Search results for: Sahar A. Abdelaziz

Authors: Makkia Ahmad Ali Al-Falahi, Abdullah Abdelaziz Muharram

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Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Yemen are exposed to a myriad of occupational health hazards, including biological, physical, ergonomic, chemical and psychosocial hazards. HCWs operate in an environment that is considered to be one of the most hazardous occupational settings. Objective: To assess the prevalence of occupational health hazards among healthcare workers and associated risk factors in public hospitals in Sana'a City, Yemen. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized; out of 5443 totals of HCWs 396 were selected by multistage sampling technique was carried out in the public hospitals in Sana'a city, Yemen. Results: More the half (60.6%) of HCWs aged between 20-30 years, (50.8%) were males, (56.3%) were married, and (45.5%) had a diploma qualification, while (65.2%) of HCWs had less than 6 years of experience. The result showed that the highest prevalence of occupational hazards was (99%), (ergonomic hazards (93.4%), biological hazards (87.6%), psychosocial (86.65%), physical hazards (83.3%), and chemical hazards (73.5%). There were no statistically significant differences between demographic characteristics and the prevalence of occupational hazards (p >0.05). Conclusion and recommendations: The study showed the highest prevalence of occupational hazards; regarding the prevalence of biological hazards exposure to sharp-related injury, the most prevalent physical hazards were slip/trip/and fall. Ergonomic hazards had back or neck pain during work. Chemical hazards were allergic to medical gloves powder. On psychosocial hazards was suffered from verbal and physical harassment. The study concluded by raising awareness among HCWs by conducting training courses to prevent occupational hazards.

Keywords: health workers, occupational hazards, risk factors, the prevalence

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Authors: Chelly Souhir, Harizi Chahida, Hachaichi Aicha, Aissaoui Sihem, Chahed Mohamed Kouni

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Introduction: In Tunisia, few studies have attempted to describe the demand for primary care in a standardized and systematic way. The purpose of this study is to describe the main reasons for demand for care in primary health care, through a survey of the Ariana Governorate PHC and to identify their evolutionary trend compared to last 30 years, reported by studies of the same type. Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study which concerns the study of consultants in the first line of the governorate of Ariana and their use of care recorded during 2 days in the same week during the month of May 2016, in each of these PHC. The same data collection sheet was used in all CSBs. The coding of the information was done according to the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC). The data was entered and analyzed by the EPI Info 7 software. Results: Our study found that the most common ICPC chapters are respiratory (42%) and digestive (13.2%). In 1996 were the respiratory (43.5%) and circulatory (7.8%). In 2000, we found also the respiratory (39,6%) and circulatory (10,9%). In 2002, respiratory (43%) and digestive (10.1%) motives were the most frequent. According to the ICPC, the pathologies in our study were acute angina (19%), acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis (8%). In 1996, it was tonsillitis ( 21.6%) and acute bronchitis (7.2%). For Ben Abdelaziz in 2000, tonsillitis (14.5%) follow by acute bronchitis (8.3%). In 2002, acute angina (15.7%), acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis (11.2%) were the most common. Conclusion: Acute angina and tonsillitis are the most common in all studies conducted in Tunisia.

Keywords: acute angina, classification of primary care, primary health care, tonsillitis, Tunisia

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Authors: Shekoufeh Behdad, Sahar Yadegari, Alireza Ghehrazad, Amirhossein Yadegari

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Background: In this study, we compared the effect of intravenous dexamethasone with placebo on hemodynamic variables and hypotension in patients undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. Materials and methods: This double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted with the approval of the university ethics committee. Written informed consent was obtained from all participating patients. Before spinal anesthesia, patients were randomly assigned to receive either dexamethasone (8 mg IV) or placebo (normal saline). Hemodynamic variables, including systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures, as well as heart rate, were measured before drug administration and every 3 minutes until the birth of the neonate and then every 5 minutes until the end of surgery. Side effects such as hypotension, bradycardia, nausea, and vomiting were assessed and recorded for all the patients. Results: There were no significant differences in mean systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures before and after administration of the studied drugs in both groups (P.Value>0.05), but heart rate and the incidence of hypotension in the dexamethasone group were less than placebo significantly. Conclusions: Intravenous administration of 8 mg dexamethasone before spinal anesthesia in females undergoing cesarean section can reduce the incidence of post-spinal hypotension without causing serious side effects.

Keywords: cesarean section, hypotension, spinal anesthesia, dexamethasone

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Authors: Nastaran Hemmati, Farhad Nikkhahi, Amir Javadi, Sahar Eskandarion, Seyed Mahmuod Amin Marashi

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Neisseria meningitidis, Escherichia coli K, Streptococcus agalactiae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae cause 90% of bacterial meningitis. Almost all infected people die or have irreversible neurological complications. Therefore, it is essential to have a diagnostic kit with the ability to quickly detect these fatal infections. The project involved 212 patients from whom cerebrospinal fluid samples were obtained. After total genome extraction and performing multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), the presence or absence of each infectious factor was determined by comparing with standard strains. The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value calculated were 100%, 92.9%, 50%, and 100%, respectively. So, due to the high specificity and sensitivity of the designed primers, they can be used instead of bacterial culture that takes at least 24 to 48 hours. The remarkable benefit of this method is associated with the speed (up to 3 hours) at which the procedure could be completed. It is also worth noting that this method can reduce the personnel unintentional errors which may occur in the laboratory. On the other hand, as this method simultaneously identifies four common factors that cause bacterial meningitis, it could be used as an auxiliary method diagnostic technique in laboratories particularly in cases of emergency medicine.

