Effect of Vitamin D and Whole Body Vibration on High Resolution peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR-pQCT) Parameters of the Distal Tibia

Vitamin D, calcium and physical activity are important factors for bone health. A cross sectional study was conducted in Chapter 2 to assess vitamin D intake, calcium intake and physical activity among children with wrist or ankle injuries and their association with fracture risk. The majority of children had low vitamin D and calcium intake. The logistic regression indicated that there was a small but significant relationship between calcium intake and fracture risk (OR per SD increase = 0.998; 95% CI, 0.997 – 0.999) but no significant relationship was found between vitamin D intake and fracture risk. In the following section (Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6), a randomised controlled trial was conducted to determine the effect of whole body vibration and a large single dose of vitamin D (150,000 IU) on bone density of the distal tibia as measured by HRpQCT. The study consisted of four parallel groups of equal numbers (40 in total); WBV and placebo group, placebo group, vitamin D group and vitamin D+ WBV group. Measurements (HR-pQCT, serum 25 (OH)D, PTH, bone profile) were collected at baseline and after 12 weeks (during week 13). The median baseline serum 25(OH)D for all participants was 23 nmol/L. The high dose of vitamin D was well tolerated. There was a significant increase in serum 25 (OH)D in vitamin D and vitamin D+WBV groups relative to the placebo group (all p<0.01). There was a significant decrease in PTH in vitamin D group relative to the placebo group (p=0.013). After 12 weeks, vitamin D group showed the greatest increase in total bone density (increased by 2.7 mg/cm3 relative to the placebo group, p= 0.05). The main findings of this study indicated that the large single dose of vitamin D and 12 weeks of WBV did not improve bone density, bone microarchitecture or bone strength

Applicability of two bone age assessment methods to children from Saudi Arabia

AIM To assess the applicability of the Greulich & Pyle (G&P) and Tanner & Whitehouse (TW3) methods to children from Saudi Arabia using both subjective (manual) rating and BoneXpert software. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bone age (BA) was assessed using the G&P and TW3 methods, firstly by independent manual rating of two observers, followed by a single observer using the BoneXpert software program. In total, 420 hand trauma radiographs for Saudi Arabians (220 males, 329 left, age range 1–18 years) performed in the period January 2012 to September 2016 were assessed. Paired sample t test was used to compare the difference between mean BA and mean chronological age (CA) and to compare the difference between manual and BoneXpert ratings. Statistical analysis was undertaken using SPSS v.25. RESULTS A statistically significant difference was found between BA and CA in males when using the G&P (mean difference –0.36±1 years, p<0.01) and TW3 (mean difference –0.22±0.9 years, p=0.03) methods, but not in females for either G&P (mean difference 0.13±1.2 years) or TW3 (mean difference 0.08±1.1 years). In males, BoneXpert results conformed to the manual ratings for TW3, but not for G&P, for which the mean difference between manual and BoneXpert ratings was –0.27±0.5 years (p<0.01). DISCUSSION The present results indicate that manual and BoneXpert-derived G&P and TW3 bone age assessment can be applied with no modification to Saudi Arabian females; however, only TW3 BoneXpert-derived BA can be applied without caution to Saudi Arabian males

The Possession level of the Specialized Professional Standards in Saudi Biology Teachers from their Supervisors' Point of views

This paper aimed to identify how biology male and female teachers possess professional biology standards from their supervisors' point of View. The population and sample included all male and female supervisors in all educational districts in Saudi Arabia (N=262). Only 208 of them responded; and 32 of this number were excluded since they did not provide their specialization or they were not specialized in biology. The data was collected through a questionnaire constructing based on the standards and indicators included in the Professional Biology Standards for Biology teachers developed by the National Center for Assessment in Higher Education (Qias, 1434). The result indicated a high possession for the standards for male and female biology teachers; however, as individual standard, the result indicated that three of them had very high possession, four of them had high possession, and four of them had moderated possession. It also indicated higher possession for standards related to biology comparing with standards related to teaching. It was found also that there were significant differences between the responses of males and females supervisors in the total mean and on the means of six out of the eleven standards

Inhibiting Lactate Dehydrogenase A Enhances the Cytotoxicity of the Mitochondria Accumulating Antioxidant, Mitoquinone, in Melanoma Cells

Limited options exist for inhibitors targeted against melanoma tumors with mutation subtypes other than BRAF. We investigated the cytotoxic activity of mitoquinone (MitoQ), an antioxidant and ubiquinone derivative, on various human melanoma cell lines, alone or in combination with other agents to perturb cellular bioenergetics. This lipophilic cation crosses the cell membrane, enters and accumulates in the mitochondria where it can disrupt mitochondrial function at micromolar concentrations or act as an antioxidant to preserve membrane integrity at nanomolar concentrations. Consistent with previous studies, cells treated with 12.5 μM MitoQ show significantly reduced viability versus control treatments. Although all melanoma cells were susceptible to cytotoxicity induced by MitoQ, cells with wild-type BRAF were responsive to lower doses, compared to cells with activating mutations in BRAF. Mechanistically, the positively charged lipophilic moiety of the MitoQ induced a dose-dependent collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and significantly reduced the mitochondrial ATP production and reduced oxygen consumption rate, suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction. We also combined MitoQ with a glycolytic lactate dehydrogenase A inhibitor (FX-11) and observed an enhanced reduction in viability, but not other therapies examined. To summarize, the data suggest that FX-11 enhances the cytotoxic effects of MitoQ in cells with wild-type BRAF

