Factors associated with perceived stress in Middle Eastern university students.

OBJECTIVE University students face high levels of stress-related factors, such as an unfamiliar environment, challenging workload, and uncertainty about their ability to succeed. Participants: A total of 370 students in Qatar who consented to participate between February 2017 and February 2018. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed perceived stress [using a validated 4-point perceived stress scale (PSS-4)], as well as diet, exercise, body mass index, sleep, and life satisfaction. Results: Among students aged 18-39 (mean = 20.1 ± 3.0 years), PSS-4 scores varied between 0 and 16 (mean = 7.4 ± 3.4). Elevated stress was significantly associated with female sex, country of origin, residing off-campus, eating when bored, lack of self-discipline, disturbed sleep, and low levels of life satisfaction. Furthermore, students with PSS-4 scores above the median level were 2.3 times likelier to report difficulty concentrating on academic work. Conclusion: Elevated stress levels are present in university students in Qatar. Strengthening coping skills may improve health and academic performance

A WORLD PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION INITIATIVE TO INCREASE INTEREST IN PSYCHIATRY AS A CAREER IN QATAR MEDICAL STUDENTS: A PILOT STUDY

Introduction: The World Health Organization identified a chronic shortage of psychiatrists in Low- Middle- and High-Income Countries. In Qatar, the situation is dire with reports there is one psychiatrist per 170,000 people in the population. A one-day, student-led mental-health conference was held in Doha, Qatar under the auspices of the World Psychiatric Association with the aim of increasing interest in psychiatry as a career. Subjects and methods: In this single-arm, pre-post comparison study, a questionnaire assessing interest in psychiatry as a career was administered on participants before and after attending the conference. Demographic information was obtained and response items were on a 5-point Likert scale. Statistical analysis was performed using a two-sample t-test with a significant p-value set at <0.05. Results: The conference was attended by 102 individuals. Fifty-four attendees completed the pre-conference survey (53% response rate) and 36 participants completed the post-conference survey (35% response rate). Data for the 36 matched pre-post responses were included in our analyses. The average age of respondents was 22 years and 81% were female. There was improvement in post-conference results however these changes were not statistically significant. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge this is the first intervention study on increasing interest in psychiatry as a career carried out in Qatar. It is likely that psychiatry enthusiasts attended the conference and therefore their interest in this medical specialty was already high as corroborated by the favorable pre-conference survey results. This might explain why there was a lack of statistical significance in comparison to post- intervention scores. We recommend that such an event be integrated into the medical school curricula throughout Qatar to include students with low baseline interest in psychiatry. Further research in this area with more robust methodology is urgently needed to help narrow the pervasive treatment gap

Blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate RH5.1/Matrix-M in healthy Tanzanian adults and children; an open-label, non-randomised, first-in-human, single-centre, phase 1b trial

