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Sultan AM Saghir,1 Naif A AlGabri,2,3 Mahmoud M Alagawany,4 Youssef A Attia,5,6 Salem R Alyileili,7 Shaaban S Elnesr,8 Manal E Shafi,9 Omar YA Al-shargi,10 Nader Al-balagi,11 Abdullah S Alwajeeh,12 Omar SA Alsalahi,13 Amlan K Patra,14 Asmaa F Khafaga,15 Ahmed Negida,16,17 Ahmed Noreldin,18 Wesam Al-Amarat,19 Amer A Almaiman,20 Khaled A El-Tarabily,21,22 Mohamed E Abd El-Hack4 1Department of Medical Analysis, Princess Aisha Bint Al-Hussein College of Nursing and Medical Sciences, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an, 71111, Jordan; 2Pathology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen; 3Laboratory of Regional Djibouti Livestock Quarantine, Abu Yasar International Est. 1999, Djibouti, Djibouti; 4Department of Poultry, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44511, Egypt; 5Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt; 7Department of Integrative Agriculture, College of Food and Agriculture, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates; 8Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum, 63514, Egypt; 9Department of Biological Sciences, Zoology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 10Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 11Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 12Anti-DopingLab, Doha, Qatar; 13Department of Medical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hodeidah University, Al Hodaidah, Yemen; 14Department of Animal Nutrition, West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, Belgachia, Kolkata, India; 15Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alexandria University, Edfina, 22758, Egypt; 16School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK; 17Zagazig University Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt; 18Histology and Cytology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour, 22511, Egypt; 19Department of Medical Support, Al-Karak University College, Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Salt, Jordan; 20Department of Applied Medical Sciences, Community College of Uniazah, Qassim University, Buraydah, 51431, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 21Department of Biology, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates; 22Biosecurity and One Health Research Centre, Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, AustraliaCorrespondence: Youssef A Attia; Khaled A El-Tarabily Email yaattia@kau.edu.sa; ktarabily@uaeu.ac.aeAbstract: In December 2019, the novel coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) that began in China had infected so far more than 109,217,366 million individuals worldwide and accounted for more than 2,413,912 fatalities. With the dawn of this novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), there was a requirement to select potential therapies that might effectively kill the virus, accelerate the recovery, or decrease the case fatality rate. Besides the currently available antiviral medications for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), the chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (CQ/HCQ) regimen with or without azithromycin has been repurposed in China and was recommended by the National Health Commission, China in mid-February 2020. By this time, the selection of this regimen was based on its efficacy against the previous SARS-CoV-1 virus and its potential to inhibit viral replication of the SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. There was a shortage of robust clinical proof about the effectiveness of this regimen against the novel SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, extensive research effort has been made by several researchers worldwide to investigate whether this regimen is safe and effective for the management of COVID-19. In this review, we provided a comprehensive overview of the CQ/HCQ regimen, summarizing data from in vitro studies and clinical trials for the protection against or the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Despite the initial promising results from the in vitro studies and the widespread use of CQ/HCQ in clinical settings during the 1st wave of COVID-19, current data from well-designed randomized controlled trials showed no evidence of benefit from CQ/HCQ supplementation for the treatment or prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Particularly, the two largest randomized controlled trials to date (RECOVERY and WHO SOLIDARITY trials), both confirmed that CQ/HCQ regimen does not provide any clinical benefit for COVID-19 patients. Therefore, we do not recommend the use of this regimen in COVID-19 patients outside the context of clinical trials.Keywords: antiviral drugs, chloroquine, COVID-19, drug safety, hydroxychloroquine, SARS-CoV-2, treatments

Optical computing is needed to support Tb/s in-network processing in a way that unifies communication and computation using a single data representation that supports in-transit network packet processing, security, and big data filtering. Support for optical computation of this sort requires leveraging the native properties of optical wave mixing to enable computation and switching for programmability. As a consequence, data must be encoded digitally as phase (M-PSK), semantics-preserving regeneration is the key to high-order computation, and data processing at Tb/s rates requires mixing. Experiments have demonstrated viable approaches to phase squeezing and power restoration. This work led our team to develop the first serial, optical Internet hop-count decrement, and to design and simulate optical circuits for calculating the Internet checksum and multiplexing Internet packets. The current exploration focuses on limited-lookback computational models to reduce the need for permanent storage and hybrid nanophotonic circuits that combine phase-aligned comb sources, non-linear mixing, and switching on the same substrate to avoid the macroscopic effects that hamper benchtop prototypes.

