Short-Term Solar Irradiance Prediction Based on Adaptive Extreme Learning Machine and Weather Data.

Concerns over fossil fuels and depletable energy sources have motivated renewable energy sources utilization, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) power. Utilities have started penetrating the existing primary grid with renewable energy sources. However, penetrating the grid with photovoltaic energy sources degrades the stability of the whole system because photovoltaic power depends on solar irradiance, which is highly intermittent. This paper proposes a prediction method for non-stationary solar irradiance. The proposed method uses an adaptive extreme learning machine. The extreme learning machine method uses approximated sigmoid and hyper-tangent functions to ensure faster computational time and more straightforward microcontroller implementation. The proposed method is analyzed using the hourly weather data from a specific site at Najran University. The data are preprocessed, trained, tested, and validated. Several evaluation metrics, such as the root mean square error, mean square error, and mean absolute error, are used to evaluate and compare the proposed method with other recently introduced approaches. The results show that the proposed method can be used to predict solar irradiance with high accuracy, as the mean square error is 0.1727. The proposed approach is implemented using a solar irradiance sensor made of a PV cell, a temperature sensor, and a low-cost microcontroller.

Body weight and metabolic risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes on a self-selected high-protein low-carbohydrate diet.

PURPOSE: We previously reported beneficial glucoregulatory effects of a fully provided carbohydrate-reduced, high-protein (CRHP) diet in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a crossover 2 × 6-week trial, in which patients maintained their body weight. Here, we investigated physiological changes during an additional 6-month period on a self-selected and self-prepared CRHP diet. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with T2DM were instructed to consume a CRHP diet (30% of energy from carbohydrate and 30% from protein) for 24 weeks, after an initial 2 × 6-week trial when all food was prepared and provided to them. Patients received dietary advice every 2 weeks. At weeks 0, 6, 12 and 36, they underwent a 3-h intravenous glucose tolerance test, a 4-h mixed meal test, and a 48-h continuous glucose monitoring. Liver, muscle, pancreas, and visceral fat contents were measured by magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: During the 24-week self-selected diet period (weeks 12-36), body weight, visceral fat, liver fat, and glycated haemoglobin were maintained at the same levels achieved at the end of the fully provided diet period, and were still lower than at baseline (P < 0.05). Postprandial insulinaemia and insulin secretion were significantly greater (P < 0.05). At week 36, fasting insulin and C-peptide levels increased (P < 0.01) and daily glycaemia decreased further (P < 0.05) when compared with the end of the fully provided diet period. CONCLUSION: Substituting dietary carbohydrate for protein and fat has metabolic benefits in patients with T2DM. These beneficial effects are maintained or augmented over the next 6 months when patients self-select and self-prepare this diet in a dietitian-supported setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02764021.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria: a 5-year retrospective analysis at a multi-hospital healthcare system in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Studying time-related changes in susceptible pathogens causing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is vital in improving local antimicrobial and infection control practices. OBJECTIVES: Describe susceptibility patterns to several antimicrobials in gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens isolated from patients causing HAIs at three private tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia over a 5-year period. METHODS: Data on trends of antimicrobial susceptibility among bacteria causing HAIs events in children and adults at three tertiary private hospitals located in Riyadh and Qassim, Saudi Arabia, were collected retrospectively between 2015 and 2019 using the surveillance data datasets. RESULTS: Over a 5-year period, 38,624 pathogens caused 17,539 HAI events in 17,566 patients. About 9450 (53.8%) of patients who suffered HAIs were females and the average age was 41.7 ± 14.3 years (78.1% were adults and 21.9% were children). Gram-negative pathogens were 2.3-times more likely to cause HAIs compared to gram-positive bacteria (71.9% vs. 28.1%). The ranking of causative pathogens in decreasing order was: Escherichia coli (38%), Klebsiella species (15.1%), and Staphylococcus aureus (12.6%). Gram-positive isolates were mostly susceptible to linezolid (91.8%) whereas they were resistant to ampicillin (52.6%), cefoxitin (54.2%), and doxycycline (55.9%). Gram-negative isolates were mostly sensitive to tigecycline (95%) whereas they were resistant to cefotaxime (49.5%) and cefixime (59.6%). During the 5 years, there were relatively stable susceptibility patterns to all tested antimicrobials, except for cefotaxime which shown a susceptibility reduction by 41.4%, among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species. An increase in the susceptibility of Acinetobacter and Enterobacter and Citrobacter species to all studied antimicrobials was observed except for colistin that had a slight sensitivity reduction in 2019 by 4.3% against Acinetobacter species. However, we noted reduced sensitivity of MRSA, CoNS and Enterococcus species to gentamicin; and increased resistance of MRSA to linezolid and vancomycin. CONCLUSION: The observed increase in susceptibility of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to studied antimicrobials is important; however, reduced sensitivity of MRSA, CoNS and Enterococcus species to gentamicin; and increased resistance of MRSA to linezolid and vancomycin is a serious threat and calls for effective antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Fears of compassion magnify the harmful effects of threat of COVID-19 on mental health and social safeness across 21 countries.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is a massive global health crisis with damaging consequences to mental health and social relationships. Exploring factors that may heighten or buffer the risk of mental health problems in this context is thus critical. Whilst compassion may be a protective factor, in contrast fears of compassion increase vulnerability to psychosocial distress and may amplify the impact of the pandemic on mental health. This study explores the magnifying effects of fears of compassion on the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on depression, anxiety and stress, and social safeness. METHODS: Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) were recruited across 21 countries worldwide, and completed self-report measures of perceived threat of COVID-19, fears of compassion (for self, from others, for others), depression, anxiety, stress and social safeness. RESULTS: Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased depression, anxiety and stress. The three flows of fears of compassion predicted higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress and lower social safeness. All fears of compassion moderated (heightened) the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on psychological distress. Only fears of compassion from others moderated the effects of likelihood of contracting COVID-19 on social safeness. These effects were consistent across all countries. CONCLUSIONS: Fears of compassion have a universal magnifying effect on the damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and social safeness. Compassion focused interventions and communications could be implemented to reduce resistances to compassion and promote mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.

