Since the industrial revolution in the 1800s, plastic pollution is becoming a global reality. This study aims to assess knowledge and attitude about plastic pollution among secondary school students in Sharjah city, United Arab Emirates. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 students in 6 different secondary schools in Sharjah city. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed through probability stratified random sampling method between February and April 2016. Majority of the population understands how harmful plastic wastes are to the environment (85.5%). However, the students' mean knowledge score was 53%, with females (P < 0.01), grades 11 and 12 (P = 0.024), and students whose mothers were more educated (P = 0.014) being more knowledgeable and inclined towards pro-environmental behavior. Yet, all students showed tendency to be involved in the fighting against this dilemma. Strategies which address deficiencies, provide incentives for change, and assure governmental support along with environmental education are needed to bridge the information gap and enhance opportunities to adopt pro-environmental behaviors.

With the recent urbanization and globalization, the adult obesity rate has been increasing, which was paralleled with a dramatic surge in the incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD poses a growing threat to human health as it represents the most common cause of chronic liver disease in developed countries. It encompasses a wide spectrum of conditions starting from a build-up of fat in hepatocytes (steatosis), to developing inflammation (steatohepatitis), and reaching up to cirrhosis. It is also associated with higher rates of cardiovascular mortalities. Therefore, proper timely treatment is essential and weight loss remains the cornerstone in the treatment of obesity-related liver diseases. When diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes are not successful, the current recommendation for weight loss includes antiobesity medications and bariatric endoscopic and surgical interventions. These interventions have shown to result in significant weight loss and improve liver steatosis and fibrosis. In the current literature review, we highlight the expected outcomes and side effects of the currently existing options to have a weight-centric NAFLD approach.

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Background Cardiac myxomas are considered the most common benign heart tumours. The clinical manifestations mainly depend on the size of the tumour. They usually vary from asymptomatic, mild non-specific symptoms, to severe obstructive cardiac and systemic findings. We describe herein a significantly large left atrial myxoma in a patient misdiagnosed with respiratory asthma. Case summary A 54-year-old lady, was diagnosed previously with asthma, presented with a history of dyspnoea on exertion, palpitations, and mild peripheral oedema. Chest X-ray suggested pulmonary congestion. Due to high suspicion of cardiac issues, transthoracic echocardiography was done revealing giant left atrial mass. Consequently, the mass was approached and excised surgically through the inverted T biatrial incision. Grossly, the mass measured 10 × 8 × 6 cm, and it had a smooth surface and was filled with gelatinous material. The histopathology confirmed benign myxoma without malignant features. Discussion Our article mainly focuses on the diagnostic challenges of a patient with atrial myxoma. The major discrepancy between the tumour size and the severity of the patient’s symptoms should draw physicians’ attention to consider atrial myxoma over a long list of differentials, in order to take immediate action to reduce the mortality and improve the overall prognosis.

Diabetic patients have a higher risk of infections which is the leading trigger of diabetic ketoacidosis. The second most common infection in diabetics is urinary tract infection (UTI). Elevation of glucose level induces an inflammatory process within numerous tissues in the body leading to disturbance in cytokines level and oxidative stress. This study is divided into two parts, firstly it was to investigate the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) and urinary tract infections in 84 Type 1 diabetes patients, 63 Type 2 diabetes patients and 57 ketoacidotic patients, and to determine the uropathogens responsible for ASB and UTIs as well as their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. The second part is to determine the level of IL-1β, IL-6 and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in blood samples of diabetic and ketoacidotic patients. Escherichia coli was the most common isolated bacterial uropathogen followed by Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These isolates showed 100% sensitivity to cephalothin, imipenem, linezolid, teicoplanin, ceftobiprole and piperacillin-tazobactam. Upon examining cytokines level in diabetic patients, results showed higher levels of IL-1β and IL-6 than control samples, indicating inflammation and disturbance in the regulation of metabolic, regenerative, and neural processes, while SOD examination showed lower levels than control samples, indicating both micro-and macrovascular diabetic complications.

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