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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.
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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.
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Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2 , Dieta Rica em Proteínas e Pobre em Carboidratos , Glicemia , Automonitorização da Glicemia , Peso Corporal , Carboidratos da Dieta , Humanos , Insulina , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
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.
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Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Infecção Hospitalar/microbiologia , Atenção à Saúde , Bactérias Gram-Negativas/efeitos dos fármacos , Bactérias Gram-Positivas/efeitos dos fármacos , Hospitais , Adulto , Colistina , Farmacorresistência Bacteriana Múltipla/efeitos dos fármacos , Feminino , Bactérias Gram-Negativas/classificação , Bactérias Gram-Positivas/classificação , Humanos , Linezolida , Masculino , Testes de Sensibilidade Microbiana , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Retrospectivos , Arábia Saudita/epidemiologia , Sensibilidade e Especificidade , Tigeciclina , VancomicinaRESUMO
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.
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COVID-19 , Adulto , Ansiedade , Depressão , Empatia , Medo , Humanos , Saúde Mental , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
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.
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Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/genética , Osso e Ossos/irrigação sanguínea , Proteínas do Citoesqueleto/genética , Mutação/genética , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Malformações Vasculares/genética , Proteínas rac1 de Ligação ao GTP/metabolismo , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/deficiência , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/metabolismo , Adulto , Alelos , Animais , Movimento Celular , Proteínas do Citoesqueleto/deficiência , Proteínas do Citoesqueleto/metabolismo , Evolução Molecular , Feminino , Homozigoto , Humanos , Masculino , Fenótipo , Filogenia , Especificidade da Espécie , Malformações Vasculares/metabolismo , Malformações Vasculares/patologia , Peixe-Zebra/genética , Peixe-Zebra/fisiologia , Proteínas rac de Ligação ao GTP/genéticaRESUMO
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.
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Tempo de Internação/estatística & dados numéricos , Transtornos Mentais/terapia , Psiquiatria , Encaminhamento e Consulta/estatística & dados numéricos , Idoso , Canadá , Comorbidade , Feminino , Hospitalização , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Ontário , Estudos Prospectivos , Análise de Regressão , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
Medical image fusion (MIF) techniques are proficient in combining medical images in distinct morphologies to obtain a reliable medical analysis. A single modality image could not offer adequate data for an accurate analysis. Therefore, a novel multimodal MIF-based artificial intelligence (AI) method has been presented. MIF approaches fuse multimodal medical images for exact and reliable medical recognition. Multimodal MIF improves diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making by combining complementary data in different imaging modalities. This article presents a new multimodal medical image fusion model utilizing Modified DWT with an Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (MMIF-MDWTAOA) approach. The MMIF-MDWTAOA approach aims to generate a fused image with the significant details and features from each modality, leading to an elaborated depiction for precise interpretation by medical experts. The bilateral filtering (BF) approach is primarily employed for noise elimination. Next, the image decomposition process uses a modified discrete wavelet transform (MDWT) approach. However, the approximation coefficient of modality_1 and the detailed coefficient of modality_2 can be fused interchangeably. Furthermore, a fusion rule is derived from combining the multimodality data, and the AOA model is enforced to ensure the optimum selection of the fusion rule parameters. A sequence of simulations is accomplished to validate the enhanced output of the MMIF-MDWTAOA technique. The investigational validation of the MMIF-MDWTAOA technique showed the highest entropy values of 7.568 and 7.741 bits/pixel over other approaches.
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Algoritmos , Imagem Multimodal , Análise de Ondaletas , Humanos , Imagem Multimodal/métodos , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Interpretação de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Inteligência Artificial , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios X/métodosRESUMO
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.
