Proteolysis Assays With Conserved or Aminofluorescein-Labeled Red Blood Cells.

Various physiological functions and reaction cascades, as well as disease progression in the living systems, are controlled by the activity of specific proteolytic enzymes. We conducted the study to evaluate protease activity by assessing peptide fragments from either conserved or labeled red blood cells (RBCs) with aminofluorescein (AF) in the reaction media. RBCs were incubated in media containing trypsin.

Perception of Periodontitis Patients about Treatment Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia.

Patient compliance following periodontal therapy is extremely important in predicting the prognosis of the disease and maintaining treatment outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the perception of periodontitis patients about treatment outcomes. A cross-sectional study was conducted among periodontitis patients in a single dental center through a pre-validated questionnaire that was distributed to each participant in the waiting area of periodontal clinics by utilizing a convenience sampling technique.

Preparation of novel shell-ionotropically crosslinked micelles based on hexadecylamine and tripolyphosphate for cancer drug delivery.

Aims: Micellar systems have the advantage of being easily prepared, cheap, and readily loadable with bioactive molecular cargo. However, their fundamental pitfall is poor stability, particularly under dilution conditions. We propose to use simple quaternary ammonium surfactants, namely, hexadecylamine (HDA) and hexadecylpyridinium (HDAP), together with tripolyphosphate (TPP) anion, to generate ionotropically stabilized micelles capable of drug delivery into cancer cells.

The impact of child-specific characteristics on warfarin dosing requirements.

Background: The influence of child characteristics on warfarin dosing has been reported; however, there is no consensus on the nature and extent of this effect.

Objectives: To investigate the impacts of the demographic and clinical characteristics of children on the warfarin dose required to achieve a therapeutic international normalization ratio (INR).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included children aged 3 months to 14 years old who were prescribed warfarin for 3 months or longer with a "stable INR.

Utility of the Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology in Parotid Gland Masses: The Experience of Two Tertiary Centers.

Background The application of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in parotid masses via the Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) enhances the diagnosis of these lesions alongside radiological investigations.  Objectives Our objective was to assess the risk of malignancy, sensitivity, specificity, and false positive and negative results for each category of the MSRSGC. Additionally, we assessed the level of agreement between the FNA results using MSRSGC and post-resection histopathological diagnosis.

Total Number of Identified Parathyroid Glands During Total Thyroidectomy and Its Relation to Postoperative Hypoparathyroidism.

Objectives: To evaluate the correlation between the intraoperative number of identified parathyroid glands (PGs) and the risk of developing hypoparathyroidism postoperatively. Also, to determine the risks and prognostic factors in patients with postoperative hypoparathyroidism.

Methods: A retrospective study of 499 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy at two tertiary care institutions, King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) and King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was included.

Major salivary gland carcinoma in KSA: A 10-year nationwide retrospective study of 571 cases.

Objectives: Major salivary gland carcinoma (MSGC) comprises a morphologically diverse group of rare tumours with different clinical behaviours, and epidemiology findings in the literature substantially vary by geographic location. The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the incidence rates, anatomical sites, and histological subtypes of different salivary gland malignancies in the population of KSA.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with MSGC in KSA from 2008 to 2017, on the basis of the demographic characteristics and histological data retrieved from the Saudi Cancer Registry database.

Functional and morphological study of the effects of carvacrol on smooth muscle of the thoracic aorta in the rat.

Background: The leaves of Origanum are widely used in herbal medicine hence of having many beneficial ingredients, one of these important compounds is Carvacrol. The inhibitory effect of Carvacrol was the core of this study by applying different kinds of stimulants to smooth muscles in the wall of thoracic aorta in rats.

Aim: To investigate the pharmacological effects of Carvacrol, the main active ingredient present in the medicinal plant Origanum, on the contractile activity and morphology of the smooth muscle of the rat thoracic aorta.

Predicting the development of T1D and identifying its Key Performance Indicators in children; a case-control study in Saudi Arabia.

The increasing incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children is a growing global concern. It is known that genetic and environmental factors contribute to childhood T1D. An optimal model to predict the development of T1D in children using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would aid medical practitioners in developing intervention plans.

Assessing Physiological and Psychological Factors Contributing to Stress among Medical Students: Implications for Health.

Physiological responses to stress disturb internal homeostasis, leading to serious health consequences. Medical students experience high stress levels that should be managed promptly to prevent stress-related impacts on students' health and education. This study aims to identify the relationship between stress factors, general health, and academic performance.

Influencing factors of vision-threatening disease among patients with diabetes in the central region of Saudi Arabia: A case-control study.

Aims: Diabetic retinopathy is called as vision threatening disease. It affects retina very severely. DR is a common public health problem in Worldwide.

Uncommon presentation of isolated laryngeal sarcoidosis in a young man.

•Sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystemic granulomatous disease with unknown etiology.•Sarcoidosis affects the head and neck region in only 10%-15% of cases.•Larynx with turban-like thickening should raise high suspicions of laryngeal sarcoidosis.

