Proper dietary practices should be developed during the student years that will continue into the future. This study aimed to identify the eating habits and dietary practices among King Faisal University (KFU) students, explore the barriers to adherence to healthy eating, associate the understanding of healthy diets with students’ characteristics, and determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and awareness of the concept of healthy diets, academic discipline, and enrollment in a nutrition course. In this cross-sectional study, students were selected randomly and a questionnaire was distributed using an electronic platform through KFU email. Out of 564 students, nearly half (45.7%) reported eating snacks as their main food, and some (38.3%) reported eating with their family twice daily. The students rarely reported eating with friends (73%) or eating dates (48.8%). Furthermore, many reported that they were not consuming a balanced diet (42.6%). Some students (46.3%) reported taking breakfast daily, and 49.1% reported eating meals regularly. There was low consumption of vegetables (29.3%) and fruits (26.2%) among the students. The barriers to adherence to healthy eating were the availability of fast food (73.2%), high cost of healthy food (72.7%), limited time (59%), and laziness (57.1%). Statistically significant data indicated that the students with a normal BMI were more aware of the concept of healthy diets, studied medical and applied sciences, and were enrolled in KFU nutrition courses.

Carbapenem-resistantAcinetobacter baumanniiis becoming increasingly prevalent in patients with diabetes mellitus in the Middle East. We examined the relationship of these bacteria and their resistance mechanisms to the diabetic disease status of patients in Saudi Arabia. Susceptibilities of 271 isolates to carbapenems, tigecycline and colistin were determined, followed by detection of carbapenemase genes. Abla_VIMgene was detected in ~95 % of isolates;bla_OXA-23andbla_OXA-40genes were also prevalent. Diabetic patients were significantly more likely to carry carbapenem-resistant isolates. Carbapenem-resistantA. baumanniiis a serious problem in diabetic patients, and molecular detection of resistance mechanisms in these isolates is required.

Diabetic patients are 10 times more likely to develop Acinetobacter baumannii infections than the rest of the population. Carbapenems are considered one of the very few antibiotics left to treat infections caused by this organism. the aim of this work was to characterise A. baumannii strains isolated from diabetic patients and to investigate whether there is a relationship between certain strains and low-level-carbapenem resistance. Clinical samples were collected from diabetic patients in hospitals throughout Saudi Arabia from December 2006 to April 2007. API 20 Ne, polymorphisms in the 16S-23S-rRNA intergenic region and the presence of a bla( OXA-51-like )gene were all used for identification. Susceptibility to antimicrobials was determined using agar dilution and disk diffusion methods. pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfGe) coupled with sequence analysis of the bla(OXA-51-like )genes were used for strain characterization. Polymerase chain reaction (pCR) and multiplex pCR were used to screen for the presence and location of ISAba1 elements and bla(OXA-23-like), bla(OXA-40-like), and bla(OXA-58-like )genes respectively. Twenty isolates were identified as A. baumannii and were all highly resistant to 38% of the antibiotics tested and the majority of isolates were also resistant to 50% of the remaining antibiotics. four strains had low-level meropenem resistance (MIC 4-8 mg/l). All isolates were sensitive to imipenem and colistin. Nine strains possessed four novel bla( OXA-51-like )genes encoding beta-lactamases designated OXA-90, OXA-130, OXA-131 and OXA-132, and four strains contained bla(OXA-131 )with ISAba1 upstream of the gene structure. PFGE showed five separate clusters of OXA-51-like enzymes and the dissemination of strains carrying the four novel enzymes was clonal. this study showed that new strains of A. baumannii characterised by their new bla(OXA-51-like )gene have emerged. No genes encoding OXA-23-like, OXA-40-like, or OXA-58-like beta-lactamases were found. Surveillance of A. baumannii harbouring the bla( OXA-131-like )gene may be an essential step in monitoring their carbapenem resistance phenotype and may assist in preventing their spread in diabetics.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the association between dental anxiety (DA) and oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among rural community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 390 rural community-dwelling older adults attending outpatient clinics of the Damanhur National Medical Institute during the year 2021. Three instruments were used: a demographic and clinical data structured interview schedule, Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS), and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-5) questionnaire. All statistical analyses were considered significant at a p-value of ≤0.001. Results: The main results showed that the prevalence of DA among participants was 90.5%, and 66.9% of the studied elderly population were either extremely (phobic) or very anxious. Moreover, a significant association was found between older adults’ DA and their OHRQoL (p ˂ 0.001). Conclusions: It was concluded that DA represents a common problem among rural community-dwelling older adults and is a predictor for poor OHRQoL. Raising community awareness about the importance of oral health and implementing measures to avoid DA through specialized community campaigns is recommended, particularly in rural areas.