Background: A blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum malaria vaccine would provide a second line of defence to complement partially effective or waning immunity conferred by the approved pre-erythrocytic vaccines. RH5.1 is a soluble protein vaccine candidate for blood-stage P falciparum, formulated with Matrix-M adjuvant to assess safety and immunogenicity in a malaria-endemic adult and paediatric population for the first time. Methods: We did a non-randomised, phase 1b, single-centre, dose-escalation, age de-escalation, first-in-human trial of RH5.1/Matrix-M in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. We recruited healthy adults (aged 18–45 years) and children (aged 5–17 months) to receive the RH5.1/Matrix-M vaccine candidate in the following three-dose regimens: 10 μg RH5.1 at 0, 1, and 2 months (Adults 10M), and the higher dose of 50 μg RH5.1 at 0 and 1 month and 10 μg RH5.1 at 6 months (delayed-fractional third dose regimen; Adults DFx). Children received either 10 μg RH5.1 at 0, 1, and 2 months (Children 10M) or 10 μg RH5.1 at 0, 1, and 6 months (delayed third dose regimen; Children 10D), and were recruited in parallel, followed by children who received the dose-escalation regimen (Children DFx) and children with higher malaria pre-exposure who also received the dose-escalation regimen (High Children DFx). All RH5.1 doses were formulated with 50 μg Matrix-M adjuvant. Primary outcomes for vaccine safety were solicited and unsolicited adverse events after each vaccination, along with any serious adverse events during the study period. The secondary outcome measures for immunogenicity were the concentration and avidity of anti-RH5.1 serum IgG antibodies and their percentage growth inhibition activity (GIA) in vitro, as well as cellular immunogenicity to RH5.1. All participants receiving at least one dose of vaccine were included in the primary analyses. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04318002, and is now complete. Findings: Between Jan 25, 2021, and April 15, 2021, we recruited 12 adults (six [50%] in the Adults 10M group and six [50%] in the Adults DFx group) and 48 children (12 each in the Children 10M, Children 10D, Children DFx, and High Children DFx groups). 57 (95%) of 60 participants completed the vaccination series and 55 (92%) completed 22 months of follow-up following the third vaccination. Vaccinations were well-tolerated across both age groups. There were five serious adverse events involving four child participants during the trial, none of which were deemed related to vaccination. RH5-specific T cell and serum IgG antibody responses were induced by vaccination and purified total IgG showed in vitro GIA against P falciparum. We found similar functional quality (ie, GIA per μg RH5-specific IgG) across all age groups and dosing regimens at 14 days after the final vaccination; the concentration of RH5.1-specific polyclonal IgG required to give 50% GIA was 14·3 μg/mL (95% CI 13·4–15·2). 11 children were vaccinated with the delayed third dose regimen and showed the highest median anti-RH5 serum IgG concentration 14 days following the third vaccination (723 μg/mL [IQR 511–1000]), resulting in all 11 who received the full series showing greater than 60% GIA following dilution of total IgG to 2·5 mg/mL (median 88% [IQR 81–94]). Interpretation: The RH5.1/Matrix-M vaccine candidate shows an acceptable safety and reactogenicity profile in both adults and 5–17-month-old children residing in a malaria-endemic area, with all children in the delayed third dose regimen reaching a level of GIA previously associated with protective outcome against blood-stage P falciparum challenge in non-human primates. These data support onward efficacy assessment of this vaccine candidate against clinical malaria in young African children. Funding: The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership; the UK Medical Research Council; the UK Department for International Development; the National Institute for Health and Care Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre; the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; the US Agency for International Development; and the Wellcome Trust

Influence of rifampicin and tetracycline administration on some biochemical and histological parameters in albino rats

The present investigation was designed to evaluate the effect of two oral administered antibiotics (Rifampicin and Tetracycline) on some physiological parameters in the serum of male albino rats. Histopathological alterations in liver and kidney were also examined. Data showed that treatment of rats with rifampicin caused a significant increase in the total cholesterol, triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol levels, while HDL-cholesterol level showed a significant decrease. Moreover, significant increases in serum AST, ALT, bilirubin and urea were observed. Also, the levels of the total protein, albumin and alpha 1-globulin were significantly decreased. No significant changes were recorded in the rest of the globulin fractions (alpha 2-, beta- and gamma-globulin) and albumin/globulin ratio (A/G) as well as creatinine level. In the serum of tetracycline-treated rats, the triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, AST, ALT, bilirubin, urea, creatinine and gamma-globulin levels increased significantly. On the other hand, HDL-cholesterol, total protein, albumin levels and A/G ratio showed significant decreases. No significant changes in the total cholesterol, alpha 2- and beta-globulin levels were detected. Histological examination of the liver and kidney in the rifampicin-treated rats indicated that the liver pathology includes necrosis of hepatocytes, cytoplasmic vacuolation, and distended sinusoids with some lymphatic aggregations. In the kidney, the glomeruli increased in size, the mesangial matrix was expanded and the renal tubules were degenerated. Histological analysis of liver samples of tetracycline – treated rats revealed high vacuolation of the cytoplasm of hepatic cells, sinusoidal dilation, hepatocellular necrosis and disappearance of the cell membrane in some hepatocytes. The kidney sections of rats treated with tetracycline showed shrinkage of the glomeruli, widening of the Bowman’s space, in addition to necrosis and vacuolation of the renal tubules