Keywords: cerebrospinal fluid, meningitis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, simultaneous detection, diagnosis testing

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Authors: Seyyedeh Faezeh Miralami, Sahar Sayyadchapari, Mona Laleh, Zahra Poursafar

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Tiling patterns are magnificent display of decoration in Islamic period. They transform the dusty and dreary facades to splendid and ornate ones. Due to ideological factors and elements of Azari style decorations, geometrical patterns and vegetative designs became prevalent and pervasive in religious sites like mosques. Objectives: The objective of this research is a study of tiling patterns in Tabriz Kaboud mosque, as a splendid work of architecture in Azari style. In this study, the geometrical designs and tiling patterns employed in the mosque decorations are examined and analyzed. Method: The research is based on a descriptive analysis method. Data and information are collected based on documents library and field study. Then, polished and brushed, the study resulted in an illustrative conclusion. Findings: In religious sites such as mosques, geometry represents ‘divination’ in Christian theology and ‘Unity with God’ or ‘Tawhid’ in Islamic terminology. In other words, science, literature, architecture, and all forms of human expression and representation are pointed towards one cause, unity or divination. Tiling patterns of Kaboud Mosque, mostly hexagonal, circular, square and triangle, form outstanding architectonic features which recount a story, a narration of divination or unification with the One.

Keywords: tiling, Azari style, Tabriz Kaboud Mosque, Islamic architecture

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Authors: Omnia M. Kandil, Noha M. F. Hassan, Doaa Sedky, Hatem A. Shalaby, Heba M. Ashry, Nadia M. T. Abu El Ezz, Sahar M. Kandeel, Mohamed S. Abdelfattah Ying L, Ebtesam M. Al-Olayan

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The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of bovine cysticercosis in both cattle and buffaloes in Egypt and to assess the cysticidal efficacy of Balanites aegyptiacafruits (B. aegyptiaca) and Moringa oleiferaseeds (M. oleifera) extracts in experimentally infected mice. The study detected the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) to monitor the immune and inflammatory responses of experimentally infected mice. Through meat inspection, a total number of 2125 male bovines, 2 to 5 years old (1125 cattle and 1000 buffaloes) were examined at official abattoirs in Cairo Governorate. The prevalence of the disease among bovine was 7.8%, (6.31% of cattle and 9.5% of buffaloes). A decrease in the number of cysticerci was found in all treated mice groups, and up to 88% reduction was achieved in the B. aegyptiaca-treated group; higher than that was recorded in both M. oleifera (72.23%) and albendazole-treated ones (80.56%). Postmortem findings proved that M. oleifera and B. aegyptiaca reduced cysticerci numbers comparable to a commercial anthelmintic. The study showed a significant decrease (P<0.001) in TNF-α levels after treatment with Balanites and Moringa extracts, compared with the untreated control and the albendazole-treated groups.

Keywords: prevalence, bovine cysticercossis, extracts, mice

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Authors: Khawla Askri, Mohamed Haythem Msaddek, AbdelAziz Sebei

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Climate change combined with the increase in anthropogenic activities will affect coastal groundwater systems around the world and, more particularly, the Cap Bon region in the North East of Tunisia. This study aims to study the impact of climate change and human stress on the salinization and quantification of groundwater in the Wadi Chiba watershed. In this regard, a hydro-climatological study and a hydrogeological study were carried out based on the characterization of the aquifer system of the eastern coast at the level of the watershed of Wadi Chiba in order to seek to identify, first of all, the degradation of the state of the aquifer on the quantitative level by the study of the piezometric and its evolution over time. Secondly, we sought to identify the degradation of the state of the aquifer qualitatively by using the geochemical method, in particular the major elements, to assess the mineralization of the aquifer water and understand its hydrogeochemical functioning. The study of the Na + / Cl- and Ca2 + / Mg2 + chemical relationships confirmed the presence of a marine intrusion downstream of the Wadi Chiba watershed northeast of Cap-Bon accompanied by a piezometric depression. For this purpose, we proceeded to: 1) Mapping of both piezometric data and salinity. 2) The interpretation of the mapping results. 3)Identification of the origin of the localized deterioration in the quality of the aquifer water. Finally, the analysis of the results showed that the scarcity of water is already forcing human actions in the Chiba watershed due to the irrigation of agricultural lands and the overexploitation of the water table in the study area.

Keywords: climate change, human activities, water table, Wadi Chiba watershed, piezometric depression, marine intrusion

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Authors: Javad Izadi, Sahar Majioud

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This study presents an approach of assessing the choice of performance measures of companies in the United Kingdom after the application of IFRS in 2005. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of IFRS on the choice of performance evaluation methods for UK companies. We analyse through an econometric model the relationship of the dependent variable, the firm’s performance, which is a nominal variable with the independent ones. Independent variables are split into two main groups: the first one is the group of accounting-based measures: Earning per share, return on assets and return on equities. The second one is the group of market-based measures: market value of property plant and equipment, research and development, sales growth, market to book value, leverage, segment and size of companies. Concerning the regression used, it is a multinomial logistic regression performed on a sample of 130 UK listed companies. Our finding shows after IFRS adoption, and companies give more importance to some variables such as return on equities and sales growth to assess their performance, whereas the return on assets and market to book value ratio does not have as much importance as before IFRS in evaluating the performance of companies. Also, there are some variables that have no impact on the performance measures anymore, such as earning per share. This article finding is empirically important for business in subjects related to IFRS and companies’ performance measurement.

