Distress tolerance, anxiety-related symptoms, stress, and depression among dropout and non-dropout university students: a mediation analysis.

This study explores the relationship between distress tolerance and depression with mediating role of anxiety-related symptoms and stress among dropout and non-dropout university students. This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2019 to December 2020. Participants' age ranged between 20-40 years. Data was collected using the Distress Tolerance Scale and Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. Descriptive, t-test, and mediation analyses were performed to calculate the results. A sample of 500 respondents was recruited. A significant difference was noted between dropout and non-dropout students on CGPA (p<0.001), depression (p<.001), anxiety (p<0.001), stress (p<0.001), tolerance (p<.001), absorption (p<0.001), appraisal (p<0.001), and distress tolerance (p<0.001). Mediation analysis reveals that stress and anxiety significantly mediates between distress tolerance and depressive symptoms (i.e., F (498) = 31.14, p<0.001; F (498) =34.14, p<0.001; F (496) = 161.21, p<0.001). It is concluded that low distress tolerance increases stress and anxiety, triggering depressive symptoms.

The molecular basis of extensively drug-resistant Salmonella Typhi isolates from pediatric septicemia patients.

Sepsis is a syndromic response to infections and is becoming an emerging threat to the public health sector, particularly in developing countries. Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), the cause of typhoid fever, is one primary cause of pediatric sepsis in typhoid endemic areas. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) S. Typhi is more common among pediatric patients, which is responsible for over 90% of the reported XDR typhoid cases, but the majority of antibiotic resistance studies available have been carried out using S. Typhi isolates from adult patients. Here, we characterized antibiotic-resistance profiles of XDR S. Typhi isolates from a medium size cohort of pediatric typhoid patients (n = 45, 68.89% male and 31.11% female) and determined antibiotic-resistance-related gene signatures associated with common treatment options to typhoid fever patients of 18 XDR S. Typhi representing all 45 isolates. Their ages were 1-13 years old: toddlers aging 1-2 years old (n = 9, 20%), pre-schoolers aging 3-5 years old (n = 17, 37.78%), school-age children aging 6-12 years old (n = 17, 37.78%), and adolescents aging 13-18 years old (n = 2, 4.44%). Through analyzing blaTEM1, dhfR7, sul1, and catA1genes for multidrug-resistance, qnrS, gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE for fluoroquinolone-resistance, blaCTX-M-15 for XDR, and macAB and acrAB efflux pump system-associated genes, we showed the phenotype of the XDR S. Typhi isolates matches with their genotypes featured by the acquisitions of the genes blaTEM1, dhfR7, sul1, catA1, qnrS, and blaCTX-M-15 and a point mutation on gyrA. This study informs the molecular basis of antibiotic-resistance among recent S. Typhi isolates from pediatric septicemia patients, therefore providing insights into the development of molecular detection methods and treatment strategies for XDR S. Typhi.

Effect of Caesalpinia bonduc Polyphenol Extract on Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats in Attenuating Hyperglycemia by Upregulating Insulin Secretion and Inhibiting JNK Signaling Pathway.

Caesalpinia bonduc has been used in herbal medicines for the treatment of a wide range of diseases from decades. The present study has explored the remedial potential and underlying mechanism of polyphenol extract of Caesalpinia bonduc in alloxanized diabetic rats. HPLC/MS analysis confirmed the presence of phenolics in considerable concentrations in Caesalpinia bonduc extract. Administration of different doses (250 and 500 mg/kg) of CPP extract to hyperglycemic rats for 8 weeks restored blood and serum glucose, insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin, leptin, amylin, and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes level towards normal compared to alloxanized diabetic group. The effect of CPP extract on various genes such as Pdx-1, Ins-1, ngn-3, GLUT-4, and IRS-1 in insulin signaling pathway and Traf-4, Traf-6, and Mapk-8 in MAPK downstream JNK cascade was examined through qRT-PCR to access the core molecular mechanism involved in CPP-induced recovery of diabetes. Results have revealed that CPP extract reduced oxidative stress in pancreatic ß cells by restoring free radical scavenging potential, reducing the mRNA expression of Mapk-8, Traf-4, and Traf-6, and increasing the Pdx-1, Ins-1, ngn-3, GLUT-4, and IRS-1 expression ensuing regeneration of ß cells and subsequent insulin release from pancreas. The results obtained in this study recommend that CPP extract may be a promising therapeutic restorative agent in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Positive and Negative Affect Mediate the Influences of a Maladaptive Emotion Regulation Strategy on Sleep Quality.

Positive affect, negative affect, and emotion regulation strategies are related to sleep quality. Emotion regulation can also act as either a protective factor against the development of psychopathologies, or as a risk factor for their development, and therefore may be one mechanism linking mental health and sleep. However, currently it is not known whether affect can mediate the impact of emotion regulation strategy use on sleep quality. An opportunity sample in a healthy population completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule providing measures of positive and negative affect, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index providing a measure of sleep quality, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire to record habitual use of emotion regulation strategies. Data were analysed using regression and mediation analyses. Negative affect and expressive suppression were positively correlated with PSQI score suggesting that as negative affect and expressive suppression use increased, sleep quality decreased. Positive affect was negatively correlated with PSQI score suggesting that as positive affect increased sleep quality improved. Further, mediation analyses revealed that both positive affect and negative affect mediated the impact of expressive suppression on sleep quality. Moreover, this partial mediation provides the first description that the influences of affect and expressive suppression on sleep quality are at least partially distinct. Targeting improvements in negative affect and effective emotion regulation strategy use may improve the efficacy of interventions aimed at improving sleep quality and the reduction in symptomology in psychopathologies.