Sebha University

Background: Determining the potential barriers responsible for delaying access to care, and elucidating pathways to early intervention should be a priority, especially in Arab countries where mental health resources are limited. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between religiosity, stigma and help-seeking in an Arab Muslim cultural background. Hence, we propose in the present study to test the moderating role of stigma toward mental illness in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslim community people living in different Arab countries. Method: The current survey is part of a large-scale multinational collaborative project (StIgma of Mental Problems in Arab CounTries [The IMPACT Project]). We carried-out a web-based cross-sectional, and multi-country study between June and November 2021. The final sample comprised 9782 Arab Muslim participants (mean age 29.67 ± 10.80 years, 77.1% females). Results: Bivariate analyses showed that less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and higher religiosity levels were significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction religiosity by mental illness stigma was significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes (Beta= .005; p <.001); at low and moderate levels of stigma, higher religiosity was significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Conclusion: Our findings preliminarily suggest that mental illness stigma is a modifiable individual factor that seems to strengthen the direct positive effect of religiosity on help-seeking attitudes. This provides potential insights on possible anti-stigma interventions that might help overcome reluctance to counseling in highly religious Arab Muslim communities.

In probability and other applied sciences, distributions are used extensively. We employ fractional differential equations in this study (FDE). The work offers conformable fractional analogs of density, cumulative distribution, survival, and hazard functions, four fundamental ideas in probability distributions of random variables. Additionally, it introduces moments, central moments, variance, skewness, kurtosis, and conformable fractional analogs to anticipated values. Additionally, it introduces conformable fractional analogs of Shannon and other entropy metrics. To the conformable fractional Kumaraswamy distribution, all notions had been applied.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a prevalent sleep disorder that affects approximately 3–7% of males and 2–5% of females. In the United States alone, 50–70 million adults suffer from various sleep disorders. OSA is characterized by recurrent episodes of breathing cessation during sleep, thereby leading to adverse effects such as daytime sleepiness, cognitive impairment, and reduced concentration. It also contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions and adversely impacts patient overall quality of life. As a result, numerous researchers have focused on developing automated detection models to identify OSA and address these limitations effectively and accurately. This study explored the potential benefits of utilizing machine learning methods based on demographic information for diagnosing the OSA syndrome. We gathered a comprehensive dataset from the Torr Sleep Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. The dataset comprises 31 features, including demographic characteristics such as race, age, sex, BMI, Epworth score, M. Friedman tongue position, snoring, and more. We devised a novel process encompassing pre-processing, data grouping, feature selection, and machine learning classification methods to achieve the research objectives. The classification methods employed in this study encompass decision tree (DT), naive Bayes (NB), k-nearest neighbor (kNN), support vector machine (SVM), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), logistic regression (LR), and subspace discriminant (Ensemble) classifiers. Through rigorous experimentation, the results indicated the superior performance of the optimized kNN and SVM classifiers for accurately classifying sleep apnea. Moreover, significant enhancements in model accuracy were observed when utilizing the selected demographic variables and employing data grouping techniques. For instance, the accuracy percentage demonstrated an approximate improvement of 4.5%, 5%, and 10% with the feature selection approach when applied to the grouped data of Caucasians, females, and individuals aged 50 or below, respectively. Furthermore, a comparison with prior studies confirmed that effective data grouping and proper feature selection yielded superior performance in OSA detection when combined with an appropriate classification method. Overall, the findings of this research highlight the importance of leveraging demographic information, employing proper feature selection techniques, and utilizing optimized classification models for accurate and efficient OSA diagnosis.

