Search

Purpose: To evaluate risk factors associated with development of anti-adalimumab antibodies (AAA) in patients with non-infectious uveitis treated with adalimumab. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional, case-control study was done evaluating patients with non-infectious uveitis treated with adalimumab for at least 12 months and have undergone testing for AAA levels. Demographics, clinical characteristics, grading of ocular inflammation, and previous and concomitant immunomodulatory therapy were assessed. Univariate and multivariate analysis were done to estimate odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals for the various risk factors. Results: A total of 31 patients were included in the analysis, in which 12 patients who tested positive (Group 1) were matched with 19 patients who tested negative for AAA (Group 2). The groups differed significantly in terms of sex (female) (91.7% vs 52.6%, p = 0.046), presence of systemic disease (91.7% vs 42.1%, p = 0.008), and presence of anterior chamber inflammation at baseline (100% vs 63.2%, p = 0.026). A history of interruption in anti-TNF therapy prior to starting or restarting adalimumab was found to have an increased odds for development of AAA (OR 16.89 [2.92, 107.11], p = 0.008), as well as flare-ups (reactivation of disease) during adalimumab therapy (OR 6.77 [1.80, 61.80], p = 0.027). Weekly dosing of adalimumab was shown to decrease odds of AAA development (OR 0.34 [0.02, 0.70], p = 0.040), while concomitant anti-metabolite therapy was not shown to be a statistically significant protective factor (OR 2.22 [0.50, 9.96], p = 0.148). Conclusions: History of interruption in anti-TNF therapy and flare during adalimumab were associated with development of AAA, while weekly dosing of adalimumab was protective against AAA. Identification of those with higher risk of developing AAA may guide in clinical decision making to optimize management for these patients.

Purpose: To report different biometric measurements in high myopia associated with different underlying ocular and genetic conditions. Design: Retrospective study. Subjects: Patients with high myopia. Methods: We searched the Stanford Research Repository tool to identify patients with the diagnosis of high myopia who were seen by a single provider at Byers Eye Institute at Stanford from January 2019 to March 2022. We performed a chart review and included eyes that had high myopia and ocular biometric measurements at any time point after January 2019. We divided our cohort into 5 different groups: (1) isolated high myopia (IHM) (control group); (2) retinopathy of prematurity (ROP); (3) familial exudative vitreoretinopathy; (4) Marfan syndrome; and (5) Stickler syndrome. Main Outcome Measures: Biometric measurements. Results: A total of 246 patients (432 eyes) were included as follows: 202 patients (359 eyes) in the IHM group, 17 patients (27 eyes) in the ROP group, 7 patients (12 eyes) in the familial exudative vitreoretinopathy group, 8 patients (14 eyes) in the Marfan group, and 12 patients (20 eyes) in the Stickler group. The ROP group showed significantly shorter axial lengths, shallower anterior chambers, and thicker lenses compared with the IHM group. The Marfan group showed significantly flatter corneas and thicker lenses compared with the IHM group. The Stickler group showed significantly longer axial lengths compared with the IHM group. Conclusions: High myopia is associated with variable biometric measurements according to underlying ocular or genetic conditions. Retinopathy of prematurity-associated high myopia is primarily lenticular, while Stickler syndrome-associated high myopia is axial. Marfan syndrome-associated high myopia is derived from both axial and lenticular mechanisms.

Тhe article is devoted to the study of evaluative language in Arabic academic discourse. The analysis was carried out based on the evaluative posts published in the Arabic language in social networks related to the defense of Ph.D. dissertations and the obtaining by Arabic-speaking students of Ph.D. degrees. The focus of the research in the language of appraisal in Arabic academic settings is related to socially and traditionally determining aspects in the perception of the Ph.D. degree in Arab society. In order to identify specific features of the written language of evaluation in Arabic academic discourse, our study is built on the Appraisal theory proposed by James Martin and Peter White (2005) and focused on its sub-categories of the Appraisal theory: Affect , Appreciation , Judgment . The comparative analysis made it possible to identify both universal and specific components in the regarded ways of evaluation within the framework of academic discourse. The authors determine the lexico-grammatical methods of assessment in Arabic academic discourse, which characterize the perception and functioning of the evaluative language in the system of value coordinates of the Arab society. The novelty of the proposed research lies in the fact that at present the appeal to the Arabic academic discourse has not been sufficiently studied. In the end of the study, the authors concluded that the Appraisal theory proposed by Martin and White (2005) can be applied to the research of Arabic language of evaluation. The authors also argue that the written language of assessment in the Arabic academic discourse is directly proportional to cultural, traditional, religious factors that are reflected in the lexico-grammatical components of the assessment. Misunderstanding of these specific features of the evaluative language of the Arabic academic discourse leads to communicative failures. The authors noted the prospects for studying the evaluative language within the framework of the Arabic academic discourse could be conducted in a comparative analysis of the oral and written Arabic language of assessment, each of which has its own specific culturally determined features.

