Helminth-derived proteins as immune system regulators: a systematic review of their promise in alleviating colitis.

Helminth-derived proteins have immunomodulatory properties, influencing the host's immune response as an adaptive strategy for helminth survival. Helminth-derived proteins modulate the immune response by inducing anti-inflammatory cytokines, promoting regulatory T-cell development, and ultimately favouring a Th2-biased immune response. This systematic review focused on helminth-derived proteins and explored their impact on reducing inflammatory responses in mouse models of colitis. A systematic search across Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library identified fourteen relevant studies. These studies reported immunomodulatory changes, including increased production of anti-inflammatory cells and cytokines. In mouse models of colitis treated with on helminth-derived proteins, significant improvements in pathological parameters such as body weight, colon length, and microscopic inflammatory scores were observed compared to control groups. Moreover, helminth-derived proteins can enhance the function of Tregs and alleviate the severity of inflammatory conditions. The findings underscore the pivotal role of helminth-derived proteins in immunomodulation, specifically in the axis of cytokine secretion and immune cell polarization. The findings offer new opportunities for treating chronic inflammatory conditions such Crohn's disease.

Prevalence, factors associated and management of needle phobia among the general population in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the prevalence of needle phobia among Saudi and Egyptian adult populations. In addition, underlying causes and strategies that can be utilized to address needle fear were investigated. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted in Saudi Arabia and Egypt between 1 May and 30 June 2023. Participants aged 18 years and above and living in Saudi Arabia and Egypt were eligible to complete the survey. Participants were invited to participate in this study through social media platforms (Facebook, X, Snapchat, and Instagram). A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit the study participants. A 21-item questionnaire consisting of four sections including a Likert scale score was used to answer the research objectives. Numeric data were presented as mean ± SD. For categorical variables, percentages were used. Comparison between groups were made by Student's t-test or Mann Whitney test according to data distribution. Chi squared tests for categorical values were conducted. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate factors associated with needle phobia. RESULTS: A total of 4065 participants were involved in this study (Saudi Arabia: 2628 and Egypt: 1437). Around one-third of the study participants (36.5%) confirmed that they have needle phobia. Most of the study participants (81.1%) reported that they have had needle phobia since they were under 18 years of age. Pain, general anxiety, and fear of making a mistake during the procedure were the most commonly reported contributors for fear of needles during or before a medical procedure. Around 15.8% of the study participants reported that they have tried to get rid of phobia from needles. Non-surgical alternatives (such as oral medications and patches) and using smaller/thinner needles were the most commonly reported interventions that reduced fear of needles. Binary logistic regression analysis identified that females, those who are aged (41-50 years), widowed, those with bachelor's degrees and higher education, and those unemployed were more likely to have needle phobia compared to others. CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted the high prevalence of needle fear within an adult population in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Females, those who are aged (41-50 years), those widowed, those with higher education degrees, those unemployed, those working in the health sector and people with low income were more likely to have needle phobia compared to others.

Mediating effect of depression and acute stress between exposure to Israel-Gaza war media coverage and insomnia: a multinational study from five arab countries.

BACKGROUND: In the context of persistent wars and conflicts worldwide, the impact of acute, excessive and constant exposure to media coverage of such events on mental health outcomes becomes a serious problem for public health, and requires therefore urgent investigation to inform an effective prevention and management response. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that war-related media exposure is directly and indirectly associated with insomnia through depression and perceived stress among adults from the general population of different Arab countries. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried-out two weeks after the beginning of Israel-Gaza war on the 7th of October 2023. An anonymous online survey and a snowball sampling method were adopted to collect data. A sample of 2635 general population adults (mean age of 23.98 ± 7.55 years, 73.1% females) took part of this study. RESULTS: The results of the mediation analysis showed that, after adjusting over potential confounders, depression and perceived stress fully mediated the association between war media exposure and insomnia; higher war media exposure was significantly associated with higher depression (Beta = 0.13; p < .001) and perceived stress (Beta = 0.07; p < .001), whereas higher depression (Beta = 0.43; p < .001) and perceived stress (Beta = 0.31; p < .001) were significantly associated with higher insomnia. It is of note that war media exposure was not significantly and directly associated with insomnia (Beta = - 0.01; p = .178 and Beta = 0.02; p = .098 respectively). CONCLUSION: The present study is the first to provide evidence that more time spent viewing the horrors of war is significantly associated with insomnia. In addition, symptoms of stress and depression were present as early as two weeks following the beginning of the war, and played a significant role in mediating the association between war media coverage and insomnia. These findings suggest that timely screening for, and management of depression and stress symptoms in clinical and preventive programs might be beneficial for community adults who have been heavily and indirectly exposed to war through media, and present with insomnia.

