Correlates of Smoking, Quit Attempts and Attitudes towards Total Smoking Bans at University: Findings from Eleven Faculties in Egypt

Ansari, Walid El,Labeeb, Shokria,Kotb, Safaa,Yousafzai, Mohammad T.,El-Houfey, Amira,Stock, Christiane Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.6

Objectives: Smoking among university students represents a formidable and global public health challenge. We assessed the associations between socio-demographic, health and wellbeing variables as independent variables, with daily smoking, attempts to quit smoking, and agreement with smoking ban as dependent variables. Methods: A sample of 3258 undergraduate students from eleven faculties at Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt, completed a general health questionnaire. Results: Overall daily or occasional smoking in last three months prior to the survey was about 9% (8% occasional and 1% daily smokers), and smoking was generally more prevalent among males (male=17%, female=0.6%, P < 0.001). After adjustment for confounders, not having normal BMI and having a mother who completed at least bachelor's degree education was positively associated with daily smoking, and conversely, no history of illicit drug use was a protective factor. About 76% of smokers had attempted to quit smoking within the last 12 months prior to the survey. Although a large proportion of students agreed/strongly agreed with the banning of smoking at university altogether (87%), such agreement was less likely among smokers. Conclusion: There is need for implementation of non-smoking policies on university premises, as well as regular up-to-date information on, and the periodic/yearly monitoring of tobacco use by university students employing standardised data collection instruments and reference periods. In addition, it would be valuable to develop campus-based educational/ awareness campaigns designed to counteract tobacco advertisement directed towards young people in Middle East countries. Otherwise, the danger could be that the current relatively low smoking prevalence among university students may escalate in the future.

Induction of somatic embryogenesis from immature zygotic embryos and young apical leaves in cork oak (Quercus suber L.)

Zineb Nejjar El Ansari,Brahim El Bouzdoudi,Tomader Errabii,Rabah Saidi,Mohammed L’bachir El Kbiach 한국식물생명공학회 2021 JOURNAL OF PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY Vol.48 No.1

The present work aims to study the induction of somatic embryogenesis in cork oak (Quercus suber L.) from immature zygotic embryos and young apical leaves obtained from 2-month-old seedlings through acorn germination on sterilized peat. The immature zygotic embryos were grown for 1 month on the mineral solution of MS in the presence of 4.52 μM 2,4-D and 30 g/L sucrose. They were then transferred to the same mineral solution with no added growth regulators. In the third subculture, yellow somatic embryos, characterized by two voluminous cotyledons, were differentiated from the radicle of the immature zygotic embryos. The induction of somatic embryogenesis in young leaves required a series of transfers on different culture media containing 30 g/L sucrose and 100 mg/L myo-inositol. Secondary or recurrent somatic embryogenesis occurred within the immature somatic embryo radicles after 1 month of culture on growth regulator-free medium containing WPM macronutrients, MS micronutrients, and vitamins.

Factors Associated With Smoking, Quit Attempts and Attitudes towards Total Smoking Bans at University: A Survey of Seven Universities in England, Wales and Northern ireland

Ansari, Walid El,Stock, Christiane Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.2

Objectives: This study assessed the associations between socio-demographic, health and wellbeing variables (independent variables) and daily smoking, attempts to quit smoking, and agreement with smoking ban (dependent variables). Methods: Data from 3,706 undergraduate students were collected from seven universities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland using a standardised questionnaire. Results: About 15.8% of the whole sample reported daily smoking, while 12% were occasional smokers. Smoking was significantly more prevalent among males, but the difference was due to a higher rate of occasional smokers. About every second smoker (55%) had attempted to quit smoking. Almost 45% of the whole sample agreed or strongly agreed with implementing a total smoking ban on campus. Daily smoking was more likely among students with not sufficient income, students whose fathers had at least a bachelor degree; and, students who reported binge drinking. Conversely, daily smoking was less likely among students who rated their health as very good/ excellent, those who ate ${\geq}5$ portions of fruit or vegetables, and those who had never taken illicit drugs. Previous attempt/s to quit smoking were more likely among students who have never taken illicit drugs and those who agreed with a total smoking ban; and less likely among those with not sufficient income. Daily smokers were less likely to report quit attempts as compared to occasional smokers. An agreement with smoking ban was more likely among students who rated their health as very good/excellent, those who ate ${\geq}5$ portions of fruit or vegetables daily, and those who had never taken illicit drugs, but less likely among daily smokers. Conclusion: Favourable health practices and positive attitudes towards smoking ban were associated with each other. Interventions would need to comprise multi-component programmes that do not solely focus on smoking prevention/cessation, but also on other health promoting practices as well.

