Background: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases, characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Adherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is vital in establishing seizure control. The adherence, in turn, impacts the quality of life (QoL) in epileptic patients. Methodology: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted at King Fahd Hospital of the University, Qatif Central Hospital, and Dammam Central Hospital in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia during the period from January 2018 to April 2018. Epileptic patients from all age groups treated with at least single AED and who had follow-up in hospital for the past 6 months were included in the study. Patients with intellectual disabilities and those who received AEDs for other indications were excluded. The participants were interviewed in Arabic, and validated translated version of questionnaire was completed under the following sections: sociodemographic characteristics, adherence assessment using the General Medication Adherence Scale (GMAS), and QoL in epilepsy patients using EQ-5D-5L. Results: We report 48% of participants with high adherence, 34% with moderate adherence, while 19% exhibited low adherence toward AEDs. Of 80 participants, 25 (31%) reported perfect health status (11,111) and 2 (3%) reported extremely worst health status (55,555). Further, the study revealed a significant (P = 0.045 and 0.035) improvement of QOL in patients with moderate and high adherence compared to patients with low adherence. Conclusion: This study reports high health-related quality index (QoL) in participants with moderate–high adherence. The relationship between adherence and overall HRQoL was directly proportional.

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Backgraound: Professional burnout, a prolonged response to stress, may affect standards of patient care. Burnout is defined as emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment (PA). Aim: The aim of the current study is to identify and compare the psychologic stress and burnout levels among different job titles and specialties in the dental services department. We also examined the effects of marital status, age, and sex on stress and burnout levels. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study conducted in the department of dental services at a tertiary medical complex. Materials and Methods: A convenient sampling approach was used to distribute the questionnaire in the dental services department (n = 177, response rate = 88.5%). Two-validated questionnaires, the Psychological Stress Measure-9, and Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey, were used. Statistical Analysis: SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was used for data analysis. P<0.05 was considered statically significant. Results: The mean (± standard deviation) stress level was 32.6 (±11.43), with the highest stress levels seen in consultants and residents (39.17% and 38.33%, respectively). Hygienists and technicians exhibited the highest lack of PA (24.53%), consultants exhibited the highest EE (24.64%), and residents exhibited the highest impersonal response toward patients (26.67%). Conclusion: Participants with the job title “Consultant” or “Resident” are the most stressed and burnt-out dental personnel. Specialty, sex, age, and marital status were not identified as risk factors for stress and burnout in our study. Stress and burnout should be reduced to maintain standards of patient care.

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Background: The choice of a suitable soil for an intended application depends, basically on one's thorough knowledge of soil properties. Soil color and thermal properties have been found to vary from place to place. However, there is no scientific information on the properties of a soil type formed with different colors in a location and exposed to the same influence for a reasonable interval of time. Consequently, this leaves room for a great deal of speculation and assumption. Aims and Objectives: This work was aimed at examining and comparing some vital properties of two soil samples of the same soil type formed in a place of a particular relief but are observed to be completely distinct in their colors. In addition, a model for prediction of temperature variation with the thickness of each sample was considered. Materials and Methods: Pink clay and yellow clay got from a location were used to prepare six test samples each. The samples were allowed to dry completely under ambient conditions before they were subjected to laboratory- based tests. Results: The results of each test differed for two clay samples. Apart from values of solar radiation absorptivity and flaking concentration, the mean values of sorptivity, bulk density, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity were found to be greater for pink clay soil compared to yellow clay soil. Conclusion: Clay soils of different colors can differ in their other properties even if they exist under same conditions in a particular location. During the time of minimum temperature or the hottest time of the day, pink clay would record a lower temperature than yellow clay.

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Background: According to previous similar studies, health-care professionals have limited knowledge about radiation doses, and their related risks with medical imaging examinations are deficient. With a proper level of knowledge, future doctors can play a significant role in attributing to patient safety regarding ionizing radiation. Objective: The objective of the study was to estimate and establish a national parameter of awareness and knowledge regarding ionizing radiation doses and its accompanying adverse effects among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Participants and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done during the academic year 2018–2019. An online survey was distributed to collect the needed data. Students were asked to estimate the most commonly used radiological studies' radiation doses to see if students are aware that the magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound are nonionizing imaging studies. Results: A total of 518 students responded, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of studied students was 22.64 ± 1.92, 62.5% were males, and 40% of studied students were 5^th-year medical students. About 5.3% of the students were very confident in their knowledge of the ionizing radiation dose, 27.2% were moderately confident, 36.5% not really confident, and 21% do not know. Most of the students, 49.6%, do not know exactly the risk of inducing fatal cancer from an abdominal computed tomography scan. About 63.7% of the students said that children are the most sensitive group to radiation. The total knowledge mean score was 2.25 (SD: ±1.97, median: 2, range: 0–8). We found a significant correlation between the total knowledge score and age, sex, university, and academic year, all with P = 0.001. Conclusion: The assessment of students' awareness of ionizing radiation exposures in diagnostic imaging demonstrates that there is a low level of confidence in the knowledge of the ionizing radiation dose and low total knowledge mean score; this advocates introducing the radiation protection instruction into the undergraduate medical curriculum.

