Qatar National Diabetes Strategy for the growing diabetes pandemic (2016-2022) - are we there yet?

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is increasingly recognized as a major public health challenge with 422 million people suffering worldwide in 2014. Awad et al anticipated that by 2050, that DM prevalence and incidence in Qatar will rise significantly, emphasizing the rapidly expanding need for health care resources to treat the condition and highlighting the necessity of intervention techniques for treatment and prevention that are specific for each nationality in Qatar

Digital retinopathy photography: the way forward for standardizing retinal screening in patients living with diabetes: an overview of the key challenges to care delivery in Qatar

The incidence of diabetes is rising globally with Qatar being ranked as the 3rd highest country for the prevalence of diabetes in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the main cause of sight-threatening complications of diabetes. Significant advances in screening and treatment for DR have emerged in the last few decades with a strong impact on the accuracy and effectiveness of screening. DR being a preventable cause of blindness with early detection and interventions like laser photocoagulation and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatments makes it imperative to invest in early recognition and treatment for DR. Globally screening is done by direct/indirect ophthalmoscopy or retinal photography with huge variations in early diagnosis. Studies have revealed the superiority of three-field retinal photography when compared to direct ophthalmoscopy, for DR screening, even if performed by an experienced ophthalmologist. The two most sensitive means of detection at present are digital retinal imaging and slit lamp examination post mydriasis. Both modalities require assessment by trained personnel. Digital retinal photography is extremely quick, allows the creation of permanent records and with the advent of semiautomatic nonmydriatic cameras, requires less skill as compared to the use of a slit lamp. Hence, should digital retinal photography be a preferred standardised method for retinal screening in Qatar

Co-occurrence of sleeping difficulties with urbanization and food choice in female university students.

Introduction: Sleep is a basic and essential need of human beings, large number of sleep related problems are demonstrated in all age groups with different pro-moting factor( s), these may be biological, social, economical or environmental. Literature is scanty to identify co factors of sleep disturbances in apparently healthy females.Objective: To analyze association of sleep disorders in females with rural/ urban settings of living and certain dietary habits.Methodology: A cross sectional /survey-based study was performed in University of Sindh Jamshoro. The sample size (n) was 520.The data comprised of females aged between 18 -26 years. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was employed to assess sleep quality among the participants along with self-structured question-naire which was used for other variables such as consumption of junk food and its frequency of intake and breakfast intake.Results: Out of 520 participants, 310 (60%) were living in urban areas shows com-paratively higher frequency of poor sleep (n=262,50.5%; p=0.01-odd ratio=2.18) than those who were living in rural setups. Poor sleep was also observed in junk food eaters (n=304, 58%) however no association was observed in pattern of breakfast with sleep.Conclusion: The study concluded the prevalence of poor sleep was found more in urban female dwellers.Keywords: sleep, rural, urban, junk food, breakfast, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

Risk of COVID-19 infection and severity of clinical outcomes and its association with ABO blood groups

Objective: To determine association of ABO blood groups with severity of COVID-19 symptoms among covid recovered patients of different blood type. Methodology: An observational/experimental study was conducted at department of physiology, Sindh university Jamshoro from April 2021 to December 2021.The sample size (n) was 732, data consist of male and female covid recovered participants of age group 18-30yrs. Self -structured questionnaire was used to evaluate intensity of symptoms of COVID 19 and for other characteristics such as gender and age. Blood was drawn for ABO blood typing. Statistical analysis was performed on SPSS- 21.Results:  Seven hundred thirty two was the total study population of   COVID-19 recovered patients, out of which male population was 489 (66.9%) and female population was 243 (33.1%).The  results reports that there is statistically significant association present between the A +ve blood type and susceptibility of COVID-19 infection, whereas AB +ve and A +ve shown higher percentage of severe infection. Blood group B +ve with (48%) with less severe symptoms. O +ve people shown mild symptoms that is 60% of entire O+ve population and 30% are presented with severe symptoms.Conclusion: This study suggests that A +ve blood group is susceptible blood type with high chances to get infection. People having   A +ve and AB +ve blood types are more susceptible towards severe COVID 19 infection in comparison to other blood types, O +ve blood shown rather protective effect

Screening for Eating Disorder Using Eating Attitudes Test-26 and its Association with Eating Habits in Undergraduate Male University Students

