ABSTRACT
Background: Medical students can play a vital role in health research at any institute. Moreover, scientific publication by medical students is a strong indicator of students' knowledge, skills and attitudes towards scientific research. Very little information exists, however, on this matter in Saudi Arabia
Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the publication practices of medical interns who graduated from King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine and to investigate barriers to conducting and publishing research during their medical studies. A questionnaire was distributed to 394 interns and 249 [63.2%] responded
Results: About 31% of the responding interns started research during their undergraduate study years. About 12% discontinued their research, whereas only 7% submitted their research for publication. Only 3.2% of the interns had their research papers published and 3.2% had their research paper accepted for publication; 2% had research papers under revision. Interns had positive attitudes towards research, although only a few of them had submitted their papers for publication. Furthermore, interns expressed the need for training in research design, scientific paper writing and publication practice. They recommended devoting slots in medical school curriculum, in addition to other extracurricular training workshops, to teach and train students on such practices and also to provide more convenient opportunities for student participation in conferences
Conclusion and recommendations: Interns in King Abdulaziz University Faculty of Medicine have a positive attitude towards research; however, few students submit papers for publication. Lack of time and training in research methods were the main obstacles cited by the interns for conducting and publishing research. Interns welcome training in research, scientific writing and publication practice. These requirements will be issued to the main curriculum committee at the faculty of medicine and recommendations on possible actions will be discussed with the administration
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Publications/statistics & numerical data , Cross-Sectional Studies , Surveys and Questionnaires , Hospitals, UniversityABSTRACT
Acrylamide [AA] has been shown to be a reproductive toxicant in animals and is associated with risk of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dose-dependent acute testicular toxicity of AA in rats. Experimental study King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Forty-eight rats Animals were loaded with AA orally at doses [5, 15, 30, 45, 60 mg/kg/day] for five consecutive days Histopathological effects of AA on testis and epididymis AA induced a significant body weight reduction, increase in testis / body weight ratio and a significant reduction in sperm count, in the two groups treated with 45 mg and 60 mg/kg/day. Abnormal sperm shapes were detected in all groups. Histopathological signs of AA toxicity on testes and epididymis included; degeneration of spermatogonia, widening of intercellular junctions and degeneration of peritubular myoid cell. Sertoli cells showed darkening of its nuclei, detachment from the basement membrane, increase in the number and size of lipid droplets in their cytoplasm, failure of sperm release and phagocytosis of some sperms. Leydig cell atrophy was observed which contributed to sperm defects and various abnormal histopathological lesions including apoptosis in rat testis. A possible cause of tail intersegmentation seen in mature sperm tails was clarified by electron microscope [EM]examination. AA induced harmful effects on the testis evidenced by degeneration of spermatogenic and Sertoli cells and Leydig cells atrophy in addition to reducing sperm count and appearance of abnormal sperms