BackgroundMedical education can be a time of great psychological distress for students. The ongoing Syrian conflict represents an additional factor potentially contributing to poor mental health among medical students. Studies revealed high levels of psychological distress among Syrians. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety and stress among medical students at Damascus University during this period of war.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) in addition to questions about demographic and financial characteristics, and questions about the effects of the ongoing war on the participants’ lives.Results350 students were included. Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 60.6%, 35.1%, and 52.6%, respectively. Depression was more likely in females and those with “intermediate” or “insufficient” personal income. Anxiety was more likely in females and those with “insufficient” personal income while less likely in fifth- and sixth-year compared to second-year students. Stress was lower in fifth-year compared to second-year students and higher in “insufficient” personal income compared to “sufficient” personal income.ConclusionsWe concluded that Syrian medical students suffer from high rates of psychological distress. Females, second-year students, and those with “insufficient” personal income were the most affected. Students’ perception of their own financial status, rather than the financial status per se was related to psychological distress. There was no evidence of a direct relationship between the ongoing conflict and psychological distress. Further investigations of causes and consequences of poor mental health in Syrian medical students are essential.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-017-1012-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction:Research is crucial for health-care delivery. However, medical students may not participate in research during their training, which might negatively affect their understanding of the importance of research and their future ability to conduct research projects. This is more prominent in developing countries. We aim to assess the attitudes of a sample of Syrian medical students toward research and suggest plausible solutions to reduce their self-reported barriers.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered, pretested questionnaire.Results:Three hundred and twenty-three responses were included. Most students demonstrated positive attitudes toward research. However, most of the responses indicated that they did not receive any training in academic writing or research and therefore did not have the opportunity to participate in formal research projects or scholarly writing. Students reported various types of barriers that challenged their progress in the field of research. Students who reported being encouraged by their professors to participate in research and writing/publishing scientific papers or reported receiving training about these activities were more likely to participate in research projects or writing scientific articles.Conclusion:Students have positive attitudes toward research and publication while they reported poor education, limited participation, and presence of many barriers that impede their participation in such activities.

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In order to study Strontium (Sr) partitioning and isotope fractionation of Sr and Calcium (Ca) in calcite we performed precipitation (T) experiments decoupling temperature and precipitation rate (R * ). Calcite was precipitated at 12.5, 25.0 and 37.5°C by diffusing NH 3 and CO 2 gases into aqueous solutions closely following the experimental setup of Lemarchand et al. (2004). The precipitation rate (R * ) for every sample was determined applying the initial rate method and from the specific surface area of almost all samples for each reaction. The order of reaction with respect to Ca 2+ ions was determined to be one and independent of T. However, the order of reaction with respect to HCO 3 À changed from three to one as temperature increases from 12. (2008)). In order to reconcile the discrepant observations we suggest that the temperature triggered change from a Ca 2+ -NH 3 -aquacomplex covalent controlled bonding to a Ca 2+ -H 2 O-aquacomplex van-der-Waals controlled bonding caused the change in sign of the R * À D 44/40 Ca slope due to the switch of an equilibrium type of isotope fractionation related to the covalent bonding during lower temperatures to a kinetic type of isotope fractionation at higher temperatures. This is supported by the observation that the D 44/40 Ca ratios tend to depend on the [Ca]:[DIC] ratio at 12.5 and 25°C but is highly independent at 37.5°C. Our observations imply the chemical fluid composition and temperature dependent complexation controls the amount and direction of Ca isotope fractionation in contrast to the Sr isotopes which do not show any change of its fractionation behavior as a function of complexation in the liquid phase.

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