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Background: Despite saving a vast number of lives through blood transfusions, transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) still threaten the lives of people needing blood transfusion. Hence, screening blood donors and reviewing the prevalence of TTIs amongst blood donors might show the impact of these infections among our people. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence rates of transfusion-transmitted infections among blood donors in Makkah as foundation for providing harmless blood transfusion in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A retrospective study was carried out at the Central Blood Bank in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia, from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. A total of 13,706 samples were collected and screened for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibodies (HBsAbs), hepatitis B core antibodies (HBcAbs), antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), antibodies to HIV 1 and 2 (HIV I/II Ab), antibodies to HTLV 1 and 2 (HTLV I/II Ab), Malarial antibodies, and antibodies to VDRL. Results: A total of 13,706 blood units were received and tested. Out of the total, 52% were non-Saudi donors and 47.9% were Saudi donors; 28.4% were aged 18 - 28 years, 42.8% were aged 29 - 39 years, 24.4% were aged 40 - 50 years, and 4.4% were aged 51 - 60 years. The majority was O+ blood group (42.7%), followed by A+ (26.2%), B+ (18.7%), AB+ (4.6%), O- (3.8%), A- (2.1%), B- (1.5%), and AB- (0.4%). While 42.6% of the blood units donated were from voluntary donors, 57.4% were donated by replacement donors. Sixty-one samples (0.4%) tested positive for HBsAg, 824 samples (6%) for HBcAb, 43 samples (0.3%) for HCV antibodies, 754 samples (5.5%) for HBsAb, and 44 samples (0.3%) for HIV I/II Ag/Ab combinations. Further, 44 samples (0.3%) were positive for HTLV I/II antibodies, 83 samples (0.6%) for VDRL antibodies, and only 3 samples (nearly 0%) for malaria antibodies. Forty-three samples (0.3%) were positive for NAT-HBV, 7 samples (0.1%) were positive for NAT-HCV, and 6 samples (0.1%) were positive for NAT-HIV. The analysis revealed a statistically significant and strong correlation between HBsAgs and NAT-HBV (r = 0.819, p < 0.0001). In contrast, while there was a statistically significant association between HBsAgs and HBcAbs, the correlation was weak (r = 0.191, p < 0.0001). Additionally, there was an association between HBsAbs and HBsAgs, but the Spearman correlation indicated a very weak relationship (r = 0.042, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Prevalence rates of transfusion-transmitted infections showed a steady decline in 2023, and these rates were much lower in Makkah than in other parts of the country or in neighboring countries. The importance of using NAT in the screening of blood donors was indicated in this study. These findings could contribute to improving the understanding of TTIs epidemiology and supporting health authorities in controlling blood-borne pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing congestion in urban areas, it is important to characterise existing traffic control policies in terms of their performance and their optimal settings. In this paper, we propose a queueing model for traffic-light networks under fixed and semi-actuated control. In our model, we explicitly consider slow-departing vehicles in the beginning of a green period and the offsets between intersections. Our approach proves to be both accurate and fast compared to traffic microsimulation, allowing us to optimise the traffic-light settings and offsets.By analysing our model for two intersections in tandem, we show the important differences between semi-actuated and fixed controls. We observe that semi-actuated control is better for the average delay in comparison to fixed control when the main road has the same or a higher load than the crossing roads. If the loads are similar, the results of both types of control are close, and it may be advisable to use fixed control to avoid additional costs. The optimal traffic-light settings are shown to heavily depend on the type of control. For example, the effect of offsets in case of semi-actuated control is minor when the loads are relatively low, while the performance of fixed control may significantly vary depending on the offset between the intersections for any load.

