A study of the reading abilities and habits, in English and Arabic, of Baghdad University Students

The present investigation is concerned with the relationships between reading abilities in a foreign language and reading abilities in a mother tongue. A group of 574 students at Baghdad University was taken as an example.\ud In Part One, Chapters 1,11 and III of this thesis, the nature of reading abilities, as defined by authorities in the field, is described; previous studies in the field are reviewed, and the importance, purpose, and scope of the present investigation are presented.\ud To answer the hypothesis of this study, four reading tests are constructed. In Part Two, Chapter N, a description of the tests and the sampling procedure of the colleges and the students is given. Chapter V provides an account of the tests' standardizations. In Chapter VI the administration of the test to four groups - one first-year and three fourth year - of Baghdad University students is reported.\ud Part Three gives a detailed analysis and explanation of the results of the four reading tests. Statistical methods, such as means, and their tests of significance, standard deviations, frequency distribution, percentages, correlations and component analysis are applied. In all the four component analyses, a general component and some specific components are identified. Speed-recognition tests are separated from the comprehension tests. The specific components are very clear in tie rotated components.\ud The main findings are:\ud 1) Strong relationships between the Arabic general and comprehension abilities and the English general and comprehension abilities, especially among able students.\ud 2) An absence of relationship between speed of reading English and speed of reading Arabic.\ud 3) The recognition ability of the able students in both languages is related.\ud 4) The difficult and easy items in one language show the some tendency in the other languages\ud The additional findings are.:\ud 1) Iraqi students are slow readers and word-by-word readers in both English and Arabic#\ud 2) They are efficient in answering straight forward questions and inefficient in answering questions requiring inferential answers. \u

Habitual health enhancing physical activity is related to lower levels of body adiposity and blood pressure among community dwelling adults in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Community-based promotion of physical activity for health and primary prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases are integral components of physiotherapy practice. This study examined the relationship between habitual health enhancing physical activity and cardiometabolic risk factors among community dwelling adults in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey of 280 male and female adults (age=20–76 years) randomly selected from the State Low Cost Housing Estate in Maiduguri. Participants' physical activity was measured using the international physical activity questionnaire-short form. Health enhancing physical activity was defined as ≥ 150 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Blood pressure, body weight, height, and waist and hip circumferences were measured following standardized procedures. Results: Most of the participants (85%) engaged in sufficient health enhancing MVPA. The prevalence of generalized obesity (26.1%) and overweight (36.2%), central obesity (68.6%), and hypertension (26.4%) was relatively high. Overall, there were significant negative associations between MVPA and BMI (â = -0.163, P= 0.005), and waist-to-hip ratio (â= -0.138, P= 0.023). Both BMI and waist-to-hip ratio 2 accounted for about 5% (R =0.049) of the variance in MVPA. In gender specific analysis, only among women was MVPA significantly associated with lower BMI (â= -0.189, P= 0.046), and decreased systolic blood pressure (â= -0.241, P= 0.010) and diastolic blood pressure (â= -0.212, P= 0.026). Conclusions: Higher health enhancing MVPA was associated with lower levels of obesity and blood pressure among community dwelling adults (especially women). This evidence can be used to inform effective community physiotherapy practice and health promotion in Maiduguri

Terminology for Achilles tendon related disorders

The terminology of Achilles tendon pathology has become inconsistent and confusing throughout the years. For proper research, assessment and treatment, a uniform and clear terminology is necessary. A new terminology is proposed; the definitions hereof encompass the anatomic location, symptoms, clinical findings and histopathology. It comprises the following definitions: Mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy: a clinical syndrome characterized by a combination of pain, swelling and impaired performance. It includes, but is not limited to, the histopathological diagnosis of tendinosis. Achilles paratendinopathy: an acute or chronic inflammation and/or degeneration of the thin membrane around the Achilles tendon. There are clear distinctions between acute paratendinopathy and chronic paratendinopathy, both in symptoms as in histopathology. Insertional Achilles tendinopathy: located at the insertion of the Achilles tendon onto the calcaneus, bone spurs and calcifications in the tendon proper at the insertion site may exist. Retrocalcaneal bursitis: an inflammation of the bursa in the recess between the anterior inferior side of the Achilles tendon and the posterosuperior aspect of the calcaneus (retrocalcaneal recess). Superficial calcaneal bursitis: inflammation of the bursa located between a calcaneal prominence or the Achilles tendon and the skin. Finally, it is suggested that previous terms as Haglund’s disease; Haglund’s syndrome; Haglund’s deformity; pump bump (calcaneus altus; high prow heels; knobbly heels; cucumber heel), are no longer used

