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Scientific writing is the final product of research and can take the form of a master’s or doctoral thesis or a peer reviewed journal article. It must follow the appropriate format and style of scientific writing. We verify the effectiveness of a training program in improving the scientific writing skills of 26 postgraduate students at King Faisal University's College of Education. A quasi-experimental approach was used. The sample was divided into 13 experimental group and 13 control group. A scientific writing skills scale and training program (both developed by the researchers) were used. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean ranks of the experimental and control groups on the post-test in favor of the experimental group. The results also revealed a statistically significant difference between the mean ranks of the experimental group on the pre-and post-tests in favor of the post-test, the findings of the study indicate that the training program was effective in improving the scientific writing skills of the participants.

Background: The term ‘cyberbullying’ is linked to traditional bullying, and both refer to oppression. This study aimed to determine the overall effects of cyberbullying on mental health among university students of various ages, and to investigate the extent to which victims (students) directed less attention and focus towards their academic achievement. Methods: The participants in this study were 326 male and female students from King Faisal University in the Al-Ahsa Governorate. The researchers in this study employed the descriptive correlative approach. Results: The study’s findings revealed that there were substantial variations in the categories of sex, academic specialty (medical and non-medical students), and family economic status, in relation to cyberbullying surveys. In addition, there was a significant negative relationship between cyberbullying and mental health. Conclusions: It is highly recommended that, in order to prevent cyberbullying, people of all generations need to be made aware of it via specific programs in different public areas, for example, in schools, colleges, and malls, and on social media.

Background: The kindergarten teacher is the primary individual responsible for forming children's personalities and minds, which are basic factors of any educational system. This study aimed to reveal the levels of reflective thinking and successful intelligence in kindergarten teachers and their relationship to self-efficacy. Methods: This research followed a descriptive-analytical approach. The sample consisted of 191 female kindergarten teachers in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. In addition, three questionnaires were employed by the researchers. Results: The participants showed high levels of reflective thinking, successful intelligence, and self-efficacy. There was a significant positive relationship between self-efficacy and both reflective thinking and successful intelligence; moreover, the self-efficacy of kindergarten teachers could be predicted by both reflective thinking and successful intelligence. Conclusion: The researchers in the present study recommended conducting in-depth research on the impact of successful intelligence among female teachers on self-efficacy and linking it to variables such as age and years of experience.

Background As technology keeps on developing, earbuds have been more popular recently among different age groups. As they are inserted into the external ear canal, they obstruct and isolate its communication with the outer environment. Thus, changing temperature and humidity inside the external ear canal. (EEC), and the extent of those environmental changes is influenced by the duration of using the earbuds, as well as, the attitude of maintaining hygiene of the earpieces. Material and methods A cross sectional study was conducted among the teenager and adult population of AlAhssa, Dammam, AlQatif, and Jubail Industrial cities, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. An online validated voluntary self-administered questionnaire was disseminated. The questionnaire consisted of 19 elements including consent. The net data of 504 participants was analyzed with SPSS version 21. Results Regular use of earbuds was found among 32.5% of the respondents. The mean knowledge score was 2.49 (SD 0.95) out of 4 points. Good, moderate and poor awareness were found among 49.2%, 35.3% and 15.5% respectively. The most commonly known symptoms of prolonged use of earbuds were itching (28%), otalgia (23%) and excessive ear wax (21.8%). It was found that females (T = −2.569; P = 0.010) and earbuds users for 1–2 h per day (F = 2.901; P = 0.040) have significantly better awareness while students (F = 2.824; P = 0.044) and those using high volume level have significantly poorer level of awareness. Conclusion There was an adequate awareness toward the side effects of excessive usage of earbuds among teenagers and young adults. Females showed better awareness compared to males and short-term usage of earbuds was a significant predictor of good awareness.