Keywords: performance’s Measure, nominal variable, econometric model, evaluation methods

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Authors: Sahar Heidary, Ramin Ghasemi Shayan

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The overall goal Monte Carlo N-atom radioactivity transference PC program (MCNP4C) was done for the regeneration of x-ray groups in diagnostic radiology and mammography. The electrons were transported till they slow down and stopover in the target. Both bremsstrahlung and characteristic x-ray creation were measured in this study. In this issue, the x-ray spectra forecast by several computational models recycled in the diagnostic radiology and mammography energy kind have been calculated by appraisal with dignified spectra and their outcome on the scheming of absorbed dose and effective dose (ED) told to the adult ORNL hermaphroditic phantom quantified. This comprises practical models (TASMIP and MASMIP), semi-practical models (X-rayb&m, X-raytbc, XCOMP, IPEM, Tucker et al., and Blough et al.), and Monte Carlo modeling (EGS4, ITS3.0, and MCNP4C). Images got consuming synchrotron radiation (SR) and both screen-film and the CR system were related with images of the similar trials attained with digital mammography equipment. In sight of the worthy feature of the effects gained, the CR system was used in two mammographic inspections with SR. For separately mammography unit, the capability acquiesced bilateral mediolateral oblique (MLO) and craniocaudal(CC) mammograms attained in a woman with fatty breasts and a woman with dense breasts. Referees planned the common groups and definite absences that managed to a choice to miscarry the part that formed the scientific imaginings.

Keywords: mammography, monte carlo, effective dose, radiology

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Authors: Seyed Amin Vakili, Sahar Sadat Vakili, Seyed Ehsan Vakili, Nader Abdoli Yazdi

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Differential equations are of fundamental importance in engineering and applied mathematics, since many physical laws and relations appear mathematically in the form of such equations. The equilibrium state of structures consisting of one-dimensional elements can be described by an ordinary differential equation. The response of these kinds of structures under the loading, namely relationship between the displacement field and loading field, can be predicted by the solution of these differential equations and on satisfying the given boundary conditions. When the effect of change of geometry under loading is taken into account in modeling of equilibrium state, then these differential equations are partially integrable in quartered. They also exhibit instability characteristics when the structures are loaded compressively. The purpose of this paper is to represent the ability of the Modified Newmark Method in analyzing flexural-torsional instability of struts for both bifurcation and non-bifurcation structural systems. The results are shown to be very accurate with only a small number of iterations. The method is easily programmed, and has the advantages of simplicity and speeds of convergence and easily is extended to treat material and geometric nonlinearity including no prismatic members and linear and nonlinear spring restraints that would be encountered in frames. In this paper, these abilities of the method will be extended to the system of linear differential equations that govern strut flexural torsional stability.

Keywords: instability, torsion, flexural, buckling, modified newmark method stability

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Authors: Sahar Ehsani, David James, Vernon Hodge

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In this experimental study, total selenium in solution was measured with Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, GFAAS, then chemical reactions with sodium borohydride were used to reduce selenite to hydrogen selenide. Hydrogen selenide was then stripped from the solution by purging the solution with nitrogen gas. Since the two main speciations in oxic waters are usually selenite, Se(IV) and selenate, Se(VI), it was assumed that after Se(IV) is removed, the remaining total selenium was Se(VI). Total selenium measured after stripping gave Se(VI) concentration, and the difference of total selenium measured before and after stripping gave Se(IV) concentration. An additional step of reducing Se(VI) to Se(IV) was performed by boiling the stripped solution under acidic conditions, then removing Se(IV) by a chemical reaction with sodium borohydride. This additional procedure of removing Se(VI) from the solution is useful in rare cases where the water sample is reducing and contains selenide speciation. In this study, once Se(IV) and Se(VI) were both removed from the water sample, the remaining total selenium concentration was zero. The method was tested to determine Se(IV) and Se(VI) in both purified water and synthetic irrigation water spiked with Se(IV) and Se(VI). Average recovery of spiked samples of diluted synthetic irrigation water was 99% for Se(IV) and 97% for Se(VI). Detection limits of the method were 0.11 µg L⁻¹ and 0.32 µg L⁻¹ for Se(IV) and Se(VI), respectively.

Keywords: Analytical Method, Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Selenate, Selenite, Selenium Speciations

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Authors: Mohamed ElMasry, Ahmad Ragheb, Tareq AbdelAziz, Mohamed Ghazy

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Choosing the suitable infrastructure system is becoming more challenging with the increase in demand for heavier structures contemporarily. This is the case where piled raft foundations have been widely used around the world to support heavy structures without extensive settlement. In the latter system, piles are rigidly connected to the raft, and most of the load goes to the soil layer on which the piles are bearing. In spite of that, when soil profiles contain thicker soft clay layers near the surface, or at relatively shallow depths, it is unfavorable to use the rigid piled raft foundation system. Consequently, the disconnected piled raft system was introduced as an alternative approach for the rigidly connected system. In this system, piles are disconnected from the raft using a cushion of soil, mostly of a granular interlayer. The cushion is used to redistribute the stresses among the piles and the subsoil. Piles are also used to stiffen the subsoil, and by this way reduce the settlement without being rigidly connected to the raft. However, the seismic loading effect on such disconnected foundation systems remains a problem, since the soil profiles may include thick clay layers which raise risks of amplification of the dynamic earthquake loads. In this paper, the effects of seismic behavior on the connected and disconnected piled raft systems are studied through a numerical model using Midas GTS NX Software. The study concerns the soil-structure interaction and the expected behavior of the systems. Advantages and disadvantages of each foundation approach are studied, and a comparison between the results are presented to show the effects of using disconnected piled raft systems in highly seismic zones. This was done by showing the excitation amplification in each of the foundation systems.

