Prevalence of Psychological Distress among Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Stressful environment in medical school often has a negative effect on students' psychosocial well-being. An in-depth understanding of how medical students experience psychological distress and coping is necessary for the prospective students. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of psychological distress among undergraduate medical students and its association with some demographic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 380 medical students in the University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine. The questionnaires used in this study consisted of two components - (i) the demographic information that required participants to provide their gender, age, year of study, and nationality and (ii) Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 items to measure the levels of psychological distress among participants. RESULTS: Anxiety was the most prevalent psychological distress among medical students, with 63% of them having anxiety symptoms. Depression was found to be the second most common psychological distress, with a prevalence of 51%, while 48% of the students suffered from stress. In further analysis, we found that Trinbagonian students were more depressed than the students from Caribbean Community and other nationality. Higher anxiety score was significantly associated with gender and age of the students. There was a significant association between students from different age groups and level of stress. CONCLUSIONS: A considerable number of students studying medicine are suffering from psychological distress. Intervention programs to address the mental health problems of such students should be initiated.

A 678-µW Frequency-Modulation-Based ADC With 104-dB Dynamic Range in 44-kHz Bandwidth.

This brief presents a frequency-modulation-based analog-to-digital converter (FM ADC) that takes advantage of the coding gain resulting from bandwidth expansion in the analog domain of FM systems to achieve high dynamic range and incorporates a highly digital demodulation approach for power efficiency. The novel architecture employs a sinusoidal output voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), a relatively low-resolution successive approximation register ADC to sample signals in the FM domain, and then a digital signal processing FM demodulator to recover high-resolution samples of the VCO's original analog input. The proposed ADC is implemented in 0.5-mm2 of 65-nm CMOS; it achieves 104-dB DR, 99-dB SNR, and 71-dB SNDR in a 44-kHz bandwidth while dissipating 678 µW of power. The architecture of the FM ADC leverages analog domain processing for system performance and digital domain processing for lower power. This novel approach presents a viable alternative to delta-sigma converters for high dynamic range conversion in advanced process nodes.

Evaluation of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein relationship with features of metabolic syndrome in high-risk subgroups for cardiovascular disease.

AIM: This study evaluating N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) relationship with features of the metabolic syndrome (MS) in high risk subgroups for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Trinidad. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample population consisted of 160 subjects, 78 of whom were African and 82 East Indian attending medical outpatient clinics of regional health authority hospitals of Trinidad. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, glucose and insulin as well as NT-pro-BNP were elevated among the East Indian sub-population, with only systolic blood pressure being significantly elevated among the African sub-population. NT-pro-BNP and hs-CRP demonstrated significant correlations with respect to the majority of independent risk factors inclusive of Adult Treatment Panel III and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists defined criteria for MS. NT-pro-BNP demonstrated stronger association among the East Indian sub-population as compared to that of the African sub-population. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that the East Indian subgroup was more at risk for CVD as evidenced by the fulfillment of the criteria for diagnosis of MS and therefore NT-pro-BNP and hs-CRP can be deemed a suitable marker for MS.

Neurolaena lobata L. promotes wound healing in Sprague Dawley rats.

BACKGROUND: The leaves of the Neurolaena lobata (Asteraceae) plant are used to control diabetes and heal wounds and infections. AIM: The ethanolic extract of N. lobata leaf was evaluated for its ability to heal inflicted wounds in rats using the excision wound model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Animals were divided into three groups of six each. Test group animals were treated topically with an ethanolic extract of N. lobata (1:1 with petroleum jelly, 100 mg/kg/day). Standard and control group animals were treated with mupirocin and petroleum jelly, respectively. Treatment was given for 13 days and the wound area was measured on alternate days. Parameters of healing assessed were the rate of wound contraction, period of epithelialization and hydroxyproline content. Antimicrobial activity of the extract was observed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. RESULTS: Phytochemical analysis of the extract showed the presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids and flavanoids. Extract-treated animals exhibited 87% reduction in the wound area over 13 days when compared with the control (78%) and standard (83%) groups (P < 0.05). A significant decrease in the epithelialization period was noticed with the extract-treated test group animals compared with the controls and the standard group animals (P < 0.008). The hydroxyproline content of the extract-treated animals was higher (230.5 ± 42.1) when evaluated against the control and (79.0 ± 32.2) and the standard (115.0 ± 44.5) groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Increase in the rate of wound contraction and hydroxyproline content with decrease in epithelialization time in extract-treated animals support further evaluation of N. lobata as a pharmacotherapy for wound healing.

