HEALING POTENCY OF HAEMATOCOCCUS PLUVIALIS EXTRACT FOR TREATING TYPE 2 DIABETES IN RATS

Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the antidiabetic effect of ethanolic extract of Haematococcus pluvialis (H. pluvialis) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.Methods: The antidiabetic activity of H. pluvialis was investigated by the determination of glucose and insulin levels, aspartate (AST), alanine transaminases (ALT), lipid profile including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C). Histopathological examination of pancreas and liver were also carried out.Results: The results revealed that the levels of glucose, TC, TG, LDL-C as well as AST and ALT enzyme activities were increased significantly in diabetic rats. While, insulin and HDL-C levels decreased significantly in STZ-induced diabetic rats. The remediation of diabetic rats with H. pluvialis attenuated the elevated levels of glucose, TC, TG, LDL-C as well as AST and ALT activities in diabetic rats. Besides, it improved insulin, HDL-C levels, pancreas and hepatic architectures.Conclusion: H. pluvialis extract has a promising antidiabetic potency through attenuation of several metabolic disorders associated diabetes

STUDYING THE PHENOMENON OF POVERTY IN THE COUNTRYSIDE OF THE DAHHAR DISTRICT IN YEMEN

This research aimed to study poverty in rural Yemen through the percentage, gap, and severity in addition to the standard economic analysis. The study showed that the poverty percent reached 97%, while the gap and severity reached 64, and 45% respectively. A study of the probability distribution of poverty indicators showed that the poverty percent ranged from a minimum of 95.4% to a high of 98.6% at a 95% confidence level. The poverty gap ranged from a low of 59.8% to a high of 68.2% at 95% confidence. The severity of poverty ranged from a minimum of 40.7% to a high of 49.3% at 95% confidence. These results of the study are emphasized on the need for the implementation of several policies. Among these two most important are (1) expanding the activity of NGOs to reduce poverty and hunger, (2) focusing on sustainable development and increasing the economic size of the agricultural sector and its relative importance to poverty reduction. To reduce poverty in the rural areas of the Republic of Yemen, the study recommends (1) the expansion of the activities of civil societies under government supervision to increase their ability to reduce poverty and hunger, (2) the provision of the necessary funding for the expansion of small investment projects that are commensurate with the capabilities and qualifications of poor families and (3) focusing on sustainable development of the agricultural sector is relative importance in reducing poverty

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Measurements of Service Quality of Islamic Banking in Malaysia: A Non-Malaysian Customers' Perspective

The study aims to measures the service quality of Islamic banking in Malaysia from non-Malaysian customers' perspective based on the six different dimensions of the SERVQUAL model, namely, Shariah, assurance, reliability, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness. This study surveyed 100 non-Malaysian respondents from 25 different countries who have first-hand experience with Islamic banking services in Malaysia. The collected data were analysed by using the SPSS v23 for reliability analysis and descriptive statistics. The results indicates that customers' impressions of Islamic banks' service quality in Malaysia did not meet their standards. The independent variables, namely, compliance, assurance, reliability and empathy have positively affected customer satisfaction, while two dimensions, namely, tangibility and responsiveness does not significantly influence non-Malaysian customer satisfaction in the Islamic banking system in Malaysia. The findings of the study suggested that the Islamic banks should develop and obey the customer perception's policy by following customers' expectations and the results are also expected to include recommendations for improving the level of satisfaction of the Islamic banking system's foreign clients in Malaysia. Since this study was limited to Islamic banks in Malaysia, the findings may not be applicable to other traditional banks

Damage detection of flexural structural systems using damage index method – Experimental