To encourage COVID-19 vaccination, governments have offered a wide range of incentives to their populations ranging from cash to cows. Often these programs were rolled out at scale before assessing potential effectiveness. To inform future policy, we conducted a narrative review to understand the evidence base informing these programs and the extent to which they are effective. While we found evidence on cash transfers increasing both the coverage and intention to be vaccinated for COVID-19 and other adult vaccines, improvements in coverage were limited. With mixed evidence, lottery programs did not appear to have a consistent meaningful impact on vaccination for COVID-19, and no evidence was identified on the positive effects of other non-cash incentives for COVID-19 or other adult vaccines. We conclude that the impact of cash transfers in incentivizing adult vaccination is marginal and their effectiveness in addressing vaccine hesitancy remains inconclusive.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, multiple myeloma (MM) represented 1% of all cancers and about 5% of hematologic malignancies in Saudi cancer registry. We conducted this large study because only small pilot studies have examined MM outcomes after autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). The standard therapy for eligible patients is induction chemotherapy followed by ASCT. OBJECTIVES: Determine the demographic characteristics of MM patients and the outcomes of ASCT. DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Tumor registry database of major tertiary cancer care center in Riyadh. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified patients with newly diagnosed MM who underwent ASCT from October 1997 to March 2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The demographic characteristics of MM patients and the outcomes of ASCT in the form of response evaluation, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). SAMPLE SIZE: 169 patients with newly diagnosed MM. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 51 years (range 23–69) and 100 (59.2%) were male. The most common immunoglobulin (Ig) subtype was IgG-kappa (80 patients; 47.6%). Most patients presented with advanced ISS stage III (75 patients; 47.5%). The cytogenetic analysis was documented in only 87 patients (51.4%); about half (48.3%) had normal cytogenetics by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Deletion 13 was present in 18.4% of patients. In post-induction therapy, 84 patients (50%) achieved a complete response, which increased to 78.1% (132 patients) after ASCT. The median PFS and OS post-transplantation were 30 and 202 months, respectively. Only one patient (

Graphene oxide–chitosan composites are attracting considerable interest as an eco-friendly adsorbent material for most aquatic environmental pollutants. Today, the focus is on the emerging applications of 2D and 3D graphene functionalized with chitosan to enhance its mechanical properties and adsorption efficiency. Herein, the super adsorbent 3D graphene functionalized with chitosan (3D GF-CS) is synthesized to remove sulfamethazine, (SMZ) as a model aquatic antibiotic pharmaceutical. The synthesized materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and Raman spectroscopy. After that, adsorption experiments were conducted for SMZ adsorption to find out the optimized adsorption parameters, such as pH, temperature, contact time, initial antibiotic concentration, and adsorbent dosage. The results show the optimal adsorption parameters were as pH of 7, temperature of 25°C, initial antibiotic concentration Ci of 50 ppm. Also, the kinetics, isotherms models, and thermodynamics parameters of SMZ adsorption were studied. The experimental results revealed to be best suited by both the pseudo-second-order kinetic and the Freundlich isotherm model compared with other isotherm models. The thermodynamics parameters demonstrated that the adsorption is exothermic, exhibiting higher adsorption efficiency at lower temperature. In addition, Gibb’s free energy suggested the adsorption to be spontaneous as well as entropy indication of the loss of disorder. Furthermore, the regeneration of 3D GF-CS was utilized in ten consecutive cycles, and the SMZ adsorption capacity did not decline significantly. Additionally, this research studied the adsorption energies and how sulfamethazine adsorbs onto 3D GF-CS was determined by applying the density-functional–based tight binding (DFTB) and Monte Carlo simulations at different adsorption positions. The chemical reactivity (local and global) of the free drug was investigated using the density functional theory (DFT), namely, the B3LYP and PBEPBE functionals with the 6–31+G (d, p) basis set in the gas phase and aqueous solution.

Abstract Secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML) includes AML as a complication of an antecedent hematological disorder or a therapy‐related AML. Large registry‐based data identified sAML as an independent poor‐outcome type of AML post allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo‐HCT). In our study, we tried to define factors affecting outcomes of sAML post allo‐HCT, and identify patients with sAML who may truly benefit from allo‐HCT. We retrospectively analyzed the data of 64 patients aged (14‐61 years) with sAML who received allo‐HCT between September 2010 and February 2018 at our institute. Most of the patients were transplanted from matched related donors (MRD; 54, 84.4%). Our results showed that poor‐risk cytogenetics were identified in 31 patients (48.4%), and their presence was an indicator of poor overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS; P‐value = .009, and .004, respectively). The cumulative incidence of chronic graft‐versus‐host disease (cGVHD) was significantly lower in sAML patients with poor‐risk cytogenetics (P‐value = .003) resulting in a high risk of death without cGVHD in this group of patients (P‐value = .02). Besides, GVHD relapse‐free survival (GRFS) analysis showed that most of our studied patients experienced either relapse or debilitating grade II‐IV cGVHD in the first 2 years post allo‐HCT. We conclude that sAML patients with poor‐risk cytogenetics have a significantly lower DFS post allo‐HCT with a high risk of death without active cGVHD.

Abstract Chirp radars are vulnerable to various types of deceptive jamming for example, smeared spectrum (SMSP) jamming that generates multiple false targets, which lead and lag the true target. Unfortunately, the radar system cannot distinguish the true target from the false ones because the jamming signal looks like the true target echo. A new anti‐jamming technique to suppress false targets and identify the true target easily is introduced. The proposed technique benefits from the fact that SMSP jamming signal has a different frequency modulation slope from that of the radar signal. Therefore, the differences between SMSP jamming signal and the true target echo can be identified. The efficiency of the proposed technique is confirmed by theoretical analysis and simulation experiments.