PURPOSETo examine the trends and quality metrics of publications by radiation oncologists in Saudi Arabia.METHODSPubMed was searched using names of all Saudi radiation oncologists to retrieve published articles between January 2010 and December 2019. International collaboration, journal impact factor and country of origin, and number of citations were collected. Each article was assessed for epidemiologic type and independently assigned a level of evidence (LOE) by two authors. The trend in publications was examined and compared in the first and second 5-year periods (2010-2014 and 2015-2019) using relevant parameters.RESULTSA total of 186 publications were found and included. The most common type of research was cohort studies followed by case reports and case series in 24%, 14%, and 13% of all publications, respectively. Dosimetry, clinical, and preclinical studies formed 7%, 8.6%, and 7.5% of the total publications, respectively. The LOE was I, II, III, IV, and not applicable in 8.6%, 22%, 25.8%, 29%, and 14.5% of the included publications, respectively. Comparing the first and second 5-year periods, there was an increase in international collaboration (P < .001) in the second period. The number of citations (P < .001) and journal impact factor (P = .028) were lower in the second period. LOE and publications in international journals were not statistically different between the two periods.CONCLUSIONAlthough radiation oncology research activity in Saudi Arabia has gained momentum in terms of volume and international collaboration over time, the LOE has not improved. This calls for a national effort to make the contribution to the literature a priority, allocate adequate resources, and apply appropriate measures to enhance research productivity and quality.

Traditionally, Vitamin D has been associated primarily with bone health, while further investigations revealed that a sufficient amount is important for many organ functions. Data of 314 individuals were obtained from Erbil governorate public and private hospitals from patients admitted to there for testing their level of Vitamin D and other tests according to their doctor’s prescription. The variable related to their lifestyle, metabolic syndrome, and hematology evaluations were obtained. The body mass index, number of sleeping hours, number of hours spent with electronic devices, serum lipid level anemia-related tests were measured. The results showed that serum 25(OH) Vitamin D levels in studied individuals were related to hyperlipidemia serum cholesterol measures. The level of Vitamin B12 and Iron status were lower in the Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) individuals. Mean platelet volume was higher in vitamin-deficient patients which induces the risk of cardiovascular (CV) diseases. This finding suggests the relation between VDD and metabolic syndrome, CV, and anemia-related measurement.

Abstract Background The aim of this study is a comparison between some different protein sources in sheep rations to identify the best protein source that achieves the highest production performance and the lowest economical feed efficiency. Twenty Farafra male lambs weighed on average 41.39 ± 1.66 kg were divided randomly into four similar groups of 5 animals each. All groups were fed on concentrate feed mixture (CFM) at 3% of their body weight, and wheat straw fed ad lib. to replace 100% of the soybean meal (SBM) as a source of protein, black cumin seed meal (BCSM), cottonseed meal (CSM) and sesame seed meal (SSM) were incorporated into the CFM. The feeding trial extended for 66 days followed by digestibility and nitrogen (N) balance trials. Results The results indicated no difference in total feed intake between experimental groups. Digestibility of crude protein, ether extract and crude fiber for animals fed CSM ration was higher (p

