Assessment of Pulmonary Blood Flow in Heart Failure. Using Novel and Non-Invasive Diagnostic Methods.

In heart failure (HF), the heart is unable to pump effectively in order to satisfy the demands of the body. The elevated filling pressure seen in HF leads to accumulation of fluid in the lungs, i.e pulmonary congestion. While investigation with chest X-ray is recommended, it has limitations in detecting pulmonary congestion. Ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (V/P SPECT), i.e tomographic lung scintigraphy, is a promising method to diagnose and quantify pulmonary congestion in HF but needs to be validated by invasive right-heart catheterization. The variation of the blood volume in the pulmonary circulation measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may also have the potential to quantify the severity of HF.The general aim of this thesis was to develop and validate new non-invasive methods to diagnose and quantify pulmonary congestion and variation of the pulmonary blood flow in patients with HF, as well as to follow-uppulmonary congestion.Paper I revealed that the degree of pulmonary congestion in HF could be diagnosed and quantified using V/P SPECT. It was validated with right-heart catheterization. V/P SPECT was more accurate than chest X-ray in diagnosing pulmonary congestion in HF.In Paper II V/P SPECT showed that the pulmonary perfusion pattern was improved and that V/P SPECT could be used to follow treatment effect after heart transplantation in patients with HF and quantify the degree of pulmonarycongestion. It was validated with right-heart catheterization.Paper III demonstrated that V/P SPECT could be used to follow treatment effect and assess the degree of pulmonary congestion in patients with HF after receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). V/P SPECT was associated with improvement in patients’ symptoms.Paper IV showed that the pulmonary blood volume variation differed between patients with HF and healthy controls. In patients with HF, approximately 40% of the variation could be explained by the left ventricular longitudinal contribution to stroke volume and the phase shift between the in- and outflow to the pulmonary circulation. The remaining variation (60%) likely occur on a small vessel level.In summary, pulmonary congestion in HF is difficult to quantify objectively. The non-invasive methods V/P SPECT and MRI might add complementary information in the diagnosis of HF. V/P SPECT can be used to follow treatment effects after heart transplantation and CRT and may have a role in avoiding invasive right-heart catheterization in selected cases and aid in treatment decision

The level of knowledge management among kindergarten principals in the city of Amman from their perspective and its relationship with some variables

This study aimed to identify the level of knowledge management among kindergarten principals in the city of Amman from their perspective and its relationship with some variables. The study sample consisted of (102) principals selected randomly from several kindergartens, a questionnaire consisted of four domains has been designed, and its validity and reliability were verified. To analyze the data statistically, means and standard deviations were used, and "T" test was used for independent samples, one-way analysis of variance, and Scheffe' test, the study reached the following results: The level of knowledge management among kindergarten principals in Amman from their perspective got a high degree. There were no statistically significant differences among kindergarten principals attributed to the educational level, marital status, or experience with the exception of the development of intellectual and cognitive resources, differences came in favor of the less experienced. The study reached a set of recommendations such as conducting further studies in knowledge management that tackles the variables of this study and other variables that it didn't deal with, and holding training workshops in knowledge management for administrators and teachers. Keywords: Knowledge Management, Kindergarten Principal

