ABSTRACT
Objectives This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiology department employees and trainees. It also compared the impact of COVID-19 to the pre-COVID-19 era in the Al-Qassim region. Methods This was a quantitative observational analytical cross-sectional study conducted in the largest government hospitals under the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Al-Qassim. A pre-determined questionnaire was distributed among radiology staff that included demographic characteristics, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among radiology staff, the behavior of staff related to COVID-19 infection, and the assessment of mental health using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9). Results Eighty-four radiology staff were recruited (64.3% males vs 35.7% females). Of these, 66.7% were trainees and the rest were employees (33.3%). Of the trainees, 32.1% and 42.9% thought that elective imaging, procedures, and outpatient/clinic exposures were reduced during the pandemic, and 37.5% indicated that their training had been affected negatively. The prevalence of depression among radiology staff was 36.9%. The prevalence of depression was substantially higher among radiology trainees (p=0.038), those who were not infected with COVID-16 (p=0.041), and those who indicated that their studying time increased at the time of the pandemic (p=0.047). However, after conducting multivariate regression analysis, these variables did not seem to have significantly affected depression (p>0.05). Conclusion Training and medical education have been affected negatively because of the outbreak. Studying time and research activities of employees and trainees slowed down, which could be critical to their careers. Trainees complained about the significant reduction in their exposure to clinics and imaging procedures. Therefore, a method to safeguard the well-being of employees and trainees in the radiology department is necessary to limit the impact of such pandemics.
ABSTRACT
Tuberculosis (TB) is a global burden to humanity due to its adverse effects on health and society since time is not clearly defined. The existence of drug-resistant strains and the potential threat posed by latent tuberculosis act as strong impetuses for developing novel anti-tuberculosis drugs. In this study, various flavonoids were tested against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) Isocitrate Lyase (ICL), which has been identified as an authorised therapeutic target for treating Mtb infection. Using in silico drug discovery approach, a library of 241 flavonoid compounds was virtually screened against the binding pocket of the crystalline ligand, the VGX inhibitor, in the Mtb ICL protein. As a result, the top four flavonoids were selected based on binding score and were further considered for redocking and intermolecular contact profiling analysis. The global and local fluctuations in the protein and ligand structure were analysed using their root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) values obtained from the GROMACS generated 100 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trajectories. The end-state binding free energy was also calculated using the MMPBSA approach for all the respective docked complexes. All four selected compounds exhibited considerable stability and affinity compared to control ligands, i.e. VGX inhibitor; however, Vaccarin showed the highest stability and affinity against the Mtb ICL protein active site, followed by the Genistin, Glabridin, and Corylin. Therefore, this study recommends selected flavonoids for in vitro and in vivo experimental studies to check their potency and efficacy against Mtb.