Loss-of-Function Mutations in ELMO2 Cause Intraosseous Vascular Malformation by Impeding RAC1 Signaling.

Vascular malformations are non-neoplastic expansions of blood vessels that arise due to errors during angiogenesis. They are a heterogeneous group of sporadic or inherited vascular disorders characterized by localized lesions of arteriovenous, capillary, or lymphatic origin. Vascular malformations that occur inside bone tissue are rare. Herein, we report loss-of-function mutations in ELMO2 (which translates extracellular signals into cellular movements) that are causative for autosomal-recessive intraosseous vascular malformation (VMOS) in five different families. Individuals with VMOS suffer from life-threatening progressive expansion of the jaw, craniofacial, and other intramembranous bones caused by malformed blood vessels that lack a mature vascular smooth muscle layer. Analysis of primary fibroblasts from an affected individual showed that absence of ELMO2 correlated with a significant downregulation of binding partner DOCK1, resulting in deficient RAC1-dependent cell migration. Unexpectedly, elmo2-knockout zebrafish appeared phenotypically normal, suggesting that there might be human-specific ELMO2 requirements in bone vasculature homeostasis or genetic compensation by related genes. Comparative phylogenetic analysis indicated that elmo2 originated upon the appearance of intramembranous bones and the jaw in ancestral vertebrates, implying that elmo2 might have been involved in the evolution of these novel traits. The present findings highlight the necessity of ELMO2 for maintaining vascular integrity, specifically in intramembranous bones.

