Comparative study on congitive, social, moral, cultural, scientific and technological values of both Jordanian and Malesian students

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تقصي اثر متغيرات المؤهل التعليمي والجنس ومجتمع الجامعة والجنسية ودخل الأسرة وحجمها على أبعاد مقياس القيم المعرفية والاجتماعية والعلمية والأخلاقية والثقافية لكل من طلبة جامعة آل البيت وطلبة الجامعة الأردنية. والذي توفرت فيه دلالات صدق وثبات مقبولة في البيئة الأردنية على عينة عشوائية مكونة من (464) طلبا وطالبة من طلبة مرحلة البكالوريوس ومن مستوى السنة الأولى وحتى السنة الرابعة من الطلبة الأردنيين والطلبة الماليزيين في كل من الجامعة الأردنية وجامعة آل البيت موزعة بحسب متغيرات الدراسة. وقد تمت معالجة البيانات المجمعة بوساطة الاستبانة إحصائيا باستخدام أسلوب تحليل التباين التعددي، واختبار "ت" في المعالجة الإحصائية. وأشارت النتائج إلى وجود أثر ذي دلالة إحصائية لمتغير "مجتمع الجامعة" على بعد القيم العلمية والتقانية (وذلك لصالح للطلبة الماليزيين في كل من جامعة آل البيت والجامعة الأردنية). وكما بينت النتائج أن هناك فروقا ذات دلالة إحصائية، على بعد القيم الاجتماعية والأخلاقية والثقافية (وذلك لصالح طلبة جامعة آل البيت). كما بينت نتائج هذه الدراسة أيضا فروقا ذات دلالة إحصائية، على بعد القيم النفسية والتربوية (وذلك لصالح طلبة الجامعة الأردنية). وأخيرا، لم تظهر الدراسة أثرا ذا دلالة إحصائية (α=0.05)، على بقية متغيرات الدراسة. وقد أوصت هذه الدراسة بأجراء مزيد من البحوث والدراسات للتحقق من البناء القيمي لدى فئات عمرية مختلفة من أبناء المجتمع الأردني، والمجتمعات العربية كافة.This study aimed at investigating the cognitive, social, moral, cultural, scientific and technological values of both Jordanian and Malesian students. The dependent variables in this study were students' scores on Values Scales. The independent variables are: group (Al al-Bayt University/ University of Jordan); sex (male/ female), nationality (Jordanian/ Malesian); educational level, family income, and family size. A study tool entitled "Values Scales" was developed by both Steitieh & Subhi in 1998. It was employed in this study in order to achieve its aims and objectives, taking into consideration that it has sufficient validity & reliability. A sample consisted of 464 students (University of Jordan: 233, Al al¬Bayt University: 231) was employed in this study. 50% of the study sample were Malesian students, from both universities representing the B.A. level during the academic year 1997-1998. The study results indicated that there was a significant main effects for groups. The Malesian students outperformed the Jordanian students in both universities on Scientific and Technological Values Scales measures. In addition, the study results revealed that Jordanian students at Al al-Bayt university scores on the Social, Moral, and Cultural Values Scales were significantly higher than scores of other students on these measures in both universities including Jordanian student at University of Jordan. Both Jordanian and Malesian students at University of Jordan scores on Psychological & Educational Values Scales were significantly higher than scores of both Jordanian and Malesian students at Al al-Bayt University on these measures. Regarding other values and variables, the study results revealed that there were no significant difference between mean scores of students in both universities

Microcomputer Aided Selection Of Robot Manipulators

This paper presents two programs for microcomputer aided assessment of the performance of robot manipulators. The first program automatically generates robot models based on user-supplied kinematic parameters. The program also derives a kinematic model that relates the motion of manipulator end-effector to the motion of the joints using the inverse kinematic approach. The approach uses a robust inversion technique that can handle singular conditions as well as joint redundancy. A user can optionally select evaluation of kinematic capabilities of the robot manipulator, such as the ability of the end-effector to reach a specified position and orientation in space or the evaluation of the work space. The second program generates dynamic variables, such as forces and torques, based on user-supplied dynamic parameters and equations of motion of the various joints. Both programs are written for implementation on personal computers. Several runs were carried out to demonstrate the capability and execution times of the two program

