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In this study, we examine the statistical characteristics of a steady-state probability distribution of bacterial cells growth in the presence of antibiotic resistance, wherein the growth is subject to random fluctuations such as rapid changes in the environment. We estimate the parameters of the intrinsic rates of bacterial cells growth and antibiotic activity, as well as the intensity of intra-competitive forces that impact this distribution. Additionally, we investigate the characteristics of this distribution when deleting the period in which antibiotic resistance becomes apparent (i.e. when the rates of cell persistence and extinction are equal). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple types of microorganisms impact people with immunological illnesses simultaneously. In the presence of antibiotic resistance and random fluctuations such as rapid changes in the environment, the synchronization growth density varies stochastically from one species to another. Therefore, in this work, we study the multivariate probability distribution of the density of all species at the same time. Using the principle of independence of growth density for each species, we provide the statistical properties of this distribution. Furthermore, we estimate the parameters of the intrinsic rates of antibiotic action and bacterial cell growth for each variety, along with the strength of the intra-competitive pressures influencing this distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-step model selection procedure is proposed for autoregressive and moving-average (ARMA) model class. It is an adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (adLASSO) type model selection method that simultaneously chooses both the orders and significant lagged variables when the autoregressive and moving-average (ARMA) time series is contaminated with a nonlinear trend. The adLASSO is applied not to the observations, but to the detrended residuals. The proposed two-step adLASSO model selection procedure under some conditions can identify the true model with probability approaching one as the sample size increases, and the asymptotic properties of estimators are not affected by the replacement of observations with detrended residuals. The simulation studies show that the proposed method performs well with sample size as small as 50. The application of the method is illustrated by the annual varve thickness data collected from a location in Massachusetts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Walaa M Alsharif,1 Jaber H Alyami,2 Abdulaziz A Qurashi,1 Raghad A Aljuhani,1 Rawan K Alqrafi,1 Razan S Alraddadi,1 Elaf A Alhojeli,1 Shrooq T Aldahery,3 Khalid M Alshamrani,4– 6 Sultan A Alshoabi,1 Awadia G Suliman1 1Diagnostic Radiology Technology Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia; 2Diagnostic Radiology department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 3Applied Radiologic Technology, College of Applied Medical Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 5King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 6Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Walaa M Alsharif, Tel +966 148618888, Ext: 3708, Email Wsheref@taibahu.edu.saPurpose: To identify factors influencing Saudi students to choose radiography as their academic major and future career field.Material and Method: This study involved quantitative (online questionnaire) and qualitative (semi-structured interview) approaches. An online questionnaire was distributed among (n = 308) students. The questionnaire contained 30 questions covering the following three domains: economy, vocational and personal. A total of 25 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposive sampling of radiography students in seven universities (public and private) across the western region of Saudi Arabia. Interview responses were coded, and main themes were extracted based on Miles and Huberman’s framework.Results: The findings demonstrated that radiography was the first option as profession for 44% of the study participants. Several factors that study participants considered important were in the realm of patient care, helping patients, radiographer–patient relations, science-based profession, and the desire to work in the healthcare system. A few participants (14%) reported that they are planning to change their profession to another medical speciality. Four themes were identified from the interviews: 1) Profession decision-making, 2) changing career”, 3) difficulties and challenges, and 4) recommended radiography as a profession.Conclusion: The results of the study support the need to bridge the gap between high school, universities, and employment through a collaborative network to assist students in exploring their career path by providing sufficient information and experience.Keywords: motivation, profession, radiography, career, education

Competing Interests: None disclosed.