Regulatory T cell (Treg) adoptive cell therapy (ACT) represents an emerging strategy for restoring immune tolerance in autoimmune diseases. Tregs are commonly purified using a CD4+CD25+CD127lo/- gating strategy, which yields a mixed population: 1) cells expressing the transcription factors, FOXP3 and Helios, that canonically define lineage stable thymic Tregs and 2) unstable FOXP3+Helios- Tregs. Our prior work identified the autoimmune disease risk-associated locus and costimulatory molecule, CD226, as being highly expressed not only on effector T cells but also, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) producing peripheral Tregs (pTreg). Thus, we sought to determine whether isolating Tregs with a CD4+CD25+CD226- strategy yields a population with increased purity and suppressive capacity relative to CD4+CD25+CD127lo/- cells. After 14d of culture, expanded CD4+CD25+CD226- cells displayed a decreased proportion of pTregs relative to CD4+CD25+CD127lo/- cells, as measured by FOXP3+Helios- expression and the epigenetic signature at the FOXP3 Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR). Furthermore, CD226- Tregs exhibited decreased production of the effector cytokines, IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-17A, along with increased expression of the immunoregulatory cytokine, TGF-β1. Lastly, CD226- Tregs demonstrated increased in vitro suppressive capacity as compared to their CD127lo/- counterparts. These data suggest that the exclusion of CD226-expressing cells during Treg sorting yields a population with increased purity, lineage stability, and suppressive capabilities, which may benefit Treg ACT for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Water purification from toxic metals was the main objective of this work. A composite in film form was prepared from the biomaterials hydroxyapatite, chitosan and glycerol using the dissolution/recrystallization method. A nanoparticle-based film with a homogenous and smooth surface was produced. The results of total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA) demonstrated the presence of a substantial physical force between composite components. The composite was tested for its ability to absorb Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions from aqueous solutions. Cd2+ and Zn2+ adsorption mechanisms are fit using the Langmuir model and the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that Cd2+ and Zn2+ ion adsorption onto the composite surface is spontaneous and preferred at neutral pH and temperatures somewhat higher than room temperature. The adsorption studies showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of the HAp/CTs bio-composite membrane for Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions was in the order of cadmium (120 mg/g) > Zinc (90 mg/g) at an equilibrium time of 20 min and a temperature of 25 °C. The results obtained on the physico-chemical properties of nanocomposite membranes and their sorption capacities offer promising potential for industrial and biological activities.

The expanding amount of remaining drug substances in wastewater adversely affects both the climate and human well-being. In the current investigation, we developed new cellulose acetic acid derivation/zeolite fiber as an effective technique to eliminate erythromycin (ERY) from wastewater. The number of interchangeable sites in the adsorbent structures and the ratio of ERY to the three adsorbents were identified as the main reasons for the reduction in adsorption as the initial ERY concentrations increased. Additionally, for all adsorbents, the pseudo–second-order modeling showed better fitting for the adsorption than the pseudo–first-order modeling. However, the findings obtained in the pseudo–first-order model were still enough for explaining the sorption kinetics of ERY, showing that the surface displayed all chemisorption and physi-sorption adsorption processes by both adsorbents. The R2 for the second order was very close to 1 for the three adsorbents in the case of pseudo–second-order. The adsorption capacity reached 17.76 mg/g. The three adsorbents showed negative values of ΔH, and these values were −6,200, −8,500, and −9600 kJ/mol for zeolite, CA, and ZCA, respectively, and this shows that the adsorption is exothermic. The desorption analysis shows no substantial loss of adsorption site after three trials, indicating higher stability and resilience of the three adsorbents, indicating a strong repeatability of their possible use in adsorption without contaminating the environment. In addition, the chemical attitude and possible donor–acceptor interactions of ERY were assessed by the quantum chemical parameters (QCPs) and NBO analysis performed, at the HF/6-311G** calculations.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder that primarily causes the growth of tumors along nerves. Additionally, the germline mutations involved in NF1 predispose patients to develop further malignancies. The mainstay initial treatment for these malignancies is surgical removal at diagnosis, although targeted therapies are under evaluation in the relapsed setting. We report a case of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), and pheochromocytoma in a patient with NF1 who presented with an infected right shoulder lesion that was confirmed to be spindle cell sarcoma via biopsy. She was treated with antibiotics; however, she rapidly deteriorated and opted for hospice care. NF1 germline mutations increase the risk of patients developing various types of cancer. Recent studies have shown that there is a role for using MEK inhibitors such as selumetinib for treating patients with NF1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]