SLC38A8 mutations result in arrested retinal development with loss of cone photoreceptor specialization

Foveal hypoplasia, optic nerve decussation defects and anterior segment dysgenesis is an autosomal recessive disorder arising from SLC38A8 mutations. SLC38A8 is a putative glutamine transporter with strong expression within the photoreceptor layer in the retina. Previous studies have been limited due to lack of quantitative data on retinal development and nystagmus characteristics. In this multi-centre study, a custom-targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) gene panel was used to identify SLC38A8 mutations from a cohort of 511 nystagmus patients. We report 16 novel SLC38A8 mutations. The sixth transmembrane domain is most frequently disrupted by missense SLC38A8 mutations. Ninety percent of our cases were initially misdiagnosed as PAX6-related phenotype or ocular albinism prior to NGS. We characterized the retinal development in vivo in patients with SLC38A8 mutations using high-resolution optical coherence tomography. All patients had severe grades of arrested retinal development with lack of a foveal pit and no cone photoreceptor outer segment lengthening. Loss of foveal specialization features such as outer segment lengthening implies reduced foveal cone density, which contributes to reduced visual acuity. Unlike other disorders (such as albinism or PAX6 mutations) which exhibit a spectrum of foveal hypoplasia, SLC38A8 mutations have arrest of retinal development at an earlier stage resulting in a more under-developed retina and severe phenotype

Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and Xpert MTB/RIF assays for extrapulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in adults.

