The Effect of Ramadan Fasting on the Kidney Function of Renal Transplant Recipients

Introduction: Fasting during the month of Ramadan, from dawn to sunset, is a religious obligation for healthy adult Moslems. Kidney transplant recipients are usually advised to liberalize fluid intake and are generally discouraged from fasting. However, stable kidney transplant recipients are often keen to fast Ramadan. Methods: Twenty stable renal transplant recipients under regular follow-up at Tajoura Heart Center, Tripoli, Libya, voluntarily chose to fast during Ramadan (September 2008). Their physical and biochemical parameters were recorded on weekly basis, starting two weeks before and ending two weeks after Ramadan. Results: Eleven males with a mean age of 41.7 ± 9.8 years and nine females with a mean age of 44.9 ± 12.3 years completed the follow-up period. They had a mean post-transplantation duration of 8.5 years, with a range of 1.5-26 years. All had normal graft function at the start of the study. Drug doses were taken just after sunset (breakfast) and before dawn (suhoor). None of them experienced any undue fatigue, dizziness or thirst compared to their experience of fasting before the onset of renal failure. Their body weight, blood pressure, cyclosporine level and urine volume were stable during the study period. There were no significant differences between mean serum levels of urea and creatinine and mean creatinine clearance measured two weeks prior to Ramadan, at the end of Ramadan, and two weeks after Ramadan among both male and female patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that fasting during the month of Ramadan is safe for kidney transplant recipients with stable renal function. Keywords: Fasting; Kidney Transplant Recipients; Ramada

The Influence Of Natural And Human Factors On The Sustainability Of Agriculture In Azzawia Libya

Kawasan AzZawia di Dataran Jefara merupakan satu kawasan yang mengalami kepesatan pembangunan perindustrian dan perumahan. Dataran ini memainkan peranan penting dalam ekonomi Libya disebabkan mengandungi hampir separuh penduduk negara dan yang paling banyak menghasilkan keluaran pertanian negara. Peningkatan pertumbuhan penduduk dan pembangunan fizikal yang pesat amat memerlukan tumpuan khas untuk melestarikan aktiviti pertanian di kawasan kajian. Dengan ini sudah sampai masanya untuk menjalankan penyelidikan ini bagi mengkaji secara terperinci tentang situasi terkini, faktor-faktor yang terlibat dan memberi cadangan tentang polisi penggunaan tanah untuk kelestarian produktiviti pertanian. Matlamat utama penyelidikan ini adalah untuk mengkaji tentang pengaruh faktor-faktor semulajadi dan manusia dalam kelestarian sektor pertanian di kawasan AzZawia, Libya. AzZawia area in Jefara plain is under considerable land use pressures from the increased of industrial and residential developments. The plain plays a major role in Libyan economy as it contains almost half of the country’s population and produces most of the national agricultural output. Due to rapid growth of the population and the physical development in the study area, it requires special attention in order to sustain agricultural activities. It’s the right time to do this research in examining details about the current situation, factors involved in influencing the sustainability of agriculture and making recommendations of having land use policies to sustain agricultural productivity

Pneumocephalie sous durale expansive apres une ventriculo- cisternostomie endoscopique

La pneumocéphalie sous durale est une complication classique de la ventriculo-cisternostomie endoscopique (VCE). Il s’agit le plus souvent d’une pneumocéphalie simple sans traduction clinique. . Nous rapportons le cas d’une femme de 38 ans, ayant subi une VCE pour une hydrocéphalie par sténose de l’aqueduc du mésencéphale. Elle a développé une hémiparésie gauche postopératoire avec un retard de réveil. Le scanner cérébral de contrôle a montré une importante pneumocéphalie sous-durale expansive (signe du Mont Fuji) prédominante à droite. Une surveillance en position TRENDELENBURG, une réhydratation et une oxygénation au masque ont permis d’obtenir une régression complète de l’hémiparésie et la résorption de la pneumocéphalie sur le scanner à J3 postopératoire.Mots clés : Ventriculocisternostomie ; Pneumocéphalie ; Complication

Physical layer security and energy efficiency over different error correcting codes in wireless sensor networks

Despite the rapid growth in the market demanding for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), they are far from being secured or efficient. WSNs are vulnerable to malicious attacks and utilize too much power. At the same time, there is a significant increment of the security threats due to the growth of the several applications that employ wireless sensor networks. Therefore, introducing physical layer security is considered to be a promising solution to mitigate the threats. This paper evaluates popular coding techniques like Reed solomon (RS) techniques and scrambled error correcting codes specifically in terms of security gap. The difference between the signal to nose ratio (SNR) of the eavesdropper and the legitimate receiver nodes is defined as the security gap. We investigate the security gap, energy efficiency, and bit error rate between RS and scrambled t-error correcting codes for wireless sensor networks. Lastly, energy efficiency in RS and Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH) is also studied. The results of the simulation emphasize that RS technique achieves similar security gap as scrambled error correcting codes. However, the analysis concludes that the computational complexities of the RS is less compared to the scrambled error correcting codes. We also found that BCH code is more energy-efficient than RS

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN ABU DHABI (SEHA): A THEORETICAL REVIEW

