BackgroundThe identification of early mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and associated biomarkers could advance development of new therapies and improve monitoring and predicting of AD progression. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been suggested to underlie AD pathophysiology, however, no comprehensive study exists that evaluates the effect of different familial AD (FAD) mutations on mitochondrial function, dynamics, and brain energetics.Methods and FindingsWe characterized early mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolomic signatures of energetic stress in three commonly used transgenic mouse models of FAD. Assessment of mitochondrial motility, distribution, dynamics, morphology, and metabolomic profiling revealed the specific effect of each FAD mutation on the development of mitochondrial stress and dysfunction. Inhibition of mitochondrial trafficking was characteristic for embryonic neurons from mice expressing mutant human presenilin 1, PS1(M146L) and the double mutation of human amyloid precursor protein APP(Tg2576) and PS1(M146L) contributing to the increased susceptibility of neurons to excitotoxic cell death. Significant changes in mitochondrial morphology were detected in APP and APP/PS1 mice. All three FAD models demonstrated a loss of the integrity of synaptic mitochondria and energy production. Metabolomic profiling revealed mutation-specific changes in the levels of metabolites reflecting altered energy metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction in brains of FAD mice. Metabolic biomarkers adequately reflected gender differences similar to that reported for AD patients and correlated well with the biomarkers currently used for diagnosis in humans.ConclusionsMutation-specific alterations in mitochondrial dynamics, morphology and function in FAD mice occurred prior to the onset of memory and neurological phenotype and before the formation of amyloid deposits. Metabolomic signatures of mitochondrial stress and altered energy metabolism indicated alterations in nucleotide, Krebs cycle, energy transfer, carbohydrate, neurotransmitter, and amino acid metabolic pathways. Mitochondrial dysfunction, therefore, is an underlying event in AD progression, and FAD mouse models provide valuable tools to study early molecular mechanisms implicated in AD.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESDentists suffer a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) but studies are quite limited. The present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of MSDs among dentists in the Ha’il Region, Saudi Arabia.DESIGN AND SETTINGSA cross-sectional, questionnaire study was conducted among 80 licensed dentists affiliated with the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ha’il Region, Saudi Arabia from January 2014-January 2015.PATIENTS AND METHODSA self-administered questionnaire, based on the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ) was sent to participants after translation to Arabic. The questionnaire was delivered by mail with a prepaid return envelope.RESULTSSixty-eight questionnaires (85%) were returned. The prevalence of MSDs among respondents was 77.9% (n=53) with the most commonly affected areas the lower back (73.5%) (39/53) followed by the neck (66%) (35/53) and the shoulders (43.3%) (23/53). Twenty-four (45.2%) of 53 respondents had experienced MSDs in the neck and lower back at the same time throughout the past twelve months. Nearly 85% (45/53) of respondents were found to have MSDs affecting two or more sites.CONCLUSIONPrevalence of MSDs was high among dentists in the Ha’il region. Lower back, neck and shoulders were the most commonly affected body sites.

No abstract

BackgroundHealth workers in sub-Saharan Africa can now diagnose and treat malaria in the field, using rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy in areas without microscopy and widespread resistance to previously effective drugs.ObjectiveThis study evaluates communities’ perceptions of a new community case management of malaria programme in the district of Saraya, south-eastern Senegal, the effectiveness of lay health worker trainings, and the availability of rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy in the field.MethodsThe study employed qualitative and quantitative methods including focus groups with villagers, and pre- and post-training questionnaires with lay health workers.ResultsCommunities approved of the community case management programme, but expressed concern about other general barriers to care, particularly transportation challenges. Most lay health workers acquired important skills, but a sizeable minority did not understand the rapid diagnostic test algorithm and were not able to correctly prescribe arteminisin-based combination therapy soon after the training. Further, few women lay health workers participated in the programme. Finally, the study identified stock-outs of rapid tests and anti-malaria medication products in over half of the programme sites two months after the start of the programme, thought due to a regional shortage.ConclusionThis study identified barriers to implementation of the community case management of malaria programme in Saraya that include lay health worker training, low numbers of women participants, and generalized stock-outs. These barriers warrant investigation into possible solutions of relevance to community case management generally.

BACKGROUND: Prevention is the best way to manage a pandemic like COVID-19. The World Health Organization has issued public advice to create awareness by providing people knowledge to prevent/protect them from COVID-19. Hence, the present study was planned to assess knowledge of prevention and its practical use amongst samples from the Saudi Arabian population. It can be used to bring awareness among the masses not only in expanding their knowledge about COVID-19 but also on how to enforce a practicing behavior in relation to the prevention of COVID-19. The study is among the pioneer studies on the issue related to knowledge and practice of the prevention of COVID-19 among Saudis and foreign nationals residing in Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVE: The prime objective of this study is to examine the existence of knowledge among the Saudi and non-Saudi nationals about COVID-19 and its impact on their behavior to practice the protocols to prevent the disastrous infection of COVID-19. This study has also examined how the residents in Saudi Arabia react to the methods and protection measures adopted by the government for their dominions to eradicate the spread of COVID-19. METHODS: The study used a survey-based methodology and data was collected from Saudi nationals as well as expatriates living and working in five different regions of Saudi Arabia. Non-probability snowball sampling was used to reach and select the population of the current study. A self-designed, structured, and validated questionnaire was electronically distributed among the respondents. SPSS version 21 was used to analyze the data of the current study. RESULTS: Out of the 443 respondents, 356 respondents (84%) knew they had to wash their hands for 20 seconds and did this as well, 303 respondents (75%) knew that sneezing or coughing into the arm/elbow can prevent the spread of COVID-19 and were doing this as well, 357 respondents (82%) knew that COVID-19 can be transferred by shaking hands and avoided this, 333 respondents (79%) knew that they had to maintain a safe distance of at least one meter and kept this distance, 315 respondents (76%) knew that touching one’s face can transfer the virus and avoid this, and 414 respondents (95%) knew that staying at home can decrease the chances of getting infected. The relationship between different regions and most of the knowledge-based and practice-based questions was significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Results reveal that there is a significant relationship between knowledge and practice, but the strength of association is weak. It was found that knowledge and practice of COVID-19 was followed differently in the five regions of Saudi Arabia and the level of education of the respondents influenced their choice of practice to protect themselves from the effects of COVID-19. The study has contributed in the body of literature by examining the inter-relationship between knowledge and practice and their use in prevention of COVID-19 among the Saudi population.

No abstract

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of elementary school teachers about the management of dental trauma. Material and Methods: An observational study, with the cross-sectional design, was conducted among primary school teachers in Hail, Saudi Arabia during January 2017. The questionnaire distributed among 400 primary school teachers from 18 different schools using convenient sampling. Data were gathered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: 378 (94.5%) respondents to the questionnaire. It was found that only 37.8% of the primary school teachers were able to distinguish between the primary and permanent teeth. Only 59.5% reported starting the management of a child with trauma immediately. Merely 38.4% believed that it is important to search for the missing tooth or the broken pieces, whereas 31% would re-implant the permanent tooth into the socket by themselves. Regarding the storage media, only 16.6% respond correctly. According to school teachers, the best way of learning the management of dental trauma at school is through videos (36.2%) and phone application (33.9%). Conclusion: School teachers lack knowledge regarding the management of dental trauma. We strongly recommend planning for dental trauma educational based on the teacher's perception after pilot testing its effectiveness.

By documenting widespread use of mobile phones and health worker perceptions of their most useful applications, this paper provides a framework for their integration into the community case management of malaria programme in Saraya, Senegal.