Breastfeeding in China: a review

This review aims to describe changes in breastfeeding and summarise the breastfeeding rates, duration and reasons of discontinuing 'any breastfeeding' or 'exclusive breastfeeding' in P.R. China. Breastfeeding rates in China fell during the 1970s when the use of breast milk substitutes became widespread, and reached the lowest point in the 1980s. As a result many efforts were introduced to promote breastfeeding. The breastfeeding rate in China started to increase in the 1990s, and since the mid-1990s 'any breastfeeding' rates in the majority of cities and provinces, including minority areas, have been above 80% at four months. But most cities and provinces did not reach the national target of 'exclusive breastfeeding' of 80%. The 'exclusive breastfeeding' rates in minority areas were relatively lower than comparable inland provinces. The mean duration of 'any breastfeeding' in the majority of cities or provinces was between seven and nine months. The common reasons for ceasing breastfeeding, or introducing water or other infant food before four months, were perceived breast milk insufficiency, mother going to work, maternal and child illness and breast problems. Incorrect traditional perceptions have a strong adverse influence on 'exclusive breastfeeding' in less developed areas or rural areas. China is a huge country, geographically and in population size, and there is considerable ethnic diversity. Therefore breastfeeding rates in different parts of China can vary considerably.     

Empiric therapy of common bacterial infections in Saudi Arabia; a review.

The common infective conditions encountered at King Khalid Teaching Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were described. These data were collected mostly during a period of 8 years between 1981 to 1988. These infections included brucellosis, cholecystitis, conjunctivitis, enteric fever, gastroenteritis, infective endocarditis, meningitis, otitis media, pneumonia, septicaemia, sorethroat, treponemal infections, urethritis, urinary tract infections, and vaginitis. A scheme for empiric chemotherapy has been suggested for these infections based on the sensitivity results obtained mostly from the microbiology laboratory at Teaching Hospital, Riyadh. This scheme of empiric therapy is offered as a guide only. It does not cover all possibilities and is not intended as a rigid dogma. Empiric therapy has also been suggested for some other infective conditions where sufficient data were not available from the Teaching Hospital. Empiric therapy should be started after relevant specimens are collected. Culture and sensitivity tests are invaluable in the management of patients with infectious diseases. As soon as sensitivities of the infecting organisms' are known, treatment should be adjusted accordingly. In some cases, Gram-staining is valuable to guide the initial therapy (eg. meningitis, pneumonia, and urethritis). Finally, close liaison between physicians and clinical microbiologists is mandatory for successful therapy.     

Selenium status in Saudi Arabia

Selenium (Se) is a naturally occurring trace element that is essential for animal and human nutrition, but the range between dietary requirements and toxic levels is relatively narrow. In this review, we are interested in the beneficial effects of selenium and we report on a number of studies of the selenium status of different populations in Saudi Arabia. The Status reflects the geographical area inhabited by the populations. Apart from the few available studies reviewed here, no data on the human status of Se in Saudi Arabia has been obtained. A further objective of this paper is throw some the light on the direction of future studies.     

Breastfeeding knowledge,attitude and practice among school teachers in Abha female educational district,southwestern Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Inadequate knowledge, or inappropriate practice, of breastfeeding may lead to undesirable consequences. The aim of this study was to assess breastfeeding knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among female teachers in the Abha Female Educational District and identify factors that may affect breastfeeding practice in the study population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among school teachers in Abha Female Educational District during the months of April to June, 2011. Breastfeeding KAP of participants who had at least one child aged five years or younger at the time of the study were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire, based on their experience with the last child. RESULTS: A total of 384 women made up of 246 (61.1%) primary-, 89 (23.2%) intermediate- and 49 (12.8%) high-school teachers participated in the study. One hundred and nineteen participants (31%) started breastfeeding their children within one hour of delivery, while exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was reported only by 32 (8.3%) participants. Insufficient breast milk and work related problems were the main reasons given by 169 (44%) and 148 (38.5%) of participants, respectively, for stopping breastfeeding before two years. Only 33 participants (8.6%) had attended classes related to breastfeeding. However, 261 participants (68%) indicated the willingness to attend such classes, if available, in future pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that breast milk insufficiency and adverse work related issues were the main reasons for a very low rate of exclusive breastfeeding among female school teachers in Abha female educational district, Saudi Arabia. A very low rate of attending classes addressing the breastfeeding issues during pregnancy, and an alarming finding of a high percentage of babies receiving readymade liquid formula while still in hospital, were also brought out by the present study. Such findings, if addressed comprehensively by health care providers and decision-makers, will lead to the improvement of breastfeeding practices in the study community.     

