Depression, anxiety and stress among dental undergraduate students: Prevalence, stressors and relieving factors

Aim: To investigate the depression, anxiety and stress, stressors and relieving factors among dental students at Kulliyyah of Dentistry (KOD). Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 222 dental students. Their socio-demographic data, self-reported depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) scores, causes and relieving factors were collected using validated semi-structured pre-tested questionnaires. The data was analysed using percentages, chi-square test and Binary logistic regression tests with SPSS version 24. Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 41%, 68.9% and 34.2% respectively. Cross analysis showed that academic-related and laboratory or clinical related reasons were significantly associated with the depressive symptoms [(X2= 15.86, p<0.0001) and (X2= 10.45, p=0.001) respectively] and stress symptoms [(X2= 19.95, p<0.0001) and (X2= 6.11, p<0.05) respectively] among dental student. Furthermore, the item ‘examination’ being the highest factor chosen in academic-related stressors. The response for stress-relieving factors was high for Islamic ritual prayer/spiritual activities (94.6%), sleeping (86.5%) and doing exercise/playing sports (76.1%), while ‘seeking professional help’ (19.8%) was the least. Conclusions: This study shows that depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms are prevalent among dental students. Islamic ritual prayer and involvement in spiritual related activities was found to be the most preferred way for students to relief stress. Hence, it is vital that the university continually evaluates the psychological health of the students, tailor preventive measures and spiritual related programs to help students to cope with stress

Effects of Salting Pretreatment on Quality and Safety of Shrimp (Parapenaeopsis Spp.) Powder.

Shrimps are well known as one of the healthiest seafood options, providing a huge amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals. However, shrimp is a highly perishable food, thus attempts to make innovative and healthy products may improve per capita consumption while lengthening the nutrient content shelf life. This research focused on the effects of different pretreatment salt concentrations at 0, 3, 6, and 9% on nutritional composition, microbial activity, and sensory evaluation of the shrimp powder samples. The analyses were performed in triplicate using the Association of Official Analytical Chemicals (AOAC) method for proximate analysis and physical analysis was used to determine pH, color, and water activity. The sensory attributes like saltiness, color, odor, texture, and aftertaste were measured using the hedonic scale method. Initial findings demonstrated significant differences in proximate composition, particularly protein content, ranging from 13 to 46% (w/w). There were also notable variations in color attributes among the shrimp powder samples. The lightness value varied, reflecting differences in the brightness levels of the powder, ranging from light to dark shades. The findings also revealed there were no significant differences in the total plate count among the shrimp powder samples which ranged from 3.50 to 2.69 Log CFU/g except shrimp powder treated with 0% salt concentration sample exhibited slightly higher counts compared to others which is 4.93 Log CFU/g. Sensory evaluation revealed variations in saltiness, color, odor, texture, and aftertaste profiles, with certain samples exhibiting stronger saltiness, color, odor, texture, and aftertaste, while others had milder attributes. These findings show that the most preferable salt concentration for brining shrimp is 3% because it can preserve protein content and have the best acceptability during sensory evaluation

Inhibition of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 production by pyrrolylated-chalcones: synthesis, biological activity, crystal structure analysis, and molecular docking studies

In search of potent anti-inflammatory agents, twenty-four chalcone derivatives including seven new compounds (13 – 17, 21 and 23) containing pyrrole moiety were designed, synthesized, and assessed for their nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) suppression ability on IFN-γ/LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Results showed that none of the synthesized compounds were PAINS-associated molecules, with 3-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-prop-2-en-1-one (compound 16) exhibiting remarkable inhibition activity towards PGE2 and NO production with IC50 values of 0.5 ± 1.5 µM and 12.1 ± 1.5 µM, respectively. Physicochemical and ADMET studies showed that majority of the compounds obey to Lipinski's rule of five (RO5) having high blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration, human intestinal absorption (HIA), P- glycoprotein (PgP) inhibition and plasma binding protein (PPB) inhibition. The obtained atomic coordinates for the single-crystal XRD of 16 were then applied in a molecular docking simulation, and compound 16 was found to participate in a number of important binding interactions in the binding sites of ERK and mPGES-1. Based on these results, we have observed the potential of compound 16 as a new hit anti-inflammatory agent, and these findings could serve as a basis for further studies on its mechanism of action

Development of diarylpentadienone analogues as alpha-glucosidase inhibitor: Synthesis, in vitro biological and in vivo toxicity evaluations, and molecular docking analysis

A series of aminated- (1–9) and sulfonamide-containing diarylpentadienones (10–18) were synthesized, structurally characterized, and evaluated for their in vitro anti-diabetic potential on α-glucosidase and DPP-4 enzymes. It was found that all the new molecules were nonassociated PAINS compounds. The sulfonamide-containing series (compounds 10– 18) selectively inhibited α-glucosidase over DPP-4, in which compound 18 demonstrated the highest activity with an IC50 value of 5.69 ± 0.5 µM through a competitive inhibition mechanism. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies concluded that the introduction of the trifluoromethylbenzene sulfonamide moiety was essential for the suppression of αglucosidase. The most active compound 18, was then further tested for in vivo toxicities using the zebrafish animal model, with no toxic effects detected in the normal embryonic development, blood vessel formation, and apoptosis of zebrafish. Docking simulation studies were also carried out to better understand the binding interactions of compound 18 towards the homology modeled α -glucosidase and the human lysosomal α -glucosidase enzymes. The overall results suggest that the new sulfonamide-containing diarylpentadienones, compound 18, could be a promising candidate in the search for a new α-glucosidase inhibitor, and can serve as a basis for further studies involving hit-to-lead optimization, in vivo efficacy and safety assessment in an animal model and mechanism of action for the treatment of T2DM patients

Application of expanded polystyrene (EPS) in buildings and constructions: A review

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is one of the building material capable of enhancing the design and structural integrity of the building. Since its recognition as conventional insulating material in 1950s, EPS has been experiencing swift progress in other new implementations. Currently, EPS is utilized in many building structures owing to its sustainability benefit and improvement in terms of energy efficiency, durability, and indoor environmental quality. This article provides an overview on the application of EPS as aggregates in lightweight concrete, decorative tiles and molding, panel application (structural insulated panels (SIPs) and composite SIPs), and embankment backfilling. Also, this article attempts to describe the properties of EPS in terms of fire behavior, mechanical properties, chemical resistant, water and moisture absorption, and their toxicity to the human and environment.</p

Depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate students in IIUM, Kuantan Campus

To assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and identify their associating factors among Kulliyyah of Dentistry (KOD), Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences (KAHS) and Kulliyyah of Sciences (KOS) students at International Islamic University Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 476 volunteered students. Their socio-demogrpahic data, self-reported depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) score, causes and relieving factors were collected using validated semi-structured pre-tested questionnaires. The data was analysed using Binomial and multiple linear regression tests with SPSS version 16. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 43.1%, 73.3% and 39.3% respectively. Binomial test indicated that KOD, KAHS and KOS students were significantly experiencing anxiety symptoms (p=0.001). The regression models for depression explained that first and fourth year students were less prone to have depression symptoms. The common predictors associated with all the assessed psychological morbidity were personal factors, while academic factors were related with anxiety and stress symptoms. The highest response for relieving factors factors was spiritual activities (91.2%), followed by sleeping (79.8%) and doing excercise/playing sports (74.6%), while seeking professional help relieved depression, anxiety or stress the leafs (26.5%). This study suggests that anxiety symptoms are prevalent among dental, allied health and sciences students. Hence, it is vital that educational institutions continually evaluate the psychological health of their students and tailor preventive measures and treatment programs to specifically target their needs

Depression, anxiety and stress among dental undergraduate students; prevalence, stressors and relieving factors