Keywords: soil-structure interaction, disconnected piled-raft, risks, seismic zones

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Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Mones M. Abu Shady, Rokia A. El Banna, Muhammad Al-Tohamy, Mehrevan M. Abd El-Moniem, Mona Anwar

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Circulating oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) is associated with obesity, insulin resistance (HOMA), metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease in adults. Little is known about relations in children. Aim: To assess association of ox-LDL with fat distribution and insulin resistance in a group of obese Egyptian children. Methods: Study is cross-sectional consisting of 68 obese children, with a mean age of 9.96 ± 1.32. Each underwent a complete physical examination; blood pressure (SBP, DBP) and anthropometric measurements (weight, height, BMI; waist, hip circumferences, waist/hip ratio), biochemical tests of fasting blood glucose (FBS), insulin levels; lipid profile (TC, LDL,HDL, TG) and ox-LDL; calculated HOMA. Sample was classified according to waist/hip ratio into: group I with and group II without central obesity. Results: ox-LDL showed significant positive correlation with LDL and TC in all groups of obesity. After adjustment for age and sex, significant positive correlation was detected between ox-LDL with SBP, DBP, TC, LDL, insulin, and HOMA in group II and with TC and FBS in group I. Insignificant association was detected between ox-LDL and other anthropometric parameters including BMI in any group of obese children (p > 0.05). Conclusions: ox-LDL, as a marker of oxidative stress is not correlated with BMI among all studied obese children (aged 6-12 years). Increased oxidative stress has causal effects on insulin resistance in obese children without central obesity and on fasting blood sugar in those with central obesity. These findings emphasize the importance of obesity during childhood and suggest that the metabolic complications of obesity and body fat distribution are detectable early in life.

Keywords: ox-LDL, obesity, insulin resistance, children

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Authors: Sahar Oudeh, Abbas Javaheri Vayeghan, Mahmood Ahmadi-Hamedani

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This study aimed to investigate the effect of diabetic duration on platelet and platelet indices in streptozotocin-induced diabetic male and female rats. Thirty-two healthy adult Wistar rats (16 females and 16 males) were randomly divided into 4 groups of eight, including 1) control group (4 females and 4 males who did not undergo any treatment until the end of 28 days), 2) 7-day diabetic group (4 females and 4 males who were diabetic for 7 days and were euthanized after 7 days), 3) 14-day diabetic group (4 females and 4 males who were diabetic for 14 days and were euthanized after 14 days), and 28-day diabetic group (4 females and 4 males who were diabetic for 28 days and were euthanized after 28 days). Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (65 mg/kg). After induction of diabetes in the groups, blood samples were taken from their hearts after anesthesia, and platelet counts (PLT) and platelet indices were measured by an automatic blood cell counter (Nihon Kohden, Celltac Alpha VET MEK-6550, Japan). Statistical differences among groups were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s multiple tests. The results of this study showed that PLT and mean platelet volume (MPV) significantly increased in 7 and 14-day diabetic groups compared to the control group, whereas plateletcrit (PCT) and platelet distribution rate (PDW) significantly increased in 14 and 28-day diabetic groups, respectively. Significant differences were observed between female and male rats in PCT and PLT in the 14-day diabetic group and PDW in the 28-day diabetic group. According to the results of this study, measurement and analysis of platelet indices can be used as a method for the early diagnosis of diabetes and its complications.

Keywords: diabetic duration, streptozotocin, female and male rats, platelet indices

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Authors: Sahar Rasoulikolamaki

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ISIS (also known as DAASH) is an Islamic fundamentalist group that has been known as a global threat to the whole world for their radicalizing approach and application of online platforms as a tool to portray their activities, to disseminate their ideology, and to commit recruiting activities. This study is an attempt to carry out a critical discourse analysis on the argumentative devices by which ISIS legitimizes or delegitimizes positive or negative constructions of social practices in Dabiq. It tries to shed light on how texts in Dabiq as linguistic elements in the micro level of analysis relate to ISIS’ ideology as the higher-up macro level and in other words, how local structures contributed to the construction and transference of a global structure or ideology and vice versa. Therefore, following the relevant analytical frameworks, the study focuses on both micro-level of analysis of arguments (topoi) and macro-structure of legitimation and delegitimation in Dabiq. This purpose is nailed using the analytical categories and tools provided by Wodak’s Discourse Historical Approach (DHA) such as argumentation strategies (topoi), by which the coded language of legitimation/delegitimation and persuasion as used in Dabiq are explored. The ensuing findings demonstrate that Dabiq rigorously relies on the positive representation of the in-group course of actions and justifying its violence and, at the same time, the negative representation of the out-group behavior through implementing various topoi to achieve its desired outcome, which is the ideological manipulation and powerful self-depiction, as well as the supporter recruitment.

Keywords: argumentation, discourse-historical approach, ideology, legitimation and delegitimation, topoi

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Authors: Dina Tamazin, Nicoleta Tipi, Sahar Validi

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The oil refining industry plays vital role in the world economy. Oil refining companies operate in a more complex and dynamic environment than ever before. In addition, oil refining companies and the public are becoming more conscious of crude oil scarcity and climate changes. Hence, sustainability in the oil refining industry is becoming increasingly critical to the industry's long-term viability and to the environmental sustainability. Mainly, it is relevant to the measurement and evaluation of the company's sustainable performance to support the company in understanding their performance and its implication more objectively and establishing sustainability development plans. Consequently, the oil refining companies attempt to re-engineer their supply chain to meet the sustainable goals and standards. On the other hand, this research realized that previous research in oil refining sustainable supply chain performance measurements reveals that there is a lack of studies that consider the integration of sustainability in the supply chain performance measurement practices in the oil refining industry. Therefore, there is a need for research that provides performance guidance, which can be used to measure sustainability and assist in setting sustainable goals for oil refining supply chains. Accordingly, this paper aims to present a comprehensive oil refining sustainable supply chain performance measurement theoretical framework. In development of this theoretical framework, the main characteristics of oil refining industry have been identified. For this purpose, a thorough review of relevant literature on performance measurement models and sustainable supply chain performance measurement models has been conducted. The comprehensive oil refining sustainable supply chain performance measurement theoretical framework introduced in this paper aims to assist oil refining companies in measuring and evaluating their performance from a sustainability aspect to achieve sustainable operational excellence.