Wound-healing potential of an ethanol extract of Carica papaya (Caricaceae) seeds.

Carica papaya L. (Linn) (Caricaceae) is traditionally used to treat various skin disorders, including wounds. It is widely used in developing countries as an effective and readily available treatment for various wounds, particularly burns. This study evaluated the wound-healing and antimicrobial activity of C. papaya seed extract. Ethanol extract of C. papaya seed (50 mg/kg/day) was evaluated for its wound-healing activity in Sprague-Dawley rats using excision wound model. Animals were randomly divided into four groups of six each (group 1 served as control, group 2 treated with papaya seed extract, group 3 treated with a standard drug mupirocin and papaya seed extract (1:1 ratio) and group 4 treated with a mupirocin ointment. Rate of wound contraction and hydroxyproline content were determined to assess the wound-healing activity of the seed extract. The group 2 animals showed a significant decrease in wound area of 89% over 13 days when compared with groups 1 (82%), 3 (86%) and 4 (84%) respectively. The hydroxyproline content was significantly higher with the granulation tissue obtained from group 2 animals which were treated with C. papaya seed extract. Histological analysis of granulation tissue of the group 2 animals showed the deposition of well-organized collagen. The extract exhibited antimicrobial activity against Salmonella choleraesuis and Staphylococcus aureus. Our results suggest that C. papaya promotes significant wound healing in rats and further evaluation for this activity in humans is suggested.

Antarth, a polyherbal preparation protects against the doxorubicin-induced toxicity without compromising its Antineoplastic activity.

Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline drug widely used for the treatment of various cancers, causes a cumulative dose-dependent cardiotoxicity that is characterized by an irreversible dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Antarth (ANT) a polyherbal preparation was evaluated for its cardioprotective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in mice. Mice were treated with 25 mg/kg ANT orally once daily for 5 consecutive days before a single intraperitoneal injection of 15 mg/kg doxorubicin. The animals were killed 30 h after DOX treatment. DOX induced a significant elevation in the serum levels of glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), creatine kinase (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), indicating its acute cardiotoxicity. The treatment of mice with ANT before DOX administration significantly reduced the serum levels of GPT, GOT, CK-MB and LDH indicating that ANT protected against the DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Pretreatment of mice with 25 mg/kg ANT inhibited the DOX-induced decline in the antioxidant status. Intraperitoneal injection of 1.25 mg/kg DOX once daily for 9 consecutive days significantly improved the survival of mice bearing Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC). Treatment of EAC with 25 mg/kg ANT alone did not affect the anticancer activity of DOX since ANT did not alter the tumor cell growth, the median survival time and average survival time of tumor bearing mice. The present study demonstrates that ANT protects mice against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, without compromising the antineoplastic activity of DOX.

Antarth, a polyherbal preparation protects against the doxorubicin-induced toxicity without compromising its antineoplastic activity

Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline drug widely used for the treatment of various cancers, causes a cumulative dose-dependent cardiotoxicity that is characterized by an irreversible dilated cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Antarth (ANT) a polyherbal preparation was evaluated for its cardioprotective properties against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in mice. Mice were treated with 25 mg/kg ANT orally once daily for 5 consecutive days before a single intraperitoneal injection of 15 mg/kg doxorubicin. The animals were killed 30 h after DOX treatment. DOX induced a significant elevation in the serum levels of glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), creatine kinase (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), indicating its acute cardiotoxicity. The treatment of mice with ANT before DOX administration significantly reduced the serum levels of GPT, GOT, CK-MB and LDH indicating that ANT protected against the DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Pretreatment of mice with 25 mg/kg ANT inhibited the DOX-induced decline in the antioxidant status. Intraperitoneal injection of 1.25 mg/kg DOX once daily for 9 consecutive days significantly improved the survival of mice bearing Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC). Treatment of EAC with 25 mg/kg ANT alone did not affect the anticancer activity of DOX since ANT did not alter the tumor cell growth, the median survival time and average survival time of tumor bearing mice. The present study demonstrates that ANT protects mice against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, without compromising the antineoplastic activity of DOX.