80 research outputs found
The Severity of the COVID-19 Among Chronic Disease Patients in the Selected Hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – A Retrospective Study
No full textMahmood Basil A Al-Rawi, Amer Hayat Ibrahim Khan, Siti Maisharah Sheikh Ghadzi Discipline of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Mahmood Basil A Al-Rawi, Discipline of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia, Email [email protected] and Aims: Chronic disease is a lifelong disorder that necessitates continuing medical care and is more prone to infections such as COVID-19, compared to healthy individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the severity of COVID-19 among chronic disease patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional study was conducted in selected hospitals in the Riyadh region in Saudi Arabia, over 6 months in 2022. All participants’ records were reviewed for socio-demographic data including age, gender, residence, marital status, level of education, occupation, and special habits such as smoking or addiction. In addition to this main complaint and present history, history of chronic illnesses, drug intake, surgical interference, general examination findings including vital signs, state of consciousness, general condition at admission and discharge, and outcome of cases were recorded.Results: The mean age of the patient was 54.46 ± 15.85 (median of 53.67 years). In this study, the severity of COVID-19 was significantly associated with chronic diseases. For instance, 22.31% of the patients with diabetes reported mild symptoms, compared with 77.69% of the patients without diabetes. The current findings reported 2.18% of COVID-19 patients with respiratory diseases and 97.82% of the patients without respiratory diseases reported mild symptoms of COVID-19 infection. In comparison, 97.75% of COVID-19 patients without respiratory diseases and 2.25% of patients with respiratory diseases reported moderately severe COVID-19 infection.Conclusion: The current findings revealed that 66.2% of the COVID-19 patients with chronic diseases were free of symptoms, 5.3% of them died and 0.9% of the patients were in a worse situation. The severity of COVID-19 was significantly associated with the presence of chronic diseases. Additionally, medical practitioners must be more knowledgeable about the long-term illnesses that put patients at risk for serious COVID-19 challenges and mortality.Keywords: COVID-19, chronic diseases, obesity, diabetes, hypertensio
Assessment of Hand-Washing Knowledge and Practice among Nursing Undergraduates in Saudi Arabia
No full textPurpose. The present study investigated the knowledge and practice of hand hygiene among entry-level nursing students at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants and Methods: A cross-sectional, institutional-based study was conducted among Saudi nursing students over a period of four months at the King Saud University College of Nursing, using a structured, self-administered questionnaire that assessed demographics, knowledge, and the practice of hand washing. Results. A response rate of 95% was obtained. Of the 304 respondents, 66.1% (n = 201) were males. The majority of the students (94.2%) agreed that direct or indirect contact was the most important route for the transmission of healthcare-associated infection. In addition, most of the students washed their hands after contact with body secretions (89.5%), while 83.2% of them washed their hands before and after contact with patients. Furthermore, 83.6% of them applied soap water during hand washing, while 59.9% of the students used an alcohol-based hand rub for hand hygiene. Our results found that female students reported higher mean knowledge score of 10.09 ± 1.27, compared to male students 9.63 ± 1.48, indicating a significant association between the mean knowledge score of hand washing and gender (p=0.004). Similarly, the mean practice score was higher among female students (5.00 ± 1.25), in comparison to male students 4.62 ± 1.46, with a significant association between gender and mean practice score (p=0.037). Conclusion. The findings of this study revealed that Saudi nursing students exhibit adequate knowledge and practice of hand washing. However, the current findings revealed variation in the knowledge and practice scores with respect to gender. The present results could support students and health care professionals in improving their hygienic practice, which may help to provide the optimum therapeutic benefits to patients
Assessment of Awareness, Perceptions, and Opinions towards Artificial Intelligence among Healthcare Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
No full textBackground and Objective: The role of the pharmacist in healthcare society is unique, since they are providers of health information and medication counseling to patients. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate Awareness, Perceptions, and Opinions towards Artificial intelligence (AI) among pharmacy undergraduate students at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 using online questionnaires. The data collection was carried out using convenience sampling methods among senior pharmacy students at the College of Pharmacy, King Saud University. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26 was used to analyze the data (SPSS). Results: A total of one hundred and fifty-seven pharmacy students completed the questionnaires. Of these, most of them (n = 118; 75.2%) were males. About 42%, (n = 65) were in their fourth year of study. Most of the students (n = 116; 73.9%) knew about AI. In addition, 69.4% (n = 109) of the students thought that AI is a tool that helps healthcare professionals (HCP). However, more than half 57.3% (n = 90) of the students were aware that AI would assist healthcare professionals in becoming better with the widespread use of AI. Furthermore, 75.1% of the students agreed that AI reduces errors in medical practice. The mean positive perception score was 29.8 (SD = 9.63; range-0–38). The mean score was significantly associated with age (p = 0.030), year of study (p = 0.040), and nationality (p = 0.013). The gender of the participants was found to have no significant association with the mean positive perception score (p = 0.916). Conclusions: Overall, pharmacy students showed good awareness of AI in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the majority of the students had positive perceptions about the concepts, benefits, and implementation of AI. Moreover, most students indicated that there is a need for more education and training in the field of AI. Consequently, early exposure to content related to AI in the curriculum of pharmacy is an important step to help in the wide use of these technologies in the graduates’ future careers
