Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Comprehensive Interventional Package on the Quality of Life of Children With Asthma.

Introduction: Asthma is a chronic lung disease that negatively affects children's quality of life (QoL). Improving QoL is a key outcome in managing children with asthma.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive interventional package on QoL among asthmatic children attending an asthma clinic at a selected hospital.

Effectiveness of Heat Application on Gastric Variables Among Patients With Nasogastric Tube Feeding Admitted in the Intensive Care Units at a Selected Hospital: A Randomized Control Trial.

Background: Heat application, a nonpharmacological intervention, can relieve abdominal distension (AD), high stomach residual volume, and other specific gastrointestinal (GI) functions. It promotes peristaltic movement, which reduces intra-abdominal pressure and aids in the nutritional transition through the GI tract. It has also been demonstrated to be a noninvasive, safe, effective, and side-effect-free approach without needing medication.

Employing neural density functionals to generate potential energy surfaces.

Context: With the union of machine learning (ML) and quantum chemistry, amid the debate between machine-learned functionals and human-designed functionals in density functional theory (DFT), this paper aims to demonstrate the generation of potential energy surfaces using computations with machine-learned density functional approximation (ML-DFA). A recent research trend is the application of ML in quantum sciences in the design of density functionals such as DeepMind's Deep Learning model (DeepMind21, DM21). Though science reported the state-of-the-art performance of DM21, the opportunity to utilize DeepMind's pretrained DM21 neural networks in computations in quantum chemistry has not yet been tapped.

Correlation Between Quantitative Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Hepatitis B Virus Deoxyribonucleic Acid Levels in Hepatitis B e Antigen-Positive and Hepatitis B e AntigenNegative Chronic Hepatitis B Patients.

Background: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid in hepatitis B e antigen-positive and hepatitis B e antigen-negative chronic hepatitis B patients and to determine the best cut-off value for quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen to predict high hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid levels (≥2000 IU/mL).

Methods: Ninety-seven sera from chronic hepatitis B patients were collected in this study. Hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid levels were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Giant-cell Hepatitis-Rare Entity in Adults.

Giant-cell hepatitis (GCH) is characterized by parenchymal inflammation with formation of large multinucleated hepatocytes in response to a variety of insults to the liver. Although it is commonly described in neonates, it rarely occurs in adults. Here we report a case of GCH because of herbal medicine intake.

Comparison of peritoneal transport characteristics at the second week and at six months of peritoneal dialysis commencement.

Peritoneal equilibration test (PET) is an important tool for managing peritoneal dialysis (PD) prescription. The Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (KDOQI) guidelines suggest that the first PET be performed 4-8 weeks after PD commencement. The main reason for this delay is because of the peritoneal membrane might change its character once it is exposed to the glucose based dialysate.

Nodular Lymphocyte Predominant Hodgkin's Lymphoma Presenting as Severe Hypercalcaemia: A Case Report.

Nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma (NLPHL) is a recently described type of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and accounts for 5-6% of all the cases of HL. Here we report the case of an elderly man who presented to Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, with severe hypercalcemia, and was diagnosed to have stage IV NLPHL. Although the incidence of hypercalcemia is estimated to be between 1-5% in classical HL, to our knowledge this is the first report of NLPHL presenting with severe hypercalcemia.

Omenn's Syndrome: A rare primary immunodeficiency disorder.

Over the last 17 years different forms of severe combined immunodeficiency have been diagnosed at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat. Omenn's syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive form of severe combined immunodeficiency. We report a 6 weeks old Omani infant who presented with the characteristic clinical and immunological phenotype of Omenn's syndrome.

Pattern of chronic diarrhoea in children: a prospective analysis of causes, clinical features and outcome.

Objectives: To determine the pattern of chronic diarrhoea in children in Oman.

Study Design: This is a prospective study carried out over a 7 year period at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.