Background: The night eating syndrome (NES) was first described in 1955 as a disorder characterized by morning anorexia, evening hyperphagia, and insomnia among obese individuals characterized by unsuccessful weight management. The night eating syndrome (NES) appears to be associated with obesity. This study was primarily undertaken to study the prevalence of Night eating syndrome (NES). Method: Three humdered out of a total of 400 undergraduate medical students voluntarily participated in this cross sectional survey conducted online (self-rated) at a reputed university in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Socio-demographic details were recorded on a semi-structured performa. SCOFF was administered to find those at risk of eating disorder. Night eating syndrome questionnaire (NEQ) was used to screen those who had NES. Result: 58% of the sample was male. The mean weight of the total sample was 70.23 (males 79.15 and females 57.9). The mean body mass index was 25.09 for male and 22.64 female. 21% were found to be overweight and 14.3% were obese. The prevalence of NES in the study was 10.3% with comparatively men being at higher risk for NES. Conclusion: High prevalence of obesity and overweight in the sample was similar to what has been reported in the Saudi population. Comparatively high prevalence of NES was found in this study but it was not associated with BMI.

Background: Domestic violence is a major health and social issue. Forensic documentation of this problem might be of great significance. This study aims to define the primary forensic and social features of domestic violence. Materials and Subjects: The study materials consisted of 779 Saudi Arabian females, aged 15-60 years, attending the gynecology, and urology clinics at three secondary health centers in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire was employed in this study, which entails two scales to cover both forensic and social aspects of the assault. The SPSS/PC software package for version 25.0 was utilized to perform the statistical analysis. Results: During the study period, 950 women have attended the clinics with (82%) response rate. The percentage of physical violence was higher than the other forms (75%).The highest incidence of domestic violence (42.6%) was in the age group (20-30) and in married women. The frequency of abusing shows a significantly higher percentage of occasional answers (75.68%).The most commonly reported injury sites were the head (45.27%). Slaps/ push were the sorts of violation in (56.4%) of cases. Husbands (57.4%) were the main perpetrators. Six gynecological and urological symptoms were significantly more common in women with a history of domestic violence. Conclusion: The results of this work denoting the great importance of forensic practicing in the era of domestic violence investigations. Medicolegal researches should be considered as a cornerstone in the programs designed for proper reporting, and prevention of violence against women.

Background The peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) is a highly devastating virus of small ruminants in many parts of the world, including the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, our objectives were (1) to conduct a molecular prevalence study of PPRV in sheep and goat across the KSA and (2) to isolate and identify currently circulating PPRV lineages. Swabs and tissue specimens were collected from 97 herds suspected to be infected with PPRV across the Kingdome of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Testing for the presence of the virus was done by the real-time PCR. Confirmation of the identity of the reactions was done by the gel-based-PCR then by sequencing of the partial PPRV genome. Results Our results revealed that 24.1% of the tested specimens were PPRV-positive. Isolation of PPRV was successful from samples using the Vero cell line. Sequence analysis of some partial PPRV genes (N, F, M, L, P, and H) revealed that these strains were belonging to lineage IV of the PPRV. Conclusions This is the first study to conduct both the nationwide prevalence, isolation, and molecular characterizations of the PPRV in the KSA. Continuous surveillance and monitoring of the circulating strains of PPRV among sheep and goats will contribute substantially to the global eradication campaign of such a virus.

Background: breast cancer is a progressive disease, there are three screening tests essential for early detection; clinical breast examination (CBE), X-ray mammography and breast self-examination (BSE). Lack of knowledge and wrong beliefs about cancer breast prevention among women affect adversely on their perception of cure from early detection of the cancer and of screening tests effectiveness. Aim of the work: this baseline study aimed to assess the awareness of females in Al-Ahsa about breast cancer and their practice of BSE. Materials and Methods: this was a cross‑sectional research, a self‑administered survey was used a questionnaire was distributed to 400 females aged between 20 and 70 years. The questionnaire was divided into three domains: socio‑demographic characteristics, the respondent’s knowledge of breast cancer and BSE and their experience of breast cancer screening and breast self-examination (BSE). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23. Results: the overall response rate was 93.3%. Approximately half of the respondents were highly educated (Bachelor degree) 109 (59.6 %). Of 319 female that responded only 98 (39.7%) had good awareness of breast cancer. 281 (88.1%) perceived the cause to be brought about by smoking. This was followed, in descending order, by 272 (85.3%) who felt that the old age caused breast cancer, 264 respondents (82.8%) attributed the cause to hereditary, 211 (66.1%) attributed the cause to oral contraceptive use. Most of the participants were aware about the protective effect of the breast feeding and multiparty against breast cancer, 306 (95.9%), 247 (77.4%) respectively Overall, 114 (35.7%) of the participants aware of breast cancer knew of BSE as a method for the early detection of breast cancer and only 14 (4.4%) had ever performed. Conclusion: the current status of awareness of breast cancer in Al-Ahsa and their use of BSE are insufficient. Women need to be encouraged to self‑monitor in order to detect abnormalities in their breasts. Appropriate educational interventions are urgently required to encourage women to engage in regular BSE.

