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

Radiologic Management of Vascular Malformations’ Interventional, Classification and Diagnosis

This study aimed at analyzing the diverse group of congenital vascular malformations, with respect to their place within the broader classification of vascular anomalies and their pathologic, clinical, and radiologic diagnosis and management. And the study discuss some of the techniques, agents, and approaches used in the interventional treatment of this difficult group of lesions. The researchers are aware and acknowledge that there are several different techniques and agents that can be used to treat these lesions. The techniques and agents described in this article have been used for years by the experts with good results. The aim of this study is to share experience in the management of vascular malformations with these techniques at Jordanian hospitals, and to assess the patient satisfaction levels by the evaluation of the follow-up of patients with vascular malformations treated in the Interventional Radiology Unit from January 2016 to December 2016. Patients were classified according to the hemodynamics of the lesions (high- vs. low-flow)

Role of Stem Cells in Orthopaedic Surgery: Theoretical Survey

This study aims at analyzing the Stem cell application is a burgeoning field of medicine that is likely to influence the future of orthopaedic surgery. Stem cells are associated with great promise and great controversy. For the orthopaedic surgeon, stem cells may change the way that orthopaedic surgery is practiced and the overall approach of the treatment of musculoskeletal disease. Stem cells may change the field of orthopaedics from a field dominated by surgical replacements and reconstructions to a field of regeneration and prevention. This review will introduce the basic concepts of stem cells pertinent to the orthopaedic surgeon and proceed with a more in depth discussion of current developments in the study of stem cells in orthopaedic surgery. Keywords: Stem cell, orthopaedic, surgery

Perceived Risk of falls among Acute Care Patients

Purpose: In an effort to lower the number of falls that occur among hospitalized patients, several facilities have begun introducing various fall prevention programs. However, the efficacy of fall prevention programs is diminished if patients do not consider themselves to be at risk for falls and do not follow recommended procedures. The goal of this study was to characterize how patients in four different acute care specialist services felt about their risk of falling while in the hospital. Methods: One hundred patients admitted to the study hospital with a Morse Fall Scale score of 45 or higher were given the Patient Perception Questionnaire, a tool designed to assess a patient's perception of their own fall risk, fear of falling, and motivation to take part in fall prevention efforts. Scores on the Morse Fall Scale were gathered through a historical assessment of medical records. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and independent sample t tests were used to examine the data. Results: The average age was 65, and around half (52%) were men and half (48%) were women. Based on their ratings on the Morse Fall Scale, all 100 participants were classified as being at high risk for falls. However, only 55.5% of the individuals agreed with this assessment. The likelihood that a patient would seek assistance and the degree to which they feared falling both declined as their faith in their mobility improved. Patients hospitalized after a fall exhibited considerably lower confidence scores and greater fear scores than patients who had not been injured in a fall. Conclusions: Patients who have a high fall risk assessment score may not believe they are at risk for falls and may not take any steps to reduce their risk. The prevalence of falls in hospitals might be mitigated by the creation of a fall risk assessment technique that takes into account both objective and subjective factors

Atomic-level passivation mechanism of ammonium salts enabling highly efficient perovskite solar cells.

The high conversion efficiency has made metal halide perovskite solar cells a real breakthrough in thin film photovoltaic technology in recent years. Here, we introduce a straightforward strategy to reduce the level of electronic defects present at the interface between the perovskite film and the hole transport layer by treating the perovskite surface with different types of ammonium salts, namely ethylammonium, imidazolium and guanidinium iodide. We use a triple cation perovskite formulation containing primarily formamidinium and small amounts of cesium and methylammonium. We find that this treatment boosts the power conversion efficiency from 20.5% for the control to 22.3%, 22.1%, and 21.0% for the devices treated with ethylammonium, imidazolium and guanidinium iodide, respectively. Best performing devices showed a loss in efficiency of only 5% under full sunlight intensity with maximum power tracking for 550 h. We apply 2D- solid-state NMR to unravel the atomic-level mechanism of this passivation effect

Identification and characterization of antibacterial compound(s) of cockroaches (Periplaneta americana)

Infectious diseases remain a significant threat to human health, contributing to more than 17 million deaths, annually. With the worsening trends of drug resistance, there is a need for newer and more powerful antimicrobial agents. We hypothesized that animals living in polluted environments are potential source of antimicrobials. Under polluted milieus, organisms such as cockroaches encounter different types of microbes, including superbugs. Such creatures survive the onslaught of superbugs and are able to ward off disease by producing antimicrobial substances. Here, we characterized antibacterial properties in extracts of various body organs of cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) and showed potent antibacterial activity in crude brain extract against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and neuropathogenic E. coli K1. The size-exclusion spin columns revealed that the active compound(s) are less than 10 kDa in molecular mass. Using cytotoxicity assays, it was observed that pre-treatment of bacteria with lysates inhibited bacteria-mediated host cell cytotoxicity. Using spectra obtained with LC-MS on Agilent 1290 infinity liquid chromatograph, coupled with an Agilent 6460 triple quadruple mass spectrometer, tissues lysates were analyzed. Among hundreds of compounds, only a few homologous compounds were identified that contained isoquinoline group, chromene derivatives, thiazine groups, imidazoles, pyrrole containing analogs, sulfonamides, furanones, flavanones, and known to possess broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties, and possess anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, and analgesic properties. Further identification, characterization and functional studies using individual compounds can act as a breakthrough in developing novel therapeutics against various pathogens including superbugs

