Evaluation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of Khat (Catha edulis Forsk) extracts on human T lymphoblastoid cell line

This paper reports on an investigation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of khat extract using a human T lymphoblastoid cell line (CEM). Exponentially growing CEM cells were cultured for 12 h in the presence of khat extract (0-2000 μg ml-1). Statistically significant, dose-dependent increases in; CEM cell death at dose (> 400 μg ml-1), in DNA damage at dose (>200 μg ml-1) and in micronuclei frequency, at dose (>200 μg ml-1) were observed. The genetic damage effects of khat extract on human cell line observed in this study could serve as a major contribution towards the understanding and creating of awareness of an increased risk of cancer amongst long-term khat consumers

A Machine Learning Model for the Identification of the Holy Quran Reciter Utilizing K-Nearest Neighbor and Artificial Neural Networks

The method of identification of the Holy Quran reciter, which is entered on the various features of the acoustic wave, is referred to as the Holy Quran Reciter Identification. The Muslim communitys Holy Book is the Holy Quran. Listening to or reading the Holy Quran is one of the obligatory activities for Muslims. This research proposes a machine learning model for identifying the Holy Quran reciter using a machine learning language. Here, the presented system comprises the essential phases for a voice recognition system encompassing the processes of classification, extraction of features, preprocessing, and data acquisition. Moreover, the voices of ten known reciters are framed as a dataset in this research. The reciters are leaders of prayers in the Holy masjids of Madinah and Makkah. The analysis of the audio dataset is performed using the mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC). The artificial neural network (ANN) and the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifiers are employed for classification. The pitch is utilized as features employed to train the KNN and ANN classifiers. The proposed system is validated using two chapters chosen from the Holy Quran. The results revealed an excellent level of accuracy. With the help of the ANN classifier, the proposed system offered 98.5% accuracy for chapter 7 and 97.2% accuracy for chapter 32. On the other hand, while utilizing KNN, the accuracy for chapter 7 is 97.02% and for chapter 32 is 96.07%. Then, the system’s performance is compared with the utilization of support vector machines (SVM) in recognition of Quranic voice reciter. The comparison results revealed that ANN is a better machine learning algorithm for voice recognition when compared to SVM

Regenerative Endodontic Procedure in Immature Permanent Teeth

This literature review will aim to recapitulate the different factors involved in the endodontic regenerative procedure, with a focus on different bacterial disinfecting techniques, intra-canal dressings and expected treatment outcomes. The electronic databases searched were EMBASE, MEDLINE and PUBMED. Articles included were limited to the English language from the year 1988 to May 2019. A hand search of the literature was also performed for articles dating back to 1958. No clear guidelines were available regarding follow-up and expected treatment outcomes in terms of success, survival (acceptable) or treatment failure. However, calcium hydroxide as an intra-canal medicament was found to be the best treatment modality in comparison to antibiotic paste for intra-canal dressing

Physicochemical and tableting properties of crystallised and spray-dried phenylbutazone containing polymeric additives. Effect of polymeric additives (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and a polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene glycol) on the crystalline structure, physicochemical properties and tableting behaviour of crystallised and spray-dried phenylbutazone powders

