The effect of balanities aeqyptiaca defatted protein meal and protein concentrate supplemented diet on biochemical and molecular stability of diabetic wister albino rat.

Balanites aeqyptiaca (BA) seeds were toasted at 70 °C, milled and the oil expelled to resolve to meal which were defatted to resolve to defatted balanites aeqyptiaca (BA) protein meal and (BA) protein concentrate respectively. These were subjected to analysis using standard methods. There exist marked trend between defatted balanites aeqyptiaca protein meal, protein concentrate and incidences of diabetes. This work investigated the anti- diabetic effects of balanites aeqyptiaca defatted protein meal and concentrate supplemented diets in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The rats were fattened for two weeks with high fat diet (HFD) to introduce Hyperglycemia and then made diabetic by intraperitoneal administration of STZ (35 mg/kg body weight) and fed diets containing 5 % defatted balanites aeqyptiaca protein meal (DAPM) and 5 % balanites aeqyptiaca protein concentrate (APC) for 14 days. The effect of the diet on blood glucose, serum glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione transferase (GSH), thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase activities were investigated. There was marked increase in the blood glucose, TBARS, pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glycosidase with corresponding decrease in serum GPx and GSH contents in diabetic rats control groups. These trends were however, reversed in diabetic rats fed diet supplemented with the balanites aeqyptiaca protein meals for 14 days. The meals from defatted and protein concentrate inhibit α-amylase and α-glycosidase inhibitory activity in vivo. Thus, the anti-diabetes properties of the defatted meal and protein concentrate may be attributed to the influence of its constituent phytochemicals on starch digestion as well as endogenous enzymes activities. The study revealed that defatted aduwa meal and proteins concnentrate demonstrated potentials used as functional ingredients in food materials and could also increase income access of low resource populace.

Quality of Life in Parents of Children With Biliary Atresia.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine quality of life (QoL), stress, and anxiety levels in parents of children with biliary atresia (BA), and to assess factors associated with parental QoL. METHODS: Parents of children (6-16 years) with BA were included in this cross-sectional study. We used validated questionnaires to assess parental QoL, stress, and anxiety levels. We compared the results with reference data from the general population and determined associated factors using generalized linear mixed model analysis. Results are given as mean ±â€ŠSD or median [min-max]. RESULTS: We included 61 parents of 39 children (aged 11 ±â€Š3 years). Thirty-one children (79%) had undergone a liver transplantation (LTx). Parents reported reduced family activities (88 [8-100] vs 95 [30-100], P = 0.002) and more emotional worry (83 [17-100] vs 92 [95-100], P < 0.001) compared with reference data, but a stronger family cohesion (85 [30-100] vs 60 [30-100], P = 0.05). Scores on parental QoL, anxiety and stress were similar to reference data. Fathers (16.0 [11-19]) and mothers (15.4 ±â€Š1.4) scored higher on the psychological domain compared with reference data (vs 14.7 ±â€Š2.2, P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in QoL of parents with children with native liver or those who had undergone LTx. Older age and high anxiety trait in parents were adversely associated with physical QoL. Household income below &OV0556;35 000/year and high anxiety trait were adversely associated with environmental QoL. CONCLUSIONS: QoL in parents of school-aged children with BA appears to be unaffected. Parents with high-anxiety personality trait, older age, and low household income are at increased risk of impaired QoL.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Biliary Atresia Patients with Native Liver or Transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to assess health-related quality of life (HrQoL) in biliary atresia (BA) patients, based on original data and a literature review, and to determine factors associated with their HrQoL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed available studies describing HrQoL in BA patients. We assessed HrQoL in Dutch BA patients (6-16 years) using the validated Child Health Questionnaire. We compared HrQoL scores in BA patients with healthy peers and with children who had undergone major surgery in infancy or children with chronic conditions. We determined the relationship between specific patient-related factors and HrQoL. RESULTS: Literature data indicated that HrQoL in children with BA is lower than in healthy peers. In Dutch BA patients (n = 38; age 10 ± 3 years), parent-proxy physical HrQoL (48 ± 11) was significantly lower compared with two reference groups of healthy peers (59 ± 4 and 56 ± 6, respectively, each p < 0.001), and lower than in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (60 ± 5), asthma (54 ± 6), attending a cardiology clinic (52 ± n/r), congenital diaphragmatic hernia (53 ± 7) or D-transposition of the great arteries (54 ± 6; all p < 0.05). Psychosocial HrQoL (50 ± 9) was lower than in healthy peers (54 ± 6, p = 0.02, and 53 ± 6, p = 0.07) and children with asthma (54 ± 6, p = 0.02), and largely comparable to children with other chronic conditions. Parent-proxy physical HrQoL was adversely related to adverse medical event in the past year, special education, and motor impairments; psychosocial HrQoL was adversely related to behavioral problems. CONCLUSION: Children with BA are at risk of impaired HrQoL. Special attention is warranted for children with adverse medical events and special education.