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Infertility affects a significant number of humans. A supported reproduction technology was verified to ease infertility problems. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the best choices, and its success relies on the preference for a higher-quality embryo for transmission. These have been normally completed physically by testing embryos in a microscope. The traditional morphological calculation of embryos shows predictable disadvantages, including effort- and time-consuming and expected risks of bias related to individual estimations completed by specific embryologists. Different computer vision (CV) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques and devices have been recently applied in fertility hospitals to improve efficacy. AI addresses the imitation of intellectual performance and the capability of technologies to simulate cognitive learning, thinking, and problem-solving typically related to humans. Deep learning (DL) and machine learning (ML) are advanced AI algorithms in various fields and are considered the main algorithms for future human assistant technology. This study presents an Embryo Development and Morphology Using a Computer Vision-Aided Swin Transformer with a Boosted Dipper-Throated Optimization (EDMCV-STBDTO) technique. The EDMCV-STBDTO technique aims to accurately and efficiently detect embryo development, which is critical for improving fertility treatments and advancing developmental biology using medical CV techniques. Primarily, the EDMCV-STBDTO method performs image preprocessing using a bilateral filter (BF) model to remove the noise. Next, the swin transformer method is implemented for the feature extraction technique. The EDMCV-STBDTO model employs the variational autoencoder (VAE) method to classify human embryo development. Finally, the hyperparameter selection of the VAE method is implemented using the boosted dipper-throated optimization (BDTO) technique. The efficiency of the EDMCV-STBDTO method is validated by comprehensive studies using a benchmark dataset. The experimental result shows that the EDMCV-STBDTO method performs better than the recent techniques.
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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.
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Corpo Clínico , Exposição Ocupacional , Doses de Radiação , Proteção Radiológica , Arábia Saudita , Humanos , Feminino , Masculino , Exposição Ocupacional/prevenção & controle , Exposição Ocupacional/análise , Adulto , Corpo Clínico/estatística & dados numéricos , Exposição à Radiação/análise , Dosimetria Termoluminescente , Inquéritos e Questionários , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
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.
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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.
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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.
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The study aimed to explore the relationship between religiosity, psychological distress, and quality of life (QOL) in Saudi breast cancer patients. Utilizing a multi-center cross-sectional design, 277 patients were recruited. Patients completed questionnaires assessing religiosity, depression, anxiety, suicidality, and QOL. Results revealed a high prevalence of depression (35.7%) and anxiety (18.1%), with no significant variations in internal religiosity across different health stages, despite high levels of perceived social support. Suicidal ideation was reported by a small proportion of patients (2.5%). Multivariate analysis identified anxiety, therapy side effects, and breast symptoms as significant predictors of depression, while depression and previous psychiatric treatment predicted anxiety levels. QOL assessments indicated that body image received the highest satisfaction ratings, while sexual function received the lowest. These findings highlight the critical need for integrated mental health support in the treatment regimen of breast cancer patients.
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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced public perceptions and behaviors related to vaccination. Understanding parental attitudes, knowledge gaps, and vaccination practices post-pandemic is crucial for informing effective public health strategies. This study aimed to investigate parental attitudes, knowledge, and practices toward routine childhood vaccination in the post-COVID-19 era, emphasizing shifts in perspectives and implications for vaccination strategies. Methodology A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 498 parents to assess their attitudes, knowledge, and practices regarding vaccination. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and t-tests where applicable, with p-values <0.05 considered statistically significant. Results The study revealed diverse parental attitudes toward vaccination post-COVID-19. While a majority (72.9%) maintained positive attitudes toward vaccination schedules and benefits, concerns regarding vaccine safety and efficacy were noted. Knowledge gaps persisted, with 16.5% strongly agreeing that children's vaccinations are weak and have no impact on disease prevention. Despite high adherence to vaccination schedules (68.9%), motivations behind vaccine administration were questioned, as 48.2% strongly disagreed that vaccination was solely for regulatory purposes. Conclusions Post-COVID-19, parental attitudes toward vaccination have evolved, reflecting increased concerns about safety and efficacy. Addressing knowledge gaps, combating misinformation, and enhancing trust in vaccination programs are imperative. Tailored communication strategies, education campaigns, and policy interventions are essential to promote vaccination acceptance and safeguard public health resilience in the post-pandemic era.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Algoritmos , Diabetes Mellitus , Adulto , Humanos , Computadores , Dieta , ComércioRESUMO
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.