Search results for:  Mona H. Gamal Eldein

Authors: Mona Almanasef, Angel Chater, Jane Portlock

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Introduction: A 'flipped classroom' uses technology to shift the traditional lecture outside the scheduled class time and uses the face-to-face time to engage students in interactive activities. Aim of the Study: Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of using the 'flipped classroom' teaching format with MPharm students in two pharmacy schools in the UK: UCL School of Pharmacy and the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at University of Portsmouth. Methods: An experimental mixed methods design was employed, with final year MPharm students in two phases; 1) a qualitative study using focus groups, 2) a quasi-experiment measuring knowledge acquisition and satisfaction by delivering a session on rheumatoid arthritis, in two teaching formats: the flipped classroom and the traditional lecture. Results: The flipped classroom approach was preferred over the traditional lecture for delivering a pharmacy practice topic, and it was comparable or better than the traditional lecture with respect to knowledge acquisition. In addition, this teaching approach was found to overcome the perceived challenges of the traditional lecture method such as fast pace instructions, student disengagement and boredom due to lack of activities and/or social anxiety. However, high workload and difficult or new concepts could be barriers to pre-class preparation, and therefore successful flipped classroom. The flipped classroom encouraged learning scaffolding where students could benefit from application of knowledge, and interaction with peers and the lecturer, which might, in turn, facilitate learning consolidation and deep understanding. This research indicated that the flipped classroom was beneficial for all learning styles. Conclusion: Implementing the flipped classroom at both pharmacy institutions was successful and well received by final year MPharm students. Given the attention now being put on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), understanding effective methods of teaching to enhance student achievement and satisfaction is now more valuable than ever.

Keywords: blended learning, flipped classroom, inverted classroom, pharmacy education

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Authors: Sataroopa Mishra, Mona Basker, Sneha Varkki, Ram Kumar Pandian, Grace Rebekah

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Background: Sleep deprivation is a matter of public health importance among adolescents. We used adolescent sleep wake scale and adolescent sleep hygiene scale to determine the sleep quality and sleep hygiene respectively of school going adolescents in Vellore city of India. The objective of the study was to do factorial analysis of the scales and validate it for use in local population. Methods: Observational questionnaire based cross sectional study. Setting: Community based school survey in a semi-urban setting in three schools in Vellore city. Data collection: Non probability sample was collected form students studying in standard 9 and 11. Students filled Adolescent Sleep Wake scale (ASWS) and Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale (ASHS) translated into vernacular language. Data Analysis: Exploratory Factorial Analysis was used to see the factor loading of various components of the two scales. Confirmatory factorial analysis is subsequently planned for assessing the internal validity of the scales.Results: 557 adolescents were included in the study of 12 – 17 years old. Exploratory factorial analysis of adolescent sleep hygiene scale indicated significant factor loading for 18 items from 28 items originally devised by the authors and has been reconstructed to four domains instead of 9 domains in the original scale namely sleep stability, cognitive – emotional, Physiological - bed time routine - behavioural arousal factor (activites before bedtime and during bed time), Sleep environment (lighting and bed sharing). Factorial analysis of Adolescent sleep wake scale showed factor loading of 18 items out of 28 items in original scale reconstructed into 5 aspects of sleep quality. Conclusions: The factorial analysis gives a reconstructed scale useful for the local population. Further a confirmatory factorial analysis has been subsequently planned to determine the internal consistency of the scale for local population.

Keywords: factorial analysis, sleep hygiene, sleep quality, adolescent sleep scale

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Authors: Hanadi Mohamed Shawgi Gamal, Ashraf Mohamed Ahmed Abdalla

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Sudan is endowed by a great diversity of tree species; nevertheless, the utilization of wood resources has traditionally concentrated on a few number of species. With the great variation in the climatic zones of Sudan, great variations are expected in the anatomical properties between and within species. This variation needs to be fully explored in order to suggest the best uses for the species. Modern research on wood has substantiated that the climatic condition where the species grow has significant effect on wood properties. Understanding the extent of variability of wood is important because the uses for each kind of wood are related to its characteristics; furthermore, the suitability or quality of wood for a particular purpose is determined by the variability of one or more of these characteristics. The present study demonstrates the effect of rainfall zones in some anatomical properties of Acacia seyal var. seyal growing in Sudan. For this purpose, twenty healthy trees were collected randomly from two zones (ten trees per zone). One zone with relatively low rainfall (273mm annually) which represented by North Kordofan state and White Nile state and the second with relatively high rainfall (701 mm annually) represented by Blue Nile state and South Kordofan state. From each sampled tree, a stem disc (3 cm thick) was cut at 10% from stem height. One radius was obtained in central stem dices. Two representative samples were taken from each disc, one at 10% distance from pith to bark, the second at 90% in order to represent the juvenile and mature wood. The investigated anatomical properties were fibers length, fibers and vessels diameter, lumen diameter, and wall thickness as well as cell proportions. The result of the current study reveals significant differences between zones in mature wood vessels diameter and wall thickness, as well as juvenile wood vessels, wall thickness. The higher values were detected in the drier zone. Significant differences were also observed in juvenile wood fiber length, diameter as well as wall thickness. Contrary to vessels diameter and wall thickness, the fiber length, diameter as well as wall thickness were decreased in the drier zone. No significant differences have been detected in cell proportions of juvenile and mature wood. The significant differences in some fiber and vessels dimension lead to expect significant differences in wood density. From these results, Acacia seyal var. seyal seems to be well adapted with the change in rainfall and may survive in any rainfall zone.

Keywords: Acacia seyal var. seyal, anatomical properties, rainfall zones, variation

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Metrek Almetrek, Naser Alqahtani, Eisa Ghazwani, Mona Asiri, Mohammed Alqahtani, Magboolah Balobaid

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Background: Advocacy of potential for community coalitions to positively address social determinants of health and quality of life, little is known about the views of stakeholders involved in such efforts. This study sought to assess the provinces leaders’ perspectives about social determinants related to the Health Neighborhood Initiative (HNI), a new county effort to support community coalitions. Method and Subjects: We used a descriptive, qualitative study using personal interviews in 2022. We conducted it in the community coalition's “main cities committees” set across service planning areas that serve vulnerable groups located in the seven registered healthy cities to WHO (Abha, Tareeb, Muhayel, Balqarn, Alharajah, Alamwah, and Bisha). We conducted key informant interviews with 76 governmental, profit, non-profit, and community leaders to understand their perspectives about the HNI. As part of a larger project, this study focused on leaders’ views about social determinants of health related to the HNI. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. An inductive approach to coding was used, with text segments grouped by social determinant categories. Results: Provinces leaders described multiple social determinants of health and quality of life that were relevant to the HNI community coalitions: housing and safety, community violence, economic stability, city services coordination and employment and education. Leaders discussed how social determinants were interconnected with each other and the need for efforts to address multiple social determinants simultaneously to effectively improve health and quality of life. Conclusions: Community coalitions have an opportunity to address multiple social determinants of health and quality of life to meet the social needs of vulnerable groups. Future research should examine how community coalitions, like those in the HNI, can actively engage with community members to identify needs and then deliver evidence-based care.

Keywords: social determinants, health and quality of life, vulnerable groups, qualitative research

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Authors: Rawia M. Khalil, Ahmed A. Abd El Rahman, Mahfouz A. Kassem, Mohamed S. El Ridi, Mona M. Abou Samra, Ghada E. A. Awad, Soheir S. Mansy

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Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have gained great attention for the topical treatment of skin associated fungal infection as they facilitate the skin penetration of loaded drugs. Our work deals with the preparation of nystatin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (NystSLNs) using the hot homogenization and ultrasonication method. The prepared NystSLNs were characterized in terms of entrapment efficiency, particle size, zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, rheological behavior and in vitro drug release. A stability study for 6 months was performed. A microbiological study was conducted in male rats infected with Candida albicans, by counting the colonies and examining the histopathological changes induced on the skin of infected rats. The results showed that SLNs dispersions are spherical in shape with particle size ranging from 83.26±11.33 to 955.04±1.09 nm. The entrapment efficiencies are ranging from 19.73±1.21 to 72.46±0.66% with zeta potential ranging from -18.9 to -38.8 mV and shear-thinning rheological Behavior. The stability studies done for 6 months showed that nystatin (Nyst) is a good candidate for topical SLN formulations. A least number of colony forming unit/ ml (cfu/ml) was recorded for the selected NystSLN compared to the drug solution and the commercial Nystatin® cream present in the market. It can be fulfilled from this work that SLNs provide a good skin targeting effect and may represent promising carrier for topical delivery of Nyst offering the sustained release and maintaining the localized effect, resulting in an effective treatment of cutaneous fungal infection.