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis in Saudi Arabia

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) testing is the practice of obtaining a cellular biopsy sample from a developing human oocyte or embryo, acquired via a cycle of in vitro fertilization (IVF); evaluating the genetic composition of this sample; and using this information to determine which embryos will be optimal for subsequent uterine transfer. PGD has become an increasingly useful adjunct to IVF procedures. The ability to provide couples who are known carriers of genetic abnormalities the opportunity to deliver healthy babies has opened a new frontier in reproductive medicine. The purpose of the PGD is enables us to choose which embryos will be implanted into the mother. In the present study 137 families who had undergone IVF at Habib Medical Centre, were enrolled for the PGD analysis. The couple visited the clinic for the sex selection, recurrent fetal loss and with the recurrent IVF failure. 802 embryos were tested by the biopsy method and 512 are found to be normal and 290 were abnormal embryos. In this study only 24% of the embryos were transferred and the remaining was not transferred because of the abnormalities or undesired sex of the embryos. The structural and numerical abnormalities were found to be 16.8%.     

Medicinal plants in southwestern Saudi Arabia

Folk medicine practiced in southwestern Saudi Arabia has helped people prevent and cure various diseases and sicknesses such as rheumatism, asthma, diabetes, stomach problems, constipation, eye and ear problems, colds, fever, measles, bladder and urinary diseases, toothache, epilepsy, and skin allergy. The most common medicinal plants found in the region belong to the Leguminosae, Labiatae, Compositae, and Euphorbiaceae.     

Conservation action in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and opportunities

The conservation of biological diversity is gaining an increasing amount of global attention. In particular, in Saudi Arabia, conservation actions have become a topic of focus, with many successful initiatives being implemented. Despite these efforts, several wild animal species in Saudi Arabia still require special attention to ensure their long-term conservation and survival. If not effectively controlled, certain challenges could threaten the conservation status of local wildlife. Various conservation strategies are employed in Saudi Arabia to control these challenges, minimize their influence, and promote conservation action. Such strategies have proven to be effective; however, further efforts are still required, particularly outside protected areas. The conservation of species in critical situations primarily depends on the creation of protected areas and human intervention. Wildlife conservation is a collaborative effort; every individual has a role to play in protecting wild animals in each unique ecosystem to ensure their survival and the sustainability of their habitats for future generations.     

First Dinosaurs from Saudi Arabia

Dinosaur remains from the Arabian subcontinent are exceedingly rare, and those that have been documented manifest indeterminate affinities. Consequently the discovery of a small, but diagnostic, accumulation of elements from Campanian-Maastrichtian (∼75 Ma) deposits in northwestern Saudi Arabia is significant because it constitutes the first taxonomically identifiable dinosaur material described from the Arabian Peninsula. The fossils include a series of possible lithostrotian titanosaur caudal vertebrae, and some isolated theropod marginal teeth that share unique character states and metric parameters (analyzed using multivariate statistical methods) with derived abelisaurids – this is the first justifiable example of a non-avian carnivorous dinosaur clade from Arabia. The recognition of titanosaurians and abelisaurids from Saudi Arabia extends the palaeogeographical range of these groups along the entire northern Gondwanan margin during the latest Cretaceous. Moreover, given the extreme paucity of coeval occurrences elsewhere, the Saudi Arabian fossils provide a tantalizing glimpse into dinosaurian assemblage diversity within the region.     