Keywords: oil refining industry, oil refining sustainable supply chain, performance measurement, sustainability

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Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Rokia A. El Banna, Mones M. Abu Shady, Muhammad Al-Tohamy, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mehrevan M. Abd El-Moniem, Mona Anwar

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Association between vitamin D, adiponectin and obesity is a matter of debate, as they play important role in linking obesity with different cardiometabolic risk factors. Objectives: Evaluation of the association between metabolic risk factors with both adiponectin and vitamin D levels and that between adiponectin and vitamin D among obese Egyptian children. Subjects and Methods: This case-control cross-sectional study consisted of 65 obese and 30 healthy children, aged 8-11 years. 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D) level, serum adiponectin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. Results: The mean 25(OH) D levels in the obese and control groups were 29.9± 10.3 and 39.7 ± 12.7 ng/mL respectively (P < 0.001). The mean 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels in the obese were lower than that in the control group (P < 0.0001). 25(OH) D were inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), while adiponectin level were inversely correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and positively correlated with HDL-C. However, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels among obese children and total sample. Conclusion: In spite of strong association between vitamin D and adiponectin levels with metabolic risk factors and obesity, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels. In obese children, there are significant negative correlations between 25(OH) D with lipid profile, and between adiponectin levels with blood pressure. At certain adiponectin level, the relation between it and BMI disappears.

Keywords: 25-hydroxy vitamin D, adiponectin, lipid profile, blood pressure, children

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Authors: E. Sahar

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Civic political knowledge is crucial for the stability of democratic countries. In the USA, Americans have poor knowledge about their constitution and their political systems. Some states such as Florida State suffers from a huge decline in civics comparing to the National Average. This study concerns with using new technologies such as augmented reality to engage students in learning civics in classrooms. This is a participatory study, which engage teachers in the process of designing augmented reality civic games. The researcher used survey to find out the materials that teachers struggle with while teaching civics. Four lessons were found the most difficult to teach for middle school students: SS7C1.1 Enlightenment thinkers, SS7C1.2 influencing documents, SS7C1.7-Weakness of the Articles of Confederation, and Forms and systems of governments. For the limited scope of this study, we focused on “Forms and Systems of governments’ as the main project. Augmented Reality is used to help students to engage in learning civics through building a game that is based on the pedagogy constructivism theory. The resulted project meets the educational requirements for civics, provide students with more knowledge in at stake issues such as migration and citizenship, and help them to build leadership skills while playing in groups. The augmented reality game is also designed to test the students learning for each stage. This study helps to generate insightful implications for the use of augmented reality by educators, researchers, instructional designers, and developers who are interested in integrating technology in teaching civics for students in middle school classrooms.

Keywords: augmented reality, games, civics teaching, Florida middle school

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Authors: Sahar S. Tabrizi, Dogan Ibrahim

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Cloud Computing is a convenient model for on-demand networks that uses shared pools of virtual configurable computing resources, such as servers, networks, storage devices, applications, etc. The cloud serves as an environment for companies and organizations to use infrastructure resources without making any purchases and they can access such resources wherever and whenever they need. Cloud computing is useful to overcome a number of problems in various Information Technology (IT) domains such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Scientific Research, e-Governance Systems, Decision Support Systems, ERP, Web Application Development, Mobile Technology, etc. Companies can use Cloud Computing services to store large amounts of data that can be accessed from anywhere on Earth and also at any time. Such services are rented by the client companies where the actual rent depends upon the amount of data stored on the cloud and also the amount of processing power used in a given time period. The resources offered by the cloud service companies are flexible in the sense that the user companies can increase or decrease their storage requirements or the processing power requirements at any time, thus minimizing the overall rental cost of the service they receive. In addition, the Cloud Computing service providers offer fast processors and applications software that can be shared by their clients. This is especially important for small companies with limited budgets which cannot afford to purchase their own expensive hardware and software. This paper is an overview of the Cloud Computing, giving its types, principles, advantages, and disadvantages. In addition, the paper gives some example engineering applications of Cloud Computing and makes suggestions for possible future applications in the field of engineering.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud systems, cloud services, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS

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Authors: Sahar Esmaeili, Ramezanali Ghaderi sanavi, Masoomeh Maarefvand, Samaneh Hosseinzadeh

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Introduction: Conducted researches reveal that nowadays, 60 percent of women around the world are the households. The adverse economic condition causes female-headed households and their children to be the most vulnerable people against social harm. Mainly a symptoms of mental illness such as depression, anxiety, obsession and aggression can be seen in female-headed households and their children are potentially exposed to issues such as crime-work, child labor in the black and informal jobs, education deprivation and malnutrition. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Orem self-care education with the FGC technique on the public health of female-headed households. Methods: Sixty-four Female-headed householders who were supported by Saleh Foundation participated in a clinical trial study and were assigned to the case (n=32) and control (n=32) groups. The case group received 4-session Orem’s self-care education with family group conferencing technique. Data were collected using the demographic questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) prior to intervention and post-intervention. ANOVA was used to evaluate outcomes. Results: The results showed significant improvement of the intervention group in GHQ (P<0.001) and subscales of Physical Health (P<0.001) Agitation and Insomnia (P<0.001) and Social disorder (P<0.001) and Depression (P<0.001) compared with the control group after the intervention. Conclusion: The intervention of Orem’s self-care education with family group conferencing technique was effective in improving the General Health of Female-headed households