Keywords: candida infections, hot homogenization, nystatin, solid lipid nanoparticles, stability, topical delivery

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Authors: Mona Alharbi

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Melioidosis has emerged as a lethal disease. Unfortunately, the molecular mechanisms of virulence and pathogenicity of Burkholderia pseudomallei remain unknown. However, proteomics research has selected putative targets in B. pseudomallei that might play roles in the B. pseudomallei virulence. BPSL 2418 putative protein has been predicted as a free methionine sulfoxide reductase and interestingly there is a link between the level of the methionine sulfoxide in pathogen tissues and its virulence. Therefore in this work, we describe the cloning expression, purification, and crystallization of BPSL 2418 and the solution of its 3D structure using X-ray crystallography. Also, we aimed to identify the substrate binding and reduced forms of the enzyme to understand the role of BPSL 2418. The gene encoding BPSL2418 from B. pseudomallei was amplified by PCR and reclone in pETBlue-1 vector and transformed into E. coli Tuner DE3 pLacI. BPSL2418 was overexpressed using E. coli Tuner DE3 pLacI and induced by 300μM IPTG for 4h at 37°C. Then BPS2418 purified to better than 95% purity. The pure BPSL2418 was crystallized with PEG 4000 and PEG 6000 as precipitants in several conditions. Diffraction data were collected to 1.2Å resolution. The crystals belonged to space group P2 21 21 with unit-cell parameters a = 42.24Å, b = 53.48Å, c = 60.54Å, α=γ=β= 90Å. The BPSL2418 binding MES was solved by molecular replacement with the known structure 3ksf using PHASER program. The structure is composed of six antiparallel β-strands and four α-helices and two loops. BPSL2418 shows high homology with the GAF domain fRMsrs enzymes which suggest that BPSL2418 might act as methionine sulfoxide reductase. The amino acids alignment between the fRmsrs including BPSL 2418 shows that the three cysteines that thought to catalyze the reduction are fully conserved. BPSL 2418 contains the three conserved cysteines (Cys⁷⁵, Cys⁸⁵ and Cys¹⁰⁹). The active site contains the six antiparallel β-strands and two loops where the disulfide bond formed between Cys⁷⁵ and Cys¹⁰⁹. X-ray structure of free methionine sulfoxide binding and native forms of BPSL2418 were solved to increase the understanding of the BPSL2418 catalytic mechanism.

Keywords: X-Ray Crystallography, BPSL2418, Burkholderia pseudomallei, Melioidosis

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Authors: Mona Nada, Fahmy Fahmy

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Background: Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma is a rare form of skin cancer affecting cutaneous layer and, in some cases associated with recurrence and metastasis, very commonly to seen in elderly patient affecting the area of head and neck. Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma rises in ultraviolet light exposed areas. The symptoms and severity of this kind of skin cancer varies according to histological factors. The differentiation of Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma needs extensive immunohistochemistry, as the diagnosis depends mainly on exclusion to rule out other malignancy like poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, angiosarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. Objective: assessing the management of Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma in our unit and compared to the updated guidelines. Design: Retrospective study Collection of patient data from medical records at countess of Chester plastic surgery unit of the last 5 years, all histologically confirmed Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (2017-2023). Data were collected confirmed to be Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma were included in the study. The data collected: clinical description of the lesions at first presentation, operation time, multidisciplinary team discussion, plan, referral as well as second operation and investigation done. With comparison of histological examination, immunohistochemistry staining, the excision and rate of recurrence. Results: data collected N19 from (2017-2023) showed the disease predominantly affecting males and the lesion mainly in head and neck, the diagnosis needed extensive immunohistochemistry to differentiate between other malignancy. recurrence present in numbers of the cases which managed after multidisciplinary team discussion either by excision or radiotherapy. Conclusion: Pleomorphic dermal sarcoma is a rare malignancy which needs more understanding and avoid missing as it is aggressive form of skin cancer, there is a chance of metastasis and recurrence which makes it very important to understand the process of development of the cancer and frequent review of the management guidelines.

Keywords: pleomorphic dermal sarcoma, recurrence, radiotherapy, surgical

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Authors: Sundus Mona, Atif Adnan, Babar Ali, Fareeha Arshad, Allah Rakha

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Molecular diversity is the variation in the abundance of species. Forensic entomology is a neglected field in Pakistan. Insects collected from the crime scene should be handled by forensic entomologists who are currently virtually non-existent in Pakistan. Correct identification of insect specimen along with knowledge of their biodiversity can aid in solving many problems related to complicated forensic cases. Inadequate morphological identification and insufficient thermal biological studies limit the entomological utility in Forensic Medicine. Recently molecular identification of entomological evidence has gained attention globally. DNA barcoding is the latest and established method for species identification. Only proper identification can provide a precise estimation of postmortem intervals. Arthropods are known to be the first tourists scavenging on decomposing dead matter. The objective of the proposed study was to identify species by molecular techniques and analyze their phylogenetic importance with barcoded necrophagous insect species of early succession on human cadavers. Based upon this identification, the study outcomes will be the utilization of established DNA bar codes to identify carrion feeding insect species for concordant estimation of post mortem interval. A molecular identification method involving sequencing of a 658bp ‘barcode’ fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene from collected specimens of unknown dipteral species from cadavers of Lahore was evaluated. Nucleotide sequence divergences were calculated using MEGA 7 and Arlequin, and a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was generated. Three species were identified, Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya saffranea, and Chrysomya rufifacies with low genetic diversity. The fixation index was 0.83992 that suggests a need for further studies to identify and classify forensically relevant insects in Pakistan. There is an exigency demand for further research especially when immature forms of arthropods are recovered from the crime scene.

Keywords: molecular diversity, DNA barcoding, species identification, forensically relevant

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Authors: Mona Maria Mombeck

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Social participation in heterogeneous classrooms is one of the main goals in inclusive education. Children with special educational needs (SEN) and children with learning difficulties, or behavioural problems not diagnosed as SEN, are more likely to be excluded by other children than others. It is proven that the presence of dogs, as well as contact with dogs, increases the likelihood of positive social behaviour between humans. Therefore, animal-assisted pedagogy may be presumed to be a constructive way of inclusive teaching and facing the challenges of social inclusion in school classes. This study investigates the presence of a friendly dog in heterogeneous groups of pupils in order to evaluate the influence of dogs on facets of social participation of children in school. 30 German pupils, aged from 10 to 14, in four classes were questioned about their social participation before and after they were educated for a year in school with animal-assisted-pedagogy, using the problem-concerned interview method. In addition, the post-interview includes some general questions about the putative differences or similarities of being educated with and without a dog. The interviews were analysed with the qualitative-content-analysis using QDA software. The results showed that a dog has a positive impact on the atmosphere, student relationships, and well-being in class. Regarding the atmosphere, the pupils mainly argued that the improvement was caused by taking into account the dog’s well-being, respecting the dog-related rules, and by emotional self-regulation. It can be supposed that children regard the rules concerning the dog as more relevant to them than rules, not concerning the dog even if they require the same behaviour and goal. Furthermore, a dog has a positive impact on emotional self-regulation and, therefore, on pupil’s behaviour in class and the atmosphere. In terms of the statements about relationships, the dog’s presence was mainly seen to provide both a unifying aim and a uniting topic to talk about. The improved well-being was described as a feeling of joy and peace of mind. Moreover, the teacher was evaluated as more friendly and trustworthy after animal-assisted teaching. Nevertheless, animal-assisted pedagogy can, rarely, cause problems as well, such as jealousy, distraction, or concerns about the well-being of the dog. The study could prove the relevance of animal-assisted pedagogy for facing the challenges of social participation in inclusive education.