Improving access to dental care for vulnerable children; further development of the Back2School programme in 2013.

This paper describes a service evaluation of a dental treatment programme providing care to children not normally taken to the dentist. It explains the extension of the Back2School programme from the pilot phase and assesses if a mobile dental unit (MDU) can provide a high quality service. The public health competencies it illustrates include oral health improvement, developing and monitoring quality dental services, and collaborative working.

Limitations in the approach health caregivers can take in end-of-life care decisions.

BACKGROUND: In the terminal stages of neuro-metabolic diseases, parents can begin to experience a sense of loss even before the child dies, and might accept death prematurely. CASES: A 2.5-year-old female patient with Sandoff Disease (diagnosed at 9 months of age), and a 17-month-old male Krabbe patient (diagnosed at 5 months of age) were admitted to the hospital with hypernatraemic dehydration and bronchopneumonia, respectively, within 10 days of each other. Both patients developed respiratory arrest short after admission and were supported with mechanical ventilation. Both families gave written consent to end life support, but their wishes could not be accepted according to Turkish law. CONCLUSIONS: Specialists are expected to communicate well with families and give continuous care while respecting the opinions of patients' families on the timing of the withdrawal of life support. However, ethical and legal regulations on the conduct of health care professionals in these circumstances are unclear in Turkey and should be developed rapidly.

Childhood shyness and maternal social phobia: a community study.

BACKGROUND: Family history data suggest the possibility of an association between childhood shyness and parental social phobia. AIMS: To examine the prevalence of maternal affective disorder in a community sample of four-year-old shy and non-shy children. METHOD: By screening 867 children, 43 shy children, 59 children with another form of disturbance (i.e. fearfulness, feeding problem or conduct problem) and 26 children with no disturbance were identified. Interviewers who were unaware of child status used a standardised mental state assessment to determine the rate of affective disorder in the mothers of these children. RESULTS: Compared with the mothers of the children in both comparison groups, the mothers of the children who were purely shy (i.e. shy children with no comorbid condition) had a significantly raised lifetime rate of anxiety disorder in general, and social phobia in particular. The odds ratio of a social phobia in the mothers of the purely shy children was raised over the normal control group by a factor of more than seven. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a specific association between childhood shyness and maternal social phobia.

Anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, trait anxiety, and breath-holding duration as predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge.

We investigated predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge (i.e. breathing deeply and rapidly into a paper bag for 5 min) in college students. Zero-order correlations indicated that scores on both the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI: Reiss, Peterson, Gursky & McNally, 1986) and the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS: Rachman & Taylor, 1994), predicted anxious response to challenge, whereas a behavioral measure of carbon dioxide sensitivity (i.e. maximum breath-holding duration) and scores on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory--Trait form (STAI-T: Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg & Jacobs, 1983) did not. Multiple regression revealed that all four variables remained in the model, entering in the following order: ASI, breath-holding duration, SFS, and STAI-T. These data suggest that psychological variables reflecting fears of bodily sensations are better predictors of response to challenge than either behavioral sensitivity to carbon dioxide or general trait anxiety.

Anxiety sensitivity, suffocation fear, and breath-holding duration as predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge.

Predictors of response to carbon dioxide challenge (i.e., breathing deeply and rapidly into a paper bag for 5 min) were evaluated in 78 college students. Zero-order correlations revealed that scores on the Suffocation Fear Scale (SFS; S. Rachman & S. Taylor, 1994) and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (S. Reiss, R. A. Peterson, D. M. Gursky, & R. J. McNally, 1986) predicted anxiety and self-reported bodily sensations, whereas a behavioral measure of carbon dioxide sensitivity (i.e., maximum breath-holding duration) did not. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the SFS was the only significant predictor of anxiety and bodily sensations. Just as anxiety sensitivity is a better predictor than trait anxiety of the response to biological challenges in general, suffocation fear is a better predictor than anxiety sensitivity for challenges that increase carbon dioxide.