Surgical Management of Lumbar Spine Fractures and Dislocations

Background: Lumbar spine fractures and dislocations, which are part of the thoracolumbar region, are critical injuries with significant morbidity. The epidemiological shift in the median age of injury and the high prevalence of these injuries, particularly in the T10-L2 region, highlight the necessity for effective therapeutic interventions. With advancements in spine biomechanics, imaging technologies, and surgical techniques, there has been a paradigm shift from conservative to surgical management, though high-quality comparative studies remain limited. Objective: To synthesize recent data on the epidemiology, evaluation, and management of lumbar spine fractures and dislocations, and to elucidate the comparative efficacy of surgical interventions and conservative approaches in optimizing patient outcomes. Method: This paper conducts a comprehensive review of epidemiological data on thoracolumbar traumatic injuries, diagnostic techniques, and management strategies, especially focusing on surgical interventions. The review also details specific surgical techniques utilized for lumbar spine fractures and their underlying rationale. Findings and Conclusion: Thoracolumbar injuries primarily affect the transitional zone (T11-L2) and show a higher incidence in males aged between 20 and 40. Imaging, especially CT scans, offers a definitive diagnostic approach, with MRI providing insights on soft tissue interactions. While historically, conservative methods dominated therapeutic interventions, surgical techniques, including Posterior Instrumentation, Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (ALIF), Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF), and Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF), are increasingly being utilized. Some specific fractures even warrant a combined posterior-anterior surgical approach. Notably, certain case studies highlight the potential for superior outcomes with surgical intervention, even in the absence of neurological deficits. Selecting the appropriate management strategy should be tailored to individual patient factors, nature of the injury, and available expertise and resources

Dynamics of Anti-S IgG Antibodies Titers after the Second Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Manual and Craft Worker Population of Qatar

There is limited seroepidemiological evidence on the magnitude and long-term durability of antibody titers of mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines in the Qatari population. This study was conducted to generate evidence on long-term anti-S IgG antibody titers and their dynamics in individuals who have completed a primary COVID-19 vaccination schedule. A total of 300 male participants who received any of the following vaccines BNT162b2/Comirnaty, mRNA-1273, ChAdOx1-S/Covishield, COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen/Johnson, or BBIBP-CorV or Covaxin were enrolled in our study. All sera samples were tested by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) for the quantitative determination of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S1 subunit of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (SARS-CoV-2 N-protein IgG) were also determined. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used to compare the time from the last dose of the primary vaccination schedule to the time by which anti-S IgG antibody titers fell into the lowest quartile (range of values collected) for the mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines. Participants vaccinated with mRNA vaccines had higher median anti-S IgG antibody titers. Participants vaccinated with the mRNA-1273 vaccine had the highest median anti-S-antibody level of 13,720.9 AU/mL (IQR 6426.5 to 30,185.6 AU/mL) followed by BNT162b2 (median, 7570.9 AU/mL; IQR, 3757.9 to 16,577.4 AU/mL); while the median anti-S antibody titer for non-mRNA vaccinated participants was 3759.7 AU/mL (IQR, 2059.7–5693.5 AU/mL). The median time to reach the lowest quartile was 3.53 months (IQR, 2.2–4.5 months) and 7.63 months (IQR, 6.3–8.4 months) for the non-mRNA vaccine recipients and Pfizer vaccine recipients, respectively. However, more than 50% of the Moderna vaccine recipients did not reach the lowest quartile by the end of the follow-up period. This evidence on anti-S IgG antibody titers should be considered for informing decisions on the durability of the neutralizing activity and thus protection against infection after the full course of primary vaccination in individuals receiving different type (mRNA verus non-mRNA) vaccines and those with natural infection.The World Health Organization (WHO) - grant number [2021/1183356-0]

Arabic Educational Programs for Children with Learning Difficulties

In this paper, we describe the design of interactive educational programs for Arabic-speaking children with Learning Difficulties (LDs). The programs were developed in the context of a software engineering course and focused on two reading and writing skills that are known to be challenging for school-aged children with LDs. Using this computer-based learning program enables a profile of achievement and progress to be automatically generated, and has the potential to be an affordable and targeted method of remedial learning for children receiving support for their LDs in resource rooms of schools

Revolutionizing Cardiovascular Health with Nano Encapsulated Omega-3 Fatty Acids: A Nano-Solution Approach

