Interparental differences in attitudes to cultural changes in Kuwait

Interparental conflict is an example of interpersonal disagreements that arise between those who adhere to the traditions of the indigenous Arab culture and those who accept the more liberal attitudes conveyed by the imported Western culture. Interparental attitude conflict over family relationships, methods of marriage and emancipation of women is positively associated with Kuwaiti nationality, urban residence and greater interparental age difference. It is the degree of conflict in attitudes rather than liberal attitudes as such that is associated with an excess of reported psychiatric symptoms

Almond witches’-broom phytoplasma (Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium): a real threat to almond, peach and nectarine.

Within less than a decade, Almond witches’-broom (AlmWB) phytoplasma killed over a hundred thousand almond trees in Lebanon (Abou-Jawdah et al., 2002). AlmWB belongs to the pigeon pea witches’ broom group (16SrIX), and the scientific name (Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium) was suggested (Verdin et al., 2003). Grafting experiments revealed that AlmWB may also affect peaches and nectarines (Abou-Jawdah et al, 2003). Later on, a similar disease was reported in Iran (Verdin et al., 2003; Salehi et al., 2006). This disease is still spreading on almond trees to new areas in North Lebanon, but more recently shoot proliferation with succulent small light green leaves were observed on peach and nectarine in South Lebanon, where the disease seemed to be spreading relatively fast. DNA sequencing showed over 99% sequence homology with AlmWB (Abou-Jawdah et al. 2008). This report shows that epidemics of AlmWB may occur also on peach and nectarine under field conditions, and strongly suggests the presence of an efficient vector

Inter-generational conflict and psychiatric symptoms

Secondary school pupils and their parents were investigated using the scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ–28) and by a questionnaire designed to study attitudes involved in inter-generational conflict in psychiatric patients. Parent-pupil and interparental conflict in answers to the attitude questionnaires were taken as measures of inter-generational and intra-generational conflicts respectively. The former significantly exceeded the latter. Parent-student conflict was higher when the students involved were females, Kuwaiti, or had less educated fathers. The tendency of the number of reported GHQ symptoms to be higher in members of families with higher inter-generational conflict did not reach statistical significance. There is an apparent discrepancy between this finding and the prominence of inter-generational conflict in clinical material

Methyl 2-({6-[(1-meth­oxy-2-methyl-1-oxopropan-2-yl)carbamo­yl]pyridin-2-yl}formamido)-2-methyl­propano­ate

In the title compound, C17H23N3O6, the two meth­oxy­carbonyl C—O—C=O planes are inclined at dihedral angles of 5.3 (4) and 83.9 (4)° with respect to the central pyridine ring. An intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond generates an S(5) ring motif. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into a chain along the c axis via C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Survey of Leafhopper Species in Almond Orchards Infected with Almond Witches'-Broom Phytoplasma in Lebanon

Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) account for more than 80% of all “Auchenorrhynchous” vectors that transmit phytoplasmas. The leafhopper populations in two almond witches'-broom phytoplasma (AlmWB) infected sites: Tanboureet (south of Lebanon) and Bourj El Yahoudieh (north of Lebanon) were surveyed using yellow sticky traps. The survey revealed that the most abundant species was Asymmetrasca decedens, which represented 82.4% of all the leafhoppers sampled. Potential phytoplasma vectors in members of the subfamilies Aphrodinae, Deltocephalinae, and Megophthalminae were present in very low numbers including: Aphrodes makarovi, Cicadulina bipunctella, Euscelidius mundus, Fieberiella macchiae, Allygus theryi, Circulifer haematoceps, Neoaliturus transversalis, and Megophthalmus scabripennis. Allygus theryi (Horváth) (Deltocephalinae) was reported for the first time in Lebanon. Nested PCR analysis and sequencing showed that Asymmetrasca decedens, Empoasca decipiens, Fieberiella macchiae, Euscelidius mundus, Thamnottetix seclusis, Balclutha sp., Lylatina inexpectata, Allygus sp., and Annoplotettix danutae were nine potential carriers of AlmWB phytoplasma. Although the detection of phytoplasmas in an insect does not prove a definite vector relationship, the technique is useful in narrowing the search for potential vectors. The importance of this information for management of AlmWB is discussed

