Archaeological coins are considered essential sources of historical documentation. Over time, they are subjected to corrosion processes that gradually alter their appearance, shape, and composition. This study aims to evaluate the effects of the patina and/or protective coating on the corrosion process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Peritonitis is the leading complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Patients are instructed to seek care promptly for signs (cloudy effluent) or symptoms (abdominal pain), and earlier treatment improves outcomes. The CloudCath Peritoneal Dialysis Drain Set Monitoring (CloudCath) system monitors turbidity in dialysis effluent and sends notifications of changes signaling possible peritonitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The risk of peritonitis has limited wider adoption of peritoneal dialysis (PD) in the United States. We developed a prototype bedside dialysate turbidity monitoring system, aiming to improve diagnostic accuracy relative to conventional approaches which depend on visual inspection and reporting of insensitive and non-specific symptoms.
Methods: The prototype system was tested in a single-centre, proof-of-principle clinical study in patients receiving intermittent PD.
In developing countries, the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection is still significant, particularly due to geographical and socioeconomic variables. The objective of this study was to map the distribution pattern of intestinal parasitic infection in a cohort of the Egyptian population, as well as to assess associated risk factors. A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted on 386 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is considered an overlooked public health threat in KSA. CL is endemic to several Saudi regions, including Al Ahsa City, Eastern KSA. To our knowledge, no prior molecular identification of parasites in vectors in Al Ahsa has been published.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLead shielding is used as a guard against scatter radiation. Lead aprons can emit particulate lead into the occupational environment, resulting in the accumulation of lead dust on the skin and garments of workers. This study aimed to assess the risk of lead exposure among radiologists working in the radiology departments by estimating hair and blood lead levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim: Stool analysis is commonly performed to diagnose certain gastrointestinal diseases. The diagnostic yield of stool culture, a method of stool analysis, is variable worldwide and is unclear in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study was conducted to determine the diagnostic yield of stool culture from the year 2008 to 2020 and to determine the predictors for a positive stool culture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe epidemiology of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections varies among populations depending on their demographic characteristics and exposure. This study describes the prevalence of HSV 1/2 IgG and IgM antibodies among individuals over a period of 5 years. A retrospective study was conducted to collect data on cases tested for HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies for different medical conditions over five years between January 2014 and December 2018.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the species' wide distribution, studies of the genetic diversity within Entamoeba coli and Entamoeba hartmanni remain limited. In the present study, we provide further insight into the genetic diversity of both species based on analysis of partial nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences generated from human fecal DNAs from samples collected in Africa, South America, and Europe. Reinforcing the previous recognition that E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown period, a surge in sandflies and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases was observed in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Skin punch biopsies were obtained from 100 patients clinically diagnosed with CL in Al-Ahsa who had no travel history in the last 6 months. Impression smears were used following a three-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol using genus-specific primers targeting kDNA and ITS1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe biocompatible hybrid Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)/structured silica nanocomposite can be loaded with antioxidants such as curcumin and resveratrol to offer multiple advantages of drug functionalization and structural stability. blastocystosis, an enteric parasite, has various outcomes and its treatment includes drugs which have side effects and do not result in a full cure. We aimed to design novel biocompatible nanocomposites containing natural antioxidant, resveratrol or curcumin and ZIF-8/mesoporous silica.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Rubella is considered one of the most serious and most common congenital infections. Despite global efforts for elimination, rubella cases are still being reported in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of immunity to rubella in the community and most importantly among women at childbearing age in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and compare it with the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO) along with the incidence of acute rubella infection and the associated congenital rubella infection and congenital rubella syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a unicellular eukaryote found in the gastrointestinal tract of both human and other animal hosts. The clinical significance of colonic colonization remains obscure. In this study, we used metabarcoding and bioinformatics analyses to identify differences in stool microbiota diversity between -positive and -negative individuals (n = 1285).