Time to Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Service Referral as a Predictor of Length of Stay.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the time to referral (TTR) to psychiatric consultation and the length of stay (LOS) after adjusting for medical comorbity. METHODS: Using a naturalistic study design, we collected and analyzed inpatient consultation-liaison psychiatry service data over a 12-month period from 2 Canadian hospital sites. Data collected included demographic characteristics, referral characteristics, Charlson Comorbidity Index to measure medical comorbidity severity, psychiatric diagnoses, type of psychiatric intervention, and time variables, namely TTR and LOS. We modeled the relationship LOS and TTR after adjusting for Charlson Index using a 3-component finite mixture of exponential regression models. RESULTS: A total of 814 patients were included. The median LOS was 12 days (interquartile range : 4-28 days). Median TTR was 3 days (interquartile range: 1,9), and median Charlson Index was 5 (interquartile range 3,6). Bivariate analysis indicated a strong positive correlation among LOS and TTR (Spearman correlation: 0.77, p < 0.0001) and Charlson Index(Spearman correlation: 0.34, p < 0.0001), respectively. After controlling for Charlson Index, we observe that TTR was significantly associated with LOS in each of the 3 components of the mixture of exponential regression models. Persons with longer TTR have longer expected LOS. Graphical summaries suggest that the mixture of exponential regression model provides a good fit to these LOS response data. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with longer TTR had significantly longer LOS. The association between TTR and LOS holds after controlling for severity of medical comorbidity. Our results support the role of integrated and proactive consultation-liaison psychiatry programs aimed at reducing TTR to improve LOS outcomes.

High-performance biosensors based on angular plasmonic of a multilayer design: new materials for enhancing sensitivity of one-dimensional designs.

In this study, a theoretical examination is conducted to investigate the biosensing capabilities of different surface plasmon resonance (SPR) based hybrid multilayer structures, which are composed of two-dimensional (2D) materials. The transfer matrix formulation is implemented to calibrate the results of this study. A He-Ne laser of wavelength = 632.8 nm is used to simulate the results. Many permutations and combinations of layers of silver (Ag), aluminum oxynitride (AlON), and 2D materials were utilized to obtain the optimized structure. Ten dielectrics and twelve 2D materials were tested for a highly sensitive multilayer hybrid sensing design, which is composed of the prism (Ohara S-FPL53)/Ag/AlON/WS2/AlON/sensing medium. The optimized biosensing design is capable of sensing and detecting analytes whose refractive variation is limited between 1.33 and 1.34. The maximum sensitivity, which is achieved by using the proposed design is 488.2° per RIU. Additionally, the quality factor, figure of merit, detection limit, and qualification limit values of the optimized design were also calculated to obtain a true picture of the sensing capabilities. The designing approach based on the multilayer hybrid SPR biosensors has the potential to develop various plasmonic biosensors that are related to food, chemical, and biomedical engineering fields.

Dendritic fibromyxolipoma with intramuscular involvement: A case mimicking slow flow vascular malformation on imaging.

Dendritic fibromyxolipoma (DFML) is a benign, very rare, and slow-growing soft tissue tumor commonly involving the muscular fascia of the foot, calf, shoulders, back, or head and neck muscles. Many authors consider dendritic fibromyxolipoma a variant of spindle cell lipoma composed of a plexiform vascular pattern, dendritic cytoplasmic processes, and keloidal collagen. Only a few cases have been reported in the shoulder region, and the presented case represents the second case in English literature whose histopathology showed intramuscular involvement. Recognition of such an entity is essential because it is considered a scarce type of benign tumor that can be mistaken for other aggressive neoplasms of myxoid pathology. We present a case of a dendritic fibromyxolipoma around the right shoulder with intramuscular involvement to the superficial fibers of the right trapezius muscle.

Two versus Three Infusion Regimens of N-Acetylcysteine for Acetaminophen Overdose.

