Latent Tuberculosis Infection Among Health Care Workers At The Communicable Disease Center In Qatar: Prevalence And Determinants

Background: To estimate the prevalence of latent Pulmonary Tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers in Communicable Disease Center (CDC) in Qatar and explore the factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection LTBI. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out from Sep 2018 up to March 2019, among CDC healthcare workers. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify the potential predictors of LTBI. Results: Out of the 415 staff, 27% [95% CI: 22.7%; 31.3%] were diagnosed with LTBI. This is considerably higher than the prevalence reported from high-income countries but lower than most low and middle-income countries including sub-Saharan Africa, India, and China. Being born in high tuberculosis (TB) burden country was found to be the main predictor for LTBI (OR:2.0 95% CI 1.2, 3.4). We also found that diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR: 2.24 95% CI 0.98, 5.1) was a predictor at univariate levels. Conclusion: Prevalence of LTBI is relatively higher among healthcare workers in CDC in Qatar when compared to countries with similar TB profile. Public health actions are warranted to identify and treat LTBI in healthcare workers in Qatar and to enhance compliance with the global WHO –end TB strateg

Seawater Distiller (Solar Collector for Heating Seawater)

Many people in the world globally have limited or no access to clean drinking water. Unclean drinking water is a major cause of deadly diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and other water-borne diseases. The motivation of this report aims to document a senior project to satisfy for the award of MET by CWU. The aim was to design and manufacture a solar thermal collector capable of heating water using solar energy. The solar collector was developed by designing and fabricating a parabolic reflective surface. The reflective surface was manufactured from a reflective stainless-steel sheet. The advantages of using a parabolic reflective surface include improvement in operational efficiency and easy to estimate the required water flow. The desired solar input was also estimated. Similarly, the necessary water pipe diameter and length were designed. A stand was manufactured by assembling various parts. The design of the collector stand and frame depended on the size and portability of the solar thermal collector. Other factors included the area of use and ease of use. The stand material strength, static and dynamic structural analysis were put into consideration. The result in the design and manufacture of a stand with ease use, operate and transport. The devise was manufactured by assembling the solar thermal collector, stainless steel water pipes, steel frame, and wood stands as per the design and working diagram. This resulted in the efficiency and heating capacity of the collector to be 95oC. Also, the devise was able to absorb and utilize at least 70% of the incoming solar radiation on a day where irradiance is equal to 800 W/m2

Impedance Sensing of Cancer Cells Directly on Sensory Bioscaffolds of Bioceramics Nanofibers

Cancer cell research has been growing for decades. In the field of cancer pathology, there is an increasing and long-unmet need to develop a new technology for low-cost, rapid, sensitive, selective, label-free (i.e. direct), simple and reliable screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of live cancer and normal cells in same shape and size from the same anatomic region. For the first time on using an impedance signal, the breast cancer and normal cells have been thus screened, diagnosed and monitored on a smart bioscaffold of entangled nanowires of bioceramics titanate grown directly on the surface of implantable Ti-metal and characterized by SEM, XRD, etc. following a technology patented by Tian-lab. In experiment in the aqueous solution of phosphate buffer saline (PBS), human breast benign (MCF7) and aggressive (MDA-MB231) cancer cells, normal (MCF10A) cells, and colon cancer cells (HCT116) showed characteristic impedance spectrum highly different than that of the blank sensor (i.e. no cells on the bioscaffold surface). For two sets of mixtures each containing the normal and cancer cells over a wide range of mixing ratios, the shift of impedance signals has been linearly correlated with the mixing ratios which supports the biosensor’s selectivity and reliability. After being treated with pure glucose and chemotherapeutic drug (i.e. doxorubicin of DOX) and with one after the other, the breast cancer cells showed different impedance signals corresponding to their difference in glucose metabolisms (i.e. Warburg Effect) and resistances to the Dox, thus-fingerprinting the cells easily. Based on the nanostructure chemistry, impedance equivalent circuitry and cancer cell biology, it’s the different cells surface binding on the nanowires, and different cancer cells metabolic wastes from the different treatments on the nanowires that changed the charge density on the scaffolding nanowire surface and in turn changed the impedance signals. This new method is believed expandable to quantifying and characterizing live cells and even biological tissues of different types in general

Multicultural Education: Teachers’ Perceptions and Preparation

This paper focuses on theory and practice in multicultural education as it pertains to the preparation of preservice teachers. The literature reviews the history and definition of multiculturalism and investigates multiple theoretical frameworks around the ongoing debate and issues of multicultural education. Teachers’ perceptions of multicultural education and various approaches to multicultural pedagogy and curriculum are explored. The finding indicates that thorough and balanced courses preparing preservice teachers to teach culturally diverse students are essential to supporting teachers’ awareness, knowledge, and skill in providing equal education for all students. Keywords: conservative, liberal, and critical multiculturalism, teachers' perceptions and preparation

