NEED FOR SMART MOBILITY AND CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRANSITIONING TOWARD IT IN CAR-DEPENDENT COUNTRIES: INSIGHTS FROM LITERATURE

Car dependence is a trend brought about by the desire for comfortable transportation, in many countries around the world. After the invention and acceptance of automobiles, cities were designed with layouts that favored automobiles at the expense of other forms of transportation. However, the situation has changed with research and execution of plans for smart cities, with smart mobility transition taking centre stage. The purpose of this research is to highlight the need for transition to smart mobility, provide detailed description of various aspects of smart mobility and analyse the challenges and opportunities associated with the transition to smart mobility in car-dependent countries. A thorough and critical review of the literature has been done to achieve the aim of this study. Previous research efforts indicated that car-dependent cities have experienced several challenges in their transition to smart mobility, including inadequate infrastructure, low acceptance of new technological solutions, inadequate knowledge and framework for big data, financial constraints, data quality management, integration of data from different sources, privacy issues, and development of appropriate of government policies. There are several promising recommendations, which implementation is expected to help car-dependent countries overcome the above challenges and open opportunities for a successful transition. These recommendations include implementation of aggressive government policies, practicing greater inclusivity, and planning for the future of smart mobility by investing in Internet of Things (IoT) applications and reliable infrastructure. To facilitate the decision makers, challenges have been mapped with recommendations for transition to smart mobility, in light of the review findings

The Saudi Critical Care Society practice guidelines on the management of COVID-19 in the ICU: Therapy section

BACKGROUND: The rapid increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases during the subsequent waves in Saudi Arabia and other countries prompted the Saudi Critical Care Society (SCCS) to put together a panel of experts to issue evidence-based recommendations for the management of COVID-19 in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: The SCCS COVID-19 panel included 51 experts with expertise in critical care, respirology, infectious disease, epidemiology, emergency medicine, clinical pharmacy, nursing, respiratory therapy, methodology, and health policy. All members completed an electronic conflict of interest disclosure form. The panel addressed 9 questions that are related to the therapy of COVID-19 in the ICU. We identified relevant systematic reviews and clinical trials, then used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach as well as the evidence-to-decision framework (EtD) to assess the quality of evidence and generate recommendations. RESULTS: The SCCS COVID-19 panel issued 12 recommendations on pharmacotherapeutic interventions (immunomodulators, antiviral agents, and anticoagulants) for severe and critical COVID-19, of which 3 were strong recommendations and 9 were weak recommendations. CONCLUSION: The SCCS COVID-19 panel used the GRADE approach to formulate recommendations on therapy for COVID-19 in the ICU. The EtD framework allows adaptation of these recommendations in different contexts. The SCCS guideline committee will update recommendations as new evidence becomes available