Keywords: orem’s self-care, female-headed households, general health, group

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Authors: Nermeen Elbeltagy, Sara Hassan, Tamer Hosny, Mostafa Abdelaziz

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Introduction: Adequate postoperative analgesia after caesarean section (CS) is crucial as it impacts the distinct surgical recovery needs of the parturient. Over recent years, there has been increased interest in regional nerve block techniques with promising results on efficacy. These techniques reduce the need for additional analgesia, thereby lowering the incidence of drug-related side effects. As postoperative pain after cesarean is mainly due to abdominal incision, the transverses abdomenis plane ( TAP ) block is a relatively new abdominal nerve block with excellent efficacy after different abdominal surgeries, including cesarean section. Objective: The main objective is to compare ultrasound-guided TAP block provided by the anesthesiologist with TAP provided by the surgeon through a caesarean incision regarding the duration of postoperative analgesia, intensity of analgesia, timing of mobilization, and easiness of the procedure. Method: Ninety pregnant females at term who were scheduled for delivery by elective cesarean section were randomly distributed into two groups. The first group (45) received spinal anesthesia and postoperative ultrasound guided TAP block using 20ml on each side of 0.25% bupivacaine which was provided by the anesthesiologist. The second group (45) received spinal anesthesia plus a TAP block using 20ml on each side of 0.25% bupivacaine, which was provided by the surgeon through the cesarean incision. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used for the comparison between the two groups. Results: VAS score after four hours was higher among the TAP block group provided by the surgeon through the surgical incision than the postoperative analgesic profile using ultrasound-guided TAP block provided by the anesthesiologist (P=0.011). On the contrary, there was no statistical difference in the patient’s dose of analgesia after four hours of the TAP block (P=0.228). Conclusion: TAP block provided through the surgical incision is safe and enhances early patient’s mobilization.

Keywords: TAP block, CS, VAS, analgesia

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Authors: Samar Omar A. Rabah, Sahar Ragab El Hadad, Fatmah Albani

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Since the discovery of Agarwood (Incense tree), many studies reported its characteristic effects and variable benefits, as either to produce Arabian Incense or as a traditional medicine against many diseases. Laboratory experiments were carried out on the effect of different concentrations of Incense smoke inhalation on the lung weight and tissue in female mice. This research derives its importance from the fact that Incense is heavily used in Saudi Arabia in the absence of thorough studies of its effects on health. Eighty animals are used in this study, and they are divided into four groups, each is 20 animals. Three groups are exposed to different concentrations (2, 4 and 6 gm) of Incense smoke daily for three months, and the fourth group is the control. At the end of each month, five animals from each group were dissected. Obtained data showed an increase but not significant in animal body and lung weight, this results return to natural increase as a result of normal growth of animals. Light microscope reveals some changes in the lung tissue, such as focal emphysema, rupture in the alveolar walls, hemorrhage, congestion, edema and few peri-bronchial lymphoid cells. After continuous exposure to Incense smoke focal necrosis and degradation are observed in some cells of epithelial bronchioles. Also, fibrosis of peri-bronchial, thickening in alveolar walls and aggregation of lymphoid cells are demonstrated in some lungs sections. according to the above manifestations it could be concluded that exposure to Incense smoke causes pulmonary harmful effects. Therefore, we can recommend that Incense smoke will be used only in open places to reduce its harms.

Keywords: incense smoke, lungs, histological changes of lungs, agarwood

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Authors: M.A. Ali, M. Matloob, A. Sahar, M. Yamin, M. Imran, Y.A. Yusof

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Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is known as pseudocereal was originated in South America's Andes. Quinoa is a good source of protein, amino acids, micronutrients and bioactive components. The lack of gluten makes it suitable for celiac patients. Saponins, the leading ant-nutrient, are found in the pericarp, which adheres to the seed and transmits the bitter flavor to the quinoa grain. It is found in varying amounts in quinoa from 0.1% to 5%. This study was planned to design an indigenous machine to remove saponin from quinoa grains at the farm level to promote entrepreneurship. The machine consisted of a feeding hopper, rotating shaft, grooved stone, perforated steel cylinder, V-belts, pulleys, electric motor and mild steel angle iron and sheets. The motor transmitted power to the shaft with a belt drive. The shaft on which the grooved stone was attached rotated inside the perforated cylinder having a clearance of 2 mm and was removed saponin by an abrasion mechanism. The saponin-removed quinoa was then dipped in water to determine the presence of saponin as it produced foam in water and data were statistically analyzed. The results showed that the raw seed feeding rate of 25 g/s and milling time of 135 s completely removed saponin from seeds with minimum grain losses of 2.85% as compared to the economic analysis of the machine showed that its break-even point was achieved after one and half months with 18,000 s and a production capacity of 33 g/s.

