Translation and psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the ageism scale for dental students (ASDS-Ar): A multi-institutional validation.

Background And Objective: Ageism represents an important barrier to high-quality healthcare for older adults. The present study sought to translate and validate the Arabic version of the Ageism Scale for Dental Students (ASDS-Arabic).

Materials And Methods: The 27-item ASDS tool was translated from English into Arabic following recommended cross-sectional forward and backward translation guidelines.

Enhanced Surface Accessibility of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Spike Protein Due to an Altered Glycosylation Profile.

SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) proteins undergo extensive glycosylation, aiding in proper folding, enhancing stability, and evading host immune surveillance. In this study, we used mass spectrometric analysis to elucidate the N-glycosylation characteristics and disulfide bonding of recombinant spike proteins derived from the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.

War and education: the attacks on medical schools amidst ongoing armed conflict, Sudan 2023.

Background: War results in widespread destruction of a country's infrastructure, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions. This study aims to assess the attacks on medical schools amidst the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted across 58 medical schools located in the states of Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan.

Retraining transplant pharmacy staff to reduce Medicare Part B prescription billing errors post-transplant.

Background: Medicare Part B (MedB) imposes penalties for certain errors in prescription billing of post-transplant medications, which can greatly affect pharmacy revenue. To prevent MedB billing fines, pharmacy staff must be cognizant of specific MedB requirements.

Objective: This quality improvement project aimed to retrain certified pharmacy technicians (CPhTs) on common billing errors and evaluate changes in error rates and potential fines after retraining.

Examining the use, confidence, and barriers to follow Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course guides in managing obstetric emergencies in Sudan.

Background: The Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course is a globally recognized interprofessional training program designed to assist healthcare professionals in acquiring and sustaining the necessary knowledge and skills to handle obstetric emergencies effectively. This survey aimed to assess the use, barriers, and confidence in using the ALSO course guidelines in managing obstetric emergencies in Sudan.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study involved 103 physicians from the Sudan ALSO group in Sudan.

Structural basis of the American mink ACE2 binding by Y453F trimeric spike glycoproteins of SARS-CoV-2.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters the host cell by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). While evolutionarily conserved, ACE2 receptors differ across various species and differential interactions with Spike (S) glycoproteins of SARS-CoV-2 viruses impact species specificity. Reverse zoonoses led to SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks on multiple American mink (Mustela vison) farms during the pandemic and gave rise to mink-associated S substitutions known for transmissibility between mink and zoonotic transmission to humans.

Prioritizing children's mental health amidst Sudan's humanitarian crisis: policy recommendations for immediate action.

The humanitarian crisis precipitated by the ongoing conflict in Sudan poses profound risks to the health and welfare of the country's children. This paper explores essential policy interventions to safeguard child mental health services under these challenging circumstances. Crucial strategies include enhancing healthcare accessibility for children and their caregivers, promoting education, and improving household living conditions.

Violence in Sudan: A Looming Public Health Disaster.

Sudan's ongoing conflict, rooted in colonial-era policies and resource competition, has led to widespread displacement, poverty, and social service breakdowns. The escalating power struggle between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exacerbates the humanitarian crisis by severely undermining the nation's health services and infrastructure. This leads to long-lasting social and economic consequences, creating a need for a coordinated response from national and international organizations to provide emergency healthcare, rebuild infrastructure, and train and retain healthcare workers.

Analysis of the N-glycosylation profiles of the spike proteins from the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2.

N-Glycosylation plays an important role in the structure and function of membrane and secreted proteins. Viral proteins used in cell entry are often extensively glycosylated to assist in protein folding, provide stability, and shield the virus from immune recognition by its host (described as a "glycan shield"). The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S) is a prime example, having 22 potential sites of N-glycosylation per protein protomer, as predicted from the primary sequence.

Development and optimisation of a preclinical cone beam computed tomography-based radiomics workflow for radiation oncology research.

Background And Purpose: Radiomics features derived from medical images have the potential to act as imaging biomarkers to improve diagnosis and predict treatment response in oncology. However, the complex relationships between radiomics features and the biological characteristics of tumours are yet to be fully determined. In this study, we developed a preclinical cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) radiomics workflow with the aim to use models to further develop radiomics signatures.

Experiences of caregivers and individuals living with traumatic brain injury in accessing health information: a qualitative investigation.

Background/purpose: Rehabilitation and treatment of chronic symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) present life-long challenges. This qualitative study aimed to understand the experience of individuals with TBI and caregivers in finding and using health information and to understand their interest in participating in research.

Methods: Participants were recruited through hospital listservs, websites, social media, and word of mouth from across the US.

Development and Optimization of a Machine-Learning Prediction Model for Acute Desquamation After Breast Radiation Therapy in the Multicenter REQUITE Cohort.

Purpose: Some patients with breast cancer treated by surgery and radiation therapy experience clinically significant toxicity, which may adversely affect cosmesis and quality of life. There is a paucity of validated clinical prediction models for radiation toxicity. We used machine learning (ML) algorithms to develop and optimise a clinical prediction model for acute breast desquamation after whole breast external beam radiation therapy in the prospective multicenter REQUITE cohort study.

