Abstract-In this special session we meet a set of projects in computer science and engineering education at a university in Saudi Arabia. They are the product of a pedagogical development course ran in collaboration with a Swedish university during the academic year 2013/2014. The projects reflect the local situation, with its possibilities and challenges, and suggest steps to take, in the local environment, to enhance education. As such it is a unique document that brings insights from computer science and engineering education into the international literature.

Background In many developed countries, the scope of community pharmacy services has extended to deliver more advanced applications. Unlike the traditional practice focusing on pharmaceutical sales, extended community pharmacy services (ECPSs) are patient-centred, typically offered by specialised healthcare centres, which improve public health, reduce pressure imposed on healthcare professionals and rationalise the health system expenditure. However, several studies have revealed that community pharmacies (CPs) provide only marginalised services. Therefore, a public review is crucial for effectively utilising such healthcare-complementary professional services. This study explores CPs utilisation among the Saudi public in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and barriers towards ECPSs. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional web-based survey of a non-probability sample was conducted between October and December 2021. Numerical and graphical descriptive statistics were employed with an additional analytical assessment using binary logistic regression for the association between characteristics of participants and barriers to utilising ECPSs. Results A total of 563 subjects participated, of which about 33% considered CPs the first place to visit if they have medication concerns. Most were unfamiliar with medication therapy management and health screening services (77%%, and 68%, respectively). Pharmacy clinics for receiving private counselling and electronic patients’ medical records were unknown facilities to them (79% and 63%, respectively). A substantial portion considered the lack of privacy (58%) and inadequate communication with the community pharmacists (56%) as key barriers. The logistic regression analysis revealed that the underdeveloped infrastructure of CPs was significantly associated with almost all factors. Privacy issues concerned females, highly educated and high-income individuals, and those with health insurance. In addition, low socio-economic status, subjects with special needs or chronic diseases, non-health insured and smokers were less likely to utilise the ECPSs due to economic reasons. Conclusions The most public was under-utilised services and facilities. Positive attitudes were associated with public concerns regarding their privacy and the cost of services. In line with the Saudi vision 2030, supporting CPs and increasing public awareness towards ECPSs will have significant public health implications.

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Aim of the Study: To assess the merits and demerits of posterior pericardial drainage in patients undergoing heart surgery. Materials and Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomized controlled trials was conducted. We searched for relevant trials in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (from 1980), Embase from 1970 the Transfusion Evidence Library from 1980, and ongoing trial databases; all searches current to 30 September 2017. Results: The search yielded Sixteen randomized controlled trials which included 2755 patients. Results revealed that Posterior pericardial drainage was associated with a significant 90% reduction of the odds of cardiac tamponade versus the control group: (OR 95% confidence interval) 0.13; P < 0.001. The ORs of death or cardiac arrest were significantly decreased by approximately 50% in the posterior pericardial drainage group compared to controls: OR (95% CI): 0.47, P = .028; I2 = 0% Conclusion: Posterior pericardial drainage has been reported in the literature to significantly reduce the prevalence of early pericardial effusion as well as cardiac tamponade. A significant enhanced survival rate was recorded postcardiac surgery.

A vast majority of open surgical repair of incisional hernias are achieved using a prosthetic mesh. Even though it is a tensionless repair, it is still associated with early or late complications such as mesh infection, surgical site infection, chronic pain, seroma, hematoma, mesh shrinkage, etc. The recurrence rate following mesh repair is still as high as approximately 32 % over a 10year follow-up period. 5 A number of factors can influence these complication rates, comprising the position and site ABSTRACT From the patient's perspective, a ventral hernia can cause pain, adversely affect function, increase size, cosmetically distort the abdomen, and incarcerate/strangulate abdominal contents. The only known cure for a ventral hernia is surgical repair. The purpose of the current analysis was to review the published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the surgical care of ventral hernia. We conducted this meta-analysis using a comprehensive search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials till 01 March 2018 for randomized controlled trials on the use of mesh reinforcement in abdominal wall hernia repair. 15 studies met the search criteria, laparoscopic repair (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.02-6.71) had the highest probability of having the lowest rate of surgical site infection. Among open mesh repair techniques, sublay repair (OR 1.41; 95% CI 0.01-5.99) had the highest probability of being the best treatment. Among patients experiencing ventral hernia repair, mesh reinforcement ought to be used regularly when there is no infection. Sublay mesh might outcome in fewer reappearances and surgical site infections. The quality of evidence to support these recommendations is moderate to high.