Artificial intelligence utilization in the healthcare setting: perceptions of the public in the UAE.

Understanding the use of AI in healthcare is essential for the successful implementation of AI-driven healthcare solutions. The aim of this study was to evaluate public perception of AI utilization in healthcare settings. A validated questionnaire assessed general perceptions towards AI utilization, the use of AI by physician , and the use of AI by pharmacists . The study included 770 participants. The median perception score indicated an unfavorable attitude. Participants who had lower education level and those with no employment had a significantly lower perception scores than their counterpart. Participants who reported low income and those who visited the pharmacy five to ten times on average had a higher perception than their counterparts did. The reported negative perception necessitates the implementation of education campaigns to improve AI literacy and dispel any misconceptions and concerns, particularly among individuals with low education, high income, unemployment, and frequent pharmacy visits.

Biological evaluation of combinations of tyrosine kinase inhibitors with Inecalcitol as novel treatments for human chronic myeloid leukemia.

Background: The use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) as a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has improved the natural history of the disease and increased the duration of survival. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors represent the success of target therapies that work on molecular targets, although some patients still have therapy failure. Vitamin D has antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, and anti-angiogenic effects on cells, therefore it can be considered as a potential cancer preventative and treatment agent. Inecalcitol (TX-522) is the 14-epi-analogue of Calcitriol (1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3), and inhibits cancer cell proliferation more effectively than Calcitriol. This study was conducted to evaluate the antiproliferative and synergistic effects of the anticancer drugs Imatinib and Dasatinib in combinations with Inecalcitol on human chronic myeloid leukemia K-562 cells. Method: The growth inhibitory activities of Inecalcitol, Imatinib, Dasatinib, and different combinations of one of the two drugs (Imatinib and Dasatinib) with Inecalcitol, were determined in vitro using MTT assay against K-562 cell line. Results: Inecalcitol, Imatinib, and Dasatinib showed potent antiproliferative activities against K-562 cells with GI50 values of 5.6 µM, 0.327 µM, and 0.446 nM, respectively. Combinations of Imatinib or Dasatinib with different concentrations of Inecalcitol increased significantly the antiproliferative activities and potencies of both drugs (****p < 0.0001), with optimal GI50 values of 580 pM (Imatinib) and 0.51 pM (Dasatinib). Furthermore, the combination treatments showed synergistic interaction between the antileukemic drugs and Inecalcitol, with combination indices (CI) < 1. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the human chronic myeloid leukemia K-562 cells were subjected to a synergistic growth inhibitory impact when antileukemic drugs (Imatinib or Dasatinib) were combined with Inecalcitol, therefore, it is recommended that these combinations be viewed as promising novel antileukemic medications and used in place of individual medications with lower dosages and negligible side effects in the treatment of CML.

Diabetes mellitus-related hospital admissions and prescriptions of antidiabetic agents in England and Wales: an ecological study.

