for 20 and 30 min respectively. Total volatile bases (TVN) showed in both fish treated with TC and nisin a slow increase at the first stage and after that a fast increase. There was an increase in trimethylamine (TMA) during the storage period, but the fish treated with TC and nisin contained less TMA than the control. Starting from 6 h the residual TC decreased gradually till the third day, when it disappeared completely. There is no change in pH values in both control and treated fish. Optical density (OD) of gills extract increased gradually as the storage period progresses. The treated fish showed lower OD values than the controls. The refractive index of muscle fluids and the OD of muscle extract showed no significant differences between the control and treated fish.

The effect of certain antibiotics on bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica) preservation.

The shelf life of bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica) caught in the river Nile, has been successfully prolonged for about 9 days by dipping in tetracycline (TC) or nisin solution followed by refrigeration, although the initial microbial contamination in the fresh fish was very high. The caught fish were gutted and treated with 10 and 20 ppm TC solutions for 10 and 15 min by dipping, and with 500 and 1000 R.U. nisin/g fish for 20 and 30 min. The treated and control fish samples, were stored and refrigerated at (4 +/- 1) degree C for 12 days. Total bacterial counts, the most probable number of coliform bacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the fish treated with TC or nisin, were lower than those of the control, especially at 20 ppm TC, 15 min dipping, and 1000 R.U. nisin/g, 30 min. Further more TC was more effective against yeasts and moulds. This result suggest that antibiotics would help in transporting chilled fish from the highdam lake in Aswan to Cairo (about 900 km). According to the present results it may be recommended to use the antibiotic TC, with the concentration of 20 ppm for 15 min dipping, for prolonging the shelflife of bolti fish. The presence and increase of coliform bacteria in fish, draw the attention to the necessity of hygienic measures when dealing with such fish until to the consumption.