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Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, People's Republic of China, and caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), As the virus took hold in the world, health experts paced efforts to solve the unknown nature of this threat. Methodology: We studied the clinical characteristics, laboratory biomarkers of healthcare workers in the single center, analytical cross-sectional study conducted in tertiary care hospital of the UAE. Sample size of 600 HCWs were screened for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay using Seegene Allplex and Andis FAST SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR detection kits for a period of 6 months. Findings: All the health care workers (HCWs) were vaccinated for the SARS-CoV-2. Out of these, 240 HCWs were reported to be positive. rRT-PCR with a Ct value of <38 was taken as positive >38. The laboratory investigations of the positive cases were collected and analysed further. A comparison of the laboratory tests was made between (I) COVID severe (Ct < 25) and nonsevere (Ct > 25) groups and (II) frontline workers and non-frontline workers. Besides finding short-term and sudden relief, investigators directed their efforts to provide a long-term solution for an ensuing pandemic that influenced all areas of life in unprecedented ways. Conclusion: Awareness among healthcare workers and further long-term studies focusing on their mental health the overall wellness and especially the psychological burden on doctors have received heightened awareness in media and research publications. This information can assist in developing surveillance and infection and control policies and preparedness for future COVID epidemics in similar scenarios in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Procrastination is the negative behavior defined as the failure to initiate or complete a task in a given amount of time. This behavior has been observed in students, adults, children of all ages and leads to Engaging in procrastination in an academic setting brings negative outcomes such as stress, guilt, poor academic performance, and low self‑esteem and it is important to recognize and fix as early as possible so as to protect their future careers. Academic procrastination is the act of intentionally delaying work that must be completed. Multiple studies have been conducted over decades to understand the reasons why a student procrastinates and how to curb this negative habit. Academic procrastination is task-dependent and that people exhibit procrastination in a variety of behaviors and settings. Purpose of this study was to analyze the prevalence of procrastination among medical undergraduate students in four domains – studying for examinations, keeping up with reading assignments, academic administrative tasks, and attendance tasks. Method: A questionnaire was distributed to the students aimed to analyze the reasons for procrastination and its negative impact on the student’s life. Results: Results of this study showed that students nearly always procrastinated on tasks such as studying for examinations and keeping up with assignments, but there was a drop in the degree of procrastination when it comes to administrative tasks. Reasons for procrastination in our study included fear of failure, lack of motivation, poor time management, and social anxiety. If a task is considered uninteresting and boring, it leads to a lack of motivation for the student to get started and the reasons for which are fear of failure, feelings of inadequacy, and peer pressure. Strict measures must be taken to motivate the student against procrastination, such as proper discipline, gratification strategies, time management techniques, assertiveness training, setting realistic expectations and goals, and working on teaching the student to introspect and find the true reason for their task aversion and fixing it. Conclusion: Research such as our study is essential to understand the pattern of procrastination among students, especially students who are in the line of work that directly impacts hundreds of people such as medicine. This negative behavior can directly impact the future career of not only the student but also affect patient care and outcome. As the present data were based on the convenient sampling drawn from the university students; the accuracy of this study can be further refined with further standard and systematic approach by fact‑checking the grade point average (GPA) scores and data research with larger and more demographically diverse populations would strength the findings of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Vidya. Vasudeva, Yogish. Tenkanidiyoor, Vishakh. Radhakrishna, Pooja. Shivappa, Srikanth. Lakshman, Ronald. Fernandes, Krishna. Patali Objectives: Radiation-induced hematological, biochemical, and cytogenetic damages to the normal cells are major concerns in [...]