Keywords: quinoa seeds, saponin, abrasion mechanism, stone polishing, indigenous machine

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Authors: Sohair Hassan, Olfat Hammam, Sahar Hussein, Wessam Magdi

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Objective: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a clinical condition with an unclear history of pathophysiology, making it a challenging task for scientists to reverse the disease in its initial phase and to help the liver re-function customary: this study aimed to estimate the hepatoprotective effects of Punica granatum Lpeel and Pistacia atlantica leaves as a multi-rich antioxidants ingredients either in their normal and/or in their nanoforms against thioacetamide induced acute liver failure in a rodent model. Method: Male Wistar rats (n=60) were divided into six equal groups, the first group employed as a control; The second group administered a dose of 350 mg /Kg/ b.w of thioacetamide (TAA)-IP, from the third to the sixth group received TAA + [2mls / 100 g b.w/d] of aqueous extracts of Punica granatum L and Pistacia atlantica either in their normal and/or Nano forms consecutively for (14 days) Results: Recorded significant elevation in liver enzymes, lipid profiles, LPO (p= 0.05) and NO with a marked significant decrease in GSH and SOD accompanied by an elevation in inflammatory cytokine (IL6, TNF-α, and AFP) in addition to a noticeable increase in HSP70 level & degradation in DNA respectively in TAA challenged group. However significant and subsequent amelioration of most of the impaired markers was observed with ip nano treatment of both extracts. Conclusion: The current results highlighted the high performance of both plant nano extracts and their hepatoprotective impact and their possible therapeutic role in the amelioration of TAA induced acute liver failure in experimental animals.

Keywords: acute liver failure HPLC, IL6, nano extracts, thioacetamide, TNF-α

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Authors: Sahar Essa, Hussain A. Safar, Raj Raghupathy

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Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) continues to be a source of severe complications in immunologically immature and immunocompromised hosts. Effective CMV vaccines that help diminish CMV disease in transplant patients and avoid congenital infection are of great importance. Though the exact roles of defense mechanisms are unidentified, viral-specific antibodies and cytokine responses are known to be involved in controlling CMV infections. CMV envelope glycoprotein B (UL55/gB), matrix proteins (UL83/pp65, UL99/pp28, UL32/pp150), and assembly protein UL80a/pp38 are known to be targets of antiviral immune responses. We immunized mice intraperitoneally with these five CMV-related proteins (commercial) for their ability to induce specific antibody responses (in-house immunoassay) and cytokine production (commercial assay) in a mouse model. We observed a significant CMV-antigen-specific antibody response to pp38 and pp65 (E/C ˃2.0, p˂0.001). Mice immunized with pp38 had significantly higher concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-α, IL-2 IL-4, IL-5, and IL-17A (p˂0.05). Mice immunized with pp65 showed significantly higher concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-2 IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, IL-17A, and TNF-α. Th1 to Th2 cytokines ratios revealed a Th1 cytokine bias in mice immunized with pp38, pp65, pp150, and gB. We suggest that stimulation with multiple CMV-related proteins, which include pp38, pp65, and gB antigens, will allow both humoral and cellular immune responses to be efficiently activated, thus serving as appropriate CMV antigens for future vaccines.

Keywords: cytomegalovirus, UL99/pp28, UL80a/pp38, UL83/pp65, UL32/pp150, UL55/gB, CMV-antigen-specific antibody, CMV antigen-specific cytokine responses

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Armin Khaghani Boroujeni, Leila Dehghani, Parham Talebi Boroujeni, Sahar Rostamian, Ali Asilian

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Background: Hair loss is a common complaint observed in both genders. Androgenetic alopecia is known pattern for hair loss. To assess new regenerative strategies (PRP, A-SC-BT, conditioned media, exosome-based treatments) compared to conventional therapies for hair loss or hair regeneration, an updated review was undertaken. To address this issue, we carried out this systematic review to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of cell-based therapies on hair loss. Methods: The available online databases, including ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, were searched systematically up to February 2022. The quality assessment of included studies was done using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Results: As a result, a total of 90 studies involving 2345 participants were included in the present study. The enrolled studies were conducted between 2010 and 2022. The subjects’ mean age ranged from 19 to 55.11 years old. Approaches using platelet rich plasma (PRP) provide a beneficial impact on hair regrowth. However, other cell-based therapies, including stem cell transplant, stem cell-derived conditioned medium, and stem cell-derived exosomes, revealed conflicting evidence. Conclusion: However, cell-based therapies for hair loss are still in their infancy, and more robust clinical studies are needed to better evaluate their mechanisms of action, efficacy, safety, benefits, and limitations. In this review, we provide the resources to the latest clinical studies and a more detailed description of the latest clinical studies concerning cell-based therapies in hair loss.

Keywords: cell-based therapy, exosome, hair restoration, systematic review

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Authors: Shidvash Vakilipour, Masoud Mohammadi, Rouzbeh Riazi, Scott Ormiston, Kimia Amiri, Sahar Barati

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An essential component of a finite volume method (FVM) is the advection scheme that estimates values on the cell faces based on the calculated values on the nodes or cell centers. The most widely used advection schemes are upwind schemes. These schemes have been developed in FVM on different kinds of structured and unstructured grids. In this research, the physical influence scheme (PIS) is developed for a cell-centered FVM that uses an implicit coupled solver. Results are compared with the exponential differencing scheme (EDS) and the skew upwind differencing scheme (SUDS). Accuracy of these schemes is evaluated for a lid-driven cavity flow at Re = 1000, 3200, and 5000 and a backward-facing step flow at Re = 800. Simulations show considerable differences between the results of EDS scheme with benchmarks, especially for the lid-driven cavity flow at high Reynolds numbers. These differences occur due to false diffusion. Comparing SUDS and PIS schemes shows relatively close results for the backward-facing step flow and different results in lid-driven cavity flow. The poor results of SUDS in the lid-driven cavity flow can be related to its lack of sensitivity to the pressure difference between cell face and upwind points, which is critical for the prediction of such vortex dominant flows.