Background: Students at colleges and universities are at a higher risk of developing an eating disorder. Insufficient data exist regarding the prevalence of eating disorders among male undergraduate university students. Objective: To determine the frequency of eating disorder and its association with eating habits, junk food and Pica consumption among male undergraduates at the University of Sindh in Jamshoro. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between April 2018 and October 2018 at Sindh University in Jamshoro. Data was collected using Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) after getting informed consent. A total of 403 undergraduate male students filled out EAT-26 questionnaire. Items of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors were compared between the positive (having eating disorder) and negative EAT respondents using chi-square test.   Results: With a cutoff value of 20 of the EAT-26, 40.9% of students were found to be at risk for an eating disorder (EAT positive). The majority of study participants (79%) reported eating junk food. Seven percent of the participants reported eating Pica (non-food particles) like sand and plastic. Eating disorder was significantly associated with all the subscales of EAT-26. However Eating disorder was not significantly associated with junk food or with pica consumption.  Conclusion: A high number of male undergraduates are at risk of having eating disorder. Regular screening of male students and awareness about eating disorders is the need of time

Effect of Stress, Depression and Anxiety on Blood Glucose Level in Pregnant Women

Introduction: Pregnancy is a rollercoaster ride for a woman. With joy and excitement, there are also times of stress, anxiety, and depression. This research aims to investigate the effect of anxiety, depression and stress on blood glucose levels in pregnant women. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, 123 pregnant women were included using random sampling. DASS-21 questionnaire, a validated tool, was used to determine stress, anxiety and depression. Random Blood glucose levels of the study participants were measured. The Chi-square test was used, and p values were determined. Results: Among 123 females, 56.91% (n=70) were stressed, 78.86% (n=97) were depressed, and 84.55% (n=104) were anxious. Blood glucose level was significantly higher in stressed and depressed pregnant females (X2  = 12.77, P-value = 0.0004 and X2  =5.75  0.016, P-value: 0.016 respectively). Conclusion: Stressed and depressed pregnant women were found to have higher blood glucose levels. Anxiety didn’t significantly affect blood glucose levels in pregnant females

Mn3O4@ZnO Hybrid Material: An Excellent Photocatalyst for the Degradation of Synthetic Dyes including Methylene Blue, Methyl Orange and Malachite Green

In this study, we synthesized hybrid systems based on manganese oxide@zinc oxide (Mn3O4@ZnO), using sol gel and hydrothermal methods. The hybrid materials exhibited hierarchical morphologies and structures characterized by the hexagonal phase of ZnO and the tetragonal phase of Mn3O4. The hybrid materials were tested for degradation of methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO), and malachite green (MG) under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination. The aim of this work was to observe the effect of various amounts of Mn3O4 in enhancing the photocatalytic properties of ZnO-based hybrid structures towards the degradation of MB, MO and MG. The ZnO photocatalyst showed better performance with an increasing amount of Mn3O4, and the degradation efficiency for the hybrid material containing the maximum amount of Mn3O4 was found to be 94.59%, 89.99%, and 97.40% for MB, MO and MG, respectively. The improvement in the performance of hybrid materials can be attributed to the high charge separation rate of electron-hole pairs, the co-catalytic role, the large number of catalytic sites, and the synergy for the production of high quantities of oxidizing radicals. The performance obtained from the various Mn3O4@ZnO hybrid materials suggest that Mn3O4 can be considered an effective co-catalyst for a wide range of photocatalytic materials such as titanium dioxide, tin oxide, and carbon-based materials, in developing practical hybrid photocatalysts for the degradation of dyes and for wastewater treatment

ThermoMechanical Characterization of Calotropis gigantea

Filler performs key tasks in enhancing the strength of the composites. Calotropis gigantea is a weed waste typically called White Madar, widely grown in Asian countries. It is ground to powder and used as filler. Thus the present work deals with the development of three different jute fiber reinforced epoxy composite filled without and with various weight proportion of Calotropis gigantea stem powder namely 5 and 10 weight percentage using conventional hand lay-up technique. The developed composites are tested for its mechanical properties as per ASTM standards and thermal stability using the Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer. The composite which is filled with 10 weight percentage Calotropis gigantea powder filler showed superior properties in both thermal and mechanical characteristics due to its higher filler content which possess constituents like cellulose, lignin, etc. Scanning Electron Microscopy helped to analyze the fiber pullout, fractured interface, filler distribution, voids of the composites