Challenges Hindering a Supportive Culture of Dialogue in Saudi Arabia

This study identified challenges hindering high school administration to establish a supportive culture of dialogue within the school. A questionnaire was subsequently designed, and its validity and reliability were verified. The questionnaire was then applied to a randomly selected sample of high school principals (N=39) and teachers (N=115) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The researchers used various statistical methods appropriate for analyzing the collected data. Among the key findings of the study include: (1) administration of Riyadh high schools support building a supportive organizational culture of dialogue; and (2) the main challenges for them in establishing a supportive culture of dialogue were related to Organizational, Physical and Human difficulties. The study, therefore, recommended providing guidelines and assistance for creating a supportive culture of dialogue, including the provision of necessary training for the administration and teachers to enhance their abilities to build an appropriate culture of dialogue. Keywords: Culture of dialogue, dialogic pedagogy, high schools, organizational culture, Saudi Arabia

An Overview of Blockchain and IoT Integration for Secure and Reliable Health Records Monitoring

The Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain (BC) are reliable technologies widely employed in various contexts. IoT devices have a lot of potential for data sensing and recording without human intervention, but they also have processing and security issues. Due to their limited computing power, IoT devices cannot use specialized cryptographic security mechanisms. There are various challenges when using traditional cryptographic techniques to transport and store medical records securely. The general public’s health depends on having an electronic health record (EHR) system that is current. In the era of e-health and m-health, problems with integrating data from various EHRs, preserving data interoperability, and ensuring that all data access is in the patient’s hands are all obstacles to creating a dependable EHR system. If health records get into the wrong hands, they could endanger the lives of patients and their right to privacy. BC technology has become a potent tool for ensuring recorded data’s immutability, validity, and confidentiality while enabling decentralized storage. This study focuses on EHR and other types of e-healthcare, evaluating the advantages of complementary technologies and the underlying functional principles. The major BC consensus mechanisms for BC-based EHR systems are analyzed in this study. It also examines several IoT-EHR frameworks’ current infrastructures. A breakdown of BC integration’s benefits with the IoT-EHR framework is also offered. A BC-based IoT-EHR architecture has been developed to enable the automated sensing of patient records and to store and retrieve these records in a secure and reliable environment. Finally, we conduct a security study to demonstrate the security of our suggested EHR framework

Esculeogenin A, a Glycan from Tomato, Alleviates Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rats through Hypolipidemic, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Effects

This study examined the preventative effects of esculeogenin A (ESGA), a newly discovered glycan from tomato, on liver damage and hepatic steatosis in high-fat-diet (HFD)-fed male rats. The animals were divided into six groups (each of eight rats): a control group fed a normal diet, control + ESGA (200 mg/kg), HFD, and HFD + ESAG in 3 doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg). Feeding and treatments were conducted for 12 weeks. Treatment with ESGA did not affect gains in the body or fat weight nor increases in fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR or serum levels of free fatty acids (FFAs), tumor-necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 (IL-6). On the contrary, it significantly reduced the serum levels of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total triglycerides (TGs), cholesterol (CHOL), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) in the HFD-fed rats. In addition, it improved the liver structure, attenuating the increase in fat vacuoles; reduced levels of TGs and CHOL, and the mRNA levels of SREBP1 and acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC); and upregulated the mRNA levels of proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I) in HFD-fed rats. These effects were concomitant with increases in the mRNA, cytoplasmic, and nuclear levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and heme oxygenase-1 (HO); a reduction in the nuclear activity of nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κB); and inhibition of the activity of nuclear factor kappa B kinase subunit beta (IKKβ). All of these effects were dose-dependent effects in which a normal liver structure and normal levels of all measured parameters were seen in HFD + ESGA (200 mg/kg)-treated rats. In conclusion, ESGA prevents NAFLD in HFD-fed rats by attenuating hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation by acting locally on Nrf2, NF-κB, SREBP1, and PPARα transcription factors

Morphological, Structural, and Optical Features of Thermally Annealed Slag Powders Generated from the Iron and Steel Industry: A Source of Disordered Iron Oxide Composites

Steel slag waste produced by the steel industry accumulates in open areas or is disposed of in landfills, causing harm to the environment and human health. Valorizing steel slag through comprehensive data analysis is imperative and could add value to the product with respect to energy conversion and storage applications. This study investigated the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of a thermally annealed steel slag composite generated from iron and steel factories. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectrophotometry were subsequently used to evaluate the impact of thermal treatment on the morphology, structure, elemental composition, and optical properties. It was found that the pre-treated slag composites contained a variety of irregular grain sizes and microscale fragments, primarily composed of C (18.55%), O (50.85%), and Fe (29.41%), with lower amounts of Mg (0.31%), Si (0.44%), and Ca (0.44%), indicating the natural formation of a disordered iron composite. Thermal treatment at different temperatures (300 °C, 600 °C, and 900 °C) increased the grain density and clustering, resulting in denser two-dimensional microstructures at 900 °C. Additionally, XRD and Raman analyses of both untreated and thermally treated slag composites revealed the presence of a disordered iron oxide composite, including (Fe3O4), hematite (α-Fe2O3), and maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) phases. A significant increase in optical absorbance was also observed after annealing at 600 °C, highlighting the successful optimization of the elemental composition of the slag composite. A band gap energy of approximately 2.2 eV was obtained from this optimization at 600 °C. The optical conductivity of the composite reached 2.1 × 106 S−1 at 600 °C, which indicates an enhancement in charge transfer among the optimized chemical elements in the waste composite. These findings suggest an optimization method for novel composites derived from steel slag waste, indicating its potential as a low-cost material for energy storage systems (batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells) and optoelectronic devices

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population