Sociodemographic,clinical characteristics,and service utilization of young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at a research center in Saudi Arabia: The road to autism spectrum disorder diagnosis

Objectives:To assess how clinical services are accessed and utilized by young children with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and identifying factors that prevent the early identification of developmental concerns and diagnosis.Methods:This retrospective study examined the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of a convenience sample of children diagnosed with ASD at the Center for Autism Research, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2016 and 2018. The characteristics of ASD assessment and intervention service use were examined. Additionally, we examined the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and service use variables with the child’s age at the time of the parent’s initial concern and first ASD diagnosis, and the time from first concern to diagnosis.Results:Out of 127 cases, 67 were diagnosed with ASD (mean: 46.88 months, SD: 18.88, median: 42.00, range, 19-93). Most ASD cases had one previous assessment (n=28, 41.8%). Higher sibling numbers were associated with a later age of first concern (p=0.0278). Applied behavior analysis service utilization was associated with later age of first ASD diagnosis (p=0.0336) and longer time to ASD diagnosis (p=0.0301).Conclusion:Larger sample size is needed to further investigate whether these findings are representative of the national experience. Community-based intervention outcome studies should assess the quality of services being provided.     

Chemical and biological studies on the soft coral Nephthea sp.

Soft corals belonging to the family Nephtheidae have been appreciated as marine sources of diverse metabolites with promising anticancer potential. In view of that, the current work investigates the anti-proliferative potential of the crude extract, different fractions, and green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of the Red Sea soft coral, Nephthea sp. against a panel of tumor cell lines. The metabolic pool of the soft coral under study was also explored via an LC-HR-ESI-MS metabolomics approach, followed by molecular docking analysis of the characterized metabolites against the target proteins, EGFR, VEGFR, and HER2 (erbB2) that are known to be involved in cancer cell proliferation, growth, and survival. Overall, the n-butanol fraction of Nephthea sp. exhibited the highest inhibitory activities against MCF7 (breast cancer) and A549 (lung cancer) cell lines, with interesting IC₅₀ values of 2.30 ± 0.07 and 3.12 ± 0.10 μg ml⁻¹, respectively, whereas the maximum growth inhibition of HL60 (leukemia) cells was recorded by the total extract (IC₅₀ = 2.78 ± 0.09 μg ml⁻¹). More interestingly, the anti-proliferative potential of the total soft coral extract was evidently improved when packaged in the form of biogenic AgNPs, particularly against A549 and MCF7 tumor cells, showing IC₅₀ values of 0.72 ± 0.06 and 9.32 ± 0.57 μg ml⁻¹, respectively. On the other hand, metabolic profiling of Nephthea sp. resulted in the annotation of structurally diverse terpenoids, some of which displayed considerable binding affinities and molecular interactions with the studied target proteins, suggesting their possible contribution to the anti-proliferative properties of Nephthea sp. via inhibition of tyrosine kinases, especially the EGFR type. Taken together, the present findings highlighted the relevance of Nephthea sp. to future anticancer drug discovery and provided a base for further work on the green synthesis of a range of bioactive NPs from marine soft corals.

The cytotoxic potential of the crude extract, different fractions, and green synthesized nanoparticles of the soft coral Nephthea sp. was studied, supported by LC-HR-ESI-MS metabolomics analysis and molecular docking of the dereplicated compounds.     

Quantification of silver in several samples using a new ionophore polymer membrane as an optical sensor

Growing concerns about the possible toxicity of silver to aquatic organisms, bacteria, and humans have led to newly issued regulations by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the use of silver. However, the increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics has led to a resurgence in the use of silver as a biocidal agent in applications ranging from washing machine additives to the drinking water treatment system on the International Space Station (ISS). For Ag⁺ ion detection, a highly sensitive and reversible optical sensor has been established. The optode relies on a novel Schiff base, namely 2-[(benzo[d]thiazol-2-ylimino)methyl]phenol (BTMP) immobilized within PVC film and also incorporated with tris(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate (TEHP) and Aliquat 336 as an ion carrier. Under optimum conditions (i.e. pH 8.5), the proposed sensor displayed a linear response to Ag⁺ over 4.8 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ M (0.8494–1698.7 μg L⁻¹) with limits of detection and quantification of 1.5 × 10⁻⁹ and 4.8 × 10⁻⁹ M (0.2548 and 0.8494 μg L⁻¹), respectively. The sensor''s response time was found to be 8.0 min. The sensor was applied successfully to determine Ag⁺ ion in some real samples, including food, biological, water, and environmental samples.

Growing concerns about the possible toxicity of silver to aquatic organisms, bacteria and humans have led to newly issued regulations by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration regarding the use of silver.     

Characteristics of Suture Materials Used in Oral Surgery: Systematic Review

BackgroundThe aim of this review was to evaluate the most used suture materials with regards to their inflammatory response, their bacterial adhesion, and their physical properties when used to close oral wounds.MethodsFour databases (PubMed, Scopus, Dentistry & Oral Sciences, and OVID) were searched to retrieve relevant studies from January 1, 2000, to January 31, 2020.ResultsOut of the 269 articles, only 13 studies were selected as they were relevant and met the systematic review's protocol. These studies showed that almost all suture materials studies (catgut, polyglycolic acid [PGA] sutures, nylon, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, and silk sutures) caused bacterial adherence and tissue reaction. In nylon and chromic catgut, the number of bacteria accumulated was lowest. Silk and nylon were found to be more impacted than catgut and PGA in terms of physical characteristics such as tensile strength. PGA, on the other hand, was said to be the most susceptible to knot unwinding.ConclusionsFollowing an oral surgical operation, all sutures revealed varied degrees of irritation and microbial accumulation. Nonresorbable monofilament synthetic sutures, however, exhibited less tissue response and less microbial accumulation.     

Semisynthesis of new sarcophine derivatives with chemopreventive activity

The natural cembranolide sarcophine (3) and its lactone ring-opened analogue (10) were oxidized using selenium dioxide under different reaction temperatures to prepare hydroxylated derivatives. Nine new compounds were obtained, six of them targeted hydroxylated derivatives. The determination of regio- and stereochemistry as well as the mechanistic considerations on the selectivity observed in these reactions are discussed on the basis of 2D NMR and molecular modeling. In preliminary in vitro tests on inhibition of EBV-EA activation, compounds 10 and 12-15 have shown higher activity than the known chemopreventive agent sarcophytol A.