Background: The organophosphorus (OP) pesticide malathion is a highly neurotoxic compound, leading to cholinergic syndrome. Malathion produces reproductive toxicity. Objectives: To investigate the protective effects of curcumin on the testicular toxicity induced in male mice orally administrated with malathion.Materials and methods: Forty-eight mature male mice were used. The mice were divided into four groups, 12 mice each, and treated for 4 weeks as follows: the control (G1), curcumin-treated group (G2), malathiontreated group (G3), and the curcumin plus malathion-treated group (G4). At the end of the experiment, the mice were sacrificed and dissected, and tissue samples were obtained and antioxidant parameters were examined. Tissue samples were also histopathologicaly and immunohistochemically assessed. Samples of blood were collected for assessing the levels of serum hormones, namely follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, and acetylcholinesterase activity (AChE). Results: Malathion exposure caused a decrease in serum testosterone and LH levels and antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) and elevation of oxidative stress marker (MDA). Histological changes were as well observed in the form of maturation abnormalities, intratubular necrosis, and inflammatory infiltrate in malathion-treated mice. Co-administration of curcumin with malathion reduced lipid peroxidation (LPO) activity and improved spermatogenesis and increased catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and testosterone levels. Conclusion:The current study showed that curcumin could ameliorate the elevated concentration of lipid peroxidation products, increase the levels of antioxidative markers, and improve the pathological changes in the testis induced by malathion administration. The capacity of curcumin to work as antioxidant supposedly relates to its structure.

Introduction: Efforts have been made to contain COVID-19. Human behavior, affected by knowledge and perceptions, may influence the course of disease. Methodology: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 422 participants. It consisted of 28 questions in four sections; seven questions about sociodemographic characteristics of participants, 12 questions to estimate level of knowledge about COVID-19, six questions to evaluate attitudes toward disease, and three questions to assess practices to prevent disease transmission. Results: Their overall understanding of COVID-19 was satisfactory. 69% of the participants had satisfactory levels of knowledge, and the main sources of information were social media platforms (79.70%) and television (70.90%). There was a significant difference in knowledge as a function of gender (p = 0.50), occupation (p = 0.012), and smoking (p = 0.041). The participants held optimistic attitudes and adopted appropriate protective measures. Most participants agreed that COVID-19 can cause death (64.7%), poses greater risks to elderly (93.4%) and those with chronic diseases (96.7%), it is mandatory to quarantine infected individuals (98.1%), preventive health measures are important (97.6%), and health authorities will succeed in controlling the pandemic (67.5%). There was a statistically significant association between satisfactory levels of knowledge and the practice of wearing masks and the adoption of protective measures (avoiding crowded places, frequent hand washing). Conclusions: Residents of Al-Jouf region in Saudi Arabia have satisfactory levels of knowledge, optimistic attitudes, and good practice during the rapid rise period of the pandemic. Awareness campaigns will improve any misbeliefs and risky behaviors.

Background: Tumor-infiltrating neutrophils and lymphocytes play essential roles in promoting or combating various neoplasms. This study aimed to investigate the association between tumor-infiltrating neutrophils and lymphocytes and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in the progression of urothelial carcinoma. Methods: A total of 106 patients diagnosed with urothelial carcinoma were was. Pathological examination for tumor grade and stage and for tumor-infiltrating neutrophils, both CD4 and CD8+ T lymphocytes, as well as the neutrophil- to-lymphocyte ratio were evaluated. Results: The presence of neutrophils and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio correlated with high-grade urothelial neoplasms. In both low- and high-grade tumors, the lymphocytes increased during progression from a non-invasive neoplasm to an early-invasive neoplasm. CD8+ T lymphocytes increased in low-grade non–muscle-invasive tumors compared to non-invasive tumors. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in CD8+ T lymphocytes during progression to muscle-invasive tumors. Conclusions: Our results suggest that tumor-infiltrating neutrophils and CD8+ T lymphocytes have a significant effect on tumor grade and progression.

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