A new model of test chart for accurate and simpler measurement of visual acuity is introduced. The test chart is composed of Landolt's rings, Arabic figures, and Korean letters following the International Standardization.
Arabs ; Humans ; Vision Tests* ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of pharmacists practicing in Palestine of issues related to using psychotropic medications in older people. METHODS: The study was conducted with a cross-sectional observational design using a questionnaire. A total of 400 pharmacists responded to a 19-statement knowledge test related to the use of psychotropic medications in older people. The study was conducted from July 2016 to February 2017. The reliability and internal consistency of the study tool was assessed using the test-retest method and the Cronbach alpha. Categorical groups were compared using the chi-square test and the Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS: On the 19-statement knowledge test, the median score was 55.3% with an interquartile range of 21.9%. In a comparison of the demographic and practice-related variables of the pharmacists who scored ≥ 50% on the 19-statement knowledge test with those who scored < 50%, age, gender, and having taken a course on psychotropic medications were found to be significantly associated with performance, as shown by the chi-square test and Spearman correlation. CONCLUSION: Pharmacists practicing in Palestine possess less than optimal knowledge of issues related to the use of psychotropic medications in older people. Continuing educational interventions and/or training might be helpful in improving pharmacists' knowledge of issues related to using psychotropic medications in older people.
Arabs* ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Geriatrics ; Humans ; Methods ; Pharmacists ; Psychotropic Drugs

1. A simplified vision test chart which is composed of test types of arabic figures and Landolt's rings for 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0 was designed by the author. 2. The test chart may be used at school for screeing the students who have decreased vision in early stage, and so school myopia can be prevented or cured by medical treatment. 3. It is also recommended to be used for testing the vision of students once every month at home to preserve good vision and prevent school myopia which is so much increased among the students that it has become a serious social problem in Korea.
Arabs ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Myopia ; Social Problems ; Vision Tests*

1. A simplified vision test chart which is composed of test types of arabic figures and Landolt's rings for 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0 was designed by the author. 2. The test chart may be used at school for screeing the students who have decreased vision in early stage, and so school myopia can be prevented or cured by medical treatment. 3. It is also recommended to be used for testing the vision of students once every month at home to preserve good vision and prevent school myopia which is so much increased among the students that it has become a serious social problem in Korea.
Arabs ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Myopia ; Social Problems ; Vision Tests*

The author designed new pseudoisochromatic tests for detecting, classifying and estimating the degree of color defectives to meet the increasing need for a test of color vision in Korea. All colors used in these tests were theoretically selected from the isocolor zones for protan, deutan and tritan drawn in the C.I.E. chromaticity chart by Judd. The tests contain 16 plates with arabic figures and 5 with winding lines, and are divided in two sections: 12 tests for screening and 9 for qualitative and quantitative diagnostic tests.
Arabs ; Color Vision ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Wind

The cognitive domain of number processing has been known to be separable from that of language. Further, the number processing consists of Arabic and verbal number systems which could be also separable from each other. We report a 49-year-old woman who showed a dissociation between Arabic and Korean verbal numbers. Her impairment in number processing was characterized by the defective comprehension and expression of Korean verbal umbers, without notable defects in those of Arabic numbers. A follow-up examination revealed a further dissociation within the processing of Korean numbers, showing persistent impairment of number comprehension with improvement of number expression. In dealing with numbers with more than two digits, she showed syntactic errors characterized by uttering a string of single digit numbers(I.e., 365) rather than stating them as a whole number(365). Furthermore, auditory comprehension was also more accurate when the numbers were presented as an array of single digit numbers than a whole number with units. However, these syntactic errors were not observed on an automatic counting task. The evidence of separable representation of Arabic and Korean number system could be drawn from these observations, and therefore we propose the possibility of dual number processing pathways, one for a simple numbering system without semantic mediation and the other for a complex, multidigit numbering with semantic mediation.
Arabs* ; Comprehension ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Negotiating ; Semantics

The accuracy of vision test chart is very important in examination of the visual acuity. The author examined the accuracy of the Cheongsan Vision Chart which is an imitative print of Dr. Chun Suk Hahn's Vision Test Chartby measuring it's test types of Landolt's rings, Arabic figures, Korean letters and pictures in detail with micrometer and surgical loupe. The errors in size of test types of Cheongsan Vision Chart to the standard size which was authorized by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Korea in 1972 for the Chun Suk Hahn's Vision Test Chart are found as follows: 1. Error in Landolt's rings. 0.2-32.7%, av. 9.0%. Error over+/-10% in 35.7%. 2. Error in Arabic figures. 0.1-70.4% av. 12.8%. Error over+/-10% in 47.6%. 3. Error in Korean letters. 0.2-55.9% av. 15.4%. Error over+/-10% in 57.1%. 4. Error in pictures. 0.2-15.1% av. 0.9%. Error over+/-10% in 8.1%. In this study the author found that the Cheongsan Vision Chart is lacking in accuracy for examination of visual acuity.
Aphakia ; Arabs ; Argon* ; Filtering Surgery ; Glaucoma ; Glaucoma, Angle-Closure ; Humans ; Korea ; Uveitis ; Vision Tests ; Visual Acuity

