Development of unit cost for the health services offered at King FAHD Central hospital Jazan,Saudi Arabia

BackgroundEfficiency remains one of the most important drivers of decision making in health care system. Fund allocators need to receive structured information about the cost healthcare services from hospitals for better decisions related to resource allocation and budgeting. The objective of the study was to estimate the unit cost for health services offered to inpatients in King Fahd Central hospital (KFCH) Jazan during the financial year 2018.MethodsWe applied a retrospective approach using a top-down costing method to estimate the cost of health care services. Clinical and Administrative departments divided into cost centres, and the unit cost was calculated by dividing the total cost of final care cost centres into the total number of patients discharged in one year. The average cost of inpatient services was calculated based on the average cost of each ward and the number of patients treated.ResultsThe average cost per patient stayed in KFCH was SAR 19,034, with the highest cost of SAR 108,561 for patients in the Orthopedic ward. The average cost of the patient in the Surgery ward, Plastic surgery, Neurosurgery, Medical ward, Pediatric ward and Gynecology ward was SAR 33,033, SAR 29,425, SAR 23,444, SAR 20,450, SAR 9579 and SAR 8636 respectively.ConclusionThis study provides necessary information about the cost of health care services in a tertiary care setting. This information can be used as a primary tool and reference for further studies in other regions of the country. Hence, this data can help to provide a better understanding of tertiary hospital costing in the region to achieve the privatization objective.     

Envenomation and the bite rate by venomous snakes in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the period (2015–2018)

Snakebite being medical emergency and known cause for increased mortality needs assessment and treatment on high-priority bases, even in patients of snakebite who appear fine initially. The current retrospective study presents the snake bites in Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2018 reported by General Administration of Statistics and Information, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The data presented in the current study, was extracted, analyzed, and reported after getting ethical approval from institutional committee. Totally, 14,679 cases of snakebites were reported during the four-year study period, with a higher prevalence in males (80%) in their productive age. Most patients were within the age group between 25 and 44 followed by 44 to 64 years. The majority of snakebite affected inhabitants were reported from farms of the rural areas, commonly during night hours of spring and summer seasons when snakes are very active. Only 36 (0.24%) patients out of 14,679 were reported dead and 14,643 (99.63%) were discharged after the treatment. Awareness among the general public should be encouraged and early diagnosis and usage of proper snake antivenoms could be life-saving. The delay in appropriate treatment can lead to significant morbidity and mortality.     

Foliar application of ascorbic acid enhances salinity stress tolerance in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) through modulation of morpho-physio-biochemical attributes,ions uptake,osmo-protectants and stress response genes expression

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a major cereal grain and is known as a halophyte (a halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity). We therefore conducted a pot experiment to explore plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, stomatal properties, oxidative stress and antioxidant response and their associated gene expression and absorption of ions in H. Vulgare. The soil used for this analysis was artificially spiked at different salinity concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM) and different levels of ascorbic acid (AsA) were supplied to plants (0, 30 and 60 mM) shortly after germination of the seed. The results of the present study showed that plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters, stomatal properties and ion uptake were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by salinity stress, whereas oxidative stress was induced in plants by generating the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells/tissues compared to plants grown in the control treatment. Initially, the activity of antioxidant enzymes and relative gene expression increased to a saline level of 100 mM, and then decreased significantly (P < 0.05) by increasing the saline level (150 mM) in the soil compared to plants grown at 0 mM of salinity. We also elucidated that negative impact of salt stress in H. vulgare plants can overcome by the exogenous application of AsA, which not only increased morpho-physiological traits but decreased oxidative stress in the plants by increasing activities of enzymatic antioxidants. We have also explained the negative effect of salt stress on H. vulgare can decrease by exogenous application of AsA, which not only improved morpho-physiological characteristics, ions accumulation in the roots and shoots of the plants, but decreased oxidative stress in plants by increasing antioxidant compounds (enzymatic and non-enzymatic). Taken together, recognizing AsA's role in nutrient uptake introduces new possibilities for agricultural use of this compound and provides a valuable basis for improving plant tolerance and adaptability to potential salinity stress adjustment.     

