Lateral cephalometric norms for Saudi adults: A meta-analysis

AbstractOrthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning require careful evaluation of the patient’s cephalometric values and comparison to known population cephalometric means or norms. Despite the availability of several published studies on Saudi cephalometric norms, Caucasian norms are still referred to when Saudi patients are treated. To reach a consensus between these studies and to establish more accurately cephalometric norms for Saudis, a meta-analysis of the relevant literature was performed. Electronic database (PubMed), Saudi Dental Journal and Master theses were searched for studies reporting cephalometric values of normal male and female Saudi adults with numerical data and 8 studies with a total sample size of 485 met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis with results from these studies was completed. The combined mean estimates and SD of common cephalometric measurements were calculated. The data included in this comprehensive meta-analysis were compared with Caucasian norms and results indicated that Saudis have distinct cephalometric features. Saudis tend to have slightly more convex profiles and more proclined incisors than the Caucasians. These findings confirm the previously published results and should serve as more accurate reference values that were drawn from a large sample size

Long term visual outcomes in laser treated threshold retinopathy of prematurity in Central Saudi Arabia

AbstractPurposeTo assess the long term visual outcomes and refractive status of patients who underwent diode laser for threshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and to investigate the risk factors leading to poor visual outcomes.MethodsFifty-seven patients (114 eyes) with threshold ROP who underwent laser therapy were contacted for reassessment. A chart review was performed for all patients to collect data on visual acuity, retinal status and strabismus. A favorable visual outcome was defined as ⩾20/160 (Snellen acuity) for young adults (cooperative patients), and ⩾CSM for children (uncooperative patients) while unfavorable visual outcome was defined as <20/160 or <CSM. Vision in uncooperative children was graded as central, steady, maintain. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. Chi2 and odds ratios were calculated whenever appropriate. A P value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.ResultsThe mean age at reassessment was 5.2±2.5years (range, 1–10years) where 36 (63.2%) patients were males and 21 (36.8%) were females. Out Of the 114 laser treated eyes, 73 (64%) were myopic, with mean spherical equivalent (SE) of −6.69 (5.9), range (−0.25 to −21) diaopters, 8 (7%) were emmetrope, while other 33 (29%) were hyperopic with mean SE of +2.43 (3.04), range (+0.25 to +17) diaopters. Strabismus was present in 31 patients (54.4%) of whom 81% (25/31) were esotropic. Retina was found to be normal in 77.1% of the examined eyes, while the remaining eyes had either macular dragging or retinal detachment. Almost 70% of the eyes with a normal retinal examination had favorable visual outcome. Thirteen (11.4%) eyes had zone 1 retinopathy, 83 (72.8%) eyes had zone 2 retinopathy and 2 (1.8%) eyes had zone 3 retinopathy. Vitreous hemorrhage was present in 7 (6.1%) eyes prior to laser treatment. The relationship between final retinal status and visual outcome was statistically significant (P<0.0001). There was no statistically significant correlation between visual outcome and the zone of the retinopathy (P=0.448).ConclusionThe majority of patients who underwent diode laser therapy for threshold ROP had favorable anatomical and visual outcomes. However, high refractive error and strabismus may be clinically the pertinent causes of visual impairment

Knowledge and attitude towards mental illness among health and non-health university students in Riyadh

Background: Mental illness can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, and residence. Studying the attitude and knowledge about mental illnesses among university students is important, because they are the future decision makers dealing with such problems. The aim of this study was to assess level of knowledge and attitude towards mental illnesses among health and non-health university students in Riyadh.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study on students of the governmental universities in Riyadh with both health and non-health speciality. The total sample size was 587 students. The questionnaire was designed electronically, and the link was distributed through social media. It included socio-demographic questions, 17 questions to assess knowledge and 22 questions to assess the attitudes. The statistical tests used were chi square, independent sample t-test, spearman’s correlation and multiple linear regression tests.Results: More than half of the participants had a positive attitude toward mental illness (52%). Only 13.46% of university students had good knowledge about mental illness. Significant higher level of good knowledge and positive attitude were reported among health college students compared to non-health (24.7% versus 7.9% for good knowledge and 60.8% versus 48.3 for positive attitude respectively). Attitude towards mental illness can be successfully predicted by using the knowledge score about mental illness and the type of college.Conclusion: Low percentage of university students had good knowledge about mental illness and their attitude towards mental illness was generally positive. Health college students had better attitude and knowledge about mental illness than non-health

Understanding olfactory dysfunction in the COVID-19 era: insights from a cross-sectional survey of the Saudi community

Background and objectivesCOVID-19 has emerged as a public health emergency caused by the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2). However, only a few studies have reported that anosmia is an early predictor of COVID-19. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the current level of knowledge regarding smell dysfunction in COVID-19 era in Saudi community.Materials and methodsAn online survey was conducted using Survey Monkeys in Saudi Arabia. The survey was distributed through Twitter and WhatsApp. The questionnaire included individuals’ demographic information, such as sex, age, residence, income, and qualifications, as well as their knowledge of the early symptoms of COVID-19. ANOVA and Mann–Whitney U-test were conducted to analyze the data. There were twelve items on knowledge dimensions which were assessed through five-point Likert scale.ResultsIn total, 809 respondents completed the questionnaire. Among them, 658 (81.3%) had no knowledge of how sudden loss of or change in the sense of smell can be the only symptom of COVID-19. However, most participants, 738 (91.2%), knew that fever was a symptom of COVID-19. Similarly, 707 (87.4%) and 772 (95.5%) participants knew that cough and shortness of breath were the major symptoms of COVID-19, respectively. In addition, 395 (48.3%) participants had no information regarding taste changes as a symptom of COVID-19. Notably, participants who were female, married, or diagnosed with COVID-19 had significantly greater knowledge of smell-related issues due to COVID-19 than males, unmarried, and healthy/those without COVID-19.ConclusionThis study revealed that the Saudi population has an fairly good level of knowledge regarding common COVID-19 symptoms as more than 90% of the participants understood symptoms of COVID-19, but less acceptable knowledge regarding smell and taste dysfunction as more than 80% had no knowledge of change in olfactory and taste function was due to COVID-19