Argon laser iridotomy was performed on 67 eyes, 49 patients with angle-closure glaucoma: 24 eyes(18 patients) with acute angle-closure glaucoma, 15 eyes(12 patients) with chronic angle-closure glaucoma, 4 eyes(4 patients) with pupillary block glaucoma in aphakia, 6 eyes(4 patients) with glaucoma to uveitis, and 18 fellow eyes on the patients who have monocular angle-closure glaucoma. Iridotomy holes were satisfactorily produced in every eye treated except one eye, 64 eyes(95.5%) having one or two treatment, but failed in one eye with acute type, The procedure was easily done with a small amount of laser energy when it used in the short duration of 0.05 second only rather than the long duration above 0.05 second or others. Postoperatively, of 38 eyes with primary angle-closure glaucoma treated successfully, 12 eyes(31.5%) required no medication, 21 eyes(55.3%) needed the addition of either one or two topical drugs, and filtering surgery was necessary in 5 eyes(13.2%). It was related to the extent of peripheral anterior synechiae. Other 26 eyes required no medication. The closure of iridotomy holes was rare and easily treated in two eyes with uveitic angle-closure glaucoma. And laser iridotomy revealed no major complication.
Aphakia ; Arabs ; Argon* ; Filtering Surgery ; Glaucoma ; Glaucoma, Angle-Closure ; Humans ; Korea ; Uveitis ; Vision Tests ; Visual Acuity

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional screening. PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine if there is any association of the three microsatellite markers on chromosome 19p 13.3 in unrelated Saudi Arabian girls who were suffering with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and their healthy siblings. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: The genetic influence on the development of familial scoliosis has been previously described, but the genetic influence on AIS still remains unknown. Three microsatellite markers (D19S216, D19S894, and DS1034) of chromosome 19p 13.3 were reported to be significantly associated with familial scoliosis. This cross-sectional screening was carried out in AIS patients and their siblings. METHODS: For eleven Saudi Arabian girls who were treated for AIS and their 11 siblings, we performed a linkage analysis using parametric and nonparametric methods and using GENEHUNTER ver. 2.1. Multipoint linkage analysis was used to specify an autosomal dominant trait with a gene frequency of 0.01 at the genotypic and the allelic levels. One sided Fisher's exact tests were used in the analysis of the contingency tables for the D19S216, D19S894 and DS1034 markers. RESULTS: The analysis between the patient group and the healthy siblings showed that at the genotypic level there was a significant association of the markers and scoliosis (D19S894 [p=0.036], D19S216 [p=0.004], and DS1034 [p=0.013]). Yet at the allelic level, there was no statistically significant association of the markers between the AIS patients and their siblings. CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study shows that there is a genetic influence between the AIS patients and the siblings. We believe large scale genetic screening is warranted for the patients with AIS to identify beyond any doubt the influence of these markers.
Adolescent ; Arabs ; Genes, vif ; Genetic Markers ; Genetic Testing ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Pilot Projects ; Scoliosis ; Siblings ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of serum/plasma YKL-40 levels with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their correlation with RA activity and rheumatoid factor (RF) level. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis comparing the serum/plasma YKL-40 levels between patients with RA and controls and examined the correlation coefficients of the circulating YKL-40 level with the RF level and RA activity based on the 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) level. RESULTS: Nine studies (707 patients with RA and 1,041 controls) were included in the meta-analysis. The YKL-40 levels were significantly higher in the RA group than in the control group (standardized mean difference [SMD]=1.071, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.726~1.417, p<0.001). Stratification by ethnicity showed significantly elevated YKL-40 levels in the RA groups from European, Asian, North American, and Arab populations. The YKL-40 level was significantly higher in the RA group than in the control group in both age- and sex-matched and only age-matched populations (SMD=0.937, 95% CI=0.554~1.320, p<0.001; SMD=2.951, 95% CI=1.389~4.512, p<0.001, respectively). Subgroup analysis by sample size showed significantly increased YKL-40 levels in the RA group in both small (n<100) and large (n>100) populations. Meta-analysis of correlation coefficients showed a significant positive correlation between the YKL-40 levels and DAS28, ESR, CRP level, and RF level (DAS28: correlation coefficient=0.381, 95% CI=0.044~0.640, p=0.028; RF level: correlation coefficient=0.341, 95% CI=0.176~0.487, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The circulating YKL-40 levels are high in patients with RA and positively correlate with RA activity and RF level.
Arabs ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Humans ; Rheumatoid Factor ; Sample Size