Polymeric prodrugs for selective delivery to prostate tumours and heterocyclic isoform-selective inhibitors of nitric oxide synthase

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Investigating Self-Concept and Readiness of Self-Directed Learning Among Undergraduate Nursing Students in Jeddah

In the last few decades development of nursing profession demands acquirement of skills that encourage lifelong learning. Self-concept is an important predictor and outcomes through educational learning environment of student personal interest and satisfaction. In addition, self-directed learning has become a focus for nursing education and critical skills for nursing students due to the complexity and changes in nursing profession development. Therefore, this study will integrated self concept and readiness of directed learning among nursing students' skills that gain and exposure during practice in the clinical settings to facilitate all over their professional career. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-concept and self-directed learning readiness among undergraduate nursing students in Jeddah. A descriptive correlational comparative study design was selected for fulfilling the aim of this study. The area of studying was carried out at College of Nursing – King Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz University for health science – Jeddah .The Study Subjects composed of junior and senior undergraduates nursing students at College of Nursing – King Saud Bin Abdul-Aziz University for health science – Jeddah. Non probability convenience sampling technique was utilized for this study. The estimated number of students’ 50 junior and 50 senior nursing students from CONJ.A package composed of two questionnaires was used to collect data namely; Nurses Self – Concept Questionnaire. (NSCQ) and a Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS). Data ware analyses using descriptive and implemented statistics. Main finding were that positively significant moderate correlation between self –concept and self-directed learning readiness dimensions among nursing students except for desire for learning. The majority of nursing students was high for self –concept and self-directed learning readiness dimensions. Finally, age, educational level and marital status are factors which have an effect on the nursing students' perception of self-concept dimensions, whereas marital status was influenced their SDLR dimensions. Therefore, the study recommended that educators should foster a partnership with students to help them assess their learning needs, develop specific learning objectives and promote life-long learning. Keywords: self-concept, self-directing learning, readiness, nursing students DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-2-0

Digital Resilience Tactics of Syrian Refugees in the Netherlands: Social Media for Social Support, Health, and Identity

The process of adjusting to a new country may carry important stressors for refugees. In the light of neoliberal policies, refugees are expected to become resilient in a local arrival infrastructure and perform a specific subjectivity based on gratefulness, adaptability, and digital sensitivity to successfully integrate. Drawing on a qualitative, in-depth case study with Syrians living in the Netherlands, this article explores the impact of the retreat of the welfare state and unfolding digital transitions on resilience tactics of marginalized people like refugees. While recognizing the systemic violence and historic trauma many refugees have experienced, we focus on how refugees are expected to and develop ways to become resilient. Three digital resilience tactics are discussed: digital social support, digital health, and digital identities. Social support was mainly sought from family, friends, organizations, and social media platforms, whereas refugees’ engagement in meaningful digital practices aimed at fostering health promotion and identity management. Our fieldwork resurfaces paradoxes of digital resilience as described by careful emotional digital labor refugees engage in when communicating with families, the role of socio-cultural factors in shaping refugees’ ICT (information and communication technology) adoption and use for health support, and negotiation of different and conflicting identity axes online. Finally, our study provides some insights into the implementation of more effective online and offline practices in the context of social and health support by host countries

E-Integrated Marketing Communication and its impact on Customers' Attitudes

This study aims to investigate the impact of E-integrated marketing communication (E-IMC) on customers' attitudes toward electronic products. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers deployed the descriptive analytical approach due to its relevance to this kind of research. The sample was purposive random sample of online customers who are exposed to E-IMC in the context of electronic products in Jordan; 547 questionnaires were distributed, 498 questionnaires were collected back and 455 questionnaires were accepted. The research included two main variables with sub dimensions; E-IMC as the independent variable, customers' attitudes toward electronic products representing the dependent variable.. E-IMC sub dimensions were online advertising (OD), online public relations (OPR) and online sales promotion (OSP. Results revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between E-integrated marketing communication (E-IMC) and customers' attitudes toward electronic products. In the light of the results, possible managerial implications are discussed  and future research subjects are recommended. Keywords: E-Integrated Marketing Communication (E-IMC), Customers' Attitudes,  Electronic Companies, Jordan

Dynamic inter-treatment information sharing for heterogeneous treatment effects estimation

Existing heterogeneous treatment effects learners, also known as conditional average treatment effects (CATE) learners, lack a general mechanism for end-to-end inter-treatment information sharing, and data have to be split among potential outcome functions to train CATE learners which can lead to biased estimates with limited observational datasets. To address this issue, we propose a novel deep learning-based framework to train CATE learners that facilitates dynamic end-to-end information sharing among treatment groups. The framework is based on \textit{soft weight sharing} of \textit{hypernetworks}, which offers advantages such as parameter efficiency, faster training, and improved results. The proposed framework complements existing CATE learners and introduces a new class of uncertainty-aware CATE learners that we refer to as \textit{HyperCATE}. We develop HyperCATE versions of commonly used CATE learners and evaluate them on IHDP, ACIC-2016, and Twins benchmarks. Our experimental results show that the proposed framework improves the CATE estimation error via counterfactual inference, with increasing effectiveness for smaller datasets