إنتاج مادة 17 ألفا هيدروكسي البروجستيرون على مستوى المخمر المعملي بواسطة فطرة كاننجهاميلا إيكينولاتا

The mircrobiological transformation of progesterone by a local isolate of Cunninghamella echiiiulata using a laboratory fermentor was studied. Progresterone (10-50 g/1) wetted by Tween 80 was added to 48-hour old culture and the transformation was left to proceed for 72 hours. Thereafter, the different transformation products were resolved chromatog-raphically. The identity of each product was established through the determination of m.p., mixed m.p., optical rotation and ultraviolet as well as infrared absorption spectra. A comparison of the R{ values of each product with that of the corresponding reference using different solvent systems as well as their colour expressed with two spray reagents, was used as a further proof for the identity of the isolated products. With all concentrations of progesterone tested, maximum yield of 17ot -hydroxyprogesterone was obtained after 48 hours of fermentation Progesterone concentrations of 10 and 20 g/1 were almost quantitatively converted to the different transformation products after 72 hours of fermentation. Using a concentration of 20 g/1 and incubation period of 48 hours, the transformation product mixture consisted of unchanged progesterone (6%), 17 o< -hydroxyprogesterone (54%),llotrhydroxyprogesterone (29%) and llo<;,17<^-dihydroxy-progesterone (2.5%).تم استخدام مخمر صناعي سعة 2 لتر لاختيار مقدرة الفطرة على تكوين هذه المادة في ظروف تشبه تلك المطبقة في الصناعة . وبدراسة تركيزات متعددة فن مادة البروجستيرون تتراوح ما بين 10جرام /لتر إلى 50جرام /لتر ، وجد أن أنسب التركيزات المختبرة هو تركيز 20 جرام من البروجستيرون لكل لترمن الوسط الغذائي ، حيث تم تحويل كل البووجستيرون المضاف إلى المشتقات المختلفة خلال 72 ساعة من بدء الاضافة . ووجد أن أعلى معدل لتكوين مادة 17 ألفا - هيدروكسي البروجستيرون كان بعد 48 ساعة من بدأ إضافة البروجستيرون . عند فصل المواد الناتجة من تحول البروجستيرون بواسطة الفطرة المستخدمة وذلك بواسطة أعمدة الفصل باستخدام مادة الالومينا وجد أن البروجستيرون يتحول إلى : 17 ألفا - هيدروكسي البروجستيرون ( 54 %) 11 ألفا - هيدروكسي البروجستيرون (29%) 11 ألفا ، 17 ألفا - ثنائي هيدروكسي البروجستيرون (2.5%

The Role of Qatar Community Pharmacists in Depression Care: A Survey of Attitudes, Practices and Percieved Barriers

Background: Negative attitudes and stigma are considered to be major barriers to healthcare and quality of life around the world for patients with depression. Community pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare providers. They can enhance patients’ adherence to antidepressant regimens through counselling on depression and antidepressant medications, as well as the provision of adequate follow up and medication management. Aim: Our study aims to describe the current practices, attitudes and perceived barriers of Qatar community pharmacists in relation to the provision of depression care. Methods: This is a cross-sectional online survey targeting all practicing community pharmacists in Qatar using an adapted survey instrument. Responses were measured on a 5-point-Likert scale. Study outcomes were scores of attitudes to depression, scores of self-reported depression care practices and the number of perceived barriers. These scores were produced by summing the individual scores of a set of survey items under the domain used to assess each outcome. Descriptive analyses of pharmacists’ responses were done using means and standard deviations for continuous variables, and frequency tables for categorical variables. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were also employed to investigate how pharmacists’ characteristics and attitude affected their practice. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA version 15.1 and assigned a p-value of 0.05 for statistical significance.Results: The survey had a response rate of 39%. Pharmacists’ attitudes to depression were moderately positive. Out of a possible score of 5, the mean score of attitudes was 3.41, with a standard deviation of 0.94. However, the extent of pharmacists’ involvement in depression care was very low. Out of a possible score of 5, pharmacists’ practices had a mean score of 2.64 and a standard deviation of 0.26. The top three reported barriers were the lack of access to patients' medical records (83.21%), lack of patients’ insight on major depression and the importance of treatment (81.85%) and the lack of needed knowledge and training on mental health (79.63%), respectively. Female pharmacists were significantly less involved in depression care compared to male pharmacists (p= 0.006). Depression practice score increased with an increasing score of attitudes (p =0.001), and decreased with the number of years since the last pharmacy degree graduation (p=0.02).The presence of a private area for counselling patients was associated with higher scores of practice (p=0.03). Pharmacists’ practice scores varied across types of pharmacy setting, where pharmacists who worked in pharmacies located in shopping malls and supermarkets showed the highest scores of practice compared to community pharmacies of private hospitals (p=0.05). Conclusion: Pharmacists’ moderately positive attitudes towards depression and its care were not reflected in their current practices. A set of perceived barriers against the provision of depression care were also identified in this study. Results from this study could serve as an evidence base for future longitudinal studies in Qatar, implying a need for the development of local depression care and training programs for pharmacists to improve their knowledge and improve their attitude towards depression care

Efficacy of a novel topical fipronil, (S)-methoprene, eprinomectin and praziquantel combination against naturally acquired intestinal nematode and cestode infections in cats.

The efficacy of a novel topical combination formulation of fipronil, (S)-methoprene, eprinomectin and praziquantel against naturally acquired intestinal nematode and cestode infections in cats was evaluated in seven negative control, blinded studies. Cats were selected based on a pre-treatment faecal examination indicating a patent infection with at least hookworms (two studies), Toxocara ascarids (one study), taeniid cestodes (two studies) or Dipylidium cestodes (two studies). In each study, cats were assigned randomly to blocks of two animals each, based on decreasing pre-treatment body weight and were randomly allocated to one of two groups of six to 12 cats: untreated (control) or treated with topical fipronil (8.3%, w/v), (S)-methoprene (10%, w/v), eprinomectin (0.4%, w/v) and praziquantel (8.3%, w/v) (BROADLINE(®), Merial) at 0.12 mL/kg body weight (providing a minimum of 10mg fipronil+12 mg S-methoprene+0.5mg eprinomectin+10mg praziquantel per kg body weight). The topical treatment was administered directly on the skin in the midline of the neck in a single spot once on Day 0. For parasite recovery and count, cats were euthanized humanely and necropsied seven or ten days after treatment. A single treatment with the novel topical combination product provided 91% efficacy against Ancylostoma braziliense, ≥ 99% efficacy against Ancylostoma tubaeforme, and >97% efficacy against Toxocara cati. Similarly, excellent efficacy was established against Taenia taeniaeformis, Dipylidium caninum and Diplopylidium spp. as demonstrated by >97% and up to 100% reductions of cestode counts in the treated cats when compared to the untreated controls (P<0.01). All cats accepted the treatment well based on health observations post-treatment and daily health observations. No adverse experiences or other health problems were observed throughout the studies. The results of this series of controlled studies demonstrated high efficacy and excellent acceptability of the novel topical combination formulation of fipronil, (S)-methoprene, eprinomectin and praziquantel against a broad range of feline intestinal nematode and cestode infections

Analysis of differentially expressed genes and molecular pathways in familial hypercholesterolemia involved in atherosclerosis: A systematic and bioinformatics approach

Background and Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is one of the major risk factor for the progression of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. This study focused on identifying the dysregulated molecular pathways and core genes that are differentially regulated in FH and to identify the possible genetic factors and potential underlying mechanisms that increase the risk to atherosclerosis in patients with FH. Methods: The Affymetrix microarray dataset (GSE13985) from the GEO database and the GEO2R statistical tool were used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the white blood cells (WBCs) of five heterozygous FH patients and five healthy controls. The interaction between the DEGs was identified by applying the STRING tool and visualized using Cytoscape software. MCODE was used to determine the gene cluster in the interactive networks. The identified DEGs were subjected to the DAVID v6.8 webserver and ClueGo/CluePedia for functional annotation, such as gene ontology (GO) and enriched molecular pathway analysis of DEGs. Results: We investigated the top 250 significant DEGs (p-value < 0.05; fold two change ≥ 1 or ≤ −1). The GO analysis of DEGs with significant differences revealed that they are involved in critical biological processes and molecular pathways, such as myeloid cell differentiation, peptidyl-lysine modification, signaling pathway of MyD88-dependent Toll-like receptor, and cell-cell adhesion. The analysis of enriched KEGG pathways revealed the association of the DEGs in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and cardiac muscle contraction. The genes involved in the molecular pathways were shown to be differentially regulated by either activating or inhibiting the genes that are essential for the canonical signaling pathways. Our study identified seven core genes (UQCR11, UBE2N, ADD1, TLN1, IRAK3, LY96, and MAP3K1) that are strongly linked to FH and lead to a higher risk of atherosclerosis. Conclusion: We identified seven core genes that represent potential molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis and might serve as a platform for developing therapeutics against both FH and atherosclerosis. However, functional studies are further needed to validate their role in the pathogenesis of FH and atherosclerosis

