The Role of Cultural and Artistic Institutions in Promoting the Values of Tolerance and Coexistence in the United Arab Emirates

This study aims at revealing the role of cultural and artistic institutions in promoting the values of tolerance and coexistence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this research, the researchers followed the analytical descriptive method and used the questionnaire for data collection. The study sample consisted of 80 randomly chosen employees of the cultural and artistic institutions in the UAE. Results show there are no statistically significant differences (α = 0.05) due to the effect of personal variables (gender, qualification, experience, type of work, nationality). The targeted institutions did not play their role appropriately in promoting the culture of dialogue and values of tolerance and promotion of human rights. It is recommended that there should be public relations programme aimed at developing a culture of tolerance and dialogue, allowing everyone to express their opinions and beliefs freely without hesitation or fear, and this is the case of those who are dealing with humanitarian affairs and democratic activities

Effects of Texture and Silica Content on Crack Growth in Boron Nitrides

Boron nitride is used in applications such as crucibles for melting and casting glasses and metals, insulators for furnaces, molds for hot pressing, and neutron absorbers. Historically, various grades of hot pressed hexagonal boron nitride (BN) have been used. This study investigates the fracture toughness and slow crack growth parameters of several commercially available BN grades. Prior work revealed that some grades of BN absorb water and change strength, thus presenting a philosophical conundrum on crack growth test methods. The grades selected for this study are of interest because their available billet size is sufficient for large components, or because they have heritage in specific applications. Ultimately, the data will be used to perform material selection, system design and reliability analyses of components of interest. Boron nitrides exhibit limited slow crack growth in humidity, with an orientation dependence due to crystallographic texture: orientations with van der Waal bonds are insensitive to water whereas those with covalent bonds are sensitive. Fracture toughness is low, around that of glass, and is also a function of orientation (bond type), with fracture occurring more readily along van der Waal bonds between hexagonal BN platelets than at covalent bonds across platelets. Silica additions toughen BN, but increase slow crack growth susceptibility

Assessment of medication adherence and factors contributing to non-adherence to calcium and vitamin D as mainstay in treatment and prophylaxis of osteoporosis.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the adherence and persistence to Calcium and vitamin D, and address the reasons of non-adherence. Methods: All patients attending a secondary care rheumatology clinic in a teaching hospital serving a multiethnic population, in the period between April and June fulfill the inclusion criteria. Patients were asked verbally before distributing the question air about the duration and reason of prescribed Calcium and vitamin D, only patients who are receiving Calcium and Vitamin D for duration of one year or more for purpose of osteoporosis management (treatment and prophylaxis) and are welling to participate in the question are were given the consent formand included in the study. Key finding: There was no statistically significant difference between calcium and vitamin D group in terms of adherence score (p = 0.175). About third of patients in both groups showed low adherence score; 31% (53/171), 38.2% (128/335) in calcium and vitamin D groups, respectively. Overall, there was significant difference in adherence score between age groups (p = 0.001). Low adherence score was mostly reported in young age group (18–39 years) for both medications but not related to level of education. Forget to take medication was the most reported reason of non adherence in both groups (29.5%, 89/302). Quarter of patients stated that multi-reasons contributed to their non adherence (24.8%, 75/302). Conclusion: Low adherence was high among both Calcium and Vitamin D groups (around third of both groups), however; there were no significant differences in medications adherence between the two groups

Improved search method for classified reusable components on cloud computing

Expanding development environments to accommodate huge amounts of reusable components along with associated maintenance and evolution responsibilities has become difficult and costly for software organizations to cope with, while benefits are limited to owner organizations. The challenge of organizing reusable assets so that finding the right component needed has always been a big challenge. The literature of software reuse lacks a comprehensive search method that is efficient and covers the entire system development lifecycle (SDLC). This research work attempts to make an efficient use of the cloud computing advantages and thus, encourages the migration of reusable components to the clouds. The maintenance, the search process and cost-related problems encountered with traditional in-house development environments can be resolved conclusively on the cloud. This research work proposes a multi-classification and clusters approach to migrate reusable components to the cloud. Accordingly, it applies indexing process to classified reusable components achieving efficient search. In addition, the proposed approach adopts a comprehensive SDLC-based classification to organize reusable components so that searching and finding an appropriate component becomes an easy task due to the fact it is bound to the particular undergoing phase. Cloud computing provides more storage and resources with low cost, compared to traditional in-house development environments

Lot-to-lot Variability of BN Grades for Space Electric Propulsion Applications

Historically, several grades of hot pressed hexagonal boron nitride have been used for space electric propulsion applications. This study investigates the material properties of a selection of commercially available boron nitride grades including HP, M26, M, BNXX, and Shapal Hi-M. This work complements data which was presented at JANNAF 2018. The grades selected for this study are of interest because their available billet size is sufficient for space electric propulsion. This research investigates a range of material properties, tailored and focused on enhancing performance, reliability, and economics of electric propulsion thrusters. This work builds upon previous efforts by studying lot-to-lot variability of some of the properties of interest. Coefficient of friction, moisture absorption, moisture sensitivity, hot press directionality, flexural strength, compression strength, elastic modulus, thermal conductivity, thermal emissivity, thermal expansion, density, X-ray diffraction phase, microstructure, and chemical composition were all investigated across two lots of materials to help guide the selection of advanced ceramics. Variability between lots is the critical concern of the study

