Tritium and radiocarbon in the water column of the Red Sea.

Despite being the busiest transient sea in the world due to the Suez Canal, radionuclide distribution studies in seawater and sediment of the Red Sea remain rare. A sampling expedition in the Red Sea was conducted from June 9 to July 6, 2021, visiting a transect of several deep sampling stations located along the central axis of the basin from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern Red Sea (near Farasan Island, Saudi Arabia). The collected seawater profile samples were analyzed for tritium, radiocarbon and oxygen-18. The observed tritium levels in surface waters of the Red Sea peaked at 0.3-0.4 TU, similar to the values observed in the western Arabian Sea (decay corrected). The values observed at waters below 150 m were around 0.2 TU, however, at depths of 450 and 750 m, tritium minima (<0.2 TU) were observed, which could be associated with a partial return flow of bottom waters from the southern to the northern Red Sea. At two stations at the depth of about 550 m, deep Δ14C minima were observed as well (-4‰ and -10‰), documenting ongoing transport of carbon in the water column, important for sink of anthropogenic carbon.

Challenges facing continuing medical education and the Saudi Council for Health Specialities.

As we leave the 20th century, continuing medical education faces many challenges in relation to its effectiveness, efficiency and quality. The young and promising Saudi Council for Health Specialties produces a document on accreditation of continuing medical education, which indicates its interest in this vital subject. This paper aims to enrich the approach to continuing medical education in Saudi Arabia by reviewing the main relevant challenges reported in literature and suggesting that the Saudi Council for Health Specialities may consider developing and implementing a continuing medical education charter that addresses the needs of all stakeholders and emphasizes high quality and cost-effective provision.

Is there anything wrong with undergraduate medical education in Saudi Arabia.

Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version.

Symptomatology and chest roentgenographic changes of pulmonary tuberculosis among diabetics.

Symptoms and chest x-ray findings in 28 diabetics and 38 non diabetics with pulmonary tuberculosis were compared. The two groups of patients were age and sex-matched. There was no statistical difference in respiratory or constitutional symptoms between the two groups. Distribution of chest x-ray involvement including cavitary disease was again similar in the two groups of patients. These findings are contrary to previous reports and beliefs that diabetics were less symptomatic and that x-ray findings were more frequent in lower lung fields.