BIOFILM PRODUCTION BY FOOD-TRANSMITTED BACTERIA AND THEIR CONTROL BY SELECTED NANOPARTICLES

Biofilm is a population of bacteria attached to any types of surfaces and impeded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances. Biofilm exhibit up to 1000 fold antibiotic increased resistance to a broad range of antimicrobial agents. Several food-transmitted microorganisms are capable of forming biofilms and considered as a major source of contamination, transmission and infection. In the last few decades, nanoparticles has gained a great attention for their potential applications as antimicrobial agents. The aim of this work was to assess the biofilm formation capacity of food-transmitted bacteria under various environmental conditions and to investigate the efficacy of different nanoparticles (i.e. Ag-Cu-B, Ag-Na-B, and Ag-Mg-B) to kill microbial pathogens in biofilms. Nanoparticles were synthesized by using co-precipitation and microwave techniques and characterized for their physiochemical properties by transmission electron microscopy and light dynamic scattering. The antibiofilm and antimicrobial properties of the synthesized nanoparticles were investigated using S. aureus (10 strains), P. aeruginosa and E. coli (3strains). The findings revealed that all NPs significantly inhibited planktonic cells and biomass of the grown biofilms. Moreover, the sanitization efficacy of nanoparticles were assessed on stainless steel surface that commonly come into contact with food. The surfaces were inoculated with strains of S. aureus and Salmonella and cleaned with NPs saturated sanitary wipes. A significant reduction was observed in viability of the cells on the stainless steel surfaces. The results demonstrated that the use of NPs incorporated into sanitary wipes is useful method to eliminate bacteria on food contact surfaces

The matrimonial culture in Cairo\u27s upper middle class: Capital, collective and consumption

This thesis focuses on discourses and practices relating to the journey to matrimony in Cairo\u27s upper middle class. In other words, I will focus on how members of this social class communicate and perform their beliefs about matrimony. It is a journey to matrimony in Cairo\u27s upper-middle class, with reference to the temporalities a bride undergoes in order to actualize the new ordinary of marriage through suitor selection, matrimonial practices, and consumption patterns. I will investigate the basis on which a bride selects her suitor and the extent to which a bride and groom involve their parents (and in-group members) in the suitor selection process. I will also examine the practices in which families engage to get acquainted with one another, with reference to the social and cultural meanings of such practices. I will additionally inspect the ways in which marriage deals are made, especially in terms of the allocation of matrimonial transactions, and the extent to which the collective plays a major role in the pre-material acquisition process, that is, matrimonial consumption patterns. I worked as an intern at an interior designer firm in Heliopolis, Cairo, where I met seven couples in the pre-marital material acquisition phase. My ethnographic toolkit is based primarily on un-structured interviews with the brides, supported by observation notes of the preliminary meeting with the interior designer, the bridal home furnishings, and the kitchen utensils shopping. Through this ethnography of the particular, I was able to observe that members of the same social class react differently to matrimony; due to their subjective life experiences. I classified the reactions to matrimony into three typologies. However, none of the nuances undermine the logic of the habitus as class motivated. The different reactions to matrimony show the way through which individuals create a sense of individuality in relation to the structuring structures into which they were born and raised. The couples seem to constitute their identities through the process of hailing in social interactions. In other words, the typologies suggested in this research show that none of the couples initiated a radical change, but, rather, engaged in adaptive strategies

Art in Qatar between Modernism and Postmodernism: Yousef Ahmed as a Case Study

The article discusses the development of art and art movements in Qatar. Throughout the paper, I examine modern and postmodern arts and highlight the roles of different factors that could influence artists in their move between modern and postmodern art and vise-versa. The forms of art developed during the modernist and postmodern periods were influenced by the traits of the people. For example, the modernists constantly searched for the abstract truth of life, while the postmodernists did not believe in the abstract truth. It is important to recognize that postmodern culture is a reaction against the culture of modernism. The works of postmodern artists create reality, whereas those of modernist artists reflect reality. During history, political crisis, natural crisis, economic development and social move have always played fundamental roles in art practice and movement in the world. Through studying art movement of the Qatari artist Yousef Ahmed and his transitions between modern and postmodern art, this paper nalyzes the reasons that might drove post-modern artists to look back at modernism. The paper addresses this question: why did Yousef Ahmed return to modernism after his huge success as a postmodernist artist? Through looking at the question, we realized that the reason for such move it could be the individuals’ real experiences in the real world. Yousef Ahmed had to look back to modernism to move from metaphor to reality so that he could better express his attachment to his culture

EFFECTIVENESS OF FOOD SAFETY TRAINING ON KNOWLEDGE, ATITUDE, AND PRACTICES (KAP) OF HOMEBASED FOOD BUSINESS (HFB) IN Al AIN, UAE

