Jazan University

An international team has discovered how electrons can slither rapidly to-and-fro across a quantum surface when driven by external forces. The research has enabled the visualization of the motion of electrons on liquid helium. An international team led by Lancaster University has discovered how electrons can slither rapidly to-and-fro across a quantum surface when driven by external forces. The research, published in Physical Review B, has enabled the visualisation of the motion of electrons on liquid helium for the first time. The experiments, carried out in Riken, Japan, by Kostyantyn Nasyedkin (now at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA) in the lab of Kimitoshi Kono (now in Taiwan at Yang Ming Chiao Tung University) detected unusual oscillations whose frequencies varied in time. Although it was unclear how the electrons were moving in the darkness and extreme cold at the bottom of the cryostat, it was evident that the time-variations were much like those seen in living systems. Professor Kono said: "At very low temperatures, the surface of liquid helium is an exceptionally slippery place. Interesting things happen there, and it is important because of the potential for quantum computing using electrons on the helium surface. "Such electrons move very easily because, with a slippery surface below and a vacuum above, there is nothing to slow them down." The Riken data were analysed at Lancaster University using methods developed by Professor Aneta Stefanovska and her group, mainly for biological applications. Lancaster PhD student Hala Siddiq (now at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia) applied these methods. She and her principal supervisor Professor Stefanovska interpreted the results in collaboration with Riken's team and Lancaster experts in low temperature physics, Dmitry Zmeev, Yuri Pashkin and Peter McClintock. The work has enabled the electrons' motion to be visualised, showing how they slide around in part-circular and part-radial patterns of motion in the vacuum above the liquid surface. An additional complication revealed by Siddiq's analysis is that the surface itself is moving gently in up-and-down vertical motion. Moreover, her results indicate a combination of quantum and classical dynamics. Professor Stefanovska said: "Appreciation of these features will be important for practical applications across wide areas of physics, life sciences, and even sociology. Namely, they provide a paradigmatic example for the physics of non-isolated systems and for the mathematics of non-autonomous systems. Moreover, the experimental model can be used to study properties of living systems, and similar technical or societal systems, in a very controlled way."

Scientists identify a new molecular model and potential therapeutic target for gout, the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. Many Americans think of gout as a disease from a bygone era, akin to rickets or scurvy. The condition commonly afflicted the rich and royal, including American historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Gout is indeed one of the earliest known diseases, first identified by the ancient Egyptians around 2640 BC. But the disease is more prevalent now than ever, affecting more than 10 million people in the United States or approximately 5 percent of the adult population. Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, in which urate (a byproduct of purine-rich foods like meat and alcohol) builds up in the body and forms needle-shaped crystals in and around the joints, usually starting in the foot. The crystal deposits lead to flares of severe pain, joint swelling and tenderness, and can progress to chronic joint damage that limits patients' movement and quality of life. Excess urate circulating in the blood (known as hyperuricemia) has long been considered the major cause of gout, but counterintuitively, most people with high urate levels do not actually develop the disease. In fact, asymptomatic hyperuricemia is approximately four times more prevalent than gout. Gout patients also show mysteriously higher levels of urate in their joint fluid compared to their blood. Thus hyperuricemia must not be the only thing stimulating urate crystal deposition in the joints. So what else could be causing the disease? In a new study published online on December 1, 2022 in Arthritis & Rheumatology, an international research team led by University of California San Diego School of Medicine identified a novel molecular pathway that causes gout and its progression to joint tissue erosion. The findings position lubricin, a protein found in joint fluid, as a novel therapeutic target for both the prevention and treatment of the disease. The scientists were interested in exploring the genetic factors that lead not to high levels of circulating urate, but specifically to urate production and crystal deposition within joints. To do this, they studied a rare case of gout in which the patient had developed urate crystal deposits and erosion in her joints but did not show high levels of urate in her blood. "This naturally occurring and extremely unusual disorder provided a unique opportunity to look at gouty arthritis through a different lens, and understand what molecular processes contribute to the disease independent of hyperuricemia," said senior author Robert Terkeltaub, MD, professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and section chief of Rheumatology at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. Using whole genome sequencing, RNA-sequencing and quantitative proteomic methods, the researchers were able to identify a major molecular pathway that was disrupted in the patient, centering on a significant reduction in lubricin. The mucinous protein provides essential lubrication and protection to joint tissues, and regulates the function of a specific type of white blood cell that promotes inflammation in the joint. Additional experiments confirmed that under healthy conditions, lubricin suppresses the secretion of urate and xanthine oxidase (an enzyme that produces urate) by activated white blood cells, and also blocks urate from crystallizing in the joint. The researchers then assessed several patients with the common form of gout and confirmed that they too had markedly decreased levels of lubricin. The authors suggest that whether or not a hyperacemia patient goes on to develop gout may thus be influenced by which gene variants they have for lubricin and other molecules that control its production or degradation in the joint. "Our findings show that lubricin may be a new biomarker for tracing patients' risk of developing gout, and that new drugs to maintain and increase lubricin could limit the incidence and progression of gouty arthritis," said Terkeltaub. Co-authors include: Leigh-Ana Rossitto, Ru LiuBryan, Majid Ghassemian, Anaamika Campeau and David J. Gonzalez at UC San Diego; Marin Miner at Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System; Khaled Elsaid and Sandy Elsayed at Chapman University; Amanda Phipps-Green, Tony R. Merriman and Murray Cadzow at University of Otago; Jacob Karsh at University of Ottawa; Gregory D. Jay at Rhode Island Hospital; Marwa Qadri at Jazan University; Talia J. Dambruoso at Brown University; Tannin Schmidt at University of Connecticut Health Center; Nicola Dalbet and Ashika Chhana at University of Auckland; Jennifer Höglund at University of Gothenburg; Nancy Maltez at Ottawa Riverside Hospital; and Niclas G. Karlsson at Oslo Metropolitan University.