Keywords: cell-centered finite volume method, coupled solver, exponential differencing scheme (EDS), physical influence scheme (PIS), pressure weighted interpolation method (PWIM), skew upwind differencing scheme (SUDS)

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Authors: Nadeen Eltoukhy, Sahar S. Sheta, Walaa Elnaggar, Karim Bakr

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Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the clinical efficacy and side effects of oral versus intralesional propranolol treatment of infantile capillary hemangiomas in infants. Methods: The study enrolled 40 infants diagnosed with infantile capillary hemangiomas. Patients were divided into 2 groups: Group A (Non-invasive group) included 20 infants who received oral propranolol hydrochloride starting at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day BID, then increased to a max of 2 mg/kg/day BID gradually over 2 weeks for 3 months. Group B (Invasive group) included 20 infants who received intralesional propranolol injection at a dose of 1 mg/mL; the volume of the injected drug depended on the size of the lesion (0.2 mL injected per cm of lesion diameter), with a maximum volume of 1 mL for a lesion of 5 cm diameter under complete aseptic conditions in the operating theater. Results: At three months after initiating treatment, the circumferential size of the hemangioma showed a statistically significant decrease in both groups; in Group A from 3.66±2.89 cm to 1.56±1.26 cm with p-value <0.05 and in Group B from 2.99±2.73 cm to 1.32±1.18 cm with p-value <0.05. There is no statistically significant comparative difference between the two groups (p-value = 0.538 = insignificant). Regarding the complications of oral propranolol, one patient (5%) had bradycardia, and one patient (5%) had diarrhea. In the injection group, 20 patients (100%) had local edema, and one patient (5%) had a local infection. Conclusions: Both oral non-invasive and intralesional invasive propranolol are safely used to successfully treat and decrease the size of infantile hemangioma while showing no statistically comparative difference between both treatment techniques.

Keywords: hemangioma, oral beta blocker, intralesional beta blocker, infants

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Authors: Ben Yahia Nouha, Sebei Abdelaziz, Boussen Slim, Chaabani Fredj

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The present work aims to determine mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of siliceous rock levels and to clarify the origin through geochemical arguments. This study was performed on the deposit of Tabarka-Babouch, which belongs to the northwestern of Tunisia; they spread out the later Miocene. Investigations were carried out to study mineralogical structure by XRD and chemical analysis by ICP-AES. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the powdered natural rocks show that the Babouchite is composed mainly of quartz and clay minerals (smectite, illite, and kaolinite). Siliceous rocks contain quartz as a major silica mineral, which is characterized by two broad reflections at the vicinity of 4.26Å and 3.34 Å, respectively, with a total lack of opal-CT. That confirms that these siliceous rocks are quartz-rich (can reach 90%). Indeed, the amounts of all clay minerals (ACM), constituted essentially by smectite marked by a close association with illite and kaolinite, are relatively high, where their percentages vary from 7 to 46%. Chemical analyses show that the major oxide contents are consistent with mineralogical observations. It reveals that the siliceous rocks of the Babouchite formation are rich in SiO₂. The data of whole-rock chemical analyses indicate that the SiO₂ content is generally in the range 73-91 wt.%; (average: 80.43 wt.%). The concentration of Al₂O₃, which represent the detrital fractions in the studied samples, varies from 3.99 to 10.55 wt. % and Fe₂O₃ from 0.73 to 4.41wt. %. The low levels recorded in CaO (%) show that the carbonate is considered impurities. However, these rocks contain a low amount of some others oxides, such as the following: Na₂O, MgO, K₂O, and TiO₂. The trace elemental distributions also vary with high Sr (up to 84.55 ppm), Cu (5–127 ppm), and Zn (up to 124 ppm), with a relatively lower concentration of Co (2.43-25.54 ppm), Cr (10–61 ppm) and Pb (8-22ppm). The Babouchite siliceous rocks of northwestern of Tunisia have generally high Al/ (Al+Fe+Mn) values (0.63-0.83). The majority of Al/ (Al+Fe+Mn) values are nearly of 0.6, which is the biogenic end-member. Thus, Al/ (Al+Fe+Mn) values revealed the biogenic origin of silica.

Keywords: siliceous rocks, Babouchite formation, XRD, chemical analysis, biogenic silica, Northwestern of Tunisia

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Authors: Sahar Heidary, Ramin Ghasemi Shayan

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The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurrence has carried considerabletrials to the world health system, comprising the training of dental and maxillofacial radiology (DMFR). DMFR will keep avital role in healthcare throughout this disaster. Severe acute breathing disease coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus producing the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is not only extremely contagious but can make solemn consequences in susceptible persons comprising dental patients and dental health care personnel (DHCPs). Reactions to COVID-19 have been available by the Cores for Infection Switch and Inhibition and the American Dental Association, but a more detailed answer is necessary for the harmless preparation of oral and maxillofacial radiology. Our goal is to evaluation the existing information just how the illness threatens patients and DHCPs and how to define which patients are possible to be SARS-CoV-2 infected; study how the usage of private shielding utensils and contamination control measures based on recent top observes, and knowledge can decrease the danger of virus spread in radiologic trials; and scrutinize how intraoral radiography, with its actually superior danger of scattering the infection, might be changed by extraoralradiographic methods for definite diagnostic jobs. In the pandemic, teleradiology has been extensively recycled for diagnostic determinations of COVID-19 patients, for discussions with radiologists in crisis cases, or managing of distance among radiology clinics. Dentists can have the digital radiographic images of their emergency patients through online service area also by electronic message or messaging applications to view in their smart phones, laptops, or other electronic devices.

Keywords: radiology, dental, oral, COVID-19, infection

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