The Importance of Upgrading Mosque Furniture and Accessories

Abstract:Mosque is the heart of the Islamic architecture. Since the dawn of Islam until now, mosques are still considered one of the most important places and facilities for Muslims. Muslims gather for prayer in the mosque five times a day, where mosque serves not only for worshiping, but also as a meeting point for Islamic social and intellectual activities that usually reflect religious identity.Indeed, Muslims are doing all their best to preserve and maintain their mosques as an overarching privilege that enhances their religious, social and cultural interactions. Despite the unlimited number of mosques all over the world and the noticeable increasing interest in developing their architectural, structural, fundamental elements, there is a less interest in developing, modernizing and updating the mosque furniture and its accessories.Accordingly, this research paper mainly focuses on clarifying the importance of developing these furniture and accessories that meet the physical and psychological requirements of the mosque visitors (worshipers) as these items and accessories enhance and improve worshipers’ experience inside mosques. In a sequential manner, the paper brief the evolving role of the mosque (from ancient times until today), and then explains its value as an Islamic architectural beacon. The paper goes into depth in diagnosing and discussing significant needs for updating mosque furniture and accessories, by highlighting weakness or shedding light on what is not available. In this context, the researcher present and discuss many contemporary design paths for mosque furniture, in addition to clarifying many different ideas for accessories by presenting drawings and details of many design ideas for contemporary mosque furniture (Footwear shelving system, locker system, chairs …). Moreover, it highlighting some contemporary ideas for various accessories, such as: The Holy Quran reading holder and the central chandeliers in the mosque.Keywords:Mosque, Islamic architecture, design, mosque furniture, mosque accessories

Vitamin E Attenuates Cardiomyopathy Via Alleviation of Autophagic Stress

Introduction: Vitamin E (Vit E) is well known antioxidant. Bisphenol A (BPA), widely used industrial chemical product, is associated with increased risk for cardiac diseases to identify the potential protective effect of Vit E on BPA induced cardiomyopathy by alleviation of oxidative and autophagic stress through its antioxidant effect. Materials and Methods: Twenty –four adult male rates were used in the study. They were randomly divided into 4 groups; negative control, vit E positive control, BPA, and vit E treated group. All chemicals were given orally via gastric gavage for 14 days. Rats were sacrificed and their hearts were dissected out. Serum, cardiac homogenates, and cardiac tissues were obtained for biochemical and histopathological evaluation. Results: There were significant increase in serum DH and CK-MB, tissue homogenates showed elevated levels of NO and MDA and decreased level of GSH in BPA group. Immunohistopathological evaluation of autophagic mediators showed significant increase in LC3 and P62 in BPA group. On Histological examination, there was pathological alteration in BPA group compared to normal group. Vit E administration showed significant improvement in cardiac enzymes and oxidative stress. Also, alleviation of autophagic process and restoration of the myocardial architecture with reduction of the fibrous tissue were observed with vit E administration. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that vitamin E exhibit substantial protective effects in BPA induced cardiotoxicity by attenuating inflammation, oxidative stress, and alleviation the autophagic process

Prevalence of prediabetes, diabetes, and Its associated risk factors among males in Saudi Arabia: A population-based survey

Objectives: The study aims at determining the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes and at ascertaining some concomitant risk factorsamong males in Saudi Arabia.Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study including 381 Saudi adult males from different institutions was recruited. Odds ratios for diabetes risk and risk factors were calculated using log-binomial and multinomial logistic regression, using STATA version 12.Results: The participants included 381 diabetic males with a median age of 45 years, average body mass index of 25 ± 40 kg/m2, whereas waist circumferences ranged from 66 to 180 cm in the male study population. In addition, 27.82% had normal BMI, 32.28% were overweight, and 36.22% were obese. Around 36% had higher waist circumference, that is, \u3e102 cm. Age, BMI, marital status, and educational attainment were statistically significant predictors for prediabetes and diabetes.Conclusion: This study found that the prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes was 9.2% and 27.6%, respectively, for male Al-Kharj study population. The factors that increase the risk of diabetes and prediabetes include older age, obesity and overweight, being married, smoker, and having a civilian job and less education. All these factors were found statistically significant except smoking status and job type. In order to evaluate the causal relationship of these factors, prospective studies are required in future

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Dielectric Measurements and Modeling of Snow in the 3- to 37-GHz Range.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/20999/2/rl0787.0001.001.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/20999/1/rl0787.0001.001.tx

Dielectric Properties of Snow in the 3- to 37GHz range.

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21000/2/rl0789.0001.001.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21000/1/rl0789.0001.001.tx

Evaluation of prognostic risk models for postoperative pulmonary complications in adult patients undergoing major abdominal surgery: a systematic review and international external validation cohort study

Background Stratifying risk of postoperative pulmonary complications after major abdominal surgery allows clinicians to modify risk through targeted interventions and enhanced monitoring. In this study, we aimed to identify and validate prognostic models against a new consensus definition of postoperative pulmonary complications. Methods We did a systematic review and international external validation cohort study. The systematic review was done in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched MEDLINE and Embase on March 1, 2020, for articles published in English that reported on risk prediction models for postoperative pulmonary complications following abdominal surgery. External validation of existing models was done within a prospective international cohort study of adult patients (≥18 years) undergoing major abdominal surgery. Data were collected between Jan 1, 2019, and April 30, 2019, in the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Discriminative ability and prognostic accuracy summary statistics were compared between models for the 30-day postoperative pulmonary complication rate as defined by the Standardised Endpoints in Perioperative Medicine Core Outcome Measures in Perioperative and Anaesthetic Care (StEP-COMPAC). Model performance was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCC). Findings In total, we identified 2903 records from our literature search; of which, 2514 (86·6%) unique records were screened, 121 (4·8%) of 2514 full texts were assessed for eligibility, and 29 unique prognostic models were identified. Nine (31·0%) of 29 models had score development reported only, 19 (65·5%) had undergone internal validation, and only four (13·8%) had been externally validated. Data to validate six eligible models were collected in the international external validation cohort study. Data from 11 591 patients were available, with an overall postoperative pulmonary complication rate of 7·8% (n=903). None of the six models showed good discrimination (defined as AUROCC ≥0·70) for identifying postoperative pulmonary complications, with the Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia score showing the best discrimination (AUROCC 0·700 [95% CI 0·683–0·717]). Interpretation In the pre-COVID-19 pandemic data, variability in the risk of pulmonary complications (StEP-COMPAC definition) following major abdominal surgery was poorly described by existing prognostication tools. To improve surgical safety during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery and beyond, novel risk stratification tools are required. Funding British Journal of Surgery Society

Effect of Antiplatelet Therapy on Survival and Organ Support–Free Days in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19

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