Characterization of Olive Oil Volatile Compounds after Elution through Selected Bleaching Materials-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis.

Using different bleaching materials to eliminate or reduce organic volatiles in deteriorated olive oils will positively affect its characteristics. This study aims to identify the volatiles of oxidized olive oil after physical bleaching using selected immobilized adsorbents. Oxidized olive oil was eluted using open-column chromatography packed with silica gel, bentonite, resin, Arabic gum, and charcoal at a 1:5 eluent system (w/v, adsorbent: oxidized olive oil). The smoke point was determined. The collected distilled vapor was injected into GC-MS to identify the volatiles eluted after partial refining with each of these bleaching compounds. The results showed that volatile compounds were quantitatively and qualitatively affected by the type of adsorbents used for the elution of olive oil and the smoking points of eluted oils. The most prominent detected volatile compounds were limonene (14.53%), piperitone (10.35%), isopropyl-5-methyl-(2E)-hexenal (8.6%), methyl octadecenoate (6.57%), and citronellyl acetate (5.87%). Both bentonite and resin were superior in decreasing the ratio of volatile compounds compared with other bleaching materials used. Resin immobilized medium was significantly affected (p < 0.05), raising the smoke point. These results highlighted some information regarding the characteristics of volatile compounds that result after the physical elution of olive oil through selected adsorbents.

Nutrition Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAPs) among Jordanian Elderly-A Cross-Sectional Study.

Nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and good practices are essential for preventing malnutrition, ensuring good health, and maintaining life quality. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have been published on the nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of Jordanian older people. For this reason, our study aimed to assess the KAPs in the Jordanian elderly. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1200 people aged 60 and over. The results revealed that 52.8% of participants had poor knowledge, 52.7% had negative attitude scores, and 72.6% had poor practices. Significant differences were found between the three regions in the KAP prevalence (p < 0.001). The northern region had a higher prevalence of nutritionally poor knowledge (65.6%) compared to 52.5% and 40.4% for the central and southern regions, respectively. Participants from the central region had a higher prevalence of a positive attitude (55.4%), whereas the northern and the southern participants had a higher prevalence of a negative attitude (65.6% and 54.4%, respectively). All regions reported poor practices, yet, significantly, the northern regions had the highest prevalence of poor practices. Participants with a low educational level reported a significantly higher prevalence of poor knowledge, negative attitudes, and poor practices compared to participants with a high educational level. The results obtained underline the importance of taking into account the lack of nutrition-related KAPs among the elderly in Jordan. It is crucial to raise awareness on this issue and to implement the national nutrition strategy, with particular attention paid to the elderly. Concrete measures must be taken to ensure that the nutritional needs of older people are met and to improve their quality of life.

The Prevalence of Bacterial and Fungal Coinfections among Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients in the ICU in Jordan.

Background: Secondary bacterial and fungal coinfections have been reported among critically ill coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) patients and are associated with increased disease severity and mortality incidence (MI) rates. Aims: This study aimed to track bacterial and fungal coinfections among COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to assess the impact of these infections on disease prognosis and patient outcomes in Jordan. Materials and Methods: This was a single-center study that enrolled 46 ICU patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Microbiological and antimicrobial susceptibility results and inflammatory biomarker data were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The MI rate attributed to bacterial and fungal coinfections was 84.8%, and the highest rate was reported among patients older than 70 years (66.7%). The MI rate related to bacterial coinfections was 95.2%, whereas that of fungal coinfections was 4.8%. The most commonly isolated bacterium in the blood was a coagulase-negative staphylococcus (41%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae in nasopharyngeal swabs (34%) and Acinetobacter baumannii in sputum samples (31%). Candida species were the sole cause of fungal coinfections in the studied population. In particular, Candida albicans was isolated from 3% of patients with bacteremia, whereas Candida glabrata was isolated from 8% of nasopharyngeal swabs. Klebsiella pneumoniae was considered the major cause of upper respiratory tract infections (34%). Multifactorial infection was significantly associated with increased MI (p value <0.001). Conclusion: COVID-19 MI is associated with respiratory bacterial/fungal coinfections. The ability to predict bacterial and fungal coinfections in ICU patients may be crucial to their survival and prognosis.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Body Weight, Eating Habits, and Physical Activity of Jordanian Children and Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic affects lifestyle patterns globally and impacts children and adolescents. This study aims to assess the effect of the lockdown on body weight, eating habits, and physical activity of Jordanian youth (children and adolescents). METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 477 Jordanian children and adolescents aged 6-17 y. The study tool was a structured validated questionnaire. It comprised 4 parts, including a general description of the study purpose, sociodemographic and anthropometric data, physical activity data, and food intake pattern. Questions were reported before and during lockdown. Changes in outcomes over the 2 study time points were evaluated. RESULTS: After the lockdown period, the mean body weight and body mass index for age Z-scores (BAZ) showed a significant increase (P < 0.001) compared with before the lockdown period. More than 50% of the subjects reported that they spent more than 3 h in front of the screen during the lockdown. The percent of subjects who watched TV for more than 3h was increased. Moreover, physical inactivity was increased significantly during the lockdown. All food groups consumption was significantly increased during the lockdown compared to before the lockdown. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 lockdown period was characterized by an increase in the use of screen-based devices, lower physical activity, uncontrolled food intake, and weight gain.