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Background: Child abuse and neglect (CAN) is a major problem around the world including Saudi Arabia. According to National Family Safety Program registry, most of cases of CAN in Saudi Arabia are detected in hospitals. Hence, healthcare professionals play an important role in identifying and reporting suspected cases of CAN. The purpose of the study is to assess knowledge and attitudes toward CAN among medical and dental undergraduate (UG) students and interns in Riyadh. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study distributed a self-administrated structured questionnaire to 351 medical and dental UG students and interns in different public and private medical and dental colleges in Riyadh. Participants were recruited using convenient sampling. The data were entered using IBM SPSS version 22 software. Descriptive statistics (frequency distribution), Chi-square test, and t-test were used to perform the statistical analysis. The significance level (P value) was set at <0.05. Results: About 57.5% of the participants reported having formal training on CAN during their UG study. Mean knowledge score related to CAN was 6.81 ± 1.17 for medical participants and 6.35 ± 1.35 for dental participants, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Majority of the participants believed that the main barrier for not reporting a suspected case of CAN is the fear of consequences (medical = 82.4%, dental = 68.5%, P = 0.01). About 77% of the participants agreed to the need for further training in dealing with suspected cases of CAN. Conclusion: This study showed that dental participants had relatively less knowledge about the clinical presentation of CAN than medical participants. Improvements in the educational system are still needed to raise awareness about this issue. Inclusion of case scenarios and problem-based learning may help retain knowledge acquired during training. To increase awareness about the diagnosis and referral procedures, academic institutes should consider continuous educational courses and seminars.

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Aim: This study aims to evaluate the public's knowledge and awareness of the association between cigarette smoking and skin aging in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted by distributing a questionnaire to the general population of Jeddah across different age groups in 2018. Data were organized using a frequency distribution table, and analysis was done using Chi-square test. Results: Among 2443 participants, 68.2% were female and 12.6% were current smokers. More than half (64%) of the participants answered correctly that smoking increases facial aging. Slightly higher number of nonsmokers responded correctly than current and former smokers. There was a statistically significant difference between gender and the response to the association of smoking and skin aging, with majority of the females (71%) responding correctly (P < 0.0001). A considerable number of younger participants and college graduates knew that smoking increases wrinkles. Among the current smokers, 25% said that most/some smokers would quit if they learned that smoking increases facial aging. However, among the current smokers, there was no statistically significant association between their awareness of the relationship between smoking and skin aging and their motivation to quit (P = 0.032). Conclusion: The society's lack of knowledge about the association between cigarette smoking and skin aging needs more attention. Knowledge needs to be spread by prompting health campaigns and by the participation of health authorities to make more effective public health policies against smoking.

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Objectives: The global population's primary intake of caffeine comes from the consumption of coffee. Arabic coffee is traditionally brewed and served using a unique process. The objective of this study was to examine the plausibility of two widespread myths regarding Arabic coffee; that the longer the cooking time, and/or the more roasted the coffee, the higher is the amount of caffeine extracted per kilo-gram of raw coffee (CE). Materials and Methods: A total of 12 different samples of traditionally brewed Arabic coffee (with correction of lost volume due to evaporation) were directly analyzed for their caffeine concentration using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography. The amount of caffeine extracted per kilogram of raw coffee (CE) where then calculated. Comparisons were then made between the CE from three types of raw coffee beans; Yemeni Bari, Yemeni Kulani, and Ethiopian Harrari. They were each roasted to two different grades (light vs. medium-dark) and each grade was cooked for a different duration of time (15 min vs. 30 min). Results: The type of coffee bean used was shown to significantly affect the amount of CE from raw coffee (P = 0.011). The highest amount of caffeine was extracted from raw Ethiopian Harrari coffee bean, followed by the Yemeni Kulani bean (P = 0.020 and P = 0.027, respectively). A longer cooking time significantly decreased the amount of CE from raw coffee as compared to a shorter time (P = 0.041). Medium-dark roasting was observed to cause a slight but nonsignificant decrease in amount of CE compared to light roasting (P = 0.178). Conclusions: The type of coffee bean used in brewing Arabic coffee is the main determinant of the amount of caffeine extracted from raw coffee. Longer cooking time and a darker roast both decrease the amount of extracted caffeine in the final brew, rendering the old myths nonplausible.

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Background: Prostate cancer is a significant health-care burden in both developing and under developed countries. Efforts in Saudi Arabia may be hindered by the unclarity of awareness of predictors of early prostate cancer screening, given the complexity of such screening. Aims: The objective of this study was to assess awareness levels of early screening of prostate cancer and its predictors among Saudi men. Methods: A cross-sectional participatory approach was used to assess the awareness levels of early screening of prostate cancer among Saudi men within the age group for which early prostate cancer screening is recommended. Results: Participants were recruited out of those admitted to outpatient clinics of the five largest tertiary-care hospitals. Four hundred and eighteen Saudi outpatient men aged 40–65 years were interviewed. Of all participants, 79.2% had heard of prostate cancer. When comparing eligible age groups, there was a significant difference in the percentage of men who had not undergone prostate screening (P < 0.0001). Across all eligible age groups, 65.8% of participants had not been advised to undergo prostate screening by their primary care physicians. In each age group, more than 75% of men reported that they would consider early screening for prostate cancer. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the percentages of men who would consider screening if they presented lower urinary tract symptoms (P = 0.179). Data on the uptake of voluntary screening of prostate cancer in Saudi Arabia are either inconclusive or insufficient. Therefore, it may be challenging to interpret the awareness levels and surveillance strategies for this disease in Saudi Arabia.

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