Effect of pre-harvest calcium chloride and ethanol spray on quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes during storage

Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) are highly perishable due to postharvest fungal decay and softening. The effects of pre-harvest calcium chloride (CC) (at 1 or 2 %) and ethanol (at 10 or 20 %) spray at 30 and 7 days before harvest on quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes during cold storage at 0 °C ± 1 plus 1 day of shelf life at 20 °C were evaluated. Pre-harvest spray of CC and ethanol at both low and high concentrations significantly decreased berry decay percentage during storage compared to control. The combination between CC and ethanol also decreased decay compared to control but was less effective than each one alone. In this respect, there were no significant differences between low and high concentration of CC and ethanol. In all treatments, decay was recorded after 30 days of storage and significantly increased to reach 26.3 % after 50 days. CC spray alone, at both concentrations, increased weight loss percentage compared to control and most other treatments. However ethanol spray especially at 20 % decreased weight loss compared to other treatments except for 10 % ethanol spray. The combination between CC and ethanol, however, increased weight loss compared to control except for, 1 % CC plus 20 % ethanol and 2 % CC plus 10 % ethanol. Weight loss percentage increased during storage to reach 2.30 % after 50 days of storage. However, the overall quality characteristics of berries as firmness, TSS, acidity, TSS/acid ratio, pH, vitamin C, total phenols and soluble tannins were not negatively affected by both CC and ethanol spray treatments. Also, both CC and ethanol spray caused neither foliar damage on the vines nor significant changes in berry quality. It is concluded that pre-harvest spray of 1 % CC or 20 % ethanol could be suggested as practical alternatives to synthetic fungicides and SO2 to decrease postharvest decay and improve quality of 'El-Bayadi' table grapes.

Toward Efficient Management of Working Capital: The case of the Palestinian Exchange

The importance of this study comes from the truth that financial statements' users need reliable, relevant, and useful financial information that should be reflected in stock prices. However, this study aims at investigating current ratio, receivables turnover, inventory turnover, and earnings per share for 18 companies listed on PEX over the period from 2006 to 2011. Regression analysis and econometric techniques of Unit root test, Co-integration, and Granger causality are applied. The study outcomes indicate that stock prices of companies listed on PEX are affected by working capital components. The results of traditional Granger Causality reveal that there is no causal relationship between stock prices and working capital components. In addition, there is a positive relationship between CR and EPS and stock prices whereas there is a negative relationship between RT and IT. The paper concludes that cash, times of receivables collection and inventory turnover are necessary to be taken into account by both investors and companies for improved the management of working capital at the PEX.We are grateful to anonymous referees whose comments have made this paper better

Late Diagnosis of 5-α-Reductase Type 2 Deficiency in an Adolescent Girl with Primary Amenorrhoea : Case report

Deficiency of the 5-α-reductase enzyme has been found to affect male sexual development. We report an 18-year-old patient who was referred to an endocrinology clinic in Jizan, Saudi Arabia, in April 2014 with primary amenorrhoea, virilisation and a lack of secondary sex characteristics. As female external genitalia were present at birth, she had been raised as a female. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed no uterine or ovarian tissue in the pelvis and the presence of a scrotal sac. She was diagnosed with 5-α-reductase type 2 deficiency, a 46,XY disorder of sexual development. Typically, affected males have pseudovaginal perineoscrotal hypospadias and ambiguous genitalia at birth. Individuals who have been raised as female manifest characteristics of virilisation at puberty, including deepening of the vocal tone, phallus enlargement, scrotal hyperpigmentation and increased muscle mass

Six-year follow-up of a pulmonary autograft in the mitral position: The Ross II procedure

AbstractJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;117:614-

Attitudes and perceptions towards summative e-assessment for free-text responses: A case study of a UAE university

© 2019, IGI Global. The key aim of this study is to provide an overview of students\u27 and instructors\u27 attitudes and perceptions towards the potential benefits and challenges of summative e-assessment for their writing courses at a UAE university. A mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis is used. The findings of the study revealed that a majority of student participants reported reasonable satisfaction with the e-assessment tool in terms of screen layout and background, interface design and ease of use and access. However, they indicated their preference to pen and paper exams. Instructor participants identified a number of challenges associated with using summative e-assessment in the writing courses, which would require educational institutions to make changes to promote the success of e-assessment