Keywords: animal-assisted-pedagogy, inclusive education, human-animal-interactions, social participation

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Authors: Mona K. Fehling, Jakob Unger, Dietmar J. Hecker, Bernhard Schick, Joerg Lohscheller

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Voice disorders origin from disturbances of the vibration patterns of the two vocal folds located within the human larynx. Consequently, the visual examination of vocal fold vibrations is an integral part within the clinical diagnostic process. For an objective analysis of the vocal fold vibration patterns, the two-dimensional vocal fold dynamics are captured during sustained phonation using an endoscopic high-speed camera. In this work, we present an approach allowing a fully automatic analysis of the high-speed video data including a computerized classification of healthy and pathological voices. The approach bases on a wavelet-based analysis of so-called phonovibrograms (PVG), which are extracted from the high-speed videos and comprise the entire two-dimensional vibration pattern of each vocal fold individually. Using a principal component analysis (PCA) strategy a low-dimensional feature set is computed from each phonovibrogram. From the PCA-space clinically relevant measures can be derived that quantify objectively vibration abnormalities. In the first part of the work it will be shown that, using a machine learning approach, the derived measures are suitable to distinguish automatically between healthy and pathological voices. Within the approach the formation of the PCA-space and consequently the extracted quantitative measures depend on the clinical data, which were used to compute the principle components. Therefore, in the second part of the work we proposed a strategy to achieve a normalization of the PCA-space by registering the PCA-space to a coordinate system using a set of synthetically generated vibration patterns. The results show that owing to the normalization step potential ambiguousness of the parameter space can be eliminated. The normalization further allows a direct comparison of research results, which bases on PCA-spaces obtained from different clinical subjects.

Keywords: Wavelet-based analysis, Multiscale product, normalization, computer assisted classification, high-speed laryngoscopy, vocal fold analysis, phonovibrogram

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Rawia M. Khalil, Ghada Abd-Elbary, Mona Basha, Ghada E. A. Awad, Hadeer A. Elhashemy

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Background: Bacterial infections of the eye are the clinical conditions responsible for ocular morbidity and blindness. Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, due to Staphylococcus aureus. Lomefloxacin HCl (LXN) is a third generation flouroquinolone antibiotic with a broad spectrum against wide range of bacteria and very effective against Staph infections especially in conjunctiva (conjunctivitis). The present study aims to develop and evaluate novel ocular proniosomal gels of Lomefloxacin Hcl (LXN); in order to improve its ocular bioavailability for the management of bacterial conjunctivitis. Materials and methods: Proniosomes were prepared by coacervation phase separation method using different types of nonionic surfactants (Span 60,40,20,Tween 20,40,60,80,Brij 35,98,72) solely and as mixtures with Span® 60. The formed gels were characterized for entrapment efficiency, vesicle size and in vitro drug release. The optimum proniosomal gel; P-LXN 7 were characterized for pH measurement, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as Stability study and microbiological evaluation .The results revealed that only Span 60 was able to form stable LXN proniosomal gel when used individually while the other nonionic surfactants formed gels only in combination with Span 60 at different ratios. The optimum proniosomal gel; P-LXN 7 (Span60:Tween60, 9:1) appeared as spherical shaped vesicles having high entrapment efficiency (>80 %), appropriate vesicle size (187 nm) as well as controlled drug release over 12h. DSC confirmed the amorphous nature and the uniformity of LXN inclusion within the vesicles. Physical stability study did not show any significant changes in appearance or entrapment efficiency or vesicle size after storage for 3 months at 4°C. Ocular irritancy test revealed that P-LXN 7 was safe, well tolerable and suitable for ocular delivery. In vivo antibacterial activity of P-LXN 7 evaluated using the susceptibility test and topical therapy of induced ocular conjunctivitis confirmed the enhanced antibacterial therapeutic efficacy of the LXN-proniosomal gel compared to the commercially available LXN eye drops; Orchacin®. Conclusions: Our results suggest that proniosomal gels could provide a promising carrier of LXN for efficient ocular treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.

Keywords: bacterial conjunctivitis, lomefloxacin HCl, ocular drug delivery, proniosomes

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Authors: Hesham Hamdy Abdelmohsen, Ahmed Shawky Abdul Azizb, Mona Fawzy Aldaghma

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Helical piles have earned considerable attention as an effective deep foundation alternative due to their rapid installation process and their dual purpose in compression and tension. These piles find common uses as foundations for structures like solar panels, wind turbines, offshore platforms, and some kinds of retaining walls. These structures usually transfer different combinations of loads to their helical-pile foundations in the form of axial and lateral loads. Extensive research has been conducted to investigate and understand the behavior of these piles under the influence of either axial or lateral loads. However, the impacts of loading patterns that may act on the helical piles as combinations of axial compression and lateral loads still need more efforts of research work. This paper presents the results of an experimental (Lab tests) and numerical (PLAXIS-3D) study performed on vertical helical-pile groups under the action of combined loads as axial compression (bearing loads), acting successively with lateral (horizontal) loads. The study aims to clarify the effects of key factors, like helix location and direction of lateral load, on the lateral capacity of helical-pile groups and, consequently, on group efficiency. Besides the variation of helix location and lateral load direction, three patterns of successive bearing combined loads were considered, in which the axial vertical compression load was either zero, V1 or V2, whereas the lateral horizontal loads were varied under each vertical compression load. The study concluded that the lateral capacity of the helical-pile group is significantly affected by helix location within the length of the pile shaft. The optimal lateral performance is achieved with helices at a depth ratio of H/L = 0.4. Furthermore, groups of rectangular plan distribution exhibit greater lateral capacity if subjected to lateral horizontal load in the direction of its long axis. Additionally, the research emphasizes that the presence of vertical compression loading can enhance the lateral capacity of the group. This enhancement depends on the value of the vertical compression load, lateral load direction, and helix location, which highlights the complex interaction effect of these factors on the efficiency of helical-pile groups.

Keywords: helical piles, experimental, numerical, lateral loading, group efficiency

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Authors: Mona Awad Wanis Gad

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The method of factory making plans has changed loads, in particular, whilst it's miles approximately making plans the factory building itself. Factory making plans have the venture of designing merchandise, plants, tactics, organization, regions, and the construction of a factory. Ordinary restructuring is turning into greater essential for you to preserve the competitiveness of a manufacturing unit. Regulations in new regions, shorter lifestyle cycles of product and manufacturing era, in addition to a VUCA global (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) cause extra common restructuring measures inside a factory. A digital factory model is the planning foundation for rebuilding measures and turns into a critical device. Furthermore, digital building fashions are increasingly being utilized in factories to help facility management and manufacturing processes. First, exclusive styles of digital manufacturing unit fashions are investigated, and their residences and usabilities to be used instances are analyzed. Within the scope of research are point cloud fashions, building statistics fashions, photogrammetry fashions, and those enriched with sensor information are tested. It investigated which digital fashions permit a simple integration of sensor facts and in which the variations are. In the end, viable application areas of virtual manufacturing unit models are determined by a survey, and the respective digital manufacturing facility fashions are assigned to the application areas. Ultimately, an application case from upkeep is selected and implemented with the assistance of the best virtual factory version. It is shown how a completely digitalized preservation process can be supported by a digital manufacturing facility version by offering facts. Among different functions, the virtual manufacturing facility version is used for indoor navigation, facts provision, and display of sensor statistics. In summary, the paper suggests a structuring of virtual factory fashions that concentrates on the geometric representation of a manufacturing facility building and its technical facilities. A practical application case is proven and implemented. For that reason, the systematic selection of virtual manufacturing facility models with the corresponding utility cases is evaluated.