This investigation establishes the solvability of an implicit hybrid nonlinear Urysohn–Stieltjes type (IHU‐S) integral inclusion. Some sufficient conditions are assumed to prove qualitative features for the solution for this class of inclusions. A comprehensive discussion and analysis, including an example and an application, is presented to illustrate our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Mg doped ZCFAO (Zn0.3−xMgxCu0.7Al0.3Fe1.7O4 (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.25) spinel samples were synthesized by solid state reaction method. XRD, was utilized to investigate the structure phase, microstructural characteristics, The optical properties were analyzed; Biological instruments Sp-150 potentiostate is employed to investigate the dielectric measurements in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 1 MHz at various temperatures from 300 to 650 K. Vibrating sample magnetometer VSM was employed to examine the magnetic characteristics in the applied magnetic field ranging from − 20 to 20 kG. The creation of a single-phase cubic spinel was validated by X-ray analysis. The leverage of replacing Zn by Mg leads to enhancement in the lattice parameters, reducing both of the degree of inversion, crystal distortion and compelled these samples to be normal spinel. It turned out that as the degree of inversion sank, the crystallite size declined. The values of dislocations density was found in the order of 10−5 which reveal improving and completing the crystallization of the ferrite samples. The samples have an optical energy gap in the range 3.1–3.38 eV, according to the inferred optical characteristics. The dielectric constant revealed the normal behavior of spinel ferrite it decreases with increasing frequency and enhanced with increasing temperature. It seems that the microstructure of the compound consists of both high-conductive grains and low-conductive grain boundaries, which has been confirmed by the complex impedance. Additionally, the presence of the Maxwell–Wagner relaxation process is also detected. This information can provide valuable insights into the properties and behavior of the compound. Using Nyquist plot, the sample impedance characteristics were interpreted while taking grain and grain boundary contributions into account. The magnetic properties proved that doping ZCFAO with diamagnetic cations (Mg) increases both of saturation magnetization from 16.416 up to 29.983 emu/g and the magnetocrystalline anisotropic constant from 1319.24 to 1612.804 because the two main factors that influence the magnetic properties are the distribution of cations between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites and the magnetic moment of each of its cations. Novelty of our work replacing Zn by Mg (both of them diamagnetic materials) enhance the magnetic properties. Synthesized materials may reexamine the mechanisms underlying Mg2+ induced cationic exchange in ZCFAO and have prospective uses as soft-magnetic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the solvability of the pantograph equation of fractional orders under a fractal-fractional feedback control was investigated. This investigation was located in the class of all continuous functions. The necessary conditions for the solvability of that problem and the continuous dependence of the solution on some parameters and the control variable were established with the help of some fixed point theorems. Additionally, the Hyers-Ulam stability of the issue was explored. Finally, some specific problems extended to the corresponding problem with integer orders were illustrated. The theoretical results were supported by numerical simulations and comparisons with existing results in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To report a case of neurosarcoidosis (NS) who was initially diagnosed as Coccidioidomycosis immitis (CI) infection.Observations: A 57-year-old diabetic man presented with sudden painless diminution of vision, metamorphopsia, and color vision deficits in the left eye (OS) for one month. His vision was 20/20 in the right eye (OD) and 20/40 OS. Ophthalmic examination revealed left relative afferent pupillary defect, blurred optic nerve margin, creamy chorioretinal infiltration around the optic disc, and mild macular edema. OD examination was non-revealing. Chest CT scan with contrast showed calcified mediastinal lymph nodes, but biopsy of the lymph nodes was normal. Brain and orbit MRI demonstrated soft tissue abnormality with enhancement in left orbital apex with involvement of the extraocular muscles. CSF culture was negative, but complement fixation had positive titer of 1:2 for CI. The patient was diagnosed with CI meningitis, and antifungal therapy was initiated. Slight visual and symptomatic improvement was observed, which was not completely satisfactory. Biopsy of extraocular orbital muscle five months later revealed non-caseating granulomatous inflammation, leading to initiation of prednisone trial therapy. Nine months later, the patient was referred to a tertiary center owing to persistence of optic disc edema OS. PET CT was consistent with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Antifungal treatment was discontinued, and oral prednisone with methotrexate was initiated. Subsequently, methotrexate was replaced by infliximab to further manage ocular inflammation and neurologic symptoms which was effective. Vision was 20/20 OD and 20/30 OS at the most recent visit.Conclusion and Importance: Signs and symptoms of neurosarcoidosis and coccidioidomycosis can be similar and deceiving. The index case underscores importance of considering appropriate differential diagnoses in patients with similar symptoms and signs who may respond to preliminary designated treatment but not to the optimal extent. Considering such possibility could assist clinicians in managing the patients timely and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]