General public knowledge, perceptions and practice towards pharmaceutical drug advertisements in the Western region of KSA

AbstractThis study aims to examine general public knowledge and behavior toward pharmaceutical advertisements in the Western part of KSA. A cross sectional convenience sampling technique was used in this study. A total of 1445 valid questionnaires were received and analyzed using SPSS version 16 at alpha value of 0.05. Majority of respondents were aware of different types of drugs to be advertised and drug advertisements should seek approval from the health authorities. Television and Internet showed the highest effect on consumers. Almost half of the participants preferred an advertised drug over non-advertised one. Most of the respondents indicated that the quality of frequently advertised drugs is not better than those prescribed by the doctors. Majority of participants had positive beliefs toward advertised drugs concerning their role in education and spreading of awareness among the public. Pharmaceutical advertisements harm the doctor–patient relationship as evidenced by one-third of the investigated sample. Moreover, majority of the participants mentioned that they would consult another doctor or even change the current doctor if he/she refused to prescribe an advertised medication. Results of this study could be used to develop awareness programs for the general public and try to enforce the regulations and policies to protect the general public and patients from the business oriented pharmaceutical companies and drug suppliers

Employing hot wire anemometry to directly measure the water balance in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Papers presented to the 11th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 20-23 July 2015.Water management in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC’s) remains a critical problem for their durability, cost, and performance. Because the anode side of this fuel cell has the tendency to become dehydrated, measuring the water balance can be an important diagnosis tool during fuel cell operation. The water balance indicates how much of the product water leaves at the anode side versus the cathode side. Previous methods of determining the fuel cell water balance often relied on condensing the water in the exhaust gas streams and weighing the accumulated mass which is a time consuming process that has limited accuracy. Currently, our group is developing a novel method to accurately determine the water balance in a PEMFC in real time by employing hot-wire anemometry. The amount of heat transferred from the wire to the anode exhaust stream can be translated into a voltage signal which can be directly converted into the fuel cell water balance. In this work, experimental ex-situ results are presented and the elegance and usefulness of this method is demonstrated.This project has been sponsored by EUDP, J.nr. 64012- 0117 and by PSO under the ForskEL program, Project nr.2013- 1-12041.am201

Factors associated with spontaneous stone passage in a contemporary cohort of patients presenting with acute ureteric colic. Results from the MIMIC Study (A Multi-centre cohort study evaluating the role of Inflammatory Markers in patients presenting with acute ureteric Colic)

Objectives There is conflicting data on the role of white blood cell count (WBC) and other inflammatory markers in spontaneous stone passage in patients with acute ureteric colic. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of WBC and other routinely collected inflammatory and clinical markers including stone size, stone position and Medically Expulsive Therapy use (MET) with spontaneous stone passage (SSP) in a large contemporary cohort of patients with acute ureteric colic. Subjects and Methods Multi‐centre retrospective cohort study coordinated by the British Urology Researchers in Surgical Training (BURST) Research Collaborative at 71 secondary care hospitals across 4 countries (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand). 4170 patients presented with acute ureteric colic and a computer tomography confirmed single ureteric stone. Our primary outcome measure was SSP as defined by the absence of need for intervention to assist stone passage. Multivariable mixed effects logistic regression was used to explore the relationship between key patient factors and SSP. Results 2518 patients were discharged with conservative management and had further follow up with a SSP rate of 74% (n = 1874/2518). Sepsis after discharge with conservative management was reported in 0.6% (n = 16/2518). On multivariable analysis neither WBC, Neutrophils or CRP were seen to predict SSP, with an adjusted OR of 0.97 [95% CI 0.91 to 1.04, p = 0.38], 1.06 [95% CI 0.99 to 1.13, p = 0.1] and 1.00 [95% CI 0.99 to 1.00, p = 0.17], respectively. Medical expulsive therapy (MET) also did not predict SSP [adjusted OR 1.11 [95% CI 0.76 to 1.61]). However, stone size and stone position were significant predictors. SSP for stones 7mm. For stones in the upper ureter the SSP rate was 52% [95% CI 48 to 56], middle ureter was 70% [95% CI 64 to 76], and lower ureter was 83% [95% CI 81 to 85]. Conclusion In contrast to the previously published literature, we found that in patients with acute ureteric colic who are discharged with initial conservative management, neither WBC, Neutrophil count or CRP help determine the likelihood of spontaneous stone passage. We also found no overall benefit from the use of MET. Stone size and position are important predictors and our findings represent the most comprehensive stone passage rates for each mm increase in stone size from a large contemporary cohort adjusting for key potential confounders. We anticipate that these data will aid clinicians managing patients with acute ureteric colic and help guide management decisions and the need for intervention

Development and impact of sandwich wettability structure for gas distribution media on PEM fuel cell performance