The physicochemical properties of a drug affect to a large extent its subsequent biological absorption and bioavailability profile. Considerable pharmaceutical interest is therefore directed torwards the improvement of drug dissolution characteristics of drugs with low aqueous solubility. This thesis has considered the controlled modification of drug dissolution profiles by means of incorporating low concentrations of hydrophilic polymers by different processes into a host drug substance. In order to examine this approach and its potential use, the physicochemical, solid state, stability and tableting properties of a poorly aqueous soluble drug, phenylbutazone, in alternative polymorphic form and containing low levels of two hydrophilic polymers - hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (H. P. M. C. ) and the surfactant poloxamer 188 - prepared by both conventional crystallisation and spray drying are reported. As an integral nart of the work attempts were mado to identify the different polymorphic forms of phenylbutazone. The 6-form, the cammerdiallý 4- available stable ýorm and the a and s metastable forr. s (nomenclature after Huller, 1978).. were isolated. The a form was found to be unstable on storage. A .7 fold increase in intrinsic dissolution rate was observed for the metastable s-polymorph compared with the stable 6-polymorphic form. The effect of crystallisation rate on the formation of polymorphs of phenylbutazone was studied using a mini-spray dryer, and slower rates of crystallisation were found to favour polymorph formation. The hydrophilic polymers, H. P. M. C. and poloxamer 188 were incorporated by conventional crystallisation and spray drying into the drug crystal. Samples were subjected to a series of tests including differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and intrinsic dissolution and solubility. When prepared by conventional crystallisation H. P. M. C. was f8und to form a "high energy" complex with phenylbutazone which melted 10 C lower than the parent drug. When prepared by spray drying H. P. M. C. inhibited the formation of the metastable a-polymorph of phenylbutazone. A2 fold increase in intrinsic dissolution rate was observed for crystallised and spray dried samples containing 2% w/w or more added polymer. Poloxamer 188 did not form a complex witý phenylbutazone and unlike H. P. M. C. did not inhibit thejgr gation of the a-polymorph. For both crystallised and spray fo0ld increase in dissolution rate was obtained at polymer levels oý 1% w/w or above. The increase in dissolution has been attributed to facilitated wetting by lowering of interfacial tension rather than through the formation of micelles. The stability of-selected phenylbutazone: polymer samples was tested at elevated temperatures. The stability was found to be affected both by the method of sample preparation and the type of additive. Large breakdowns occurring by a hydrolytic effect were identified for the crystallised phenylbutazone samples containing poloxamer 188. The effects on compact. ion of phenylbu. tazone in alternative form and presence of polymeric additives were studied by compressing samples of similar particle sizes of phenylbutazone as supplied (67form), samples of spray dried phenylbutazone (a-form) and samples containing different concentrations of H. P. M. C. prepared both by conventional crystallisation and spray drying. Compaction data were analysed according to the Heckel relationship and by force transmission ratio as well as from the tensile strengths of prepared tablets. The presence of H. P. M. C. up to 5% w/w concentration in phenylbutazone did not change the mean yield pressure for the crystallised or spray dried samples, although a difference in mean value was observed between the crystallised and spray dried materials, 93.22 MPa and 147.02 MPa respectively. Force transmission was found to be improved for samples containing H. P. M. C. prepared by both techniques and in general, the tablet tensile strengths for crystallised samples containing H. P. M. C. were approximately three times greater than for spray dried samples at equivalent tablet porosity. Differences are attributed to variation in solid state and particulate properties between samples.Saudi Arabian Governmen

Mechanisms of secondary dispersions separation in particulate beds

The mechanisms by which drops of secondary liquid dispersion ie. <100μ m, are collected, coalesced and transferred have been studied in particulate beds of different sizes and heights of glass ballotini. The apparatus facilitated different coalescer cell arrangements. The liquid-liquid system was toluene/de-ionised water. The inlet drop size distribution was measured by microscopy and using the Malvern Particle Size analyser; the outlet dispersion was sized by photography. The effect of packed height and packing size upon critical velocity, pressure drop and coalescence efficiency have been investigated. Single and two phase flow pressure drops across the packing were correlated by modified Blake-Kozeny equations. Two phase pressure drop was correlated by two equations, one for large ballotini sizes (267μm - 367μm), the other for small ballotini sizes (93μm- 147.5μm). The packings were efficient coalescers up to critical velocities of 3 x 10-2 m/s to 5 x 10-2 m/s. The saturation was measured across the bed using relative permeability and a mathematical model developed which related this profile to measured pressure drops. Filter coefficients for the range of packing studied were found to be accurately predicted from a modified queueing drop model

Electronic document delivery in academic and research organizations in the Gulf States: a case study in Kuwait.

Outlines the nature of research and publishing in Arabic, the attempts to encourage resource sharing in the Arab Gulf States, the existing arrangements for interlibrary lending and the development of electronic document delivery systems that facilitate interlibrary lending. A case study examined the availability of relevant technology and personnel with appropriate expertise in three major libraries in Kuwait: Kuwait University, the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, and the National Scientific and Technical Information Center. Questionnaires and interviews, intended to assess staff attitudes and perceptions, were used to examine the reasons why the Ariel system of Electronic Document Delivery appeared to have not yet been adopted, although it has been increasingly used in other parts of the world for more than 10 years. The paper notes that the adoption of this new technology in Kuwait is supported in principle, but is hindered by lack of awareness, skills and motivation, and speculates about the wider implications for the Gulf States

