Assessment of 12 qualitative RT-PCR commercial kits for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The emergence of the novel coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the late months of 2019 had the officials to declare a public health emergency leading to a global response. Public measurements rely on an accurate diagnosis of individuals infected with the virus by using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The aim of our study is to relate the fundamental clinical and analytical performance of SARS-CoV-2 (RT-PCR) commercial kits. A total of 94 clinical samples were selected. Generally, 400 µl of each respiratory specimen was subjected to extraction using ExiPrep 96 Viral RNA Kit. All kits master mix preparation, cycling protocol, thermocycler, and results interpretation were carried out according to the manufacturer's instructions of use and recommendations. The performance of the kits was comparable except for the LYRA kit as it was less sensitive (F = 67, p < .001). Overall, four kits scored a sensitivity of 100% including: BGI, IQ Real, Sansure, and RADI. For specificity, all the tested kits scored above 95%. The performance of these commercial kits by gene target showed no significant change in CT values which indicates that kits disparities are mainly linked to the oligonucleotide of the gene target. We believe that most of the commercially available RT-PCR kits included in this study can be used for routine diagnosis of patients with SARS-CoV-2. We recommend including kits with multiple targets in order to monitor the virus changes over time.

Towards Modified Entropy Mutual Information Feature Selection to Forecast Medium-Term Load Using a Deep Learning Model in Smart Homes.

Over the last decades, load forecasting is used by power companies to balance energy demand and supply. Among the several load forecasting methods, medium-term load forecasting is necessary for grid's maintenance planning, settings of electricity prices, and harmonizing energy sharing arrangement. The forecasting of the month ahead electrical loads provides the information required for the interchange of energy among power companies. For accurate load forecasting, this paper proposes a model for medium-term load forecasting that uses hourly electrical load and temperature data to predict month ahead hourly electrical loads. For data preprocessing, modified entropy mutual information-based feature selection is used. It eliminates the redundancy and irrelevancy of features from the data. We employ the conditional restricted Boltzmann machine (CRBM) for the load forecasting. A meta-heuristic optimization algorithm Jaya is used to improve the CRBM's accuracy rate and convergence. In addition, the consumers' dynamic consumption behaviors are also investigated using a discrete-time Markov chain and an adaptive k-means is used to group their behaviors into clusters. We evaluated the proposed model using GEFCom2012 US utility dataset. Simulation results confirm that the proposed model achieves better accuracy, fast convergence, and low execution time as compared to other existing models in the literature.

Evaluation of Knowledge About Gestational Diabetes Among Primigravidae Versus Multigravidae in Saudi Arabia: A Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a subtype of diabetes that is discovered during pregnancy and may disappear after puerperium. It has an impact on the well-being of expectant mothers and fetuses. Many women have a poor level of knowledge regarding GDM, especially regarding risk factors, diagnosis, and the role of insulin in the management. Also, knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding GDM are influenced by multiple factors. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of knowledge among primigravidae versus multigravidas regarding GDM. Additionally, the study sought to identify the factors that are associated with high and low levels of knowledge regarding GDM. METHODOLOGY: This is a prospective, cross-sectional study, conducted in different regions of Saudi Arabia and included 482 women who had a pregnancy history or were currently pregnant. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of two parts. A pilot study was carried out to evaluate the validity of the questionnaire. RESULTS: The study data showed that a substantial portion of respondents have had one pregnancy, while there is a relatively even distribution among those with two (n=89, 18.50%), three (n=75, 15.60%), or four or more pregnancies (n=71, 14.70%). Of the participants, 65.6% had good knowledge regarding GDM. It was also found that there were significant differences between primigravidae and multigravidae. CONCLUSION: One-third of the participants in both groups had poor knowledge with significant variation in knowledge between primigravidae and multigravidae. The importance of screening and fasting before testing received widespread recognition, as did the role of diet and exercise in treatment. It is recommended that targeted educational efforts and awareness campaigns be launched to enhance knowledge about GDM among pregnant women in Saudi Arabia.

A Retrospective Study on the Avoidability of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Infections in a University Hospital in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt infection is a major complication and the main cause of shunt failure, contributing to a high rate of morbidity and mortality among patients requiring prolonged hospitalization. Shunt infection-related complications are considered a global burden of hydrocephalus worldwide. In our hospital, King Fahad Hospital of the University, the rate of infections in similar cases reached 8% during the period from 1999 to 2001; an increase in this rate was observed in the past two years. This study analyzed the infections that occur after ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement in patients with hydrocephalus and related conditions during the period from January 2012 to April 2017. The objectives of this study were to analyze the rate of cerebrospinal fluid infections in different age groups at the King Fahd Hospital of the University and to identify the causative pathogens and methods of reducing the rate and consequences of such infections. In this retrospective study, the electronic medical records of 266 patients were reviewed and those of 131 patients were included and analyzed. We found that the prevalence rate of shunt-related infections was 24.4%, which indicates the importance of this problem. Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most commonly implicated microorganism. The most affected age groups were those of preschool children and infants. Individuals who were older than 74 years were the least affected. It was found that delayed infections were the most common type of VP shunt infection among the study population and there was no difference in the most common organisms between early, delayed, and late infections. The mean duration of antibiotic treatment used was 19.76 days. In conclusion, postoperative infections are significantly common in patients who undergo shunt-related surgeries.