Aims: To determine the prevalence of psychological distress among Sudanese medical students and its association with their sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 353 Sudanese medical students completed an online questionnaire containing socio-demographic data such as gender, age, year of study, marital status, monthly income, and residency. Additionally, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) items were employed to gauge the levels of psychological distress among the participants and to explore the association with the demographic data. Utilizing the Pearson chi-square test, the analysis delved into the associations between socio-demographics data and psychological distress.

Results: Anxiety was the most prevalent psychological distress among medical students, as 76.8% of them exhibited anxiety symptoms. This was followed by depression, with a prevalence of 70.2%, and 56.7% of the students reported suffering from stress. The study found significant associations between depression and stress with age and gender, as well as a significant association of anxiety with age.

Conclusion: A considerable number of medical students are experiencing psychological distress. It is recommended to implement intervention programmes to educate Sudanese medical students about mental health issues and psychological distress.

The current research paper addresses the hypothesis that management system (grazing vs. stabling) and/or stage of lactation (early- to late-lactation) can influence the lactation performance and milk fatty acid (MFA) profile in dromedary camels. The results obtained revealed that milk and protein yields of stabled camels were higher, while milk fat content was lower compared to grazing camels. In addition, stabled camels produced milk richer in short- and medium-chains fatty acids but lower in long-chain fatty acids and fatty acids linked with possible health benefits such as oleic acid, vaccenic acid (VA) and rumenic acid (RA), when compared to grazing camels. Moreover, atherogenicity index was higher, while overall Δ9-desaturase and health-promoting indices were lower in stabled camels. In a similar way, results demonstrated an increase in milk fat and protein contents as lactation advanced. In fact, camels at mid-lactation produced milk richer in short- and medium-chain fatty acids as well as total saturated fatty acids but poorer in oleic acid, VA, RA, long-chain fatty acids and total unsaturated fatty acids, when compared to milk samples collected at early stage of lactation. Moreover, compared to early- and late-lactations, atherogenicity index was higher while overall-Δ9-desaturase and health promoting indexes were lower at mid-lactation. In conclusion, the intensive stabling system and mid-lactation stage can alter lactation performance and MFA profile in dairy dromedary camels.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of oil extracted from the zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus (Calanus oil) on diet-induced obesity and obesity-related disorders in mice. C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD, 45 % energy from fat) exhibited increased body weight and abdominal fat accumulation as well as impaired glucose tolerance compared with mice fed a normal chow diet (10 % energy from fat). Supplementing the HFD with 1·5 % (w/w) Calanus oil reduced body-weight gain, abdominal fat accumulation and hepatic steatosis by 16, 27 and 41 %, respectively, and improved glucose tolerance by 16 %. Calanus oil supplementation reduced adipocyte size and increased the mRNA expression of adiponectin in adipose tissue. It also reduced macrophage infiltration by more than 70 %, accompanied by reduced mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1). The effects of Calanus oil were not only preventive, but also therapeutic, as the oil proved to be beneficial, regardless of whether the supplementation was started before or after the onset of obesity and glucose intolerance. Although the present study cannot pinpoint the active component(s) of the oil, there is reason to believe that the n-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA and/or antioxidants are responsible for its beneficial effects. It should be noted that the concentration of n-3 fatty acids in the Calanus oil diet was considerably lower than the concentrations used in similar studies reporting beneficial effects on obesity and obesity-related abnormalities.

A growing trend for nutraceutical and gluten-free cereal-based products highlights the need for development of new products. Buckwheat is one of the potential candidates for such products and the present paper reviews the functional and nutraceutical compounds present in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) and tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum). The vital functional substances in buckwheat are flavonoids, phytosterols, fagopyrins, fagopyritols, phenolic compounds, resistant starch, dietary fibre, lignans, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which make it a highly active biological pseudocereal. Cholesterol-lowering effects that lessen the problems of constipation and obesity are important health benefits that can be achieved through the functional substances of buckwheat.