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Copyright of Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To evaluate patient's satisfaction, Decision Regret And QUality of Life Assessment (DRAQULA) among adolescents (older than 15 years) and adults after hypospadias surgery in childhood. 234 Patients operated on hypospadias as children in our center and their parents were contacted after they reached the age of 15 years to complete a questionnaire survey to assess satisfaction with the operative result, the regret with the operative decision and the health related quality of life (HRQOL). The survey is based on the Decision Regret Scale available in the literature with a score of 100 meaning maximum dissatisfaction or regret, and on the Kidscreen10 index. Satisfaction was measured on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 signifying full satisfaction. 81 of 234 patients from 15 to 43 years (mean age 19.7 years) completed the survey (34.6 %). 44 Patients had distal, and 17 proximal hypospadias and the remaining 20 patients could not remember the type of hypospadias they had. The patient's satisfaction with the operative result was 5 (full satisfaction) in 74.1 %, 4 in 18.5 %, 3 in 6.2 % and 2 in 1.2 % (mean satisfaction score 4.7 of 5). Regarding decision regret among patients, 64/81 patients (79.0 %) had no decision regret. Only 14.8 % reported mild and 6.2 % moderate decisional regret (mean decisional regret score 4.8). 71 of 234 parents answered the parents' questionnaire (30.0 %). Fifty-eight (81.7 %) had no decision regret. 13 parents (18.3 %) had decision regret; 10 parents (14.1 %) reported mild, 2 parents (2.8 %) moderate, and only one parent (1.4 %) reported strong decisional regret. The mean HRQOL T-score was 55.9 (SD 10, control Group of adolescent males from 12 to 18 years.) and thus corresponded to the average of the reference normal population. In this study, only 19.7 % had decision regret as compared to 50–65 % reported in literature. The decision regret scale of O'Connor needs to be revalidated as even candidates who approve of the decision of early surgery have a score less than 25 and considered to have decision regret. The results of the survey showed that 90 % of the patients were satisfied with early hypospadias surgery with average HRQOL and low level of decisional regret in patients as well as parents. The findings support the current practice of operating hypospadias in early childhood. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Background: Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is associated with functional connectivity (FC) dysregulation of visual networks (VNs). We hypothesized that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, customized for visual symptoms (MBCT-vision), can treat VSS and modulate dysfunctional VNs. Methods: An open-label feasibility study for an 8-week MBCT-vision treatment program was conducted. Primary (symptom severity; impact on daily life) and secondary (WHO-5; CORE-10) outcomes at Week 9 and Week 20 were compared with baseline. Secondary MRI outcomes in a subcohort compared resting-state functional and diffusion MRI between baseline and Week 20. Results: Twenty-one participants (14 male participants, median 30 years, range 22–56 years) recruited from January 2020 to October 2021. Two (9.5%) dropped out. Self-rated symptom severity (0–10) improved: baseline (median [interquartile range (IQR)] 7 [6–8]) vs Week 9 (5.5 [3–7], P = 0.015) and Week 20 (4 [3–6], P < 0.001), respectively. Self-rated impact of symptoms on daily life (0–10) improved: baseline (6 [5–8]) vs Week 9 (4 [2–5], P = 0.003) and Week 20 (2 [1–3], P < 0.001), respectively. WHO-5 Wellbeing (0–100) improved: baseline (median [IQR] 52 [36–56]) vs Week 9 (median 64 [47–80], P = 0.001) and Week 20 (68 [48–76], P < 0.001), respectively. CORE-10 Distress (0–40) improved: baseline (15 [12–20]) vs Week 9 (12.5 [11–16.5], P = 0.003) and Week 20 (11 [10–14], P = 0.003), respectively. Within-subject fMRI analysis found reductions between baseline and Week 20, within VN-related FC in the i) left lateral occipital cortex (size = 82 mL, familywise error [FWE]-corrected P value = 0.006) and ii) left cerebellar lobules VIIb/VIII (size = 65 mL, FWE-corrected P value = 0.02), and increases within VN-related FC in the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (size = 69 mL, cluster-level FWE-corrected P value = 0.02). Conclusions: MBCT-vision was a feasible treatment for VSS, improved symptoms and modulated FC of VNs. This study also showed proof-of-concept for intensive mindfulness interventions in the treatment of neurological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test the accuracy and reliability of the natural erection test (NET) as compared to the artificial erection test in assessing penile curvature in hypospadias. 50 children underwent both natural and artificial erection tests intraoperatively between January 2020 and October 2021. These included 5 glandular, 26 distal, 9 proximal, and 10 perineal hypospadias patients with curvature. The mean follow up period was 20 months (range 16–37). Under anesthesia, the curvature was assessed before degloving, then after degloving using both the natural and the artificial erection test. The NET test was repeated after curvature correction (3 times per patient). The measurements were analyzed using paired t-test. Two fingers of the left hand press just below the symphysis pubis to stop blood drainage from the penis and two fingers of the right hand massage the blood from the perineum distally into the penis until it becomes hard without tourniquet. The standard artificial erection test was performed using saline injected through a butterfly needle into the corporeal bodies without tourniquet. Photos were taken of both tests using the exact angle and angle of curvature was measured using Angle Meter App. There was no statistically significant difference between both erection tests with a P value of 0.705. The Bland–Altman