65 Türkçe Barbaros AKKURT Journal of the Turkish Chemical Society Section A: Chemistry Araştırma Makalesi EN Conductometric, Spectrophotometric and Computational Investigation of Binary and Ternary Complexes of Co(II) and Cu(II) Bivalent Metal Ions with L-Valine Amino Acid and Paracetamol Drug Yıl 2023, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 3, 703 - 718, 30.08.2023 Aisha ALABBSİ Mohamed ZİDAN Nouria SHNİN Bakr ALDOORİ https://doi.org/10.18596/jotcsa.1275299 Öz The conductivity and spectrophotometry techniques were employed to evaluate the binary and ternary complexes of the divalent metal ions Co(II) and Cu(II) with the physiologically relevant amino acid L-Valine (Val) and the analgesic paracetamol. The conductivity experiments were generated by direct conductivity equation from conductivity titration data, while the spectrophotometry experiments were performed using the continuous variations approach (Job's method). Both techniques were accomplished in an aqueous solution with a constant concentration of 0.004 M of divalent metal ions at (40.0 ± 0.1) °C. The binary complexes of Co(II) and Cu(II) have a 1:1 binding ratio of metal to paracetamol (M:para). However, the binary complexes of Co(II) and Cu(II) have metal: Val binding ratios of either 1:1 or 2:1. In addition, the Cu(II) binary complexes of both ligands have a higher stability constant than Co(II) binary complexes of paracetamol and Val ligands, which was in good agreement with the Rossotti-Willime order. The ternary complexes of Co(II) and Cu(II) have a 1:1:1 binding ratio of metal to paracetamol: L-valine, (M:para:Val). The stability constants were in order: The ternary metal complexes > The binary metal-L-Val complexes > The binary metal-para complexes. DFT (Density Functional Theory) simulations were used in order to gain a better understanding of the molecular interactions of Co(II) and Cu(II) divalent metal ions with L-Val and paracetamol. Calculations were made on the electronic structure, HOMOs and LUMOs, and molecular geometry of complexes and their corresponding ligands. The findings unequivocally demonstrate that the metal ion is bound to both the amide nitrogen in the paracetamol ligand and the oxygen atom of the carbonyl group. Moreover, the metal ion is bound to the nitrogen atom of the amine NH2 group and the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl group for the L-Val ligand.

This research presents an enhanced version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which integrates usability and learning objectives to evaluate the effect of adopting virtual laboratories on student performance. Data from 97 participants, gathered via a survey, was used to examine the correlation between perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and intention to use (IU) concerning their experiences and outcomes with a simulation-based virtual laboratory. A custom questionnaire was designed to assess TAM components, namely PU, PEOU, and IU, specifically in the context of virtual laboratory learning environments. Findings indicate that the integration of specific laboratory learning objectives fosters the creation of a more credible and authentic simulation tool. This, in turn, optimizes the learning process and enhances students' learning outcomes. The refined TAM model provides valuable insights into the determinants of user acceptance of virtual laboratories and offers practical guidance for educators and instructional designers to construct more effective and efficient virtual laboratory environments in educational contexts.

The Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) test is often used to evaluate classification performance. However, it calls for special consideration when applied to the class-imbalanced data. The Precision-Recall Curve (PRC) is dependent on the class imbalance ratio. It summarizes the trade-off between the true positive rate and the positive predictive value for a predictive model using different probability thresholds. In this work, PRC is used to enhance the precision and recall of the Classification And Regression Tree (CART) algorithmtodiagnose breast cancer; this enhanced the CART recall’s capacity to predict wrongly classified samples by 10%, from 89% to 99%, when compared to the standard CART algorithm. On the other hand, when evaluating the performance of the improved CART on unseen data, it achieved a recall of 95%. Thus, the recall of the CART decreased by 4% from 99% to 95%. This drawback can be attributed to the small size of the training data, which has been labeled using one of the clustering methods, spectral clustering, which achieved the best Silhouette in separating data into two clustering with a score of 0.43.

