Synthesis of carbon nanotubes using pre-sintered oil fly ash via a reproducible process with large-scale potential.

Oil fly ash (OFA) is a byproduct generated by the burning of heavy crude oil in factories and power plants. Millions of tons of OFA is produced annually worldwide and is mostly treated as solid waste. Extensive efforts have been made to utilize OFA and reduce its environmental effects. Recently, OFA has been found to be a suitable catalyst and co-precursor for carbon nanotube (CNTs) production. However, the treatment methods used are expensive and time consuming. Here, we describe a new method for OFA treatment and provide optimized growth conditions for CNTs production. Pre-sintering of OFA at elevated temperatures (400-450 °C) in air or vacuum using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) tube furnace (80-100 min) is a very effective treatment method for CNTs growth under optimum growth conditions. The optimum parameters for CNTs growth were growth temperature, gas pressure, gas flow rate, and growth time. Well-defined, thin nanotubes with diameters of 20-40 nm were produced. Bamboo-like nanotubes with zigzag curved walls were also observed in the produced CNTs. The weight percentage of the produced CNTs was approximately twice that of the treated OFA. Consequently, the pre-sintering method exhibited suitability for the mass production of CNTs. Thus, large quantities of the nanomaterial can be supplied for use in various applications, e.g., polymer composites, the rubber industry, construction materials, and lubricant additives.

Dermatology workforce over a decade in Saudi Arabia: demographics, distributions, and future challenges.

BACKGROUND: The dermatology workforce is an important topic, as many countries are facing an undersupply of dermatologists, while some are expecting a surplus. Therefore, we conducted this study to identify the current dermatology workforce demographics in Saudi Arabia (SA) and the changes in such demographics over the last 10 years to identify future workforce-related challenges. METHODS: This study was conducted in SA, and it included all the practicing dermatologists in the country over the last decade (2010-2020). The number of practicing dermatologists, their gender, their nationality, and dermatology residency candidates and graduates were obtained from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS). The geographic distribution of dermatologists was obtained from the Ministry of Health Statistical Yearbook 2018. RESULTS: As of September 2020, there were 2678 practicing dermatologists in SA at a ratio of 7.82 dermatologists per 100 000 people. Of the 2678 dermatologists, only 24.8% were Saudis. The Saudi dermatologist ratio has been almost constant over 10 years, ranging from 1.3 to 1.9 per 100 000 people. Of all Saudi dermatologists, 42% were female. The number of residents who graduated from the residency program was not consistent for each year and ranged from 4 to 25. The number of dermatologists varied by region, with 9.2 in Riyadh and 3.4 in Najran per 100 000 people. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study revealed that a quarter of dermatologists in SA are Saudis. In addition, the number of non-Saudi dermatologists has increased in the last 10 years, while the number of Saudi dermatologists to the population has remained almost constant. There is also a geographic maldistribution of dermatologists, with urban areas having a higher number of dermatologists than rural areas. We encourage local studies that can elucidate the factors influencing the workforce, such as the dermatologist appointment waiting time, dermatologists' working hours, and the geographic maldistribution of dermatologists in the country.

Dermatology Publications in Saudi Arabia: A Fast-Growing Pattern.

Bibliometric analysis provides an accurate report of the quantity and quality of research affiliated with a specific country. We aimed to use bibliometric analysis to evaluate previously published dermatology-related studies from Saudi Arabia (SA). We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional bibliometric analysis using the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases to retrieve all SA-affiliated dermatology research from the databases' respective dates of conception to July 9, 2021. The number of publications was determined by the total number of articles, the number of times an article was cited, publishing journals, and affiliated institutions. The Hirsch index (h-index) was used to describe the quality of the articles. In total, SA-affiliated dermatologists published 1,319 articles in WoS and Scopus. Approximately half (n=603) of these articles were published in the past six years. According to WoS, the total number of citations was 9,285 with more than half of all citations also occurring in the past six years. The International Journal of Dermatology was associated with the highest number of publications, followed by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. SA had the second-highest number of publications in the Arab world. Our area has recently experienced rapid growth in dermatology publications. We encourage the use of data from the current study to identify the strengths and weaknesses of such publications, to direct researchers and funds to enhance the national growth of dermatology research, and to conduct periodic bibliometric analyses with the aim of assessing the quality and quantity of SA-affiliated publications over time.

Improvement of atopic dermatitis and alopecia universalis with dupilumab.

