The objective of the current work was to fabricate, optimize and assess olive oil/phytosomal nanocarriers to improve quercetin skin delivery. Olive oil/phytosomal nanocarriers, prepared by a solvent evaporation/anti-solvent precipitation technique, were optimized using a Box–Behnken design, and the optimized formulation was appraised for in vitro physicochemical characteristics and stability. The optimized formulation was assessed for skin permeation and histological alterations. The optimized formulation (with an olive oil/PC ratio of 0.166, a QC/PC ratio of 1.95 and a surfactant concentration of 1.6%), and with a particle diameter of 206.7 nm, a zeta potential of −26.3 and an encapsulation efficiency of 85.3%, was selected using a Box–Behnken design. The optimized formulation showed better stability at ambient temperature when compared to refrigerating temperature (4 °C). The optimized formulation showed significantly higher skin permeation of quercetin when compared to an olive-oil/surfactant-free formulation and the control (~1.3-fold and 1.9-fold, respectively). It also showed alteration to skin barriers without remarkable toxicity aspects. Conclusively, this study demonstrated the use of olive oil/phytosomal nanocarriers as potential carriers for quercetin—a natural bioactive agent—to improve its skin delivery.

Olives and virgin olive oil (VOO) are a staple of Mediterranean diets and are rich in several beneficial phenolic compounds, including hydroxytyrosol (HT). Therefore, VOO was extracted from Koroneiki olive fruits, and its volatile as well as phenolic components were identified. Meanwhile, in order to upgrade the pharmaceutical capabilities of VOO and HT, a new conjugate phenylboronic acid-chitosan nanoparticles (PBA-CSNPs, NF-1) was fabricated and applied as nanocapsules for implanting high loading and efficient delivery of VOO and HT nanoformulations (NF-2 and NF-3). Due to the H-bonding interactions and boronate ester formation between the hydroxyl groups of the phenolic content of VOO or HT and the PBA groups in the nanocapsules (NF-1), VOO and HT were successfully loaded into the PBA-CSNPs nanocapsules with high loading contents and encapsulation efficacies. The NF-2 and NF-3 nanoformulations demonstrated physicochemical stability, as revealed by their respective zeta potential values, and pH-triggered drug release characteristics. The in vitro studies demonstrated that the nascent nanocapsules were almost completely nontoxic to both healthy and cancer cells, whereas VOO-loaded (NF-2) and HT-loaded nanocapsules (NF-3) showed efficient anti-breast cancer efficiencies. In addition, the antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of VOO and HT were significantly improved after nanoencapsulation.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures have substantially affected educational processes around the globe, resulting in psychological distress among students. The mental health of students in higher education is of paramount importance, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this vulnerable population into renewed focus. In this context, the evaluation of students‘ mental health at educational institutes has gained invaluable popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to ascertain the psychological health and coping strategies among students from a higher education institute in Saudi Arabia. Methods: An online study instrument was used to assess anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9), post-traumatic stress disorder—PTSD (Impact of Event Scale-Revised, IES-R) and coping strategies (Brief-COPE). The severity of the psychological distress was classified as per the scoring criteria and correlated with demographics using appropriate statistical methods. Results: Of 1074 students (age 21.1 ± 2.1 years), 12.9% and 9.7% had severe anxiety and depression, respectively. The mean anxiety and depression scores were 7.50 ± 5.51 and 9.31 ± 6.72, respectively. About one-third (32%) of students reported suicidal ideation, with 8.4% students having such thoughts nearly every day. The average PTSD score was 21.64 ± 17.63, where avoidance scored higher (8.10 ± 6.94) than intrusion and hyperarousal. There was no association of anxiety, depression and PTSD score with the demographics of the study participants. Religious/spiritual coping (5.43 ± 2.15) was the most adoptive coping mechanism, followed by acceptance (5.15 ± 2.10). Male students were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with active copings, instrumental support, planning, humor, acceptance and religious coping. Substance use was the least adopted coping strategy but practiced by a considerable number of students. Conclusions: The long-lasting pandemic situation, onerous protective measures and uncertainties in educational procedures have resulted in a high prevalence of psychological ailments among university students, as indicated in this study. These findings accentuate the urgent need for telepsychiatry and appropriate population-specific mental health services to assess the extent of psychological impairment and to leverage positive coping behaviors among students.

This study examined psychological health and coping strategies among faculty and staff at a Saudi Arabian university. A web-based self-administered survey was used to assess probable anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and coping strategies by using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and Brief-COPE scale, respectively. Of 502 participants (mean age 36.04 ± 10.32 years, male: 66.3%), 24.1% (GAD-7 ≥ 10) had probable anxiety. Anxiety score was significantly higher in females (p < 0.001), those with a history of COVID-19 infection (p = 0.036), and participants with less work experience (p = 0.019). Approximately 40% of participants met the criteria of probable depression, with females (p < 0.001) and participants with less experience having more depressive symptoms. Around one-fourth (27.7%) of study participants indicated probable PTSD (score ≥ 33), with higher symptoms in females (p <0.001), less experienced staff (p < 0.001), and academic staff (p = 0.006). Correlation analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between anxiety and depression (r = 0.844, p < 0.001), anxiety and PTSD (r = 0.650, p < 0.001), and depression and PTSD (r = 0.676, p < 0.001). Active coping, religious/spiritual coping, and acceptance were common coping strategies, while substance use was the least adopted coping method among the study participants. This study indicated a high prevalence of probable psychological ailments among university staff.

This research was carried out at the Agriculture Research Farm, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, and the Cereal Crops Research Institute, Pirsabak, Nowshera, during 2009 and 2010. Half-sib families (HS) derived from the maize variety Pahari in spring crop seasons 2009 and 2010 were developed at the Cereal Crops Research Institute. All HS families were detasseled well before pollen shedding. At maturity, each family was harvested and shelled separately. During the summer crop of seasons 2009 and 2010, these HS families were evaluated in 12 x 12 and 11 x 11 partially balanced lattice square arrangements at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, for various flowering and yield traits, respectively. The data on days to mid-silking, anthesis, anthesis-silking interval, 100-grain weight, and grain yield were recorded. The results revealed significant differences among families for all traits in both cycles. High heritability (0.88) was observed for days to mid-silking in cycle 0 (C₀), while moderate heritability (0.42) was recorded for 100-grain weight in C₁. The selection differential was quite reasonable and varied according to the traits of interest. The observed response for grain yield in C₀ (815.74 kg/ha) was greater than the expected response (681.76 kg/ha).