Knowledge about Cervical Cancer Early Warning Signs and Symptoms, Risk Factors and Vaccination among Students at a Medical School in Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Al-Darwish, Abdulaziz Ahmed,Al-Naim, Abdullah Fouad,Al-Mulhim, Khalid Saleh,Al-Otaibi, Nasser Khaled,Morsi, Mohammed Saad,Aleem, Ansari Mukhtar Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.6

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among females and also the most preventable. In the literature there is abundant evidence that awareness regarding cervical cancer and its prevention is low in the developing countries. Medical students are the future health professionals and can play an important role in increasing awareness among the general population. To assess the knowledge regarding symptoms, risk factors and prevention of cervical carcinoma among medical students in th Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the present study was planned. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire with students at the College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, KSA, from December 2012 to May 2013. Results: The responses of 188 students (males 111, females 77) in their second, third, fourth, and fifth years were recorded and used in the data analysis. The majority of the students were not aware of the early warning signs, symptoms and risk factors. On average, only 43.7% males and 56% of females were aware about the early signs and symptoms whereas 51.4% males and 57.8% females had knowledge about the risk factors of cervical cancers. Some 55% males and 46.8% females were unable to select the correct answer regarding human papilloma virus (HPV) infection as the cause of cervical cancer. Majority of the students (67%) were not aware about the availability of vaccine against HPV. Conclusions: Lack of knowledge regarding early signs and symptoms, risk factors and prevention of cervical cancer was observed in the present study.

Honey and Cardiovascular Risk Factors, in Normal Individuals and in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus or Dyslipidemia

Noori Al-Waili,Khelod Salom,Ahmad Al-Ghamdi,Mohammad Javed Ansari,Ali Al-Waili,Thia Al-Waili 한국식품영양과학회 2013 Journal of medicinal food Vol.16 No.12

Diabetes mellitus, hypercholesteremia, hypertension (HTN), and obesity are well-known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Various medications are currently in use for management of these comorbidities. Undesirable side effects are unavoidable and the ultimate and ideal goal is hardly achieved. Honey and other bee products are widely used in traditional medicine for management of many diseases. Others and the authors have found potent biological activities of these products. Honey is now reintroduced in modern medicine as part of wound and burn management. Honey has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. More studies are exploring other aspects of honey activity such as its effect on blood sugar, body weight, lipid profile, C-reactive protein, nitric oxide, proinflammatory prostaglandins, and homocysteine. Growing evidence and scientific data support the use of honey in patients with diabetes, HTN, dyslipidemia, obesity, and CVD. This review discusses clinical and preclinical studies on potential influence of honey on diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk factors, and emphasizes the importance of conducting more clinical and controlled studies.

Photoconducting properties of a unit nanostructure of ZnO assembled between microelectrodes.

Kulkarni, Atul,Wahab, Rizwan,Ansari, S G,Kim, Tae-Sung,Al-Deyab, Salem S,Ansari, Z A American Scientific Publishers 2012 Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Vol.12 No.3

<P>The photoconducting properties of a unit microflower of zinc oxide are investigated as a function of wavelength from UV to IR region at constant illumination intensity. Synthesized flowers were trapped in 2 microm gap, between pre-prepared gold microelectrodes, using AC dielectrophoresis. Photocurrent drastically increases upon illumination in the UV region, whereas it gradually reduces when irradiated in visible and IR region. Higher photoconductivity in UV region is correlated to band to band transition upon illumination. In visible region, deep level transitions are expected which intern exhibits comparatively low photocurrent. Photoconduction in IR region is only due to the adsorbed surface oxygen species. This investigation suggests the potential application of ZnO nanostructures for various optoelectronic device applications.</P>

Anti-proliferative Activities of Metallic Nanoparticles in an in Vitro Breast Cancer Model

Loutfy, Samah A,Al-Ansary, Nadia A,Abdel-Ghani, Nour T,Hamed, Ahmed R,Mohamed, Mona B,Craik, James D,Eldin, Taher A. Salah,Abdellah, Ahmed M,Hussein, Yassmein,Hasanin, MTM,Elbehairi, Serag Eldin I Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.14