The Association between Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Child Underweight in Punjab, Pakistan: An Application of Population Attributable Fraction
No full textMuhammad Nadeem,1 Mumtaz Anwar,2 Shahid Adil,3 Wajid Syed,4 Mahmood Basil A Al-Rawi,5 Ayesha Iqbal6,7 1Department of Economics, University of Education, Lahore, Vehari Campus, Pakistan; 2School of Economics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan; 3Punjab Resource Improvement and Digital Effectiveness (PRIDE) Project, Planning and Development Board, Government of the Punjab, Punjab, Pakistan; 4Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 6Division of Pharmacy Practice and Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham UK; 7Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, CanadaCorrespondence: Muhammad Nadeem, Email [email protected]: Access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities is crucial for health and human rights, impacting nutrition and weight.Methods: Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) 2017– 18 has been used in this study to examine the association between WASH and underweight, alongside other factors. Analysis included descriptive statistics, association tests, logistic regression, and population-attributable fractions (PAF).Results: According to results child were 1.8, 1.1 and 1.04 times less likely to be underweight if they had access to improved source of drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene facilities respectively. The likelihood of child being underweight reduces by 1.4, 1.89, 2.01 and 2.55 times if the household wealth status increases from poorest to second, middle, fourth and richest wealth quintiles, respectively. As the mothers’ education level increases from no schooling to primary, middle, secondary, and higher level, the possibility of child being underweight reduces by 1.22, 1.24, 1.60 and 2.01 times, respectively. Moreover, the likelihood of a child being underweight decreases as the education level of the household head improves. If maternal age is less than 20 or more than 35 years the likelihood of the child being underweight is increased by 1.074 and 1.121 times, respectively. A child is 1.1 times more likely to be underweight if birth spacing is less than 2 years. A child’s risk of being underweight decreases by 1.1 times if they have not experienced diarrhea. A child who has never been breastfed has 1.3 times higher risk of being underweight. The results of Population Attributable Fraction (PAF) indicate that holding the other factors constant, approximately 36.46% burden of underweight was preventable by access to improved drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene practices.Conclusion: Comprehensive strategy is needed that focuses on improving access to safe drinking water, sanitation infrastructure, and hygiene behaviors.Keywords: water, sanitation, hygiene, children, underweight, Pakistan, WAS
Evaluation of Headache Trends among Undergraduate First Responders for Medical Emergencies at Saudi University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
No full textBackground and objective: Headache is more common among students and may be a crucial indication of mental health; it can have a detrimental impact if left untreated, especially on students, and may affect their academic performance. Thus, this study aimed to assess the headache trends among undergraduate first responders for medical emergencies at Saudi University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study was undertaken over three months in 2023 to analyze headache patterns among emergency medical services (EMS) students using prevalidated questionnaires. The data were collected via convenience sampling and processed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 26 program (IBM Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: The current findings show that the majority 90.6% (n = 164) of the participants had at least one episode of headache in the last week. With regard to the number of days students had a headache during the last week, 21.5% (n = 39) of them reported 2 days, while 18.8% (n = 34) reported 1 day only. About slightly less than half (48.6% (n = 88)) of students reported that the usual site of the headache was frontal, followed by temporal 27.1% (n = 49), and 23.3% (n = 42) reported orbital. When students were asked whether a headache aggravates their routine activity, 40.3% agreed with this statement, and 44.2% of students reported that a headache causes them to avoid their routine activity (reading writing, attending college). The majority of the students considered taking analgesics (60.8%), followed by sleeping (26.5%), caffeine (14.4%), and herbal and alternative remedies (7.7%) for the relief of headaches. Although headache episodes were significantly associated with routine activities (reading writing, attending college) (p = 0.018, t = 2.282) daily activities (walking, running) (p = 0.022, t = 2.307). The findings showed that fourth-year EMS students were found to have higher headache pain intensity scores compared to other students (p = 0.046). Similarly, the pain intensity was significantly higher among the students between 1–3 and >7 episodes of headaches (p = 0.001) Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that Saudi emergency medical services students suffer from headaches. However, the current findings revealed variation in the headache pain intensity scores concerning the year of study