The high risk of morbidity and mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 has accelerated the development of many potential vaccines. However, these vaccines are designed against SARS-CoV-2 isolated in Wuhan, China, and thereby may not be effective against other SARS-CoV-2 variants such as the United Kingdom variant (VUI-202012/01). The UK SARS-CoV-2 variant possesses D614G mutation in the Spike protein, which impart it a high rate of infection. Therefore, newer strategies are warranted to design novel vaccines and drug candidates specifically designed against the mutated forms of SARS-CoV-2. One such strategy is to target ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme2)–Spike protein RBD (receptor binding domain) interaction. Here, we generated a homology model of Spike protein RBD of SARS-CoV-2 UK strain and screened a marine seaweed database employing different computational approaches. On the basis of high-throughput virtual screening, standard precision, and extra precision molecular docking, we identified BE011 (Dieckol) as the most potent compounds against RBD. However, Dieckol did not display drug-like properties, and thus different derivatives of it were generated in silico and evaluated for binding potential and drug-like properties. One Dieckol derivative (DK07) displayed good binding affinity for RBD along with acceptable physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, drug-likeness, and ADMET properties. Analysis of the RBD–DK07 interaction suggested the formation of hydrogen bonds, electrostatic interactions, and hydrophobic interactions with key residues mediating the ACE2–RBD interaction. Molecular dynamics simulation confirmed the stability of the RBD–DK07 complex. Free energy calculations suggested the primary role of electrostatic and Van der Waals’ interaction in stabilizing the RBD–DK07 complex. Thus, DK07 may be developed as a potential inhibitor of the RBD–ACE2 interaction. However, these results warrant further validation by in vitro and in vivo studies.

Bacteria expressing New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) can hydrolyze β-lactam antibiotics (penicillins, cephalosporins, and carbapenems) and, thus, mediate multidrug resistance. The worldwide dissemination of NDM-1 poses a serious threat to public health, imposing a huge economic burden in the development of new antibiotics. Thus, there is an urgent need for the identification of novel NDM-1 inhibitors from a pool of already-known drug molecules. Here, we screened a library of FDA-approved drugs to identify novel non-β-lactam ring-containing inhibitors of NDM-1 by applying computational as well as in vitro experimental approaches. Different steps of high-throughput virtual screening, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and enzyme kinetics were performed to identify risedronate and methotrexate as the inhibitors with the most potential. The molecular mechanics/generalized Born surface area (MM/GBSA) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed that both of the compounds (risedronate and methotrexate) formed a stable complex with NDM-1. Furthermore, analyses of the binding pose revealed that risedronate formed two hydrogen bonds and three electrostatic interactions with the catalytic residues of NDM-1. Similarly, methotrexate formed four hydrogen bonds and one electrostatic interaction with NDM-1’s active site residues. The docking scores of risedronate and methotrexate for NDM-1 were –10.543 kcal mol⁻¹ and −10.189 kcal mol⁻¹, respectively. Steady-state enzyme kinetics in the presence of risedronate and methotrexate showed a decreased catalytic efficiency (i.e., kcat/Km) of NDM-1 on various antibiotics, owing to poor catalytic proficiency and affinity. The results were further validated by determining the MICs of imipenem and meropenem in the presence of risedronate and methotrexate. The IC₅₀ values of the identified inhibitors were in the micromolar range. The findings of this study should be helpful in further characterizing the potential of risedronate and methotrexate to treat bacterial infections.