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This cross-sectional study seeks to compare levels of emotional resonance in Arabic and English and identify the effects of sociobiographical factors, the history of English language learning and the current use of English on the development of emotional resonance of English among 141 bi- and multilingual Arab pupils and students in Saudi Arabia. Arabic was found to have a significantly stronger emotional resonance than English. Higher scores on emotional resonance in English were found among female participants, participants who had attended English-speaking primary (but not secondary schools), and participants who were using English intensely and frequently at the time of the data collection. We argue that all these factors contribute directly and indirectly to higher proficiency and increased embodiment of English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal oxide thin‐film transistors (TFTs) offer remarkable opportunities for applications in emerging transparent and flexible microelectronics. Unfortunately, their performance is hindered by limitations associated with parasitic effects, such as parasitic electrode overlap capacitances and high contact resistance, which can severely limit their dynamic behavior. Here, an innovative method is reported to fabricate coplanar self‐aligned‐gate (SAG) indium‐gallium‐zinc‐oxide (IGZO) transistors with engineered source/drain contacts. The manufacturing process starts with the deposition and patterning of a gate electrode/dielectric stack and its functionalization with an organic self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) as the surface energy modifier. A second gold (Au) electrode is subsequently deposited over the gate electrode stack. The overlapping region between the two electrodes is removed via self‐delamination under mild sonication, forming perfectly aligned coplanar Au‐Gate‐Au electrodes. Device fabrication is completed with the spin coating of the IGZO precursor, followed by rapid photonic curing. Replacing the gold source/drain contact with bimetallic electrodes such as Au/In and Au/ITO enables a reduction in contact resistance and improves the transistor performance remarkably without increasing manufacturing complexity. The method is highly scalable, robust, and applicable to other semiconductor materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) and hardness of four resin-matrix ceramic CAD/CAM materials namely, Vita Enamic (EN), Lava Ultimate (LU), Cerasmart (CS), Crystal Ultra (CU) and one glass-matrix ceramic material, Vitablocs Mark II (VM2). Disc-shaped specimens (12 mm in diameter and 1.2mm in thickness) were prepared from the CAD/CAM materials and were accordingly allocated into two groups. One group was used for baseline measurements and the other group was subjected to ageing by thermal-cycling (TC) for 10,000 cycles. The BFS and hardness was evaluated by a universal testing machine and a Vickers hardness tester, respectively. A two-way ANOVA, one-way ANOVA with Tukeys post hoc test, and Students t-test (=0.05) were used to analyse the data (α=0.05). The highest and lowest BFS was seen in CS and VM2 and the difference in the BFS among the materials was statistically significant (p˂0.05). The comparison between the baseline and TC groups showed significant difference in the BFS for EN (p ˂0.001), LU (p˂0.001), and CS (p˂0.012) but no difference was seen for VM2 (p= 0.238) and CU (p˂0.159). The Vickers hardness number (VHN) ranking of the materials for the baseline and TC specimens, was VM2˃EN˃LU˃CS˃CU and VM2˃EN˃LU˃CU˃CS, respectively. Following the TC, all the materials showed a significantly lower VHN (p ˂ 0.05) except for VM2 (p= 0.727). The CS material had the highest BFS among the baseline and TC groups; however, it had the lowest hardness among the materials in the baseline group and had comparable values to CU after the TC. Ageing by thermal-cycling significantly lowered the BFS of the CAD/CAM materials except for VM2 and CU, and lowered the hardness of the resin-matrix ceramic materials.