Access, Utilization, and Implementation of Research Among Rehabilitation Nurses: A Qualitative Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to understand rehabilitation nurses' perceptions of research information, related barriers, and avenues for future research, specifically in those caring for individuals with burn injury, spinal cord injury, or traumatic brain injury.

Design: Qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted.

Methods: Eighteen interviews were conducted.

Simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) to dominant intra-prostatic lesions during extreme hypofractionation for prostate cancer: the impact of rectal spacers.

Purpose: Boosting dominant intra-prostatic lesions (DILs) has the potential to increase the therapeutic ratio in prostate cancer radiotherapy. In this study, employing 5-fraction stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to deliver 40 Gy to the prostate clinical target volume (CTV) while boosting the DIL up to 50 Gy was evaluated for patients before and after rectal spacer insertion.

Materials And Methods: 24 Computed Tomography (CT) scans of 12 prostate cancer patients with unfavourable intermediate or high risk prostate cancer were employed in this study.

Enhanced fitness of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern Alpha but not Beta.

Emerging variants of concern (VOCs) are driving the COVID-19 pandemic. Experimental assessments of replication and transmission of major VOCs and progenitors are needed to understand the mechanisms of replication and transmission of VOCs. Here we show that the spike protein (S) from Alpha (also known as B.

N-glycosylation profiles of the SARS-CoV-2 spike D614G mutant and its ancestral protein characterized by advanced mass spectrometry.

N-glycosylation plays an important role in the structure and function of membrane and secreted proteins. The spike protein on the surface of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, is heavily glycosylated and the major target for developing vaccines, therapeutic drugs and diagnostic tests. The first major SARS-CoV-2 variant carries a D614G substitution in the spike (S-D614G) that has been associated with altered conformation, enhanced ACE2 binding, and increased infectivity and transmission.

A data science approach for early-stage prediction of Patient's susceptibility to acute side effects of advanced radiotherapy.

The prediction by classification of side effects incidence in a given medical treatment is a common challenge in medical research. Machine Learning (ML) methods are widely used in the areas of risk prediction and classification. The primary objective of such algorithms is to use several features to predict dichotomous responses (e.

Membrane-partitioned cell wall synthesis in mycobacteria.

Many antibiotics target the assembly of cell wall peptidoglycan, an essential, heteropolymeric mesh that encases most bacteria. In rod-shaped bacteria, cell wall elongation is spatially precise yet relies on limited pools of lipid-linked precursors that generate and are attracted to membrane disorder. By tracking enzymes, substrates, and products of peptidoglycan biosynthesis in , we show that precursors are made in plasma membrane domains that are laterally and biochemically distinct from sites of cell wall assembly.

Incidence and root causes of surgical site infections after gastrointestinal surgery at a public teaching hospital in Sudan.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are common healthcare-associated infections and associated with prolonged hospital stays, additional financial burden, and significantly hamper the potential benefits of surgical interventions. Causes of SSIs are multi-factorials and patients undergoing gastrointestinal tract procedures carry a high risk of bacterial contamination. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, associated factors, and causing microorganisms of SSIs among patients undergoing gastrointestinal tract surgeries.

Public health emergencies of international concern: a historic overview.

Rationale: The International Health Regulations (IHR) have been the governing framework for global health security since 2007. Declaring public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) is a cornerstone of the IHR. Here we review how PHEIC are formally declared, the diseases for which such declarations have been made from 2007 to 2020 and justifications for such declarations.

Mini review: Personalization of the radiation therapy management of prostate cancer using MRI-based radiomics.

Decisions on how to treat prostate cancer with radiation therapy are guideline-based but as such guidelines have been developed for populations of patients, this invariably leads to overly aggressive treatment in some patients and insufficient treatment in others. Heterogeneity within prostate tumors and in metastatic sites, even within the same patient, is believed to be a major cause of treatment failure. Radiomics biomarkers, more commonly referred to as radiomics 'features", provide readily available, cost-effective, non-invasive tools for screening, detecting tumors and serial monitoring of patients, including assessments of response to therapy and identification of therapeutic complications.

Role of LmeA, a Mycobacterial Periplasmic Protein, in Maintaining the Mannosyltransferase MptA and Its Product Lipomannan under Stress.

The mycobacterial cell envelope has a diderm structure, composed of an outer mycomembrane, an arabinogalactan-peptidoglycan cell wall, a periplasm, and an inner membrane. Lipomannan (LM) and lipoarabinomannan (LAM) are structural and immunomodulatory components of this cell envelope. LM/LAM biosynthesis involves a number of mannosyltransferases and acyltransferases, and MptA is an α1,6-mannosyltransferase involved in the final extension of the mannan chain.

A novel tool for improving the interpretation of isotope bone scans in metastatic prostate cancer.

Objectives: The isotope bone scan (IBS) is the gold-standard imaging modality for detecting skeletal metastases as part of prostate cancer staging. However, its clinical utility for assessing skeletal metastatic burden is limited due to the need for subjective interpretation. We designed and tested a novel custom software tool, the Metastatic Bone Scan Tool (MetsBST), aimed at improving interpretation of IBSs, and compared its performance with that of an established software programme.