Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on dietary habits and weight among Tunisian adults.

Background: COVID-19 lockdown measures have profoundly altered lifestyle habits, exposing individuals to significant health risks Aim: This study aims to assess the impact of quarantine measures in Tunisia, with a focus on examining changes in dietary habits, levels of physical activity, psychological patterns, and factors contributing to weight gain.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 1,016 participants and employed a mixed-methods approach to gather data on dietary habits, physical activity levels, and psychological indicators. Statistical analyses, including binary logistic regression, were conducted to identify independent risk factors associated with weight gain during the quarantine period.

Assessment of the germination power and α-amylase activity in the soil rhizospheric compartment amended with olive mill waste waters.

Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) was used in ferti-irrigation due to its high water content, as well as its organic and mineral richness. However, this by-product also contains elevated levels of polyphenols, which may pose phytotoxic risks to soil microbiota and plants over time. To address this concern, we conducted a thorough examination of the phenolic composition of OMWW and the phenolic content of amended soils using HPLC analysis.

Phenotypic characterization for bioremediation suitability of isolates from Southern Tunisian tannery effluent.

Effluents from the leather tanning industry contain diverse pollutants, including hazardous heavy metals, posing threats to public health and the surrounding environment. Indigenous bacterial isolates can represent an eco-friendly approach for tannery wastewater treatment; however, phenotypic characterization is necessary to determine whether these strains are suitable for bioremediation. In the present study, we analyzed seven new Enterococcus faecium strains and two new Bacillus subtillis strains isolated from effluents from the Southern Tunisian Tannery (ESTT).

Potential of Seed Halopriming in the Mitigation of Salinity Stress during Germination and Seedling Establishment in Durum Wheat ( Desf.).

The salinity of soils and irrigation water is among the main factors that limit plant productivity worldwide. Several alternatives have been proposed to get around this problem. However, these alternatives have faced difficulties in their implementation.

Uncovering the alarming rise of diabetic ketoacidosis during COVID-19 pandemic: a pioneer African study and review of literature.

Introduction: Reports around the world indicate that COVID-19 pandemic may be contributing to an increase in the incidence of new onset diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). This has yet to be studied in Africa. We aimed to compare the incidence trend of new onset DKA before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the type of diabetes mellitus (DM).

Effect of drought stress and subsequent re-watering on the physiology and nutrition of and .

Arid and semi-arid regions are characterised by extreme conditions including drought stress and salinity. These factors profoundly affect the agricultural sector. The objective of this work is to study the effect of drought and re-watering on leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and mineral nutrition in Pistacia vera and Pistacia atlantica .

Biosorption of heavy metals from phosphate-processing effluent by Serratia rubidaea NCTC12971 immobilized in Ca-alginate beads.

In this study, the biosorption ability of various potentially toxic elements from phosphate-processing effluent (PPE) using the indigenous bacterium Serratia rubidaea NCTC12971 immobilized in Ca-alginate beads was investigated. The experimental data analyzed by the Langmuir isotherm revealed that the optimum dose of 2 g·100 ml of immobilized S. rubidaea NCTC12971 at pH 7 and a contact time of 48 h allowed the removal of 92.

Clinical, immunological, and genetic investigations in a rare association of type 1 diabetes with xeroderma pigmentosum.

Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a rare genodermatosis predisposing to skin cancers. Autoimmune diseases related to XP are rarely discussed in the literature. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) has been associated with other genodermatoses like Cockayne syndrome, but it has never been described in XP.

Challenges and solutions for the integrated recovery room planning and scheduling problem during COVID-19 pandemic.

This study presents an efficient solution for the integrated recovery room planning and scheduling problem (IRRPSP). The complexity of the IRRPSP is caused by several sources. The problem combines the assignment of patients to recovery rooms and the scheduling of caregivers over a short-term planning horizon.

Association of an empty sella and grave´s disease in a patient with acromegaly: a case report.

Acromegaly is, in most cases, caused by growth hormone secreting pituitary adenomas. Those patients often develop different pathologies of the thyroid gland, however, the occurrence of Grave´s disease is quite a rare situation. We report a case of a 64-year-old female patient who presented with signs of hyperthyroidism and imbalance of her diabetes mellitus.

Safety Assessment and Potential Risks of the Glucagon Stimulation Test in the Diagnosis of Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency.

Background: Although it takes more time, the Glucagon Stimulation Test (GST) is a reliable measure for assessing growth hormone (GH) and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) secretion. The GST is considered to be a safe test; however, it still has mild side effects and potential risks.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the side effects of the GST while testing adrenal-insufficient patients.

Pituitary apoplexy of a giant prolactinoma during pregnancy.

