The demand for liver transplantation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is associated with the country's high burden of liver disease. Trends in the epidemiology of liver transplantation ...indications among recipients in KSA have changed over 20 years. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis has eclipsed the hepatitis C virus in the country due to the effective treatment strategies for HCV. Risk factors for NASH, like type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and hyperlipidemia, are becoming a major concern and a leading indication for liver transplantation in the KSA. There is also a significantly increased prevalence and incidence of genetic adult familial liver diseases in KSA. New immunosuppressive agents and preservation solutions, improved surgical capabilities, and early disease recognition and management have increased the success rate of liver transplant outcome but concerns about the side effects of immunosuppressive therapy can jeopardise long-term survival outcomes. Despite this, indications for liver transplantation continue to increase, resulting in ongoing challenges to maximize the number of potential donors and reduce patient mortality rate while expecting to get transplanted. The Saudi Center of Organ Transplant is the recognized National Organ Donation Agency for transplantation, which renders important support for procurement and allocation of organs. This guidance document aims to help healthcare providers in managing patients in the liver transplant setting.
The global prevalence of COVID-19 disease and the overwhelming increase in death toll urge scientists to discover new effective drugs. Although the drug discovery process is a challenging and ...time-consuming, fortunately, the plant kingdom was found to have many active therapeutics possessing broad-spectrum antiviral activity including those candidates active against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoV). Herein, nine traditional Chinese medicinal plant constituents from different origins (Glycyrrhizin 1, Lycorine 2, Puerarin 3, Daidzein 4, Daidzin 5, Salvianolic acid B 6, Dihydrotanshinone I 7, Tanshinone I 8, Tanshinone IIa 9) previously reported to exhibit antiviral activity against SARS-CoV were virtually screened in silico (molecular docking) as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 target proteins. The tested medicinal plant compounds were in silico screened for their activity against two key SARS-CoV-2 target proteins; 3CLpro, and Spike binding-domain proteins. Among the tested medicinal plant compounds, Salvianolic acid B 6 (Sal-B) showed promising binding affinities against the two specified SARS-CoV-2 target proteins compared to the reference standards used. Hence molecular dynamics simulations followed by calculating the free-binding energy were carried out for Sal-B providing information on its affinity, stability, and thermodynamic behavior within the two SARS-CoV-2 target proteins as well as key ligand-protein binding aspects. Besides, the quantum mechanical calculations showed that Sal-B can adopt different conformations due to the existence of various rotatable bonds. Therefore, the enhanced antiviral activity of Sal-B among other studied compounds can be also attributed to the structural flexibility of Sal-B. Our study gives an explanation of the structure activity relationship required for targeting SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro and Spike proteins and also facilitates the future design and synthesis of new potential drugs exhibiting better affinity and specificity. Besides, an ADME study was carried out on screened compounds and reference controls revealing their pharmacokinetics properties.
Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
This study investigated genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles, phylogenic relatedness, plasmid and virulence composition of 39
strains isolated from chicken meat samples using ...whole genome sequencing (WGS) technology. Four distinct serotypes were identified;
Minnesota (16/39, 41%),
Infantis (13/39, 33.3%),
Enteritidis (9/39, 23.1%), and one isolate was detected for
Kentucky (1/39, 2.6%), with sequence types (STs) as followed: ST548, ST32, ST11, and ST198, respectively. Phenotypic resistance to tetracycline (91.2%), ampicillin (82.4%), sulfisoxazole (64.7%), and nalidixic acid (61.6%) was the most observed. Resistome analysis revealed the presence of resistance genes to aminoglycosides, β-lactamase, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, phenicol, lincosamide, macrolides, and tetracyclines. Plasmidome showed the presence of eight incompatibility groups, including IncA/C2, IncFIB(K)_1_Kpn3, Col440I_1, IncR, IncX1, IncI1_1_Alpha, IncFIB(S)/IncFII(S), IncHI2/IncHI2A, IncX2 and ColpVC plasmids across the 39 genomes. Three resistance genes,
and
were predicted to be located on IncA/C2 plasmid in
Minnesota isolates, whereas all
Infantis isolates were positive to IncFIB(K)_1_Kpn3 plasmid that carries
gene. Eleven
pathogenicity islands and up to 131 stress and/or virulence genes were identified in the evaluated genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed four phylogroups that were consistent with the identified ST profiles with a high level of inter-diversity between isolates. This is the first genomic characterization of
isolates from retail chicken meat in Saudi Arabia using WGS technology. The availability of
genomes from multiple geographic locations, including Saudi Arabia, would be highly beneficial in future source-tracking, especially during epidemiological surveillance and outbreak investigations.
One of the main drawbacks of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is the unpredictable significant increase in the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), due to the large dynamic range of ...the OFDM symbol waveforms. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel PAPR reduction technique in the transmitter DSP of a fiber mobile fronthaul network, named as iterative selective mapping (I-SLM). The proposed algorithm uses orthogonal phase vectors construction. Several alternative sets of the OFDM symbol are iteratively generated by deterministic sets of orthogonal phase vectors and the one which introduces the lowest peak power value is considered for transmission. Simulation results demonstrate a substantial PAPR reduction, comparing to the partial orthogonal selective mapping (POSLM), especially when the number of iterations increases in the presence of different variables, such as the number of OFDM subcarriers/frame and the modulation order.
Objectives: To describe a novel animal model for ex-vivo liver perfusion. Methods: This study was carried out at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between ...September 2016 and January 2019. We assembled a perfusion circuit operated by a continuous pressure-driven arterial pump with continuous portal and arterial pressure and volume measurements. We used normothermic oxygenated perfusate. The livers used were retrieved from the sheep. Results: Ex-vivo continuous perfusion of the liver was achieved for up to 9 hours with stable pressure and volume in both hepatic artery and portal vein. In 4 experiments the arterial pressure was kept in a range of 48-52 mmHg with a mean of 51.75+ or -4.31 resulting in arterial volume at steady state of 223.5+ or -48.25 ml/minute (95% confidence level). At steady state the mean portal pressure was 16.25+ or -1.45 mmHg with a mean volume of 854+ or -313.75 ml/minute (95% confidence level). Bile production was observed during the perfusion period. Hemodynamic parameters were similar to the physiological parameters observed in normothermic perfusion model of the porcine liver. Conclusion: A normothermic oxygenated ex-vivo perfusion circuit was successfully constructed using the sheep liver. A sustainable functional circuit with physiological hemodynamic parameters was achieved. Further study on sheep model seems to be feasible. Keywords: porcine liver, machine perfusion, organ preservation, hepatic flow, animal handling phrase omitted
(1) Background: Missed nursing care, an omission error characterized by delayed or omitted nursing interventions, poses significant risks to patients’ safety and quality of car.; (2) Methods: This is ...a quantitative cross-sectional study on 151 nurses who work in NICUs in three main networks in the Eastern Health Province, Saudi Arabia: Dammam (n = 84), Qatif (n = 53), and Jubail (n = 14). The study uses a self-reported questionnaire (MISSCARE) and applies the 5-point Likert Scale. Statistical analysis data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. (3) Results: The primary reasons for missed care were shortage of nursing staff and unbalanced patient assignments. Missed nursing care negatively affects job satisfaction and was positively correlated with nurses’ intentions to quit their jobs. Inadequate equipment, supplies, and breakdowns in communication between nurses and other healthcare professionals were also significant factors contributing to missed care. (4) Conclusions: Missed nursing care is associated with overwork, nursing shortages, and lower job satisfaction, impacting the quality of care provided in the NICU. Improving working conditions, nurse staffing, and patient assignment planning should be prioritized to address this issue effectively.
PDF