BACKGROUND: Around 6.5% of the population in the United Kingdom has been diagnosed with diabetes. It is associated with several long-term consequences and higher hospitalization rates. AIM: To examine the profile of hospital admissions related to diabetes mellitus and the prescription rates of antidiabetic medications in England and Wales. METHOD: This is an ecological study that was conducted for the period between April 1999 and April 2020 using publicly available hospitalisation data in England and Wales. Hospital admission data for patients of all ages was extracted from Hospital Episode Statistics in England and the Patient Episode Database for Wales. The difference between admission rates in 1999 and 2020, as well as the difference between diabetes mellitus medication prescription rates in 2004 and 2020, were assessed using the Pearson Chi-squared test. A Poisson regression model with robust variance estimation was used to examine the trend in hospital admissions. RESULTS: A total of 1,757,892 diabetes mellitus hospital admissions were recorded in England and Wales during the duration of the study. The hospital admission rate for diabetes mellitus increased by 15.2%. This increase was concomitant with an increase in the antidiabetic medication prescribing rate of 105.9% between 2004 and 2020. Males and those in the age group of 15-59 years had a higher rate of hospital admission. The most common causes of admissions were type 1 diabetes mellitus related complications, which accounted for 47.1% of all admissions. CONCLUSION: This research gives an in-depth overview of the hospitalization profile in England and Wales during the previous two decades. In England and Wales, people with all types of diabetes and related problems have been hospitalized at a high rate over the past 20 years. Male gender and middle age were significant determinants in influencing admission rates. Diabetes mellitus type 1 complications were the leading cause of hospitalizations. We advocate establishing preventative and educational campaigns to promote the best standards of care for individuals with diabetes in order to lower the risk of diabetes-related complications.

Smart phone addiction and its mental health risks among university students in Jordan: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Addiction to smart phones is classified clinically as behavioral addiction resulted from an excessive problematic usage of smart phones that effect the daily life of the users. Therefore, this study aims to explore the prevalence of smart phone addiction, its associated psychological distress risk, and its associated predictors among university students in Jordan. METHODS: Between November 2022 and January 2023, a cross-sectional online survey study was conducted in Jordan. In this study, we used previously developed questionnaire instruments, the psychological Distress scale of Kessler and the Smartphone Addiction Scale. A score of 30 was used to identify the dummy variable in the binary logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of severe psychological distress, and smartphone addiction score of 38.7 was used to to identify predictors of smartphone addiction. RESULTS: A total of 2337 university students participated in this study. The mean psychological distress score for the study participants was 30.0 (SD: 8.9). More than half of the study participants (59.1%) had a psychological distress score of 30 and above, which indicates a severe mental disorder state. More than half of the study participants (56.7%) had a smartphone addiction score of 30 and above, which reflects a smartphone addiction state. Females, divorced, those who feel that their mental abilities have been negatively affected by the use of smart phones, those who feel that using smartphones has affected their sleep and made it harder to fall asleep, and those feel that everything requires effort and fatigue, and they do not want to do any activity that requires effort were more likely to have severe psychological distress compared to others (p < 0.05). Females, those who feel that using smartphones has affected their sleep and made it harder to fall asleep, and those feel that everything requires effort and fatigue, and they do not want to do any activity that requires effort were more likely to be smartphone addicted compared to others (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Mental diseases are a major public health concern in Jordan, especially among university students. Females, those who thought smartphone usage hurt their mental capacities, and those who had trouble sleeping and fatigue were more likely to develop serious psychological discomfort and smartphone addiction. Smartphones are indispensable, but excessive use can lead to addiction and harm university students' mental health.