The purpose of this study is to determine the strategic management and the healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi (SEHA) from the theoretical perspective. Although an empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience, however, this research will add on the understandings from the view of theoretical review as well. To execute that, a number of theories put forward, upon which the theoretical framework is premised; these are: the theoretical model of strategic planning in healthcare organizations, strategy content in strategic planning model (SPM), environment(s) in strategic planning model, mission in strategic planning model, human resources management (HRM) in strategic planning model etc. The theoretical review revealed that the available limited research lacks validation through empirical research. This has brought about new knowledge to the researchers which may be tested or contested due to country conditions being different to that of Abu Dhabi or laps of time has altered the findings as of a future date. Future researchers could identify emerging variables that may alter the significance of variables tested which may lead to completely new discoveries as to what contributes to the success of healthcare.  Article visualizations

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN ABU DHABI: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM) APPROACH

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of strategic management planning in the development of healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi. The hypothesized research model and the key relationships were considered for the achieving the research objectives. In this proposed model, altogether seven hypotheses are developed to test the relationships among the various variables. To test the specific relationship of hypothesis, quantitative data must be collected to analyze the relationship and finally the result could be generalized on the population and select a sufficient sample size which represents the whole population that is what this research employed. In this study, the target population is the healthcare employees in Abu Dhabi. For this study, the sample size was 326 respondents from the healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi. Results revealed that healthcare service and facility is positively and significantly correlated with development of healthcare sector, as well as healthcare service and facility is positively and significantly correlated with financial and operational efficiency. Result also showed that financial and operational efficiency is positively and significantly correlated with development of healthcare sector, and healthcare service and facility is positively and significantly related with strategic management planning. However, strategic management planning does not a positive and significant influence on development of healthcare sector. The results of this study provide evidence that increased healthcare service and facility is associated with increased development of healthcare sector. This research has contributed to the existing knowledge by providing an empirically tested/validated model which could be used to predict a material portion of the variables that contributes to the eventual success of the healthcare.  Article visualizations

Expression of the RNA helicase DDX3 and the hypoxia response in breast cancer

<p>Aims: DDX3 is an RNA helicase that has antiapoptotic properties, and promotes proliferation and transformation. In addition, DDX3 was shown to be a direct downstream target of HIF-1α (the master regulatory of the hypoxia response) in breast cancer cell lines. However, the relation between DDX3 and hypoxia has not been addressed in human tumors. In this paper, we studied the relation between DDX3 and the hypoxic responsive proteins in human breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods and Results: DDX3 expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry in breast cancer in comparison with hypoxia related proteins HIF-1α, GLUT1, CAIX, EGFR, HER2, Akt1, FOXO4, p53, ERα, COMMD1, FER kinase, PIN1, E-cadherin, p21, p27, Transferrin receptor, FOXO3A, c-Met and Notch1. DDX3 was overexpressed in 127 of 366 breast cancer patients, and was correlated with overexpression of HIF-1α and its downstream genes CAIX and GLUT1. Moreover, DDX3 expression correlated with hypoxia-related proteins EGFR, HER2, FOXO4, ERα and c-Met in a HIF-1α dependent fashion, and with COMMD1, FER kinase, Akt1, E-cadherin, TfR and FOXO3A independent of HIF-1α.</p> <p>Conclusions: In invasive breast cancer, expression of DDX3 was correlated with overexpression of HIF-1α and many other hypoxia related proteins, pointing to a distinct role for DDX3 under hypoxic conditions and supporting the oncogenic role of DDX3 which could have clinical implication for current development of DDX3 inhibitors.</p&gt

A note on the pricing of multivariate contingent claims under a transformed-gamma distribution

We develop a framework for pricing multivariate European-style contingent claims in a discrete-time economy based on a multivariate transformed-gamma distribution. In our model, each transformed-gamma distributed underlying asset depends on two terms: a idiosyncratic term and a systematic term, where the latter is the same for all underlying assets and has a direct impact on their correlation structure. Given our distributional assumptions and the existence of a representative agent with a standard utility function, we apply equilibrium arguments and provide sufficient conditions for obtaining preference-free contingent claim pricing equations. We illustrate the applicability of our framework by providing examples of preference-free contingent claim pricing models. Multivariate pricing models are of particular interest when payoffs depend on two or more underlying assets, such as crack and crush spread options, options to exchange one asset for another, and options with a stochastic strike price in general

The courage to change: Patient perceptions of 12-Step fellowships

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>From a health services perspective, peer-based resources merit special attention. Participation in self-help fellowships, like the Twelve Step Groups (TSGs), have been shown to improve outcomes of patients with substance use disorder (SUD) and they represent a valuable adjunct to the SUD treatment system. This study investigated the relationship between patient perceptions of TSGs and the intent to participate in TSGs after receiving detoxification treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We included 139 patients that entered a detoxification unit (detox) in Kristiansand, Norway. We analyzed factors associated with the intention to participate in TSGs post-discharge with contingency tables and ordinal regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty-eight percent of patients had participated in TSGs before entering detox. Respondents saw more advantages than disadvantages in TSG participation, but only 40% of patients showed high intentions of participating in TSGs post-discharge. A high intention to participate in TSGs was most strongly correlated with the notion that participation in TSGs could instill the courage to change. In a multivariate analysis, the perception that TSGs were beneficial was the strongest factor related to a high intention of TSG participation after treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings increased the understanding of factors most likely to influence decisions to attend TSGs in SUD treatment contexts with uncommon TSG participation. Our results suggested that the majority of patients may be sufficiently influenced by highlighting the potential gains of TSG participation. Treatment programs that do not focus on self-help group attendance during and after treatment should consider implementing facilitative measures to enhance utilization of these fellowships.</p