Assessment of the level of awareness about paediatric cataract among the general population of Jeddah

BackgroundCataract is an extremely serious cause of visual impairment in paediatric patients worldwide, with untreated cataract being the leading cause of blindness in children.AimsThe aim of the present study was to assess the level of awareness and knowledge about paediatric cataract among the general population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Methods This survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted between June and July 2018 and included a representative sample of the general population of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire included a set of questions pertaining to paediatric cataract knowledge and awareness. The gathered data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21, and the results were acquired by Pearson’s chi square tests and frequency calculations.Results In total, 678 individuals, including 51.6per cent women and 48.4per cent men, participated in the survey. Approximately 39.7per cent participants did not know whether cataract can affect the paediatric population or not. Although the majority could not recognize the risk factors and symptoms of the disease, 75.2per cent realized that it is treatable. Surgical intervention was identified as the main treatment modality by 46.9per cent participants.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the general population of Jeddah has limited knowledge about paediatric cataract. Thus, educational campaigns and programs are necessary to increase public awareness. In addition, further studies on awareness about this condition should be considered in order to prevent serious eye complications in children

Can prophylactic Dexamethasone play a role in reducing extubation failure?

Background Endotracheal intubation is an essential life-saving resuscitative procedure. Aims Our research seeks to establish whether the prophylactic use of Dexamethasone before removing a breathing tube is associated with a reduced risk of extubation failure. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of King Saud Medical City, a tertiary center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Children aged between 0 and 14 years who underwent mechanical ventilation for 48 hours were given Dexamethasone 0.5mg/kg every 6 hours beginning 12-24 hours prior to planned extubation. Patients were monitored for extubation failure and the appearance of stridor. Results 74 patients enrolled in the study. There was no significant association found between the use of Dexamethasone and prevention failure of extubation with a p-value of 0.8 . Conclusion We found that the prophylactic use of Dexamethasone failed to prevent extubation failure

Diagnostic implications of pitfalls in causal variant identification based on 4577 molecularly characterized families

Despite large sequencing and data sharing efforts, previously characterized pathogenic variants only account for a fraction of Mendelian disease patients, which highlights the need for accurate identification and interpretation of novel variants. In a large Mendelian cohort of 4577 molecularly characterized families, numerous scenarios in which variant identification and interpretation can be challenging are encountered. We describe categories of challenges that cover the phenotype (e.g. novel allelic disorders), pedigree structure (e.g. imprinting disorders masquerading as autosomal recessive phenotypes), positional mapping (e.g. double recombination events abrogating candidate autozygous intervals), gene (e.g. novel gene-disease assertion) and variant (e.g. complex compound inheritance). Overall, we estimate a probability of 34.3% for encountering at least one of these challenges. Importantly, our data show that by only addressing non-sequencing-based challenges, around 71% increase in the diagnostic yield can be expected. Indeed, by applying these lessons to a cohort of 314 cases with negative clinical exome or genome reports, we could identify the likely causal variant in 54.5%. Our work highlights the need to have a thorough approach to undiagnosed diseases by considering a wide range of challenges rather than a narrow focus on sequencing technologies. It is hoped that by sharing this experience, the yield of undiagnosed disease programs globally can be improved

Rare suprasellar glioblastoma: report of two cases and review of the literature

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: The suprasellar and hypothalamic/chiasmatic regions can harbor a broad range of pathologic conditions, both neoplastic and nonneoplastic; however, malignant gliomas are extremely rare in those regions. CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS: Patient 1 was a 70 year-old man with weight loss and rapidly progressive visual impairment. A mass centered in the hypothalamus was detected on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The second patient, a 45 year-old woman, complained of visual symptoms and headaches. MR imaging revealed a combined intra- and suprasellar mass. In both instances, the preoperative differential diagnosis favored craniopharyngioma. Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of glioblastoma. CONCLUSION: We report two rare adult cases of hypothalamic/chiasmatic glioblastoma. The authors review the literature, highlighting the importance of considering this rare entity in the differential diagnosis of suprasellar and hypothalamic lesions