Risk of thyroid carcinoma in patients treated surgically with assumed benign cytology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: This study aimed to report the rate of thyroid malignancy in benign fine-needle aspirations (Bethesda II) at King Abdulaziz Medical City and evaluate the factors that affect false-negative outcomes of FNA.

Methods: All patients referred for thyroidectomy from 2009 to 2019 were reviewed (n = 1968). Only patients with a benign FNA, corresponding to the Bethesda II, were included (n = 384).

Preoperative thyroid-stimulating hormone associated risk of differentiated thyroid cancer in patients with thyroid nodules.

In an assessment of risk for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) in individuals with human papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and thyroid nodules a cohort prospective study was undertaken to establish the significance of preoperative thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. Confirmed histologically PTC cases in one tertiary care center, and matched healthy individuals were tested for TSH, T3, T4 and T4 free total. The ORs and 95% confidence intervals have been calculated using conditional logistic regression models (CI).

Single versus multiple doses of Tocilizumab in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A two-center, retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the optimal tocilizumab dosing regimen.

Methods: A two-center, retrospective cohort study, for COVID19 critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs). We included critically ill patients aged 18 years or older who received tocilizumab during ICU stay.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome-associated interstitial lung disease.

Background: Diagnosing primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) is complex and can be very challenging. In addition, information about the prognostic factors is limited.

Aims: We aimed to determine the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors that impact pSS-ILD survival.

Safety and cost-effectiveness of outpatient thyroidectomy: A retrospective observational study.

Objectives: To investigate the safety and cost-effectiveness of outpatient thyroidectomy and provide a systematic postoperative protocol for safe discharge.

Methods: In this retrospective review, the medical records of all patients who underwent total, hemi, or completion thyroidectomy from July 2017 to April 2019 at 2 tertiary care hospitals were reviewed. Multivariable analysis was performed on the potential predictors of postoperative complications.

Assessment of Proteolysis by Pyrylium and Other Fluorogenic Reagents.

Aims: We aim to evaluate the potential application of amine reactive fluorogenic reagents for estimating enzymatic proteolysis.

Background: Proteolytic enzymes play important roles in regulating many physiological processes in living organisms.

Objectives: Assessment of protein degradation by using reagents for protein assay techniques.

Clinical significance of minor salivary gland biopsy in patients with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.

Background: Significant overlap may occur between idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP) and connective tissue diseases (CTDs) that do not meet the established classification criteria for any known CTDs (i.e., occult CTD).

Reconstruction of facial dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans using an anterolateral thigh flap: a case report and literature review.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans is a rare, locally aggressive cutaneous malignancy with a high rate of recurrence if the head-and-neck region is involved. Treatment is challenging as it is difficult to avoid poor aesthetic and functional outcomes using the standard approach of complete resection with negative margins and subsequent reconstruction. This is especially challenging in cases where the face is involved and the defect is large after resection.

Receptor-mediated attenuation of insulin-like growth factor-1 activity by galactose-1-phosphate in neonate skin fibroblast cultures: Galactosemia pathogenesis.

Background: The pathogenesis of classical galactosemia, a rare metabolic disorder associated with developmental complications in neonates and children due to inherited deficiency of galactose-1-phosphate (Gal-1-P) uridylyltransferase (GALT), is known to be mediated by elevated Gal-1-P levels and involves a cascade of cytokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and growth factors.

Objectives: To examine ex vivo the effect of Gal-1-P on the mitogenic activity of different growth factors, particularly insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), known to regulate growth and development from the fetal stage to adulthood.

Material And Methods: Fibroblasts derived from the foreskin of 3-8-day-old healthy neonates were cultured for 1-14 days with 0-20 mM galactose or 0-10 mM Gal-1-P and then stimulated with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or 50 ng/mL of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or fibroblast growth factor (FGF) or IGF-1 for 24 h.

Sebaceous lymphadenoma of parotid gland: A case report of a unique presentation in an immunocompromised patient.

Sebaceous lymphadenoma is a rare, benign tumor of the parotid gland accounting for only 0.196% of all adenomas of the parotid gland. Our aim is to present a case of sebaceous lymphadenoma, which has been rapidly enlarging over a period of few months in an immunocompromised patient.

Influenza Altmetric Attention Score and its association with the influenza season in the USA.

 Altmetrics measure the impact of journal articles by tracking social media, Wikipedia, public policy documents, blogs, and mainstream news activity, after which an overall Altmetric attention score (AAS) is calculated for every journal article. In this study, we aim to assess the AAS for influenza related articles and its relation to the influenza season in the USA. This study used the openly available Altmetric data from Altmetric.

Perception of and Attitude towards Hepatitis B Infection among Saudi Pregnant Females Attending Antenatal Care Unit in Al-Ahsa City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Objective This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of pregnant females in Al-Ahsa city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) toward hepatitis B virus infection. Methods A cross-sectional study was done at the Maternity and Children's Hospital, Al-Ahsa. A total of 422 of every third pregnant women were recruited from 6/12/2019 to 20/12/2019.