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) offer diverse health benefits, such as supporting cardiovascular health, improving cognitive function, promoting joint and musculoskeletal health, and contributing to healthy aging. Despite their advantages, challenges like oxidation susceptibility, low bioavailability, and potential adverse effects at high doses persist. Nanoparticle encapsulation emerges as a promising avenue to address these limitations while preserving stability, enhanced bioavailability, and controlled release. This comprehensive review explores the therapeutic roles of omega-3 fatty acids, critically appraising their shortcomings and delving into modern encapsulation strategies. Furthermore, it explores the potential advantages of metal–organic framework nanoparticles (MOF NPs) compared to other commonly utilized nanoparticles in improving the therapeutic effectiveness of omega-3 fatty acids within drug delivery systems (DDSs). Additionally, it outlines future research directions to fully exploit the therapeutic benefits of these encapsulated omega-3 formulations for cardiovascular disease treatment

Using a Resnet50 with a Kernel Attention Mechanism for Rice Disease Diagnosis

The domestication of animals and the cultivation of crops have been essential to human development throughout history, with the agricultural sector playing a pivotal role. Insufficient nutrition often leads to plant diseases, such as those affecting rice crops, resulting in yield losses of 20–40% of total production. These losses carry significant global economic consequences. Timely disease diagnosis is critical for implementing effective treatments and mitigating financial losses. However, despite technological advancements, rice disease diagnosis primarily depends on manual methods. In this study, we present a novel self-attention network (SANET) based on the ResNet50 architecture, incorporating a kernel attention mechanism for accurate AI-assisted rice disease classification. We employ attention modules to extract contextual dependencies within images, focusing on essential features for disease identification. Using a publicly available rice disease dataset comprising four classes (three disease types and healthy leaves), we conducted cross-validated classification experiments to evaluate our proposed model. The results reveal that the attention-based mechanism effectively guides the convolutional neural network (CNN) in learning valuable features, resulting in accurate image classification and reduced performance variation compared to state-of-the-art methods. Our SANET model achieved a test set accuracy of 98.71%, surpassing that of current leading models. These findings highlight the potential for widespread AI adoption in agricultural disease diagnosis and management, ultimately enhancing efficiency and effectiveness within the sector

Investigating the cardiac effects of Sildenafil loaded nanoparticles on heart failure using the Zebrafish Embryo Model.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the first cause of death worldwide. Vasolidator agents are used to relax cardiac muscle, but their extremely short half-lifes limit their effectiveness. Sildenafil is such an agent used to relax the blood vessels muscles and increase the blood flow. The conventional drug can lead to serious problems in patients duo to the systematic drug delivery. Use of Nanomedicine potentially can enhance delivery of this agent while reducing the systematic effect of the drug. Aim: The purpose of the research is to examine the effectiveness sildenafil loaded nanoparticles in rescuing heart failure using zebrafish embryo model. Methods: There will be five experimental groups. The zebrafish will be treated with Aristolochic Acid (AA) at 24 hour per fertilization (hpf) to create the heart injury group. The treatment groups will be heart injury followed by a dose of either Sildenafil or Sildenafil loaded nanoparticles at 36 hpf. Two control groups will be the negative control (exposed to egg water) and vehicle control (exposed to the Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)).To evaluate the drug effects on embryo, toxicity assessment (Survival rate, tail flicking and hatching rate), cardiotoxicity assessment and gene expression of heart injury marker via RT-PCR will be conducted. Results: Preliminary findings demonstrate, loading Sildenafil to nanoparticles enhances its effectiveness dramatically. The experiments are ongoing to confirm the results. Conclusion: Nanomedicine is a powerful approach to enhance cardiovascular therapy. Vasodilator drugs in particular will benefit from this improvement as demonstrated with our finding

Evaluation of Metal-Organic Framework MIL-89 Nanoparticles Toxicity on Embryonic Zebrafish Development

