Positive social interaction with peers was said to facilitate cognitive and intellectual development leading to good academic performance. There was paucity of published data on the effect of social management (SM) emotional intelligence (EI) on academic performance. We conducted this study to examine their relationship in the undergraduate medical students in a public medical school in Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) to measure the SM. The first and final year medical students were invited to participate. Students answered a paper-based demography questionnaire and completed the online MSCEIT in privacy. Independent predictors were identified using multivariate analyses. A total of 163 (84 first year and 79 final year) medical students completed the study (at a response rate of 66.0%). SM score (B = -.10 95% CI -.175 to -.015, p = .021) was significantly related to the continuous assessment (CA) marks (adjusted R(2) = .45, F13,137 = 10.26, p
OBJECTIVE: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common health problem which affects women in the postpartum period. This is a brief note on its associated factors in women from different cultures.
METHODS: A literature review was performed in MEDLINE and Pubmed from 1991 to 2008 and Magiran from 1991 to 2009. Additional articles and book chapters were referenced from these sources.
RESULTS: The prevalence of postpartum depression has been reported to be from 0.5% to 60% globally, and from 3.5% to 63.3% in Asian countries, in which Malaysia and Pakistan had respectively the lowest and highest rates. One of the factors contributing to PPD in Asian societies can be that women may not have the empowerment to reject traditional rituals that are imposed on them by their caregivers. Unsatisfactory pre-existing relationships between the mothers and their caregivers resulting in mothers experiencing difficulties during their confinement period may be another factor. Thirdly, some features of these traditional rituals may be the cause of tension, stress and emotional distress. Emotional conflicts caused by insistence on practice of traditional rituals during the postpartum period may lead to mental breakdown.
CONCLUSION: Health care professionals should be aware that the phenomenon in Asian cultures is as prevalent as European cultures. Moreover, further research needs to be conducted on the global prevalence of the experiences of childbearing women with depressive symptoms.
KEYWORDS: Cultures; Postpartum depression; Risk factors
Iron oxide nanoparticles are one of the nanocarriers that are suitable for novel drug delivery systems due to low toxicity, biocompatibility, loading capacity, and controlled drug delivery to cancer cells. The purpose of the present study is the synthesis of coated iron oxide nanoparticles for the delivery of sorafenib (SFB) and its effects on cancer cells. In this study, Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by the co-precipitation method, and then sorafenib was loaded onto PEG@Fe3O4 nanoparticles. FTIR was used to ensure polyethylene glycol (PEG) binding to nanoparticles and loading the drug onto the nanoshells. A comparison of the mean size and the crystalline structure of nanoparticles was performed by TEM, DLS, and X-ray diffraction patterns. Then, cell viability was obtained by the MTT assay for 3T3 and HepG2 cell lines. According to FT-IR results, the presence of O-H and C-H bands at 3427 cm-1 and 1420 cm-1 peak correlate with PEG binding to nanoparticles. XRD pattern showed the cubic spinel structure of trapped magnetite nanoparticles carrying medium. The magnetic properties of nanoparticles were examined by a vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM). IC50 values at 72 h for treatment with carriers of Fe3O4@PEG nanoparticle for the HepG2 cell line was 15.78 μg/mL (p < 0.05). This study showed that Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated by polyethylene glycol and using them in the drug delivery process could be beneficial for increasing the effect of sorafenib on cancer cells.