Face reading has been practised since time immemorial by different cultures. Different personality traits have been attributed to different characters of face. It is argued that everyone uses face reading in their daily life when they choose one person to another.One would not prefer to sit beside a tidy, handsome, well-dressed man if he had narrow mean eyes. People tend to artificially change the features of their face to gain acceptance in interviews. Most of these preferences are arbitrary and are born out of the authors' preconceived cultural and social influences. But is there a science behind these observations. The proponents of face reading argue that this is based on clearly stated rules and observation. Nose is an important part of the face. According to face reading the shape and size of nose determines the aggressiveness of the person. The present study tries to scientifically test this statement.

Introduction: multivitamins are normally used to treat vitamin deficiencies. They may cause constipation and diarrhea. We are concerned to see the prevalence for using multivitamins supplementation & awareness of their side effects among saudi people. Methods: we conducted a cross sectional study and data collected by distributing an electronic questionnaire from 6/3 to 15/8/2017 and approved by the King Faisal University in Alhass, SA. Both gender above 18 years were included and excluded people below them. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Results: this study was applied on 471persons from different areas of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Most of them were female 67.5 %.the age of our studied group was above 18 years. Most of them was healthy, pre-university, from western area and used multivitamins for weight gain. 15.5% had harmful effect and 69.6% had vitamins or minerals deficiency (51.7% iron deficiency). 43.1% used them with no prescription and 85% used as pill. 80.8% considers them are important to their health and 35.8% believe there is no difference between using vitamins with or without medical advice. 24.9% believe they have no side effects and16.3% believe that they are sufficient for the variety and quantity of food.70.7% believe that the amount of vitamins in the food is not sufficient for the daily body and 42.5% read about vitamins from scientific books. Conclusion: the majority of the participants were using vitamins according to medical advice and there is a less percentage of people that experienced a side effect from using that supplementations. Objectives: to determine the prevalence, reasons, source of information of multivitamins supplement uses, and their side effects.

Background: Menarche is the first menstrual period of a girl at puberty. The timing of menarche is significant for health in future life. Saudi Arabia has developed immensely over the last three decades as evidenced by the economic and health sectors throughout all parts of the vast Kingdom. The current study measured the menarche age of school adolescents Girls in Saudi Arabia and explored environmental factors that could impact the onset of menarche. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 1486 healthy Saudi school adolescents’ girls between 10 - 19 years old. The data were collected in 2016 using self-administered questionnaires. Health status, dietary intake, physical activities and parent’s education were recorded along with other environmental factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.1. Results: Out of 1486, 767 girls (51.6%) had experienced menarche with a mean age of 12.46 ± 1.57; 681 girls (45.8%) had experienced menarche at age of 13 - 15; 38 girls (2.6%) had experienced menarche at age of 16. A significant association between menarche and social factors was detected. Besides, the study discovered a significant association between menarche and the lifestyle of the studied groups.

Background: One of the most highly prevalent costly gastrointestinal disorders is IBS. It is a consequence of emotional conflicts and stress. So people who are in medical education, they have highest percentage of IBS. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of IBS and its effects on the academic achievement among medical students of KFU, Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among medical students and interns from August 2015 to September 2016 at (KFU) in Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia. All participants were asked to complete a confidential self-administered questionnaire. Diagnosis of IBS was according to Rome III criteria. Results: 173 medical students completed the survey. The prevalence of IBS was 44.5%, with a high prevalence in females (31.8%). IBS was present significantly higher among students who experience emotional stress in the past 6-month (25.4%) and higher among students with a positive family history of IBS. Moreover, IBS was associated with a decrease in the academic performance among medical students (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study revealed a high percentage of IBS among medical students and interns in KFU. Female gender, having emotional stress in the past 6 months and family history of IBS were the main predictors of IBS. However, the main predictor of IBS was in family history.

