Background In the last decade, cord blood (CB) has proven to be a valuable source of hematopoietic stem cells for transplantation to treat many hematological disorders. Since then, many CB banks have been established worldwide. Our aim was to estimate the level of public awareness of CB banking in Saudi Arabia. Study Design and Methods A self-administered questionnaire of 22 multiple choices was conveniently distributed, consisting of demographics, awareness measure, attitude toward banking preference, and donation for research data. Results A total of 1146 participants have completed the questionnaire. The majority were young female 19–25 years old (26%), who are college graduates (57%) with middle class socioeconomic status (82%). The subjective assessment of the overall knowledge was inadequate (66%). For the objective assessment, 12 questions were asked about CB source, collection, storage, and usage. Only half of the subjects (52%) knew that CB is a source of stem cells. More than half did not know the main use of CB. About half did not know about the method of collection nor the condition of storing. Conclusion This study shows a high lack of knowledge about CB banking. More than half of the subjects were unaware of CB banking and its uses. However, most subjects are accepting CB storage, which anticipates great impact and efficacy on educational programs. Moreover, the data demonstrated that health professionals were not the source of knowledge. We recommend having comprehensive educational campaigns with clear information about CB banking to facilitate positive perspectives towards donation and scientific research.

Cyclic-di-AMP (c-di-AMP) is a bacterial second messenger that is produced by intracellular bacterial pathogens in mammalian host macrophages. Previous reports have shown that c-di-AMP is recognized by intracellular pattern recognition receptors of the innate immune system and stimulate type I interferon response. Here we report that the response to c-di-AMP includes a post-transcriptional component that is involved in the induction of additional inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, CXCL2, CCL3, and CCL4. Their mRNAs contain AU-rich elements (AREs) in their 3 ′ UTR that promote decay and repress translation. We show that c-di-AMP leads to the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK as well as the induction of the ARE-binding protein TTP, both of which are components of a signaling pathway that modulate the expression of ARE-containing mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. Pharmacological inhibition of p38 reduces the c-di-AMP-dependent release of induced cytokines, while TTP knockdown increases their release and mRNA stability. C-di-AMP can specifically increase the expression of a nano-Luciferase reporter that contains AREs. We propose a non-canonical intracellular mode of activation of the p38 MAPK pathway with the subsequent enhancement in the expression of inflammatory cytokines. C-di-AMP is widely distributed in bacteria, including infectious intracellular pathogens; hence, understanding of its post-transcriptional gene regulatory effect on the host response may provide novel approaches for therapy.

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) is potentially associated with higher academic performance. However, no study from the Gulf region has previously assessed if EI affects academic success and academic performance in medical students. Objectives: To examine the relationship between EI and academic success and academic performance in a sample of Saudi Arabian medical students. Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire study included all 4th–6th year medical students enrolled at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the academic year 2017–18. Eligible students were invited to complete the self-administered Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test and the Academic Success Inventory for College Students (ASICS) along with a questionnaire eliciting demographic information between January and April 2018. Academic achievement was assessed based on each student's self-reported grade point average in the most recent examination. Results: Of 377 eligible students, 296 (78%) completed the questionnaires. A significant association was identified between overall EI and ASICS scores (r = 0.197; P < 0.001). EI scores were constant in males and females and the year of study. No statistically significant association was observed between EI and academic success across gender and academic years (P > 0.05 for all values). However, in terms of external motivation and career decidedness by level of study, final-year students had higher scores compared with students in the other two study years (P = 0.02 and P = 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: This study offers primary data on the impact of EI scores on academic success in medical education, and it identified several factors associated with EI and academic success. The findings of this study suggest that EI and academic success are linked, and that both are vital for increasing academic performance.