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 Nameless Land

This novel, The Nameless Land, works to highlight the activists, marginalized, and minorities that have succumbed to the deadly system of the corrupt elite and resort to revolutionary tactics and violence to take down the system. The story is set in the fictional territories of Aurum, Opus, and the Nameless Land, which creates a strict, discriminatory, sectarian system as the core of Aurum’s laws. My inspiration comes from real-life experience during the Lebanese revolution that started on October 17th, 2019. Aurum is the perfect description of Lebanon’s corrupt government with nepotism, power, and theft being the underlying qualities a politician needs to thrive and become wealthy. Lebanon has faced thirty years of the same politicians stealing electricity, selling donations for their own gains, diverting public funds to their own bank accounts, and risking the lives of their own citizens. The corrupt ministers in this book were modelled after the politicians and certain events were pulled from the protests on the streets of Beirut. This has been a long-running project since my very first semester at NAU, which started as a short story in 2016, and there is still so much potential to expand it in many ways. Being an international student, this program was my reason for leaving home. My goal was to put myself in an environment where I had no experience, no friends, and no one by my side in the very beginning. Of course, that changed when I met all my professors and classmates. I believe my character, Keyani Canmore, is the fictional creation of my experiences. My entire MFA revolved around this story and, learning more about writing for activism that I plan on taking back with me to Beirut, in hopes of creating some real change from the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ related literature in university curriculums, the implementation of a “write as you are” literature magazine, and, most importantly, inspire people to fight hard against corrupt systems. This novel fits into the Young Adult genre, specifically categorized as dystopian fiction. I have pulled inspiration from similar subjects such as The Hunger Games, The Red Queen, and The City of Brass. The authors S.A. Chakraborty, Suzanne Collins, and Victoria Aveyard have thoroughly motivated me to follow this genre. Their books combine corrupt systems with revolutionaries that shift the dynamics of entire regions. I would also add Snowpiercer, based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette. This is the voice I felt most at home with because it always links back to my time protesting in the streets, knocking back teargas canisters, and running from the police who wanted to arrest peaceful protesters. I imagine my novels are more cinematic with my descriptions and giving background details only if it comes naturally or through dialogue. My tone and writing style in this are focused on that, showing the readers the world through Keyani Canmore’s eyes and trying to make it seem like a movie through words. I have been dreaming big with what I intend to accomplish with this project. My novel does not end with this thesis. I plan on honing the story, expanding it where it needs to be expanded, and take as much time as possible for me to perfect it. I am hoping to find an agent that deals with this genre and publish the book to a wide audience. This subject has been part of my life, since I was born. It has become a part of my personality and is shaping my decisions to come in the future, which is one of the many reasons I hold this story in such high regard. I want this story out there as the entire world is starting to wake up to corrupt governments and systemic racism. Now is the perfect time to write about revolutionaries

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS of TIRE-SNOW INTERACTION WITH ADDITION of STUDS

The present study investigates the impact of studded tires on tire-snow interaction through finite element analysis. Studded tires are widely used to improve traction on snowy roads, but the effect of the studs on tire behavior and performance has not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, a coupled Lagrangian deformable tire interacting with an Eulerian deformable snow model was implemented. In addition, and in order to validate the tire model a series of multiple steps simulation procedures such as tire-rim assembly, tire inflation and tire loading on rigid road have been conducted. Furthermore, the tire has been modeled according to the existing radial tire structural detail with the addition of studs. On the other hand, snow has been modeled and validated according to the modified Drucker-Prager cap model while both the studded and non-studded tires have been modeled with the interaction of snow model. Finally the results were validated with some experimental data provided from previous works. The study found that the studded tire was able to significantly improve traction on snow-covered roads by a minimum factor of 1.17 at -50% slip and a maximum factor of 1.5 at an interval of 50% to 100% slip, compared to non-studded tire, and that the FEA model accurately predicted the tire's behavior in these conditions. The results of this study can be used to optimize the design of studded tires and to improve the safety of vehicles in snowy conditions. Additionally, this research suggests a solution to the issues with studded tires by analyzing current designs and presenting a new design for a retractable stud mechanism that can be utilized for a diverse range of tires

Contribution a l'etude et a la realisation de capteurs optiques permettant la commande d'axes de machines outils

SIGLEINIST T 73355 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc