The effectiveness of the WHO school mental health package in promoting mental health literacy among secondary school teachers in Qatar: a randomized controlled trial.

Teachers' mental health literacy (MHL) is fundamental for recognizing and assisting students with mental disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the World Health Organization School Mental Health Program (WHO-SMHP) in promoting MHL among secondary schools' teachers in Qatar. We conducted a two-arm randomized control trial. Teachers working in governmental secondary schools were eligible for selection. A total of 16 schools (8 intervention, 8 control) randomly selected and stratified by gender then randomly assigned (1:1). Participants and study team were aware of group assignment. Assessment of teachers' MHL was at day 0, 3 then 3 months afterward. Bivariat analysis and Generalized Estimating Equations were used in analysis. The primary outcome was teachers MHL. Secondary outcome was the influence of sociodemographic characteristics on the level of MHL. Between October 30, 2018 and March 21, 2019, we randomly assigned 195 teachers from 16 schools to attend training workshop on WHO-SMHP (n = 95) or usual practice (n = 100). Compared with controls, teachers from intervention group demonstrated a significant improvement in the level of MHL at day three (mean difference = 19.1, 95% CI = 17.0-21.2, Cohen's d = 2.63; p < 0.001).) and after three months (mean difference 16.61, 95% CI = 13.96-19.26, Cohen's d = 1.86; p < 001). There were no significant differences related to influence of other variables on MHL. To our knowledge, this is the first trial to prove the effectiveness of the (WHO-SMHP) in promoting teachers MHL, which can be successfully implemented in a wider scale.

Tin as an Effective Doping Agent into ZnO for the Improved Photodegradation of Rhodamine B.

We have fabricated ZnO nano rods by hydrothermal method and successively doped them with tin (Sn) using different concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg of tin chloride. XRD of the fabricated structures showed that ZnO possess hexagonal wurtzite phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to explore the morphology and it shows nanorod like morphology for all samples and no considerable change in the structural features were found. The dimension of nanorod is 200 to 300 nm. The doped materials were then investigated for their photo catalytic degradation of environmental pollutant Rhodamine B. The performance of doped ZnO is compared with the pristine ZnO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to explore the morphology and it shows nanorod like morphology for all samples and no considerable change in the structural features were found. The dimension of nanorod is 200 to 300 nm. XRD of the fabricated structures showed that ZnO possess hexagonal wurtzite phase. Photo catalytic activity of rhodamine B was investigated under UV light and a maximum degradation efficiency of 85% was obtained. The optical property reveals the reduction in band gap of upto 17.14% for 100 mg Sn doped ZnO. The degradation is followed by the pseudo order kinetics. The produced results are unique in terms of facile synthesis of Sn doped ZnO and excellent photo degradation efficiency, therefore these materials can be used for other environmental applications.

Synthesis of Co3O4 Cotton-Like Nanostructures for Cholesterol Biosensor.

The use of templates to assist and possess a control over the synthesis of nanomaterials has been an attractive option to achieve this goal. Here we have used sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to act as a template for the low temperature synthesis of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanostructures. The use of SDS has led to tune the morphology, and the product was in the form of "cotton-like" nanostructures instead of connected nanowires. Moreover, the variation of the amount of the SDS used was found to affect the charge transfer process in the Co3O4. Using Co3O4 synthesized using the SDS for sensing of cholesterol was investigated. The use of the Co3O4 synthesized using the SDS was found to yield an improved cholesterol biosensor compared to Co3O4 synthesized without the SDS. The improvement of the cholesterol sensing properties upon using the SDS as a template was manifested in increasing the sensitivity and the dynamic range of detection. The results achieved in this study indicate the potential of using template assisted synthesis of nanomaterials in improving some properties, e.g., cholesterol sensing.