The role of lifestyle habits in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among students

The key objective of the present study is to explore the prevalence of being overweight and/or being obese using the body mass index (BMI). We investigated the relationship between lifestyle habits (sleeping patterns, dietary habits, physical activities, and screen times) and obesity. We used a cross-sectional study involving male students of medical and non-medical at the College of Medicine and College of Management and Economics at Saudi Arabia’s Qassim University. To gather data, a tailor-made, self-administered questionnaire was the tools of choice. The first part of the form collected a data pertaining to the height and weight of respondents. This measured BMI. Participants then categorized as underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (BMI = 18.5–24.9), overweight (BMI = 25–29.9), and obese (BMI >30.0). The second part of the study involved questions about the participants’ lifestyle habits. To assess the significance of the questions, aChi-squared test was applied. We found that prevalence of being overweight and obese among medical students was (24.4%) and (19%) respectively. for non-medical students the prevalence of being overweight and obesity was (25.6%) and (16.5%) respectively. regarding dietary habits more than half of the students (54.2%) who had three meals or more have a positive relation with obesity. A positive relation was noticed between lack of physical activity and high BMI. Positive relation was found between high BMI and screen time. Regarding sleep hours more than half of the students spend 6-8 hours in sleeping per day

Evaluating Urban Streets and Public Transportation in Karbala City Using GIS

Because of the privilege of the city of Karbala with its religious character, this city has become a destination for all visitors from all cities of the world; as a consequence, there are now more people living in Karbala, which has increased the number of vehicles on the road and, consequently, the amount of traffic congestion. In this study, the degrees of public transportation service in the city of Karbala as well as the urban road network, were assessed using GIS. The collected data include the number of nodes, links, and the total length of Karbala's urban road network using a GIS program and traffic composition (bus and minibus). Then, a set of coefficients for evaluating the urban road network was calculated) β- Index, α- Index, γ- Index, η- Index and GTP- Index), After determining the percentage of buses and minibusses, it became clear that public transportation in Karbala is very weak and needs development, as the percentage of buses and minibusses did not exceed 30% of the total traffic volume

Delivering nutrition interventions to women and children in conflict settings: A systematic review

Background: Low/middle-income countries (LMICs) face triple burden of malnutrition associated with infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases. This review aims to synthesise the available data on the delivery, coverage, and effectiveness of the nutrition programmes for conflict affected women and children living in LMICs.Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases and grey literature using terms related to conflict, population, and nutrition. We searched studies on women and children receiving nutrition-specific interventions during or within five years of a conflict in LMICs. We extracted information on population, intervention, and delivery characteristics, as well as delivery barriers and facilitators. Data on intervention coverage and effectiveness were tabulated, but no meta-analysis was conducted.Results: Ninety-one pubblications met our inclusion criteria. Nearly half of the publications (n=43) included population of sub-Saharan Africa (n=31) followed by Middle East and North African region. Most publications (n=58) reported on interventions targeting children under 5 years of age, and pregnant and lactating women (n=27). General food distribution (n=34), micronutrient supplementation (n=27) and nutrition assessment (n=26) were the most frequently reported interventions, with most reporting on intervention delivery to refugee populations in camp settings (n=63) and using community-based approaches. Only eight studies reported on coverage and effectiveness of intervention. Key delivery facilitators included community advocacy and social mobilisation, effective monitoring and the integration of nutrition, and other sectoral interventions and services, and barriers included insufficient resources, nutritional commodity shortages, security concerns, poor reporting, limited cooperation, and difficulty accessing and following-up of beneficiaries.Discussion: Despite the focus on nutrition in conflict settings, our review highlights important information gaps. Moreover, there is very little information on coverage or effectiveness of nutrition interventions; more rigorous evaluation of effectiveness and delivery approaches is needed, including outside of camps and for preventive as well as curative nutrition interventions.Prospero registration number: CRD42019125221

Spread, circulation, and evolution of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first documented in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in 2012 and, to date, has been identified in 180 cases with 43% mortality. In this study, we have determined the MERS-CoV evolutionary rate, documented genetic variants of the virus and their distribution throughout the Arabian peninsula, and identified the genome positions under positive selection, important features for monitoring adaptation of MERS-CoV to human transmission and for identifying the source of infections. Respiratory samples from confirmed KSA MERS cases from May to September 2013 were subjected to whole-genome deep sequencing, and 32 complete or partial sequences (20 were ≥99% complete, 7 were 50 to 94% complete, and 5 were 27 to 50% complete) were obtained, bringing the total available MERS-CoV genomic sequences to 65. An evolutionary rate of 1.12 × 10−3 substitutions per site per year (95% credible interval [95% CI], 8.76 × 10−4; 1.37 × 10−3) was estimated, bringing the time to most recent common ancestor to March 2012 (95% CI, December 2011; June 2012). Only one MERS-CoV codon, spike 1020, located in a domain required for cell entry, is under strong positive selection. Four KSA MERS-CoV phylogenetic clades were found, with 3 clades apparently no longer contributing to current cases. The size of the population infected with MERS-CoV showed a gradual increase to June 2013, followed by a decline, possibly due to increased surveillance and infection control measures combined with a basic reproduction number (R0) for the virus that is less than 1