This research aimed at evaluating the levels of knowledge, relevant attitudes, and food safety practices (KAP) of food handlers that have home food businesses (HFB) in Al Ain city, UAE. It examined the effectiveness of the Essential Food Safety Training Program (EFST) in providing food safety Knowledge, attitude, and practices. A quantitative research method was conducted using a sample of 68 participants who responded to the questionnaires. Three research questions were used to guide the study and explore the differences of the level of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice (KAP) before and after training program by using a paired-samples t-test. This study revealed that EFST had positive effects on all subcategories of food safety practices. Most of the subcategories of attitudes showed a positive impact except the cross-contamination. Regarding the food safety knowledge, no positive impact was found in the subcategories of cleaning and chilling. The results of this study can contribute to improving government policies and actions regarding the safety of food and training programs

EFFECT OF VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY ON CE/CS BASED LABORATORIES EDUCATION – A

Virtual reality (VR) is becoming increasingly popular in different fields, as institutions strive to incorporate technology into the education process. This thesis explores the effect of the use of VR on the users learning experience, and whether gamification, and human-computer interaction (HCI) affect the VR experience in a positive way. The main goal of this thesis is to explore the VR environment in STEM courses/Labs and investigate its effect on learning advanced topics. Specifically, we developed Digital Design & Computer Organization Lab (CS/CE Laboratory) as a VR environment to research this topic. We set and conducted experiments, surveyed participating students from UAEU, and finally, we present the final outcomes and results. The Digital Design & Computer Organization Lab virtual reality environment will implement a simulation of the lab environment by allowing the students to use lab equipment to achieve lab tasks. The system allows the students to experience learning through a gamified environment in a competitive immersive way. The study employs two types of experiments; the first is a usability test experiment to measure the user\u27s overall experience with the VR environment, and the second is an educational experiment to compare the VR users\u27 results to students who only rely on documents. In our experiments, we concluded that VR environment contribute positively on educating CS/CE/IT students on advanced topics in CENG205. Specifically, 90.9% of the participants found that the VR gamification experience was fun and encouraged competitive behavior. The second experiment proved that the group that used the VR application achieved better understanding of the materials and scored better than other students. We developed a fully functional VR application prototype that simulates the Digital Design & Computer Organization Lab class to confirm/verify that students who use VR are more likely to better understand the materials and achieve higher results. The experiment results obtained give us a better understanding of how VR can affect the user experience and how to improve the VR environment to match the user expectations

Achievable accuracy of radiation dose measurement for linear accelerators using different protocols

The aim of radiotherapy treatment is to deliver a specified radiation dose throughout a definite target volume within predetermined levels of accuracy and homogeneity; at the same time ensuring adequate dose sparing of surrounding normal tissue. Radiotherapy is a complex process involving a number of steps and the accuracy of each stage has a direct impact on the treatment outcome. At each stage, comprehensive quality assurance procedures are required to ensure safe and accurate delivery of the prescribed dose. This project will aim to determine the currently achievable accuracy and reproducibility of radiotherapy dosimetry and assess the current recommendations for quality assurance tolerances. Alongside, it will examine the traceability of different codes of practice in measuring absorbed dose results from high energy photon and electron beams. The study will present a theoretical and a practical comparison between different codes of practice: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA TRS-398), American Association of Physics in Medicine, (AAPM TG-51), Institute of Physical Engineering in Medicine (IPEM-2003) for electron beams, and Institute of Physical Science in Medicine (IPSM-1990) for photon beams. Our study confirms that our results are within the ± 5 % internationally suggested accuracy and provides detailed comparison between the mentioned protocols. We measured the data and analyzed them in detail and presented them with the reference conditions to determine the absorbed dose to water for high energy photon and electron beams with the chosen protocols. Our obtained results are consistent with the reference beam data from Varian Medical Systems. This enhances the confidence on Tawam hospital’s Quality Assurance on the Linear Accelerators