The present study examines the reasons why the Saudi EFL students' spelling performance is notoriously below standard. The Saudi EFL scene has a vast corpus of research examining it from different angles but most of it has focused on the linguistic differences between Arabic and English, whereas this study attempts to evaluate the perceptions and educational background of EFL teachers in Saudi Arabia as a possible factor at play. Two hundred and four Saudi teachers participated in this empirical study, answering questions based on three main research topics: the perceptions of EFL professors towards teaching phonics; how the teaching experience influences their attitude when it comes to phonics; and what the knowledge level of teachers regarding phonics actually is. The results indicate that Saudi EFL teachers generally have a positive attitude towards teaching English phonics and can see the vital importance of teaching this skill to their students. On the other hand, the teaching experience in question does have some influence on their perspective with respect to the relevance of phonic rules teaching--as more experienced professors tend to develop a better stance towards phonics teaching. Unfortunately, this study, coinciding with prior research findings, also shows that English phonics knowledge levels of the participants are generally considerably low.

One important aspect of radar systems is the transmit waveform, which plays a key role in defining system’s detection capability and target resolution. Waveforms with good autocorrelations and increased bandwidth are preferred for this purpose. However, waveforms with large bandwidths may cause spectral interference with neighboring channels. As a result, it is crucial to establish frequency stopbands within the spectrum of transmit waveform to mitigate potential interference. While it’s easy to independently design waveforms with either good autocorrelation or specific frequency stopbands, designing radar waveforms that excel in both aspects simultaneously is a difficult task. In this paper, we address this challenge by optimizing radar waveform with dual objectives: minimizing autocorrelation sidelobes to enhance system performance and managing spectral characteristics to expand bandwidth while avoiding interference with other frequency bands. We first transform the dual-objective function into a single-objective function encompassing both correlation and stopband properties. We propose a novel algorithm to solve this problem and rigorously demonstrate its convergence through mathematical proof, providing a robust foundation for practical implementation. We evaluate the algorithm’s performance in challenging scenarios and demonstrate its effectiveness compared to recent approaches in the literature.

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern technology, integrating communication and sensing systems has become increasingly essential for a wide range of applications, from military and defense to autonomous vehicles and beyond. The integration offers a convergence of capabilities that enhances operational efficiency and provides adaptability in complex environments. In this paper, we develop, in simulation and experiment, an integrated communication and sensing system, exploring the cutting-edge utilization of spread spectrum and radio-over-fiber (RoF) photonic technologies. RoF technology inherits the benefits of optical fibers, which include low attenuation and longer reach distance compared to other media. First, we consider the integration of communication and sensing functions using a spread spectrum–binary phase-shift keying waveform. In this integrated system, the sensing function is performed using a radar system. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated in terms of the peak-to-sidelobe ratio of the radar correlator output and the bit error rate for the communication system. The results are obtained through extensive MATLAB simulations. Next, we consider the realization of the proposed integrated communication and sensing system using photonics technology. This phase commences with the utilization of specialized photonics-based software for extensive simulations at different fiber lengths, which is an essential foundational step toward the practical implementation of the proposed system using photonics. Lab experiments are also presented to validate the simulation results.

We demonstrate a low latency delay of a radio frequency (RF)–linear frequency-modulated (LFM) pulse by modulating it onto optical carriers from a Kerr comb and sending the signal through a concatenation of off-the-shelf linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings (LC-FBGs) and chirped-and-sampled FBG (CS-FBG). We characterize the frequency response and latency of the LC-FBG and CS-FBG. Then, experimentally, the LFM pulse performance is characterized by measuring the peak sidelobe level (PSL) at the output of the tunable delay system. The experiment, performed with an LFM pulse of 1 GHz bandwidth at a 10 GHz center frequency, shows a PSL better than 34.4 dB, attesting to the high quality of the buffer RF transfer function. Thus, the proposed optical memory buffer architecture, utilizing compact devices based on a Kerr comb and FBGs, offers several benefits for delaying LFM pulses, including (i) a larger tunable delay range, (ii) low latency, (iii) wide bandwidth, and (iv) high PSL.