Purpose: Pathogenic variants in genes encoding ubiquitin E3 ligases are known to cause neurodevelopmental syndromes. Additional neurodevelopmental disorders associated with the other genes encoding E3 ligases are yet to be identified., Methods: Chromosomal analysis and exome sequencing were used to identify the genetic causes in 10 patients from 7 unrelated families with syndromic neurodevelopmental, seizure, and movement disorders and neurobehavioral phenotypes., Results: In total, 4 patients were found to have 3 different homozygous loss-of-function (LoF) variants, and 3 patients had 4 compound heterozygous missense variants in the candidate E3 ligase gene, HECTD4, that were rare, absent from controls as homozygous, and predicted to be deleterious in silico. In 3 patients from 2 families with Angelman-like syndrome, paralog-directed candidate gene approach detected 2 LoF variants in the other candidate E3 ligase gene, UBE3C, a paralog of the Angelman syndrome E3 ligase gene, UBE3A. The RNA studies in 4 patients with LoF variants in HECTD4 and UBE3C provided evidence for the LoF effect., Conclusion: HECTD4 and UBE3C are novel biallelic rare disease genes, expand the association of the other HECT E3 ligase group with neurodevelopmental syndromes, and could explain some of the missing heritability in patients with a suggestive clinical diagnosis of Angelman syndrome., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest J.R.L. has stock ownership in 23andMe, is a paid consultant for Regeneron Genetics Center, and is a coinventor on multiple US and European patents related to molecular diagnostics for inherited neuropathies, eye diseases, genomic disorders, and bacterial genomic fingerprinting. J.R.L. serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Baylor Genetics. Baylor College of Medicine and Miraca Holdings have formed a joint venture with shared ownership and governance of Baylor Genetics, which performs clinical microarray analysis and other genomic studies (exome sequencing, genome sequencing) for patient and family care. N.A.M.A. is a paid consultant for Noor Diagnostics and Discovery, which performs genetic and genomic studies (exome sequencing, genome sequencing) for patient and family care. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Patients education about chemotherapy and its side effects is important. The health-related distress among the patients can be decreased by promoting self-care behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital with 90 patients from the hospital's oncology department in Jeddah during the period between December 2015 and January 2016. The study was performed by using a self-administered questionnaire among the sample of the study. Eight percent (n = 33) patients scored higher knowledge regarding chemotherapy and its side effects, while 11.1% (n = 8) had low knowledge. Moreover, 36.1% (n = 26) of patients reported complete compliance with the self-care behaviors to manage chemotherapy side effects, 43.1% (n = 31) reported partial compliance, and 20.8% (n = 15) reported less compliance. Physicians were reported as main source of information by 80.6% (n = 58) of their patients. Involving healthcare professionals in educating patients regarding chemotherapy can prove to have positive outcomes.

Background: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is caused by a coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and is characterized by hypoxemic respiratory failure. The objective of this study is to compare the outcomes of MERS-CoV patients before and after the availability of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a rescue therapy in severely hypoxemic patients who failed conventional strategies., Methods: We collected data retrospectively on MERS-CoV patients with refractory respiratory failure from April 2014 to December 2015 in 5 intensive care units (ICUs) in Saudi Arabia. Patients were classified into two groups: ECMO versus conventional therapy. Our primary outcome was in-hospital mortality; secondary outcomes included ICU and hospital length of stay., Results: Thirty-five patients were included; 17 received ECMO and 18 received conventional therapy. Both groups had similar baseline characteristics. The ECMO group had lower in-hospital mortality (65 vs. 100%, P = 0.02), longer ICU stay (median 25 vs. 8 days, respectively, P < 0.01), and similar hospital stay (median 41 vs. 31 days, P = 0.421). In addition, patients in the ECMO group had better PaO2/FiO2 at days 7 and 14 of admission to the ICU (124 vs. 63, and 138 vs. 36, P < 0.05), and less use of norepinephrine at days 1 and 14 (29 vs. 80%; and 36 vs. 93%, P < 0.05)., Conclusions: ECMO use, as a rescue therapy, was associated with lower mortality in MERS patients with refractory hypoxemia. The results of this, largest to date, support the use of ECMO as a rescue therapy in patients with severe MERS-CoV.