The Emirates Mars Mission.

The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) was launched to Mars in the summer of 2020, and is the first interplanetary spacecraft mission undertaken by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The mission has multiple programmatic and scientific objectives, including the return of scientifically useful information about Mars. Three science instruments on the mission's Hope Probe will make global remote sensing measurements of the Martian atmosphere from a large low-inclination orbit that will advance our understanding of atmospheric variability on daily and seasonal timescales, as well as vertical atmospheric transport and escape. The mission was conceived and developed rapidly starting in 2014, and had aggressive schedule and cost constraints that drove the design and implementation of a new spacecraft bus. A team of Emirati and American engineers worked across two continents to complete a fully functional and tested spacecraft and bring it to the launchpad in the middle of a global pandemic. EMM is being operated from the UAE and the United States (U.S.), and will make its data freely available.

The epidemiology of burns in Basra, Iraq.

Burns are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and an important public health problem in Iraq. The current study was undertaken to describe epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized burn patients and investigate in-hospital mortality. The study was undertaken at the Al-Fayhaa Burn Centre in Basra City through analyzing hospital records of patients admitted to the centre for a new burn injury between January and December 2016. Data were extracted from all accessible files, entered into Epidata and analyzed in Stata. Hospital records of 367 patients with an age range of 1 month to 77 years and a male to female ratio of 1:2 were analyzed. One third of admissions were children aged 0 to 5 years: the most common mechanisms of injury were flame (51%) and scalds (41.7%). Total body surface area (TBSA) burnt ranged from less than 1% to 100%, with a median of 30.0% (IQR 18.0, 45.0). Length of hospital stay ranged from 0 to 5 months, with a median of 8 days (IQR 4, 12.5). In-hospital mortality was 22% and the independent factors for death were TBSA and suicidal burns. Burns remain a major public health problem in Basra, especially in children, and require sustained multidisciplinary action for their prevention and management. Improving hospital records and computerizing them is essential for better assessment and follow-up of burn care practices.

Les brûlures sont une cause majeure de morbidité et de mortalité dans le monde, et un important problème de santé publique en Irak. Cette étude a pour but de décrire les caractéristiques épidémiologique et la mortalité des patients hospitalisés pour brûlure. Elle a été conduite à partir des dossiers des patients hospitalisés en 2016 dans le CTB de l'hôpital Al Fayhaa à Bassorah. Les données recueillies ont été entrée dans Epidata et analysées par Stata. Les dossiers de 367 patients, âgés de 1 mois à 77 ans (1,2 hommes/1 femme) ont été étudiés. Un tiers des admissions concernaient des enfants de moins de 5 ans. Un flamme était en cause dans 51% des cas, un liquide dans 41,7%. La surface atteinte était de 1 à 100% (médiane 30%, intervalle interquartile 4-12,5). La mortalité hospitalière était de 22%, les facteurs de risque indépendants étant la surface et le suicide. Les brûlures, en particulier chez l'enfant, demeurent un problème majeur de santé publique à Bassorah. Elles nécessitent des actions pluridisciplinaires, préventives comme curatives. L'amélioration et l'informatisation des dossiers médicaux est essentielle à l'évaluation et l'amélioration des soins.

Targeted disruption of the galectin-3 gene results in decreased susceptibility to multiple low dose streptozotocin-induced diabetes in mice.

Galectin 3 (Gal-3) is an antiapoptotic and a proinflammatory lectin. We hypothesized that the proinflammatory properties of Gal-3 may influence disease induction in the multiple low doses of streptozotocin model of diabetes. Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 Gal-3(+/+) and Gal-3(-/-) mice and disease monitored by blood glucose level, immuno-histology, insulin content of islets and expression of the proinflammatory cytokines, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-17, and iNOS in pancreatic lymph nodes. Gal-3(+/+) mice developed delayed and sustained hyperglycemia, mononuclear cellular infiltration and reduced insulin content of islets accompanied with expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Gal-3(-)/(-) mice were relatively resistant to diabetogenesis as evaluated by glycemia, quantitative histology and insulin content. Further, we observed the weaker expression of IFN-gamma and complete absence of TNF-alpha, and IL-17 in draining pancreatic lymph nodes. Macrophages, the first cells that infiltrate the islet in this model of diabetes, produce less TNF-alpha and NO in Gal-3(-/-) mice. Thus, Gal-3 is involved in immune mediated beta cell damage and is required for diabetogenesis in this model of disease.

