Awareness of Breast Cancer Risk Factors, Symptoms and Breast Self-Examination Among Omani Female Teachers: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: This study aimed to assess knowledge of breast cancer (BC) risk factors, warning signs and symptoms and breast self-examination (BSE) practice among Omani female teachers in Al-Dhahira Governorate. Methods: A cross-sectional sample of female teachers aged 20–50 years was collected from January to December 2018 from three wilayats (provinces) in Al-Dhahira—Ibri, Dhank and Yunqal. A questionnaire that included the Breast Cancer Awareness Scale and demographic characteristics was administered. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, regression analysis and Pearson’s Chi-square test. Results: A total of 478 female teachers were included in the study (response rate: 72.4%). The majority of participants (60.5%) had good overall knowledge about BC while 19.9% of participants had excellent overall knowledge. Only 9% of participants demonstrating excellent knowledge of BC risk factors. More than half of the participants (56.1%) reported excellent knowledge in screening methods. Unfortunately, only 57% of the female teachers indicated practising BSE. Knowledge of BC symptoms was closely divided between excellent and good levels (45.8 and 42.5%, respectively). BSE practice was significantly (P <0.05) correlated with overall knowledge of BC and its symptoms and screening methods, but not with knowledge of BC risk factors. Conclusion: This study revealed unsatisfactory overall knowledge of BC risk factors, symptoms, screening methods and BSE practice among female Omani teachers in Al-Dhahira Governorate. These findings constitute a challenge to healthcare providers to continue developing awareness of BC and providing health information to the public.Keywords: Breast Cancer; Awareness; Knowledge; Breast Self-Examination; Risk factors; Signs and Symptoms; Oman

Preparation of Standard Source as a Petri Dish for Plant by Using 152Eu Element

Observed in the recent period, there is an urgent need to a prepare standard sources can be adopted in the research Iraqi universities and scientific Institutions, whether if these measurements for large sizes samples such as  Marinelli beaker , or small sizes such as a petri dish and the latter was not available as standard sources, which was the purpose of this work to prepare standard source with size of a petri dish for  plants  using 152Eu Isotope , that can be adopted in the experimental measurements.The prepared sample was measured in the first lab ( Department of physics/ college of education for pure science/Ibn Al-Haitham/University of Baghdad) and the second lab (Central Laboratories Directorate / nuclear research center at Tuwaitha) by using Gamma spectroscopy system with a high-purity germanium detector (HPGe). The specific activity of the prepared standard sample was calculated using an efficiency curve , which drawn by using the Monte Carlo Program . The results of the specific activity are equal to (1167.610Bq/kg) in first lab and (1081.94 Bq/kg) in second lab. It was noted there is good agreement between the results in the first and second lab, so the overall average of the specific activity adopted  was equal to (1124.7 Bq / kg)From this work, we can use this source to calculate the radioactivity for other radionuclide in small samples (plants), which is difficult to obtained in large quantities, through a calibration  spectrum for efficiency and energy of this prepared source. Keywords: petri dish, prepare standard source, Gamma spectroscopy, activity, HPGe,  Plant

Natural Radionuclides and Hazards in Water and Sediment Samples of Tigris River in Al- Amara city - Maysan - Iraq.