Aims And Methods: Prolactinomas are a common cause of sexual dysfunction and infertility. We aimed, through this case report, to illustrate the difficulties of management of women with giant prolactinoma, especially in cases of desire of pregnancy.

Results: A 30-year-old woman was referred to our department for secondary amenorrhea.

Tree species as a biomonitor of metal pollution in arid Mediterranean environments: case for arid southern Tunisia.

We investigated the accumulation of Zn, Cu, Pb, and Cd in the soil and the leaves and bark of five common tree species (Eucalyptus occidentalis Endl., Acacia salicina Lindl., Cupressus sempervirens L.

Monogenic diabetes characteristics in a transnational multicenter study from Mediterranean countries.

Background: Diagnosis of monogenic diabetes has important clinical implications for treatment and health expenditure. However, its prevalence remains to be specified in many countries, particularly from South Europe, North Africa and Middle-East, where non-autoimmune diabetes in young adults is increasing dramatically.

Aims: To identify cases of monogenic diabetes in young adults from Mediterranean countries and assess the specificities between countries.

Plant traits and phenotypic variability effect on the phytomass production of (Desf.) De Winter.

A process of continuous degradation of plant communities, due mainly to long-term overgrazing has been revealed by most ecological studies in North African arid climate. Notably, this degradation appeared across the depletion of perennial grass species exhibiting low density in the majority of range ecosystems. This study aimed to examine the phenology and the aboveground phytomass production of (Desf.

Study of the phytotoxic potential of olive mill wastewaters on a leguminous plant 'Vicia faba L.'.

We investigated the study of the phytotoxic potential of olive mill wastewaters (OMW) on the germination and growth responses of the faba bean 'Vicia faba L.' leguminous plant cultivated under an arid Mediterranean climate. The results showed that the raw OMW blocked the germination of the seeds tested, while OMW treated soil extracts stimulate the seeds' germination rate.

Effect of phosphorus concentration on the photochemical stability of PSII and CO assimilation in Pistacia vera L. and Pistacia atlantica Desf.

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted at the faculty of sciences of Gafsa to evaluate the effect of phosphorus treatment on two pistachio species. The seedlings of Pistacia vera and Pistacia atlantica were subjected to six levels of phosphoric acid (PO) (0, 5, 15, 30, 60 and 120 ppm). Stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence (OJIP) and total chlorophyll content were measured after 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 and 12 weeks of treatment.

[Posttraumatic type 1 diabetes in an army soldier].

The influence of stress as a precipitating factor associated with the onset of type 1 diabetes have been widely studied in the literature. The relationship between physical and psychological traumas and diabetes has been rarely studied in the military environment. Posttraumatic diabetes is a controversial topic.

A decomposition - construction approach for solving the home health care scheduling problem.

Solving NP-hard Combinatorial Optimization Problems (COP) is a complex process as it deals with difficult cases essentially when using classical modeling techniques that may fail in handling real-life problems efficiently. In this context, Hierarchical Optimization Models (HOM) can be viewed as an effective alternative for modeling numerous difficult optimization problems. Their efficiency is explained by their ability to relax the COP complexity by decomposing it hierarchically into a set of weaker and easier interconnected subproblems.

Optimization, characterization and hepatoprotective effect of polysaccharides isolated from Stipa parviflora Desf. against CCl induced liver injury in rats using surface response methodology (RSM).

The roots of Stipa species have been used for treatment and prevention of a various number of diseases. To the best of my knowledge, little information is regarding the antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities of polysaccharides from Stipa parviflora (SPP). Hence the polysaccharides from this plant sample have been investigated here.

Functional Analysis of Promoter Variants in Genes Involved in Sex Steroid Action, DNA Repair and Cell Cycle Control.

Genetic variants affecting the regulation of gene expression are among the main causes of human diversity. The potential importance of regulatory polymorphisms is underscored by results from Genome Wide Association Studies, which have already implicated such polymorphisms in the susceptibility to complex diseases such as breast cancer. In this study, we re-sequenced the promoter regions of 24 genes involved in pathways related to breast cancer including sex steroid action, DNA repair, and cell cycle control in 60 unrelated Caucasian individuals.

Evaluation of the potential of Erodium glaucophyllum L. for phytoremediation of metal-polluted arid soils.

The present work aimed at studying pollution of traffic-related heavy metals (HMs) in roadside soils and their uptake by the Mediterranean native species Erodium glaucophyllum L., growing along Gabès-El Hamma highway, Gabès (Tunisia). Here, heavy metals were analyzed in soils and in plant roots and shoots along different distances from the highway edge.