Enhanced Pancreatic beta-cells Proliferation and Functionality

Biologically functional beta-cells proliferate at an extremely low rate with limited turnover capacity. This cellular property hinders cell-based therapy for clinical applications. Many attempts have been made to develop techniques that allow large quantities of production of clinically relevant islet β-cells in vitro. A line of studies demonstrates that functional beta-cells can proliferate under certain circumstances, providing hope for generating and expanding these cells in vitro and transplanting them into the recipient. In this study, we showed that a membrane substrate offers a better niche for beta cell proliferation and insulin secretion. Mouse beta cells were grown on a tissue culture plate (TCP) as a control as well as on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) membrane, and cell numbers were counted four times at 48 hours intervals. The cell doubling time was shortened from 64.7±0.4 h for beta cells grown on TCP, to 38.6±0.5 h (p-value 0.03) for those grown on PET membrane substrate with a pore size of 1µm. In addition, there was an increase of approximately ten to thirteen fold in insulin gene expression in cells cultured on PET compared to that on TCP (p-value 0.02). Furthermore, to investigate the mechanism of the enhanced proliferation and insulin production using membrane substrate, the expression profile of eighty-four genes that are involved in the apoptotic pathway were measured by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Enhancements in Akt and Bcl2 gene expression were detected. These findings demonstrate that a membrane substrate can offer better physicochemical cues for enhancing β-cells proliferation and function in vitro

Maternal Attachment Representations Of The Infant In The First Year Of Life: The Influence Of Prenatal Factors.

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictability of prenatal factors, including maternal depression, reflective functioning, and romantic attachment style, on maternal mental representations at seven months postpartum. The participants were 74 mothers, a subsample of the Perinatal Imaging of Neural Connectivity study (PINC). Data from the current study were collected using semi-structured interviews, including the Pregnancy Interview-Revised (PI-R) (Slade, Grunebaum, Huganir, & Reeves, 1987) and the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI; Zeanah, Benoit, Barton, & Hirshberg, 1996); and self-report questionnaires, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) (Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987) and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R) (Fraley, Waller, & Brennan, 2000). Data were analyzed using Multinomial Logistic Regression. When the variables were examined separately, the results revealed that maternal depression was not related to maternal mental representations. However, both the prenatal reflective functioning and romantic attachment style scales predicted maternal representations at seven months postpartum. When maternal reflective functioning was examined in conjunction with romantic attachment style, maternal reflectivity predicted maternal mental representations over and above the impact of romantic attachment style. Nevertheless, when the romantic attachment scales were combined to represent one single security score, the results revealed that both prenatal reflective functioning and romantic attachment (security scores) make unique contributions to mothers’ maternal representations of their children and their relationships with them. The findings from the study suggest that both maternal reflectivity during pregnancy and the security of their romantic attachment protect mothers from developing unbalanced representations, especially disengaged representations. The study has important contributions to the attachment literature by supporting the intergeneration transition of attachment. It also supports attachment-based therapy that aims to enhance mothers’ reflectivity during pregnancy, and the authors made recommendations about specific therapeutic strategies to help women with distorted representations

Integrate Digital Storytelling in Education

In the 21st century, educators believe using technology can be an effective factor in education for the new generation, making educational goals easier to achieve. In fact, technology is being studied by teachers and implemented into classrooms for a positive effect on student learning. Many teachers are integrating multimedia tools in teaching students different skills including synthesizing, analyzing, evaluating, and presenting information. When students use technology, they learn to convert data into information and transform information into knowledge. Also, using multimedia tools gives students the opportunity to participate and interact in the classroom. Consequently, the trend for integrating technology into education has become more widespread in most schools today. Digital storytelling is one of the multimedia tools that can support teaching and learning as well as students’ motivation. This research explores how digital storytelling can be an effective tool for both teachers and students in order to support learning and skills. Keywords: Multimedia tools, Digital storytelling, Students skills and their motivation.

The Use of Emoji in Electronic User Experience Questionnaire: An Exploratory Case Study

Emojis are a growing phenomenon that have gained popularity in the digital era. However, little research exists on their use; a notable absent topic is the adoption of emojis in user experience questionnaires (UEQs). This study draws on semi- structured interview data from 31 participants to understand how emojis affect the experience of filling out UEQs. The data analysis reveals two key categories regarding participants’ experiences: advantages and challenges. This research contributes to the existing literature by presenting a detailed exploratory case study of user reactions to emojis in the context of UEQs