Blue-light filtering alters angiogenic signaling in human retinal pigmented epithelial cells culture model

Background: light exposure and more specifically the spectrum of blue light contribute to the oxidative stress in Age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of the study was to establish whether blue light filtering could modify proangiogenic signaling produced by retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells under different conditions simulating risk factors for AMD. Methods: three experiments were carried out in order to expose ARPE-19 cells to white light for 48 h with and without blue light-blocking filters (BLF) in different conditions. In each experiment one group was exposed to light with no BLF protection, a second group was exposed to light with BLF protection, and a control group was not exposed to light. The ARPE-19 cells used in each experiment prior to light exposure were cultured for 24 h as follows: Experiment 1) Normoxia, Experiment 2) Hypoxia, and Experiment 3) Lutein supplemented media in normoxia. The media of all groups was harvested after light exposure for sandwich ELISA-based assays to quantify 10 pro-angiogenic cytokines. Results: a significant decrease in angiogenin secretion levels and a significant increase in bFGF were observed following light exposure, compared to dark conditions, in both normoxia and hypoxia conditions. With the addition of a blue light-blocking filter in normoxia, a significant increase in angiogenin levels was observed. Although statistical significance was not achieved, blue light filters reduce light-induced secretion of bFGF and VEGF to near normal levels. This trend is also observed when ARPE-19 cells are grown under hypoxic conditions and when pre-treated with lutein prior to exposure to experimental conditions. Conclusions: following light exposure, there is a decrease in angiogenin secretion by ARPE-19 cells, which was abrogated with a blue light - blocking filter. Our findings support the position that blue light filtering affects the secretion of angiogenic factors by retinal pigmented epithelial cells under normoxic, hypoxic, and lutein-pretreated conditions in a similar manner

Methanol-to-hydrocarbons conversion over MoO3/H-ZSM-5 catalysts prepared via lower temperature calcination: a route to tailor the distribution and evolution of promoter Mo species, and their corresponding catalytic properties

A series of MoO3/H-ZSM-5 (Si/Al=25) catalysts were prepared via calcination at a lower-than-usual temperature (400 oC) and subsequently evaluated in the methanol-to-hydrocarbon reaction at that same temperature. The catalytic properties of those catalysts were compared with the sample prepared at the more conventional, higher temperature of 500 oC. For the lower temperature preparations, molybdenum oxide was preferentially dispersed over the zeolite external surface, while only the higher loading level of MoO3 (7.5 wt% or higher) led to observable inner migration of the Mo species into the zeolite channels, with concomitant partial loss of the zeolite Brønsted acidity. On the MoO3 modified samples, the early-period gas yield, especially for valuable propylene and C4 products, was noticeably accelerated, and is gradually converted into an enhanced liquid aromatic formation. The 7.5 wt% MoO3/H-ZSM-5 sample prepared at 400oC thereby achieved a balance between the zeolite surface dispersion of Mo species, their inner channel migration and the corresponding effect on the intrinsic Brønsted acidity of the acidic zeolite. That loading level also possessed the highest product selectivity (after 5h reaction) to benzene, toluene and xylenes, as well as higher early-period valuable gas product yields in time-on-stream experiments. However, MoO3 loading levels of 7.5wt% and above also resulted in earlier catalyst deactivation by enhanced coke accumulation at, or near, the zeolite channel openings. Our research illustrates that the careful adoption of moderate/lower temperature dispersion processes for zeolite catalyst modification gives considerable potential for tailoring and optimizing the system’s catalytic performanc

Evolutionary and ensemble machine learning predictive models for evaluation of water quality

Study region Bisham Qilla and Doyian stations, Indus River Basin of Pakistan Study focus Water pollution is an international concern that impedes human health, ecological sustainability, and agricultural output. This study focuses on the distinguishing characteristics of an evolutionary and ensemble machine learning (ML) based modeling to provide an in-depth insight of escalating water quality problems. The 360 temporal readings of electric conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) with several input variables are used to establish multi-expression programing (MEP) model and random forest (RF) regression model for the assessment of water quality at Indus River. New hydrological insight for the region The developed models were evaluated using several statistical metrics. The findings reveal that the determination coefficient (R2) in the testing phase (subject to unseen data) for the all the developed models is more than 0.95, indicating the accurateness of the developed models. Furthermore, the error measurements are much lesser with root mean square logarithmic error (RMSLE) nearly equals to zero for each developed model. The mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of MEP models and RF models falls below 10% and 5%, respectively, in all three phases (training, validation and testing). According to the sensitivity study of generated MEP models about the relevance of inputs on the predicted EC and TDS, shows that bi-carbonates and chlorine content have significant influence with a sensitiveness score more than 0.90, whereas the impact of sodium content is less pronounced. All the models (RF and MEP) have lower uncertainty based on the prediction interval coverage probability (PICP) calculated using the quartile regression (QR) approach. The PICP% of each model is greater than 85% in all three stages. Thus, the findings of the study indicate that developing intelligent models for water quality parameter is cost effective and feasible for monitoring and analyzing the Indus River water quality.Web of Science46art. no. 10133

Licenciar para silenciar: o papel da Inquisição numa comédia de equívocos (1649)

Considerações sobre a acção da Inquisição em Portugal: o caso do mestre-escola Manuel Antunes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio