The prevalence of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) with SARS-CoV-2 infection who were prescribed antibiotics is undetermined and might contribute to the increased global antibiotic resistance. This systematic review evaluates the prevalence of antibiotic prescribing in patients admitted to ICUs with SARS-CoV-2 infection using PRISMA guidelines. We searched and scrutinized results from PubMed and ScienceDirect databases for published literature restricted to the English language up to 11 May 2021. In addition, we included observational studies of humans with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, clinical characteristics, and antibiotics prescribed for ICU patients with SARS-CoV-2 infections. A total of 361 studies were identified, but only 38 were included in the final analysis. Antibiotic prescribing data were available from 2715 patients, of which prevalence of 71% was reported in old age patients with a mean age of 62.7 years. From the reported studies, third generation cephalosporin had the highest frequency amongst reviewed studies (36.8%) followed by azithromycin (34.2%). The estimated bacterial infection in 12 reported studies was 30.8% produced by 15 different bacterial species, and S. aureus recorded the highest bacterial infection (75%). The fundamental outcomes were the prevalence of ICU COVID-19 patients prescribed antibiotics stratified by age, type of antibiotics prescribed, and the presence of co-infections and comorbidities. In conclusion, more than half of ICU patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection received antibiotics, and prescribing is significantly higher than the estimated frequency of identified bacterial co-infection.

MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x), as a novel 2D material, has produced a great interest due to its promising properties in biomedical applications, nevertheless, there is a lack of studies dedicated to investigate the possible toxic effect of MXene in embryos. Herein, we aim to scrutinize the potential toxicity of MXene nanosheets on the early stage of the embryo as well as angiogenesis. Avian embryos at 3 and 5 days of incubation were used as an experimental model in this investigation. Our findings reveal that MXene may produce adverse effect on the early stage of embryogenesis as ∼46% of MXene-exposed embryos died during 1–5 days after exposure. We also found that MXene at tested concentration inhibits angiogenesis of the chorioallantoic membrane of the embryo after 5 days of incubation. More significantly, RT-PCR analysis of seven genes, which are key regulators of cell proliferation, survival, cell death and angiogenesis, revealed that these genes were deregulated in brain, heart and liver tissues from MXene-treated embryos in comparison with their matched controls. Our study clearly suggests that MXene at studied concentration might induce a toxic effect on the early stage of embryogenesis; nevertheless, more investigations are necessary to understand the effect at low concentrations and elucidate its mechanism at the early stage of normal development.

Background: Safety in laboratories is one of the most crucial topics for all educational institutes. All-hazards need to be identified, evaluated, and controlled whenever possible, following the risk management (RM) process. This study evaluates two academic laboratories’ risks and safety in the Department of Biomedical Science (BMS) at Qatar University (QU). The goal is to eliminate or reduce any risks to the students, teaching assistants, laboratory technicians, faculties, and other related workers, following an RM process. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed from January to March 2020 in the BMS at QU. The study sample comprised of microbiology and hematology laboratories. Checklists and data collection sheets were used for data collection. Hazard evaluation failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) was used. The risk priority number (RPN) was calculated for all the identified hazards. For hazard control, the hierarchy of controls was followed. Results: The number of identified hazards was thirteen (n=13) in the hematology laboratory and sixteen (n=16) in the microbiology laboratory. Chemical and ergonomic hazards had the highest percentages in both laboratories, with 25% in the microbiology laboratory and 31% in the hematology laboratory. Both laboratories were free from radiation hazards. There is a significant difference between adopted and recommended control measures in each laboratory in terms of likelihood, severity, and risk priority number (RPN). Conclusion: Both chemical and ergonomic hazards account for almost a quarter of the hazards in both laboratories. The recommended control measure can decrease the severity and likelihood of identified hazards.

The prevalence of airborne pathogens in indoor environments presents significant health risks due to prolonged human occupancy. This review addresses diverse air purification systems to combat airborne pathogens and the factors influencing their efficacy. Indoor aerosols, including bioaerosols, harbor biological contaminants from respiratory emissions, highlighting the need for efficient air disinfection strategies. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the dangers of airborne transmission, highlighting the importance of comprehending how pathogens spread indoors. Various pathogens, from viruses like SARS-CoV-2 to bacteria like Mycobacterium (My) tuberculosis, exploit unique respiratory microenvironments for transmission, necessitating targeted air purification solutions. Air disinfection methods encompass strategies to reduce aerosol concentration and inactivate viable bioaerosols. Techniques like ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), filters, and unipolar ion emission are explored for their specific roles in mitigating airborne pathogens. This review examines air purification systems, detailing their operational principles, advantages, and limitations. Moreover, it elucidates key factors influencing system performance. In conclusion, this review aims to provide practical knowledge to professionals involved in indoor air quality management, enabling informed decisions for deploying efficient air purification strategies to safeguard public health in indoor environments.

Cancer metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. To date, several in vitro methodologies have been developed to understand the mechanisms of cancer metastasis and to screen various therapeutic agents against it. Nevertheless, mimicking an in vivo microenvironment in vitro is not possible; while in vivo experiments are complex, expensive and bound with several regulatory requirements. Herein, we report a novel in ovo model that relies on chicken embryo to investigate cancer cell invasion and metastasis to various organs of the body. In this model, we directly inject green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing cancer cells to the heart of chicken embryo at 3 days of incubation, then monitor cell migration to various organs. To this end, we used a simple tissue processing technique to achieve rapid imaging and quantification of invasive cells. We were able to clearly observe the migration of GFP expressing cancer cells into various organs of chicken embryo. Organ specific variation in cell migration was also observed. Our new slide pressing based tissue processing technique improved the detectability of migrated cells. We herein demonstrate that the use of GFP expressing cancer cells allows easy detection and quantification of migrated cancer cells in the chicken embryo model, which minimizes the time and effort required in this types of studies compared to conventional histopathological analysis. In conclusion, our investigation provides a new cancer metastasis model that can be further improved to include more complex aspects, such as the use of multiple cell lines and anti-metastatic agents, thus opening new horizons in cancer biology and pharmaceutical research.

E-cigarette smoking (ECS) is a new method of tobacco smoking that is gaining popularity as it is thought to be a “healthy method” of tobacco consumption. The adverse outcomes of ECS on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems in humans have been recently demonstrated. Nevertheless, the effect of e-cigarette liquid (ECL) on the early stage of embryogenesis and angiogenesis has not been explored yet. Chicken embryo at 3 days of incubation and its chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of 5 days were used to explore the outcome of ECL on the embryo. Real-time PCR was also employed to study the regulation of a set of key controller genes of embryogenesis as well as angiogenesis. Our study revealed that ECL exposure is associated with a high rate of mortality in embryos as around 70% of treated embryos, at 3 days of incubation, die after 5 days of exposure. Additionally, ECL inhibits angiogenesis of the CAM of 5 days of incubation by more than 30%. These effects could be explained by the upregulation of ATF-3, FOXA2, INHBA, MAPRE-2, and RIPK-1, as well as the downregulation of SERPINA-4 and VEGF-C genes, which are important key controller genes of embryogenesis as well as angiogenesis. Our data suggest clearly that ECS can have dramatic toxic outcomes on the early stage of embryogenesis as well as angiogenesis. Accordingly, we believe that further studies to assess the effects of ECS on human health are essential.