Nomophobia among university students in five Arab countries in the Middle East: prevalence and risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Excessive use of mobile phones leading to development of symptoms suggestive of dependence syndrome with teenagers are far more likely to become dependent on mobile phones as compared to adults. COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of several groups in society, especially university students. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of mobile phone dependence among university students and its associated factors. METHODS: Between September 2021 and January 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted at universities in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia utilizing an online and paper-based self-administered questionnaire. We employed a previously developed questionnaire by Aggarwal et al. RESULTS: A total of 5,720 university students were involved in this study (Egypt = 2813, Saudi Arabia = 1509, Jordan = 766, Lebanon = 432, and Bahrain = 200). The mean estimated daily time spent on using mobile phone was 186.4 (94.4) minutes. The highest mobile dependence score was observed for the university students from Egypt and the lowest mobile dependence score was observed for the university students from Lebanon. The most common dependence criteria across the study sample was impaired control (55.6%) and the least common one was harmful use (25.1%). Females and those reported having anxiety problem or using a treatment for anxiety were at higher risk of developing mobile phone dependence by 15% and 75%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Mobile phone dependence is common among university students in Arab countries in the Middle East region. Future studies exploring useful interventions to decrease mobile phone dependence are warranted.

Trends in hospital admissions and prescribing due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma in England and Wales between 1999 and 2020: an ecological study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the trends in hospital admissions and medication prescriptions related to asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in England and Wales. METHODS: An ecological study was conducted between April 1999 and April 2020 using data extracted from the hospital episode statistics database in England and the patient episode database for Wales. The Office of National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 1999 through 2020 were collected, and medication prescription data for 2004-2020 were extracted from the prescription cost analysis database. RESULTS: The total annual number of COPD and asthma hospital admissions for various causes increased by 82.2%, from 210,525 in 1999 to 383,652 in 2020, representing a 59.1% increase in hospital admission rate (from 403.77 in 1999 to 642.42 per 100,000 persons in 2020, p < 0.05). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection accounted for 38.7% of hospital admissions. Around 34.7% of all hospital admissions involved patients aged 75 and older. Around 53.8% of all COPD and asthma hospital admissions were attributable to females. The annual number of prescriptions dispensed for COPD and asthma medications increased by 42.2%. CONCLUSIONS: Throughout the study period, hospital admissions due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, as well as medication prescriptions, increased dramatically among all age groups. Hospitalization rates were higher for women. Further observational and epidemiological research is required to identify the factors contributing to increased hospitalization rates.

The rate of ward to intensive care transfer and its predictors among hospitalized COPD patients, a retrospective study in a local tertiary center in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and its predictors among hospitalized chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. METHODS: An observational retrospective study was conducted. All patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COPD according to the GOLD guidelines between 28 and 2020 and 1 March 2023 at Al-Noor Specialist Hospital were included in this study. Patients were excluded if a preemptive diagnosis of COPD was made clinically without spirometry evidence of fixed airflow limitation. Descriptive results were presented as frequency (percentage) for categorical variables and mean (SD) for continuous variables and to estimate prevalence of ICU admission. Predictors of ICU admission among hospitalized COPD patients were determined using logistic regression analysis. A SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 25 was used to perform all statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 705 patients with COPD were included in this study. The mean age was 65.4 (25.3) years. Around 12.4% of the hospitalized patients were admitted to the ICD. Logistic regression analysis identified that older age (OR; 1.92, (1.41-2.62)), smoking (OR; 1.60 (1.17-2.19)), and having specific comorbidities (Hypertension (OR; 1.98 (1.45-2.71)), Diabetes mellitus (OR; 1.42 (1.04-1.93)), GERD (OR; 2.81 (1.99-3.96)), Ischemic heart disease (OR; 3.22 (2.19-4.75)), Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OR; 2.14 (1.38-3.33)), stroke (OR; 4.51 (2.20-9.26))) were predictors of ICU admissions among patients with COPD. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that a step-up approach to inpatient COPD management requires admission to the ICU in 12.4%, for which age, smoking status, cardiovascular, and stroke were important predictors. Further clinical research is needed to provide a validated model that can be incorporated into clinical practice to monitor this patient population during their admission and identify at-risk individuals for early transfer to higher acuity settings and intensive care units.

Mental illness stigma as a moderator in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslims from 16 Arab countries.

