The treatment of terms relating to Islam and the Arab World in English dictionaries

This article investigates the treatment of vocabulary items relating to Islam and the Arab world in three major English dictionaries: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Oxford Dictionary of English, and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. The three dictionaries are compared with regard to their inclusion of 73 Arabic items (including loanwords) used in texts on Islam and the Middle East at the Google news file. With religion as theme, eight of these terms have been examined and compared across their entries in these three dictionaries to determine the closeness of the lexicographic description of these terms to their original meanings among native speakers of Arabic and to detect, from these speakers' viewpoint, any deficiencies in the defining language of their respective entries. The examination of the definitions of terms relating to Islam and the Arab world in the three dictionaries has revealed a number of pitfalls that may require editorial reconsideration. These include circularity, insufficient information, negative contexts, very general definitions, ambiguity, incomplete information, narrow definitions and encyclopedic re-dundancy. Keywords: arabic loanwords, cultural terms, definition, islam, repre-sentation, lexicograph

Development of a Decision Making Model for the Assessment of Electricity Demand Side Management in the State of Kuwait

Kuwait’s per capita electrical energy consumption is among the largest in the world, reaching 13,663 kWh per person in 2011. The electricity demand in Kuwait is increasing, which requires additional investments in power generation. A particular challenge in Kuwait is the peak demand in summer, when extreme heat increases air conditioning loads. Peak demand reached 11,220 MW in 2011, with a fast growth rate averaging 5.6% over the last decade and a maximum production capacity of around 14,720 MW. It is not possible to cope with this demand simply by increasing generation capacity. Therefore, the only alternative available to Kuwait is to control electricity demand via demand-side management. The main objective of this research is to assess and select the optimal demand- side management (DSM) technologies for buildings in the governmental sector (office, religious and school buildings) and to investigate the key factors in the evaluation process. To achieve the research objective, a model was proposed using multi-criteria decision-making techniques to enable the forecasting and comparison of DSM alternatives that are suitable for buildings. The developed model includes environmental, economic, technical and social considerations. The research methodology is based on three main phases. Phase 1: Data collection through a mail questionnaire that was sent to 42 experts for the identification of criteria and demand-side management alternatives. Phase 2: Screening and narrowing of the data collected in Phase 1 using a set of questionnaires, including the identification of potential DSM alternatives and criteria suitable for further analysis. This phase was performed through the Delphi process, taking into consideration the opinions of 28 experts. Phase 3: Use of Multi-criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques, namely the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), to evaluate and rank the identified DSM alternatives and criteria. This was done using pairwise comparisons of 17 experts to evaluate the criteria and alternatives for the buildings (office, religious and school). The research showed that the experts identified six alternative technologies and five criteria for the selection and evaluation of governmental buildings (office, religious and school). After performing the three phases of this research project, a set of criteria and alternatives were ranked based on the information gathered from every group of experts. It was found that reduction in consumption, capital cost and ease of implementation were the three most recommended criteria for the selection of DSM technologies in Kuwait government buildings while high efficiency lighting and programmable thermostats were identified as the most recommended DSM technologies for these buildings. An important aspect of this research is that unlike engineering approaches which sometimes depend on expensive test equipment or, often for building design, expensive computer modelling exercises, the proposed framework can be easily adopted by anyone without any significant financial cost. The FAHP approach was also tested and its results compared with those of AHP. There was a slight difference between using AHP and FAHP in terms of ranking the criteria and alternatives but that the difference barely affects the ranking. It was found that the AHP provides a convenient MCDM approach for solving the complex problem of selecting the optimal DSM options for buildings. The contributions of this thesis are the development of a novel framework for systematic selection and ranking of DSM technologies in different types of buildings using the Delphi method and AHP; the identification of the most important DSM technologies and criteria for their selection for three types of governmental buildings in Kuwait; and establishing that results from using AHP and FAHP for the selection of appropriate DSM measures in these buildings are almost identical, so use of AHP is likely to be sufficient in most building studies of this type

The Impact of an Educational Program based on the Components of Emotional Intelligence according to the Golman Model in the Development of Ethical Behavior in Islamic Education

This study aimed at identifying the effect of an Islamic Educational Programme based on Emotional Intelligence on developing Ethical Behaviors of tenth grade female students in the Sultanate of Oman. The study adopted a semi-experimental model using a sample of 137 students from Muscat and Southern Batinah schools. To achieve the study aims, an Educational Program based on Emotional Intelligence and Ethical Behaviors Scale (Self-control, Honesty, Respecting others, Respecting rules) was used. The validity of the scale was measured using trustee validity and discriminate validity. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was used to estimate the reliability of the scale; it was 0.90 which indicates fairly high reliability. The results showed statically significant differences in regards of Self-control, Honesty, Respecting others and Respecting Rules in favor of the experimental group. In the light of the above findings, the study recommended the importance of integrating Emotional Intelligence skills into the curriculum to prevent ethical problems of teenage students. It also suggested the activation of educational strategies and classroom activities in training the students to develop their ethical behaviors