Prevalence of orthorexia nervosa among nutrition students and nutritionists: Pilot study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) is defined as an excessive concern in choosing and preparing of meals according to strict rules. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of ON among nutrition students and nutritionists and to identify the related variables affected by the ON tendency. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in July and August of 2019 among 421 nutrition students from six universities, in addition to nutritionists in Jordan. Participants completed questionnaire related to individual characteristics and the ORTO-15 scale. Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) tendency was measured using ORTO-15 questionnaire, referring to different diagnostic thresholds (40/35). p < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: Orthorexia had 72.0% prevalence in our sample using the 40-point threshold; the figure was reasonably lower with the 35-point threshold (31.8%). Also, ON tendency was significantly affected by BMI categories (p = 0.007) and gender (p = 0.043) at 35-point threshold. Males have more tendency (39.4%) than females (28.6%) (p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: The results of this study highlight the magnitude of ON in Jordan. Using cut-off at 35 is preferable than cut-off at 40 to identify factors influencing ON. Moreover, ON tendency is affected by gender and BMI and not affected by educational level.

Acute Subdural Haemorrhage as a Complication of Diagnostic Lumbar Puncture.

Lumbar puncture (LP) is done daily for both spinal anesthesia and emergency cases for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. Subdural hemorrhage (SDH) is a rare but severe complication following diagnostic LP, which could be potentially fatal, and early diagnosis may be life-saving. We present a 28-year-old female patient who presented to our emergency department with a headache, fever, and vomiting, with normal initial laboratory and imaging. Diagnostic lumbar puncture was done to exclude central nervous system infection. After CSF results and cultures were negative, and nasal influenza B detected, medication was started and she was discharged home. Three days post-procedure, she was complaining of a severe, persistent headache and a head computed tomography (CT) was done, which revealed acute SDH. Extensive workup searching for the cause of SDH was negative, and with a stationary course of SDH, she has discharged home again with a diagnosis of SDH post LP complication. In conclusion, a headache post LP is common and usually benign and self-limited. Severe persistent headache that is not positional and doesn't respond to analgesics with caffeine should be considered a red flag after LP and should be investigated carefully for other possibilities such as SDH.

The prevalence of allergic diseases in school children of metropolitan city in Indonesia shows a similar pattern to that of developed countries.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of allergy among Surabaya school children is currently unknown. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of the common allergic sensitization and allergic diseases among school children and undergraduate students in suburban of Surabaya by epidemiologic data collection. METHODS: A multistage simple random sampling was done to select 5 primary schools, 8 secondary schools (4 of junior high schools and senior high schools, respectively), and 1 university from 5 districts in Surabaya city. Out of 550 invited respondents, 499 (128 primary school, 221 secondary school, and 150 undergraduate) respondents gave their consent. A complete personal history, allergic symptoms, environmental exposure of common allergens was obtained from interview and the physical examinations were performed. Skin prick test (SPT) was done using 45 different allergen extracts. Total serum IgE and specific IgE radioallergosorbent test levels were measured for respondents with allergic manifestations. RESULTS: There was an increasing SPT positivity among study respondents, from primary school, secondary school, to undergraduate students (21.90%, 28.95%, to 45.30% respectively). Cockroach (42.85%) and fungi/mold spore (42.85%) were the most common allergens in primary school children. House dust mites was the most common allergen in secondary school (63.16%) and undergraduate students (58.82%). Urticaria and rhinitis were the commonest allergic diseases manifestation. History of atopy was positive in 60.79% of the allergic respondents. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of allergic sensitization among school children and undergraduate students in Surabaya suburb areas were increased compared to previous estimates in 1998. While house dust mites are known as important allergens, surprisingly cockroach was the common allergen among the younger school children.