BACKGROUND: Determining the potential barriers responsible for delaying access to care, and elucidating pathways to early intervention should be a priority, especially in Arab countries where mental health resources are limited. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the relationship between religiosity, stigma and help-seeking in an Arab Muslim cultural background. Hence, we propose in the present study to test the moderating role of stigma toward mental illness in the relationship between religiosity and help-seeking attitudes among Muslim community people living in different Arab countries. METHOD: The current survey is part of a large-scale multinational collaborative project (StIgma of Mental Problems in Arab CounTries [The IMPACT Project]). We carried-out a web-based cross-sectional, and multi-country study between June and November 2021. The final sample comprised 9782 Arab Muslim participants (mean age 29.67 ± 10.80 years, 77.1% females). RESULTS: Bivariate analyses showed that less stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness and higher religiosity levels were significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. Moderation analyses revealed that the interaction religiosity by mental illness stigma was significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes (Beta = .005; p < .001); at low and moderate levels of stigma, higher religiosity was significantly associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes. CONCLUSION: Our findings preliminarily suggest that mental illness stigma is a modifiable individual factor that seems to strengthen the direct positive effect of religiosity on help-seeking attitudes. This provides potential insights on possible anti-stigma interventions that might help overcome reluctance to counseling in highly religious Arab Muslim communities.

Cross-cultural comparison of mental illness stigma and help-seeking attitudes: a multinational population-based study from 16 Arab countries and 10,036 individuals.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that culture deeply affects beliefs about mental illnesses' causes, treatment, and help-seeking. We aimed to explore and compare knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness and help-seeking, causal attributions, and help-seeking recommendations for mental illnesses across various Arab countries and investigate factors related to attitudes toward help-seeking. METHODS: We carried out a multinational cross-sectional study using online self-administered surveys in the Arabic language from June to November 2021 across 16 Arab countries among participants from the general public. RESULTS: More than one in four individuals exhibited stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness (26.5%), had poor knowledge (31.7%), and hold negative attitudes toward help-seeking (28.0%). ANOVA tests revealed a significant difference between countries regarding attitudes (F = 194.8, p < .001), knowledge (F = 88.7, p < .001), and help-seeking attitudes (F = 32.4, p < .001). Three multivariate regression analysis models were performed for overall sample, as well as Palestinian and Sudanese samples that displayed the lowest and highest ATSPPH-SF scores, respectively. In the overall sample, being female, older, having higher knowledge and more positive attitudes toward mental illness, and endorsing biomedical and psychosocial causations were associated with more favorable help-seeking attitudes; whereas having a family psychiatric history and endorsing religious/supernatural causations were associated with more negative help-seeking attitudes. The same results have been found in the Palestinian sample, while only stigma dimensions helped predict help-seeking attitudes in Sudanese participants. CONCLUSION: Interventions aiming at improving help-seeking attitudes and behaviors and promoting early access to care need to be culturally tailored, and congruent with public beliefs about mental illnesses and their causations.

Development of a Novel, Ecologically Friendly Generation of pH-Responsive Alginate Nanosensors: Synthesis, Calibration, and Characterisation.

Measurement of the intracellular pH is particularly crucial for the detection of numerous diseases, such as carcinomas, that are characterised by a low intracellular pH. Therefore, pH-responsive nanosensors have been developed by many researchers due to their ability to non-invasively detect minor changes in the pH of many biological systems without causing significant biological damage. However, the existing pH-sensitive nanosensors, such as the polyacrylamide, silica, and quantum dots-based nanosensors, require large quantities of organic solvents that could cause detrimental damage to the ecosystem. As a result, this research is aimed at developing a new generation of pH-responsive nanosensors comprising alginate natural polymers and pH-sensitive fluorophores using an organic, solvent-free, and ecologically friendly method. Herein, we successfully synthesised different models of pH-responsive alginate nanoparticles by varying the method of fluorophore conjugation. The synthesised pH nanosensors demonstrated a low MHD with a relatively acceptable PDI when using the lowest concentration of the cross-linker Ca+2 (1.25 mM). All the pH nanosensors showed negative zeta potential values, attributed to the free carboxylate groups surrounding the nanoparticles' surfaces, which support the colloidal stability of the nanosensors. The synthesised models of pH nanosensors displayed a high pH-responsiveness with various correlations between the pH measurements and the nanosensors' fluorescence signal. In summation, pH-responsive alginate nanosensors produced using organic, solvent-free, green technology could be harnessed as potential diagnostics for the intracellular and extracellular pH measurements of various biological systems.