BACKGROUND: Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra (Xpert Ultra) and Xpert MTB/RIF are World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended rapid nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) widely used for simultaneous detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and rifampicin resistance in sputum. To extend our previous review on extrapulmonary tuberculosis (Kohli 2018), we performed this update to inform updated WHO policy (WHO Consolidated Guidelines (Module 3) 2020). OBJECTIVES: To estimate diagnostic accuracy of Xpert Ultra and Xpert MTB/RIF for extrapulmonary tuberculosis and rifampicin resistance in adults with presumptive extrapulmonary tuberculosis. SEARCH METHODS: Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group Specialized Register, MEDLINE, Embase, Science Citation Index, Web of Science, Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Registry, and ProQuest, 2 August 2019 and 28 January 2020 (Xpert Ultra studies), without language restriction. SELECTION CRITERIA: Cross-sectional and cohort studies using non-respiratory specimens. Forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis: tuberculous meningitis and pleural, lymph node, bone or joint, genitourinary, peritoneal, pericardial, disseminated tuberculosis. Reference standards were culture and a study-defined composite reference standard (tuberculosis detection); phenotypic drug susceptibility testing and line probe assays (rifampicin resistance detection). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias and applicability using QUADAS-2. For tuberculosis detection, we performed separate analyses by specimen type and reference standard using the bivariate model to estimate pooled sensitivity and specificity with 95% credible intervals (CrIs). We applied a latent class meta-analysis model to three forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. We assessed certainty of evidence using GRADE. MAIN RESULTS: 69 studies: 67 evaluated Xpert MTB/RIF and 11 evaluated Xpert Ultra, of which nine evaluated both tests. Most studies were conducted in China, India, South Africa, and Uganda. Overall, risk of bias was low for patient selection, index test, and flow and timing domains, and low (49%) or unclear (43%) for the reference standard domain. Applicability for the patient selection domain was unclear for most studies because we were unsure of the clinical settings. Cerebrospinal fluid Xpert Ultra (6 studies) Xpert Ultra pooled sensitivity and specificity (95% CrI) against culture were 89.4% (79.1 to 95.6) (89 participants; low-certainty evidence) and 91.2% (83.2 to 95.7) (386 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have tuberculous meningitis, 168 would be Xpert Ultra-positive: of these, 79 (47%) would not have tuberculosis (false-positives) and 832 would be Xpert Ultra-negative: of these, 11 (1%) would have tuberculosis (false-negatives). Xpert MTB/RIF (30 studies) Xpert MTB/RIF pooled sensitivity and specificity against culture were 71.1% (62.8 to 79.1) (571 participants; moderate-certainty evidence) and 96.9% (95.4 to 98.0) (2824 participants; high-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have tuberculous meningitis, 99 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-positive: of these, 28 (28%) would not have tuberculosis; and 901 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-negative: of these, 29 (3%) would have tuberculosis. Pleural fluid Xpert Ultra (4 studies) Xpert Ultra pooled sensitivity and specificity against culture were 75.0% (58.0 to 86.4) (158 participants; very low-certainty evidence) and 87.0% (63.1 to 97.9) (240 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have pleural tuberculosis, 192 would be Xpert Ultra-positive: of these, 117 (61%) would not have tuberculosis; and 808 would be Xpert Ultra-negative: of these, 25 (3%) would have tuberculosis. Xpert MTB/RIF (25 studies) Xpert MTB/RIF pooled sensitivity and specificity against culture were 49.5% (39.8 to 59.9) (644 participants; low-certainty evidence) and 98.9% (97.6 to 99.7) (2421 participants; high-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have pleural tuberculosis, 60 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-positive: of these, 10 (17%) would not have tuberculosis; and 940 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-negative: of these, 50 (5%) would have tuberculosis. Lymph node aspirate Xpert Ultra (1 study) Xpert Ultra sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence interval) against composite reference standard were 70% (51 to 85) (30 participants; very low-certainty evidence) and 100% (92 to 100) (43 participants; low-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have lymph node tuberculosis, 70 would be Xpert Ultra-positive and 0 (0%) would not have tuberculosis; 930 would be Xpert Ultra-negative and 30 (3%) would have tuberculosis. Xpert MTB/RIF (4 studies) Xpert MTB/RIF pooled sensitivity and specificity against composite reference standard were 81.6% (61.9 to 93.3) (377 participants; low-certainty evidence) and 96.4% (91.3 to 98.6) (302 participants; low-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have lymph node tuberculosis, 118 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-positive and 37 (31%) would not have tuberculosis; 882 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-negative and 19 (2%) would have tuberculosis. In lymph node aspirate, Xpert MTB/RIF pooled specificity against culture was 86.2% (78.0 to 92.3), lower than that against a composite reference standard. Using the latent class model, Xpert MTB/RIF pooled specificity was 99.5% (99.1 to 99.7), similar to that observed with a composite reference standard. Rifampicin resistance Xpert Ultra (4 studies) Xpert Ultra pooled sensitivity and specificity were 100.0% (95.1 to 100.0), (24 participants; low-certainty evidence) and 100.0% (99.0 to 100.0) (105 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have rifampicin resistance, 100 would be Xpert Ultra-positive (resistant): of these, zero (0%) would not have rifampicin resistance; and 900 would be Xpert Ultra-negative (susceptible): of these, zero (0%) would have rifampicin resistance. Xpert MTB/RIF (19 studies) Xpert MTB/RIF pooled sensitivity and specificity were 96.5% (91.9 to 98.8) (148 participants; high-certainty evidence) and 99.1% (98.0 to 99.7) (822 participants; high-certainty evidence). Of 1000 people where 100 have rifampicin resistance, 105 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-positive (resistant): of these, 8 (8%) would not have rifampicin resistance; and 895 would be Xpert MTB/RIF-negative (susceptible): of these, 3 (0.3%) would have rifampicin resistance. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Xpert Ultra and Xpert MTB/RIF may be helpful in diagnosing extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Sensitivity varies across different extrapulmonary specimens: while for most specimens specificity is high, the tests rarely yield a positive result for people without tuberculosis. For tuberculous meningitis, Xpert Ultra had higher sensitivity and lower specificity than Xpert MTB/RIF against culture. Xpert Ultra and Xpert MTB/RIF had similar sensitivity and specificity for rifampicin resistance. Future research should acknowledge the concern associated with culture as a reference standard in paucibacillary specimens and consider ways to address this limitation

Measuring the extent the environmental pollution of the waters of the Diwani River some trace elements resulting from Diwani textile factory using some spectroscopic methods