New members of the interleukin-12 family of cytokines: IL-23 and IL-27 modulate autoimmune diabetes.

Multiple low doses of streptozotocin (5 x 40 mg/kg) given to susceptible male C57BL6 mice induced delayed and sustained hyperglycemia accompanied by body weight loss, mononuclear cell infiltration in the islet, and apoptosis of beta cells. Shorter regimes (4 x 40 mg/kg) did not have such effect. Administration of IL-23 at a dose of 400 ng/mL for 10 consecutive days concomitantly with this subdiabetogenic regimen of STZ, however, induced significant hyperglycemia, weight loss, and mononuclear cellular infiltration. The same regimen of IL-27 induced milder effect on glycemia and no weight loss inspite of a massive peri-islet and intra-islet infiltration of mononuclear cells. The molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of these cytokines on diabetogenesis is under study.

Epidemiological profile of malaria in a university hospital in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiological, clinical and hematological profile of laboratory-diagnosed malaria cases at King Fahd Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, during the period from January 1990 to December 1999, and to provide suitable recommendations accordingly. METHODS: This was a clinical case series study of confirmed cases presenting to King Fahd Hospital of the University during the period from January 1990 to December 1999. A specially designed form was used for data collection and 602, laboratory-confirmed cases of malaria were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: There were 602 cases with a mean age of 25.8 + 14.3 and a male to female ratio of 2.9:1. Less than half the cases were Saudis (42%), most of whom (93%) reported a history of travel to the Southwestern part of the Kingdom. The highest frequency of cases was observed in the years 1992, 1994 and 1998 and 40% of the cases were diagnosed during the months of February, March and September. Plasmodium falciparum was the most common species among Saudi (83%), Sudanese (72%) and Yemeni (64%) patients, while Plasmodium vivax was predominant among others. Most of these cases (75%) had a history of travel to their home countries (endemic areas). The most common clinical presentation was fever (97%), while the most common clinical signs were splenomegaly (9%) and jaundice (8%). Anemia (60%) and thrombocytopenia (53%) were the most common hematological findings. CONCLUSION: Although it appears that the Eastern Province is still free of indigenous malaria transmission, this could not be confirmed by the data. Imported cases, however represent a continuous threat due to the existence of such vectors as Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles fluviatilis, Anopheles sergentii and Anopheles superpictus and a large number of non-immune persons. It is recommended that malaria be always considered in the differential diagnosis of all acute fevers, especially among those with a history of travel to an endemic area. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is necessary. Chemoprophylaxis, when traveling to endemic areas is mandatory, as well as the use of other primary preventive measures to protect against mosquito bites.

Casualty risk reduction from safety seat belts in a desert country.

A prospective study was carried out between December 1991 and October 1992 to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hospitalized drivers regarding seat belt usage in United Arab Emirates (UAE). During this period, a total of 800 vehicle drivers were seen and treated in the Accident and Emergency Departments of two general hospitals. A total of 706 (88%) drivers gave consent for the study. The study showed that the rate of constant seat belt usage among drivers was 10.5%, and the rate of frequent seat belt usage was 5.8%. There was a statistically significant difference between seat belting and age groups (p = 0.0051). However, there were no significant statistical differences between seat belt usage versus non usage by sex, nationality and marital status. There were statistically significant differences between user and non-users of seat belts concerning their educational level and occupation. The results showed a reduction in the number of injuries due to usage of seat belts. Those patients who were not wearing seat belts were at risk twice as often as drivers who were restrained by belts. There was a statistically significant difference between the number of persons injured wearing and not wearing seat belts, (p = 0.032). It was observed that the majority of patients stated that seat belts are the best protective measure against all injuries (62.1%) and severe injuries (29.1%) of road traffic accidents. Also, there was strong support for the mandatory use of safety seat belts (56%). We may conclude that these data are encouraging, and would suggest general acceptance of seat belt legislation in the United Arab Emirates.