Analysis of solar energy in desalination plants in Saudi Arabia

A warm thank you to everyone for their support and contribution throughout this research. I particularly mention King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE). I would especially like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Javier Ordóñez, and Dr. Mohamed Khayet, for their guidance, encouraging me to explore something in which I have a great interest and guiding me toward its completion. I could not have accomplished this research without the unforgotten support of my family despite the illness that I suffered during this study. This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Abdulaziz and Naialah, and my brothers, especially my big brother Nasir, who have given me their unequivocal support. Lastly, I would like to thank my wife for her endless support.Water scarcity is an issue in a number of countries, especially in semi-arid and arid areas. One of the most promising applications of solar energy is water desalination, especially in regions where fresh water is scarce, and sunlight is abundant. Desalination is a growing and necessary source of fresh water, but it is highly energy-intensive. Conventional desalination is currently supported by fossil fuels, and it is critical to explore renewable options to reduce pollution. The most important of these options is solar power. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), seawater desalination has been among the key sources of potable water. In the Gulf region, and especially in some of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, desalination has been estimated to reach 90%. Saudi Arabia is among the countries facing significant challenges due to insufficient natural water resources. This research analyses the viability of coupling the already established thermal and membrane desalination plants in Saudi Arabia with different solar energy technologies, concentrated solar power and photovoltaic (CSP and PV) to produce potable water and to be economically viable as well. The study begins by using the analytical hierarchy process to select adequate desalination technologies for Spain and the GCC countries by considering the results obtained from a survey of experts in the field for all these counties. This study found that the most suitable technologies for Spain and the GCC countries are reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash (RO and MSF), respectively. A techno-economic and Levelised Cost of Water (LCOW) analysis are discussed. Case studies, including a standalone CSP assisted MED-TVC using Parabolic Trough (PT), a Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR), and a Central Receiver Tower (CRT) with different storage options are analysed and discussed. Conclusions and recommendations are also presented. The application of concentrated solar thermal energy using PT, CRT, and LFR for small scale desalination plants that use fossil fuel is also investigated. The amount of fuel that can be saved by getting the necessary thermal energy from solar energy is estimated. It is found that LFR technology is the most cost-competitive, and PT technology is the best when opting for more fuel savings. This study is based on conducting theoretical and practical studies, considering real technical data in order to prove the possibility of integrating various desalination and solar energy technologies in different ways. It contributes to the understanding of low-temperature solar-thermal desalination systems performance under different conditions, as well as PV-Solar-reverse osmosis, and contributes to the advancement of the existing knowledge in this area, in general.La escasez de agua se ha convertido en un problema importante, en numerosos países, y especialmente en aquellos situados en zonas semiáridas y áridas. Una de las soluciones más prometedoras, para resolver este problema, es el uso de la energía solar para la desalinización del agua; especialmente, en regiones donde el agua dulce es escasa y la luz solar es abundante. La desalinización permite obtener cantidades importantes de agua dulce, pero es muy intensiva en energía. La desalinización convencional se apoya actualmente en los combustibles fósiles. Es fundamental explorar otras opciones que se basen en energías renovables con el objetivo, entre otros, de reducir la contaminación. Entre estas opciones, se encuentra la energía solar. En Oriente Medio y África del Norte (MENA), la desalinización del agua de mar, ha sido una de las principales fuentes de agua potable. En la región del Golfo, se ha estimado, que la desalinización, en algunos de los países del Consejo de Cooperación del Golfo (CCG), ha alcanzado el 90%. Arabia Saudita se encuentra entre los países que se enfrentan a importantes desafíos debido a la carencia de recursos hídricos naturales. Esta investigación analiza la viabilidad económica para suministrar energía, a las plantas de desalinización térmica y de membrana que se encuentran en funcionamiento en la actualidad en Arabia Saudita, utilizando diferentes tecnologías como sería el caso de la energía termosolar (por concentración) y la energía solar fotovoltaica (CSP and PV) para producir agua potable. La investigación se inicia utilizando, como metodología, el proceso de jerarquía analítica para seleccionar las tecnologías de desalinización adecuadas para España y los países del CCG a partir de los resultados obtenidos de una encuesta que fue respondida por expertos en la materia de estos países. Se obtuvo que las tecnologías más adecuadas, para España y los países del CCG, son la ósmosis inversa y la Destilación Instantánea de Multietapa (RO y MSF), respectivamente. Se lleva a cabo el análisis de viabilidad técnico-económico para obtener el coste del agua desalada, mediante el estudio de casos, que incluyen distintas tecnologías como serían: concentradores solares parabólicos (PT), reflector lineal de Fresnel (LFR) y una torre receptora central (CRT) con diferentes opciones de almacenamiento y se presentan conclusiones y recomendaciones. También se investiga la aplicación de la energía térmica solar concentrada utilizando PT, CRT y LFR para plantas de desalinización en pequeña escala que utilizan combustibles fósiles. Se estima la cantidad de combustible que se puede ahorrar, para obtener la energía térmica necesaria, a partir de la energía solar. Se ha comprobado que la tecnología LFR es más competitiva, en relación con los costes, y la tecnología PT es mejor opción cuando se opta por un mayor ahorro de combustible. Destacar que el estudio se ha realizado, a partir de datos reales y que tenía como objetivo analizar la posibilidad de integrar diversas tecnologías de desalinización y de energía solar. El autor considera que la tesis contribuye a la comprensión del rendimiento de los sistemas de desalinización térmica solar de baja temperatura en diferentes condiciones, así como de la ósmosis inversa solar fotovoltaica, así como al avance de los conocimientos existentes en esta área en general.Tesis Univ. Granada

