The assessment of short-answer questions (SAQs) in medical education is resource-intensive, requiring significant expert time. Large Language Models (LLMs) offer potential for automating this process, but their efficacy in specialized medical education assessment remains understudied. To evaluate the capability of five LLMs to grade medical SAQs compared to expert human graders across four distinct medical disciplines. This study analyzed 804 student responses across anatomy, histology, embryology, and physiology. Three faculty members graded all responses. Five LLMs (GPT-4.1, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek) evaluated responses twice: first using their learned representations to generate their own grading criteria (A1), then using expert-provided rubrics (A2). Agreement was measured using Cohen's Kappa and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). Expert-expert agreement was substantial across all questions (average Kappa: 0.69, ICC: 0.86), ranging from moderate (SAQ2: 0.57) to almost perfect (SAQ4: 0.87). LLM performance varied dramatically by question type and model. The highest expert-LLM agreement was observed for Claude on SAQ3 (Kappa: 0.61) and DeepSeek on SAQ2 (Kappa: 0.53). Providing expert criteria had inconsistent effects, significantly improving some model-question combinations while decreasing others. No single LLM consistently outperformed others across all domains. LLM strictness in grading unsatisfactory responses varied substantially from experts. LLMs demonstrated domain-specific variations in grading capabilities. The provision of expert criteria did not consistently improve performance. While LLMs show promise for supporting medical education assessment, their implementation requires domain-specific considerations and continued human oversight.

Introduction One of the most essential risk factors for chronic medical conditions is dietary intake. The dietary habits in Saudi Arabia shifted towards the Western diet, which is high in fat, salt and sugar. Plant-based diets like vegetarianism and veganism have gained popularity in the last few years. Individuals commit to a plant based diet for many reasons. Plant-based diets are associated with various health benefits but can still cause nutrition deficiencies. Purpose The aim of the study is to examine the proportion of vegan, vegetarian and omnivore diets in Saudi Arabia. To compare between plant-eaters and meat-eaters in health, lifestyle factors and nutritional status. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. A previously validated online questionnaire was distributed via social media platforms. The authors used convenience sampling to collect the data. Results A total of 1018 respondents answered the survey. Most respondents 885 (87%) were omnivores, 52 were vegetarians (5%) and 81 (8%) were vegans. Moreover, 61% of the total respondents never consumed vitamin B12 supplements, and 10% consumed vitamin B12 daily. The majority of respondents 548 (54%) used no other dietary supplements, and 470 (46%) used unspecified dietary supplements. Vegan respondents were more likely than other diet categories to have healthier lifestyle features, including >3 times/week exercise (standardized residual = 3.55) and >7 hours of sleep (standardized residual = 2.44). Conclusion Majority of Saudis follow omnivore diets and the frequency of those who follow plant-based diets is very low. Those who follow a vegan diet seem to have better health rating and lifestyle compared to the omnivores. Public health officials and healthcare providers are encouraged to increase awareness among the Saudi population about the health benefits of a plant-based diet.

The effectiveness of the flipped classroom is currently debated due to conflicting results from different studies. It is therefore important to evaluate its usefulness each time it is applied in a new setting. Thus, this study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the effectiveness and acceptability of the flipped classroom in undergraduate medical education at the College of Medicine, Alfaisal University. This was a quasi-experimental study consisting of development and administration of a flipped classroom with one group of students receiving the flipped classroom (FG) and the other group with the traditional lecture-based teaching (LG). We compared the pre-university enrolment Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), preceding progress test results and previous semester performance for the two groups, which showed no statistical difference. Since the FG had received the video lecture while the LG had not, there was a clear statistical difference between the groups with FG showing better performance in pre-test scores. The post-test performances were marginally not statistically different between FG and LG groups. Our results did not show any long-term benefit of a flipped classroom in terms of retention of knowledge as manifested by grades obtained in midterm and final examinations. It was also not received positively by the students.

Background/Objectives: Transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) remain an important concern in blood safety. Nucleic acid amplification testing (NAT) shortens the diagnostic window period relative to conventional serological assays. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Hepatitis B virus(HBV), Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among blood donors and to evaluate concordance between NAT and conventional serological screening methods. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Riyadh Regional Laboratory from May 2021 to May 2022 and included 48,901 blood donors. Donor samples were tested for HBV, HCV, and HIV using serological assays (chemiluminescent immunoassays on the Abbott Alinity s system) and NAT. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The prevalence of HCV was 0.149% by serological testing and 0.061% by NAT. HBV prevalence was 0.252% by serology and 0.264% by NAT, while HIV prevalence was 0.041% and 0.037%, respectively. NAT identified 25 seronegative but NAT-reactive donations, including 13 HBV, 11 HCV, and 1 HIV donation. A statistically significant difference between NAT and serology was observed for HCV (p < 0.001, McNemar’s test), but not for HBV (p = 0.180) or HIV (p = 0.317). Conclusions: The prevalence of major viral TTIs among blood donors was low, with HBV being the most frequently detected infectious agent. NAT and serological assays provide complementary information and support the continued use of combined screening strategies to enhance transfusion safety.