Public knowledge and attitude towards drug-food interactions: implications for improved public health safety.

Drug-Food Interaction (DFI) can potentially lead to treatment ineffectiveness and adverse health outcomes. This study investigated knowledge and attitude towards DFI and the associated factors. A validated questionnaire was distributed to 2040 participants across Jordan. The participants had moderate knowledge and attitudes regarding DFIs. Regression results revealed that male gender, lower education level, not working in the healthcare sector, and utilizing non-scientific sources of information about DFIs were associated with lower knowledge about DFI. Furthermore, male gender, being unmarried, having a low or moderate education level, not working in the healthcare sector, not having a family member with chronic disease, and having low knowledge of DFI were significantly associated with negative attitudes towards DFIs. Future health education programs should emphasize using reliable scientific sources to enhance awareness about DFIs'. Additionally, healthcare professionals should counsel patients on avoiding DFIs and provide guidance accordingly.

Oral health profile and periodontal diseases awareness and knowledge among the jordanian population: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the oral health profile and periodontal diseases awareness and knowledge among the Jordanian population. In addition, we aimed to identify predictors of good knowledge of periodontal diseases. METHOD: This was an online cross-sectional survey study that was conducted in Jordan between January and May 2022. A total of 13 item from the world health organisation (WHO) oral health questionnaire for adults were used to examine the oral health profile of our study participants. In addition, a previously developed questionnaire by Abdulbaqi et al. were adapted and used to examine participants' knowledge about periodontal diseases. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of better knowledge of periodontal diseases. RESULTS: This study involved 1,099 participants in total. More than half of them (61.1%) claimed that throughout the previous 12 months, they had experienced pain or discomfort in their mouths or teeth. Nearly half of the participants said their teeth and gums were in good or very good condition. 70.7% said they brush their teeth once or more per day. The vast majority of them (93.0%) claimed to brush their teeth using toothpaste that contained 61.9% fluoride. The most frequent cited cause for dental visits was pain or difficulty with teeth, gums, or mouth (36.3%), according to almost one-third of study participants who said they had visited a dentist during the previous six months. The most commonly reported problems that occurs frequently due to the state of the participants' teeth or mouth were avoiding smiling because of teeth, feeling embarrassed due to appearance of teeth, and having difficulty in biting foods with 11.0%, 10.2%, and 9.0%, respectively. Tea with sugar (16.5%) was the most frequently reported beverage as being consumed frequently on a daily basis. The most popular tobacco product to be smoked often on a daily basis was cigarettes (21.6%). For periodontitis knowledge questions, the percentage of accurate responses ranged from 32.3 to 55.8%. The majority of participants (55.8%) were able to recognize that poor oral hygiene is one of the most frequent causes of malodor, whereas the least number of participants (32.3%) were able to recognize that improper teeth brushing is a frequent cause of gingival recession. CONCLUSION: The average degree of periodontitis knowledge among Jordanians was moderate. Along with it, there were modest oral hygiene practices. In order to prevent further oral complications that have a detrimental influence on patients' quality of life, educational campaigns are required to increase public awareness of knowledge and practices in terms of proper oral hygiene and periodontitis.

In Vitro Anticancer Properties of Novel Bis-Triazoles.

