Assessment of Postgraduate Online Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has limited the traditional way of teaching due to contact restrictions and the trainees being the front-line providers of patient care in certain specialties. During the pandemic, many academic institutes have adopted various methods for utilizing online learning as an alternative to traditional teaching. Numerous studies reported the impact of these changes on medical education with varying results. As such, comprehensive assessments are necessary to evaluate the outcomes of this rapid transformation. The aim of this study was to provide qualitative and quantitative assessments of post-graduate online medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Participants and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was distributed among postgraduate trainers and trainees in Riyadh second health cluster. The questionnaire was used to assess the experiences, perception, coping, satisfaction and preferences of medical trainers and trainees towards online education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A total of 207 participants were involved in this study. While the sociodemographics differed between trainers and trainees, age was significantly associated with negative pre-pandemic online learning experiences. Stress was reported among both groups and was significantly correlated with the pre-pandemic computer and internet competency. Coping was reported to be easier by trainers compared to trainees. The overall perception of online learning was positive in 73% of the respondents. Perception significantly correlated with age, stress, coping and satisfaction (P < 0.0001). The majority of trainees were interested in a hybrid mode learning, combining traditional teaching with online education. Conclusion: There is a significant difference between trainers and trainees with regard to their experience of online education. Further studies are required to assess how to effectively implement online education in postgraduate training programs and identify strategies to overcome the reported deficiencies.

Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate modulates global microRNA expression in interleukin-1ß-stimulated human osteoarthritis chondrocytes: potential role of EGCG on negative co-regulation of microRNA-140-3p and ADAMTS5.

PURPOSE: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs involved in almost all cellular processes. Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) is a green tea polyphenol and is known to exert anti-arthritic effects by inhibiting genes associated with osteoarthritis (OA). This study was undertaken to investigate the global effect of EGCG on interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß)-induced expression of miRNAs in human chondrocytes. METHODS: Human chondrocytes were derived from OA cartilage and then treated with EGCG and IL-1ß. Human miRNA microarray technology was used to determine the expression profile of 1347 miRNAs. Microarray results were verified by taqman assays and transfection of chondrocytes with miRNA inhibitors. RESULTS: Out of 1347 miRNAs, EGCG up-regulated expression of 19 miRNAs and down-regulated expression of 17 miRNAs, whereas expression of 1311 miRNAs remains unchanged in IL-1ß-stimulated human OA chondrocytes. Bioinformatics approach showed that 3`UTR of ADAMTS5 mRNA contains the 'seed-matched-sequence' for hsa-miR-140-3p. IL-1ß-induced expression of ADAMTS5 correlated with down-regulation of hsa-miR-140-3p. Importantly, EGCG inhibited IL-1ß-induced ADAMTS5 expression and up-regulated the expression of hsa-miR-140-3p. This EGCG-induced co-regulation between ADAMTS5 and hsa-miR-140-3p becomes reversed in OA chondrocytes transfected with anti-miR-140-3p. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an important insight into the molecular basis of the reported anti-arthritic effects of EGCG. Our data indicate that the potential of EGCG in OA chondrocytes may be related to its ability to globally inhibit inflammatory response via modulation of miRNAs expressions.

Integrated Study of Globally Expressed microRNAs in IL-1ß-stimulated Human Osteoarthritis Chondrocytes and Osteoarthritis Relevant Genes: A Microarray and Bioinformatics Analysis.

This study was undertaken to identify and characterize the globally expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß)-induced joint damage and to predict whether miRNAs can regulate the catabolic effects in osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes. Out of 1347 miRNAs analyzed by microarrays in IL-1ß-stimulated OA chondrocytes, 35 miRNAs were down-regulated, 1 miRNA was up-regulated, and the expression of 1311 miRNAs remained unchanged. Bioinformatics analysis showed the key inflammatory mediators and key molecular pathways are targeted by differentially expressed miRNAs. Novel miRNAs identified could have important diagnostic and therapeutic potentials in the development of novel therapeutic strategies for pain managements in OA.