In the framework of structural health monitoring, continuous dynamic records are essential for good judgment of structures. Overall degradation of structures can be obtained with reasonable accuracy using various system identification techniques. It is however, challenging to obtain precisely the position and size of local damages. The current research focuses on Damage Index Method (DIM) as a tool for determining local damages occurred in flexural structural elements. The DIM technique depends on comparing modal strain energies of structures at different degradation stages. Self-made computer module was developed to encounter DIM for damage detection. First, the method was verified experimentally. Simply supported steel beam of 1500 mm (length), 50 mm (width) and 6 mm (thickness), in addition to steel plate of area 930 × 910 mm and 3 mm (thickness) was implemented in the experimental program. Both the beam and plate were subjected to different damage configurations. Collected acceleration time history was processed and used to verify the adequacy of DIM in identifying damages in the used physical models. Numerical parametric study was also conducted on a variety of beams and plates with various damage degrees and locations. It was noticed that both the experimental and numerical results showed good agreement in identifying damages in flexural structural elements

Damage detection of plate-like structures based on residual force vector

AbstractStructural health monitoring is essential to maintain the structural integrity by predicting problems in an early time. This consequently could be reflected on extending the life time of structures. Nondestructive tests based on dynamic measures are usually fast and economic in detecting damages of structures. Various numerical techniques together with recording time histories are used for this purpose. This paper presents a numerical method for damage detection in plate-like structures. The modeling of damage was conducted commercially using the module of MatLab. Comparison of different mode shapes was used in the analysis to detect the location of local damage based on residual force vector. The technique utilized the node residual force vector to locate and evaluate the degree of the suspected damaged elements. In the current study, three configurations for plates were used. The study also concentrated on the efficiency of the new method in identifying damages of different degradation levels. The plates were subjected to different combinations of artificial damages applied at various positions on each plate. The study was not only able to identify the location but also the degree of damage in plates. It has been noted that identification of severe degradation was more precisely identified. As a result, the residual force method is the simplest damage quantification technique which approved to be accurate enough to be used in practical applications

View of Saudi Arabia Strategy for Water Resources Management at Bishah, Aseer Southern Region Water Assessment

Water quality management is critical for the preservation of freshwater resources in semi-arid and arid areas, which are necessary for long-term development. Local authorities and water resource managers can allocate resources for potable or agricultural needs based on the quality of water in various places. A total of 14 water samples were collected and examined in this study. Microbiological, chemical and physical analyses were considered as important indicators for assessing water quality. Physical, chemical, and microbiological data were measured and evaluated as essential markers for determining water quality. A comparison was made between these characteristics and the King Saudi Water Standard (GSO149/2014). According to the findings, results of infiltration pond and Tabla Dam manifest the anthropogenic activities and natural influences of the greatest impact on water quality. Therefore, a reliable assessment approach for assessing water quality is very important for decision makers and for constructing sustainable development plans

Erythropoietin hyporesponsiveness among egyptian hemodialysis patients

Almost all ESRD patients on HD receive iron and EPO to treat anemia, however some patients do not respond sufficiently to the therapy. Response to EPO influenced by various factors, such as malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, chronic blood loss, secondary hyperparathyroidism, chronic inflammation and decrease hepcidin excretion. This study included 80 anemic patients who had been on regular HD for more than 3 months. Patients received adequate doses of ESA and iron for 3 months, after that they were classified into two groups ESA responders and ESA hyporesponders. Laboratory investigations were done to assess some of risk factors which may lead to ESA hyporesponsiveness as Iron profile, IL-6, CRP, anti-EPO antibody, hepcidin level and PTH. Sixty percent of the patients were EPO hypo-responsive, ferritin has higher level in hypo-responders. Hepcidin and IL-6 markedly elevated among ESRD patients also were markedly elevated among hypo-responders. Hepcidin did not show any correlations with IL-6 or CRP but has strong correlation with ferritin. Prevalence of anti-EPO antibody was 7.5 % of total population. Parathyroid hormone had no statistically significant association with HB or reticulocytes. Hepcidin was higher among EPO-hyporesponders and had strong correlation with ferritin, so we can consider hepcidin as an important biomarker for iron stores utilization in anemic patients and to predict patient response to EPO therapy. Hepcidin did not show any correlations with IL-6 or CRP, so inflammatory mediators did not influence its high level, but mostly due to its retention in ESRD patients. [Med-Science 2017; 6(2.000): 285-98