Here, we describe the anticancer activity of our novel bis-triazoles MS47 and MS49, developed previously as G-quadruplex stabilizers, focusing specifically upon the human melanoma MDA-MB-435 cell line. At the National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA, bis-triazole MS47 (NCS 778438) was evaluated against a panel of sixty human cancer cell lines, and showed selective, distinct multi-log differential patterns of activity, with GI50 and LC50 values in the sub-micromolar range against human cancer cells. MS47 showed highly selective cytotoxicity towards human melanoma, ovarian, CNS and colon cancer cell lines; in contrast, the leukemia cell lines interestingly showed resistance to MS47 cytotoxic activity. Further studies revealed the potent cell growth inhibiting properties of MS47 and MS49 against the human melanoma MDA-MB-435 cell line, as verified by MTT assays; both ligands were more potent against cancer cells than MRC-5 fetal lung fibroblasts (SI > 9). Melanoma colony formation was significantly suppressed by MS47 and MS49, and time- and dose-dependent apoptosis induction was also observed. Furthermore, MS47 significantly arrested melanoma cells at the G0/G1 cell cycle phase. While the expression levels of Hsp90 protein in melanoma cells were significantly decreased by MS49, corroborating its binding to the G4-DNA promoter of the Hsp90 gene. Both ligands failed to induce senescence in the human melanoma cells after 72 h of treatment, corroborating their weak stabilization of the telomeric G4-DNA.

Hospital admissions due to infectious and parasitic diseases in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019: an ecological study.

BACKGROUND: Infectious diseases continue to account for considerable illness and death worldwide, and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a significant burden on global economies and public health. This study aimed to investigate the trends in infectious and parasitic disease (IPD) hospital admissions (HA) in England and Wales between 1999 and 2019. METHODS: This is an ecological study using publicly available data taken from the Hospital Episode Statistics database in England and the Patient Episode Database for Wales. Hospital admission data were collected for the period between April 1999 to March 2019. IPDHA were identified using the tenth version of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases system, diagnostic codes (A00-B99). The trend in hospital admissions was assessed using a Poisson model. RESULTS: The overall annual number for IPD hospital admissions for various causes increased by 412.9%, from 151,336 in 1999 to 776,215 in 2019, representing an increase in hospital admission rate of 349.9% from 290.25 (95% CI 288.79-291.71) in 1999 to 1305.88 (95% CI 1303.00-1308.77) in 2019 per 100,000 persons: trend test, p < 0.01. The most common causes of infectious and parasitic disease hospital admissions were intestinal infectious diseases, other bacterial diseases, and other viral diseases, which accounted for 33.6, 27.5, and 23.8%, respectively. Patients aged 15 years and below accounted for 34.2% of the entire number of IPD hospital admissions, followed by the age group 15-59 years with 27.9%, the age group 75 years and above with 22.7%, and then the age group 60-74 years with 15.2%. CONCLUSION: There was an increase in the hospital admission rate due to infectious diseases in the UK from 1999 to 2019. The most common causes of infectious and parasitic disease hospital admissions were intestinal infectious diseases, other bacterial diseases, and other viral diseases.

COVID-19 vaccination side effects among the child age group: a large cross-sectional online based survey in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Multiple vaccines have been tested in clinical trials for their efficacy and safety. In Saudi Arabia, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna were approved for children, however, previous studies to report their safety profile are limited. This research aims to understand the side effect of children's vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was an observational retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey in Saudi Arabia from March to May 2022. The inclusion criteria were parents aged 18 years and above who live in Saudi Arabia and have vaccinated their children. The self-reported questionnaire was adopted from published studies to investigate the study objectives Descriptive statistics were used to describe patients' demographic characteristics, continuous data were reported as mean ± S.D., categorical data were reported as percentages (frequencies), and logistic regression was used to identify predictors of persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms. RESULTS: This study had a total of 4,069 participants. Only 41.9% of the participants reported that their child(ren) had been infected with the coronavirus. 2.00 was the median number of children (IQR: 1.00-4.00). More than half of the study participants (64.2%) reported that a family member had been infected with the coronavirus. Both parents received COVID-19 vaccination, according to most participants (88.7%). Most participants (70.5%) stated that all children who met the vaccination criteria had received the vaccine. Most participants (83.5%) said their child or children had two doses of their vaccine, and about half (50.4%) of those who received the vaccine reported experiencing side effects. In addition, the majority (78.9%) reported that the side effects appeared within one day of receiving the vaccine, and nearly two-thirds (65.7%) reported that the side effects lasted between one and three. A total of 11,831 side effects cases were documented. Pain at the injection site, hyperthermia, and fatigue were the most reported side effects, accounting for 15.3%, 14.1%, and 13.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: It appears that the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine for children are minor, tolerable, and like those described previously in clinical trials. Our data should encourage the public about the safety of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine for children.