Keywords: augmented reality, digital factory model, factory planning, restructuring digital factory model, photogrammetry, factory planning, restructuring building information modeling, digital factory model, factory planning, maintenance

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Authors: Mona Solvoll, Ragnhild Kr. Olsen

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Background and significance of the study: Newspapers are going through radical changes with increased competition, eroding readerships and declining advertising resulting in plummeting overall revenues. This has lead to a quest for new business models, focusing on monetizing content. This research paper investigates both how local online newspapers have introduced user payment and how the audience has received these changes. Given the role of local media in keeping their communities informed and those in power accountable, their potential impact on civic engagement and cultural integration in local communities, the business model innovations of local media deserves far more research interest. Empirically, the findings are interesting for local journalists, local media managers as well as local advertisers. Basic methodologies: The study is based on interviews with commercial leaders in 20 Norwegian local newspapers in addition to a national survey data from 1600 respondents among local media users. The interviews were conducted in the second half of 2015, while the survey was conducted in September 2016. Theoretically, the study draws on the business model framework. Findings: The analysis indicates that paywalls aim more at reducing digital cannibalisation of print revenue than about creating new digital income. The newspapers are mostly concerned with retaining “old” print subscribers and transform them into digital subscribers. However, this strategy may come at a high price for newspapers if their defensive print strategy drives away younger digital readership and hamper their recruitment potential for new audiences as some previous studies have indicated. Analysis of young reader news habits indicates that attracting the younger audience to traditional local news providers is particularly challenging and that they are more prone to seek alternative news sources than the older audience is. Conclusion: The paywall strategy applied by the local newspapers may be well fitted to stabilise print subscription figures and facilitate more tailored and better services for already existing customers, but far less suited for attracting new ones. The paywall is a short-sighted strategy, which drives away younger readers and paves the road for substitute offerings, particularly Facebook.

Keywords: business model, newspapers, paywall, user payment

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Authors: Mohamed A. Etman, Mona G. Abd-Elnasser, Mohamed A. Shams-Eldin, Aly H. Nada

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Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) are gaining importance as new drug delivery systems and emerged as one of the popular and widely accepted dosage forms, especially for the pediatric and geriatric patients. Their advantages such as administration without water, anywhere, anytime lead to their suitability to geriatric and pediatric patients. They are also suitable for the mentally ill, the bed-ridden and patients who do not have easy access to water. The benefits, in terms of patient compliance, rapid onset of action, increased bioavailability, and good stability make these tablets popular as a dosage form of choice in the current market. These dosage forms dissolve or disintegrate in the oral cavity within a matter of seconds without the need of water or chewing. Desloratadine is a tricyclic antihistaminic, which has a selective and peripheral H1-antagonist action. It is an antagonist at histamine H1 receptors, and an antagonist at all subtypes of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. Desloratadine is the major metabolite of loratadine. Twelve different placebos ODT were prepared (F1-F12) using different functional excipients. They were evaluated for their compressibility, hardness and disintegration time. All formulations were non sticky except four formulations; namely (F8, F9, F10, F11). All formulations were compressible with the exception of (F2). Variable disintegration times were found ranging between 20 and 120 seconds. It was found that (F12) showed the least disintegration time (20 secs) without showing any sticking which could be due to the use of high percentage of superdisintegrants. Desloratadine showed bitter taste when formulated as ODT without any treatment. Therefore, different techniques were tried in order to mask its bitter taste. Using Eudragit EPO resulted in complete masking of the bitter taste of the drug and increased the acceptability to volunteers. The compressible non sticky formulations (F1, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7 and F12) were subjected to further evaluation tests after addition of coated desloratadine, including weight uniformity, wetting time, and friability testing.. Fairly good weight uniformity values were observed in all the tested formulations. F12 exhibiting the shortest wetting time (14.7 seconds) and consequently the lowest (20 seconds) disintegration time. Dissolution profile showed that 100% desloratadine release was attained after only 2.5 minutes from the prepared ODT (F12) with dissolution efficiency of 95%.

Keywords: Desloratadine, orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs), formulations, taste masking

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Authors: Nourhan Hussein Fanaki, Hoda Mohamed Gamal El-Din Omar, Nihal Kadry Moussa, Eva Adel Edward Farid

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The resistance of staphylococci to various antibiotics has become a major concern for health care professionals. The efficacy of the combinations of selected glycopeptides (vancomycin and teicoplanin) with gentamicin or rifampicin, as well as that of gentamicin/rifampicin combination, was studied against selected pathogenic staphylococcus isolated from Egypt. The molecular distribution of genes conferring resistance to these four antibiotics was detected among tested clinical isolates. Antibiotic combinations were studied using the checkerboard technique and the time-kill assay (in both the stationary and log phases). Induction of resistance to glycopeptides in staphylococci was tried in the absence and presence of diclofenac sodium as inducer. Transmission electron microscopy was used to study the effect of glycopeptides on the ultrastructure of the cell wall of staphylococci. Attempts were made to cure gentamicin resistance plasmids and to study the transfer of these plasmids by conjugation. Trials for the transformation of the successfully isolated gentamicin resistance plasmid to competent cells were carried out. The detection of genes conferring resistance to the tested antibiotics was performed using the polymerase chain reaction. The studied antibiotic combinations proved their efficacy, especially when tested during the log phase. Induction of resistance to glycopeptides in staphylococci was more promising in presence of diclofenac sodium, compared to its absence. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the thickening of bacterial cell wall in staphylococcus clinical isolates due to the presence of tested glycopeptides. Curing of gentamicin resistance plasmids was only successful in 2 out of 9 tested isolates, with a curing rate of 1 percent for each. Both isolates, when used as donors in conjugation experiments, yielded promising conjugation frequencies ranging between 5.4 X 10-2 and 7.48 X 10-2 colony forming unit/donor cells. Plasmid isolation was only successful in one out of the two tested isolates. However, low transformation efficiency (59.7 transformants/microgram plasmid DNA) of such plasmids was obtained. Negative regulators of autolysis, such as arlR, lytR and lrgB, as well as cell-wall associated genes, such as pbp4 and/or pbp2, were detected in staphylococcus isolates with reduced susceptibility to the tested glycopeptides. Concerning rifampicin resistance genes, rpoBstaph was detected in 75 percent of the tested staphylococcus isolates. It could be concluded that in vitro studies emphasized the usefulness of the combination of vancomycin or teicoplanin with gentamicin or rifampicin, as well as that of gentamicin with rifampicin, against staphylococci showing varying resistance patterns. However, further in vivo studies are required to ensure the safety and efficacy of such combinations. Diclofenac sodium can act as an inducer of resistance to glycopeptides in staphylococci. Cell-wall thickness is a major contributor to such resistance among them. Gentamicin resistance in these strains could be chromosomally or plasmid mediated. Multiple mutations in the rpoB gene could mediate staphylococcus resistance to rifampicin.

Keywords: glycopeptides, combinations, induction, diclofenac, transmission electron microscopy, polymerase chain reaction

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Authors: Ghasem Yazdanpanah, Mona Kakavand, Hassan Niknejad

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Objectives: An important issue in tissue engineering (TE) is hemocompatibility. The current engineered vessels are seriously at risk of thrombus formation and stenosis. Amnion (AM) is the innermost layer of fetal membranes that consists of epithelial and mesenchymal sides. It has the advantages of low immunogenicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties as well as good mechanical properties. We recently introduced the amnion as a natural biomaterial for tissue engineering. In this study, we have evaluated hemocompatibility of amnion as potential biomaterial for tissue engineering. Materials and Methods: Amnions were derived from placentas of elective caesarean deliveries which were in the gestational ages 36 to 38 weeks. Extracted amnions were washed by cold PBS to remove blood remnants. Blood samples were obtained from healthy adult volunteers who had not previously taken anti-coagulants. The blood samples were maintained in sterile tubes containing sodium citrate. Plasma or platelet rich plasma (PRP) were collected by blood sample centrifuging at 600 g for 10 min. Hemocompatibility of the AM samples (n=7) were evaluated by measuring of activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time (PT), hemolysis, and platelet aggregation tests. P-selectin was also assessed by ELISA. Both epithelial and mesenchymal sides of amnion were evaluated. Glass slide and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) samples were defined as control. Results: In comparison with glass as control (13.3 ± 0.7 s), prothrombin time was increased significantly while each side of amnion was in contact with plasma (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in PT between epithelial and mesenchymal surfaces (17.4 ± 0.7 s vs. 15.8 ± 0.7 s, respectively). However, aPPT was not significantly changed after incubation of plasma with amnion epithelial and mesenchymal surfaces or glass (28.61 ± 1.39 s, 31.4 ± 2.66 s, glass, 30.76 ± 2.53 s, respectively, p>0.05). Amnion surfaces, ePTFE and glass samples have less hemolysis induction than water considerably (p<0.001), in which no differences were detected. Platelet aggregation measurements showed that platelets were less stimulated by the amnion epithelial and mesenchymal sides, in comparison with ePTFE and glass. In addition, reduction in amount of p-selectin, as platelet activation factor, after incubation of samples with PRP indicated that amnion has less stimulatory effects on platelets than ePTFE and glass. Conclusion: Amnion as a natural biomaterial has the potential to be used in tissue engineering. Our results suggest that amnion has appropriate hemocompatibility to be employed as a vascular substitute.