Undoubtedly, it is important to remain vigilant and manage invasive grasses to prevent their spread and mitigate their negative impact on the environment. However, these aggressive plants can also play a beneficial role in certain contexts. For example, several invasive grasses provide valuable forage for livestock and have disease control potential. Therefore, a research experiment was conducted to explore the pros and cons of this approach, not only for surrounding vegetation but also for human and animal disease control. The study is primarily focused on developing livestock feed, plant-derived herbicides, and an understanding of the phytotoxic effects of invasive species. All plant parts of Cenchrus ciliaris L., Polypogon monspeliansis L., and Dicanthium annulatum (Forssk.) Stapf, were tested for their phyto-chemical screening, proximate, and toxicity analysis which was caused by the methanolic extract of these grass species. Qualitative phytochemical screening tests were performed for proximate composition analysis and toxicity assessment essays. The phytochemical analysis revealed the positive results for alkaloids, flavonoids, coumarins, phenols, saponins, and glycosides, while negative for tannins. Comparison of proximate analysis intimated maximum moisture (10.8%) and crude fat (4.1%) in P. monspeliensis, whereas maximum dry matter (84.1%), crude protein (13.95%), crude fiber (11%), and ash (7.2%) in D. annulatum. Five (10, 100, 500, 100, 10,000 ppm) and three (10, 1000, 10,000 ppm) different concentrations of methanolic extract prepared from C. ciliaris, P. monspeliansis, and D. annulatum were used respectively for root inhibition and seed germination essay. Furthermore, three different concentrations (10, 30, 50 mg) of plant fine powder were used for sandwich method test. There was a significant decline in the growth rate of experimental model radish seeds (P > 0.005), and results from sandwich method tests showed suppressed growth of root hairs, inhibiting the anchoring of the radish seed. In comparison, results manifest that; P. monspeliansis indicated an upsurge of inhibition (66.58% at 10,000 ppm), D. annulatum revealed soar germination (75.86% in controlled conditions), and C. ciliaris exhibited dramatic shoot up of inhibition because of sandwich method test (14.02% at 50 mg). In conclusion, although grasses are toxic, it is important to consider the beneficiary account.

Certain dietary chemicals influenced the expression of chemopreventive genes through the Nrf2-Keap1 pathway. However, the difference in Nrf2 activation potency of these chemicals is not well studied. This study is aimed at determining the difference in the potency of liver Nrf2 nuclear translocation induced by the administration of equal doses of selected dietary chemicals in mice. Male ICR white mice were administered 50 mg/kg of sulforaphane, quercetin, curcumin, butylated hydroxyanisole, and indole-3-carbinol for 14 days. On day 15, the animals were sacrificed, and their livers were isolated. Liver nuclear extracts were prepared, and Nrf2 nuclear translocation was detected through Western blotting. To determine the implication of the Nrf2 nuclear translocation on the expression levels of several Nrf2-regulated genes, liver RNA was extracted for qPCR assay. Equal doses of sulforaphane, quercetin, curcumin, butylated hydroxyanisole, and indole-3-carbinol significantly induced the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 with different intensities and subsequently increased the expression of Nrf2-regulated genes with an almost similar pattern as the Nrf2 nuclear translocation intensities (sulforaphane > butylated hydroxyanisole = indole-3-carbinol > curcumin > quercetin). In conclusion, sulforaphane is the most potent dietary chemical that induces the Nrf2 translocation into the nuclear fraction in the mouse liver.

Alhagi graecorum (AG) is an invasive plant with a massive/robust root structure that can grow up to 12 feet into the ground. The present study exploited the rich cellulosic content in this ‘AG’ root for the synthesis of a novel biosorbent (‘MA’). This low-cost biosorbent, with high carboxyl content of 447.22 (m eq/100 g sample) was utilized for aqueous zinc ion sequestration. The surface functional groups and textural characteristics required for an efficient heavy metal binding were identified on ‘MA’ using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Sip isotherm emerged as the model of best fit for equilibrium studies; hence, Zn (II) ion sorption onto ‘MA’ is believed to occur via a hybrid blend of homogeneous monolayer and heterogeneous multilayer adsorption. Meanwhile, the Elovich (SNE = 1.0429), intraparticle diffusion (SNE = 1.0205) and pseudo-first order (SNE = 1.0455) provided the best fitting for 200, 400 and 600 mg/L adsorption system, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of 188.67 mg/g was recorded at optimum adsorption conditions, with the predominance of the electrostatic and electron donor–acceptor interaction mechanism. The abundant surface oxygenous functional groups on ‘MA’ positively influenced its adsorption capacity, thus making it a promising biosorbent for aqueous Zn (II) uptake. Graphical abstract

A better understanding of the main forces that affect oil droplets is expected to play an important role in enhancing oil recovery from reservoirs. The effects of the various forces on an oil droplet on the top of a rock surface or hanging from the bottom of a rock surface are analysed. The results proved that increasing the mass of an oil droplet creates a favourable condition for interaction between the displaced and displacing fluids, which prevents the displacing fluid from bypassing the oil droplets. The results show that the mass of an oil droplet plays an important role in initiating its movement if the gravity force is greater than the capillary force. This study provides a sound understanding of the main forces affecting oil droplet movements and opportunities for future enhanced oil recovery projects.