Vibration Cycling Did Not Affect Energy Demands Compared to Normal Cycling During Maximal Graded Test

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological responses between a vibration induced cycling step protocol (Vib) and normal cycling (without vibration, no-Vib). Eighteen moderate trained males (age 24.1 ± 4.3 years; weight 76.5 ± 10.5 kg; height 178.0 ± 6.4 cm) have participated in this study. They randomly performed two gradual maximal exercise tests on two separate days using a new bike that automatically induces vibration cycling and the Corival cycle ergometer. The choice of two different bikes was made because of the impossibility to recreate the same power output without altering the cycling cadence on the vibration Bike. Both protocols were matched for power output and cycling cadence incrementations. Oxygen uptake (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), ventilation (VE), heart rate (HR), blood lactate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during each stage were continuously recorded. No statistical differences were founded for all variables when comparing the Vib to no-Vib trials, except a higher ventilation during the vibration trial at submaximal levels. The results of this study do not confirm those of previous studies stated that Vib increased metabolic demands during cycling exercise. Added vibration stimulus to an incremental cycling protocol does not affect physiological parameters.We would like to thank all the participants who took part in this investigation. A particular thank to Mr. Emanuele Gariffo who has substantially helped in the data collection. Also, our thank goes to the Sport Science Department at Greenwich University, London, United Kingdom, that logistically supported the study together with K. C. Wong Magna Fund at Ningbo University for their continuing encouragement.Scopu

Microdeletion in a FAAH pseudogene identified in a patient with high anandamide concentrations and pain insensitivity

The study of rare families with inherited pain insensitivity can identify new human-validated analgesic drug targets. Here, a 66-yr-old female presented with nil requirement for postoperative analgesia after a normally painful orthopaedic hand surgery (trapeziectomy). Further investigations revealed a lifelong history of painless injuries, such as frequent cuts and burns, which were observed to heal quickly. We report the causative mutations for this new pain insensitivity disorder: the co-inheritance of (i) a microdeletion in dorsal root ganglia and brain-expressed pseudogene, FAAH-OUT, which we cloned from the fatty-acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) chromosomal region; and (ii) a common functional single-nucleotide polymorphism in FAAH conferring reduced expression and activity. Circulating concentrations of anandamide and related fatty-acid amides (palmitoylethanolamide and oleoylethanolamine) that are all normally degraded by FAAH were significantly elevated in peripheral blood compared with normal control carriers of the hypomorphic single-nucleotide polymorphism. The genetic findings and elevated circulating fatty-acid amides are consistent with a phenotype resulting from enhanced endocannabinoid signalling and a loss of function of FAAH. Our results highlight previously unknown complexity at the FAAH genomic locus involving the expression of FAAH-OUT, a novel pseudogene and long non-coding RNA. These data suggest new routes to develop FAAH-based analgesia by targeting of FAAH-OUT, which could significantly improve the treatment of postoperative pain and potentially chronic pain and anxiety disorders. - 2019 The Author(s)Medical Research Council (Career Development Award G1100340 to JJC); Wellcome Trust ( 200183/Z/15/Z to JJC, 095698Z/11/Z and 202747/Z/16/Z to DLHB); Alzheimer's Society (research fellowship to JTB), University of Cambridge Academic Foundation Programme (to MCL); Molecular Nociception Group (to MCL); National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD, USA) Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award (to MCL); Wellcome Trust funded London Pain Consortium (to JDR); Colciencias through a Francisco Jose de Caldas Scholarship (LASPAU, Harvard University) (to JDR); Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; to MNH); CIHR (postdoctoral funding to MM).Scopu

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