Background and Aim: Staphylococcus aureus, with its diverse virulence factors and immune response evasion mechanisms, presents a formidable challenge as an opportunistic pathogen. Developing an effective vaccine against S. aureus has proven elusive despite extensive efforts. Autologous Staphylococcus lysate (ASL) treatment has proven effective in triggering an immune response against bovine mastitis. Peptides that stimulate the immune response can be the subject of further research. The study aimed to use immunoinformatics tools to identify epitopes on S. aureus surface and secretory proteins that can bind to major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) and CD8+ T-cells. This method aids in discovering prospective vaccine candidates and elucidating the rationale behind ASL therapy's efficacy. Materials and Methods: Proteins were identified using both literature search and the National Center for Biotechnology Information search engine Entrez. Self and non-self peptides, allergenicity predictions, epitope locations, and physicochemical characteristics were determined using sequence alignment, AllerTOP, SVMTriP, and Protein-Sol tools. Hex was employed for simulating the docking interactions between S. aureus proteins and the MHC I + CD8+ T-cells complex. The binding sites of S. aureus proteins were assessed using Computer Atlas of Surface Topography of Proteins (CASTp) while docked with MHC I and CD8+ T-cells. Results: Nine potential S. aureus peptides and their corresponding epitopes were identified in this study, stimulating cytotoxic T-cell mediated immunity. The peptides were analyzed for similarity with self-antigens and allergenicity. 1d20, 2noj, 1n67, 1nu7, 1amx, and 2b71, non-self and stable, are potential elicitors of the cytotoxic T-cell response. The energy values from docking simulations of peptide-MHC I complexes with the CD8+ and T-cell receptor (TCR) indicate the stability and strength of the formed complexes. These peptides - 2noj, 1d20, 1n67, 2b71, 1nu7, 1yn3, 1amx, 2gi9, and 1edk - demonstrated robust MHC I binding, as evidenced by their low binding energies. Peptide 2gi9 exhibited the lowest energy value, followed by 2noj, 1nu7, 1n67, and 1d20, when docked with MHC I and CD8 + TCR, suggesting a highly stable complex. CASTp analysis indicated substantial binding pockets in the docked complexes, with peptide 1d20 showing the highest values for area and volume, suggesting its potential as an effective elicitor of immunological responses. These peptides - 2noj, 2gi9, 1d20, and 1n67 - stand out for vaccine development and T-cell activation against S. aureus. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the design and development of S. aureus vaccines, highlighting the significance of employing computational methods in conjunction with experimental verification. The significance of T-cell responses in combating S. aureus infections is emphasized by this study. More experiments are needed to confirm the effectiveness of these vaccine candidates and discover their possible medical uses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are few efficient treatment options for alcohol addiction, which continues to be a serious public health concern. The possible contribution of gut microbiota to the onset and progression of alcohol addiction has been brought to light by recent studies. Probiotics have become a cutting-edge intervention in the treatment of alcohol consumption disorder because of its favorable effects on gut health. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the body of research on the advantages of probiotics in treating alcoholism and associated neuroinflammatory conditions., Methods: To find pertinent research published from January 2012 to 2023, a thorough search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Science, was carried out. Included were studies looking at how probiotics affect neuroinflammation, gut- brain axis regulation, alcohol addiction, and related behaviors., Findings: Several investigations have shown how beneficial probiotics are in reducing systemic inflammation and alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Probiotic treatments successfully corrected the imbalance of microbiota, decreased intestinal permeability, and stopped the passage of bacterial constituents such lipopolysaccharides (LPS) into the bloodstream. Additionally, probiotics helped to regulate neurotransmitter pathways, especially those connected to GABA, glutamate, and dopamine, which are intimately linked to behaviors related to addiction. Furthermore, it was shown that probiotics altered the expression of neurotransmitter signaling and dopamine receptors., Conclusion: There is strong evidence from this systematic study that probiotics have potential advantages in treating alcohol addiction. The potential of probiotic therapies is demonstrated by the way they modulate important neurotransmitter pathways implicated in addiction, decrease neuroinflammation, and restore the balance of gut flora. To fully investigate the therapeutic potential of probiotics in treating alcohol addiction and enhancing the general wellbeing of those afflicted by this condition, more research is necessary., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Vidya Bernhardt, Shivappa, R. Pinto, KS, Ramakrishna Pillai, Kumar Srinivasamurthy and Paul Samuel.)