miRNAs: novel noninvasive biomarkers as diagnostic and prognostic tools in neonatal sepsis.

The study aimed to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of 3 specific microRNAs (miRNAs) in early-onset neonatal sepsis (NS). We examined miR-1, miR-124, and miR-34a in 70 NS patients upon admission and compared them to 70 healthy controls by RT-PCR. The main finding of the study was the difference in miRNA expression levels between NS patients and controls. Higher expression levels of miR-1 and miR-124 were significantly associated with NS, while miR-34a expression was reduced. Among the studied miRNAs, miR-34a exhibited the highest specificity (97%) as a confirmatory test for NS. In the multivariate model, miR-1 and miR-124 were found to be significant predictors of disease progression or mortality. Overall, the study suggests that miR-1, miR-124, and miR-34a could serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosing and predicting outcomes in early-onset NS.

Neither Eastern nor Western: Patterns of independence and interdependence in Mediterranean societies.

Social science research has highlighted "honor" as a central value driving social behavior in Mediterranean societies, which requires individuals to develop and protect a sense of their personal self-worth and their social reputation, through assertiveness, competitiveness, and retaliation in the face of threats. We predicted that members of Mediterranean societies may exhibit a distinctive combination of independent and interdependent social orientation, self-construal, and cognitive style, compared to more commonly studied East Asian and Anglo-Western cultural groups. We compared participants from eight Mediterranean societies (Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus [Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities], Lebanon, Egypt) to participants from East Asian (Korea, Japan) and Anglo-Western (the United Kingdom, the United States) societies, using six implicit social orientation indicators, an eight-dimensional self-construal scale, and four cognitive style indicators. Compared with both East Asian and Anglo-Western samples, samples from Mediterranean societies distinctively emphasized several forms of independence (relative intensity of disengaging [vs. engaging] emotions, happiness based on disengaging [vs. engaging] emotions, dispositional [vs. situational] attribution style, self-construal as different from others, self-directed, self-reliant, self-expressive, and consistent) and interdependence (closeness to in-group [vs. out-group] members, self-construal as connected and committed to close others). Our findings extend previous insights into patterns of cultural orientation beyond commonly examined East-West comparisons to an understudied world region. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Proximal and distal honor fit and subjective well-being in the Mediterranean region.

OBJECTIVE: People's psychological tendencies are attuned to their sociocultural context and culture-specific ways of being, feeling, and thinking are believed to assist individuals in successfully navigating their environment. Supporting this idea, a stronger "fit" with one's cultural environment has often been linked to positive psychological outcomes. The current research expands the cultural, conceptual, and methodological space of cultural fit research by exploring the link between well-being and honor, a central driver of social behavior in the Mediterranean region. METHOD: Drawing on a multi-national sample from eight countries circum-Mediterranean (N = 2257), we examined the relationship between cultural fit in honor and well-being at the distal level (fit with one's perceived society) using response surface analysis (RSA) and at the proximal level (fit with one's university gender group) using profile analysis. RESULTS: We found positive links between fit and well-being in both distal (for some, but not all, honor facets) and proximal fit analyses (across all honor facets). Furthermore, most fit effects in the RSA were complemented with positive level effects of the predictors, with higher average honor levels predicting higher well-being. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the interplay between individual and environmental factors in honor as well as the important role honor plays in well-being in the Mediterranean region.

Association between genetic variations in carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase gene and persistent neonatal pulmonary hypertension.

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the new-borns (PPHN) is one of the main etiologies of morbidity as well as mortality in neonates. Previous studies found that genetic polymorphisms in urea cycle enzymes are associated with PPHN. Few of the genetic polymorphisms in neonates have been recognized with PPHN. We aimed to find out the prevalence of the CPS-I gene polymorphism and to correlate the genotype with the serum nitric oxide (NO) levels in Egyptian neonates with idiopathic PPHN. We included neonates diagnosed with PPH (n = 150) while the control group included healthy neonates with matched age and sex (n = 100). The CPS-I gene polymorphism: A/C, trans-version substitution, rs4399666 genotype was identified using TaqMan-based quantitative PCR. The results revealed that the CPS-I A/C rs4399666 gene polymorphism and lower serum NO levels were significantly associated with idiopathic PPHN in neonates. In addition, serum NO level was significantly associated with an rs4366999 A/C variant gene in idiopathic PPHN (p = 0.001). Univariable regression analysis demonstrated that there was a significant association between CPS-I A/C rs4399666 CC and increased risk of PPHN (odd ratio, 95% CI of 1.8 (0.78 to 1.75), p-value = 0.04).Conclusion: We concluded that mutant CPS-I A/C rs4399666 minor variant especially the homozygous CC genotype is frequently distributed among the PPHN group. This demonstrates that the presence of mutant CPS-I rs4399666 does not necessarily predispose to the development of PPHN in neonates, but nonetheless, if the C allele is inherited in the homozygous CC genotype, it is associated with a higher risk of PPHN. What is Known: • Prior studies found that polymorphisms in urea cycle enzyme genes are associated with PPHN. • Association between CPS-1 gene polymorphisms is significantly associated with PPHN. What is New: • The prevalence of CPS-1, A/C trans-version substitution, rs4399666 gene polymorphism in Egyptian neonates presented with idiopathic PPHN. • Mutant CPS-I A/C rs4399666 especially the homozygous CC genotype is more frequently distributed among PPHN, and it is significantly associated with low serum nitric oxide level.