Explicit solution of a generalized mathematical model for the solar collector/photovoltaic applications using nanoparticles

This paper analyzes the system describing the absorption solar collector as an application of nanoparticles for the storage of solar energy. The system involves two fractional partial differential equations (FPDEs) utilizing the Caputo fractional definition (CFD). Explicit solutions are determined for the temperature and velocity in terms of the Wright function (WrFn) via Laplace transform (LT). In addition, the solutions are expressed in terms of some well–known special functions at selected values of the fractional–order. Moreover, the behaviors of the temperature and velocity are investigated graphically using the thermo–physical data of the Cu/Al2O3–nanoparticles. Furthermore, some numerical results are conducted about the performance of the Cu and Al2O3. The results reveal the higher efficiency/performance of the Cu–nanoparticles over the Al2O3 and thus copper enjoys higher capability than alumina for the purpose of solar energy storage. In addition, it is found that 1.41% in the enhancement of heat transfer is achieved by adding 1% of the Cu–nanoparticles while the corresponding enhancement rate of the other three nanoparticles was less. Besides, the enhancement rate reaches 7.1% by increasing the volume fraction of the Cu–nanoparticles to 5%. Furthermore, the enhancement rates for the TiO2, Ag, and Al2O3 are 5.41%, 6.47%, and 6.53%, respectively when using 5% of these nanoparticles. Finally, the advantages/effectiveness of the current approach over a previous work in the literature are discussed in detail

Factors associated with public awareness of the Crown Health Program in the Al-Jouf Region

Objectives: A community-based intervention, the Crown Health Project (CHP), was developed by the Ministry of Health. It was implemented on a small-scale in Al-Jouf Region in Northern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess its feasibility and effectiveness so that it can be scaled up. This study primarily aimed at investigating factors associated with the awareness of CHP in order to improve subsequent campaigns for the program in Al-Jouf and other regions. A secondary aim was to assess possible changes of public awareness during intensification of the awareness campaign between October 2011 and May 2012. Methods: A pre- and post-questionnaire cross-sectional approach was undertaken, and the intervention was an awareness campaign. Variables collected included demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, education, occupation, urban/rural residence) and CHP awareness (its existence, sources of knowledge about CHP, its goals and objectives, its target diseases, location of activities, participation in such activities). Logistic regression was used to analyze the awareness of the program according to participant characteristics, with a time of the survey as a variable. Results: Awareness of the program was found to be 11 times higher among postsurvey respondents than presurvey respondents. Respondents of the second survey were better at correctly identifying "health education" as the main goal of the CHP (odds ratio [OR], 4.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.1-5.5), "noncommunicable diseases" as the main diseases targeted (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 3.6-6.4) and "attention to health" as the purpose (OR, 6.0; 95% CI, 4.0-8.9). Conclusion: The different activities of the CHP were successful in dramatically increasing awareness of the CHP program in Al-Jouf

Performance Optimization of the InGaP/GaAs Dual-Junction Solar Cell Using SILVACO TCAD

In this work, an optimization of the InGaP/GaAs dual-junction (DJ) solar cell performance is presented. Firstly, a design for the DJ solar cell based on the GaAs tunnel diode is provided. Secondly, the used device simulator is calibrated with recent experimental results of an InGaP/GaAs DJ solar cell. After that, the optimization of the DJ solar cell performance is carried out for two different materials of the top window layer, AlGaAs and AlGaInP. For AlGaAs, the optimization is carried out for the following: aluminum (Al) mole fraction, top window thickness, top base thickness, and bottom BSF doping and thickness. The electrical performance parameters of the optimized cell are extracted: JSC=18.23 mA/cm2, VOC=2.33 V, FF=86.42%, and the conversion efficiency (ηc) equals 36.71%. By using AlGaInP as a top cell window, the electrical performance parameters for the optimized cell are JSC=19.84 mA/cm2, VOC=2.32 V, FF=83.9%, and ηc=38.53%. So, AlGaInP is found to be the optimum material for the InGaP/GaAs DJ cell top window layer as it gives 4% higher conversion efficiency under 1 sun of the standard AM1.5G solar spectrum at 300 K in comparison with recent literature results. All optimization steps and simulation results are carried out using the SLVACO TCAD tool