Background and objectives Many studies show that mindfulness can improve quality of life and mental health as well as reduce psychological distress; however, the mechanisms of these effects remain unknown. The mindfulness stress buffering model provides a model for explaining the effects of mindfulness on health outcomes through the mechanism of reducing perceived stress. Therefore, we investigated the mediating role of perceived stress in the relationship between mindfulness and quality of life and mental health.Methods/Design Three hundred and fifteen soldiers completed the Mindful Attention Awareness scale, Perceived Stress Scale, WHO Quality of Life Assessment, and General Health Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling using bootstrap methods was employed to analyze the data.Results Results showed that perceived stress partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and quality of life, and that perceived stress fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and mental health.Conclusions Mindfulness yields beneficial effects in improving individuals’ quality of life and improving mental health through reducing perceived stress.Some species of Salix sp. (willows) are a potential phytoremediator that can accumulate substantial contents of mineral elements and, therefore, to detoxify soils contaminated with pollutants and heavy metals such as the zinc (Zn). However, high concentrations of Zn inhibit plant growth and reduce biomass production in plants. In an attempt to overcome this inconvenience and to enhance plant tolerance to Zn toxicity, we tested a new tolerance induction approach by acclimation in two clones of Salix pedicellata, named SPK-12 and SP-K20. The approach comprises two successive phases. The first is a “tolerance induction phase” consisting of gradual exposure of plants to low concentrations of Zn sulfate (ZnSO4) at regular intervals until reaching DI100 (ZnSO4 inhibitory concentration). And, the second is a “tolerance maintenance phase” to uphold the acquired tolerance to Zn toxicity. The SP-K20 clone was acclimated to DI100 threshold over 33 days without noticeable symptoms of chlorosis or growth inhibition. Compared to controls, the SP-K20 clone was able to accumulate high concentrations of Zn, suggesting that phytoremediation abilities of S. pedicellata have been improved throughout the applied approach. Acclimated Salix plants might thus improve metal phytoextraction in heavily polluted soils without biomass growth inhibition.BACKGROUND Influenza is a highly contagious acute viral respiratory tract infection. The emergence of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in 2009 caused a pandemic. Since then it has become a seasonal influenza virus. It causes symptoms ranging from mild to severe illness, which might be fatal, particularly in people with underlying chronic medical conditions, immunocompromised people, the elderly, and pregnant women. OBJECTIVE Describe the data generated by the influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 surveillance in Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2016. DESIGN Retrospective, descriptive. SETTING Hospitals reporting to the Ministry of Health. MATERIALS AND METHODS We studied aggregate data on hospitalized cases of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 in Saudi Arabia between 2010 and 2016. The surveillance system used the case definition proposed by the WHO. The cases were confirmed by performing the real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) on upper respiratory samples. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Suspected and confirmed influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 cases. SAMPLE SIZE 113 502 suspected H1N1 cases and 17 094 (15.1%) confirmed cases. RESULTS Most of the reported cases were registered in the Riyadh region. During the period of the study, the highest number of confirmed cases, 9262 (54.2 %), was in 2015. The case fatality rate for confirmed cases was 3.6%. CONCLUSION Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 showed seasonal trends. The number of suspected influenza cases each year was proportionate to the number of confirmed cases for that year. Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern areas (regions with the highest population) reported most of the cases. LIMITATION Only one strain of H1N1 was tested. CONFLICT OF INTEREST None.BACKGROUND Medical students are at higher risk of developing alexithymia due to the nature of their studies. OBJECTIVES Determine the prevalence of alexithymia and potential risk factors among medical students in Saudi Arabia. DESIGN A cross-sectional analytic study. SETTINGS University medical school. this website PATIENTS AND METHODS An institutional cross-sectional survey of medical students was conducted using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess the prevalence of alexithymia and potentially associated factors (gender, parental marital status, grade point average, status of accommodations, smoking status, year of study, childhood abuse, a history of mental illness, and physical activity). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Gender, parental marital status, grade point average, status of accommodations, smoking status, year of study, childhood abuse, a history of mental illness, and physical activity. SAMPLE SIZE 347. RESULTS The prevalence of alexithymia among medical students was 49% (95% confidence interval [43.8-54.2]). A binary logistic regression model showed significant associations between alexithymia and academic year of study (lower risk of alexithymia in the clerkship (5th, 6th years); odds ratio [OR] 0.43, 95% CI 0.26-0.72), smoking (OR 3.52, 95% CI 1.60-3.34), grade point average (lowest; OR 10.44, 95% CI 4.24-25.77), history of childhood abuse (OR 2, 95% CI 1.20-8.77), and history of psychiatric illness (OR 14.40, 95% CI 4.76-21.06). CONCLUSION Almost half of the medical students suffer from alexithymia. Increasing the awareness about alexithymia among students and directing them where to seek help would facilitate the management of these problems. LIMITATIONS Limited only to medical students from the second year to the sixth year in a single medical college, which affects generalizability. The cross-sectional design might have also limited generalizability. CONFLICT OF INTEREST None.This work presents a literature review concerning the construction, properties and application of different sensors used to detect dimethyl methylphonate (DMMP), which is the simulant of sarin. Sensors sensitive to mass are described, together with such sensors as SAW, QCM, MEMS, also chemical capacitors, semiconductors, and field effect transistors.