Metabolites are essential molecules involved in various metabolic processes, and their deficiencies and excessive concentrations can trigger significant physiological consequences. The detection of multiple metabolites within a non‐invasively collected biofluid could facilitate early prognosis and diagnosis of severe diseases. Here, a metal oxide heterojunction transistor (HJ‐TFT) sensor is developed for the label‐free, rapid detection of uric acid (UA) and 25(OH)Vitamin‐D3 (Vit‐D3) in human saliva. The HJ‐TFTs utilize a solution‐processed In2O3/ZnO channel functionalized with uricase enzyme and Vit‐D3 antibody for the selective detection of UA and Vit‐D3, respectively. The ultra‐thin tri‐channel architecture facilitates strong coupling between the electrons transported along the buried In2O3/ZnO heterointerface and the electrostatic perturbations caused by the interactions between the surface‐immobilized bioreceptors and target analytes. The biosensors can detect a wide range of concentrations of UA (from 500 nm to 1000 µM) and Vit‐D3 (from 100 pM to 120 nm) in human saliva within 60 s. Moreover, the biosensors exhibit good linearity with the physiological concentration of metabolites and limit of detections of ≈152 nm for UA and ≈7 pM for Vit‐D3 in real saliva. The specificity is demonstrated against various interfering species, including other metabolites and proteins found in saliva, further showcasing its capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to assess the most common types of vision impairment (VI) and their incidence in patients who attended the Al-Aqiq Hospital (AqH) eye clinic and to compare the results with other clinics inside and outside Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted using the recorded data of patients who visited the AqH eye clinic for eye care from 2021 to 2022. Results: The study sample included 1,711 patients; among them, female responses (n = 879, 51.4%) outnumbered male responses (n = 832, 48.6%). Most patients were Saudi (n = 1,403, 82.0%), with a mean age of 34.63± 21.90 years in women and 36.15 ± 23 years in men. Refractive error (RE) was the most common VI (31%), followed by red eye and allergy (15.7%). Blindness, amblyopia, and age-related macular degeneration were the least common disorders (2%). Other presentations of VI such as corneal dystrophies and infections, constituted 10.5% of patients, while 9.1% of patients did not have VI. In the defined data, presbyopia was the most common type of RE (9.8%), followed by stigmatism (4%). Among female patients, RE, dry eye (DR), trauma, DR, and glaucoma were more common among male patients. Conclusions: The incidence of VI was higher among female and Saudi patients at the AqH eye clinic. The most common cause of VI was RE, while amblyopia was the least common cause. The rate of routine follow-up was higher than elsewhere in KSA, indicating a high level of knowledge about eye health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining low-dimensional layers of dissimilar metal oxide materials to form a heterojunction structure offers a potent strategy to improve the performance and stability of thin-film transistors (TFTs). Here, we study the impact of channel layer thicknesses on the operating characteristics of In2O3/ZnO heterojunction TFTs prepared via sputtering. The conduction band offset present at the In2O3/ZnO heterointerface affects the device's operating characteristics, as is the thickness of the individual oxide layers. The latter is investigated using a variety of experimental and computational modeling techniques. An average field-effect mobility (μFE) of >50 cm2 V−1 s−1, accompanied by a low threshold voltage and a high on/off ratio (∼108), is achieved using an optimal channel configuration. The high μFE in these TFTs is found to correlate with the presence of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas at the In2O3/ZnO interface. This work provides important insight into the operating principles of heterojunction metal oxide TFTs, which can aid further developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diverticulum of the appendix is uncommon cause of right iliac fossa pain and inflammation with delayed diagnosis and high risk of complications, as it mimics acute appendicitis. Here we present a case of an elderly male patient who had lung cancer post-treatment. During the follow-up, appendicle lesion was discovered and suspected to be mucinous appendix. The pathology reported after appendectomy as appendicular diverticulosis without evidence of malignancy. As appendicular diverticulum is best confirmed by pathology, still its clinical presentation is difficult to be distinguished from other appendicular diseases. It is frequently linked to increased risk of cancer, particularly carcinoid tumors and mucinous adenomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence and the association of stress with sleep quality among medical students at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done among 326 medical students of KAU using a stratified random sampling technique. An electronic self-administered questionnaire was used. Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to assess the stress and sleep quality, respectively. Results: The overall students who experienced stress were 65%. The prevalence of poor sleep quality (total PSQI score ≥5) was 76.4%. There was a strong association between stress and poor sleep quality (value of Cramer's V = 0.371, P < 0.001), and it showed that the increase in stress level is a significant predictor of poor sleep quality. Conclusion: A high prevalence of stress and poor sleep quality was found among the students and the study confirms a strong association between them. We recommend establishing courses focusing on educating the students about proper sleep hygiene and how to deal with the stressful environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality, mucinous adenocarcinoma is one of the subtypes and is characterized by the presence of mucin-producing tumor cells with mucin components and is more challenging to manage. In Saudi Arabia, it represents approximately 10-15% of all colorectal carcinoma. The main etiological cause of mucinous adenocarcinoma is yet not well understood. The main goal of our study is to discuss the histopathology and the molecular background of mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma and also to provide an update on its prognosis and therapeutics from recent published literature. It is a retrospective cohort study that was conducted at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study included 68 adult patients diagnosed with mucinous colon cancer, who did surgical resection alone or with or without adjuvant chemotherapy following from January 2011 to December 2020. The mucinous subtypes are found more commonly in the proximal colon. In our study, 26 patients (38.2% of the cases) were right-sided and 35 patients (51.5%) were from the left side, but these included the rectum as well and this reflects the higher incidence of diagnosis of rectal cancer in the region. Most tumors were classified as Grade II in 56 patients (82.4%), consistent with the intermediate differentiation status often associated with the mucinous subtypes. The most common symptom at presentation was abdominal pain in 38 patients (55.9%) followed by per rectal bleeding and abdominal mass. The management in our study was in line with the standard established practice and surgical resection as expected was the primary potentially curative approach. Notably of patients presenting with locally advanced rectal cancer, six patients underwent concomitant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery and four patients had upfront surgery. The duration of the median follow-up was 32 months. At the time of analysis, 30 patients (44.1%) were alive and remained on regular follow-up, 17 patients (25%) had succumbed to the disease, and 21 patients (30.9%) were lost to follow-up. The median overall survival was not reached, and notably, 49 patients (71.6%) remained alive at the four-year mark. Whilst our study contributes to the current understanding of mucinous adenocarcinomas of the colon, further research in molecular profiling and genomic testing and larger clinical trials with tailored treatments is necessary to refine treatment strategies and improve outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Alshehri et al.)

Introduction: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a clinically significant disorder that requires attention from healthcare professionals. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, awareness, and attitude of primary healthcare physicians regarding OSA in Saudi Arabia., Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study design was employed from January 18, 2023, to August 18, 2023, focusing on primary healthcare physicians practicing in the Al-Baha region of Saudi Arabia. The survey included questions related to knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward OSA, using the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Knowledge and Attitude (OSAKA) questionnaire for OSA, and demographic information. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data., Results: A total sample size of 174 primary health care physicians was collected, where the majority of participants were male (101, 58.0%), and the mean age of the participants was 32.73 years (SD = 9.14). The item with the most correct answers was "The majority of patients with obstructive sleep apnea snore" (150, 86.2%). On the other hand, the item with the lowest number of correct answers was "Laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty is an appropriate treatment for severe obstructive sleep apnea" (17, 9.8%). The majority of participants agreed that it is essential for physicians to know about OSA as a clinical disorder (161, 92.5%). However, when it came to screening all patients for possible OSA, there was a higher proportion of participants who disagreed or strongly disagreed (111, 63.8%). In general, the majority of participants had a low level of knowledge (109, 62.6%). Gender was significantly associated with both knowledge (p = 0.021) and awareness (p = 0.039), as well as nationality (knowledge (p = 0.012) and awareness (p = 0.039)), and specialty training, which was significantly associated with both knowledge (p = 0.000) and awareness (p = 0.002)., Conclusion: Although all participants acknowledged that OSA is a clinical disease, their perspectives on screening and levels of confidence in utilizing screening techniques varied. While the participants exhibited commendable understanding in the majority of domains, there were some facets of OSA in which they lacked expertise., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Alghamdi et al.)