Nosocomial Candidemia in a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia

Demographic information, risk factors, therapy, and outcome for all patients who had candidemia at King Fahad teaching hospital Al-khobar, between January 1995 and January 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty-two candidemic patients were identified. Candida parapsilosis was the most frequently isolated species (44%), followed by Candida tropicalis (25%), Candida albicans (19%), Candida krusei (6%), Candida glabrat a (3%), and Candida guilliermondi (3%). Risk factors included recent broad-spectrum antibiotics use (100%), ICU residency (71%), central venous catheters (66%), recent surgery (56%), total parenteral nutrition (43%), and immunosuppressive therapy (31%). Fluconazole was used before the onset of candidemia in only two patients. The overall mortality rate was 44%. Eight (25%) episodes of candidemia were not diagnosed and treated before the patient's demise. In view of the high mortality rate associated with hematogenous candidiasis, and lack of sensitive and specific laboratory tests necessary for the premortem diagnosis of infection, empirical antifungal therapy is recommended for high-risk patients. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Prevalence of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia: Jeddah as a case study

Dengue fever is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including Saudi Arabia. Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) transmits dengue and many other diseases, including chikungunya and Zika. This study provides an overview of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia since the first case was recorded in the early 1990s. In addition, it focuses on the epidemiological situation in Jeddah as a case study to study the spatial distribution of dengue cases using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques over 5 years, from 2019 to 2023. The first recorded case in Saudi Arabia was in October 1993; however, daily data indicates that 2023 is a major epidemic year. The number of infections has reached 4099 so far during the first half of the year, which indicates a significant increase compared to previous years. GIS analysis has unveiled the locations of high infection rates across multiple municipalities, commonly called hotspots, and identified areas where dengue cases remain relatively low. The Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) tool was used to determine the severity of infection in different areas of Jeddah. The study concluded that factors such as temperature, rainfall, and septic tanks in areas that lack a proper sanitation network are the most contributing factors to the spread of disease vectors and, thus, dengue. Winter rainfall creates conducive breeding environments for dengue mosquito vectors, increasing transmission rates. On the other hand, summer heat accelerates the mosquito life cycle and enhances viral replication, heightening the risk of dengue transmission.     

Climate change and animals in Saudi Arabia

Global warming is occurring at an alarming rate and predictions are that air temperature (T_a) will continue to increase during this century. Increases in T_a as a result of unabated production of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere pose a threat to the distribution and abundance of wildlife populations worldwide. Although all the animals worldwide will likely be affected by global warming, diurnal animals in the deserts will be particularly threatened in the future because T_as are already high, and animals have limited access to water. It is expected that Saudi Arabia will experience a 3–5 °C in T_a over the next century. For predicting the consequences of global warming for animals, it is important to understand how individual species will respond to higher air temperatures. We think that populations will not have sufficient time to make evolutionary adjustments to higher T_a, and therefore they will be forced to alter their distribution patterns, or make phenotypic adjustments in their ability to cope with high T_a. This report examines how increases in T_a might affect body temperature (T_b) in the animals of arid regions. We chose three taxonomic groups, mammals, birds, and reptiles (Arabian oryx, Arabian spiny-tailed lizard, vultures, and hoopoe larks) from Saudi Arabia, an area in which T_a often reaches 45 °C during midday in summer. When T_a exceeds T_b, animals must resort to behavioral and physiological methods to control their T_b; failure to do so results in death. The observations of this study show that in many cases T_b is already close to the upper lethal limit of around 47° C in these species and therefore allowing their T_b to increase as T_a increases are not an option. We conclude that global warming will have a detrimental impact on a wide range of desert animals, but in reality we know little about the ability of most animals to cope with change in T_a. The data presented should serve as base-line information on T_b of animals in the Kingdom for future scientists in Saudi Arabia as they explore the impact of global warming on animal species.     

Sickle cell-beta 0-thalassaemia in Saudi Arabia

During an extensive investigation to determine the frequency of sickle cell and thalassaemia genes in the Saudi population, 22 cases with S/beta 0-thalassaemia were identified and the haematological, biochemical and clinical findings were compared with those in patients with sickle cell anaemia. The values of mean cell volume, mean cell haemoglobin and packed cell volume were found to be lower while all other haematological parameters including Hb A2 were higher in the S/beta 0-thalassaemia group. No statistically significant difference in the Hb F level was found between the two groups. Biochemical parameters were grouped according to organ function tests. Only slight differences were seen in the values of some parameters. The clinical data showed that, in general, patients with sickle cell anaemia had a more severe condition than the S/beta 0-thalassaemia.     