Periodontal status and serum creatine kinase levels among young soccer players: A preliminary report

Objectives: It is hypothesized that soccer players with periodontal disease exhibit raised serum creatine kinase (CK) levels as compared to those without periodontal disease. We assessed the clinical gingival status and serum CK levels among young soccer players.Materials and Methods: Demographic data were collected through a structured questionnaire. Full mouth bleeding on probing (BOP) and probing pocket depth (PPD) were assessed. Blood samples (4 mL) were collected for measurement of serum CK levels. All blood samples were collected from a vein in the antecubital region. Total CK activities in serum were determined with an optimized spectrophotometric method. Statistical analysis was performed using one‑way analysis of variance, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Twenty‑seven male soccer players volunteered to participate in the present study. The mean age of the participants in Groups 1 (n = 14) and 2 (n = 13) were 18.2 ± 2.3 years and 19.1 ± 0.6 years, respectively. Mean scores of BOP were significantly higher among individuals in Group 2 (56.8%) compared with individuals in Group 1 (19.4%) (P < 0.001). Mean scores of PPD ≥4 mm were significantly higher among subjects in Group 2 (12.1%) as compared to individuals in Group 1 (0.8%) (P < 0.001). Levels of CK were significantly higher among individuals in Group 2 (292.7 U/L) as compared to those in Group 1 (52.3 U/L) (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Increased BOP and PPD are associated with increased serum CK levels in young soccer players.Keywords: Periodontal disease, serum creatine kinase, soccer player

Development and validation of a high performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection method for estrogen determination: Application to residual analysis in meat products

In this work, an HPLC-DAD method was developed for the residual analysis of some estrogens such as estrone (E1), 17-β estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), natural estrogens, and 17-α ethinylestradiol (E4), an exoestrogen, in meat samples of different categories (chicken, n = 155, beef, n = 124, sheep, n = 122, and camels, n = 40), collected from the Saudi Market. Although banned, the use of E4 as a growth promoter in the black market is still encountered. Symmetry C18 column (3.5 µm, 4.6 mm × 150 mm) was used with a mobile phase consisting of 50% aqueous acetonitrile. Protein precipitation with acetonitrile was used for the sample preparation. The method was fully validated, as per the ICH guidelines, in the concentration ranges of 0.35–125 µg/g (E1, E2), 0.188–125 µg/g (E3), and 0.188–450 µg/g (E4). The method allowed the trace analysis of estrogens with LOD values of 0.094 (E3, E4) and 0.126 µg/g (E1, E2), and LOQ values of 0.188 (E3, E4) and 0.350 µg/g (E1, E2). The analyzed samples contained different levels of estrogens. Within the same category, processed products contained the highest levels of E4, while the internal organs contained the least estrogen content. Finally, the estimated daily intake, µg/kg bw/day, of estrogens through the consumption of meat-based food products was calculated