Assessment of Headache Characteristics, Impact, and Managing Techniques among Pharmacy and Nursing Undergraduates—An Observational Study
No full textBackground and Objectives: Many different forms of headaches can change or impact daily activity and quality of life, which increases the financial burden on society over time. Undergraduates who get headaches may be absent from attending lectures, perform less well on their daily tasks and academic achievement, as well as struggle to build and maintain relationships with peers and mentors. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the headache-related characteristics and managing approaches among Saudi pharmacy and nursing students at a Saudi university, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A survey questionnaire was administered in this cross-sectional study to participants at a Saudi university, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants included males. The sample size was calculated with Raosoft® software. Data analysis was executed using IBM Statistic SPSS, and the level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 236 participants completed the questionnaires. The majority, i.e., 218 (92.4%) of them, were male; in addition, 124 (52.5%) were aged between 26 and 30, 124 (52.5%) were pharmacy students, 112 (47.5%) were nursing students, and 134 (56.8%) were smokers. When asked about ever having at least one episode of headache during the week, 66.1% (n = 156) agreed that they had one episode of headache, although 57 (24.2%) of the students had a headache for five days during a week. With regard to the impact of headaches on everyday activities, only 34.7% of the students said that headache disrupted their regular activities. Almost 41% of the students agreed that headache impacted their academic performance. Nearly 34% of students (n = 79) who had headaches considered napping, while 33% (n = 64) took painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines, and 25% (n = 59) considered taking caffeine. In this study, the participants’ ages and headache severity were strongly associated (p = 0.0001). More pharmacy students (66.1%) reported having severe headaches than nursing students (14.3%) (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: The current findings revealed that most of the undergraduates suffered from headaches, and the intensity of the pain was moderate; furthermore, one in four undergraduates reported that headaches impacted their academic performance. Caffeine and simple analgesics and anti-inflammatories were used for headache relief
Assessment of the Mental, Social, and Educational Impact of the COVID-19 Quarantine and Predictors: A Survey-Based- Study from Saudi Parents
No full textLina Bashatah,1,* Safana Aseri,1,* Mahmood Basil A Al-Rawi2 1Early Childhood Department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lina Bashatah, Early Childhood department, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Quarantine has had a powerful effect on parents and children in Saudi Arabia in different aspects, namely, educational, mental, and social. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the mental, social, and educational impact of the COVID-19 Quarantine and its predictors among Saudi parents.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out over 6 months in 2020 using structured questionnaires with 42 items, detailing pre-quarantine assistance with childcare, followed by mental, educational, and social challenges answered using a 5-point Likert scale and the factors affecting their children’s learning at home during the COVID-19 quarantine. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.Results: A response rate of 79.5% (n=831) was obtained. Mental challenges were experienced the most, and 68.1% of the parents worried about their children being infected with COVID-19. This was followed by the educational challenges related to their children’s online learning, with 61.2% of the parents attributing it to their children’s low motivation towards online learning. The mean score for the education domain was 31.14(± 7.02). Similarly, the mean score for the mental impact and social impact was 33.13(± 7.82) and 12.81(± 2.98). The results of the multiple linear regression analysis revealed participants’ gender was found significantly associated with the mean score of the educational domain (p = 0.010).Conclusion: Social challenges were experienced the least, and parents confirmed that quarantine had helped them strengthen their family relations. Most participants agreed that they had fun spending time with both their partners and children. It is recommended to implement online remote activities and services that assist students and professionals in addressing pandemic concerns, such as virtual group exercise, virtual movie nights, and virtual office hours.Keywords: quarantine, COVID-19, pandemic, economic impact, social impact, Saudi Arabi
Study of purinergic modulation of contractile activity in guinea-pig vas deferens and the interaction with superoxide anion and adrenergic activity
No full textThis study has been conducted & submitted in partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the master's degree in
Pharmaceutical sciences (Pharmacology), Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University 1428H- 2007GThe present study was designed to investigate the mechanisms of
the purinergic transmitters (AP4A and ATP) and their contractile activity
in the vas deferens of guinea-pig. In addition, the relationships between
these compounds and noradrenaline (NA), superoxide anion, Myosin
Light Chain Phosphatase (MLCP) and Protein Kinase C (PKC) were
studied.
The concentration-response curves (CRCs) to AP4A and ATP
showed that AP4A is more potent than ATP in causing contraction.
Furthermore, using different purinoceptor blockers such as: a) 8-
cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX) as A1-purinoceptor blocker,
b) Pyridoxal phosphate 6-azophenyl-2’,4’-disulphonic acid (PPADS) as
P2X–purinoceptor blocker and c) H,.-meATP as P2X-purinoceptor
desensitizer produced a significant inhibition of AP4A and ATP
contractile activities.
The facilitation of AP4A- and ATP-induced contraction by NA was
determined by measuring the contractile activities of AP4A and ATP in
presence of NA. Our results indicate that NA significantly increased the
contractile activities of AP4A and ATP in a dose-dependent manner. This
facilitation could be due to an interaction between PKC and MLCP.
Using MLCP inhibitor, canthiridin, leads to a significant
stimulation on the contractile activity of AP4A and ATP. On the other
hand, applying cheleythrine, a PKC Inhibitor, produced a significant
inhibition of AP4A- and ATP-induced contraction activities in presence
NA. These results suggest that the interaction between PKC and MLCP
has a critical role in the facilitation of AP4A- and ATP-induced
contraction by NA.
Furthermore, we investigate the effect of superoxide anion on
contractile activities of AP4A and ATP using endogenous and exogenous
models of superoxide anion stress. The endogenous superoxide anion
stress was generated by the Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibitor,
Diethylthiocarbamate (DETCA), whereas the exogenous superoxide
anion stress was induced by the superoxide anion generator pyrogallol.
Both models inhibited the AP4A- and ATP-induced contraction, which
suggests that superoxide anion has an inhibitory effect on the purinergicmediated
contraction.
In conclusion, the study presented in this thesis produced some
potential understanding regarding the role of purine (mono- and dinucleotides)
in the contractile activity of vas deferens and the
interdependence of some mediators as follows:
(a)P2X1 –purinoceptor has the major role in the contraction of vas
deferens to AP4A and ATP, while A1–purinoceptor plays a partial
role in the contraction of guinea-pig vas deferens to AP4A and
ATP.
(b)Inhibition of MLCP by Canthiridin resulted in significant
enhancement of purine mediated contractions.
(c) Prior application of NA produces an enhancement of both AP4A
and ATP at postsynaptic sites of guinea-pig vas deferens.
(d)Stimulation of PKC pathway by NA binding to G-protein coupled
adrenergic receptors may involved in the postsynaptic synergism
between NA and the studied purines (AP4A and ATP).
(e)Superoxide anion stress has an inhibitory effect on the purinergic
contraction in the guinea-pig vas deferens. This effect could be
due to inhibition of extracellular Ca2+ influx or other sites of
cellular Ca2+ handling
A reappraisal of attitudes to the 'People of the Book' in the Qur'an and hadith, with particular reference to Muslim fiscal policy and the covenant of 'Umar
No full textEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
A Novel and Robust Hybrid Blockchain and Steganography Scheme
No full textData security and data hiding have been studied throughout history. Studies show that steganography and encryption methods are used together to hide data and avoid detection. Large amounts of data hidden in the cover multimedia distort the image, which can be detected in visual and histogram analysis. The proposed method will solve two major drawbacks of the current methods: the limitation imposed on the size of the data to be hidden in the cover multimedia and low resistance to steganalysis after stego-operation. In the proposed method, plaintext data are divided into fixed-sized bits whose corresponding matching bits’ indices in the cover multimedia are accumulated. Thus, the hidden data are composed of the indices in the cover multimedia, causing no change in it, thus enabling considerable amounts of plaintext to be hidden. The proposed method also has high resistance to known steganalysis methods because it does not cause any distortion to the cover multimedia. The test results show that the performance of the proposed method outperforms similar conventional stenographic techniques. The proposed Ozyavas–Takaoglu–Ajlouni (OTA) method relieves the limitation on the size of the hidden data, and hidden data is undetectable by steganalysis because it is no longer embedded in the cover multimedia
- …