Background: Colon cancer is a serious public health issue and a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, including Saudi Arabia. Knowledge of genes associated with colon cancer development and progression is essential for identifying new cancer-specific biomarkers to improve the diagnosis of colon cancer. Methods: The expression levels of FTHL17, PRM2, CABYR, CPXCR1, ADAM29, and CABS1 in 15 adjacent colon cancer and normal colon tissue samples from male patients were investigated using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) assays. qRT-PCR analysis was also used to determine whether reducing DNA methyltransferase (via 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine treatment) or histone deacetylation (via trichostatin treatment) increased the expression levels of the tested genes. Results: The analysis of the 15 colon cancer and adjacent normal colon tissue samples revealed that all six genes were expressed in both groups, but their expression levels were significantly higher in the colon cancer group. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of the FTHL17, PRM2, CABYR, CPXCR1, and ADAM29 genes were considerably upregulated after treatment of HCT116 and Caco-2 cells with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine and trichostatin. However, the CABS1 gene was activated only with trichostatin treatment. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that FTHL17, PRM2, CABYR, CPXCR1, ADAM29, and CABS1 are suitable candidate biomarkers of colon cancer and their expressions are regulated by hypomethylation and hyperacetylation.

Background: Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is the most common cause of antenatal hydronephrosis. The incidence is around 1: 750–1500 live births. The standard treatment for (UPJO) is open pyeloplasty (OP) with a high success rate of 90%–95%. In the last 20 years, minimal invasive pyeloplasty (MIP) became an excellent alternative technique to OP which was historically the standard of care. Materials and Methods: The study participants were male and female patients aged 14 years old or less who had undergone open/minimally invasive pyeloplasty during 2015–2020 and who had at least 1-year follow-up after surgery. The data were collected retrospectively from patients’ charts. The patients were categorized into two cohort groups: OP and on the other arm minimally invasive pyeloplasty (robotic/laparoscopic) comparing the outcomes as a 1ry endpoint. 2ry endpoints were hospital stay, duration of surgery, and anteroposterior diameter of renal ultrasound. Results: A total of 133 patients were included in the study. Eighty-four underwent MIP while 49 patients underwent OP. 1ry endpoint was the success rate in both groups. The success rate was 94% (n: 79) and 98% (n: 48) in patients who underwent MIP and OP, respectively. P

Structured light is gaining importance in free-space communication. Classifying spatially-structured light modes is challenging in a dusty environment because of the distortion on the propagating beams. This article addresses this challenge by proposing a deep learning convolutional autoencoder algorithm for modes denoising followed by a neural network for modes classification. The input to the classifier was set to be either the denoised image or the latent code of the convolutional autoencoder. This code is a low-dimensional representation of the inputted images. The proposed machine learning (ML) models were trained and tested using laboratory-generated mode data sets from the Laguerre and Hermite Gaussian mode bases. The results show that the two proposed approaches achieve an average classification accuracy exceeding 98%, and both are better than the classification accuracy reported recently (83–91%) in the literature.