Dietary Patterns and Associated Lifestyle Factors Among University Students in Qatar

We aimed to investigate the association between university students\u27 dietary patterns, their demographics and lifestyle in a cross-sectional study in Qatar. 370 students in eight universities in Qatar enrolled between February 2017 and February 2018. Based on a structured questionnaire, dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis, and their associations with student characteristics were assessed using logistic regression. Four dietary patterns were identified. The \u27fast food\u27 pattern was associated with being younger and male (-values ≤ 0.1). The \u27traditional diet\u27 pattern was associated with not skipping meals or eating when bored (-values = 0.1). The \u27healthy diet\u27 pattern was associated with regular exercise and having time to eat healthy foods (-values ≤ 0.01). The \u27protein shake\u27 pattern was associated with being male and engaging in more vigorous physical activity (-values ≤ 0.01). Our findings provide a roadmap for the prioritization of population-specific interventions in university students within Qatar and the region

Prophylactic supplementation of resveratrol is more effective than its therapeutic use against doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity.

Resveratrol (RSV), a polyphenolic compound and naturally occurring phytoalexin, has been reported to exert cardio-protective effects in several animal studies. However, the outcome of initial clinical trials with RSV was less effective compared to pre-clinical studies. Therefore, RSV treatment protocols need to be optimized. In this study we evaluated prophylactic versus therapeutic effect of resveratrol (RSV) in mitigating doxorubicin (Dox)-induced cardiac toxicity in rats. To investigate prophylactic effects, RSV was supplemented for 2 weeks along with Dox administration. After 2 weeks, Dox treatment was stopped and RSV was continued for another 4 weeks. To study therapeutic effects, RSV treatment was initiated after 2 weeks of Dox administration and continued for 4 weeks. Both prophylactic and therapeutic use of RSV mitigated Dox induced deterioration of cardiac function as assessed by echocardiography. Also RSV treatment (prophylactic and therapeutic) prevented Dox induced myocardial damage as measured by cardiac enzymes (LDH and CK-MB) in serum. Which was associated with decrease in Dox induced myocardial apoptosis and fibrosis. Interestingly our study also reveals that prophylactic use of RSV was more effective than its therapeutic use in mitigating Dox induced apoptosis and fibrosis in the myocardium. Therefore, prophylactic use of resveratrol may be projected as a possible future adjuvant therapy to minimize cardiotoxic side effects of doxorubicin in cancer patients

Body weight (in grams) in different groups measured at baseline, after 2 and 6 weeks.

<p>Body weight (in grams) in different groups measured at baseline, after 2 and 6 weeks.</p

List of primers used for RT-PCR analysis.

<p>List of primers used for RT-PCR analysis.</p

Resveratrol treatment mitigates Dox induced cardiac fibrosis.

<p>(A) Masson’s trichrome staining: Photomicrographs of rat myocardial sections (X 200): Control group showed fine collagen fibers (arrows) among muscle fibers. Dox group showed dense collagen fibers (arrows) among thin muscle fibers. RSV-Dox group showed fine collagen fibers (arrows) among muscle fibers. In Dox-RSV group lesser amount of dense collagen fibers (arrows) among muscle fibers were detected. (B) Quantitative analysis (percent area) of collagen fibers. Data are mean ± SD. *<i>P</i> < 0.05, significantly different from respective control group, #<i>P</i> < 0.05, significantly different from respective Dox group, ^$<i>P</i> < 0.05, significantly different from respective Dox-RSV group.</p