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that there will be a global shortfall of a staggering 10 million healthcare workers by the year 2030 . And the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is not immune to this shortfall, with the shortage apparently set to affect countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. In this closing keynote at the 2022 HIMSS Middle East Health Conference & Exhibition, speakers will discuss what can be done to stem the mass exodus of staff, as well as train, recruit, and retain the next generation of healthcare workers skilled to thrive amid the post-pandemic world’s rapid digital transformation. WHY IT MATTERS In the GCC, the rapid development of smart medical cities and hospitals is evident. However, it can be argued that the construction and infrastructure is progressing much quicker than clinicians are graduating or completing training. There’s also the question of whether there are enough individuals entering into the healthcare workforce to begin with. For example, is local talent being invested in enough? And how heavily does the GCC rely on talent from overseas? With ageing populations – and with the high burden of non-communicable diseases leading to the exponential rise in demand for clinicians – this workforce shortage can be described as a ticking retirement time bomb. Simply put, healthcare systems are haemorrhaging clinicians faster than governments can create strategies to train more personnel. Appearing in “ Workforce Crisis: Creating the Next Generation of Digital Leaders ” are Dr. Manal AlMalki of Jazan University in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Kalthoom Mohammad AlBlooshi of the Emirates Health Services, Prof. William Hersh from Oregon Health and Science University, Prof. Rachel Dunscombe of the NHS Digital Academy at Imperial College London, Dr. Osama El Hassan from the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Prof. Amr Jamal from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Mohammed Alhefzi of the Saudi Association for Health Informatics (SAHI), and finally, HIMSS International’s Bruce Steinberg . THE LARGER CONTEXT A BMC Medical Education report cites that factors said to be contributing to the shortage of healthcare workers in the GCC include “shortages in certain medical disciplines, due to a lack of nationally-trained professionals,” as well as “a less developed educational system compared to other high income countries.” It highlights the fact that GCC countries are heavily dependent on an expatriate healthcare workforce, which is “a problem exacerbated by high turnover.” Examining what can be done to stem the mass exodus of staff, as well as train, recruit and retain the next generation of healthcare workers in the GCC and wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the session will include a virtual fireside chat between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, comparing approaches to building health informatics competencies frameworks. With capacity building arguably being key, the role of technology in helping address staff burn-out, high turnover, and people shortages also shouldn’t be underestimated – which is another area set to be discussed during this session. ON THE RECORD The DHA’s Dr. El Hassan, a specialist at the Health Informatics and Smart Health Department, and who has been described as an “impassioned advocate for workforce development for the younger population”, notably told Healthcare IT News in 2020: “We should start to embed clinical informatics and information competencies with medical schools’ curricula and provide certification programs for the current workforce that expedite upskilling and cross-skilling.” It will be interesting to learn from Dr. El Hassan if progress has been made in this area within the past two years.