Aims: To investigate effect of metallic nanoparticles, silver (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as antitumor treatment in vitro against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and their associated mechanisms. This could provide new class of engineered nanoparticles with desired physicochemical properties and may present newer approaches for therapeutic modalities to breast cancer in women. Materials and Methods: A human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) was used as a model of cells. Metallic nanoparticles were characterized using UV-visible spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cytotoxic effects of metallic nanoparticles on MCF-7 cells were followed by colorimetric SRB cell viability assays, microscopy, and cellular uptake. Nature of cell death was further investigated by DNA analysis and flow cytometry. Results: Treatment of MCF-7 with different concentrations of 5-10nm diameter of AgNPs inhibited cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 value of $6.28{\mu}M$, whereas treatment of MCF-7 with different concentrations of 13-15nm diameter of AuNPs inhibited cell viability in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 value of $14.48{\mu}M$. Treatment of cells with a IC50 concentration of AgNPs generated progressive accumulation of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle and prevented entry into the M phase. The treatment of cells with IC50 concentrations of AuNPs similarly generated progressive accumulation of cells in sub-G1 and S phase, and inhibited the entrance of cells into the M phase of the cell cycle. DNA fragmentation, as demonstrated by electrophoresis, indicated induction of apoptosis. Conclusions: Our engineered silver nanoparticles effectively inhibit the proliferation of human breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7 in vitro at high concentration ($1000{\mu}M$) through apoptotic mechanisms, and may be a beneficial agent against human carcinoma but further detailed study is still needed.

Decreased GABABR expression and increased neuronal cell death in developing rat brain after PTZ-induced seizure.

Naseer, Muhammad Imran,Ullah, Ikram,Al-Qahtani, Mohammed H,Karim, Sajjad,Ullah, Najeeb,Ansari, Shakeel Ahmed,Kim, Myeong Ok,Bibi, Fehmida Springer-Verlag Italia 2013 Neurological sciences Vol.34 No.4

<P>The objective of this study was to evaluate the PTZ-induced seizures effects on GABAB receptor (R) expression and to observe its neurodegenerative effect in hippocampal part of developing rat brain. In the present study, high dose of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ 40 mg/kg) was injected in developing rats of age 5 weeks having average weight of 60-65 g for 4 days. Further, baclofen (B 3 mg/kg i.p) agonist and phaclofen (P 30 μg/rat) antagonist of GABABR were injected along with PTZ. Western blot analysis was used to elucidate expression of GABABR protein upon PTZ, baclofen and phaclofen exposure in the developing rat brain. Furthermore, PTZ-induced apoptotic neurodegeneration was also observed through the release of caspase-3 antibody and propidium iodide (PI) staining using confocal microscopy. Seizure was confirmed using electroencephalography (EEG) data obtained from the Laxtha EEG-monitoring device in the EEG recording room and EEG was monitored 5-15 min after PTZ injection. The results of the present study showed that PTZ-induced seizure significantly decreased GABABR expression and induced neuronal apoptosis in cortical and hippocampal part of brain. While, baclofen reverse the effect of PTZ by increasing the expression of GABABR as compared to the PTZ- , PTZ plus B- and PTZ plus P-treated groups. Our findings indicated that PTZ-induced seizure showed not only decrease in GABABR expression but also cause neuronal apoptosis in the developing rat brain.</P>

FA1:La2+ and FA2:Sc2+ color center lasers and color image sensitization at the low coordination (0 0 1)surface of AgBr by ab initio calculations

A.S.Shalabi,I.A.Z.Al-Ansari,K.Kh.Al-Naimi,M.M.Shalaby,W.S.Abdel Halim 한국물리학회 2004 Current Applied Physics Vol.4 No.5

Kinetic and thermodynamic evaluation of pyrolysis of jeans waste via coatsredfern method

Rumaisa Tariq,Abrar Inayat,Muhammad Shahbaz,Hassan Zeb,Chaouki Ghenai,Tareq Al-Ansari,김재훈 한국화학공학회 2023 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.40 No.1