The concentrations of the radionuclides namely 238U, 232Th, and 40K are measured for water and Sediment Tigris River in AL-Amara city- Missan government- Iraq. Using HPGe detector, based on high-resolution gamma spectrometry system and an energy resolution of (≤1.8 keV) for the 133 MeV gamma transition of 60Co. The concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K  were B.D.L. in all water samples except one sample (Hai Al Hassan Alaskary) which has concentrations of 40K(6.818±1.999 Bq/kg). Radium equivalent activity, absorbed gamma dose rate, annual effective dose rate (AED) in and annual effective doses(AED) out, hazard indices(Hin) and (Hex) , and the gamma Index were(0) for all water samples except one sample (Hai Al Hassan Alaskary)  which have (0.524 Bq /kg), ( 0.284 nGy /h), ( 0.0013 mSv/y), ( 0.00034 mSv/y), (0.0014), (0.0014), (0.004) , respectively .The 238U, 232Th, and 40K concentrations in the Sediment Tigris River varies from (15.379±1.999 -24.737±1.269)Bq/kg, (9.930±1.033-16.303±1.437) Bq/kg, and (210.628±12.238-415.215±20.750) Bq/kg with over all mean value of (18.220±1.404Bq/kg), (13.792±1.302 Bq/kg), and (317.343±16.997Bq/kg), respectively. The radium equivalent rate (Raeq) calculated from concentration of 238U, 232Th, and 40K, ranges between(45.798 -72.368) Bq /kg with mean value (63.879 Bq/kg). The absorbed dose Rate(Dγ) for the sediment samples in the study area ranges from (21.886 -35.054) nGy/h with an average value of (29.981nGy/h). The annual effective dose rate (AED)in range(0.107 -0.171 mSv/y) with an average value of (0.146 mSv/y). The annual effective dose rate (AED)out range(0.026 -0.042 mSv/y) with an average value of (0.036 mSv/y). The internal hazard index (Hin) range (0.165-0.252) with an average value of (0.217). The external hazard index (Hex) range (0.123-0.195) with an average value of (0.167). The gamma Index (I) range (0.342-0.553) with an average value of (0.470). The values of the specific activity of (238U, 232Th, and 40K), radium equivalent activity, absorbed dose Rate, indoor and outdoor annual effective dose rates, internal and external hazard indicies, gamma index, all were found to be lower than their corresponding allowed limits. Keywords: AL-Amara city, sediment, Natural radio activity, Radium-equivalent activities, annual effective dose rate (AED), Gamma Index

Feasibility and Reliability of a Commercially Available Stretch-Sensitive Sensor for Neck Movement

The ability to move the neck is usually a good indicator of neck health. However, the tools currently available to measure neck range of motion rely on gravity and the clinician\u27s ability to accurately line the instruments on specific landmarks of the body. This study explored whether a commercially available wearable sensor, C-Stretch® that is flexible and lightweight can capture the functional performance of cervical motion across testing sessions. Furthermore, an assessment of the C-Stretch® against Aurora NDI, an electromagnetic tracking system was explored to determine the feasibility of transforming raw capacitance data into degrees of motion. Finally, a survey explored the user’s experience with C-Stretch®. The C-Stretch® was able to monitor cervical motion across testing with good reliability for the Bag-Lift and poor reliability for the Bag-Slide and Star task (ICC2,1 0.57, 0.39, 0.37), respectively. The systems accuracy and agreement for rotational neck motion were evaluated. The C-Stretch® showed high correlation (r = 0.90-0.99, p \u3c 0.01) for areas of overlap and was accurate for both sessions with average RMSE values of 5.06° (95% C.I = 0.30° to 10.10°) for the first session and 5.34° (95% C.I = 0.10° to 10.79°) for the second session with respect to the electromagnetic tracking system. Overall, users tolerated the C-Stretch® and did not find it uncomfortable. This study highlights the feasibility of using wearable stretch sensors that are light, unobtrusive and comfortable for assessing functional performance of the cervical spine

Water vapour corrosion of rare earth monosilicates for environmental barrier coatings application

Water vapour corrosion resistance of five rare earth monosilicates Y2SiO5, Gd2SiO5, Er2SiO5, Yb2SiO5, and Lu2SiO5 was investigated during testing at 1350 ˚C for up to 166 h in static air with 90% water vapour. Four of the RE-silicates showed little weight gain (0.859 mg cm-2) after 166 h of exposure. Prior to testing the microstrucre consists of equiaxed grains of 4- 7 ± 0.4 µm. XRD analysis showed that after 50 h exposure to water vapour corrosion Y, Er, Yb and Lu-silicates had both mono and disilicates present on their surfaces as a result of the reaction between monosilicate and water vapour to form disilicate, while Gd-silicate has converted completely to G4.67Si3O13 making it less stable for environmental barrier coatings application. The microstructures of corroded Y, Er, Yb and Lu-silicates contain ridges and cracks, while that of Gd-silicate contains rounded grains suggesting melting along with striped contract grains

