The impact of organizational culture on employee engagement in Saudi Banks

The Saudi Banking industry is an important component of Saudi Arabia Economy. In the view of the high volume of business activities, Saudi Banks are keen to encourage employee participation and employee engagement. These behaviours will help banks in managing their business activities and business development. This paper provides a stimulating opportunity to advance the knowledge of the link between organizational culture, and employee engagement, at Saudi banks. This research paper will investigate the organizational culture enablers and inhibitors of employee engagement in Saudi Arabia Banks. This research is a qualitative approach; the method used is a grounded theory. Data collection adopted an issue focus approach. Interviews were conducted with Bank line managers, and subordinates. The results revealed that the enabler factors that contribute most to employee engagement enablers were training and development, organizational communication, reward, and recognition. Results revealed that Islamic culture has an influence on employee engagement in Saudi banks. This influence shown was in Non- interest bearing transactions, and the female segregation rule

Employing Modern Teaching Strategies and Their Practices in the Light of Teaching Quality Standards of the Faculty Members at College of Science and Arts in Shroura

The present study aimed at knowing the modern teaching strategies used in the College of Science and Arts in Shroura Governorate; and identifying the right practices of selecting and implementing  those strategies. It also aimed at investigating  the extent of the faculty members adherence to those practices.  To achieve that aim, a questionnaire was prepared and administered on 64 faculty members (33 females and 31 males). The sample of the students consisted of 161. (64 males and 97 females). The results showed that many of modern teaching strategies are employed and there is a good amount of quality in using the proper teaching strategies with different degrees. The range of employing modern strategies was high and moderate respectively. The sample stated that the faculty  members use the traditional strategies (Lectures, dialogue and discussion) with high degree. Statistically significant differences were found between faculty  members and students in using modern teaching strategies and in the quality of using modern strategies and practices of teaching. Keywords: teaching strategies, quality standards, teaching practices, faculty members

Identification and Classification of Moving Vehicles on Road

It is important to know the road traffic density real time especially in cities for signal control and effective traffic management. In recent years, video monitoring and surveillance systems have been widely used in traffic management. Hence, traffic density estimation and vehicle classification can be achieved using video monitoring systems. The image sequences for traffic scenes are recorded by a stationary camera. The method is based on the establishment of correspondences between regions and vehicles, as the vehicles move through the image sequence. Background subtraction is used which improves the adaptive background mixture model and makes the system learn faster and more accurately, as well as adapt effectively to changing environments. The resulting system robustly identifies vehicles, rejecting background and tracks vehicles over a specific period of time. Once the (object) vehicle is tracked, the attributes of the vehicle like width, length, perimeter, area etc are extracted by image process feature extraction techniques. These features will be used in classification of vehicle as big or small using neural networks classification technique of data mining. In proposed system we use LABVIEW and Vision assistant module for image processing and feature extraction.  A feed-forward neural network is trained to classify vehicles using data mining WEKA toolbox. The system will solve major problems of human effort and errors in traffic monitoring and time consumption in conducting survey and analysis of data. The project will benefit to reduce cost of traffic monitoring system and complete automation of traffic monitoring system. Keywords: Image processing, Feature extraction, Segmentation, Threshold, Filter, Morphology, Blob, LABVIEW, NI, VI, Vision assistant, Data mining, Machine learning, Neural network, Back propagation, Multi layer perception, Classification, WEK

Molecular Detection of Leishmania spp. in Skin and Blood of Stray Dogs from Endemic Areas of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Saudi Arabia

