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Klebsiella is a common dangerous pathogen for humans and animals and is widely present in the digestive system. The genus Klebsiella is ubiquitous, as it is endemic to surface water, soil, and sewage. In this study, 70 samples were obtained from soil-dwelling invertebrates from September 2021 to March 2022 from Taif and Shafa in different altitudinal regions of Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of these samples were identified as Klebsiella spp. The Klebsiella isolates were genetically identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae using rDNA sequencing. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the Klebsiella isolates was determined. Amplification of virulence genes was performed using PCR. In this study, 16S rDNA sequencing showed a similarity from 98% to 100% with related K. pneumonia from the NCBI database, and the sequences were deposited in the NCBI GenBank under accession numbers ON077036 to ON077050. The growth inhibition properties of ethanolic and methanolic extracts of the medicinal plant Rhazya stricta's leaves against K. pneumoniae strains using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method and disc diffusion were evaluated. In addition, the biofilm inhibitory potential of these extracts was investigated using crystal violet. HPLC analysis identified 19 components divided into 6 flavonoids, 11 phenolic acids, stilbene (resveratrol), and quinol, and revealed variations in the number of components and their quantities between extracts. Both extracts demonstrated interesting antibacterial properties against K. pneumoniae isolates. The 2 extracts also showed strong biofilm inhibitory activities, with percentages of inhibition extending from 81.5% to 98.7% and from 35.1% to 85.8% for the ethanolic and methanolic extracts, respectively. Rhazya stricta leaf extract revealed powerful antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against K. pneumoniae isolates and could be a good candidate for the treatment or prevention of K. pneumonia-related infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheilinus trilobatus, Cheilinus quinquecinctus, and Chlorurus sordidus specimens from Saudi Arabia's Farasan Islands were collected and genotyped using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) and start codon targeted (SCoT) primers. Mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene fragments were used for DNA barcoding. ISSRs and SCoT primers showed moderate polymorphisms: expected heterozygosity (Hexp) of 0.470 and 0.435 and average polymorphism information contents (PICs) of 0.359 and 0.339 for ISSRs and SCoT markers were observed, respectively. Cheilinus quinquecinctus had the highest genetic diversity from ISSRs (70%) and SCoT (73%). Chlorurus sordidus and C. trilobatus showed similar genetic diversities of 29% and 39% based on ISSRs, respectively, and 60.32% for both species based on SCoT. Cheilinus quinquecinctus had the lowest nucleotide diversity (π) of 0.003, while C. sordidus and C. trilobatus had π values of 0.065 and 0.103, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed greater genetic variation among species rather than within them using ISSRs (65% and 67%, respectively) and SCoT (35% and 33%, respectively). COIbased AMOVA showed similar genetic variation among (51.11%) and within (48.89%) species. The current study highlighted outperformance of COI compared to ISSRs and SCoT markers in differentiating among parrotfish species. Also, ISSR outperformed SCoT since it was able to clearly show three distinct groups in principal component analysis. This study also confirmed the presence of three distinct parrotfish species, which will provide an insight into parrotfish diversity. Moreover, the results will contribute to monitoring parrotfish migration between Farasan Islands and different geographic locations which significantly affect species conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: E-learning in medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges for teaching staff, including technical skills, limited access to technology, and difficulty in practical sessions and clinical rotations. Objectives: This study aims to explore the challenges and barriers of e-Learning in medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced by teaching staff. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with the teaching staff at Al-Ghad International Colleges for Applied Medical Sciences, Saudi Arabia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire to collect data; 104 participants responded to the questionnaire. The data were analyzed using (SPSS version 24). Results: The findings of this study showed that the challenges faced by the teaching staff included organizational factors, such as a lack of internet services (51% agree versus 38.5% disagree), a lack of data confidentiality (76% agree versus 24.1% disagree), and a lack of education platform technical skills (6.7% agree versus 90.4% disagree). The second reported challenge was related to the student evaluation mechanisms, such as a lack of monitoring the progress of skills (86.5% agree and 4.8% disagree) and a lack of performing practical skills (93.3% versus 0 disagree). The third challenge was related to the educational platform, with 86.5% agreeing that there is a lack of monitoring of the progress of the skills domain, 70.2% agreeing there is ineffective communication, and 86.4% agreeing that there is weak active interaction. Conclusions: Our study found three main challenges of e-learning experienced by the teaching staff during the spread of the pandemic: organizational factors, student evaluation mechanisms, and educational platforms. These challenges have been experienced during the transition to e-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This chapter identifies perspectives of excellent teaching among faculty from Saudi Arabia using the Teacher Behavior Checklist. Faculty ranked knowledgeable, promotes critical thinking, current, enthusiastic, and creative and interesting as top qualities of master teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite proven ability of pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) for early detection of pregnancy in several livestock, studies on its diagnostic reliability in Aardi goats are lacking. Thirty-two healthy mature Aardi does, managed under an intensive condition, were screened for pregnancy at 1, 7, 15, 23, 35 and 60 days post natural