The Impact of Talent Management Application on the Strategy of Human Resources Management at Northern Border University

This study aims at finding out the link between talent management and the strategy of human resource management at Northern Border University, and the influence of talent management on the strategy of human resource management as well as the extent to estimate the university administration for the talent and achievement of strategic goals for the management of human resources, and to make recommendations to the university, the Saudi universities, in particular and organizations in general . The study used the descriptive statistic and analytical method applied to the study of cluster sampling method in the choice of vocabulary of the research population

E-cigarettes Perceptions and Use among Jordanian Medical Students

Purpose: Medical students are the cornerstone for future public health awareness; this study aimed to assess e-cigarettes perceptions and use among medical students.Methods: This is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based national study. The study included all five medical schools in the country and addressed students in their clinical years. Data were collected through a self-administered and structured paper-based questionnaire between Dec 1, 2018, and Mar 30, 2019. Data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows and univariate inferential tests were employed to examine differences between groups.Results: A total sample of 1819 (97.4%) students returned their questionnaires; with a declaration of their smoking habits from the five medical schools, 47% are males, and 53% are females. Only 13 students 0.7% of all students or 2.1% of all smokers used e-cigarettes solely, but 177 students 9.5% of all students or 29% of all smokers used e-cigarettes combined with other types of smoking. Most medical students (86%) were aware of e-cigarettes. The main motive behind using e-cigarettes was the rare and different flavors provided by these cigarettes. The general perception among smokers and non-smokers is that e-cigarettes are less harmful and helpful in quitting smoking.Conclusion: Most medical students are aware of e-cigarettes. While their use as the only form of smoking is rare, e-cigarettes are frequently used in combination with other types of smoking

Poultry and Beef Meat as Potential Seedbeds for Antimicrobial Resistant Enterotoxigenic Bacillus Species: A Materializing Epidemiological and Potential Severe Health Hazard

Although Bacillus cereus is of particular concern in food safety and public health, the role of other Bacillus species was overlooked. Therefore, we investigated the presence of eight enterotoxigenic genes, a hemolytic gene and phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles of Bacillusspecies in retail meat samples. From 255 samples, 124 Bacillus isolates were recovered, 27 belonged to B. cereusand 97 were non-B. cereus species. Interestingly, the non-B. cereus isolates carried the virulence genes and exhibited phenotypic virulence characteristics as the B. cereus. However, correlation matrix analysis revealed the B. cereus group positively correlates with the presence of the genes hblA, hblC, and plc, and the detection of hemolysis (p \u3c 0.05), while the other Bacillus sp. groups are negatively correlated. Tests for antimicrobial resistance against ten antibiotics revealed extensive drug and multi-drug resistant isolates. Statistical analyses didn’t support a correlation of antibiotic resistance to tested virulence factors suggesting independence of these phenotypic markers and virulence genes. Of special interest was the isolation of Paenibacillus alvei and Geobacillus stearothermophilus from the imported meat samples being the first recorded. The isolation of non-B. cereus species carrying enterotoxigenic genes in meat within Egypt, suggests their impact on food safety and public health and should therefore not be minimised, posing an area that requires further research

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Protocols In General Surgery: A Review Of Implementation And Outcomes

ERAS is a group of protocols that aim at affecting positively patients & surrounding lives. surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, anesthetists, and even healthcare centers hospitals, labs, and pharmacies. Reducing the cost for both hospitals &patients, decreasing the duration of residency in hospitals, and improving patient compliance, developing performance & increasing teamwork between medical staff and patients all fall under the advantages of ERAS. Since it affects the 3 stages of any operation (preoperative-intraoperative-perioperative) it was necessary to implement a suitable protocol for each patient to achieve the best results mostly quitting smoking, fasting for a period before surgery, maintaining body temperature, pressure, and glucose level and the postoperative instructions , care & nutrition to guarantee success and avoidance to recurrence or complications

Epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance trends of Acinetobacter species in the United Arab Emirates: a retrospective analysis of 12 years of national AMR surveillance data

