Prevalence of non-strongyle gastrointestinal parasites of horses in Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia

AbstractThis study aimed to provide recent data on the occurrence of non-strongyle intestinal parasite infestation in horses in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia as a basis for developing parasite control strategies. We conducted necropsy for 45 horses from September 2006 to November 2007 in the Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. 39 out of 45 horses were infected with intestinal parasites with an infestation rate of 86.6%. Infestations with seven nematode species and two species of Gasterophilus larva were found. The most prevalent parasites were Strongyloides westeri (64.4%) and Parascaris equorum (28.8%) followed by Habronema muscae (22.2%). Trichostrongylus axei and Oxyuris equi were less common at (11.1%) and (8.8%), respectively. Habronema megastoma and Setaria equine were found in two horses only (4.4%). Gasterophilus intestinalis larvae were recovered from 39 horses (86.6%) and Gasterophilus nasalis larvae were found in 17 horses (37.7%). Season had a significant effect on the prevalence of P. equorum and G. nasalis, while age of horses had a significant effect only on the prevalence of P. equorum. The husbandry in Saudi Arabia appears to be conductive to parasites transmitted in stables or by insects rather than in pasture

Prevalence of Depression and Its Associated Risk Factors among Young Adult Patients Attending the Primary Health Centers in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: The number of young depressive patients approaching the primary health care centres in Saudi Arabia for supportive care and treatment has enormously increased, but more cases of depression are not being diagnosed properly at the primary health care level. AIM: To assess the prevalence and associated factors of depression among young adult patients attending the primary health centres in Tabuk, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done in selected primary health care centres in Tabuk city from March 2018 to June 2018. Patient Health Questionnaire- PHQ-2 and PHQ-9 and a modified questionnaire were used to collect the necessary information and data were analysed by using SPSS (Version 25.0, SPSS Inc. Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: The study included 384 patients aged between 20 and 40 years. Most of them (76.6%) were females. The prevalence of depression was 74%; mild among 37.8%, moderate among 20.8% whereas moderately severe to severe among 15.4% of them. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that married patients were at lower risk for depression (Adjusted odds ratio “AOR†was 0.36, 95% confidence interval “CI†was 0.20-0.93), p < 0.001. Patients who reported a lack of social support were more likely to be depressed than those with social support (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.03-4.07), p = 0.041. Patients who reported disturbed marriage were at almost four-folded risk of depression compared to those without disturbed marriage (AOR = 3.50, 95% CI = 1.23-9.98), p = 0.019. Patients with financial problems were at almost double risk for developing depression compared to those without financial problems (AOR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.16-4.85), p = 0.019. Those with stressful experience were significantly more likely to have depression compared to those without stressful experience (AOR = 4.75, 95% CI = 2.58-8.71), p < 0.001. Opposed to patients without a family history of depression, those with such history were at higher significant risk for depression (AOR = 2.75, 95% CI = 1.23-6.14), p = 0.014. Also, patients who reported sleep disorders were at nearly double folds of having depression compared to those without such disorders (AOR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.16-4.30), p = 0.016. CONCLUSION: Depression among young adult patients (20-40 years) attending primary healthcare centres in Tabuk is very high. However, it is mostly mild to moderate in its severity. Suicidal thoughts were reported by one-tenth of the participants. Some predictors for depression among them were identified

Tracking and re-finding printed material using a personal digital library

Most web searches aim to re-find previously known information or documents. Keeping track of one’s digital and printed reading material is known to be a challenging and costly task. We describe the design, implementation and evaluation of our Human-centred workplace (HCW) – a system that supports the tracking of physical document printouts. HCW embeds QR codes in the document printout, stores the documents in a personal Digital Library, and uses cameras in the office to track changes in the document locations. We explored the HCW in three evaluations, using the system over several weeks in an office setting, a user study in a lab environment, and extensive functional tests

Comparative study of corrosion performance of HVOF-sprayed coatings produced using conventional and suspension WC-Co feedstock.

Corrosion properties of nanostructured coatings deposited by suspension high-velocity oxy-fuel (S-HVOF) via an aqueous suspension of milled WC-Co powder were compared with conventional HVOF-sprayed coatings. Microstructural evaluations of these coatings included x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The corrosion performance of AISI440C stainless steel substrate and the coatings was evaluated in a 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution at ~25 °C. The electrochemical properties of the samples were assessed experimentally, employing potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The potentiodynamic polarization results indicated that coatings produced by S-HVOF technique show lower corrosion resistance compared with the coatings produced by HVOF-JK (HVOF Jet Kote) and HVOF-JP (HVOF JP5000) techniques. Results are discussed in terms of corrosion mechanism, Bode and Nyquist plots, as well as equivalent circuit models of the coating–substrate system

Hepatotoxicity induced by horse ATG and reversed by rabbit ATG: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of antilymphocyte agents has improved patient and graft survival in hematopoietic stem cell and solid organ transplantation but has been associated with the development of short-term toxicities as well as long-term complications.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a young female with Fanconi anemia who received antithymocyte globulin as part of the conditioning regimen prior to her planned allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh. She developed sudden and severe hepatotoxicity after receiving the first dose of horse antithymocyte globulin, manifested by marked elevation of serum transaminases and mild elevation of serum bilirubin level. Immediately after withdrawal of the offending agent and shifting to the rabbit form of antithymocyte globulin, the gross liver dysfunction started to subside and the hepatic profile results returned to the pre-transplant levels few weeks later. The patient had her allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant as planned without any further hepatic complications. After having a successful allograft, she was discharged from the stem cell transplant unit. During her follow up at the outpatient clinic, the patient remained very well and no major complication was encountered.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Hepatotoxicity related to the utilization of antithymocyte globulin varies considerably in severity and may be transient or long standing. There may be individual or population based susceptibilities to the development of side effects and these adverse reactions may also vary with the choice of the agent used. Encountering adverse effects with one type of antithymocyte agents should not discourage clinicians from shifting to another type in situations where continuation of the drug is vital.</p

Expanding the genetic heterogeneity of intellectual disability

Intellectual disability (ID) is a common morbid condition with a wide range of etiologies. The list of monogenic forms of ID has increased rapidly in recent years thanks to the implementation of genomic sequencing techniques. In this study, we describe the phenotypic and genetic findings of 68 families (105 patients) all with novel ID-related variants. In addition to established ID genes, including ones for which we describe unusual mutational mechanism, some of these variants represent the first confirmatory disease-gene links following previous reports (TRAK1, GTF3C3, SPTBN4 and NKX6-2), some of which were based on single families. Furthermore, we describe novel variants in 14 genes that we propose as novel candidates (ANKHD1, ASTN2, ATP13A1, FMO4, MADD, MFSD11, NCKAP1, NFASC, PCDHGA10, PPP1R21, SLC12A2, SLK, STK32C and ZFAT). We highlight MADD and PCDHGA10 as particularly compelling candidates in which we identified biallelic likely deleterious variants in two independent ID families each. We also highlight NCKAP1 as another compelling candidate in a large family with autosomal dominant mild intellectual disability that fully segregates with a heterozygous truncating variant. The candidacy of NCKAP1 is further supported by its biological function, and our demonstration of relevant expression in human brain. Our study expands the locus and allelic heterogeneity of ID and demonstrates the power of positional mapping to reveal unusual mutational mechanisms