Subjects: Sixty two children (37 M:25 F), aged 3 months to 13 years who presented with chronic diarrhoea, defined as diarrhoea persisting for more than 4 weeks, were studied.

The prognostic determinants of gastric cancer treatment outcome in Omani Arab patients.

Background: Gastric cancer is the most common cancer in Oman and a leading cause of cancer death. The variation in survival rates between countries and ethnic groups has been attributed to early detection policies, differences in clinicopathological features, treatment approaches, and biological characteristics. There were no previous reports on gastric cancer from Oman and very few studies on Asian Arabs.

The prognostic significance of p53, p27 kip1, p21 waf1, HER-2/neu, and Ki67 proteins expression in gastric cancer: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical study of 121 Arab patients.

Background: The variability of prognosis within a pathological stage of gastric cancer (GC) at presentation, underscores the need for specific biological markers to identify subgroups of patients with aggressive course for intensive treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first study from an Arab population reporting on the relationship of p53, p27 kip1, p21 waf1, HER-2/neu, and Ki67 expression, and clinicopathological features and their prognostic significance.

Methods: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumors were studied by immunohistochemistry, using monoclonal antibodies to p53, p27 kip1, p21 waf1, HER-2/neu, and Ki67.

Inflammatory fibroid polyp of the ileum causing intussusception.

Intussusception in adults is a rare cause for intestinal obstruction and is usually secondary to some lesion in the gastrointestinal tract GIT. We report a case of intestinal obstruction due to ileo-colic intussusception; an inflammatory fibroid polyp formed the leading edge of the intussusceptum, which is a rare polypoidal lesion of the GIT.

Primary ovarian leiomyoma.

Ovarian leiomyoma is a rare and incidentally detected neoplasm, clinically indistinguishable from subserous leiomyomas and ovarian fibromas, until histopathological confirmation. We present a case of leiomyoma arising primarily from the ovary in a 35 year old woman.

Pattern of chronic liver disease in Omani children--a clinicopathological review.

Objective: To determine the pattern of chronic liver disease in Omani children.

Study Design: Seventy six children [43M : 33F] aged 4 days to 10 years, referred to the Paediatric Gastroenterology clinic of the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between 1995--2000 for evaluation of liver disease were studied. Liver biopsies were performed in all and tissues obtained processed and examined for histological lesions.

The outcome of treatment of breast cancer in a developing country--Oman.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the outcome of treatment of breast cancer in Oman with an analysis of clinico-pathological features, treatment modalities utilized, and prognostic factors. One hundred fifty-two breast cancer patients diagnosed between January 1996 and June 2002 were evaluated retrospectively. Their mean age was 48.

Benign mullerian type cyst of the uterus in a perimenopausal woman.

A perimenopausal patient presented with a history of irregular vaginal bleeding. Clinical examination revealed lower abdominal mass, and the pre operative diagnosis was an ovarian cyst. At laparotomy the ovaries and tubes were normal, and the cyst was anatomically attached to the uterus with a short pedicle.

Significance of p53, Bcl-2, and HER-2/neu protein expression in Omani Arab females with breast cancer.

Racial disparity in the presentation of breast cancer and the outcome of its treatment is well established. However, the causes remain unexplained. The scarcity of reports about the prognostic significance of p53, bcl-2, and HER-2/neu in Arab females with breast cancer has been the impetus to this study.

Histologic spectrum of struma ovarii.

Six cases of struma ovarii, including two with associated carcinoid, with unusual microscopic features are described. The patients' age ranged from 22 to 50 years. The patients were clinically euthyroid.

Are scintigraphy and ultrasonography necessary before fine-needle aspiration cytology for thyroid nodules?

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of scintigraphy, ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration in thyroid nodules and to establish the best diagnostic pathway in detecting thyroid cancer.

Method: Two hundred and sixteen patients with thyroid nodules were examined using high-resolution ultrasonography, Tc thyroid scintigraphy and ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration. Of these, 113 patients subsequently underwent thyroidectomy.