plot also showed that all studied children have a difference in their natural and artificial erection tests within the limits of agreements. Erection is commonly induced using the artificial saline injected erection test first described by Gittes and less commonly using pharmaceutical erection test first described by Perovic. The severity of chordee apparent during artificial erection test varies with the amount of pressure used during injection. Also, it is difficult to place the tourniquet proximal enough to detect chordee at the base of the penis. It may be associated with hematoma formation, oedema, postoperative pain and the need for multiple punctures to assess the curvature before and after repair. Disadvantages of the pharmacological-induced erections in hypospadias include increased blood loss during erection, additional cost, and the need for a reversal agent. The natural erection test mimic the normal erection mechanism and may avoid all these potential disadvantages. The study showed that the natural erection test is easy to perform, non-invasive, non-traumatic and can be repeated several times intraoperatively without the need of repeated puncturing of the corpora cavernosa and avoids the potential risks and complications of the artificial erection test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Block cipher (BC) is a type of symmetric cipher used to encrypt data. Despite its advantages, it faces a substantial challenge. Writing the script code for the BC scheme accurately using General-Purpose Programming Languages (GPPLs) poses a significant challenge for programmers. The aim of this paper is to present the first graphical domain-specific modeling language (DSML) for designing and implementing BC algorithms, called BCLang. It is an extension to our previous DSML that was developed for Stream cipher. Programming efficiency and expressiveness were increased by reducing grammar and runtime errors and providing a high level of abstraction. BCLang provides the fundamental components of the BC three structures, which enable the programmer to design and implement BC algorithms in a graphical manner. Two keystream generation methods, performance analysis, and tests of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for randomness analysis were provided. The presented language was evaluated based on five subjective metrics specific to graphical DSML evaluation. The design, evaluation details, and properties are explained in depth in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent health condition that commonly affects adolescent girls and young women. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between levels of total glutathione (TG), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), lipid peroxidation, and homocysteine with PCOS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional case-control design, involving a target population of 305 Sudanese females. Among them, 205 individuals were categorized as cases, and 100 served as controls. The TG, GSH, SOD, lipid peroxidation, and homocysteine levels were measured in the serum of study participants through enzyme-linked immunosorbent essay. RESULTS: Total glutathione (1,174.5 ± 271.4 vs. 986.1 ± 191.5, p = 0.01), GSH (801.3 ± 132.2 vs. 748.6 ± 103.1, p = 0.007), SOD (225.2 ± 57.8 vs. 195.5 ± 49.6, p = 0.009), lipid peroxidation (3.4 ± 1.1 vs. 2.4 ± 0.7, p = 0.03), and homocysteine (14.9 ± 2.1 vs. 13.5 ± 1.6, p = 0.04), showed significant differences between the two groups (cases vs. controls). A moderate positive correlation between TG, GSH, SOD, lipid peroxidation, homocysteine, BMI, age, and duration of PCOS was observed. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation between BMI, age, and duration of PCOS was noted within the patient group. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study demonstrates that patients with PCOS have elevated levels of TG, GSH, SOD, lipid peroxidation, and homocysteine compared to the control group. These findings suggest a potential association between PCOS and oxidative stress, lipid metabolism, and homocysteine pathways. Moreover, the observed positive correlation with BMI, age, and duration of PCOS indicates the importance of these factors in disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of sentiment analysis through social media sites has witnessed significant development due to the increasing reliance of people on social media in advertising and marketing, especially after the Corona pandemic. There is no doubt that the prevalence of the Arabic language makes it considered one of the most important languages all over the world. Through human comments, it can know things if they are positive or negative. But in fact, the comments are many, and it takes work to evaluate the place or the product through a detailed reading of each comment. Therefore, this study applied deep learning approaches to this issue to provide final results that could be utilized to differentiate between the comments in the dataset. Arabic Sentiment Analysis was used and gave a percentage for each positive and negative commentary. This work used eight methods of deep learning techniques after using Fast Text as embedding, except Ara BERT. These techniques are the transformer (AraBERT), RNN (Long short-term memory (LSTM), Bidirectional long-short term memory (BILSTM), Gated recurrent units (GRUs), Bidirectional Gated recurrent units (BIGRU)), CNN (like ALEXNET, proposed CNN), and ensemble model (CNN with BI-GRU). The Hotel Arabic Reviews Dataset was utilized to test the models. This paper obtained the following results. In the Ara BERT model, the accuracy is 96.442%. In CNN, like the Alex Net model, the accuracy is 93.78%. In the suggested CNN model, the accuracy is 94.43%. In the suggested LSTM model, the accuracy is 95%. In the suggested BI-LSTM model, the accuracy is 95.11%. The accuracy of the suggested GRU model is 95.07%. The accuracy of the suggested BI-GRU model is 95.02%. The accuracy is 94.52% in