From text to e-text: perceptions of medical, dental and allied students about e-learning

ObjectiveMore than a year ago, Pakistan like the rest of the word, was hit by a global pandemic, due to which students of higher education had to accept the new era and adapt to the electronic learning environment for the very first time. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of medical, dental, and allied health students about e-learning in Pakistan. MethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted throughout the country. A pre-validated, anonymous online questionnaire regarding demographics, past-experience of e-learning, advantages disadvantages of e-learning, and general perception of students towards e-learning was distributed. Descriptive statistics were computed for all demographics. Chi-square test was used to compare the differences of perceptions between pre-clinical year and clinical years students. Chi-square was used to compare overall category-wise positive and negative responses of students. The association between participant demographics and their perception towards e-learning was also calculated using chi square. ResultsA total of 1200 students participated in the study of which 797 (66.4%) were from pre-clinical years and 403 (33.6%) were from clinical years. The major advantage identified by all students was the ‘comfortable environment’ (70%) and ‘technical problems with IT equipment’ was listed as the biggest disadvantage (89%) of e-learning. For preclinical year students, ‘anxiety due to social isolation’ was selected as the biggest issue (p < 0.05) whereas, for clinical year students, it was ‘lack of patient interaction’ (p < 0.05). Overall, 72% of students had a negative perception of e-learning. ConclusionAfter more than a year of online studying, medical and allied students of Pakistan have expressed dissatisfaction towards e-learning. Student-teacher training, student counselling sessions, and innovative techniques need to be introduced to enhance student engagement and reduce pandemic stress.We are thankful to all the students who participated in the study. We are grateful to biostatistician Mr. Kashif Siddique for his inputs. Open Access funding was provided by the Qatar National Library

Investigation of the Antibacterial, Anti-Biofilm, and Antioxidative Effect of <i>Piper betle</i> Leaf Extract against <i>Bacillus gaemokensis</i> MW067143 Isolated from Dental Caries, an In Vitro-In Silico Approach

Among oral diseases, dental caries is one of the most frequent to affect human health. The current research work aimed to ascertain the antibacterial, anti-biofilm, and antioxidative potential of Piper betle leaf extract against bacteria isolated from dental caries. Analysis for the presence of phytochemical compounds revealed compounds, such as tannins, steroids, phenolic compounds, and alkaloids, which were also confirmed by TLC and FTIR. GC-MS analysis elucidated the presence of 20 phytocompounds, among which were some well-reported bioactive compounds. The chloroform extract of P. betle demonstrated good antibacterial activity (7 mm) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (100 mg mL−1) against Bacillus gaemokensis MW067143, which was the frequent biofilm producer among isolated bacterial strains. Fractions of the extract were isolated through column chromatography, after which the antibacterial activity was again evaluated. Spirost-8-en-11-one,3-hydroxy(3β,5α,14β,20β,22β,25R), an oxosteroid in nature, was observed to exhibit remarkable antibacterial potential (12 mm) against B. gaemokensis. Bacterial cells treated with P. betle extract had elevated SOD, APOX, POX, and GR activity, while its proteolytic activity against whole bacterial proteins was pronounced with the suppression of several proteins (50, 40, 15, and 10 kDa) in SDS-PAGE. Bacterial cells treated with P. betle extract demonstrated decreased growth, while the extract was also observed to exhibit inhibition of biofilm formation (70.11%) and demolition of established B. gaemokensis biofilms (57.98%). SEM analysis revealed significant changes to bacterial morphology post treatment with P. betle, with cellular disintegration being prominent. In silico network pharmacology analysis elucidated proteins like ESR1 and IL6 to be majorly involved in biological pathways of dental caries, which also interact with the protective ability of P. betle. Gene Ontology (GO) terms and KEGG pathways were also screened using enrichment analysis. Molecular docking demonstrated the highest binding affinity of Spirost-8-en-11-one,3-hydroxy-,(3β,5α,14β,20β,22β,25R) with bacterial proteins FabI (−12 kcal/mol), MurB (−17.1 kcal/mol), and FtsZ (−14.9 kcal/mol). Therefore, it is suggested that P. betle can serve a potentially therapeutic role and could be used in the preparation of herbal formulations for managing bacterial flora