New transformed features generated by deep bottleneck extractor and a GMM-UBM classifier for speaker age and gender classification.

Speaker age and gender classification is one of the most challenging problems in speech signal processing. Recently with developing technologies, identifying speaker age and gender information has become a necessity for speaker verification and identification systems such as identifying suspects in criminal cases, improving human-machine interaction, and adapting music for awaiting people queue. Despite the intensive studies that have been conducted to extract descriptive and distinctive features, the classification accuracies are still not satisfactory.

Chemical constituents of Osyris alba and their antiparasitic activities.

Phytochemical investigation of Osyris alba L. (Santalaceae) of Jordanian origin resulted in the isolation and identification of one new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, osyrisine (1), together with 16 other known compounds. The structures of all compounds were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis.

Genetic analysis and functional characterization of prothrombins Corpus Christi (Arg382-Cys), Dhahran (Arg271-His), and hypoprothrombinemia.

The structural abnormalities and functional characteristics of dysfunctional prothrombin variants in two new kindreds have been determined. Prothrombin Corpus Christi (family 1) was purified and found to have markedly reduced fibrinogen clotting activity, yet normal amidolytic and near-normal platelet aggregating activity. A transition (C to T) at nucleotide position 8885, present in the heterozygous form in affected family members, resulted in the substitution of Cys for Arg 382.

An epidemic of aplastic crisis caused by human parvovirus B19.

Human parvovirus B19 has been associated with several diseases. Aplastic crisis in patients with chronic hemolytic anemia, erythema infectiosum, hydrops fetalis and arthritis are among the common diseases caused by this virus infection. In the period between July, 1991, and March, 1992, 48 patients with aplastic crises were hospitalized at Saudi Aramco-Dhahran Health Center, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Unusual presentation of meningococcal infection.

Infection with Neisseria meningitidis usually results in life-threatening septicemia and/or meningitis. Occasionally, howerver, infection may be mild or localized. Awareness of this fact is essential to avoid delays in diagnosis, management and prophylaxis.

Acute splenic sequestration together with aplastic crisis caused by human parvovirus B19 in patients with sickle cell disease.

Three children with homozygous sickle cell disease, 22 months and 8 and 10 years of age, had clinical and hematologic manifestations of aplastic and splenic sequestration crisis simultaneously. They had an acute drop in hemoglobin level (16, 20, and 45 gm/L), reticulocytopenia (0.1%, 0.

Agnogenic myeloid metaplasia in children.

Agnogenic myeloid metaplasia is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder characterized by splenomegaly, leukoerythroblastosis, extramedullary hematopoiesis, teardrop-shaped red blood cells, and fibrosis of the bone marrow. It is a disease of adults, with only one case report in the pediatric literature. The symptoms of the patient in this case clearly fit the diagnostic criteria of this disease.

Comprehensive newborn screening program: ARAMCO experience, the national need and recommendations.

Comprehensive screening programs for congenital diseases of newborn infants are lacking at a national or regional level. A comprehensive newborn screening program modified to the needs and resources available was established in ARAMCO Dhahran Health Center. This program includes screening for congenital hypothyroidism, phenylketonuria, abnormal hemoglobins, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficienc, and blood group incompatibilities.

Screening for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency can prevent severe neonatal jaundice.

Infants with the severe variant of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency may develop hyperbilirubinaemia sufficiently severe to cause kernicterus and death, acute haemolysis on exposure to oxidant stress, congenital non-spherocytic haemolytic anaemia and, rarely, increased susceptibility to bacterial infection. In spite of these potential problems, G6PD deficiency is often not included among screening programmes for inherited disorders. In a comprehensive screening and educational programme, we tested around 34,000 infants for G6PD deficiency.

Acute splenic sequestration crises in Saudi children with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common disease in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Twenty per cent of the population have sickle cell trait and 1.75% have SCD.

Incidence and causes of sepsis in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient newborn infants.

To determine the susceptibility to sepsis in newborn infants deficient in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), we screened 33,943 Saudi Arab infants. Deficiency of G6PD was found in 18%. Sepsis was determined by the presence of clinical signs of sepsis and confirmed by positive blood cultures.

Nasopharyngeal Hodgkin's disease with intracranial extension in a child.

Childhood Hodgkin's Disease rarely involves the nasopharynx or the brain. This is a report of a 12-year-old boy who presented with a 3-month history of headache, diplopia, dizziness, and early morning vomiting. Computerized axial tomography (CT) scan revealed a nasopharyngeal mass with intracranial extension through the skull base.

Acute cholestatic jaundice in children with sickle cell disease: hepatic crises or hepatitis?

Differentiating acute cholestatic jaundice resulting from hepatic vasoocclusive crises and hepatitis in children with sickle cell disease can be difficult. Both conditions result in hyperbilirubinemia, mainly of the conjugated type, and in elevation of serum transaminases. Five children with sickle cell disease, acute severe cholestatic jaundice and negative serology for hepatitis A and B presented in good general condition, with modest elevation of serum transaminases, and had an early uneventful recovery.

Cholestatic jaundice with urinary tract infection in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

The syndrome of cholestatic jaundice in association with urinary tract infection with normal or slightly elevated liver enzymes has been reported mainly in newborns and infants below 2 months of age. The relative immaturity of the infant's liver and its sensitivity to bacterial endotoxins may explain the occurrence of this syndrome in this age group. A similar syndrome has been reported in adults with severe non-hepatic bacterial infection, including some with urinary tract infection.

Hyperostosis with hyperphosphatemia: a case report and review of the literature.

This is a report of a 6-year-old girl with the rare syndrome of hyperostosis with hyperphosphatemia. Only eight cases have been previously reported. The main features of this syndrome are repeated attacks of bone pain and swelling, the radiologic finding of periosteal reaction with cortical hyperostosis, and the laboratory finding of increased serum phosphorus level with normal serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels.

Beneficial effect of blood transfusion in children with sickle cell chest syndrome.

Reports in the 1970s suggested that acute chest syndrome (ACS) in children with sickle cell disease is usually due to bacterial infection. Studies in adults and more recently in children, however, showed that proved bacterial infection occurs in a minority of these patients and that vascular occlusion is the main pathologic process. In a retrospective study of 32 episodes of ACS in children, a definite bacterial infection was found in 3% (one patient), possible bacterial infection in 11% (four patients), and a possible mycoplasma in 13% (five patients).

Proptosis, skull infarction, and retro-orbital and epidural hematomas in a child with sickle cell disease.

A Saudi child with homozygous sickle cell disease (SS) presented with bilateral periorbital swelling, right-sided proptosis, skull bone infarcts, and retro-orbital and epidural hematomas. The findings of skull bone infarcts, retro-orbital and epidural hematomas are rare in patients with sickle cell disease.

Technetium bone scintigraphy in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis in children.

In a 5 1/2-year retrospective study of hospitalized children with osteomyelitis who had technetium bone scans, we found that 32 of 38 (84%) had increased radionuclide uptake, 4 (11%) had normal uptake and 2 (5%) had decreased uptake. The two patients with decreased uptake had a stormy course with extensive bone destruction and pathologic fractures in spite of prolonged courses of antibiotic therapy. Decreased uptake on bone scan in patients with clinical evidence of osteomyelitis could indicate a poor prognosis and early surgical drainage is indicated in order to decrease morbidity.