The challenges of implementing cultural-based teaching in remedial education: analyses and recommendations

In remedial education, teachers play a crucial role in ensuring students from diverse backgrounds master language literacy skills. The current implementation of cultural-based teaching is perceived as an effort to assist remedial students from diverse backgrounds and cultures to learn effectively. The study aims to analyze teachers’ perceptions of challenges in implementing cultural-based teaching in remedial education for language literacy. The study employed a quantitative approach by distributing questionnaires to 252 remedial teachers recruited randomly from primary schools in the Malaysian middle-state zone. The collected data were evaluated descriptively, and the results revealed that these teachers experienced challenges in four areas, namely teaching resources, remedial curricula, teacher knowledge, and time allocation. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that demographic factors, such as gender, school location, and years of teaching experience, did not produce significant impacts on the aforementioned challenges. Simultaneously, this study explored teachers’ perceptions of recommending culturally responsive teaching approaches in remedial education as an alternative to the current cultural-based teaching methodology

Using Dates Leaves Midribs to Prepare Hierarchical Structures Incorporating Porous Carbon and Zeolite A Composites for Cesium137Cs Ion Exchange

تم في هذه الدراسة تحضير مادة مساميه سُلمية تتضمن الكربون والزيولايت نوع 4A مع كفاءة عالية لإزالة السيزيوم المشع من مخلفات المياه الملوثة اشعاعيا.  استعملت الطريقة الهيدروحراريه لأنماء طبقه من زيولايت نوع 4A على سطح الكربون المسامي لتحسين عمليه نقل الكتلة وزيادة المساحة السطحية للزيولايت استخدم كرب سعف النخيل العراقي (DM) كمخلفات زراعية متوفرة محليا لتحضير كربون مسامي واطئ الكلفة باستخدام طريقة الكربنه في فرن انبوبي عند درجة حرارة 900C ولمدة ساعتين. التراكيب المسامية الُسلمية تم تحضيرها باستخدام التنشيط الميكانيكي لسطح الكربون باستعمال الموجات الفوق الصوتية بوجود عالق يحتوي على  دقائق نانوية للزيولايت  المطحون نوع 4A. لتحضير عالق يحتوي دقائق نانوية للزيولايت تم طحن الزيولايت التجاري باستعمال كرات زجاجيه بقطر                  (0.3-0.4 mm) كوسط للطحن. تعمل دقائق الزيولايت النانوية كبذور (مراكز تنوي) لزيادة تبلور جل الالوميناسليكا العشوائي على سطح الكربون المعدل. تم تشخيص الزيولايت4A المحضر و المادة المتراكبة المحضرة   باستعمال المجهر الالكتروني الماسح (SEM),جهاز حيود الأشعة السينية (XRD) , جهاز قياس المساحة السطحية(BET) , و (EDX) للتحقق من الهيئة , التركيب ,  المساحة السطحية , والتركيب الكيميائي على التوالي.استخدم المنتج لمعالجة المخلفات السائلة الملوثة اشعاعيا والتي تحتوي على نظير السيزيوم المشعCs-137 تم جمعها من بناية مختبرات الكيمياء الإشعاعية المدمرة في موقع التويثه النووي. قيس تركيز النشاط الإشعاعي للمياه الملوثة قبل وبعد المعالجة باستعمال منظومة أطياف كاما المزودة بكاشف الجرمانيوم عالي النقاوة (HPGe) ذي كفاءة كشف نسبيه تصل الى 60%. أظهرت النتائج  ان تركيز النشاط الاشعاعي للسيزيوم 137  قد انخفض بصورة ملحوظة من 4800 Bq/L الى 186 Bq/L,121 Bq/L باستخدام 0.045 gm من الزيولات 4A و DMZ على التوالي.This study synthesized zeolite 4A, and hierarchical composite structure consisting of zeolite 4A- carbon were successfully prepared. Hydrothermal method was used to grow a layer of zeolite 4A over porous carbon surfaces to enhance mass transfer and increase surface area of zeolite. The products then were used to remove radioactive cesium137Cs from liquid wastewater. Iraqi dates leaves midribs (DM) were used as locally available agricultural waste to prepare low- cost porous carbon, using carbonization method in tubular furnace at 900C for two hours. Hierarchical porous structures including zeolite are prepared by mechanically activating the carbon surface via Ultrasonicating nanoparticles suspension of ground zeolite type 4A.For preparing nanoparticles suspension, commercial zeolite has been milled using 0.3-0.4 mm diameter glass balls as grinding media. Nanoparticles of zeolite 4A acting as seeding (nucleation centers) increase the crystallization of amorphous aluminosilica gel   on modification carbon surface. The products of the syntheses zeolite 4A and the hierarchal composite materials (DMZ) were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Nitrogen sorption (BET) and Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) to check the morphology, structure, surface area, and the chemical composition respectively. The products were used to treat radioactive wastewater contaminated with radioactive cesium 137Cs collected from destroyed building of the Radiochemistry Laboratories (RCL) in AL-Tuwaitha Nuclear Site. The activity concentration for the contamination water pre and after the treatment were measured using gamma spectroscopy system supplied with a high purity germanium detector (HPGe) with 60% relative efficiency. The results showed that the radioactivity concentration after the treatment process decreased significantly from 4800 Bq/L to 186 and Bq/L,121 Bq/L using 0.045 gm from synthesized  zeolite  4A and DMZ respectively

