Determinants of decision making process for Iraqi students studying in Malaysian Research Universities

Internationalization of education has become a big phenomenon in recent decades especially with the entry of many Asian countries like Malaysia, that have surpassed many developed countries such as United States, England, Europe etc. Lot of studies has been conducted on .student’s choice to study abroad in developed countries, but very few have been done in the context of developing countries like Malaysia. Malaysia being a developing country has started attracting a lot of international students mainly because of quality of education as well as low tuition and living costs. The studies regarding international students in Malaysian context have focused on the undergraduate level and not on the perspectives of adult learners. The present study is an attempt to investigate the factors that help the international students especially Iraqi students in making decisions to pursue their tertiary education at post graduate level in Malaysian university specifically in Malaysian research universities. The study utilizes case study approach with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as a study context. The theoretical underpinning of the study relies on the theory of adult learning and selfdetermination theory for model building. The sample consisted of postgraduate Iraqi students pursuing their masters or PhD in various faculties of UTM. Secondly, focus group discussion was also carried out with international post graduate students of various nationalities for triangulation of results. Semi structured interviews were conducted from the respondents chosen using theoretical sampling technique. The results indicate that the decision making process of Iraqi students is influenced more by external factors as compared to internal factors. The study provides useful insights into the phenomenon of study abroad. The findings of the study have several implications for both higher education institutions and policy makers

The Glycolytic Pathway is the Predominate Path for Glucose Utilization in Human Pancreatic Beta Cells (1.1B4)

The oxidative metabolism of energy substrates has a paramount role in the stimulus secretion pathway of insulin. However, the role of glycolytic pathway in pancreatic beta cells is not very well understood. To address this, we have investigated and compared the functional effects of two mitochondrial substrates (glucose and α-ketoisocaproate) between the human (1.1B4) and murine (MIN6) pancreatic beta cell lines. MTS assay was conducted as an indicator of the metabolic activity of both cell lines. Polarographic detection of (ΔO2) and lactate were used to measure the oxygen consumption rate and anaerobic glycolysis respectively. The mitochondrial redox state was monitored via RH123 distribution and NAD(P)H autofluorescence. The metabolic assays showed glucose stimulated MTS reduction in MIN6 cells in a time and concentration dependent manner and nor in 1.1B4. Both sub strates failed to affect OCR, NADPH and increased lactate production in 1.1B4 cells. However, they stimulated OCR, increased NADPH, increased lactate output but was less extent and hyperpolarized the mitochondria in MIN6 cells. The above results showed that 1.1B4 cells are mainly depending on the glycolytic pathway different from MIN6 cells which rely on mitochondrial respiration. In conclusion, 1.1B4 cell line represents a new model to study the bioenergetics profile because it depends on the anaerobic glycolysis rather than aerobic respiration of the other models such as MIN6 and islets

Competitive DER Aggregation for Participation in Wholesale Markets

The problem of the large-scale aggregation of behind-the-meter demand and generation resources by a distributed-energy-resource aggregator (DERA) is considered. As a wholesale market participant, a DERA maximizes its profit while providing competitive services to its customers with higher consumer/prosumer surpluses than those offered by the distribution utilities or community choice aggregations. A constrained profit maximization program for aggregating behind-the-meter generation and consumption resources is formulated, from which payment functions for the behind-the-meter consumptions and generations are derived. Also obtained are DERA’s bid and offer curves for its participation in the wholesale energy market

Preliminary data revealing efficacy of Streptococcus salivarius K12 (SSK12) in Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome: A multicenter study from the AIDA Network PFAPA syndrome registry

Objective: To evaluate the potential role of Streptococcus salivarius K12 (SSK12) in controlling febrile flares in patients with Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome. Further aims were to assess the impact of SSK12 on (i) flare duration, (ii) variation in the degree of the highest body temperature during flares, (iii) steroid-sparing effect, and (iv) change of PFAPA accompanying symptoms before and after SSK12 introduction. Patients and methods: The medical charts from 85 pediatric patients with PFAPA syndrome (49 males and 36 females) enrolled in the AIDA registry and treated with SSK12 for a median period of 6.00 ± 7.00 months in the period between September 2017 and May 2022 were examined. Children recruited had a median time of disease duration of 19.00 ± 28.00 months. Results: The number of febrile flares significantly decreased comparing the 12 months before [median (IQR), 13.00 (6.00)] and after SSK12 initiation [median (IQR), 5.50 (8.00), p < 0.001]. The duration of fever was significantly reduced from 4.00 (2.00) days to 2.00 (2.00) days [p < 0.001]. Similarly, the highest temperature in°C was found significantly lower in the last follow-up assessment [median (IQR), 39.00 (1.00)] compared to the period prior to SSK12 start [median (IQR), 40.00 (1.00), p < 0.001]. Steroid load (mg/year) of betamethasone (or any equivalent steroid) significantly decreased between 12 months before treatment with SSK12 [median (IQR), 5.00 (8.00) mg/year] and the last follow-up visit [median (IQR), 2.00 (4.00) mg/year, p < 0.001]. The number of patients experiencing symptoms including pharyngitis/tonsillitis (p < 0.001), oral aphthae (p < 0.001) and cervical lymphadenopathy (p < 0.001) significantly decreased following SSK12. Conclusion: SSK12 prophylaxis given for at least 6.00 months was found to reduce febrile flares of PFAPA syndrome: in particular, it halved the total number per year of fever flares, shortened the duration of the single febrile episode, lowered body temperature by 1°C in the febrile flare, provided a steroid-sparing effect, and significantly reduced the accompanying symptoms related to the syndrome

Musculoskeletal manifestations in children with Behçet's syndrome: data from the AIDA Network Behçet's Syndrome Registry

This study aims to describe musculoskeletal manifestations (MSM) in children with Behçet's syndrome (BS), their association with other disease manifestations, response to therapy, and long-term prognosis. Data were retrieved from the AIDA Network Behçet's Syndrome Registry. Out of a total of 141 patients with juvenile BS, 37 had MSM at disease onset (26.2%). The median age at onset was 10.0 years (IQR 7.7). The median follow-up duration was 21.8 years (IQR 23.3). Recurrent oral (100%) and genital ulcers (67.6%) and pseudofolliculitis (56.8%) were the most common symptoms associated with MSM. At disease onset, 31 subjects had arthritis (83.8%), 33 arthralgia (89.2%), and 14 myalgia (37.8%). Arthritis was monoarticular in 9/31 cases (29%), oligoarticular in 10 (32.3%), polyarticular in 5 (16.1%), axial in 7 (22.6%). Over time, arthritis became chronic-recurrent in 67.7% of cases and 7/31 patients had joint erosions (22.6%). The median Behçet's Syndrome Overall Damage Index was 0 (range 0-4). Colchicine was inefficacious for MSM in 4/14 cases (28.6%), independently from the type of MSM (p = 0.46) or the concomitant therapy (p = 0.30 for cDMARDs, p = 1.00 for glucocorticoids); cDMARDs and bDMARDs were inefficacious for MSM in 6/19 (31.4%) and 5/12 (41.7%) cases. The presence of myalgia was associated with bDMARDs inefficacy (p = 0.014). To conclude, MSM in children with BS are frequently associated with recurrent ulcers and pseudofolliculitis. Arthritis is mostly mono- or oligoarticular, but sacroiliitis is not unusual. Prognosis of this subset of BS is overall favorable, though the presence of myalgia negatively affects response to biologic therapies. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05200715 (registered on December 18, 2021)