Aim: To investigate the depression, anxiety and stress, stressors and relieving factors among dental students at Kulliyyah of Dentistry (KOD). Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 222 dental students. Their socio-demographic data, self-reported depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) scores, causes and relieving factors were collected using validated semi-structured pre-tested questionnaires. The data was analysed using percentages, chi-square test and Binary logistic regression tests with SPSS version 24. Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 41%, 68.9% and 34.2% respectively. Regression analysis showed that academic-related reasons were significantly contributed to stress symptoms among dental students [OR (95% CI) = 0.4 (0.2 – 1.0)]. Furthermore, the item ‘examination’ being the highest factor chosen in academic-related stressors. The highest response for relieving factors was Islamic ritual prayer/spiritual activities (94.6%), followed by sleeping (86.5%) and doing exercise/playing sports (76.1%), while ‘seeking professional help’ (19.8%) relieved stress levels the least. Conclusions: This study suggests that depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms are prevalent among dental students. Islamic ritual prayer and involvement in spiritual related activities found to be the most preferred way of students to release their stress. Hence, it is vital that the university continually evaluates the psychological health of the students, tailor preventive measures and spiritual related programs to help students coping with stress

Optimisation of immobilized pH gradient range for serum proteomic analysis of post Covid-19 syndrome patients using two-dimensional electrophoresis

Discovery of diagnostic protein marker for Post COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS) is vital as currently PCS is a diagnosis of exclusion needing various investigations and time consuming. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) is used for proteomic profiling analysis to identify candidate protein markers which is simpler to run, easy to reproduce and cost effective. This study aimed to compare serum proteins profiles between broad and narrow range of immobilized pH gradient (IPG) to optimize 2-DE methods in proteomic analysis of serum PCS patients. Pooled serum of five PCS patients, matched for age, gender and race was cleaned up. Two µg of these extracted proteins were uploaded onto 7 cm of IPG strips pH range of 3-10 and 4-7 respectively. The proteins were separated via the first dimension by isoelectric focusing (IEF) system. The strips then transferred to precast gels and processed for second dimension of protein separation using Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The gels then stained using Bio safe Coomassiee Stain and distained using miliQ water. The gel images were analysed using PD Quest software. A total of 122 protein spots were detected in 3-10 gel, with most proteins concentrated at the centre region. Using the similar sensitivity parameter, higher protein spots were detected with a total of 261 for pH 4-7 gel with better protein spots intensity and resolution. The intensity of proteins expression was greater in plasma reference gel than the serum 3-10 gel, but the appearance was improved in serum 4-7 gel. In conclusion, for 2-DE proteomic analysis, using an IPG strip of pH 4-7 is recommended for further serum PCS patient proteomic analysis as it yielded more protein spots with better resolution and intensity compared to pH 3-10 as a narrow IPG pH range allows more migration distance between proteins in a more focused pH range

Inhibition of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 production by pyrrolylated-chalcones : synthesis, biological activity, crystal structure analysis, and molecular docking studies

In search of potent anti-inflammatory agents, twenty-four chalcone derivatives including seven new compounds (13 – 17, 21 and 23) containing pyrrole moiety were designed, synthesized, and assessed for their nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) suppression ability on IFN-γ/LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Results showed that none of the synthesized compounds were PAINS-associated molecules, with 3-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-prop-2-en-1-one (compound 16) exhibiting remarkable inhibition activity towards PGE2 and NO production with IC50 values of 0.5 ± 1.5 µM and 12.1 ± 1.5 µM, respectively. Physicochemical and ADMET studies showed that majority of the compounds obey to Lipinski's rule of five (RO5) having high blood brain barrier (BBB) penetration, human intestinal absorption (HIA), P- glycoprotein (PgP) inhibition and plasma binding protein (PPB) inhibition. The obtained atomic coordinates for the single-crystal XRD of 16 were then applied in a molecular docking simulation, and compound 16 was found to participate in a number of important binding interactions in the binding sites of ERK and mPGES-1. Based on these results, we have observed the potential of compound 16 as a new hit anti-inflammatory agent, and these findings could serve as a basis for further studies on its mechanism of action