Abstract Background Epidemiological studies of incidence play an essential role in quantifying disease burden, resource planning, and informing public health policies. A variety of measures for estimating cancer incidence have been used. Appropriate reporting of incidence calculations is essential to enable clear interpretation. This review uses colorectal cancer (CRC) as an exemplar to summarize and describe variation in commonly employed incidence measures and evaluate the quality of reporting incidence methods. Methods We searched four databases for CRC incidence studies published between January 2010 and May 2020. Two independent reviewers screened all titles and abstracts. Eligible studies were population-based cancer registry studies evaluating CRC incidence. We extracted data on study characteristics and author-defined criteria for assessing the quality of reporting incidence. We used descriptive statistics to summarize the information. Results This review retrieved 165 relevant articles. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) (80%) was the most commonly reported incidence measure, and the 2000 U.S. standard population the most commonly used reference population (39%). Slightly more than half (54%) of the studies reported CRC incidence stratified by anatomical site. The quality of reporting incidence methods was suboptimal. Of all included studies: 45 (27%) failed to report the classification system used to define CRC; 63 (38%) did not report CRC codes; and only 20 (12%) documented excluding certain CRC cases from the numerator. Concerning the denominator estimation: 61% of studies failed to state the source of population data; 24 (15%) indicated census years; 10 (6%) reported the method used to estimate yearly population counts; and only 5 (3%) explicitly explained the population size estimation procedure to calculate the overall average incidence rate. Thirty-three (20%) studies reported the confidence interval for incidence, and only 7 (4%) documented methods for dealing with missing data. Conclusion This review identified variations in incidence calculation and inadequate reporting of methods. We outlined recommendations to optimize incidence estimation and reporting practices. There is a need to establish clear guidelines for incidence reporting to facilitate assessment of the validity and interpretation of reported incidence.

Leukemia, a condition characterized by the abnormal proliferation of blood cells, poses significant challenges in cancer treatment. Thymoquinone (TQ), a bioactive compound derived from black seed, has demonstrated anticancer properties, including telomerase inhibition and the induction of apoptosis. However, TQ’s poor solubility and limited bioavailability hinder its clinical application. This study explored the use of Sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD), a cyclodextrin derivative, to enhance the solubility and stability of TQ for leukemia treatment. SBE-β-CD offers low hemolytic activity and has been successfully employed in controlled drug release systems. The study investigated the formation of inclusion complexes between TQ and SBE-β-CD and evaluated their effects on leukemia cell growth and telomerase activity. The results indicated that the TQ/SBE-β-CD complex exhibited improved solubility and enhanced cytotoxic effects against K-562 leukemia cells compared to TQ alone, suggesting the potential of SBE-β-CD as a drug delivery system for TQ. The annexin V-FITC assay demonstrated increased apoptosis, while the qPCR quantification assay revealed reduced telomerase activity in leukemia cells treated with TQ/SBE-β-CD, supporting its anti-leukemic potential. The molecular docking analysis indicated a strong binding affinity between TQ and telomerase. However, further research is needed to optimize the apoptotic effects and minimize necrosis induction. In conclusion, TQ/SBE-β-CD shows promise as a novel strategy for leukemia treatment by inhibiting telomerase and enhancing the cytotoxic effects of TQ, offering a potential solution to overcome the limitations of TQ’s poor solubility and bioavailability.

This paper demonstrates an intruder detection system using a strain-based optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG), machine learning (ML), and adaptive thresholding to classify the intruder as no intruder, intruder, or wind at low levels of signal-to-noise ratio. We demonstrate the intruder detection system using a portion of a real fence manufactured and installed around one of the engineering college’s gardens at King Saud University. The experimental results show that adaptive thresholding can help improve the performance of machine learning classifiers, such as linear discriminant analysis (LDA) or logistic regression algorithms in identifying an intruder’s existence at low optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) scenarios. The proposed method can achieve an average accuracy of 99.17% when the OSNR level is

Thymoquinone (TQ) is a quinone derived from the black seed Nigella sativa and has been extensively studied in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical research due to its therapeutic potential and pharmacological properties. Although the chemopreventive and potential anticancer effects of TQ have been reported, its limited solubility and poor delivery remain the major limitations. In this study, we aimed to characterize the inclusion complexes of TQ with Sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD) at four different temperatures (293–318 K). Additionally, we compared the antiproliferative activity of TQ alone to TQ complexed with SBE-β-CD on six different cancer cell lines, including colon, breast, and liver cancer cells (HCT-116, HT-29, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, SK-BR-3, and HepG2), using an MTT assay. We calculated the thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG) using the van’t Holf equation. The inclusion complexes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR), and molecular dynamics using the PM6 model. Our findings revealed that the solubility of TQ was improved by ≥60 folds, allowing TQ to penetrate completely into the cavity of SBE-β-CD. The IC50 values of TQ/SBE-β-CD ranged from 0.1 ± 0.01 µg/mL against SK-BR-3 human breast cancer cells to 1.2 ± 0.16 µg/mL against HCT-116 human colorectal cancer cells, depending on the cell line. In comparison, the IC50 values of TQ alone ranged from 0.2 ± 0.01 µg/mL to 4.7 ± 0.21 µg/mL. Overall, our results suggest that SBE-β-CD can enhance the anticancer effect of TQ by increasing its solubility and bioavailability and cellular uptake. However, further studies are necessary to fully understand the underlying mechanisms and potential side effects of using SBE-β-CD as a drug delivery system for TQ.