the Ensemble CNN with BI-GRU model that has been proposed. Consequently, the AraBERT outperformed the other approaches in terms of accuracy. Because the AraBERT has already been trained on some Arabic Wikipedia entries. The LSTM, BI-LSTM, GRU, and BI-GRU, on the other hand, had comparable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polydactyly of the hand is a common anomaly among pediatrics, which can present in conjugation with other syndromes or on its own. Various types can be seen, ranging from the involvement of skin only to a completely formed digit. We report the first case of pacifier type thumb duplication presenting with VACTERL association. Herein, we also summarize the existing literature of the distinctive features and management of pacifier polydactyly. A premature male infant with intrauterine growth restriction due to maternal type II diabetes was referred for a soft tissue attachment to the left hand. The infant showed VACTERL association signs, including a single kidney, small atrial septal defect, and ventricular septal defect. Examination revealed preaxial polydactyly with a cystic swelling connected to the palm. Preaxial polydactyly is the second most common congenital hand anomaly, and its pathology is thought to involve the disruption of apoptosis during embryonic development. Pacifier-type polydactyly is a unique variation characterized by severe edema of the soft tissue digit, believed to be caused by physical damage in utero. The case presented did not require surgical intervention as the duplicated thumb underwent spontaneous autoamputation as opposed to other cases in the literature. This is the first reported case of pacifier-type thumb duplication in a patient with VACTERL association. The presentation of this condition adds to the existing body of literature on VACTERL association. Surgical removal is the treatment of choice for pacifier polydactyly, but spontaneous resolution can occur. • The first reported case of pacifier-type thumb duplication with VACTERL association in a male newborn. • Our case did not require surgical intervention as the thumb went spontaneous autoamputation. • Thumb duplication or preaxial polydactyly has been associated with various syndromes, such as VACTERL syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is a clinical progressive neuropathy which can lead to irreversible blindness if left untreated. A low level of serum Vitamin D3 is a major risk factor for glaucoma, and hence, represents a second target for glaucoma therapy following intraocular pressure (IOP). However, there is still controversy about whether there is a direct correlation between Vitamin D3 deficiency and the risk of increased IOP. This study aims to investigate the correlation between low serum levels of 1,24-dihydroxycholecalciferol and the development of open-angle glaucoma. METHODS: The study included a total of forty-one patients with POAG. Patients were classified into whether they have chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Matching control subjects of 20 healthy controls were also included in the study. Anthropometric measures and venous blood samples were taken from all participants for serum analysis of various biochemical markers including serum 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D) levels. RESULTS: Overall, serum Vitamin D3 levels were 15% significantly lower in the patient's cohort with open-angle glaucoma as compared to the healthy participants (P < 0.05). Among those, 63% of type 2 diabetic participants had significantly low levels of Vitamin D3 (P < 0.01). There was also a significant 70% reduction in serum Vitamin D3 levels among the hypertensive participants, (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: We concluded that lower serum 1,25(OH) 2D levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of open-angle glaucoma in patients with chronic illnesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The free piston engine linear generator (FPELG) is a simple structure engine with only two main parts, i.e., the linear generator and a free piston engine, which has less friction, low emission, high thermal efficiency, and multi-fuel engine. However, the pistons move freely; thus, piston motion control (PMC) is a crucial technical challenge that affects both the performance and stability of FPELG. This review addresses different control techniques and operation parameters of FPELG. Through this review, a new taxonomy method is proposed based on two main groups of control strategies, i.e., the linear-FPE and others-FPE control. The linear-FPE control is classified into the PMC, linear electric machine control, switching control, and combined control. According to this taxonomy, a selection of previous studies was thoroughly analyzed to identify new research directions related to FPELG. The statistical analysis and observations demonstrate that very few studies have used advanced control techniques, e.g., fuzzy logic, neural network, and PID with the genetic algorithm controls, for the FPELG. Some operation parameters require further investigation. Therefore, based on this review, researchers can explore new research directions and select a suitable technique to solve PMC issues of FPELG. This review thus constitutes a useful reference for researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we focus on the concept of the 2-color off-diagonal generalized weak Schur numbers, denoted as WS(2; k 1 , k 2). These numbers are defined for integers k i ≥ 2, where i = 1 , 2, as the smallest integer M , such that any 2-coloring of the integer interval [1, M ] must contain a 2-colored solution to the equation E kj : x 1 + x 2 +... + x kj = x kj + 1 for j = 1,2, with the condition that x i ≠ x j when i ≠ j. Our objective is to determine lower bounds for these 2-color off-diagonal generalized weak Schur numbers and demonstrate that in several cases, these lower bounds match the exact values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]