This study aimed to identify the diagnosis of the difference between the intellectual disability and the autism spectrum disorder. The study sample consisted of 60 children (30 children with intellectual disability, 30 children with autism spectrum disorder). Three scales were used in this study; the measure of autism spectrum disorder for children (prepared by Gaber 2018), the measure of communication and social interaction, and the measure of the behavioral performance (prepared by the researchers of this study). The study found that there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05) among the average scores of children with intellectual disability and children with autism spectrum disorder on measurement of communication and social interaction of the three dimensions in favor of children with intellectual disability. The results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences at the level of significance (0.05) between the average scores of children with intellectual disability and children with autism spectrum disorder on the measure of behavioral performance in its four dimensions in favor of children with intellectual disability.

Background: One of the most important treatment modalities for SCD patients is opioid drugs. These drugs have been the mainstay of treatment for patients with sickle cell disease especially when they are having vaso-occlusive sickle cell crisis. However, opioids are known to have a pleasurable effect on the patients in which may cause many patients of SCD continue to demand those medications. As a result, if the patient takes unnecessary doses of opioids on a regular basis, that may lead to undesirable side effects like opioid dependence or addiction. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in AlAhsa, which focuses on perception of Saudi patients with sickle cell disease towards opioid drugs using self-administrated questionnaires from February 2018 to July 2018. The data were analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences [SPSS] version 21. All categorical variables presented in this study had been summarized by using numbers and percentages. The analyses measure the association between socio-demographic and other related variables in the survey by using chi-square test. Regression analysis had been conducted as well where Odds ratio and 95% CI were also being reported for the risk factor of the dependent variables versus socio demographic characteristics of the SCD patients. Results: A total of 309 SCD patients were involved in this study. Of the 309 patients, 175 [56.6%] of them were females and 134 [43.4%] were males. Age range was from 10 – 60 years old. The prevalence of perception of SCD patients toward opioid drugs revealed, 218 [70.6%] with good perception and 91 [29.4%] with poor perception. Binary logistics regression revealed that sickle cell group is likely to have significant effect on good perception [odds ratio 0.084, p-0.002] where carriers were likely to have 92% decline to be in good perception compared SCD patient. Family history of sickle cell anemia also shows significant influence [odds ratio 0.462, p-0.015] where negative group were having 54% decreases to be in the good perception compared to positive group. Conclusion: The prevalence of good perception toward opioid drug utilization in this study was relatively high as opposed to poor perception. However, perception of patients about the symptoms of drug dependency was deemed moderate which was necessary to address given the different diseases attributed to the continuous usage of opioid medications.

Alcohol is important risk factors of ill-health and disability. The WHO estimates that one-fourth to one-third of the male population in South East Asian countries drink alcohol .In India, the estimated number of alcohol users in 2005 was 62.5 million and 17.4% (10.6 million) were dependent on alcohol. Of the hospital admissions, 20-30% were due to alcohol-related problems. Continuous alcohol abuse not only affects the individual but also family members, especially the spouse who faces many emotional problems and stressful life events. Many studies and anecdotal reports suggest that individuals who are married to persons dependent on alcohol have poor overall physical and mental health. One study found that substance use disorders among husbands is strongly associated with psychiatric illness such as depressive disorders and anxiety disorders among their wives. The purpose of the current study.

Aim: Lack of knowledge for biostatistics adversely affect the skills required for a competent physician. However, literature is deficient to show whether medical students learn it and course of biostatistics is effective. Hence, this study designed to assess the effect of a biostatistics course in an integrated PBL curriculum. Materials and methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted for first year male (92) and female (88) medical students in public medical school in Eastern province. This 10-item scale has applied as pre and post-test at the beginning and end of the course. A student t-test applied to compare the mean difference in between male and female students for the mean scores. Results: With this questionnaire, the maximum possible score was 10. The range of scores obtained by the study subjects was 7 and the median was 5. Appropriate use of biostatistics was independent of sex (P>0.05). T-test showed a significance difference in the mean score before and after teaching the course of biostatistics. Conclusion: In new evidence based medicine practices epoch an introductory course of biostatistics is not sufficient and need more courses integrated in the curriculum for the better understanding and application of the biostatistics knowledge.