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern technology, integrating communication and sensing systems has become increasingly essential for a wide range of applications, from military and defense to autonomous vehicles and beyond. The integration offers a convergence of capabilities that enhances operational efficiency and provides adaptability in complex environments. In this paper, we develop, in simulation and experiment, an integrated communication and sensing system, exploring the cutting-edge utilization of spread spectrum and radio-over-fiber (RoF) photonic technologies. RoF technology inherits the benefits of optical fibers, which include low attenuation and longer reach distance compared to other media. First, we consider the integration of communication and sensing functions using a spread spectrum–binary phase-shift keying waveform. In this integrated system, the sensing function is performed using a radar system. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated in terms of the peak-to-sidelobe ratio of the radar correlator output and the bit error rate for the communication system. The results are obtained through extensive MATLAB simulations. Next, we consider the realization of the proposed integrated communication and sensing system using photonics technology. This phase commences with the utilization of specialized photonics-based software for extensive simulations at different fiber lengths, which is an essential foundational step toward the practical implementation of the proposed system using photonics. Lab experiments are also presented to validate the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a low latency delay of a radio frequency (RF)–linear frequency-modulated (LFM) pulse by modulating it onto optical carriers from a Kerr comb and sending the signal through a concatenation of off-the-shelf linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings (LC-FBGs) and chirped-and-sampled FBG (CS-FBG). We characterize the frequency response and latency of the LC-FBG and CS-FBG. Then, experimentally, the LFM pulse performance is characterized by measuring the peak sidelobe level (PSL) at the output of the tunable delay system. The experiment, performed with an LFM pulse of 1 GHz bandwidth at a 10 GHz center frequency, shows a PSL better than 34.4 dB, attesting to the high quality of the buffer RF transfer function. Thus, the proposed optical memory buffer architecture, utilizing compact devices based on a Kerr comb and FBGs, offers several benefits for delaying LFM pulses, including (i) a larger tunable delay range, (ii) low latency, (iii) wide bandwidth, and (iv) high PSL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is the most common cause of antenatal hydronephrosis. The incidence is around 1: 750-1500 live births. The standard treatment for (UPJO) is open pyeloplasty (OP) with a high success rate of 90%-95%. In the last 20 years, minimal invasive pyeloplasty (MIP) became an excellent alternative technique to OP which was historically the standard of care. Materials and Methods: The study participants were male and female patients aged 14 years old or less who had undergone open/minimally invasive pyeloplasty during 2015-2020 and who had at least 1-year follow-up after surgery. The data were collected retrospectively from patients' charts. The patients were categorized into two cohort groups: OP and on the other arm minimally invasive pyeloplasty (robotic/laparoscopic) comparing the outcomes as a 1ry endpoint. 2ry endpoints were hospital stay, duration of surgery, and anteroposterior diameter of renal ultrasound. Results: A total of 133 patients were included in the study. Eighty-four underwent MIP while 49 patients underwent OP. 1ry endpoint was the success rate in both groups. The success rate was 94% (n: 79) and 98% (n: 48) in patients who underwent MIP and OP, respectively. P <0.05 is considered significant. Conclusion: Open and minimally invasive pyeloplasty are comparable in terms of success rate. However, OP was associated with shorter hospital stays and shorter operative times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medical authority in China, especially in Wuhan city, reported on December 2019 a large number of highly fatal, rapidly spreading viral pneumonia caused by an unknown coronavirus. The common history of all the patients was their visiting a Wuhan's whole food store, where live animals and seafood are sold. Irrespective of the efforts of the Chinese authorities, the virus spread rapidly all over the world by travelers, provoking widespread attention by the media and panic. Many previous coronavirus epidemics had been recorded, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the recently newly discovered epidemic is named coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). This disease is caused by SARS Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), and this virus is antigenically related to the SARS virus (SARS-CoV), which had been detected in 2002, depending on clinical, serological, and molecular findings. There is rapid competition among the researchers to discover the source of the virus, understand the mechanism of the disease development, establish treatment strategies, and determine the factors affecting the incidence of infection and severity of the disease, and focus on the production of a vaccine. Coronaviruses are a group of single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genome viruses; its genome length varies from 26 to 32 kb. Coronavirus causes mild to severe respiratory disorders. In December 2019, several cases of pneumonia of unknown causes were found in Wuhan city, which is located in the Hubei province in China. Chinese health authorities investigated the problem and found that a new virus caused such infection and, using next-generation sequencing, found the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It has been transferred from humans to humans and animals to humans (zoonotic). Coronaviruses cause multiple respiratory problems, varying from common cold to severe infections such as SARS. General symptoms of infection include fatigue, cough, and breathing problems such as shortness of breath, as described by World Health Organization. Serious cases may result in pneumonia, renal failure, and even death. We address current information about the new SARS Coronavirus-2 as well as the COVID-19 disease caused by it in this review.