Covid-19 pandemic outburst in Saudi Arabia: A glimpse

SynopsisSevere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV2) provoked alertness globally. Existing pandemic eruption of infections with SARS-CoV2 has been phrased as coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Worldwide pneumonia outburst attributable to new SARS-CoV2 alleged to be originated in Wuhan city of China and has affectation of enormous danger regarding civic wellbeing. As of 11 March 2020, international death toll owing to outburst of new coronavirus was approximately 3,800, and about 110,000 have been declared as confirmed cases. The novel SARS-CoV2 demonstrated competence with respect to human to human communication; therefore depicted exponential intensification of cases. As of March 23, there are 374,513 collective cases of global infections; more than 16,350 deaths and number of recovered cases is 101,554. Now Europe has turn out into new epicenter of lethal coronavirus.More than one third of the covid 19 cases are currently outside China. Presently Italy is one of worst hit countries followed by Spain. The rapid global widespread of novel covid-19 viruses lead to World Health Organization (WHO) to declare outbreak as pandemic. Given to seriousness of present scenario an accurate and rapid classification of noxious pathogenic virus is important which will lend a hand in opting for best fitting drugs. The screening program will aid saving people’s lives and help to put off the pandemic situation. The scientists and researchers should collaborate nationally and internationally to win the battle against novel covid-19. We aimed to represent covid 19 outburst scenario in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. This short review report very briefly highlights covid-19 syndromes; propagation; Middle East outburst, natural products as cure for viral diseases, probable psychosomatic effects, protective measures and Islamic wisdom. SARS-CoV2 is subsequent coronavirus outburst that perturbs Middle East, after SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV which has been originated in kingdom of Saudi Arabia in year 2002 and 2012 respectively. The report covers information and developments till 23rd of March 2020 on basis of current published data and studies published on different scientific web-pages.     

Cladosporium and respiratory allergy: Diagnostic implications in Saudi Arabia

An allergological study to evaluate allergenicity to Cladosporium, Burkard 7-Day Volumetric Spore Trap and Personal Volumetric air sampler (viable mode) were employed to conduct air sampling for 12 months in three regions of Saudi Arabia. The study was extended for a continuous 3rd year at one site. Skin prick testing (SPT) was also conducted on 605 allergic individuals using commercial extracts of C. herbarum. Cladosporium emerged to be the most prevalent genus in the outdoor environment constituting up to 25% of all fungal spores in the dry region and 37.1 and 41.2% in two coastal cities respectively. Amongst the species C. sphaerospermum, C. macrocarpum, C. cladosporioides and C. herbarum were noted. Maximum hourly concentrations up to 14 x 10(3) m(-3) were recorded in coastal region during winter months. Morning concentrations were higher at both city sites compared to afternoon concentration. SPT result revealed an overall 19.67% positive reactions with majority showing mild reactions.     

Two remarkable newCruciferae from Saudi Arabia

A new genus ofCruciferae, Dolichorhynchus Hedge & Kit Tan (D. arabicus Hedge & Kit Tan) and a new speciesArabidopsis erysimoides Hedge & Kit Tan, both from northern Saudi Arabia, are described and illustrated. An addendum lists new Crucifer generic or species records for the Arabian peninsula.     

A review on ethno-medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The traditional medicine based on medicinal plants in the Kingdom of Arabia Saudia presents a strong relationship belonging to natural remedies, health, diet, and folk healing practice recognized by a specific culture. The aim of the current study is to carry out an ethnobotanical review on medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in the Kingdom of Arabia Saudia including information on plant species, used parts, preparation method as well as medical uses. Earlier published data in journals, textbooks, periodicals, websites, and databases written in pharmacological evidence of Suadi medicinal plants were based on gathering information. The present review work reported that 96 species belonging to 47 families have been used in Saudi Pharmacopeia. Amaranthaceae has the highest number of plant species (7) Followed by Asteraceae, Apocynaceae, and Fabaceae with 5 plant species in each. The inventoried plant species in the current work are frequently used for the treatment of various illnesses and to ensure the medication safety of Saudi people. The biological analysis of plant form used in Saudi natural remedies showed the dominance of herb and subshrub form with a percentage of 43% and 30% respectively. The most used preparation method of plant drugs, which used in Saudi Alternative medicine was decoction and infusion. The whole plant, leaves, seeds, and aerial parts were the most useful plant parts in natural preparation in Saudi traditional medicine with a percentage of 29%, 28%, 7%, and 5% respectively as reported in the present review work. The present review work gives big data about medicinal plants used in traditional medicine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia including data about plant species, used parts, preparation method as well as medical uses.