Bone Substitutes in Management of Benign Bone Tumors, Review of Literature

Intralesional excision or curettage is commonly used to treat benign and low-grade malignant bone tumors. The resulting defect can be treated with a variety of materials, such as autologous bone grafts, allografts, or synthetic materials like polymethylmethacrylate or composite alternatives. Because it is osteogenic, osteoinductive, and osteoconductive, autologous cancellous bone is often considered the gold standard of transplant material. However, issues including transplant size limitations, wound-related complications, and prolonged donor site pain have limited its usage in clinical practice. Concerns about immunogenicity and infection have also hampered the use of demineralized freeze-dried allografts and xenografts.  As a result, synthetic materials have sparked substantial interest in orthopedics, and a variety of bone graft alternatives are now commercially accessible

Techno-Economic and Environmental Impact Analysis of Large-Scale Wind Farms Integration in Weak Transmission Grid from Mid-Career Repowering Perspective

Repowering a wind farm enhances its ability to generate electricity, allowing it to better utilize areas with high mean wind speeds. Pakistan’s present energy dilemma is a serious impediment to its economic development. The usage of a diesel generator as a dependable backup power source raises the cost of energy per kWh and increases environmental emissions. To minimize environmental emissions, grid-connected wind farms enhance the percentage of wind energy in the electricity system. These wind generators’ effects, on the other hand, are augmented by the absorption of greater quantities of reactive electricity from the grid. According to respective grid codes, integration of commercial onshore Large-Scale Wind Farms (LSWF) into a national grid is fraught with technical problems and inter-farm wake effects, which primarily ensure power quality while degrading overall system operation and limiting the optimal use of attainable wind resources. The goal of this study is to examine and estimate the techno-economic influence of large-scale wind farms linked to poor transmission systems in Pakistan, contemplating the inter-farm wake effect and reactive power diminution and compensating using a range of voltage-ampere reactive (VAR) devices. This study presents a partial repowering technique to address active power deficits produced by the wake effect by raising hub height by 20 m, which contributed to recovering the active power deficit to 48% and so reduced the effects of upstream wind farms. Simulations were conducted for several scenarios on an actual test system modeled in MATLAB for comparative study using capacitor banks and different flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) devices. Using the SAM (System Advisor Model) and RETscreen, a complete technical, economic, and environmental study was done based on energy fed into the grid, payback time, net present value (NPV), and greenhouse gases (GHG) emission reduction. The studies suggest that the unified power flow controller (UPFC) is the optimum compensating device via comparison analysis as it improved the power handling capabilities of the power system. Our best-case scenario includes UPFC with hub height augmentation, demonstrating that it is technically, fiscally, and environmentally viable. Over the course of its lifespan, the planned system has the potential to save 1,011,957 tCO2, resulting in a greener environment. When the energy generated annually by a current wake-affected system is compared to our best-recommended scenario, a recovered shortfall of 4.851% is seen, with improved system stability. This modest investment in repowering boosts energy production due to wake effects, resulting in increased NPV, revenue, and fewer CO2 footprints

Intravesical Therapy in Patients with Intermediate-risk Non–muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis of Disease Recurrence

Context Patients with intermediate-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) may pose a clinical dilemma without an agreed evidence-based decision tree for personalized treatment. Objective To perform a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to summarize available evidence on the oncologic outcomes of intravesical therapy in patients with intermediate-risk NMIBC. Evidence acquisition The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched in October 2020 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses statement. Studies were deemed eligible if they reported on oncologic outcomes in patients with intermediate-risk NMIBC treated with transurethral resection of bladder tumor with and without intravesical chemotherapy or bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy. Evidence synthesis Twelve studies were included in a qualitative synthesis (systematic review); three were deemed eligible for a quantitative synthesis (NMA). An NMA of five different regimens was conducted for the association of treatment with the 5-yr recurrence risk. Chemotherapy with maintenance was associated with a lower likelihood of 5-yr recurrence than chemotherapy without maintenance (odds ratio [OR] 0.51, 95% credible interval [CI] 0.26–1.03). Immunotherapy, regardless of whether a full- or reduced-dose regimen, was not associated with a significantly lower likelihood of 5-yr recurrence when compared with chemotherapy without maintenance (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.39–2.11 vs OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.40–2.19). Analysis of the treatment ranking revealed that chemotherapy with maintenance had the lowest 5-yr recurrence risk (P score 0.9666). Conclusions Our analysis indicates that chemotherapy with a maintenance regimen confers a superior oncologic benefit in terms of 5-yr recurrence risk compared to chemotherapy without maintenance in patients with intermediate-risk NMIBC. Regardless of the dose regimen, immunotherapy with BCG does not appear to be superior to chemotherapy in patients with intermediate-risk NMIBC in term of disease recurrence. However, owing to the lack of comparative studies, there is an unmet need for well-designed, large-scale trials to validate our findings and generate robust evidence on disease recurrence and progression. Patient summary A maintenance schedule of chemotherapy reduces the rate of long-term recurrence of bladder cancer that has not invaded the bladder muscle. Chemotherapy inserted directly into the bladder and immunotherapy without maintenance schedules seem to have limited benefit in preventing cancer recurrence