Metal-Organic Framework MIL-89 nanoparticles garnered remarkable attention for their widespread use in technological applications. However, the impact of these nanomaterials on human and environmental health is still limited, and concerns regarding the potential risk of exposure during manipulation is constantly rising. Therefore, the extensive use of nanomaterials in the medical field necessitates a comprehensive assessment of their safety and interaction with different tissues of the body system. In this study, we evaluated the systemic toxicity of nanoMIL-89 using Zebrafish embryos as a model system to determine the acute developmental effect. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to a range of nanoMIL-89 concentrations (1 – 300µM) at 4hours post-fertilization (hpf) for up to 120 hpf. The viability and hatching rate were evaluated at 24 - 72 hpf, whereas the cardiac function was assessed at 72 and 96 hpf, and the neurodevelopment and hepatic steatosis at 120 hpf. Our study shows that nanoMIL-89 exerted no developmental toxicity on zebrafish embryos at low concentrations (1–10µM). However, the hatching time and heart development were affected at high concentrations of nanoMIL-89 (> 30µM). Our findings add novel information into the available data about the in vivo toxicity of nanoMIL-89 and demonstrate its innocuity and safe use in biological, environmental, and medical applications.This work was funded by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) through Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP22-140-3-023), High School Research Experience Program (HSREP1-0422-190053) for HAS, and National Priority Research Program (NPRP 10-0123-170222) for HCY. Also, we would like to thank the Pickford Award, from the British Pharmacological Society, received by NAM, for their generous contribution that aided the preparation of the nanoparticles used in this study. The graphical abstract was created with BioRender.com

The Akeffa Tutor Application: A New Arabic Writing System

This paper shows an application for a new Arabic writing system, named Tala Arabic Writing System for people with visual impairments. As known, the Braille writing system is a way of communication for many people with visual impairment around the world. Among that, people who are using Arabic Braille faced many problems especially with the diacritical marks, which are written as same as the letters. That’s why a girl named Tala Abo-Alnaja invented a new Arabic writing system where letters and diacritical marks are written as geometrical shapes to make learning easier. Anyone who wants to learn and practice the Tala Arabic writing system can. Since this system is still new and an unknown system among people with visual impairments, there is lacking in learning resources. We proposed an application for teaching the Tala Arabic writing system using an external keyboard covered with plastic prominent shapes. This application was developed based on identified functional requirements and usability. The limitation of this application was center around the keyboard and the one platform it can work on (iOS), and some of the additional things like voiceOver, keyboard language, and the device sound, which added more constraints on the application. The satisfying results of the testing that gained from participants with visual impairments approved the success of this application. Akeffa Application is expected to be an effective way of learning due to the amazing feedback it had

Influence of TiO2 and ZrO2 Nanoparticles on Adhesive Bond Strength and Viscosity of Dentin Polymer: A Physical and Chemical Evaluation

The present study aimed to formulate an experimental adhesive (EA) and reinforce it with 5 wt.% titanium dioxide (TiO2) or zirconium oxide (ZrO2) to yield 5% TiO2 and 5% ZrO2 adhesives, respectively, and then analyze the impact of this reinforcement on various mechanical properties of the adhesives. The EA contained a blend of monomers such as bisphenol A glycol dimethacrylate (BisGMA), triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), and ethyl 4-dimethylamino benzoate and camphorquinone. The EA included ethyl 4-dimethylamino benzoate and camphorquinone photo-initiators, and diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (DPIHP) was also included to act as an electron initiator. The TiO2 and ZrO2 nanoparticles were incorporated into the EA post-synthesis. To characterize the filler nanoparticles, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and line-energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were performed. The adhesives were characterized by analyzing their rheological properties, shear-bond strength (SBS), and interfacial failure types. Further, the resin–dentin interface was also analyzed via SEM. The TiO2 nanoparticles were spherically shaped on the SEM micrographs, while the ZrO2 nanoparticles were seen as non-uniformly shaped agglomerates. The EDX mapping demonstrated the presence of Ti and oxygen for TiO2 and Zr and oxygen for the ZrO2 nanoparticles. Both 5% TiO2 and 5% ZrO2 adhesives revealed decreased viscosity as compared with the EA. The 5% TiO2 adhesive demonstrated higher SBS values for both non-thermocycled (NTC) and thermocycled samples (NTC: 25.35 ± 1.53, TC: 23.89 ± 1.95 MPa), followed by the 5% ZrO2 adhesive group (NTC: 23.10 ± 2.22, TC: 20.72 ± 1.32 MPa). The bulk of the failures (>70%) were of adhesive type in all groups. The SEM analysis of the resin–dentin interface revealed the development of a hybrid layer and resin tags (of variable depth) for the EA and 5% TiO2 groups. However, for the 5% ZrO2 group, the hybrid layer and resin tag establishment appeared compromised. Reinforcement of the EA with TiO2 or ZrO2 caused an increase in the adhesive’s SBS (with the 5% TiO2 group demonstrating the highest values) in comparison with the EA (without nanoparticles). However, both nanoparticle-containing adhesives revealed decreased viscosity compared with the EA (without nanoparticles). Further studies investigating the impact of diverse filler concentrations on the properties of adhesives are suggested