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Despite the development of several industrial Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) megaprojects worldwide, minimal literature on LNG megaprojects is available in the non-proprietary public domain and academia, with the consequent lack of availability of practical tools, guidelines, and benchmarks for the use of professionals engaged in developing and managing LNG megaprojects. Cognizant of this fact, the authors have attempted a study of standard project management systems to explore practical ways to meet the unique needs of LNG megaprojects management and systematically assimilate lessons learned to replicate successes and avoid failures. Considering the complexity of the LNG value chain, a management system approach has been adopted. Combining academic and industrial knowledge, this study identifies nine significant areas that, when improved, should enhance the management of LNG megaprojects throughout their lifecycle — from initiation to handover for operation. With hundreds of billions of dollars invested in current LNG projects, even minor improvements can be worth billions. This study also addresses the challenges of megaprojects development, gaps that need to be overcome, and the importance of quality and lessons learned. Finally, although the focus of this study is the management of LNG megaprojects, it is expected that many improvements identified here would find relevance in managing large and complex projects, even in other industrial sectors.

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the long-term outcome of the serous-lined extramural continent catheterizable outlet procedure (SLECCOP) associated with ileal bladder augmentation in children.MethodsThis was a monocentric and retrospective study (2002–2021) that included children (

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the delivery of undergraduate courses around the world, and this was no different for the Biochemistry Capstone course offered to Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar's second year pre-medical students during the 2021 spring semester. The course, which was previously delivered in-person and offered an opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with research and laboratory techniques, had to be modified to be delivered online. The online delivery of the course mainly consisted of "Zoom" sessions, "Canvas" materials, and data analysis using Microsoft Excel raw data sheets. The final assessment of the course consisted of a research report encompassing the procedures discussed, the results of the literature search, and data analysis carried out for the duration of the course. At the end of the course, students completed a survey on the online delivery of the course. It was evident that the majority of students preferred either a combination of in-person and online delivery or in-person delivery only, rather than a fully online course. Students' feedback as well as other literature on the online delivery of courses were considered in order to potentially improve the course for the upcoming years.

Abstract Background Understanding the factors that influence adolescent’s perception of fast food and their fluid consumption is crucial for designing effective nutrition education programs tailored to this population. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of sex and the use of media and the internet with adolescents' perception of fast foods and the amount of fluid consumption. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on school adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 years in Kuwait, using a multistage stratified random sampling method (N = 706 adolescents; 343 boys and 363 girls). A pre-tested and specifically designed self-report questionnaire covering several measures such as: (a) types of foods that are considered fast foods; and (b) participant’s fluid consumption. Body weight and height were measured using calibrated medical scales. Body mass index (BMI) was computed. The adolescents were stratified by sex into two groups: boys and girls, for the purpose of analysis. Results Seven out of 14 food choices showed significant sex differences (p values ranged from 0.016 to

Abstract Background Lifestyle behaviors are developed during young adulthood and carried through life. Accordingly, early detection of unhealthy behaviors can help prevent the increase in non-communicable diseases in the population. College students are an especially vulnerable group who, upon entering a new environment, tend to engage in unhealthy behaviors. Objective The present study aims to evaluate the lifestyle behaviors of Kuwaiti college students and their association with markers of academic achievements. Methods One thousand two hundred fifty-nine students participated in the present study and answered an online questionnaire pertaining to their sociodemographic status, academic performance indicators, body weight and height, and lifestyle behaviors. Data were collected from November 2020 to February 2021. Results Results of the present study showed that obesity was significantly more prevalent among male participants than among females even though males were more physically active. Alternatively, females had a greater grade point average in college, slept more, and had more screen time. Interestingly, we were unable to detect a significant correlation between lifestyle behaviors and academic achievements. Conclusion The observed differences in body mass index between genders may have been attributed to energy intake rather than energy expenditure.

Background: Polypharmacy can increase the risk of adverse drug events, hospitalisation, and unnecessary healthcare costs. Evidence indicates that discontinuing certain medications, such as benzodiazepines, can improve health outcomes, by resolving adverse drug effects. This scoping review aims to explore the pharmacists' role in deprescribing benzodiazepines. Method: A scoping review has been conducted to distinguish and map the literature, discover research gaps, and focus on targeted areas for future studies and research. A systematic search strategy was conducted to identify relevant studies from PubMed, Medline, and EMBASE databases. The eligibility criteria involved studies that focused on the role of pharmacists in benzodiazepine deprescribing, quantitative and qualitative studies conducted in humans, full-text articles published in English. Results: Twenty studies were identified, revealing three themes: 1) pharmacists' involvement in benzodiazepine deprescribing, 2) the impact of their involvement, and 3) obstacles impeding the process. Pharmacists involved in deprescribing procedures, mainly through completing medication reviews, collaborative work with other healthcare providers, and education. Pharmacists' involvement in benzodiazepine deprescribing intervention led to better health and economic outcomes. Withdrawal symptoms after medication discontinuation, dependence on medication, and lack of time and guidelines were identified in the literature as barriers to deprescribing. Conclusion: Pharmacists' involvement in deprescribing benzodiazepines is crucial for optimizing medication therapy. This scoping review examines the pharmacists' role in benzodiazepine deprescribing. The findings contribute to enhancing healthcare outcomes and guiding future research in this area.

