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BACKGROUND Previous studies have investigated the pattern of dermatological diseases in some regions of Saudi Arabia, but studies on the prevalence of skin diseases in Jeddah are lacking. OBJECTIVES Assess the pattern of skin diseases in Jeddah based on age and sex differences and compare the results with those of previous studies conducted in other regions of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. DESIGN A cross-sectional prevalence study, retrospective. SETTING Dermatology clinic of King Abdulaziz University hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS Data obtained from electronic medical records were summarized and analyzed. We only included new patients, who first visited the clinic in 2017. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Descriptive epidemiological data and statistical comparisons. SAMPLE SIZE 1244. RESULTS Among 3458 patients who attended the dermatology clinic, 1244 were new patients. There were 365 (29.3%) men and 879 (70.7%) women for a male-to-female ratio of 1:2.4. The mean (SD) age of the total population was 35 (3.8) years. The most common dermatological disease was dermatitis (n=266, 21.4%), followed by acne (n=195, 15.7%) and fungal infection (n=136, 10.9%). Atopic dermatitis was the most prevalent dermatome in children (41.7%), while acne was the most prevalent disease in adults (19.5%). The chi-square test indicated a significant difference between acne and sex ( P =.007), with adult women being more commonly affected (79%) and for alopecia and sex ( P <.001), with women being more commonly affected (91.2%). CONCLUSIONS There are slight differences in the prevalence of dermatological diseases in Jeddah, as shown in this study and other studies from other regions in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. We recommend initiating awareness campaigns to increase knowledge about skin diseases, particularly in men, and improving dermatology-related training programs for primary health care physicians. A population-based study is warranted to clarify the prevalence of skin diseases in Saudi Arabia. LIMITATIONS The inclusion of patients who visited the dermatology clinic only in 2017 and data collection from only registration records.

Concern about increasing incidents of petroleum hydrocarbon spills and spillage into different marine environments is rising day by day due to enhanced human activities in marine water. The toxic compounds of spilled petroleum hydrocarbon in marine water lead to the immediate death of numerous marine organisms as well as initiate various vicious biogeochemical cycles in the marine environment resulting in prolonged toxic impacts on the marine environment. Recently, many sophisticated techniques, including physical methods, chemical methods, and biological methods, have been developed and adopted for the treatment of marine environments polluted with petroleum compounds. However, biological treatment is one of the most promising methods in this field by which microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae are used for biodegradation of pollutants such as the spilled petroleum hydrocarbon into neutralized or eco-friendly compounds. This review has been focused on different aspects of the pollution of the marine ecosystem by oil, mainly Petroleum hydrocarbons, the fate of spilled oil in marine environments and the role of microbial communities in it, as well as various techniques, especially the bioremediation and biodegradation of spilled oil including the factors affecting the capacity of techniques. Moreover, some future aspects of research in the field of biodegradation and bioremediation of spilled oil have been proposed.

Abstract. This study aimed to develop a suitable feeding program for the Asian sea bass, lates calcarifer fingerlings under supersaline condition by testing different feeding rates (FR) and feeding frequencies (FF). Three feeding rates namely; 1%, 2% and 4% and three feeding frequencies 1X, 2X and 4X were used in the study. Results showed that growth after 60 days parameters gave the highest values with 4% and 4X. FCR increased with increasing FR, while better FCR and PER was achieved with increasing FF. Survival rates in all the feeding rates and frequencies were almost 100%. Significant relationship was recorded between growth, FCR and PER and feeding rates, but not with FF. No significant relationship in both FR and FF with survival rate. Interaction effect of FR and FF was exhibited in all the growth parameters and FCR. All the water quality values obtained were within the safe limits for rearing the Asian sea bass fingerlings.

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