BACKGROUND: Acetaminophen overdose is a common clinical condition, often leading to liver toxicity. Current treatments involve the three-infusion N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) regimen (FDA-labeled), which may be complex, time-consuming, and need to be changed. An alternative uses two infusions instead, which offers possible advantages regarding simplicity and administration errors. This study sought to compare the respective efficacies and safety outcomes when treating acute acetaminophen overdose among children and adolescents. METHODS: At Montreal Children's Hospital, a retrospective study was conducted comparing pre-2003 FDA-labelled three-infusion NAC therapy with a two-infusion regimen. Information was collected regarding patient demographics, NAC administration details, errors, rates of hepatotoxicity, and adverse reactions, and the statistical test Chi-square test was employed to obtain the results. RESULTS: A total of 126 patients met the inclusion criteria. Of these patients, 65 received a two-infusion regimen, and 61 patients received the FDA-labeled regimen. The two-infusion group experienced significantly fewer administration errors (4 errors vs. 23 errors; p < 0.001), while the rates of hepatotoxicity between them were similar. There were no instances of liver transplantation or mortality due to either regimen. Adverse reactions occurred equally frequently between both regimens with no discernible difference-the meantime to administer NAC was 9 h for the two-infusion regimen and 8.5 h for FDA-labeled regimen groups, respectively. Three cases of hepatitis were successfully treated with timely NAC therapy, and no liver transplantation or mortality occurred. Adverse reactions, including anaphylactoid reactions, were observed in both groups but were resolved when temporarily stopped and restarted at a slower infusion rate. CONCLUSIONS: The two-infusion NAC regimen proved similar efficacy at protecting liver damage and improving patient outcomes compared to its FDA-labeled three-stage counterpart, with significantly fewer administration errors for this version of NAC treatment, suggesting potential advantages in terms of safety and simplicity. Future research should investigate larger cohorts and more variables to validate these results further and optimize the management of acetaminophen overdose cases; further investigation should focus on dosing strategies, personalized approaches, and long-term patient care in this context.

Mothers' Awareness of Obesity and Its Complications Among Children in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Awareness about obesity, its complications, and an age-appropriate, healthy, active lifestyle are essential to maintaining a healthy life. This study aimed to determine the level of awareness Saudi Arabian caregivers have regarding obesity and regular physical activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a survey was conducted among parents in Saudi Arabia using a structured questionnaire. A convenience and snowball sampling method was employed to recruit participants from various regions of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire assessed parents' knowledge about obesity, its complications, and healthy, active lifestyle practices. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and associations between variables were examined using chi-squared tests. RESULTS: In this study, responses from 256 moms in various Saudi Arabian locations were included in the analysis. Merely 35.5% of the participants demonstrated good knowledge about obesity and its complications. Regarding the promotion of a healthy, active lifestyle, only 11.3% of the participants were aware that kids should eat five types of vegetables and fruits daily, whereas 85% were aware that kids should have <2 hours a day of screen time, and 75.4% were aware that kids should be engaged in physical activity for at least one hour daily. CONCLUSION: This study highlights a concerning gap in knowledge among caregivers in Saudi Arabia concerning obesity and its consequences, with merely 35.5% of participants demonstrating a good understanding of obesity and its complications. Alarmingly, only a fraction (11.3%) showed awareness of the importance of promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. These findings underscore the urgent need for enhanced awareness initiatives focused on obesity and its prevention to ensure optimal child health development, avert health issues, and strengthen positive dynamics between parents and children.

Ensuring radiation safety: Evaluating dose and compliance among medical staff at King Faisal Medical Complex, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Radiation is an integral part of routine medical practice, but it carries a risk to the health of medical staff. Hence, it should be assessed periodically. The study's goal was to quantify the levels of radiation exposure for medical staff at King Faisal Medical Complex (KFMC), Taif City Saudi Arabia, and to assess their radiation protective procedures in practice. METHODS: The study looked at the thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) records of 50 medical professionals who were exposed to radiation while working at KFMC from 2019 to 2020 in Taif city, Saudi Arabia. In Riyadh, radiation exposure is read from skin TLDs using Harshaw model 6600 plus detectors. The Excel software was utilized to process the obtained data for calculating effective doses. A questionnaire was also distributed to the medical staff to assess their radiation protection procedures. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) program version 23 was used to analyze the obtained data. RESULTS: The mean annual effective doses of the medical staff in 2019 and 2020 were determined to be 1.14 mSv and 1.4645 mSv, respectively, with no significant difference in effective doses between males and females in either year. The socio-demographic features of the medical personnel were examined, and the findings revealed that the majority of participants were male radiological technologists. The rate of adherence to radiation protection techniques was 68%, with a normally distributed dispersal. The amount of adherence varied significantly depending on nationality, occupation, and academic qualification. CONCLUSION: According to the research, the mean annual effective dosage for medical professionals at KFMC was significantly below the recommended level, indicating satisfactory compliance with the ALARA radiation safety concept.