Introduction: Acinetobacter spp., in particular A. baumannii, are opportunistic pathogens linked to nosocomial pneumonia (particularly ventilator-associated pneumonia), central-line catheter-associated blood stream infections, meningitis, urinary tract infections, surgical-site infections, and other types of wound infections. A. baumannii is able to acquire or upregulate various resistance determinants, making it frequently multidrug-resistant, and contributing to increased mortality and morbidity. Data on the epidemiology, levels, and trends of antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter spp. in clinical settings is scarce in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. Methods: A retrospective 12-year analysis of 17,564 non-duplicate diagnostic Acinetobacter spp. isolates from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was conducted. Data was generated at 317 surveillance sites by routine patient care during 2010-2021, collected by trained personnel and reported by participating surveillance sites to the UAE National AMR Surveillance program. Data analysis was conducted with WHONET. Results: Species belonging to the A. calcoaceticus-baumannii complex were mostly reported (86.7%). They were most commonly isolated from urine (32.9%), sputum (29.0%), and soft tissue (25.1%). Resistance trends to antibiotics from different classes during the surveillance period showed a decreasing trend. Specifically, there was a significant decrease in resistance to imipenem, meropenem, and amikacin. Resistance was lowest among Acinetobacter species to both colistin and tigecycline. The percentages of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and possibly extensively drug-resistant (XDR) isolates was reduced by almost half between the beginning of the study in 2010 and its culmination in 2021. Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp. (CRAB) was associated with a higher mortality (RR: 5.7), a higher admission to ICU (RR 3.3), and an increased length of stay (LOS; 13 excess inpatient days per CRAB case), as compared to Carbapenem-susceptible Acinetobacter spp. Conclusion: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter spp. are associated with poorer clinical outcomes, and higher associated costs, as compared to carbapenem-susceptible Acinetobacter spp. A decreasing trend of MDR Acinetobacter spp., as well as resistance to all antibiotic classes under surveillance was observed during 2010 to 2021. Further studies are needed to explore the reasons and underlying factors leading to this remarkable decrease of resistance over time

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The AfrAbia+plus Parkinson's disease genomic consortium

Many human studies, including those involving genetics, are conducted in people of northern European ancestry. A lack of ancestral representation in genetics makes it harder to understand the underlying biology of disease, results in unsupported generalisation of current genetics to under-represented groups, limits our capacity to deploy precision therapeutics to only those populations that have been studied, and prevents us from accurately mapping genetic loci. Studies in Parkinson's disease have experienced a similar lack of diversity. The Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2) was initiated in 2020 to meet this need for diversity in research. GP2 seeks to improve understanding of the genetic architecture of Parkinson's disease in a global context. A result of this work was the establishment of the AfrAbia Parkinson's Disease Genomic Consortium (AA-PDGC) in 2023

Effect of the severity of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy and delivery: A narrative review

Background: Pregnant women with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are more likely than non-pregnant women to develop severe COVID-19 complications. In addition, COVID-19 is linked to unfavorable pregnancy outcomes. Due to the lack of effective COVID-19 treatment, it is critical to assess geographic differences and trends in current clinical care and the effect of COVID-19 on pregnant women. This review aims to evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes in COVID-19 pregnancies. We searched the Medline database for research papers from January 2019 to December 31, 2021. Eleven studies of systematic, meta-analysis, review, and cohort designs were included with searched keywords {Pregnancy AND COVID [MeSH Terms]}. This study summarizes the maternal characteristics, vertical Transmission, maternal and neonatal outcomes, the rate of cesarean section, comorbidities, mechanical ventilation, ICU admission rate, mode of delivery, type of anesthesia, the average hospital length of stay (HLOS), the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, chest x‐ray and CT scan findings, treatments, and outcomes over time

Effects of dietary forage-to-concentrate ratio on fat deposition, fatty acid composition, oxidative stability and mRNA expression of sirtuins genes of subcutaneous fat in sheep (Ovis aries)

ABSTRACTThis study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary concentrate: forage (C: F) ratio on fat deposition, fatty acid composition, oxidative stability and mRNA expression levels of sirtuins genes associated with adipose tissue metabolism of subcutaneous fat in Black Tibetan sheep. Three diets with different C: F (HC: 70:30, IC:50:50 and LC: 30:70) were fed to fifteen weaned male lambs (2-month-old, 10.05 ± 0.96 Kg). The experiment lasted for 120 d. Five lambs from each group were randomly selected and slaughtered at the end of the experiment. The subcutaneous fat thicknesses increased with increasing concentrate level (P < 0.05). The concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), C15:1 and C18:2n decreased by feeding the HC diet (P < 0.05). Both glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities significantly increased as dietary concentration levels decreased (P < 0.05). Additionally, SIRT1 and SIRT2 expression level was downregulated (P < 0.05) with increasing concentration supplementation (P < 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively). In conclusion, the addition of 70% concentration supplementation is not recommended in Black Tibetan sheep, considering that no benefits were observed for nutrient utilization, oxidative stability or economic returns, while the supplementation of C: F at 50:50 proved to be suitable for finishing lambs