The effectiveness of community-based interprofessional education for undergraduate medical and health promotion students.

BACKGROUND: Community-based interprofessional education (CBIPE) has been proven effective in enhancing the interprofessional competencies of medical and health professional students. However, there is a lack of evaluation on the impact of experiential CBIPE among undergraduate medical and health promotion students in Thailand. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the influence of CBIPE learning on the collaborative competencies of these students. METHODS: A one-group pre-posttest design in 193 (152 medical students and 41 health promotion) students were involved in the CBIPE program, later divided into 12 groups. Data was collected by direct observations of mentors using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS). The Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the CBIPE program. RESULTS: A total of 175 (90.67%) completed ICCAS and satisfaction questions before and after the CBIPE program. The mean age of respondents was 20.29 ± 1.63 years; 60.57% were women and 39.43% were men. The results showed a significant increase in collaborative competencies before and after the 2-week course. Gender-stratified analysis showed an improvement after CBIPE training for all subscales in women, while the communication, collaboration, conflict management, and functioning team skills segment score was significantly higher in the post-assessment among men. CONCLUSION: The implementation of CBIPE learning was successful in enhancing collaborative competencies among both medical and health promotion students. These findings will provide valuable insights for the design and improvement of CBIPE learning programs in other universities.

Comparison of mobile health education messages verses face-to-face consultation for weight reduction among overweight female adolescents in Thailand.

Background: Obesity is considered a significant public health problem in Thailand. This study was conducted to compare the impact of mobile health education messages verses face-to-face consultation on weight reduction among overweight female university students. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study comprised three groups: a control group, a group receiving mobile health education, and a group receiving face-to-face consultation. Each group contained 26 participants taking part over a period of 12 weeks, with a 12-week follow-up thereafter. The data analysis used two-way repeated measures ANOVA with least significant difference testing. The study was ethically approved at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Results: The results revealed that the group receiving mobile health education had the lowest average body mass index and waist-hip ratio after intervention ( p < 0.05). In addition, both intervention groups significantly improved their health belief, social support, and health behavior scores in comparison to the control group ( p < 0.001). The results show that the average scores for social support for eating and exercise at baseline were significantly lower than at post-intervention or follow-up ( p < 0.001). In addition, the results of both aspects of social support showed that the average social support score at post-intervention was significantly higher than at follow-up. Furthermore, the health behavior score measured post-intervention was higher than at follow-up. There was a statistically significant difference in average metabolism during physical activity ( p < 0.001) but no statistical difference in average eating behavior score. Conclusion: The study found that the use of mobile health education to deliver health programs facilitates communication between the healthcare provider and individual, and can empower adolescent females in their pursuit of weight loss by improving their attitudes and knowledge, leading to better health behavior.

Barakol-induced apoptosis in P19 cells through generation of reactive oxygen species and activation of caspase-9.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Barakol, an anxiolytic agent isolated from Senna siamea leaves which has been traditionally used for producing natural sleep, has been described as toxic to patients. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of current study was to investigate the molecular mechanism of barakol-induced toxicity in mouse embryonal carcinoma P19 cell model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: XTT assay was used to determine cell viability in P19 cells treated with barakol. Apoptotic cells were detected by Hoechst 33342 staining. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was analyzed by flow cytometry using a fluorescent dye, DCFH-DA. Detection of apoptotic protein expression in P19 cells was performed by Western blot analysis. Caspase-9 activity was measured using a fluorescent immunosorbent enzyme assay kit. RESULTS: Treatment with barakol decreased cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner with an IC(50) value of 1.5mM in 24-h treated cells. A Hoechst 33342 assay revealed that barakol cytotoxicity was due to a significant increase in the number of apoptotic cells. Different scavengers to characterize ROS were utilized and revealed that hydroxyl radicals played a major role in ROS-induced apoptosis in barakol-treated cells. Western blot analysis demonstrated that barakol-induced apoptosis was mediated by the increase in expression ratio of Bax/Bcl-2. Furthermore, increase in caspase-9 activity after exposure to barakol for 24h was also observed. Pretreatment of cells with N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) attenuated intracellular ROS generation, the Bax/Bcl-2 protein expression, and apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanism of barakol-mediated toxicity in P19 cells is mainly associated with the ROS generation, followed by the imbalance of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and caspase-9 activation leading to apoptotic cell death. Pretreatment of cells with NAC could antagonize the toxicity produced by barakol.

Stability of barakol under hydrolytic stress conditions and its major degradation product.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the stability of barakol, an anxiolytic constituent extracted from leaves of Senna siamea (Lam.) Irwin & Barneby (syn. Cassia siamea Lam.), under the International Conference on Harmonisation suggested conditions using HPLC with photodiode array detection. Extensive degradation of barakol was found to occur under alkaline conditions through base-catalyzed hydrolysis. Mild degradation of barakol was observed under thermal and oxidative stress while it was stable under acidic conditions. The reaction rate constants (Kobs) of barakol degradation under alkaline conditions at pHs 12 and 13 were 3.0x10(-5) and 9.6x10(-3) min(-1), respectively. The activation energy according to the Arrhenius plot was calculated to be 26.9+/-3.3 kcal/mol at pH 13 and temperatures between 12 and 51 degrees C. The major degradation product of barakol under both alkaline and thermal stress conditions was characterized by LC-MS and NMR as cassiachromone.