Purpose – There is a large amount of published literature on project management. However, there exists a gap between the existing literature and current practices in the industry for the development and execution of megaprojects. Existing literature generally focuses on individual elements applicable to project management in general. This article aims to provide an overview of the project management system components used in industrial megaprojects and identify the gaps between theory and practice, which can be used as input for further research on the topic. Design/methodology/approach – The topic of megaproject management is reviewed based on available literature sources on megaproject management systems to identify the main gaps in the literature between theory and practice. Based on the findings, an analysis is provided to discuss the improvements required in distinct project management areas and phases. Findings – There are multiple gaps associated with issues, failures, successes and challenges in industrial megaprojects. Improvements are needed in distinct management areas and over the entire project lifetime. Further guidelines are required for achieving improved megaproject management systems. Such concepts could benefit researchers and practitioners in streamlining their research toward the most relevant and critical areas of improvement of megaproject management systems. Originality/value – This study addresses the literature gaps between theory and practices on megaproject management systems with an overview that provides helpful guidance for industrial applications and future research. A holistic analysis identifies gaps and critical drives in the body of knowledge, revealing avenues for future research focused on quality as the central pillar that affects the entire megaproject management system.

Migraine is a prevalent headache disorder with a significant impact on the quality of life. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and safety of erenumab, mAb targeting the CGRP receptor, in treating chronic (CM) and episodic (EM) migraine in clinical practice Kuwait, providing region-specific insights to treatment options. This was a prospective observational cohort study of patients diagnosed with EM or CM treated with erenumab. The primary outcome of the study was to assess the proportion of patients achieving ≥ 50% reduction in monthly mean migraine days, and several changes including the mean number of monthly migraine days, the frequency of analgesic use, attack severity, AEs, and QoL. The study included 151 patients with a mean age of 44.0±11.4 years, and 81.9% female. The primary outcome was achieved in 74.2% of patients, with a significant (p < 0.001) reduction in headache frequency, pain severity, analgesic use, and improvement in QoL. Age and duration of migraine were significant predictors of achieving a ≥ 50% reduction in headache frequency after therapy (OR = 0.955; p = 0.009) and (OR = 0.965; p = 0.025), respectively. Treatment compliance was observed in 76.2% of patients, and 24.5% discontinued treatment. Constipation was the most commonly reported AEs (6.0%), and conservative management was the most common approach to managing AEs. Erenumab was effective in reducing the frequency and severity of migraine attacks and improving QoL, and safe with manageable AEs in a real-world setting in Kuwait. Further research is needed to better understand erenumab's effectiveness and safety in different populations and settings, as well as to compare it with other migraine prophylactic treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional steel bars are mostly used as the main load transfer mechanism between jointed slabs in rigid pavements; however, they are generally prone to corrosion which reduces the load transfer efficiency at the joints. This study evaluates the performance of steel bars wrapped with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sheets, introducing a corrosion-free alternative to conventional steel bars while maintaining the required strength. This paper explains the test setup of large-scale shear strength and load transfer efficiency tests that are currently conducted on the slab samples to evaluate the structural performance of the proposed dowel bars and concrete mix designs.

Neuro-inflammation occurs as a sequence of brain injury and is associated with production of cytokines. Cytokines can modulate the function and survival of neurons, microglia and astrocytes. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of TNF on the neurons, microglia and astrocytes in normal brain and stab wound brain injury. Methods Normal BALB/c male mice (N) without any injury were subdivided into NA and NB groups. Another set mouse was subjected to stab wound brain injury (I) and were subdivided into IA and IB. NA and IA groups received intraperitoneal injections of TNF (1 µg/kg body weight/day) for nine days, whereas NB and IB groups received intraperitoneal injections of PBS. Animals were killed on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 9th day. Frozen brain sections through the injury site in IA and IB or corresponding region in NA and NB groups were stained for neurodegeneration, immunostained for astrocytes, microglia and neurons. Western blotting for GFAP and ELISA for BDNF were done from the tissues collected from all groups. Results The number of degenerating neurons significantly decreased in TNF treated groups. There was a significant increase in the number of astrocytes and microglia in TNF treated groups compared to PBS treated groups. In addition, it was found that TNF stimulated the expression of GFAP and BDNF in NA and IA groups. Conclusions TNF induces astrogliosis and microgliosis in normal and injured brain and promotes the survival of cortical neurons in stab wound brain injury, may be by upregulating the BDNF level.

