The Influence of the Discovery of Oil on the Poetry of a Selection of Modern Blind Poets from the Gulf Region

This Thesis looks up the dimensions of the oil age and oil impact on the works of blind poets from Arab Gulf countries with specific reference to al-Sālimī, al-Shabīb, and Ibn Ḥusayn. The Thesis covers the period from 1867 till 2014 and includes three important historical contexts that are both closely aligned to one another and crucial to the Gulf’s modern history, i.e. the pre-oil age, the onset of the oil age and the post-oil age. By dividing the scope of the Thesis into three key phases and distributing three blind poets as representatives of each phase, this Thesis will initially examine the impact of blindness on the poetic production of the selected blind poets from two perspectives: psychological and Sensory. The aim of such examination is to test and guarantee their unique ability to use imagery as efficiently as sighted poets despite being blind. After that, this Thesis will analyse the impact of the Gulf’s environment on shaping imagery in the poets’ works by adopting a semiotic methodology. In addition, it will shed light on the psychological reception of blind poets regarding the oil age and investigate its echo and signs on their work. Finally, the Thesis will adopt a historical methodology of tracing the impact of oil on the poetic style, language, content and topics of poetic production in the Gulf as of the pre-oil era, the oil era itself and the post oil era. This methodology will uncover the role that oil played in changing the Gulf’s poetry through tracing the transformations of poetic style and content during each historical phase

The Perceptions of College Life Among International Music Students at American Universities

The purpose of this multiple-case study is to explore and describe the rewards and challenges facing international music students at American Universities. The research included two major questions: (a) what rewards and challenges do international music students face at an American university? And (b) what motivation do they have for graduating from an American university? Data collection included: semi-structured interview, field notes from observation, and focus group interview. The participants were three graduate international music students attending two major music institutions in the Midwestern United States. There were five emergent themes from the data analysis: institution preference, important of music in the U.S., social barrier, satisfaction of the program attending, and opportunities. The results from this research support earlier research in the literature that music international students preferred university in the United States because they felt the importance of music education in U.S. public education. Second, they preferred institutions with quality faculty and programs. Furthermore, international students attend American universities for better employment opportunities. In addition, they encountered social barriers in interacting with local students even without the language barrier

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in pediatrics: a report of seven cases from Saudi Arabia

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) emerged in 2012 as an important respiratory disease with high fatality rates of 40%–60%. Despite the increased number of cases over subsequent years, the number of pediatric cases remained low. A review of studies conducted from June 2012 to April 19, 2016 reported 31 pediatric MERS-CoV cases. In this paper, we present the clinical and laboratory features of seven patients with pediatric MERS. Five patients had no underlying medical illnesses, and three patients were asymptomatic. Of the seven cases, four (57%) patients sought medical advice within 1–7 days from the onset of symptoms. The three other patients (43%) were asymptomatic and were in contact with patients with confirmed diagnosis of MERS-CoV. The most common presenting symptoms were fever (57%), cough (14%), shortness of breath (14%), vomiting (28%), and diarrhea (28%). Two (28.6%) patients had platelet counts of < 150 × 109/L, and one patient had an underlying end-stage renal disease. The remaining patients presented with normal blood count, liver function, and urea and creatinine levels. The documented MERS-CoV Ct values were 32–38 for four of the seven cases. Two patients (28.6%) had abnormal chest radiographic findings of bilateral infiltration. One patient (14.3%) required ventilator support, and two patients (28.6%) required oxygen supplementation. All the seven patients were discharged without complications

The impact of co-infection of influenza A virus on the severity of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Ho and colleagues recently drew attention to the consequences of co-infection with Influenza and HIV.1 We present four cases of combined infection with influenza and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. Nasopharyngeal swabs or tracheal aspirates were tested for MERS-CoV using real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).2, 3 Samples were tested for Influenza A, B and H1N1 by rapid molecular test (GenEXper for detection of flu A, B and 2009 H1N1, Cepheid)

Business process modeling for software acquisition - A literature review

Los Alamitos, US

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus and Pulmonary Tuberculosis Coinfection: Implications for Infection Control

Coinfection of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) with tuberculosis (TB) has not been previously reported. Here, we present 2 cases with both MERS-CoV and pulmonary TB. The first case was a 13-year-old patient who was admitted with a 2-month history of fever, weight loss, night sweats, and cough. The second patient was a 30-year-old female who had a 4-week history of cough associated with shortness of breath and weight loss of 2 kg. The 2 patients were diagnosed with pulmonary TB and had positive MERS-CoV. Both patients were discharged to complete their therapy for TB at home. It is likely that both patients had pulmonary TB initially as they had prolonged symptoms and they subsequently developed MERS-CoV infection. It is important to carefully evaluate suspected MERS-CoV patients for the presence of other infectious diseases, such as TB, especially if cohorting is done for suspected MERS-CoV to avoid nosocomial transmission

Tetryl Exposure: Forgotten Hazards Of Antique Munitions

Background: Older yet still abundant munitions such as tetryl present easily forgotten health hazards and associated needs for worker protection. Case presentation: Symptoms and findings from 22 workers who were exposed to tetryl are summarized. Conclusions: This study highlights the health hazards from exposure to tetryl. Occupational health professionals need to maintain vigilance to protect workers from the risks of handling older munitions

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Transmission among Healthcare Workers: Implication for Infection Control

Background Many outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have occurred in health care settings and involved health care workers (HCWs). We describe the occurrence of an outbreak among HCWs and attempt to characterize at-risk exposures to improve future infection control interventions. Methods This study included an index case and all HCW contacts. All contacts were screened for MERS-CoV using polymerase chain reaction. Results During the study period in 2015, the index case was a 30-year-old Filipino nurse who had a history of unprotected exposure to a MERS-CoV–positive case on May 15, 2015, and had multiple negative tests for MERS-CoV. Weeks later, she was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and MERS-CoV infection. A total of 73 staff were quarantined for 14 days, and nasopharyngeal swabs were taken on days 2, 5, and 12 postexposure. Of those contacts, 3 (4%) were confirmed positive for MERS-CoV. An additional 18 staff were quarantined and had MERS-CoV swabs. A fourth case was confirmed positive on day 12. Subsequent contact investigations revealed a fourth-generation transmission. Only 7 (4.5%) of the total 153 contacts were positive for MERS-CoV. Conclusions The role of HCWs in MERS-CoV transmission is complex. Although most MERS-CoV–infected HCWs are asymptomatic or have mild disease, fatal infections can occur and HCWs can play a major role in propagating health care facility outbreaks. This investigation highlights the need to continuously review infection control guidance relating to the role of HCWs in MERS-CoV transmission in health care outbreaks, especially as it relates to the complex questions on definition of risky exposures, who to test, and the frequency of MERS-CoV testing; criteria for who to quarantine and for how long; and clearance and return to active duty criteria