Keywords: amnion, hemocompatibility, tissue engineering, biomaterial

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Authors: Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim Hassanin, Hany Hassan Mostafa, Mona Mohamed Shaban, Ahlam El Said Kamel

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Background: New so-called minimally invasive devices have been developed to limit groin pain after sling placement for treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) to minimize the risk of postoperative pain and organ perforation. A new generation of suburethral slings was described that avoided skin incision to pull out and tension the sling. Evaluation of this device through prospective short-term series has shown controversial results compared with other tension-free techniques. The aim of this study is to compare success rates and complications for tension-free vaginal tape secur (TVT secur) and trans-obturator sub urethral tape inside-out technique (TVT-O) for treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with genuine SUI were divided into two groups: group S (n=25) were operated upon using (TVT secur) and group O (n=25) were operated upon using trans-obturator suburethral tape inside-out technique (TVT-O). Success rate, quality of life and postoperative complications such as groin pain, urgency, urine retention and vaginal tape erosion were reported in both groups at one, three, and six months after surgery. Results: As regards objective cure rate at one, three, six months intervals; there was a significant difference between group S (56%, 64%, and 60%), and group O (80%, 88%, and 88%) respectively (P <0.05). As regards subjective cure rate at one, three, six months intervals; there was a significant difference between group S (44%, 44%, and 48%), and group O (76%, 80%, and 80%) respectively (P <0.05). Quality of life (QoL) parameters improved significantly in cured patients with no difference between both groups. As regards complications, group O had a higher frequency of complications than group S; groin pain (12% vs 12% p= 0.05), urgency (4% (1 case) vs 0%), urine retention (8% (2 cases) vs 0%), vaginal tape erosion (4% (1 case) vs 0%). No cases were complicated with wound infection. Conclusion: Compared to TVT secur, TVT-O showed higher subjective and objective cure rates after six months but higher rate of complications. Both techniques were comparable as regards improvement of quality of life after surgery.

Keywords: stress urinary incontinence, trans-vaginal tape-obturator, TVT Secur, TVT-O

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Authors: Mona G. Alharbi

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A new family of methionine-sulfoxide reductase (Msr) was recently discovered and was named free methionine sulfoxide reductase (fRMsr). This family includes enzymes with a reductase activity toward the free R isomer of a methionine sulfoxide substrate. The fRMsrs have a GAF domain topology, a domain, which was previously identified as having in some cases a cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity. The classification of fRMsrs as GAF domains revealed a new function can be added to the GAF domain family. Interestingly the four members identified in the fRMsr family share the GAF domain structure and the presence of three conserved cysteines in the active site with free R methionine sulfoxide substrate specificity. This thesis presents the crystal structures of reduced, free Met-SO substrate-bound and MES-bound forms of a new fRMsr from Burkholderia pseudomallei (BPSL2418). BPSL2418 was cloned, overexpressed and purified to enable protein crystallization. The crystallization trials for reduced, Met-SO-bound and MES-bound forms of BPSL2418 were prepared and reasonable crystals of each form were produced. The crystal structures of BPSL2418MES, BPSL2418Met-SO and BPSL2418Reduced were solved at 1.18, 1.4 and 2.0Å, respectively by molecular replacement. The BPSL2418MES crystal belongs to space group P 21 21 21 while BPSL2418Met-SO and BPSL2418Reduced crystals belong to space group P 1 21 1. All three forms share the GAF domain structure of six antiparallel β-strands and four α-helices with connecting loops. The antiparallel β-strands (β1, β2, β5 and β6) are located in the center of the BPSL2418 structure flanked on one side by a three α-helices (α1, α2 and α4) and on the other side by a (loop1, β3, loop2, α3, β4 loop4) unit where loop4 forms a capping flap and covers the active site. The structural comparison of the three forms of BPSL2418 indicates that the catalytically important cysteine is CYS109, where the resolving cysteine is CYS75, which forms a disulfide bond with CYS109. They also suggest that the third conserved cysteine in the active site, CYS85, which is located in α3, is a non-essential cysteine for the catalytic function but it may play a role in the binding of the substrate. The structural comparison of the three forms reveals that conformational changes appear in the active site particularly involving loop4 and CYS109 during catalysis. The 3D structure of BPSL2418 shows strong structure similarity to fRMsrs enzymes, which further suggests that BPSL2418 acts as a free Met-R-SO reductase and shares the catalytic mechanism of fRMsr family.

Keywords: Burkholderia pseudomallei, GAF domain protein, methionine sulfoxide reductase, protein crystallization

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Authors: Peyman Mosberian-Tanha, Mona Rezaei

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Aquaculture sector is the fastest growing food sector with annual growth rate of about 10%. The sustainability of aquaculture production, however, has been debated mainly in relation to the feed ingredients used for farmed fish. The industry has been able to decrease its dependency on marine-based ingredients in line with policies for more sustainable production. As a result, plant-based ingredients have increasingly been incorporated in aquaculture feeds, especially in feeds for popular carnivorous species, salmonids. The effect of these ingredients on salmonids’ health and performance has been widely studied. In most cases, plant-based diets are associated with varying degrees of health and performance issues across salmonids, partly depending on inclusion levels of plant ingredients and the species in question. However, aquaculture sector is facing another challenge of concern. Environmental challenges in association with climate change is another issue the aquaculture sector must deal with. Data from trials in salmonids subjected to environmental challenges of various types show adverse physiological responses, partly in relation to stress. To date, there are only a limited number of studies reporting the interactive effects of adverse environmental conditions and dietary regimens on salmonids. These studies have shown that adverse environmental conditions exacerbate the detrimental effect of plant-based diets on digestive function and health in salmonids. This indicates an additional challenge for the aquaculture sector to grow in a sustainable manner. The adverse environmental conditions often studied in farmed fish is the change in certain water quality parameters such as oxygen and/or temperature that are typically altered in response to climate change and, more specifically, global warming. In a challenge study, we observed that the in the fish fed a plant-based diet, the fish’s ability to absorb dietary energy was further reduced when reared under low oxygen level. In addition, gut health in these fish was severely impaired. Some other studies also confirm the adverse effect of environmental challenge on fish’s gut health. These effects on the digestive function and gut health of salmonids may result in less resistance to diseases and weaker performance with significant economic and ethical implications. Overall, various findings indicate the multidimensional negative effects of climate change, as a major environmental issue, in different sectors, including aquaculture production. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of different ways to cope with climate change is essential for planning more sustainable strategies in aquaculture sector.