Conservation of Thymus pallidus Cosson ex Batt. by shoot tip and axillary bud in vitro culture

Ansari, Zineb Nejjar El,Boussaoudi, Ibtissam,Benkaddour, Rajae,Hamdoun, Ouafaa,Lemrini, Mounya,Martin, Patrick,Badoc, Alain,Lamarti, Ahmed The Korean Society of Plant Biotechnology 2020 식물생명공학회지 Vol.47 No.1

Here, we describe an efficient and rapid protocol for the micropropagation of Thymus pallidus Cosson ex Batt., a very rare medicinal and aromatic plant in Morocco. After seed germination, we tested the effect of different macronutrients, cytokinins alone or in combination with gibberellic acid (GA₃) or auxins, on T. pallidus plantlet growth. We found that Margara macronutrients (N₃₀K) had the best effect on the in vitro development of the plantlets. The addition of 0.93 μM/L 1,3-diphenylurea (DPU), 0.46 μM/L adenine (Ad), and 0.46 and 0.93 μM/L kinetin (Kin) resulted in the best shoot multiplication and elongation. In addition, the combination of 0.46 μM/L Kin, DPU, or Ad with gibberellic acid, in particular, 0.46 μM/L Ad + 0.58 μM/L GA₃ and 0.46 μM/L Kin + 1.15 μM/L GA₃, led to better bud and shoot multiplication. Moreover, the integration of the combinations of 0.46 μM/L Kin and auxins, namely 0.46 μM/L Kin + 2.85 μM/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 0.46 μM/L Kin + 2.85 or 5.71 μM/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and 0.46 μM/L Kin + 0.3 or 0.57 μM/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), in the culture medium led to better root development and optimized aerial growth. Finally, the in vitro plants from the medium containing N₃₀K + 0.46 μM/L Kin + 2.85 μM/L IAA were successfully acclimatized; these plants served as a source for repeating in vitro culture.

Galectin-3 Reflects the Echocardiographic Grades of Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction

Uzair Ansari,Michael Behnes,Julia Hoffmann,Michele Natale,Christian Fastner,Ibrahim El-Battrawy,Jonas Rusnak,김승현,Siegfried Lang,Ursula Hoffmann,Thomas Bertsch,Martin Borggrefe,Ibrahim Akin 대한진단검사의학회 2018 Annals of Laboratory Medicine Vol.38 No.4

Background: The level of Galectin-3 (Gal-3) protein purportedly reflects an ongoing cardiac fibrotic process and has been associated with ventricular remodeling, which is instrumental in the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential use of Gal-3 in improved characterization of the grades of diastolic dysfunction as defined by echocardiography. Methods: Seventy HFpEF patients undergoing routine echocardiography were prospectively enrolled in the present monocentric study. Blood samples for measurements of Gal-3 and amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were collected within 24 hours pre- or post-echocardiographic examination. The classification of patients into subgroups based on diastolic dysfunction grade permitted detailed statistical analyses of the derived data. Results: The Gal-3 serum levels of all patients corresponded to echocardiographic indices, suggesting HFpEF (E/A, P =0.03 and E/E’, P =0.02). Gal-3 was also associated with progressive diastolic dysfunction, and increased levels corresponded to the course of disease (P =0.012). Detailed analyses of ROC curves suggested that Gal-3 levels could discriminate patients with grade III diastolic dysfunction (area under the curve [AUC]=0.770, P =0.005). Conclusions: Gal-3 demonstrates remarkable effectiveness in the diagnosis of patients suffering from severe grade diastolic dysfunction. Increasing levels of Gal-3 possibly reflect the progressive course of HFpEF, as classified by the echocardiographic grades of diastolic dysfunction.

Conservation of Thymus pallidus Cosson ex Batt. by shoot tip and axillary bud in vitro culture

Zineb Nejjar El Ansari,Ibtissam Boussaoudi,Rajae Benkaddour,Ouafaa Hamdoun,Mounya Lemrini,Patrick Martin,Alain Badoc,Ahmed Lamarti (사)한국식물생명공학회 2020 JOURNAL OF PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY Vol.47 No.1

Here, we describe an efficient and rapid protocol for the micropropagation of Thymus pallidus Cosson ex Batt., a very rare medicinal and aromatic plant in Morocco. After seed germination, we tested the effect of different macronutrients, cytokinins alone or in combination with gibberellic acid (GA3) or auxins, on T. pallidus plantlet growth. We found that Margara macronutrients (N30K) had the best effect on the in vitro development of the plantlets. The addition of 0.93 μM/L 1,3-diphenylurea (DPU), 0.46 μM/L adenine (Ad), and 0.46 and 0.93 μM/L kinetin (Kin) resulted in the best shoot multiplication and elongation. In addition, the combination of 0.46 μM/L Kin, DPU, or Ad with gibberellic acid, in particular, 0.46 μM/L Ad + 0.58 μM/L GA3 and 0.46 μM/L Kin + 1.15 μM/L GA3, led to better bud and shoot multiplication. Moreover, the integration of the combinations of 0.46 μM/L Kin and auxins, namely 0.46 μM/L Kin + 2.85 μM/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 0.46 μM/L Kin + 2.85 or 5.71 μM/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and 0.46 μM/L Kin + 0.3 or 0.57 μM/L 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), in the culture medium led to better root development and optimized aerial growth. Finally, the in vitro plants from the medium containing N30K + 0.46 μM/L Kin + 2.85 μM/L IAA were successfully acclimatized; these plants served as a source for repeating in vitro culture.