Dogs can act as reservoirs of canine leishmaniasis, caused by Leishmania species. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of canine leishmaniasis using a PCR technique among stray dogs living in three provinces of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Al-Ahsa Oasis and Al-Qaseem, here the disease is endemic; and to identify and document different Leishmania to species levels Methods: This cross-sectional investigation was conducted, from Mar 2016 to Apr 2018, in three parts of Saudi Arabia: Central province (Riyadh), Eastern province (Al-Ahsa Oasis) and Al-Qaseem province. Blood samples were collected from 526 dogs; 40 presented cutaneous nodules so were suspected clinically of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Biopsy tissue collections and parasite cultures were performed. A generic kDNA was performed using different primers for Leishmania differentiation. Results: All blood samples were negative for Leishmania infantum infection by molecular analysis, though forty dogs had thick cutaneous lesions in different parts of their body. Four dogs’ skin lesions were associated with dermatitis, splenomegaly and lymphadenomegaly. Parasite culture was used to diagnose cutaneous leishmaniasis, identifying 31/40 (77.5%) positive samples. Overall, of 526 samples, the prevalence of L. major and L. tropica was found to be 4% and 1.9%, respectively. Gender and age had a significant effect on Leishmania prevalence: (P=0.0212 and0.0357), respectively. Conclusion: This was the first molecular study of dog leishmaniasis from Saudi Arabia of dogs confirmed to have cutaneous leishmaniasis. Further epidemiological and molecular investigations of domestic and wild canine infections with L. major, L. tropica and L. infantum in endemic and nonendemic areas of Saudi Arabia are required, for leishmaniasis control

Knowledge and Attitude of Saudi Arabian School Teachers with Regards to Emergency Management of Dental Trauma

Injury to both the primary and the permanent dentitions and their supporting structures is one of the most common dental problems seen in children.  School is one of the locations with greatest prevalence of occurrence of traumatic dental injuries.  School teachers play important role in prevention of dental trauma and improving its prognosis. The present study was undertaken to assess knowledge and attitudes regarding emergency management of dental trauma, first aid for avulsed tooth and influence of dental education among school teachers in Abha city. METHODS: The participants were 100 school teachers from Abha city and were interviewed using a questionnaire regarding management of dental trauma.  The completed proformas was collected and the result was statistically analyzed to know the knowledge and attitudes regarding emergency management of dental trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Majority of school staff had little knowledge related to handling of traumatic dental injuries and emergency management of avulsed permanent teeth in school children. Majority of school teachers were eager to have knowledge regarding dental trauma through continues dental education programs and workshops.  First aid training increases knowledge about dental trauma and should be included in the course curriculum of teachers training program

Date-leaf carbon particles for green enhanced oil recovery

Green enhanced oil recovery (GEOR) is an environmentally friendly enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process involving the injection of green fluids to improve macroscopic and microscopic sweep efficiencies while boosting tertiary oil production. Carbon nanomaterials such as graphene, carbon nanotube (CNT), and carbon dots have gained interest for their superior ability to increase oil recovery. These particles have been successfully tested in EOR, although they are expensive and do not extend to GEOR. In addition, the application of carbon particles in the GEOR method is not well understood yet, requiring thorough documentation. The goals of this work are to develop carbon nanoparticles from biomass and explore their role in GEOR. The carbon nanoparticles were prepared from date leaves, which are inexpensive biomass, through pyrolysis and ball-milling methods. The synthesized carbon nanomaterials were characterized using the standard process. Three formulations of functionalized and non-functionalized date-leaf carbon nanoparticle (DLCNP) solutions were chosen for core floods based on phase behavior and interfacial tension (IFT) properties to examine their potential for smart water and green chemical flooding. The carboxylated DLCNP was mixed with distilled water in the first formulation to be tested for smart water flood in the sandstone core. After water flooding, this formulation recovered 9% incremental oil of the oil initially in place. In contrast, non-functionalized DLCNP formulated with (the biodegradable) surfactant alkyl polyglycoside and NaCl produced 18% more tertiary oil than the CNT. This work thus provides new green chemical agents and formulations for EOR applications so that oil can be produced more economically and sustainably

The Prevalence of Obesity among School Students and its Relation to Dietary and Physical Habits

