Effectiveness of human mobility change in reducing the spread of COVID-19: ecological study of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Non-pharmacological interventions including mobility restriction have been developed to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We provided precise estimates of disease burden and examined the impact of mobility restriction on reducing the COVID-19 effective reproduction number in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study involved secondary analysis of open-access COVID-19 data obtained from different sources between 2 March and 26 December 2020. The dependent and main independent variables of interest were the effective reproduction number and anonymized mobility indices, respectively. Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between the community mobility change and the effective reproduction number for COVID-19. By 26 December 2020, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia reached 360,690, with a cumulative incidence rate of 105.41/10,000 population. Al Jouf, Northern Border, and Jazan regions were ≥2.5 times (OR = 2.93; 95% CI: 1.29–6.64), (OR = 2.50; 95% CI: 1.08–5.81), and (OR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.09–5.79) more likely to have a higher case fatality rate than Riyadh, the capital. Mobility changes in public and residential areas were significant predictors of the COVID-19 effective reproduction number. This study demonstrated that community mobility restrictions effectively control transmission of the COVID-19 virus

The myogenic transcriptional network

Myogenesis has been a leading model for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie tissue differentiation and development since the discovery of MyoD. During myogenesis, the fate of myogenic precursor cells is first determined by Pax3/Pax7. This is followed by regulation of the myogenic differentiation program by muscle regulatory factors (Myf5, MyoD, Myog, and Mrf4) to form muscle tissues. Recent studies have uncovered a detailed myogenic program that involves the RP58 (Zfp238)-dependent regulatory network, which is critical for repressing the expression of inhibitor of DNA binding (Id) proteins. These novel findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the muscle differentiation transcriptional program

The impact of strategic foresight on achieving competitive advantage: A field study in a number of private colleges

The aim of the study is to measure the impact of strategic foresight in achieving competitive advantage. The problem of the theoretical study arose from the lack of employing strategic foresight tools in the private colleges investigated to reach the competitive advantage. The study relied on the comprehensive inventory method using a questionnaire. A group of private colleges was selected as a study community for its importance in providing educational services. As for the study sample, it was a sample of (114) senior and middle administrative leaders in the colleges under study. A number of statistical programs were used depending on the statistical program (smartpls v.3.3.9). Some of them are related to descriptive statistics such as arithmetic mean and standard deviation, and some are related to inferential statistics by testing several hypotheses to reveal the influence relationship between the independent variables (strategic foresight) and the dependent (competitive advantage). Positively in increasing the chances of the researched private colleges to achieve competitive advantage

A knowledge plane for mobility management in Internet of things connected by radio

International audienc

Further evidence of the clinical and genetic heterogeneity of recessive transgressive PPK in the Mediterranean region

International audienceTransgressive palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK) is the phenotypic hallmark of Mal de Meleda (MDM, MIM 24300). It is characterized by erythema and hyperkeratosis that extend to the dorsal face of the hands and feet. The disease is distributed worldwide and includes the Mediterranean population. The gene responsible for MDM, ARS (component B) mapped on chromosome 8qter, encodes for the SLURP-1 protein (Ly-6/uPAR related protein-1). A variety of mutations within the ARS gene have been shown to underlie MDM in different populations. Genetic heterogeneity of MDM is suspected. We have recently shown that three different homozygous mutations (82delT, C77R, C99Y) were responsible for MDM in 17 patients from Northern Tunisia belonging to eight unrelated consanguineous families. We report here a Tunisian family with three siblings presenting with recessive transgressive PPK closely resembling the MDM phenotype that excludes linkage to the ARS gene

Haplotypic classification of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa in Tunisian consanguineous families: implication for diagnosis

International audienceDystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB) is a rare genodermatosis caused by mutations in the type VII collagen gene COL7A1. Clinical diagnosis of DEB should be confirmed by histopathological and electron microscopy analysis, which is not always accessible. We report here a genetic investigation of DEB consanguineous families in Tunisia. A total of 23 EB families were genotyped with 5 microsatellite markers overlapping the COL7A1 gene. Among these families, 19 presented with the dystrophic form of EB, 9 were diagnosed by histopathological examination, 2 had the simplex form, 1 had a junctional EB, and 1 was affected by an unclassified form of EB. The informativeness of the markers was studied and allowed us to select three markers for genetic testing of DEB in Tunisian families at risk. Haplotype analysis and homozygosity by descent suggest that all families classified clinically as having DEB and the patient who presented with an unclassified form of EB are likely linked to the COL7A1 gene, and showed evidence for exclusion for the simplex and junctional cases. For COL7A1 linked families, two main haplotypes were shared by eight families. For all the other cases, haplotypic heterogeneity was observed, thus suggesting a mutational heterogeneity among Tunisian DEB families. The genetic results matched with the ultrastructural analysis in all the DEB families and with the clinical examination in 94.7% of all studied DEB families. This study is to our knowledge the first genetic investigation of DEB in the Maghrebian population. We propose a selection of informative markers and show the importance of haplotype analysis as a relatively easy and cost and time effective method for carrier screening and prenatal diagnosis of DEB in consanguineous families at risk