Solid-state symmetrical supercapacitor based on hierarchical flower-like nickel sulfide with shape-controlled morphological evolution

Parveen, Nazish,Ansari, Sajid Ali,Ansari, S.G.,Fouad, H.,Abd El-Salam, Nasser M.,Cho, Moo Hwan Pergamon Press 2018 Electrochimica Acta Vol. No.

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>The development of energy storage materials with high capacity and rapid charging and discharging ability have become the most important and major issues of concern in recent years. In this study, a mesoporous nickel sulfide (NiS) hierarchical framework was synthesized using a simple solvothermal method under optimized experimental conditions, including the amount of sulfur and experimental time, and characterized using a range of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The resulting materials were tested further as electrode materials in an electrochemical half-cell assembly and full cell solid-state symmetric assembly cell. The optimized mesoporous nickel sulfide hierarchical showed excellent specific capacitance performance with outstanding cycling stability (∼88.57%) after 5000 consecutive charge discharge cycles. A prototype symmetric supercapacitor device was also assembled using hierarchical flower-like NiS and the measured device performance showed a high capacitance of 11.15 F/g, high energy density of 0.991 Wh/kg at a power density of 132 W/kg, and at power density of 261.11 W/kg at an energy density of 0.329 Wh/kg, and excellent cycling stability (83.8% with 92.9% coulombic efficiency after 2000 cycles at 0.26 A/g). The potential applications of the above device were demonstrated by powering a light emitting diode and commercially available fan for more than 30s discharging time.</P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Erratum to: Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells derived extracellular vesicles can safely ameliorate the progression of chronic kidney diseases

Wael Nassar,Mervat El-Ansary,Dina Sabry,Mostafa A. Mostafa,Tarek Fayad,Esam Kotb,Mahmoud Temraz,Abdel-Naser Saad,Wael Essa,Heba Adel 한국생체재료학회 2017 생체재료학회지 Vol.21 No.2

Erratum

Application of tuned liquid dampers in controlling the torsional vibration of high rise buildings

Ross, Andrew S.,El Damatty, Ashraf A.,El Ansary, Ayman M. Techno-Press 2015 Wind and Structures, An International Journal (WAS Vol.21 No.5

Excessive motions in buildings cause occupants to become uncomfortable and nervous. This is particularly detrimental to the tenants and ultimately the owner of the building, with respect to financial considerations. Serviceability issues, such as excessive accelerations and inter-story drifts, are more prevalent today due to advancements in the structural systems, strength of materials, and design practices. These factors allow buildings to be taller, lighter, and more flexible, thereby exacerbating the impact of dynamic responses. There is a growing need for innovative and effective techniques to reduce the serviceability responses of these tall buildings. The current study considers a case study of a real building to show the effectiveness and robustness of the TLD in reducing the coupled lateral-torsional motion of this high-rise building under wind loading. Three unique multi-modal TLD systems are designed specifically to mitigate the torsional response of the building. A procedure is developed to analyze a structure-TLD system using High Frequency Force Balance (HFFB) test data from the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory (BLWTL) at the University of Western Ontario. The effectiveness of the unique TLD systems is investigated. In addition, a parametric study is conducted to determine the robustness of the systems in reducing the serviceability responses. Three practical parameters are varied to investigate the robustness of the TLD system: the height of water inside the tanks, the amplitude modification factor, and the structural modal frequencies.

Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells derived extracellular vesicles can safely ameliorate the progression of chronic kidney diseases

Wael Nassar,Mervat El-Ansary,Dina Sabry,Mostafa A. Mostafa,Tarek Fayad,Esam Kotb,Mahmoud Temraz,Abdel-Naser Saad,Wael Essa,Heba Adel 한국생체재료학회 2016 생체재료학회지 Vol.20 No.3

Background: Bio-products from stem/progenitor cells, such as extracellular vesicles, are likely a new promising approach for reprogramming resident cells in both acute and chronic kidney disease. Forty CKD patients stage III and IV (eGFR 15–60 mg/ml) have been divided into two groups; twenty patients as treatment group “A” and twenty patients as a matching placebo group “B”. Two doses of MSC-derived extracellular vesicles had been administered to patients of group “A”. Blood urea, serum creatinine, urinary albumin creatinine ratio (UACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) have been used to assess kidney functions and TNF-α, TGF-β1 and IL-10 have been used to assess the amelioration of the inflammatory immune activity. Results: Participants in group A exhibited significant improvement of eGFR, serum creatinine level, blood urea and UACR. Patients of the treatment group “A” also exhibited significant increase in plasma levels of TGF-β1, and IL-10 and significant decrease in plasma levels of TNF-α. Participants of the control group B did not show significant improvement in any of the previously mentioned parameters at any time point of the study period. Conclusion: Administration of cell-free cord-blood mesenchymal stem cells derived extracellular vesicles (CF-CBMSCs-EVs) is safe and can ameliorate the inflammatory immune reaction and improve the overall kidney function in grade III-IV CKD patients.