Financial Development and Economic Growth in the Middle East

This paper investigates the linkages between financial development and economic growth in the Middle East using newly developed methods of panel cointegration along with the popular time series methodologies such as the Johansen's cointegration, Granger causality, and the variance decompositions. The results indicate that, in the long run financial development and economic growth may be related to some level. In the short run, the panel causality tests point to real economic growth as the force that drives changes in financial development while individual countries' causality tests fail to give a clear evidence of the direction of causations

The Malay Settlement: A vanishing world?

Questions have been raised regarding urbanisation, in which the Malay culture is forgotten. This paper uses a mixed-method by way of a case study on the eight Malay settlements in Kota Bharu. Three hundred fifty questionnaires were distributed, while random interviews provided a more precise explanation of the Malay community in the real world. Traditionally, this settlement is inhabited by Malays and is well known for its high culture and architectural values. This study found that urbanisation has critically influenced the culture and identity of Malay communities in their settlements. The loss of the Malay settlements in Kota Bharu led to the loss of the Malay culture and identity in the community. Keywords:  Malay community, Malay settlement, Malay culture, urbanisation eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i20.296

Analysis Rasio Likuidity Ratios To Financial Performance Of PT. Medco Energy Internasional Tbk.

The purpose of this research is to find out how to analyze the ratio of Liquidity to financial performance in PT. Medco Energi International Tbk. This research uses liquidity ratio parameters. Measurement in terms of liquidity to performance ratio of MedcoEnergi shows that MedcoEnergi Liquidity Ratio capability using carrent ratio, Quick Ratio and Cash Ratio during the two research periods in 2018 and 2019 MedcoEnergi liquidity capability is better than its two competitors Bumi Resources and Elnusa. The advice in this study, should the existing performance be maintained and further improved so that the mission to develop potential energy sources into a profitable investment portfolio continues.Keywords: Financial Performance, Liquidity RatioAbstrak : Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana analisis rasio Likuiditas terhadap kinerja keuangan pada  PT.Medco Energi International Tbk. Penelitian ini menggunakan parameter rasio likuiditas. Pengukuran dari segi rasio likuiditas terhadap kinerja MedcoEnergi menunjukkan bahwa kemampuan Rasio Likuiditas MedcoEnergi dengan menggunakan carrent ratio,  Quick Ratio dan Cash Ratio selama dua periode penelitian tahun 2018 dan 2019 kemampuan likuiditas MedcoEnergi lebih baik dari dua kompetitornya Bumi Resources dan Elnusa. Saran dalam penelitian ini, sebaiknya kinerja yang telah ada dipertahankan dan lebih ditingkatkan  sehingga misi untuk mengembangkan sumber-sumber energi potensial menjadi portofolio investasi yang menguntungkan terus berlanjut. Kata Kunci : Kinerja Keuangan, Rasio Likuidita