Used textiles, such as jeans wastes, exhibit a high potential for generating renewable and sustainable energy. However, limited research has been devoted toward investigating the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of textile wastes during pyrolysis and applying these wastes as feedstock for fuels such as biogas. Therefore, this study investigated the kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of the thermal decomposition of jeans waste to evaluate its potential for sustainable energy production. Jeans waste was heat treated at 50–850 °C under different heating rates of 10–40 °C min−1. Active pyrolysis for the decomposition of jeans waste occurred at temperatures ranging from 250 to 550 °C. Specific Coats-Redfern-type reaction mechanisms were applied to determine the kinetic and thermodynamic variables in the active temperature zone. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH and ΔG) and activation energies increased when the heating rate was increased from 10 to 30 °C min−1. When the heating rate was further increased to 40 °C min−1, ΔH, ΔG, and the activation energies decreased. For heating rates of 10, 20, 30, and 40 °C min−1, the pre-exponential factors varied in the ranges of 7.4×103 to 1.4×104, 1.8×104 to 5.1×1010, 2.8×104 to 5.3×1010, and 3.6×104 to 3.1×1010 min−1, respectively. In each reaction mechanism model, the entropy changed negatively for all the heating rates examined in this study. This work and its results could serve as a guide for implementing such pyrolysis processes for textile wastes at a practical scale for bioenergy applications.

Assessment of Spatiotemporal Variability of Meteorological Droughts in Northern Iraq Using Satellite Rainfall Data

Hafed Qasem Ahmad,Samira A. Kamaruddin,Sobri B. Harun,Nadhir Al-Ansari,Shamsuddin Shahid,Ruqaya M. Jasim 대한토목학회 2021 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.25 No.11

The absence of a dense rainfall monitoring network and longer period data are the major hindrances of hydroclimatic study in arid and semi-arid regions. An attempt has been made for the evaluation of spatiotemporal changes in droughts at the northern semi-arid region of Iraq for the period 1981 − 2018 using high-resolution (0.05°) precipitation data of Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS). The performance of CHIRPS in replicating rainfall and Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) for different timescales at eleven locations for the available period of observation data (2000 − 2014) was evaluated. The SPI was also used to estimate drought frequency and evaluate drought trends at all the CHIRPS grid points. A modified version of the non-parametric Mann-Kendall (MK) test was employed for a robust evaluation of the spatial distribution of temporal trends in droughts. The results showed a good ability of CHIRPS in reconstructing observed SPI with a correlation coefficient ranged from 0.64 to 0.87, BIAS between 1.05 and 1.81, Nash-Sutcliff efficiency from 0.39 to 0.55, and Willmott Index between 0.67 and 0.79. The CHIRPS also able to reconstruct the time series and probability distribution of observed SPI reasonably. Spatial distribution of droughts revealed a higher frequency of droughts of all categories and timescales in the east and north of Northern Iraq, mainly due to high rainfall variance. The MK test revealed a reduction in 6- and 12-month droughts in the northwest and an intensification at a few northeastern grids. It indicates droughts became more recurrent in the already drought-prone region and lessened in a less drought-prone region.

Development of Bi-Langmuir model on the sorption of cadmium onto waste foundry sand: Effects of initial pH and temperature

Noora Saad,Ziad T. Abd Ali,Laith A. Naji,Ayad A.A.H. Faisal,Nadhir Al-Ansari 대한환경공학회 2020 Environmental Engineering Research Vol.25 No.5

The present study develops the sorption model for simulating the effects of pH and temperature on the uptake of cadmium from contaminated water using waste foundry sand (WFS) by allowing the variation of the maximum adsorption capacity and affinity constant. The presence of two acidic functional groups with the same or different affinity is the basis in the derivation of the two models; Model 1 and Model 2 respectively. The developed Bi-Langmuir model with different affinity (Model 2) has a remarkable ability in the description of process under consideration with coefficient of determination > 0.9838 and sum of squared error < 0.08514. This result is proved by FTIR test where the weak acids responsible of cadmium ions removal using WFS sorbent can be represented by surface silanol (O-H) functional groups.