The concentrations of some trace elements cobalt, nickel, lead, mercury cadmium, copper and Iron as well as pH value and the conductivity were determined in the samples of water which input and output (waste) from AL-Diwani textile factory and the effect of it on the AL-Diwani river water which is nearest from the factory through one month. The concentrations of above elements were determined in the samples by two methods. The flame Atomic absorption spectrophotometry and the spectrometry method which is satiable for each ion and making Analytical comparative between them from some analytical values like correlation coefficient(r), relative standard error Erel%, recovery value Re% and relative standard deviation RSD% for each ion. It is found that the first method is more accuracy for measuring the all elements concentrations except measuring of Iron. From results we show that the Lead element is more concentration among other elements which was the middle concentration was 3.3 ppm. The cobalt element is less concentration from other elements which was the middle of it concentration was 0.043 ppm in the waste water samples and other elements have concentration between them in the different samples. We show the increasing on the acidity and Conductivity for waste samples as comparative with the other samples which were pH between 6.5-7.2 and the Conductivity from the instrument directly in between 1210-1913 mS∙cm-1 and the measuring was making at the room temperature

Interorganisational Collaborations Towards Sustainability: An exploratory study of farming companies and their partners in Southern Sweden

Increasing population and rising incomes change food consumption patterns. The United Nations estimates that global food demand will double between 2010 and 2050 (Alexandratos & Bruinsma, 2012). As a result, many governments are promoting sustainable agriculture to increase their food production. The Swedish government aims to make agriculture in Sweden sustainable, resilient, competitive and attractive (Swedish National Food Strategy, 2017). This informs our choice of southern Sweden, the breadbasket of the country as the study area. Climate change, competition and concerns over the new Common Agricultural Policy are the main challenges of farmers in the region. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to investigate interorganisational collaborations from the perspectives of farmers in the region. We used exploratory approach to study collaborations among farmers and their partners where semi-structured interviews and observations were used to gather data. We adopted Creswell’s steps of data analysis. The study finds that many of the farmers have less knowledge of sustainability and sustainable agriculture. The study finds two main types of interorganisational collaborations existing between and among the farming companies and their partners - sustained dyadic collaborations and long-term collaborations. The study also finds the factors that enable and sustain collaborations in the sector. These factors are classified into enablers and sustainers. The enablers include climate change, legislation and regulations, globalisation, competency motivations, resource-related reasons, society-related reasons, partner reputation, expertise, quality and trustworthiness and capacity to deliver on promises, and the sustainers are trust building, transparency, good relationships and cooperation, shared vision, and good agronomic advice from partners. The study concludes that interorganisational collaborations between and among farming companies and their partners are driven largely by economic interests and climate change and therefore have little to do with sustainability

Interorganisational Collaborations Towards Sustainability: An exploratory study of farming companies and their partners in Southern Sweden

Increasing population and rising incomes change food consumption patterns. The United Nations estimates that global food demand will double between 2010 and 2050 (Alexandratos & Bruinsma, 2012). As a result, many governments are promoting sustainable agriculture to increase their food production. The Swedish government aims to make agriculture in Sweden sustainable, resilient, competitive and attractive (Swedish National Food Strategy, 2017). This informs our choice of southern Sweden, the breadbasket of the country as the study area. Climate change, competition and concerns over the new Common Agricultural Policy are the main challenges of farmers in the region. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to investigate interorganisational collaborations from the perspectives of farmers in the region. We used exploratory approach to study collaborations among farmers and their partners where semi-structured interviews and observations were used to gather data. We adopted Creswell’s steps of data analysis. The study finds that many of the farmers have less knowledge of sustainability and sustainable agriculture. The study finds two main types of interorganisational collaborations existing between and among the farming companies and their partners - sustained dyadic collaborations and long-term collaborations. The study also finds the factors that enable and sustain collaborations in the sector. These factors are classified into enablers and sustainers. The enablers include climate change, legislation and regulations, globalisation, competency motivations, resource-related reasons, society-related reasons, partner reputation, expertise, quality and trustworthiness and capacity to deliver on promises, and the sustainers are trust building, transparency, good relationships and cooperation, shared vision, and good agronomic advice from partners. The study concludes that interorganisational collaborations between and among farming companies and their partners are driven largely by economic interests and climate change and therefore have little to do with sustainability