COVID-19 Outbreak: Effect of an Educational Intervention Based on Health Belief Model on Nursing Students' Awareness and Health Beliefs at Najran University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to investigate the effect of an educational intervention based on the health belief model (HBM) about COVID-19 on nursing  students' awareness and health beliefs. A true-experimental research design was conducted at nursing college, Najran University, KSA. A  comprehensive sampling was followed to include all female students at the colleges (164 students). The sample was divided randomly into  intervention (82) and control group (82). The educational intervention was designed and conducted based on the HBM through four sequential phases: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The current study results indicated no statistically significant differences between intervention and control groups concerning their demographic characteristic, awareness, and health beliefs before intervention. After intervention, significant differences (p< 0.05) were observed between intervention and control groups in their awareness and all HBM constructs regarding COVID19. There were positive, statistically significant correlations (P< 0.05) between participants' total HBM score and their total awareness score. This study concluded that HBM is effective in increasing nursing students' awareness regarding COVID-19. It also increases their perceived  susceptibility, severity, and benefits. Besides, it may increase their self-efficacy to overcome perceived barriers to practice protective and preventive actions while dealing with COVID-19. Keywords: Awareness, COVID-19, Health belief model, Nursing students, Saudi Arabia   Cette étude visait à étudier l'effet d'une intervention éducative basée sur le modèle de croyance en santé (HBM) à propos du COVID-19 sur la sensibilisation des étudiants en soins infirmiers et leurs croyances en matière de santé. Une conception de recherche véritablement expérimentale a été menée au collège d'infirmières de l'Université de Najran, en Arabie Saoudite. Un échantillonnage complet a été suivi pour inclure toutes les étudiantes des collèges (164 étudiantes). L'échantillon a été divisé au hasard en groupe d'intervention (82) et groupe témoin (82). L'intervention éducative a été conçue et menée sur la base du HBM à travers quatre phases séquentielles: évaluation, planification, mise en oeuvre et évaluation. Les résultats de l'étude actuelle n'ont indiqué aucune différence statistiquement significative entre les groupes d'intervention et de contrôle concernant leurs caractéristiques démographiques, leur sensibilisation et leurs croyances en matière de santé avant l'intervention. Aprèsl'intervention, des  différences significatives (p <0,05) ont été observées entre les groupes d'intervention et de contrôle dans leur connaissance et tutes les constructions HBM concernant COVID19. Il y avait des corrélations positives et statistiquement significatives (P <0,05) entre le score HBM total des participants et leur score total de sensibilisation. Cette étude a conclu que HBM est efficace pour sensibiliser les étudiants en sciences infirmières au COVID-19. Cela augmente également leur sensibilité, leur gravité et leurs avantages perçus. En outre, cela peut augmenter leur efficacité personnelle pour surmonter les obstacles perçus à la pratique d'actions de protection et de prévention tout en traitant le COVID-19. Mots-clés: Sensibilisation, COVID-19, modèle de croyance en matière de santé, étudiants en sciences infirmières, Arabie saoudit

Perception of Faculty Members of Regional Medical School Toward Faculty Development Program

Introduction: Any types or process of activities that are performed by a group or an individual to enhance, promote, and improve the performance, competencies or skills of a health professional at an institute level are defined as faculty development which has many other names like staff development, academic development, and educational development. The importance of faculty development stressed by Harden is equivalent to curriculum development, which is a very difficult assignment. Objectives: To determine the pattern of faculty members’ perception toward their weekly faculty development program. Methodology: Enrolling the faculty members of the College of Medicine, University of Bisha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( COM/UB,KSA). COM/UB adopting the innovative curriculum (problem-based learning, team-based learning, interactive lectures, and case-based learning and seminars. Each Tuesday, faculty members gather in the faculty development academic program (FDAP) room to discuss issues related to medical education and quality. Usually, there is a presentation on the selected topic over 25 min, followed by a discussion and workshop, and finally, a recommendation is drawn. The inclusion criterion is those staying in the college for a period of more than one year. New joiners and those staying for a period of less than one year were excluded. Faculty members were enrolled optionally and requested to fill a validated questionnaire. Results: The response rate was 92% of total staff. More than 89%, 87%, 86% and 74% thought that the FDAP is useful to them, helps them in addressing academic issues in the faculty, is an enriching experience, and thought that it helps them in constructing high-quality multiple choice questions (MCQs). Finally, 84% were interested in presenting topics in FDP. Conclusion: FDAP was positively perceived by the faculty members of the University Bisha/College of Medicine, since it enriches their experience and satisfies their academic job. Keywords: faculty, development, academic, program, MCQ

The prevalence of blinding trachoma in northern states of Sudan.

BACKGROUND: Despite historical evidence of blinding trachoma, there have been no widespread contemporary surveys of trachoma prevalence in the northern states of Sudan. We aimed to conduct district-level surveys in this vast region in order to map the extent of the problem and estimate the need for trachoma control interventions to eliminate blinding trachoma. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Separate, population based cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 88 localities (districts) in 12 northern states of Sudan between 2006 and 2010. Two-stage cluster random sampling with probability proportional to size was used to select the sample. Trachoma grading was done using the WHO simplified grading system. Key prevalence indicators were trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) in children aged 1-9 years and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in adults aged 15 years and above. The sample comprised 1,260 clusters from which 25,624 households were surveyed. A total of 106,697 participants (81.6% response rate) were examined for trachoma signs. TF prevalence was above 10% in three districts and between 5% and 9% in 11 districts. TT prevalence among adults was above 1% in 20 districts (which included the three districts with TF prevalence >10%). The overall number of people with TT in the population was estimated to be 31,072 (lower and upper bounds = 26,125-36,955). CONCLUSION: Trachoma mapping is complete in the northern states of Sudan except for the Darfur States. The survey findings will facilitate programme planning and inform deployment of resources for elimination of trachoma from the northern states of Sudan by 2015, in accordance with the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) objectives

Numerical and Experimental Investigations of Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Duct Heater with Different Areas of Vortex Generators

Numerical and experimental investigations were carried out on the effect of the vortex generators on the flow field and heat transfer from duct heaters. The flow Reynolds number ranging from 32000<Re<83000 with a constant heat flux of 43.09426. In the numerical investigation, Fluent package (6.3) was used to solve the steady, (3-D), continuity, momentum and energy equations where the standard (k-ε) model was used to remedy the turbulent effects. Theoretical results show that the presence of VGs would save 27% of heaters power. The effects of two areas of VGs were looked at a small circle cross section vortex generator (SCCSVG) and a big circle cross section vortex generator (BCCSVG) of similar shapes (where). The experimental results showed that there were an enhancement in heat transfer with the presence of VGs and heat transfer depends on VGs’ areas. The BCCSVG was the better one of enhancing heat transfer by (2.76%-4.11%). Additionally, the increase of area of VGs, number of rows for VGs and the distance between each two rows of VGs and the heaters are the most effective parameters in improving the performance of heat transfer