Quality of Life of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

This study aimed at exploring the assessment of Quality of Life (QOL) in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), and aiming at assessing the QOL of patients with stages 1–5 Chronic Kidney Disease CKD on conservative treatment in order to identify a possible association between Quality Of Life QOL and progression of kidney insufficiency. The results were compared with those obtained for patients on hemodialysis. Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data were also evaluated. And the study concluded that research efforts have expanded significantly to determine the state of pediatric CKD patient HRQOL and the factors that impact HRQOL across all stages of CKD and all modalities of renal replacement therapy. Data from all studies suggest that children with a renal transplant fare better with respect to HRQOL than those receiving dialysis

Opinion of Healthcare Professionals in the Usage of Social Media for Patient Care in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia

Use of social media for patient care is the new frontier in the healthcare indus-try. Sharing of information between the clinicians and their patients is now so much easier. In slowly gaining a foothold worldwide it needs a healthy push to make it universally accepta-ble. Study the knowledge, attitude, and practices of healthcare providers on the usage of social media in their clinical practice.A baseline cross–sectional study was conducted among 200 healthcare professionals from March 2015 to September 2015 on their knowledge, attitude, and practices in the use of social media for patient care in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia. A close ended self – administered validated questionnaire was used to gather data which was analyzed by using the SPSS ver. 21.0 software. 55.3% participants used social media for both professional and personal reasons. Some (25.3%) specified using it for patient care while a significant majority (52.9%) opined that it can be successfully used for patient interaction. Nearly 55% agreed that social media should not be banned due to its benefits as an efficient tool for patient communication. Social media use for pa-tient doctor interaction should be encouraged to improve patient care through effective communication

Prevalence and correlates of diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertension: a cross-sectional study from in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Introduction:&nbsp;diastolic dysfunction refers to impaired ventricular relaxation or filling regardless of ejection fraction and symptoms. It accounts for 8% and 25% in the hospitalized and general population, respectively. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and correlates of diastolic dysfunction in hypertensive patients living in Saudi Arabia. Methods:&nbsp;a multicentric, cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2019 to February 2020 at King Khalid Hospital and Prince Sultan Center for Health Services, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University hospital in Al Kharj, and Al Kharj Military Industries Corporation hospital, KSA. All patients with hypertension who underwent an echocardiography were included in the study. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD). Results:&nbsp;the study included a total of 104 participants, where 51.9% were females andthe mean age of the patients was 48.01±12.81 years.Most patients had an abnormal echocardiography finding (64.4%, n = 67). The most common abnormalities were left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (44.2%, n = 46), and diastolic dysfunction, (35.6%, n = 37). The study revealed that age (aOR: 6.1, 95% CI 1.17-31.3; p = 0.032) and dyslipidemia (aOR: 3.45, 95% CI 1.16-10.24; p = 0.026) have significant association with LVDD in the patients with hypertension. Conclusion:&nbsp;in conclusion, diastolic dysfunction is prevalent among older hypertensive patients and those with dyslipidaemia. Age and dyslipidaemia were non-modifiable and modifiable factors associated with LVDD in hypertensive patients, respectively

Increased emergency calls during the covid-19 pandemic in saudi arabia: A national retrospective study

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a direct and indirect effect on the different healthcare systems around the world. In this study, we aim to describe the impact on the utilization of emergency medical services (EMS) in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. We studied cumulative data from emergency calls collected from the SRCA. Data were separated into three periods: before COVID-19 (1 January–29 February 2020), during COVID-19 (1 March–23 April 2020), and during the Holy Month of Ramadan (24 April–23 May 2020). A marked increase of cases was handled during the COVID-19 period compared to the number before pandemic. Increases in all types of cases, except for those related to trauma, occurred during COVID-19, with all regions experiencing increased call volumes during COVID-19 compared with before pandemic. Demand for EMS significantly increased throughout Saudi Arabia during the pandemic period. Use of the mobile application ASAFNY to request an ambulance almost doubled during the pandemic but remained a small fraction of total calls. Altered weekly call patterns and increased call volume during the pandemic indicated not only a need for increased staff but an alteration in staffing patterns