Polymorphism of Fecundity Genes (FecB,FecX, and FecG) in the Indian Bonpala Sheep

The 37-kDa laminin receptor precursor/67-kDa laminin receptor (LRP/LR, also known as ribosomal protein SA, RPSA) has been reported to be involved in cancer development and prion internalization. Previous studies have shown that the LRP/LR is expressed in a wide variety of tissues. In particular, expression of LRP/LR mRNA may be closely related to the degree of PrP^Sc propagation. This study presents a detailed investigation of the LRP/LR mRNA expression levels in eleven normal ovine tissues. Using real-time quantitative PCR, the highest LRP/LR expression was found in neocortex (p < 0.05). Slightly lower levels were found in the heart and obex. Intermediate levels were seen in hippocampus, cerebellum, spleen, thalamus, mesenteric lymph node, and the lowest levels were present in liver, kidney, and lung. In general, the LRP/LR mRNA levels were much higher in neuronal tissues than in peripheral tissues. The observation that differences in LRP/LR mRNA expression levels are consistent with the corresponding variation in PrP^Sc accumulation suggests that the 37-kDa/67-kDa laminin receptor may be involved in the regulation of PrP^Sc propagation.     

Characteristics of microbial fermentation and potential digestibility of fiber in the hindgut of dugongs (Dugong dugon)

The number of microorganisms in the hindgut of dugongs (Dugong dugon) were estimated and their in vitro volatile fatty acid (VFA) production and degradation of eelgrass measured. Scanning electron microscopy showed that some rod bacteria attached to the surface of plant tissue degraded and eroded the cell walls. Number of starch-, lactate-, cellobiose-, pectin-, xylan- and cellulose-utilizing bacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria and methane-producing bacteria were estimated at 10⁹ ～ 10¹⁰ colony forming units g^?1. Microorganisms degraded the cellulose and noncellulolytic components of the eelgrass, and about 47.3% of dry matter was degraded after 36?h in vitro incubation. The total VFA concentration was 10.5?mmol?dL^?1 at 36?h incubation, which included 55.7?mol% acetate, 18.0?mol% n-butyrate and 15.1?mol% propionate. The gas composition of in vitro fermentation was 68.4% carbon dioxide, 22.2% methane and 9.4% hydrogen.     

Experimental measurements and Monte Carlo calculations for 103Pd dosimetry of the 12 mm COMS eye plaque

Monte Carlo simulations and TLD dosimetry have been performed to determine the dose distributions along the central axis of the 12 mm COMS eye plaques loaded with IRA1-¹⁰³Pd seeds. Several simulations and measurements have been employed to investigate the effect of Silastic insert and air in front of the eye on dosimetry results along the central axis of the plaque and at some critical ocular structures. Measurements were performed using TLD-GR200A circular chip dosimeters in a PMMA eye phantom. The central axis TLD chips locations were arranged in one central column of eye phantom, in 3 mm intervals. The off-axis TLD chips locations were arranged in three off-axis columns around the central axis column. Version 5 of the MCNP code was also used to evaluate the dose distribution around the plaque. The presence of the Silastic insert results in dose reduction of 14% at 5 mm; also about 7% dose reduction appears at the interface point, due to the air presence and lack of the scattering condition. The overall dosimetric parameters for the COMS eye plaque loaded with new palladium seeds are similar to a commercial widely used seed such as Theragenics200. As the dose calculations under TG-43 assumptions do not consider the effect of the plaque backing and Silastic insert for accurate dosimetry, it's suggested to apply the effect of the eye plaque materials and air on dosimetry results along the central axis of the plaque and at some critical ocular structures.     

Redox-Dependent Control of FOXO/DAF-16 by Transportin-1

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Highlights? FOXO forms redox-sensitive, disulfide-dependent complexes with several proteins ? Transportin-1 binds to FOXO via a disulfide and regulates its nuclear localization ? Redox and insulin signaling govern FOXO nuclear localization via distinct pathways ? Redox control of longevity protein FOXO/DAF-16 is evolutionarily conserved     

In vitro cytotoxic,antibacterial, antifungal and urease inhibitory activities of some N4- substituted isatin-3-thiosemicarbazones

A series of 15 previously reported N⁴-substituted isatin-3-thiosemicarbazones 3a-o has been screened for cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal and urease inhibitory activities. Compounds 3b, 3e and 3n proved to be active in cytotoxicity assay; 3e exhibited a high degree of cytotoxic activity (LD₅₀ = 1.10 × 10^{? 5} M). Compound 3h exhibited significant antibacterial activity against B. subtilis, whereas compounds 3a, 3k and 3l displayed significant antifungal activity against one or more fungal strains i.e. T. longifusus, A. flavus and M. canis. In human urease enzyme inhibition assay, compounds 3g, 3k and 3m proved to be the most potent inhibitors, exhibiting relatively pronounced inhibition of the enzyme. These compounds, being non-toxic, could be potential candidates for orally effective therapeutic agents to treat certain clinical conditions induced by bacterial ureases like H. pylori urease. This study presents the first example of inhibition of urease by isatin-thiosemicarbazones and as such provides a solid basis for further research on such compounds to develop more potent inhibitors.