Hydrolysis of glucobrassicin by plant or bacterial myrosinase produces multiple indoles predominantly indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM), which show promise in clinical trials as effective cancer chemopreventive agents. This work aimed to study the capacity of two human gut bacteria; Escherichia coli VL8 and Enterococcus casseliflavus CP1 to hydrolyze glucobrassicin from yellow mustard (Sinapis alba) seeds. Myrosinase-positive bacteria from enrichment culture were cultured in media containing 0.1 mM glucobrassicin for 16 h. The HPLC results showed that E. casseliflavus CP1 was able to degrade glucobrassicin by 73% at 16 h, whilst E. coli VL8 gave 47% degradation. The putative glycosyl hydrolase (GH) enzymes from E. casseliflavus CP1 involved in the hydrolysis were predicted based on the UniProt database, cloned, inserted into the pET28b(+) vector and expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) as recombinant enzymes using IPTG inducer. All the tested recombinant GH enzymes did not exhibit myrosinase activity towards glucosinolate substrate; however, some displayed GH and/or β-glucosidase activity towards various sugars using GOD-PERID and β-glucosidase assays. These enzymes may be inactive in the pH buffers used or activity only occurs in intact cells where the integrity of transport/phosphorylation system is intact. In spite of some caveats in this work, the findings would still be useful to better understand glucosinolate metabolism by human gut bacteria which is liked with chemopreventive benefits.

Background: B. cepacia complex (Bcc) is an emerging pathogenic organism that can cause many nosocomial infections among hospitalized patients. Inadequate laboratory facilities for B. cepacia complex detection and subsequently inappropriate treatment are considered a major cause for poor therapy outcomes. Methods: This project was aimed to investigate phenotype production of ESBL, AmpC, and Carbapenemase among 47 B. cepacia complex isolated from different Sebha health care facilities. Results: Our data showed that 44.68% were ESBL producers, 57.44% were AmpC producers, while only 29.78% produced carbapenemase. In this study, antibiotics susceptibility of Bcc isolates was variable, 100 % resistant to Ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, 85 % resistant to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, 76 % resistant to Ticarcillin/clavulanic Chloramphenicol, 57 % to Ceftazidime, and 55 % to Tetracyclines, 44% to Ciprofloxacin and 31% to Meropenem. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study shows that Bcc species have a higher resistance level attributed to several mechanisms. This high resistance needs careful antimicrobial prescribing regulations, and urgent implementation of infection prevention control is necessary.

In this article, we present advances related to 1,3‐dipolar cycloadditions of generated pyridinium ylides and apply these results to specific 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reactions with oxindole dipolarophiles. The ylide discussed in this article is generated from alkylation reactions between substituted pyridines and a primary electrophile. Cycloaddition reactions proceeding from pyridinium ylides and various oxindoles are reported with good stereo‐ and regioselectivity. Cycloaddition reactions take place by the overlap of the HOMO of the dipole and the LUMO of the dipolarophile when the two orbitals have similar energies, resulting in the formation of two new bonds. To get more insight into the reaction nature, a quantum chemical simulation was performed. A computational study is performed on the reactants (pyridinium ylides and oxindoles) and resulting cycloadducts. The present analysis reveals that the cycloaddition reactions under study can be classified in the normal electron demand category. Regioselectivity and mechanism of 1,3‐cycloaddition reactions are studied in the light of several theoretical approaches such as activation energy, Houk’s rule based on the FMO theory, and the DFT reactivity indices

Carbon-free electrochemical synthesis of ammonia is a promising technology for CO2 emission reduction. This study aims to explore the electrocatalytic activity of A-site Ba-doped perovskite cathode catalyst (La0.6Ba0.4Fe0.8Cu0.2O3-δ, LBFCu) for ammonia synthesis from water and nitrogen. LBFCu was prepared via the sol-gel method using combined EDTA-citrate complexing agents and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Ammonia was successfully synthesised from water and nitrogen under atmospheric pressure, and LBFCu mixed with Ce0.8Gd0.18Ca0.02O2-δ (CGDC) was used as a cathode. When a voltage was applied to the cell containing CGDC-carbonate composite solid electrolyte, ammonia formation was observed at 375, 400, 425 and 450 °C. At 400 °C and 1.4 V, the maximum rate of ammonia production was achieved at 4.0×10-11 mol s-1 cm-2 , which corresponds to Faradaic efficiency of  0.06 % at the current density of 19 mA cm-2. According to the findings, the synthesis of ammonia directly from water and nitrogen may be considered a promising green synthesis technology.

Cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer in terms of incidence; however, it is the most lethal form of cancer among Thai women due to the asymptomatic nature of its early stages. This work aimed to examine cytotoxic and antiproliferative capacities of Rhinacanthus nasutus (RN) and Acanthus ebracteatus (AE) extracts against human cervical cancer cells (HeLa). Plant leaves were used for ethyl acetate extraction. The antioxidant assays, HPLC analysis, a cytotoxic MTT assay, a clonogenic assay and real-time PCR were conducted. Both RN and AE displayed similar DPPH scavenging activity (3.97 and 4.05 mg TE/g DW) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (4.79 and 4.35 mg Fe2+/g DW). However, AE was richer in total phenolic content than RN (13.30 and 10.84 mg GAE/g DW, respectively). Rutin, catechin, chlorogenic acid, and cinnamic acid were found in AE, whilst only cinnamic acid with much higher content was found in RN. Higher cytotoxicity of 91.73% against HeLa cells was found in RN (IC50 value of 62.06 µg/mL). RN showed higher antiproliferative effect (IC50 of 25.24 µg/mL) than AE (34.35 µg/mL). Genes (Bcl-2, Bax, MMP-2, MMP-9, caspase-3, p21, and cyclin D1) and proteins (cytochrome c, caspase-3 and p21) linked to apoptosis and migration were substantially more affected by RN. To conclude, both RN and AE hold promise as anticancer herbal plants against human cervical cancer; however, RN was more cytotoxic and antiproliferative in HeLa cells. RN offers a better alternative herbal medicine or complementary remedy to the standard drug for human cervical cancer treatment.

Introduction: Grit is proposed as an essential trait for academic achievement. Thus, evaluating its current status and the associated factors could aid academic support planning. Objective: The present study aimed to assess grit level and its related factors among undergraduate pharmacy students from 14 countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among pharmacy students from 14 countries in Asia and the Middle East. A 31-item questionnaire was developed, validated, and pilot-tested, including the validated short scale for grit assessment. The data was collected between 1 February and 15 April 2022. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed as appropriate. Results: A total of 2665 responses were received, mainly from females (68.7%), living in urban areas (69.2%) and studying at private universities (59.1%). The average grit score on a scale of 5 was 3.15 ± 0.54. The responses revealed higher favourable responses to items on the perseverance of efforts (34.9% to 54%) compared to items on the consistency of interests (26.5% to 31.1%). Students who did not exercise (AOR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.33-0.67) or exercised irregularly (AOR: 0.64, 95%CI: 0.45-0.90) were less likely to have higher grit scores than those who exercised regularly. Additionally, students who did not receive COVID-19 vaccination (AOR: 0.50, 95%CI: 0.36-0.71) or received only one dose (AOR: 0.67, 95%CI: 0.46-0.99) were less likely to have higher grit scores than those who received their booster vaccination. Interestingly, students who chose the pharmacy programme as their only available or reasonable choice (AOR: 0.33, 95%CI: 0.17-0.62) and students from public universities (AOR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.68-0.98) were less likely to have higher grit scores. On the other hand, students who did not face educational challenges with online learning (AOR: 1.19, 95%CI: 1.003-1.416) and students with excellent (AOR: 2.28, 95%CI: 1.57-3.31) and very good (AOR: 2.16, 95%CI: 1.53-3.04) academic performance were more likely to have higher grit scores. Conclusion: The findings revealed moderate grit levels. Higher grit levels were thought to be associated with several personal, lifestyle and academic factors. Further interventions to support students' grit attributes are required, particularly concerning the consistency of interests.