Abstract Introduction The nasal mucosal contact points between the two opposing mucosal surfaces leading to the headache had been a point of debate for many years; the intermittent and fixed contact points and their relationship with headache have never been investigated before. We have studied the relationship of headache with a different type of contact points in our study. Objectives The aim of our study was to study two different types of mucosal contact point between the lateral nasal wall and the nasal septum and to study their relationship with symptom of headache. There have been many papers published related to the mucosal contact points in the nose and their relationship with headache, most of the published data did not find any relation between the headache and the mucosal contact points. We conducted a retrospective study of 116 patients with deviated nasal septum and contact point with the lateral nasal wall. Methods A retrospective study done at a tertiary institute Included 116 CT scan of paranasal sinuses showing the deviated nasal septum with mucosal contact points, 64 CT scan showed severe deviated nasal septum with fixed contact points between the septum and the inferior turbinate, other 52 scans showed the intermittent mucosal contact point, that is, septum is coming in contact with inferior turbinate only when turbinate is enlarged. Results Thirteen patients out of 64 patients (20.31%) had a headache in the fixed contact point group as compared to 20 out of 52 (38.46%) patients in the intermittent mucosal contact points group; post‐surgery, the 17/20 patients improved in the intermittent mucosal contact points group as compared to 5/13 in fixed contact points group. Conclusions We conclude that the overall incidence of headache associated with mucosal contact points is low but the higher association is seen in the intermittent contact group. Level of Evidence 4.

Sino-nasal cancers are considered a rare entity of malignancy, even rarer in the pediatrics population, we are presenting a case of 10 years old female patient who presented with a one-year history of unilateral epistaxis, physical examination showed an exophytic fleshy mass, imaging modality showed an unusual pathology of nasal mass. Background: Malignant tumors of the Sino-nasal cavities are considered rare the incidence is up to 1 per 100000 per year, and they constitute 1% of all cancers and around 5% of all head and neck cancers, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) counts around 65% of all Sino-nasal cancers and tend to have a precursor pre-malignant lesion.Cigarette smoking, alcohol, and HPV are considered the main risk factors for different head and neck cancers, HPV has been linked to oral SCC with prognostic implications, despite the decline in smokers from the 80s to the beginning of the 2000s, the incidence of HPV linked SCC is interestingly increased.Smoking and alcohol were identified as risk factors for sino-nasal SCC, the relation between HPV and Sino-nasal SCC is not well established due to the rarity of these tumors and only around 20% of them were HPV positive [1].Pediatrics sinonasal malignancy are considered rare and are associated with poor prognosis, and usually they are presenting late due to overlapping nonspecific signs and symptoms [2].

Biophysical and biochemical cues work in concert to regulate angiogenesis. These cues guide angiogenesis during development and wound healing. Abnormal cues contribute to pathological angiogenesis during tumor progression. In this review, we summarize the known signaling pathways involved in mechanotransduction important to angiogenesis. We discuss how variation in the mechanical microenvironment, in terms of stiffness, ligand availability, and topography, can modulate the angiogenesis process. We also present an integrated view on how mechanical perturbations, such as stretching and fluid shearing, alter angiogenesis-related signal transduction acutely, leading to downstream gene expression. Tissue engineering-based approaches to study angiogenesis are reviewed too. Future directions to aid the efforts in unveiling the comprehensive picture of angiogenesis are proposed.

Abstract Background The coronavirus pandemic has transformed and continues to transform and affect the daily lives of communities worldwide, particularly due to the lockdown restrictions. Therefore, this study was designed to understand the changes in dietary and lifestyle behaviours that are major determinants of health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using a convenience sample of 415 adults living in Kuwait (age range 18–73 years). Results The rate of skipping breakfast remained consistent, with a slight increase during the pandemic. Lunch remained the main reported meal before and during COVID-19. Compared to before COVID-19, people were much more likely have a late-night snack or meal during COVID-19 (OR = 3.57 (95% CI 1.79–7.26), p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a drastic decrease in the frequency of fast-food consumption during COVID-19, up to 82% reported not consuming fast food (p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in the percentage of participants who had their main meal freshly made (OR = 59.18 (95% CI 6.55–1400.76), p = 0.001). Regarding food group patterns, no significant differences were found before and during the pandemic in terms of the weekly frequency of consumption, except in the case of fish and seafood. There were no remarkable changes in beverage consumption habits among participants before and during the pandemic, except for Americano coffee and fresh juice. Furthermore, there was a great reduction in physical activity and an increase in the amount of screen time and sedentary behaviours. A notable increase was detected in day-time sleep and a decrease in night-time sleep among participants. Conclusion In general, this study indicates some changes in daily life, including changes in some eating practices, physical activity and sleeping habits during the pandemic. It is important that the government considers the need for nutrition education programmes and campaigns, particularly during this critical period of the pandemic in Kuwait.