Dupilumab is an interleukin-4 receptor alpha antagonist that showed significant improvement of atopic dermatitis (AD). Many reports have shown significant resolution of alopecia areata, alopecia universalis and alopecia totalis after dupilumab treatment for AD. We present one of reported cases that showed improvement of underlying alopecia universalis treated with dupilumab.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Estimated Prevalence, Clinical Features, and Risk Factors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Background Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic and recurrent inflammatory disease with a global prevalence of 1-4%, characterized by multiple painful nodules, abscesses, and fistulas that form scars in intertriginous regions (i.e., inguinal, axillary, mammary). HS is a complex and debilitating disease with a negative impact on quality of life. We aim to determine the prevalence, clinical features, risk factors, and comorbidities of HS. Methodology A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in King Abdulaziz Medical City from 2016 to 2020. Information of all confirmed cases of HS was extracted via computerized medical records. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 24 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Categorical data were calculated based on frequency and percentage using the chi-square test to obtain p-values. Results Our initial search yielded 196 cases, of which 13 were excluded due to incomplete medical information. The prevalence of HS was 1.29%. The mean age was 27 years, with a male predominance. More than one-third of our patients were morbidly obese, and most of the patients were in Hurley stage 1 of both genders. The most commonly affected area was the axilla, followed by the inguinal area. The most common coexisting disease was diabetes mellitus type 2, followed by lipid disorders and acne. Conclusions This study documents the common demographic and clinical features of HS. It is a challenging disease in terms of detection and management, and it is critical to raise awareness among the public and physicians to minimize the devastating impact on HS patients.

Erythema ab igne masking cutaneous metastasis of colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Skin metastasis commonly manifest as subcutaneous or intradermal violaceous nodules that coalesce with a firm rubbery appearance. Few cases reported an erythema ab igne-like appearance in the presence of internal malignancy. We report a case of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma with erythema ab igne-like presentation. We also review cases of erythema ab igne in association with internal malignancy.

Medical Students' Insights Towards Patient Safety.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore Saudi Arabian medical students' perceptions of patient safety. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September 2019. The Attitudes to Patient Safety Questionnaire (APSQ III) was used to explore undergraduate medical students' attitudes towards and knowledge of PS. The main outcomes measured were the APSQ III's nine domains. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and students' attitudes were communicated as mean scores ± standard deviations. RESULTS: A total of 301 participants were included in this study (response rate: 85.75%). Six domains reflected a positive attitude while three domains showed a neutral attitude. The domain of 'team functioning' had the highest mean score (5.8) followed by 'working hours as a cause of error' (5.6) and 'error inevitability' (5.4). There was a significant difference between gender in the domain 'patient involvement in reducing error' (P = 0.012) and 'importance of patient safety (PS) in the curriculum' (P = 0.001). In addition, the 'importance of PS in the curriculum' domain was significantly different across different age groups (P = 0.039). CONCLUSION: Medical students were highly interested in PS and recommended implementing a comprehensive undergraduate PS programme to fulfil their educational needs.

Assessment of dermatologists' perception of utilizing teledermatology during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To assess teledermatology (TD) perception among dermatologists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the most common advantages and disadvantages of TD. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey-based study to address Saudi dermatologist perceptions of TD from July 2020 to December 2020, during Covid-19 pandemic. RESULTS: Out of 664 emails sent, 107 complete responses were returned. Approximately 40.2% used TD through phone calls, followed by those who used a virtual clinic (32.7%). Also, the best way to use TD, according to respondents, was for triage before inpatient and outpatient visits. When we compared the use of TD in the outpatient and inpatient settings, outpatient responses always had more positive attitudes than inpatients. The most important benefit of TD is to reduce the risk of pandemic infections (69%). More than half of the participants sometimes used TD for diagnosis (n=63, 58.9%) and management (n=59, 55.1%), and 69 (64.5%) considered using it in the future. CONCLUSION: Our survey-based study indicates that TD is an important part in the future dermatology because our participants agreed that TD decreases cost, increases access to dermatology care, and reduces the risk of pandemic infections. And it is necessary to establish an infrastructure for TD that protects patient's privacy and ensures accurate diagnosis.

Effective reinforcements for thermoplastics based on carbon nanotubes of oil fly ash.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely investigated for preparing polymer nanocomposites, owing to their unique mechanical properties. However, dispersing CNTs uniformly in a polymer matrix and controlling their entanglement/agglomeration are still big technical challenges to be overcome. The costs of their raw materials and production are also still high. In this work, we propose the use of CNTs grown on oil fly ash to solve these issues. The CNTs of oil fly ash were evaluated as reinforcing materials for some common thermoplastics. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) was mainly reinforced with various weight fractions of CNTs. Xylene was used as a solvent to dissolve HDPE and to uniformly disperse the CNTs. Significantly enhanced mechanical properties of HDPE reinforced at a low weight fraction of these CNTs (1-2 wt.%), mainly the tensile strength, Young's modulus, stiffness, and hardness, were observed. The tensile strength and Young's modulus were enhanced by ~20 and 38%, respectively. Moreover, the nanoindentation results were found to be in support to these findings. Polycarbonate, polypropylene, and polystyrene were also preliminarily evaluated after reinforcement with 1 wt.% CNTs. The tensile strength and Young's Modulus were increased after reinforcement with CNTs. These results demonstrate that the CNTs of the solid waste, oil fly ash, might serve as an appropriate reinforcing material for different thermoplastics polymers.