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Blastocystis is a common enteric human parasite of non-conclusive pathogenicity which may be determined by subtype (ST) variation. Colorectal cancer (CRC) is considered one of the primary causes of cancer mortality. Blastocystis ST7 has been shown to reduce beneficial intestinal microbiota and may exacerbate CRC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTravel-associated malaria is a health hazard, even in non-malaria endemic regions. This is a hospital-based retrospective study of 12,931 febrile patients who presented at King Fahad Hospital of the University (KFHU) from January 2009 to December 2019. Patients either returning from malaria endemic countries and/or for whom malaria was suspected, had blood films microscopically screened for malaria parasites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Workaholism is described as a constant, internal drive to work and behavioral addiction to work. Studies have shown the negative associations between workaholism, job performance, and health results as disrupted sleep. The purpose of this research was to compare the prevalence of workaholics among the academic staff of practical and theoretical Faculties in Egyptian universities using the Dutch Workaholism Scale (DUWAS) and to determine associated sleep problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis one of the less well-understood waterborne protozoa of medical and veterinary importance. The present study aimed to detect, identify, and subtype in cattle and humans in northern Egypt and to investigate the potential for zoonotic transmission. Fecal samples were collected from 136 humans (68 in contact with animals and 68 no animal contact) and 190 cattle from a rural area in Kafr El-Sheikh Province, Egypt.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nanotechnology has been manufactured from medicinal plants to develop safe, and effective antischistosmal alternatives to replace today's therapies. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prophylactic effect of ginger-derived nanoparticles (GNPs), and the therapeutic effect of ginger aqueous extract, and GNPs on Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni) infected mice compared to praziquantel (PZQ), and mefloquine (MFQ).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sexually transmitted infections are a serious public health problem. Syphilis, a multistage, curable chronic disease caused by the spirochete , remains a major health problem worldwide. The disease re-emerged in the era of HIV in many countries despite the accessibility of curative therapy and continuing public health efforts to eliminate it.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF() is a common enteric protozoan parasite worldwide and in Egypt. Identification of true prevailing assemblages helps in identification of the sources of infection. The study's aim was to determine the true prevalence of assemblages in Egyptian children from Sharkia governorate presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms and to investigate their association with molecularly detected .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Praziquantel (PZQ) is the preferred drug for schistomiasis treatment because of its safety. As PZQ is used for mass drug administration (MDA) in schistosomiasis endemic areas, the effectiveness of the drug, used solely for decades, should be continuously monitored to detect drug resistance. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of PZQ to cure Schistosoma mansoni infection and to reduce the intensity of infection in an endemic area by estimating the cure rate (CR), egg reduction rate (ERR), and comparing these estimates to the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisceral Leishmaniasis (VL), a life-threating disease in Sudan and Eastern Africa, is usually diagnosed by a painful and invasive tissue aspirate microscopy. This study assessed the diagnostic effectiveness of buffy coat (BC) microscopy and the rK39 immunoassay test separately and combined as an easy non-invasive method applied to peripheral blood sample for field diagnosis of VL. 151 VL suspected patients were recruited from tertiary rural hospitals in Bazura, Gedaref state, from 2014-2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The protozoan and are responsible for most water-borne diseases all over the world. The extent and number of outbreaks of waterborne diseases suggests a significant risk of their potential transmission via drinking water. This study aimed to document the prevalence and viability of and (oo) cysts in tap water samples in Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt and to detect the predominant and assemblages/species using nested PCR/ Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) confirmed by further sequencing of positive samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Children with underlying malignancies and those on chemotherapy are at risk for having intestinal parasitic infections, which can lead to a severe course and death. This cross-sectional study was done to assess the copro-parasitological and copro-molecular prevalence of entero-parasites in children with malignancies and those on chemotherapy.
Procedure: Stool samples were collected from 137 Egyptian hospitalized cancerous children with different malignancies in the National Cancer Institute, and receiving chemotherapy.
() and intestinal parasites are known for their high prevalence in children. Both of them infect the gastrointestinal tract with overlapping clinical pictures. This study was conducted to determine prevalence and its association with intestinal parasites in children, moreover to estimate risk and predictive factors for their detection in stool samples.
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