Introduction and Aims: Brittleness and breakage of hair is a common complaint in the geographical area of Saudi Arabia where we work. This area has a high level of hardness in normal tap water. We aimed to study and compare structural differences and relative deposition of calcium and magnesium salts on the hair shaft surface using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) between hair shaft samples from normal, healthy volunteers treated with hard and soft water. Methods: Hair samples obtained from 20 healthy volunteers were divided into two groups. One group was treated with hard water for 3 weeks and the second with soft water for the same duration. SEM was used to assess hair shaft surface damages and relative deposition of calcium and magnesium on the surface of the hair. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the study and control group as far as surface changes under SEM were concerned. As far as the relative deposition of calcium and magnesium was concerned, there was no statistically significant difference in calcium deposition between the control and study samples (P = 0.28). On the other hand, magnesium deposition showed a significant difference between both groups (P = 0.001), with a higher level in samples washed with hard water. Conclusions: Hard water may be associated with increased deposits on the hair shaft surface, however, this does not necessarily translate into evident structural surface changes, as evidenced by SEM.

Background: The recommended weight of schoolbags is less than 10-15% of the body weight. Heavy schoolbags may result in musculoskeletal and psychological problems among primary school children. This study was conducted to assess the weight of school bags in relation to primary school children weight, and to look for the prevalence of back pain among them in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A total of 2567 school children were included in this study both from rural and urban areas of Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. A cross sectional survey was conducted in which a pre-tested questionnaire was used to ask about demographic profile, and symptoms of back pain. The weight of the school bags and the school children was measured. Results: 1860 school children (72.46%) out of 2567 were carrying bags of weight more than 15% of their body weight. The prevalence of heavy school bags was higher among the female children as compared with the male children. Back pain was reported by 42% of the school children. Conclusions: The weight of schoolbags of Al-Ahsa primary school children were higher than the internationally acceptable standards and as a result back pain was reported by 42% of school children. The school authorities and ministry of health should further evaluate and take the necessary steps to rectify the situation.

Social media discussion forums, blogs, wikis and three-dimensional virtual worlds are the current new techniques for learning. External social media sites, including Facebook (Facebook, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA), YouTube (YouTube, LLC, San Bruno, CA, USA), Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA), Flickr (Yahoo Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA), Twitter (Twitter, Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA), LinkedIn (LinkedIn, Mountain View, CA, USA) and Second Life (Linden Lab, San Francisco, CA, USA), have been considered as very useful learning and teaching tools in recent years. This provides a chance for student-centred and social constructivist pedagogies in an online environment, and enables students to easily contribute and collaborate to e-learning environments. The influences of social media have reached Arab culture and are quickly spreading. This study highlights the use of these media for self-directed learning (SDL) purposes among medical students. This is a cross-sectional study and the questionnaire was constructed using the Delphi technique at Google (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA) documents and was uploaded to different social media sites. The questionnaire comprised 28 questions, which included information relating to demographic features and utilization of social media during SDL time. The data were entered into Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 21 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) and Pearson chi-squared tests were applied for comparison. We received a total of 103 responses in 1 week, 52 of which (50.5%) were from men. The greatest proportion of responses came from students in their fifth year (35%), followed by those in their fourth year and first year (18.4%). Most students (63%) scored a grade-point average of 4–5 points. Out of the total, only eight students (7.8%) responded that they do not use social network sites at all. Almost one-third of responders (33%) utilized social networks for SDL for 2–3 hours daily, and 84 responders (81%) declared that these social media sites are helpful during preparation for their examinations. Age, sex and academic year have a significant association (P < 0.05) with the use of social media. In conclusion, it is reported that the culture of using of social media is increasing in Arab society; however, we need to provide the guidance for its proper utilization for SDL purposes.