Keywords: aquaculture, climate change, sustainability, salmonids

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Authors: Omair Anas

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The Persian Gulf has been in turmoil for a long time since the colonial administration has handed over the role to the small and weak kings and emirs who were assured of protection in return of many economic and security promises to them. The regional order, Saudi Arabia evolved was a rentier regional order secured by an expansion of rentier economy and taking responsibility for much of the expenses of the regional order on behalf of relatively poor countries. The two oil booms helped the Saudi state to expand the 'rentier order' driven stability and bring the countries like Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Palestine under its tutelage. The disruptive misadventure, however, came with Iran's proclamation of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 which it wanted to be exported to its 'un-Islamic and American puppet' Arab neighbours. For Saudi Arabia, even the challenge presented by the socialist-nationalist Arab dictators like Gamal Abdul Nasser and Hafez Al-Assad was not that much threatening to the Saudi Arabia’s then-defensive realism. In the Arab uprisings, the Gulf monarchies saw a wave of insecurity and Iran found it an opportune time to complete the revolutionary process it could not complete after 1979. An alliance of convenience and ideology between Iran and Islamist groups had the real potential to challenge both Saudi Arabia’s own security and its leadership in the region. The disruptive threat appeared at a time when the Saudi state had already sensed an impending crisis originating from the shifts in the energy markets. Low energy prices, declining global demands, and huge investments in alternative energy resources required Saudi Arabia to rationalize its economy according to changing the global political economy. The domestic Saudi reforms remained gradual until the death of King Abdullah in 2015. What is happening now in the region, the Qatar crisis, the Lebanon crisis and the Saudi-Iranian proxy war in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen has combined three immediate objectives, rationalising Saudi economy and most importantly, the resetting the Saudi royal power for Saudi Arabia’s longest-serving future King Mohammad bin Salman. The Saudi King perhaps has no time to wait and watch the power vacuum appearing because of Iran’s expansionist foreign policy. The Saudis appear to be employing an offensive realism by advancing a pro-active regional policy to counter Iran’s threatening influence amid disappearing Western security from the region. As the Syrian civil war is coming to a compromised end with ceding much ground to Iran-controlled militias, Hezbollah and Al-Hashad, the Saudi state has lost much ground in these years and the threat from Iranian proxies is more than a reality, more clearly in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This paper attempts to analyse the changing Saudi behaviour in the region, which, the author understands, is shaped by an offensive-realist approach towards finding a favourable security environment for the Saudi-led regional order, a post-rentier order perhaps.

Keywords: terrorism, Saudi Arabia, Rentier State, gulf crisis

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Authors: Doaa H. Elgohary, Tamer F. Khalifa, Mona M. Salem, M. A. Saad, Ehab Haider Sherazy

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Textiles have conquered new areas over the past three decades, including agriculture, transportation, filtration, military, and medicine. The use of textiles in the medical field has increased significantly in recent years and covers almost everything. Medical textiles represent a huge market as they are widely used not only in hospitals, hygiene, and healthcare but also in hotels and other environments where hygiene is required. However, not all fibers are suitable for the manufacture of medical textile products. Some special properties are required for the manufactured materials, e.g. Strength, elasticity, spinnability, etc. In addition to the usual properties of medical fibers, non-toxicity, sterilizability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, good absorbability, softness, and freedom from additives, etc., desirable properties include impurities. Stitching is one of the most common practices in the medical field. as it is a biomaterial device, either natural or synthetic, used to connect blood vessels and connect tissues. In addition to being very strong, suture material should easily dissolve in bodily fluids and lose strength as the tissue gains strength. In this work, a study to select the most used materials for sutures, it was found that silk, VICRYL and polypropylene were the most used materials in varying numbers. The research involved the analysis of 36 samples from three different materials (mostly commonly used), the tests were carried out on 36 imported samples for four different companies. Each company supplied three different materials (silk, VICRYL and polypropylene) with three different gauges (4, 3.5 and 3 metric). The results of the study were tabulated, presented, and discussed. Practical statistical science serves to support the practical analysis of experimental work products and the various relationships between variables to achieve the best sampling performance with the functional purpose generated for it. Analysis of the imported sutures shows that VICRYL sutures had the highest tensile strength, toughness, knot tensile strength and knot toughness, followed by polypropylene and silk. As yarn counts, weight and diameter increase, its tensile strength and toughness increase while its elongation and knot tension decrease. The multifilament yarn construction (silk and VICRYL) scores higher compared to the monofilament construction (polypropylene), resulting in increases in tenacity, toughness, knot tensile strength and knot toughness.

Keywords: biodegradable yarns, braided sutures, irritation, knot tying, medical textiles, surgical sutures, wound healing

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Authors: Mona Rashidirad, Hamid Salimian

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Dynamic capabilities, as the most considerable capabilities of firms in the current fast-moving economy may not be sufficient for performance improvement, but their contribution to performance is undeniable. While much of the extant literature investigates the impact of dynamic capabilities on organisational performance, little attention has been devoted to understand whether and how dynamic capabilities create value. Dynamic capabilities as the mirror of competitive strategies should enable firms to search and seize new ideas, integrate and coordinate the firm’s resources and capabilities in order to create value. A careful investigation to the existing knowledge base remains us puzzled regarding the relationship among competitive strategies, dynamic capabilities and value creation. This study thus attempts to fill in this gap by empirically investigating the impact of dynamic capabilities on value creation and the mediating impact of competitive strategy on this relationship. We aim to contribute to dynamic capability view (DCV), in both theoretical and empirical senses, by exploring the impact of dynamic capabilities on firms’ value creation and whether competitive strategy can play any role in strengthening/weakening this relationship. Using a sample of 491 firms in the UK telecommunications market, the results demonstrate that dynamic sensing, learning, integrating and coordinating capabilities play a significant role in firm’s value creation, and competitive strategy mediates the impact of dynamic capabilities on value creation. Adopting DCV, this study investigates whether the value generating from dynamic capabilities depends on firms’ competitive strategy. This study argues a firm’s competitive strategy can mediate its ability to derive value from its dynamic capabilities and it explains the extent a firm’s competitive strategy may influence its value generation. The results of the dynamic capabilities-value relationships support our expectations and justify the non-financial value added of the four dynamic capability processes in a highly turbulent market, such as UK telecommunications. Our analytical findings of the relationship among dynamic capabilities, competitive strategy and value creation provide further evidence of the undeniable role of competitive strategy in deriving value from dynamic capabilities. The results reinforce the argument for the need to consider the mediating impact of organisational contextual factors, such as firm’s competitive strategy to examine how they interact with dynamic capabilities to deliver value. The findings of this study provide significant contributions to theory. Unlike some previous studies which conceptualise dynamic capabilities as a unidimensional construct, this study demonstrates the benefits of understanding the details of the link among the four types of dynamic capabilities, competitive strategy and value creation. In terms of contributions to managerial practices, this research draws attention to the importance of competitive strategy in conjunction with development and deployment of dynamic capabilities to create value. Managers are now equipped with solid empirical evidence which explains why DCV has become essential to firms in today’s business world.

Keywords: dynamic capabilities, resource based theory, value creation, competitive strategy

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Authors: Mona Alyedreessy

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This study, which is based on a qualitative study sample of thirty-four British converts from different ages, ethnicities, social classes, areas and religious backgrounds in London, investigates the common challenges, problems and abuse in the name of Islam that many British female Muslim converts experienced during their time as Muslims, which caused them to leave the faith. It is an important study, as it creates an awareness of the weaknesses found in western Muslim societies and in various Islamic educational programs that causes people to leave Islam and contribute towards its negative reputation in the media. The women in this study shared common problems regarding gender and racial discrimination, identity development, feminism, marriage, parenting, Muslim culture, isolation, extremism, belonging and practising Islam in both Muslim and non-Muslim societies with differing sacrifices and consequences that caused them to de-convert. The study argues that many of the personal, religious and social problems female Muslim converts experience are due to a lack of knowledge about Islam and their rights as Muslim women, which often results in them being vulnerable and influenced by the opinions, attitudes and actions of uneducated, abusive, non-practising and extremist Muslims. For example, it was found that young female converts in particular were often taken advantage of and manipulated into believing that many negative actions displayed by patriarchal Muslim husbands were a part of Islam. This created much confusion, especially when their husbands used specific Quran texts and Hadiths to justify their abuse, authority and attitudes that made them miserable. As a result and based on the positive experiences of some converts, the study found that obtaining a broad Islamic education that started with an intimate study of the Prophet Muhammad’s biography alongside being guided by the teachings of western Muslim scholars contributed greatly towards a more enjoyable conversion journey, as women were able to identify and avoid problematic Muslims and abuse in the name of Islam. This in turn helped to create a healthier family unit and Muslim society. Those who enjoyed being Muslims were able to create a balanced western Muslim identity by negotiating and applying their own morals and western values to their understanding of The Prophet’s biography and The Quran and integrated Islamic values into their own secular western environments that were free from foreign cultural practices. The outcomes of the study also highlight some effective modern approaches to da’wah based on the teachings of The Prophet Mohammad and other prophets for young Arab and Asian Muslims who marry, study and live among non-Muslims and converts.