Hydrogel assistant synthesis of new Ti-MOF cross-linked oxidized pectin and chitosan with anti-breast cancer properties

Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases of the modern age. Although many methods for its treatment have been reported so far, the report and synthesis of new compounds based on new technologies, especially nanotechnology, is important. One of the laboratory methods for evaluating the anticancer properties of compounds is the in vitro MTT method (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide). In this study, the in vitro anti-breast cancer activity of the newly synthesized (Titanium Metal-Organic Framework) Ti-MOF cross-linked oxidized pectin and chitosan hydrogel, which uses biopolymers in its synthesis and structure, was investigated. The anticancer activity results showed that the synthetic nanopolymer had cell proliferation and viability of 27% more than the control and (the half maximal inhibitory concentration) IC50 of 111 μg/mL against breast cancer cells. Before the anticancer evaluation, the structure of the synthesized Ti-MOF cross-linked oxidized pectin, and chitosan hydrogel was confirmed by (X-Ray Diffraction) XRD pattern (Fourier Transform Infrared) FT-IR spectrum (Energy-dispersive X-ray) EDAX spectroscopy, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm and (Scanning Electron Microscope) Scanning Electron Microscope images. The results of identification and characterization showed that the synthetic nanopolymer was in the range of nanoparticles. The peaks of the expected functional groups and reactant elements were observed in the FT-IR spectrum and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of the final product. High physicochemical capabilities such as the uniform morphology, crystallization of particles, and high specific surface area from synthesized Ti-MOF cross-linked oxidized pectin, and chitosan hydrogel were observed. The unique properties of the synthesized Ti-MOF cross-linked oxidized pectin and chitosan hydrogel can be attributed to the appropriate method of its synthesis that was carried out in this study

RhD blood type significantly influences susceptibility to contract COVID-19 among a study population in Iraq

The ABO blood type has been reported to be associated with several diseases such as hepatitis and malaria. Recently, some studies have reported that people with O blood type are protected against COVID-19, while people with A blood type are more susceptible to contract this disease. Here, we analysed data from 5668 COVID-19 patients along with the same number of control samples in a study population in Iraq. Our analysis confirms that people with O blood type are protected partially against COVID-19. Notably, we demonstrate that people with RhD- are more susceptible to contract COVID-19 than people with RhD+ blood type. The blood types are associated with some clinical symptoms such as headache and asthenia of COVID-19, but there is no association with other symptoms. There is no association between blood types and deaths among COVID-19 patients. This study suggests that in addition to ABO, RhD blood type influences the susceptibility to contract COVID-19. Overall, we conclude that susceptibility/protection against COVID-19 may not be determined based only on blood types among the global population as this might vary based on a number of other factors such as ethnicity, geographical locations, occupation and the level of exposure to infected people

Chlorhexidine versus Povidone-Iodine for the prevention of ‎Surgical Site ‎Infections: A review.‎

BackgroundSurgical Site Infections (SSIs) are the third most frequently reported health care-associated ‎infection‎ and it remain a major clinical problem despite improvements in prevention, as they ‎are associated with ‎significant mortality and morbidity. Prevention strategies for SSIs are based ‎on reducing the risk of infection by bacteria, So many antiseptic agents are ‎used, the most ‎common one are Chlorhexidine and Povidone-Iodine.‎AimsTo discuss the ‎findings of RCTs that compare Chlorhexidine versus Povidone-Iodine in the prevention of ‎Surgical ‎Site ‎Infections (SSIs).‎Methods This systematic review was carried out, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCO that ‎examining randomized trials of Chlorhexidine and Povidone-Iodine to summarize the major ‎RCT that compare Chlorhexidine versus Povidone-Iodine in the prevention of Surgical Site ‎Infections (SSIs).‎Results The review included six randomized studies that compare between Chlorhexidine and Povidone-‎Iodine for the prevention of SSIs. The findings showed that many studies prefer using ‎Chlorhexidine over Povidine-Iodine to reduce SSIs, few studies prefer using PVI as antiseptic ‎and other studies reported that there is no significant difference between both. ConclusionMajority of results prefer using Chlorhexidine than Povidone-Iodine‎ as antiseptics but ‎there were few findings prefer ‎PVI and other studies reported that there was no significant ‎difference between using them as ‎antiseptics.