10 years of experience in adopting, implementing and evaluating progress testing for Saudi medical students

Objectives: The progress test (PT) is a comprehensive examination that is designed to match the knowledge acquisition necessary at graduation and monitors progress during the entire period of an undergraduate program. Qassim College of Medicine (QCM) began using the multi-institutional PT in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study aimed to determine if the PT can be utilized to assess the progress of medical students at different Saudi medical colleges with different educational approaches, as well as whether this testing modality could be accepted by other colleges. Methods: Beside the establishment of a PT committee, comprehensive blueprinting was crafted to sample 200 A-type multiple choice questions (MCQs) from different disciplines. The PT is a paper-and-pencil model and is answered in a 4-h period. All PT items followed a uniform design. Results: In total, 13 rounds of the progress test have been conducted. The number of participating colleges increased from three (with 285 students) in the first test (May 2012) to more than 20 (with &gt;6000 students) in the ninth round (February 2017). The average % scores for first-year students ranged from 3.0% to 7.9% while the average scores for fifth-year students ranged from 34.0% to 43.0%. Conclusion: The conduction of this meticulously crafted test to evaluate knowledge achievement at medical graduation is a fruitful tool and helps to provide constructive feedback for test-takers and other stakeholders relating to their relative positions among other fellows at the national level.</p

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Blood Donation among Makkah population Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Aim: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the Makkah population about blood donation in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive study was carried out in Makkah city to assess people\u27s knowledge, attitude, and practice about donating blood. The study enrolled three hundred and three participants. convenience sampling was used to select participants. Data was collected by questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS. Results: There were 303 participants, the majority of whom were female, and 87.5 percent of them had intermediate knowledge regarding blood donation. The majority of participants strongly agreed that they have a good attitude regarding blood donation when asked about it. Additionally, there was no statistical correlation between the research sample\u27s demographic characteristics such as age, social status, education nationality, and knowledge of blood donation, but there was a statistical correlation between these characteristics and their attitude toward blood donation. Conclusion Indicates that the majority of participants had intermediate knowledge levels, and a favorable attitude toward blood donation and 40% of them had experienced an episode of anemia in the past. In addition, 23% of people simply stated that they had donated in the past. Recommendations: The findings showed the critical need for efficient health education that aimed to inform individuals about blood donation and its effects. There should be more research done on a broader population using more samples

A comprehensive study on the performance of various tracker systems in hybrid renewable energy systems, Saudi Arabia

To compensate for the lack of fossil fuel-based energy production systems, hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) would be a useful solution. Investigating different design conditions and components would help industry professionals, engineers, and policymakers in producing and designing optimal systems. In this article, different tracker systems, including vertical, horizontal, and two-axis trackers in an off-grid HRES that includes photovoltaic (PV), wind turbine (WT), diesel generator (Gen), and battery (Bat) are considered. The goal is to find the optimum (OP) combination of an HRES in seven locations (Loc) in Saudi Arabia. The proposed load demand is 988.97 kWh/day, and the peak load is 212.34 kW. The results of the cost of energies (COEs) range between 0.108 to 0.143 USD/kWh. Secondly, the optimum size of the PV panels with different trackers is calculated. The HRES uses 100 kW PV in combination with other components. Additionally, the size of the PVs where 100% PV panels are used to reach the load demand in the selected locations is found. Finally, two sensitivity analyses (Sens) on the proposed PV and tracker costs and solar GHIs are conducted. The main goal of the article is to find the most cost-effective tracker system under different conditions while considering environmental aspects such as the CO2 social penalty. The results show an increase of 35% in power production from PV (compared to not using a tracker) when using a two-axis tracker system. However, it is not always cost-effective. The increase in power production when using vertical and horizontal trackers (HT) is also significant. The findings show that introducing a specific tracker for all locations depends on renewable resources such as wind speed and solar GHI, as well as economic inputs. Overall, for GHIs higher than 5.5 kWh/m2/day, the vertical tracker (VT) is cost-effective

Screening for cerebral vasculitis, role of physicians, nursing, pharmacists and clinical labratory

Vasculitides are distinguished by the presence of inflammation and necrosis in the wall of blood vessels. Giant-cell arteritis primarily affects large vessels such as the aorta, while classic polyarteritis nodosa primarily affects medium-sized arteries. The small-vessel vasculitides are classified into two groups: those with antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA) and those without. Primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS) is an uncommon condition that impacts medium and small-sized blood vessels. The primary manifestations of cerebral vasculitis include stroke, headache, and encephalopathy. The diagnosis relies on laboratory and imaging results. Systemic vasculitis can lead to cerebral affection, which is characterized by an acute inflammatory response. This response is accompanied by elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and higher levels of C-reactive protein. In numerous cerebral vasculitides, such as primary angiitis of the central nervous system (PACNS), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis shows evidence of inflammation. Therefore, every healthcare provider such as, physcians, nursing, pharmacist and clinical laboratory have a crucial role in the screening and management of cerebral vasculitis