mating (NM) to evaluate the ability of utilizing caprine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (caPAGs) compared to other methods frequently applied - but have several setbacks- in screening goats for early pregnancy diagnosis. According to the enzymatic-immunoassay data, our results indicated that pregnant Aardi does had higher (P < 0.0001) serum caPAGs concentration than their nonpregnant counterparts after 23, 35 and 60 days post NM. Therefore, determination of serum caPAGs may have a considerable diagnostic merit in Aardi goats. To confirm, the ability of caPAGs in detecting early pregnancy was then compared with enzymatic-immunoassayed serum progesterone (P4) assay as well as trans- rectal and abdominal ultrasonography (US) technique. The present data revealed that there were no differences (P > 0.05) between the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and accuracy of serum caPAGs and other methods as early as day 23 post NM. Moreover, both serum caPAGs and US technique were proven to give higher (P < 0.0001) sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and accuracy than serum P4 at 35 days post NM. Thereby, this implies that serum caPAGs can be used alone or in combination with other methods for early pregnancy diagnosis in Aardi goats. In conclusion, the obtained results herein clearly demonstrated that enzymaticimmunoassayed serum caPAGs, as a direct, simple, accurate, inexpensive, practical and fast screening measure, was greatly feasible for distinguishing pregnant from non-pregnant as early as day 23 post NM, which is crucial to treat fertility problems early and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incidence of diabetes mellitus has increased in Saudi Arabia, which has raised the risk of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). This study highlights the prevalence and antifungal susceptibility of Candida species among postmenopausal women with diabetes with symptoms of VVC in Taif, a city in Saudi Arabia. Several diagnostic tools were used to differentiate the yeast isolates, including microscopic examination, culture morphology on CHROM agar, further confirmation with the VITEK 2 system, and ITS1 and ITS4 region sequencing. Antifungal susceptibility of the selected Candida species was determined using the VITEK 2 system (bioMérieux Inc., USA). Out of the 550 high vaginal swabs investigated, 86 specimens were Candida species positive (15.6%) with a significant difference according to age; the positivity in the 45–50 years' age group (12%) was higher than that in the 51–55 years' age group (3.6%). Candida albicans was the most common causative agent in 51 samples (59.3%), followed by C. glabrata in 21 samples (24.41%) and C. krusei in 14 samples (16.27%), with no significant differences between the age groups. Three isolates, including two C. albicans and one C. krusei, exhibited resistance against all the tested antifungal agents. CHROM agar and VITEK 2 were accurate phenotypic tools to identify Candida species with 100% sensitivity and specificity and were consistent with the phylogenetic characterization. The data emphasized the importance of identifying Candida species and their antifungal susceptibility among postmenopausal women with diabetes, highlighting the potential risk posed by diabetes in this age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Rynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier, the red palm weevil (RPW), is a damaging insect that often severely infests palm trees. Since insecticides have a detrimental environmental impact and may lead to pesticide resistance, new biological control methods are needed. Bacteria from many different species affect the RPW larval growth, health, and immunity. The work evaluates the crosstalk between the RPW and rhizosphere bacteria. Four bacterial isolates, three belonging to Bacillus cereus and one belonging to B. thuringiensis, had a significantly higher impact on the mortality of the larvae and adults of the RPW than other bacteria that were tested did. The results emphasize the significant potential of developing new microbial resource-based management techniques for this pest. The Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Oliv.) (Coleoptera, Dryophthoridae) is a well-known palm tree pest that has caused enormous economic damage all over the globe. Insecticides are still the primary method of controlling this pest at this period. However, field populations of RPW have been shown to be resistant to pesticides. Using Bacillus spp. might be one of the options for controlling R. ferruginous. In this study, 23 species of Bacillus spp. were isolated from the rhizosphere of date palm trees in Al Ahsa Oasis, Saudi Arabia. The isolates were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. R. ferrugineus larvae and adults were tested on sugarcane pieces that were treated with the B. thuringiensis strain PDC-AHSAA1 and B. cereus strains (PDC-AHSAA2, PDC-AHSA3 and PDC-AHSA4). The LC50 values for larvae and adults were quite low when they were compared with those of the other isolated strains. The B. thuringiensis strain PDC-AHSAA1 was more effective against both the larvae and adults. The determined LC50 values for B. thuringiensis ranged from 4.19 × 107–3.78 × 109. After 21 days, the data on larval mortality and body weight were evaluated. The surviving larvae that were treated with the bacterial isolates did not acquire a substantial weight. For the RPW larvae and adults, the mortality and corrected mortality death rates were increased by increasing the concentration of B. thuringiensis. In conclusion, Bacillus-treated diets negatively influenced the growth and development of the RPW. This research reported on the interaction between the RPW and the rhizosphere Bacillus spp. and highlighted the tremendous potential for the development of microbial resource-based control strategies for this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Lack of knowledge about appropriate handwashing practices has caused great concerns for human health, especially in the risk of many communicable diseases. The objective of the current study is to determine the level of handwashing knowledge, attitudes, and practices among school students in Eastern Province Schools, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey was recruited from November 2019 to March 2020 to assess the level of the students' handwashing knowledge. A reliable questionnaire was prepared (Cronbach's alpha = 0.608) and conducted using