Parents' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Baby Walkers, Baby Car Seats, Oral Health, and Child Screen Time in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Awareness of age-appropriate milestones and developmental stages is crucial for parents to identify any potential delays or concerns early on and seek appropriate interventions. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of caregivers in Saudi Arabia regarding baby walkers, baby car seats, early dental visits, and screen time for young children. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among parents in Saudi Arabia using a structured questionnaire. A convenience and snowball sampling method was employed to recruit participants from various regions of the country. The questionnaire aimed to assess parents' knowledge regarding the recommended use of baby walkers and baby car seats, their awareness of the importance of early dental visits, and their understanding of appropriate screen time guidelines. Additionally, the survey explored parents' practices toward these recommendations. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, and associations between variables were examined using the chi-squared test. Results A total of 1318 participants were included. The analysis revealed that the majority of the participants (n=1066,81.3%) use a baby walker, while only (n=292,22.3%) consider that they should never be used. Overall, (n=388,29.6%) of the participants never used a car seat for their infants or children. In terms of early childhood dental visits, approximately (n=518,39.5%) of the participants reported actually taking their child to the dentist within the recommended timeframe. Regarding screen time for children, (n=148,11.3%) of the participants reported that their children spend >5 hours daily in front of the screen.  Conclusions Raising parents' awareness about recent childcare recommendations and safe practices is crucial for promoting optimal child development, preventing health problems, facilitating evidence-based decision-making, reducing risks, enhancing parental confidence and empowerment, and nurturing positive parent-child relationships.

Improved Wireless Medical Cyber-Physical System (IWMCPS) Based on Machine Learning.

Medical cyber-physical systems (MCPS) represent a platform through which patient health data are acquired by emergent Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, preprocessed locally, and managed through improved machine intelligence algorithms. Wireless medical cyber-physical systems are extensively adopted in the daily practices of medicine, where vast amounts of data are sampled using wireless medical devices and sensors and passed to decision support systems (DSSs). With the development of physical systems incorporating cyber frameworks, cyber threats have far more acute effects, as they are reproduced in the physical environment. Patients' personal information must be shielded against intrusions to preserve their privacy and confidentiality. Therefore, every bit of information stored in the database needs to be kept safe from intrusion attempts. The IWMCPS proposed in this work takes into account all relevant security concerns. This paper summarizes three years of fieldwork by presenting an IWMCPS framework consisting of several components and subsystems. The IWMCPS architecture is developed, as evidenced by a scenario including applications in the medical sector. Cyber-physical systems are essential to the healthcare sector, and life-critical and context-aware health data are vulnerable to information theft and cyber-okayattacks. Reliability, confidence, security, and transparency are some of the issues that must be addressed in the growing field of MCPS research. To overcome the abovementioned problems, we present an improved wireless medical cyber-physical system (IWMCPS) based on machine learning techniques. The heterogeneity of devices included in these systems (such as mobile devices and body sensor nodes) makes them prone to many attacks. This necessitates effective security solutions for these environments based on deep neural networks for attack detection and classification. The three core elements in the proposed IWMCPS are the communication and monitoring core, the computational and safety core, and the real-time planning and administration of resources. In this study, we evaluated our design with actual patient data against various security attacks, including data modification, denial of service (DoS), and data injection. The IWMCPS method is based on a patient-centric architecture that preserves the end-user's smartphone device to control data exchange accessibility. The patient health data used in WMCPSs must be well protected and secure in order to overcome cyber-physical threats. Our experimental findings showed that our model attained a high detection accuracy of 92% and a lower computational time of 13 sec with fewer error analyses.

Uncommon association: Pseudomonas luteola bacteremia in an immunocompetent individual with acute tonsillitis - A case report.

Pseudomonas luteola, formerly known as Chryseomonas luteola, is an infrequently encountered aerobic gram-negative bacterium. While it has been identified as a potential human bacterial pathogen, its connection to specific clinical conditions remains limited. Here, we present an exceptional case of a 27-year-old immunocompetent man with acute tonsillitis, who developed P. luteola bacteremia. This unique correlation, not extensively documented in previous studies, sheds light on the potential pathogenicity of P. luteola in patients with acute tonsillitis.

A Systematic Review on Food Recommender Systems for Diabetic Patients.