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that unhealthy food practices and lack of exercise are the main cause of the progressive increase in the obesity prevalence. AIM: We aim to assess the prevalence of obesity among school students and its relationship to dietary and physical habits. METHODS: A cross-sectional study from 18 intermediate and high schools located in Taif, Saudi Arabia, between April 2014 and June 2015. We excluded any student with a psychological disease or chronic diseases. We calculated the body mass index (BMI) of students by measuring their height and weight. Dietary, physical, sleep habits, and socioeconomic status were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 2943 students participated with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.7 years. The majority of these were boys and attending government schools with a mean BMI 22.7 ± 8.6 kg/m2. Overall, 13.6% were overweight and 12.8% were obese. One-third of students report a sedentary lifestyle. Compared to girls, boys were more likely to have lower BMI (p < 0.001), be overweight (p < 0.001), exercise for >300 min/week (p < 0.001), own electronic devices other than smartphone (p < 0.001), use the electronic devices <3 h/day (p = 0.007), eat their meals with their family (p < 0.001), eat fruits and vegetables daily (p < 0.05), exercise for >300 min/week (p < 0.001), and walk to and from school at least once weekly (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A quarter of the students were either overweight or obese. Girls were more likely to be obese with less favorable socioeconomic, media consumption, dietary, and physical profiles

MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TRYPANOSOMA EVANSI TYPE A AND TYPE B IN CAMELS (CAMELUS DROMEDARIES) FROM FIVE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF SAUDI ARABIA USING THE ITS1 RDNA AND ROTAT 1.2 VSG GENE

Trypanosoma evansi is the most widespread of the pathogenic salivarian trypanosomes and cause a serious disease called (surra) that is affect the domestic animals such camels and horses in Tropical and subtropical countries and often leads to reduced productivity and economic losses. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence rates of trypanosomiasis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) among camels from five different regions of Saudi Arabia and to sequence and characterized the T. evansi from these animals. In the current study, 832 camel blood samples collected from five different regions of Saudi Arabia for detecting T. evansi. A generic ITS1-PCR and RoTat 1.2 VSG gene were applied in this study to analyze camels’ blood samples. Molecular analysis was performed using ITS1-PCR which showed that the highest prevalence of trypanosomes was observed in Al-Qaseem province (50.1%) followed Riyadh province (49%), whereas in Hail and the Northern Borders, there were fewer infections with trypanosomes (28.4% &17.6%), respectively. PCR amplification was carried out targeting RoTat 1.2 VSG gene on TS1-positive samples and some of them were negative for RoTat1.2. The test negative in RoTat 1.2 PCR but ITS1 PCR positive could suggest T. evansi type B. Presence of T. evansi type B is interest to the international community, as this has a message to redesign the existing molecular and serological diagnostic markers. However, to our knowledge this the first study demonstrating T. evansi type B out of Africa. Keywords: Trypanosoma evansi, Camels, ITS1 rDNA , RoTat 1.2, PCR, Saudi Arabia

Determination of putative virulence factors among clinical isolates of enterococci isolated from a military hospital in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia

Background: The pathogenic potential of enterococci to produce life-threatening infections is well-documented. The scientific community has, of late, evinced a renewed interest in the putative virulence factors of enterococci. Objective of the study was to determine the putative virulence factors of clinically isolated Enterococcus species from a military hospital and to describe the association between virulence factors and vancomycin susceptibility.Methods: A total of 245 enterococci were isolated from clinical samples collected from KFMMC, a leading military hospital in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Following species identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing using the Vitek 2 system; the isolates were tested for the production of caseinase, gelatinase, biofilm, and presence of haemolysin.Results: Among the enterococcal isolates, 36.7% produced caseinase, 38% produced gelatinase, 24.1% exhibited biofilm formation, and 30.6% were positive for haemolytic activity. A significant association between vancomycin susceptibility patterns and the virulence factors, gelatinase and haemolytic activity, were noted. No significant associations were observed between vancomycin susceptibility patterns and the presence of caseinase or the formation of biofilms.Conclusions: Virulence factors are invariably produced by several clinical isolates of enterococci in our hospital, and some virulence factors are associated with vancomycin susceptibility