a two-stage sampling technique. A total of 271 students participated in the study from primary, middle, and high schools; 80% were boys, most of whom displayed an acceptable level of knowledge on hand hygiene. Nearly 75% and 74% of boys and girls, respectively, gained knowledge about hand hygiene practices from their parents. Only 46% of the students thought that handwashing is a potential protective measure against diseases, whereas 34% thought it only removes dirt. Prevalence of handwashing with soap after using the toilet was recognized among 52% of the students. Additionally, 93% of the students used water and soap to wash their hands (p value < 0.001) and 97% suggested that soap and water are the best methods to wash their hands (p value < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between the mother's education and hand hygiene practices (p value = 0.044). Results collectively indicated that handwashing knowledge and practices among school students in the Eastern Province are acceptable interventions in preventing the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Indeed, further improvement conducted through specific health education programs to emphasize the role of handwashing in health hygiene is highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichodermaharzianum is one of the most commonly used fungal species used in the biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. Its ability to control biological pathogens is strengthened by the production of analytic enzymes. In the identification of these fungal species, it has been noted that morphological characteristics alone are insufficient. Hence, the aim of this study was to identify 12 Trichoderma isolates based on their molecular markers and to evaluate the antagonistic activity of these Trichoderma isolates against several plant pathogens. The 12 Trichoderma/Hypocrea isolates were harvested from the rhizosphere of healthy tomato plants in Abha region, Saudi Arabia. These isolates were identified by both morphological and molecular techniques, such as the sequencing of the 5.8S-ITS region. Furthermore, based on the taxonomy and phylogeny of these isolates, the genetic similarities based on the inter-simple sequence repeat-PCR markers separated the 12 Trichoderma isolates into 2 major clusters. The 12 isolates were then used in confrontational assays with Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium ultimum, and Alternaria solani. Most of the Trichoderma isolates showed a strong antagonistic activity, which could also be observed with the use of SEM. This study highlights the possibility of using T. harzianum in IPM programs as an effective biological agent against several pathogenic fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum are recognized as the most common protozoan infections in Saudi Arabia. Microscopic examination of stool samples, either direct or concentrated, for the recovery of G. lamblia cysts and trophozoites and C. parvum oocysts is still the most commonly used for the diagnosis of both parasites. We compared the conventional parasitological techniques of iodine-stained wet mount for G. lamblia and Kinyoun's acid-fast for C. parvum against ImmunoCard STAT® Cryptosporidium/ Giardia and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detecting the 18S rRNA gene of G. lamblia and conventional PCR detecting the same gene of C. parvum at a tertiary hospital in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Out of 148 stool samples, 19 and 12 true positives were identified for G. lamblia and C. parvum, respectively, using a composite reference standard. In this case, true positives and negatives were considered as those with at least two positive or negative results out of the three tests. Both ImmunoCard STAT! and PCR methods were more sensitive than the microscopic tests of a single stool specimen of 85.7 % (CI = 62.6-96.2 %) and 85.7 % (CI = 56.2-97.5 %) for G. lamblia and C. parvum, respectively. However, specificity of microscopic tests was higher than other techniques for both parasites. Although PCR seems to be most sensitive for both G. lamblia and C. parvum, its low specificity may render its superiority over other techniques. When a single stool sample is used for detection of G. lamblia and C. parvum, better results can be obtained when coupled with serological testing. Although PCR is the most sensitive method for the detection of both G. lamblia and C. parvum, its use requires attention in relation to the increased possible false positives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The phylogeny and phylogenetic relationships of Trichoderma species were investigated by many methods including maximum parsimony and distance analysis of DNA sequences from multiple genetic loci. 5.8S rDNA sequence analysis is a powerful tool in evolution studies. Main body: The aim of this study was to identify and determine the genetic distance between 36 Trichoderma isolates from Egyptian and Saudi Arabian soils based on their 5.8S rDNA sequences. The genetic diversity of Trichoderma (Hypocreales, Ascomycota) species from Egypt and Saudi Arabia was investigated. The DNA barcoding of 36 isolates, based on the internal transcribed spacers 1 and 4 (ITS1 and 4) of the ribosomal RNA gene cluster and the partial sequence of this gene, revealed the diversity of these isolates. BLAST query showed that two species, namely T. longibarchiatum (42.7% of the isolates) and T. lentiforme (33.3% of the isolates), pre-dominated the isolates. Variation among specimens of the same species was detected. Cluster analysis of the Egyptian isolates showed two groups; the first group was subdivided into two subgroups, the first of which included T. lentiforme and T. crassum isolates, and the second subgroup harbored T. longibrachiatum, T. pseudokoningii, and T. bissettii. The second group included T. neokoningii and T. yunnanens. The cluster analysis of isolates from Saudi Arabia also consisted of two groups. The first group was subdivided into two subgroups; the first included T. longibrachiatum and T. pseudokoningii. The second subgroup harbored T. simmonsii and T. lentiforme. Also, no correlation between genetic and geographic distance was detected. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that the Saudi Arabian isolates showed greater nucleotide diversity compared to Egyptian isolates. Also, these findings will assist in future studies while assessing Trichoderma genetic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]