Keywords: abuse, apostasy, converts, Muslims

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Authors: Ibrahim Abdulla Labib, Medhat Mohamed Morsy, Gamal Hosny, Hanan Dawood Yassa, Gaber Hassan

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Amiodarone is a very effective drug, widely used for arrhythmia. Unfortunately it has many side effects involving many organs especially thyroid gland. The current work was conducted to elucidate the effect of amiodarone on the thyroid gland and the possible protective role of vitamin E. Fifty adult male albino rats weighed 200 – 250 grams were divided into five groups; ten rats each. Group I (Control): Five rats were sacrificed after three weeks and five rats were sacrificed after six weeks. Group II (Sham control): Each rat received sunflower oil orally; the solvent of vitamin E for three weeks. Group III (Amiodarone-treated): each rat received an oral dose of amiodarone; 150 mg/kg/day for three weeks. Group IV (Recovery): Each rat received amiodarone as group III then the drug was stopped for three weeks to evaluate recovery. Group V (Amiodarone + Vitamin E-treated): Each rat received amiodarone as group III followed by 100 mg/kg/day vitamin E orally for three weeks. Thyroid gland of the sacrificed animals were dissected out and prepared for light and electron microscopic studies. Amiodarone administration resulted in loss of normal follicular architecture as many follicles appeared either shrunken, empty or contained scanty pale colloid. Some follicles appeared lined by more than one layer of cells while others showed interruption of their membrane. Masson's Trichrome stained sections showed increased collagen fibers in between the thyroid follicles. Ultrastructurally, the apical border of the follicular cells showed few irregular detached microvilli. The nuclei of the follicular cells were almost irregular with chromatin condensation. The cytoplasm of most follicular cells revealed numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum with numerous lysosomes. After three weeks of stopping amiodarone, the follicles were nearly regular in outline. Some follicles were filled with homogenous eosinophilic colloid and others had shrunken pale colloid or were empty. Some few follicles showed exfoliated cells in their lumina and others were still lined by more than one layer of follicular cells. Moderate amounts of collagen fibers were observed in-between thyroid follicles. Ultrastructurally, many follicular cells had rounded euchromatic nucleui, moderate number of lysosomes and moderately dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum. However, few follicular cells still showing irregular nucleui, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and many cytoplasmic vacuoles. Administration of vitamin E with amiodarone for three weeks resulted in obvious structural improvement. Most of the follicles were lined by a single layer of cuboidal cells and the lumina were filled with homogenous eosinophilic colloid with very few vacuolations. The majority of follicular cells had rounded nuclei with occasional detection of ballooned cells and dark nuclei. Scanty collagen fibers were detected among thyroid follicles. Ultrastructurally, most follicular cells exhibited rounded euchromatic nuclei with few short microvilli were projecting into the colloid. Few lysosomes were also noticed. It was concluded that amiodarone administration leads to many adverse histological changes in the thyroid gland. Some of these changes are reversible during the recovery period however concomitant vitamin E administration with amiodarone has a major protective role in preventing many of these changes.

Keywords: amiodarone, recovery, ultrastructure, vitamin E.

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Authors: Mona Mohamed Shawkt Ragab, Heba Mohamed Darwish

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Context: Comfort properties of garments are crucial for the wearer, and with the increasing demand for cotton fabric, there is a need to explore alternative fabrics that can offer similar or superior comfort properties. This study focuses on comparing the comfort properties of tencel/cotton single jersey fabric and cotton single jersey fabric, with the aim of identifying fabrics that are more suitable for summer clothes. Research Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the comfort properties of tencel/cotton single jersey fabric and cotton single jersey fabric, with the goal of identifying fabrics that can serve as alternatives to cotton, considering their comfort properties for summer clothing. Methodology: An experimental, analytical approach was employed in this study. Two circular knitting machines were used to produce the fabrics, one with a 24 inches gauge and the other with a 28 inches gauge. Both fabrics were knitted with three different loop lengths (3.05 mm, 2.9 mm, and 2.6 mm) to obtain loose, medium, and tight fabrics for evaluation. Various comfort properties, including air permeability, water vapor permeability, wickability, and thermal resistance, were measured for both fabric types. Findings: The study found a significant difference in comfort properties between tencel/cotton single jersey fabric and cotton single jersey fabric. Tencel/cotton fabric exhibited higher air permeability, water vapor permeability, and wickability compared to cotton fabric. These findings suggest that tencel fabric is more suitable for summer clothes due to its superior ventilation and absorption properties. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the exploration of alternative fabrics to cotton by evaluating their comfort properties. By identifying fabrics that offer better comfort properties than cotton, particularly in terms of water usage, the study provides valuable insights into sustainable fabric choices for the fashion industry. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: The comfort properties of the fabrics were measured using appropriate testing methods. Paired comparison t-tests were conducted to determine the significant differences between tencel/cotton fabric and cotton fabric in the measured properties. Correlation coefficients were also calculated to examine the relationships between the factors under study. Question Addressed: The study addresses the question of whether tencel/cotton single jersey fabric can serve as an alternative to cotton fabric for summer clothes, considering their comfort properties. Conclusion: The study concludes that tencel/cotton single jersey fabric offers superior comfort properties compared to cotton single jersey fabric, making it a suitable alternative for summer clothes. The findings also highlight the importance of considering fabric properties, such as air permeability, water vapor permeability, and wickability, when selecting materials for garments to enhance wearer comfort. This research contributes to the search for sustainable alternatives to cotton and provides valuable insights for the fashion industry in making informed fabric choices.

Keywords: comfort properties, cotton fabric, tencel fabric, single jersey

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Authors: Mona Shojaei

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The Sub-Atmospheric Vapor Pipeline (SAVP) introduces a distinct approach to seawater desalination with promising applications in both land and industrial sectors. SAVP systems exploit the temperature difference between a hot source and a cold environment to facilitate efficient vapor transfer, offering substantial benefits in diverse industrial and field applications. This approach incorporates dynamic boundary conditions, where the temperatures of hot and cold sources vary over time, particularly in natural and industrial environments. Such variations critically influence convection and diffusion processes, introducing challenges that require the refinement of the convection-diffusion equation and the derivation of temperature profiles along the pipeline through advanced engineering mathematics. This study formulates vapor temperature as a function of time and length using two mathematical approaches: Eigen functions and Green’s equation. Combining detailed theoretical modeling, mathematical simulations, and extensive field and industrial tests, this research underscores the SAVP system’s scalability for real-world applications. Results reveal a high degree of accuracy, highlighting SAVP’s significant potential for energy conservation and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the integration of SAVP technology within smart and green building systems creates new opportunities for sustainable urban water management. By capturing and repurposing vapor for non-potable uses such as irrigation, greywater recycling, and ecosystem support in green spaces, SAVP aligns with the principles of smart and green buildings. Smart buildings emphasize efficient resource management, enhanced system control, and automation for optimal energy and water use, while green buildings prioritize environmental impact reduction and resource conservation. SAVP technology bridges both paradigms, enhancing water self-sufficiency and reducing reliance on external water supplies. The sustainable and energy-efficient properties of SAVP make it a vital component in resilient infrastructure development, addressing urban water scarcity while promoting eco-friendly living. This dual alignment with smart and green building goals positions SAVP as a transformative solution in the pursuit of sustainable urban resource management.