Recommender systems are currently a relevant tool for facilitating access for online users, to information items in search spaces overloaded with possible options. With this goal in mind, they have been used in diverse domains such as e-commerce, e-learning, e-tourism, e-health, etc. Specifically, in the case of the e-health scenario, the computer science community has been focused on building recommender systems tools for supporting personalized nutrition by delivering user-tailored foods and menu recommendations, incorporating the health-aware dimension to a larger or lesser extent. However, it has been also identified the lack of a comprehensive analysis of the recent advances specifically focused on food recommendations for the domain of diabetic patients. This topic is particularly relevant, considering that in 2021 it was estimated that 537 million adults were living with diabetes, being unhealthy diets a major risk factor that leads to such an issue. This paper is centered on presenting a survey of food recommender systems for diabetic patients, supported by the PRISMA 2020 framework, and focused on characterizing the strengths and weaknesses of the research developed in this direction. The paper also introduces future directions that can be followed in the next future, for guaranteeing progress in this necessary research area.

Optical absorption performance of CZTS/ZnO thin film solar cells comprising anti-reflecting coating of texturing configuration.

This paper introduces a novel design of a thin-film solar cell based on CZTS and ZnO composite materials with the help of ITO as the front contact layer. This study primarily focuses on how the cells' optical absorbance at visible wavelengths can be improved. COMSOL Multiphysics is employed as a powerful tool for the investigation of the numerical simulation. The numerical findings showed that the optimum thicknesses of the ITO and ZnO are 80 and 350 nm, respectively. In this regard, with a normal incidence, a wide range of incoming light wavelengths from 450 nm to 800 nm might result in optical absorption of the examined cell of above 0.9. However, this value decreased significantly to reach less than 0.75 when the angle of incidence increased to 50°. To minimize this reduction, on the top surface of the cell, a texture-designed anti-reflective coating designed from a single period of well-known one-dimensional photonic crystals is deposited. The findings demonstrated that the cell's absorption at normal incidence could reach over 0.96 through the overall incident wavelengths. Therefore, CZTS/ZnO thin-film solar cells with an anti-reflecting coating of texturing configuration showed enormous potential for manufacturing effective solar cells.

Prevalence of Parent-Reported Food Allergies and Associated Risk Predictors Among Children in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The worldwide prevalence of food allergies has been increasing recently. Due to limited data on food allergy (FA) in Saudi Arabia, this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of parent-reported food allergies and clinical manifestations in children in Taif, Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based observational study was conducted from July 2019 to December 2020. A total of 508 parents of school children (aged five to eight years) responded to the questions based on the child's health and food allergies. RESULTS: FA (16.1%) was observed as the most common type of allergy among children. The prevalence of other atopic diseases was estimated at 30.5%. The most common allergy-causing foods were eggs (4.9%), peanuts (2.7%), and sesame (2.5%). Rash, itching without rash, and vomiting were the most common FA symptoms. The presence of childhood eczema (p< 0.0001), allergic rhinitis (p= 0.005), and the father's history of allergy (p= 0.005) were all significant and independent predictors/risk factors for FA among the studied children. CONCLUSION: We noted substantial parents' concern with food allergies among children in Saudi Arabia, which necessitates the establishment of effective diagnosis and treatment strategies and primary prevention initiatives.

Topical Corticosteroid Phobia Among Parents of Children with Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)- A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Anxiety about using topical corticosteroids (TCS) for childrens among parents and caretakers is a common cause of treatment failure and an overall decline in the child's quality of life. The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives and worries of parents of Atopic dermatitis (AD) children regarding TCS. Additionally, we investigate the degree of phobia in relation to the use of the TCS. Materials and Methods: A convenience sample of 301 parents of children who had been identified with atopic dermatitis from two hospitals in Taif city were enrolled in this study. Parents who chose to participate were sent a questionnaire measuring their level of fear of TCS using the TOPICOP© scale, which also included inquiries about their demographics and clinical characteristics. Multivariate analysis was used to determine what factors influence people's overall levels of fear. Results: The median global TOPICOP score was 66.6% (IQR 60.4-75%), SD 12.83%, which showed that nearly two-thirds of the participants showed corticosteroid phobia. A multifactorial ANOVA model showed that parents who had a female child with AD and mothers who had experienced drug allergies had a significant influence on TOPICOP scores (P<0.05). Conclusion: Topical corticosteroid phobia is widespread among parents of children patients with AD in Taif. Regarding the utilization of TCS, we place a strong emphasis on the significant role that physicians play as sources of reliable information and proper education.