Reliability and Validity of the Arabic Version of the Parental Stressor Scale and Nurse Parental Support Tool: Opening Up Research on Parental Needs in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Egypt.

BACKGROUND: The admission of a newborn infant to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) due to preterm birth or high-risk conditions, such as perinatal injury, sepsis, hypoxia, congenital malformation, or brain injury, is a stressful experience for mothers. There is currently a lack of research on maternal perceived stress and support in Egyptian NICUs and no validated Arabic tool to investigate this further. PURPOSE: To determine the reliability and validity of the Arabic language versions of the Parental Stressor Scale: NICU (PSS:NICU) and the Nurse Parental Support Tool (NPST). METHODS: Egyptian mothers completed the PSS:NICU and the NPST at the time of their infants' discharge from the NICU. Reliability was assessed with Cronbach α and Spearman-Brown coefficient. The multifactorial structure of the PSS:NICU Arabic version was tested. Associations with sociodemographic and clinical variables were explored with bivariate correlations and t tests. RESULTS: Sixty-eight mothers of preterm (PT) infants and 52 mothers of ill full-term (IFT) infants completed the study. Mothers of PT and IFT infants did not differ for sociodemographic variables. High internal consistency (α range between .93 and .96) emerged for both tools. Spearman-Brown coefficients ranged between 0.86 and 0.94. The multidimensional structure of the PSS:NICU was confirmed and 3 core dimensions explained up to 71.48% of the variance. Perceived nursing support did not diminish the effects of stress in mothers of infants admitted to the NICU, regardless of PT or IFT infants' status. A longer NICU stay was associated with greater stress in mothers of PT infants. The presence of comorbidities was significantly associated with stress of mothers of IFT infants. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH: Future research is needed to develop evidence-based support for mothers whose infants are admitted to a NICU in Egypt. The availability of validated and reliable PSS:NICU and NPST scales in Arabic will facilitate cross-country and cross-cultural research on maternal stress in the NICU. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Neonatal care nurses in Egypt will be able to increase their understanding of the stressors experienced by mothers of infants admitted to the NICU. This will in turn enable the introduction of neonatal care policies aimed at reducing specific stressors and provide improved maternal support.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: Effect of Mesenchymal Stem Cell with PPAR-γ Agonist or Exendin-4.

Therapy targeting mitochondria may provide novel ways to treat diabetes and its complications. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ) agonists and exendin-4; an analog of glucagon-like peptide-1 have shown cardioprotective properties in many cardiac injury models. So, we evaluated their effects in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) in relation to mitochondrial dysfunction. This work included seven groups of adult male albino rats: the control group, the non-treated diabetic group, and the treated diabetic groups: one group was treated with MSCs only, the second with pioglitazone only, the third with MSCs and pioglitazone, the forth with exendin-4 only and the fifth with MSCs and exendin-4. All treatments were started after 6 weeks from induction of diabetes and continued for the next 4 weeks. Blood samples were collected for assessment of glucose, insulin, and cardiac enzymes. Hearts were removed and used for isolated heart studies, and gene expression of: myocyte enhancer factor-2 (Mef2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator1-alpha (PGC1α), nuclear factor kappa B (NFKB) and autophagic markers: light chain 3 (LC3) and beclin by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The cardiac mitochondrial protein levels of cardiolipin and uncoupler protein 2 (UCP2) were assessed by ELISA and western blot technique, respectively. Treated groups showed significant improvement in left ventricular function associated with improvement in the cardiac injury and myopathic markers compared to the non treated diabetic group. NFKB was down-regulated while cardiolipin, PGC1α, LC.3 and beclin were up-regulated in all treated groups. These data suggest that the cardioprotective effects of MSCs, exendin-4 or pioglitazone based on their ability to improve mitochondrial functions through targeting inflammatory and autophagy signaling. The co- administration of pioglitazone or exendin-4 with MSCs showed significant superior improvement compared with MSCs alone, indicating the ability to use them in supporting cardioprotective effects of MSCs.