Changing Trends of Breast Cancer Survival in Sultanate of Oman

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in women, with elevated incidence in developing countries. This retrospective study included all 122 patients diagnosed with breast cancer from January 2003 to December 2008 in the Sultanate of Oman. Age at presentation was 47.41 years (SD±12.88), with one-third of patients younger than 40 years. The majority of patients presented with stage III (41.2%) and IV (18.2%) breast cancer. T size (P = .023), skin involvement (P = .003), and stage at presentation (P = .004) were significantly associated with overall survival. Skin involvement at presentation (P = .003), T size (P = .09), lymph node status (P = .013), and stage (P = .003) were strong predictors of relapse-free survival. Patients had a 5-year survival of 78%, compared to 64% of breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2002 identified in our previously published study. Thus, despite Omani breast cancer patients continuing to present with advanced breast cancer, survival rates have significantly improved

La baisse de la densité osseuse au cours des maladies inflammatoires chroniques de l’intestin : prévalence et facteurs de risqué

Introduction: La baisse de la densité minérale osseuse représente la principale manifestation osseuse décrite au cours des maladies inflammatoires chroniques de l'intestin. En Tunisie, très peu d'études ont rapportés sa prévalence et ses facteurs de risque. Le but de ce travail était de déterminer la prévalence de la perte osseuse au cours des maladies inflammatoires chroniques de l'intestin, et rechercher ses facteurs de risque. Méthodes: Patients et méthodes: étude ouverte transversale, réalisée de 2007 jusqu'à 2012. Résultats: 146 cas étaient colligés, dont 105 avaient une maladie de Crohn (71,9%) et 41 avaient une rectocolite hémorragique (28,1%). Il s'agissait de 62 hommes et 84 femmes. L'âge moyen était de 33,18 ans. La perte osseuse était trouvée chez 85 patients (58,2%). Il s'agissait d'une ostéopénie dans 57 cas et d'ostéoporose dans 28 cas. Les facteurs de risque de perte osseuse étaient une activité physique limitée  (p=0,013), un indice de masse corporel '20 kg/m2 (p=0,015), une maladie active (p=0,035), l'étendue de l'atteinte intestinale (p=0,006) et une dose cumulée de corticothérapie dépassant 4,5g de Prednisone (p=0,003). Conclusion: La déminéralisation osseuse est une complication fréquente mais non constante. Ceci justifie un dépistage précoce chez les patients à risque, qui pourront ainsi bénéficier d'un traitement substitutif.Key words: Maladie de Crohn, recto-colite hémorragique, densité minérale osseuse, ostéopénie, ostéoporos

Successful Treatment of Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia Associated with Scalp Demodicosis Using Cryotherapy and Topical Metronidazole

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE) is a rare, benign, vasoproliferative tumour. We report a 25-year-old female patient who reported in 2021 to the dermatology clinic, with multiple, grouped, erythematous dome-shaped papules and nodules of 6 months duration on the left temporo-occipital region. Biopsy findings were consistent with a diagnosis of ALHE with evidence of Demodex mite infestation in the sebaceous ducts. The patient demonstrated significant improvement following 7 weeks of treatment with multiple cryotherapy sessions and topical application of metronidazole gel. This case suggests that scalp demodicosis may represent a novel trigger for the development of ALHE. Keywords: Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia; Mite; Infestation; Scalp; Kimura disease; Cryosurgery; Metronidazole; Case Report

Knowledge and attitude of primary care doctors towards management of postmenopausal symptoms

AbstractBackgroundAccording to the current recommendations, women with post-menopausal symptoms should be managed. Knowledge and perception of primary care physicians towards management of postmenopausal symptoms are deficient.AimThe aim of the present study was to explore knowledge and attitude of primary care doctors towards management of postmenopausal symptoms.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional survey that was conducted from October to December 2010 in the five health regions in Kuwait. Two centers were selected randomly from each health region. All physicians who were currently working in the selected centers were asked to participate in the study. Out of 209 physicians, 142 agreed to participate and completed a self-administered questionnaire.ResultsThe study revealed that 82.4% of physicians had moderate knowledge about treatment options for postmenopausal symptoms, 88.0% discussed postmenopausal symptoms with their patients, and 45.1% of them either described or referred their patients for hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). The correct answers regarding 10 statements related to the Women Health Initiative finding were ranging from 2.8% to 78.9% which indicated low level of knowledge. Regarding the effectiveness of hormonal replacement therapy in postmenopausal women, the majority of the physicians agreed correctly that HRT is effective in prevention of osteoporosis (87.3%), treatment of vasomotor symptoms (83.7%), and treatment of vulvo-vaginal symptoms (82.4%). There was a variation among physicians opinion about the effectiveness of certain treatment options for managing hot flushes in postmenopausal women.ConclusionThe results suggest that there is a lack of primary care physicians knowledge and confidence in recognizing signs and symptoms of menopause and in identifying and prescribing appropriate management