ASSESSMENT OF THE PERCEPTION AND SATISFACTION OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE NORTHERN BORDER REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA TOWARDS THE RESPONSIBILITIES AND SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE PHARMACISTS

The objective of this study was to assess the general public’s perception and satisfaction on the roles, responsibilities and services provided by pharmacists in the Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study using a pretested and structured questionnaire was carried out from October 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017 among the general public (N = 600) of the Northern Border Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was developed according to the scientific literature published worldwide. The questionnaire included questions related to the demographics of the participants, perception related questions and satisfaction related questions. A total of 600 participants were studied in this study. It was observed that the participants had a good level of perception regarding the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacists. The level of satisfaction with the services provided by the pharmacists was moderate to good. It was observed that about 34% of the population were not interested in discussing matters related to drugs with their pharmacist; about 50% of the participants consider a pharmacist a mere vendor / dispenser of drugs; and about 20% of the population did not provide the response with surety for questions related to perception and satisfaction. It has been concluded that the public of the Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia has a good level of perception regarding the roles and responsibilities of the pharmacists. The level of satisfaction with the services provided by the pharmacists was moderate to good, and needs improvement. There is a need to organize pharmacy related seminars / workshops / awareness programs to improve the knowledge of the public of the studied region with respect to the perception of the pharmacy profession. Keywords: Perception, satisfaction, general public, Saudi Arabia, pharmacist

Nutritional Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Family Physician Practitioners in Gulf Countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE)

Family physicians serve as pivotal points of contact within global healthcare systems. Nutrition plays a significant role in lifestyle and preventive medicine. With the rise of chronic and non-communicable diseases in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, these physicians advise patients and the public on diet-related conditions. This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed the nutritional knowledge and practices across the GCC. Combining survey data from multiple GCC sites, a sample of family physicians was generated. Registered GCC family physicians received email invitations containing participant information, informed consent forms, and a self-administered online questionnaire. Analysis of data from four GCC countries involving 8751 family physicians and nutrition experts revealed an average nutrition knowledge score of 62%. Nearly all participants recognized the importance of nutrition in preventing and treating chronic diseases. Common nutritional practices included recommending regular exercise (92%), referring patients to dietitians for nutrition-related concerns (70%), and providing nutrition advice (68.6%). GCC family physicians underscore the significance of nutrition in preventing and managing chronic ailments. Therefore, incorporating nutritional counseling into their practices is essential. This study highlights the need to integrate nutrition education into medical curricula and ongoing professional development, given that only 62% of GCC family physicians correctly answered nutrition-related questions

Health Risk Associated with Some Trace and Some Heavy Metals Content of Harvested Rainwater in Yatta Area, Palestine

Rainwater is considered a dependable source for domestic purposes within rural areas in Palestine. Harvested rainwater stored in cisterns is used to leverage deficits from municipal water supplies. Harvested rainwater in areas surrounded with industrial and agricultural activities is usually contaminated with heavy and trace metals. To study the effects of human exposure to heavy and trace metals, 74 harvested rainwater samples of rain-fed cisterns were collected from different localities in the Yatta area of Palestine in the months of January and February of 2016. The water samples were analysed for Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, K, Na, Ag, Li, Co, Ba, Bi, Sr, Ga, V, Rb, Mo, Beand Tl elements utilizing ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). The selected trace metals were found within the concentration limits of the acceptable values, in accordance with WHO and Palestinian standards, except for K and Al, which were found above the allowed limits. The potential risks of the selected trace metals on the health of the local residents, as well as the possible sources of such heavy metals, were also studied. The Chronic daily intake (CDI) of each metal and health risk indexes (HRI) were calculated for both adults and children residents. The oral ingestion pathway was studied, including exposure via drinking water. The values for CDI were found in the descending order of: Ca > Mg > Na > K > Sr > Fe > Al > Ba > Li > V > Rb > Ag > Mo > Ga > Co > Bi > TI > Be. The values of HRI were below 1 for most of the selected heavy metals, expect for Li for children, indicating potential health risk. The study also predicted that the local residents have a higher chance of developing cancer in their lifetime, especially children, with respect to the carcinogenic risk (CRing) values for Na, Mg, Al, Ba, K, Ca, Fe and Sr, which were greater than standardized limits (>106). The rest of the selected elements were within the acceptable limit in the five different studied locations. Furthermore, univariate, multivariate and statistical analysis depending on one-way ANOVA, inter-metal correlation, cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed that geogenic and anthropogenic activities were major sources of drinking water contamination by heavy metals in the Yatta area.The authors would like to thank Yatta municipality for helping in samples collection, the households that facilitated our sampling, and Al-Quds University where water samples were analysed