Effect of Nasal Continuous Airway Pressure With and Without Surfactant Administration for the Treatment of Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Preterm Neonates.

Background Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome is a common cause of respiratory distress in newborns, often resulting from a lack of surfactant production or premature lung breakdown. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of nasal continuous airway pressure with and without surfactant administration for the treatment of respiratory distress syndrome in preterm neonates. Methodology A comparative analytical study was conducted on 100 neonates (group A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) with surfactant = 50 vs. group B CPAP only= 50 ). The group was allocated to the patient according to sequence. In group A, the neonates were given surfactant by the INSURE (intubation, surfactant, extubation) technique via an endotracheal tube with a single dose of 100 mg/kg/dose within the first hours of life followed by CPAP. In group B, the neonates were given only CPAP after birth. At follow-up after 24 hours, pH, pCO2, pO2, positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), and FiO2 were documented. All information was recorded on a predesigned questionnaire and results were subjected to statistical analysis to determine the significance of observed differences. Collected data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Both groups were compared for mean pH, pCO2, pO2, PEEP, and FiO2 using an independent-sample t-test and effectiveness using a chi-square test. A significant difference was considered when the p-value was ≤0.05. Results Group A had a mean age of 4.84 ± 0.95 hours, while group B had a mean age of 5.5 ± 1.26 hours (p = 0.04). Gender distribution was similar in both groups, with 46.0% males and 54.0% females in group A, and 48.0% males and 52.0% females in group B (p = 0.841). Regarding post-treatment blood gas analysis, group A had a mean pH of 7.30 ± 0.05, and group B had a mean pH of 7.302 ± 0.07. While there was no significant difference in pO2 levels (p = 0.38), there was a substantial difference in pCO2 levels, with group A at 38.26 ± 4.35 and group B at 35.45 ± 4.36 (p = 0.02).CPAP parameters also showed a statistically significant difference in PEEP pCO2, with group A at 4.5 ± 0.73 and group B at 4.16 ± 0.37 (p = 0.004). After treatment, group A exhibited significant improvements in blood gas analysis and CPAP parameters compared to group B. Conclusions The study revealed that both CPAP with and without surfactant treatment effectively treat respiratory distress syndrome in preterm infants, with both being safe, effective, secure, and reducing side effects. However, CPAP treatment without surfactant is a non-invasive and cost-effective option.

Evaluation of the Antibacterial Activity of Quinoxaline Derivative Compound Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: While the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to rise globally, there is a fear regarding an increase in vancomycin resistance among S. aureus strains. As far back as the 1960s, MRSA was one of the world's most prevalent antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Among hospitalized patients and community members, MRSA is the cause of a significant number of infections. As a result of its resistance to classical beta-lactam and, in some cases, vancomycin antibiotics, efforts must be made as soon as feasible to find a new approach to fighting MRSA. Purpose: This study is designed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of quinoxaline derivative compound against MRSA in comparison with vancomycin as a reference drug. Methods: Sixty MRSA isolates were subjected to susceptibility testing by broth microdilution method for quinoxaline derivative compound and vancomycin. Each drug's minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined and compared. Results: Among the sixty MRSA isolates, most of the quinoxaline derivative compound MIC findings (56.7%) were 4 µg/mL compared to vancomycin MIC values (63.3%) of 4 µg/mL. In comparison, 20% of quinoxaline derivative compound MIC readings were 2 µg/mL, while the vancomycin MIC results were 6.7%. However, the overall proportion of MIC readings at ≤2 µg/mL for both antibacterial agents was equal (23.3%). None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin. Conclusion: This experiment revealed that most MRSA isolates were associated with low MICs (1-4 µg/mL) for quinoxaline derivative compound. Overall, the susceptibility of the quinoxaline derivative compound signifies a promising efficacy against MRSA and may set a novel treatment approach.