Water management is one of the key issues related to the performance, durability and cost of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs); and the wettability of gas distribution media (GDM) is critical to the water management. In this study, a novel design is developed for GDM, referred to as sandwich wettability GDM. After being coated with a silica particle/poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) composite, the GDM has superhydrophobic surfaces with a contact angle of 162 ± 2°, but hydrophilic internal pores. Water droplets (10 [mu]l) can roll off the tilted surface of the coated GDM at an angle of 5°, and can also be drawn into the pores of the coated GDM in 10 min when it is horizontal. The surface morphology, roughness and pore structures of GDMs are characterized by profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, and porosimetry. The measured internal pore size of the coated GDM is around 7.1 [mu]m, and shows low energy resistance to gas transport. Performance testing indicates that the PEMFC equipped with sandwich wettability GDMs offers the best performance compared to those with raw GDM (untreated with surface coating), conventional GDM (with microporous layer) coated with PTFE or hydrophilic GDM (coated with silica particles).Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell Water management Gas distribution media Superhydrophobic surface Hydrophilic pores

Mapping the knowledge structure of a gluten-free diet: a global perspective

Abstract Background A gluten-free diet (GFD) has become one of the most popular eating plans and is essential for managing gluten-related medical conditions, signs, and symptoms. Therefore, we performed a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature on the GFD to describe the research landscape. Methods The Scopus database was searched for publications on the GFD from 1952 to 2021. A bibliometric analysis of the data was performed. VOSviewer software was used to perform visualization analysis, co-occurrence analysis, and publication trends in GFD. Results A total of 3,258 publications were retrieved. In terms of publications, Italy (n = 468, 14.36%) led in the number of publications, followed by the USA (n = 398, 12.22%) and Spain (n = 274, 8.41%). The retrieved documents earned an average of 22.89 citations per document, for a total of 74,560 citations. Since 2001, there has been a gradual growth in the number of articles published, going from 23 to more than 370 in 2021. Using the mapping terms in the title/abstract a minimum of 50 times, 291 terms were divided into two main clusters: ‘adherence to a gluten-free diet in celiac disease’ and ‘improvement of the nutritional and sensory quality of gluten-free products.’ Conclusions Over the past six decades, there has been a growing need for gluten-free bakery products and a noticeable increase in related publications. This study indicates that the “improvement of the nutritional and sensory quality of gluten-free products” will remain a hotspot in this research field for upcoming years

Longitudinal deformation bench testing using a coronary artery model: a new standard?

Objectives To compare susceptibility of five different stent platforms with longitudinal stent deformation (LSD) using a clinically relevant bench testing model simulating both short and long malapposed lengths. Background Recent data suggest that design modifications to the Promus Element stent which led to the Promus Premier stent has reduced susceptibility to LSD. However, susceptibility to LSD at long malapposed lengths has not been tested. Furthermore, the mechanisms behind susceptibility to LSD are as yet unclear. Methods The Omega, Integrity, Multilink 8, Biomatrixand Promus Premier stent platforms were tested. The Omega, Integrity and Multilink 8 platforms were used in place of their drug-eluting equivalents. 3.5 mm stents were deployed in a stepped tube with the distal portion fixed and the proximal test section exposed. The force required to compress stents by a fixed distance at different exposed lengths was compared. Symmetrical and point loading were used. Results The Promus Premier was longitudinally as strong as Multilink and Integrity at a short exposed length (4 mm) but weaker, in between Omega and the other platforms, at longer exposed lengths (12 mm). As previously noted, the Omega (Promus Element) platform was significantly weaker than the other stents and Biomatrix was the strongest stent. Conclusion Susceptibility to LSD varies depending on length of malapposed segment when tested using a clinically relevant model as in this study. The mechanisms behind the susceptibility are likely multifactorial, including connector number, strut thickness, connector alignment and ring orientation but remain to be elucidated

Mapping the output of the global literature on the links between gut microbiota and COVID-19

Abstract Background The term “human microbiota” refers to populations of microorganisms that live harmoniously in co-existence with humans. They contribute significantly to the host's immunological response when confronted with a respiratory viral infection. However, little is known about the relationship between the human microbiome and COVID-19. Therefore, our objective is to perform a bibliometric analysis to explore the overall structure and hotspots of research activity on the links between microbiota and COVID-19 at the global level. Methods The research literature on the microbiota and COVID-19 published between 2020 and 2022 was obtained from the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis and network visualization were performed with VOSviewer. Results Of the 701 publications selected, the USA contributed the most (n = 157, 22.40%), followed by China (n = 118, 16.83%) and Italy (n = 82, 11.70%). Hotspots in this field were “COVID-19 is associated with an altered upper respiratory tract microbiome,” “the effect of antibiotics on the gut microbiome,” as well as “patient nutrition and probiotic therapy in COVID-19.” Conclusions The links between microbiota and COVID-19 remain an urgent concern at present, and the use of probiotics or/and antibiotics during the pandemic needs to be further improved. This landscape analysis of the links between the microbiota and COVID-19 will provide a basis for future research