Background: Organ transplantation is inherently dependent on the availability of organ donors. There is a noticeable paucity of literature addressing the rates of organ donation registration and the awareness of Islamic regulations (Fatwa) regarding organ donation within Saudi Arabia. Our study aimed to evaluate the level of organ donation registration, awareness of Islamic regulations, and knowledge of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) within the Saudi society. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey from 30 March to 9 April 2023. This survey aimed to assess the awareness of Islamic (Fatwa) guidance on organ donation, the role of SCOT, and the rate of organ donation registration facilitated through the Tawakkalna app, the official health passport application in Saudi Arabia. Results: Out of 2329 respondents, 21% had registered as potential deceased organ donors, despite 87% acknowledging the importance of organ donation. Awareness of the Islamic Fatwa regarding organ donation was reported by 54.7% of respondents, and 37% recognized the Fatwa's acceptance of brain death criteria. The likelihood of registration as organ donors was higher among Saudi citizens under 45 years of age, females, healthcare workers (HCWs), individuals with higher education, relatives of patients awaiting organ donations, those informed about the Islamic Fatwas, and those willing to donate organs to friends. Conversely, being over the age of 25, Saudi nationality, employment as an HCW, awareness of SCOT, and prior organ donation registration were predictive of a heightened awareness of Islamic Fatwas. However, perceiving the importance of organ donation correlated with a lower awareness of the Fatwas. Significant positive correlations were found between awareness of SCOT, awareness of Fatwas, and registration for organ donation. Conclusions: While the Saudi population exhibits a high regard for the importance of organ donation, this recognition is not adequately translated into registration rates. The discrepancy may be attributable to limited awareness of SCOT and the relevant Islamic Fatwas. It is imperative to initiate organ donation awareness campaigns that focus on religious authorization to boost organ donation rates and rectify prevalent misconceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxins (AFs) are hepatotoxic, mutagenic, genotoxic, and immunosuppressive toxins. Several food commodities consumed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) are susceptible to AF contamination because of improper storage practices and the warm and humid climate of the country. Therefore, the occurrence of AFs in 2388 food samples was measured and the estimated daily intake (EDI) of AFs in Saudi adults was assessed. The risks of AFB1 exposure were characterized using the margin of exposure (MoE) approach and by estimating the number of possible hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cases in the KSA. The results revealed that 12.1% of the analyzed samples were contaminated with AFs and the highest concentration of total AFs was observed in the nut and seed group. The mean EDI of AFB1 was estimated to be 0.21 and 0.55 ng/kg body weight (bw)/day for the lower bound (LB) and upper bound (UB) scenarios, respectively. The MoEs were estimated to be 1902.4 and 722.1, while the estimated liver cancer risk ranged from 0.002 to 0.008 cancer cases/year/100,000 persons. Based on the study's findings, contamination with AFs in the KSA is low; however, AFs are considered potent genotoxic contaminants, and therefore, exposure through food should be kept as low as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]