Prevalence and predictors of nomophobia among the general population in two middle eastern countries.

BACKGROUND: Nomophobia is a psychological condition caused by a fear of disconnecting from others through mobile phones. AIM: This study aims to determine the prevalence of and predictors of nomophobia and anxiety symptoms among the general population in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. METHODS: This study was an observational cross-sectional study using a web-based online survey distributed in two middle eastern countries (Saudi Arabia and Jordan) between Jun 24 and Jul 20, 2021. A convenience sample was used to recruit the study participants. Categorical variables were identified as frequencies and percentages. In addition, a binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with nomophobia symptoms. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, version 27 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA), analyzed the data. RESULTS: A total of 5,191 responded to the online survey. Around (26.5%) reported that they suffer from an anxiety problem or use a treatment for anxiety. The median daily time spent using a mobile phone (IQR) (minutes) was around 210 min per day. About half of the study sample (51.2%) are diagnosed with dependence syndrome. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that those within the age group of 30-49 years and 50 years and above) are less likely to have mobile phone dependence compared to those less than 30 years old. Females were 16% at lower risk of developing mobile phone dependence compared to males Married participants were less likely to have mobile phone dependence compared to single participants (OR: 0.62 (95% CI 0.56-0.70)), while divorced participants were at a 46% higher risk of developing mobile phone dependence. CONCLUSION: Nomophobia prevalence among Saudi Arabia and Jordon's population is 51.2%. Several factors may predict mobile phone dependence including age, gender, marital status, and previous history of anxiety.

Visual health and prevalence of dry eye syndrome among university students in Iraq and Jordan.

Dry eye syndrome (DES), is a multifactorial disease that affects the ocular surface and contributes to the ocular symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the general population and university students' health in different ways. The pandemic forced many people including university students around the world to use virtual platforms on their digital devices, such as computers and smartphones, to work from a distance. This study aimed to explore the visual health and prevalence of dry eye syndrome among university students in Iraq and Jordan. This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted in Iraq and Jordan using online questionnaire tool for the duration between November 2021 and January 2022. University students in Jordan and Iraq were invited to participate in this study and formed the study population. No restrictions on study level or field of study were applied. A previously developed and validated questionnaire tools were used in this study (National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire - 25 (VFQ-25) and the Women's Health Study Questionnaire (WHS), which was developed by Schaumberg et al.). A total of 1,431 university students were involved in this study (1,018 students from Iraq, 71.1%). Around one third the study participants (29.0%) reported that have been diagnosed by a clinician as having dry eye syndrome. Around15.3% of the total study participants reported that they feel their eyes are dry (not wet enough) and 17.3% reported that they feel their eyes are irritated. Based on Women's Health Study Questionnaire (WHS) criteria, a total of 479 participants (33.4%) are symptomatically diagnosed with DES. Students aged 27-29 years, those at their fifth year of study, and those who wear contact lenses are at higher risk of developing DYS compared to others. Dry eye syndrome is common health problem among university students. Further studies are required to identify other risk factors associated with DES. Future research should focus on identifying strategies that could help reduce the risk of developing DES as a result of the inevitability of long-term use of digital devices among many categories of society, including university students.