Keywords: sub-atmospheric vapor pipeline, seawater desalination, energy efficiency, vapor transfer dynamics, mathematical modeling, sustainable water solutions, smart buildings

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Authors: Keenoo Bibi Sumera, Alsheikh Mona, Mubarak Jan Beebee Zeba Mahetaab

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Background: Due to the busy schedule of the practicing clinicians at the hospitals, students may not always be attended to, which is to their detriment. The clinicians at the hospitals are also not always acquainted with teaching and/or supervising students on their placements. Additionally, there is a high student-patient ratio. Since they are the prospective clinical doctors under training, they need to reach the competence levels in clinical decision-making skills to be able to serve the healthcare system of the country and to be safe doctors. Aims and Objectives: A reflective portfolio was used to provide a means for students to learn by reflecting on their experiences and obtaining continuous feedback. This practice is an attempt to compensate for the scarcity of lack of resources, that is, clinical placement supervisors and patients. It is also anticipated that it will provide learners with a continuous monitoring and learning gap analysis tool for their clinical skills. Methodology: A hardcopy reflective portfolio was designed and validated. The portfolio incorporated a mini clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX), direct observation of procedural skills and reflection sections. Workshops were organized for the stakeholders, that is the management, faculty and students, separately. The rationale of reflection was emphasized. Students were given samples of reflective writing. The portfolio was then implemented amongst the undergraduate medical students of years four, five and six during clinical clerkship. After 16 weeks of implementation of the portfolio, a survey questionnaire was introduced to explore how undergraduate students perceive the educational value of the reflective portfolio and its impact on their deep information processing. Results: The majority of the respondents are in MD Year 5. Out of 52 respondents, 57.7% were doing the internal medicine clinical placement rotation, and 42.3% were in Otorhinolaryngology clinical placement rotation. The respondents believe that the implementation of a reflective portfolio helped them identify their weaknesses, gain professional development in terms of helping them to identify areas where the knowledge is good, increase the learning value if it is used as a formative assessment, try to relate to different courses and in improving their professional skills. However, it is not necessary that the portfolio will improve the self-esteem of respondents or help in developing their critical thinking, The portfolio takes time to complete, and the supervisors are not useful. They had to chase supervisors for feedback. 53.8% of the respondents followed the Gibbs reflective model to write the reflection, whilst the others did not follow any guidelines to write the reflection 48.1% said that the feedback was helpful, 17.3% preferred the use of written feedback, whilst 11.5% preferred oral feedback. Most of them suggested more frequent feedback. 59.6% of respondents found the current portfolio user-friendly, and 28.8% thought it was too bulky. 27.5% have mentioned that for a mobile application. Conclusion: The reflective portfolio, through the reflection of their work and regular feedback from supervisors, has an overall positive impact on the learning process of undergraduate medical students during their clinical clerkship.

Keywords: Portfolio, Reflection, Feedback, Clinical Placement, Undergraduate Medical Education

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Authors: Shahira M. Ezzat, Marwa I. Ezzat, Mona M. Okba, Esther T. Menze, Ashraf B. Abdel-Naim, Shahnas O. Mohamed

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Background: In order to decrease the burden of the high cost of synthetic drugs, it is important to focus on phytopharmaceuticals. The aim of our study was to search for the mechanism of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) anti-inflammatory potential and to correlate it to its biophytochemicals. Methods: Various extracts viz. water, 50%, 70%, 80%, and 90% ethanol were prepared from ginger rhizomes. Fractionation of the aqueous extract (AE) was accomplished using Diaion HP-20. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of the different extracts and isolated compounds was evaluated by protein denaturation inhibition, membrane stabilization, protease inhibition, and anti-lipoxygenase assays. In vivo anti-inflammatory activity of AE was estimated by assessment of rat paw oedema after carrageenan injection. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), certain inflammation markers (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1α, IL-1β, INFr, MCP-1MIP, RANTES, and Nox) levels and MPO activity in the paw edema exudates were measured. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was also determined. Histopathological alterations of paw tissues were scored. Results: All the tested extracts showed significant (p < 0.1) anti-inflammatory activities. The highest percentage of heat induced albumin denaturation (66%) was exhibited by the 50% ethanol (250 μg/ml). The 70 and 90% ethanol extracts (500 μg/ml) were more potent as membrane stabilizers (34.5 and 37%, respectively) than diclofenac (33%). The 80 and 90% ethanol extracts (500 μg/ml) showed maximum protease inhibition (56%). The strongest anti-lipoxygenase activity was observed for the AE. It showed more significant lipoxygenase inhibition activity than that of diclofenac (58% and 52%, respectively) at the same concentration (125 μg/ml). Fractionation of AE yielded four main fractions (Fr I-IV) which showed significant in vitro anti-inflammatory. Purification of Fr-III and IV led to the isolation of 6-poradol (G1), 6-shogaol (G2); methyl 6- gingerol (G3), 5-gingerol (G4), 6-gingerol (G5), 8-gingerol (G6), 10-gingerol (G7), and 1-dehydro-6-gingerol (G8). G2 (62.5 ug/ml), G1 (250 ug/ml), and G8 (250 ug/ml) exhibited potent anti-inflammatory activity in all studied assays, while G4 and G5 exhibited moderate activity. In vivo administration of AE ameliorated rat paw oedema in a dose-dependent manner. AE (at 200 mg/kg) showed significant reduction (60%) of PGE2 production. The AE at different doses (at 25-200 mg/kg) showed significant reduction in inflammatory markers except for IL-1α. AE (at 25 mg/kg) is superior to indomethacin in reduction of IL-1β. Treatment of animals with the AE (100, 200 mg/kg) or indomethacin (10 mg/kg) showed significant reduction in TNF-α, IL-6, MCP-1, and RANTES levels, and MPO activity by about (31, 57 and 32% ) (65, 60 and 57%) (27, 41 and 28%) (23, 32 and 23%) (66, 67 and 67%) respectively. AE at 100 and 200 mg/kg was equipotent to indomethacin in reduction of NOₓ level and in increasing the TAC. Histopathological examination revealed very few inflammatory cells infiltration and oedema after administration of AE (200 mg/kg) prior to carrageenan. Conclusion: Ginger anti-inflammatory activity is mediated by inhibiting macrophage and neutrophils activation as well as negatively affecting monocyte and leukocyte migration. Moreover, it produced dose-dependent decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and replenished the total antioxidant capacity. We strongly recommend future investigations of ginger in the potential signal transduction pathways.

Keywords: anti-lipoxygenase activity, inflammatory markers, 1-dehydro-6-gingerol, 6-shogaol

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Authors: Mona Kamel Hassan

Abstract:

Teaching a class of diverse learners poses a great challenge not only for foreign and second language teachers, but also for teachers in different disciplines as well as for curriculum designers. Thus, to contribute to previous research tackling language diversity, the current paper shares the experience of teaching a reading, writing and vocabulary building course to diverse Arabic as a Foreign Language learners in their advanced language proficiency level. Diversity is represented in students’ motivation, their prior knowledge, their various needs and interests, their level of anxiety, and their different learning styles and skills. While teaching this course the researcher adopted the universal design for learning (UDL) framework, which is a means to meet the various needs of diverse learners. UDL stresses the importance of enabling the entire diverse students to gain skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm to learn through the employment of teaching methods that respond to students' individual differences. Accordingly, the educational curriculum developed for this course and the teaching methods employed is modified. First, the researcher made the language curriculum vivid and attractive to inspire students' learning and to keep them engaged in their learning process. The researcher encouraged the entire students, from the first day, to suggest topics of their interest; political, social, cultural, etc. The authentic Arabic texts chosen are those that best meet students’ needs, interests, lives, and sociolinguistic issues, together with the linguistic and cultural components. In class and under the researcher’s guidance, students dig into these topics to find solutions for the tackled issues while working with their peers. Second, to gain equal opportunities to demonstrate learning, role-playing was encouraged to give students the opportunity to perform different linguistic tasks, to reflect and share their diverse interests and cultural backgrounds with their peers. Third, to bring the UDL into the classroom, students were encouraged to work on interactive, collaborative activities through technology to improve their reading and writing skills and reinforce their mastery of the accumulated vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and collocations. These interactive, collaborative activities help to facilitate student-student communication and student-teacher communication and to increase comfort in this class of diverse learners. Detailed samples of the educational curriculum and interactive, collaborative activities developed, accompanied by methods of teaching employed to teach these diverse learners, are presented for illustration. Results revealed that students are responsive to the educational materials which are developed for this course. Therefore, they engaged in the learning process and classroom activities and discussions effectively. They also appreciated their instructor’s willingness to differentiate the teaching methods to suit students of diverse background knowledge, learning styles, level of anxiety, etc. Finally, the researcher believes that sharing this experience in teaching diverse learners will help both language teachers and teachers in other disciplines to develop a better understanding to meet their students' diverse needs. Results will also pave the way for curriculum designers to develop educational material that meets the needs of diverse learners.

Keywords: teaching, language, diverse, learners

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