Green Synthesized of Thymus vulgaris Chitosan Nanoparticles Induce Relative WRKY-Genes Expression in Solanum lycopersicum against Fusarium solani, the Causal Agent of Root Rot Disease

: Fusarium solani is a plant pathogenic fungus that causes tomato root rot disease and yield losses in tomato production. The current study's main goal is testing the antibacterial efficacy of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Thyme vulgaris essential oil (ThE-CsNPs) against F. solani in vitro and in vivo. GC-MS analysis was used to determine the chemical constituents of thyme EO. ThE-CsNPs were investigated using transmission electron microscopy before being physicochemically characterized using FT-IR. ThE-CsNPs were tested for antifungal activity against F. solani mycelial growth in vitro. A pot trial was conducted to determine the most effective dose of ThE-CsNPs on the morph/physiological characteristics of Solanum lycopersicum, as well as the severity of fusarium root rot. The relative gene expression of WRKY transcript factors and defense-associated genes were quantified in root tissues under all treatment conditions. In vitro results revealed that ThE-CsNPs (1%) had potent antifungal efficacy against F. solani radial mycelium growth. The expression of three WRKY transcription factors and three tomato defense-related genes was upregulated. Total phenolic, flavonoid content, and antioxidant enzyme activity were all increased. The outfindings of this study strongly suggested the use of ThE-CsNPs in controlling fusarium root rot on tomatoes; however, other experiments remain necessary before they are recommended

Exogenous application of low and high molecular weight organic acids differentially affected the uptake of cadmium in wheat-rice cropping system in alkaline calcareous soil

Anthropogenic cadmium (Cd) in arable soils is becoming a global concern due to its harmful effects on crop yield and quality. The current study examined the role of exogenously applied low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) including oxalic acid (OxA), tartaric acid (TA) and high molecular weight organic acids (HMWOAs) like citric acid (CA) and humic acid (HA) for the bioavailability of Cd in wheat-rice cropping system. Maximum increase in root dry-weight, shoot dry-weight, and grain/paddy yields was recorded with HA for both crops. The HA significantly decreased AB-DTPA Cd in contaminated soils which remained 41% for wheat and 48% for rice compared with their respective controls. The minimum concentration of Cd in roots, shoots and grain/paddy was observed in HA treatment in both crops. The organic acids significantly increased the growth parameters, photosynthetic activity, and relative leaf moisture contents for both wheat and rice crops compared to that with the contaminated control. Application of OxA and TA increased the bioavailability of Cd in soils and plant tissues while CA and HA decreased the bioavailability of Cd in soils and plants. The highest decrease in Cd uptake, bioaccumulation, translocation factor, immobilization, translocation, harvest, and health risk indices were observed with HA while maximum increase was recorded with OxA for both wheat and rice. The results concluded that use of HMWOAs is effective in soil Cd immobilization being maximum with HA. While LMWOAs can be used for the phytoextraction of Cd in contaminated soils having maximum potential with OxA

The barriers, motives, perceptions, and attitudes toward research among radiology practitioners and interns in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundResearch and the use of evidence-based practices are imperative to the advancement of diagnostic imaging modalities. The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions and attitudes of radiology practitioners (i.e., Technicians, Technologists or Specialists, and Senior Specialists) and interns in King Abdulaziz Medical Cities (KAMCs), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, toward research, and to explore the various barriers and obstacles that hinder their research efforts.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive investigation was carried out from December 2022 to March 2023 among 112-KAMCs’ radiology practitioners and interns, using previously developed and validated questionnaire comprised of five distinct sections, each serving a specific purpose, and with a non-probability convenient sampling technique. Descriptive statistics were generated for participants’ demographics, and chi-square and fisher’s exact tests were used to examine the association between participants’ demographics and their involvement in research.ResultsAmong the 137 KAMCs’ radiology practitioners and interns who were invited to participate, 112 responded and completed the questionnaire, resulting in an overall response rate of 81.75%. Radiology practitioners and interns from various medical imaging subspecialties were found to be involved in research to the extent of 83%, with nearly half (40.9%) of them have had publications, and 53.3% of these publications being either cross-sectional studies or retrospective clinical studies. A lack of time (66.1%), a lack of a professional supervisor support program (50.9%), and deficiency in research skills (45.5%) were common obstacles that may impede the participants’ ability to conduct research. The most common motives for participants to conduct research were the desire to improve their resumes (69.6%), get accepted into postgraduate radiology programs (58%), and improve their research skills (52.7%).ConclusionKAMCs’ radiology practitioners and interns have a positive attitude toward performing research. Despite the high percentage (83%) of those involved in research, the number of publications remains low. A crucial step to advancing the profession’s evidence base is engaging radiology practitioners and interns in research and encouraging radiology practitioner-led research. The study findings can serve as a valuable basis for designing developmental programs aimed at overcoming research obstacles among healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia